A fully exchangeable over-the-wire dilatation catheter disclosed having an expandable balloon mounted on the distal end of a flexible, elongate tubular shaft provided with first and second through lumens. The first lumen traverses the longitudinal extent of the tubular shaft and is sealingly connected to the expandable balloon. The second lumen is adapted to slidingly receive a guidewire throughout the longitudinal extent of the tubular shaft and through the interior of the expandable balloon. The tubular shaft is also provided with a longitudinal rip seam extending into the second lumen from the proximal portion of the tubular shaft to a point adjacent the distal end of the tubular shaft. The rip seam may be provided with one or more side access ports into the second guidewire lumen and enables the catheter to be peeled from the guidewire during removal and exchange procedures without the need for docking a guidewire extension. The guidewire may be threaded through the side access ports in a variety of manners as desired. Associated procedures for utilizing the dilatation catheters are also disclosed.

A principle goal of modern medicine has been the reduction of trauma associated with various surgical procedures. When surgical invasiveness and trauma are reduced the associated surgical complications are correspondingly reduced. As a result, the less invasive the surgical procedure the greater the chances for a rapid, uncomplicated recovery. A recent successful development in the field of less invasive surgery is the medical procedure known as angioplasty. Angioplasty has become a widely accepted method for opening obstructions or stenoses throughout the vascular system, particularly in the coronary arteries.
The most common form of angioplasty practiced to date is known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). In virtually all forms of this procedure a dilatation catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end is guided through the patient's artery and the balloon is positioned across the stenosis. Once in place the balloon is inflated for a brief period of time in order to displace or deform the occluding lesion. After the stenosis has been opened and adequate blood flow has been reestablished the catheter is withdrawn. In this manner, it is possible to open blocked coronary arteries through a small vascular incision without the serious risks and complications previously associated with open heart surgery.
In most forms of angioplasty the dilatation catheter is guided into position through the patient's arteries utilizing a very small diameter flexible guidewire. Typically, guidewires are formed of surgical grade stainless steel having a diameter on the order of 0.010 to 0.015 inches and an overall length of approximately 175 cm. The distal end of the guidewire is extremely flexible and may be formed as a coil of very small diameter wire to enable the cardiac physician to direct the guidewire along the branched and convoluted arterial pathway as the guidewire is advanced to the target site. Once the guidewire is positioned across the lesion an appropriately sized dilatation catheter is advanced "over-the-wire". At this point in the procedure the dilatation balloon is in a deflated configuration having a minimal cross-sectional diameter which facilitates its positioning across the lesion prior to inflation. At various times throughout the procedure radiopaque dyes are injected into the artery to enable the cardiac physician to visualize the catheter and target vascular pathway on a fluoroscope.
An undesirable complication associated with the utilization of such "over-the-wire" dilatation catheters is the need to extend the guidewire outside of the patient's body a sufficient distance to enable the over-the-wire catheter to be threaded onto the guidewire without disturbing the positioning of the guidewire across the target lesion. Typically, a guidewire extension is "docked" or affixed to the proximal end of the guidewire in order to provide the additional length necessary to thread the guidewire into the catheter. As the typical dilatation catheter ranges in length from 120 cm to 160 cm the guidewire extension can be quite long and awkward to manipulate as it extends outside the patient's body. Alternatively, an exceptionally long guidewire on the order of 300 cm in length may be positioned initially and subsequently exchanged with a shorter, easier to handle guidewire after positioning of the catheter. In either case, an additional medical assistant may be necessary solely to monitor or manipulate the guidewire or its extension. Moreover, the junction between the docked guidewire end and the docked extension may interfere with the smooth advancement of the catheter along the guidewire decreasing the physician's control of the procedure.
A number of alternative dilatation catheter designs have been developed in an attempt to reduce or eliminate these problems. For example, "fixed-wire" dilatation catheters incorporating an internally fixed guidewire or stiffening element have been utilized with some degree of success. In addition to eliminating the need for guidewire extensions, these fixed-wire designs are smaller in diameter than their over-the-wire counterparts because the balloon inflation lumen is also utilized to contain the fixed guidewire. As a result, these designs are quite maneuverable and relatively easy to position. However, the most significant drawback associated with fixed-wire catheter designs is the inability to retain guidewire access to the target site while removing the catheter. Removal or replacement of a balloon catheter is not an uncommon occurrence during balloon angioplasty. Should it become necessary to perform such a removal or exchange procedure the fixed guidewire also must be removed simultaneously. This greatly complicates reaccessing the lesion with a subsequent device if desired.
Similarly, an additional drawback of fixed-wire catheter designs is the inability to exchange the guidewire. Though relatively rare, replacement of a guidewire is sometimes required when the original wire is broken or defective, or when the wire tip must be reshaped to perform the procedure. With these fixed wire unitary designs the entire assembly must be removed forcing the vascular physician to renegotiate the arterial pathway with a new catheter and guidewire combination.
An alternative catheter design is the "monorail" variant of the over-the-wire system such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,129 issued Aug. 9, 1988 to Bonzel. This catheter design utilizes a conventional inflation lumen plus a relatively short parallel guiding or through lumen located at its distal end and passing through the dilatation balloon. This design enables the short externally accessible monorail or guidewire lumen to be threaded over the proximal end of a pre-positioned guidewire without the need for docking a guidewire extension. Additionally, because the guidewire lumen is quite short the guidewire remains external to all portions of the catheter proximal to the distal portion of the catheter and frictional drag along the guidewire lumen reportedly is reduced. Thus, it is possible to recross an acutely closed lesion or to exchange balloon catheters without losing guidewire access or docking an extension wire.
However, in spite of this success a significant disadvantage associated with monorail dilatation catheters is the difficulty in steering the catheter along the guidewire through tortuous or convoluted vascular pathways. Because the guidewire is not supported within the catheter it is possible to wrap the distal end of the catheter around the guidewire as vascular curves and junctions are traversed. Additionally, though it is possible to remove the guidewire and leave the monorail catheter in position, it is virtually impossible to replace or exchange the guidewire if necessary as it is impossible to reengage the distal monorail guidewire lumen once it is positioned in the patient's body.
A more recent attempt at dealing with these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,356 issued Jan. 29, 1991 to Crittenden et al. This catheter and guidewire exchange system utilizes a connector fitting mounted on the proximal end o the catheter and a longitudinal slit formed in the catheter shaft and extending from the proximal end proximate the connector forward towards the distal end. A guide member mounted on the fitting directs the guidewire through the slit and into the guidewire lumen in response to relative movement of the guidewire or catheter. This system reportedly avoids the need for a long exchange wire as well as the problems of a monorail design yet it presents several drawbacks of its own. First, the additional exchange fitting adds complexity to the design and function of the catheter. Further, the added drag induced by the fitting as it spreads the slit during catheter movement reduces the feel and control of the catheter as it is advanced along the guidewire. Moreover, because the slit terminates at a position distally to the proximal end of the catheter it is not possible to completely remove the catheter from the guidewire in a simple procedure. Reengagement of the catheter on the guidewire is even more complex.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dilatation balloon catheter design that can be fully exchanged easily without sacrificing guidewire access to a target lesion. A concurrent object of the present invention is to provide such a dilatation catheter that can traverse branched arteries and vascular curves and bends with the ease of an over-the-wire design.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dilatation catheter that facilities the exchange or replacement of a guidewire if necessary.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a dilatation catheter with all of the advantages and features of an over-the-wire design that also provides the ability to be removed from a pre-positioned guidewire rapidly and simply without utilizing a guidewire extension or long exchange wire.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a fully exchangeable over-the-wire balloon catheter which will allow for catheter exchange without the need for docking a guidewire extension or utilizing a long exchange wire.

Fully exchangeable dual lumen over-the-wire dilatation catheter with rip seam


A control apparatus for a switching device which suppresses surge voltages at the time of current shutoff of a switching device to protect from overcurrents although the switching device is not in an overcurrent state, including a current sensor, a comparator, a timer latch, a control circuit, and a transistor. The current sensor detects the current of a switching device and outputs a detected voltage. The comparator outputs a signal when the detected voltage is equal to or greater than a reference voltage. When the time duration of the output signal is equal to or greater than a setting time, the timer latch outputs a surge suppression detection signal, based on which the control circuit outputs to the transistor a driving signal to turn off the switching device. The reference voltage is smaller than a reference voltage used when detecting an overcurrent flowing in the switching device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control apparatus for a voltage controlled-type switching device such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), to control conduction and shutoff of the switching device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one type of control apparatus, for example the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-141841 is known.
This apparatus of the prior art comprises a driving circuit which causes conduction and shutoff of the switching device, and a current sensor which detects the current flowing in the switching device.
Further, the apparatus of the prior art comprises a first comparison circuit which compares the current detected by a current sensor with a first reference value, and when the detected current is equal to or greater than the first reference value, outputs an overcurrent detection signal indicating an overcurrent in the switching device.
Further, the apparatus of the prior art comprises a second comparison circuit which compares the current detected by the current sensor with a second reference value, and when this detected current is equal to or greater than the second reference value, outputs a pass-through current detection signal indicating a current passing through the switching device.
Further, the apparatus of the prior art shuts off the switching device when the time duration of an overcurrent detection signal output from the first comparison circuit is equal to or greater than a first regulation time, or when the time duration of a pass-through current detection signal output from the second comparison circuit is equal to or greater than a second regulation time.
In an apparatus of the prior art comprising such a configuration, when there is an overcurrent or a pass-through current in the switching device, by shutting off the switching device, surge voltage occurring at the time of current shutoff of the switching device can be suppressed.
However, such an apparatus of the prior art has the problem that, when the switching device is not in an overcurrent state, but suppression of surge voltages at the time of current shutoff of the switching device is necessary for the purpose of protection from overcurrents, such surge voltage suppression is not possible.


A method and apparatus for continuously making a brush mat for brush manufacture integrates a continuous source of extruded and cut filaments with forming an extrusion of thermoplastic material on an end of the filaments to form the brush mat. The brush mat can then be cut and used in its straight configuration or shaped in a ring or other form as part of a subsequent brush making step.

In the prior art, various types of brushes, brush assemblies, and brush-making apparatus and methods have been proposed. These brushes are used in a variety of applications, including street sweepers, sweeping machines for airport use, deburring machines, and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,316 to Maltarp (herein incorporated in its entirety by reference) discloses one type of a brush that is formed into a ring for use on mandrels for sweeping, brushing, etc. Referring to FIG. 1, one brush product of Maltarp is designated by the reference numeral 10 and includes wires 1 formed into a brush assembly for use with a ring. A plastic annular hub 3 is formed on one end of the wires to hold the wires in place. A metallic ring 5 is then crimped around the plastic hub, the crimped portions designated by reference numeral 7. The Maltarp patent is an improvement over wire brushes that employed locking wires within the metallic ring.
As part of the manufacturing process, the Maltarp patent takes wire brush material and cuts them to length. The brushes are laid horizontally and pass through an extruder station wherein a thermoplastic material is extruded on one end of the wires. The wire-plastic combination is shaped and cooled to form a continuous wire mat, which can be cut to length. Once cut, the wires are conveyed to a hydraulic press, wherein the mat is folded into a ring shape, and then a wire ring is fixed to the mat to form the completed brush.
While Maltarp discloses wires as the brushing materials, other brushes employ all polymer construction as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,357 to Gould. This construction is an all-polymer construction wherein polymer bristles are used with a polymer strip. The strip is configured to slide into channels in a mandrel of a sweeping machine. The brush construction comprises bristles extending from a base strip. Molding the bristle ends into the base strip forms the brush construction.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic of a prior art apparatus designated by the reference numeral 150 for taking brush material in the form of filaments and forming them into a mat for use in a brush. The filaments are provided in a container 151 held on a scissors lift 153. An operator 155 supervises the feeding of the filaments 157 into a hopper 159. The filaments are directed to a conveyor 161 which allows the extrusion of the thermoplastic material on the filament ends. A cutter 163 cuts the thus-formed mats 165 for use in brush making, the mats directed by conveyor 167 to the appropriate next location for brush manufacture. Another operator 169 supervises the finishing end of mat manufacture.
When making brushes using polymer filaments, the filaments are made by an extrusion apparatus 70 as shown in FIG. 3. The polymer raw material 71 is fed to an extruder 73, which produces an extruded continuous output of filament 75. The filament passes through a stretcher oven 77 to give it is proper orientation, and then the filaments are cooled in water tank 79, and cut to length by cutter 81. An operator 83 supervises the termination of the filament production, wherein the cut to length filaments 57 are boxed and then skidded at 79.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,665,902 to Vegter, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety shows other examples of brush constructions. In this patent, a hub is formed on the ends of metallic wires and the hub is attached to a base. The base is configured with members for holding the assembled brush assembly in a brushing apparatus.
While there are numerous ways to form brush assemblies, these methods have there shortcomings in terms of productivity and efficiency. That is, filaments used in the brush making operation are taken from stock. The stock filaments are extruded in various sizes and lengths, and the brush manufacturer purchases the desired sized filaments for the brush making operation. The brush making operation is a basically a batch operation as shown in FIG. 2 which is designed to run based on a quantity of fed filaments, wherein the filament stock is selected for a given run of the brush making apparatus. Once the feed of filament is depleted, the apparatus is idle until the feed of filament is replenished. In addition, the feeding of the filaments into the brush making operation must be monitored by personnel to ensure that the feed hopper containing the filaments to be discharged onto the conveyor is full.
Therefore, a need exists to provide improvements in the field of brush manufacture. The present invention responds to this need by integrating the continuity of a filament making operation with the brush making operation that normally relies on the use of stocked supplies of filament.
While the brush making operation and filament extrusion operations are employed separately in the field of brush making, no one has combined the two given the inherent conflict between an operation that continuously produces a filament and an operation that is designed to run on a controllable source of raw material, i.e., stock filaments.


In some embodiments, in a registration process where a user device is registering for access to a network, a public/private key pair may be generated based on a media access control (MAC) address of a user device. The generated public/private key pair may be transmitted to the user device for future access to the network. In some embodiments, where a user device is requesting access to a network, a MAC address embedded in a public key may be utilized to determine whether access to the network should be granted.

User-oriented processing and communications devices, such as personal computers, laptop computers, cell phones, PDAs, printers, and similar devices are frequently connected to computer networks and/or communications networks. These may include corporate, educational, government, public access and other networks.
Network connectivity entails not just a physical connection, such as a hardwired coupling or a coupling via a wireless connection, but also software-based authorization to access network resources. Such authorized access typically provides the ability for a user device to communicate over the network, access and use other devices on the network such as printers, and possibly to access various database and other information resources on the network, such as e-mail. In order to ensure the security of a network, only authorized network users and devices should be permitted to obtain access to network resources.
Network interfaces on network devices have a unique machine identifier, for example, a media access control (MAC) address. When the end user device registers in the network, certain rights, services, resources, etc., may be assigned to the end user device and associated with the unique machine identifier. Thus, when the end user device accesses the network, the end user device has access to those rights, services, resources, etc., that are assigned to and associated with the unique machine identifier of the end user device.

Public key generation utilizing media access control address

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP


A deposition chamber for use in depositing vapors on substrates. The deposition chamber comprises a hollow outer containment vessel which defines a first longitudinal axis. Rotatably mounted within the containment vessel is a tumbler having first and second ends and an interior compartment for accommodating the substrates. The tumbler defines a second longitudinal axis which is angularly off-set relative to the first longitudinal axis. Disposed within the tumbler are vapor inlet and outlet ports, both of which communicate with the interior compartment. The rotation of the tumbler facilitates the reciprocal movement of substrates positioned within the interior compartment between the first and second ends of the tumbler.

Para-xylylene polymers are employed as coatings for various electronic components due to their desirable physical and electrical properties. One advantage of poly-para-xylylene coatings is that thin layers of such coatings are capable of exhibiting highly desirable physical and electrical properties. Because para-xylylene coatings are applied in very thin layers, heat tends to dissipate rapidly from the underlying components. Thus, the coated components cool down quickly and are less prone to temperature related degradation than similar components bearing other types of coatings.
In further contrast to conventional polymer coatings, para-xylylenes are generally not prepolymerized prior to application on the coatable substrates. This is because the para-xylylene polymers are not given to simple extrusion, melting or molding as are many of the conventional thermoplastics. Additionally, because the para-xylylenes are generally insoluble in commonly used organic solvents, it is impractical to employ traditional solvent deposition techniques for applying poly-para-xylylene coatings.
Accordingly, in most commercial applications, para-xylylene polymers are deposited on desired substrates by a pyrolytic deposition process known specifically as the "parylene process." Such process begins with the vaporization of a cyclic di-para-xylylene dimer. The dimer is pyrolytically cleaved at temperatures of about 400.degree. to 750.degree. C. to form a reactive para-xylylene monomer vapor. Thereafter, the reactive monomer vapor is transferred to a deposition chamber wherein the desired substrates are located. Within the deposition chamber, the reactive monomer vapor condenses upon the desired substrates to form a para-xylylene polymer or co-polymer film.
Any monomer vapor which fails to condense within the deposition chamber is subsequently removed by a cold trap which is maintained at approximately -70.degree. C.
The entire parylene process is generally carried out in a closed system under constant negative pressure. Such closed system may incorporate separate chambers for the (a) vaporization, (b) pyrolysis, and (c) deposition steps of the process, with such chambers being connected by way of appropriate plumbing or tubular connections.
A primary consideration in the parylene deposition process is the achievement of uniform coating thickness on the desired substrates. Unlike conventional polymer coating systems, the condensation deposition of parylene coatings is capable of depositing even ultra-thin films without running or uneven areas resulting upon the substrates, provided that the monomer vapor is homogeneously and evenly distributed on the surface of the substrate. Thus, the design and functioning of the deposition chamber is critical to the achievement of uniform vapor distribution with resultant even coating deposition. Another important consideration in the parylene deposition process is the minimization of waste. Because of the high costs associated with parylene raw materials, there exists substantial economic motivation to preserve and conserve the parylene materials during the coating process.
The parylene deposition process is conducted most efficiently when a relatively large number of substrates are simultaneously coated. However, parylene deposition chambers employed in the prior art are generally deficient in that they provide less than optimal coating uniformity due to an inferior distribution of substrates within the deposition chamber. In this respect, when large numbers of substrates are disposed within the deposition chamber, certain ones of the substrates often contact each other and/or portions of the inner wall of the deposition chamber. Since the substrates in the prior art deposition chambers are not tumbled or otherwise shifted during the deposition process, the coating is not applied to those surfaces of the substrates which are in contact with another substrate or the deposition chamber wall. The present invention overcomes this deficiency associated with prior art deposition chambers by providing a deposition chamber including an internal eccentric tumbler for facilitating the uniform and complete deposition of monomer vapor upon the substrates therewithin.

Parylene deposition chamber including eccentric part tumbler


A round window coupling device is described for a hybrid electric-mechanical stimulation hearing implant system. A rigid outer shell securely fits into a round window niche in a cochlear outer surface of a recipient patient. An electrode groove in the outer surface of the outer shell snuggly fits around a portion of a cochlear implant electrode array passing through the round window niche. A coupling filling is enclosed within the outer shell to couple mechanical vibrations from the proximal end to the distal end with minimal attenuation. A transducer receiver at the proximal end connects to and receives vibrations from a drive surface of a mechanical transducer. And a drive face at the distal end interfaces to perilymph fluid within the cochlea of the recipient patient to deliver vibrations from the coupling filling to the perilymph fluid with minimal attenuation for perception as sound.

A normal ear transmits sounds as shown in FIG. 1 through the outer ear 101 to the tympanic membrane 102 which moves the bones of the middle ear 103 (malleus, incus, and stapes) that vibrate the oval window and round window membrane openings of the cochlea 104. The cochlea 104 is a long narrow duct wound spirally about its axis for approximately two and a half turns in a human cochlea. It includes an upper channel known as the scala vestibuli and a lower channel known as the scala tympani, which are connected by the cochlear duct. The axial center of the cochlea 104 is called the modiolus where the spiral ganglion cells of the acoustic nerve 113 reside. In response to received sounds transmitted by the middle ear 103, the fluid-filled cochlea 104 functions as a transducer to generate electric pulses which are sensed by the acoustic nerve 113 and sent to the brain.
FIG. 2 shows a functional representation of a normal cochlea 200. The oval window membrane 201 comprises of a stiff center (stapes footplate) and a flexible surrounding across the opening to the fluid filled scala vestibuli 203. Vibration from the footplate of the stapes drives the oval window membrane 203 creating pressure wave vibration in the fluid of scala vestibuli 203. This in turn creates sympathetic pressure wave vibration in the fluid filled scala tympani 204 on the other side of the basilar membrane 205. The pressure wave vibration of the fluid in the scala tympani 204 in turn drives the membrane of the round window membrane 202 with a frequency phase shift of for example 180 degrees at low frequencies from the vibration of the oval window membrane 201.
Hearing is impaired when there are problems in the ability to transduce external sounds into meaningful action potentials along the neural substrate of the cochlea. To improve impaired hearing, hearing prostheses have been developed. For example, when the impairment is related to conductive hearing loss, a conventional hearing aid may be used to provide acoustic-mechanical stimulation to the auditory system in the form of amplified sound to the tympanic membrane. Or when the hearing impairment is associated with the cochlea, a cochlear implant with an implanted electrode carrier can electrically stimulate adjacent auditory neural tissue with small currents.
In some patients with some residual hearing in the lower acoustic frequencies, a conventional hearing aid and a cochlear implant can be combined together in a hybrid Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS) system. The hearing aid acoustically amplifies lower acoustic frequencies perceived by human ear, while the cochlear implant electrically stimulates the middle and high frequencies. See von Ilberg et al, Electric-Acoustic Stimulation of the Auditory System, ORL 61:334-340; Skarzynski et al, Preservation of Low Frequency Hearing in Partial Deafness Cochlear Implantation (PDCI) Using the Round Window Surgical Approach, Acta OtoLaryngol 2007; 127:41-48; Gantz & Turner, Combining Acoustic and Electrical Speech Processing: Iowa/Nucleus Hybrid Implant, Acta Otolaryngol 2004; 124:344-347; Gstöttner et al., Hearing Preservation in Cochlear Implantation for Electric Acoustic Stimulation, Acta Otolaryngol 2004; 124:348-352; all incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1 also shows some components of a typical EAS system which includes an external microphone that provides an acoustic signal input to an external signal processor 111 where two different signal processing paths are developed. An upper acoustic frequency range communications signal containing middle and high frequency components is converted into a digital data format, such as a sequence of data frames, for transmission via a transmitter coil 107 over a corresponding implanted receiver coil 106 into the electric implant 108. Besides receiving the processed acoustic information, the electric implant 108 also performs additional signal processing such as error correction, pulse formation, etc., and produces an electric stimulation pattern (based on the extracted acoustic information) that is sent through an electrode lead 109 to an implanted electrode array 110. Typically, this electrode array 110 includes multiple electrode contacts on its outer surface that provide selective electric stimulation of the cochlea 104. The external signal processor 111 also creates a lower acoustic frequency range communications signal to a conventional hearing aid 105 in the ear canal which acoustically stimulates the tympanic membrane 102, and in turn the middle ear 103 and cochlea 104.
Middle ear implants (MEIs) are another alternative hearing prosthesis option for persons with moderate to severe conductive hearing loss who are insufficiently benefited by conventional mechanical hearing aids. Middle ear implants introduce a mechanical stimulation/vibration into the auditory system via a mechanical transducer implanted to an auditory structure in the middle ear, though the exact anatomical location at which this stimulation is delivered varies. For example, due to its small size, the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) device with its mechanical stimulator—the Floating Mass Transducer (FMT)—can be coupled to different auditory structures such as the incus, stapes/oval window or the round window. The hearing outcome that is achieved with the VSB strongly depends on the specific auditory coupling geometry. Currently, the hearing improvement with a VSB for frequencies >1 kHz has been shown to be better with coupling to the oval window or round window membranes, whereas lower frequencies are perceived better if the FMT is coupled to the incus.
FIG. 3 shows a simplified example of round window membrane stimulation where a mechanical middle ear stimulator, e.g., a floating mass transducer (FMT) 301 is placed with its flat front side directly in contact with the tissue of the round window membrane 202. Electrical drive signals are delivered from the connecting cable 302 to the FMT 301 which in turns drives the round window membrane 202. Preferably the FMT 301 is placed in the center of the round window membrane 202 where the tissue has its greatest possible elongation. But in existing round window coupling techniques, it is very difficult to determine whether or not the FMT 301 is properly positioned in relation to the round window membrane 202, which is not visually accessible during surgery. For example, the FMT 301 may contact the bone surrounding the round window membrane 202 such that some of the vibrational energy does not enter the cochlea 200. In addition, when the FMT 301 is not orthogonal to the round window membrane 202, that also decreases the amount of vibrational energy entering the cochlea 200. Nonetheless, round window coupling is becoming ever more popular due to good performance with respect to speech recognition, and novel devices are in development for the improvement of this approach (e.g. the Hannover Coupler developed at the Hannover Medical School).
It has also been proposed that an EAS system could use a middle ear FMT for the acoustic mechanical stimulation instead of a conventional hearing aid, forming a CI/FMT system. See, Mueller et al. "Electro-Mechanical Stimulation of the Cochlea by Vibrating Cochlear Implant Electrodes" Otology & Neurotology 36.10 (2015): 1753-58; which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, an FMT 402 can be incorporated at the distal end of a cochlear implant electrode lead 403/the base of the electrode array 401 that is inserted into the cochlea via the round window membrane. Experimental results with such a CI/FMT arrangement were lower in amplitude for the FMT stimulation than as with conventional attachment of the FMT to the incus long process, but the loss disadvantage was significantly larger than might have been expected—insufficient vibrational energy is coupled into the cochlea.

Middle ear implant coupler for mechanical cochlea stimulation via the round window


A method of rolling finished sections from a preliminary section by initially carrying out five or more passes and reversing passes between a universal stand and a horizontal stand, wherein profiled horizontal rolls of the universal stand form in the section two indentations located opposite of each other and offset relative to a longitudinal center of the section. Subsequently, head and flange projections of an emerging rail section are preshaped and the indentations are laterally reduced by one of alternative grooves of a horizontal stand of a preliminary rolling group. The emerging rail section is rolled in a reversing operation after three or more passes in the universal stand and in two alternative grooves of an intermediate upsetting stand. The section is finish-rolled into a rail section in an additional pass through the universal stand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of rolling finished sections from a preliminary section by means of an arrangement which operates in a reversing operation and includes a compact rolling group composed of a first universal stand on an entry side, a second universal stand on an exit side and an intermediate upsetting stand arranged between the first and second universal stands, wherein a preliminary rolling group composed of two or more roll stands and having a free rolling stock run-out is arranged in front of the compact rolling group and transversely offset and parallel to the rolling line of the compact rolling group and a transverse shifting unit arranged between the two rolling lines is arranged in front of the compact rolling group.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known methods and in roll stand arrangements operated according to these methods, blooms produced, for example, by a continuous casting plant are supplied to an intermediate storage in which they are cooled to room temperature, the quality of the blooms is evaluated and, after again heating the blooms to rolling temperature, the blooms are rolled into rails in the roll stand arrangement. After heating to rolling heat, the block-shaped blooms are preshaped in a preliminary rolling procedure in at least one two-high reversing stand, however, usually in two such stands. Finish rolling also took place in three-high reversing stands or two-high reversing stands; however, recently finish rolling is carried out more frequently in universal stands.
It has also been proposed in the past to carry out this shaping process in a fully continuously operating roll stand plant with the appropriate large number of roll stands and the drives thereof.
In all these methods, it is attempted to produce rails in rolling lengths which are as long as possible and to conduct these long rolling lengths as much as possible at rolling heat through head hardening or tempering plants or other heat treatment plants, wherein the rails treated in this manner were subsequently cooled, straightened, the quality evaluated and cut to length.
These known methods have the following disadvantages:
The large number of shaping passes required for preliminary rolling requires large reversing stands because of the large lengths of the roll bodies required for the large number of shaping passes; this also means that the rolls themselves are expensive, and complicated manipulating devices for introducing the rolling stock into the various passes are required. The long rolling lengths result in relatively long times required for the reversing rolling operation and, consequently, do not make it possible that such plants are operated in the same operating cycle as a continuous casting plant. For this reason, it is in such a case always necessary to provide a relatively large intermediate storage if a combined operation between continuous casting plant and rolling plant is to be carried out.
Because of the large number of shaping passes, at least six to eight roll stands with the drives thereof are required for fully continuous rolling. This results in correspondingly high investment costs, high costs for the large number of rolls and for the exchange and refinishing of the rolls. Moreover, when carrying out this continuous preliminary rolling and an also continuous finish rolling, different temperatures over the rolling length cannot be avoided, wherein these different temperatures produce so-called temperature wedges between the beginning and the end of the rolling length caused by the relatively slow entry speed into the first stand of the rolling train. These temperature wedges must be compensated or regulated in order to meet the requirements of the rolling stock which are required for the head hardening or tempering plants or the heat-treatment plants.
It is frequently required to combine a production of a small number of rails with the production of girders. The above-described conventional rail rolling methods can only be realized with a very large number of additional devices when using the known, above-mentioned plants for rolling finished sections from a preliminary section which all operate in a combined operation with a continuous casting plant, i.e., without a conventional reversing preliminary stand.

Method of rolling finished sections from a preliminary section


A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a substrate having a PROM formed thereon in which the data memory state of the PROM is changed by the irradiation of light, and a multilayer wiring structure formed on the same side of the substrate as the PROM is formed. The multilayer wiring structure includes a transparent area, a shield area, and a PAD portion. The transparent area is formed from transparent material at a position opposite to the PROM area where the PROM is formed, and used as a light guiding path from the outside of the multilayer wiring structure to the PROM. The shield area is formed continuously from shielding materials arranged in several layers in the periphery of the transparent area. The PAD portion is formed on the outside of the shield area in regard to the transparent area, and controls the memory state of the PROM.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit device which is used for an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) driver, a semiconductor chip is directly connected, through a metal bump, on a glass substrate (which is called "LCD substrate" hereinafter), on which an LCD is mounted. FIG. 8 shows a plan view of an LCD substrate 1000, on which an LCD panel 1001 and a semiconductor integrated circuit device 1002 for use in an LCD driver are mounted. As shown in FIG. 8, in general, the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1002 for use in an LCD driver is mounted near the LCD panel 1001 where it is exposed to outside light. Therefore, the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1002 for use in an LCD driver may be directly or indirectly irradiated by outside light.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 8, the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1002 for use in an LCD driver may contain a program circuit 1003 (which is called "PROM area" hereinafter) having a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory). The PROM area 1003 can be used by a set maker, i.e., customer, to write set maker data (customer data) such as an arbitrary ID number. In such situation, the PROM is required to retain the written data. However, if the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1002 for use in an LCD driver is exposed to outside light, the outside light may irradiate the PROM area 1003 and erase the customer data recorded in the PROM. Therefore, the PROM area 1003 needs to be shielded from the light.
Accordingly, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-154317 describes a display device in which a shield member is arranged over EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) mounted on an LCD substrate. Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 05-038915 describes a technique in which a shield film is arranged over an EPROM memory cell on a semiconductor integrated circuit to cover the EPROM. Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 07-066378 describes a technique in which a shield film having an exposure window over EPROM is provided, so that an operation threshold, of the transistors in the EPROM, which may be deteriorated during the formation process of the shield film, can be recovered by radiating ultraviolet light through the exposure window. Incidentally, the exposure window is covered by a light-blocking insulating film after the recovery of the operation threshold of the transistors in the EPROM. Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-124363 describes a technique in which a shielding film is arranged over EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory). In addition, a contact plug and a via plug are also arranged around the EEPROM area to prevent outside light from being radiated from the lateral side of the EEPROM area.
However, in the above-explained semiconductor integrated circuit device in the related art, the PROM is shielded by the shield film, and the like, when the PAD portion is formed. Therefore, once a writing test is carried out for the PROM through the PAD portion, the written data cannot be erased by irradiating ultraviolet light to the PROM. Accordingly, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device in the related art, the writing test of a PROM cannot be carried out during the manufacturing process.
Therefore, a PROM mounted in a semiconductor integrated circuit device in the related art can only be used as a one-time programmable device (which is called "OTP device" hereinafter). As explained above, since a writing test of a PROM is not carried out in a semiconductor integrated circuit device in the related art, more than required number of PROMs (OTP devices) need to be formed in the semiconductor integrated circuit device. Because it contains more than required number of PROMs (OTP devices), even if one PROM (OTP device) is defective, another PROM (OTP device) can substitute for the defective one.
However, the total number of IDs required by a customer has been increasing, and sometimes it reaches to several hundred to several thousand bits Depending on defective rate, several ten to several hundred bits of PROMs (OTP devices) need to be formed in a semiconductor integrated circuit device. Consequently it has become an obstacle to the miniaturized design of semiconductor integrated circuit device.


The eccentric end portion (5) of a pump shaft (3) is mounted in a needle roller bearing (6) which comprises a sheet metal bushing (9) and needle rollers (7) guided in a cage (8), wherein the end of the sheet metal bushing (9) remote from the pump shaft (3) is provided with a closed bottom (18) to prevent a displacement of the sheet metal bushing (9) in axial direction.

A radial piston pump of this type is known from DE 42 04 631 A1. High radial loads exerted by the pump plungers cause a thrust load in the eccentric bearing which acts in the direction of the motor i.e., in the direction of the pump shaft and can lead to wear of the eccentric bearing arrangement due to contact of the outer ring of the eccentric bearing with surrounding components.


An exemplary power circuit includes a first rectifying and filtering circuit, a power factor correction (PFC) circuit, an inverter circuit and a second rectifying and filtering circuit. The first rectifying and filtering circuit receives an AC voltage and transforms the AC voltage to a first DC voltage. The power factor correction circuit includes a first transformer, a first diode and a first storage capacitor. The inverter circuit includes a transistor and a second transformer. A primary winding of the second transformer is grounded via the transistor and receives the first DC voltage via a primary winding of the first transformer, the first diode and a secondary winding of the first transformer in series when the transistor is switched on. The second rectifying and filtering circuit connected to a secondary winding of the second transformer for providing a second DC voltage to a load circuit.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been widely used in various portable information products such as notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and video cameras, because of its portability, low power consumption, and low radiation. A typical LCD includes an LCD panel, a backlight for illuminating the LCD panel, a backlight control circuit for controlling the backlight, and a power circuit for providing operation voltages to the LCD panel and the backlight control circuit.
Referring to FIG. 3, one such power circuit 10 includes a first rectifying and filtering circuit 11, a PFC circuit 12, a protection circuit 13, an inverter circuit 14 and a second rectifying and filtering circuit 15.
The first rectifying and filtering circuit 11 includes two inputs 111, 112 configured to receive an external alternating current (AC) voltage, such as a 220V AC voltage, a full-bridge rectifying circuit 110 configured to convert the 220V AC voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage, a filter capacitor 114 configured to stabilize the first DC voltage, and a first output 113 configured to output the first DC voltage. Two inputs of the full-bridge rectifying circuit 110 serve as the two inputs 111, 112. A positive output of the full-bridge rectifying circuit 110 serves as the first output 113. A negative output of the full-bridge rectifying circuit 110 is grounded. The filter capacitor 114 is connected between the first output 113 and ground.
The PFC circuit 12 includes a first inductor 121, a first diode 122, a first transistor 123, a PFC chip 124, and a first storage capacitor 125. The PFC chip 124 includes a control terminal 1242 and a ground terminal 1244. A terminal of the first inductor 121 is connected to the first output 113. Another terminal of the first inductor 121 is connected to a drain electrode of the first transistor 123, and is connected to ground via the positive terminal of the first diode 122, the negative terminal of the first diode 122, and the storage capacitor 125 in series. A gate electrode of the first transistor 123 is connected to the control terminal 2242 of the PFC chip 1242. A source electrode of the first transistor 123 is connected to ground.
The inverter circuit 14 includes a pulse width modulation (PWM) chip 141, a second transistor 142, and a transformer 143. The PWM chip 141 includes a pulse output 1411 configured to output a pulse signal. The transformer 143 includes a primary winding 1431 and a secondary winding 1432.
The pulse output 1411 is connected to a gate electrode of the second transistor 142 for switching on or switching off the second transistor 142. A terminal of the primary winding 1431 is connected to the negative terminal of the first diode 122. Another terminal of the primary winding 1431 is connected to ground via a drain electrode and a source electrode of the second transistor 142. The secondary winding 1432 is connected to the second rectifying and filtering circuit 15.
The second rectifying and filtering circuit 15 includes a second inductor 151, a second diode 152, a second storage capacitor 153, a second filter capacitor 154, and a voltage output 155. A terminal of the secondary winding 2432 is connected to a negative terminal of the second diode 152. The other terminal of the secondary winding 1432 is connected to ground via the second storage capacitor 153, and is connected to the voltage output 155 via the second inductor 151. The second filter capacitor 154 is connected between the voltage output 155 and ground. A positive terminal of the second diode 152 is grounded. The second filter capacitor 154 is connected between the voltage output 155 and ground.
The external AC voltage U1 is provided to the two inputs 111, 112 of the first rectifying and filtering circuit 11. The external AC voltage U1 is a sine wave voltage and a current I1 between the two inputs 111, 112 is a triangle wave current. The external AC voltage U1 is transformed into the first DC voltage U2 and is provided to the PFC circuit 12. The first DC voltage U2 is a pulse wave and a current I2 thereof is a triangle wave current.
The PFC circuit 12 is configured to adjust the triangle wave current I2 to be similar to the waveform of the first DC voltage U2, and synchronize phases of the first DC voltage U2 and the corresponding current I2. When the first transistor 123 is switched on in a first period t1, the first DC voltage U2 is grounded via the first inductor 121. Thus a gradually increased current I3 is generated in phase with the first DC voltage U2. When the first transistor 123 is switched off in a second period t2, a gradually decreased current I3 is generated in phase with the first DC voltage U2. The first storage capacitor 125 is charged via the current I3 via the first diode 124 in order to stabilize the first DC voltage U2.
The first DC voltage U2 is then provided to the primary winding 141. The PWM chip 141 generates the pulse signal for switching on or switching off the transistor 142. When the transistor 142 is switched on, a gradually increased current flows through the primary winding 1431 when the first DC voltage U2 is connected to ground via the primary winding 1431 and the second transistor 142. When the transistor 142 is switched off, the energy stored in the primary winding 1431 is discharged via the protection circuit 13. Thus current flowing through the primary winding 1431 is gradually decreased.
The secondary winding 1432 induces the current flowing through the primary winding 1431 and generates a second AC voltage across the secondary winding 1432. The second rectifying and filtering circuit 15 transforms the second AC voltage into a second DC voltage and provides the second DC voltage to a load circuit (not shown) via the voltage output 155.
However, the power circuit 10 includes both the PWM chip 141 and the PFC chip 124. Because operation frequencies of the PWM chip 141 and the PFC chip 124 are different and respectively fixed, an interference is generated between the two chips. Therefore, noise of the power circuit 10 is generated by the interference.
It is desired to provide a new power circuit which can overcome the above-described deficiency.

Power circuit and liquid crystal display using same


A technique for selectively storing as a selected ring one of various rings programmed in a ROM within a controller of a telephone which has a controller for storing a program for various rings therein, an output key for confirming the stored rings, and a selection key for selecting a ring, the technique including the steps of: storing as a selected ring one of the rings stored in the controller; and transmitting the selected ring stored in step in response to a call signal being inputted.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ring varying technique for a telephone, and more particularly, to a technique for transmitting a preselected ring from among various rings programmed in a read only memory (hereinafter, referred as to ROM) when a call signal is received by the telephone.


A computer-implemented method for testing failover may include: determining one or more cross-regional dependencies and traffic flow of an application in a first region of a cloud environment, wherein the one or more cross-regional dependencies include a dependency of the application in the first region of the cloud environment to one or more applications in at least one other region of the cloud environment; determining a risk score associated with performing failover of the application to a second region of the cloud environment at least based on the determined one or more cross-regional dependencies and traffic flow of the application; comparing the determined risk score with a predetermined risk score; in response to determining that the determined risk score is lower than the predetermined risk score, performing failover of the application to the second region of the cloud environment; isolating the second region of the cloud environment from the first region of the cloud environment for a predetermined period of time; and monitoring operation of the application in the second region of the cloud environment during the predetermined period of time.

Many types of services, programs, systems, and electronic applications (collectively referred hereto as "applications"), such as servers, storage, connectivity, e-commerce, etc., have been implemented in a cloud-computing environment. Such applications generally rely on consistent and continuous operation. To plan for, test, evaluate responses, etc., for incidents impacting operations of technological infrastructure, an entity may perform a technical recovery exercise. However, conventional recovery exercises may not be well adapted to issues associated with technology utilizing a cloud environment.
Technology utilizing a cloud environment may include multiple applications with interrelated dependencies that are unaccounted for by conventional recovery exercises. Traffic flow between different applications in the cloud may spread across multiple cloud regions, and may not be readily discernable. Additionally, conventional recovery techniques may not be comprehensive solutions for a production environment in the cloud. For example, a conventional recovery exercise may be unable to validate a failover of infrastructure operating in one cloud region to another cloud region.
As a result, in response to an actual incident in production, an application implemented in the cloud with conventional recovery techniques may encounter a high severity incident in which the application is unable to successfully failover. Additionally, during such an incident in production, it may not be possible, using conventional techniques, to identify application dependencies between different cloud regions without performing additional analysis after the incident is detected. This ex-post-facto analysis may increase the time needed to recover the application beyond a recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) according to service level agreements (SLA). The failure of such conventional failover processes may prevent customers from accessing the services otherwise provided.
The present disclosure is directed to addressing the above-referenced challenges. The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.

Systems and methods for performing a technical recovery in a cloud environment


A printed circuit board comprises N power switching cells operating in parallel and respectively comprising a transistor leg, at least one decoupling capacitor and a gate driver circuit. Each transistor leg comprises respective first and second transistors in series, a drain of the first transistor being connected to a positive DC line, a source of the second transistor being connected to a negative DC line, a source of the first transistor being connected to a drain of the second through a connection middle-point connected to an output terminal. Each gate driver circuit controls respective switching ON and OFF of the corresponding first and second transistors. The N transistor legs of the corresponding N power switching cells are positioned to substantially form a convex polygon having N edges of substantially the same length, each one of the N transistor legs being positioned along one of the edges of the convex polygon.

Power electronic modules have multiple applications, for example in power conversion equipment such as industrial motor drives, embedded motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies, etc. Power electronic modules are also used in inverters for renewable energies as wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and electric vehicles (EVs). A power electronic module comprises various types of electric and electronic components, including transistors.
Transistors used in power electronic modules are usually referred to as power transistors. A power transistor has specific characteristics, such as a housing capable of supporting important instantaneous power dissipation and high voltage and current which makes the power transistor suitable for being used in an electronic power module.
A common electronic design consists in using several power transistors in parallel. For example, it is common to find packages available on the market which encapsulate fast power transistors connected in parallel. In this configuration, it is difficult to ensure a uniform distribution of electrical currents in dynamic conditions, more specifically during the switching periods of the transistors. Electrical current disparities during the switching transient results in higher switching losses for the transistors absorbing higher electrical currents. These switching losses cause additional heating in these transistors, altering their long-term reliability.
This problem is strongly accentuated for transistors with fast switching capabilities, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (SiCMOS) transistors. When multiple transistors are placed in parallel, the switching performance of the set of transistors is strongly affected by the presence of unequal parasitic elements for each transistor, more specifically parasitic leakage inductance.
Considering a transistor designed and manufactured by a given manufacturer, the transistor already integrates (at die level) many transistor cells in parallel, to achieve a given electrical current capacity for the transistor. Since the surface covered by these multiple cells in parallel is very small, electrical current sharing is well controlled at the transistor level. However, when several of these transistors are used in parallel, it is difficult to avoid the aforementioned issues occurring during the switching periods of the parallel transistors. This is due to the fact that the internal cells of each respective transistor are separated by the external connectivity of the transistors (e.g. pins, printed circuit traces, etc.) and the influence of this external connectivity on electrical current sharing is not easy to predict if it is not well designed.
Therefore, there is a need for a new printed circuit board comprising a plurality of power transistor switching cells in parallel.

Printed circuit board comprising a plurality of power transistor switching cells in parallel


A personalized scheduling and networking method, system, and non-transitory computer readable medium include creating a user persona profile based on user information, extracting scheduling and networking information based on event information, matching a user with events during a conference based on the extracted scheduling and networking information and the user persona profile, and creating a schedule and a route for maximizing a number of the events and networking opportunities based on matches of the matching.

The present invention relates generally to a personalized scheduling and networking system, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a personalized scheduling and networking system for automatically creating a schedule or a route based on user preferences either manually collected or automatically gathered using social media, where the schedule includes networking opportunities.
Conventionally, networking systems for events have manually created a schedule for a small event. However, manual creation becomes difficult for large events and last minute changes also can wreak havoc with a manually created schedule along with manually identifying participants to the event and trying to schedule meetings or networking opportunities.
Other conventional techniques includes scheduling applications that build schedules or routes based on manually specified constraints. But these applications do not match user preferences with available events nor schedule and automatically identify opportunities for networking.
That is, the conventional techniques do not account for large events, cancelled schedules, dynamic user schedules, etc. in creating a schedule for users at such events.
Thus, there is a technical problem in the conventional techniques that the techniques are incapable of providing a personalized scheduling and networking system that can dynamically change based on real-time data and be based on user information mined from user profiles.

Personalized scheduling and networking system, method, and recording medium

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Alternators employing magnetic commutation, methods of manufacturing the alternators and wireless communications infrastructures employing the alternators. In one embodiment, an alternator includes: (1) a stator having 4n alternating field and armature poles extending axially along and projecting from an inner surface thereof, n being a positive integer, the field poles having field windings disposed thereabout to form alternating North-South magnetic polar regions and the armature poles having armature windings disposed thereabout to allow conduction of electric power from the armature poles, (2) a rotor, disposed within and journalled for rotation relative to the stator, having 2n axial magnetic passive regions, each of the passive regions being of a circumferential width magnetically to bridge one of the armature poles and only one of the field poles and (3) an exciter, coupled to the stator, that provides a controlled level of DC excitation to the field poles to regulate an output of the alternator.

Conversion of electromagnetic energy occurs when a change in flux is associated with mechanical motion as described by Faraday's law, e=d.PHI./dt. In alternators, voltages are typically generated in windings by rotating the windings mechanically through a magnetic field, by mechanically rotating a magnetic field past the windings or by designing the magnetic circuit such that the reluctance varies with the rotation of a rotor of the alternator. A time varying voltage is generated when the flux linking a specific coil is changed cyclically by any of the above-described methods.
One type of alternator is a brushless alternator. Brushless alternators can be viewed from a perspective of a variable reluctance transformer. To produce an AC output from the alternator, a varying magnetic field must be produced. The varying magnetic field may be accomplished using a permanent magnet for a magnetic core of the alternator and eliminating a primary direct current (DC) winding entirely, or by using a DC excitation. The permanent magnet approach can regulate the AC output only by varying the speed of the passage of the magnet with respect to the output winding. Thus, to produce rapid regulation responses to changing loads, large amounts of mechanical inertia must be overcome thereby resulting in a relatively sluggish regulation associated with large changing loads.
More specifically, a brushless alternator can be modeled as a variable transformer. Employing a DC excitation to produce a magnetic field, a smaller DC input power produces a larger output AC power. The additional power is the result of the mechanical force placed on the magnetic core. The output voltage increases with an increase of the motion of the magnetic core through the magnetic field (d.PHI./dt increases due to rate of travel), or when a stronger magnetic field is applied (d.PHI./dt increases due to stronger magnetic flux) to the magnetic core. To produce fast regulation of the AC output voltage at a constant speed, the DC current in the primary winding must be changed rapidly. The regulation speed is determined by a field driver, leakage inductances and magnetic remanences in the magnetic core.
The various alternator construction architectures presently employed include the homopolar, heteropolar, induction-type and brushless exciter. With a homopolar architecture, the magnetic flux is always in one direction. The flux intensity may vary, but the polarity (i.e., positive or negative) will remain the same. Since the flux is unidirectional and does not change polarity, only half of the total available flux change in the magnetic structure is used. As a result, the magnetic core saturates prematurely thereby placing a fixed upper limit on the total available output power. Limited flux reversal capability in a stator of the alternator is possible if a permanent magnet is used in the rotor, but regulation of the output voltage at no-load is still difficult. The speed of the rotor would have to decrease to zero to obtain d.PHI./dt=0.
The heteropolar architecture overcomes the saturation limitation associated with the homopolar model by allowing changes in the flux direction in the rotor as the rotor turns. The flux direction in the stator, however, is still unidirectional requiring twice as much magnetic material in the stator than if the flux could reverse. Furthermore, due to the phasing complexity of AC field excitation, a more complex measurement and control circuit is required.
For both the homopolar and heteropolar generators, the flux is always in the same direction on a "per-tooth" basis (i.e., each armature winding has only a modulated DC flux). As a result, only half (or less) of the magnetic material is used because of a DC bias in the armature of the alternator. Also, the output of the alternator may fold back as the magnetic field about the rotor increases.
The brushless exciter is used in many commercial AC generators currently in operation including large-scale commercial power generation. The exciter rotor and the alternator stator experience full flux reversal per rotation. The fluxes can be designed to maximize the use of the magnetic core material for specified power levels because the number of winding turns can be different on both the alternator and exciter rotors. The saturation limitation problem still exists because the flux is unidirectional in the alternator rotor. While rotary rectifiers are employed in the brushless excitor, the rectifier diodes experience voltage drops and heat losses that contribute to dissipative energy losses in the alternator. Furthermore, the rotary rectifiers must be mechanically secured to withstand the high centrifugal forces generated when the rotor is rotating. The stress on the rotary rectifiers decreases the reliability of the brushless exciter.
Full flux reversal can be obtained in both the stator and rotor by employing the induction-type alternator. A major limitation of the induction-type alternator is that a complex control circuit is necessary to provide a carefully phased AC for excitation thereof. Additionally, there is a need for shorted-turns windings (i.e., squirrel-cage windings) in the rotor thereby increasing dissipative heat losses in the alternator. In the inductor alternators (i.e., homopolar and heteropolar), as well as in the alternators used in automobiles (i.e., Lundell "claw" type), a magnetic field break is necessary due to the circulating parallel field in the shaft-core combination of the alternator. The magnetic field would otherwise pass through the bearings, generating arcs of DC electrical current, thereby causing premature deterioration of the bearings. The magnetic break in the shaft can produce a mechanically weak torsion point in the shaft that limits power from the prime mover.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved alternator design architecture that mitigates the above-mentioned limitations. In particular, there is a need for an improved alternator that maximizes the use of the magnetic flux to reduce the volume of magnetic core material required. There is a further need for an improved alternator that can respond to large load changes with faster speed regulation. Finally, there is a need for an improved alternator with fewer components and moving parts to increase the overall alternator reliability.

Magnetic commutation alternator, method of manufacture thereof and wireless infrastructure employing the same


A thermosetting powder paint composition is disclosed which can realize simultaneous manifestation of I) excellent stability before film forming (in storage), II) excellent low temperature melting property/low temperature curing property in forming a film, and III) excellent film properties and physical properties after film forming;. and which comprises (A) a copolymer component which is obtained by radical polymerization in a reaction system containing (a-1) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer having a glycidyl group and a unsaturated double bond in the molecule, (a-2) styrene, and (a-3) the other monomer in a specific condition, (B) a curing agent component which is a linear acid anhydride of an aliphatic divalent carboxylic acid having a specific structure, and (C) a curing catalyst component having a specific structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermosetting powder paint composition, and more particularly, relates to a thermosetting powder paint composition which provides a baked film having excellent external characteristics (smoothness, sharpness and the like), physical properties (impact resistance, mar resistance, adhesion and the like), weatherability, ultraviolet ray resistance and chemical properties (acid resistance, solvent resistance and the like), provides a paint which is excellent in storage stability, and has low temperature melting property/low temperature curing property.
2. Description of the Related Art
[Trend of Investigation and Development in Technical Filed of Paint and Expectation for Powder Paint from the Viewpoints of Ecology and the Like]
A solvent-borne paint has been conventionally used for painting an article, and in order to be used in a field wherein strict qualities are required such as an automotive field, a paint satisfying various requirements has been developed and used.
Recently, in the technical field of paint, conversion to a powder paint from a solvent-borne paint has been expected, from the viewpoints of local or global environmental safeguards, improvement of occupational safety and hygiene environment, prevention of fire and explosion, saving resources and the like. According to historical and social requirements, with increase of expectation for high performance and variation of a powder paint, the powder paint has also been required to have high-grade film properties (for example, impact resistance, acid rain resistance and the like) corresponding to those of the solvent-borne paint.
Though the powder paint is thus required to have more strict film properties, a powder paint completely satisfying these requirements has not necessarily been commercially available.
[Technical Background of General Powder Paint]
As specific examples of a conventional-type powder paint, there are listed, for example, polyester resin powder paints and epoxy resin powder paints mainly composed of a bisphenol A. However, these paints have problems not only in weatherability but also in resistance to acid rain which has recently become an environmental problem. Therefore, these paints have problems when used outdoors like paints for automotive bodies.
[Technical Background of Acrylic Resin-based Powder Paint]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No.49-34546(1974) discloses a paint which is cured by reacting an acrylic resin component having a glycidyl group with an aliphatic dibasic acid (a curing agent component). However, the above-described powder paint does not necessarily have sufficient curing speed, therefore, high temperature and long time baking conditions are indispensable. And, a film formed from the above-described powder paint does not necessarily have sufficient physical properties such as solvent resistance, adhesion and the like.
In a technique like this by using no curing catalyst, crosslinking formation in forming a film is tried to be improved to attain low temperature melting/low temperature curing by increasing the amounts of functional groups (glycidyl groups in acrylic resin component; carboxyl groups in curing agent component) of a powder paint composition, however, the same problems as described above and the other problems are caused in this case.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. Hei 5-112743(1993) discloses a powder paint comprising a resin component containing an acrylic resin synthesized from a system containing at least 20% by weight of a monomer containing a glycidyl group and 30 to 50% by weight of a styrene monomer. However, when the amount of styrene is over 30% by weight, the weatherability of a film deteriorates.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. Hei 5-132634(1993) discloses a technique to form a film according to the same curing method as the prior art from a copolymer as an acrylic resin component synthesized from a system comprising a monomer containing a glycidyl group and tert-butyl acrylate or tert-butyl methacrylate, using as a curing agent component the same compounds as described in the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-112743. However, when tert-butyl acrylate or tert-butyl methacrylate is used as a monomer in an acrylic resin component, these may cause a side reaction with the other monomer having a glycidyl group and may be thermally decomposed when polymerized or desolvated in recovering, and a gel material which is a by-product of a unpreferable side reaction tends to be formed. When a film is formed from a powder paint composition containing such a gel material, an agglomerate tends to be formed non-uniformly on the surface of the film.
Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,919,346 and 3,919,347 disclose a method to crosslink and cure a copolymer composed of a system containing a monomer having a glycidyl group and a monomer having a hydroxyl group as an acrylic resin component, using as a curing agent component an anhydride of a dicarboxylic acid. However, in this invention, storage stability of a paint is poor since the resin component having a glycidyl group and the curing agent composed of an anhydride of a dicarboxylic acid are used.
[Acrylic Resin-based Powder Paint Containing a Compound Having an Acid Anhydride as Curing Agent]
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 50-51542 is a method in which a copolymer constituted from a system containing 5 to 20% by weight of a monomer having a glycidyl group as an acrylic resin component is crosslinked and cured using a curing agent composed of a dicarboxylic acid or a linear acid anhydride. However, when a copolymer containing not more than 20% by weight of a monomer having a glycidyl group is used, the resulting film has insufficient crosslinking density and poor solvent resistance and weatherability.
To solve the problems of the above-described known techniques, a lot of investigations and developments have been carried out. U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,048 and Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-B) No.58-2983(1983) disclose a paint obtained by crosslinking and curing 5 to 20% by weight of a copolymer containing a monomer having a glycidyl group and an acid anhydride. However, because the copolymer contains not more than 20% by weight of a monomer having a glycidyl group is used, the resulting film has insufficient crosslinking density, and the solvent resistance and weatherability are not necessarily sufficient all the same.
Especially, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 58-2983 discloses a technique concerning a powder paint composition using a cyclic acid anhydride (a compound having a cyclic acid anhydride group) as a curing agent. Herein, the cyclic acid anhydride may be an aromatic compound or alicyclic compound. However, when the cyclic acid anhydride is used as a curing agent component, there are problems concerning low compatibility between the resin component and the curing agent component and low crosslinking efficiency between the resin component and the curing agent component.
EP 299,420 discloses a powder coating composition containing a modified polyacid anhydride curing agent, which is obtained by using an acrylic copolymer containing a glycidyl group, and a polyol modified polymeric polyacid anhydride wherein polymer chain has an acid anhydride bond and a plurality of acid functional groups and essentially no halogen atom, as a curing agent. However, when the polyol modified polymeric polyacid anhydride is used as a curing agent, hardness in baking is not sufficient and physical properties of the film such as solvent resistance and mar resistance are insufficient, and further, storage stability and the like of a paint are also insufficient.
EP 695,771 discloses a technique using a dicarboxylic acid (poly)anhydride modified with a polyisocyanate as a curing agent for an epoxy functional paint resin. However, when the curing agent is used, resistances such as weatherability and the like of the film are insufficient.
[Technical Background of Acrylic Resin-based Powder Paint Containing Curing Catalyst]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 63-165463(1988) discloses a thermosetting acrylic resin powder paint composition mainly composed of a specific glycidyl group functional acrylic resin, aliphatic dibasic acid (anhydride) and alkyl titanate compound, which is melted and cured at low temperature and provides a film having excellent hardness, impact resistance, flex resistance and the like. Namely, there is disclosed a thermosetting acrylic resin powder paint mainly comprising (A) a glycidyl group-functional acrylic resin obtained by copolymerization of an alkyl ester of (meth)acrylic acid having 1 to 14 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety with a glycidyl ester of (meth)acrylic acid as main components, (B) an aliphatic dibasic acid (preferably, adipic acid, sebacic acid, decanedioic acid, muconic acid and the like) or a linear acid anhydride thereof and (C) an alkyl titanate compound represented by the formula Ti(OR).sub.4 (wherein, R is an alkyl group having 15 to 20 carbon atoms) (for example, tetrapentadecyl titanate and the like).
Herein, the alkyl titanate compound is considered to have a function to catalyze crosslinking formation reaction between a resin component and a curing agent component at low temperature and has an effect to significantly manifest low temperature melting property/low temperature curing property when a film is formed from a powder paint composition. However, in the present invention, low temperature melting property/low temperature curing property, storage stability and the like are not necessarily sufficient.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. Hei 8-231893 discloses a thermosetting powder paint composition comprising (A) a glycidyl group-containing acrylic copolymer, (B) an aliphatic polyvalent carboxylic acid, and (C) a linear acid anhydride of an aliphatic polyvalent carboxylic acid, or further (D) a salt of a tert-amine compound with an organic acid and/or (E) a tert-amine compound having a melting point from 20 to 150.degree. C.
However, also in this invention, storage stability and low temperature curing ability can not be admitted as sufficient. And when a salt of a tert-amine compound with an organic acid and/or a tert-amine compound having a melting point from 20 to 150.degree. C. as a curing agent is used in a powder paint composition in which an aliphatic polyvalent carboxylic acid coexists as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-231893, under storage conditions of relatively high temperature and high humidity including a temperature of about 40.degree. C. and a relative humidity of about 90%, there occurs problems such as gelling and poor appearance of a film due to high reactivity of a glycidyl group with a carboxyl group in storage. Further, there are problems such as remarkable yellowing of a film when baking is conducted at a more strict temperature than usual baking condition.


The present invention provides a self-supporting laminate filter medium having an electret lofty spunbond web and an electret microfiber web, wherein the spunbond web has a density between about 0.01 g/cm.sup.3 and about 0.1 g/cm.sup.3.

The present invention is related to a filter medium. More specifically, the present invention is related to a filter medium for gaseous fluids.
Filter media having large interfiber pores and, thus, a high permeability typically contain sparsely packed relatively thick fibers. Such filter media require relatively low driving pressure to provide adequate filtration throughput rate and extended service-life. However, highly permeable filter media, e.g., residential glass fiber HVAC filters, only provide a low filtration efficiency in that the large interfiber pore structures of the media do not have interstitial configurations that are suitable for entrapping fine contaminant particles. Consequently, coarse fiber filter media have not been used in fine particle filtration applications.
In contrast, microfiber nonwoven webs, such as meltblown fiber webs, have been used as fine particle filter media. The densely packed fine fibers of these webs provide fine interfiber pore structures that are highly suitable for mechanically trapping or screening fine particles. However, the fine pore structure of meltblown fiber webs and other similar microfiber webs that have densely packed fine fibers results in a low permeability, creating a high pressure drop across the webs. Consequently, the low permeability of fine fiber filter media requires a high driving pressure to establish an adequate filtration throughput rate. Furthermore, as contaminants accumulate on the surface of the filter media, the contaminants quickly clog the small interfiber pores and further reduce the permeability of the media, thereby even further increasing the pressure drop across the media and rapidly shortening the service-life.
Additionally, microfiber web filter media do not tend to have a physical integrity that is sufficient enough to be self-supporting. Although the physical integrity of microfiber filter media can be improved by increasing the basis weight or thickness thereof, the increased basis weight or thickness exacerbates the pressure drop across the filter media. As such, microfiber web filter media are typically laminated to a supporting layer or fitted in a rigid frame. However, the conventional supporting layer or rigid frame does not typically contribute to the filtration process and only increases the production cost of the filter media.
There remains a need for self-supporting filter media that provide combinations of desirable filter properties, including high filtration efficiency, high permeability, low pressure drop, high throughput rate and long service-life.


A brake apparatus for a vehicle has a master cylinder (11) having a front pressure chamber (R1) and a rear pressure chamber (R2) defined by a drive piston (13) in a cylinder (12). The brake apparatus also has a pressure control valve (44) which can output a control pressure obtained by adjusting a hydraulic pressure from an accumulator (42) to the rear pressure chamber (R2) and wheel cylinders (21RR and 21RL) by coupling wheel cylinders (21FR and 21FL) to the front pressure chamber (R1) and moving a drive valve (56) by an electromagnetic force based on a target control pressure, and which can output a control pressure obtained by adjusting a hydraulic pressure from the accumulator (42) by moving the drive valve (56) by an external piston (58) that is moved by an external pressure from the front pressure chamber (R1), to the rear pressure chamber (R2) and wheel cylinders (21RR and 21RL).

As a brake apparatus for a vehicle or an electronically-controlled brake apparatus for electrically controlling a braking force of the brake apparatus in accordance with a brake operation force, an operation amount, or the like input from a brake pedal, that is, the hydraulic pressure supplied to a wheel cylinder for driving the brake apparatus, an ECB (Electronically controlled Brake) for controlling a braking force by a hydraulic pressure accumulated in an accumulator is known.
In the ECB, the hydraulic pressure boosted by a pump is accumulated in the accumulator and adjusted in response to a brake request of the driver, and the resultant pressure is supplied to the wheel cylinder as the brake apparatus. When the driver operates the brake pedal, a master cylinder generates a hydraulic pressure according to the operation amount. A part of the hydraulic oil flows in a stroke simulator, and the operation amount of the brake pedal is adjusted in accordance with the pedal effort (operation force) on the brake pedal. On the other hand, a brake ECU sets a target reduction speed of the vehicle in accordance with a pedal stroke, determines distribution of braking forces to be applied to the wheels, and a predetermined hydraulic pressure is applied from the accumulator to each of the wheel cylinders.
The ECB sets a proper brake hydraulic pressure according to the brake operation input from the brake pedal and supplies a proper hydraulic pressure from the accumulator to each of the wheel cylinders, thereby electrically controlling the braking force. Consequently, when a power supply unit fails, a proper hydraulic pressure cannot be supplied to the wheel cylinders. There is, for example, a power supply unit for a vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 as a technique for making an electronically controlled unit such as a brake apparatus operate normally even when the power supply unit fails.
The power supply unit for a vehicle described in Patent Document 1 includes, as an auxiliary power supply, a power supply backup unit using a capacitor unit made of a plurality of capacitors. The power supply unit has a power supply device that enables power from the capacitor unit to be supplied also when a battery is normal, and a forced-operation device for making the power supply device operate. In a normal state, the operation state of the power supply unit is checked.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-014754


A planar optical isolator is formed within the silicon surface layer of an SOI structure. A forward-directed signal is applied to an input waveguiding section of the isolator and thereafter propagates through a non-reciprocal waveguide coupling region into an output waveguide section. A rearward-directed signal enters via the output waveguide section and is thereafter coupled into the non-reciprocal waveguide structure, where the geometry of the structure functions to couple only a small amount of the reflected signal into the input waveguide section. In one embodiment, the non-reciprocal structure comprises an N-way directional coupler (with one output waveguide, one input waveguide and N−1 isolating waveguides). In another embodiment, the non-reciprocal structure comprises a waveguide expansion region including a tapered, mode-matching portion coupled to the output waveguide and an enlarged, non-mode matching portion coupled to the input waveguide such that a majority of a reflected signal will be mismatched with respect to the input waveguide section. By cascading a number of such planar SOI-based structures, increased isolation can be achieved—advantageously within a monolithic arrangement.

Optical isolators are well-understood in the art and find uses in optical communication systems, sensors and the like. The purpose of an optical isolator is to eliminate unwanted or reflected optical signals from interfering with a desired optical function. For example, an isolator may be inserted in an optical signal path between a distributed feedback (DFB) laser and an optical fiber. Without the isolator, unwanted optical signals (i.e., reflections) from the optical fiber would couple back into the DFB laser and adversely affect its transmitted optical spectrum. By including an isolator in this design, unwanted reflected signals are absorbed by the isolator and do not reach the laser. Non-planar optical isolators typically employ birefringent crystal plates (e.g., rutiles), half-wave plates and latching garnets or non-latching garnets with external magnets (hereinafter referred to in general as "Faraday isolators").
A planar, waveguide-based isolator has been developed in the optical domain for integration with a semiconductor light emitting diode, such as Fabry-Perot or ring laser diodes, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,705, issued to R. Clauberg et al. on Oct. 31, 1995. In the Clauberg et al. arrangement, a waveguide directional coupler is formed within one layer of a III–V material system (e.g., GaAs, InP, etc.) so as to be integrated with a III–V based light emitting diode. The directional coupler is formed as a rib waveguide directional coupling structure, where at least one branch of the coupler includes an "absorber means" to collect a reflected, unwanted optical signal and reduce its further propagation through the coupler (i.e., "isolates" the reflected signal). While the Clauberg et al. waveguide coupler including at least one isolating branch may be integrated with a III–V light emitted device to increase optical efficiency, the emitter/isolator remains as a discrete component that must ultimately be combined with various other optical and electronic elements that are not well-suited to formation in III–V materials.
Indeed, as the complexity of optical system design increases, the need to monolithically integrate multiple optical and electrical functions onto a single material substrate is becoming a necessity, in order to reduce the size and cost of the optical system. It has recently been recognized that the materials, processes and fabrication techniques used in the production of silicon-based electronic devices can be adapted for the processing of optical elements. Advantageously, it has now been shown that various optical elements and their associated electronic activation devices can be integrated within the same substrate. The base materials system of choice for this simultaneous integration of electronics and optics is silicon-on-insulator (SOI), where the electronics have been well-characterized for many decades using CMOS processing technology, and the optics can be reduced to extremely small sizes as a result of the inherently high index optical guides that can be fabricated in SOI.
The monolithic integration of a conventional Faraday isolator into a planar silicon integrated circuit fabrication process is not considered to be practical. Indeed, the conventional Faraday isolator device relies on the use of the magneto-optic effect to rotate the light and provide isolation. Silicon does not exhibit any such magneto-optic effect. Various materials that do exhibit a magneto-optic effect are not considered to be compatible with conventional silicon semiconductor processing technology.
Thus, a need remains in the art for an optical isolator structure that is compatible with the silicon processing techniques used in the formation of SOI-based optoelectronic devices.

Planar waveguide optical isolator in thin silicon-on-isolator (SOI) structure


Compounds of Formula (I) wherein R1, R3, R4, R5 and X are as defined in the specification, as well as salts, enantiomers thereof and pharmaceutical compositions including the compounds are prepared. They are useful in therapy, in particular in the management of pain

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to compounds that are useful in treating or preventing pain, septic shock, pancreatitis, edema, rhinitis, asthma, colitis, arthritis, hepatorenal syndrome, cancer, bacterial and viral infections, ulcerative colitis, and Alzheimer's Disease. More particularly, the present invention is directed to benzodiazepine derivatives that useful in treating pain.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
Two types of bradykinin receptor are known: The B1 receptor and the B2 receptor. A number of reports indicate an important role for the B2 receptor in the pathophysiology of pain. [e.g. Hall, J. M., Morton, I. K. M. The pharmacology and immunopharmacology of kinin receptors. In: Farmer S G (Ed). The kinin system. London: Academic Press, 1997; 9-44]. Hence, compounds that are B2 antagonists are useful in the relief of pain, including chronic pain and acute pain, e.g., chronic inflammatory pain, neuropathic pain, back pain, migraine, cancer pain, visceral pain, arthritis pain and post-operative pain.

Benzodiazepine derivatives, preparation thereof and use thereof