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A fuel assembly of a known design comprises a plurality of fuel rods and guide thimbles for control rods or for coolant flowing through. The fuel rods and the guide thimbles are retained in predetermined mutual positions by means of a plurality of spacer grids which are arranged at different levels along the fuel assembly. A top and a bottom nozzle are arranged at the respective ends of the fuel assembly for attachment of the guide thimbles. Attachment of the guide thimbles to the top and bottom nozzles is make possible since the guide thimbles extend somewhat outside the respective ends of the fuel rods. In Swedish patent 465 796 such a fuel assembly is described. According to the patent, the guide thimbles are provided at the top with a top sleeve which fits into a corresponding hole arranged through the top nozzle. Inside the top sleeve a guide sleeve is arranged which is insertable through that hole in the top nozzle which corresponds to the respective top sleeve. A locking sleeve is, in turn, arranged insertable into the guide sleeve for interlocking thereof in the top sleeve in connected position, that is, when the top nozzle is fixedly interlocked with the guide thimbles by means of the locking device.
The inside of the top sleeve is provided with an annular slot for cooperation with an outer bead arranged in the guide sleeve. In that end of the guide sleeve which faces the top sleeve, an axially extending slit is arranged and intended to allow compression of the guide sleeve into a diameter which allows inserting the bead into the internal slot of the top sleeve. For reliable interlocking of the locking sleeve to the guide sleeve, the locking sleeve, after insertion into the guide sleeve, may be provided with a bulge for cooperation with the rear side of the outer bead of the guide sleeve; alternatively, the locking sleeve is provided with bulges below the lower end of the guide sleeve, which lower end is arranged in the fuel assembly.
The disadvantage of the arrangement described above is that in those cases where the locking sleeve is not bulged for reliable interlocking, there is a risk that it gets out of position when inserting and withdrawing the control-rod guide thimbles. In those cases where the locking sleeve is provided with a bulge, the bulge is provided after the locking sleeve has become inserted into the guide sleeve, which means that the dimension of the bulge cannot be determined with certainty, and hence nor the interlocking force of the locking sleeve in the guide sleeve. In those cases where the locking sleeve is provided with bulges, a detached locking sleeve and guide sleeve, owing to the damage which arises during the detachment, must be discarded. A further disadvantage is that the location of the bulges described above at the lower part of the guide sleeve means that the locking sleeve must be drawn a relatively long distance in the axial direction to be released from the engagement with the guide sleeve.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to four-component wide angle zoom lenses, particularly of the type whose shortest focal lengths are shorter than the length of the diagonal of the image size, which exhibit a zoom ratio larger than 2.5, and which start with a convergent lens group.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of zoom lenses of the convergent component-preceded four-component type are known. They are shown, for example, in Austrian patent specifications filed Nov. 18, 1974 Application No. A9242/74, and filed Aug. 11, 1975, Application No. A6230/75, Japanese Pat. Publication Nos. Sho 53-9095 and Sho 40-13314, and Japanese Laid-Open Pat. Nos. Sho 52-104137 and Sho 52-69640.
With such convergent component-preceded four-component zoom lenses, achieving compactness requires avoiding a large increase in the diameter of the front component by making the focal length of each of the zoom components as small as possible. However, as the focal length of each of the zoom components is reduced, zooming causes variations of the aberrations and, in particular, makes distortion, astigmatism, and aspherical aberration very prominent. Thus, it is difficult to obtain a properly corrected wide angle zoom lens of this type. Also, though a divergent component-preceded or so-called two-component zoom arrangement is generally more advantageous than a convergent component-preceded four-component zoom type for correcting aberrations in the wide angle positions and shortening the diameter of the front members, when the zoom ratio is increased to as high as 2.5 or more, it becomes very difficult to obtain good aberration correction stability in the telephoto position and to achieve a large increase in the relative aperture.
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The preparation of dense, alumina-based ceramic abrasive grain by sol-gel processes is well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,518,397, 4,623,364, 4,744,802 and 4,314,827. Such alumina based ceramic materials are useful as abrasive grains in a variety of products including sand paper, grinding wheels, and other shaped bodies such as monolithic and composite wear components. Vitrified grinding wheels produced from sol-gel grain are known. Shaped bodies formed from sol-gel alumina may be made by a number of different manufacturing techniques including extrusion molding, compression molding, die pressing, and injection molding.
The most economically desirable process for producing sol-gel alumina shaped bodies comprises forming the sol-gel alumina material into a shaped body by a one-step molding process such as an extrusion/injection or an extrusion/compression molding process, or alternatively first forming a multiplicity of small shaped bodies and then compacting them into a desired final shape. Once formed, the shaped body must be dried to remove most of the free moisture from the gelled body prior to final firing. The free moisture removal is necessary because the presence of free water during final firing results in large shrinkage and, more importantly, unacceptable cracking of the body. Thus, the shaped body must be dried to a moisture content of less than about 3.0, preferably less than about 1.0% by weight, before final firing, and the drying must not generate cracks in the shaped body.
However, due to the extremely fine pore structure of the gelled and shaped green body, it is very difficult to remove the water without causing cracking of the shaped body. Some techniques which have been tried to remove the water include controlled humidity drying and atmospheric condition drying by incorporating polymers to prevent cracking. While these techniques do remove the water, they unfortunately also often cause severe cracking of the shaped body and/or require extremely long periods of time, making them impractical and uneconomic.
Because of the cracking problem, abrasive bodies are currently generally formed from sol-gel aluminas by a multi-step process of forming a gel, drying it, crushing the dried gel, sintering the gel particles to form an alpha-alumina grit, mixing the grit with the conventional vitrified or an organic bonding material, pressing the mixture into a desired shape, drying the shape, and firing it at an elevated temperature. The multistep process is time consuming, costly, and, furthermore, the effectiveness of the seeded gel abrasive may not be fully utilized in the presence of the glass bond.
The present invention solves these problems by enabling the production of shaped bodies from an alumina sol-gel by a one or two step process while substantially avoiding the generation of cracks in the dried body.
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For golfers, flight distance of a ball is one of the important factors when selecting a golf club. Therefore, hitherto, in order to extend the flight distance of the ball, various improvements have been made with regard to shapes and materials of elements forming a golf club.
For example, when the weight of a head is large, kinetic energy provided to a ball when the ball is hit becomes large and the speed of the ball can be increased, and, as a result, a large flight distance can be obtained. Therefore, a technique for increasing a head weight by increasing the proportion of the head weight with respect to the total weight of a golf club has been proposed (e.g., see Patent Literature 1).
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A conventional derailleur mechanism for a bicycle, as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. I391294 or No. I336304, includes a plurality of front sprockets adapted to be securely disposed on a crank axle of the bicycle, a plurality of rear sprockets adapted to be securely mounted to a rear hub of the bicycle, a chain trained on one of the front sprockets and one of the rear sprockets, and front and rear derailleurs respectively disposed at positions corresponding to the front and rear sprockets for derailing the chain onto different ones of the front and rear sprockets.
The conventional derailleur mechanism is applied widely to bicycles, but operation is limited by the number of the front and rear sprockets available. Therefore, there is room for improving the conventional derailleur mechanism since stepless control of the speed of the bicycle may be desirable.
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The present invention is directed to control devices for bicycle transmissions and, more particularly, to an apparatus that uses rotational power from a rotating crank, axle or some other member to assist the operation of the bicycle transmission.
A typical bicycle transmission is operated by a shift operating wire connected between the transmission and a manually operated shift operating device mounted on the handlebar. The rider operates the shift operating device to selectively pull or release the shift operating wire which, in turn, operates the transmission in the desired manner.
One of the goals of bicycle transmission design is to make the transmission easy to operate with a minimum amount of effort. This involves minimizing the force needed to operate the shift operating device as well as minimizing the amount of unnecessary movement of the shift operating device. In the case of bicycle transmissions such as derailleurs which are used to shift a chain from one sprocket to another, the amount of force needed to derail the chain from one sprocket and move it to another can be quite large, especially when the destination sprocket is substantially larger than the originating sprocket and the rider is exerting substantial pedaling force on the chain. The necessary operating force can be reduced by operating the shift operating device when only a small pedaling force is being applied to the chain, but that requires the rider to consciously alter his or her pedaling technique and/or consciously operate the shift operating device only when a small pedaling force is being applied to the chain. That can be very distracting, especially in a racing environment. Also, the actuation ratio of some derailleurs may be somewhat large. Consequently, the shift operating wire must move a substantial distance to fully move the chain from one sprocket to another, thus requiring the rider to move the shift operating device by a correspondingly large amount.
The present invention is directed to an assist device for shifting a bicycle transmission wherein very little force is needed to operate the transmission, the shift operating wire needs to be pulled or released only by a very small amount, and the assist device automatically determines when to perform the shifting operation. In one embodiment of the present invention, an assisting apparatus that uses power from a rotating member to assist the operation of a bicycle transmission includes a mounting member; a cam member coupled to the mounting member for rotation around a cam axis, wherein the cam member has a cam surface; a cam follower cooperating with the cam surface for moving in response to rotation of the cam member; a transmission actuating element coupling member for communicating movement of the cam follower to a transmission actuating element; a first coupling member coupled for rotation of the cam member, wherein the first coupling member moves between a first engaged position and a first disengaged position; an operating member for moving the first coupling member to the first engaged position; and a decoupling member that moves the |first coupling member to the first disengaged position in response to a rotational position of the cam member. The first coupling member selectively engages and disengages the rotating member so that the rotational force of the rotating member may be used to assist the shifting operation.
In a more specific embodiment, the cam follower comprises a cam follower lever having a first end that cooperates with the cam surface and a second end. The transmission actuating element coupling member, which may be a cable connector, may be coupled to the cam follower lever. The operating member, which may take the form of an operating lever, may include a hook or ledge for supporting the first coupling member in the first disengaged position. In such embodiments, the first coupling member moves radially inwardly relative to the cam axis to move to the first engaged position and thereby engage the rotating member, and the first coupling member moves radially outwardly relative to the cam axis to move to the first disengaged position and thereby disengage from the rotating member. The first coupling member rotates together with the cam member when the first coupling member engages the rotating member.
In such an embodiment of the present invention directed to a two-speed assist device, a second coupling member is coupled for rotation of the cam member, wherein the second coupling member moves between a second engaged position for engaging the rotating member and a second disengaged position for disengaging from the rotating member. The second coupling member is spaced apart from the first coupling member, and the first coupling member and the second coupling member are both coupled for rotation together with the cam member. The operating member, which again may take the form of an operating lever, includes a first control surface that supports the first coupling member in the first disengaged position when the cam member is in an initial position. In this case the mounting member includes a second control surface that supports the second coupling member in the second disengaged position when the cam member is in the initial position. After the cam member rotates together with the first and second coupling members by a prescribed amount, first disengaged position. A control surface on the operating lever returns the second coupling member to the second disengaged position. Thus, in this embodiment the cam member has two stationary steady-state positions. The cam surface may be configured such that the cam follower moves the transmission actuating wire to two different transmission operating positions.
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High-performance computing (HPC) has seen a substantial increase in usage and interests in recent years. Historically, HPC was generally associated with so-called “Super computers.” Supercomputers were introduced in the 1960s, made initially and, for decades, primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC), Cray Research and subsequent companies bearing Cray's name or monogram. While the supercomputers of the 1970s used only a few processors, in the 1990s machines with thousands of processors began to appear, and more recently massively parallel supercomputers with hundreds of thousands of “off-the-shelf” processors have been implemented.
There are many types of HPC architectures, both implemented and research-oriented, along with various levels of scale and performance. However, a common thread is the interconnection of a large number of compute units, such as processors and/or processor cores, to cooperatively perform tasks in a parallel manner. Under recent System on a Chip (SoC) designs and proposals, dozens of processor cores or the like are implemented on a single SoC, using a 2-dimensional (2D) array, torus, ring, or other configuration. Additionally, researchers have proposed 3D SoCs under which 100's or even 1000's of processor cores are interconnected in a 3D array. Separate multicore processors and SoCs may also be closely-spaced on server boards, which, in turn, are interconnected in communication via a backplane or the like. Another common approach is to interconnect compute units in racks of servers (e.g., blade servers and modules) that are typically configured in a 2D array. IBM's Sequoia, alleged to be the world's fastest supercomputer, comprises a 2D array of 96 racks of server blades/modules totaling 1,572,864 cores, and consumes a whopping 7.9 Megawatts when operating under peak performance.
One of the performance bottlenecks for HPCs is the latencies resulting from transferring data over the interconnects between compute nodes. Typically, the interconnects are structured in an interconnect hierarchy, with the highest speed and shortest interconnects within the processors/SoCs at the top of the hierarchy, while the latencies increase as you progress down the hierarchy levels. For example, after the processor/SoC level, the interconnect hierarchy may include an inter-processor interconnect level, an inter-board interconnect level, and one or more additional levels connecting individual servers or aggregations of individual servers with servers/aggregations in other racks.
It is common for one or more levels of the interconnect hierarchy to employ different protocols. For example, the interconnects within an SoC are typically proprietary, while lower levels in the hierarchy may employ proprietary or standardized interconnects. The different interconnect levels also will typically implement different Physical (PHY) layers. As a result, it is necessary to employ some type of interconnect bridging between interconnect levels. In addition, bridging may be necessary within a given interconnect level when heterogeneous compute environments are implemented.
At lower levels of the interconnect hierarchy, standardized interconnects such as Ethernet (defined in various IEEE 802.3 standards), and InfiniBand are used. At the PHY layer, each of these standards support wired connections, such as wire cables and over backplanes, as well as optical links. Ethernet is implemented at the Link Layer (layer 2) in the OSI 7-layer model, and is fundamentally considered a link layer protocol. The InfiniBand standards define various OSI layer aspects for InfiniBand covering OSI layers 1-4.
Current Ethernet protocols do not have any inherent facilities to support reliable transmission of data over an Ethernet link. This is similar for the link-layer implementation of InfiniBand. Each address reliable transmission at a higher layer, such as TCP/IP. Under TCP, reliable delivery of data is implemented via explicit ACKnowledgements (ACKs) that are returned from a receiver (at an IP destination address) to a sender (at an IP source address) in response to receiving IP packets from the sender. Since packets may be dropped at one of the nodes along a route between a sender and receiver (or even at a receiver if the receiver has inadequate buffer space), the explicit ACKs are used to confirm successful delivery for each packet (noting that a single ACK response may confirm delivery of multiple IP packets). The transmit-ACK scheme requires significant buffer space to be maintained at each of the source and destination devices (in case a dropped packet or packets needs to be retransmitted), and also adds additional processing and complexity to the network stack. For example, as it is possible for an ACK to be dropped, the sender also employs a timer that is used to trigger a retransmission of a packet for which an ACK has not been received within the timer's timeout period. Each ACK consumes precious link bandwidth and creates additional processing overhead. In addition, the use of timers sets an upper limit on link round trip delay.
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Generally, utilization of a noble metal as an electrode material for an electrochemical sensor can achieve a high stability and a high reproducibility of detection and is a well-known technique in the field of electrochemistry. But, in the sensor, the only demand of the noble metal is a surface of an electrode, and other surfaces of the noble metal are unnecessary. Especially, for a disposable strip, the noble metal surfaces rather than the electrode are all squandered. The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a structure and a manufacturing method of a low-price metal electrode in a disposable electrochemical sensor strip for significantly reducing the demand of the noble metal and further reducing the cost.
The metal electrode according to the present invention also can be applied in various metal-catalyzed electrodes (not only noble metals) with a direct catalysis, besides in a noble electrode without chemical interference. The disposable electrode and the sensor according to the present invention can be suitable for all kinds of electrochemical detection electrodes, biosensors, fluid biochemical sensor (e.g., sewage, insecticide concentration, and heavy metal sensor strips), domestic medical application (e.g., blood glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol sensor strip).
The principle of electrochemical sensor has been developed and applied in detecting all kinds of fluid, biochemical ingredients. An electrochemical sensor may have different configurations for conforming to different functions. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows that a basic framework of an electrochemical detecting device 10 includes the following components:
1. A container 12 for containing a fluid sample to be an electrochemical measure region 13.
2. A chemical reagent 14 for chemically reacting with an analyte contained in the fluid sample 11 and generating an output signal with an electric parameter, wherein the electric parameter corresponds to a biochemical ingredient of the analyte contained in the fluid sample 11. For example, if the fluid sample 11 is human blood and the analyte is glucose, the chemical reagent 14 is basically a glucose oxidase and a complex thereof.
3. Plural testing electrodes, as shown in FIG. 1, a counter electrode 15, a working electrode 16, and a reference electrode 17, for transmitting a working voltage for an electrochemical reaction from an electrochemical meter 18 to the container 12 and again transmitting the electric parameter to the electrochemical meter 18 after the analyte contained in the fluid sample 11 undergoes an electrochemical reaction so that the electrochemical meter 18 can process a numerical analysis and then display the result thereon.
4. An electrochemical meter 18 for providing the working voltage (or current) needed by the electrochemical reaction and measuring the electric parameter (output voltage or current) produced by the electrochemical reaction to record, or process the numerical analysis and display the testing data.
Meanwhile, plural testing electrodes can only include the counter electrode and the working electrode or further include a reference electrode. Moreover, a detecting electrode could be included as a fourth electrode. The number of the plural testing electrodes is varied according to the requirement of the electrochemical reaction.
The electrodes of different functions are made of different materials. In the laboratory, the counter electrode 15 is made of any conductive material, however the lower the conductive resistance the better the effect, such as a copper, a silver, a nickel, a graphite, a carbon, a gold, a platinum or other conductive materials, or can be a conductive membrane electrode formed by printing a carbon paste or a silver paste. The most common structure of the reference electrode 17 is a modified electrode 171 produced by means of printing or electroplating an Ag/AgCl film. Because the electric potential of the Ag/AgCI film is quite stable, it is extensively used as the reference electrode.
The selection of the working electrode 16 is more complex and can be sorted as two types, one is an electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode and the other is a metal-catalyzed electrode. The electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode has a chemical reagent immobilized thereon, wherein the chemical reagent includes an enzyme (such as a glucose oxidase) and a redox mediator (such as a potassium ferricyanide which is extensively used in the glucose testing piece). The enzyme and the analyte will react with each other to produce a new chemical compound (such as H2O2), the electrons generated from the redox reaction between the mediator and H2O2 is utilized to produce an electric signal, and through the electrode, the electric parameter can be outputted. The main purpose of this kind of electrode is only simply a conductor and is not involved in chemical catalysis. However, the material of the electrode should be selected specifically to avoid a chemical reaction with the fluid sample 11 or the chemical reagent 14 thereby interfering with the result.
The electrode without the chemical interference should be made of an inert conductive material, which is generally a noble metal (such as a gold, a platinum, a palladium, or a rhodium), or a carbon containing material (such as a carbon based screen printing electrode or a graphite bar). Furthermore, because carbon and the noble metal have no chemical reactivity in a low temperature, the chemical interference would take place. However, because the noble metal is more expensive, the carbon made electrode is usually applied as the electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode.
As to the metal-catalyzed electrode, it is made of a material which will directly and electrochemically reacts with the chemical reagent, the analyte, or the derivatives thereof, and has an ability of direct catalysis or a function of a single selectivity for the analyte. Thus, the mediator is not needed to add to the chemical reagent. This kind of electrode, not like the electrode only needs to be made of a chemically inactive metal, is generally made of a material that must have an ability to catalyze the reaction. Therefore, the material thereof should not be limited to be a noble metal but matched with the analyte, such as a copper, a titanium, a nickel, a gold, a platinum, a palladium, or a rhodium . . . etc., (for example, a rhodium electrode has an excellent ability to directly catalyze H2O2).
The two types of metal electrodes described above both have a high cost of the material and the processes when being formed under conventional manufacturing methods. This is especially true regarding the noble metal. Consequently, although the noble metal has a better stability, it cannot be the mainstream of the disposable medical treatment testing in family. Nowadays, the biggest requirement of the biosensor is the medical treatment in family for a blood glucose, a uric acid or a cholesterol . . . etc. And, the electrode used by these biosensors mostly belongs to the electron-transfer mediator modified working electrode, and thus the disposable testing sheet of the biosensor can have the carbon base screen printing electrode printed thereon for reducing the cost, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,116, which is a typical example.
Please refer to FIG. 2 which shows the example described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,817. In this patent, two conductive metal tracks 201 and 202 both coated by a palladium are fixed on an insulative backing 203 with an identical size for being the metal electrode of the sensor. A working electrode 204 and a counter electrode 205, electrode leads 206 and 207, and signal output terminals 208 and 209 are all integrally formed by palladium. However, the positions do necessarily be formed by palladium are only two tiny sections of the working electrode 204 and the counter electrode 205, and the other portions can only be formed by materials having a conductive characteristic rather than noble metal-palladium.
Further refer to FIG. 3 in which shows the example described in EP 1 098 000 and is another manufacturing method for the metal electrode. In this patent, an insulation sheet 301 previously injection molded has positions of a pattern 302 surrounded by recesses and islands 306, an electrode lead 303, and output terminals 304 and 305. Then, metallic deposit proceeds to deposit a metal layer on the surface of plastic insulation sheet. Due to all the surface of the insulation sheet being covered by deposited metal, an additional process has to be proceeded for removal of metal layer on the islands and remaining the patterns, the electrode leads and the output terminals. Thus, this method has a high cost and is only suitable for the electrode only formed by one kind of metal.
According to the technical defects described above, for reducing the manufacturing cost of the metal electrode in the disposable sensor strip and overcoming the problem of wasting the noble metal, the applicant devoted himself to develop a “structure and manufacturing method of disposable electrochemical sensor strip” through a series of experiments, tests and researches. In addition to effectively solving the wasting problem of the noble metal in prior arts, the electrodes according to the present invention can be formed or modified in advance respectively in different electroplating containers in a great quantity, and then be assembled to an isolating sheet for reducing manufacturing time thereof.
Furthermore, in addition to be employed as the noble metal electrode requiring no chemical interference, the metal electrode according to the present invention can also be employed as the metal-catalyzed electrode which has a direct catalyzing function. And, the disposable electrode and the sensor according to the present invention can be applied to all kinds of electrochemical testing electrodes, biosensors, biochemical analyte sensors for fluid (e.g., testing strips for a sewage, a pesticide content, a heavy metal ingredient etc.), all kinds of domestically medical treatment testing strips (e.g., testing strips for a blood glucose, a uric acid, and a cholesterol).
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Walls of the vasculature, particularly arterial walls, may develop areas of pathological dilatation called aneurysms. As is well known, aneurysms have thin, weak walls that are prone to rupturing. Aneurysms can be the result of the vessel wall being weakened by disease, injury or a congenital abnormality. Aneurysms could be found in different parts of the body with the most common being abdominal aortic aneurysms and brain or cerebral aneurysms in the neurovasculature. When the weakened wall of an aneurysm ruptures, it can result in death, especially if it is a cerebral aneurysm that ruptures.
Aneurysms are generally treated by excluding the weakened part of the vessel from the arterial circulation. For treating a cerebral aneurysm, such reinforcement is done in many ways including: (i) surgical clipping, where a metal clip is secured around the base of the aneurysm; (ii) packing the aneurysm with small, flexible wire coils (micro-coils); (iii) using embolic materials to “fill” an aneurysm; (iv) using detachable balloons or coils to occlude the parent vessel that supplies the aneurysm; and (v) intravascular stenting.
Intravascular stents are known in the medical arts for the treatment of vascular stenoses or aneurysms. Stents are prostheses that expand radially or otherwise within a vessel or lumen to provide support against the collapse of the vessel.
In conventional methods of introducing a compressed stent into a vessel and positioning it within in an area of stenosis or an aneurysm, a guiding catheter having a distal tip is percutaneously introduced into the vascular system of a patient. The guiding catheter is advanced within the vessel until its distal tip is proximate the stenosis or aneurysm. A guidewire positioned within an inner lumen of a second, inner catheter and the inner catheter are advanced through the distal end of the guiding catheter. The guidewire is then advanced out of the distal end of the guiding catheter into the vessel until the distal portion of the guidewire carrying the compressed stent is positioned at the point of the lesion within the vessel. Once the compressed stent is located at the lesion, the stent may be released and expanded so that it supports the vessel.
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All manner and variety of paddle and ball games are known. Many claim to improve and develop manual dexterity and muscular coordination, stimulate the cardiovascular system, and generally contribute to physical fitness. Many of the games require more than one player, e.g., table tennis. Others use objects other than balls in a variety of circumstances.
Several prior patents relating to paddle and missile games are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 578,491 issued to Knowles on Mar. 9, 1897, discloses an elongate paddle with a conical receptacle adapted to receive the pointed end of a dart. The dart is kept in motion by hitting it into the air with the reverse side of the paddle and then caught and seated again in the receptacle. U.S. Pat. No. 986,157 issued Mar. 7, 1911 to Fleming, discloses an hour-glass shaped paddle having a shallow-sided ball-receiving cup in the top half of the paddle and a ball-receiving aperture in the bottom half. A ball is played off surfaces and caught in the cup or through the aperture. U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,785 issued Dec. 12, 1961 to O'Brien, discloses a paddle with a relatively shallow receptacle affixed to one face of the paddle and an aperture or shallow pocket between the receptacle and the proximate end of the paddle opposite the handle end. The aperture or pocket is a seat for a small playing piece such as a jackstone, ball, token or disk. The game is played by tossing the playing piece into the air and catching it in the receptacle as it descends. U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,622 issued Oct. 5, 1971 to Haroski, discloses a basket that is attached to a player's hips or waist for receiving a tethered ball attached proximate the receptacle. By the user moving his or her hips, the ball is set in motion and caught in the basket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,262 issued Jul. 23, 1974 to Grzybowski et al., discloses a hand-held vertical support having a plurality of affixed basket-like containers and a tethered ball proximate the bottom of the support. The ball is hurled upward and the support is moved to attempt to catch the ball in one of the baskets.
Despite this diversity of ball and paddle type games in the prior art, a game has not heretofore been developed that is specifically designed to be easily and effectively used by both children and adults for the purpose of improving eye-hand coordination, motor response time, agility, and concentration. The prior art also does not provide a ball and paddle game that can be played on virtually any surface, in any environment, indoors or outdoors, by one or more players, and that maximizes the challenge levels possible in its use by incorporating a feature designed to introduce unpredictability in the trajectory of the ball.
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Radiation-cured microstructures have been described by Jacobsen et al. in “Compression behavior of micro-scale truss structures formed from self-propagating polymer waveguides”, Acta Materialia 55, (2007) 6724-6733, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. One method and system of creating polymer materials with ordered microtruss structures is disclosed by Jacobsen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,382,959, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The system includes at least one collimated light source selected to produce a collimated light beam; a reservoir having a photo-monomer adapted to polymerize by the collimated light beam; and a mask having at least one aperture and positioned between the at least one collimated light source and the reservoir. The at least one aperture is adapted to guide a portion of the collimated light beam into the photo-monomer to form the at least one polymer waveguide through a portion of a volume of the photo-monomer. Microtruss materials produced by the method and system are further disclosed by Jacobsen in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/801,908, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A polymer material that is exposed to radiation and results in a self-focusing or self-trapping of light by formation of polymer waveguides is also described by Kewitsch et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,288, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Products formed by bilayer resist processes have also been described, for example, by Orvek et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,739, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. A first resist material sensitive to near UV or violet light is deposited over the top surface of a body. A second resist material sensitive to deep UV light is deposited over the first resist material. The second resist material is exposed to patterned illumination of deep UV light, and then exposed areas removed. The first resist material is illuminated by a flood or blanket exposure of near UV or violet light. The bilayer resist product is thereby formed.
Further known methods for fabricating microstructures include rapid prototyping technology, such as stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, and LIGA (a German acronym for Lithography, Electroplating, and Molding). A particular rapid prototyping technology for manufacturing microstructures is known as electrochemical fabrication, for example, EFAB™ developed by Microfabrica Inc. located in Van Nuys, Calif. The electrochemical fabrication process typically begins by depositing a sacrificial material onto a blank substrate in a desired pattern. The sacrificial material supports the microstructure, like scaffolding, during the fabrication process. A structural material is then deposited onto the sacrificial material. The sacrificial and structural materials are then precisely planarized, and the process repeated until the microstructure is fully assembled. The sacrificial material is ultimately removed, for example, by a highly selective etching procedure to leave the completed microstructure formed from the structural material. The use of electrochemical fabrication facilitates the manufacturing of microstructures with an extraordinary level of geometrical complexity, including the ability to create assemblies out of separate, independently-formed components. However, electrochemical fabrication and other conventional rapid prototyping methods are undesirably expensive and time consuming, particularly for applications such as automotive fuel cells.
There is a continuing need for a method for fabricating radiation-cured structures that is less expensive and time consuming in comparison to conventional rapid-prototyping methods. Desirably, the method facilitates the cost-effective formation of radiation-cured components for fuel cell and other applications.
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The present invention relates to a moulded element, in particular in the form of a panel or plate, which comprises a compressed mixture of binder and filler. The present invention furthermore relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a moulded element, in particular a plate, wherein a mixture comprising binder and filler is compressed and heated. In addition to that, the present invention relates to floor plates, a sports hall provided with such floor plates, and also to ceiling plates, promotional gifts, objects of art and furniture.
A moulded element of this kind is known from European patent No. 0 338 047, wherein a granulate of hard polyurethane foam and integral foam is used as the polyurethane, whereby the amount of granulate of integral foam ranges between 10 and 99% by weight. The fillers that are mentioned are glass fibres, textile fibres, asbestos, leather and cellulose. In addition, elongated rubber particles may be used as a filler. The filler content is 50% at most. Although it is stated in Example 1 of said European patent that such a moulded element possesses properties which make it suitable for use as a plate element for floors in sports halls, the sports engineering laboratory of Stichting NOC*NSF at Papendal has declared such plates unfit for use as a sports surface, because they do not possess the required mechanical properties. In particular the elasticity of such a floor is unsuitable for indoor sports.
International patent application WO 93/19917 relates to a method for recycling polyurethane hard foam, whereby it is stated that cellulose in the form of paper and paste can be added to a content of 80%.
British patent application no. 2,030,504 relates to a fibre-reinforced material made of expanded plastics, which is intended for use in the packaging industry. Wood fibres, glass fibres and shredded paper are mentioned as examples of fibrous materials for reinforcing the material which is made from plastics.
German Offenlegungsschrift no. 44 29 355 relates to a method for manufacturing parts of the interior of cars, for example, wherein a material consisting of natural fibres is added as a reinforcing material. It is stated in column 3, lines 41-56, that scraps of paper, preferably obtained from waste paper or from industrial paper waste flows, may be used.
British patent no. 1,574,006 relates to objects in which waste paper is incorporated. The objects thus obtained may be used as construction materials, for example.
European patent application no. 0 565 013 relates to a plate material based on paper and to a method of manufacturing same. The only paper source that is mentioned therein is waste paper.
International patent application WO 90/13403 relates to a method for manufacturing a flat moulded element made from a synthetic resin, in which cellulose-like materials are incorporated.
In addition to that it has been proposed to use residual paper as a filler, but it was considered impossible to use paper in view of the moisture absorption by the paper, which would make the material unsuitable for incorporation in such plates. In view of the large amounts of banknotes that will become available the next few years as a result of the introduction of a new currency in Europe, it is desirable to find a useful destination for these banknotes.
The object of the present invention is to provide a moulded element, in particular in the shape of a plate, which does not exhibit the above drawbacks. In addition to that it is desirable to provide an application which constitutes a technically and economically sound solution for the problem of finding a way to recycle used bank-paper in an efficient manner.
According to the present invention, the moulded element as referred to in the introduction is characterized in that banknotes are used as a filler.
The moulded element obtained according to the present invention is suitable for use as a floor element, in particular for sports surfaces, as an element for manufacturing furniture, doors, ceiling elements and wall elements, whereby said moulded element is in particular suitable for use as a constructional element for building purposes. Another application of the moulded element obtained according to the present invention is in the field of objects of art, decorative products and promotional gifts, such as attachxc3xa9-cases, serving trays, birdhouses and the like. The present moulded element is in particular suitable for applications where usually wooden elements, chipboards and compressed plates are used, whereby said materials can be substituted for the moulded element obtained according to the present invention, which is characterized in that it comprises banknotes as a filler.
In a preferred embodiment of the moulded element according to the invention, ground, shredded banknotes are used as a filler. The use of shredded banknotes ensures that a homogeneous mixture of binder and filler is produced, so that a homogeneous moulded element is obtained after a heat treatment under compression.
The percentage of banknotes generally ranges between 20 and 98% by weight, in particular 25-95% by weight, preferably 40-80% by weight, in particular 50-75% by weight, based on the weight of the eventual moulded element. If the percentage of banknotes in the eventual moulded element is lower than 20% by weight, the mechanical properties that are obtained will be inadequate. In addition, the cost price of the eventual moulded element will become higher when the percentage of banknotes is small, which is undesirable in practice. If the percentage of banknotes in the moulded element is higher than 98% by weight, the eventual moulded element will be unsuitable for use as, for example, a plate for sports surfaces. Experiments have shown that in particular a high E-modulus, which parameter is important for sports surfaces, is obtained if the percentage of banknotes is 50-75% by weight. For other applications, such as furniture, wall elements, ceiling elements and the like, wherein the E-modulus is not a decisive parameter, the percentage of banknotes is preferably 40-80% by weight, based on the weight of the eventual moulded element. An especially desirable moulded element is composed of 94% by weight of banknotes and 6% by weight of binder. In certain embodiments it is moreover desirable to use one or more usual fillers which are known in the art, for example talc, carbon black, silicon dioxide and the like, in addition to the banknotes which make up the present filler. It should be understood, however, that the intended use of the eventual moulded element determines the special banknotesxe2x80x94binder ratio, whereby the percentage of banknotes according to the invention preferably ranges between 20 and 98% by weight.
The binder to be used is not particularly critical. Suitable binders are for example compounds containing isocyanate groups, mineral binders, thermosetting binders, such as melamine resins and phenol resins, polyester resins and epoxy resins. Such binders may be used alone or in a mixture thereof, whereby it is preferred in some embodiments that initiators are present. In certain embodiments it is preferred to use one or more solvents, in order to improve the flow characteristics of the mixture of binder and filler. Furthermore, it is in particular preferred to use a compound containing isocyanate groups as a binder, so that a uniform moulded element is obtained after a heat treatment under compression.
In a special embodiment of the moulded element according to the present invention, it is preferred to add polyurethane to the mixture of binder and banknotes. Polyurethane has a positive effect on the integrity of the eventual moulded element, whereby the amount of polyurethane is in particular not limited. Generally the amount of banknotes will range between 20 and 98% by weight, preferably between 40 and 80% by weight, in particular between 50 and 75% by weight, based on the weight of the eventual moulded element, whereby the remaining amount consists of binder, polyurethane and furthermore one or more additives, as will be described hereafter.
The moulded element according to the present invention may furthermore contain one or more additives selected from the group consisting of pigments, fire-retardants, plasticizers, stabilizers, and agents which protect against UV-radiation. As already said before, the moulded element according to the present invention may also contain one or more of the fillers which are known in the art in addition to the banknotes which make up the present filler.
The present invention furthermore relates to a method for manufacturing a moulded element, in particular a plate, wherein a mixture comprising binder and filler is compressed and heated, which method is according to the invention characterized in that a layer of the mixture is applied to a first substrate, after which a second substrate is placed on top of the first substrate on which said mixture is present, and in that the assembly of first substrate, mixture and second substrate thus obtained is subjected to a heat treatment under compression so as to form the moulded element.
In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, at least one of the substrate layers is removed after said heat treatment under compression, in particular both substrate layers are removed. According to such a follow-up treatment, the moulded element that is obtained is directly suitable for further use, for example as a floor element. It is preferred to carry out the removal of such substrate layers by grinding, milling and/or scouring, because the substrate can be removed very precisely in this manner without damaging the eventual moulded element.
In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, paper is used as a substrate. The use of paper as a substrate layer enables easy removal of the substrate following the heat treatment under compression by simply grinding, milling and/or scouring. Moreover, the mixture of binder, banknotes, possibly polyurethane and one or more additives, as already disclosed, provides a proper bond to the paper substrate. In another embodiment it is preferred to use a plastic foil as a substrate. Such a foil possesses a good resistance to heating, and consequently it is not susceptible to the formation of tears or cracks during the heat treatment. In addition, such a foil improves the surface structure of the starting mixture to be cured. Suitable substrate materials are furthermore laminate materials, for example HPL (High Pressure Laminates) and CPL (Continuous Pressing Laminates), melamine resins, metal foils and the like. Such substrate materials are used in particular for the purpose of improving the surface of the eventual moulded element. Thus it is possible according to the present invention to use a substrate having a specific structure, for example a relief pattern. The relief pattern of the substrate will be transferred to the surface of the moulded element, so that the moulded element can be given special decorative aspects. After the substrate has been removed from the moulded element, said moulded element is cut into separate moulded elements. The moulded elements thus cut are suitable for use as a plate element for sports surfaces, for example.
The present invention furthermore relates to a device for manufacturing a moulded element, in particular a plate, which device consists of a compression and heating unit and a unit for supplying starting material, and the present device is characterized in that it comprises at least one unit for supplying substrate to the compression and heating unit, whereby the unit for supplying starting material is positioned so that the starting material is applied to the substrate being supplied before said compression and heat treatment in said compression and heating unit takes place. The present device preferably comprises two units for supplying substrate, wherein the first substrate unit provides the first substrate on which the starting material is present, and the second substrate unit provides the second substrate which is placed on top of the first substrate on which starting material is present. Furthermore, the invention preferably comprises a unit for removing substrate, in which unit a grinding, scouring or milling operation is carried out. A preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention moreover comprises a cutting unit, in which the moulded element, from which the substrate has been removed, is cut into separate moulded elements. It should be understood that in certain embodiments the supply unit for starting material is provided with mixing elements which function to maintain a homogeneous mixture of starting materials. Such a mixture comprises binder and filler, in particular banknotes, to which one or more special components as described in detail above are added.
The present invention furthermore relates to a sports hall comprising a floor which is built up of plates, which floor is according to the present invention characterized in that it is composed of moulded elements according to the present invention. It is also possible, however, to use the moulded element according to the present invention as a decorative or constructional element in for example a domestic environment, namely as a floor in a kitchen or as a wall element or a ceiling element. The present moulded element is in particular suitable for being used as a kitchen work top. Decorative uses are for example promotional gifts, serving trays and furniture. The present moulded element is furthermore in particular suitable for making objects of art thereof.
The present invention will be explained in more detail hereafter by means of special examples. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is by no means limited to said special examples and the uses mentioned therein.
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There is a growing demand for magnetic recording/reproducing devices which have an increased recording density due to the amount of information being stored increasing constantly. Specifically, there is a need for a magnetic head having high sensitivity and high output due to the demands for increased recording density. To meet such a requirement, efforts have been made to decrease a distance between a magnetic disk medium and a write element or a read element of the magnetic head. However, there are problems associated with each technique currently used.
One specific technique currently used, as described in Japanese Patent Office (JPO) Pub. No. JP-A-2004-241092, which is put to practical use, has a heating element provided near a head element, and a head element portion is heated during reading and/or writing data to/from a magnetic disk so that the portion is expanded (such that it protrudes toward the magnetic disk) so as to approach a surface of the magnetic disk. In a slider having the heating element, an air-bearing surface (ABS) projects near the heating element due to thermal expansion of the heating element and a peripheral member of the element, so that the ABS approaches the magnetic disk surface.
However, a position of the heating element does not always correspond to a position of the read element or the write element, leading to a problem where an ABS portion close to the heating element projects as shown in FIG. 3, and an interval between the ABS and a disk cannot be decreased further at a position of each of the write and read elements.
As an attempt for solving the problem, a method has been proposed, as described in JPO Pub. Nos. JP-A-2004-241105 and JP-A-2006-40447, in which power is applied to a heating element during polishing so that a portion to be projected is depressed beforehand. Furthermore, a method has been proposed, as described in JPO Pub. No. JP-A-2006-40447, in which heating elements are provided at two places in one magnetic head, including a place near an ABS and a place relatively spaced from the ABS, and the heating element near the ABS is heated during polishing of the ABS in a manufacturing process of the magnetic head.
However, these methods introduce more problems that have not been adequately dealt with, and prevent their uses from aiding the manufacturing of magnetic heads.
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1. Field
The following description relates to an organic light-emitting diode and a flat display device including the same, and more particularly, to an organic light-emitting diode including a multi-layered hole transport layer, wherein the multi-layered hole transport layer is doped with a cyano group-containing compound and a flat display device including the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are self-emitting devices, have advantages such as a wide viewing angle, excellent contrast, quick response, high brightness, and excellent driving voltage characteristics, and can provide multicolored images.
A general OLED has a structure that includes a substrate, and further includes an anode, a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EML), an electron transport layer (ETL), and a cathode which are sequentially stacked on the substrate. In this regard, the HTL, the EML, and the ETL are organic layers formed of organic compounds.
An operating principle of an OLED having the above-described structure is as follows. When a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, holes injected from the anode move to the EML via the HTL, and electrons injected from the cathode move to the EML via the ETL. The holes and electrons recombine in the EML to generate excitons. When the excitons drop from an excited state to a ground state, light is emitted.
An OLED has not had fully satisfactory characteristics in terms of luminance, efficiency, driving stability, lifetime, and the like, and thus there is an urgent need for development of various improvement technologies. For example, there is a need to develop an OLED having high driving voltage and long lifetime.
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The invention relates to information gathering systems and methods, in particular to systems and methods for storing information found on Internet web pages.
When searching for information on the net, a researcher often finds a number of pages with relevant information. However these pages are of various relevancy to the search and often only of partial interest to the searcher.
When relevant information is found, the source or the download link or URL of this information is noted for reference and later retrieval. Current methods for noting the source includes manually or using a browsers bookmark system, saving each page to a local storage medium, or copying information to other document editors.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,067,565 to Horyitz describes a system that downloads an entire webpage or selected data types therein, in the background. Such system however does not enable selection, storage or organization of a user selected snippet of an already displayed web page.
While each known system has its advantages, each also has disadvantages. These methods can be time consuming, untidy, lacking a way to keep records about the content, distracting from the main purpose of the information retrieval and inadequate for sharing with more than one person.
Furthermore, where people are involved in a group project, the above approaches do not lend themselves to automatically generating a common shared resource.
What is needed therefore is a method of storing the portions of displayed web pages (i.e., snippets) that are of particular interest to the user. Further, what is need is a system and method of categorizing and organizing these snippets.
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The present invention generally relates to apparatus for extracting juice from fruit, and more particularly, to an improved low-cost strainer tube for use in juice extractors.
The complete commercial processing of citrus fruit to obtain juice therefrom today includes the dejuicing and discharging of the pulp and internal membranes of the fruit, the breaking up and ejecting of the peel, the extracting and collecting of the peeled oil, and the separate extracting and collecting of the fruit juice.
In a typical extractor a whole unpeeled citrus fruit is placed between two cups, each of which is formed by a plurality of circumferentially spaced fingers and one of which is provided with a passage to allow discharge of juice and pulp from the fruit. The fingers of the upper and lower cup are arranged in an interdigitating relationship so that as cups are brought together, the cavity between the cups is progressively reduced to squeeze juice from fruit within the cavity. The peel of the fruit is shredded and ejected through an annular opening adjacent to the upper central portion of the upper cup. The juice-bearing material of the fruit is forced downwardly through the passage in the lower cup and into a perforated strainer tube which communicates with the lower cup. As the fruit is squeezed between the cups, an orifice tube is forced upwardly within the strainer tube to exert pressure on the juice-bearing material within the strainer tube to express the raw juice through the perforations therein. The raw juice expressed through the strainer tube is collected within a sump or manifold which extends transversely of the machine through the lower cup assemblies.
The movement of the orifice tube within the strainer tube and squeezing of juice through the perforations cause wearing of the strainer tube which is expensive to replace both because of the cost of the manufacturing of the tube and of the time required in replacing the tube.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to secure and multi-level secure (MLS) networks and in particular to a system and method for providing security and multi-level security for computer devices utilized in non-secure networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-level secure (MLS) networks provide a means of transmitting data of different classification levels (i.e. Unclassified, Confidential, Secret and Top Secret) over the same physical network. To be secure, the network must provide the following security functions: data integrity protection, separation of data types, access control, authentication and user identification and accountability.
Data integrity protection ensures that data sent to a terminal is not modified en route. Header information and security level are also protected against uninvited modification. Data integrity protection can be performed by check sum routines or through transformation of data, which includes private key encryption and public key encryption.
Separation of data types controls the ability of a user to send or receive certain types of data. Data types can include voice, video, E-Mail, etc. For instance, a host might not be able to handle video data, and, therefore, the separation function would prevent the host from receiving video data.
Access control restricts communication to and from a host. In rule based access control, access is determined by the system assigned security attributes. For instance, only a user having Secret or Top Secret security clearance might be allowed access to classified information. In identity based access control, access is determined by user-defined attributes. For instance, access may be denied if the user is not identified as an authorized participant on a particular project. For control of network assets, a user may be denied access to certain elements of the network. For instance, a user might be denied access to a modem, or to a data link, or to communication on a path from one address to another address.
Identification of a user can be accomplished by a unique name, password, retina scan, smart card or even a key for the host. Accountability ensures that a-specific user is accountable for particular actions. Once a user establishes a network connection, it may be desirable that the user's activities be audited such that a “trail” is created. If the user's actions do not conform to a set of norms, the connection may be terminated.
Currently, there are three general approaches to providing security for a network: trusted networks, trusted hosts with trusted protocols, and encryption devices. The trusted network provides security by placing security measures within the configuration of the network. In general, the trusted network requires that existing protocols and, in some cases, physical elements be replaced with secure systems. In the Boeing MLS Lan, for instance, the backbone cabling is replaced by optical fiber and all access to the backbone is mediated by security devices. In the Verdix VSLAN, similar security devices are used to interface to the network, and the network uses encryption instead of fiber optics to protect the security of information transmitted between devices. VSLAN is limited to users on a local area network (LAN) as is the Boeing MLS Lan.
Trusted hosts are host computers that provide security for a network by reviewing and controlling the transmission of all data on the network. For example, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has initiated a program called Secure Data Network System (SDNS) which seeks to implement a secure protocol for trusted hosts. In order to implement this approach, the installed base of existing host computers must be upgraded to run the secure protocol. Such systems operate at the Network or Transport Layers (Layers 3 or 4) of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.
Encryption devices are used in a network environment to protect the confidentiality of information. They may also be used for separation of data types or classification levels. Packet encryptors or end-to-end encryption (EEE) devices, for instance, utilize different keys and labels in protocol headers to assure the protection of data. However, these protocols lack user accountability since they do not identify which user of the host is using the network, nor are they capable of preventing certain users from accessing the network. EEE devices typically operate at the Network Layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model. There is a government effort to develop cryptographic protocols which operate at other protocol layers.
An area of growing concern in network security is the use of computer devices in non-secure networks. Such computer devices often include valuable information, which may be lost or stolen due to these computers being accessed through the non-secured network. In light of this problem, a number of related products have been developed. The products developed include Raptor Eagle, Raptor Remote, Entrust, Secret Agent and Veil. Although, these products serve the same purpose, a number of different approaches have been utilized. For example, Raptor Eagle, Raptor Remote, and Veil implement these products as software instantiations. While Entrust and Secret Agent utilize hardware cryptographic components. Additionally, Raptor products are also application independent.
A problem with the above described products is that none are based upon the use of highly trusted software. Veil is an off-line encryption utility, which cannot prevent the inadvertent release of non-encrypted information. While Raptor Eagle and Raptor Remote are based on software instantiations and thus cannot be verified at the same level of assurance. Secret Agent and Entrust while hardware based are dependent upon the development of integration software for specific applications.
It is therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide a multi-level security system that is readily adaptable to computer devices to provide an adequate level of security assurances.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a well liner running shoe which includes a check valve, cement plug receiver, and running tool receiver for operation with standard cement plugs and running tools. The running shoe is used to set well liners without requiring a liner hanger.
2. Background
In certain well operations, the wellbore is extended beyond the previous bottom or cased portion by inserting an extension of the casing or liner and hanging the liner off of the top end thereof by a hanger assembly which is engaged with the lower end of the casing previously extended into the wellbore. Such liner hangers are relatively expensive and, in relatively shallow wells which are, from time to time, extended deeper, the installation of a liner with a liner hanger is an expensive procedure. An alternate method involves extending the liner into the wellbore with a running tool and then cementing the liner in place by pumping cement through a shoe connected to the bottom of the liner. This arrangement is more economical and holds certain advantages, for setting liners on the bottom of a well, in particular.
However, there has been a need for providing certain improvements in liner running and setting using a running tool followed by a cementing procedure including the provision of a shoe which includes a check valve, a positive stop or separating member for running the cement into its final placement and while still having characteristics which will permit drilling out the shoe in the event that it is desired to extend the well even deeper.
The present invention provides certain improvements in apparatus and a method for setting well liners, particularly at the bottom of a well, without using a liner hanger but while employing a unique running shoe and setting method.
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For the past several decades, the scaling of features in integrated circuits has been a driving force behind an ever-growing semiconductor industry. Scaling to smaller and smaller features enables increased densities of functional units on the limited real estate of semiconductor chips. For example, shrinking transistor size allows for the incorporation of an increased number of memory or logic devices on a chip, lending to the fabrication of products with increased capacity. The drive for ever-more capacity, however, is not without issue. The necessity to optimize the performance of each device becomes increasingly significant.
Integrated circuits commonly include electrically conductive microelectronic structures, which are known in the arts as vias, to electrically connect metal lines or other interconnects above the vias to metal lines or other interconnects below the vias. Vias are typically formed by a lithographic process. Representatively, a photoresist layer may be spin coated over a dielectric layer, the photoresist layer may be exposed to patterned actinic radiation through a patterned mask, and then the exposed layer may be developed in order to form an opening in the photoresist layer. Next, an opening for the via may be etched in the dielectric layer by using the opening in the photoresist layer as an etch mask. This opening is referred to as a via opening. Finally, the via opening may be filled with one or more metals or other conductive materials to form the via.
In the past, the sizes and the spacing of vias has progressively decreased, and it is expected that in the future the sizes and the spacing of the vias will continue to progressively decrease, for at least some types of integrated circuits (e.g., advanced microprocessors, chipset components, graphics chips, etc.). One measure of the size of the vias is the critical dimension of the via opening. One measure of the spacing of the vias is the via pitch. Via pitch represents the center-to-center distance between the closest adjacent vias.
When patterning extremely small vias with extremely small pitches by such lithographic processes, several challenges present themselves, especially when the pitches are around 70 nanometers (nm) or less and/or when the critical dimensions of the via openings are around 35 nm or less. One such challenge is that the overlay between the vias and the overlying interconnects, and the overlay between the vias and the underlying landing interconnects, generally need to be controlled to high tolerances on the order of a quarter of the via pitch. As via pitches scale ever smaller over time, the overlay tolerances tend to scale with them at an even greater rate than lithographic equipment is able to keep up.
Another such challenge is that the critical dimensions of the via openings generally tend to scale faster than the resolution capabilities of the lithographic scanners. Shrink technologies exist to shrink the critical dimensions of the via openings. However, the shrink amount tends to be limited by the minimum via pitch, as well as by the ability of the shrink process to be sufficiently optical proximity correction (OPC) neutral, and to not significantly compromise line width roughness (LWR) and/or critical dimension uniformity (CDU).
Yet another such challenge is that the LWR and/or CDU characteristics of photoresists generally need to improve as the critical dimensions of the via openings decrease in order to maintain the same overall fraction of the critical dimension budget. However, currently the LWR and/or CDU characteristics of most photoresists are not improving as rapidly as the critical dimensions of the via openings are decreasing.
A further such challenge is that the extremely small via pitches generally tend to be below the resolution capabilities of even extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithographic scanners. As a result, commonly two, three, or more different lithographic masks may be used, which tend to increase the costs. At some point, if pitches continue to decrease, it may not be possible, even with multiple masks, to print via openings for these extremely small pitches using EUV scanners.
Thus, improvements are needed in the area of via manufacturing technologies.
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Epilepsy is the commonest serious neurological disease, affecting 1.2% of the population in the UK. Epilepsy is often mistakenly viewed as easily treated, whereas, in fact, 40% of new-onset epilepsy remains uncontrolled after one year of antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment, and over 30% of people with epilepsy never respond to treatment, with consequent morbidity and mortality. Epilepsy is directly responsible for over 1000 deaths per year in the UK, and is the 5th most common cause of avoidable years of life lost in men and 8th in women. It is the leading cause of repeated unplanned admissions to NHS hospitals, and is estimated to cost the EU 15.5 billion euros per annum.
Currently, the diagnosis of epilepsy in a patient is usually based on a subjective interpretation by clinicians of descriptions of the seizure from the patient and witnesses, coupled with similarly subjective interpretation of features within EEG readings, MRI and CT scans, etc. In some instances, simultaneous video and EEG during prolonged recordings or using provocation may enable a seizure fortuitously to be directly observed, but simultaneous video-EEG is costly, not widely available, and fortuitously recording a seizure is unfeasible for most patients. Epilepsy is generally only considered as a diagnosis after a patient has suffered at least two attacks, and even after two or more attacks the diagnosis may remain uncertain, meaning that the prescription of anti-epileptic drugs is delayed. There are commercially available software packages which analyse data from prolonged EEG recordings and detect the presence of epileptiform spikes or seizures within this data. This allows clinicians reviewing the data to identify any epileptic events undergone by the patient which may not have had an external physical manifestation. This type of software is generally used for the monitoring of patients previously diagnosed with epilepsy, rather than as a diagnostic tool, and if used as a diagnostic would still require interpretation by a clinician of the events observed.
The assessment of the efficacy of anti-epileptic medication is essentially a trial-and-error process, with patients being prescribed what is thought to be an appropriate AED for the diagnosed epileptic syndrome, and then monitored for a decrease or cessation of seizures. If seizures continue without decrease, the patient must be prescribed a second AED and the process is repeated. Assessing treatment in this conventional manner means that patients can continue to have seizures for many months after initial diagnosis.
The clinical expression of seizures requires the involvement of large-scale brain networks, in order to create behavioural output and/or to allow subjective experience; since without behavioural or subjective features, there is no epilepsy. Seizures emerge rapidly from normal activity of brain networks and usually self-terminate; the timescale of onset and offset of a seizure is orders of magnitude faster than any plausible change in the numbers of neurons, axons, dendrites or synapses, and many other neuronal mechanisms. Therefore, the neuronal machinery causing seizures is the same machinery present in the brain interictally during normal function. The dynamic behaviour of a complex network is not predictable through studying the properties of individual small-scale components of the system. This means that the dynamic emergence of seizures in the complex system of the brain cannot be fully explained by studying, e.g. ion channels, individual neurons or brain slices.
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Age related degenerative changes in the eye's retina pigment epithilium (RPE), a highly pigmented epithilium underlying the retina, occur mainly in the macula area. Since the macula is the area which enables to discern small details and to read, its deterioration may bring about visual impairment and even blindness. Age related changes of varying degrees in the macula are evident in about 10% of subjects over 50 and about 25% of subjects over 75. One of the main factors responsible for age related macular degeneration (AMD) is aging of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) at the macular area. In the intact eye, the RPE cells, through their phagocytic activity and active metabolism, constantly remove the toxic metabolites produced by the overlaying photoreceptoric retinal cells during the visual transduction process.
As a consequence of the age dependent reduction in the metabolic and pharmaceutical activity of cells of the RPE, metabolic waste products are accumulated within these cells causing a slow deterioration of the activity of the RPE cells and their death. This deterioration, and death of cells occurs mainly in the macula region, eventually causes the degradation of the overlaying retinal layer and photoreceptors with subsequent impairment of vision or even blindness.
Although AMD is the most prevalent cause of blindness in the elder population in developed countries, there is to date no effective treatment available to prevent the development of AMD or to ameliorate the condition following the onset of this disorder.
Melanotropin (alpha melanocytic stimulating hormone (.alpha.-MSH)) is an N-Acetyl-tridecapeptide hormone which is synthesized and secreted by the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland, and is known to control skin pigmentation in many animals by stimulating melanin synthesis and movement within integumental melanocytes. Recently, melanotropin has been also reported to affect other physiological functions including: endocrine and exocrine gland activities, temperature regulation, immuno modulation and nerve regeneration. Cellular responses to melanotropin in cultured melanoma cells include elevation of c-AMP levels, increase in melanin synthesis and stimulation of cell proliferation.
Melanotropin was found to have also various effects on the eye. This hormone causes the acceleration of the regeneration of retinal visual purple both in vivo and in vitro and increases light sensitivity (Hanoka, 1953); it was also found to stimulate the melanin synthesis in the RPE of rats with inherited retinal dystrophy (Stroeva and Bibikova, 1988). In addition, this hormone was found to increase the release of retinal neurotransmitters, especially dopamine and GABA (Bauer and Ehringer, 1980). Recently it has been found that melanotropin enhances eicosanoid production by bovine RPE in organ culture without any effect on other retinal layers (Bar-Ilan et al., 1992).
Derivatives of this naturally occurring tridecapeptide in which one or more amino acids has been replaced by another are well known. Some of these derivatives are more stable than the native protein, and others, such as Nle.sup.4 D-Phe.sup.7 .alpha.-MSH were found to be more potent than the native peptide in affecting various biological phenomenon (Dayes et al., 1987). Sawyer et al. (Sawyer et al. 1990) have established the fact that only a few amino acids are sufficient to cause the full biological activity of the native protein.
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While the invention may be used for other purposes, it provides particular advantages when used in blast furnaces, and therefore will be described as so used.
To achieve greater production and increased efficiencies and economies of blast furnace construction and operation, recent blast furnace designs have tended toward large furnaces of substantially higher internal top pressures of gas than have heretofore been common. In new furnaces being designed or built, top pressures range as high as 40 pounds per square inch gage (psig), hearth diameters range up to fifty feet or more, and diameters at the stockline vicinity range up to thirty feet or more, while iron productions range up to ten thousand tons per day.
These factors of high gas pressure, large furnace size, and large productions have imposed severe problems in the design and operation of the charging apparatus for such furnaces to permit charging of the large quantities of charge materials in the desired distribution over the large internal cross sectional area of such furnace, to prevent during and between charging leakage from the furnace of the gas at such high pressures, and to prevent fluidization of the charge material within the furnace due to irregularities in the stockline that can cause localized channeling through the mass of charge material in the furnace and improper furnace operation.
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Hermetically sealed interfaces have been fabricated by the application of metal and glass structures. Metal and glass are often used to create these hermetically sealed interfaces because of the need to have a conductive element, such as metal, for carrying electrical signals across a hermetically sealed interface typically constructed with a non-conductive element, such as glass. These materials are fused into a structure by many different processes. These processes can include the disposing of a liquefied metal into, a solid glass structure having a passageway therein, and then the solidification of the metal forming a hermetically sealed interface.
All of these, metal and glass, structures can suffer from a common problem. This problem is the failure of the fused hermetic interface when the metal and glass structures are subjected to a large temperature transition. These failures occur because of the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion of metal and glass. For example, if the metal is solder, the solder will shrink to a much greater extent than the glass during a falling temperature transition. This results in a large strain at the fused hermetic interface, causing a crack in the glass, a crack directly between the solder and the glass, or a crack in the solder. Many thermal transitions may be necessary before these failures of the hermetic interface occur.
In a specific example, FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section of a prior art silicon capacitive pressure sensor using a metal and glass structure to hermetically seal an interface between a pressurized sealed chamber 125, in which a reference pressure is stored, and the top of a glass substrate 101, where electrical interconnection to the capacitive element is provided. The glass substrate 101 has a first surface 103 and an opposing second surface 105. A first passageway 107, and a second passageway 109 are provided through the glass substrate 101. The first passageway 107 is then processed to include an electrically conductive metal layer 111 that extends to a first predetermined area 113 on the opposing second surface 105. The second passageway 109 is also processed to include a metal layer 115 that extends to a second predetermined area 117 on the opposing second surface 105 of the glass substrate 101.
A semiconductor substrate 119 is then attached to the opposing second surface 105 of the glass substrate 101 at locations shown by reference number 121 and to the second predetermined area 117. This attachment between the glass on the opposing second surface 105 and the semiconductor substrate 119, at locations shown by reference number 121, is performed by anodic, or electrostatic, bonding. This anodic bond hermetically seals the glass and semiconductor substrate at locations shown by reference number 121. The bond between the metal layer 115 that extends to a second predetermined area 117 and the semiconductor substrate 119, indicated by reference number 129, is the result of a chemical reaction that fuses the semiconductor substrate 119 and the metal layer 115 with heat and pressure.
The chamber 125 is then pressurized and a quantity of solder 123, 127 is melted into the first and second passageways 107, 109. The solder 123 is the first passageway, when cool, forms a hermetic interface for sealing the chamber 125 and provides an electrical contact to an element of a capacitor, formed by the metal layer covering the predetermined area 113. The solder 127 in the second passageway 109 provides an electrical connection to a second element of the capacitor formed by the semiconductor substrate 119. The solder 123, 127 formed in the first and second passageways 107, 109 is used to connect the capacitor to a measurement circuit. When this capacitor is subjected to differing pressures, a portion of the semiconductor substrate 119 moves, in relationship to the metalized first predetermined area 113, causing a change in distance between the elements of the capacitor and thus capacitance.
The construction and hermetic sealing of the first passageway 107 is of particular concern. The temperature coefficient of solder and glass is substantially different. When the solder and glass structures are subjected to a temperature transition they expand or contract at different rates because of differing thermal coefficients of expansion. The differing rates cause stress to build up in the solder, 123 and at the location of the glass 102 and solder 123 interface. This is undesirable because during large temperature transitions the glass 102 and solder 123 will be over stressed and either or both will crack. This cracking causes the hermetic seal to be broken. When this seal is broken the reference pressure is released and the sensor no longer can function as desgned. Similar cracks in the glass-solder interface for the second passageway 109 have no effect on the chamber 125 because of the anodic bond at the location shown by reference number 121. This anodic bond isolates the chamber 125 from any breaches in the second passagway 109.
What is needed is an improved way of hermetically sealing this first passageway while maintaining an electrically conductive path between the surfaces 103 and 105.
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The present invention relates to data storage systems, and more particularly, this invention relates to improved write transducer configurations.
In magnetic storage systems, magnetic transducers read data from and write data onto magnetic recording media. Data is written on the magnetic recording media by moving a magnetic recording transducer to a position over the media where the data is to be stored. The magnetic recording transducer then generates a magnetic field, which encodes the data into the magnetic media. Data is read from the media by similarly positioning the magnetic read transducer and then sensing the magnetic field of the magnetic media. Read and write operations may be independently synchronized with the movement of the media to ensure that the data can be read from and written to the desired location on the media.
An important and continuing goal in the data storage industry is that of increasing the density of data stored on a medium. For tape storage systems, that goal has led to increasing the track and linear bit density on recording tape, and decreasing the thickness of the magnetic tape medium. However, the development of small footprint, higher performance tape drive systems has created various problems in the design of a tape head assembly for use in such systems.
In a tape drive system, the drive moves the magnetic tape over the surface of the tape head at high speed. Usually the tape head is designed to minimize the spacing between the head and the tape. The spacing between the magnetic head and the magnetic tape is crucial and so goals in these systems are to have the recording gaps of the transducers, which are the source of the magnetic recording flux in near contact with the tape to effect writing sharp transitions, and to have the read elements in near contact with the tape to provide effective coupling of the magnetic field from the tape to the read elements.
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Certain highly ring-substituted liquid aromatic diamines such as diethyltoluenediamine are effective curatives (curing agents) for polyurethanes and epoxy resins. Other uses include use as extenders for polyurethane elastomers, particularly in RIM applications, use as monomers, and use as antioxidants for elastomers, lubricants, and industrial oils. Unfortunately such highly substituted liquid aromatic diamines are highly sensitive to development of coloration, so much so that even when such materials are produced under an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen, color can develop when transferring the diamine product into containers. Prevention of such color development in commercial plant facilities cannot be accomplished economically.
During storage after exposure to air the coloration of such highly ring-substituted liquid aromatic diamines typically becomes progressively darker, even to the point at which the material appears almost like black ink to the naked eye. To ameliorate this problem it has been recommended that the purchaser of such a product maintain the product under a nitrogen atmosphere during storage to at least keep the existing yellow or amber coloration from reaching the black stage.
Since coloration in the product can detract from its sales appeal, a need has existed for an effective, economical way of decolorizing such aromatic diamine.
In Japan Kokai No. SHO 59-42346 published on Mar. 8, 1984 it is shown that m-phenylenediamine which initially had a standard color rating of 200 remained at the same color level for 3 days after addition thereto of 0.5% of diethylhydroxylamine, and thereafter suffered an increase in coloration to a rating of 300 at 7 days after the addition.
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The present invention relates to a method for producing an electrode for use at high temperatures. A ceramic slip is prepared that contains a metal oxide powder as well as a solid electrolyte powder. An electrode green compact is formed from the slip. The green compact is dried and sintered. The metal oxide is then reduced to metal, in which connection the reduction may also take place during use in, for example, a high temperature fuel cell. Stabilised zirconium dioxide for example is provided as solid electrolyte, and nickel oxide for example is provided as metal oxide.
The core component of a high temperature fuel cell (HTFC), which is characterised by the direct conversion of chemical energy (in the form of combustible gases) into electrical energy, consists of a solid electrolyte on which are mounted an anode and a cathode. The operating temperature is between 750° and 1000° C. Combustion of a combustible gas takes place at the anode side, with consumption of oxygen. The anode consists for example of a mixture of nickel and Y2O3-stabilised zirconium dioxide (YSZ) in order to ensure the necessary electrical and ionic conductivity. The structure of such anodes must be gas-permeable, but on the other hand must ensure the high electrical conductivity. To this end, despite the high porosity the Ni phase and the YSZ phase must have contact with one another. This structure should not age in operation at temperatures of 750° to 1000° C., i.e. its properties should as far as possible not change, in order to obtain an optimal energy yield.
In high temperature fuel cells Ni/YSZ cermets, which were described for the first time by the Westinghouse Company in the 1960s, are often used as anode materials. A typical mixture contains 30 vol. % of Ni referred to the total solids volume. Below this Ni content the conductivity falls by roughly four orders of magnitude [see publication: Ivers Tiffée E., Wersing W., Schieβl M., Ber. Bunsenges. Phys. Chem., 94 (1990), p. 978]. Beyond this limit no significant rise in electrical conductivity above 3500 S·cm has been found in cermets [see publication: Dees D. W., Claar T. D., Hasler T. E., Fee D. C., Mrazek F. C., Journal of Electrochem. Soc., 34 (1987), p. 1241]. Completely porous and conducting anode cermets and anode function layers, which essentially contain about 30 vol. % of Ni in addition to a solid electrolyte such as for example YSZ (8–11 mole % of stabilised zirconium dioxide) are thus known in the prior art. An electronic (Ni) conductivity and an ionic conductivity (stabilised zirconium dioxide) are thereby ensured. With this mixture the coefficient of expansion of the anode is furthermore matched to that of the electrolyte. In this connection a so-called anode function layer acts as transition zone between the actual anode and the gas-tight, oxygen ion-conducting electrolyte in the high temperature fuel cell. In particular the proportion of the three-phase boundaries of electrically conducting nickel, pore space filled with fuel gas, and oxygen ion-conducting YSZ determines the efficiency of an anode. The main task of an anode is to accept the electrons that the oxygen ions release into the gaseous phase when they leave the solid electrolyte.
In recent years numerous tests have been carried out on the ageing resistance (stability) of anode structures. It was found that, with prolonged use of the anodes at the operating temperature (750°–950° C.) the conductivity of the anodes drops sharply. After ageing of the anodes in the combustion gas mixture (Ar 4% H2:4% H2O) for 2000 hours, a drop in the effective electrical conductivity of 20–40% of the initial conductivity at room temperature was measured. This could be explained by the tendency of nickel to minimise the surface energy [see publication: Tsoga A., Naoumidis A., Nikolopoulos P., “Wettability under non reactive and reactive conditions in the system Ni/YSZ and Ni/Ti—TiO2/YSZ” NATO ASI Ser., Ser. 3 1998, 58, pp. 79–86]. When thermally activated the Ni phase has a tendency to form agglomerates in the anode. Accordingly, the initially finely divided Ni channels crack, particularly in the region of large pores. For this reason the Ni network is no longer so finely divided, some current pathways become interrupted, and there is a drop in conductivity. In addition the number of three-phase points in the anode function layer also decreases, and the efficiency of the whole high temperature fuel cell is considerably reduced.
The aforedescribed phenomenon of the drop in electrical conductivity has hitherto been observed to a greater or lesser extent, irrespective of the method used to produce the anode and/or anode function layer (calendering, coat-mix method with thermocompression, film casting and silk-screen printing as well as vacuum slip cast layers or plasma spraying layers), but in any case is regarded as economically disadvantageous.
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Diseases with the onset of deposition of a fibrous protein called amyloid in various organs or tissues in bodies are generally referred to as amyloidosis. A feature common to amyloidosis is that the fibrous protein called amyloid which is enriched with the β-sheet structure is deposited at various organs systemically or at sites topically so that functional abnormalities are triggered in the organs or tissues.
Alzheimer's disease (hereinafter referred to as AD), which is a typical amyloidosis disease, is known as a disease causing dementia. This disease is lethal with progressive deposition of amyloid in brain, and thus is said to be a disease that causes concern in society compared with other amyloidosis diseases. In recent years, the number of AD patients is rapidly increasing in developed countries with aging societies, thereby causing a social problem.
From the pathohistological viewpoint, AD is characterized by three pathological findings in brain, namely development of senile plaques, formation of neurofibrillary tangles, and extensive neuronal loss. The senile plaque has a structure mainly composed of amyloid, and is said to appear at the earliest stage of AD onset and thus is pathologically found in brain 10 or more years before appearance of clinical symptoms.
AD is diagnosed by carrying out various evaluations of cognitive functions (for example, Hasegawa scale, ADAS-JCog and MMSE) in auxiliary combination with imaging diagnosis such as CT and MRI. However, the method based on such evaluations of cognitive functions is low in diagnostic sensitivity at the early stage of the onset, and is furthermore problematic in that diagnostic results are susceptible to inborn cognitive functions of individuals. At present, it is practically impossible to establish a definite diagnosis of AD while an AD patient is still alive, because the definite diagnosis requires a biopsy of a lesion (Non-Patent Document 1).
Meanwhile, a report tells that amyloid constituting senile plaques is an aggregate of amyloid β protein (hereinafter referred to as Aβ). Also, numerous reports tell that the Aβ aggregate forms a β-sheet structure that causes nerve cell toxicity. Based on these findings, the so-called “Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis” is proposed, which suggests that cerebral deposition of Aβ triggers the downstream phenomena, namely, formation of neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss (Non-Patent Document 2).
Based on these facts, attempts have recently been made to detect AD in vivo using a compound having high affinity with amyloid as a marker.
Many of such probes for imaging diagnoses of cerebral amyloid are hydrophobic low-molecular weight compounds that are high in affinity with amyloid and high in cerebral transferability and are labeled with various radioactive species such as 11C, 18F and 123I. For example, reports tell 11C or radioactive halogen labeled forms of compounds including various thioflavin derivatives such as 6-iodo-2-[4′-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl]benzothiazole (hereinafter referred to as TZDM) and 6-hydroxy-2-[4′-(N-methylamino)phenyl]benzothiazole (hereinafter referred to as 6-OH-BTA-1) (Patent Document 1, Non-Patent Document 3); stilbene compounds such as (E)-4-methylamino-4′-hydroxystilbene (hereinafter referred to as SB-13) and (E)-4-dimethylamino-4′-iodostilbene (hereinafter referred to as m-I-SB) (Patent Document 2, Non-Patent Document 4, Non-Patent Document 5); benzoxazole derivatives such as 6-iodo-2-[4′-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl]benzoxazole (hereinafter referred to as IBOX) and 6-[2-(fluoro)ethoxy]-2-[2-(2-dimethylaminothiazol-5-yl)ethenyl]benzoxazole (Non-Patent Document 6, Non-Patent Document 7), DDNP derivatives such as 2-(1-{6-[(2-fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl}ethylidene)malononitrile (hereinafter referred to as FDDNP) (Patent Document 4, Non-Patent Document 8); and imidazopyridine derivatives such as 6-iodo-2-[4′-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (hereinafter referred to as IMPY) (Patent Document 3, Non-Patent Document 9), and radioactive halogen labeled forms of compounds including compounds in which a nitrogen-containing 5-membered aromatic heterocyclic group is attached to an imidazopyridine-phenyl via carbons (Patent Document 5 and Patent Document 6). Further, some of these probes for imaging diagnosis have been studied on human imaging and have been reported to show a significant accumulation of radioactivity in AD patient's brain compared with normal persons (Non-Patent Document 10, Non-Patent Document 11, Non-Patent Document 12, Non-Patent Document 13).
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Conventional shaft seals are unable to seal fluids in applications with excessive shaft-to-bore misalignment or dynamic shaft runout, due to the inability of the circular lip to follow the shaft surface. When the shaft axis is displaced radially relative to the axis of the bore, the sealing lip is compressed in the direction of shaft displacement, while the sealing lip on the opposite side often loses contact with the shaft.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to solve this problem, such as by providing a shaft seal with a more flexible flex section, by varying garter spring load and/or lip interference, and by molding an annular rubber bead below the lip. These attempts to solve the problem have helped, however, they have not prevented the tendency for the lip to take an oval shape and leak.
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Digital media, such as electronic books, are becoming more widely accepted and their sales are beginning to eclipse legacy printed publications. Because legacy printed publications involve a physical medium such as paper, authors may easily personalize the media by way of an autograph, inscription, or other indicia that is applied directly onto the paper. For example, an author may sign the front cover of a book. In other examples, a program for a stage show may be signed by a member of the cast. What is needed are systems and methods for personalizing digital media, such as e-books, audio files, audiovisual files, and visual files—just to name a few. These and other advantages of the present technology will hereinafter be described.
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1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a surgical device for injecting a fluid and/or for removing tissue cells from a biological body or structure, including a supply device having a fluid jet unit for injecting a separation fluid or a process fluid and/or including a suction device for suctioning off separated or dissolved tissue cells and/or the separation fluid or the process fluid, and a surgical hand piece with an inner injection cannula and an outer suction tube, both of which form an annular suction channel in the region of the surgical hand piece. The outer suction tube is adapted to be placed on the injection cannula and to be secured to the surgical hand piece. The injection cannula includes a front nozzle opening and the suction tube includes a plurality of suction bores distributed along its periphery. Such device and instrument is used in surgical clinical settings to suction off fatty tissue for health and cosmetic reasons. Such device and instrument is also used for removing vital tissue cells, for example from the liver, for the purpose of reproducing these tissue cells through cell division and then inserting the tissue cells in the same or in a different biological body or structure.
2) Description of the Related Art
A number of methods and devices are known that can achieve this goal.
For example, DE 299 14 230 U1 describes a cannula for suctioning off fatty tissue, with the cannula formed as a tube that has one closed end and an other open end that is connected by an adapter to a suction device. The tube includes several suction openings distributed along the periphery, with the size of the openings adapted to the size of the fatty tissue cells.
The cannula is pierced into the corresponding tissue layers and is continuously moved back and forth during the procedure. Through the force generated by the vacuum and with support of the mechanical force of the moving cannula, tissue cells are destructively torn away and then suctioned off. This method is very stressful for the patient and is therefore only rarely used in practice.
It is known to reduce the stress by injecting, in a separate process step before the surgical procedure, a process fluid into the affected tissue to dissolve the tissue cells, which can then be more effectively and more easily suctioned off. The injected process fluid together with the dissolved tissue cells are suctioned off through the suction tube.
DE 200 09 786 U1 describes a device for suctioning off fatty tissue, which functionally combines the two aforedescribed process steps, i.e., injecting the tissue-dissolving process fluid and suctioning off the dissolved tissue cells. For this purpose, an interior injection line for the tissue-dissolving process fluid is arranged in the suction cannula, with the exit opening of the injection line disposed on the distal end of the suction cannula and connected to a process fluid pump. In this way, process fluid is injected continuously and suctioned off together with the fatty tissue cells. This makes the process more continuous and shortens the duration of the surgical procedure.
Disadvantageously, however, the aforementioned technical solutions have in common that they destroy not only the fatty tissue cells, but also adjacent tissue cells, such as blood cells. This can harm the human body and complicate and prolong the healing process. These technical solutions are therefore not suitable for removing healthy tissue cells for further use.
DE 100 33 278 A1 describes a surgical device for removing tissue cells from a biological structure that obviates this disadvantage. This device includes a water jet unit with a pressure generator and an injection cannula emitting a separation water jet under pressure, and a suction device that includes a suction pump and a suction tube with the suction openings distributed along the periphery, through which the separated tissue cells are discharged together with the used water. The injection cannula for the emitted water jet is arranged in the interior of the suction tube, with both the cannula and the suction tube combined in a hand piece that can be interchanged via a screw-in adapter.
The exit opening of the injection cannula has a cross-section and the exiting water jet a pressure suitable to cause the water jet to exert a peeling effect.
The water jet is able to cut through or separate tissue parts. However, the tissue cells are not destroyed, because due to the curved surface and the pliability of the tissue cells, the water jet does not experience any resistance and is therefore not deflected in its effective direction. As a result, the water jet finds its way between the tissue cells in an intelligent manner, until it meets resistance essential for developing a separation force, thereby urging the adjacent tissue cells apart and separating them, without destroying them. Because the selection is gentle, there is no need to inject a process fluid for dissolving the tissue cells, as was required in the prior art.
The relatively large number of applications and the large number of implementations of such hand piece, due to the different required diameters, and the desired high utilization rate for the entire apparatus make it necessary to have a large number of hand pieces available with different lengths, different diameters of the suction tube, and different suction openings in the suction tube. This large number of tools makes the entire unit unduly expensive.
Moreover, many situations require application of an anesthetic before the surgical procedure, which necessitates special injection instruments. This further increases the cost of the surgical procedure and the conversion time from the injection unit to the tissue removal unit, and vice versa.
It is therefore an object of the invention to develop a device of the aforedescribed type for removal of tissue cells, which can be used universally for anesthesia and for tissue removal and which has a simple design and is easy to operate.
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Recently, in the Internet Web technology field centered on information processing apparatuses, various versions of RSS (RDF Site Summary) used to syndicate (distribute) the latest news, and XML (extensive Mark-up Language) applications such as Atom are becoming popular (see, e.g., non-patent reference 1 or 2). For example, the specifications of RSS 1.0 (RDF Site Summary) by the RSS-DEV Working Group are disclosed in non-patent reference 1. In the present invention, syndication means distributing and announcing update information/summary information.
In recent years, not only information processing apparatuses such as a general-purpose computer but also various embedded systems are connected to a network, and can be utilized or managed from a remote place via the network. The embedded system is a computer system which is embedded in an application specific apparatus, and comprises peripheral devices and applications specialized in specific purposes. For example, image communication apparatuses using a protocol (e.g., a printer, scanner, facsimile or E-mail), and various image processing apparatuses such as a copying machine, document management system, digital camera, and projector are also connected to a network, and can be utilized or managed from a remote place via the network. For example, a printer and multi-functional peripheral available from CANON includes Web servers, and incorporates a Web application “remote UI” for connecting the apparatus via a Web browser, and utilizing and managing the apparatus from a remote place.
Situations in which the administrator and user use or manage a plurality of apparatuses via a network are increasing. Also, situations in which the administrator and user use or manage an apparatus from various nodes on a network are increasing.
These days, embedded systems such as an image processing apparatus exploit an advanced, high-performance internal CPU and nonvolatile memory (hard disk or the like) to provide a larger number of more advanced functions. These functions are installed as embedded applications which are executed by the internal CPU, and the internal nonvolatile memory holds various settings and data necessary for the operation. Information accumulated in the apparatus is updated in accordance with an operation by the user or the operation of the apparatus.
Patent reference 1 discloses a printing apparatus which can be shared between a plurality of computers via a network, and when it is determined that stored setting information has been updated, displays update information upon activating the printer driver of each computer.
Patent reference 2 discloses an electronic filing system which accumulates and manages update information of a document and has a notification mechanism of notifying a host-computer of document update data after a designated date and time in response to a request from the host computer.
[Non Patent Reference 1] Dan Brickley and 10 others, “RDF Site Summary (RSS) 1.0”, [online] May 30, 2001, RSS DEV Working Group, [searched on Mar. 17, 2005]
[Non Patent Reference 2] M. Nottingham and R. Sayer ed., “The Atom Syndication Format draft-ietf-atompub-froamat-03”, [online] Oct. 20, 2004, RSS DEV Working Group, [searched on Mar. 17, 2005] [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-232908 [Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-139557
As described above, some image processing apparatuses can acquire update information of counter information, document information accumulated in the apparatuses, or the like. Some pieces of update information are desirably presented to the user in real time when the apparatus is operated.
However, according to patent reference 1, a change in printer settings can be recognized only when the printer driver is activated. The user cannot be notified of a change in settings at a desirable timing, for example, in real time when the apparatus is operated.
In the electronic filing system described in patent reference 2, the host computer and electronic filing system are only synchronized with each other. The user cannot be notified of a change in settings at a desirable timing.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processes and compositions for improving dicarboxylic acid production in yeast by replacing the native promoter of a target gene with a heterologous promoter from a yeast gene having a desired level of activity.
2. Description of Related Art
Aliphatic dioic acids are versatile chemical intermediates useful as raw materials for the preparation of perfumes, polymers, adhesives and macrolid antibiotics. While several chemical routes to the synthesis of long-chain xcex1, xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids are available, the synthesis is not easy and most methods result in mixtures containing shorter chain lengths. As a result, extensive purification steps are necessary. While it is known that long-chain dioic acids can also be produced by microbial transformation of alkanes, fatty acids or esters thereof, chemical synthesis has remained the most commercially viable route, due to limitations with the current biological approaches.
Several strains of yeast are known to excrete xcex1, xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids as a byproduct when cultured on alkanes or fatty acids as the carbon source. In particular, yeast belonging to the Genus Candida, such as C. albicans, C. cloacae, C. guillermondii, C. intermedia, C. lpolytica, C. maltosa, C. parapsilosis and C. zeylenoides are known to produce such dicarboxylic acids (Agr. Biol. Chem. 35: 2033-2042 (1971)). Also, various strains of C. tropicalis are known to produce dicarboxylic acids ranging in chain lengths from C11 through C18 (Okino et al., B M Lawrence, B D Mookherjee and B J Willis (eds), in Flavors and Fragrances: A World Perspective. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Essential Oils, Flavors and Fragrances, Elsevier Science Publishers BV Amsterdam (1988)), and are the basis of several patents as reviewed by Bxc3xchler and Schindler, in Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Biotechnology, H. J. Rehm and G. Reed (eds), Vol. 169, Verlag Chemie, Weinheim (1984).
Studies of the biochemical processes by which yeasts metabolize alkanes and fatty acids have revealed three types of oxidation reactions: xcex1-oxidation of alkanes to alcohols, xcfx89-oxidation of fatty acids to xcex1, xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids and the degradative xcex2-oxidation of fatty acids to CO2 and water. The first two types of oxidations are catalyzed by microsomal enzymes while the last type takes place in the peroxisomes. In C. tropicalis, the first step in the xcfx89-oxidation pathway is catalyzed by a membrane-bound enzyme complex (xcfx89-hydroxylase complex) including a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and a NADPH cytochrome reductase. This hydroxylase complex is responsible for the primary oxidation of the terminal methyl group in alkanes and fatty acids as described, e.g., in Gilewicz et al., Can. J. Microbiol. 25:201 (1979), incorporated herein by reference. The genes which encode the cytochrome P450 and NADPH reductase components of the complex have previously been identified as P450ALK and P450RED respectively, and have also been cloned and sequenced as described, e.g., in Sanglard et al., Gene 76:121-136 (1989), incorporated herein by reference. P450ALK has also been designated P450ALK1. More recently, ALK genes have been designated by the symbol CYP and RED genes have been designated by the symbol CPR. See, e.g., Nelson, Pharmacogenetics 6(1):1-42 (1996), which is incorporated herein by reference. See also Ohkuma et al., DNA and Cell Biology 14:163-173 (1995), Seghezzi et al., DNA and Cell Biology, 11:767-780 (1992) and Kargel et al., Yeast 12:333-348 (1996), each incorporated herein by reference. In addition, CPR genes are now also referred to as NCP genes. See, e.g., De Backer et al., Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 45:1660 (2001). For example, P450ALK is also designated CYP52 according to the nomenclature of Nelson, supra. Fatty acids are ultimately formed from alkanes after two additional oxidation steps, catalyzed by alcohol oxidase as described, e.g., in Kemp et al., Appl. Microbiol. and Biotechnol. 28: 370-374 (1988), incorporated herein by reference, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The fatty acids can be further oxidized through the same or similar pathway to the corresponding dicarboxylic acid. The xcfx89-oxidation of fatty acids proceeds via the xcfx89-hydroxy fatty acid and its aldehyde derivative, to the corresponding dicarboxylic acid without the requirement for CoA activation. However, both fatty acids and dicarboxylic acids can be degraded, after activation to the corresponding acyl-CoA ester through the xcex2-oxidation pathway in the peroxisomes, leading to chain shortening. In mammalian systems, both fatty acid and dicarboxylic acid products of xcfx89-oxidation are activated to their CoA-esters at equal rates and are substrates for both mitochondrial and peroxisomal xcex2-oxidation (J. Biochem., 102:225-234 (1987)). In yeast, xcex2-oxidation takes place solely in the peroxisomes (Agr. Biol. Chem. 49:1821-1828 (1985)).
Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) are terminal monooxidases of a multicomponent enzyme system including P450 and CPR (NCP). In some instances, a second electron carrier, cytochrome b5(CYTb5) and its associated reductase are involved as described below and in Morgan, et al., Drug Metab. Disp. 12:358-364 (1984). The P450s comprise a superfamily of proteins which exist widely in nature having been isolated from a variety of organisms as described e.g., in Nelson, supra. These organisms include various mammals, fish, invertebrates, plants, mollusk, crustaceans, lower eukaryotes and bacteria (Nelson, supra). First discovered in rodent liver microsomes as a carbon-monoxide binding pigment as described, e.g., in Garfinkel, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 77:493-509 (1958), which is incorporated herein by reference, P450s were later named based on their absorption at 450 nm in a reduced-CO coupled difference spectrum as described, e.g., in Omura et al., J. Biol. Chem. 239:2370-2378 (1964), which is incorporated herein by reference.
Monooxygenation reactions catalyzed by cytochromes P450 in a eukaryotic membrane-bound system require the transfer of electrons from NADPH to P450 via NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) as described, e.g., in Taniguchi et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 232:585 (1984), incorporated herein by reference. CPR is a flavoprotein of approximately 78,000 Da containing 1 mol of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and 1 mol of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) per mole of enzyme as described, e.g., in Potter et al., J. Biol. Chem. 258:6906 (1983), incorporated herein by reference. The FAD moiety of CPR is the site of electron entry into the enzyme, whereas FMN is the electron-donating site to P450 as described, e.g., in Vermilion et al., J. Biol. Chem. 253:8812 (1978), incorporated herein by reference. The overall reaction is as follows:
H++RH+NADPH+O2xe2x86x92ROH+NADP++H2O
Binding of a substrate to the catalytic site of P450 apparently results in a conformational change initiating electron transfer from CPR to P450. Subsequent to the transfer of the first electron, O2 binds to the Fe2+-P450 substrate complex to form Fe3+-P450-substrate complex. This complex is then reduced by a second electron from CPR, or, in some cases, NADH via a second electron carrier, cytochrome b5 (CYTb5) and its associated NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase as described, e.g., in Guengerich et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 205:365 (1980), incorporated herein by reference, and Morgan, supra. Most of the aforementioned studies implicate CYTb5 as being involved in the pathway only for the transfer of the second electron. One atom of this reactive oxygen is introduced into the substrate, while the other is reduced to water. The oxygenated substrate then dissociates, regenerating the oxidized form of the cytochrome P450 as described, e.g., in Klassen, Amdur and Doull, Casarett and Doull""s Toxicology, Macmillan, N.Y. (1986), incorporated herein by reference. With respect to the CYTb5, several other models of the role of this protein in P450 expression have been proposed besides its role as an electron carrier.
While several chemical routes to the synthesis of long-chain xcex1, xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids as 9-octadecenedioic acid are available, such methods are complex and usually result in mixtures containing shorter chain lengths. As a result, extensive purification steps are necessary. As an alternative to chemical syntheses, long chain xcex1,xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids such as 9-octadecenedioic acid can be made via fermentation methods such as microbial transformation of the corresponding hydrocarbons such as alkanes or alkenes, fatty acids or esters thereof. One method for producing substantially pure xcex1,xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids in substantially quantitative yield is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,466, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This method comprises culturing a C. tropicalis strain wherein both copies of the chromosomal POX5 and each of the POX4A and POX4B genes are disrupted in a culture medium containing a nitrogen source, an organic substrate and a cosubstrate.
The POX4 and POX5 gene disruptions effectively block the xcex2-oxidation pathway at its first reaction (which is catalyzed by acyl-CoA oxidase) in a C. tropicalis host strain. The POX4A and POX5 genes encode distinct subunits of long chain acyl-CoA oxidase, which are the peroxisomal polypeptides (PXPs) designated PXP-4 and PXP-5, respectively. The disruption of one or more of these genes results in a partial or complete inactivation of the xcex2-oxidation pathway thus allowing enhanced yields of dicarboxylic acid by redirecting the substrate toward the xcex1-oxidation pathway and also prevents reutilization of the dicarboxylic acid products through the xcex2-oxidation pathway.
Another method for producing substantially pure xcex1,xcfx89-dicarboxylic acids in substantial yield is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/302,620, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,420, and international Application No.PCT/US99/20797, the entire contents of each being incorporated herein by reference. This method includes increasing the CYP and CPR (NCP) enzymes by amplification of the CYP and CPR gene copy number in C. tropicalis strain, and culturing the genetically modified strain in media containing an organic substrate.
Gene(s) involved in the bioconversion of various feed stocks, e.g., HOSFFA (high oleic sunflower oil, i.e., fatty acid mixtures containing oleic acid commercially available from Cognis Corp. as Edenor(copyright) and Emersol(copyright)), have native promoters that control their transcriptional regulation. These promoters are sometimes inadequate to achieve the level of transcription needed to make a gene(s) product, e.g., CPR or CYTb5, that is involved in a given process.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved processes for increasing dicarboxylic acid production in yeast.
In one aspect, the present invention involves improved processes and compositions for increasing dicarboxylic acid production in a microorganism such as yeast. In one embodiment, dicarboxylic acid production is increased by isolating a weak promoter of a gene involved in dicarboxylic acid production and replacing the weak promoter with a strong promoter from a yeast gene having a high level of expression. The substitution of a strong promoter operably linked to a target gene involved in dicarboxylic acid production increases the level of transcription of that target gene.
In another aspect, a nucleic acid sequence is provided which includes a CYP52A2A gene promoter operably linked to the open reading frame of a gene encoding a heterologous protein. Such nucleic acid sequence may be utilized to transform a host cell, to obtain increased expression of a target protein.
In another aspect, expression vectors are provided which include any one of the aforementioned nucleic acid constructs. In yet another aspect, a host cell transformed with one of the aforementioned expression vectors is provided.
In another aspect, a process for transforming a host cell is provided which includes isolating a CYP52A2A promoter; isolating a target gene; operably linking CYP52A2A promoter to the open reading frame target gene to create a fusion gene; inserting the fusion gene into an expression vector; and transforming the host cell with the expression vector.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a container of coolant used in a stepper, and more particularly to a container of coolant utilizing a screw cap to air-tightly close a coolant inlet of the container of coolant.
2. Description of Related Art
The products of integrated circuits (ICs) are existing everywhere in our daily life but the fabricating procedure of the products of ICs is very complicated. Generally, it needs a few hundreds of different steps and takes one or two months to compete a production. The industry of ICs has four main categories including the design of ICs, the fabrication of a wafer, the test of a wafer and the package of a wafer. Therefore, the industry of ICs not only needs a high technology of science but also needs a great amount of funds to support and keep the continuous developing. This causes a high risk on the industry of ICs.
From the point of view of the fabrication of a wafer, it further includes oxidation, diffusion, deposition, pattern, etching and so on. In the fabricating procedure of photolithography, so far, a stepper is usually applied for the fabrication of a wafer.
While a stepper is under the operation for fabricating the wafer, it is very important to keep the temperature and the humidity of the stepper in a certain acceptable range. If the temperature and the humidity were out of the range, the stepper would produce some errors in the fabricating procedure or even could be breakdown. Therefore, the conventional stepper has made use of coolant for maintaining the temperature and the humidity.
Freon (CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2), a coolant, is odorless, nonpoisonous, nonflammable and noncorrosive so that freon is a good candidate of coolant and, thus, is widely used in the stepper, which has a container of coolant to avoid the problems due to the temperature and humidity having been out of acceptable range.
FIG. 1 illustrates the top view of a conventional container of coolant. FIG. 2 illustrates the front view of a conventional container of coolant. FIG. 3 illustrates the perspective view of an exploded conventional container of coolant.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a conventional container of coolant 9 used in a NIKON.TM. stepper 8 with being mounted on machines of types I8, I9 and I10. The structure of the container of coolant 9 includes a storing container 10, a metal plate 14 and a washer 12. The storing container 10 is made of stainless steel and is used for storing a coolant. The storing container 10, with a top and a bottom, has a coolant inlet 11 on the top. The coolant inlet 11 is closed by tightly screwing the six screws 16. The screws 16 distributed evenly on the rim of the metal plate 14 are through the metal plate 14 and the washer 12 to be screwed tightly on the storing container 10. The metal plate 14 has an up-lifter 18 around the center to allow the metal plate 14 to be lifted up. The storing container 10 further has four mounting holes 20 on the bottom for allowing the storing container 10 to be mounted on the stepper 8. In addition, the storing container 10 has a circulative output duct 22 and a circulative input duct 24 for connection with a coolant compressor 100 as shown FIG. 2. The coolant compressor 100 processes the coolant and drives the coolant in circulation through the circulative ducts 22, 24.
For the conventional container of coolant 9, as described above, the coolant inlet 11 is closed by using six screws 16 to tighter the metal plate 14 and the washer 12. If the exerted tightness on each of the screws 16 is not uniform, coolant can leak out from a gap on the periphery of each of the screws 16. Moreover, the leakage of coolant can possibly happen on the up-lifter I8 even though the up-lifter 18 is convenient for lifting the metal plate. If the leakage happens, the insufficient coolant can easily induce the problems on the stepper 8 and cause the errors.
In the description above, the conventional container of coolant 9 has some drawbacks as follows:
1. The method to close the coolant inlet 11 is using six crews 16 through the metal plate and the washer 12 to screw tightly on the storing container 10. If the exerted tightness on each of the screws 16 is not uniform, coolant can leak out from the gap on the periphery of each of the screws 16. PA0 2. The leakage of coolant can possibly happen on the up-lifter 18 even though the up-lifter 18 is convenient for lifting the metal plate.
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Present day agricultural and construction equipment utilize a number of hydraulic hoses which are attachable and detachable between a tractor vehicle and a trailing implement. Such hydraulic hoses normally contain a breakaway coupler at one or both ends. While in use, one end of the hydraulic hose is coupled to the tractor and the other end is coupled to the implement so as to form a closed hydraulic loop. When it is time to separate the implement from the tractor, the breakaway coupler at the implement end is disconnected and the implement is unhitched. After being disconnected, it is possible for the free end of the hydraulic hose to contact the ground and become dirty. Any dirt that adheres to the oily surface of the breakaway coupler can later enter the hydraulic line and cause failure of the equipment. In order to avoid such problems, people have designed hydraulic hose retainers to hold a hydraulic hose up and away from the ground. Many of these prior art hose retainers suffered from two deficiencies; first, they do not fully shelter the end of the breakaway coupler, and second, they normally require excessive force to insert the breakaway coupler into the hose retainer.
Now a hose retainer has been invented which will correct the above-mentioned deficiencies.
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The present invention relates to generation of a route to a destination, and more specifically, to generation of a personalized route to a destination in an electronic map, the personalized route featuring one or more object viewing interests.
Generally, computer users view a lot of images, such as videos or pictures. For example, before traveling to an unfamiliar place or area, a user may watch a video from a video portal (such as YouTube) or view a picture from an image portal (such as Picasa). Because the area is unfamiliar, the user may require a computer generated route to a destination in the area. Navigation systems or software containing routing modules and map data are capable of providing routes based upon a start point and end destination of the user. Typically, however, these devices operate independent of the identity of the user, providing the same route and travel information to the destination, regardless of who submitted the request.
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A razor blade typically is formed of suitable substrate material such as metal or ceramic, and an edge is formed with wedge-shape configuration with an ultimate edge or tip that has a radius of less than about 1,000 angstroms, the wedge shaped surfaces having an included angle of less than 30.degree.. As shaving action is severe and blade edge damage frequently results and to enhance shavability, the use of one or more layers of supplemental coating material has been proposed for shave facilitation, and/or to increase the hardness and/or corrosion resistance of the shaving edge.
A number of such coating materials have been proposed, such as polymeric materials and metals, as well as other materials including diamond-like carbon (DLC) material. Each such layer or layers of supplemental material must have adhesion compatibility so that each layer remains firmly adhered to the substrate throughout the useful life of the razor blade, and desirably provide characteristics such as improved shavability, improved hardness and/or corrosion resistance while not adversely affecting the geometry and cutting effectiveness of the shaving edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,243 of Bache et al. describes blade substrate materials sharpened by ion bombardment from ion sources having the axes of their beams directed at the edges of the razor blades. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,232,568 of Parent et al. and 5,295,305 of Hahn et al. show blades which have an interlayer interposed between the substrate and the diamond-like coating, wherein the interlayer is deposited on the substrate and then the diamond-like coating is deposited on the interlayer.
The prior solutions are not entirely successful, and it would be desirable simply to use mechanical honing processes to form the sharpened substrate (rather than the ion beam formation shown in Bache et al.) followed by a direct deposition of amorphous diamond coating on the substrate (without the intervening step of depositing an interlayer). It would be desirable, therefore, to be able to start with a thin blade substrate produced by mechanical honing and to impart both rigidity and hardness to the substrate by depositing an amorphous diamond coating directly on the substrate.
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The present invention relates to a top guide for a fishing rod. More particularly, the invention relates to a top guide for a fishing rod, provided with a guide ring retainer portion for retaining a guide ring, a cylindrical mounting pipe into which a tip end portion of the fishing rod is to be inserted, a bridge which extends downwardly and backwardly from right and left sides of the guide ring retainer portion, in which a rear end portion of the bridge is fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the mounting pipe from below. The invention relates to an improvement in a top guide for a fishing rod in which a shape of the bridge is contrived to reduce a possibility of hooking of lines.
A conventional top guide mounted on a tip end portion of a fishing rod, in particular, a top guide mounted on a so-called external line-pass type fishing rod, in general, is composed of a guide ring retainer, a mounting pipe and a connecting means for connecting these components. The tip end portion of the fishing rod is inserted into the mounting pipe.
In addition, a middle or larger size top guide is often provided with the plurality of the above-described connecting means.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example a of such a type of conventional fishing rod top guide.
In FIGS. 6 and 7, reference character b denotes a frame made of metal which is composed of a guide ring retainer c in the form of a ring, a bridge d extending downwardly and backwardly from both right and left sides of the guide ring retainer, and a leg piece e having a relatively short length and extending substantially downwardly and backwardly from the lower end portion of the guide ring retainer c. The bridge d is substantially in the form of a trapezoid having a short width on the right and left as viewed from above and having a shape of J-letter turned down 90 degree as viewed from the side. The rear end portion f is bent downwardly in a semicircular shape. Reference character g denotes a mounting pipe made of metal. A rear portion of the leg piece e is inserted into the front end portion of the mounting pipe. The middle portion of the mounting pipe g is laid on the rear end portion f of the bridge d. The outer circumferential surface of the mounting pipe a and the rear end portion f of the bridge d are connected together by welding or brazing. The leg piece e and the front end face of the mounting pipe g are connected together by welding or brazing. Then, the frame b and the mounting pipe g are connected into one piece.
A guide ring h is fitted inside of the guide ring retainer portion c.
A tip end portion of the fishing rod i is inserted into the mounting pipe g from the back side. Thus, the top guide a is mounted on the fishing rod i. The fishing line j is inserted into the guide ring h.
The guide for the fishing rod should meet the requirement that the entanglement of fishing line be avoided as much as possible.
In this respect, the above-described top guide a suffers from various problems. Namely, clearly-stepped portions k, k and k are formed at position where the rear end portion f of the bridge d and the outer circumferential surface of the mounting pipe g are continuous with each other. There would be a fear that the fishing line j would be hooked at the position of the stepped portions k, k and k. Thus, it would be impossible to release and retrieve the fishing line j.
Also, the shape of the bridge d is in a shape of J-letter turned down 90 degree as viewed from the side. A large part of the bridge d projects above a line connecting both ends. For this reason, when the fishing line j is tensioned under the condition that the fishing line has passed through the inside of the bridged as shown by two-dot-and-dash line in FIG. 7, the fishing line a is often unable to escape out of the bridge d. This causes the entanglement of the fishing line.
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The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and more particularly to a sense amplifier control circuit capable of stabilizing a memory cell voltage characteristics by clamping an external power supply voltage to an internal power supply voltage.
As the area occupied by a single transistor is reduced in proportion to the density of a semiconductor memory device, the size of transistor is miniaturized. If a voltage from an external power supply voltage terminal is directly applied to a small-sized sense amplifier and memory cell, the voltage characteristics of the cells is distorted. Furthermore, upon performance of a sensing operation, peak current is increased and power noise is generated, thus making it impossible to perform a stabilized densing operation of the memory device. This unstable performance is, in part, due to the fact that, in sense amplifier control circuits, the external power supply voltage is directly applied by an active restoring signal to the sense amplifier and memory cell through a sense amplifier driver transistor.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional sense amplifier control circuit classified in accordance with each function. In the figure, a dotted block illustrates a sense amplifier control circuit 50, which is comprised of a comparator 50A, a trigger circuit 50D, a level converting circuit 50B, a comparator enable device 50C, a bias circuit 50E, and a p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F.
The comparator 50A inputs and compares a voltage of a p-type sense amplifier 40 of a memory cell array 100 and a reference voltage Vref and outputs the compared voltage by the control of a p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable signal .phi.SP.
The level converting circuit 50B converts a second power supply voltage of the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable signal .phi.SP into a first power supply voltage. Typically, the first power supply voltage is an external power supply voltage having a potential of 5 V, and the second power supply voltage is an internal power supply voltage having a potential of 4 V.
The comparator enable device 50C enables or disables the output of the comparator 50A through the level converting circuit 50B.
The trigger circuit 50D inputs, inverts and outputs the outputs of the comparator 50A and comparator enable device 50C.
The bias circuit 50E inputs the output of the trigger circuit 50D and ensures that a current flowing into a driving element of the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F is constant. The p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F inputs the outputs of the trigger circuit 50D and bias circuit 50E, outputs them to a gate terminal of a p-type sense amplifier driver 1, and then makes a flow of current of the p-type sense amplifier driver 1 constant.
FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram illustrating the conventional sense amplifier control circuit of FIG. 1. FIG. 3A is diagram illustrating a circuit for generating a clock signal of FIG. 2. FIG. 3B is a timing diagram illustrating an operation of FIG. 2. FIG. 3C is a detailed timing diagram illustrating an operation of a portion of FIG. 3B.
Referring to FIG. 2, the comparator 50A comprises a first PMOS transistor 11 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage terminal and a gate terminal and a drain terminal are diode-connected to each other, a second PMOS transistor 12 having a source terminal connected to the external power supply voltage terminal and a gate terminal connected to the gate terminal of the first PMOS transistor 11, a first NMOS transistor 13 having a gate terminal connected to a p-type sense amplifier enable node 2 and a drain terminal connected to the drain terminal of the first PMOS transistor 11, a second NMOS transistor 14 having a gate terminal connected to a predetermined reference voltage Vref and a drain terminal connected to the drain terminal of the second PMOS transistor 12, an output node N1 connected to a common terminal between the second PMOS transistor 12 and the second NMOS transistor 14, and a third NMOS transistor 15 having a drain terminal connected to each of source terminals of the first and second NMOS transistors 13 and 14, a gate terminal connected to the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable signal .phi.SP, and a source terminal connected to a ground potential terminal.
The level converting circuit 50B comprises a first PMOS transistor 19 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage terminal, a second PMOS transistor 20 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage terminal, a first NMOS transistor 21 having a gate terminal connected to the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable signal .phi.SP, a source terminal connected to a ground potential terminal, and a drain terminal connected commonly to a drain terminal of the first PMOS transistor 19 and a gate terminal of the second PMOS transistor 20, an inverter 23 having an input terminal connected to the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable signal .phi.SP and having an internal power supply voltage as a control input, a second NMOS transistor 22 having a source terminal connected to a ground potential terminal and a gate terminal connected to an output terminal of the inverter 23, and output node N3 connected commonly to a gate terminal of the first PMOS transistor 19 and each drain terminals of the second PMOS and NMOS transistors 20 and 22.
The comparator enable device 50C is comprised of a PMOS transistor 16 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage terminal, a gate terminal connected to an output node of the level converting circuit 50B, and a drain terminal connected to the output node of the comparator 50A. The trigger circuit 50D includes a PMOS transistor 17 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage and a gate terminal connected to an output node of the comparator 50A, an NMOS transistor 18 having a source terminal connected to a ground potential terminal and a gate terminal connected to the output node of the comparator 50A, and an output node N2 connected commonly to each of the drain terminals of the PMOS and NMOS transistors 17 and 18.
The bias circuit 50E includes a PMOS transistor 24 having a source terminal connected to an internal power supply voltage terminal and a gate terminal connected to a ground potential terminal, a first NMOS transistor 25 having a drain terminal connected to the drain terminal of the PMOS transistor 24 and a gate terminal connected to the output node N2 of the trigger circuit 50D, an output node as a common terminal of the PMOS and the first NMOS transistors 24 and 25, for outputting a voltage V.sub.B, and a second NMOS transistor 26 having drain and gate terminals diode-connected to the source terminal of the first NMOS transistor 25 and a source terminal connected to a ground potential terminal.
The p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F is comprised of a PMOS transistor 27 having a source terminal connected to an external power supply voltage terminal and a gate terminal connected to the output node of the trigger circuit 50D, a first NMOS transistor 28 having a gate terminal connected to a first input line, an output line connecting a common terminal of the PMOS and first NMOS transistors 27 and 28 to a control terminal of the sense amplifier driver 1 and generating a p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE, a second NMOS transistor 29 having a drain terminal and a source terminal connected between the source terminal of the first NMOS transistor 28 and a ground potential terminal, and a gate terminal connected to the output node of the bias circuit 50E, and a device connected between an external power supply voltage terminal and the output line, for allowing a current iB flowing to the first and second NMOS transistors 28 and 29 to be constant. Here, the device is comprised of a first PMOS transistor 30 having a source terminal connected to the external power supply voltage terminal and gate and drain terminals diode-connected to each other, and a second PMOS transistor 31 having both terminals connected between the drain terminal of the first PMOS transistor 30 and the output line, and having a gate terminal connected to a ground potential terminal. Here, the external power supply voltage terminal outputs an external power supply voltage ext. Vcc, and the internal power supply voltage terminal outputs an internal power supply voltage int. Vcc.
A detailed description of an operation of FIG. 2 will be given with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C.
Referring to FIG. 3A showing circuits which generate each clock signals, an n-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.NSE, as shown in (b) of FIG. 3A, is generated after a signal .phi.S passing through a delay circuit and a master clock .phi.R are passed through a NAND gate 4. The master clock .phi.R is generated by a row address strobe signal RAS that is passed through inverters 1 to 3, as shown in (a) of FIG. 3A. The p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable clock .phi.SP is generated after the n-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.NSE passing through inverters 6 to 8 and the master clock .phi.R passing through an inverter 9 are inputted to a NOR gate 10 as two inputs and then passed through inverters 11 and 12.
In FIG. 2, a p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP is initially precharged to half of the internal power supply voltage int. Vcc. That is, when the row address strobe signal RAS is at a precharged state of a logic "high" level, the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable clock .phi.SP becomes at a logic "low" state and the second NMOS transistor 22 is turned ON, whereby the level converting circuit 50B produces an output having the logic "low" state. Thereby, the PMOS transistor 16 of the comparator enable device 50C is turned ON and the output of the comparator 50A is disabled, thus inputting a signal being at the logic "high" state to the trigger circuit 50D. The trigger circuit 50D produces an output having the logic "low" state and the first NMOS transistor 25 is turned OFF, whereby the bias circuit 50E produces an output having the logic "high" state. The p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F produces an output having the logic "high" state and renders the PMOS sense amplifier driver 1 to be turned OFF, whereby the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP is precharged to half of the internal power supply voltage int. Vcc.
An explanation of functions and operations of the bias circuit 50E and the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F will be given in the following.
The bias circuit 50E includes the output line connected to the gate terminal of the second NMOS transistor 29 serving as a driving element of the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit, thereby making the current iB constant. Namely, Since a voltage at the node N2 increases as the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc increases, the gate-source voltage Vgs of the first NMOS transistor 25 increases to thereby reduce the voltage V.sub.B. The gate-source voltage Vgs of the second NMOS transistor 29 in the p-type sense amplifier driver circuit 50F decreases, so that the increment of the current iB caused due to the increment of the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc can be prevented. At this time, since the voltage V.sub.B supplied from the bias circuit 50E is continuously applied to the gate terminal of the second NMOS transistor 29, the second NMOS transistor 29 is not turned OFF at all.
Since the voltage at the node N2 decreases as the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc decreases, the gate-source voltage Vgs of the first NMOS transistor 25 decreases to thereby increase the voltage V.sub.B. The gate-source voltage Vgs of the second NMOS transistor 29 in the driver circuit 50F decreases, so that the decrement of the current iB caused due to the decrement of the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc can be prevented. This results in making a drain-source current I.sub.DS flowing in the PMOS sense amplifier driver 1 constant. Thereby, the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP irrespective of the variation of the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc has a rising tilt.
In the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F, if the node N2 is at a logic "low" state, the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE goes to the logic "high" state to thereby turn OFF the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5. To the contrary, if the node N2 is at a logic "high" state, the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE goes to the logic "low" state to thereby turn ON the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5 and the first NMOS transistor 28, thus rendering the current iB constant. Even though the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc increases, the current iB is constant thus to maintain a constant voltage of the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE. Since the drain-source voltage of the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5 increases as the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc increases, if a current flowing in the channel is to be constant, the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE as gate voltages of the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5 increases to enable a gate source voltage Vgs to be decreased, thereby making a current flowing in the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5 constant. Accordingly, as a channel current irrespective of the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc is supplied, the rising tilt of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP is all constant in both areas of the "low" external power supply voltage ext. Vcc and the "high" external power supply voltage ext. Vcc, whereby the rising tilt of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP is sharply inclined in the area of the "high" external power supply voltage ext. Vcc. As a result, it is appreciated that the increment of the peak current can be prevented.
An operation of FIG. 2 will be explained hereinafter, when the row address strobe signal RAS is at the logic "low" state to thereby designate a row address.
An arbitrary word line is selected by the row address decoding and division of an electric charge is then made between a bit line and a cell. The n-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.NSE is at the logic "high" state to turn ON the NMOS sense amplifier drivers 3 and 7, thus enabling the bit line to be sensed. The p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable clock .phi.SP goes to the logic "high" state and the output node N3 of the level converting circuit 50B reaches the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc to turn OFF the PMOS transistor 16 of the comparator enable device 50C, thereby enabling the output of the comparator 50A. Since the comparator 50A has a reference voltage Vref (4 V) as a higher voltage than that of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP, the comparator 50A enables the output at the node N1 to be at the logic "low" state. Here, the p-type sense amplifier control circuit enable clock .phi.SP is applied to the gate terminal of the third NMOS transistor 15 of the comparator 50A. The trigger circuit 50D detects the node N1 being at the logic "low" state and outputs the node N2 being at the logic "high" state. The output of the trigger circuit 50D being at the logic "high" state enables the bias circuit 50E and the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F. As previously discussed, as the bias circuit 50E and the driver control circuit 50F operate, the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE turns ON the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5, thereby enabling a voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP to have a constant rising tilt regardless of the change of the external power supply voltage ext. Vcc. Further, if the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP reaches a potential of 4 V, the gate voltage of the NMOS transistor 13 of the comparator 50A increases, thus enabling the output of the node N1 to be at the logic "high" state, the output of the trigger circuit 50D to be at the logic "low" state, and the output of the bias circuit 50E to become the internal power supply voltage int. Vcc.
Since the first NMOS transistor 28 of the p-type sense amplifier driver control circuit 50F is turned OFF, the p-type sense amplifier driver enable clock .phi.PSE goes to the logic "high" state and the p-type sense amplifier drivers 1 and 5 are turned OFF, thereby prohibiting the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP from being over 4 V. If the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable clock SAP is maintained at a potential of 4 V and then falls below 4 V due to a leakage current of each transistor as a component of the memory cell and sense amplifier, as shown in FIG. 3C, the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP rises again by the operation of the comparator 50A.
In the conventional sense amplifier control circuit, under the condition that the voltage on the bit line BL is bumped to some extent, the p-type sense amplifier driver 1 of FIG. 2 is slightly turned on and the potential charge of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP flows into the bit line BL. Hence, the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP node becomes low and is connected to the gate terminal of the first NMOS transistor 13 of the comparator 50A to thereby turn ON the first NMOS transistor 13. Then, the potential at the node N1 is at the logic "low" state and the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP can be recovered again.
However, under the condition that damage of the voltage on the bit line BL is large generated, the p-type sense amplifier driver 1 of FIG. 2 is slightly turned ON and the voltage of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP node drops due to the bit line BL. However, the sense amplifier control circuit of FIG. 2 does not have a structure capable of achieving the rapid recovery of the p-type sense amplifier enable signal SAP, so that a slow recovery capability of the bit line BL and the bit line BL appears. As a result, this causes the restoring time of the memory cell to be reduced, thus making it impossible to completely recover cell data. Specially, this seriously appears upon data transmission of a dual port memory.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a molding compound and a method for producing an oxide-ceramic sintered body.
2. Related Art
DE 195 47 129 C1 discloses a mixture and a method for producing shrink-resistant ceramics. The mixture described here comprises a powdered oxide ceramic, a powdered, intermetallic compound and an organosilicon polymer. This mixture forms a green body that can be sintered in an oxidizing atmosphere without shrinking.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly higher degrees of integration continue to be achieved in semiconductor integrated circuits, especially integrated circuits that use MOS transistors. With the increase in the degree of integration, MOS transistors used in integrated circuits have scaled down to the nanometer order. As the miniaturization of the MOS transistors proceeds, it is becoming increasingly difficult to suppress leak current and to reduce the area occupied by the circuits while maintaining a required amount of current. In order to address these challenges, surrounding gate transistors (referred to as “SGTs” hereinafter) in which a source, a gate, and a drain are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a substrate and a gate electrode surrounds a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer have been proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Nos. 2-71556, 2-188966, and 3-145761).
According to a conventional method for producing SGTs, a contact hole in an upper portion of a silicon pillar is formed separately from a contact hole in a lower portion of the silicon pillar and on a planar silicon layer since the depths of these contacts are different from each other (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-004244). Since the contact holes are formed separately, the number of steps is increased.
While the contact hole in the upper portion of a silicon pillar is formed separately from the contact hole in the lower portion of the silicon pillar and on the planar silicon layer, excessively etching the contact hole in the upper portion of the silicon pillar may result in etching of a gate electrode. If etching is insufficient, there is a possibility that the silicon pillar upper portion is insulated from the contact.
Since the contact hole in the lower portion of the silicon pillar and on the planar silicon layer is deep, it is difficult to fill the contact hole. Moreover, it is difficult to form a deep contact hole.
According to a conventional method for producing SGTs, a silicon pillar in which a nitride film hard mask is formed to have a pillar shape is formed, a diffusion layer is formed in a lower portion of the silicon pillar, a gate material is then deposited, planarized and etched back, and an insulating film side wall is formed on a side wall of the silicon pillar and the nitride film hard mask. Then a resist pattern for a gate line is formed, the gate material is etched, the nitride film hard mask is removed, and a diffusion layer is formed in an upper portion of the silicon pillar (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2009-182317).
In this method, in the cases where intervals between silicon pillars are narrow and a thick gate material must be deposited between the silicon pillars, holes called voids are sometimes formed between the silicon pillars. Formation of voids leads to formation of holes in the gate material after etch back. When an insulating film is deposited to form the insulating film side wall, the insulating film is deposited in the voids. Accordingly, it becomes more difficult to work with the gate material.
To address this, a proposal has been made (for example, refer to B. Yang, K. D. Buddharaju, S. H. G. Teo, N. Singh, G. D. Lo, and D. L. Kwong, “Vertical Silicon-Nanowire Formation and Gate-All-Around MOSFET”, IEEE Electron Device Letters, VOL. 29, No. 7, July 2008, pp. 791-794) in which a gate oxide film is formed after formation of a silicon pillar, a thin polysilicon is deposited, a resist covering an upper portion of the silicon pillar and for forming a gate line is then formed, a gate line is etched, an oxide film is then thickly deposited, the upper portion of the silicon pillar is exposed, the thin polysilicon on the upper portion of the silicon pillar is removed, and the thick oxide film is removed by wet etching.
However, a method in which a metal is used in the gate electrode is not described. Moreover, a resist covering an upper portion of the silicon pillar and for forming a gate line must be formed and the upper portion of the silicon pillar must be covered; thus, this method is not a self-aligned process.
In order to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate, a conventional MOS transistor uses a first insulating film. For example, in a FINFET (High performance 22/20 nm FinFET CMOS devices with advanced high-K/metal gate scheme, IEDM 2010 CC. Wu, et. al, 27.1.1-27.1.4), a first insulating film is formed around one fin-shaped semiconductor layer and is etched back to expose the fin-shaped semiconductor layer so as to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate. Thus, the first insulating film must be used to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate in the SGT also. Since a SGT includes a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer in addition to a fin-shaped semiconductor layer, adjustment must be made for forming the pillar-shaped semiconductor layer.
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The present invention relates to a new and novel technique for introducing biological materials, such as nucleic acids, proteins and the like, into cells and/or cellular components, such as cell nuclei.
As the scientific community""s understanding of the field of molecular biology has grown over the last several years, so has interest in manipulating the biological processes that normally take place within individual cells. An active field of this endeavor is the field of recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant DNA technology typically involves altering the naturally-occurring DNA content of a cell, by addition, subtraction and/or substitution of DNA fragments, so that different proteins are encoded by the cell""s DNA.
One well-known technique for introducing exogenous DNA fragments into target cells is called xe2x80x9ctransformationxe2x80x9d and typically involves inserting the exogenous DNA fragments into genetic vehicles, such as plasmids or suitable types of viruses, which are capable of traversing cell membranes. One shortcoming of this technique is that little control can be exerted over which target cells will actually come into contact with the vehicles and, consequently, receive exogenous DNA.
Another well-known technique for introducing exogenous DNA fragments and other biological materials into target cells is known as xe2x80x9cmicroinjection.xe2x80x9d Microinjection, which is typically performed under a phase-contrast microscope, typically involves filling a glass microcapillary with the desired materials and injecting the materials into the cytoplasm of a target cell with the air of a micromanipulator and gentle air pressure exerted by a syringe connected to the capillary. Although microinjection overcomes the limitation discussed above in connection with transformation in that tight control can be exerted over the selection of a specific target cell, microinjection suffers from being very time-consuming and requiring a high degree of skill. In addition, vibration, grounding, electrostatic shielding, temperature control, optics, recording equipment, and fabrication of microtools can all be complicating factors.
Another technique that has been suggested in the past has been to coat the tip of a projectile with a biological material to be introduced into a cell and then directing the projectile into the cell.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel technique for introducing biological materials into cells and/or cellular components.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a technique as described above which overcomes at least some of the limitations described above in connection with the above-noted existing techniques.
Accordingly, in keeping with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed in one embodiment of the present invention a method for introducing desired biological materials into a target cell and/or a target cellular component, the method comprising the steps of (a) providing a light supply, said light supply including an optical fiber having an output end; (b) contacting said output end of said optical fiber with desired biological materials; (c) orienting said output end of said optical fiber towards a target cell and/or a target cellular component; and (d) transmitting a pulse of light of an appropriate energy level through said optical fiber so as to impart momentum to the desired biological materials disposed at said output end and so as to cause ablation of the membrane of the target cell and/or of the target cellular component, whereby the biological materials enter the target cell and/or the target cellular component through the ablated membrane.
The present invention is also directed to a system for carrying out the aforementioned method.
Additional objects, as well as features and advantages, of the present invention will appear from the description to follow. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments for practicing the invention. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
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The present invention relates to a resin filling device that is used when a molten resin for a rotor for an electric motor is filled.
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The present invention relates to a connector assembly, and in particular, a connector assembly which reduces strain on wires coupled to the connector assembly.
There are various devices which exist for protecting electrical circuits from excessive voltages and/or currents. One such device for use with telecommunications systems is known in the field as an xe2x80x9cbuilding entrance protectorxe2x80x9d, for example of the type produced by Lucent Technologies, Inc., of Murray Hill, N.J. Building entrance protectors typically couple the internal telecommunications lines (e.g. phone lines) of a building or other structure to the external telecommunications lines of a telecommunications provider. The building entrance protector shields the internal telecommunications lines from overvoltage and overcurrent conditions by shunting any excess voltage or current present on the external lines away from the internal lines.
FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a conventional building entrance protector 10. The building entrance protector 10 includes a housing 15 which is movable about joints 16, 17. Joint 17 defines upper 18 and lower 19 portions of the housing 15. The upper portion 18 of the housing 15 includes a plurality of output pins 20, each of which are coupled to a separate wire (e.g. wire 21) at a lower end 25 of the pins. The output pins 20 are all coupled to a connector assembly 27 which holds and retains the output pins. An upper end 26 of each output pin 20 is coupled to an internal telecommunications line (not shown) as explained in detail below. The wire or wires (e.g. wire 21) are bunched together into a wire bunch 22 and fed to the lower portion 19 of the housing 15 where each wire of the bunch is coupled to a lower end 35 of one of a respective plurality of input pins 30 by wire wrap. A plurality of plug-in protection devices 40 are coupled to an upper end 36 of the input pins 30. The plug-in protection devices 40 may be of a type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 to Dickey et al., which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The protection devices 40 protect the input pins 30 from overvoltage and overcurrent conditions. External telecommunications lines (not shown) are coupled to the protection devices 40, and consequently input pins 30, as explained below.
In operation, internal telecommunications lines (not shown) of a building or other structure are coupled to the plurality of output pins 20, and the external telecommunications lines (not shown) of a telecommunications service provider are coupled to the plurality of input pins 30 through protection devices 40. During normal operation, telecommunications signals pass between the input pins 30 and output pins 20 without interruption. However, if an overvoltage or overcurrent condition is presented on one of the external lines, the excess voltage or current is shunted away from the input pins 30 by protection devices 40.
FIGS. 2(a)-2(c) show top, front and side elevation views, respectively, of the connector assembly 27. The connector assembly 27 is substantially rectangular and includes a plurality of output pins 20 coupled to an upper side 28 thereof. Each output pin 20 includes an upper 26 and lower 25 end. The upper end 26 of each output pin 20 includes a fastener (e.g. screw) for coupling to an internal telecommunications line as described above. The lower end 25 of each output pin 25 is coupled to a separate wire (e.g. wire 21) by a wire wrap. As described above, the wire or wires (e.g. wire 21) are gathered together into a wire bunch 22 and led to the bottom portion 19 of the housing 15.
A problem associated with the above-described building entrance protector 10 is that the wire(s) (e.g. wire 21) often experience strains due to, for example, the opening and closing of the housing about joint 17. More particularly, as the building entrance protector 10 is opened and closed about joint 17, the wire(s) of the bunch 22 are often pulled away from the lower end 25 of the respective output pins 20 due to the force exerted on the end of the wire(s) closest to the joint 17 by the opening and closing of the building entrance protector. The strain on the wire(s) caused by this force often causes the wire(s) to become separated from the lower end 25 of output pins 20 at the point where the wire wrap is the weakest. The separation of the wire(s) from the lower end 25 of the output pins 20 breaks the connection between the input 30 and output 20 pins, and results in malfunctions of the building entrance protector 10.
Thus, there is currently a need for an improved building entrance protector which prevents the guillotine of wires.
The present invention is a connector assembly including at least one connector coupled to a connector housing; and, at least one trough disposed on two opposing sides of the housing, wherein a wire coupled to the at least one connector passes through both troughs.
The above and other advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to doweling tools and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a doweling tool having a pneumatically operated drilling tool supported on a carriage wherein the carriage is rollingly supported on a guide bar and a pneumatic cylinder operates to move the carriage in forward and reverse directions.
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1. Field
The technology described herein relates to ultrasound devices and related methods and apparatus.
2. Related Art
Ultrasound imaging probes exist. Conventionally, distinct probes are required for imaging in two dimensions (2D) or three dimensions (3D). Separate design and manufacture of such distinct probes are required, which increases cost and limits versatility of the probes.
Also, conventional ultrasound probes are designed for connection to specialized control systems. The probes themselves include transducers but typically lack any control circuitry for controlling operation of the transducers or processing signals received by the transducers. Rather, control of the transducers and processing of signals received by the transducers is performed by the specialized control systems. The specialized control systems are available to only a select few. Such design further limits the versatility and accessibility of the ultrasound probes.
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Elastomeric polymers such as styrene-butadiene rubbers having a styrene content of from about 20 percent to about 35 percent are commonly produced in inert organic solvents such as hexane. These polymers can be terminated by a number of different compounds including silane containing compounds to yield silane end-capped polymers. This siloxane termination can also result in an increase in the Mooney viscosity of the treated polymer similar to the increase that occurs during tin coupling. However, upon subsequent desolventization of the siloxane-terminated polymer through the use of either steam or heated water, an even larger increase in Mooney viscosity often occurs during the hydrolysis of siloxane groups such as pendant --SiOR groups on the siloxane end groups thereby leading to coupling of the polymer via formation of Si--O--bonds between two siloxane end groups.
Thus, a process utilizing steam or heated water in the desolventization of siloxane end-capped polymers containing hydrolyzable groups such as pendant --SiOR groups has always been accompanied by an increase in the Mooney viscosity of the polymers due to hydrolysis and subsequent coupling that occurs between the terminal siloxane groups.
Various attempts have been made to overcome this hydrolysis and coupling problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,056 discloses the use of acids such as C.sub.1 to C.sub.12 aliphatic and C.sub.6 to C.sub.12 cycloaliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids including acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, decanoic acid, cyclohexanoic acid, benzoic acid and the like, as well as acyl halides thereof, as viscosity stabilizing agents to treat the polymer prior to desolventization. These viscosity stabilizing agents do not react with the siloxane terminal end groups of the polymer, but rather serve to neutralize the by-product lithium compounds in admixture with the polymer, thereby preventing the formation of low boiling alcohols during desolventization at the rate normally produced. Thus, the rate of the hydrolysis reaction and, therefore, the rate of coupling of the polymer which, in turn, correlates to the increase in Mooney viscosity of the siloxane terminated polymer having at least one hydrolyzable substituent on the siloxane end group during contact with water or steam, is slowed substantially. The Mooney viscosity of the polymer can therefore be controlled not only during the desolventization process, but also during subsequent storage of the polymer for a limited period of time where the polymer may be subjected to hydrolysis in the form of moisture in the air or in some other manner.
Other attempts at controlling the Mooney viscosity of siloxane terminated polymers have included the use of alkyl alkoxysilanes such as octyl triethoxysilane as viscosity stabilizing agents. These viscosity stabilizing agents are also added prior to desolventization but, unlike the acids set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,056, react with the siloxane-terminated polymers. Moreover, these viscosity stabilizing agents, i.e., alkyl alkoxysilanes, have the ability to eliminate, not just slow down, any increase in the Mooney viscosity for a period of time. The successful use of these viscosity stabilizing agents however is extremely concentration dependent. That is, the number of --SiOR groups available from the addition of the viscosity stabilizing agent must be such that any Si--O--Si bonds formed are between the hydrolyzable siloxane terminated polymer and the viscosity stabilizing agent, not between the polymers themselves. Furthermore, alkyl alkoxysilanes are relatively expensive compared to many other materials.
Therefore, the need continues to exist for alternative methods for stabilizing and controlling the rate of increase in Mooney viscosity of siloxane-terminated polymers. Such methods preferably would not be dependent upon the concentration of the added viscosity stabilizing agent and would not affect the pH of the polymer.
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At the present time, solar cells are primarily silicon devices because of the maturity of the silicon processing art and the fact that silicon is one of the least expensive and most abundant materials available. Further, silicon based solar cells can be easily and inexpensively integrated into silicon circuits for collection and other functions. However, it is well known in the solar cell art that most silicon solar cells are able to convert only a small portion of solar energy into electricity. This is primarily due to the fact that the spectral range of Si photodiodes is confined to a wavelength range of between 200 nm and approximately 1100 nm.
In attempts too overcome the conversion drawbacks of silicon solar cells, some spectral conversion materials have been developed that absorb solar energy and reemit it in a different spectral range. Most of these spectral conversion materials provide “up-conversion” phenomena, which is the absorption of lower spectral range energy (or higher wavelength of light) and the reemission at a higher spectral range of energy (or a lower wavelength of light). Thus, up-conversion materials absorb spectral energy above 1100 nm (generally around 1500 nm) and reemit it at, for example, 980 nm. In current spectral conversion solutions, all of the up-conversion material is placed in proximity to the back surface of the solar cell. The use of a back reflector allows for the double pass of light (spectral energy) through the up-conversion layer.
One problem that occurs with this positioning of the up-conversion material is that because of the difference of the index of refraction between the silicon and the up-conversion material, the light reflected from the back reflector must impinge on the interface within a 60° angle of incidence. If the angle of incidence is less than 60° the light is simply reflected back into the up-conversion material and lost. Since the up-conversion material is assumed to emit light in a lambertian profile (i.e. in all directions), only ⅙ of the reemitted light is useable.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved solar cell with engineered spectral conversion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell with engineered spectral conversion that is more efficient at converting solar energy.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell with engineered spectral conversion that is relatively easy to fabricate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of fabricating solar cells with engineered spectral conversion.
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This invention relates to filters for sampling or cleaning chemical compounds from the air and, more particularly, to a glass based filter for collecting volatile, semi-volatile and particulate phase chemical compounds from the air.
Air filtration devices are used primarily to clean air by removing particles and undesirable chemical odors. Secondarily, they are essential to air sampling technology for the determination of contaminants by collecting trace levels of chemical compounds. Air filter systems exist that are capable of collecting trace chemicals. Likewise, other air filter systems operate without a large pressure drop. However, at a practical level, a filter not only needs to collect chemical contaminants from the air, but it must do so without impeding the ventilation system in which it is installed. Therefore, a high capacity, low pressure drop filter capable of collecting volatile, semi-volatile and to a degree, particulate chemical compounds is needed.
Existing filter technology uses different substrates coated with, or created from activated carbon to collect chemical constituents from the air. These substrates include glass, paper and other fibers. It is well known in the art to coat these substrates with a coating including activated carbon. The activated carbon functions to “trap” or adsorb chemicals present in the air stream.
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The invention concerns a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for investigating a liquid sample in a sample tube, in particular a glass sample tube, with a sample bushing having a bore into which one end of the sample tube is inserted with tight fit, wherein, in particular, the sample bushing is substantially cylindrical and the bore extends along the cylinder axis and wherein the sample bushing has at least one groove on its outer periphery.
An NMR spectrometer of this type is disclosed e.g. in the leaflet “Bruker's 1 mm MicroProbes, 400-600 MHz, Catalogue of Applications” of the company group Bruker BioSpin.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an effective method to analyze the structure of chemical compounds.
Since the available amount of sample is often very small, this sample amount is filled into measuring capillaries with an outer diameter of typically approximately 1 mm, which also saves space for storing the measuring samples.
Handling of microsamples is difficult due to the fragility of the measuring capillaries. For handling, the sample must be transported for NMR measurement to the region of high magnetic field, typically to the inside of a superconducting magnet coil, wherein high positioning accuracy is required.
There are conventional sample bushings (Bruker's 1 mm MicroProbes, 400-600 MHz, Catalogue of Applications) to prevent direct handling of the measuring capillaries. These measuring capillaries—or more generally a sample tube—is held in the sample bushing and only the sample bushing is directly handled during transport. The sample bushing is made from a sufficiently robust material, e.g. plastic material.
The sample bushing is handled manually using suitable tools, e.g. tweezers, to position the sample bushing, e.g. to introduce the sample bushing including sample tube from a container into a rotor or vice versa. This process requires great operator skill and is therefore very risky for the sample.
The sample glass is usually introduced into the measuring chamber of the NMR magnet by means of an air cushion, wherein this dynamic process is very critical and the sample glass can easily break, in particular when the sample bushing is heavy and therefore exerts large inertial forces onto the sample glass. For this reason, the sample bushing is conventionally provided with one or more grooves to reduce material and weight.
It is the underlying purpose of the present invention to present an NMR spectrometer which permits safe handling of a sample bushing including sample tube.
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Carbon monoxide is usually obtained by separation from synthesis gases produced by catalytic conversion or partial oxidation of natural gas, oils or other hydrocarbon feedstock. In addition to carbon monoxide, these gases contain primarily hydrogen and methane but are often contaminated with significant amounts of nitrogen (derived from the feed or added during processing). Conventional cryogenic separation processing leaves nitrogen as an impurity in the carbon monoxide, which, for both environmental and processing reasons, is unacceptable for some uses of carbon monoxide. The problem of nitrogen contamination of carbon monoxide product is becoming an increasing problem with the usage of more marginal feed stock in front end reforming processes. Further, there is an increasing demand for carbon monoxide to be free of argon, which usually is a co-contaminant with nitrogen. Accordingly, there is a demand for efficient and effective removal of contaminant nitrogen and, if required, argon from carbon monoxide-containing feeds.
The separation of nitrogen alone or with argon co-contaminant from carbon monoxide is relatively difficult compared to removal of hydrogen or methane. Prior art processes for removing nitrogen from synthesis gas usually include the sequential steps of removing hydrogen from the synthesis gas feed, removing methane from the resultant hydrogen-freed stream, and removing nitrogen from the resultant hydrogen- and methane-freed stream to leave a purified CO product stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,621 discloses such a process for the recovery of carbon monoxide in which synthesis gas feed is partially condensed and the resultant two phase mixture fed to a wash column in which carbon monoxide is scrubbed from the vapor phase by contact with a liquid methane stream to provide CO-loaded methane containing some, typically 3-4%, hydrogen. A CO recycle heat pump stream provides intermediate indirect cooling to the wash column to remove the heat of solution of carbon monoxide in methane. Residual hydrogen is removed from the CO-loaded methane in a stripping column to meet the required carbon monoxide product specification. The hydrogen-stripped CO-loaded methane is separated into nitrogen-contaminated carbon monoxide overheads vapor and methane-rich bottoms liquid in a methane-separation fractionation column in which both overheads cooling and bottoms reboil is indirectly provided by the CO recycle heat pump stream. Nitrogen is removed from the carbon monoxide overheads in a nitrogen/CO fractionation column to provide CO product bottoms liquid. Overheads cooling to the nitrogen/CO fractionation column is indirectly provided by expanded CO product bottoms liquid and bottom reboil is directly provided by the CO recycle heat pump stream.
EP-A-0676373 discloses a similar process for the recovery of carbon monoxide but in which hydrogen is separated from synthesis gas feed by partial condensation. The condensate is separated into nitrogen-contaminated carbon monoxide overheads vapor and methane-rich bottoms liquid in a methane-separation fractionation column. Nitrogen is removed from the carbon monoxide overheads in a nitrogen/CO fractionation column to provide CO product bottoms liquid. Partial condensation of overheads from at least one of said fractionation columns and bottoms reboil to the nitrogen/CO fractionation column are provided by a CO recycle heat pump stream. In one embodiment (FIG. 5), CO product bottoms liquid from the nitrogen/CO fractionation column is further distilled in an argon/CO fractionation column to provide argon-freed CO overheads vapor and an argon-enriched bottoms liquid. Bottoms reboil for the argon/CO fractionation column also is provided by the CO recycle heat pump stream.
The stated characterising feature of the process of EP-A-0676373 is reduction of energy consumption and plant capital cost by providing overheads condensation for only one of said separation columns and refluxing the other of said columns with liquid extracted at an intermediate location of the said column having overheads condensation. However, it does describe a process (FIG. 2) which does not have said reflux feature but partially condenses overheads of both the methane- and nitrogen-separation columns.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,831 discloses a process for recovering carbon monoxide from a feed containing at least hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. The feed is cooled and partially condensed and then scrubbed with liquid methane. Dissolved hydrogen in the resultant CO-loaded liquid methane stream is stripped and the hydrogen-stripped CO-loaded liquid methane stream is rectified into a CO-enriched vapor and a methane-enriched bottoms liquid. The characterizing feature of the process is that the liquid methane used to scrub the partially condensed feed contains at least 2 to 15 mol % CO. In practice, the scrubbing liquid is a major portion of the methane-enriched bottoms liquid from the rectification.
DE-A-19541339 discloses a process for removing nitrogen from synthesis gas in which the synthesis gas feed is partially condensed and hydrogen is removed from the condensed fraction in a stripping column to provide a hydrogen-freed CO-rich liquid. Nitrogen is separated from said CO-rich liquid in a nitrogen-separation fractionation column to provide a nitrogen-freed CO-rich bottoms liquid. Part of said nitrogen-freed CO-rich bottoms liquid is vaporized and both the vaporised and remaining (liquid) portions are fed to a methane-separation fractionation column to provide CO product overheads vapor and methane bottoms liquid. Optionally, additional CO is recovered from the hydrogen-rich vapor portion of said partial condensation of the synthesis gas feed by, for example, pressure swing adsorption or membrane separation and processing of the flush gas or membrane retentate.
Reboil to all three columns of DE-A-19541339 is provided by vaporizing a portion of the respective bottoms liquid and returning the vaporized portion to the relevant column. In one embodiment (FIG. 1), heat duty for the reboil of all three columns and condensation duty for reflux of the nitrogen-separation column is provided by a CO recycle heat pump stream, which also directly provides reflux to the methane-separation column. In remaining embodiments (FIGS. 2 & 3), heat duty for the reboil of all three columns and condensation duty for reflux of both the nitrogen- and methane-separation columns is provided by a (nitrogen) closed circuit heat pump stream.
A specified advantage of the process of DE-A-19541339 is the absence of a methane wash. In particular, it is stated that the successive nitrogen- and methane-separation fractionations avoid the use of a methane wash and thereby saves both capital and energy costs. However, in the absence of the optional recovery of CO from the hydrogen-rich vapor fraction of the synthesis gas feed, the CO yield of the process is only about 85%. The optional additional recovery of CO from the hydrogen-rich vapor fraction can increase the yield to about 97% but at the expense of additional capital and energy costs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a more cost effective process for separating carbon monoxide from gaseous mixtures containing carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and nitrogen, especially those which also contain argon.
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1. Related Application
The assignee of the present invention is also the assignee of the following design patent application on the housing containing the present invention: "Solar Powered Light Housing", filed June 22, 1984, Ser. No. 623,378, Dennis R. Schlepp.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to remote solar powered devices and, more particularly, to solar powered lights and lamps that are automatically synchronized with the rising and the setting of the sun to track seasonal variations.
3. Discussion of Prior Art
A need exists in remote and rural locations for solar powered devices, such as lamps, that provide high illumination with excellent battery reliability.
Prior to the present application, a patentability investigation for such devices was performed in which the following prior art approaches were uncovered:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Issue Date ______________________________________ M. E. Paradise 2,889,490 June 2, 1959 J. J. Coleman 2,901,669 Aug. 25, 1959 H. G. Zinsmeyer 3,428,861 Feb. 18, 1969 Katsumi Takeda 3,231,747 Jan. 25, 1966 L. J. Woodward 3,240,960 March 15, 1966 G. W. Bowers 3,317,809 May 2, 1967 H. T. Adkins 3,351,762 Nov. 7, 1967 P. R. Corn 3,529,214 Sept. 15, 1970 Frank M. Olin 3,599,048 Aug. 10, 1971 Art Lee 3,673,413 June 27, 1972 Ezra Schacht 3,789,220 Jan. 29, 1974 George Duve 3,916,183 Oct. 28, 1975 John J. Powers 3,995,202 Nov. 30, 1976 De Avila-Serafin 4,008,415 Feb. 15, 1977 Earle W. Kazis 4,009,051 Feb. 22, 1977 Chapdelaine 4,177,405 Dec. 4, 1979 Egon H. Elssner 4,198,563 Apr. 15, 1980 Robert Membreno 4,209,728 June 24, 1980 Aksel Jespersen 4,213,062 July 15, 1980 Victor Sansum 4,237,377 Dec. 2, 1980 William Rogers 4,314,198 Feb. 2, 1982 John K. Grady 4,362,970 Dec. 7, 1982 ______________________________________
In the Sansum patent a sun-synchronized timer is set forth for use with a photoelectric lamp control circuit. The electric lamp is connected, at dusk, each evening and is disconnected a predetermined time later. The predetermined time starts with the dawn and produces a series of electrical timing pulses which enter a binary counter. The output of the binary counter is digitally compared with preset time values in an encoder and when the comparison is identical, a signal is generated to an output latch for deactivating the load and resetting the circuit. The user can encode whatever predetermined time he desires. Hence, the Sansum circuit is synchronized each day with the time of day.
The patent to Duve et al relates to a mechanical control unit which measures the span of time between dawn and dusk for each day. Based upon the "span of time" determination, a timer operates for a period of time after dusk. The period of time being longer when the span of time is shorter and shorter when the span of time is longer. Hence, the load which is turned on at dusk at deactivated at substantially the same time (for example midnight) each night, even though the length of time that the load is on varies with the seasons.
The Schacht patent relates to a light sensitive electrical timing circuit which causes a timer to become activated at dawn and to deactivate a load which was turned on at dusk a predetermined amount of time after dawn such as sixteen hours. Additionally, a compensation time circuit is provided for compensating seasonal changes so that the load is deactivated approximately the same time each night. The Schacht circuit utilizes bi-metal controls and mechanical timers to perform its operation.
The patent issued to Rogers uses a solar power source for its lighting system. The Rogers device is designed to be the power source for a low voltage solar light comprised of photovoltaic panels. At dusk, the system operates to turn the load on and an electronic timer is activated which generates a series of pulses into a binary counter which after a predetermined time deactivates the load.
The Woodward patent relates to a photoelectric lighting control which turns on a load at dusk and then turns it off a predetermined time later. With the rising of the next dawn, the timer is reset, but does not commence timing until dusk is again sensed.
Takeda et al teaches the use of a photoelectric self-correcting timing device for activating electric loads. The Takeda device being mechanical is designed to become activated each dawn and then to go through a mechanical process of revolution to compensate for the variations in the seasonal rising and setting of the sun.
The Grady patent relates to the provision of two timers interacting with each other and both being started at dusk to control street lamps or other loads including household hot water heaters. The first time frame is generated with the light change and at the end of the first time frame, the load is turned on or off. A second time frame which is longer than the first time frame is then used to turn the loads off.
The patent issued to Membreno relates to an outdoor lighting system and method wherein pulse shaping, counting, and reset circuits generate a first time frame commencing at dusk, the timing out of which, causes the load to become deactivated. The provision of a second time frame longer than the first, which when it times out, may cause the load to become activated, if it is still dark outside.
The Elssner patent relates to circuits similar to that of Membreno in that an electronic control circuit is provided which provides a timer activated at dusk to turn off an activated load after a predetermined time has elapsed. A "hold off" time interval is then provided as an override to prevent the photo detector from becoming activated for the hold off period of time.
In the patent issued to De Avila-Serafin et al a photo control for electric lamps is set forth wherein, at dusk, the load becomes activated and is turned off after a predetermined period of time. The predetermined period of time is determined by digitally counting pulses from an oscillator and determining the count to a predetermined value. When the predetermined count is reached, the circuit acts to turn the load off. The frequency of the pulses from the oscillator are changed according to the outside temperature to change the predetermined period of time based upon summer and winter conditions.
Zinsmeyer teaches the use of a photo electric timer control which causes a load to turn on a predetermined time before dawn and also a predetermined time after dusk. The circuit is electronic and can be modified so that the load is only turned on after dusk, only before dawn, or before dawn and after dusk. The predetermined time intervals can be adjusted by adjusting the potentiometer.
None of these prior art approaches sets forth the present invention, as wholly constituted, which provides a circuit which senses the prior dawn and counts down for a predetermined time interval to turn the light on for a predetermined period of time just before dawn of the next day. In addition, when dusk is sensed, a separate timer is provided which becomes activated to time out a predetermined time later. In addition, the present invention provides the detection of the ambient solar level by means of the solar array itself. The present invention further contemplates the use of a single control for adjusting three separate potentiometers so that certain parameters are met wherein the amount of time for turning the light on just before sunrise or after sunset can be varied but will always equal a predetermined fixed amount so as not to provide undue discharge of the battery. And finally, provision is made for monitoring the charge on the battery and for deactivating the lamp circuitry should the charge in the battery drop below a predetermined value.
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This invention relates to certain pyrimidinones, their N-oxides, agriculturally suitable salts and compositions, and methods of their use as fungicides.
The control of plant diseases caused by fungal plant pathogens is extremely important in achieving high crop efficiency. Plant disease damage to ornamental, vegetable, field, cereal, and fruit crops can cause significant reduction in productivity and thereby result in increased costs to the consumer. Many products are commercially available for these purposes, but the need continues for new compounds which are more effective, less costly, less toxic, environmentally safer or have different modes of action.
DT 2,210,503, DT 2,411,274, DT 2,411,273, and DD-A-240,892 disclose certain thienopyrimidine compounds. These publications, however, do not disclose the compounds of the present invention nor agricultural fungicide utility. U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,582 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,384 disclose certain 4(3H)-quinazolinone fungicides. These publications, however, do not disclose the compounds of the present invention.
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A conventional apparatus for attaching a filter bag to a vacuum sweeper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,439,7997, and includes a sled and a sweeper housing. The sled includes an upper flange, a lower flange, and a spring. The upper and lower flanges are separated by a slot which is configured to receive a top plate of a filter bag having a key formed thereon. The spring extends into the slot. The sweeper housing is adjacent to the sled, and includes a cavity for receiving a portion of the filter bag, and a lock that interconnects with the key.
WO 2009/008799 discloses a vacuum cleaner which includes a dust collecting compartment, an intake sleeve projecting into the dust collecting compartment, a bag holder inside the dust collecting compartment, and an access lid for permitting access to the dust collecting compartment. The vacuum cleaner also includes a stop member on the bag holder adjacent the access lid and a positioning member inside the dust collecting compartment.
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Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology is generally used to detect voice and key inputs from a caller. The advent of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems has reduced operating costs for many types of businesses for providing services. Generally, the IVR systems allow a user to interact with an audio or visual response system. The IVR systems can provide prompts to a user and receive touch tone and/or spoken responses on the prompts from the user. Through such IVR dialogue the system collects sufficient information about the user to direct the call to the most appropriate resource, information processing system or the like.
Generally, when the caller calls a destination, such as a bank, an automated audio IVR menu is played. The audio IVR menu can contain instructions to provide instant services such as account balance inquiry when the destination is a bank. Further, audio menu can provide options for the caller to connect to a desired end inside the destination. For example, the menu may direct the caller to press various keys on a telephone to connect to a particular department or agent. The audio IVR menu is designed specific to a destination. Therefore, each destination or organization may have different audio IVR menus. Further, the IVR menu in an organization can be based on the type of departments, type of services, customer care executives or agents and so forth. For example, an IVR menu of a bank may include options related to the account details of the caller, while an IVR menu of a pizzeria may contain options to order or select a pizza.
Typically, the caller calling the destination may have to listen and follow instructions on the menu to get a desired response or a function performed. Therefore, the process can be time consuming. Moreover, in case the caller provides an incorrect input, the complete process may have to be repeated. Furthermore, the IVR menu for an organization may be updated or changed regularly. For example, extension numbers inside an organization may be changed and correspondingly, the extension numbers associated with the IVR menu may be updated. As a result, a frequent caller may not be able to reach a desired end by remembering a combination of numbers. Furthermore, the dialed destination may not include the information desired by the user. In such a case, the user may have to call the destination again for retrieving the desired information. Therefore, the user may become frustrated with the IVR systems.
Usually, the IVR menus are same for all the users. Therefore, the customer has to listen them carefully to select the appropriate option. The user may have to wait for long time for receiving information while interacting with the IVR systems. Moreover, sometimes the requested information might not be available at the time when the user calls the destination. Therefore, the user may have to either wait for long time or call again later. For example, the user may desire to talk to a customer care executive of the destination, who is busy at the time of the call. Therefore, the call of the user may be put on hold or he may be asked to call later.
Some prior art try to address this problem by providing visual form of IVR. These prior arts display the IVR menu graphically on a caller device. U.S. Pat. No. 7,215,743 assigned to International Business Machines Corporation and a published U.S. patent application with Ser. No. 11/957,605, filed Dec. 17, 2007 and assigned to Motorola Inc., provides the IVR menu of the destination in a visual form to the caller. The caller can select the options from the IVR menu without listening to the complete audio IVR menu. However, the IVR menu displayed on the caller device is stored on an IVR server at the destination end. As a result, the visual IVR menu is specific to the destination and only the IVR of the destination dialed is displayed. These techniques therefore, require each destination to set-up hardware, software and other facilities to be deployed for providing visual IVR servers.
A U.S. Pat. No. 7,460,652, assigned to AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., discloses techniques for call routing and communication with a call originator. The call may be received at an automated call handling system. Thereafter, the call is evaluated based on a set of business rules and routed to an interactive voice response unit based on the evaluation. Further, the interactive voice response unit automatically schedules and sends an email to the originator of the call. However, the scheduling of the email is performed after establishing a communication with the automated call handling system. Moreover, the scheduling is performed at the automated call handling system.
Another existing technique as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,320 assigned to International Business Machines Corporation enables an operator of the IVR to send customized signals to the caller for generating and displaying graphical elements on the device of the caller. Thereafter, the caller can respond by selecting options through touch-screen interface of the device. Dual Tone Multi frequency (DTMF) signals of the IVR. However, this technique requires a specifically configured device to interpret the codes sent as Dual Tone Multi frequency (DTMF) signals for generating the graphics. Moreover, an operator is required to present the graphics to the caller. Furthermore, specialized software and hardware are required at the operator to design and generate DTMF codes. Therefore, the technique faces various practical limitations.
Generally, the IVR menus of the organizations are in form of audible menu. Moreover, there are a large number of organizations that use IVR menus. Therefore, converting the audible menus to visual IVR menus can be time consuming. An existing technique, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,425 assigned to Nortel Networks Limited, discloses an automated script to convert the audible menus scripts to visual IVR menu scripts. However, the audible menus scripts must be available in a particular format to enable the conversion. Furthermore, the audio menu scripts must be available or downloadable for the program to function. As a result, only the audio menus scripts that are available can be converted to visual IVR menu scripts. Furthermore, the device of the caller must be designed or programmed to understand the visual IVR menu scripts.
Various organizations encourage the customers to call them for information on their products or services, or for helping existing customers. Generally, a contact number is provided by the organizations on their website as a button. Therefore, when the customer presses the button a form is displayed. The customer then enters his contact number where an executive from the organization may call. However, this may be time consuming for the customer. Moreover, the customer may be not being able to talk to another executive during the call in case the on-line executive is not able to satisfy the customer. U.S. patent application with Ser. No. 12/049,021, filed Mar. 14, 2008 and assigned to Harprit Singh, provides methods and systems for displaying an IVR menu, when the caller clicks a link on a webpage provided by the organization. However, the customer is still required to request the webpage with embedded information from a server of the organization. Moreover, the methods and systems are limited to the organizations that provide the required webpage to the customers. Other technologies include U.S. patent application with Ser. No. 11/877,952 filed Oct. 24, 2007 and assigned to International Business Machine Corporation.
The effectiveness of providing the IVR in visual form is discussed in a technical paper titled, ‘The Benefits of Augmenting Telephone Voice Menu Navigation with Visual Browsing and Search’ by Min Yin et al. The paper discusses a setup where visual content of the IVR is sent from a service provider to a computer connected to a mobile phone. However, the technique discussed in the paper is limited to the visual content provided by the service provider's end, after the connection is established. Moreover, the providers are required to individually set up the hardware and services for providing visual content.
As discussed above the existing technologies have various limitations. Hence, techniques are desired for providing enhanced telephony.
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The present invention relates to paint spray systems, most typically but not necessarily of the electrostatic type. More particularly, the invention relates to a new and improved system for effecting a color change cycle in an industrial paint spray system, in a manner permitting segregation and separate collection of the residual paint remaining in the system at the commencement of a color change cycle.
In the R. F. Wiggins U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,774, owned by the assignee of the present invention, an advantageous arrangement is shown for effecting a color change cycle in an industrial painting system. This arrangement includes an in-line valve manifold containing a series of paint color valves, as well as purge valve means for solvent and air. When it is desired to change over the system from one paint color to another, a cycle control is initiated to sequentially terminate the supply of original paint, flush out the system with solvent, and possibly also with air, and introduce paint of a new color into the system. To avoid having to discharge a substantial volume of paint and solvent into the spray booth area, discharge conduits are provided, communicated with the spray devices only substantially at the spray nozzle, immediately upstream of the discharge valves for the nozzles. When a color change cycle is initiated, the spray nozzle valves are closed and so-called "dump" valve means in the discharge lines are opened, enabling the original paint and the cleaning solvent to be discharged from the dump valve and into a suitable receptacle. The new paint flows through the system until it commences to flow into the discharge line, on the downstream side of each spray gun, after which the dump valve means can be closed and the spray nozzles re-opened.
In prior color change systems, there has been no convenient facility for easily segregating and separately collecting the unused paint of an original color, as it is purged from the system in preparation for a new color. While, of course, it has been theoretically possible to accomplish this, the practical economics of performing an effective segregation with existing equipment has not been favorable.
As a feature of the present invention, a novel, yet highly simplified arrangement is provided which enables successive colors to be readily isolated from each other, and effectively and separately collected, all as a part of a substantially automatic cycle requiring a relative minimum amount of time and operator attention. In part, this is achieved by providing a pair of spaced trap valves, with an "inventory line" of substantial length connected therebetween and desirably formed of transparent or translucent material. During the course of a color change cycle, it is readily possible to time with the cycle timer the purging of the existing paint through the inventory line, and the subsequent entry into the inventory line of the new color paint. When the new color has entered the inventory line, the timer then closes both trap valves. This provides for an uninterrupted column of paint upstream of the inventory line and complete segregation of the original paint downstream of the inventory line. Upon closing of the trap valves, the painting system may be reactivated to apply the new color at the spray station. Independently, additional purging solvents and fluids may be introduced downstream of the inventory line to effect thorough clean out of the discharge line in preparation for a subsequent color change cycle.
To advantage, the system of the invention permits all of the paint recirculation and supply functions to be confined substantially within a segregated paint mix room or area although such is not required by the invention. Moreover, the discharge section of this system may terminate remotely, within the paint mix room, so that all paint mixing and handling functions can be accomplished entirely remote from the spray area.
In cases where a relatively elaborate system is desired, the segregation and separate collection of paints, during a color change cycle, may be sequenced in such manner that the purged material is discharged back into a segregated auxiliary paint supply associated with the vessel from which the paint was supplied in the first instance. In a more economical system, suitable for many applications, purged paint is segregated into separate vessels and remixed at a subsequent convenient time.
In those instances where the purged materials are to be returned a substantial distance to a remotely located mixing room, the trap valves and inventory line are, according to the invention, located in reasonably close proximity to the spray booth area. This maintains at a minimum the volume of new paint required to properly charge the system in preparation for painting of a new color, and thus tends to minimize the increments of paint required to be purged when a color change cycle is effected.
The system of the invention is readily adaptable to effecting sequential color change cycles in a series of paint stations. Thus, the system is ideally suited for typical industrial paint spray installations, in which a plurality of paint spray stations are located at spaced positions along a conveyor route.
For a better understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, and to the accompanying drawings.
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Automatic identification (“Auto-ID”) technology is used to help machines identify objects and capture data automatically. One of the earliest Auto-ID technologies was the bar code, which uses an alternating series of thin and wide bands that can be digitally interpreted by an optical scanner. This technology gained widespread adoption and near-universal acceptance with the designation of the universal product code (“UPC”)—a standard governed by an industry-wide consortium called the Uniform Code Council. Formally adopted in 1973, the UPC is one of the most ubiquitous symbols present on virtually all manufactured goods today and has allowed for enormous efficiency in the tracking of goods through the manufacturing, supply, and distribution of various goods.
However, the bar code still requires manual interrogation by a human operator to scan each tagged object individually with a scanner. This is a line-of-sight process that has inherent limitations in speed and reliability. In addition, the UPC bar codes only allow for manufacturer and product type information to be encoded into the barcode, not the unique item's serial number. The bar code on one milk carton is the same as every other, making it impossible to count objects or individually check expiration dates.
Currently cartons are marked with barcode labels. These printed labels have over 40 “standard” layouts, can be mis-printed, smeared, mis-positioned and mis-labeled. In transit, these outer labels are often damaged or lost. Upon receipt, the pallets typically have to be broken-down and each case scanned into an enterprise system. Error rates at each point in the supply chain have been 4-18% thus creating a billion dollar inventory visibility problem. Only with radio frequency identification (“RFID”) does the physical layer of actual goods automatically tie into software applications, to provide accurate tracking.
The emerging RFID technology employs a radio frequency (“RF”) wireless link and ultra-small embedded computer chips, to overcome these barcode limitations. RFID technology allows physical objects to be identified and tracked via these wireless “tags”. It functions like a bar code that communicates to the reader automatically without needing manual line-of-sight scanning or singulation of the objects. RFID promises to radically transform the retail, pharmaceutical, military, and transportation industries.
The advantages of RFIDs over bar code are summarized in Table 1:
TABLE 1BarcodeRFIDNeed line-of-sight to readIdentification without visual contactRead onlyAble to read/writeOnly a barcode numberAble to store information in tagBarcode number is fixedInformation can be renewed anytimeCategory level tagging only-noUnique item identificationunique item identifierUnable to read if barcode isCan withstand harsh environmentdamagedUse onceReusableLow costHigher costLess FlexibilityHigher Flexibility/Value
As shown in FIG. 1, an RFID system 100 includes a tag 102, a reader 104, and an optional server 106. The tag 102 includes an IC chip and an antenna. The IC chip includes a digital decoder needed to execute the computer commands that the tag 102 receives from the tag reader 104. The IC chip also includes a power supply circuit to extract and regulate power from the RF reader; a detector to decode signals from the reader; a backscatter modulator, a transmitter to send data back to the reader; anti-collision protocol circuits; and at least enough memory to store its EPC code.
Communication begins with a reader 104 sending out signals to find the tag 102. When the radio wave hits the tag 102 and the tag 102 recognizes and responds to the reader's signal, the reader 104 decodes the data programmed into the tag 102. The information is then passed to a server 106 for processing, storage, and/or propagation to another computing device. By tagging a variety of items, information about the nature and location of goods can be known instantly and automatically.
Many RFID systems use reflected or “backscattered” radio frequency (RF) waves to transmit information from the tag 102 to the reader 104. Since passive (Class-1 and Class-2) tags get all of their power from the reader signal, the tags are only powered when in the beam of the reader 104.
The Auto ID Center EPC-Compliant tag classes are set forth below:
Class-1 Identity tags (RF user programmable, maximum range 3 m) Lowest cost
Class-2 Memory tags (8 bits to 128 Mbits programmable at maximum 3 m range) Security & privacy protection Low cost
Class-3 Semi-Active tags Battery tags (256 bits to 64 Kb) Self-Powered Backscatter (internal clock, sensor interface support) 100 meter range Moderate cost
Class-4 Active tags Active transmission (permits tag-speaks-first operating modes) Up to 30,000 meter range Higher cost
In RFID systems where passive receivers (i.e., Class-1 and Class-2 tags) are able to capture enough energy from the transmitted RF to power the device, no batteries are necessary. In systems where distance prevents powering a device in this manner, an alternative power source must be used. For these “alternate” systems (also known as active or semi-passive), batteries are the most common form of power. This greatly increases read range, and the reliability of tag reads, because the tag doesn't need power from the reader. Class-3 tags only need a 10 mV signal from the reader in comparison to the 500 mV that a Class-1 tag needs to operate. This 2,500:1 reduction in power requirement permits Class-3 tags to operate out to a distance of 100 meters or more compared with a Class-1 range of only about 3 meters.
Early field trials have shown that the currently available passive short-range Class-1 and Class-2 tags are often inadequate for tagging pallets and many types of cases. The problems with these passive tags are particularly severe when working with “RF-unfriendly” materials like metal (like soup cans), metal foils (like potato chips), or conductive liquids (like soft drinks, shampoo). No one can consistently read case tags located in the interior of a stack of cases—as occurs in a warehouse or pallet. The existing passive tags are also inadequate to tag large or rapidly moving objects like trucks, cars, shipping containers, etc.
Class-3 tags solve this problem by incorporating batteries and signal preamplifiers to increase range. This battery will last many years if power consumption is managed well, but only a few days if power consumption is managed poorly. Because battery powered systems (also known as active devices) will coexist with passive devices, care must be taken to reduce the power drain of the battery powered systems. Class-1 RFID tags, for example, receive their operating power from the Reader (Transmitted power). The definition of Class-3 RFID devices requires distances sufficient to make this an unusable power source. Additionally, Class-3 devices must co-exist in Class-1 environments and care must be taken to manage power drain from the battery of all active or semi-active devices. If a Class-3 device continually responds to unwanted Class-1 instructions (these being commands for “other” devices) battery power will be drained extremely quickly.
Wake up codes have been used in RFID systems to selectively “wake up” individual tags and not others, thereby conserving the battery life of the tags that are not needed and/or reducing the amount of signal received back from a given set of tags. Typically, the reader broadcasts a wake up code, and each tag activates just long enough to determine whether the broadcast code matches a code stored in the tag's memory. If the codes match, the tag fully activates. If the codes do not match, the tag returns to a hibernate state or does not respond further to the reader.
The use of wake up codes has been proven to be effective at reducing overall battery consumption in Class-3 devices. However, it would be desirable to eliminate the need for all tags receiving a broadcasted wake up code to analyze the wake up code to determine whether the wake up code corresponds to that particular tag. Thus, it would be desirable to add some type of encoding to indicate early on during receipt of the wake up code whether or not to continue to analyze the rest of the wake up code string.
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{
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This invention relates to a retractable assist grip for a car body, which is retracted from its use position to its retracted position when it is not in use, and a mounting method thereof, and more particularly relates to pivotal type one which is retractable so as to be swung to its retracted position.
There is known a conventional retractable assist grip of such kind, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. 9-263166. In this case, respective pairs of extensions are provided on each leg of a U-shaped grip body and each corresponding part of a car body, and one pair of extensions, extending from one of the legs of the grip body or the corresponding part of the car body, are interposed between the other pair of extensions. In addition, coaxial holes are formed over the two pairs of extensions, and a damper, which is formed of an outer cylinder and an inner pin inserted into the outer cylinder and in which a high-viscosity viscidity is encapsulated, is inserted into the coaxial holes. And, the outer cylinder and the inner pin of the damper are fixed to the two pairs of extensions, one located on the grip body side and the other located on the car body side, respectively. Thus, when the grip body is swung from use to retracted position, it is urged against the swing motion by the viscosity of the viscidity in the damper thereby reducing its swinging speed.
When the swing motion of the grip body toward the retracted position is slowed down in the above manner, the grip body slowly moves from use to retracted position. Therefore, it is prevented that the grip body immediately moves to the retracted position and hits the car body hard to cause a beating sound. This provides a desired upscale image to the assist grip.
As another example of conventional pivotal type retractable assist grips, there is known an assist grip in which one leg of the grip body is supported to a bearing member through a support pin, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. 5-96982. In this assist grip, the support pin is contacted with a frictional brake made of viscoelastic resin material. When the grip body is swung from use to retracted position, it is given sliding resistance by the frictional brake thereby reducing its swinging speed.
The former conventional example (Japanese patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. 9-263166) can provide improved quality appearance and durability. However, in this example, since the damper formed of the outer cylinder and the inner pin is fitted as a pin into holes through the pairs of extensions of the grip body and the car body, the number of components forming the damper mechanism becomes increased, which invites a rise in cost.
On the other hand, in the latter conventional example (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. 5-96982), it is necessary to provide, in the bearing member, a frictional brake for contacting the support pin therewith. This increases the number of components for the damping mechanism. In addition, since the swing motion of the grip body is damped by sliding resistance, this makes it difficult to give an upscale image to the swing motion and may cause a drop in durability due to friction.
Alternatively, there is a retractable assist grip easily and readily mountable to an inner panel of a car body, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,322. In this assist grip, a pair of mount bodies are each formed with a through hole and a pair of flexible engaging pieces each having a pawl at the distal end thereof are extended from the periphery of the through hole on the back of each mount body.
In mounting this assist grip to the inner panel, the mounts are presented to corresponding mounting holes of the inner panel, the pairs of flexible engaging pieces are inserted into the mounting holes, respectively, and the mount bodies are caused to abut on the peripheries of the corresponding mounting holes of the inner panel from the front side of the inner panel. Then, locking pins are inserted into the through holes of the mound bodies from the front side of the inner panel, respectively, and in this state, the grip body is swung in its retracted direction to press the locking pins into the corresponding through holes of the mount bodies. Each of the pressed locking pins pushes the pair of flexible engaging pieces apart from each other so that the pawls of the flexible engaging pieces are engaged on the periphery of the mounting hole of the inner panel from the backside thereof. Thus, the inner panel is secured in sandwich relation between the mount bodies and the pawls.
Meanwhile, for retractable assist grips, the grip body and the mounts are separate parts. Therefore, if the grip body and the mounts are carried individually into a car body assembly line and then mounted to the inner panel, this increases the number of assembly man-hours in the car body assembly line. Accordingly, the grip body and the mounts are generally carried, into the car body assembly line, in a semi-assembled condition where, as in the above conventional case, the locking pins are inserted halfway into the corresponding through holes of the mount bodies.
However, when the locking pins are kept inserted halfway into the through holes of the mount bodies, some factor may cause the locking pin to be fully pressed into or dropped out of the through hole of the mount body before the mounts are carried in the car body assembly line.
Once the locking pin has been fully pressed into the through hole, the assist grip in this state is no longer mountable to the inner panel since both the pawls are pushed apart from each other beyond the aperture of the mounting hole. In this case, though the locking pin should be pulled out of the through hole, the pulling of the locking pin is an extremely difficult work since the locking pin is forcibly pressed into the through hole,
On the other hand, if the locking pin has been dropped out of the through hole, it may be lost, which makes it impossible to assemble the assist grip to the car body in the car body assembly line. Such an event constitutes a serious impediment to a smooth flow of the car body assembly line and therefore should be absolutely avoided.
A first object of the present invention is to improve a damper mechanism of a pivotal type retractable assist grip that uses a damper in which a high-viscosity viscidity is encapsulated, and more specifically not only to slow down the swing motion of the assist grip to its retracted position by an excellent damping effect of the damper in which the viscidity is encapsulated but also to reduce the number of components of the assist grip thereby resulting in cost reduction.
A second object of the present invention is to avoid any impediment to the mounting of the assist grip to a fixed body such as a car body panel by preventing the locking pin from moving to its locking position before the carriage of the assist grip into the assembly line and from dropping out of the through hole of the mount body.
To achieve the first object, in the present invention, an assist grip is configured such that a damper, in which the above-mentioned high-viscosity viscidity is encapsulated, is incorporated together with a grip body and a mount.
Specifically, the present invention is directed to a retractable assist grip including: a pair of mounts fixed to a fixed body such as a car body; a grip body pivotally mounted for swing motion at legs thereof onto the mounts, respectively; and urging means, provided between at least one of the legs of the grip body and the corresponding mount, for urging the grip body into swing motion from its use position to its retracted position.
Further, at least one of the pair of mounts includes a fulcrum pin extended integrally from one side thereof, a recess formed coaxially with the fulcrum pin on the opposite side of the mount, and a loose-fit pin extended integrally from the inner bottom toward the opening of the recess and coaxially with the fulcrum pin. Furthermore, the leg of the grip body is formed with a pin support journaled on the fulcrum pin. In addition, the leg of the grip body is assembled against relative rotation with a spacer rotatably inserted into the recess of the mount and including a pin loose-fitting part for loosely receiving the loose-fit pin therein, and a viscidity is provided in a space between the outer periphery of the spacer and the inner periphery of the recess of the mount.
With this arrangement, when the grip body swings with respect to the mount having the fulcrum pin, the pin support in the leg of the grip body rotates about the fulcrum pin of the mount and the spacer assembled against relative rotation with the leg of the grip body rotates about the loose-fit pin within the recess of the mount. Since the viscidity is provided in the space between the inner periphery of the recess of the mount and the outer periphery of the spacer, a damper is formed by the mount and the spacer fitted on the grip body side. The viscosity of the viscidity in the damper produces resistance against the rotation of the spacer, so that the grip body can swing slowly. This provides an upscale image to the swing motion.
Further, since the grip body is supported to the mount having the fulcrum pin such that the pin support of the leg of the grip body is journaled on the fulcrum pin of the mount and the spacer fitted on the grip body side is inserted into the recess of the mount, the assist grip can be built up from the urging means, the grip body, the mount and the spacer only. Accordingly, the number of components of the assist grip is reduced than that of the conventional one, which achieves cost reduction. In addition, since the damper is accommodated in the grip body, the appearance of the assist grip can be improved.
The viscidity is preferably also provided in a space between the inner periphery of the pin loose-fitting part of the spacer and the outer periphery of the loose-fit pin of the mount. In this case, when the grip body swings with respect to the mount, resistance against the swing motion produces not only by the viscosity of the viscidity in the space between the inner periphery of the recess of the mount and the outer periphery of the spacer but also by the viscosity of the viscidity in the space between the inner periphery of the pin-loose-fitting part of the spacer and the outer periphery of the loose-fit pin. The increase in resistance against the swing motion resulting from the viscidity of both the parts further increases the damping effect. In addition, since the parts for giving resistance against the swing motion by the viscidity are disposed in two layers around the rotational axis, the axial length of the damper can be shortened correspondingly.
Alternatively, a retractable assist grip of the present invention may bear ranged as follows: In the retractable assist grip directed in the above manner, at least one of the pair of mounts is formed of first and second mounts; a leg of the grip body is assembled into unitary rotation with a fulcrum pin supported to the first mount; the grip body is formed with a spacer fitting part formed of a concavity coaxial with the fulcrum pin, the fulcrum pin extending inside the spacer fitting part toward the opening thereof; the second mount includes a spacer part rotatably fitted into the spacer fitting part and provided with a recess for loosely receiving the fulcrum pin extending inside the spacer fitting part therein; and a viscidity is provided at least between the outer periphery of the spacer part of the second mount and the inner periphery of the spacer fitting part of the grip body.
With this arrangement, when the grip body swings, the fulcrum pin assembled into unitary rotation with the leg of the grip body rotates with respect to the first mount and the grip body rotates around the second mount the spacer part of which is inserted into the spacer fitting part. At the time, since the viscidity is provided between the outer periphery of the spacer part of the second mount and the inner periphery of the spacer fitting part of the grip body, a damper is formed between the spacer part of the second mount and the grip body. The viscosity of the viscidity in the damper produces resistance against the swing motion of the grip body thereby swinging the grip body slowly. This provides an upscale image to the swing motion.
In addition, since the grip body is supported to the two mounts through the fulcrum pin, the assist grip can be built up from the grip body, the fulcrum pin, the two mounts and the urging means only. This reduces the number of components of the assist grip, resulting in cost reduction. Also, since the damper is accommodated in the grip body, the appearance of the assist grip can be improved.
A sealing member may be provided in one of a portion of the inner periphery of the recess of the amount in the vicinity of the open end of the recess and a corresponding portion of the outer periphery of the spacer, and a sealing surface engaging against the sealing member may be provided in the other so that the engagement of the sealing member against the sealing surface seals from the outside at least the space between the outer periphery of the spacer and the inner periphery of the recess of the mount. In addition, the sealing member may be placed, when the spacer is inserted into the recess of the mount and the viscidity is filled with at least the space between the outer periphery of the spacer and the inner periphery of the recess of the mount while expelling air from the space, to form a seal with the sealing surface by engagement against the sealing surface with the air in the space substantially fully expelled.
The sealing member may be placed, when the spacer is fully inserted into the recess of the mount, on a portion of the sealing surface closer to the opening of the recess than the center of the sealing surface in a direction of insertion of the sealing member.
With the above sealing structures, when the spacer is inserted into the recess of the mount and the viscidity is filled with at least the space between the outer periphery of the spacer and the inner periphery of the recess of the mount while expelling air from the space, the air in the space can be expelled as much as possible to fill the space with substantially the viscidity alone. This enhances the damping effect of the viscidity.
More specifically, when a seal is formed by engaging the sealing member against the sealing surface, the sealing member is generally placed on the center of the sealing surface. However, if the sealing member is placed on a portion of the sealing surface closer to the opening of the recess than the center of the sealing surface in a direction of insertion of the sealing member, a seal formation of the sealing member is delayed in inserting the spacer into the recess of the mount and the air in the space can be correspondingly much expelled to fill the spaces with substantially the viscidity alone.
A first restriction may be extended on the outer periphery of the spacer so as to be opposed to and spaced a predetermined clearance apart from the inner periphery of the recess of the mount, a second restriction may be extended on the inner periphery of the recess of the mount so as to be opposed to and spaced a predetermined clearance apart from the outer periphery of the spacer, and the first and second restrictions may be placed at positions to allow the swing motion of the grip body between the use position and retracted position.
With this arrangement, when the grip body automatically swing from its use position to retracted position by the bias of the urging means, the viscidity located in a zone between the first restriction on the outer periphery of the spacer and the second restriction on the inner periphery of the recess of the mount is pressurized by both the restrictions. The viscidity in the zone flows while being squeezed through the clearance between the first restriction and the inner periphery of the recess of the mount and the clearance between the second restriction and the outer periphery of the spacer. The flow resistances of the viscidity enhance the damping effect to reduce the swinging speed of the grip body, which can further slowly swing the grip body.
A third restriction may be extended on the outer periphery of the loose-fit pin of the mount so as to be opposed to and spaced a predetermined clearance apart from the inner periphery of the pin loose-fitting part of the spacer, a fourth restriction may be extended on the inner periphery of the pin loose-fitting part of the spacer so as to be opposed to and spaced a predetermined clearance apart from the outer periphery of the loose-fit pin of the mount, and the third and fourth restrictions maybe placed at positions to allow the swing motion of the grip body between the use and retracted positions.
With this arrangement, when the grip body automatically swing from its use position to retracted position by the bias of the urging means, the viscidity located in a zone between the fourth restriction on the inner periphery of the pin loose-fitting part of the spacer and the third restriction on the outer periphery of the loose fit pin of the mount is pressurized by both the restrictions. The viscidity in the zone flows while being squeezed through the clearance between the fourth restriction and the outer periphery of the loose fit pin of the mount and the clearance between the third restriction and the inner periphery of the pin loose-fitting part of the spacer. As a result, the damping effect of the viscidity is enhanced, which can further slowly swing the grip body.
A plurality of support flanges may be radially extended in circumferentially equally spaced relation on one of a bottom end portion of the inner periphery of the recess of the mount and the outer periphery of the distal end of the spacer so as to relatively slidably engage the other. With this structure, the distal end of the spacer can bear against the mount. This enhances the bearing property of the mount relative to the spacer or the grip body.
To attain the above-mentioned second object, in this invention, a locking pin is pushed in to a larger extent than required to temporarily disengage the coupling between the distal end of the locking pin from engaging pieces, and thereafter the distal end of the locking pin is retained at a locking position between the engaging pieces in cooperation with the swing motion of the grip body to the use position.
More specifically, the invention is directed to a retractable assist grip including an elongated grip body having legs at both lengthwise ends thereof and mounts to which the legs are mounted for swing motion, the grip body being swung between its use and retracted positions with the mounts fixed to a fixed body.
Further, the mount includes: a mount body which is provided with a swing support section for supporting the legs for swing motion and abuts on the periphery of a mounting hole of the fixed body from the front side of the fixed body; a through hole passing through the mount body from front to back thereof; at least two engaging pieces which are extended from the periphery of the through hole on the back of the mount body and inserted into the mounting hole of fixed body to engage on the edge of the mounting hole; and a locking pin having an extension at the distal end thereof, the locking pin being inserted into the through hole from the front side of the mount body prior to the mounting of the grip body to the mount so that the extension passes a locking position between the engaging pieces while pushing the engaging pieces apart from each other, the locking pin being restrained against movement opposite to a direction of insertion thereof into the through hole by the distal ends of the engaging pieces narrowed in distance therebetween by the passage of the extension over the locking position so that the extension is retained at a position having passed over the locking position, the locking pin being moved backward opposite to the direction of insertion thereof by the swing motion of the grip body to the use position in a state that the mount body of the mount to which the grip body is mounted is caused to abut on the periphery of the mounting hole of the fixed body from the front side thereof, the backward movement of the locking pin causing the extension to enter again between the engaging pieces and push the engaging pieces apart from each other so that the extension is retained at the locking position thereby holding the engaging pieces in engagement on the edge of the mounting hole.
With the above structure, when the locking pin is inserted into the through hole of the mount body and the extension at the distal end of the locking pin enters between the engaging pieces while pushing them apart from each other and then passes over the locking position, the engaging pieces are released from the pressing force of the extension to regain its original position of narrow distance. The locking pin is thereby restrained against movement opposite to the direction of insertion thereof so that the extension is retained at a position having passed over the locking position. Accordingly, it can be avoided that some factor may cause the locking pin to move to the locking position before the mounts are carried in the car body assembly line. And, it can be prevented that the locking pin may drop out of the through hole of the mount body, or may be lost.
Further, since the extension of the locking pin is retained at a position having passed over the locking position, the engaging pieces are free from the pressing force of the extension so that the distance between the engaging pieces are narrowed. This enables the engaging pieces to be smoothly inserted into the mounting hole of the fixed body.
Accordingly, lack of parts and a difficult pulling work of the locking pin in the locking position are eliminated. This avoids a serious impediment to a smooth flow of the car body assembly line. In addition, by simply swinging the grip body to the use position, the extension of the locking pin can automatically be inserted between the engaging pieces and the locking pin can be retained at the locking position with the engaging pieces engaged on the edge of the mounting hole. Accordingly, the assist grip can be mounted to the fixed body in a single operation.
A movement assist piece may be extended from the root end of the locking pin, and a pusher may be provided at the bottom end of the leg of the grip body so as to abut on the movement assist piece and move the locking pin opposite to the direction of insertion thereof by the swing motion of the grip body to the use position. This provides a specific mechanism for moving the locking pin to the locking position.
The fixed body may be a car body panel.
Further, a mounting method of a retractable assist grip according to the present invention is directed to a method of mounting a retractable assist grip including an elongated grip body having legs at both lengthwise ends thereof and mounts to which the legs are mounted for swing motion, the grip body being swung between its use and retracted positions with the mounts fixed to a fixed body, and the method comprises the steps of: inserting a locking pin having an extension at the distal end thereof into a through hole of the mount body from the front side thereof so that the extension passes a locking position between at least two engaging pieces extended from the periphery of the through hole on the back of the mount body while pushing the engaging pieces apart from each other, and restraining the locking pin against movement opposite to a direction of insertion thereof into the through hole by the distal ends of the engaging pieces narrowed in distance therebetween by the passage of the extension over the locking position so that the extension is retained at a position having passed over the locking position; and after mounting the grip body to the mount, swinging the grip body to the use position with the mount body caused to abut on the periphery of the mounting hole of the fixed body from the front side thereof and moving the locking pin opposite to the direction of insertion thereof by the swing motion of the grip body to cause the extension to enter between the engaging pieces and push the engaging pieces apart from each other so that the extension is retained at the locking position thereby holding the engaging pieces in engagement on the edge of the mounting hole. According to this method, the assist grip can be mounted to the fixed body so as to exert the above-described effects of the invention.
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This invention relates in general to electrochemical systems and devices, and in particular to fuel cell components.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical “device” that continuously converts chemical energy into electric energy (and some heat) for as long as fuel and oxidant are supplied. Fuel cells are evolving. Some currently known categories of fuel cells include polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), alkaline, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate, solid oxide, and biobased. All of these fuel cell types have the advantages of silent operation, high efficiency and zero emission capability. PEMs, however, offer several distinct advantages over the others. Some of these are low temperature operation (80-150 C), quick-start-up, compactness, and orientation independence.
At the heart of the PEM fuel cell is a membrane that has thin coatings of catalyst applied to both sides comprising a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). As hydrogen flows through the anode side of the MEA, a platinum-based catalyst facilitates the disassociation of the hydrogen gas into electrons and protons (hydrogen ions). The hydrogen ions pass through the thickness of the membrane and combine with oxygen and electrons on the cathode side, producing water and heat. The electrons, which cannot pass through the membrane, flow from the anode to the cathode through an external circuit containing an electric load, which consumes the power generated by the cell. FIG. 1 shows a detailed schematic of a PEM fuel cell.
Fuel cells have been around since 1839, but they have been hindered by component materials which are high in cost and suffer from poor durability. Nevertheless, they have attracted much interest in recent years for their ability to produce electricity and heat with higher efficiency and lower emissions than conventional energy technologies. However, the cost of fuel cells is still too high and technical breakthroughs are required before broad commercial application can become a reality.
Despite recent advances in the design of fuel cell components, further improvements are required to transform fuel cells from the fundamental sciences into enabling technologies.
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{
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ISO 7376 standardizes a removable double snap engagement of a metal or plastic laryngoscope blade into an operative intubation position on a laryngoscope handle. Metal laryngoscopes blades include pre-loaded ball bearing mechanisms for effecting the engagement whilst their plastic counterparts have resiliently elastically deformable blade hook-on fittings for effecting same. Metal laryngoscopes blades engage a laryngoscope handle more securely than their plastic counterparts but they are more expensive and therefore cost considerations militate against the former particularly for disposable single use laryngoscope blades. Exemplary laryngoscopes are illustrated and described in inter alia U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,256, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,614, U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,624, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,570, U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,491, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,937.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to long-period fiber gratings and to methods for reducing polarization dependent loss of a long-period fiber grating and for shifting the peak wavelength of a long-period fiber grating. More specifically, the present invention relates to long-period fiber gratings designed for use as a gain-flattening filter with an optical amplifier.
2. Technical Background
Fiber optic networks transmit a plurality of optical signals of different wavelengths through a single fiber employing wavelength division multiplexing. Losses result in the decreasing of intensity of such optical signals as they propagate over significant distances. Thus, when transmitting optical signals through an optical fiber over long distances, the fiber is typically divided into spans, with in-line optical amplifiers positioned between the spans to periodically amplify the intensity of the transmitted optical signals. A typical span is, for example, 80 km in length. The in-line optical amplifiers commonly used for such purposes generally exhibit optical signal gains that are different for the different wavelengths of the transmitted optical signals. Thus, each time the transmitted optical signals are amplified by one of the in-line optical amplifiers, certain optical signals are amplified to a greater degree than other optical signals at different wavelengths. Accordingly, when many in-line amplifiers are used over a long distance, significant discrepancies between the intensities of the transmitted optical signals may exist.
To overcome this problem, gain-flattening filters have been developed that may be used with an amplifier to flatten the gain across the spectrum of optical signals that are transmitted through the amplifier. One such gain-flattening filter is a long-period fiber grating (LPG).
LPGs function to attenuate intensity levels of the optical signals transmitted through the LPG dependent upon the wavelength of the optical signals. Thus, for optical signals of a first wavelength, the LPG may attenuate the intensity of those optical signals to a greater or lesser degree than it may attenuate optical signals at other wavelengths. This selective attenuation is accomplished by coupling some of the light of the optical signals that is transmitted through the core of the fiber into the cladding of the fiber. Once this light is in the cladding of the fiber, it then dissipates through the fiber coating so that this light is permanently lost. The peak wavelength xcex for which coupling occurs from the core mode to the cladding mode in an LPG is:
xcex=(neffcorexe2x88x92neffclad)xcex9
where neffcore is the effective index of the core mode, neffclad is the effective index of the cladding mode, and xcex9 is the grating period.
FIG. 1 shows the spectral characteristics for a typical LPG, which is represented on a dB scale. As shown in FIG. 1, the spectral characteristics have a generally Gaussian shape, with some ripples on the sides. When used in a gain-flattening filter, a plurality of such LPGs is provided in series each having differing peak wavelengths than the others. In such a structure, the spectral characteristics accumulate resulting in a relatively complicated loss spectrum that complements the spectral gain characteristics of the in-line amplifier with which the gain-flattening filter is utilized.
LPGs are exceptionally sensitive to variations in fiber properties including core radius and core and clad refractive index. Typically, small changes in these parameters manifest themselves as wavelength shifts of the grating loss peak. An additional complication is introduced by small asymmetries in the fiber geometry that lead to birefringence. In gain flattening filter applications, the peak wavelength of an LPG must be controlled within as little as 0.1 nm depending on the particular filter. This corresponds to an neff difference on the order of xcx9c5xc3x9710xe2x88x927. It is extremely difficult to control the fiber parameters (refractive index profile and core dimensions) well enough to reproduce grating peak wavelengths to within 0.1 nm. There are additional inconsistencies in fiber photosensitivity that manifest themselves as a different wavelength shifts upon grating annealing. Typical variations in peak wavelengths are on the order of 1 nm or more. To obtain a reasonable yield of devices, it is therefore desirable to develop a method of tuning the grating wavelength after the writing and annealing processes.
Due to the extreme sensitivity of LPGs to fiber parameters, the effective index neffclad of the core mode changes significantly with polarization even in a relatively low birefringence fiber. This results in a peak wavelength shift of the LPG for different polarizations. Thus, optical signals polarized in one direction will be affected differently than optical signals polarized in a different direction when propagating through the LPG. This difference produces a polarization dependent loss (PDL), which is illustrated in FIG. 2 for a case in which the peak wavelength changes by 0.2 nm as a function of polarization in a typical grating. It should be noted that PDL is defined as a positive number and the graph in FIG. 2 plots the absolute value of the difference between a pair of shifted spectra.
Research has revealed that PDL in LPGs can vary over a tremendous range of less than 0.1 dB to more than about 1 dB, depending on the type of fiber and the type of filter. From FIG. 2, it is apparent that the PDL is proportional to dL/dxcex, where L is the grating loss. This implies that filters that have sharp features are more susceptible to PDL. Therefore, there is also a need for a method for reducing PDL after the grating has been written in the fiber.
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a method of reducing PDL in a LPG. It is also an aspect of the present invention to provide a method for adjusting the peak wavelength of the light propagating through a LPG that is coupled into the cladding of the fiber. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an LPG that has a characteristic peak wavelength that may be adjusted after its manufacture and that has a reduced PDL.
To achieve these and other aspects and advantages, a method according to a first embodiment of the present invention that reduces PDL in an LPG comprises the step of twisting the LPG.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for adjusting the peak wavelength of light propagating through an LPG that is coupled into the cladding of the fiber, which comprises the step of twisting the LPG until the desired adjustment to the peak wavelength is obtained.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an LPG is disclosed that comprises the steps of providing a fiber having a core surrounded by a cladding, the fiber having two ends and extending therebetween along a longitudinal axis, writing a long-period grating pattern onto a portion of the fiber, annealing the fiber, and twisting the fiber throughout at least the portion of its length that includes the long-period grating pattern.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a long-period fiber grating comprises a fiber having a core surrounded by a cladding, the fiber having two ends extending therebetween along a longitudinal axis, and a plurality of refractive index variations periodically spaced along the longitudinal axis of a portion of the core of the fiber, wherein the fiber is twisted throughout at least a portion of its length that includes the plurality of refractive index variations.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows and will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the invention as described in the description which follows together with the claims and appended drawings.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description is exemplary of the invention only and is intended to provide an overview for the understanding of the nature and character of the invention as it is defined by the claims. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated and constitute part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various features and embodiments of the invention which, together with their description serve to explain the principals and operation of the invention.
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Field-effect transistors include source, drain and gate structures. A biasing voltage applied across gate and source terminals allows the flow of charge carriers, namely electrons or holes, between source and drain. Junction field-effect transistors (JFETs) are characterized by doped channel regions and ohmic contacts forming the source and drain regions.
Active matrix devices such as displays (e.g. televisions, laptop monitors), imagers (e.g. x-ray imagers) and sensors typically use hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and, in some applications, low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistor (TFT) backplanes on glass or, for flexible devices, clear plastic. However, for very high resolution applications (>1000 pixels per inch (ppi)), such as micro-displays or pico-projectors, the carrier mobility of a-Si:H (electron mobility of about 1 cm2/Vs) is too low to provide sufficient drive current at short TFT channel widths. For applications requiring high drive current, such as active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, it is necessary to shrink the gate length and/or increase the gate width of a-Si:H transistors. This leads to increasing the processing cost of a-Si:H active matrix circuits due to the relatively small gate lengths as well as a significant trade-off in display resolution due to larger gate widths. LTPS is more expensive than a-Si:H, but capable of providing higher drive currents. The device-to-device variation of threshold voltage and mobility in LTPS transistors requires compensation circuitry that limits the resolution of the active matrix. Single crystalline silicon (c-Si) has been used as an alternative for very high resolution backplanes, but processing c-Si can require high temperatures not compatible with glass substrates currently used in manufacturing a-Si:H or LTPS devices or clear plastic substrates that may be used.
Some existing displays have pixel densities of about 100 PPI (pixels per inch), each pixel including three RGB sub-pixels. Pixel dimensions of such devices may be about one hundred microns (100 μm). Such displays further include organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) requiring a drive current of about 300 nA for a 100 μm pixel. Amorphous hydrogenated silicon thin film transistors (TFTs) having standard SiNx gate dielectrics are employed in conjunction with the OLEDs. Using such TFTs, resolutions greater than 150 PPI are difficult.
FIGS. 25A and 25B schematically illustrate amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs. The transistor 40 shown in FIG. 25A is back-channel etched and the transistor 60 shown in FIG. 25B is back-channel passivated. Both transistors 40, 60 are bottom-gate structures having undoped a-Si:H channels 42. Source/drain structures 44, gates 46 and gate dielectric (nitride) layers 48 are operatively associated with the channels. The gates 46 adjoin the substrate 50. In the embodiment of FIG. 25B, a nitride passivation layer 52 is formed on the channel layer 42. As the channels 42 are undoped, the source/channel/drain of each transistor forms an n/i/n junction. The off-current of the transistors is low partly due to hole mobility being much smaller than electron mobility. The low TFT mobility (less than 1 cm2/Vs), however, limits the TFT application for high drive current and/or low voltage applications. The transistors 40, 60 are accordingly more suited for use as switching TFTs than driver TFTs in active matrix circuits. Poly-Si has higher mobility, but also higher off-current and can suffer from device-to-device threshold voltage (VT) variation.
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The invention generally relates generally to medical devices for the drainage of fluids, and more specifically to ureteral stents.
A ureter is a tubular passageway in a human body that conveys urine from a kidney to a bladder. The ureter begins with the renal pelvis and ends at the trigone region of the bladder, i.e., the triangulated area between both ureteral orifices and the bladder neck. Urine is transported through the ureter under the influence of hydrostatic pressure, assisted by contractions of muscles located within the walls (lining) of the ureter. Some patients experience a urological condition known as ureteral blockage or obstruction. Some common causes of ureteral blockage are the formation of tumors or abnormalities within the ureteral lining, or the formation and passage of kidney stones.
Ureteral stents are used to facilitate urinary drainage from the kidneys to the bladder in patients having a ureteral obstruction or injury, or to protect the integrity of the ureter in a variety of surgical manipulations. Stents may be used to treat or avoid ureter obstructions (such as ureteral stones or ureteral tumors) which disrupt the flow of urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Serious obstructions may cause urine to back up into the kidneys, threatening renal function. Ureteral stents may also be used after endoscopic inspection of the ureter.
A stent may be uncomfortable to a patient because of intramural tunnel pain, imposed by the stent itself or in combination with intraoperative trauma inflicted from device passage. Pain may also be caused by urine reflux back up the ureter during increased bladder pressure, e.g., during voiding. Further, pain may stem from trigome irritation resulting from constant irritation, imposed by the bladder anchoring features or in combination with intraoperative trauma inflicted from device passage. Moreover, discomfort may arise from flank pain, caused by reflux or kidney anchoring.
Ureteral stents typically are tubular in shape, terminating in two opposing ends: a kidney distal end and a bladder proximal end. Existing ureteral stents compensate for the motion between the kidney and bladder by employing a pair of coil end-effectors, with one effector placed in the bladder proximal end and the other in the kidney distal end. As motion occurs, the ureter slides up and down the stent body. Any other travel results in an uncurling of the end effector(s).
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Carbohydrates are playing an increasingly important part in biochemical research and in development of new pharmaceutical therapies, because carbohydrates are involved in a myriad of biological functions, including cellular recognition, signaling, and even the development of disease states.[1-4] Having access to consistent, pure and inexpensive carbohydrate starting materials is an important factor in the continuation of this research. This access is vitally important if the carbohydrate is not readily available from inexpensive sources, such as L-sugars and other rare sugars. Such sugars can only be used as starting materials for new biochemical and pharmaceutical compounds If their supply is not limited. The demand for the rare sugar L-ribose is increasing, because L-ribose is a starting material for many L-nucleoside-based pharmaceutical compounds. L-Nucleoside-based drugs have shown antiviral, antimalarial, and anticancer activities.[5] These nucleosides target many different viruses including HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), and Epstein-Barr.[6] The first nucleoside-based pharmaceutical therapy was (±)-2,3-dideoxy-3′-thiacytidine (BCH-189), displaying anti-HIV activity. To the surprise of many researchers, the L-form (L-3TC) was more potent and less toxic than the more “natural” D-form of BCH-189.[5] The interest in L-nucleosides has increased as noted in Table 1 showing several L-nucleoside-based pharmaceutical compounds presently in clinical trials. Many of these nucleoside-based drugs can be prepared from L-ribose, including Epivir, Elvucitabine, Clevudine, Telbivudine, and val-LdC.[7-9]
TABLE 1Current L-nucleoside based pharmaceuticals currently approved by theUnited States Food and Drug Administration or undergoing clinical trials.Trade nameGeneric NameCompanyConditionStatus (US)EPIVIR ®3TC (lamivudine)GSKHIVapprovedElvucitabineL-Fd4C (ACH-AchillionHIV, HBVPhase II126,443)EmtricitabineFTCGileadHIV, HBVapprovedClevudineL-FMAUBukwangHBVPhase IIIPentaceptL-3′-FD4CPharmassetHBVTelbivudineL-dTIdenixHBVPhase IIIPharmaceuticalsn/aval-LdCIdenixHBVPhase IIbPharmaceuticalstroxacitabineTROXATYL ®,BioChem Pharma Incsolid tumorsPhase IIBCH-4556n/aL-d4NIdenixHBVPharmaceuticals
The need for inexpensive sources of L-ribose for the synthesis of L-nucleoside-based drugs is specifically seen in the synthesis of the nucleoside-based pharmaceutical drug 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-5-methyl-b-L-arabinofuranosyl uracil (L-FMAU). Chu and coworkers synthesized L-FMAU from L-arabinose.[10] However, their first synthetic step converted the L-arabinose to L-ribose. This step was needed because L-ribose is more expensive and less readily available than L-arabinose. By providing an inexpensive source of L-ribose, medicinal chemists can produce these and other drugs with fewer synthetic steps, decreased time, and increased yields that ultimately generate lower costs for researchers and patients.
The need for less expensive sources of L-ribose has become apparent from the dramatic increase in prices. A current bulk pricing for L-ribose is approximately $2500 per kg, up from the $700 to $1000 per kg seen quoted two years ago.[11] With the steady increase in anti-HIV and anti-HCV pharmaceutical candidates based on L-ribose currently undergoing clinical trials, prices for the L-ribose will surely continue to increase. Thus, dramatically increasing the costs of these life-saving drugs and pricing themselves out of reach for the HIV and HCV infected people in poor countries.
Currently, several companies are exploring synthetic routes for producing L-ribose. Each of these routes has their own limitations. Both Danisco and BioRefining produce L-ribose from L-arabinose extracted from natural sources, such as biomass, which requires extensive and expensive purification technologies.[12] The conversion of L-arabinose to L-ribose utilizes xylose isomerase.[13] This conversion is not very efficient, and therefore requires additional purification, further increasing costs.[13] HanChem uses a chemical process to convert D-mannose to L-ribose. This process uses a piperidine inversion of D-manno-1,4-lactone as the key synthetic step.[14] The second-generation process requires 8 synthetic steps and does not produce a high yield of L-ribose.[14] This route may become less commercially viable due to the increased cost of D-mannose.[11] Even if an inexpensive source of D-mannose were secured for this process, this eight-step synthesis would be too costly to create an inexpensive source of L-ribose. API has a fermentative route to L-ribose from D-glucose.[15] This route uses a Trichosporonoides strain, a Gluconobacter strain, and a Cellulomonas strain in separate fermentations to convert D-glucose to L-ribose.[15] While D-glucose is an inexpensive starting material, the cost of the three-step sequential and separate fermentations is cost prohibitive.
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An urgent need exists in many fields for a method that is capable of selectively controlling the activation of various molecular agents. The desired improvements in activation include enhancements in spatial or temporal control over the location and depth of activation, reduction in undesirable activation of other co-located or proximal molecular agents or structures, and increased preference in the activation of desirable molecular agents over that of undesirable molecular agents. Various linear and non-linear photo-chemical and photophysical methods have been developed to provide some such improvements for some such agents. However, in general the performance and applicability of these methods have been less than desired. Specifically, improved photo-activation methods are needed that may be used to selectively photo-activate a variety of molecular therapeutic agents while providing improved performance in the control of application of this photo-activation.
Application of optical radiation for probing or transformation of molecular agents has been known for many years. Linear optical excitation has been extensively studied as a means for achieving semi-selective activation of molecular therapeutic agents. For example, Tessman et al. (J. W. Tessman, S. T. Isaacs and J. E. Hearst, "Photochemistry of the Furan-Side 8-Methoxypsoralen-Thymidine Monoadduct Inside the DNA Helix. Conversion to Diadduct and to Pyrone-Side Monoadduct," Biochemistry, 24 (1985) 1669-1676) teach of the application of light at specific energies as a means for achieving partial selectivity in the formation of molecular bonds between target molecular agents and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Kennedy et al. (J. C. Kennedy, R. H. Pottier and D. C. Ross, "Photodynamic Therapy with Endogenous Protoporphyrin IX: Basic Principles and Present Clinical Experience," Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology, B: Biology, 6 (1990) 143-148) review progress on development and application of various photosensitive molecular agents for clinical treatment of disease. And Teuchner et al. (K. Teuchner, A. Pfarrherr, H. Stiel, W. Freyer and D. Leupold, "Spectroscopic Properties of Potential Sensitizers for New Photodynamic Therapy Start Mechanisms via Two-Step Excited Electronic States," Photochemistry and Photobiology, 57 (1993) 465-471) teach of the use of spectroscopic properties for selection of candidate photo-active agents. Yet performance of these agents and specifically the methods used for their activation have not been as successful as desired. For example, Young (A. R. Young, "Photocarcinogenicity of Psoralens Used in PUVA Treatment: Present Status in Mouse and Man," Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology, B: Biology, 6 (1990) 237-247) presents strong evidence that the optical radiation used in common treatment regimes based on linear optical excitation of photosensitive molecular agents can itself produce disease and other undesirable side effects. Furthermore, a less than desirable penetration depth has plagued most efforts at linear optical excitation of molecular therapeutic agents, primarily as a consequence of the effects of optical scatter and of absorbance of the incident probe radiation at wavelengths near the linear absorption bands of these agents. In fact, virtually all examples of the use of linear optical excitation for molecular transformation are plagued by fundamental performance limits that are attributable to undesirable absorption and scatter of the incident optical radiation by the surrounding matrix, poor specificity in excitation of probe molecular species, and a lack of suitable physical mechanisms for precise control of the extent and depth of activation.
Various non-linear optical excitation methods have been employed in an effort to achieve specific improvements in the selectivity of photo-activation for certain applications, and to address many of the limitations posed by linear excitation methods. Excitation sources ranging from single-mode, continuous wave (CW) lasers to pulsed Q-switched lasers having peak powers in excess of 1 GW have been employed with these methods. For example, Wirth and Little (M. J. Wirth and F. E. Lytle, "Two-Photon Excited Molecular Fluorescence in Optically Dense Media," Analytical Chemistry, 49 (1977) 2054-2057) teach use of non-linear optical excitation as a means for stimulating target molecules present in optically dense media; this method is shown to be useful in limiting undesirable direct interaction of the probe radiation with the media itself, and provides a means for effectively exciting target molecular agents present in strongly absorbing or scattering matrices. Yeung et al. teach further use of non-linear optical excitation for highly specific excitation of target molecules present in very small volumes (M. J. Sepaniak and E. S. Yeung, "Laser Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence Detection for High Pressure Liquid Chromatography," Analytical Chemistry, 49 (1977) 1554-1556; M. J. Sepaniak and E. S. Yeung, "High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Studies of Coal Liquids by Laser-Based Detectors," Journal of Chromatography, 211 (1981), 95-102; and W. D. Pfeffer and E. S. Yeung, "Laser Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence Detector for Microbore Liquid Chromatography," Analytical Chemistry, 58 (1986) 2103-2105). These works teach of the attractive performance advantages of non-linear optical excitation of target molecular agents present in complex matrices, specifically where reduced background excitation, low probe volumes, and complementary selection rules provided by non-linear methods aid in increasing selectivity of the analysis. Improved spatial control over the active region has been further developed by Wirth (M. J. Wirth and H. O. Fatunmbi, "Very High Detectability in Two-Photon Spectroscopy," Analytical Chemistry, 62 (1990) 973-976); specifically, Wirth teaches a method for achieving extremely high spatial selectivity in the excitation of target molecular agents using a microscopic imaging system. Similar control has been further applied by Denk et al. (W. Denk, J. P. Strickler and W. W. Webb, "Two-Photon Laser Microscopy," U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,613) who teach of a special confocal laser scanning microscope utilizing non-linear laser excitation to achieve intrinsically high three-dimensional control in the photo-activation of various molecular fluorophor agents on a cellular or sub-cellular scale. This microscope is used to excite molecular fluorophor agents added to biological specimens, which constitute an optically dense medium; the special properties of non-linear optical excitation are utilized to substantially limit excitation to a confocal region occurring at the focus of an objective lens, thereby allowing the possibility of three-dimensional imaging by sharply controlling the depth of focus. Control of photo-excitation for generation of luminescence-based images at the cellular and sub-cellular level is shown in target samples mounted on a stage. This microscope is also used for localized photolytic release of caged effector molecules present in individual cells mounted on a stage, and is claimed to be useful for inducing additional photochemical reactions in such cells. However, reduction in photo-induced necrosis of cells located at the focal plane is claimed to be the primary benefit of this microscopy approach, based on the replacement of ultraviolet excitation radiation with near infrared radiation.
While the substantial body of prior art exemplified by these cited examples clearly demonstrates many attractive features of photo-activation methods, a general method for achieving selective photo-activation of one or more molecular agents with a high degree of spatial control that is capable of meeting the diverse needs of industry has not been previously taught. Specifically, practical methods for effecting such control on scales that are significant for therapeutic uses or for general materials processing applications have not been previously taught.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the treatment of plant or animal tissue with a high degree of spacial selectivity.
It is further object of the present invention to provide such a method using a light source and photo-active materials to enhance the high degree of spacial selectivity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a method using wavelengths of light which are less harmful to the plant or animal tissue than the wavelengths of light currently used for the treatment of plant or animal tissue.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a method using light which is less prone to scatter in and absorption by plant or animal tissue than the wavelengths of light currently used for the treatment of plant or animal tissue.
Consideration of the specification, including the several figures and examples to follow, will enable one skilled in the art to determine additional objects and advantages of the invention.
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multimedia computer communication systems; and more particularly, to systems and methods for delivering streaming media, such as audio and video, on the Internet.
Description of the Related Art
Prior to the development of Internet streaming media technologies, audio and video were formatted into files, which users needed to download in their entirety to their computers before the files could be heard or viewed. Real time, continuous media, as from a radio station, was not suitable for this arrangement, in that a file of finite size must be created so it could be downloaded. The advent of streaming media technologies allowed users to listen to or view the files as they were being downloaded, and allowed users to “tune-in” to a continuous media broadcast, or “stream”, such as from a radio station.
Sending audio or video files via a network is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,194 to Tilt describes a media server for the distribution of audio/video over networks, in which retrieved media frames are transferred to a FIFO buffer. A clock rate for a local clock is adjusted according to the fullness of the buffer. The media frames from the buffer are sent in the form of data packets over the networks in response to interrupts generated by the local clock. In this manner, the timing for the media frames is controlled by the user to assure a continuous stream of video during editing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,706 to Cannon, et al. discloses an apparatus and method for displaying streamed digital video data on a client computer. The client computer is configured to receive the streamed digital video data from a server computer via a computer network.
The streamed digital video data is transmitted from the server computer to the client computer as a stream of video frames. U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,720, to Yurt, et al. discloses a system for distributing video and/or audio information, wherein digital signal processing is employed to achieve high rates of data compression. U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,655, to Veschi et al. discloses a system and method for communicating audio/video data in a packet-based computer network, wherein transmission of data packets through the computer network requires variable periods of transmission time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,048 to Emura discloses a video server apparatus having a stream control section that determines a keyframe readout interval and a keyframe playback interval, which satisfy a playback speed designated by a terminal apparatus. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,694 to Aharoni, et al. discloses a system and method for adaptively transporting video over networks, including the Internet, wherein the available bandwidth varies with time.
Despite these developments, users viewing or listening to streaming content over Internet connections often encounter interruptions, due to the frequency of unanticipated transmission delays and losses that are inherent in many Internet protocols. These interruptions are commonly referred to as “dropouts”, meaning that the data flow to the user has been interrupted (i.e., the audio “drops out”).
Dropouts can be extremely annoying—for example, while listening to music. The current state-of-the-art solution to the problem uses a pre-buffering technique to store up enough audio or video data in the user's computer so that it can play the audio or video with a minimum of dropouts. This process requires the user to wait until enough of the media file is buffered in memory before listening or viewing can begin. The media data is delivered by a server computer, which has available to it the source of the media data, such as by a connection to a radio station. When the user connects to the server via the Internet, audio/video output at the user's system is delayed while the user's buffer is filled to a predetermined level. Typical pre-buffering wait times range from ten to twenty seconds or more, determined by the vendor providing the audio or video media. Even with this pre-buffering process, interruptions in playback still occur.
In this process, the user has a software application on the computer commonly called a “media player”. Using the features built into the media player, the user starts the audio or video stream, typically by clicking on a “start” button, and waits ten to twenty seconds or so before the material starts playing. During this time data is being received from the source and filling the media player's buffer. The audio or video data is delivered from the source at the rate it is to be played out. If, for example, the user is listening to an audio stream encoded to be played-out at 24,000 bits per second, the source sends the audio data at the rate of 24,000 bits per second. Provided that the user waits ten seconds, and the receipt of the buffering data has not been interrupted, there is enough media data stored in the buffer to play for ten seconds.
Gaps in the receipt of audio/video data, due to Internet slowdowns, cause the buffer to deplete. Because transmission of audio/video media data to the user takes place at the rate it is played out, the user's buffer level can never be increased or replenished while it is playing. Thus, gaps in the receipt of audio/video media data inexorably cause the buffer level to decrease from its initial level. In time, extended or repeated occurrences of these gaps empty the user's buffer. The audio/video material stops playing, and the buffer must be refilled to its original predetermined level before playing of the media resumes.
By way of illustration, if, in a ten second pre-buffering scenario, data reception stopped the instant that the media started playing, it would play for exactly ten seconds. Once the media data starts playing, itplays out of the buffer as new media data replenishes the buffer. The incoming data rate equals the rate at which the data is played out of the user's buffer, assuming the receipt of data across the Internet is unimpeded. If there are no interruptions in the receipt of the media data for the duration of the time the user listens to or watches the material, the buffer level remains constant and there will still be ten seconds of data stored in the media player's buffer when the user stops the player.
On the other hand, if the media player encounters interruptions totaling six seconds while playing the material, there would only be four seconds of media data remaining in the buffer when the user stopped it. If data reception interruptions at any time during the playing exceed ten seconds, the user's media player buffer becomes exhausted. There is no media data to play, and the audio or video stops—a dropout has occurred. At this point a software mechanism in the media player stops attempting to play any more of the material, and starts the buffering process again. The media player remains silent until the buffer refills, at which time the media player will once again start playing the material. This pattern has brought about considerable consumer frustration with streaming media over the Internet.
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Such a container is known from the European Patent EP-A-002082.
In this patent a bottle is described which is made of oriented thermoplastic material, such as vinyl chloride-based resins, polymers and co-polymers of acrylic acid or polyesters such as polytherephtalate of ethyleneglycol. In order for the known bottle to have a better resistance to deformation due to build-up of internal pressures and to lateral shocks, such as occur when the bottle is dropped during transportation, the central dome-shaped part has a certain minimum diameter, preferably less than 40% of the total diameter of the bottle.
After blow-moulding of bottles of thermoplastic material, it is for fast production of the bottles required that they release easily from the mould. To reduce the production cycle time, the bottles are released from the mould at the limiting condition of the bottles, and especially the base, being solid but still hot. Bottles having a central dome-shaped part of too small a diameter will, upon opening of the mould, release with difficulty and require removal from the mould by mechanical loosening means or by hand.
Bottles of thermoplastic material that are optimized according to strength, i.e. having relatively thick walls, rather than by using a minimum amount of material, have as a disadvantage that during blow moulding of the bottles, the cooling of the bottles takes longer, such that production rates will be lowered.
It is also known to reinforce the base of bottles of thermoplastic material by, instead of forming a central dome-shaped part, providing the base with a reinforcement rim, or by providing the base with a number of reinforcing depressions. It was found that for bottles containing products such as a bleach containing for example 2% of chlorine were still subject to outward bulging of the base despite reinforcement thereof at elevated temperatures (50.degree. C. and higher) due to large internal pressure build-up. This makes the bottles unstable in the upright position, causing them to fall off shelves or toppling over in kitchen cabinets.
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Many semiconductor devices such as processors, chipsets, and so forth often go through extensive testing after manufacture to verify performance levels and prevent devices likely to fail from being shipped. To perform high volume manufacturing (HVM) testing, so-called burn-in boards are used which include one or more burn-in sockets in which completed semiconductor devices can be inserted to perform the burn-in testing.
To insert semiconductor devices into the burn-in sockets, typically an actuator system is used, in connection with a so-called pick and place tool. First, the actuator system, which includes numerous pins that are adapted to be positioned to make contact with a top portion of a cover of the burn-in socket, may be placed over the burn-in socket. Then the actuator system opens a cover of the burn-in socket such as a clamshell-shaped cover to enable insertion of the semiconductor device by the pick and place tool. The cover is then replaced to enable adaptation of the semiconductor device in the burn-in socket for operation of the burn-in test.
Because different sizes of semiconductor devices require differently size burn-in sockets, extensive tooling of an actuator system is often required. For example, when replacing socket form factors, actuator pins may need to be switched from hole to hole. Certain systems can use over a thousand such actuator pins, requiring excessive labor intensive operations to move pin positions, both raising costs and reducing amount of up time for a burn-in system.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a transaxle primarily intended for motor vehicle use, and more particularly, to a north-south automatic transaxle for a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, motor vehicles require three basic components. These components include a power plant (such as an internal combustion engine), a power train and wheels. The internal combustion engine produces force by the conversion of chemical energy in a liquid fuel into mechanical energy of motion (kinetic energy). The function of the power train is to transmit this force to the wheels to provide movement of the motor vehicle.
The power train's main component is typically referred to as the "transaxle". Engine torque and speed are converted in the transaxle in accordance with the tractive-power demand of the motor vehicle. The transaxle is also capable of controlling the direction of rotation being applied to the wheels, so that the motor vehicle may be driven both forward and backward.
Typically, the transaxle includes two basic components. These components are a transmission and differential. The transmission is generally referred to as a manually actuated or automatic transmission. An automatic transmission is designed to take automatic control of frictional units, gear ratio selection and gear shifting. An example of such an automatic transmission is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,391, issued on Oct. 24, 1989, to Leising, et al. The differential is typically an arrangement of gears forming an epicyclic train for connecting two shafts or axles for the wheels in the same line, dividing the force from the transmission equally between them, and permitting one shaft to revolve faster than the other.
In recent years, transaxles have been orientated in an east-west manner or generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle. While this orientation provides several advantages, it has been desired to orientate the transaxle in a north-south manner or generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle It has also been desired to provide a north-south orientated transaxle which is more compact and meets specific needs and requirements of today's motor vehicle design.
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The present invention relates to a rotor arrangement for a slip ring assembly. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a rotary coupling arrangement comprising a slip ring assembly.
In the prior art, in particular in the field of coordinate measuring technology, it is customary to fit the sensors used to support structures which allow the sensors to move freely within a measurement area. The support structures are known in various forms, for example in the form of gantry constructions or else horizontal arm constructions. The support structures often have rotation axes which allow an arrangement, for example the sensor or else, for example, an intermediate rotary pivot joint, to rotate through up to 360°. Furthermore, fully freely rotatable rotation axes are used, in the case of which rotary movements can be performed through 360° several times. In addition to relatively large measurement areas, sensors of this kind are often also used in relatively small versions in the field of coordinate measuring technology, for example when bores or material features which are difficult to access need to be measured. In general, compact constructions of the support structures and of the rotation axes used are also desired in order that the support structure itself takes up as little measurement space as possible.
Various measuring systems, both of a tactile type and of an optical type, are known in the field of coordinate measuring technology. Furthermore, a distinction is made between measuring systems which sample individual points and those measuring devices which operate with so-called “scanning methods”. In scanning methods of this kind, —tactile or optical—sampling of a workpiece involves a particular path being followed on the workplace and a large number of measurement points being recorded along the path. It goes without saying that it is imperative, in particular in the case of scanning methods of this kind, for the position of the rotation axes and therefore of the measuring system to be able to be determined with a high degree of accuracy in order to be able to assign the corresponding exact spatial coordinates to the detected measurement points.
The use of slip ring assemblies is necessary in particular in the case of rotation axes or rotary joints which are intended to transmit rotary movements of 360° several times, so-called n×360 movements. Depending on the installation space available, it may also be the case here that a rotary movement beyond the slip ring assembly has to be transmitted starting from the sensor used to a measuring system for the rotary position. Problems in respect of hysteresis may occur in this case. However, hysteresis-free rotary movement and detection by a rotation position measuring system is absolutely essential, in particular in the field of coordinate measuring technology. Known slip rings are generally produced from plastic by injection molding. In the process, the contact rings used and the associated cables are encapsulated with plastic, wherein the plastic then provides the required insulation between the individual contact rings and cables and at the same time provides the shaft body of a rotor element of a slip ring assembly. However, a very large number of electrical contacts are currently required for modern sensors. If the number of cable elements to be provided is high in comparison to the installation space available, the problem may arise that a large portion of the shaft diameter available is taken up by the electrical cables themselves. As a result, only very little installation space which can be filled with plastic by injection molding remains, this leading to a very low torsional stiffness of the rotor shaft of the slip ring assembly. This can lead to twisting and even deformation of the slip ring rotor, and this may cause undesired problems in respect of hysteresis.
In particular in the case of highly accurate scannable rotation axes, in particular in the field of coordinate measuring technology, these problems can occur when transmission of the rotary movement beyond the slip ring assembly to a measuring system is required for structural or installation space reasons.
Although measuring systems for the rotation position generally have a dedicated bearing, they still have a certain resistance torque on the rotor of a slip ring assembly or on the entire rotation shaft which is coupled thereto. This also always causes corresponding twisting of the slip ring rotor given insufficient stiffness of the slip ring rotor, and this ultimately leads to the undesired hysteresis phenomena.
Although solutions without slip rings would avoid the undesired hysteresis phenomena, they generally do not allow the ability to rotate freely through rotation angles of more than 360°. Commercially available slip rings do allow rotary movements of more than 360° but the required torsional stiffness is not provided.
Corresponding problems to those in the case of coordinate measuring devices can also arise, for example, in the case of rotary tables or generally in the case of rotation axes or rotary joints in other applications which require compact designs and/or a low weight or moment of inertia.
Document DE 199 35 282 A1 describes a device for measuring a rotation angle, in which device the use of a slip ring is envisaged. Document DE 20 2009 017 928 U1 and document DE 10 2009 057 609 A1 describe a portable height gauge and scriber which likewise proposes a slip ring arrangement and the use of slip rings. Document DE 601 08 858 T2 describes a distance measuring means or a curve length measuring device in which an electrical coupling means can be formed by one or more slip rings and one or more brushes.
Document DE 201 10 415 U1 describes a checking apparatus for the measurement and/or dimensional tolerances of a rotationally symmetrical area of a workpiece, in which checking apparatus a feed and signal transmission device can be formed from one slip ring. Document DE 10 2008 028 403 A1 describes a displacement pickup for measuring the change in length of a sample, in which displacement pickup a friction coupling can be designed in the form of an adjustable spring/slip ring system. Document DE 31 33 477 C2 describes an apparatus for measuring the surface planarity of a plate. Document DD 249 523 A1 describes an apparatus for determining faults and marking faults in the case of non-conductive layers on electrically conductive material, which apparatus has a slip ring arrangement in this case. Furthermore, document DE 100 52 360 A1 describes an apparatus for measuring bores in a workpiece, in which apparatus a line section is guided in a slip ring body. Furthermore, document DE 295 19 611 U1 describes a cable-actuated length sensor, in particular for use in telescopic extension arms, which can have a slip ring arrangement.
However, in spite of this, there is also a need to solve the problems outlined above.
One object of the present invention is therefore to specify an improved rotor arrangement for a slip ring assembly or a rotary coupling arrangement, which rotor arrangement allows the hysteresis-free transmission of a rotary movement and is suitable, in particular, for use in small installation spaces for transmitting rotary movements of more than 360°.
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{
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Communication via electronic devices today occurs via smartphones, tablet computers, and other electronic mobile devices. Such devices may go offline for a variety of reasons, leaving the sender of a message to the device to wonder whether the receiving user device ever received the message. For example, electronic communication devices may be shut off intentionally. They may shut off due to a battery running low, or running out of power. In some cases, they may be powered on, but still unable to receive incoming or send outgoing communications for being out of range of a WiFi, cellular connection, etc., or in a dead zone. When a receiving user's device is offline, the sending user may have to wait indefinitely for a reply or to follow up with the receiving user. This has many negative implications, including, for example, frustration on the part of the sending user, loss of opportunities on the part of the receiving user (when the sending user moves on), etc. Accordingly, there exists a need for improvements in electronic communication technologies.
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{
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In recent years, a semiconductor device has been manufactured by a mounting method referred to as a face-down method. In this method, when a semiconductor chip having a circuit surface on which an electrode such as a bump is formed is mounted, the circuit surface side of the semiconductor chip is bonded to a chip mounting portion such as a lead frame. Accordingly, the semiconductor device has a structure in which the rear surface side of the semiconductor chip on which a circuit is not formed is exposed.
For this reason, a protective film formed of a hard organic material is frequently formed on the rear surface side of the semiconductor chip for the purpose of protecting the semiconductor chip. The protective film is formed using, for example, a film for a semiconductor rear surface or a dicing tape-integrated wafer rear surface protective film disclosed in PTL 1 or 2.
In the film for a semiconductor rear surface in PTL 1, the light transmittance at a wavelength of 532 nm or 1064 nm is set to 20% or less. In this manner, it is possible to perform a printing process using irradiation with laser light and to prevent a semiconductor element from being adversely affected by the laser light. In addition, in a wafer rear surface protective film in PTL 2, the visible light transmittance is set to 20% or less. In this manner, influence on a semiconductor element due to transmission of light beams is reduced.
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{
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Most people enjoy displaying pictures of friends and family at various locations around their homes or at their place of work. In spite of the changes that may take place in those pictured, the same pictures are typically displayed for months or years. Still images of friends and family are most frequently shared in the form of photographic prints, while some individuals may share video with others in the form of videotapes and DVDs. Sending the latest photos or videos to friends or relatives requires the sender to get duplicate prints or copy a videotape or DVD, pack up the media, and ship it to the intended recipient. When received, the old pictures are removed from each of the frames and the new picture inserted. The viewing of video media is normally limited to a place where the necessary equipment resides.
Individuals that own photo scanners, digital cameras, or camcorders may send the latest pictures or video by attaching to an email message files containing the digital still images or digitized video. This method works for still and motion video, sound, and music, but does require that the sending and receiving parties be sufficiently savvy, and own the software tools needed to support the scanning/uploading, attaching, detaching, and displaying/playing that is involved. The files containing the digital media content can be quite large, and may require long upload/download times if a dial-up Internet connection is used. In addition, digital still photos must be printed if the recipient wishes to display them, and motion video must either be viewed on the screen of a PC, or written to a video tape or DVD to be viewed using a VCR or DVD player and a television set.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
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{
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In a vineyard wires are pulled out and secured to the stakes by staples providing support for the grape vines. The method presently employed is to drive the staples into the stakes by a hammer. The hammering is time consuming and hard on the hand of the operator as he has to hold the stake with one hand during the hammering of the staple. The instant invention provides a tool which makes the driving in of the staples quicker and is easier on the operator. The stapler comprises a plate bent into a 90 degree angle, and a long handle. One side of the plate is opposite to the handle, the handle is pivotally mounted on the plate and is provided with depressions for holding the staple.
In operation, the plate is held against the stake, the side facing the handle positioned against the stake opposite to the wire to be secured and the handle holding the staple is pushed forwardly for driving in the staple.
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{
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1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a battery charger, and in particular to a battery charger having a planar surface on which one or more battery powered devices may be placed for battery recharging through induction. The invention also extends to a battery charging system for use with conventional electronic devices and that allows conventional electronic devices to be charged using the battery charging system of the present invention.
2. Background Information
Portable electronic equipment such as mobile phones, handheld computers, personal data assistants, and devices such as a wireless computer mouse, are normally powered by batteries. In many cases, rechargeable batteries are preferred because of environmental and economical concerns. The most common way to charge rechargeable batteries is to use a conventional charger, which normally consists of an AC-DC power supply (in case of using the ac mains) or a DC-DC power supply (in case of using a car battery). Conventional chargers normally use a cord (an electric cable for a physical electrical connection) to connect the charger circuit (a power supply) to the battery located in the portable electronic equipment. The basic schematic of the conventional battery charger is shown in FIG. 1.
Inductive electronic chargers without direct physical electrical connection have been developed in some portable electronic equipment such as electric toothbrushes where because they are designed to be used in the bathroom in the vicinity of sinks and water, it is not safe to provide a conventional electrical connection. Various known inductive type chargers, however, use traditional transformer designs with windings wound around ferrite magnetic cores as shown in FIG. 2. The main magnetic flux between the primary winding and secondary winding has to go through the magnetic core materials. Other contactless chargers proposed also use magnetic cores as the main structure for the coupled transformer windings.
A contactless charger using a single primary printed winding without any EMI shielding has been proposed for portable telecommunications/computing electronics. However, the magnetic flux distribution of a single spiral winding has a major problem of non-uniform magnetic flux distribution. As illustrated further below, the magnitude of the magnetic field in the centre of the core of a spiral winding is highest and decreases from the centre. This means that if the portable electronic device is not placed properly in the central region, the charging effect is not effective in this non-uniform field distribution. Furthermore, without proper EMI shielding, undesirable induced currents may flow in other metallic parts of the portable electronic equipment.
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{
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A typical integrated circuit structure is made up of dies that include active devices such as transistors and capacitors. These devices are initially isolated from each other, and interconnect structures are later formed over the active devices to create functional circuits. On top of the interconnect structures, metal pads are formed and exposed on the surface of the respective die. Electrical connections are made through the metal pads to connect the die to a package substrate or another die.
In an aspect of conventional packaging technologies, such as fan-out packaging, redistribution layers (RDLs) may be formed over a die and electrically connected to the metal pads. Input/output (I/O) pads such as solder balls may then be formed to electrically connect to the metal pads through the RDLs. An advantageous feature of this packaging technology is the possibility of forming fan-out packages, which means the I/O pads on a die can be redistributed to a greater area than the die, and hence the number of I/O pads packed on the surfaces of the dies can be increased.
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{
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This invention generally relates to rotary lawn mowers. More specifically, the invention relates to rotary lawn mowers having protective guards or shields which prevent operator contact with the rotary cutting blades.
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{
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Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the controlled administration of medical fluid and, more particularly, to intravenous fluid delivery implementing a control loop to achieve and automatically maintain a desired delivery parameter.
Description of the Related Art
Intravenous (“IV”) fluid delivery systems are used to deliver medical fluid to patients at controlled rates. Many such IV fluid delivery systems exist and in one case, precise infusion pumps have been developed to more accurately provide medical fluids to patients in accordance with physician prescriptions. In most cases, an open-loop pump control system is used in which a processor varies the speed of a fluid pump based on a predefined function of various parameters, such as fluid type, infusion profile, and programmed flow rate. Such processor-controlled, open-loop pump systems can be expensive and are usually complex in that they are highly engineered with close tolerance parts to produce the desired accuracy of fluid delivery.
In most cases, such open-loop pumps do not use any feedback to alter the control over the pumping mechanism. Sensors in the pump or associated with the fluid delivery are usually used to detect alarm conditions associated with peripheral events, such as an excessive amount of air in the fluid delivery line, occlusion of the fluid tubing above or below the pump, and depletion of medical fluid in the container. The highly engineered pumping mechanism and processor control accounts for almost the entire accuracy of the pump. However, the rate of fluid delivery is also affected by the precision of disposable components, such as the tubing, used in the fluid path that conveys the medical fluid to a patient. Variations in the internal diameter and material hardness of tubing and pumping components comprising the disposable components cannot be readily compensated in an open-loop control algorithm since such variations may change with the age of the component and since it is impractical to measure such variations directly. As a result, disposable components subject to tight tolerance specifications must be used in such open-loop systems to ensure accuracy of fluid delivery. The tight tolerance specifications increase manufacturing costs which are ultimately borne by the patient.
Certain closed-loop systems have been disclosed in the art over the years and seek to maintain or increase medical fluid delivery accuracy. In a closed-loop system, a parameter or parameters associated with the fluid delivery process are measured to control the fluid delivery system. Prior closed-loop systems have often determined the flow rate of medical fluid to the patient by indirect means, such as by measuring internal pressure forces on the wall of a fluid passageway or by measuring a fluid pressure gradient across a constriction in the fluid passageway. Some prior systems have attempted to measure actual movement of the fluid in the fluid passageway; however, some such systems were invasive in that they involved physical contact with the medicinal fluid and were not implemented. Others required sensors and processing systems that were expensive and also were not implemented.
Fluid delivery manufacturers strive to provide a high level of fluid delivery accuracy while at the same time strive to control costs to patients. A closed-loop pump system and method could provide useful information about the actual delivery of fluid to the patient and if accurate enough, the pump device itself and disposable administration components could be manufactured with looser tolerances thereby reducing costs to the patient. Such accuracy would enable manufacturers to provide different means for delivering medical fluids to patients, including a reliance, at least partially, on gravity as the force to cause the fluid to flow to the patient.
Hence, those skilled in the art have recognized a need for a more advanced medical fluid delivery system and method using a sensor or sensors that measure actual fluid flow to the patient and use such sensed flow information to regulate the fluid delivery. Those skilled in the art have also noted a need for a lower cost fluid delivery apparatus, including a flow regulator and flow conduits, having looser tolerances on parts so that costs are more controlled. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a lower cost, less complex system for delivery of medical fluids that reduces costs yet provides accuracy in fluid delivery. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.
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Multiple conventional rechargeable batteries such as Lithium-ion or Nickel metal hydride batteries may be arranged in series or parallel to obtain any desired voltage or current. For example, a set of batteries may be arranged in parallel by sandwiching the batteries between two conductors to obtain a desired current. Many of the parallel sets may be coupled in series to obtain a desired voltage of the larger set. The larger set may be electrically coupled in series or parallel with other similarly sized sets to obtain an even higher voltage or current.
The related application describes one method of managing the electrical connections in the smaller sets of batteries, in which multiple batteries are sandwiched in parallel between two conductors. That application describes a bracket which is laid into holes in the conductor and wave soldered to the conductor. The holes are aligned over the end terminals of the batteries, and the bracket is then welded to the batteries.
However, there are problems with this approach. The welding process is time consuming and prone to failure. It is also difficult to test the connection between each battery and the conductors. Another problem with this approach is the lack of electrical protection. A single battery can internally short, due to a malfunction or damage. The short can thus make unusable the entire set of batteries to which it is connected in parallel.
In addition, a short circuit between any two of: a conductor in the smaller set or the interconnections between the smaller sets or the larger sets, can short circuit some or all of the batteries.
Because rechargeable batteries can overheat and explode when short circuited, a short circuit can be catastrophic, not only to the batteries being shorted, but to the other batteries as well, because these non-shorted batteries can be overheated to the point at which they will overheat and explode. Because batteries can overheat and explode as a result of a short circuit, a major short circuit can cause the failure of one or more of the smaller sets of batteries.
It can be desirable to ensure that any solution to this problem ensure that short circuits external to the batteries are easy to repair.
What is needed is a system and method of interconnecting batteries that can help prevent a short circuit from causing the batteries to overheat, does not require welding the batteries to a bracket, and can allow the connections between the batteries and the conductors to be tested, and can prevent the failure of any of the smaller sets of batteries in the event of a short circuit internal to each of one or more of the batteries or a short circuit external to the batteries.
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{
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Wireless devices, such as cellular phones and some handheld computers, are capable of communicating with various other types of computer devices, including other cellular phones and handheld computers, through use of wireless media and channels. Using so-called push technology, these other devices can transmit information to wireless devices in the form of an alert or notification. Due to the many different forms that such information can take and the many different kinds of wireless devices existing today, the ability to send notifications to wireless devices is typically limited and constrained to be enabled only among devices that can communicate in a select form and medium. Such incompatibility often prevents the wireless device from being used with more than one source of information, restricting the informative value of the wireless device.
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{
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Specifications and software structures of terminals, for example, mobile terminals, are kept secret. The security of confidential information, for example, authentic cryptographic keys, may be ensured using secure modules (e.g., tamper-resistant modules) whose integrity is ensured. One example of the secure modules is a subscriber identity module (SIM) card.
For example, for communication with a terminal, an external apparatus determines whether or not received communication content is encrypted with an authentic cryptographic key whose integrity is ensured, thereby determining whether or not the communication content is authentic.
Related art is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-129227 and Japanese Patent No. 4408601.
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{
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Thermal transfer processes that use radiation to transfer material from a donor element to a receiver element are known. Thermal transfer imaging processes are used in applications such as color proofing, electronic circuit manufacture, the manufacture of monochrome and color filters, and lithography.
Color filters can be manufactured by thermally transferring a layer of colored material from a donor element onto a receiver. Typically, the transferred layer comprises a polymeric material and one or more dyes and/or pigments. The polymeric material can comprise a cross-linkable binder that can be cured to form a more chemically and physically stable layer, one that is less susceptible to damage.
There remains a need, however, to develop agents that can be used to facilitate the crosslinking process and provide color filters that are more durable and have a longer lifetime.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to motor vehicle lights and more particularly to a flexible support for supporting at least one light emitting diode.
So-called conventional printed circuits have an insulating support consisting of a resin plate that has a certain flexibility, in the sense that it can be curved or arched by exerting a force on each side of the circuit. However, the deformation of the resin plate is limited to one or even two inflection points and the curvature cannot be too pronounced. In addition, these plates are resilient and it is difficult to keep them in a deformed configuration.
The field of the invention is, in general terms, that of motor vehicle headlights. In this field, various types of headlight are known, among which there are essentially: side lights, with low intensity and range; passing or low beams, with higher intensity and a range on the road of around 70 meters; long-range high beams, and supplementary lights of the long-range type, whose area of vision on the road is around 200 meters; improved headlights, referred to as dual function, which combine the functions of low beams and high beams by incorporating a movable shade; fog lights; signalling lights; signalling devices for daytime use, referred to a DRL lights (standing for daytime running lights in English) etc.
For all these lights, traditionally, light sources of the halogen lamp or discharge lamp type are used. However, for a few years now, automotive equipment manufacturers have proposed the use of light emitting diodes; this use initially concerned essentially indicator lights or rear lights, but an increase in the power available in LEDs now makes it possible to envisage new uses of these light sources, in particular for performing the light functions present at the front of the vehicle, and more precisely the DRL and side light functions. Light emitting diodes allowing the performance of this type of function are designated as power LEDs. A power LED is more generally an LED making it possible, alone or in association with other LEDs, to perform lighting functions other than signalling functions and the function associated with signalling devices disposed at the rear of the vehicle. A power LED generally has a light flux of around at least 30 lumens.
Light emitting diodes have a certain number of advantages: first of all, for a long time, it has been known that this type of diode does not radiate directionally but radiates in a half-space opposite to a substrate that supports the p-n junction of the diode in question; thus, by using a more directional radiation than the halogen or discharge lamps of the prior art, the quantity of energy lost is less than with discharge or halogen lamps; next, these diodes have recently been improved in terms of radiation power intensity. In addition, the diodes manufactured have long been emitting radiation in the red range, but now also in the white range, which increases the field of their uses that can be envisaged. With regard to the LEDs used in signalling, the quantity of heat that they give off is relatively limited, and a certain number of constraints, relating to the dissipation of the heat in the headlight devices of the prior art, disappear; the problem of heat dissipation does however remain significant for power LEDs; finally, diodes consume less energy, even at an equal intensity of radiation, than discharge lamps or halogen lamps; they are compact, and their particular shape offers novel possibilities for producing and arranging complex surfaces that are associated with them, in particular by disposing them on electronic supports of the flexible electronic support type.
More and more, in particular to meet aesthetic criteria required by motor manufacturers, it is sought to dispose three-dimensionally, within the same headlight device, several light emitting diodes: within a given lighting device, various LEDs, possibly different types, are disposed on different support planes; in other words, a three-dimensional optical piece can now be intended to receive and hold a plurality of light sources in different planes.
The existing solutions for such juxtapositions initially consisted, in the case of LEDs, essentially of using rigid electronic supports, known to persons skilled in the art, of the CEM1, FR4, SMI or MCPCB substrate type or the like for supporting the various light sources. The use of rigid electronic supports has in particular a high manufacturing cost and drawbacks in terms of interconnection of the different substrates.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, a particular solution has recently been proposed for effecting a placing of light emitting diodes in a three-dimensional environment. Thus the patent FR 2881274 describes a flexible electronic support equipped with LEDs allowing a simplified assembling on a reflector comprising several LED support planes. Radiator elements are assembled on a first face of the flexboard. The LEDs are fixed to a second face of the flexboard, each LED being positioned so that a radiator element is associated with it directly on each side of the flexboard. Each radiator element comprises openings intended to receive a fixing pin pointing at a rear face of the reflector. This makes it possible to assemble the equipped flexboard and the reflector in a simple and precise manner by introducing one of the fixing pins of the reflector into each opening.
However, the current use of power LEDs makes it necessary to further improve the discharge of heat at the LEDs.
What is needed, therefore, is a system, flexible support and method that overcomes one or more of the problems of the prior art.
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{
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This invention relates to a cabinet for an electronic device inside which electronic components are housed, and an electronic device having such cabinet.
There has long been a demand that video game machines and other electronic devices be made smaller in order to improve their portability and ease of handling. One way to achieve such smaller device size would be to reduce the thickness of the cabinet in which the main body of the electronic device is housed (hereafter called the cabinet), making the electronic device smaller while securing a volume of space in which to accommodate the main body.
The usual way to make such a cabinet for housing a device main body is to contact the ends of a pair of housing members that have a cross-section in the shape of a squared-off C, so as to oppose them to each other at upper and lower positions.
However, because the housing members that form the cabinet are generally formed with a resin that has a wide range of uses, such as ABS resin (a resin made with acrylnitryl-butadiene-styrene copolymer), sufficient rigidity of a cabinet cannot be ensured if, in order to make the device smaller, the thickness is reduced too much.
Thus in the structure of a conventional cabinet, the cabinet cannot be made too thin in the pursuit of a smaller device size, and it has been difficult to reduce the size of the electronic device because of this problem.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet of an electronic device that ensures sufficient rigidity even if made thin, and an electronic device that promotes a smaller size by the use of such cabinet.
A cabinet for an electronic device according to the present invention is one which houses therein electronic components that form the electronic device, wherein the cabinet has a chassis on which electronic components are provided and a pair of housing members that hold the chassis therebetween and house the electronic components.
Due to the present invention, the chassis serves as a reinforcing material, making it possible to improve the rigidity of the cabinet. Therefore, sufficient rigidity for the cabinet can be ensured even if the thickness of the housing members is reduced to achieve a smaller size.
In this invention, preferably, one of the pair of housing members may have a smaller volume than another housing member and the cabinet may be constituted asymrnmetrically relative to the chassis.
In this way, the components that take up relatively little space, such as circuit boards, are accommodated in the smaller-volume housing member, and the components that take up relatively large space, such as power source units or disk drives, are accommodated in the larger-volume housing member, thus making it possible to efficiently utilize the space inside the cabinet so as to minimize empty space.
It is preferable that the aforesaid pair of housing members and chassis may be made integral by a screw inserted into a screw hole formed in one of the pair of housing members.
In this way, the pair of housing members and chassis can be made integral by connecting them once with a single screw, thus facilitating the cabinet assembly operation.
If the screw hole is formed only in one of the housing members, then by taking as the base the surface in which the screw hole is formed, one can hide that screw hole and the screw, etc. inserted into this screw hole, thereby improving the appearance of the cabinet.
In this invention, a rear surface part that covers the rear surface of the cabinet for an electronic device may preferably be provided on the chassis.
In this way, the components of the electronic device provided on the rear surface part of the cabinet, such as a power switch exposed on the rear surface of the cabinet and an exhaust fan installed on the back side of the rear surface, can be previously provided on the chassis, thus making the electronic device easier to assemble than if the components on the rear surface were fabricated separately.
In addition, an electronic device of the present invention includes said cabinet.
According to the present invention, because the electronic device has a cabinet whose rigidity is ensured even if it is thin, the prescribed volume of space inside the cabinet is also ensured, and to the extent that the cabinet is made thinner, a smaller size for the electronic device can be achieved.
In this invention, the electronic device may have a power source circuit board for supplying the power source and a control board to control the electronic device, and the power source circuit board and control board may preferably be arranged on opposite sides with the chassis between them.
Thus the chassis serves as a partition between the power source circuit board and the control board, making it possible to increase the insulation surface distance (the electrical insulation distance) between the boards, thus simply preventing the phenomenon of electrical discharge between said boards. In this way, if the boards are arranged near the chassis, the space inside the cabinet can be used efficiently, and the electronic device can be made even smaller.
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{
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Liver X receptor (LXR) activation is associated with inflammation, hyperproliferative and/or disordered skin barrier differentiation. LXR activation also modulates multiple pathways underlying the etiology and pathology of skin aging.
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{
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Time division multiple access (TDMA) techniques provide a large number of communication channels for telephony services and are optimal for peaky environments. The load in each satellite beam can be peaky due to high densities of subscribers in metropolitan areas. TDMA access schemes allow frequency assignments to be reallocated from low utilization beams to hot spots. TDMA systems are therefore optimal for coverage in the western United States where cities tend to be more widely separated than cities on the eastern United States.
Code division multiple access (CDMA) techniques are used to provide services requiring more uniform, non-peaky loaded services to take advantage of the CDMA reuse factor and variable data rate services. CDMA is optimal for uniform density environments and is optimal for coverage in the eastern United States and Europe where metropolitan areas overlap.
There is a significant need for a multi-mode system and subscriber unit that are able to use both TDMA and CDMA techniques based on the current usage or the load on the system.
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{
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This invention relates generally to a display apparatus, and more particularly to a light guide type display apparatus.
A conventional light guide type display apparatus includes a plurality of blocks, each block formed by bundling together a plurality of optical fibers. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,280, the blocks are simply stacked together to form a display screen.
The overall length of these optical fibers is relatively long. An increase in the production cost of the apparatus results. Boundaries created by the discontinuities between the blocks of bundled optical fibers and linear patterns formed by the unevenness in the levels of luminance which appear on the screen degrade the quality of the displayed image.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a light guide type display apparatus which reduces the overall length of the optical fibers used, minimizes discontinuities created between the blocks of bundled optical fibers and substantially eliminates the unevenness in the level of luminance appearing on the screen.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses and methods, and programs, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program in which it is possible to provide information for presenting characters appearing in moving picture content and positions of the characters to users such that the users can easily understand and recognize them.
2. Description of the Related Art
In most cases, moving picture content includes various characters. Accordingly, the demand that users understand the type of content from characters or search for scenes of a specific character from among various characters and play them back is increasing.
For handling moving picture content including various characters, as discussed above, the following techniques, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,888 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-363775 are known.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are capable of robust tissue repair. MSCs can be isolated from many autologous tissue sources with the two most common sources being adipose tissue and bone marrow. Adipose stem cell harvesting is performed through liposuction of subcutaneous fat tissue which is then usually processed with a chemical digestion technique. Bone marrow aspirate is a red liquid when first obtained from the patient through a trocar inserted through the bony cortex. The aspirate fluid is then typically processed with centrifugation to separate out various marrow fractions (referred to herein as fractions or layers). The buffy coat is a middle fraction of centrifuged marrow, positioned below a serum component and above a red blood cell component. The buffy coat is rich in nucleated cells, progenitor cells, and stem cells.
Until recently, only the buffy coat of a fractionated bone marrow aspirate was known to include useful quantities of MSCs. Accordingly, typical bone marrow fractionation and concentration systems designed to isolate a therapeutically significant quantity of MSCs have focused on isolating and processing the buffy coat through various means. Conventional methods and devices do not provide for the isolation or subsequent processing of other marrow fractions that are now known to contain MSCs, in particular a marrow adipose layer supernatant which is positioned above the serum layer when bone marrow aspirate is fractionated. Therefore, according to conventional techniques, the marrow adipose supernatant layer is discarded as waste.
Although the adipose layer supernatant of fractionated bone marrow aspirate is now known to include MSCs, no techniques are known for efficiently collecting the adipose layer supernatant and processing same to maximize a useable MSC yield.
The embodiments disclosed herein are directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
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{
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Washing machines are typically equipped to operate with one or more modes or cycles such as wash, rinse, and spin modes. During a wash or rinse mode for a vertical axis washing machine, an agitator is used to impart motion to the laundry articles that are contained within a wash basket. The laundry articles are usually submerged at least partially within a wash or rinse fluid. A wash tub contains the fluid, agitator, and wash basket. During a wash or rinse mode, the wash basket remains stationary while the agitator rotates to impart movement to the laundry articles.
During a spin mode, the wash basket is rotated so as to subject the articles in the laundry to centrifugal forces. These forces cause water and other fluids to be wrung from the clothes. These liquids can exit the wash basket through holes positioned along the outer wall of the wash basket for subsequent removal from the wash tub.
For operation of the washing machine appliance between the wash, rinse, and spin modes, it is desirable to independently control the movement of the agitator and wash basket. More specifically, during the wash and rinse modes the wash basket may be held stationary while the agitator is rotated to impart movement to the laundry articles. During the spin mode, however, rotation of the wash basket is required to wring liquid from the articles as set forth above.
In order to control the rotation of the agitator and wash basket, a vertical axis washing machine can be equipped with e.g., a clutch mechanism for engaging and disengaging the wash basket from a motor that can be used to rotate the wash basket and/or agitator. Of course, determining the desired mode or cycle of the washing machine appliance depends on proper operation of the clutch mechanism. For example, if the clutch mechanism does not properly engage or disengage the motor from the wash basket, the appliance will not be able to switch into the proper mode of operation.
Accordingly, a washing machine appliance that can shift between various modes or cycles of operation would be useful. A washing machine that can also detect whether a clutch mechanism has properly engaged the wash basket of the appliance would be beneficial. Such a washing machine that can base such detection directly upon the position of the clutch mechanism would be particularly beneficial.
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The invention relates to a three function heat pump system. More particularly, the invention relates to a three function heat pump system for space heating, cooling and water heating, the system providing water heating all year long regardless of the system operating in the heating or cooling mode.
Systems for space heating and cooling are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,242,873; 4,270,518; 4,030,312; 4,242,872; 4,392,359; 4,302,942; 4,256,475; 4,246,956; 4,336,692; 4,279,359 and 4,011,731 disclose various systems for heat pumps which may provide for heating and cooling.
Nevertheless, the prior art systems fail to provide a system which is capable of hot water production all year long. The known systems only produce hot water when the system is operating in the heating or cooling mode using a desuperheater.
In addition, the components of the prior art systems are not arranged for efficient operation. For example, conventional systems have resistance crankcase heaters which operate continuously to warm the compressor so that liquid refrigerant does not migrate into the compressor during off-cycles. Crankcase heater operation has a negative energy impact, particularly in mild climates. Interconnection and assembly of the components of the prior art systems are also cumbersome and time consuming for installation in the field.
It is an object of the invention to obviate the disadvantages of the known systems by providing a three function heat pump system which generates domestic hot water all year long without requiring operation in a heating or cooling mode.
Another object of the invention is to provide a three function heat pump system which produces domestic hot water all year long by employing dual condensers that are connected in series or one at a time.
It is another object of the invention to provide a three function heat pump system having an arrangement of components which increases energy efficiency by eliminating the need for crankcase heaters.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a three function heat pump system which packages the components efficiently to conserve space and eliminate connections thereby facilitating rapid installation in the field.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a three function heat pump system which employs storage to facilitate heat pump operation under the most favorable available outdoor weather conditions.
These and other objects, advantages and features are provided by the three function heat pump system in accordance with the invention. The system includes a compressor for compressing the refrigerant into a high pressure, high temperature refrigerant. The refrigerant flows within a reversible flow conduit which provides series communication between a first heat exchanger located within a first reservoir and an external environment heat exchanger. A throttle means is located between the first heat exchanger and the external environment heat exchanger to reduce the pressure of the refrigerant. A reversing valve directs the refrigerant flow from the compressor through a second conduit to the reversible flow conduit, and selectively determines the direction of flow in the reversible flow conduit in response to a desired heating or cooling mode. In the heating mode, the reversing valve directs refrigerant flow in a first direction to the first heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant and transfer heat to a medium within a first storage reservoir prior to directing the condensed refrigerant through the throttle means to the external environment heat exchanger to evaporate the refrigerant. In the cooling mode, the reversing valve directs the refrigerant flow in a second opposite direction, first through the external environment heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant and then to the first heat exchanger to evaporate the refrigerant and absorb heat from the medium within the first reservoir.
The system provides hot water production irrespective of the heating and cooling modes by providing a second heat exchanger in a second hot water reservoir located between the compressor and the reversing valve. In addition, a bypass valve is provided for selectively bypassing the first heat exchanger. Accordingly, hot water is produced regardless of the heating and cooling modes by directing the refrigerant flow through the second heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant and then either directing the refrigerant to the first heat exchanger, or bypassing the first heat exchanger for direct flow to the external environment heat exchanger. With this arrangement, the second heat exchanger functions as a condenser for the system when the first heat exchanger is bypassed.
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sleeve with interior barbs that are configured to, for example, grasp a body tissue and fix the body tissue to another body part such as a bone.
2. Background of the Invention
ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and other surgeries require the attachment of tissue to bone.
In the prior art, it is known to secure tissue to a bone by placing tissue into a hole in the bone and then placing an interference screw adjacent to the tissue within the hole. Interference screws are sold by, for example, Arthex, Inc., Naples, Fla. Unfortunately, the tissue may loosen from the hold of the interference screw within the bone. Pressure placed upon the tissue by the screw may also result in tissue necrosis, poor in growth of healing tissue, and poor revascularization of the tissue, all of which may compromise or limit the integrity of the tissue and contribute to failure, necessitating further surgery. Placement of an interference screw within the hole also displaces the tissue to the side of the hole, thereby placing the tissue in an eccentric position within the hole and contributing to imprecise positioning of the tissue. An endo-button device may also be used to secure tissue to bone; however, this provides only a single point of fixation and the point of fixation is remote from the tissue.
Thus, there is a need for more biologically optimal and precise way to fixate tissue to bone in ACL and other surgeries.
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Technical Field
Devices and methods for a delivering a material into an orthopedic target site are disclosed. For example, devices and methods for delivering bone cement to a vertebral body are disclosed.
Description of Related Art
It is common during orthopedic medical procedures to place materials in the bone. For instance, in vertebroplasty, bone cement is injected to stabilize a vertebral compression fracture. Similarly, in kyphoplasty, a balloon is first inserted into a vertebral body and inflated to create a void. The void is then filled with bone cement.
Some devices for moving bone cement consist of a hand pump and a flexible tube. The tube is inserted into the orthopedic structure and bone cement is pumped through the tube and into the structure. The tube is long enough that the pump may be located up to several feet from the injection site. These devices have the advantage of allowing the physician to be removed from the injection site such that he or she is not exposed to the x-rays used to guide the filling procedure. However, tactile feedback is poor, excessive pressures can be generated and the bone cement remaining in the tube is all wasted in the end. Detaching the tube from the mass of injected bone cement can also be problematic.
Some devices, such as those used for kyphoplasty, use a simple rigid hollow tube with a solid rigid pusher rod that slides down the tube. The hollow tube is filled with bone cement and the solid pusher rod drives the bone cement into the body. These devices have the advantage of excellent tactile feedback, simplicity, lack of waste and easy termination with the mass of injected bone cement. However, they have small volumes and, because they are used right at the injection site, may expose the physician to x-rays during the filling procedure. Finally, because of their material choices, they may require significant force to extrude cement as the cement hardens.
What is needed is a device to place material into bone that protects physicians from X-ray exposure, has adequate volume, smooth operation, good haptics, minimizes waste and allows easy termination with the mass of injected bone cement.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to display devices for actively displaying images.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Active displays may be made up of pixels that are fully or partly reflective, transmissive, or emissive. Hence a display may generate images with pixels that operate by fully or partially reflecting incident ambient light, pixels that are light-emissive, or transmissive pixels where light is generated from within the display and projected upon the transmissive pixels. Reflective display technologies may include, but are not limited to, liquid crystal, MEMS (such as interferometric modulator), electrophoretic (such as e-ink or e-paper), and other display technologies using reflected ambient light to generate an image. Emissive displays include displays with a backlight to illuminate the active transmissive pixels, such as a liquid crystal or thin film transistor liquid crystal, or displays where the active pixels themselves generate or emit light such as vacuum fluorescent, light emitting diode, organic light emitting diode, or surface-conduction electron-emitter displays.
Displays can include MEMS devices, such as an interferometric modulator. As used herein, the term interferometric modulator or interferometric light modulator refers to a device that selectively absorbs and/or reflects light using the principles of optical interference. In certain embodiments, an interferometric modulator may comprise a pair of conductive plates, one or both of which may be transparent and/or reflective in whole or part and capable of relative motion upon application of an appropriate electrical signal. In a particular embodiment, one plate may comprise a stationary layer deposited on a substrate and the other plate may comprise a metallic membrane separated from the stationary layer by an air gap. As described herein in more detail, the position of one plate in relation to another can change the optical interference of light incident in the interferometric modulator. Such devices have a wide range of applications, and it would be beneficial in the art to utilize and/or modify the characteristics of these types of devices so that their features can be exploited in improving existing products and creating new products that have not yet been developed.
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This invention relates generally to a fiber reinforced matrix for a wind turbine rotor blade, and more particularly to a wind turbine rotor blade including such a fiber reinforced matrix.
Wind turbine blades are typically made by means of two blade shell halves of fiber reinforced polymer. When molded the two halves are glued together along the edges and via bracings, which prior thereto have been glued to the inner face of one of the blade shell halves. The other blade shell half is then arranged on top of the bracings and glued thereto and along the edges.
The blade shell halves per se are typically made by vacuum infusion, in which evenly distributed fibers, rovings, which are fiber bundles, bands of rovings or mats, which may be felt mats of single-fibers or woven mats of fiber rovings, are layered in a mold part and covered by a vacuum bag. By creating vacuum in the cavity between an inner face of the mould part and the vacuum bag resin is sucked into and fills the cavity containing the fiber material. In order to obtain the optimum distribution of resin, so-called distribution layers and distribution channels are often used between the vacuum bag and the fiber material.
The matrix material used, i.e. a polymer, is typically polyester or epoxy, and the fiber reinforcement is usually based on fiber glass. It is, however, also known to use carbon fibers which are stiffer than glass fibers, but have a smaller elongation at breakage than glass fibers. Carbon fibers are, however, encumbered by the drawback of being significantly more expensive than glass fibers, which is one of the reasons why wind turbine blades of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer are not widely used.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to non-volatile memory flashing and security management for a computer system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for remote non-volatile memory flashing and security management.
2. Description of the Related Art
A remote system management product ideally mhlimizes user action required for system management. Various system management tasks such as delivering software to a target machine or powering a target machine may be remotely performed by a system administrator rather than a user. Certain other system management tasks, however, maintain the need for user action in combination with tasks performed by a system administrator. For these tasks, it has been necessary for a user to be present at a target machine. Two examples of these tasks are flashing a read-only-memory (ROM) of a target machine and changing a security setting for a target machine.
The conventional method of flashing a read-only-memory (ROM) or changing a security setting of a target computer system begins with downloading a new ROM image and flash utility onto a fixed disk of the target computer system. The ROM image and flash utility have typically been gathered from a support compact disc or a website and stored on an operating system partition or a dedicated vendor unique system partition of the fixed disk. Alternatively, the new ROM image and flash utility may be initially stored onto a secondary ROM or non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) and then copied to the system ROM of the computer system. The system ROM is placed in a protected state by the basic input/output system (BIOS) services during power up of the computer system, thereby preventing a flash operation to the system ROM. After the new ROM image and flash utility are downloaded, the flash utility forces the user to create a flash utility diskette. The user then cold boots the computer system with the created diskette in the floppy drive. When the computer system detects the created diskette, the computer system brings up the program to flash the system ROM. The program to flash the system ROM can prompt the user to enter an administrator password. The program then allows the user to set a configuration parameter or flag to indicate a request to flash the system ROM with the new ROM image. The request to flash the ROM is queued. Upon a reboot of the computer system, the flash utility diskette provides the administrator password to the system ROM to place the system ROM in an unprotected state allowing for a flash operation to the system ROM. Placing the system ROM in an unprotected state upon reboot prevents the BIOS from protecting or locking the ROM. The flash utility diskette next flashes the system ROM. It thus has been necessary for a user to copy a flash utility and ROM image to the system ROM, reboot the computer system, and enter an administrator password as a prerequisite to flashing the ROM. The flash utility which performs the flash of the system ROM also verifies that the system ROM is flashed correctly. The computer system must then be rebooted again to activate the new ROM image flashed to the system ROM.
Similarly, in administering certain security settings of a computer system, it has been necessary to store code and a security settings file on a system partition, request a change to a security setting which is queued for execution upon the next reboot of the computer system, and reboot the computer system to activate the change to the security setting. This process of downloading a flash ROM and security software package and running the code in the package upon reboot of the computer system before flashing a ROM or changing a security setting may be termed an out-of-band process.
Flashing a ROM or changing a security setting as an Aout-of-band.congruent. process has certain disadvantages. Queuing a change to a security setting and activating the change to the security setting upon reboot poses a risk of intervention between the time the change is queued and the time the computer system is rebooted. For example, if a system administrator requests a disabling of a power-on password of a terminated employee, the power-on password of the terminated employee continues to be in effect after the request by the administrator until a subsequent reboot of the computer system. As a result, in this time window, a terminated employee is able to tamper with the files on the computer system prior to a reboot of the computer system. Another basic disadvantage of an out-of-band process is the risk of system error upon the reboot of the computer system. If a system error occurs upon a reboot of a computer system, the queued request to change a security setting may not be serviced. Therefore, upon reboot of a computer system, a system administrator is unable to determine if the change to a security setting is in effect.
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The present invention relates to a three dimensional linear machining apparatus for three dimensional machining on a long-shaped member, such as a pipe, such as a laser beam machine, a plasma cutting machine, and a gas cutting machine.
Such kind of conventional three dimensional linear machine which has been proposed is the three dimensional laser beam machine wherein the direction of a torch from which laser beam is radiated is three-dimensionally adjustable with respect to a workpiece. Such a three-dimensional laser beam machine can three-dimensionally machine a workpiece by a linear/arc interpolation instruction for moving and driving a torch on a straight line/an arc or a cylindrical interpolation instruction for rotating a workpiece. In case where the sectional shape of a workpiece to be machined is an irregular shape having a corner, but the feed speed of the torch with respect to the workpiece can not be uniformly maintained in a machining path passing through the corner since the linear/arc interpolation instruction and the cylindrical interpolation instruction can not be simultaneously controlled, so that irregularity may be formed on a surface cut by machining. That is, it is difficult to maintain a cut surface having no irregurality and to successively machine a member having an irregular shape along the above-mentioned machining path. For these reasons, the member having the irregular shape is necessary to be machined every each machining face of the workiece, so that much labor and/or long time is required for such operation, and it is difficult to actualize speedy machining.
Under such a situation, such a method is known that the machining path passing through a corner is successively machined concerning a workpiece, such as an irregularly shaped member, by using the interpolation instruction of micro line segment by the machining program produced by a CAD/CAM unit.
But, long time is necessary for complex computation in such a machining, and besides, specific skill is also necessary. In addition, a CAD/CAM unit is separately necessary, and it is necessary to prepare enormous memory capacity for a machining program produced. Besides, the interpolation instruction of micro line segment is used, so that the machining speed is slow and it is difficult to actualize speedy machining.
Therefore, the development of the three dimensional linear machining apparatus for easily executing a machining without a skill wherein the face cut by machining can be maintained in a good condition, having no irregularity, speedy machining can be actualized by a successive machining on a workpiece, such as an irregularly shaped member, and a CAD/CAM unit and the memory capacity for a machining program are not necessary has been desired.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display control method for use in a liquid crystal display apparatus, a plasma display apparatus, an EL (electro-luminescence) display apparatus and the like to display images, and to an image display control apparatus.
2. Prior Art
As conventional techniques regarding an image display control method and an image display control apparatus, a liquid crystal display control method and a liquid crystal display control apparatus will now be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional liquid crystal display control apparatus as it handles a liquid crystal display (image display) request and a host computer access request. In FIG. 4, denoted at 401 is a host computer, namely, a micro computer unit. Denoted at 402 is a host interface circuit. Denoted at 403 is a memory circuit which stores display data. Denoted at 404 is a line latch circuit which stores one horizontal line-equivalent display data which is used to realize liquid crystal display (image display). Denoted at 405 is a memory select address location which is in response to a host access. Denoted at 406 is a memory line select address location which is in response to an LCD display read access. Denoted at 407 is a display line data transfer signal for an LCD display read access.
As the host computer 401 accesses in order to write display data, pixel data is written at the memory address select location 405 which corresponds to a vertical-direction and a horizontal-direction addresses within the memory circuit 403. Meanwhile, since display data one horizontal line equivalent to needs be transferred to the line latch circuit 404 to realize liquid crystal display (image display), a vertical address corresponding to one horizontal line is selected from among addresses within the memory circuit 403 in accordance with the memory line select address location 406 which is in response to the LCD display read access. The data representing thus selected line is sent to the line latch circuit 404 based on the display line data transfer signal 407.
An access request to the memory circuit 403 from the host computer 401 is in an asynchronous relationship with an access request to the memory circuit 403 from the liquid crystal display apparatus. Hence, while the host computer 401 and the liquid crystal display apparatus both access, the same data address could be selected.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a 1-bit structure within a memory circuit and a relationship with a line latch circuit. In FIG. 5, denoted at 501 is a 1-bit memory. Denoted at 502 is an initialization circuit. Denoted at 503 is a line latch circuit. Denoted at 504 is a line select signal. Denoted at 505 is a memory output. Denoted at 506 is an output from the initialization circuit 502. Denoted at 507 is a display read bus.
The 1-bit memory 501 within the memory circuit is formed by a P-channel or N-channel transistor for a small size. Within the memory circuit, a display read operation for a line selected by the line select signal 504 is as follows. That is, the display read bus 507 is initialized in response to the initialization output 506 from the initialization circuit 502, the memory output 505 from the 1-bit memory 501 is then outputted to the display read bus 507, and the line latch circuit 503 receives OR of the initialization output 506 and the memory output 505. When a P-channel transistor is used for example, the memory output 505, namely, read data is in a high-level state or high-impedance state, and therefore, the initialization circuit 502 reads the L-level.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are timing charts which show an example that there is no contention between an access request from the host computer and an access request for liquid crystal display (image display) and an example that there is such a contention.
Shown in FIG. 6 is a normal state that there is no contention between a host computer access and a display read access. In FIG. 6, a high-level pulse T611 occurs in a display read signal 611, at which time a value T612 (00—1111) of memory data 612 changes to a value T613 (00—1111) of a display read data output 613 from the memory circuit. Meanwhile, the pulse T611 of the display read signal 611 makes the initialization circuit execute initialization, and the state of a display read bus 614 therefore becomes an initialized state T614.
After this, because of the value T613 of the display read data output 613, the state of the display read bus 614 becomes a value T615 (00—1111). As a high-level pulse T616 occurs in a display line data transfer signal 616, a line latch output 617 becomes a value T617 (00—1111).
FIG. 7 shows a state that there arises a contention between a host computer access and a display read access. As shown in FIG. 7, a high-level pulse T621 occurs in a display read signal 621, at which time a value T622 (00—1111) of memory data 622 changes to a value T623 (00—1111) of a display read data output 623 from the memory circuit. Meanwhile, the pulse T621 of the display read signal 621 makes the initialization circuit execute initialization, and the state of a display read bus 624 therefore becomes an initialized state T624.
After this, because of the value T623 of the display read data output 623, the state of the display read bus 624 becomes a value T625 (00—1111).
When the memory data 622 changes to a value T626 (00—1111) owing to a host computer access during a contending data display period T631 which is influenced by the access contention, the display read data output 623 from the memory circuit becomes a value T627 (00—1111). In consequence, the state of a display read bus 624 undesirably becomes a value T628 (11—1111) which is OR of the value T625 (00—1111) and the value T627 (00—1111). As a high-level pulse T629 occurs in a display line data transfer signal 629, a line latch output 630 undesirably becomes a value T630 (11—1111) which is influenced by the access contention.
The following may be a method of avoiding an access contention in a situation that an access to the memory circuit from the host computer is in an asynchronous relationship with a display read access to the memory circuit from the liquid crystal display apparatus. In other words, when the host computer sends an access request while the liquid crystal display apparatus sends an LCD access request, an arbitration circuit may provide arbitration and RAM accessing responding to either one of the access requests may be initiated. At this stage, the arbitration circuit permits initiation of accessing under a condition that pre-charging of the RAM has finished. When there is a contention between a host access request and an LCD access request, the host access request is always given a priority (See PCT Publication in Japan 2000-003381 (page 1, FIG. 2).). The arbitration circuit may be the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. H10-105505 (pages 6 to 8, FIG. 5), for instance.
However, during the arbitration in the conventional structure described above, when a display read access from the liquid crystal display apparatus is earlier than a write access from the host computer for example, displaying will be provided before the arbitration circuit stops display read. There thus remains a problem that the contending data will be displayed.
In addition, when a contention with a host access arises once again upon resumption of an LCD access in response to an operation of the arbitration circuit, the arbitration will continue. This is a problem that displaying will not be provided indefinitely or that the complex arbitration circuit gives rise to malfunction.
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One of the most common vending machines includes a transparent bubble dome within which food, candy, gum or toys dimensioned substantially as pellets can be displayed. The transparent dome is supported on a cast housing which includes a crank handle. A slot receives a coin to allow rotation of the crank handle and discharge a certain quantum of the pellets down a discharge chute to a vendee. The housing is normally supported on a pedestal having a base which is thereafter secured in some manner to prevent the unauthorized asportation of the machine from the premises.
Some evolution in this type of machine has occurred. For example, it is now fairly common to see a triad of such machines supported on a single pedestal, with the triad of machines being oriented in series. Several inefficiencies exist with respect to both of these designs.
One form of inefficiency involves the construction of the transparent dome which displays the pellets to the vendee. Typically, the transparent dome has an open bottom. Thus, to gain access to the interior of a vending machine which is not empty the machine must be inverted to keep from spilling the contents within the transparent dome. As a result, such a machine's interior will typically not be accessed for cleaning until very little of the contents remain, since inverting the machine causes several further associated inefficiencies.
A further inefficiency involves the retrieval of coins from some older machines. Most coins are fed into a slot on an outer front face of the vending machine. The slot is formed within a disc operatively connected to a crank handle which is capable of rotation only in the presence of an appropriately dimensioned coin, since only the appropriate coin trips a latch mechanism. Once the crank handle has been rotated, the coin exits from the slot at a lower most position of the disc, and rolls down a chase into a coinbox which is open topped. Thus, if the machine is to be accessed by inverting the transparent dome before its contents have been exhausted, the money within the coin box will become displaced because the vending machine must be inverted to keep the contents within the dome from spilling out. Most newer machines have a locked access door to the coinbox to solve this problem.
A further form of inefficiency involves the utilization of the wrong denomination coin, an inappropriate token or slug. First, it should be noted that most machines will not admit a coin having a diameter greater than the coin necessary to make the machine work. Thus, a quarter machine will not have a slot sufficiently large to receive a half-dollar. However, when a smaller dimensioned coin, such as a penny, nickel or dime is inserted within the quarter slot, most prior art machines will jam and become inoperative until one can pull the wrong coin from the slot. If the potential vendee is incapable of removing the wrong denominated coin, the machine must sit idle until the vendor attends the machine for regular servicing or maintenance. Since the contents within the dome have not been exhausted because the machine has been disabled, this service call for replenishment is inefficient. Second, to remove a wrong sized coin, it is sometimes necessary to invert the machine which dislodges the coins already within the coin box.
Some more modern vending machines will incorporate a slit that communicates with the slot and allows a smaller dimensioned coin to pass directly from the slot into the coinbox thereby unjamming the machine, but depriving the vendee from the potential to retrieve the coin. This sometimes engenders animosity on the part of the vendee.
A further source of irritation to a vendee may include the purchase of nonuniform amounts of goods from the machine itself. Typically, the pellets within the dome communicate with a gate type device at a lower most portion which ideally administers a uniform quantum of the articles to the vendee. Typically such a gate is formed as an enclosure having an opening in communication with the contents in the dome. Rotation of the handle, as permitted by the coin, allows the enclosure to rotate thereby inverting the enclosure opening and allowing the contents within the enclosure to be discharged down a chute for access by the vendee upon the pivotal manipulation of a flap which controls access to the chute. One problem frequently entails the vexing problem of "bridging" of the pellet shaped contents residing within the dome. Curiously, when a vendee buys some of the contents in the dome, and a quantum of pellets have been discharged through the gate, pellets not discharged and immediately above the gate sometimes will form an archway thereby defining a void under the archway and providing an obstruction precluding the throughpassage of further pellets within the gate. Successive vendees who receive disproportionate amounts of the pellets can sometimes become irate and, in an attempt to overcome the arch effect, impart vibration to the machine which passersby may interpret as machine abuse.
A further form of inefficiency entails the use of unsecured open topped coinboxes. Since it is sometimes desirable to delegate duties, one may hire a third party to replenish the machines and extract the coins. Because the contents of the container is accessible by the third party, some vendors may fear that the third party is under-reporting the income from a given machine. Because of the nature of this business, a vendor will not necessarily be able to detect under-reporting of income even if that under-reporting is substantial.
The following patents reflect the state of the art of which applicant is aware insofar as these patents appear relevant to the instant process. It is stipulated that none of these patents either singularly or in any conceivable combination teach or render obvious that which is the claimed nexus of the instant invention:
______________________________________ D179518 Probasco D95207 Hoban D90652 Gilmer D112942 Garner 2 010 877 Morell 3 171 591 Long 2 613 871 Broussard 3 807 628 Beck 2 828 909 Sollenberger ______________________________________
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The continuing integration of portable electronics into daily life and the benefits to society thereof have been dependent on increasing both the performance and portability of electronic systems. These requirements conflict because the underlying integrated circuits (ICs) that enable electronic devices require greater amounts of power to provide a greater degree of functionality and accuracy. Digital circuits consume more power with greater functionality because they require more devices that burn additional current while switching. Analog circuits require more power to perform with greater accuracy because larger voltage and current signals are less susceptible to noise and manufacturing asymmetries. Electronic circuits in general consume more power when required to perform faster. The power and performance tradeoff that is inherent in ICs creates an acute design challenge in the field of portable electronics.
Voltage regulators are a particular kind of circuit that is necessary for the functionality of portable electronics. Portable electronic devices are powered by batteries with voltages that differ from the voltages required by the device's ICs. For example, a battery cell voltage for a mobile phone could be 3.6V while the microprocessor IC of the mobile phone might require a 1.8V supply voltage. A voltage regulator is used to take in the battery voltage of the device as an input voltage and output the supply voltage to the IC. The IC is often referred to as the load of the regulator. Voltage regulators are also called DC to DC converters owing to the fact that they convert one DC voltage to another.
Ideal voltage regulators supply the same voltage regardless of the current drawn by the load IC. In addition, an ideal voltage regulator does not consume any power and provides a clean output voltage to the IC. The two most common types of voltage regulators are switching regulators and linear regulators. Linear regulators are also referred to as series regulators or low-dropout (LDO) regulators in reference to their most common configuration. Switching regulators are sometimes referred to as pulse-width modulated (PWM) regulators or buck regulators in reference to a common switching regulator architecture. Switching regulators introduce variation to the output voltage but are generally very power efficient. Linear regulators provide a clean output voltage but can be very inefficient under certain operating conditions.
The operation of a linear regulator can be explained with reference to FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the voltage VIN is the input voltage and VOUT is the output voltage. In this particular example, the regulator is a step-down voltage regulator as VOUT has a lower potential than VIN. Capacitor 101 is placed across load 102 to provide stability to the system. Load 102 will draw varying amounts of current depending upon its state. The feedback network formed by resistors 103 and 104 and feedback circuit 105 will alter the voltage at VG to keep VOUT at the target voltage. If load 102 suddenly drew more current, the feedback network would lower the voltage at VG and more current would flow through pass transistor 100 to compensate for the additional load current. The same process would occur in reverse if load 102 suddenly drew less current.
The linear voltage regulator does not introduce any additional variation to the regulated voltage, but it can consume a significant amount of power. The current through pass transistor 100 is controlled by a continuous feedback signal so no additional variation is added to the voltage on VOUT by the linear voltage regulator. However, since the voltage drop from VIN to VOUT is placed across transistor 100, energy is dissipated as heat in proportion to the voltage across the transistor. Neglecting the power consumption associated with the feedback loop, the efficiency equation for the linear voltage regulator in FIG. 1 is:η=VOUT/VIN Using the numbers associated with the previous example of the mobile phone battery and microprocessor, the best possible efficiency a linear regulator could achieve would be 50%.
The operation of a switching regulator can be explained with reference to the circuit in FIG. 2 and the waveforms in FIG. 3. In FIG. 2 the voltage VIN is the input voltage and the voltage VOUT is the output voltage. Feedback circuit 204 receives a voltage related to VOUT from the resistor network comprised of resistors 203 and 207. Based on the received signal, feedback circuit 204 sends alternating signal to nodes VG1 and VG2 such that either transistor 200 or 202 is on and the other is off. The voltages at VG1 can be seen on axis 300 and the voltage at VG2 can be seen on axis 302. Current I1, which flows through transistor 200, is shown on axis 301 and current I2, which flows through transistor 202, is shown on axis 303. The voltage at node VA is shown on axis 304 and the voltage at node VOUT is shown on axis 305.
A switching voltage regulator is continuously altering between two phases as the switching signal turns on either transistor 200 or transistor 202. The first phase begins when VG1 and VG2 are set to low. At the time just before VG1 is set to a low value and transistor 200 is switched on, the minimum current for a given load condition is flowing through inductor 201. Once the voltage at VG1 is set to a low value inductor 201 will continue to pull the same minimum current from VIN through transistor 200. The current will flow through inductor 201 to capacitor 205 and load 206. The current through inductor 201 will build slightly during this phase as the voltage potential across the inductor will be in the same direction as the current flow. This increase in current will charge capacitor 205 and will then begin to supply more current than load 206 requires. At this point, feedback circuit 204 will switch the regulator into its second phase.
In the second phase, both VG1 and VG2 will be set to a high value such that transistor 200 is off and transistor 202 is on. When the regulator switches, the current through inductor 201 will be at its maximum for a given load condition. Inductor 201 will continue to pull the same maximum current because of the stored electromotive force (EMF) in the inductor. This force will push node VA down to below ground potential and charge will flow from ground through transistor 202 to node VA. Since the voltage potential across the inductor will be in the opposite direction of the current flow, the EMF in the inductor will dissipate during this phase. The current through inductor 201 will decrease until the regulator is supplying slightly less current than load 206 requires. At such time the system will switch back to the first phase.
The switching regulator introduces a certain degree of variation in the regulated voltage but it consumes relatively little power. The reason switching regulators are so efficient can be explained with reference again to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. As shown on axis 304, the voltage drop across transistors 200 and 202 is very low while either transistor is conducting. The main voltage drop from VIN to VOUT is applied across the inductor where it is stored by generating EMF as opposed to being applied across a transistor and dissipated as heat. Neglecting the power consumption associated with the feedback circuitry, the efficiency of a switched voltage regulator can be around 95%. However, as mentioned previously, the switching action of the transistors produces variations in the output voltage. An example of this variation is shown on axis 305.
If the power consumption of the regulator's control and feedback circuitry is taken into account, the switching regulator's efficiency advantage is diminished. A switching regulators feedback circuitry must charge and discharge the gates of the switching transistors continuously and uses a power hungry feedback circuit whereas the power consumption in a linear regulator's feedback circuitry consists mainly of a single amplifier. In general, the linear regulator's feedback circuitry does not consume as much power as that of a switching regulator. Since the control circuitry of both regulators is not directly dependent on the output current, when the load current of a regulator decreases a switching regulator loses its efficiency advantage.
The tradeoffs associated with linear and switching regulators have led to many approaches that synergize the two designs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,082 to Payne uses a linear regulator and switching regulator in cascade to take advantage of the benefits of the two regulator types while masking the low efficiency of a stand-alone linear regulator. U.S. Pat. No. 7,084,612 to Zinn uses a switching regulator and linear regulator in series to provide an advantageous mix of the two regulator's characteristics. In addition, there is a large body of patents that focus on combining aspects of linear and switching regulators by operating the two types of regulators in parallel or operating them individually based on the current drawn by the load.
A linear and switching regulator can be operated in parallel to form a single regulator in order to take advantage of the speed superiority of a linear regulator and the power efficiency of a switching regulator. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,701 to Pizzi and U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,023 to Amin, a linear regulator and switching regulator are placed in parallel but the linear regulator only turns on when the output voltage drops below a certain threshold that is lower than the target regulated voltage. In such a circuit the linear regulator only turns on when the regulated voltage has varied wildly and the speed of the linear regulator is required to correct the variation quickly. When the load is stable, the linear regulator will turn off and the highly efficient switching regulator will regulate the output voltage so the overall efficiency of the combined regulator is maximized. U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,211 to Currelly is similar in that the linear regulator is only active during circuit start-up when the linear regulators speed is required.
A single regulator comprised of a parallel linear and voltage regulator can also mask the dramatic decrease in efficiency caused by an increase in the voltage drop from the input to output voltage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,798 to Ferry describes a voltage regulator system containing both a switching and linear voltage regulator and a control circuit that switches between the two regulators based on the differential between the input and output voltages. For small differentials the linear regulator is applied to regulate the voltage and at large differentials the linear regulator is turned off and a switching regulator is applied. This is advantageous from a power optimization perspective because the efficiency of the linear regulator is directly related to this differential. The linear voltage regulator and its clean output voltage can be applied until doing so would waste too much power. U.S. Pat. No. 7,190,150 to Chen applies a similar principle for regulating the voltage applied to power amplifiers.
Another family of circuits that utilize linear and switching regulators in parallel addresses the decreased efficiency of switching regulators at low load currents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,158 to Umeda and U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,966 to Steigerwald describe a voltage regulator that operates in switch mode for high load currents and changes to a linear regulator when a measurement and control circuit detects a decrease in the load current past a certain level. U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,128 to Hiraki et al. uses a similar method but allows for the use of multiple linear regulators. U.S. Pat. No. 7,064,531 to Zinn builds on the general idea of this family of circuits by using a linear regulator with a relatively small pass element compared to the switching regulator's pass transistors. As such, the low load current efficiency of the linear regulator is improved to an even greater degree because the feedback and control circuitry needs to supply less charge to the lower capacitance associated with the smaller device. There are other circuits known in the art that transition between the low current linear regulator states to high current switching regulator states automatically based on the output current. Instead of monitoring the output current with control circuitry, these circuits are designed such that the linear regulator turns off automatically as the load current increases. U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,152 to Sinclair and U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,676 to Kinzalow are examples of this kind of circuit.
Circuits are known in the art that apply either a linear or switching regulator configuration based on the operating mode of the load they are regulating. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,815,935 to Fujii takes advantage of the lower output current power consumption superiority of a linear regulator by applying a linear voltage regulator to the load when its regulated device is in a standby mode and applying a switching voltage regulator when the load is in its basic operational mode. This approach is similar to that implemented by Umeda but it selects between the two regulators based on an input signal that controls the operating state of the load instead of one that is generated by measuring the operating state of the load.
Another design that utilizes switching and linear voltage regulators in parallel and applies them based on the operating condition of the load is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,369 to Niwayama. The patent describes a voltage regulator that supplies a voltage to a device based on the operating mode of the device. The voltage regulator will apply either a switching or linear regulator output to the device depending upon the regulated device's operating mode. For example, when a CD player is operating normally a linear regulator is applied to regulate the supply. Contrarily, when the CD player is ejecting a disc and requires a relatively large amount of power, a switching regulator output is supplied to the CD player. As such, the circuit applies the proper type of regulator based on the needs of the load device. When the device is in a mode in which a large amount of power is required but supply stability and accuracy are not important, a switching regulator is applied. When the device is in a mode that uses a smaller amount of power but accuracy is very important, a linear regulator is applied.
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This invention is directed to systems and methods for providing scans in video or audio entertainment systems.
Interactive media guidance applications, such as interactive television program guides, are well known in the art. One known guidance feature is a channel scan. Channel scan features generally allow users to initiate a tuning sequence that proceeds from channel to channel without requiring the user to repetitively issue channel change commands. During a channel scan, a guidance application pauses on each channel for a period of time to allow the user to see what is on. Some scans do not tune sequentially, and instead allow users to scan programs that are, for example, only of a certain category.
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