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The current invention relates to infusion devices, specifically to peripheral intravenous (IV) catheters. In particular, the invention relates to a flushable peripheral IV catheter assembly having features to enable selective activation of fluid flow through the catheter assembly.
Catheters are commonly used for a variety of infusion therapies. For example, catheters are used for infusing fluids, such as normal saline solution, various medicaments, and total parenteral nutrition into a patient, withdrawing blood from a patient, as well as monitoring various parameters of the patient's vascular system.
Catheters or needles are typically coupled to a catheter adapter to enable attachment of IV tubing to the catheter. Thus, following placement of the catheter or needle into the vasculature of a patient, the catheter adapter is coupled to a fluid source via a section of IV tubing. In order to verify proper placement of the needle and/or catheter in the blood vessel, the clinician generally confirms that there is “flashback” of blood in a flashback chamber of the catheter assembly.
Once proper placement of the catheter is confirmed, the clinician must then attach the catheter adapter to a section of IV tubing. This process requires the clinician to manually occlude the vein to prevent undesirable exposure to blood. Manual occlusion of the patient vein requires the clinician to awkwardly maintain pressure on the vein of the patient while simultaneously coupling the catheter adapter and the IV tubing.
A common, yet undesirable practice is to permit blood to temporarily and freely flow from the catheter adapter while the clinician locates and couples the IV tubing to the catheter adapter. Another common practice is to attach the catheter adapter to the IV tubing prior to placing the needle or catheter into the vein of the patient. While this method may prevent undesirable exposure to blood, positive pressure within the IV line may also prevent desirable flashback.
Complications associated with infusion therapy include significant morbidity and even mortality. Such complications may be caused by regions of stagnant fluid flow within the vascular access device or nearby areas of the extravascular system. These are regions in which the flow of fluid is limited or non-existent due to the conformation of the septum or valve mechanism in the extravascular system or the fluid dynamics within that area of the extravascular system. Blood, air bubbles or infused medications may become trapped within these regions of stagnant flow as a result of the limited or non-existent fluid flow. When blood is trapped within the extravascular system bacteria can breed which can lead to infections. When a different medication is infused into the extravascular system, or the extravascular system is exposed to physical trauma, the extravascular system's fluid flow may become altered, releasing trapped air bubbles or residual medications back into the active fluid path of the extravascular system. This release of air bubbles and residual medication into the active fluid path extravascular system may result in significant complications.
Released air bubbles may block fluid flow through the extravascular system and prevent its proper functioning. More seriously, released air bubbles may enter the vascular system of the patient and block blood flow, causing tissue damage and even stroke. In addition, residual medications may interact with presently infused medications to cause precipitates within the extravascular system and prevent its proper functioning. Furthermore, residual medications may enter the vascular system of the patient and cause unintended and/or undesired effects.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a catheter assembly that permits controlled, desirable flashback without the risk of encountering undesirable exposure to blood. Furthermore, there is a need in the art to provide a valve mechanism in a catheter assembly that eliminates, prevents, or limits regions of stagnant flow within vascular access devices and extravascular system to provide better flush properties. Such a catheter assembly is disclosed herein.
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Integrated circuit memory devices typically include one or more arrays of memory cells that store data. The data is either read from or written to the memory cell using data communication connections. Some example memory devices include but are not limited to random access memories (RAM), dynamic random access memories (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and non-volatile memories such as FLASH.
During production of the memory devices, the individual memory cells need to be tested. Thus, data is written to the memory cells and then the data is read from the memory. As the density of the memory arrays increase, the time and cost needed to fully test the memory array also increases. For example, a common testing procedure for a memory connected to a memory tester is to first have the tester send a command to the memory to erase all of its bits to “1”. The tester then reads the memory cells to verify that they are all “1”. Next, zeros are written to all of the bits of the memory and the cells are read in order to verify that they are all “0”. Then, all of the bits of the memory are erased, a checkerboard pattern is written to the memory and the cells are read in order to verify that the checkerboard pattern is present. Finally, all of the bits of the memory are erased, an inverted checkerboard pattern is written to the memory, and the cells are read in order to verify that the inverted checkerboard pattern is present. This testing procedure is a good way to find out if any of the bits of the memory are shorted to an adjacent bit, to a high level, or to a low state, or if there are any other problems.
Because the cost of testing has becoming a significant component of the total manufacturing cost of memory chips, testing using compressed data lines can be implemented. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,097 entitled “Output Data Compression Scheme for Use in Testing IC Memories,” issued Jul. 28, 1998. This patent describes a system for compressing data during a test operation so that multiple memory devices can be simultaneously tested using a common tester. Thus, less data communication connections (DQ's) are required for a given number of memory cells when implementing data compression.
One deficiency of read compression is the identification of a defective location. That is, if an error is detected during testing a fill non-compressed read operation may be needed to identify the defect location for redundant repair. A non-compressed test operation requires all of the DQ's, and is counter productive to the compressed testing scheme.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a memory device with improved test operations.
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This patent application is being filed as a continuation in part of Ser. No. 127,010 Matrix Guide For A Precise Crescentric Wedge Ledge Osteotomy.
The wedge guide of this application allows the surgeon to make the surgical osteotomy invented by Comparetto and previously made with the cutting blade of U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,675, by more commonly used means ie. crescentic and planar saws. This present guide described herein is a preferred embodiment since it presents a more stable means for making the osteotomy. A still greater advantage is the less than 90.degree. curved osteotomy with a slanted to the vertical planar section to thwart upward dorsal grade displacement of the healingly positioned bony parts of the osteotomy.
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Implantable medical devices are implanted into the body for various reasons including orthopedic applications (e.g., hip replacement, spinal procedures, knee replacement, bone fracture repair, etc). In view of the structural integrity required by such devices, materials of fabrication are limited and generally consist of metal, plastic and composites.
The benefits derived from these devices are often offset by infection which in some cases can lead to sepsis and death. The most common organisms causing infections are Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major component of the normal bacterial flora of human skin and mucous membranes. It is a common pathogen that often colonizes patients in hospital settings who have surgical implants due to the microbes' ability to adhere to medical devices and form a biofilm. Additionally, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staphylococcus bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics is therefore of particular concern. Other gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and fungal organisms also are causative organisms that may be problematic.
As microorganisms come in close proximity to the surface of the medical device, they will either be attracted or repelled by it depending on the sum of the different non-specific interactions. In biological systems, hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions play an important role in the pathogenesis of a wide range of microbial infections.
Many bacteria can form multicellular coatings, or biofilms, on bioengineered implants. Biofilms facilitate the proliferation and transmission of microorganisms by providing a stable and protective environment for their growth. These biofilms may often result in a broad systemic infection.
In many instances, when implants are seeded by organisms which are protected by tenacious biofilms, the implant must be removed and the patient must be treated with a prolonged course of one or more antibiotics in an effort to cure the infection, after which time a new implant is then reimplanted. This process not only subjects the patient to additional trauma and pain but is also extremely expensive.
Not surprising, a great deal of research has been devoted toward preventing the colonization of the surfaces of orthopedic implants by bacterial and fungal organisms with the use of antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics which may be bound to the surface of these devices.
Thermoplastic resins including polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) have been found to be a useful material for these implants. PEEK is particularly suitable because its modulus of elasticity closely matches that of bone. However, PEEK is a hydrophobic material and bacteria tend to adhere easily to these types of surfaces. It is also an organic material which does not carry significant surface charges. Consequently, it may be desirable to develop a medical implant composed of one or more thermoplastic resins that has reduced hydrophobic properties, and/or that has a net negative charge, particularly at an exposed surface when implanted.
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Fischer-Tropsch processing is a well known technique for synthesizing hydrocarbon products. In general, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis processes involves converting a synthesis gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide to hydrocarbon products in the presence of a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst. The most commonly used Fischer-Tropsch catalysts are iron-based and cobalt-based.
A Fischer-Tropsch process is generally thought to involve a complex combination of reactions. Some important reactions include the following:
I. 2 H.sub.2 +CO.fwdarw.--CH.sub.2 --+H.sub.2 O PA1 II. H.sub.2 O+3CO.fwdarw.--CH.sub.2 --+2CO.sub.2 PA1 III. H.sub.2 O+CO.fwdarw.CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2
Reactions I and II produce hydrocarbon products. Reaction III, referred to as the water-gas shift reaction, does not produce hydrocarbon products. In Reaction I, hydrogen and carbon monoxide are consumed in a molar ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio) of 2 to produce hydrocarbon products. Therefore, if Reaction I were the only reaction occurring during the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, the H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio in the process would be 2. The effect of Reactions II and III, however, is to reduce the H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio.
Early Fischer-Tropsch work involved gasification of coal to form synthesis gas. Synthesis gas produced in this manner is typically lean in hydrogen, often having a molar H.sub.2 /CO ratio of only about 0.6 to 0.7. In this situation, because the synthesis gas includes such a low H.sub.2 /CO ratio, reduction of the H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio caused by Reactions II and III was not detrimental. Rather, Reaction III was generally considered to be beneficial because it produced additional hydrogen. Consumption of carbon monoxide in Reaction III was not a problem due to the relative surplus of that component in the system relative to hydrogen.
More recently, there has been significant interest in the use of gaseous hydrocarbon feeds, such as natural gas and petroleum gas, as the feed material for producing synthesis gas. Synthesis gas produced from natural gas tends to be rich in hydrogen and lean in carbon monoxide, with a H.sub.2 /CO ratio that is typically 2 or greater. If only Reaction I were present during the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a H.sub.2 /CO ratio of 2 in the synthesis gas would be optimal because it would match the H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio in Reaction I. Unlike the situation with synthesis gas produced by coal gasification, Reactions II and III are detrimental when operating with such a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas, because Reactions II and III consume disproportionately large quantities of carbon monoxide. Therefore, when operating with a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas, it would generally be desirable to promote Reaction I and suppress Reactions II and III.
Cobalt-based catalysts, which tend to promote Reaction I and suppress Reactions II and III, have been proposed as preferred catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis when operating with a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. With cobalt-based catalysts, H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratios that approach 2 are readily achievable. One problem with cobalt-based catalysts, however, is that they are expensive. Another problem with cobalt catalysts is that during the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis they tend to produce substantial amounts of undesirable methane and other light hydrocarbons, as opposed to more desirable higher molecular weight hydrocarbon products.
Iron-based catalysts have also been proposed for use in Fischer-Tropsch processes operating with a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. Iron catalysts are typically substantially less expensive than cobalt catalysts. Also, iron catalysts tend to promote production of the more desirable higher molecular weight hydrocarbon products. A significant problem with iron-based catalysts, however, is that they tend to operate at a low H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio, due to the higher activity of iron catalysts for promoting Reactions II and III. Consumption ratios of less than 1.2 are typical. The result is that significant carbon in the system is lost as a carbon dioxide waste product, and there is a significant excess of unreacted hydrogen, which is also wasted. This requires additional methane and oxygen for synthesis gas generation to produce a given quantity of hydrocarbon products. The low H.sub.2 /CO consumption ratio has largely discouraged the use of iron-based catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch operations using hydrogen-rich feed, such as natural gas, to produce the synthesis gas.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved Fischer-Tropsch process in which the inherent advantages of iron-containing catalysts for promoting higher molecular weight products can be realized without the excessive waste of carbon and hydrogen, especially when using a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas, such as is produced from a natural gas feed.
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This invention relates to a method for epitaxial growth of semiconductor materials, such as a III-V semiconductor epitaxially grown on silicon or germanium. The invention also relates to semiconductor devices formed using the disclosed method.
The ability to grow polar semiconductors, such as GaAs or other III-V materials, on non-polar substrates, such as Si or Ge, has been recognized as highly desirable for some time. The III-V semiconductors are well known to exhibit superior performance characteristics, in many respects, as compared to the more common silicon, but there are a number of difficulties associated with processing III-V semiconductor materials. For example, high quality GaAs substrates of large size are not available at practical cost and are very fragile. In contrast, large silicon wafers are relatively sturdy and inexpensive. If GaAs could be readily grown on Si without undue defects, large GaAs working areas would be available for device production. Among other reasons advanced for growing III-V's on Si are: the possibility of integrated circuits using Si technology but with optical components; and the heat sinking of III-V devices grown on Si due to the higher thermal conductivity of Si. Also, oval defect densities are reduced when starting with a Si substrate.
It has been recognized that there are at least two major problems in epitaxially growing GaAs on Si. First, there is a lattice mismatch between Ga and Si (about 4% for this case). This results in a large number of defects in the interface, which could propagate in the epilayer. Second, antiphase disorder results from both Ga and As atoms being able to bond to a given site on the nonpolar (Si) surface. In some regions the growth begins with the Ga plane, and in other regions growth begins with the As plane. Similar problems are present for growth of other polar semiconductors on non-polar Si or Ge. Some of the background prior art techniques directed to these problems will now be summarized.
In early reports of epitaxial III-V layers on elemental Si or Ge substrates, it was found that antiphase domains occurred in these layers grown by vapor phase epitaxy. (See K. Morizane, Journal of Crystal Growth, 38, 249, 1977.) A drawback of using vapor phase epitaxy for these materials is that it requires a relatively high growth temperature. With the advent of molecular beam epitaxy, which is a much lower temperature process, attempts to grow superlattices of Ge and GaAs resulted in antiphase domain formation. (See P. M. Petroff, et al., Journal of Crystal Growth 46, 172, 1979.)
It was shown that GaAs can be successfully grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100) Ge by using an As priming layer and an initially large As:Ga flux ratio (see Masselink, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 457, 1984 and W. I. Wang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 44, 1149, 1984).
In another approach (see Wright, et al., J. Vac. Sci and Technol. 21, 534, 1982), a silicon (211) surface orientation was found effective in suppressing antiphase disorder. However, the (211) surface would not work well in a monolithically integrated GaAs/Si system. Another drawback is that the orientation must be almost exactly (211), thereby leaving little tolerance for misalignment when cutting wafers.
With regard to dislocations resulting from lattice mismatch, one approach was to use a Ge interlayer between {100} silicon and the GaAs (see, for example, Fletcher, et al., Applied Phys. Lett. 44, 967, 1984 and Sheldon, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 274, 1984). A drawback of this technique, however, is Ge contamination of the GaAs.
It has been shown that tilting of substrates can be used advantageously when epitaxially depositing GaAs. Hollan, et al. (J. Crystal Growth, 22, 175, 1974) studied vapor phase epitaxy of GaAs on GaAs, with misorientations reaching 5 degrees in all directions around the (001) plane. Regarding GaAs on Si, applicants noted that using substrates tilted away from the (100) plane, such as by 1/2 degree or 2 degrees, resulted in reduction of antiphase domains and obtainment of uniformly good GaAs across the substrate. (See Masselink, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 12, 1984). A tilt toward <011> was used by applicants in this work. Windhorn, et al., of Lincoln Laboratory, (Appl. Phys. Lett., 45, 4, 1984) reported on growing GaAs and AlGaAs layers on a Ge-coated Si wafer oriented 2.degree. off {100} toward the <110> direction. Metze, et al. (Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 10, 1984), also of Lincoln Laboratory, reported GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy directly on Si (100) substrates oriented 2 degrees off (100), without specifying the direction off tilt. Sheldon, et al. (Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 3, 1984) used molecular beam epitaxy to grow GaAs on Si substrates with an intermediate Ge layer. The Si substrates used by Sheldon, et al. were heavily doped p-type oriented 2 degrees off the (100) towards the [111]direction.
It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved method of epitaxially depositing semiconductor material on a substrate while accommodating lattice mismatch in a way that results in improved material quality.
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Braided structures are configured in two main ways, tubular braids and flat braids. A conventional tubular braided structure can be accomplished using standard braiding technology that has been in existence for several centuries. The standard tubular braided structure can be braided over material (a core) or left as a hollow tube. As braiding is a highly efficient process and can be operated in clean environments, many medical devices are manufactured using this process such as stents, sutures and catheters.
A typical machine for producing a tubular braid is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,466, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, in which FIG. 1 shows a plate 12 having a track comprising two intersecting paths, along which a plurality of carriers 15 are advanced by eight rotating horngears (transfer plates 14). Carriers 15 travel along one of the paths in a clockwise-direction, and carriers travel along the other path in the counter-clockwise direction to form the tubular braid.
Flat braids are created on braiding equipment similar to that used for tubular braids. These braided constructions are typically use in electronics for ground wiring and other high current environments. Sometimes a tubular braid is overbraided onto a flat braid as an insulator. Machines arranged for flat braiding differ from machines arranged for tubular braiding in that flat braiding arrangements cause the yarn carriers to reverse direction at the edge of the braid, instead of continuing in closed curved paths.
Over the years, variations of braiding machines have been developed to produce either a tubular braid or a flat braid, or to switch between the tubular braiding mode and flat braiding mode during operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,164 to Krippendorf, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, describes a machine that switches between tubular and flat braiding modes, with a pair of special horngears that pass bobbin carriers back and forth in the tubular braiding mode, or reverse the direction of the bobbin carriers in the flat braiding mode. A retarding mechanism is needed to provide phase and rate matching when the operating mode is switched.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,907,810 to Kim, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, describes a system that is operable to produce a single tubular braid, or a pair of rectangular braids. It is thus possible to produce a braid having an eye where the single braid bifurcates into two rectangular braids.
Improved methods and apparatus are desired.
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The invention relates to reflective graphite. The reflective graphite is prepared by preparing a surface nucleated pyrolytic graphite by a chemical vapor deposition technique. The chemical vapor deposition is carried out by the decomposition of low molecular weight hydrocarbon gases at a temperature of 1700.degree.-2200.degree. C. The pyrolytic graphite deposited is annealed at temperatures in excess of 2600.degree. C. and pressures in excess of 5 torr.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,192 issued Aug. 28, 1986 describes a process for forming graphite intercalates containing metal charge transfer salts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,540 issued Aug. 19, 1975 describes a method for preparing a thin film of substantially defect-free pyrolytic graphite by vapor deposition on an inert liquid substrate surface followed by separation of the graphite.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,676 issued Dec. 15, 1970 describes the preparation of pyrolytic carbon structures by chemical vapor deposition from a mixture of methane and inert gas at a temperature of about 2100.degree. C.
There are several applications where reflective pyrolytic graphite is useful. Reflective graphite can be used for making high temperature reflectors in vacuum equipment and in high temperature heater insulation where the heater is used in inert atmospheres.
The prior art methods of preparing reflective graphite included deposition of metal inclusions in the graphite or deposition of a coating on the graphite to give the desired reflectivity to the product.
More generally it is an object of this invention to provide an improved process for the preparation of reflective graphite by pyrolysis of methane gas or other short chain hydrocarbons wherein the pyrolytic graphite formed on the substrate is annealed at a high temperature and pressure.
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Semiconductor devices such as BGA and LGA are subjected to burn-in test that applies the stress due to a high temperature before shipping. This test can remove the occurrence of defects of semiconductor devices within a predetermined period from the shipment. Generally, there are two kinds of sockets used for burn-in test. One is an open-type socket that reciprocates a cover member in a vertical direction. The other is a clamshell-type socket that rotates a cover member. The open-type socket is disclosed, for example, in the patent document 1 or the patent document 2. The patent document 1 provides a socket that can appropriately attach or detach an electronic device including surface mount semiconductor device such as BGA and CPS.
According to the patent document 1, the socket includes a base member, a cover member, a plurality of contacts, an adaptor that can move in a direction to be close to or separated from the cover member and provide a mounting surface for BGA, a latch member attached to base member rotatably, and a positioning mechanism that can move in response to the movement of the cover member. A positioning portion of the positioning mechanism can move over the mounting surface of the adaptor in a diagonal direction and can position and hold the mounted BGA. And, solder balls are separated from the other end of the contact while the BGA package is held by the positioning mechanism, the jumping of BGA package from the mounting surface is prevented, thereby increasing the efficiency of automatic loading of BGA package on the socket.
According to the patent document 2, a socket includes a base member, a cover member attached reciprocatably in a direction to be close to or separated from the base member, a plurality of contacts that are fixed in the base member and electrically connect to each terminal of LGA device mounted on the mounting surface of the main body of the base member, and a latch member supported by the base member rotatably. A swinging member is provided on the leading edge of the latch member, and it is designed that the swinging member presses the LGA device. Therefore, the thin type of semiconductor device is certainly mounted without being damaged. The patent document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,078 The patent document 2: Patent publication No. 2003-168532
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Lanolin is a product obtained by the purification of degras. Degras is a crude grease obtained by the solvent treatment of wool.
Lanolin is a yellowish to gray semisolid containing 25 to 30% water in its hydrous form, and a brownish-yellow semisolid in its anhydrous form. Lanolin contains cholesterol esters of higher fatty acids.
Lanolin is used as a component of pharmaceuticals, leather finishing compositions, soaps and detergents, face creams, facial tissues, hair-set compositions, suntan preparations, and the like.
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Shifting assemblies in armature and clutch mechanisms generally require a motion-transmitting device which steps down the rotation rate of the primary power source and which is insertable into an environment having a fluid pressure different from the internal pressure of the motion-transmitting device, e.g., into a pipe of a clutch housing. Motion-transmitting devices of the harmonic-drive type for use in these applications are described in German patent document Ser. No. 1,135,259 and also in the text "Gear Handbook", edited by Darle W. Dudley and published by McGraw-Hill (1962).
It is mentioned in the German patent document 1,135,259 that the use of ball bearings in a harmonic-drive device is essential for lowering the friction coefficients and for increasing efficiency. The balls are seated with a narrow tolerance between the inner and outer races, the spreading of the inner race along one axis causing the outer race to assume a substantially elliptical form. Upon a rotation of the inner race, two waves or moving lobes are produced in the outer race. In order to ensure the driving of a secondary or motion-output component disposed on the other side of the bearing assembly from the driving or input component, more specifically on the other side of a flexible wall member from the bearing, it is suggested to use bearings with at least 36 balls.
The outer race of the wave-generating bearing must be sufficiently thin to prevent loading beyond its elastic limit. The spreading of the bearing along one axis and the compression along an orthogonal axis results in increased play of balls at the troughs of the generated waves. The inner race must be supported on each side of the wave crests in the event of a load arising on the bearing there.
The disposition of the balls and the races for different loading conditions and different diameters has been problematic. In spite of the general durability of strength or harmonic-drive assemblies, it has proven necessary to limit the application thereof in situations where additional stresses might arise in the flexible wall member. Inwardly projecting teeth of a ring gear meshing at points spaced from the wave crests with teeth on the outer surface of the wall member are frequently apt to distort or destroy the wave shape under increased loading conditions, the disadvantageous result being more likely at higher operating temperatures.
The possible distortion or destruction of the wave shape in the flexible wall member has led to the proposal that this member be supported or braced on the side of the wave generator. Ball bearings provided for this purpose are ineffectual in equalizing support in different regions of the wall member. Because of excessive strains and raised external pressures, the need for sufficient lubrication is readily apparent.
The utilization of conventional harmonic-drive assemblies is, therefore, very limited in applications involving elevated external temperatures and pressures, extended operation times and sudden mechanical loadings or shocks. The use of conventional reinforced harmonic-drive is further reduced by the costs of building in the bracing elements. Because these bracing bearings are subjected to unusually high loads, their expected life span is short, which contributes even further to increased costs and reduced efficiency.
Conventional harmonic-drive devices are generally limited to situations involving low external pressures, because higher pressures distort or bend the flexible wall members and thus quickly destroy the devices.
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Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, especially Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, pose a serious threat to the availability of internet services. DoS attacks typically consume the resources of a remote host or network, thereby limiting and/or blocking legitimate users' access. Such attacks can result in significant loss of time and money for many organizations.
DDoS attacks are among the hardest network security problems because they are simple to implement, difficult to prevent, and very difficult to trace. In order to conceal the origins of attacks and to coax uncompromised hosts into becoming reflectors, DDoS attackers typically spoof their IP packets by randomizing the source address fields. Further, an attacker need not be operating from a single machine; he may be able to coordinate several machines on different networks to launch the attacks.
Many solutions have been proposed to prevent and/or trace DDOS attacks. However, these solutions suffer from a number of deficiencies. For example, some solutions propose new protocols or mechanisms to be implemented on all network routers, which is difficult to achieve. Most statistical methods tend to produce a significant number of false positives, therefore are only suitable for tracing instead of prevention of DoS attacks.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a technique for preventing and/or tracing DoS attacks which overcomes the above-described inadequacies and shortcomings.
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The present invention relates to a novel and improved elastomer composition having excellent mold releasability, resistance to heat, solvents and oils, and mechanical, electric and other properties or, in particular, to an elastomer composition formulated on the base of an ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomer having similar, excellent physical properties.
Ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers, such as the so-called EPR, i.e. ethylene-propylene rubbers, EPT, i.e. ethylene-propylene terpolymers, and EPDM, i.e. ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers, have a considerably good weathering resistance and heat resistance resulting from the very low content of, or even absence of, unsaturated linkages in their molecular structure as well as excellent electric properties as a synthetic rubber. Demands and uses of these elastomers have rapidly grown in recent years owing to the advantages of the above-mentioned properties coupled with economical advantages in costs, compared to other synthetic rubbers.
However, the ethylene-propylene copolymeric rubbers are no better than nitrile rubbers and styrene-butadiene copolymeric rubbers in regard to resistance to oils and solvents, and definitely inferior when compared with silicone rubbers and fluorocarbon rubbers not only in oil and solvent resistance but also in mold releasability and heat resistance.
In order to compensate the above described defective properties of ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers, a method of polymer blend has been proposed in which those elastomers are blended with a silicone rubber having excellent resistance to oils, solvents, and heat as well as excellent mold releasability, despite some problems as described in the following.
Commercially available silicone rubbers are classified, in general, into three classes according to the mechanisms of crosslink formation. They are (1) those crosslinked with an organic peroxide, (2) those crosslinked by addition reaction between silicon-bonded vinyl groups and silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms with the catalytic action of a platinum catalyst, and (3) those crosslinked by the condensation reaction in the presence of a condensation catalyst such as metal salts of organic acids.
It is evident that the third type of silicone rubbers cannot be co-vulcanized with ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers in a polymer blend due to remoteness in the mechanisms of their crosslink forming reactions, since the latter elastomers are usually vulcanized with sulfur, a sulfur-containing vulcanizing agent or an organic peroxide.
The first and the second types of silicone rubbers are, on the other side, co-vulcanizable with ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers, if the matter is solely on the possibility of crosslink formation, since at least a small amount of double bonds are almost always introduced into the molecular structure of ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers by the copolymerization with a dienic comonomer, such as ethylidenenorbornene, dicyclopentadiene and 1,4-hexadiene, with the purpose of increasing the crosslinkability of the resultant elastomers.
Unfortunately, a polymer blend of a silicone rubber of the second type and an ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomer has a very short pot life due to the addition reaction taking place even at room temperature in the presence of a platinum catalyst. In addition, the platinum catalyst is very sensitive to deactivation by poisoning with trace amounts of sulfur compounds, amine compounds, phosphorus compounds and certain compounds containing metals, such as lead, tin, zinc, bismuth, cobalt and the like. Thus polymer blends of ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers with silicone rubbers of the second type are of less practical importance.
On the other hand, a polymer blend of an ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomer and a silicone rubber of the first type is also defective due to unbalance between the competitive reactions of the rapid crosslink formation of the silicone rubber with an organic peroxide and the relatively slow crosslink formation of the ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomer with the same organic peroxide.
Thus the method of the polymer blend of ethylene-propylene copolymeric elastomers with silicone rubbers of any of the three types can not be free from serious disadvantages, not to mention the insufficient improvement of the desired properties.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing aromatic isomers by adsorption separation and to an adsorbent used therefor.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As processes for separation of aromatic isomers, particularly halogenated aromatic isomers, rectification, cryogenic separation, and adsorption separation are known so far. The present invention relates to a process for adsorption separation.
Separation by rectification suffers the disadvantage of requiring a rectifying column with a large number of plates because halogenated aromatic isomers differ from one another only slightly in boiling point. Cryogenic separation suffers the disadvantage of requiring valuable equipment and high energy costs for cooling. In order to eliminate these disadvantages, processes for adsorption separation have been studied and developed. Japanese Patent Publication No. 5155/1962 discloses that an adsorbent prepared by introduction of alkali metal ions or alkaline earth metal ions into zeolite X can be used for separation of halogenated aromatic isomers. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 105434/1978 discloses a process for separation of specific isomers from a mixture of dichlorobenzene isomers by means of an adsorbent prepared by introduction of Cs or Rb ions into zeolite Y. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 31627/1982, 35528/1982, and 191933/1982 disclose a process for adsorption separation of chlorotoluene isomers by means of K ion-exchanged zeolite Y as an adsorbent. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 131923/1983 and 176223/1984 respectively disclose Ag ion- and K ion-exchanged zeolite Y and Na ion- and Cu ion-exchanged zeolite Y to be used as an adsorbent for separation of m-chlorotoluene.
These adsorbents permit separation of aromatic isomers but their performance is not satisfactory.
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In the field of orthopedic surgery, transferring the tibial tubercle is a well-recognized operative technique to correct the alignment of the extensor mechanism of the knee when that portion of the knee is found to be misaligned. This is traditionally done by moving the tibial tubercle from its current, non-optimum location to a more desirable location. The most common directions of transfer are medial and anteromedial, although other directions have been described in the literature as well.
Prior art approaches for transferring the tibial tubercle have generally proven to be problematic for a variety of reasons. Among other things, prior art approaches for transferring the tibial tubercle have generally proven to be (i) relatively complex and time-consuming to perform, (ii) less precise than desired, (iii) not highly reproducible from patient-to-patient and surgeon-to-surgeon, (iv) technique restrictive, and/or (v) procedurally invasive.
Thus there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for transferring the tibial tubercle, such that the transfer process is simpler and faster to perform, more precise, more highly reproducible from patient-to-patient and surgeon-to-surgeon, less technique restrictive, and/or less invasive than prior art techniques.
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The present invention relates to method and apparatus using suppression of eluents for the analysis of anions or cations in ion chromatography.
Ion chromatography is a known technique for the analysis of ions which typically includes a chromatographic separation stage using an eluent containing an electrolyte, and an eluent suppression stage, followed by detection, typically by an electrical conductivity detector. In the chromatographic separation stage, ions of an injected sample are eluted through a separation column using an electrolyte as the eluent. In the suppression stage, electrical conductivity of the electrolyte is suppressed but not that of the separated ions so that the latter may be determined by a conductivity cell. This technique is described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,897,213, 3,920,397, 3,925,019 and 3,926,559.
Suppression or stripping of the electrolyte is described in the above prior art references by an ion exchange resin bed commonly referred to as a packed bed suppressor (PBS). The PBS requires periodic regeneration by flushing with an acid or base solution.
Another approach to regeneration of a PBS is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,115. Ion chromatography is performed by chromatographic separation, chemical suppression in a packed bed and detection. Thereafter, an electrical potential is passed through the packed bed suppressor while flowing an aqueous stream through it to electrolyze water in the stream and thereby create hydronium or hydroxide ions to regenerate the ion exchange resin. The packed bed suppressor has electrodes embedded in the resin for electrochemical regenerant. A second ion exchange resin bed is disclosed with suitable valving to pass liquid streams through the system. In one alternative, a second sample in an eluent stream is chromatographically separated. The eluent and separated second sample flow through a second packed bed suppressor and to a detector. The effluent then flows through the first packed bed suppressor, forming the aqueous liquid stream required for regeneration and an electrical potential is applied for regeneration. The second suppressor may be similarly regenerated by flowing the detector effluent of the first sample through it and applying an electrical potential.
Another form of suppressor known as a xe2x80x9cmembrane suppressorxe2x80x9d is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,098. In this apparatus, the suppressor includes at least one regenerant compartment and one chromatographic effluent compartment separated by an ion exchange membrane sheet. The sheet allows transmembrane passage of ions of the same charge as its exchangeable ions. Ion exchange screens are used in the regenerant and effluent compartments. Flow from the effluent compartment is directed to a detector, such as an electrical conductivity detector, for detecting the resolved ionic species. The screens provide ion exchange sites and serve to provide site to site transfer paths across the effluent flow channel so that suppression capacity is no longer limited by diffusion of ions in the bulk solution to the membrane. A sandwich suppressor is also disclosed including a second membrane sheet opposite to the first membrane sheet and defining a second regenerant compartment. Spaced electrodes are disclosed in communication with both regenerant and chambers along the length of the suppressor. By applying an electrical potential across the electrodes, there is an increase in the suppression capacity of the device. The patent discloses a typical regenerant solution (acid or base) flowing in the regenerant flow channels and supplied from a regenerant delivery source. In a typical anion analysis system, sodium hydroxide is the electrolyte developing reagent and sulfuric acid is the regenerant. The patent also discloses the use of water to replace the regenerant solution in the electrodialytic mode.
Another membrane suppressor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,426. A direct current power controller generates an electric field across two platinum electrodes to electrolyze water in the regenerant channels. Functionalized ion-exchange screens are present in the regenerant chambers to facilitate electric current passage with permselective ion-exchange membrane defining the chromatography eluent chamber, as in the ""098 patent. After detection, the chromatography effluent is recycled through the suppressor to form a flowing sump for electrolyte ion as well as providing the water for the electrolysis generating acid or base for suppression.
A different membrane suppressor is disclosed in EPA Publication WO 99/44054. The suppressor is of the membrane suppressor type even though it includes a flow-through suppressor bed of ion exchange resin. The bed has a liquid sample inlet and an outlet section, a first electrode in an electrode chamber is adjacent to the suppressor inlet section. A barrier separates the suppressor bed from the electrode chamber, preventing significant liquid flow but permitting transport of ions. A second electrode is in electrical communication with said resin bed outlet section. A recycle conduit provides fluid communication between the suppressor outlet and the electrode inlet. In one embodiment of the disclosed method for anion analysis, effluent from a chromatography column is suppressed in cation exchange resin in the suppressor. The effluent from the suppressor flows past a detector and is recycled to the electrode chamber including a cathode. An electrical potential is applied between the cathode and an anode in electrical communication with the suppressor bed. Water is electrolyzed at the anode to generate hydronium ions to cause cations on the cation exchange resin to electromigrate toward the barrier and to be transported across said barrier toward the cathode while water in the cathode chamber is electrolyzed to generate hydroxide ions which combine with the transported cations to form cation hydroxide in the electrode chamber.
In accordance with the present invention, ionic species in an aqueous liquid sample stream are analyzed by the method of (a) chromatographically separating the ionic species in the presence of an aqueous eluent solution comprising electrolyte to form a chromatographic effluent, (b) suppressing the electrolyte in the chromatography effluent by flowing the same through a suppressor to form a suppressed effluent, (c) detecting the ionic species in the suppressed effluent, and (d) flowing the detected suppressed effluent to a reservoir of regenerant liquid to displace the regenerant liquid and to cause it to flow as a stream out from the reservoir to the suppressor, the suppressed effluent stream being of a different chemical composition than the regenerant liquid. The suppressor can be a membrane suppressor or an ion exchange packing suppressor.
In one embodiment, the regenerant liquid and suppressed effluent have different physical properties so that an interface is formed therebetween. In another embodiment, suppressed effluent is isolated from the regenerant liquid in the reservoir by a movable barrier.
One embodiment of apparatus according to the invention includes (a) a chromatographic separator, (b) a source of an aqueous eluent solution comprising electrolyte in fluid communication with the chromatographic separator, (c) a flow-through ion exchange packing suppressor, including a chromatography effluent flow channel and in fluid communication with the separator outlet, (d) a container including an inlet and an outlet, the container outlet being in fluid communication with the chromatography effluent flow channel, (e) a regenerant liquid reservoir in the container of a different chemical composition than the chromatography effluent, (f) a detector for detecting ionic species in fluid communication with the chromatography effluent flow channel, and (g) a recycle conduit for the flow of effluent from the detector to said container inlet.
In another embodiment of the apparatus, the suppressor is a membrane suppressor comprising a chromatography effluent flow channel separated by an ion exchange membrane from a regenerant flow channel having an inlet and an outlet.
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The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for forming a flexible circuit of predetermined design, and in particular to the making of a functioning flexible circuit by depositing multiple layers of a variety of materials in a predetermined configuration onto a substrate.
A number of methods and techniques for making circuit boards of a predetermined design are known. In accordance with conventional techniques, the desired circuit is initially drawn, either manually or automatically utilizing a computer-aided design program. The prototype circuit is ultimately assembled in the desired configuration through the use of a variety of pre-prepared electronic components and a manual assembly process onto a rigid or flexible base having a pattern of metal conductor traces defining the circuit. The circuit may ultimately be assembled semi-automatically, provided sufficient automation equipment is available and can be justified.
Circuit boards typically include a plurality of individual active and/or passive components that are fastened to a surface of the board, and interconnected using metal conductive traces on an insulating substrate. While early circuit boards used insulating layers made of a rigid fiberglass-reinforced resin or ceramic material, many printed circuit boards in use today employ flexible substrates, typically made of a polyester or polyimide material. As electronic systems required greater speed and complexity in smaller packages, printed circuit designers have developed printed circuit boards having smaller and shorter traces to achieve greater circuit densities.
Although they are called xe2x80x9cprinted circuits,xe2x80x9d such circuit boards are typically formed using plating, lithography, and etching technologies. For example, one or both of the opposing surfaces of an insulating substrate are completely covered with a conductive metal such as copper, using methods such as electroless and electrolytic plating. A photoresist layer is deposited over the conductive metal platings and exposed to a light or other radiation image of the desired circuit pattern. The unexposed photoresist is removed, and the uncovered portion of the conductive metal is etched away to reveal the desired conductive circuit patterns. Such photolithographic methods well understood, and are suited for certain high-volume production, but involve numerous steps.
Single-sided-single-layer circuits are the easiest to make, but often have unacceptably long conductive traces (thus having resistance and/or capacitance that is too high). Double-sided circuit boards increase wiring densities by providing two circuit layers fabricated on opposing sides of an insulating substrate. The two circuit layers are interconnected by conductors (typically, plated-through holes) that pass through the insulating layer. Multi-layer printed circuit boards have even higher densities, using two or more laminated and interconnected layers. However, unique problems exist in the fabrication of laminated multilayer printed circuit boards, such as properly sizing and aligning all of the interconnected layers for lamination.
Integrated circuit chips have been attached using surface-mount methods, typically by wave soldering or solder reflow. Methods and techniques for making three-dimensional articles of a predetermined size and shape are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,329 issued to S. Scott Crump discloses apparatus and a process for forming a three-dimensional (3D) object of predetermined design, in particular to the making of a model or article by depositing multiple layers of a material in a fluid state onto a base. The material is selected and its temperature is controlled so that it solidifies substantially instantaneously upon extrusion or dispensing onto a base, with the build-up of the multiple layers forming the desired article. For example, the object can be modeled and designed in a computer, and then a 3D prototype of the object could be built by extruding fluid plastic onto a base according to instructions from the computer. However, no description of building electronic circuits is provided in this reference.
Thus, a need continues to exist for a relatively simple and efficient process and apparatus by which designers may design and create circuits, particularly flexible circuits, in an automated process. The process and apparatus disclosed herein meets that need with the same ease and simplicity of using a desktop computer and printer, with the entire modeling process being carried out at the operator""s computer-aided design (CAD) work station.
The invention teaches a method and apparatus for forming a flexible circuit of predetermined design, and in particular to the making of a functioning flexible circuit by depositing multiple layers of a variety of materials in fluid or component form in a set configuration onto a substrate. A source for each of the materials is provided. In one embodiment, the materials are applied to the substrate through accurate positioning and moving of the dispensing heads in three dimensions and through accurate control of the amount of material applied.
In some embodiments, successive layers of electronic circuitry are formed by successively printing and then curing each layer, one on top of the last, starting with a flexible substrate, such as polyester film. Not only are conductive traces (i.e., wiring) printed (i.e., by dispensing and curing properly selected fluids) using the methods and/or systems described below, but also passive components (such as, for example, resistors, capacitors, and/or inductors), and/or active components (such as, for example, transistors, switches, amplifiers, filters, electric batteries, memory and/or logic).
Another aspect of the invention is to control the viscosity of the fluid within the source in order to control the flow characteristics of the fluid.
Yet another aspect of the invention is to control the temperature throughout the dispensing path in order to maintain accurate control of the flow characteristics of the fluid.
Yet another aspect of the invention is to provide accurate control of the velocity of the dispensing nozzles in order to control the volume of fluid per unit of base area.
Yet another aspect of the invention is to provide a means to cure the deposited materials at controllable time intervals during the process of forming the flexible circuit.
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This invention relates to an appartus for measuring the velocity of moving materials, e.g. gaseous, liquid or solid substances. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus employing the laser doppler effect for measuring the velocity of moving media.
Laser velocimeters are known which employ the doppler effect to measure the velocity of moving fluid at a measuring point. Such laser doppler velocimeters have the potential advantage over known mechanical devices for velocity component measurements of permitting such measurements without significantly disturbing the flow characteristics of the fluid being measured. Other advantages of laser velocimeters over mechanical devices are the relatively high speed of the measurement process and the ability of such devices to perform measurements in relatively inaccessible locations.
Although laser velocimeters using pulsed laser sources have been suggested in the literature, known laser velocimeters typically employ a continuous wave laser source. The coherence length of the light generator in such a source is selected to be relatively long, e.g., of the order of several centimeters or more, in order to eliminate the requirement of exact path length equality of two related wavefronts from source to point of optical interference. In such systems, the use of a short coherence length continuous wave or pulsed laser, e.g., an injection laser diode, is precluded due to the fact that interference of beams from such a source cannot be predictably achieved due to the lack of substantially equal path lengths for related beams. Other limitations inherent in known continuous wave laser velocimeters are the relatively large physical size necessitated by the relatively large lasers and associated optics employed, and their relative instability in use, which necessitates frequent readjustment using relatively sophisticated alignment techniques.
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Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a screen shielding method applied to an electronic device, and in particular, to a screen shielding method supporting a plurality of applications simultaneously.
Description of the Related Art
Presently, mobile devices are highly developed and multi-functional. For example, handheld devices such as mobile phones and tablets are capable of conducting telecommunication services, receiving and transmitting e-mails, maintaining social networks, managing contacts, and playing media. Hence, users can implement various applications on their mobile devices, such as phone call, social network, or commercial applications. Therefore, mobile devices have become one of the necessities in people's lives, and the likelihood that private information will be displayed on the handheld devices has increased. Privacy protection of users has become an important issue.
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Quantum computing is a class of computing in which inherently quantum mechanical phenomena, such as quantum state superposition and entanglement, are harnessed to perform certain computations far more quickly than any classical computer could ever be capable of. In a “topological” quantum computer, calculations are performed by manipulating quasiparticles—called “non-abelian anyons” that occur in certain physical systems. Anyons have unique physical characteristics that distinguish them from both fermions and bosons. Non-abelian anyons also have unique properties with respect to abelian anyons. It is these unique properties that serve as a basis for topological quantum computing, in which information is encoded as a topological property of non-abelian anyons; specifically the braiding of their space-time worldlines. This has certain benefits over other models of quantum computation. One key benefit is stability, as the quantum braiding is unaffected by perturbations on a scale that could cause error-inducing quantum decoherence in other types of quantum computer.
A number of types of physical system have been considered as potential hosts of non-abelian anyons, such as “5/2 fractional quantum Hall” systems in condensed matter physics, and systems of topological insulators in contact with superconductors. Another example is semiconductor-superconductor (SE/SU) heterostructures such as SE/SU nanowires. With regard to these, a key advance in the field was the realization that non-abelian anyons, in the form of “Majorana zero modes” (MZMs), can be formed in regions where semiconductor (SE) is coupled to a superconductor (SU). Based on this phenomenon, a small network of SE/SU nanowires can be used to create a quantum bit, wherein each SE/SU nanowire comprises a length of semiconductor coated with a superconductor.
A quantum bit, or qubit, is an element upon which a measurement with two possible outcomes can be performed, but which at any given time (when not being measured) can in fact be in a quantum superposition of the two states corresponding to the different outcomes.
A “topological” qubit is a qubit implemented based on the above-mentioned technology of non-abelian anyons in the form of MZMs. A non-abelian anyon is a type of quasiparticle, meaning not a particle per se, but an excitation in an electron liquid that behaves at least partially like a particle. Particularly an anyon is a quasiparticle occurring in a two-dimensional system (two degrees of freedom in space). A Majorana zero mode is a particular bound state of such quasiparticles. Under certain conditions, these states can be formed close to the semiconductor/superconductor interface in an SE/SU nanowire network, in a manner that enables them to be manipulated as quantum bits for the purpose of quantum computing. Regions or “segments” of the nanowire network between the MZMs are said to be in the “topological” regime.
A Majorana-based qubit conventionally involves gating in order to exhibit such topological behaviour. That is, an electrical potential is applied to a segment of the semiconductor of one of the nanowires forming the qubit. The potential is applied via a gate terminal placed adjacent to the nanowire in the fabricated structure on the wafer. A magnetic field is also required to induce the topological regime. The magnetic field is applied from an electromagnet placed outside the wafer, typically within the refrigerating compartment as used to induce the superconductivity in the superconductor.
Conventionally, building Majorana-based topological quantum computing devices involves the formation of superconducting islands on the semiconductor. Some parts of the superconductor are topological (T) and some parts of which are non-topological (e.g., conventional S-wave (S)). The topological segment supports Majorana zero modes appearing at its opposite ends. The existing techniques for realizing MZMs require strong magnetic fields as well as electrostatic gating in order to drive the half-shell nanowires into the topological phase. The MZMs are induced by a coupling of the magnetic field to the spin component of the electrons. This requires a strong magnetic field.
In some fabrication techniques, the semiconductor of the nanowires may be formed in the plane of the wafer by a technique such as selective area growth (SAG). The superconducting material may then be deposited selectively over the semiconductor, or may be deposited as a uniform coating and regions subsequently etched away to form the islands.
Another method of fabricating a device comprising semiconductor-superconductor nanowires is disclosed in “Epitaxy of semiconductor-superconductor nanowires”, P. Krogstrup et al, Nature Materials, 12 Jan. 2015, pages 400-406. The semiconductor cores of the nanowires are grown vertically relative to the plane of the wafer, and then angle deposition is performed in order to deposit a coating of superconductor on facets of the semiconductor core. The nanowires are then “felled” by sonication and aligned in the horizontal plane by means of optical microscopy. Parts of the superconductor coatings are then etched away from the nanowires so as, in the resultant device, to leave each nanowire coated with just the superconducting islands mentioned above.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly to a VA (vertically aligned) or MVA (multi-domain vertically aligned) semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that offers high aperture ratio and brightness, and that offers good contrast without sacrificing the image quality due to crosstalk or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, it has been becoming increasingly popular to use liquid crystal display devices not only in information communication devices but also in commonly used electric devices. A liquid crystal display device itself does not emit light, and hence a transmissive liquid crystal display device provided with a backlight is widely used. Disadvantageously, the backlight consumes a large amount of electric power. It is for this reason that, to reduce the electric power consumption, portable devices in particular use a reflective liquid crystal display device that requires no backlight. The problem here is that this reflective liquid crystal display device uses external light as its light source, and hence suffers from poor visibility in a poorly-lit room, for example. It is under this background that semi-transmissive liquid crystal display devices that offer transmissive and reflective displays have been eagerly developed in recent years.
A liquid crystal display panel used in this semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device has pixel regions, each having a transmissive portion provided with a pixel electrode and a reflective portion provided with both a pixel electrode and a reflecting layer. In a poorly-lit place, this liquid crystal display panel displays an image by means of the transmissive portion of the pixel region by turning on the backlight; in a well-lit place, it displays an image by means of the reflective region illuminated by external light without turning on the backlight. This advantageously eliminates the need to keep the backlight on all the time, making it possible to greatly reduce the electric power consumption.
Now, since, for example, the users of mobile devices typified by mobile phones or the like are limited, there has conventionally not been so much demand to use a liquid crystal display panel having a wide viewing angle in small display portions of such mobile devices. However, with mobile devices becoming more and more sophisticated these days, there is a huge surge in demand for mobile devices having a display portion provided with a liquid crystal display panel having a wide viewing angle. To satisfy this demand, instead of TN (twisted nematic) liquid crystal display panels that have been conventionally frequently used in mobile devices, VA or MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panels have come to be developed increasingly eagerly (see JP-A-2003-167253 (claims, paragraphs [0050] to [0057], FIG. 1) and JP-A-2004-069767 (claims, paragraphs [0044] to [0053], FIG. 1)).
Here, an MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel disclosed in JP-A-2004-069767 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5. FIG. 4A is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of an MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50. FIG. 4B is a diagram schematically showing in which direction liquid crystals are inclined when an electric field is applied to liquid crystals in a liquid crystal layer. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line D-D shown in FIG. 4A.
In this semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50, an inclined plane or a height difference 53 is formed between a reflective portion 51 and a transmissive portion 52, and the reflective portion 51 and the transmissive portion 52 run continuously through the height difference 53 laid in between. The semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50 has a first substrate 54 and a pixel electrode 55 formed thereon, and the pixel electrode 55 includes a first opening region 56, where no pixel electrode 55 is formed. This first opening region 56 constitutes first alignment control means, and is formed so as to be astride the reflective portion 51 and the transmissive portion 52 with the height difference 53 laid in between.
As a result, a pixel electrode 55a formed in the reflective portion 51 and a pixel electrode 55b formed in the transmissive portion 52 are connected to each other via a single line 57 extending in the direction of the length of the semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50.
In a common electrode 59 formed on a second substrate 58, second opening regions 60a and 60b are so formed respectively as to face the pixel electrode 55a formed in the reflective portion 51 and the pixel electrode 55b formed in the transmissive portion 52. These second opening regions 60a and 60b constitute second alignment control means. The second opening regions 60a and 60b are formed as cross-shaped slits, and are arranged in such a way that, in the vertical direction, the center of the second opening region 60a coincides with the center of the pixel electrode 55a and the center of the second opening region 60b coincides with the center of the pixel electrode 55b.
In this semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50, when no electric field is applied between the pixel electrode 55 and the common electrode 59, liquid crystal molecules 61 in the liquid crystal layer are aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the surfaces of the pixel electrode 55 and the common electrode 59, blocking the passage of light. When an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal molecules 61 in the liquid crystal layer, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 5, the ends of the liquid crystal molecules 61, the ends being located on the side of the common electrode 59, are inclined toward the line 57 above the first opening region 56 in the height difference 53, and are inclined toward the center of the reflective portion 51 above the reflective portion 51 and toward the center of the transmissive portion 52 above the transmissive portion 52. This allows the light to pass through. As described above, according to the semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50, the liquid crystal molecules are aligned in a given direction, making it possible to reduce degradation in visual characteristics or response speed.
In the MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 50 described above, the height difference 53 is formed between the reflective portion 51 and the transmissive portion 52, which are located on the first substrate 54 side, and thereby, as is well known, a cell gap d1 in the reflective portion 51 and a cell gap d2 in the transmissive portion have the relationship d1=(d2)/2. In this way, adjustment is performed so that the image quality in the reflective portion 51 and the image quality in the transmissive portion 52 are made equal to each other. Such a cell gap adjustment can be performed on the second substrate 58 side, as practiced in another conventionally known type of MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel.
As another conventional example, an MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel having a topcoat layer for a cell gap adjustment formed on a second substrate side will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing one pixel of a conventional semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel having a topcoat layer for a cell gap adjustment formed on a second substrate side, as seen through the second substrate. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line E-E shown in FIG. 6. FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views, in which a second substrate is not shown, taken along line F-F and line G-G, respectively, shown in FIG. 6.
In a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70, a plurality of scan lines 12 and signal lines 13 are arranged so as to form a matrix, directly or via an inorganic insulating film 14, on an insulating transparent glass substrate 11 serving as a first substrate. Here, an area enclosed by the scan and signal lines 12 and 13 corresponds to one pixel, each pixel has a thin-film transistor TFT serving as a switching element, and the surface of the TFT, for example, is coated with a protective insulating film 23.
In a reflective portion 15 and a transmissive portion 16, an interlayer film 17 is laid on top of the scan lines 12, the signal lines 13, the inorganic insulating film 14, and the protective insulating film 23, for example. In the reflective portion 15, the interlayer film 17 is formed of an organic insulating film having fine projections and depressions on the surface thereof, in the transmissive portion 16, the interlayer film 17 is formed of an organic insulating film having a flat surface. Note that, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the projections and depressions formed in the reflective portion 15 are not shown. The interlayer film 17 has a contact hole 20 in a part thereof that corresponds to the drain electrode D of the TFT. In each pixel, the reflective portion 15 has a reflecting layer 18 made of aluminum, for example, formed on the surface of the interlayer film 17. On the surface of this reflecting layer 18 and the surface of the interlayer film 17 formed in the transmissive portion 16, a transparent pixel electrode 19 made of ITO or IZO, for example, is formed.
In the reflective portion 15, an auxiliary capacity line 21 is disposed below the reflecting layer 18 formed on the surface of the interlayer film 17, and the reflecting layer 18 and the pixel electrode 19 are formed in such a way that, as seen in a plan view, they do not abut on a reflecting layer and a pixel electrode of an adjacent pixel and that they slightly overlap the scan line 12 and the signal line 13 for preventing light leakage. Likewise, in the transmissive portion 16, the pixel electrode 19 is formed in such a way that, as seen in a plan view, it does not abut on a pixel electrode and a reflecting layer of an adjacent pixel and that it slightly overlap the scan line 12 and the signal line 13.
In this semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70, a slit 33 is formed in the pixel electrode 19 for controlling the alignment of liquid crystal molecules along the boundary between the reflective portion 15 and the transmissive portion 16. As a result, the pixel electrode 19 is practically divided into two regions: one of which is a pixel electrode 19a formed in the reflective portion 15 and the other is a pixel electrode 19b formed in the transmissive portion 16. The pixel electrode 19a formed in the reflective portion 15 and the pixel electrode 19b formed in the transmissive portion 16 are electrically connected to each other via a smaller-width portion 34. A vertical alignment film (unillustrated) is laid on the surface of the pixel electrode 19 in such a way that all the pixels are coated therewith.
On the other hand, on the display region of an insulating transparent glass substrate 25 serving as a second substrate, a stripe-shaped color filter layer 26 having a color corresponding to each pixel, that is, one of three colors: red (R), green (G), or blue (B), is formed. Here, the thickness of the color filter layer 26 is uniform in the reflective portion 15 and the transmissive portion 16, and the color filter layer 26 has a topcoat layer 27 having a predetermined thickness in a part thereof that corresponds to the reflective portion 15. The topcoat layer 27 is formed over the entire length and breadth of the reflective portion 15, and the thickness thereof is adjusted so that the thickness of a layer of liquid crystals 29 in the reflective portion 15, i.e., the cell gap d1 is half the thickness of the cell gap d2 in the transmissive portion 16, that is, d1=(d2)/2.
In addition, protrusions 31 and 32 for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystals are formed respectively on the part of the surface of the color filter layer 26 located in the transmissive portion 16 and on the part of the surface of the topcoat layer 27 located in the reflective portion 15. On the surfaces of the color filter layer 26, the topcoat layer 27, and the protrusions 31 and 32, a common electrode (unillustrated) and a vertical alignment film (unillustrated) are laid on top of another.
The first substrate and the second substrate are then located face-to-face, and then bonded together by means of a sealing member provided around them. Then, a space between the substrates is filled with liquid crystals 29 with negative dielectric anisotropy. In this way, the MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70 is obtained. Although not shown in the figure, a conventionally known backlight provided with a light source, a light guide plate, and a diffusing sheet, for example, is disposed below the first substrate.
In the MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70 described above, when no electric field is applied between the pixel electrode 19 and the common electrode, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the surfaces of the pixel electrode and the common electrode, blocking the passage of light; when an electric field is applied between the pixel electrode and the common electrode, the light is allowed to pass through. This reduces the influence of light leakage occurring in the transmissive portion on the image quality. Furthermore, the presence of the slit 33 formed in the pixel electrode 19 and the protrusions 31 and 32 makes the liquid crystal molecules inclined toward the protrusion 31 or 32, greatly improving the viewing angle.
In the MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70 described above, to prevent light leakage, the pixel electrode 19b is formed in the transmissive portion 16 in such a way that it does not abut on a pixel electrode and a reflecting layer of an adjacent pixel and that it slightly overlaps the scan line 12 and the signal line 13. Likewise, the reflecting layer 18 and the pixel electrode 19a are formed in the reflective portion 15 in such a way that they do not abut on a reflecting layer and a pixel electrode of an adjacent pixel and that they slightly overlap the scan line 12 and the signal line 13 for preventing light leakage.
As described above, when the pixel electrode 19 is formed along the signal line 13 so as to overlap it as seen in a plan view, capacitance Csd is produced between the signal line 13 and the pixel electrode 19 as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, which are sectional views taken along line F-F and line G-G, respectively, shown in FIG. 6. As seen in FIG. 9 showing an equivalent circuit of one pixel, the capacitance Csd is parasitic capacitance produced in parallel between the drain and source electrodes of the TFT. When the capacitance Csd is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, crosstalk occurs on the display screen as the liquid crystal display device is driven. Thus, by reducing the capacitance Csd, that is, by reducing the width of the space where the signal line and the pixel electrode overlap one another, it is possible to reduce crosstalk.
Now, in the MVA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel 70 described above, when no electric field is applied between the pixel electrode 19 and the common electrode, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the surfaces of the pixel electrode and the common electrode, blocking the passage of light. This should prevent leakage of light. Thus, to reduce the capacitance Csd produced between the signal line 13 and the pixel electrode 19 and furthermore to obtain a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel with high aperture ratio, the pixel electrode 19 can be so formed along the scan line 12 and the signal line 13 as not to overlap them as seen in a plan view.
However, the inventors of the present invention have found out by experiments that, when the pixel electrode 19 is so formed along the scan line 12 and the signal line 13 as not to overlap them as seen in a plan view, light leaks between the pixel electrode 19b formed in the transmissive portion 16 and the scan line 12, leading to reduction in contrast in a display image.
The reason is considered to be as follows. Scanning signals are sequentially inputted to the scan line 12 frame by frame, and, even when no scanning signal is inputted thereto, a given voltage is normally applied to the scan line 12. At this time, since the scan line 12 is exposed as seen in a plan view, a potential difference is produced between the scan line 12 and the common electrode. This makes the liquid crystal molecules existing near the scan line 12 inclined all the time, resulting in light leakage. Similar problems arise in a VA semi-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is provided with a pixel electrode having no slit and a second substrate having no alignment control means for controlling the alignment of liquid crystals.
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As one method for controlling an internal combustion engine, torque demand control is known that uses torque as a control amount for determining an operation amount of each of different actuators. A target torque that serves as a target value of a control amount is determined based on a torque requirement from a driver, which may be estimated from an accelerator pedal operation, or a torque requirement from a vehicle control device such as a VSC and a TRC. With an internal combustion engine having an established target air-fuel ratio, such as a gasoline engine, a target air quantity is determined from the target torque and a specific actuator for controlling the air quantity is operated according to the target air quantity.
The torque demand control described above may be applied to an internal combustion engine having a turbocharger or a mechanical supercharger. Some such supercharged internal combustion engines can actively control a boost pressure. For example, an internal combustion engine disclosed in JP-A-2006-242062 includes a turbocharger with an electric motor. Active control of the boost pressure is enabled by letting the electric motor assist in rotation of a compressor. An internal combustion engine disclosed JP-A-2007-056697 includes a turbocharger with a waste gate valve, in which the active control of the boost pressure is enabled by operating the waste gate valve to thereby increase or decrease a flow rate of an exhaust gas flowing into a turbine. Alternatively, the boost pressure may be actively controlled using an air bypass valve or a variable nozzle in a turbine. In the torque demand control performed in the internal combustion engine capable of such a boost pressure control, a target air quantity and a target boost pressure are determined from the target torque and the actuator for controlling the boost pressure is operated according to the target boost pressure, as disclosed, for example, in JP-A-2006-242062. To determine the target boost pressure from the target torque, a map may be used that represents measurements taken of boost pressures required for achieving different torque values variable according to different operating conditions.
As a method of vehicle control, a method for damping vehicle body sprung vibration or, in particular, pitching vibration through torque control for the internal combustion engine is known. The torque control for the internal combustion engine for this specific purpose will hereinafter be referred to as vehicle vibration damping control. In the vehicle vibration damping control, pitching vibration according to a current driving force is obtained from a vehicle body vibration model and high-frequency torque to cancel the pitching vibration is calculated. This damping high-frequency torque component is added to low-frequency torque calculated based on an accelerator pedal operation amount. A sum of the high-frequency torque component and the low-frequency torque component is then set as a target torque to thereby perform the torque control for the internal combustion engine.
For the vehicle vibration damping control in the internal combustion engine capable of controlling the boost pressure, a target boost pressure is determined based on the target torque that contains the high-frequency torque component for damping purpose. Since the high-frequency torque component contained in the target torque is directly reflected in the target boost pressure, the target boost pressure for performing the vehicle vibration damping control contains a high-frequency pressure component. In this case, an actuator for controlling the boost pressure is operated such that the boost pressure is vibrationally varied according to the target boost pressure containing the high-frequency pressure component.
A response lag, however, exists in an actual boost pressure relative to the operation of the actuator. The lag time in response involved herein is not so small as to be negligible as compared with a cycle of vibration in the vehicle vibration damping control. As a result, a phase shift that is not negligible occurs between the target boost pressure and the actual boost pressure as shown in the lower graph of FIG. 15. The phase shift between the target boost pressure and the actual boost pressure creates a situation in which the actual boost pressure is lower than the target boost pressure, specifically, the boost pressure is insufficient. In throttle operation based on the target air quantity, a throttle opening required for achieving the target air quantity is calculated based on the actual boost pressure. In this case, if the actual boost pressure is higher than the target boost pressure, the target air quantity can be achieved by reducing the throttle; however, if the actual boost pressure falls short of the target boost pressure, the target air quantity cannot be achieved by simply adjusting the throttle opening. This is because of the reason that a maximum value of the quantity of air to be drawn into a cylinder depends on the actual boost pressure and, and if the actual boost pressure falls short of the target boost pressure, the maximum air quantity becomes smaller than the target air quantity. As shown in the upper graph of FIG. 15, therefore, torque to be actually achieved yields a waveform different from a waveform of the target torque, so that it becomes impossible to give vibration required for damping the vehicle to the torque.
As described above, in the supercharged internal combustion engine including a boost pressure control actuator, such as a waste gate valve, the boost pressure can be actively controlled according to the target torque. Because of the response lag involved between the target boost pressure and the actual boost pressure, however, if target torque contains a high-frequency vibration component, the target torque may not be accurately achieved.
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Certain types of semiconductor packages are fabricated in pre-determined arrays on a substrate, preferably a polyimide tape or film and wherein the packages are encapsulated by an elastomer sealant also deposited on the tape or film. The arrays of semiconductor packages, including the polyimide tape or film substrate structure is secured to a metal frame having a central opening therein such that the packages may be subjected to a cutting operation to cut through the polyimide tape and also through the elastomer sealant layer. Typically, the operation is conducted in two cutting steps at two different stations to completely separate each semiconductor package from the substrate.
The aforementioned prior art method of separating semiconductor packages, particularly micro ball grid arrays (.mu.BGAs), often introduces errors in the cutting operation due to misalignment of the packages when moved from one cutting station to the next. This action produces slivers or partially cut portions of the package supporting substrate along one or more edges thereof, resulting in costly rework or modification of the packages before they can be further processed. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with prior art cutting methods for separating semiconductor packages from their support structure, as will be described further herein.
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It is well known that most of the lives lost in fires are lost due to smoke inhalation, and that these deaths occur because no means has been made readily available which will give a person, who is caught in a fire, adequate protection from smoke inhalation for the relatively short period of time necessary to escape the fire. The present invention contemplates the provision of a mask or hood that can be conveniently stored, is simple to use, and is effective to give the user protection from smoke inhalation for approximately fifteen minutes.
Hoods have been provided for protecting the wearers from various dangerous conditions including smoke inhalation, and the hood disclosed in the patent to Nakagawa U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,118 is purported to provide protection from fire, smoke and poisonous gases. Other hoods and similar protective devices are disclosed in the patents to Lufkin U.S. Pat. No. 1,856,879, Lund et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,839 and Zebuhr U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,055.
It is, of course, of utmost importance to the wearer of a smoke protective hood that he be able to breathe easily and efficiently, and it is therefore desirable that the mouthpiece be precisely located relative to his or her mouth. It is evident that, if a hood is too large or too small for the head of the wearer, the mouthpiece will be displaced from his mouth and will have to be continuously adjusted to give him a feeling that he is getting enough air under the circumstances.
None of the above-mentioned patents disclose any means for locating the mouthpiece near the user's mouth and it is an important object of the present invention to provide such means.
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The present invention relates in general to the analysis of the condition of the lungs, and in particular to measuring the gas pressure in lungs.
Intrathoracic pressure during breathing is an important physiological parameter. It is used clinically to determine the effort that is generated by a patient during breathing. This effort is necessary to overcome the resistance of the airways while ambient air is moved into the respiratory zone of the lung (the alveoli) and back out. Intrathoracic pressures may be excessive during asthma attack when the airways are abnormally narrow, or during sleep when the upper airways are completely collapsed (i.e., sleep apnea) or narrowed and fluttering (i.e., snoring). Changes in gas pressure are known to be caused by various conditions in the lungs, such as increased airway resistance as caused by asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other conditions.
It is also important to know the intrathoracic pressure during artificial ventilation of critically ill patients. Excessive intrathoracic pressures are a common cause of pneumothorax, a potentially lethal condition in which air leaks from the lungs into the pleural space.
At any time a ratio between a pressure difference (xcex94P) between the airway opening to respiratory zone and a related flow (FL) is used as an estimate of airway resistance R=xcex94P/FL.
Several existing methods of lung pressure measurements exist. These include the body plethysmograph in which the body is enclosed in a pressurized chamber, the esophageal balloon, in which a catheter with a long and narrow balloon is inserted via the mouth or nose into the patient""s esophagus, airway opening pressure measurements, which requires intubation and which is used extensively for ventilated patients.
The invasive character and the limited accuracy of most of these methods makes them unusable outside a health care environment. For example, lung pressure measure measurements cannot be made at a patient""s home, nor can they be made without inconveniencing the patient such that it may be difficult for him to sleep.
One object of some preferred embodiments of his invention is to allow for non invasive measurements of gas pressure in the lungs. Preferably, gas pressure in lungs is measured indirectly, by measuring the velocity of sound propagating in and/or through the lungs.
One aspect of some preferred embodiments of the present invention relates to using breath sounds, especially tracheal breath sounds (snore or other vocalizations) for measurements of sound velocity in the lungs. Preferably, the sound velocity in and/or through lungs is measured by determining the difference in the time at which sound, generated at the onset of and/or during a respiratory event, reaches at least two distinct points on the surface of a person""s chest.
Another aspect of some preferred embodiments of the present invention relates to using a sound wave externally injected into a person""s chest instead of using sounds generated at the onset and/or during a respiratory event.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the velocity is estimated from a difference in the phase of the sound at the two points. Changes in the phase indicate a change in velocity. Preferably, the phase utilized is that in a low frequency band, characteristic of sound transfer via the lungs. This is based on an observation that high frequency waves are preferentially transferred via the solid tissue and low frequency waves are preferentially transferred via the air in the lungs.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, a frequency domain transfer function is derived for sounds between the two points and rate of change of phase with frequency (slope) of the phase portion of the transfer function is used for the measurement or indication of velocity or velocity change.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a baseline value is determined at the start of a session (for normal breathing) and changes are used as an indication of changes in the condition of the lungs. Alternatively or additionally, the baseline values are determined in a particular session and measurements are periodically made to determine the patient""s condition over a period of time of days, weeks or years. Additionally or alternatively, the velocity measurements are compared to standard measurements which are indicative of different conditions.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the measurements are made during segments of time which may extend from 50 msec to very long time intervals, even indefinitely.
In some preferred embodiments of the invention, only changes in the velocity (or phase) are considered important. Alternatively or additionally, absolute values of velocity are determined.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the velocity/phase measurement is calibrated by measuring the velocity (phase) during a portion of the breath cycle when there is no air flow (at this point the alveolar pressure is equal to the external pressure) and also while the patient blows into a closed tube (no flow) at which time the pressure in the tube is the same as the alveolar pressure
There is thus provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method of determining the air pressure in a lung, comprising:
making a determination of the velocity of sound in the lung; and
estimating the pressure within the lung based on the determined velocity.
Preferably, the method includes determining the velocity and estimating the pressure separately for each lung.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, making a determination comprises:
determining a difference in phase for sound between two positions with respect to the lung.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method of determining air pressure in the lung, comprising:
determining a difference in phase for sound between two positions with respect to the lung; and
estimating the pressure within the lung based on the determined phase.
Preferably, the method includes determining a difference in phase separately and estimating the pressure separately for each lung.
Preferably, the phase is determined at a single frequency at which sound travels preferentially within the gas in the lung.
Preferably, the difference in phase is determined over a range of frequencies and including determining the rate of change of phase with frequency.
Preferably, the range of frequencies is characteristic of sound that travels preferentially in the air in the lung.
Preferably, the pressure is estimated based on the determined rate of change.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sound is a multi-frequency sound signal. Preferably, the sound is injected into the body of a person being tested.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sound is a swept sound signal.
Alternatively, the sound is a sound generated by a person being tested, for example a snore.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention apparatus for measuring air pressure in at least one lung comprising:
a) a first sensor operative for measuring a first phase of a sound at a first locality in a body when placed at said first locality;
b) a second sensor operative for measuring a second phase of a sound at a second locality in a body when placed at said second locality;
c) calculation circuitry that estimates the pressure based on a difference in the measured first and second phases.
Preferably,
a) said first sensor is adapted to be placed near the upper portion of a lung; and
b) said second sensor is adapted to be placed near a lower portion of the lung.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes a sound generator adapted to be placed outboard of said first sensor, such that the first and second sensors determine said phase of a signal traveling between the generator and the second sensor.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the apparatus comprises a third sensor adapted to measure a third phase of sound when placed at a third locality with respect to a lung.
Preferably, said second locality is adjacent to one lung and said third locality is adjacent to a second lung.
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This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a). on Patent Application No. 2008-138182 filed in Japan on May 27, 2008, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a fixing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus and the like.
In an image forming apparatus and the like using an electrophotographic method that is widely applied in copying machines, laser printers, facsimiles, and the like, conventionally, a fixing method used in a fixing apparatus is generally a heat fixing method. For such a heat fixing method, a heat roller fixing method using a heat roller is generally applied.
With the heat roller fixing method, a heat roller including an internal heater as a heat source and an external surface covered with rubber or resin having good releasability, and a pressure roller are pressed against each other so that a nip portion is formed between these rollers. Then, a transfer paper on which a toner image has been formed is caused to pass through the nip portion so that the toner is heated and melted. Thereby, the toner is fused and fixed onto the transfer paper. The heat roller fixing method is suitable for increasing speeds because the entire heat roller is maintained at a predetermined temperature.
In the fixing apparatus using the aforementioned heat roller and pressure roller, the pressure roller is pressed against the heat roller so that a fixing operation is reliably performed. However, in the image forming apparatus using the aforementioned fixing apparatus, when warming up or being on standby, operations in the image forming apparatus having been stopped, or the like, if the pressure roller is maintained for a long time in a state in which the pressure roller is pressing against the heat roller, the surface of the heat roller or the like may possibly be deformed.
Thus, if the time period when the fixing apparatus does not perform a fixing operation is of a certain length, pressure applied by the pressure roller against the heat roller is cancelled so that the high quality performance of the fixing apparatus can be maintained. Accordingly, in the fixing apparatus using the heat roller and the pressure roller, a pressing means capable of switching between a pressure applied state in which the pressure roller is pressed against the heat roller and a pressure cancelled state in which such pressure is cancelled is generally used (for example, see JP 2003-280308A).
In the fixing apparatus including the aforementioned pressing means, a pressure cancelation operation and a pressure application operation are performed using the pressing means. The pressure cancelation operation is an operation for shifting from the pressure applied state to the pressure cancelled state with respect to the pressing means in the pressure applied state. On the contrary, the pressure application operation is an operation for shifting from the pressure cancelled state to the pressure applied state with respect to the pressing means in the pressure cancelled state.
In the aforementioned fixing apparatus, when the pressing means enters a state in which either the pressure cancelation operation or the pressure application operation cannot be performed, in general, the fixing apparatus determines that a failure has occurred in the pressing means and performs processing for stopping operations in the fixing apparatus in either case.
In the aforementioned fixing apparatus, when the pressure application operation cannot be performed, that is, an operation for shifting from the pressure cancelled state to the pressure applied state cannot be performed with respect to the pressing means in the pressure cancelled state, a state in which the pressure roller cannot press against the heat roller surely maintains. Accordingly, if the aforementioned fixing apparatus is caused to operate in such a state, a fixing operation cannot be reliably performed.
However, when the pressure cancelation operation cannot be performed, that is, an operation for shifting from the pressure applied state to the pressure cancelled state cannot be performed with respect to the pressing means in the pressure applied state, the pressure roller remains pressing against the heat roller.
Accordingly, if the aforementioned fixing apparatus is caused to operate in such a state, a fixing operation can reliably be performed. Consequently, even when it is determined that a failure has occurred in the aforementioned pressing means, it is still possible to perform a fixing operation depending on the state of the pressing means. Thus, there has been a demand for a fixing apparatus for such a situation.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods and devices for use in performing pulmonary procedures and, more particularly, to procedures for treating various lung diseases.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pulmonary diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (COPD), reduce the ability of one or both lungs to fully expel air during the exhalation phase of the breathing cycle. The term “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease” (COPD) refers to a group of diseases that share a major symptom, dyspnea. Such diseases are accompanied by chronic or recurrent obstruction to air flow within the lung. Because of the increase in environmental pollutants, cigarette smoking, and other noxious exposures, the incidence of COPD has increased dramatically in the last few decades and now ranks as a major cause of activity-restricting or bed-confining disability in the United States. COPD can include such disorders as chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, asthma, and emphysema. While each has distinct anatomic and clinical considerations, many patients may have overlapping characteristics of damage at both the acinar (as seen in emphysema) and the bronchial (as seen in bronchitis) levels.
Emphysema is a condition of the lung characterized by the abnormal permanent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchiole, accompanied by the destruction of their walls, and without obvious fibrosis. (Snider, G. L. et al: The Definition of Emphysema: Report of the National Heart Lung And Blood Institute, Division of lung Diseases Workshop. (Am Rev. Respir. Dis. 132:182, 1985). It is known that emphysema and other pulmonary diseases reduce the ability of one or both lungs to fully expel air during the exhalation phase of the breathing cycle. One of the effects of such diseases is that the diseased lung tissue is less elastic than healthy lung tissue, which is one factor that prevents full exhalation of air. During breathing, the diseased portion of the lung does not fully recoil due to the diseased (e.g., emphysematic) lung tissue being less elastic than healthy tissue. Consequently, the diseased lung tissue exerts a relatively low driving force, which results in the diseased lung expelling less air volume than a healthy lung. The reduced air volume exerts less force on the airway, which allows the airway to close before all air has been expelled, another factor that prevents full exhalation.
The problem is further compounded by the diseased, less elastic tissue that surrounds the very narrow airways that lead to the alveoli, which are the air sacs where oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange occurs. The diseased tissue has less tone than healthy tissue and is typically unable to maintain the narrow airways open until the end of the exhalation cycle. This traps air in the lungs and exacerbates the already-inefficient breathing cycle. The trapped air causes the tissue to become hyper-expanded and no longer able to effect efficient oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange.
In addition, hyper-expanded, diseased lung tissue occupies more of the pleural space than healthy lung tissue. In most cases, a portion of the lung is diseased while the remaining part is relatively healthy and, therefore, still able to efficiently carry out oxygen exchange. By taking up more of the pleural space, the hyper-expanded lung tissue reduces the amount of space available to accommodate the healthy, functioning lung tissue. As a result, the hyper-expanded lung tissue causes inefficient breathing due to its own reduced functionality and because it adversely affects the functionality of adjacent healthy tissue.
Lung reduction surgery is a conventional method of treating emphysema. According to the lung reduction procedure, a diseased portion of the lung is surgically removed, which makes more of the pleural space available to accommodate the functioning, healthy portions of the lung. The lung is typically accessed through a median sternotomy or small lateral thoracotomy. A portion of the lung, typically the periphery of the upper lobe, is freed from the chest wall and then resected, e.g., by a stapler lined with bovine pericardium to reinforce the lung tissue adjacent the cut line and also to prevent air or blood leakage. The chest is then closed and tubes are inserted to remove air and fluid from the pleural cavity. The conventional surgical approach is relatively traumatic and invasive, and, like most surgical procedures, is not a viable option for all patients.
Some recently proposed treatments include the use of devices that isolate a diseased region of the lung in order to reduce the volume of the diseased region, such as by collapsing the diseased lung region. According to such treatments, isolation devices are implanted in airways feeding the targeted region of the lung to regulate fluid flow to the diseased lung region in order to fluidly isolate the region of the lung. These implanted isolation devices can be, for example, one-way valves that allow flow in the exhalation direction only, occluders or plugs that prevent flow in either direction, or two-way valves that control flow in both directions. However, such devices are still in the development stages. For example, some valves have been found to wrinkle and create fluid leak paths when implanted in a bronchial lumen of a diameter other than that near the diameter of the valve. Thus, there is much need for improvement in the design, flexibility, and functionality of such isolation devices.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved methods and devices for regulating fluid flow to a diseased lung region.
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It is known to investigate samples with beams of electromagnetism using ellipsometer systems. It is also known that unaccounted for changes in the characteristics of a beam of electromagnetic radiation, (ie. noise content), used to investigate a sample can adversely affect the results achievable by practice of ellipsometry.
As it is a particularly relevant area for application of the present invention, it is noted that a benefit of ellipsometry is that data produced thereby consists of a phase angle between, and a ratio of the intensities of, orthogonal components in a polarized beam. As changes in beam intensity generally affect both orthogonal components of the polarized beam, it is generally believed that forming a ratio of the intensities of the orthogonal components cancels out random variations in a beam of electromagnetic radiation provided by the affected source. However, it can occur that, for instance, data detectors operate differently when receiving different intensity signals, thus it can, even in ellipsometry, be of benefit to compensate for changes in intensity of a beam of electromagnetic radiation which interacts with a sample prior to it entering into a data detector. Further, it can occur that source provides electromagnetic radiation having noise with a frequency component which is substantially the same as a frequency at which a beam of electromagnetic radiation is modulated by an ellipsometer. Without some approach to separating the effects thereof from modulation desirably intentionally imposed on beam intensity, the results of analysis of a sample will be in error.
It is also noted that changes in the intensity of a beam of electromagnetic radiation entering a detector can result from not only from changes in output intensity of a source, but can result from said beam being reflected from a sample which is, for instance, rotated during data collection to allow investigation of more than one spot thereon, or has material deposited thereupon during sample investigation which changes the characteristics of a single investigated spot. This effect can be appreciated by realizing that If the sample does not have a truely flat surface and/or is not perfectly aligned and rotated about an axis which is oriented truely normally to an investigated surface thereof, differing amounts of incident electromagnetic radiation will reflectively enter a data detector therefrom, depending on at what point in a sample rotation cycle said sample is investigated. And, depositing material onto a sample also changes the amount of incident electromagnetic radiation will reflectively enter a data detector. Similar effects can result when a sample is caused to undergo a linear motion, such as when a ribbon sample is unwound from one spool and wound onto another, with the beam of electromagnetic radiation being directed to interact with said ribbon sample at a point between said spools. It is noted that identified noise can then be random and/or periodic.
A relevant identified U.S. Pat. No. 7,342,661 to Ebert et al. Said 661 patent describes a normalization procedure for data in a rotating element ellipsometer system involving applying D.C. components from half cycles to, respectively, normalize data in said half cycles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,151,605 and 6,831,740 to Herzinger et al., describe methodology for efficiently providing good data of improved precision over a range of wavelengths.
Other relevant art includes dual channel ellipsometers, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,564,552; 7,433,037; 7,359,052; 7,349,079; 7,067,819; 6,721,052 and 5,548,404. In it disclosed that a difference between such dual channel systems and the present invention is that the former typically normalizes an overall signal average by a reference detector signal, while the present invention teaches that every data point is separately normalized. Normalizing each data point separately can lead to, for instance, determining Fourier coefficients which are extracted form an ellipsometer signal with improved precision and accuracy. This, in turn, leads to improved accuracy in ellipsometric data.
A system which comprises means for compensating undesired “noise” caused by changes in electromagnetic beam intensity entering a detector, (such as those resulting from random source output variation and those resulting from typically periodic sample movement), in ellipsometers, polarimeters or the like, and the methodology of its application, would therefore provide utility. The present invention provides methods for improving the precision and accuracy of ellipsometric data by normalizing a “true data” containing signal to unintended variations in beam intensity which are not the result of intended applied modulation in the ellipsometer system, such as are caused by variations in beam source intensity and/or by a moving substrate.
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In the engine room of a vehicle, various heat sources are housed which generate heat and vibrate accompanying traveling of the vehicle, such as the engine, exhaust manifold, turbocharger and catalytic converter. To these heat sources, a sheet-like heat source cover is fixed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). By covering heat sources with such a heat source cover, part of the heat and sound generated by the heat source is isolated.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2002-235554
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The present invention relates to a heat-resistant, paintable acrylic-based adhesive tape. More particularly, the present invention relates to a two-sided acrylic-based adhesive tape and a method of adhering both sides of the tape to two substrates, where the tape can withstand environmental conditions encountered in automotive, appliance, and other commercial paint processes without degradation or a reduction in adhesive properties of the tape.
Acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive tapes are widely used in the automotive and appliance industry to bond a wide variety of substrate materials, and in particular, the application of painted exterior automotive body side moldings, sub-assemblies or trim parts. A common method of application is to use an acrylic attachment tape comprised of a foam core which adheres the substrate materials to the vehicle or appliance. However, a disadvantage of such foam core tapes is that they cannot withstand exposure to a paint bake cycle in which the part is painted and subsequently exposed to high temperatures in a paint oven to cure the painted part. For example, the foam core loses compressibility after the introduction of paint, thereby reducing the ability of the tape to sufficiently wet-out to the mating surface. In addition, the foam core may also break down as entrapped air in the foam expands at the elevated temperatures encountered in the bake cycle, rupturing the foam's cell structure, which also impedes wet-out and structural strength. Expanded gas can also collect at the tape-surface interface where it interferes with surface wet-out and bond strength.
In order to avoid the degradation of foam core acrylic tapes, the use of a separate masking tape has been employed which is applied to the part prior to the paint bake cycle in the area of the part which is to receive the foam core acrylic attachment tape to prevent that area from receiving paint. The masking tape is then removed after the paint bake cycle and the attachment tape is applied. However, the use of the masking tape adds additional steps and materials to the manufacturing process, which is both time-consuming and costly.
In order to avoid this extra step, the use of adhesive tapes which are heat-resistant have been developed. These adhesive tapes generally comprise a two-sided solid acrylic-based carrier and a heat resistant liner on one side of the carrier. The tape can be attached on one side to a substrate such as an automotive part and then exposed to elevated temperatures such as a paint baking process without being subject to degradation. The liner may be removed at a later time such that the part can be adhered to a second substrate surface, such as the exterior surface of an automobile, which is then subjected to a paint baking process in a separate step.
However, in order to save additional steps, it would be desirable to be able to apply a two-sided adhesive tape to two substrates prior to the paint baking process so that the substrates could be painted simultaneously. Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a tape which may be applied to two substrates and which is not adversely affected when exposed to paint, primers, and elevated temperatures such as those encountered in automotive, appliance, and other commercial painting processes.
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The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for generating chlorine dioxide, and more particularly, to systems and methods employing a combination of liquid and solid reactants for generating chlorine dioxide at high conversion efficiencies.
With the decline of gaseous chlorine as a microbiocide and bleaching agent, various alternatives have been explored, including bleach, bleach with bromide, bromo-chlorodimethyl hydantoin, ozone, and chlorine dioxide (ClO2). Of these, chlorine dioxide has generated a great deal of interest for control of microbiological growth in a number of different industries, including the dairy industry, the food and beverage industry, the pulp and paper industries, the fruit and vegetable processing industries, various canning plants, the poultry industry, the beef processing industry and miscellaneous other food processing applications. Chlorine dioxide is also seeing increased use in municipal potable water treatment facilities, potable water pathogen control in office building and healthcare facilities, industrial cooling loops, and in industrial waste treatment facilities, because of its selectivity towards specific environmentally-objectionable waste materials, including phenols, sulfides, cyanides, thiosulfates, and mercaptans. In addition, chlorine dioxide is being used in the oil and gas industry for downhole applications as a well a stimulation enhancement additives.
Unlike chlorine, chlorine dioxide remains a gas when dissolved in aqueous solutions and does not ionize to form weak acids. This property is at least partly responsible for the biocidal effectiveness of chlorine dioxide over a wide pH range, and makes it a logical choice for systems that operate at alkaline pHs or that have poor pH control. Moreover, chlorine dioxide is a highly effective microbiocide at concentrations as low as 0.1 parts per million (ppm) over a wide pH range.
The biocidal activity of chlorine dioxide is believed to be due to its ability to penetrate bacterial cell walls and react with essential amino acids within the cell cytoplasm to disrupt cell metabolism. This mechanism is more efficient than other oxidizers that “burn” on contact and is highly effective against legionella, algae and amoebal cysts, giardia cysts, coliforms, salmonella, shigella, and cryptosporidium.
Unfortunately, chlorine dioxide can become unstable and hazardous under certain temperature and pressure conditions. Although this is only an issue of concern for solutions of relatively high concentration, its shipment, at any concentration, is banned. It is for this reason that chlorine dioxide is always generated on-site, at the point of use, usually from a metal chlorate or metal chlorite as an aqueous solution.
There is a continuing need for improvements in chlorine dioxide generation in terms of costs, design considerations, and ease of use.
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The present invention relates to buck converters, such as multi-phase buck converters for use in low voltage/high-current applications.
Various applications may provide a conventional DC-to-DC buck converter that accepts a DC input voltage and produces a lower DC output voltage to drive at least one circuit component. Buck converters are typically used in low voltage applications requiring high amounts of load current (e.g., 30 amps or more). Typically, as shown in FIG. 19, a single phase buck converter 1900 includes a high-side switch 1905, a low-side switch 1910 connected to the high-side switch at a switch node 1915, an output inductor 1920 connected to the switch node 1915, and an output capacitor 1925 connected to the output inductor 1920.
In operation, the high-side and low-side switches 1905, 1910 are controlled by a control circuit 1930 to produce a desired output voltage across a load 1935. For this purpose, the high-side switch 1905 is initially switched on, while the low-side switch 1910 remains off. This causes a voltage drop across the output inductor 1920 of approximately (VINxe2x88x92VOUT), which causes a current to build inside the output inductor 1920. At a subsequent time, the high-side switch 1905 is switched off, and the low-side switch 1910 is switched on. Since the current within the inductor 1920 cannot change instantly, sourced through switch 1910, the current continues to flow through the output inductor 1920, thereby charging the output capacitor 1925 and causing the voltage (VOUT) across the output capacitor 1925 to rise.
In this manner, the high-side and the low-side switches 1905, 1910 may be suitably switched at appropriate times, until the voltage (VOUT) across the output capacitor 1925 equals a desired output voltage, which is typically lower than the input voltage. Once the desired output voltage is reached, the high-side and the low-side switches 1905, 1910 may be periodically controlled so that the output inductor 1920 provides an amount of current equal to the current demand of a load 1935 connected across the output capacitor 1925. By providing no more and no less than the current demand of the load 1935, the voltage (VOUT) across the output capacitor 1925 remains at least approximately constant at the desired output voltage.
It is also known to provide a multi-phase DC-to-DC buck converter 2000 including a plurality of interleaving output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n, as shown in FIG. 20. As shown in FIG. 20, each of the output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n is assigned a respective switching arrangement, including a high-side switch, a low-side switch, and an output inductor. In operation, the control circuit 2010 periodically operates the output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n in a time-delayed sequence.
By operating the output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n in a phase-delayed sequence, the conventional multi-phase buck converter 2000 distributes current production across the multiple output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n, thereby distributing heat generation and reducing the requirements for the output capacitor 1925, such that a smaller output capacitor 125 may be utilized.
However, since conventional multi-phase buck converters require a fixed number of point-to-point connections between the control circuit 2010 and the output phases 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, . . . , 2005n, conventional multi-phase buck converters do not provide a robust architecture capable of easy expandability to include any number of desired phases.
Furthermore, conventional multi-phase buck converters do not optimally control the output voltage in response to a request for a lower desired output voltage or a decrease in current demand of the load 1935. By not optimally controlling the output voltage, conventional multi-phase buck converters may produce unwanted voltage spikes, which may damage circuitry connected to the output of the buck converter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-phase buck converter that overcomes the disadvantageous of prior art buck converters described above. To achieve this object, the present invention provides a multi-phase buck converter for producing an output voltage to a load, the output voltage being produced from an input voltage in accordance with a desired voltage, the converter including an output capacitor, the output voltage being provided by the output capacitor; a plurality of output switch arrangements having respective output inductors coupled to the output capacitor, the switch arrangements being controllable to provide respective phase output currents to the output capacitor through the respective output inductors; a plurality of phase output arrangements respectively coupled to the output switch arrangements, the phase output arrangements being controllable to set the respective phase output currents supplied by the output switch arrangements; a phase control bus communicatively coupled to each of the phase output arrangements; and a phase control arrangement communicatively coupled to the phase control bus, the phase control arrangement being configured to control the phase output arrangements to set the respective phase output currents supplied by the output switch arrangements so that the output voltage approximates or is regulated to the desired voltage, in which the phase control arrangement and the phase output arrangements are provided as respective integrated circuits, and the phase control arrangement is configured to control the phase output arrangements via the phase control bus.
By separating the functions of the phase control arrangement and the phase output arrangements, an exemplary multi-phase buck converter according to the present invention contains no unused or redundant silicon, since the buck converter may include only those number of phase output arrangements required for a particular application. Thus, if a design engineer requires, for example, a three-phase buck converter for a particular application, the engineer may design the multi-phase buck converter to include only three phase output arrangements, each of which is assigned to a respective one of the three phase outputs. Furthermore, the phase control bus (e.g., a 5-wire analog bus) permits the multi-phase buck converter of the present invention to communicate with a potentially unlimited number of phase output arrangements, without requiring point-to-point electrical connections between the phase control arrangement and each of the phase output arrangements. In this manner, the multi-phase buck converter permits an efficient and easily scalable phase architecture.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the multi-phase buck converter is provided with a phase error detect arrangement configured to produce a phase error signal if a phase output arrangement is incapable of providing a phase output current to match the average inductor current of the phase output arrangements. In this manner, the phase control arrangement is provided with a signal for detecting a defective phase and, if appropriate, may deactivate the defective phase and/or enable a back-up phase output arrangement.
In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each of the output phase arrangements operates to switch off both the high-side and low-side switches in response to a request for a lower desired output voltage (VDES) or a decrease in current demand of the load. In this manner, the slew rate of the inductor is increased, which enhances the response time of the multi-phase buck converter of the present invention and prevents disadvantageous negative currents from flowing through the output inductor and possibly damaging the power supply.
In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each of the output phase arrangements includes a current sense amplifier, a resistor RCS electrically connected between the positive input of the current sense amplifier and an output inductor node, and a capacitor CCS electrically connected between the positive and negative inputs of the current sense amplifier, with the output inductor also being connected to the negative input of the current sense amplifier.
By connecting resistor RCS and capacitor CCS across the nodes of the output inductor, the current flowing through the output inductor 220 may be sensed by selecting resistor RCS and capacitor CCS such that the time constant of resistor RCS and capacitor CCS equals the time constant of the output inductor 220 and its DC resistance (i.e., inductance L/inductor DCR, where DCR is the inductor DC resistance), the voltage across capacitor. In this manner, this embodiment of the present invention permits each of the output phase arrangements to sense the current provided to the load in a lossless manner (i.e., without interfering with the current provided to the load).
In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the phase control arrangement includes droop circuitry configured to reduce the output voltage in proportion to the current demand of the load. In this manner, this exemplary embodiment permits an efficient and simple method to adaptively modify the output voltage via adaptive voltage positioning.
In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each of the phase output arrangements of the multi-phase buck converter is programable to shutdown the high-side and low-side switches of its respectively assigned output switch arrangement as a function of the output current of the multi-phase buck converter. In this regard, the number of phase output arrangements chosen for a particular design may depend upon the need to meet thermal requirements and/or to minimize the number of input and output capacitors at maximum output current. However, at times when the output current of the buck converter is less than the maximum output current, efficiency will increase if less phase output arrangements are employed. Turning off phase output arrangements as the output current decreases, increases efficiency by eliminating the gate charging loses, MOSFET switching losses, and circulating currents in high-side and low-side switches, and the output inductors of each phase output arrangement. Each unique circuit design should turn off phase output arrangements in sequence at particular output current levels to achieve the maximum efficiency over the entire output current range.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an original on a recording medium such as a film.
2. Related Background Art
Image recording apparatuses of this type typically include a microfilm camera for sequentially recording originals such as various types of documents on a reduced scale on a strip of microfilm.
The originals recorded sequentially on one microfilm by the above-described type of camera may be of different sizes. When such originals are photographed, since the known microfilm camera has no means for recording the sizes of the originals, scanning or printing of the film involves the troublesome task of changing the magnification of a scanning device in response to the size of the image borne on the film or of changing the size of printing paper for each size of the image. This reduces scanning or printing efficiency.
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Technology advances in microchips, batteries, and various other small scale and high power applications are increasingly constrained by the need for effective thermal management. For example, increasing the speed of microprocessors may depend on effective new thermal management techniques to dissipate high heat fluxes. Similarly, electronic actuators that may take the place of hydraulics and mechanical actuators in aircraft may require similarly effective thermal management schemes. It is desirable that these thermal management, i.e., thermal transfer, schemes meet the criteria of low power consumption, low physical volume, and low weight owing to the small scale of many intended applications. Further, it is desirable that the heat transfer system should have few moving parts, require very little maintenance, and perform reliably in variable environmental conditions.
Phase change materials (PCM), i.e., materials that undergo a reversible latent energy transition upon transfer of thermal energy thereto, and particularly discrete particles of micro-encapsulated phase change material (MEPCM), have been proposed as a heat transfer material for microelectronics in stationary heat sink and heat pipe type heat transfer systems; such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,478 and US Patent Application no. 2004/0159422, respectively. In these stationary heat sink and heat pipe type heat transfer systems flow conditions of the phase change material do not exist or are easily ignored.
In macro-scale heat transfer applications, MEPCM slurry, i.e., a two component fluid of liquid and suspended solids, has been suggested for use, such as in Colvin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,232. In these macro-scale systems, flow conditions of the slurry are basically laminar. Due to the large scale of such applications, there is no apparent concern for weight, volume or power consumption constraints.
In some microelectronic heat transfer systems, microchannel heat exchangers incorporating finned-microchannels have been suggested to achieve high cooling coefficients through high convective heat transfer coefficients and extended cooling surface area, such as in Goodson et al., US Patent Application no. 2003/0062149. However, due to flow condition considerations for the thermal transfer media, i.e., coolant fluid, within the microchannels, only liquid-component phase change materials of the boiling type have been suggested for use with microchannels.
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As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In many implementations, an IHS may include two or more Power Supply Units (PSUs) that operate in parallel to provide electrical power to the IHS. In such an environment, power supply current sharing is a widely used practice.
Conventional current sharing systems distribute load current and power dissipation among the various PSUs in the IHS, thus resulting in a balanced current delivery to other IHS components through the PSUs' main output rail. Current sharing based on output current has been used, for example, to help with balancing PSUs configurations, to prevent overcurrent conditions on a single PSU when the load is greater than a single PSU's capacity, and to prevent a PSU from operating above its rated limit (but below its overcurrent set point).
The inventors hereof have observed, however, that conventional current sharing techniques are normally specified and designed to comply with dynamic and/or static accuracy requirements that are based on output current only. To address these, and other concerns, the inventors hereof have developed systems and methods for providing multi-parameter current sharing, as described herein.
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{
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The present invention relates to beamforming. In particular, ultrasound signals from a patient are beamformed to provide values representing one or more spatial locations.
Acoustic energy is transmitted as an acoustic beam into a patient. Echoes are received and transduced to electrical signals. The received signals are relatively delayed and apodized. The delayed and apodized signals are then summed together. The summed value represents a spatial location along a receive beam. By altering the delay and/or apodization profile as a function of time, a plurality of beamformed values representing a line or beam are formed in response to a given transmission. To scan a two or three dimensional region, the process is repeated along a plurality of different scan lines. The scan process may be increased by transmitting and/or receiving a plurality of separate beams at a same time.
To increase the scan rate, a plane wave covering a large region of the patient is transmitted. A plurality of receive beamformers are used in parallel to form receive beams along different scan lines in response to the same transmit. Alternatively, a Fourier transform is applied to the data received at each element of an array over time. After processing in the frequency domain, an inverse transform generates data representing the different locations in the scanned region. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,641, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A temporal Fourier transform is applied to radio frequency echo signals from each element. The signals are then phase rotated. A spatial Fourier transform is then applied, followed by a complex interpolation. An inverse spatial-temporal Fourier transform provides the image data.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiwavelength light source for emitting light having multiple wavelengths.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recent optical communication system, increasing a communication capacity has been tried by applying high-density wavelength division multiplexing. High-density wavelength division multiplexing optical communication requires a multiwavelength light source for emitting light having multiple wavelengths spaced a distance as very short as 1 nm or less, and accordingly a very high spectral accuracy is required. At present, size reduction of a light source for wavelength division multiplexing optical communication is required. The present invention is a technique for realizing oscillation at wavelengths with an accurate spacing in a laser diode array module to thereby realize a small-sized multiwavelength light source.
Conventionally, a multiwavelength light source is realized generally by using multiple light sources having different oscillation wavelengths. However, with this configuration using such multiple light sources, a very large installation space is necessary, and temperature control of the multiple light sources must be individually performed, causing a great increase in scale of the multiwavelength light source. As another multiwavelength light source recently researched, the refractive index and period of each grating of a DFB (distributed feedback) laser diode array or DBR (distributed Bragg reflector) laser diode array are changed to oscillate laser diodes constituting the array at different wavelengths.
Further, a multiwavelength surface-emitting laser array formed by integrating lasers oscillating at different wavelengths is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,176. The oscillation wavelength of a surface-emitting laser is determined by the resonant wavelength of a vertical cavity, and the resonant wavelength is determined by a cavity length. Accordingly, by inclining the thickness of each layer constituting the surface-emitting laser in an in-plane direction, it is possible to simultaneously form lasers having different oscillation wavelengths.
Although the multiwavelength light source obtained by changing the refractive index and period of each grating of the DFB laser diode array or DBR laser diode array has a small size, the wavelength spacing in the array is affected by a refractive index distribution during manufacture, thus presenting a problem in manufacturability. Further, the multiwavelength surface-emitting laser array disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,176 also has a problem in manufacturability because the surface-emitting laser itself is difficult to manufacture.
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{
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The present disclosure relates to a light emitting device package.
Group III-V nitride semiconductors have been widely used as the core materials of light emitting devices, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Laser Diodes (LD), for their physical and chemical characteristics. The group III-V nitride semiconductors typically consist of semiconductor materials having the composition equation of InxAlyGa1-x-yN (where 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, and 0≦x+y≦1).
The LED is a type of semiconductor device that changes electricity into infrared rays or light by using the characteristics of compound semiconductors to input/output a signal, or is used as a light source.
The LED or the LD with nitride semiconductor materials is often applied as the light emitting devices for obtaining light. For example, the LED or the LD is applied as the light sources of all sorts of products such as the light emitting portions of the key pads of cellular phones, electronic display boards, and lighting devices.
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1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to displaying information used to control the movement of aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for displaying information for controlling the movement of unmanned aerial vehicles.
2. Background
Many aircraft have navigation displays for displaying information used to operate an aircraft. These navigation displays may display maps to an operator of the aircraft for use in operating the aircraft. These maps may include information, such as terrain, weather, navigation aids, wind, routes, direction of travel, route of travel, and other types of information. These types of displays are typically in the form of a map displayed in a top-down view. An icon representing the aircraft is typically displayed on a map in a location representing the current location of the aircraft.
In some cases, an operator may manage more than one aircraft. For example, an operator may manage multiple unmanned aerial vehicles. The routes planned for these unmanned aerial vehicles may be displayed in a top-down view. With this view, the different planned routes for the unmanned aerial vehicles may overlap each other in the display on the top-down view. Planned routes for even a single unmanned aerial vehicle may overlap.
The display of the planned routes may show an overlap in multiple locations on the display. Although the planned routes may overlap in the display of the planned routes, the overlap does not necessarily mean that the unmanned aerial vehicles having planned routes that overlap will reach a location at the same time. Further, although unmanned aerial vehicles may reach the same location where an overlap occurs at the same time, the altitude difference between the unmanned aerial vehicles may be large enough that the overlap is not a concern for operating the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Locations where the overlap occurs are considered to be cluttered when the unmanned aerial vehicles with routes that overlap in these locations do not reach the locations at the same time, the unmanned aerial vehicles reach the locations at the same time but the altitude differences provide a desired level of separation between the unmanned aerial vehicles, or some combination thereof.
Further, as the number of unmanned aerial vehicles increases and the complexity of the planned routes increases the number of locations in which an overlap occurs, the display of the planned routes may become difficult to use. As a result, the display of the planned routes may not be as useful as desired for an operator managing the unmanned aerial vehicles. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above as well as other possible issues.
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{
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A significant consideration which must be faced by financial institutions (and individual investors) is the potential risk of future losses which is inherent in a given financial position, such as a portfolio. There are various ways for measuring potential future risk which are used under different circumstances. One commonly accepted measure of risk is the value at risk (“VAR”) of a particular financial portfolio. The VAR of a portfolio indicates the portfolio's market risk at a given percentile. In other words, the VAR is the greatest possible loss that the institution may expect in the portfolio in question with a certain given degree of probability during a certain future period of time. For example, a VAR equal to the loss at the 99th percentile of confidence level indicates that there is only a 1% chance that the loss will be greater than the VAR during the time frame of interest.
Generally, financial institutions maintain a certain percentage of the VAR in reserve as a contingency to cover possible losses in the portfolio in a predetermined upcoming time period. It is important that the VAR estimate be accurate. If an estimate of the VAR is too low, there is a possibility that insufficient funds will be available to cover losses in a worst-case scenario. Overestimating the VAR is also undesirable because funds set aside to cover the VAR are not available for other uses.
To determine the VAR for a portfolio, one or more models which incorporate various risk factors are used to simulate the price of each instrument in the portfolio a large number of times using an appropriate model. The model characterizes the price of the instrument on the basis of one or more risk factors, which can be broadly considered to be a market factor which is derived from tradable instruments and which can be used to predict or simulate the changes in price of a given instrument. The risk factors used in a given model are dependent on the type of financial instrument at issue and the complexity of the model. Typical risk factors include implied volatilities, prices of underlying stocks, discount rates, loan rates, and foreign exchange rates. Simulation involves varying the value of the risk factors in a model and then using the model to calculate instrument prices in accordance with the selected risk factor values. The resulting price distributions are aggregated to produce a value distribution for the portfolio. The VAR for the portfolio is determined by analyzing this distribution.
There are two alternative simulation techniques which are conventionally used during risk analysis, such as VAR calculations: parametric simulation and historical simulation.
In a parametric simulation, the change in value of a given price for a security is simulated by changing the value of the risk factors in the model from their initial values according to a stochastic or random function. A well known model used in option pricing is the Black-Scholes model which models the change in a stock price S over a time interval t as a function of σ√{square root over (Δt)}ε, where σ is a risk factor indicating the volatility of the price, and ε is a random component. Parametric simulation has the advantage of being very flexible. For example, the values of the parameters which define the model can be adjusted as required to make the model risk neutral. In addition, when the starting values of the model parameters cannot be determined or implied from actual data, default parameters can be used until reliable historical or market data is available.
A serious drawback to this technique, however, is that the noise components ε used to vary the risk factor values are generally assumed to have a normal distribution. In reality, low probability events occur with more frequency than in a normal distribution. As a result, so-called “fat-tails” of the probability curve must be explicitly defined in the model and used to alter the normal distribution of ε.
Another problem with parametric models is that the model must expressly model cross-correlations between various risk factors. Typically, a variance-covariance matrix is used to preserve a predetermined correlation between the various risk factors during a simulation. An underlying assumption to this technique is that the correlations between various factors are constant across the range of input parameters. However, the correlations can vary depending on the circumstances. Detecting these variations and compensating for them through the use of multiple variance-covariance matrices is difficult and can greatly complicate the modeling process. In addition, the computational cost of determining the cross-correlations grows quadratically with the number of risk factors. It is not unusual for large derivative portfolios to depend on 1000 or more risk factors and determining the cross-correlations for the risk factors quickly becomes unmanageable, particularly when the simulation process must be run daily.
An alternative to parametric simulation is historical simulation. In a historical simulation, a historical record of data is analyzed to determine the actual risk factor values. To simulate price evolution, risk factor values are selected at random from the historical set and applied to the model to determine the next price in the simulation. This approach is extremely simple. Because historical data is used as a direct source for the risk factor values, the methodology does not require calculation of model parameters, such as correlations and volatilities. Moreover, the fat-tail event distribution and stochastic correlations between various factors is automatically reproduced. However, this method is limited because the statistical distribution of values is restricted to the specific historical sequence which occurred. In addition, historical data may be missing or non-existent, particularly for newly developed risk factors, and the historical simulation is generally not risk neutral.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved technique for adjusting the value of risk factors during simulation of a financial instrument, e.g., for use in risk analysis.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. More particularly, the present invention relates to a module for an OLED display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an OLED display is constructed with a display panel including two substrates that are fixed by a sealant, a bezel that is combined to the display panel, and a printed circuit board that is electrically connected to the display panel through a flexible printed circuit (FPC), collectively forming a module.
Unlike a liquid crystal display (i.e., a LCD) in which a structure such as a backlight unit is positioned between the display panel and the bezel, in an OLED, because no structure exists between the display panel and the bezel, any impact is directly transmitted to the display panel; this transfer of impact occurs in a sudden situation such as when the device is dropped, whereby the display panel may be easily damaged.
More particularly, when the force that results from an external impact is applied, the impact is concentrated on a partially cut-out portion of a bezel that has been bent during fabrication in order to accommodate the FPC without interference; the cut-out portion is weaker in mechanical strength in comparison to other portions of the bezel.
Therefore, when the OLED display has characteristics such that it is not easily broken by being dropped due to a user's mistake or accidental drop of the OLED display, the OLED display is able to function as an excellent display device.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of the understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not constitute the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
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{
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It is known to provide devices to indicate the occupancy of individual seats in a motor vehicle, such as the pressure switches commonly utilized in conjunction with seatbelt warning and interlock systems. In this invention, seat occupancy as indicated by such devices is recorded as a function of some parameter of vehicle operation such as time of operation or mileage travelled.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an authentication system, an authentication control method, an image forming apparatus, and an authentication server.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Integrated circuit (IC) cards are widely used. For example, many identification cards (IDs), such as employee IDs and student IDs, used to identify individuals are IC cards. Further, restriction of use of computers, etc., using IC cards has been realized.
Many offices use image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, and multifunction apparatuses capable of two or more of those functions, and a method to authenticate users of such multifunction apparatuses, as well as computers, using IC cards has been proposed for security reasons. Further, a user authentication system to authenticate users based on individual biometric information has been proposed.
For example, one known image input and output apparatus restricts users who can execute certain specific type of image processing. In this image input/output apparatus, users of specific image processing can be restricted through a method including inputting image data, inputting biometric information of a user requesting a specific image processing, storing the biometric information, cross-checking the biometric information with registered biometric information, and performing the requested image processing according to results of the cross-check.
Thus, various types of personal authentication methods, such as the user authentication system using IC cards and the biometric authentication system using biometric information described above, are currently used.
In order to correspond to various types of user authentication methods requested by users, the image forming apparatus should control various types of authentication devices, which requires implementation of programs to control various types of authentication devices and increases development cost. Hereinafter those control programs are referred to as firmware.
In particular, it is difficult to change firmware of the image forming apparatus that is an embedded device, and work required to maintain quality increases when the firmware is changed. Thus, it is difficult to change the firmware of each image forming apparatus in order to correspond to various types of user authentication methods.
Further, in the biometric authentication method, processing of biometric information acquired via an authentication device is required in order to identify a person based thereon. Because a heavier load is required to execute such information processing by using software, the image forming apparatus does not have sufficient capacity, and consequently it takes a relatively long time to authenticate the user.
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{
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Security systems may include camera systems to provide an audio/video presence at a particular location. Users may receive streaming audio/video from these camera systems. As users of camera-based security systems continue to increase, network devices that deliver streaming services to users will become overloaded, which will negatively impact quality of service.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of protecting the security of an object included in a document.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a conventional image processing apparatus such as a copying machine digitally performs image processing with various functions, which have been developed in response to the desire of the market. For example, a recent conventional copying machine includes a COPY function for copying an original (document), a page description language (PDL) function for printing a document generated by a host computer, and a SEND function for sending a document to an external apparatus via a network.
In addition, a conventional image processing apparatus includes multiple functions such as a COPY function, a BOX function for internally storing the image data of the document generated using the PDL function and reusing the stored image data, an editing function such as a combining function and a bookbinding function performed by utilizing the document image stored in the apparatus using the BOX function.
Meanwhile, along with the above-described various functions, users have desired a high image quality. Thus, the resolution of an image processing apparatus has increased from a relatively low level of about 600 dots per inch (dpi) to 1,200 dpi, and further to 2,400 dpi.
Similarly, the number of bits of a signal has increased from 8 bits, then to 10 bits, and further to 12 bits.
However, as a result of this development, it becomes necessary to add to the apparatus a memory and a storage device for storing bit-mapped data for image processing having a large amount of information or replace a central processing unit (CPU) of the apparatus with a new one having a higher performance. Accordingly, costs of development and manufacture of the apparatus or running costs may increase.
Consequently, various methods have been introduced to solve the above-described problem. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-159517 discusses an image processing apparatus capable of efficiently and readily editing an image of a read document with a simple configuration.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-159517 discusses a method for converting an object including a text attribute or a graphic attribute into vector data. Furthermore, the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-159517 converts an object having an image attribute into a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file and uses the JPEG file in processing for the editing function and the SEND function.
In the processing using the editing function, vector data is used. Vector data can be easily edited or deformed without processing bit-mapped data including a large amount of information and having a high resolution and a large number of bits. Accordingly, costs for the apparatus can be reduced and the operability can be improved.
Furthermore, in the case of using the SEND function, vector data can be sent outside after being converted into a general format such as scalable vector graphics (SVG). Thus, data independent from the resolution can be sent in a state in which the data can be easily reused.
With the above-described method, the quality of the image output by an image processing apparatus and the user's convenience can be improved.
Furthermore, leakage or unauthorized disclosure of information in sending a document or data to an external apparatus can be prevented by previously deleting an area of the document that has been arbitrarily designated by a user at the time of editing.
Furthermore, when the deleted document is to be restored, if information about the document before a specific area has been deleted, is yet stored in the apparatus, pointer information indicating a storage location of the document is coded as two-dimensional bar codes and embedded on the document. Thus, in rereading the externally sent document, the pointer information is decoded and information about the original document can be obtained.
However, in the case of a document including confidential information, personal information, or an object whose utilization is to be restricted, it is necessary for a user to manually designate each concerned object.
Therefore, even if utilization of a document is to be restricted, its security depends on whether the user recognizes that the utilization of the document is to be restricted. As a consequence, leakage of information or unauthorized use of a restricted document may not be always prevented if the user does not have a high awareness of security.
Furthermore, even if an object can be externally sent while the document including the object cannot be easily reused and does not need to be deleted, the deletion of the object is the only way to restrict the utilization in this case.
Furthermore, in the case where a specific area of the document has been deleted and pointer information indicating a storage location of the original document is encoded and sent in two-dimensional bar codes as visible information, since the pointer information is visually combined, the desired document may not be accessed if the document has been degraded or the accuracy of combination of the pointer information is low.
Furthermore, a user who receives the visible pointer information can recognize that the received document includes confidential information whose utilization is restricted just by looking at the document.
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Cotton is an essential cash crop throughout the world. Many parts of the cotton plant are useful; however, cotton is particularly important in forming a variety of goods, for example, fabrics, clothing and many household items such as towels and tablecloths, etc. The use of cotton to generate fabric initially requires the processing of bales of cotton to liberate cotton fibers. Bales of cotton are typically opened by automated machinery to remove unprocessed lint. The lint can then be further cleaned by, for example, using a blower to separate short components of the lint from cotton fibers. The cotton fibers can then be woven into longer strands sometimes referred to as cotton yarn. The woven cotton fibers are useful in the manufacture of many different items, for example, fabrics, clothing and household items. A single pound of cotton may yield many millions of cotton fibers. However, the lengths of individual cotton fibers vary according to the species or cultivars of the cotton plant from which the fibers originated.
The quality of fabrics produced from cotton fibers vary according to the length of the individual cotton fibers. Relatively short cotton fibers are commonly harvested, for example, from the cotton species G. hirsutum, G. herbaceum, and G. arboreum. The relatively short fibers are generally considered of lower quality than longer cotton fibers harvested from the cotton species G. barbadense. G. barbadense-derived cotton fibers are commonly referred to as Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton. ELS cotton is generally considered to produce higher quality and higher value fabrics, clothing, household items, and related products. Types of ELS cotton include, for example, American Pima, Egyptian, and Indian Suvin. Products carrying an ELS label, such as the aforementioned, American Pima, Egyptian, Supima, or Indian Suvin labels will generally command a higher price than products lacking such a designation.
Variability in cotton quality has lead to concerns over the authenticity of and accurate identification of quality cotton products. Once raw cotton or products containing cotton enter into the stream of commerce, which may include worldwide trade, it is often difficult to reliably determine whether cotton advertised as ELS cotton is, in fact, authentic or is blended or is composed entirely of short fiber cotton. It also may be difficult to determine whether a particular cotton product originated from a particular location, region or manufacturer. For example, counterfeit products manufactured from short fiber cotton may be inappropriately or fraudulently labeled as ELS, American Pima, Egyptian, or Indian Suvin cotton. Cotton products may also be fraudulently labeled as originating from a particular region of the world (e.g., as Egyptian cotton). There is an unmet need for a method of determining whether a particular article of cotton is entirely composed of authentic ELS cotton, or is a counterfeit article that includes significant amounts of or is in fact entirely composed of short staple cotton.
Counterfeiting and blending of high-end products with cheaper material has become a major liability problem for major brand names. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) reported that in 2008, counterfeited goods resulted in a loss of $650 billion in revenues and 2.5 million jobs. The ICC projected that the loss in revenues will exceed $1.7 trillion in 2015, which is equivalent to 2% of the world economy. In addition to the revenue losses, certain counterfeit products were linked directly to serious health and safety issues. The counterfeit goods have infiltrated most industries from textiles to microchips, and even pharmaceuticals.
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for characterizing subsurface formations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydrocarbons such as oil and gas are recovered from a subterranean formation using a wellbore drilled into the formation. Such wells are typically completed by placing a casing along the wellbore length and perforating the casing adjacent each production zone to extract the formation fluids, such as hydrocarbons, into the wellbore. These production zones are sometimes separated from each other by installing a packer between the production zones. Fluid from each production zone entering the wellbore is drawn into a tubing that runs to the surface. It is desirable to have substantially even drainage along the production zone. Uneven drainage may result in undesirable conditions such as an invasive gas cone or water cone. Thus, during the life of an oil field, it may be useful to monitor changes in the hydrocarbon reservoir during gas/oil extraction.
The present disclosure addresses these and other need for techniques and devices for characterizing and assessing subsurface formations, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs.
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The present invention relates to an improved design for a Michelson interferometer and more particularly to an apparatus for precision movement of a movable mirror in a Michelson interferometer.
Michelson interferometers are used in spectrometers which provide spectroscopic data such as light wavelength, line position, intensity and absorption coefficient. A typical Michelson interferometer employs a half-silvered mirror or beam splitter, placed at a 45.degree. angle with respect to the electromagnetic radiation being measured. The beam splitter divides the radiation into two parts, and each part is directed along a separate perpendicular path within the interferometer. One part of the radiation is reflected off of a fixed mirror. The other part is reflected off of a movable mirror. The two parts are then recombined at the beam splitter and optically interfere with each other to a degree proportional to their phase displacement. The phase displacement between the two parts is generated by the inequality in the path lengths between the movable mirror and the fixed mirror.
In a Michelson interferometer the alignment of the movable mirror must be maintained to a very high degree of precision as it travels toward and away from the beam splitter. In particular, the movable mirror should be able to move over a distance or stroke length of several centimeters while tilting less than a few arc-seconds.
State of the art Michelson interferometers use either air bearings or mechanical pivot-type bearings which require costly close tolerance machining and assembly for controlling the tilt of the movable mirror as it moves. Air bearings, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,193, offer higher performance but are expensive and require an air compressor and filter to supply compressed air. Mechanical pivot-type bearings, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,984,190 and 4,828,367, have certain limitations. Bearings of this type can have errors in the mirror alignment as the mirror moves. These alignment problems worsen at long stroke lengths, thus limiting the stroke length and system resolution. Moreover, these bearings are subject to wear and degradation. The mechanical bearings also have poor damping and tend to capture or generate mechanical and acoustical vibrations, thereby causing noise in the system output data.
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A. Human IGF (Insulin-like Growth Factor)
Human IGF has been the subject of a fair amount of intensive study by past workers. A body of literature has been developed related to various aspects of this protein or series of proteins (see references A through L).
Insulin-like growth factors I and II have been isolated from human serum (A). The designation "insulin-like growth factor" or IGF was chosen to express the insulin-like effects and the insulin-like structure of these polypeptides which act as mitogens on a number of cells. The complete amino acid sequences of IGF-I and IGF-II have been determined (D,E). They are both single-chain polypeptides with three disulphide bridges and a sequence identity of 49 and 47 percent respectively, to human insulin A and B chains. The connecting peptide or C region is considerably shorter than the one of proinsulin and does not show any significant homology to it. (For a summary of earlier studies on the biological efforts of IGF, see Reference F).
IGF-I and IGF-II are growth promoting polypeptides occurring in human serum and human cerebral spinal fluid. Their structure is homologous to proinsulin. IGF-I seems to be produced by the liver along with a specific IGF-binding protein both of which are under control of growth hormone. Thus, human IGF is considered to be an active growth promoting molecule that mediates the effect of human growth hormone.
It was perceived that the application of recombinant DNA and associated technologies would be a most effective way of providing the requisite large quantities of high quality human IGF for applied use to human beings as a growth factor. The goal was to produce human IGF either as biologically active fusion protein, or more importantly, as a mature protein, as products of recombinant DNA technology from a host organism. Such materials would exhibit bioactivity admitting of their use clinically in the treatment of various growth affected conditions.
B. Recombinant DNA Technology
Recombinant DNA technology has reached the age of some sophistication. Molecular biologists are able to recombine various DNA sequences with some facility, creating new DNA entities capable of producing copious amounts of exogenous protein product in transformed microbes and cell cultures. The general means and methods are in hand for the in vitro ligation of various blunt ended or "sticky" ended fragments of DNA, producing potent expression vehicles useful in transforming particular organisms, thus directing their efficient synthesis of desired exogenous product. However, on an individual product basis, the pathway remains somewhat tortuous and the science has not advanced to a stage where regular predictions of success can be made. Indeed, those who portend successful results without the underlying experimental basis, do so with considerable risk of inoperability.
DNA recombination of the essential elements, i.e., an origin of replication, one or more phenotypic selection characteristics, an expression promoter, heterologous gene insert and remainder vector, generally is performed outside the host cell. The resulting recombinant replicable expression vehicle, or plasmid, is introduced into cells by transformation and large quantities of the recombinant vehicle are obtained by growing the transformant. Where the gene is properly inserted with reference to portions which govern the transcription and translation of the encoded DNA message, the resulting expression vehicle is useful to actually produce the polypeptide sequence for which the inserted gene codes, a process referred to as expression. The resulting product may be obtained by lysing, if necessary, the host cell, in microbial systems, and recovering the product by appropriate purification from other proteins.
In practice, the use of recombinant DNA technology can express entirely heterologous polypeptides-so-called direct expression-or alternatively may express a heterologous polypeptide fused to a portion of the amino acid sequence of a homologous polypeptide. In the latter cases, the intended bioactive product is sometimes rendered bioinactive within the fused, homologous/heterologous polypeptide until it is cleaved in an extracellular environment. See references (M) and (N).
Similarly, the art of cell or tissue cultures for studying genetics and cell physiology is well established. Means and methods are in hand for maintaining permanent cell lines, prepared by successive serial transfers from isolated normal cells. For use in research, such cell lines are maintained on a solid support in liquid medium, or by growth in suspension containing support nutriments. Scale-up for large preparations seems to pose only mechanical problems. For further background, attention is directed to references (O) and (P).
Likewise, protein biochemistry is a useful, indeed necessary, adjunct in biotechnology. Cells producing the desired protein also produce hundreds of other proteins, endogenous products of the cell's metabolism. These contaminating proteins, as well as other compounds, if not removed from the desired protein, could prove toxic if administered to an animal or human in the course of therapeutic treatment with desired protein. Hence, the techniques of protein biochemistry come to bear, allowing the design of separation procedures suitable for the particular system under consideration and providing a homogeneous product safe for intended use. Protein biochemistry also proves the identity of the desired product, characterizing it and ensuring that the cells have produced it faithfully with no alterations or mutations. This branch of science is also involved in the design of bioassays, stability studies and other procedures necessary to apply before successful clinical studies and marketing can take place.
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Time of flight (ToF) camera systems have become extremely popular in interactive video games, and are now becoming more popular in many other aspects of modern life, including communication, art, security and electronic controls. As technology evolves and expands into other fields, the desire to shrink both the size and cost of the ToF system increases. Power consumption and heat dissipation are also major concerns, in particular because the more power required, the larger the heat sink required, the larger the overall footprint required.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a time of flight system requiring less power and less heat dissipation.
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Security enclosures such as safes, strong boxes, and the like use combination locks which mount on an inside wall of the safe and have tumbler wheels with peripheral gate notches that must be aligned in order to be opened. The tumbler wheels are positioned by a driver fixed to a spindle which is rotated by the turning of a dial mounted on the outside of the safe. These tumbler wheels, along with other components of such locks, e.g., spacing washers, retaining nuts, etc., are supported on a bushing bolted to a mounting plate that attaches to the inner wall of the safe. Usually, these components are assembled at the time the lock is installed in the safe, and the installer must take special care to assure that the tumblers, while being readily movable, are not too loose and that their movement is smooth and consistent. However, with safes having heavy steel walls, it is not unusual to have slight misalignment problems between the spindle holes in the inner and outer walls. These alignment problems can cause the spindle to be canted in relation to the inner wall, i.e., not perpendicular to the surface of the inner wall; and this in turn makes it difficult to line up the cam driver or drive tumbler (fixed to the spindle) with the other lock components. This misalignment can cause stiffness in the movement of the lock components and/or can place uneven pressure on the tumbler wheels, moving them out of their parallel relationship and resulting in "skipping or dragging" during tumbler wheel movements.
For security reasons, it sometimes becomes desirable or necessary to change the combinations of such locks. This requires that changes be made to the tumbler wheels and/or to the drivers which position said tumbler wheels. Since such changes often require that the combination locks be dismantled and rebuilt with new or adjusted tumbler wheels, drivers, etc., such changes are usually relatively difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
We have invented a novel combination lock assembly that is relatively inexpensive, simple to assemble, and easily reset to any one of a plurality of combinations. Such resetting does not require the services of a professional lock expert but can be readily accomplished by the safe owner. Further, the tumbler wheels of our combination lock can be assembled in an independent assembly before being installed in a safe. This independent assembly can be tested, and the movement of the tumbler wheels can be adjusted for appropriate smoothness and consistency. This preinstallation adjustment of the assembly is not changed when the lock is installed. Further, in the event of spindle misalignment, as referred to above, the movement of our combination locks remains uniformly consistent because, even with uneven pressure on the drive tumbler wheel, the surfaces of all of the tumbler wheels remain parallel with each other so that they continue to interact smoothly and properly.
In one embodiment, this independent assembly of our combination lock incorporates a lock link and pin subassembly which can also be tested and adjusted prior to its installation in a smaller security enclosure such as strong box or hotel room safe.
Further, by virtue of this independent assembly feature of our invention, the security of the lock is increased. That is, since the tumbler wheel assembly is independent of the dial/spindle/driver mechanism, if the dial should be broken off and the spindle be punched out, the tumbler wheel assembly remains intact to prevent opening of the safe enclosure.
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The present invention relates to a MIM (Metal-Insulator-Metal) capacitor.
In recent years, for example, the plausibility of forming an RF analog device and CMOS logic device on one chip is being examined. The RF analog device includes a resistor, coil, and capacitor, whereas the CMOS logic device is formed from a MOS transistor.
To form an RF analog device and CMOS logic device on one chip, the manufacturing processes of these devices must be integrated. For example, the process of the RF analog device is integrated based on the CMOS logic process to develop a new RF-CMOS process.
The first problem in integrating the processes is the structure and process of a MIM capacitor. For example, when the gate length of a MOS transistor is 0.1 μm or less, the use of Cu (copper) as a wiring material is examined to reduce the wiring resistance and the like.
However, Cu has a large diffusion coefficient. When, therefore, a MIM capacitor having a Cu electrode is formed, Cu diffuses into a capacitor insulating film to increase the leakage current.
When Cu is used as a wiring material, a Cu wiring line is formed by a so-called damascene process because of the processing precision and flatness. At this time, the electrode of the MIM capacitor is also formed by the damascene process, and thus suffers problems caused by the damascene process, e.g., dishing and reduction in electrode area in avoiding dishing.
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates managing extended file attributes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for arranging file attributes into areas and tracking used areas with bitmaps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Operating systems, such as the UNIX operating system, use a file system for managing files. UNIX uses a hierarchical directory structure for organizing and maintaining files. Access permissions correspond to files and directories. The UNIX operating system organizes files into directories which are stored in a hierarchical tree-type configuration. At the top of the tree is the root directory which is represented by a slash {/} character. The root directory contains one or more directories. These directories, in turn, may contain further directories containing user files and other system files.
The fundamental structure that the UNIX operating system uses to store information is the file. A file is a sequence of bytes. UNIX keeps track of files internally by assigning each file a unique identification number. These numbers, called I-node numbers, are used only within the UNIX kernel itself. While UNIX uses i-node numbers to refer to files, it allows users to identify each file by a user-assigned name. A file name can be any sequence of characters and can be up to fourteen characters long.
There are three types of files in the UNIX file system: (1) ordinary files, which may be executable programs, text, or other types of data used as input or produced as output from some operation; (2) directory files, which contain lists of files in directories outlined above; and (3) special files, which provide a standard method of accessing input/output devices.
Internally, a directory is a file that contains the names of ordinary files and other directories and the corresponding i-node numbers for the files. With the i-node number, UNIX can examine other internal tables to determine where the file is stored and make it accessible to the user. UNIX directories themselves have names, examples of which were provided above, and can be up to fourteen characters long.
UNIX maintains a great deal of information about the files that it manages. For each file, the file system keeps track of the file's size, location, ownership, security, type, creation time, modification time, and access time. All of this information is maintained automatically by the file system as the files are created and used. UNIX file systems reside on mass storage devices such as disk drives and disk arrays. UNIX organizes a disk into a sequence of blocks. These blocks are usually either 512 or 2048 bytes long. The contents of a file are stored in one or more blocks which may be widely scattered on the disk.
An ordinary file is addressed through the i-node structure. Each i-node is addressed by an index contained in an i-list. The i-list is generated based on the size of the file system, with larger file systems generally implying more files and, thus, larger i-lists. Each i-node contains thirteen 4-byte disk address elements. The direct i-node can contain up to ten block addresses. If the file is larger than this, then the eleventh address points to the first level indirect block. Addresses 12 and 13 are used for second level and third level indirect blocks, respectively, with the indirect addressing chain before the first data block growing by one level as each new address slot in the direct i-node is required.
In addition to the standard information maintained by the file system for a particular file, metadata, or extended attributes, about the file are often needed by an application that uses the file. Because extended attributes vary greatly, depending on the type of application and the type of metadata to be maintained, this information is typically stored outside the standard i-node attribute data area. For example, a word processing application may need to store information regarding the document, such as profile information entered by a user. While this information is not stored with the document file, it needs to be in a related storage area for efficient processing by the application. Traditionally, extended attributes are stored in specific fields that are allocated for the attributes. The fields may store the actual extended attribute data or may store a pointer to another storage area containing attribute data that will not fit in the allocated space.
One challenge found in traditional systems is that a fixed allocated space for the extended data limits the amount of data that can be stored. When more extended data is needed, a pointer is stored in the allocated space which points to a separate data stream. Updating data stored in a separate data stream is inefficient because the separate extended attribute data stream is reconstructed in response to a change in the size of the attribute data. A further challenge exists in retrieving summary information regarding the extended attributes. Summary information is gathered by analyzing each substring within the extended attribute data stream causing further file processing inefficiencies.
What is needed, therefore, is a way of efficiently adding, modifying, or deleting extended attribute data without needing to reconstruct complex data streams each time the extended attribute size is modified.
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During the fabrication of semiconductor devices, it is common to form electrical isolation regions upon the semiconductor substrate to isolate certain semiconductor devices from one another. Isolation of the semiconductors devices from one another reduces detrimental effects, such as, for example, parasitic effects and cross-talk effects. Typically, a local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) technique is used, in conjunction with a nitride mask, to create isolation regions on a semiconductor substrate. As shown in FIG. 1A, a nitride mask 110 may be formed over a substrate 105 to leave an area 115 in which substrate 105 is exposed. A LOCOS oxidation technique may then be used, as shown in FIG. 1B, to create an oxide isolation region 120 in the substrate 105 in area 115. The isolation region 120 may include, for example, silicon dioxide (SiO2). As further shown in FIG. 1B, a conventional LOCOS technique produces “bird's beaks” 125 at the edges of the isolation region 120. Nitride mask 110 may bend upwards and the oxide of the isolation region 120 may substantially encroach beneath mask 110, thereby deforming nitride mask 110. Conventional LOCOS techniques, thus, lead to undesirable oxide encroachment beneath the mask 110.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to money or value transfer systems in general, and to a method and apparatus for enabling worldwide access to financial services between individuals or entities.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Historically, formal money transfer services have been dominated by three channels, namely money transfer organizations (MTOs), such as Western Union, banks that offer the service through diverse inter-bank networks as a value added offering to their banked customers, and postal offices that have leveraged their connecting wire and mail infrastructure to also provide money transfer services. Other informal unregulated services exist and are dominated by migrant entrepreneurs operating within specific corridors or ethnic groups.
Money transfer services can be classified on the basis of the origin and destination of the money. Domestic transfers of value are performed in a variety of ways, be it via cash, checks, electronic or credit/debit cards. The other type of transfer is cross-border or international transfers. Migrant community members in developed countries are significant users of such international transfers, also referred to as remittances, since they often send money to support family or community members in their homelands. Currently used methods for transferring money differ in the interface used by the sender and in whether the sender is banked or un-banked, i.e., whether he is using a checking account to pay for the transfer or not. A sender using an MTO has to visit a physical branch or retail outlet, such as a Wal-Mart store, often present identification, and fill in a form specifying the sender and receiver information and amount to be transferred. The sender then pays the total amount to be sent plus a convenience/commission charge with cash, debit, EFT or credit. The MTO agent enters the information into a computer terminal that creates and processes the transactions in real time—that is the money is made available for immediate pick up by the recipient. However, the recipient needs to be alerted or informed by the sender of the amount and transaction code in order to be able to claim the funds (often banks or agents do not inform the recipient of the transfer unless specifically instructed to do so by the sender, a step that incurs an additional fee for the sender). The recipient then proceeds to an MTO agent to withdraw the funds, often in local currency after an exchange rate, fixed by the MTO, has been applied. The exchange rate is generally lower than the wholesale rate (at which the MTO purchased the local currency) and the spread (difference between retail and wholesale rates) is kept by the MTO. Transfer is enabled by the MTO's own proprietary network.
The first method, as used by MTOs, requires a sender to visit a physical branch or retail outlet, present identification, fill a form specifying the transaction details and pay the amount to be sent plus a convenience/commission charge in cash, debit, EFT, or credit. Using the MTO system and network, the money is made available for immediate pick up by the recipient. The recipient is alerted of the transfer either by the sender, or by the MTO for an extra fee. The recipient then visits an MTO agent to withdraw the amount, possibly in local currency with an exchange rate which is lower than the rate at which the MTO purchased the local currency and the exchange differentials are kept by the MTO.
The second method involves banks, and requires the sender to have a bank account or credit card, and the recipient to possess a bank account with a local institution that is connected through a banking wire transfer network such as SWIFT/IBAN. The sender visits a local branch of a bank, and in a manner similar to the first method, initiates a transfer. The money is withdrawn from the sender's bank account and credited to the recipient's bank account. Alternatively, the receiver can withdraw the sum from an automatic teller machine (ATM) if one is available and if the recipient has an ATM card. The transaction may take between a few business days to two or more weeks to complete.
The third method is an extension the two previously described methods, but instead of the sender visiting a branch, or a bank, an online interface such as a web site is used. The sender is required to register and provide credit/debit card or bank account information, prior to initiating a transaction.
The fourth method is provided by mobile operators as an extension of their service offerings, and relies on their particular infrastructure to enable transactions. This method utilizes a mobile handset as an input/output device for transaction details. This service is not available outside specific corridors/regions.
All described methods necessitate a final stage, after the delivery of the money, which is the transaction settlement between the sending and the disbursing entities. These generally involve a settlement between the banks or institutions involved in the transfer of the money. This process is often costly as money exchanges hands several times through intermediary banks or institutions and value is lost during currency conversion.
Thus, existing methods for sending and receiving money are still costly because of the heavy reliance on “brick and mortar” operations, proprietary technology systems, and currency conversion. Moreover, they often cater to banked senders and are not ubiquitous in their coverage and access at the receiving end. In addition, conventional channels such as MTO and banks do not provide a seamless interface for senders and recipients where an individual can start a transaction on one interface but continue or check status on a different interface. Some methods which focus only on domestic markets require a lengthy and cumbersome authentication or registration process, making them inaccessible for most migrants and un-banked users and not an option for sending money worldwide. Methods that attempt to address the un-banked users rely on the creation of stored value accounts or the use of pre-loaded ATM cards.
There is therefore a need for a method and apparatus that will enable sending and receiving money in a variety of ways without necessarily having to physically visit a location on the sending end, and having to visit a physical branch on receiving end only to obtain cash (unless partners offer cash delivery), and on the receiving side. The method and apparatus should enable a receiver to utilize the transfer in a variety of ways, should cater to un-banked users, provide the sender the ability to check the status of a transaction, and be cost effective.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brushless motor apparatus in which a driving voltage drop caused by an internal resistance of a switch and a resistance of lines is reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motors are used in a variety of industrial fields. Smaller motors are used in, for example, cellular phones, tape recorders and DVD apparatuses. Larger motors having a diameter of several meters are used for, for example, rolling mills.
Motor apparatuses are available in various types including, for example, rectifier motor apparatuses, inductance motor apparatuses, and brushless motor apparatuses.
A rectifier motor apparatus includes a brush, a rectifier and a coil. Rectifier motor apparatuses, which have a simple structure and usable with DC or AC currents, are widely used in, for example, multi-purpose compact devices, electric home appliances and toys.
In an inductance motor apparatus, a motor is rotated by a current which is generated by electromagnetic inductance caused by rotation of a magnetic field. Inductance motor apparatuses are used in, for example, manufacturing machines such as rolling mills for steel, paper and the like.
A brushless motor apparatus includes a motor rectifying mechanism using a sensor or dedicated IC, instead of a mechanical sliding member such as a brush, a rectifier and the like, unlike a rectifier motor apparatus. The brushless motor apparatus, which does not include a brush or a rectifier, naturally does not cause contact and thus does not cause friction between a motor with the brush or rectifier. Therefore, the brushless motor apparatus has a longer life than other types of motor apparatuses and does not suffer from the inconvenience of metal or carbon powder being scattered. Brushless motors are used in, for example, hard disc drives and CD-ROM drives of personal computers, and air cooling fans.
A brushless motor apparatus including three-phase coils connected in a Y or star shape (Y-connection three-phase brushless motor) is conventionally known. However, there is no brushless motor apparatus existing having three-phase coils connected in a delta shape (delta-connection three-phase brushless motor), since the delta connection is mostly used for rectifier motors and induction motor apparatuses.
A brushless motor apparatus according to the present invention includes a motor section including delta-connected three-phase coils; a switching section electrically connected to the motor section by a line; and a driving section for controlling an ON state and an OFF state of the switching section so as to drive the motor section. r1+r2 less than 2R, where r1 is an internal resistance of the switching section in an ON state, r2 is a resistance of the line connecting the motor section and the switching section, and R is a direct current resistance of each of the three-phase coils.
In one embodiment of the invention, the driving section controls a ratio between a time period in which the switching section is in the ON state and a time period in which the switching section is in the OFF state to be variable.
In one embodiment of the invention, the motor section includes a rotor rotatable about an axis thereof. The driving section controls the ON state and the OFF state of the switching section so that the switching section outputs a sine wave current in accordance with a rotation angle of the rotor.
In one embodiment of the invention, the motor section and the switching section are integrally structured.
In one embodiment of the invention, the motor section further includes a magnetic flux detection section for detecting a magnetic flux generated by the rotor. The magnetic flux detection section is provided at a position at which magnetic fluxes generated by two adjacent coils among the three-phase coils counteract each other.
In one embodiment of the invention, the motor section further includes a magnetic flux detection section for detecting a magnetic flux generated by the rotor. The driving section controls the ON state and the OFF state of the switching section so that a difference between a phase of the sine wave current and a phase of the rotation angle of the rotor detected by the magnetic flux detection section is maintained.
In one embodiment of the invention, the motor section further includes a magnetic flux detection section for detecting a magnetic flux generated by the rotor. The driving section controls the ON state and the OFF state of the switching section so that a difference between a phase of the sine wave current and a phase of the rotation angle of the rotor detected by the magnetic flux detection section is variable.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantages of providing a delta-connection three-phase brushless motor having superior characteristics to those of the conventional Y-connection three-phase brushless motor.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device where a semiconductor element provided over an upper surface of a substrate can be electrically connected to a back surface of the substrate with the substrate interposed therebetween, and a preferable manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, by forming a semiconductor element over a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate, a semiconductor device has been actively developed for use in a display such as an LCD or an organic EL display, a photoelectric conversion element such as a photo sensor or a solar cell, or the like. In addition, by forming a semiconductor element using a Si wafer, a semiconductor device for use in a cellular phone and the like has been developed. Moreover, a semiconductor device which transmits and receives data without contact (also referred to as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, an ID tag, an IC tag, an IC chip, an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, a wireless tag, an electronic tag, or a wireless chip) has been actively developed. In any case of using a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate, a semiconductor substrate such as a Si substrate, and the like for manufacturing such a semiconductor device, reduction in thickness, miniaturization, or the like of the semiconductor device is required.
As a method for thinning a semiconductor device, for example, a method for grinding and polishing a substrate, a method for etching a substrate by using a chemical reaction, or the like (for example, see Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-87844) is performed.
However, generally, in a case of forming a thin substrate with the use of the above method, an upper surface of a substrate is provided with a semiconductor element, but a method for forming electrical continuity between the semiconductor element that is provided over an upper surface of a substrate and a back surface thereof has not been established yet. Therefore, although thin semiconductor elements can be stacked, a lead wiring and the like are necessary in a case of electrically connecting the stacked semiconductor elements; thus, it has been difficult to further increase an added value thereof.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and specifically to a liquid crystal display device including two liquid crystal display panels located back to back. The present invention also relates to a mobile electronic device including such a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, mobile phones have been progressively spread, and foldable type phones are now mainstream. Especially, two screen type phones having a main display screen for displaying main information, and a sub display screen for displaying information in a supplementary manner where the phone is folded are popular owing to the convenience thereof. A two screen type mobile phone is described in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-136247.
FIG. 16 shows a liquid crystal display device usable for two screen type mobile phones. A liquid crystal display device 800 shown in FIG. 16 includes two liquid crystal display panels 810 and 820 located back to back. One of the liquid crystal display panels, 810, is used for a main screen (hereinafter, referred to as a “main panel”), and the other liquid crystal display panel 820 is used for a sub screen (hereinafter, referred to as a “sub panel”).
The main panel 810 includes a pair of substrates 810a and 810b, and a liquid crystal layer 812 provided therebetween. A pair of polarizing plates 801 and 802 are respectively provided outside the substrates 810a and 810b. The sub panel 820 includes a pair of substrates 820a and 820b, and a liquid crystal layer 822 provided therebetween. A pair of polarizing plates 803 and 804 are respectively provided outside the substrates 820a and 820b.
The liquid crystal display device 800 also includes an illumination device 830 for emitting light toward the main panel 810 and an illumination device 840 for emitting light toward the sub panel 820. The illumination device 830 for the main panel 810 is an edge light type backlight including a light source 831 and a light guide plate 832 for guiding the light emitted from the light source 831 toward the main panel 810. The illumination device 840 for the sub panel 820 is also an edge light type backlight including a light source 841 and a light guide plate 842 for guiding the light emitted from the light source 841 toward the sub panel 820.
Today, mobile phones are desired to be thinner so that the user is not disturbed by the thickness thereof even in a folded state, and thus the liquid crystal display devices used for the mobile phones are also desired to be thinner.
However, the liquid crystal display device 800 shown in FIG. 16 includes two liquid crystal display panels 810 and 820 and also two illumination devices, and therefore is about twice as thick as usual liquid crystal display devices including one liquid crystal display panel.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to isolated nucleic acid sequences encoding polypeptides having oxaloacetate hydrolase activity. The present invention further relates to mutant host cells, in particular fungal mutant host cells such as cells of the genus Aspergillus, deficient in oxaloacetate hydrolase activity and thereby in oxalic acid production. The present invention also relates to the use of the mutant cells for producing desirable compounds, such as polypeptides, primary and secondary metabolites, and to methods of producing such compounds in the mutant cells of the invention. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the nucleic acid sequences as well as recombinant methods for producing the polypeptides having oxaloacetate hydrolase activity.
2. Description of Related Art
Filamentous fungi are widely used for the commercial production of a variety of compounds of interest, including homologous compounds, such as primary or secondary metabolites and polypeptides normally produced by the fungus in question or heterologous compounds, such as heterologous polypeptides encoded by foreign DNA which has been introduced into the fungus in question. Such products are produced by fermentation of the fungus in question and harvest of the desired product resulting from the fermentation.
The fungal species A. niger is widely used for the commercial production of desired compounds, e.g., citric acid and industrial enzymes. It is well-known that this species produces large amounts of oxalic acid. For a number of reasons the production of oxalic acid is undesirably when this species is used for commercial production of a compound of interest. For instance, the production of oxalic acid requires a lot of carbon and thus extra, expensive carbon sources must be added to the fermentation medium compared to what would be required only for the production of the desired compound; the presence of oxalic acid in the fermentation broth causes problems in the downstream processing involved in the recovery of the product of interest because oxalic acid forms a precipitate with calcium which interferes in the recovery; and oxalic acid is a toxic compound which means that its presence is considered a major problem in the production of food grade products from A. niger.
Two possible routes for the pathway for biosynthesis of oxalic acid in A. niger have been suggested. The first route is oxaloacetate+water→Oxalic acid+acetate, the reaction being catalyzed by oxaloacetate hydrolase (Kubicek, C. P., G. Schreferl-Kunar, W. Wöhrer and M. Röhr, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54: 633-637 (1988)). The second route involves the glycoxylate pathway (Balmforth, A. J., A. Thomson, Biochem. J. 218: 113-118 (1984)).
It has been attempted to control the formation of oxalic acid during commercial A. niger fermentations by conducting the fermentation at a low pH where only little oxalic acid is formed. However, fermentation at low pH may be undesirable since normally this pH is not optimal for the growth of A. niger and yield of a desired fermentation product.
A partially purified oxaloacetate hydrolase from A. niger has been described (Lenz et al., Partial purification and some properties of oxaloacetate from Aspergillus niger, Eur. J. Biochem. 65: 225-236 (1976)), but the gene encoding this enzyme has not been described.
It is an object of the present invention to provide mutants of cells, such as filamentous fungal cells, in particular cells of A. niger, which is deficient in oxaloacetate hydrolase production and thereby oxalic acid production.
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The present invention relates generally to the processing of lithographic plates, and more particularly to equipment for punching and bending lithographic plates after they have been through an exposure operation.
This invention has particular (albeit not exclusive) application to lithographic plates used in high-speed press operations to print multi-color images. In such operations, it is essential that the lithographic plates printing different colors be mounted in precise position so that the color images superposed on the printed surface (e.g., newspaper stock) are in exact registration to provide the desired clarity and sharpness. Otherwise, the final image will have ghost-like characteristics.
As will be understood by those skilled in this field, a lithographic plate is formed with flanges and openings which enable it to be mounted on a press. The configuration of these flanges and openings is critical to whether the aforementioned exact registration will be achieved. In conventional lithographic plate punching and bending equipment, a plate is punched and bent so that the image on the plate is generally "square" with the plate when the plate is mounted on the press. However, this does not necessarily result in the desired exactness of registration. For example, if the press on which the plate is mounted is out of alignment with another press in the line, or if the plate-mounting cylinder of the press is slightly deformed, the image printed by the plate on that press will be slightly out of registration with respect to other images printed by plates on other presses in the line. Also, in high volume applications where several identical plates are mounted side-by-side on each press, the multiple side-by-side images formed by the plates may tend to "fan out" as the web of printed material progresses from one press to the next. As a result, the images printed by the plates on the next press may not be in precise registration with the images previously printed on the substrate.
Conventional punching and bending equipment does not take into account any misalignment or deformity associated with the particular press on which a plate is to be mounted. Nor does this equipment compensate for "fan out", or for other factors which can produce images which are out of registration with respect to one another. There is a need, therefore, for equipment which can "match" a plate to the particular press on which it will be mounted so that the image printed by the plate is positioned to achieve the desired preciseness of image registration.
Another deficiency of conventional plate punching and bending equipment is that such equipment is not readily adjustable to vary the angle at which the plate mounting flanges are bent (this angle may vary between presses). Similarly, it is also time-consuming to adjust the "bend-to-bend" dimension of a plate (i.e., the distance from the head end of the plate to the tail end of the plate). There is a need, therefore, for such equipment which is readily adjustable in these respects, yet highly accurate.
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There has been generally known a conventional imaging apparatus having a structure in which a photoelectric conversion element for photoelectrically converting incident light also serves as an accumulating portion for accumulating electric charges.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-246450 discloses a technique of transferring electric charges generated in the photoelectric conversion element to a charge accumulating region without accumulating the electric charges in the photoelectric conversion element in a structure in which a charge accumulating portion is provided separate from the photoelectric conversion element. FIGS. 12A to 12G correspond to FIG. 6 cited from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-246450. A MOS transistor is used in which a transferring portion between the photoelectric conversion element and the charge accumulating portion has a buried channel structure. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-246450, the photoelectric conversion element can be maintained at a minimum size required to receive light. Therefore, it is possible to realize an in-plane synchronized electronic shutter in which charge accumulation start times and charge accumulation end times of all in plane pixels are matched.
However, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-246450, electric charges generated in the photoelectric conversion element at a timing of FIG. 12E and subsequent timings are discharged into an overflow drain (hereinafter referred to as OFD), and hence studies for using the electric charges that have overflown to the OFD as signals were not sufficiently made. In general, when a plurality of images are to be successively obtained as in a case of taking a moving image, electric charges generated in the photoelectric conversion element during a time period for which signals corresponding to one image (frame) are read out from the accumulating portion are also required to be used for a signal for forming an image. In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-246450, the signals generated during the time period are discharged into a power source. Therefore, sensitivity may become insufficient or no smooth moving image may be obtained.
On the other hand, when a still image is to be taken, it is required to match charge accumulation start timings and charge accumulation end timings of all pixels for outputting signals for forming an image.
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The invention described herein relates to the general field of optical instruments called kaleidoscopes, but has improvement of form, shape, and construction which goes significantly beyond the existing state-of-the-art and thereby comprises a superior device that may be used both as an instrument providing relaxation and pleasure for persons of all ages and as a tool to aid designers of patterns for fabric and the like.
Kaleidoscopes of general construction commercially offered as toys for children usually employ a single sheet of mirror-surfaced metal, bent in a Vee and placed in a cardboard tube with end caps having suitable openings for viewing. The angle of the Vee is chosen so that the light from objects placed at one end of the tube will reflect back and forth between the walls of the Vee to produce a succession of images that appear to form a rosette pattern centered on the far end of the crease in the metal when viewed from the opposite end of the tube.
Generally also the far end of the kaleidoscope is fitted with a rotatable drum-shaped cavity having a translucent outer sheet and a transparent inner sheet confining therebetween small varicolored chips of glass, plastic, paper, or the like which when viewed from the opposite end of the kaleidoscope appear to form a colorful rosette. The rosette pattern can be changed and varied by rotation of either the drum or the whole body of the kaleidoscope so that the chips fall into continuingly different and new arrays.
While the patterns so formed are pretty to look at, their range of color patterns is fixed by the colors of the chips enclosed and their shapes and sizes. Interest is not long retained. In recognition of this limitation the more expensive kaleidoscopes have provision for interchanging the drum like section containing the colored chips so that new arrays and colored forms can be viewed. Some kaleidoscopes have a drum section that is openable so that the user can make his own selection of chip materials to be viewed.
The same deficiency is intrinsic in all kaleidoscopes of that type; the material viewed is limited. Even when the user makes his own chips, it is difficult to select materials that will produce suitable chips as regards color transmission and freedom to move and fall into continually changing patterns.
An interesting variation of the kaleidoscope, the so called "teleidoscope", employs two lenses, a large objective lens over the far end and a smaller eyepiece at the opposite end. This addition, in effect, transforms the kaleidoscope into a telescope and things at a distance are brought into clear focus. Within the cardboard tube is a Vee shaped mirror-surfaced reflective sheet of metal having a 90.degree. angle for the Vee. This instrument then produces three reflected images of the scene viewed through the teleidoscope, which holds some interest, but it is quickly recognized that the scene appears as a college of left-handed and right-handed images in which the many items being viewed can be recognized as standing upright, inverted, and left and right. Once these objects become recognizable the interest rapidly wanes.
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The trend in the design of electronic devices, such as notebook computers or personal data assistants, is to provide as small a package as functionally possible while at the same time providing for comfortable cool and lightweight operation. Additionally, market forces also require that electronic devices, such as notebook computers, deliver the same computational horsepower as their desktop equivalents in order to justify their cost. However, to achieve this faster performance, integrated circuits (ICs), especially the central processing unit (CPU), the graphics controller, and the memory devices all require more power, which create more heat in the device. The combination of this additional heat and a smaller package creates additional stress on the internal components, causing the electronic devices to quit working or literally become too hot to handle.
Another problem, especially with notebooks, is that peripheral modules such as floppy, CD-ROM, Zip and DVD drives and PC cards not only take up space, they create more heat. Also, many of these peripheral modules are sensitive to heat generated from the other components in the electronic device and may prematurely fail to operate if these temperature sensitive modules become too hot.
Several different techniques have been developed to deal with the excess heat generated in an electronic device. By slowing the CPU clock rate down, the heat generated by the CPU decreases; however, the user's desire for desktop performance can not be met. By creating a docking station to hold various peripherals that are not used when the electronic device is mobile, more space becomes available in the electronic device for additional heat transfer structures. However, the electronic device in a docking environment usually causes the user to change their expectations of use such that the user wants full performance with an external monitor and keyboard as well as access to a network such as the Internet. In this situation, usually the electronic device's cover or lid is closed, or the electronic device is enclosed by the docking station, and in both cases the heat transfer properties of the electronic device change. What is required for future electronic devices is an optimal way to keep them cool in whatever operating mode the user decides to use.
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{
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Valves that switch/control/guide a fluid flow in hydraulic or pneumatic systems are known in the prior art.
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{
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A unit pixel included in a pixel array of a CMOS image sensor, which is a typical example of a solid-state imaging device, includes a photodiode that performs photoelectric conversion, a read transistor that reads a signal charge converted and accumulated in the photodiode to a floating diffusion (floating diffusion layer, hereinafter referred to as “FD”) which functions as a capacity element, a reset transistor that sets a voltage of the FD to a power source voltage, and an amplifying transistor that converts the voltage of the FD into a pixel signal when forming a source follower circuit by using a current source connected to a vertical signal line and outputs the pixel signal to the vertical signal line.
By the way, in recent years, miniaturization of the unit pixel has advanced due to a request to increase the number of pixels or reduce the size of optical system. As the pixel size reduces, a case occurs in which the charge accumulation capacity (dynamic range) of the FD is not sufficient with respect to the converted signal charge amount of the photodiode depending on the brightness (illumination intensity) of the subject, and there is a problem that all the signal charge converted and accumulated in the photodiode may not be read to the FD.
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The present invention relates to systems and methods of making ferric chloride with reduced amounts of hydrochloric acid for water treatment.
Processes of making ferric chloride are known. Ferric chloride has been used in the various industries for many years. For instance, ferric chloride is a component used in water treatment processes. Although current processes of making ferric chloride are adequate, such processes can be improved. For example, many current systems and processes undesirably require chlorine to be reacted with an aqueous solution of ferrous chloride in a recycled aqueous solution of ferric chloride. A number of steps follow which include decompressing and vaporizing a reaction product, recycling the reaction product, and recovering the reaction product. Such process requires numerous process units to make ferric chloride which, in turn, requires costly transportation to a typically remote location.
Many processes of making ferric chloride produce a product having relatively large amounts of hydrochloric acid. Relatively large amounts of hydrochloric acid are undesirable in water treatment processes. Moreover, in many processes of making ferric chloride, numerous steps are required to reduce the amount of hydrochloric acid from the product. Additionally, in such processes, a relatively large number of process units are required to reduce the hydrochloric acid concentration. Furthermore, in turn, the equipment for these processes require a significant measure of space, more than typically available near water treatment plants, thus requiring costly means for transporting ferric chloride to subsequent water treatment plants via rail car or trailers.
Therefore, it is desirable to improve the process of making ferric chloride by reducing the amount of hydrochloric acid concentration from the product to be used in water treatment processes. Moreover, it is further desirable to reduce the number of steps and process units required in making ferric chloride. Furthermore, it is also desirable to reduce the amount of area required to make ferric chloride, thereby eliminating or reducing transportation costs.
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Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Radio detection and ranging (RADAR) systems can be used to actively estimate distances to environmental features by emitting radio signals and detecting returning reflected signals. Distances to radio-reflective features can be determined according to the time delay between transmission and reception. The radar system can emit a signal that varies in frequency over time, such as a signal with a time-varying frequency ramp, and then relate the difference in frequency between the emitted signal and the reflected signal to a range estimate. Some systems may also estimate relative motion of reflective objects based on Doppler frequency shifts in the received reflected signals. Directional antennas can be used for the transmission and/or reception of signals to associate each range estimate with a bearing. More generally, directional antennas can also be used to focus radiated energy on a given field of view of interest. Combining the measured distances and the directional information allows for the surrounding environment features to be mapped. The radar sensor can thus be used, for instance, by an autonomous vehicle control system to avoid obstacles indicated by the sensor information.
Some example automotive radar systems may be configured to operate at an electromagnetic wave frequency of 77 Giga-Hertz (GHz), which corresponds to millimeter (mm) electromagnetic wave length (e.g., 3.9 mm for 77 GHz). These radar systems may use antennas that can focus the radiated energy into tight beams in order to enable the radar system to measure an environment with high accuracy, such as an environment around an autonomous vehicle. Such antennas may be compact (typically with rectangular form factors; e.g., 1.3 inches high by 2.5 inches wide), efficient (i.e., there should be little 77 GHz energy lost to heat in the antenna, or reflected back into the transmitter electronics), and cheap and inexpensive to manufacture.
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In web-processing machines, such as in web-fed rotary printing presses, so-called reel changers are provided and serve to supply material, such as, for example, a web of printing material, to the web-processing machine. During a reel change, the wound off or exhausted reel of material is removed from the reel changer and is replaced by a new reel of material. Various transport systems for use in transporting the new reels of material to the reel changer or for transporting the wound off reels of material away from the reel changer are known from the prior art.
In EP 0 925 246 B1 and in EP 0 925 248A, there is described a complex system for use in transporting reels of material to and from the reel changer of a printing machine. In this prior device, the reels of material are stored, on their circumferential surfaces, on first transport carriages. The actual conveyance of the reels of material is then accomplished by loading the first transport carriages onto second transport carriages. This means, in other words, that the first transport carriages are loaded, piggyback, onto the second transport carriages. In the system described in EP 0 925 246 B1, a total of four different sections of rails or track for the second transport carriages are provided. None of the second transport carriages can move outside of the transport section to which they are assigned. Directly in front of the reel changer there is provided a section for a second transport carriage, which second transport carriage can be moved into an upload position and into an unload position for the reel changer. By loading a first transport carriage, on which a new reel of material is deposited, onto a second transport carriage in this section at the reel changer, the new reel of material can be brought into a position that is necessary for uploading. By loading a wound-off reel of material onto a first transport carriage that has been moved to the unload position, by the use of the second transport carriage, the wound-off reel of material can be transported away.
JP 63-074852 A shows a railless transport carriage with a device for lifting reels of material. This transport carriage removes the reels of material from intermediate storage stations and transports the reels of material to a reel changer.
US 2003/0071162 A1, DE 196 26 866 A1, DE 295 16 155 U1 and the article “Zaun erhöht Sicherheit im Maschinenumfeld”, Betriebstechnik Aktuell, Vogel Verlag GmbH, Würzburg, Vol. 39, No. 12, Dec. 1, 1998), p. 28, XP000792690, ISSN: 1434-8071” all describe security devices for transport and storage systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,751 A, DE 37 39 222 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,017 and DE 203 07 581 U1 disclose drives for transport systems for paper reels.
DE 41 35 001 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,368 A1 and JP62-157160 show devices for transporting reels of material from a storage area to a web-processing machine comprising multiple processing stations that are arranged one in front of another.
WO 03/080484 A1 describes a material transport system with a network of tracks and with transport carriages that can be moved on that network of tracks.
DE 39 10 444 A1 discloses a storage area for reels of paper. The paper reels are conveyed, via a reel carriage system, to a centrally arranged unpacking and splice-preparation station. After preparation, the reels of paper are reloaded onto the reel carriage system.
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Amino-containing materials such as amino-containing analytes, amino acids, DNA, RNA, proteins, cells, tissue, organelles, immunoglobins, or fragments thereof immobilized on a surface of a substrate can be used in numerous applications. For example, immobilized biological amino-containing materials can be used for the medical diagnosis of a disease or genetic defect, for biological separations, or for detection of various biomolecules. Immobilization of the amino-containing material is typically accomplished by reaction of the amino group with a reactive functional group that is covalently attached to the surface of the substrate.
Substrates having amino-reactive functional groups can be prepared by coating a substrate with a solution of a polymeric material that contains amino-reactive functional groups. Alternatively, substrates having amino-reactive functional groups can be prepared by coating a substrate with a solution of monomers that contain amine reactive functional groups followed by polymerization of the monomers. Exemplary amino-reactive monomers include, for example, N-[(meth)acryloxy]succinimide and vinyl azlactone. An amino-containing material can react with the N-acyloxysuccinimide group resulting in displacement of N-hydroxysuccinimide and formation of a carboxamide. An amino-containing material can react with the cyclic azlactone resulting in an opening of the ring structure.
Although polymeric surfaces that include a reactive functional group such as an N-acyloxysuccinimide group or an azlactone group can react readily with primary or secondary amino-containing materials, such reactive functional groups can suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, many of the reactions with biological amino-containing materials are conducted in dilute aqueous solutions. Under these conditions, the N-acyloxysuccinimide functional group is known to undergo rapid hydrolysis. This competing reaction can cause incomplete or inefficient immobilization of the amino-containing materials on the substrate.
While azlactone functional groups are more stable to hydrolysis, it is difficult to synthesize an azlactone linked to any polymerizable group other than a vinyl group. The resulting polymeric material has amino-reactive functional groups directly attached to the polymer backbone. In some applications, this can make it difficult for the amino-containing material to get close enough to the amine reactive group for efficient immobilization.
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Communications require two terminals, connected by a medium. In terrestrial communications, a telephone handset is generally connected to a telephone exchange by wires, fibre optics or coaxial cable. In terrestrial radio communications, a user terminal (otherwise, a handset) is in two way radio communications with a base station. In satellite communications, a user terminal (otherwise a handset) is coupled, by radio, to an radio base station on the earth's surface, through an intervening communications satellite.
In any of these systems, but especially in the two sorts of radio systems, a great deal of mutual transaction takes place between the user terminal and the base station before any meaningful call activity can take place. Firstly, the base station must register the user terminal. This requires an exchange of plural transactional messages and responses between the base station and the user terminal so that the base station can identify the user terminal, the user terminal can identify the base station, and so on. To commence a call, a further plurality of transactional messages and transactional responses must be exchanged between the base station and the user terminal whereby the user terminal becomes identified to the base station, the base station allocates a channel to the user terminal, the user terminal identifies the number to be called, the call is connected, and so on. All this happens before any voice or data communications can take place. Then, in the course of a call, the user terminal may require to switch base stations because the user terminal has moved out of the range of one and into the range of another. Yet another set of exchanges transactional messages and responses are required. Thereafter, the call must be terminated. A yet further set of transactional messages and responses is required to pass between the base station and the user terminal. Even when no activity is taking place, the "dormant" user terminal is required, periodically, or on changing area, automatically to reregister with the system. Here, again, a plethora of transactional messages and responses must pass between the user terminal and the base station, albeit without, in this instance, the knowledge or awareness of the possessor of the user terminal.
The problem becomes more acute when the access to and from the base station includes an intervening communications satellite. In terrestrial radio systems, such as GSM, time slots are allocated under a system known as TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). Because the distance between a user terminal and a base station is generally small, the propagation delay is limited to just a few microseconds, and, for all practical purposes, the propagation delay can be counted as practically zero. However, in satellite systems, the round trip propagation delay, from earth to satellite and back to earth, can be quite large. In the case of a mid earth orbit system, such as is proposed for the ICO system, where the satellites are set into circular orbits at around 10,000 Km above the surface of the earth, the round trip delay can exceed one third of a second. In the case of geostationary communications satellites, which are set in geosynchronous equatorial orbits above the equator at a height of 25000 Km above the surface of the earth such that the nadir of each satellite stays stationary on the surface of the earth as the earth rotates, the round trip delay can approach one second. This creates severe timing problems with the TDMA timeslot allocation and introduces a further delay in call set-up. Satellite systems, unlike terrestrial systems, also attempt to locate the position of the user terminal on the surface of the earth before each call and on registration. This, too, involves a lot of mutual transactions between the user terminal and the satellite.
The routine is that one terminal (say, the handset or user terminal) sends a transactional message to the other terminal (say, the earth station via the satellite). A propagation delay ensues. The other terminal receives the transactional message. The first thing it does is to create an acknowledgement to the transactional message. This is stored in a buffer. When the next TDMA timeslot comes up, the earth station sends back the acknowledgement to the user terminal. A further propagation delay occurs. Meanwhile, the earth station has formulated the transactional response and placed it into a buffer. The next occasion when a TDMA transmission timeslot is available, which could be some little while away, the transactional response is sent back to the user terminal. And so it goes on, the user terminal and the earth station swapping transactional messages, acknowledgements and transactional responses, very like a game of Ping-Pong, until the required purpose has been achieved.
All of this imposes a large time and power overhead on the system. Even if the time taken is just a few seconds, the events occur, in the system, somewhere, nearly all of the time. The number of lost call hours per year to the system can be truly enormous. Many calls could be lost in a limited resource system such as satellite communications. The battery drain on the user terminal, most acute during transmission, can be unacceptably high. The same is true of a communications satellites, which have finite instant power available and may become over taxed at times of heavy traffic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,733 discloses a local area network protocol in which an acknowledgement is dispersed with and the transactional response is itself used as an acknowledgement. However, the protocol requires the entire network to adopt the protocol and cannot operate both according to a conventional scheme with a separate acknowledgement signal, and the system which uses the transactional response as the acknowledgement. Thus the network is inflexible and not readily capable of expansion in capacity using both acknowledgement schemes.
The present invention seeks to simplify the transactions between the terminals (e.g., earth or base station and the user terminal, and indeed, in any other mutually signalling communications system) in a manner which is compatible with existing transactional protocols, without, in any way, reducing the total message or response value, and seeks thereby to save system time and to minimise battery and power drain.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bushings and particularly, though not exclusively, to bushings for use in motor vehicle suspension systems.
2. Background Art
Typically, a bushing is located between a suspension component e.g. one end of a wishbone and the vehicle chassis or body. The bushing incorporates a resilient component for the purposes of cushioning shocks, reducing vibrations transmitted from the vehicle's wheels to the vehicle body and passengers and allowing movement of the vehicle relative to the vehicle body.
One known type of bushing consists of inner and outer metal cylindrical sleeves separated by a piece of rubber. It can be designed to have a linear or non-linear deflection versus force characteristic. Another known type of bushing is the hydraulic bushing, typically including a rubber portion having a plurality of interconnected cavities which contain hydraulic fluid. A hydraulic bushing typically has a non-linear, progressive stiffness whereby the amount it deflects tends towards a constant value with increasingly high loads.
The current automotive trend for large wheels and low profile tires results in increasing suspension loads needing to be withstood by the suspension structure and bushings. One known solution to this problem is to make the bushing bigger, thereby increasing its load capability. However, large rubber bushes have a tendency to induce steering wheel shimmy and large hydraulic bushes tend to degrade impact performance, making the suspension feel harsh. A large bushing also introduces packaging problems in the design of the suspension.
US-A-2003/0137087 describes a series bushing comprising a first inner spring portion incorporating hydraulic fluid cavities and a second outer spring portion formed of microcellular polyurethane. The presence of the polyurethane material permits good isolation of low amplitude, high frequency vibrations but would be too weak to withstand high impact loads, such as a vehicle tire striking the edge of a pothole, for example.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner with an aromatic spray apparatus attached at an indoor unit, and more particularly to an aromatic spay driving apparatus of the air conditioner for keeping room air pleasant by spraying an aromatic at the time intervals and time duration set as desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, an air conditioner includes a heating apparatus for supplying warm air by heating cold room air and a cooling apparatus for supplying cool air by cooling warm room air. Besides, a heating cum cooling apparatus is also included for a dual function of the heating and cooling operations and for an air purifying function which cleans the polluted room air.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an indoor unit of the heating cum cooling apparatus (generally, referred as an air conditioner) among conventional air conditioners. As shown in FIG. 1, an suction grille member(5) is provided at the lower front surface of an indoor unit main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) with a plurality of suction inlets(3) to suck room air and with a plurality of discharge outlets(7) at the upper front surface of the main body to discharge the heat-exchanged air, i.e., the heated or cooled air, that is sucked through the suction inlets(3).
Furthermore, the discharge outlets(7) comprises vertical vanes(9) and horizontal vanes(11) for controlling the vertical and horizontal directions of the air discharged indoors therethrough(7), a covering member(15) attached for forming an external appearance thereof and for protecting the interior parts therein, and a operating part(17) disposed at the lower portion of the cover member(15) for controlling overall operation modes (automatic, cooling, dehumidifying, blowing, heating, etc.) of the air conditioner, a start or stop operation thereof and the amount and direction of the air discharged through the discharge outlets(7).
As shown in FIG. 2, there are a filtering member(19) disposed at the inner side of the suction grille member(5) for filtering dust and foreign objects floating with the room air sucked through the suction inlets(3) and a heat-exchanger(21) behind the filtering member(19) for heat-exchanging into heated air or cooled air through evaporative latent heat of a coolant.
In addition, the heat-exchanger(21) is disposed thereover with a blower fan(23) (hereinafter referred to as an indoor fan) which rotates according to operation of an indoor fan motor in order to suck the room air through the suction inlets(3) and, at the same time, to discharge through the discharge outlets(7) the air heat-exchanged at the heat-exchanger(21). The indoor fan(23) is also provided with a duct member(27) outside thereof for covering the indoor fan(23) and for guiding the flow of the air sucked through the suction inlets(3) and discharged through the discharge outlets(7).
In the air conditioner which has a dual function of the heating and cooling operations as described above, when an user turns on a start/stop key (hereinafter referred to as an operation key) with a remotely controlled unit or with the operating part(17) and selects a desired operation mode (for instance, cooling), the indoor fan(23) is rotated according to operation of an indoor fan motor(25) for sucking the room air into the main body(1) through the suction inlets(3).
The dust and foreign objects floating in the room air is sucked through the suction inlets(3) to be removed by the filtering mcmber(19), and the purified room air is then heat-exchanged into cool air at the heat-exchanger(21) through evaporative latent heat of a coolant.
The heat-exchanged and cooled air at the heat-exchanger(21) is guided upwards by the duct member(27) and is discharged indoors through the discharge outlets(7), to thereby cool indoors as the direction of the discharged air is controlled according to the angles of the vertical vanes(9) and horizontal vanes(11).
However, there is a problem in the conventional air conditioner in that even when the air conditioner is not in operation, the suction inlets(3) are left open to get dust and foreign objects infused and accumulated on the surface of the heat-exchanger(21), thereby deteriorating the function of the heat-exchanger(21).
Furthermore, there is another problem in the conventional air conditioner in that absence of a separate aromatic spraying apparatus reduces the pleasantness of room air due to an unpleasant odor generated by accumulation of the dust and foreign objects in the room air infused through the suction inlets(3) into the filtering member(19) and into the heat-exchanger(21) and by decomposition of chemical products like an insulation material provided therein.
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(1) Field of the Invention
Relating to improvements in training mechanisms used in exercise regimens for both men and women. More specifically, relating to improvements in devices utilizing a pace setting aid.
(2) Existing Technologies
There are many computer based pace setting equipment in existence that time the movements of persons in various sports. Optical measuring devices capture the movement of athletes and translate the detected data into pace setting and measuring outputs. However, the inclusion of computers, sensors and auxiliary equipment is expensive and cumbersome. Thus, what is needed is a simple device that can easily facilitate setting and maintaining the pace of exercises in an inexpensive and simple fashion.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the construction of respirating devices and in particular to a new and useful device for regulating the operation of the respirator in accordance with a function of the partial pressure of the carbon dioxide in the arterial blood or the tissue through the alveolar expiration air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention particularly deals with a device for controlling the respiration in respirators as a function of the partial pressure of CO.sub.2 in the arterial blood or the tissue through the alveolar expiration air. Up to the present time the mechanism of the respiration control for regulating the respirating air in accordance with its partial pressure of CO.sub.2 is not known completely. It is certain however that in respiration the partial pressures of CO.sub.2 and oxygen are of substantial importance. In this connection a control of the ventilation on the basis of the arterial CO.sub.2 content has proved more appropriate than on the basis of the oxygen concentration.
With a supply of air which is too small the partial pressure of CO.sub.2 that is the P.sub.CO.sbsb.2 value in the patient's blood increases. This value is balanced with the CO.sub.2 content in the alveolar respiration air. A too large amount of inspiration air results in a low partial pressure of CO.sub.2. Known respirators determine the partial pressure or content in the expiration air and control the respiration gas regime of the patient in accordance with a predetermined standard. A known respirator comprises a pressure control device with which, by means of a signal from the CO.sub.2 meter, the pressure of the inspiration air supplied to the patient is either increased or decreased. With an inspiration air volume which is too small and a correspondingly high CO.sub.2 level in the blood, a pressure increase causes a deeper and stronger inspiration. Due to the appropriately induced expiration the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood is reduced. This process continues up to the optimum relation between the volume of the inspiration air and the CO.sub.2 level in the blood. Inversely, the pressure in the inspiration air is reduced if the volume is larger than the optimum. With a less deep respiration, the CO.sub.2 level will increase. Thus in this respirator the CO.sub.2 content is controlled by a pressure variation, with a larger or smaller volume of respiration air resulting therefrom. The apparatus needed for such a purpose is complicated and must be firmly integrated. Such a respirator can be used only for patients in good health having a normal perfusion-to-ventilation ratio. If this ratio is disturbed, for example, in the presence of an embolism, low expiration CO.sub.2 values are obtained which in the respirator described would lead to a reduction of the respiratory volume. Such a reduced respiratory volume is incapable of washing out the CO.sub.2 produced and this leads to a respiratory acidosis within a short period of time.
Another known respirator controls the oxygen supply through the CO.sub.2 content of the expiration air in accordance with the patient's needs. Here again the output of the carbon dioxide meter is compared with a reference value. A differential signal thus produced actuates a tapping valve to change the oxygen content in the inspiration air and the depth of the respiration is remedied. The oxygen supply is controlled within the limits predetermined for the CO.sub.2 concentration. The control device comprises a feedback system largely employing electronic component parts. From the physiological point of view, the control of the volume of respiratory air by an oxygen supply is disputed. The electronic equipment of the control system is extensive and its maintenance is not simple.
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Purification and analysis of molecules is very often carried out by forcing these molecules to migrate through a gel. In gel electrophoresis the driving force is a voltage gradient across the gel and the gel matrix comprises natural or synthetic polymers. The synthetic polymers are usually formed by polymerization of double bonds present in monomer and cross-linker molecules. The monomers currently in use are of the amide type and they include acrylamide, N-acryloyl-tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (NAT) (references 1-3) and N-acryloyl morpholine (reference 4). The gels made of the last two monomers have been recently introduced. The most important features of poly(NAT) gels are pronounced hydrophilicity and a higher porosity compared to polyacrylamide gels. The higher porosity of poly(NAT) gels could be advantageously used for separation of larger molecules by electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing (references 1-3). It appeared worth searching for a monomer which will produce even more porous gel, since such a gel would be beneficial in many applications, including isoelectric focusing, multiphasic zone electrophoresis and electrophoresis of proteins, lipoproteins, proteoglycans and nucleic acids. As a working hypothesis it was assumed that NAT yields gels of higher porosity because its molecular weight is higher than that of acrylamide. Thus, an NAT solution has a molar concentration lower than the acrylamide solution of the same percentage. After polymerization the lower molar concentration of the NAT solution presumable results in fewer polymer chains per unit volume, leading to gels of increased porosity. The finding (reference 1) that a poly(NAT) gradient gel exhibited a porosity approximately three-fold higher than porosity of the corresponding polyacrylamide gel, in accordance with the 2.5 fold lower molarity, lend support to the above assumption. If this simple assumption is correct, then even more porous gels will be formed from monomers of higher molecular weight. In addition to size of a monomer, other factors can influence porosity of a gel. Thus, if interactions exist between monomer molecules, or between a monomer and a growing polymer, or between the growing polymer chains, then as a result of these interaction the polymer chains may not be randomly distributed. If they form some kind of bundles, larger pores will be created. In addition to a higher molecular weight, the new monomers should fulfill at least two further requirements. First, they should be hydrophilic in order to give homogenous aqueous gels. Second, the double bond of these monomers should efficiently polymerize under rather mild conditions used for the preparation of gels for electrophoresis. From the above assumptions and considerations, it appeared that gels with desirable properties may be formed of monomers derived from amino sugar alcohols, as described below by the formula: ##STR2## where R.sub.1 is H, CH.sub.2 OH or (CHOH).sub.m CH.sub.2 OH, m being 1 or 2;
R.sub.2 is H or CH.sub.3 ; PA1 R.sub.3 is H or CH.sub.3 ; and PA1 n is an integer of 1-4; PA1 R.sub.2 is H, a monohydroxy alkyl, a polyhydroxy alkyl or a hydrocarbon radical, preferably of 1 to about 30 carbon atoms; PA1 R.sub.3 is H or CH.sub.3 ; and PA1 n is an integer of 1-4;
These monomers are hydrophilic as they contain at least three hydroxyl groups. Further, due to adjacent amide group the double bond in the monomers is expectedly more reactive than a typical double bond.
Two of the monomers represented by the above formula, N-acryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol and N-methacryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol as well as their linear polymers are known (reference 5 and 6). However, in the two references no data were reported concerning polymerization of either of the two monomers in the presence of a cross-linker to form an aqueous gel. Moreover, there was no indication as to whether such an aqueous gel may represent a matrix suitable for electrophoretic separation of molecules.
The monomers of the above formula include compounds with the nitrogen atom linked to a carbon atom having one or two hydrogens as well as the compounds in which hydrogen from the amide nitrogen is substituted by methyl group. In the two known monomers, N-acryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol and N-methacryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol, the nitrogen is linked to a carbon atom with two hydrogens. The attempts to synthesize other monomers of the formula above by the process described in reference 5 failed. We have initially used sugar precursors readily available, that is N-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose and N-methyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol. However, neither N-acryloyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucitol, a compound with the nitrogen atom linked to carbon with one hydrogen, nor N-methyl-N-acryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol, a compound with methyl group on the nitrogen, crystallized from the water-ethanol-ether solution of reference 5. After modification of the preparation process, as described in detail in reference 7, all monomers of the general formula could be obtained. The modified process includes treatment of the reaction mixture with an anionic and a cationic ion exchanger to remove the remaining reactants and formed byproducts. Further, the water solution of the monomer is evaporated at atmospheric pressure. Those monomers which dried out to give a solid residue were recrystallized and those remaining as a viscous liquid were directly used for preparation of gels.
As shown in reference 7, the new monomers could be polymerized in presence of a cross-linker to give water insoluble gels. It was shown that such a gel is a matrix suitable for isoelectric focusing and therefore also for other electrophoretic techniques, since it is well known that requirements imposed on a matrix for isoelectric focusing are more stringent than those for other electrophoretic techniques. For example, agarose needs to be modified in a special way before it is suitable for preparation of isoelectric focusing gels (references 8 and 9).
Gels made of the monomers of the general formula are suitable for electrophoresis, as demonstrated by experimental results of reference 7 in accordance with the assumptions discussed above. However, it is not apparent whether there may be important differences in properties of gels made of various monomers of the general formula. Thus, if molecular weight of the monomer determines porosity of the gel, then gels prepared from equal amounts of monomers having identical molecular weight should exhibit equal porosity. In that case, the gels made for example of N-acryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-glucitol,N-acryloyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucito l and N-acryloyl-1-amino-1-deoxy-D-galacitol will be equally porous. On the other hand, if gel formation differs from one monomer to the other because the polymerization rate of each monomer is unique or if polymer interactions are different, then the resulting porosity will not be equal. Since our current knowledge on porosity of synthetic gels is based on only three monomers, that is acrylamide, NAT and N-acryloyl morpholine, which are structurally more different than the monomers of this invention, it was not possible to make predictions about porosity of gels made of structurally related monomers including isomers.
Electrophoretic migration of molecules in polyacrylamide gels is mostly described in terms of the extended Ogston model (references 10 and 11). Accordingly, the measured mobility, .mu., can be related to the free mobility, .mu..sub.o, of a migrating molecule with radius R, as well as to the gel percentage T, total length of the gel fibers, l', and the fiber radius, r: EQU log .mu.=log .mu..sub.o -.pi.l'(r+R).sup.2 T.times.10.sup.-16 EQU or EQU log .mu.=log .mu..sub.o -K.sub.r T
where the retardation coefficient, K.sub.r, is defined as EQU K.sub.r =.pi.l'(r+R).sup.2 .times.10.sup.-16
The extended Ogston model has been extensively used to analyze electrophoretic migration of various macromolecules in polyacrylamide gels, mainly in order to enable estimation of the molecular weight and radius of an unknown molecule. However, since the retardation coefficient is correlated also to the length of gel fibers and their radius, this model can be used as an approach for characterization of different gels. After analysis of gels made of the monomers shown by the general formula above according to the extended Ogston model, it was surprisingly found that gel properties vary significantly from one gel to the another, as described in this invention.
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In some existing data independent acquisition (DIA) modes of operation of mass spectrometers, the targeted ion population is substantially unfiltered, although some components may be “profiled” if they cannot transmit the entire population while operating in a single state. One or more fragmentation devices may be operated in more than one state in order to produce “low energy” data in which the ion population is substantially unfragmented, and “high energy data” which predominantly consists of fragments of the original ion population. Through careful processing of the data produced it is possible to assign many of the fragment ions in the high energy population to “parent” or “precursor” ions in the low energy population. For generality, these acquisition modes will be referred to herein as multi-MS modes. While powerful, the qualitative and quantitative performance of multi-MS modes may be limited by the complexity of the samples involved and/or involve extra separation methods, such as ion mobility separation, which introduces extra cost and instrument complexity.
In some other DIA modes of operation, the ion population is filtered or pre-separated by mass to charge (m/z), usually with the aim of reducing the complexity of the products of fragmentation experiments performed after the filter, thereby improving the confidence of assignment of fragment ions to precursor ions and reducing interferences. The filter may be operated in a static configuration in which a single m/z range is selected for fragmentation (MSMS), or stepped through a predetermined series of static configurations. This latter category of DIA acquisition modes will be referred to herein as multi-MSMS for generality. The time-scale on which this stepping occurs is typically a minimum of around 1/20 second owing to limitations in instrument control and acquisition systems. When this stepping mode is required to profile a wide mass range with a narrow filter, the process becomes time consuming. Consider for example stepping through a mass range of 400 m/z units with a filter ion transmission window having a width of 5 m/z units. Even when the window is stepped such that the mass to charge ratios transmitted by the filter in each step do not overlap, 80 steps are still required to transmit the mass range of 400 m/z units, taking a minimum of 4 seconds. This time is longer than the time over which a peak elutes in some high performance chromatography experiments, and the goal of unbiased and quantitative profiling of chromatographic peaks cannot be fulfilled. Additionally, in multi-MSMS modes of acquisition, the mass to charge ratio of the precursor ion that corresponds to a particular fragment is known only to an accuracy of the width of the transmission window of the filter or mass separator.
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In the past, tape-based standard definition video re-encoding has been a mechanical process, where a compressionist or a video quality engineer would verify the video quality of the source, encode or the re-encode (fixes) and requested video artifact fixes based on their visual findings. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional tape workflow for encoding a video is illustrated. Generally, a tape is acquired containing a video 10. The tape is then loaded onto a tape drive 12 to be ingested by an encoding system. Various encoding/recoding parameters would be applied to the video 14 and the video would be encoded 16 resulting in an encoded file 18. The compressionist would essentially re-run the tape-based content through the available filtering, digital video noise-reducers, compression and other hardware/software, e.g., multiple iterations, 20 to get the desired re-encoded video output results 22. The multiple iterations of the re-encoding may be encoder driven re-encoding or QC (quality control) driven re-encoding. Encoder driven re-encodings are automatic (can also be manual) re-encodes based on some statistical analysis of bit-rate allocation, video quality/artifact, peak-signal-to-noise ratio, or any combination of these together. QC driven encoding are compressionist or video quality engineer driven re-encodings to improve the video quality that may have been missed by the above statistical analysis process due to the highly random nature of the video content being encoded. Regardless of what is driving the process, the conventional workflow requires tedious back-and-forth work to resolve the video artifacts with no mechanism to capture re-encoding parameters that work well for certain types of artifacts.
The compression codecs used during this time were simple and well understood. This was sufficient for standard definition disc formats as the volume of a video feature that was encoded was quite modest due to physical limitation of older optical storage media. Also, tape-based distribution (e.g., VHS tapes, DLT, etc) was the preferred means to ingest into different avenues of video for standard definition production as assets were fewer, manageable and served well for this particular production. However, this process was time consuming and prone to errors. Furthermore, the conventional tape workflow did not keep a history of fixes other than the last fix, and therefore, did not allow for comparison between versions of fixes.
With the advent of newer increased optical storage space media with supported advance codecs such as H.264 (AVC) and better compression ratio to video quality, it has become possible to make use of this additional disc space for other value added contents such as games, bonus video content, interviews, concerts, picture-in-picture, and events that client/consumers demand today. This has also essentially increased the sheer volume of high-definition video content, increased complexity (multiple systems, softwares, etc) and time necessary for successful encodes, heightened the need to better manage/understand the digital content and increased value added material, however, with a shorter turn around time to complete this additional content material. Using the old conventional standard definition production workflow would not be a viable proposition. This has required moving the high definition production toward tapeless distribution to make this process more cost effective as that would require less physical assets (D5 tapes, DLTs, etc) to keep track and store and make it easier to manipulate/work digitally.
Therefore, a need exists for techniques to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional tapeless digital workflow and better manage the re-encoding process that increases efficiency for the compressionist by enabling reusability of their learning, allowing application of multiple re-encoding properties/tools, and affording ease of use and control.
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The present invention relates to an electric machine. Beyond this the present invention relates to a method for cooling an electric machine.
To enable electrical machines to be cooled efficiently in operation, corresponding coolant circuits are provided. Electrical machines which are embodied for example in accordance with cooling type IC 611 have an inner coolant circuit with an inner fan and an outer coolant flow with an outer fan, which can be thermally coupled via a heat exchanger. With electrical machines having two fans which are connected to the shaft of the electrical machine, these fans create an axial force on the rotor as a whole. This force, which is created by the fans in the axial direction of the electrical machine, occurs in particular with rapidly rotating electrical machines. The axial force is additionally increased if, instead of two radial fans, one radial fan and one axial fan are used for example. If the magnetic resetting force which is created by the stator or the laminated core of the electrical machine is smaller than the axial force exerted by the fans, the entire rotor moves away from its geometrical center. With electrical machines which have a fixed bearing, the rotor moves by the play in the fixed bearing until it stops and then imposes an additional axial force on the fixed bearing. This problem also occurs with electrical machines which have a floating bearing for example.
To address the aforesaid problem, in no-load tests of such electrical machines, rotor holder facilities are used in order to hold the rotor in the geometrical center. A further option consists of imposing a high axial force on the fixed bearings in operation of the electrical machine. Furthermore it is known, with electrical machines which have two fans on a common shaft, to embody the fans so that their directions of conveyance are aligned in opposing directions. Thus for example a vertical electrical machine is known in which the outer fan is disposed rotated by comparison with the inner fan. This enables this electrical machine to be protected from rain or moisture since the coolant is sucked into the fan housing from below.
With such electrical machines the problem also exists of high levels of noise developing from the fans. In addition there is the danger that with the outer coolant flow the heated exhaust air will be sucked in again via the inlet opening of the fan housing of the outer fan.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical port.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, in surgical treatment in the digestive tract or another body cavity, medical devices such as an endoscope device, a treatment tool, or the like, may be inserted into the digestive tract or the body cavity to perform the treatment. In such a surgical treatment, in order to secure an operative field for observation or remedy of a treatment target portion using the medical devices and effectively guide a plurality of medical devices to the treatment target portion, a medical port configured to assist with insertion of these medical devices is used.
The medical port attached to a natural opening such as the anus or the like (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H11-169342) or attached to a cutout portion of a body cavity surface (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2011-067598) is known.
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This invention relates to a camera crane with a two-arm boom swivel-mounted on a support column, whose height can be adjusted if so desired. The first arm has a platform swivel-mounted to receive a camera and, if so desired, a seat for a camera-man and the second arm has a cage swivel-mounted to receive balance weights. A parallel-guide apparatus serves to guide the platform and cage in parallel fashion when the boom is swung out, the parallel-guide apparatus comprising a first control arm running diagonal to the swivel axis of the platform and projecting from the platform, with a first connecting point; a second control arm running diagonal to the swivel axis of the cage and projecting from said cage, with a second connecting point; a guide arm running diagonal to the swivel axis of the boom and projecting from the support column, with a guide connecting point; a first guide rod running between the guide connecting point and the first connecting point, and a second guide rod running between the guide connecting point and the second connecting point.
With camera cranes of this type, the boom arm to which the platform is linked is longer than the boom arm supporting the cage. In selecting cage weights to equalize the weight bearing upon the boom on its platform side, attention must be given to the fact that a correspondingly higher cage weight exerts a torque on the guide arm, by way of the second control arm and the second guide rod, that is greater than the torque exerted on the guide arm by the platform carrying the camera and the camera-man by way of the first control arm and the first guide rod. The practical demand for lengthening the boom arm on the platform side in certain applications cannot be fulfilled without further consideration. This extension would require an increased weight load on the cage, in keeping with the shorter boom arm on the cage side. The torque exerted by the cage on the guide arm by way of the second guide rod, however, can reach an inadmissibly high value relative to that of the torque working against it on the platform side. In actual practice, to safely lengthen the boom arm on the platform side therefore requires that the boom arm on the cage side be correspondingly lengthened. However, the measures necessary to extend the boom arms and thereby to increase the hoist of the camera platform are extremely involved and time-consuming.
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The physical properties of polymeric fibers (which can include, depending on the polymeric material, high modulus, high strength, high toughness, high stiffness, high fatigue resistance (including bending and expansion/compression fatigue resistance), dimensional stability, abrasion resistance, shrinkage, thermal degradation stability, and chemical resistance, among other attributes) have enabled them to be widely used to reinforce many polymeric articles, including mechanical rubber goods, belts, membrane fabrics, hoses, diaphragms, and the like. Their light weight and ease of processing have allowed polymeric fibers to replace metals partially or wholly in many applications.
It would, however, be desirable to obtain polymeric fibers having further improved properties, including one or more of modulus, strength, dimensional stability, fatigue resistance, impact resistance, and shrinkage.
Improved modulus and/or strength per unit weight could, for example, allow for the construction of lighter polymeric goods. Improved modulus and/or strength could also permit the replacement of metals (such as steel) or reduction of the amount of metal used in certain applications. For example, alternative warp and/or weft cord constructions could be used for some reinforcing applications.
For example, alternative warp and/or weft cord constructions in a belt could be used to be decrease the reinforcement weight per unit area, which could offer goods (including mechanical rubber goods) such as belts having lower operating and end-use costs. Bending resistance and warp crimp requirements could be improved, improving the hysteresis and/or dynamic elongation properties of reinforcing agents and reinforced articles.
Increased impact resistance and shock absorbance of reinforcing agents and reinforced articles could lower maintenance costs and end-use performance. Increased thermal and/or electrical conductivity could offer more end-use possibilities for reinforced polymer goods, such as self-cleaning articles and applications where static dissipativity is important.
Thermal shrinkage and dimensional stability of reinforced polymer goods (including mechanical goods) (such as braided hoses, wrapped hoses, membranes, profiles, and diaphragms) could increase their durability (particularly under flexing) and useful lifetime. Control of shrinkage forces can be important when processing articles, particularly those having complex shapes.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to social networking, and more particularly to systems and methods for auction based polling.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, survey firms provide various conduits for companies to survey individuals in a public or private arena. With the popularity of the Internet and online venues, these survey firms often survey individuals via the Internet. A company or individual can pay the survey firms to survey these individuals, groups, and so forth using a variety of media outlets available online.
Typically, the survey firm accrues results from polls taken on behalf of the company or the individual and provides the results to the company or the individual. The results may be provided based on information input by the company or the individual or according to any other criteria. The survey firm may also provide demographic data about the users that participated in the polls.
However, the company or the individual that requested the poll sometimes desires faster and event nearly immediate results. In addition, a lengthy, typically offline, registration process with the survey firm is often involved for scheduling the polls. Further, the survey firm, rather than a poll requester, frequently specifies a price for the poll.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to radiotherapy. More particularly, it relates to radioactive sources for use in brachytherapy, and in particular to radioactive sources with improved ultrasound imaging visibility.
Brachytherapy is a general term covering medical treatment which involves placement of a radioactive source near a diseased tissue and may involve the temporary or permanent implantation or insertion of a radioactive source into the body of a patient. The radioactive source is thereby located in proximity to the area of the body which is being treated. This has the advantage that a high dose of radiation may be delivered to the treatment site with relatively low dosages of radiation to surrounding or intervening healthy tissue.
Brachytherapy has been proposed for use in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including arthritis and cancer, for example breast, brain, liver and ovarian cancer and especially prostate cancer in men (see for example J. C. Blasko et al., The Urological Clinics of North America, 23, 633-650 (1996), and H. Ragde et al., Cancer, 80, 442-453 (1997)). Prostate cancer is the most common form of malignancy in men in the USA, with more than 44,000 deaths in 1995 alone. Treatment may involve the temporary implantation of a radioactive source for a calculated period, followed by its subsequent removal. Alternatively, the radioactive source may be permanently implanted in the patient and left to decay to an inert state over a predictable time. The use of temporary or permanent implantation depends on the isotope selected and the duration and intensity of treatment required.
Permanent implants for prostate treatment comprise radioisotopes with relatively short half lives and lower energies relative to temporary sources. Examples of permanently implantable sources include iodine-125 or palladium-103 as the radioisotope. The radioisotope is generally encapsulated in a titanium casing to form a xe2x80x9cseedxe2x80x9d which is then implanted. Temporary implants for the treatment of prostate cancer may involve iridium-192 as the radioisotope.
Recently, brachytherapy has also been proposed for the treatment of restenosis (for reviews see R. Waksman, Vascular Radiotherapy Monitor, 1998, 1, 10-18, and MedPro Month, January 1998, pages 26-32). Restenosis is a renarrowing of the blood vessels after initial treatment of coronary artery disease.
Coronary artery disease is a condition resulting from the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, known as stenosis, which can be due to many factors including the formation of atherosclerotic plaques within the arteries. Such blockages or narrowing may be treated by mechanical removal of the plaque or by insertion of stents to hold the artery open. One of the most common forms of treatment is percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)xe2x80x94also known as balloon angioplasty. At present, over half a million PTCA procedures are performed annually in the USA alone. In PTCA, a catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end is inserted into the coronary artery and positioned at the site of the blockage or narrowing. The balloon is then inflated which leads to flattening of the plaque against the artery wall and stretching of the artery wall, resulting in enlargement of the intraluminal passage way and hence increased blood flow.
PTCA has a high initial success rate but 30-50% of patients present themselves with stenotic recurrence of the disease, i.e. restenosis, within 6 months. One treatment for restenosis which has been proposed is the use of intraluminal radiation therapy. Various isotopes including iridium-192, strontium-90, yttrium-90, phosphorous-32, rhenium-186 and rhenium-188 have been proposed for use in treating restenosis.
Conventional radioactive sources for use in brachytherapy include so-called seeds, which are smooth sealed containers or capsules of a biocompatible material, for example of metals such as titanium or stainless steel, containing a radioisotope within a sealed chamber but permitting radiation to exit through the container/chamber walls (U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,055 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,049). Such seeds are only suitable for use with radioisotopes which emit radiation which can penetrate the chamber/container walls. Therefore, such seeds are generally used with radioisotopes which emit xcex3-radiation or low-energy X-rays, rather than with xcex2-emitting radioisotopes.
In brachytherapy, it is vital to the therapeutic outcome for the medical personnel administering the treatment to know the relative position of the radioactive source in relation to the tissue to be treated, to ensure that the radiation is delivered to the correct tissue and that no localized over or under dosing occurs. Current seeds therefore typically incorporate a marker for X-ray imaging such as a radiopaque metal (e.g. silver, gold or lead). Location of the implanted seed is then achieved via X-ray imaging, which exposes the patient to an additional radiation dose. Such radiopaque markers are typically shaped so that imaging gives information on the orientation as well as location of the seed in the body, since both are necessary for accurate radiation dosimetry calculations.
Permanent implantation of brachytherapy radioactive sources for the treatment of, for example, prostate cancer may be done using an open laparotomy technique with direct visual observation of the radioactive sources and the tissue. However, the procedure is relatively invasive and often leads to undesirable side effects in the patient. An improved procedure comprising the insertion of radioactive sources transperineally into predetermined regions of the diseased prostate gland using an external template route to establish a reference point for implantation has been proposed (see for example Grimm, P. D., et al., Atlas of the Urological Clinics of North America, Vol. 2, No. 2, 113-125 (1994)). Commonly, these radioactive sources, for example seeds, are inserted by means of a needle device while an external depth gauge is employed with the patient in the dorsal lithotomy position. For prostate cancer treatment, typically 50 to 120 seeds are administered per patient in a 3-dimensional array derived from multiple needle insertions of linear, spaced seeds. The dose calculation is based on this complex 3-D array, plus data on the tumour volume plus prostate volume etc.
Preferably, the insertion or implantation of a radioactive source for brachytherapy is carried out using minimally-invasive techniques such as, for example, techniques involving needles and/or catheters. It is possible to calculate a location for each radioactive source which will give the desired radiation dose profile. This can be done using knowledge of the radioisotope content of each source, the dimensions of the source, an accurate knowledge of the dimensions of the tissue or tissues in relation to which the source is to be placed, plus a knowledge of the position of said tissue relative to a reference point. The dimensions of tissues and organs within the body for use in such dosage calculations may be obtained prior to placement of the radioactive source by using conventional diagnostic imaging techniques including X-ray imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging. However, difficulties may arise during the radioactive source placement procedure which may adversely affect the accuracy of the placement of the source if only pre-placement images are used to guide the source placement. For example, tissue volume may change as a result of swelling or draining of fluid to and from the tissue. Tissue position and orientation can change in the patient""s body relative to a selected internal or external reference point as a result of for example manipulation during surgical procedures, movement of the patient or changes in the volume of adjacent tissue. Thus, it is difficult to achieve accurate placement of sources to achieve a desired dosage profile in brachytherapy using only knowledge of tissue anatomy and position that was obtained prior to the placement procedure. Therefore, it is advantageous if real-time visualisation of both the tissue and the radioactive source can be provided. A particularly preferred imaging method due to its safety, ease of use and low cost, is ultrasound imaging.
During the placement of the radioactive sources into position, a surgeon can monitor the position of tissues such as the prostate gland using, for example, transrectal ultrasound pulse-echo imaging techniques which offer the advantage of low risk and convenience to both patient and surgeon. The surgeon can also monitor the position of the relatively large needle used in implantation procedures using ultrasound. During the implantation or insertion procedure, the location of the source may be inferred to be proximal to the tip of the needle or other device used for the procedure. However, the relative location of each separate radioactive source should be evaluated subsequent to the implantation procedure to determine if it is in a desired or undesired location and to assess the uniformity of the therapeutic dose of radiation to the tissue. Radioactive sources may migrate within the tissue following implantation. However, the relatively small size of current brachytherapy radioactive sources and the specular reflection properties of their surfaces makes them very difficult to detect by ultrasound imaging techniques, especially when they are orientated in directions other than substantially orthogonal to the incident ultrasound beam. Even very small deviations from 90xc2x0 relative to the incident ultrasound beam cause substantial reductions in the intensity of the echo signal.
The ultrasound visibility of conventional radioactive seeds is highly dependent upon the angular orientation of the seed axis with respect to the ultrasound inducer used for imaging. A smooth flat surface will generally act as a mirror, reflecting ultrasound waves in the wrong direction unless the angle between the sound and the surface is 90xc2x0. A smooth cylindrical structure such as a conventional radioactive seed will reflect waves in a fan shaped conical pattern spanning a considerable spatial angle but will only give strong ultrasound reflections when imaged at an angle very close to 90xc2x0. One way of improving the ultrasound visibility of conventional radioactive seeds is therefore to reduce the angular dependence of the reflected ultrasound.
There is therefore a need for radioactive sources for use in brachytherapy with improved ultrasound imaging visibility, and in particular for sources where the dependence of visibility on the angular orientation of the axis of the source with respect to the ultrasound transducer is reduced.
Ultrasound reflections may be either specular (mirror-like) or scattered (diffuse). Biological tissue typically reflects ultrasound in a scattered manner, whilst metallic devices tend to be effective reflectors of ultrasound. Relatively large smooth surfaces such as those of needles used in medical procedures reflect sound waves in a specular manner.
Efforts have been made to enhance the ultrasound visibility of relatively large surgical apparatus, such as surgical needles, solid stylets and cannulae by suitable treatment of their surfaces such as roughening, scoring or etching. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,124 discloses a surgical instrument (a hollow needle device) that has a diffraction grating inscribed on the surface to enhance the reflection coefficient of the surface. Sound waves that strike the grooves are diffracted or scattered as secondary wave fronts in many directions, and a percentage of those waves are detected by the ultrasound transducer. The diffraction grating is provided for use at the leading edge of a surgical instrument for insertion within a body or for use along a surface of an object the position of which is to be monitored while in the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,259 discloses a medical needle device that has a portion of its surface particle-blasted to produce a uniformly roughened surface that scatters incident ultrasound such that a portion of the scattered waves is detected by an ultrasound transducer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,997 discloses surgical instruments with sound reflective particles imbedded in a portion of the surface. The particles scatter incident sound, and a portion is detected by an ultrasound transducer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,897 discloses a tubular cannula device comprising a needle and an inner stylet in which one or more holes are cross-drilled perpendicular to the axis of the needle to improve ultrasound visibility. The solid inner stylet may be roughened or scored to enhance the sonographic visibility of the needle/stylet combination.
WO 98/27888 describes a echogenically enhanced medical device in which a print pattern mask of non-conductive epoxy-containing ink is transfer-coated to the surface of the device, flash dried, and then thermally crosslinked. Portions of the needle not protected by the mask are removed by etching in an electropolishing step to leave a pattern of substantially square depressions in the bare metal, and the ink masked is removed with a solvent and mechanical scrubbing. The depressions provide the device with enhanced echogenicity under ultrasound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,628 discloses a device which is inserted or implanted for long-term residence in the body, which device is made more visible to ultrasound by providing a space in the device which has a substantially gas impermeable wall, such space being filled with a gas or mixture of gases. The invention is directed to IUD""s (intrauterine devices), prosthetic devices, pacemakers, and the like.
McGahan, J. P., in xe2x80x9cLaboratory assessment of ultrasonic needle and catheter visualization.xe2x80x9d JOURNAL OF ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE, 5(7), 373-7, (July 1986) evaluated seven different catheter materials for their sonographic visualisation in vitro. While five of the seven catheter materials had good to excellent sonographic detection, nylon and polyethylene catheters were poorly visualised. Additionally, various methods of improved needle visualisation were tested. Sonographic needle visualisation was aided by a variety of methods including either roughening or scoring the outer needle or inner stylet and placement of a guide wire through the needle.
However, none of the above-mentioned prior art discloses or suggests methods for improving the ultrasound visibility of radioactive sources for use in brachytherapy, including the relatively much smaller radioactive sources or seeds for use in permanent implants, nor the need to provide improved ultrasound visibility of such sources. Indeed, there is a bias in the brachytherapy field against changing the seed capsule design, since it has been essentially unchanged and has continued to be commercially successful for over 20 years, together with the fact that any such change may have Regulatory or nuclear safety implications, and would hence typically be avoided. In addition, any such change could be viewed as increasing the liklihood of problems with the seeds xe2x80x98stickingxe2x80x99 in needles etc., i.e. it is viewed as highly desirable that the seeds move smoothly within needles, cannulae etc. xe2x80x9cStickingxe2x80x9d of seeds within loading devices is a known problem for clinicians and can present a safety risk. Thus, if undue pressure is applied to move a stuck seed, it is known that the seed capsule may rupture with consequent radioactive release, contamination etc. Hence, there is a bias in the art towards making seeds smoother (or at least having less friction) rather than seemingly the other way round.
Once implanted, seeds are intended to remain permanently at the site of implantation. However, individual seeds may on rare occasions migrate within a patient""s body away from the initial site of implantation or insertion. This is highly undesirable from a clinical perspective, for example as it may lead to underdosing of a tumour or other diseased tissue and/or exposure of healthy tissue to radiation. There is therefore also a need for radioactive sources for use in brachytherapy which show a reduced tendency to migrate within a patient""s body when compared to conventional brachytherapy seeds.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is therefore provided a radioactive source for use in brachytherapy comprising a radioisotope within a sealed biocompatible container, wherein at least one part of a surface of the container is roughened, shaped or otherwise treated such that it is no longer smooth. The surface treatment may enhance the ultrasound visibility of the source and/or reduce the tendency of the source to migrate once implanted in a patient""s body.
Suitable radioisotopes for use in the radioactive brachytherapy sources of the invention are known in the art. Particularly preferred radioisotopes include palladium-103 and iodine-125.
Suitable carriers for the radioisotope within the biocompatible container may comprise materials such as plastics, graphite, zeolites, ceramics, glasses, metals, polymer matrices, ion-exchange resins or other, preferably porous materials. Alternatively, the carrier may be made of metal, e.g. silver or may comprise a layer of metal plated onto a suitable substrate. Suitable substrate materials include a second metal such as gold, copper or iron, or solid plastics such as polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinylalcohol, polycarbonate, Teflon(trademark), nylon, delrin and Kevlar(trademark). Suitable plating methods are known in the art and include chemical deposition, sputtering, ion plating techniques, electrodeless-plating and electrodeposition.
The carrier material may be in the form of a bead, wire, filament or rod. Such carrier materials may be encapsulated in a hollow sealed container, for example a metal container, to provide a sealed source or xe2x80x9cseedxe2x80x9d, or the carrier may be coated with an electroplated shell, for example a layer of a metal such as silver or nickel. The radioisotope may be physically trapped in or on the carrier, for example by adsorption, or may be chemically attached to it in some way. Alternatively, the source may comprise a hollow sealed container directly encapsulating the radioisotope without the need for a carrier.
Suitable biocompatible container materials include metals or metal alloys such as titanium, gold, platinum and stainless steel; plastics such as polyesters and vinyl polymers, and polymers of polyurethane, polyethylene and poly(vinyl acetate), the plastics being coated with a layer of a biocompatible metal; composites such as composites of graphite, and glass such as matrices comprising silicon oxide. The container may also be plated on the outside with a biocompatible metal, for example gold or platinum. Titanium and stainless steel are preferred metals for such containers, especially titanium.
The radioisotope may also be incorporated into a polymer matrix, or a plastic or ceramic composite, and/or may form part of a container wall. For example, if a metal alloy is used to form a container, then a component of the alloy may be a suitable radioisotope. If a container is made from a composite material, a component of the composite may be a suitable radioisotope.
The source should be of an overall size and dimensions suitable for its intended use. For example, the overall dimensions are preferably such that the source can be delivered to the treatment site using conventional techniques, for example using a hollow needle or a catheter. Seeds for use in the treatment of prostate cancer are, for example, typically substantially cylindrical in shape and approximately 4.5 mm long with a diameter of approximately 0.8 mm, such that they may be delivered to the treatment site using a hypodermic needle. For use in the treatment of restenosis, a source should be of suitable dimensions to be inserted inside a coronary artery, for example with a length of about 10 mm and a diameter of about 1 mm, preferably a length of about 5 mm and a diameter of about 0.8 mm, and most preferably with a length of about 3 mm and a diameter of about 0.6 mm. Sources for use in the treatment of restenosis are typically delivered to the treatment site using conventional catheter methodology. The sources of the invention may also be substantially spherical in shape.
The sources of the invention may be used as permanent implants or for temporary insertion into a patient. The choice of radioisotope and type of source, plus the method of treatment used, depends in part on the condition to be treated.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9croughened, shaped or otherwise treatedxe2x80x9d means a surface or part surface which is not smooth and polished as in regular or conventional brachytherapy sources but which comprises irregularities or discontinuities of some kind. The irregularities or discontinuities may be arranged in a regular pattern or may be random, or there may be present a mixture of random and regular regions. The irregularities or discontinuities may take the form of grooves, scratches, abrasions, depressions or the like incised, pressed, stamped, etched or otherwise scored into a surface. The irregularities or discontinuities may also take the form of ridges, bumps, undulations or the like upstanding from a surface.
If a source with improved ultrasound visibility is required, the roughening, shaping or other treatment should be over a sufficient portion of the surface of the container that the scattering of ultrasound by the source is substantially omnidirectional. The roughening, shaping or other treatment may occur over substantially the entire surface of the container, at one or both ends, in the centre or over any other portion of the surface. Preferably, the roughening, shaping or other treatment is such that the source will be visible to ultrasound in substantially all orientations relative to the incident beam.
For improved ultrasound visibility, the size of the irregularities or discontinuities on the surface of the containers (such as rods, spheroids, canisters, seeds and the like) should be such that the ultrasound imaging visibility of the sources is improved over that of a similar source with a smooth surface. Preferably, each individual irregularity reflects and/or scatters ultrasound in an omnidirectional manner. Typically, the irregularities will be of an amplitude up to approximately one quarter of a wavelength of the ultrasound involved in water. At an ultrasound frequency of 7.5 MHz, this is about 50 xcexcm for example 40-60 xcexcm. Depending on the frequency of the ultrasound, amplitudes of about 30 to about 90 xcexcm may be suitable. Within this size range, larger irregularities are preferred due to an increase in reflected energy. Lower amplitudes, for example below about 20 xcexcm, may not provide significant enhancement of ultrasound visibility.
The roughening, shaping or other treatment may take the form of production of grooves, depressions, scratches or the like on a surface of the container. The grooves etc may be arranged randomly on the surface or in more regular patterns, for example in geometric shapes and patterns such as squares and circles, or as lines running substantially parallel or perpendicular to an axis of the source, or in a helical arrangement. Preferably, the grooves etc are not arranged in a highly repeating pattern with more than 1 repeat per quarter wavelength as such patterns may act as optical gratings and lead to a loss of omnidirectionality in the echo return. Suitable roughening, shaping or other treatment will depend in part on the exact size and shape of the radioactive source concerned, and can be readily determined using trial and error experiments.
Preferably, the irregularities or discontinuities are in the form of a helical groove (e.g. with a sinusoidal profile) on the surface of the container. The pitch of the helix may be chosen to give first order maxima in the intensity of the reflected ultrasound at certain specific angles with respect to the orthogonal orientation. For example, for a conventional radioactive seed 4.5 mm long and 0.8 mm in diameter, a pitch of about 0.6 mm will give a maximum at 10xc2x0 from orthogonal with 7.5 MHz ultrasound, whilst a pitch of about 0.3 mm will give a maximum at 20xc2x0 from orthogonal. For such a seed the depth of the groove from peak to bottom should be approximately 40 to 60 xcexcm. The spacing of repetitive grooves along a source""s axis should not be too close, otherwise a minimum of ultrasound scattering may occur at angles close to 90xc2x0 (i.e. orthogonal).
Preferably, the source will comprise a radiopaque substance, for example silver or another metal, such that the sources may be visualised using X-ray imaging techniques in addition to ultrasound imaging.
Preferred sources of the invention are sources comprising a metal container or capsule encapsulating a radioisotope, with or without a carrier, which can be visualised by both ultrasound and X-ray imaging techniques.
One advantage of using the sources of the invention in brachytherapy is that the ultrasound signal and image may be read, measured and analysed by suitable computer software sufficiently quickly to allow a physician to plan real-time dosimetry. This is advantageous from a clinical view point for both patient and medical personnel. However, the sources of the invention may be used in processes involving any type of dosimetry mapping that uses information obtained due to the ultrasound visibility of the sources.
In addition, a physician may use the same imaging technique, i.e. ultrasound, already in place during surgery to confirm both organ (e.g. prostate) position and size, and source placement. This could enable a physician to calculate if additional sources need to be inserted, for example in situations where the dose pattern needs to be recalculated based on the xe2x80x9crealxe2x80x9d position of the seeds.
The radioactive sources of the invention may be supplied within a substantially linear biodegradable material, for example as in the product RAPIDStrand(trademark) available from Medi-Physics, Inc. of Illinois, U.S.A. Preferably the sources are evenly spaced (e.g. 10 mm apart in RAPIDStrand(trademark)) to permit more even/uniform radiation dosimetry and the dimensions of the array are such that the whole can be loaded into a needle for administration to a patient. The biodegradable material may be a suture or a suitable biocompatible polymer.
The roughened, shaped or otherwise treated surface of a source of the invention may be produced by a variety of different methods. In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for increasing the ultrasound visibility of a radioactive source for use in brachytherapy comprising a radioisotope and a sealed biocompatible container, the method comprising roughening, shaping or otherwise treating a surface or part of a surface of the container to thereby provide irregularities or discontinuities of dimensions and arrangement effective to enhance reflection of ultrasound to facilitate detection thereof.
For example, if the source comprises a radioisotope encapsulated in an essentially cylindrical container or an encapsulating material, then the outer surface of the container or encapsulating material may be roughened or shaped by forcing the source through a ridged or serrated dye or a threading device to impart grooves on the surface. A similar effect may be produced by milling. The surface may also be roughened as a result of mechanical friction, for example by use of a wire brush or a file, or a suitable grade of sandpaper, e.g. a coarse grade. The outer surface may also be etched, for example using a laser or water-jet cutter, or by electrolytic etching. Blasting, for example sand blasting, may also be used. Blasting may be done dry, or wet as in water-jet blasting.
If the source comprises an electroplated support, the electroplating process itself may lead to a sufficiently roughened surface for the purpose of the invention.
Manufacture of radioactive seeds comprising a radioisotope inside a sealed metal or metal alloy container usually involves the provision of a suitable metal tube, one end of which is sealed for example by welding to form a canister. The radioisotope is then introduced into the canister and the other end also sealed by for example welding to provide a sealed source or seed. Alternatively, a container or canister may be formed by stamping in a press from a core of metal or by casting, moulding or forming a core of molten metal, or by machining or drilling a solid core stock of metal, or by melting and reforming and solidifying metal stock or by fastening a cap to the end of a tube by means such as welding or threading, or by use of heat to expand and then contract the cap on cooling. The outer surface of the container may be roughened, shaped or otherwise treated at any stage of the manufacturing process. For ease of manufacture, the roughening, shaping or other treatment process preferably occurs before loading of the container with the radioisotope, more preferably on the non-radioactive metal tube before sealing of either end, and most preferably on a long section of metal tubing before it is cut into short segments suitable for use in forming canisters. The roughening, shaping or other treatment process should not be such that the integrity of the container is compromised. Preferably, the thickness of the container wall is maintained whilst the overall shape after the treatment process is such that the surface is no longer smooth.
In a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for the preparation of a radioactive source comprising a radioisotope and a biocompatible sealed container at least one part of the surface of which is roughened, shaped or otherwise treated so that it is no longer smooth, the method comprising roughening, shaping or otherwise treating an exterior surface or part of an exterior surface of the biocompatible container of the source to thereby provide irregularities or discontinuities in the exterior surface.
In a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a further method for the preparation of a radioactive source comprising a radioisotope and a sealed biocompatible container at least one part of the surface of which is roughened, shaped or otherwise treated so that it is no longer smooth, the method comprising
(i) roughening, shaping or otherwise treating a surface or part of a surface of a biocompatible container material to provide irregularities or discontinuities of dimensions;
(ii) loading a radioisotope into the biocompatible container material of step (i); and
(iii) sealing the biocompatible container.
For example, a suitable thin-walled metal tube such as a titanium metal tube may be mechanically deformed before insertion of the radioactive material and welding of the ends to form a sealed source. A smooth helical groove may be produced on both the inner and outer surfaces of the tube without affecting the thickness of the wall by use of a suitable crimping process. A support tool of cylindrical shape and with outer threads of a suitable pitch and depth may first be inserted into the metal tube. The support tool should fit tightly within the tube. A crimping tool may then be applied forcefully to the outer surface of the tube. The shape of the crimping tool should match that of the support tool. The crimping tool may consist of two or more parts, each part covering a different sector of the tube""s surface. Following the crimping operation, the support tool may be removed by simply twisting due to its helical threaded shape.
One or more helical grooves may also be produced by gently pressing a sharp metal edge to the surface of a container while the container is rolled over a solid surface at a slight angle, either before or after the container is sealed to form a radioactive source.
If improved ultrasound visibility of a source is desired, alternatively or additionally to roughening, shaping or treatment of the outer surface, the inner surface of the container may be roughened, shaped or otherwise treated prior to introduction of the radioisotope. For example, a non-uniform or roughened surface inside a container may be introduced by means of a tap to create helical or screw threads on the inside of the container. The tap may gouge, score or auger out a thread pattern as it is turned into the container. The spacing of the threads on the inside of a container may be set at any desired dimension obtainable by tapping the inside of the container. The tapping may be done before one end is sealed (i.e. on a tubular precursor to the container) or after one end is sealed (i.e. on a can). Preferably, the tubing is scored before it is sealed at one end.
If the inner surface of a container is roughened, shaped or otherwise treated, the overall thickness of the container wall should not be so great that no ultrasound penetrates to the interior of the container and is reflected therefrom. Suitable thicknesses may be readily determined by experimentation. A thickness of the container wall of up to about 0.1 mm is suitable.
The thickness of the wall of a container encapsulating a radioisotope is dependent upon at least the energy of the radioisotope and the nature of the carrier. For example, conventional 125I sources use 50 xcexcm thick titanium cylinders for containment which are sufficient to block beta particles emitted by the 125I while letting enough gamma rays and low energy X-rays through for therapeutic impact. However, if an aluminum container were used, the wall thickness would need to change in order to adequately capture any beta particles emitted. Correspondingly, if a polymeric container were used, it would need to be coated, for example with a titanium oxide xe2x80x9cpaintxe2x80x9d or be plated with a metal to modify or block beta particle emissions if the plastic itself did not capture them. Higher energy sources may be used with thicker carriers than lower energy sources.
The number of helical or spiral ridges, threads, grooves or the like on an inner or outer surface of a container may be, for example, in the range from about 1 to about 100 per mm of length of the container body.
The tube or container may be incised with at least one ridge, thread or groove pattern and optionally with more than one such pattern of different advancing spiral or helical threads which may be in the same or opposite sense of handedness. The thickness or depth of each such ridge, thread or groove may vary from about 1 xcexcm to about half the thickness of the container wall if desired. Two or more ridges, threads or grooves of different spacings, different handedness, and/or different thicknesses or depths may be tapped into the container to give a wide variety of scoring patterns on the inside surface thereof or incised onto the outer surface of the container to give a wide variety of scoring patterns on the outside thereof.
The thickness of the container wall may preferably be within the specifications set for conventional brachytherapy radioactive sources and seeds, or it may be selected as the optimum useful in brachytherapy by clinical experimentation. Optionally, the container wall may be thicker than finally desired at the start of the roughening, shaping or other treatment procedure, and excess thickness may be removed during the procedure, for example during tapping of the inside of the container.
The roughening or shaping on the outer surface of a container according to the invention may take the form of serrations on the surface. The serrations may be in the form of teeth, steps, notches or projections on the surface of the container. Such serrations may be grouped on part of the surface to form a cluster, and/or may be set in rows on part of the surface. A serrated tooth has one edge subtended from the surface that is longer than a second edge that is also subtended from the surface, the two such edges meeting at a common point or peak. The direction of the serrated tooth is defined as the direction in the plane of the shorter edge. In another aspect, the edges of the teeth may be of similar length, and the teeth may be substantially symmetrical in two-dimensions. In another aspect, the teeth may be conical, pyramidal or trigonal or of other geometric shape wherein a point is achieved. The teeth may be of uniform or non-uniform size, and the teeth may comprise more than one serrate. When more than one set of serrations is present, they should be spaced apart on the surface of the source and should not all run in the same direction. Preferably, there will be two sets of serrations on opposite sides of a source, and more preferably running in opposite directions.
The roughening, shaping or other treatment of an outer surface of the source of the invention may reduce the tendency of the sources to migrate or move once implanted inside a patient when compared to conventional smooth seeds. Serrations on two or more portions of the surface of a source are particularly suitable in this respect. Such serrations may also lacerate tissue during implantation, resulting in the formation of scar tissue which may also help serve to keep the implanted source in place. Preferably, the roughening, shaping or other treatment is sufficient to reduce the tendency of a source to migrate but is not such that the sources cannot be delivered to the treatment site using conventional methodology and handling techniques. A suitable degree of roughening etc. may be found by trial and error experimentation.
If the source comprises a container comprising a composite material, then the outer surface of the container may be roughened by exploiting differences in the physical properties of the materials comprised in the composite. For example, if the composite comprises a blend of polymers that are phase separated in the blend and have different solubility properties in a particular solvent, then the surface may be roughened by exposing it to that solvent and thereby causing part of the blend to dissolve. Alternatively, if the composite comprises a polymer and a salt, then exposure to a suitable solvent may dissolve the salt but not the polymer and thereby cause roughening of the surface.
A container comprising a polymeric or ceramic could be rendered xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d by entraining particles of water soluble materials within the material of the container. For example, particles of sodium chloride which are substantially insoluble in most polymer melts could be entrained in a polymeric container. Upon exposure to water or simply by placement within the tissue of interest, the sodium chloride particles may dissolve leaving a xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d surface to the container. The resulting hyperosmotic effect around the source may also elicit a physiological response, which might help serve to anchor the source to a greater degree than normal and so avoid subsequent movement of the source.
A ceramic composite container could be prepared from two or more different but compatible ceramic materials such that exposure of the container to acid or base could selectively dissolve one or more of the carrier components so leading to a suitably roughened surface. For example, a combination of aluminum oxide and titanium oxide could afford selective dissolution in strongly basic solutions as aluminum is soluble at very high pH whilst titanium passivates and does not dissolve in such media.
Alternatively, a container may be exposed to a corrosive solution such that the surface is corroded in an uneven way to lead to a suitably roughened surface. For example, stainless steel is susceptible to crevice corrosion by action of chloride ion in an oxidizing environment at lower pH values.
Any conventional brachytherapy sources may be roughened, shaped or otherwise treated using the method of the invention to improve their ultrasound imaging visibility. For example, the ultrasound visibility of the radioactive seeds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,309, U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,116 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,228 could be improved. These seeds comprise a capsule and two radioactive pellets separated by a radiopaque marker within the capsule. The opaque marker imparts detectability by X-ray imaging of the seeds. Roughening of the surface of such capsules could be achieved for example by abrasive filing or scratching of the surface. Furthermore, abrasive roughening could be done exclusively in the region of the capsule proximal to the opaque marker in each design to thereby impart enhanced ultrasound detectability to the capsule in addition to detectability by X-ray imaging. The region of the capsule that is proximal to the radioactive pellets may not be roughened, so that the thickness of the wall of the capsule remains substantially uniform around the radioactive pellets. The dose of radiation received from such partially roughened capsule when implanted in a patient may therefore be substantially unchanged from the dose of radiation from a completely unroughened conventional capsule. Calculation and administration of the dose of radiation may then be independent of the depth or extent of the surface roughening in the region of the opaque marker. Likewise, roughening in the region of the marker may be done in depths and to degrees which may change the thickness of the capsule wall without substantially altering the profile of radiation dose received by the patient.
In a further aspect, the invention also provides a method of treatment of a condition which is responsive to radiation therapy, for example cancer, arthritis or restenosis, which comprises the temporary or permanent placement of a radioactive source comprising a radioisotope within a sealed biocompatible container, wherein at least one part of a surface of the container is roughened, shaped or otherwise treated to thereby provide irregularities or discontinuities, at the site to be treated within a patient for a sufficient period of time to deliver a therapeutically effective dose.
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The ability to effectively and efficiently capture zinc vapors is of importance. For instance, radioactive zinc can be detected from extracted tritium-producing burnable absorber rods that have been irradiated. Thus, in order to prevent radioactive contamination, it is desired to capture and trap the zinc.
Various physical and chemical methods of trapping and retaining zinc vapors have been employed. However, in certain instances, these methods employ materials which may not be suitable for use at high temperatures. In particular, these materials may not exhibit the necessary thermal stability when employed at high temperatures. As a result, they may not be as effective for trapping zinc vapors.
As a result, there is a need to provide an efficient method of trapping zinc vapors. In particular, there is a need to provide an efficient method by employing zinc getter materials that are suitable for use at high temperatures.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pigment compositions which have excellent properties for various applications, particularly non-flocculating and non-crystallising properties.
2. The Prior Art
In general, useful pigments which exhibit clear colour tone and high tinting strength in various coating compositions consist of fine particles. However, when fine particles of pigment are dispersed in non-aqueous vehicles for use as, for example, offset printing inks, gravure printing inks and paints, it is difficult to obtain stable dispersions, various problems arising with regard to the preparation, and value, of the resulting product. For instance, dispersions which contain pigments consisting of fine particles are often highly viscous and thus not only is it difficult to dispense the dispersion product and transport the same, but also, in a very bad case, the dispersion product cannot be used due to gellation during storage. Furthermore, when pigments of different types are mixed, undesirable phenomena such as colour separation by flocculation and precipitation can take place and may cause the dispersion system to be uneven in colour and may also considerably lower the tinting strength in non-aqueous vehicles. There may also arise problems such as lowering of gloss and inferiority of levelling in films made from such dispersion systems.
In addition to the problem of dispersion of the pigments, some organic pigments undergo a crystallization change. Crystals of a pigment which are unstable (from an energy viewpoint) change their sizes and form into those of a more stable state in a non-aqueous vehicle such as is used for offset printing inks, gravure printing inks and paints. This may naturally reduce the commercial value of the dispersion system, due to a remarkable change in colour tone, reduction of tinting strength and formation of coarse particles.
There have been a number of proposals to improve non-flocculation and crystal stability of pigments, particularly copper phthalocyanine pigments and quinacridone pigments.
Such proposals may be broadly classified from a technical point of view into the following two categories. The first category includes proposals for coating the surfaces of pigment particles with colourless compounds, such as silicon oxide, aluminium oxide and tert-butyl benzoate as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,370,971 and 2,965,511. The second category includes, as typically described in Japanese Pat. No. 41-2466 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,761,868, processes of admixing the pigments with compounds which are obtained by introducing into organic pigments, as a matrix skeleton, substituents (on side chains) such as a sulfo group, a sulfonamide group, an aminomethyl group, a phthalimidemethyl group and the like.
The processes of the second category are better than those of the first category, in that the second category of processes can provide better non-flocculation and crystal stability in a non-aqueous vehicle and ensure easy preparation of pigment compositions. However, the non-flocculation and crystal stability thereby obtained are not adequate.
Further, with respect to processes for mixing azo compounds, Japanese Pat. Nos. 45-11026 and 53-35090 disclose methods in which alkaline earth metal sulfonates and organic amine salt of azo dyes are admixed. However, the effects obtained by such methods are also inadequate.
Little work has been carried out with respect to pigments such as dioxazine, anthrapyrimidine, anthanthrone, indanthrone, flavanthrone, perynone, perylene, thioindigo and 4,4'-diamino-1,1'-dianthraquinonyl.
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In a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) network, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) has been specified with the aim to further increase the data rate and reduce the latency (Non-Patent Document 1). An LTE-advanced has been specified with the aim to further broaden the frequency band and increase the data rate from the LTE, and a successor system of the LTE called 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), for example has been discussed.
LTE Rel.8 to 12 have been specified assuming that exclusive operations are performed in a frequency band (that is, a licensed band) permitted to a business operator. For example, 800 MHz, 2 GHz, or 1.8 GHz is used as the licensed band.
A wide spread of high-functionality user equipments such as smartphones or tablets has increased user traffic rapidly. To absorb this increasing user traffic, although it is necessary to add additional frequency bands, there is a limit on the licensed band spectrum (licensed spectrum). Due to this, expanding the frequencies of an LTE system using an available unlicensed spectrum band (this is referred to as an unlicensed band) other than the licensed band has been discussed (Non-Patent Document 2). For example, 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz as used by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) is used as the unlicensed band. LTE Rel.13 discusses CA (Carrier Aggregation) to be performed between the licensed band and the unlicensed band as illustrated in FIG. 1. In this manner, communication performed using the unlicensed band together with the licensed band is referred to as LAA (License-Assisted Access). In future, dual connectivity of the licensed band and the unlicensed band and standalone of the unlicensed band will be the subject to be discussed in LAA.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to digital circuits. In particular, the invention relates to design synthesis.
2. Description of Related Art
Tri-state devices are useful in digital circuits to protect a circuit element from logic contention. A tri-state device has basically two modes of operation: enable mode and disable mode. In the enable mode, the tri-state device generates a logic output, either LOW or HIGH, depending on the data input. In the disable mode, the tri-state device generates a high impedance state regardless of the data input.
A Hardware Description Language (HDL) such as Verilog or Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language (VHDL) can model a tri-state device. For example, VHDL can model a tri-state device using high impedance value as a literal encoding under a condition. However, when the tri-state device is connected to a circuit that may propagate the high impedance value of the output of the tri-state device under some circuit conditions, the modeling or synthesis becomes difficult. When the circuit has a loop structure which has one or more feedback connections, the synthesis or modeling of such a circuit has not been adequately dealt with. Typically, a circuit may be modeled by a number of processes. Most existing synthesis tools implement each process independently. However, they implement the tri-state behavior correctly only to the boundary of the process. When the high impedance values are passed from one process to another, the high impedance state is lost.
Therefore, there is a need to have an efficient technique to synthesize a circuit having a loop structure and a tri-state device.
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The present invention relates to a silicone lubricant composition and more specifically the present invention relates to a silicone lubricant composition for lubricating hard metal surfaces or soft metal surfaces such as copper or bronze.
Silicone lubricants are well known for hard metal surfaces. Such silicone lubricants usually comprise an organopolysiloxane polymer which may be dimethylpolysiloxane polymer, a methyl, higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxane polymer, or chlorophenyl or tetrachlorophenyl substituted polysiloxane polymer. Also, there are silicone lubricants in which the base lubricating fluid is composed of a trifluoropropyl substituting organopolysiloxane polymer. These fluids may be utilized by themselves or with various other additives for the lubrication of metal surfaces. For instance methyl, higher-alkyl substituted organopolysiloxane polymers are very effective for lubricating hard metal surfaces. In addition dimethylpolysiloxanes with various chlorinated additives are also known for lubricating hard metal surfaces such as for instance disclosed in Agens U.S. Pat. 2,837,482 which disclosure is incorporated in the present case by reference. Such chlorinated additives as described in the foregoing Agens Patent consist of octyltetrachlorobenzoate, dioctyltetrachlorophthalate and bis-2-ethylhexyl tetrachlorophthalate. In addition various types of chlorinated phthalates can be utilized as additives for dimethylpolysiloxanes such as bis-2-alkylhexyltetrachlorophthalates. In these compounds the alkyl may contain anywhere from 2 to 8 carbon atoms. As one example for instance the methyl, higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes have been shown to be effective as a lubricant for hard metals or any metal if they have a film thickness three times the surface roughness which for most hard metal surfaces would require film thickness of 30 to 45 micro inches. Most silicone lubricants and specifically methyl, higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes have a film thickness from 20 to 30 micro inches. Accordingly, what happens with hard metals is that the methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes allow a slow attrition of the asperites in the metal surface and an improvement of the metal surface to a roughness of 5 micro inches which depth of surface roughness can be handled by the methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes to lubricate such hard metal surfaces. For dimethylpolysiloxanes which are not as effective as the methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes in lubricating metal surfaces, it is necessary to also add a chlorinated additive. Conventional chloride additives may also be added to methyl tetrachlorophenyl substituted polysiloxanes to form ferrous chloride hydrate compounds at the surface of the hard metal which is being lubricated so that the oxy chloride will shear off under stress and prevent undue wear against the hard metal surface. Accordingly in summary, it has been found out that methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxane with or without additives will function in most cases as an effective lubricant for hard metals the dimethylpolysiloxane lubricants will function as lubricants for hard metals with the addition of chloride additives and that tetrachlorophenyl substituted polysiloxanes will function to some extent without additives in lubricating hard metal surfaces but will function most effectively with the use of chlorinated additives in the lubrication of hard metal surfaces. The reason the dimethylpolysiloxane polymers and the tetrachlorophenyl substituted polymers need the additives, is that they do not form as an effective thickness of film on the hard metal surfaces as is possible with the methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes. However, all of these organopolysiloxane lubricants as well as others that haven't been mentioned above with or without the traditional chlorinated additives have a serious deficiency when it comes to lubricating soft metals, such as brass, bronze, soft steel, free machining steel, lead, copper, etc. In the case where the organopolysiloxane polymers are applied to lubricate soft metals, the wear rate is initially low and a low sliding friction prevails then after a short period of low wear a very high rate wear is experienced with a sizable increase in the sliding friction causing the metal parts to wear away at a higher rate.
It should also be pointed out that such chlorinated additives such as those of the Agens Patent are not as effective as would be desired even with silicone polymers in lubricating soft metals. When silicone lubricants are applied to lubricate soft metal, even in the case with methyl higher-alkyl substituted polysiloxanes that such prior chlorinated additives have to be utilized at very high concentrations of 4 to 10% by weight of the lubricating composition to effect any sizable change in the performance of the lubricant composition. Accordingly, it was highly desirable to be able to formulate an additive which could be utilized at small concentrations for addition to silicone polymers to prepare silicone lubricant compositions for the lubrication of soft metals. If was desired that such silicone lubricant with the additive in it would form oxychloride compounds on the soft metal surface and the soft metal being in contact with another soft metal or even a hard metal would allow the oxychloride compounds to shear off thus protecting the soft metal surface from wear. Prior art chloride additives needed to be utilized at high concentration as additives to silicone lubricants, since they were not very efficient in forming oxy chloride compounds at the point of wear.
Accordingly, it was thought it would be highly advantageous to obtain some type of chlorinated additive for such silicone lubricant which would form the appropriate type of oxychloride compounds which were needed for soft metal surfaces such as copper and bronze. Then the oxychloride compounds would be sheared off instead of the soft metal and allow the soft metal to wear gradually and not at a high rate as was experienced previously. Accordingly, it was highly desirable to formulate and obtain an additive for silicone polymers utilized in forming lubricant compositions which such additive would decrease the wear of hard metal surfaces but would more importantly decrease the wear of soft metal surfaces when they acted upon each other or when a soft metal surface acted against a hard metal surface. It should be noted that the foregoing discussion above as to the formation of oxychloride compounds at the surfaces of the metals and the function of such compounds preventing undue waer is a theoretical discussion.
In summary, what was needed was chlorinated additive or other type of additive for polysiloxane polymers that could be utilized as a lubricant to decrease the wear of metal surfaces acting against each other, which was much more efficient than the prior art organopolysiloxane polymers with various additives such as those for instance disclosed in the foregoing Agens U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,482.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide for an additive for silicone lubricants which would decrease the wear of hard metal surfaces lubricated by such silicone polymers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an additive for a silicone lubricating composition which would decrease the wear when such silicone lubricants was utilized to lubricate soft metal surfaces.
There is an additional object of the present invention to provide for an additive for a silicone lubricant composition which would decrease the wear when such lubricant composition was utilized to lubricate soft or hard metal surfaces acting against each other.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide for a silicone lubricant composition which has excellent lubricity properties for lubricating copper, bronze, and brass surfaces. These and other objects of the instant invention are accomplished by the means of the disclosure set forth herein below.
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A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning device, such as a mask, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the projection beam in a given direction (the “scanning”-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
It has been proposed to immerse the substrate in the lithographic projection apparatus in a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, e.g. water, so as to fill a space between the projection system and the substrate. The point of this is to enable imaging of smaller features since the exposure radiation will have a shorter wavelength in the liquid. (The effect of the liquid may also be regarded as increasing the effective NA of the system and also increasing the depth of focus.) Other immersion liquids have been proposed, including water with solid particles (e.g. quartz) suspended therein.
However, submersing the substrate or substrate and substrate table in a bath of liquid (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,852, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference) means that there is a large body of liquid that must be accelerated during a scanning exposure. This requires additional or more powerful motors and turbulence in the liquid may lead to undesirable and unpredictable effects.
One of the solutions proposed is for a liquid supply system to provide liquid on only a localized area of the substrate and in between the final element of the projection system and the substrate using a liquid supply system (the substrate generally has a larger surface area than the final element of the projection system). One way which has been proposed to arrange for this is disclosed in PCT patent application publication WO 99/49504, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, liquid is supplied by at least one inlet IN onto the substrate, preferably along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, and is removed by at least one outlet OUT after having passed under the projection system. That is, as the substrate is scanned beneath the element in a −X direction, liquid is supplied at the +X side of the element and taken up at the −X side. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement schematically in which liquid is supplied via inlet IN and is taken up on the other side of the element by outlet OUT which is connected to a low pressure source. In the illustration of FIG. 2 the liquid is supplied along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, though this does not need to be the case. Various orientations and numbers of in- and out-lets positioned around the final element are possible, one example is illustrated in FIG. 3 in which four sets of an inlet with an outlet on either side are provided in a regular pattern around the final element.
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Instant noodles can be divided into two types: fried noodles prepared by frying and drying noodles; and non-fried noodles prepared by drying noodles without frying. Non-fried noodles have noodle strings giving a denser feeling than that of fried noodles, and provide a texture closer to that of fresh noodles, but sticking of the noodle strings is liable to occur at the time of drying so that the noodle strings may become hard to loosen. There are several methods for drying non-fried noodles. The general one is a hot-air drying method in which noodles are dried for about 30 to 60 minutes by being exposed to the hot air having a wind speed of around 5 m/s or less and a temperature of around 70 to 100° C. Additional examples of the method include a low-temperature drying method in which noodles are dried for a long time at a low temperature, and a high-temperature and high-speed flash drying method in which noodle strings are exposed to a high-temperature and high-speed air flow at around 100° C. to 200° C. as disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Typically, in the case of fried noodles, the noodles acquire a fixed shape while floating in frying oil with moisture evaporation, and therefore a mass of the noodles is relatively bulky and the sticking of the noodle strings is relatively less likely to occur. In the case of non-fried noodles, however, since gelatinized noodles are put into a retainer and dried in the air, the noodle strings are compressed downward by the force of gravity so that the noodle strings are easily in contact with each other, and particularly in the lower surface of the noodle mass, the noodle strings collect in a high concentration, resulting in easy sticking thereof. When the sticking of noodle strings occurs, the noodle strings are hard to loosen at the time of cooking or eating, and hot water is less likely to penetrate in the stuck noodle strings at the time of cooking. The part in which hot water does not sufficiently penetrate fails to be rehydrated, and thus is deteriorated in texture.
As a technique for preventing the sticking of noodle strings, for example, there is known a method in which noodle strings are loosened by blowing air onto a noodle mass in a retainer as disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3. However, the loosening devices disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 are intended to improve the loosening of noodle strings in such a manner that the noodle strings put in the retainer are separated so as not to form a mountain-like mass in the retainer, failing to provide a sufficient loosening effect. Particularly, in these devices, the noodle strings are pushed toward the bottom of the retainer, especially toward a corner portion (peripheral portion) of the bottom of the retainer, so that sticking of noodle strings in such a position may occur.
On the other hand, for the purpose of reducing the sticking of noodle strings and improving the loosening thereof, there is an option of preparing a bulky-shaped noodle mass to reduce the contact area among the noodle strings as much as possible. Such a technique for drying noodles while preventing the sticking of noodle strings by preparing a bulky noodle mass is disclosed in Patent Documents 4 and 5.
The invention in Patent Document 4 defines the density of a mass of non-fried noodles that are easily loosened with good rehydration (restorability). The document discloses, as a method for preparing the noodle mass with a low noodle mass density, a method in which wind having a low temperature (30° C.) is blown upward from below the noodle mass at a wind speed of 5 m/s.
Patent Document 5 describes that instant noodles which are easily loosened with good restorability are provided by a technique of adjusting the water content of steamed noodles in the retainer to a predetermined level and then drying the noodles by the compressed air blown from below the retainer to prepare a bulky noodle mass. Patent Document 6 includes no direct description about sticking of noodle strings, but describes a technique of blowing the dry air from below a retainer having multiple air holes in its bottom surface to generate an air flow along the inner wall and bottom surface of the retainer so as to give buoyancy to noodle strings, and thereby drying them while preventing the noodle mass from adhering on the retainer.
All the techniques in Patent Documents 4, 5 and 6 are, however, those of blowing the air upward from below a retainer, in which the air blown from below first collides against the bottom surface of the retainer so that the force of the air is weakened, and accordingly the drying efficiency is reduced and the effect of improving the loosening of noodle strings may not be sufficiently attained.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for monitoring of biological activity, and more particularly to a medical hard disk drive monitor to be implanted in a patient for gathering and monitoring of the patient's medical information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Advances in medical science are now making possible treatments for many diseases and disabilities which would have been impossible before. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for treatment in most medical situations, and accumulation of data is nearly always a pre-requisite to accurate diagnosis. Certain medical conditions require accumulation of data over a long period of time in order to identify patterns in symptoms or trends in biological parameters which may be monitored, such as heart rate, blood pressure, enzyme levels in the blood stream, etc. This accumulated data over the course of many days, weeks, or even years must be collected and organized for analysis. With the continuing miniaturization of data storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs), it has become possible to implant data storage devices into a patient's body, so that data from implanted sensors can be more easily collected. The ever-expanding capacity of these data storage devices means that data can be gathered for longer and longer periods without removal or replacement of the HDD.
Prior medical HDD monitors have been found to have certain limitations and to lack certain desirable features. In particular, it would be desirable that since the device is implanted in the user's body that it be provided with a power source which is easily recharged without subjecting the user to unnecessary surgery. It is also desirable that the data collected and transmitted by the medical HDD monitor would be encrypted, to ensure the user's privacy. Another desirable feature is that the HDD monitor would have an included mirrored HDD to make sure that the data, which may literally be a matter of life and death to the user, is held in a back-up copy. An additional desirable feature is that the medical HDD monitor would be sound-proofed, to provide the user with privacy, and to avoid occasional embarrassment. It is also desirable that the medical HDD would be provided with a system for tracking the user's whereabouts, in case of a medical emergency. Another desirable feature would be that the medical HDD be prevented from shocks and concussions by a shock protection system. A further desirable feature would be for the medical HDD monitor to be provided with an electrical grounding system to protect the medical HDD monitor, so that in case of exposure to high voltage or current spikes, perhaps while the user is being resuscitated by a defibrillation device, the medical HDD is not damaged. Also, it would be desirable that the medical HDD monitor be equipped with a signaling device that could alert either the user or medical personnel in case of a detected medical emergency or condition.
Thus there is a need for a medical HDD monitor which would be protected from intrusion by encryption of information, would also be available in a redundant mode, would have transmission signals in the radio frequency range, would be fabricated with sound-proofing materials, would be equipped to communicate with satellite communication signals via the public GPS frequencies and protocol, would also be available with materials and electronics that adequately ground the drive from exposure to high voltage or current spikes, would be easily rechargeable with minimal disturbance to the user, and which is also protected from mechanical shocks and concussions.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bezel assembly, and more particularly to a bezel assembly with a button relaying member which reliably operates a button thereof to actuate a switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many electronic products have bezels attached to their front faces. Any typical product among a variety of electronic products has a variety of controlling buttons attached to its bezel. A contacting pole extrudes from the back of each button, for actuating a trigger of a switch of an appropriate controlling circuit when the button is pushed. A spring is placed around each contacting pole, to enable the button to return to its original position. However, the contacting pole of the button and the trigger of the switch are both small parts of these tiny components. This leads a limited engaging area between the button and the switch. Furthermore, manufacture and location tolerances always exists, it also reduces the engaging area or even causes no any touches therbetween. All of above may lead the predetermined operation to being unliabe or unenforceable. Furthermore, the contacting pole of the button is prone to be blocked in the electronic product, and can not be restored by the spring.
An improved bezel assembly which overcomes the above-mentioned problems is desired.
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{
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Custom animation software has gained significantly popularity over the years. Such popularity, coupled with the continuing advances in personal electronic equipment, particularly handheld devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, has resulted in an increasing demand for powerful and flexible custom animation software that may be used on or by a number of different electronic devices. Current custom animation software, however, still tends to leave certain users with a desire for more creative ways to manipulate characters, particularly predetermined or predefined characters.
Thus, there remains a need for a way to address these and other problems associated with the prior art.
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Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has proven to be a key technology for accommodating large bandwidths for the global spread of multimedia communications in optical fiber networks. In WDM-based networks, optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) devices used to insert (add) or extract (drop) a specific wavelength in optical fiber communication systems are essential. These components allow the extraction of a wavelength from a transmission loop and the addition of the same wavelength to the network (Reference: T. Erdogan, “Optical add-drop multiplexer based on an asymmetric bragg coupler”, Optics Communication 157, 249-264 (1998)). Numerous different architectures of add/drop filters based on optical waveguides have been demonstrated. These include Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based add/drop filters (Reference: D. Gauden, E. Goyat, C. Vaudry, P. Yvernault, and P. Pureur, “Tunable Mach-Zehnder-based add-drop multiplexer”, Electro. Letter 40, 1374-1375 (2004)), grating-assisted co-directional couplers (Reference: M. Kalishov, V. Gralsky, J. Schwartz, X. Daxhelet, and D. V. Plant, “Tunable waveguide transmission gratings based on active gain control”, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electro. 40, 1715-1724 (2004)), asymmetric Bragg coupler (ABC) based filters (Reference: T. Erdogan, “Optical add-drop multiplexer based on an asymmetric bragg coupler”, Optics Communication 157, 249-264 (1998)), and Bragg reflector channel waveguide filters (Reference: M. Dainese, M. Swillo, L. Wosinslki, and L. Thylen, “Directional coupler wavelength selective filter based on dispersive bragg reflection waveguide”, Optics Communication 260, 514-521 (2006)). MZI-based add/drop filters yield excellent insertion loss and channel isolation, and they can be built on both all-fiber and integrated-optics platforms. However, their performance is extremely sensitive to the balance of the interferometer and relative placement of the two gratings; therefore, some post-fabrication trimming is often necessary. A grating-assisted co-directional coupler, consisting of two dissimilar waveguides and a long period grating, has been widely discussed for use as a wavelength filter. It has the advantage of a long grating period (about a few tens of micrometers), facilitates the fabrication by using standard photolithography, and has a low back-reflection characteristic, avoiding unwanted optical resonances. The main drawback of such a device is that when it operates in a small spectral bandwidth, a long interaction grating length (about a few hundreds of grating periods) is required. Therefore, it is not beneficial for device integration. Bragg reflector channel waveguide filters have excellent return loss and crosstalk characteristics and are inherently very stable. However, the need for non-reciprocal optical circulators limits its application in integrated optical formats. ABC-based filters, which operate in a contra-directional mode, are not sensitive to grating placement for obtaining a desired filter spectrum. Therefore, they have better stability and reproducible mass production than MZI-based filters.
Polymeric materials offer a conceivable platform to fabricate complex yet affordable integrated optical devices, especially dense wavelength division multiplexers, on a planar substrate; this is due to the benefits of low production cost, easy processing, and mechanical flexibility. Polymer surface-relief Bragg grating, which provides a narrow bandwidth, low crosstalk, and flat-top pass band, has become an essential component for various applications in optical communications and optical sensing. For example, Butler et al used polymer surface-relief Bragg grating on an integrated optical waveguide structure to fabricate a chemical sensor (Reference: T. M. Bulter, E. Igata, S. J. Sheard, and N. Blackie, “Integrated optical Bragg-grating-based chemical sensor on a curved input edge waveguide structure,” Opt. Lett., 24, 525-527 (1999)). Noh et al demonstrated a cost-effective tunable wavelength laser based on the thermo-optic tuning of a polymer waveguide Bragg reflector for WDM optical communications (Reference: Y. O. Noh, H. J. Lee, J. J. Ju, M. S. Kim, S. H. Oh, and M. C. Oh, “Continuously tunable compact lasers based on thermo-optic polymer waveguides with Bragg gratings,” Opt. Express 16, 18194-18201 (2008)). Other applications of tunable lasers and filters were demonstrated in the references: G J., J. H. Lee, M. Y. Park, C. Y. Kim, S. H. Cho, W. Lee, and B. W. Kim, “Over 26-nm Wavelength Tunable External Cavity Laser Based on Polymer Waveguide Platforms for WDM Access Networks,” IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 18, 2102-2104 (2006); J. H. Lee, M. Y. Park, C. Y. Kim, S. H. Cho, W. Lee, G J., and B. W. Kim, “Tunable External Cavity Laser Based on Polymer Waveguide Platform for WDM Access Network,” IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 17, 1956-1958 (2005); M. C. Oh, H. J. Lee, M. H. Lee, J. H. Ahn, S. G Han, and H. G. Kim, “Tunable wavelength filters with Bragg gratings in polymer waveguides,” Applied Physics letters 73, 2543-2545 (1998).
The inventors of the present invention recently demonstrated a process to rapidly produce submicron range gratings on waveguide for optical filters using soft lithography, micro-molding, and holographic interference techniques. In this method, the grating structure on a polymer is first fabricated using holographic interferometry and the micro-molding processes. Polymeric wavelength filters are produced by a two-step molding process where the master mold is first formed on a negative tone photo-resist and subsequently transferred to a PDMS mold; following this step, the PDMS silicon rubber mold is used as a stamp to transfer the pattern of the polymeric wavelength filters onto a UV cure epoxy. A high aspect ratio and vertical waveguide sidewalls are obtained by this method, and consistent reproduction of the grating on a UV polymer has been achieved with this process (Reference: W. C. Chuang, C. T. Ho and W. C. Wang, “Fabrication of a high resolution periodical structure using a replication process” Opt. Express 13, 6685-6692 (2005); W. C. Chuang, C. K. Chao and C. T. Ho, “Fabrication of a high resolution periodical structure on polymer waveguide using a replication process” Opt. Express 15, 8649-8659 (2007)). In the present invention, we describe a technique that combines the holographic interferometry, soft lithography, and a simple replication processes for fabricating a polymeric ABC.
Polymeric ABC filters were constructed using the planar channel waveguide configuration. A pair of parallel channel waveguides with different widths was embedded into a planar substrate (Referring to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b)). The two waveguides are asynchronous because the effective refractive indices of the two waveguides are quite different. In spite of the large index mismatch between the two waveguides, an efficient power coupling was achieved using the Bragg grating engraved on the bottom of the two waveguides. The maximum cross-reflection power coupling occurred at a specific wavelength λd1 (Bragg wavelength) satisfying the Bragg reflection condition, (neff1+neff2)Λ=λd1, where neff1 and neff2 are the effective indices of the two waveguide modes and Λ is the grating period. It implies that the center wavelength of the ABC filter is proportional to the sum of the effective indices of the two individual waveguides. Therefore, when the effective index of any individual waveguide was changed it results in a shift in the center wavelength. Furthermore, an unwanted reflection wavelength, denoted by self-reflection Bragg wavelength (λd2), caused by the grating of input waveguide is occurred in the input end. The self-reflection light results in broadening the transmission spectrum of the filters if its spectrum overlaps with the spectrum of cross-reflection light. Such unwanted reflection light can be eliminated by suppressing the grating depth of the input waveguide. Another method is to make the two decoupled waveguides quite dissimilar to avoid the spectrum overlapping.
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The manufacture of composite material components generally require use of a large number of individual parts or panels, comprised of various types, sizes, orientations and thicknesses of materials required to support the construction of various composite parts. Specifically, the aerospace industry requires a large number of panels (which may be referred to in the aerospace industry as plies, and thus may be used interchangeably) to be used as filler materials, in order to construct a single aircraft. These filler materials comprise a number of panels having a variety of shapes and sizes, but sometimes a large number of panels having similar size and shape are required. As an example, graduated sizes of nearly rectangular panels of filler material sometimes need to be prepared such that many panels can be compacted together for use in construction of an aircraft. In order to obtain each of these individual panels of filler material, each panel would have to be cut individually from a fabric sheet. In an alternative manner of development, panel parts having a similar size have been designed in a series pattern to be cut together, but the panel parts would later have to be separated using a cutting device.
When the number of panel fillers needed for construction reaches large quantities, the number of panels (or plies) required increases by as much as approximately tenfold. This increase in the number of panels required sometimes results in a laminate build-up with bevels on all four edges. The graduation of sizes produces the bevel shape, as the part would not be trimmed after compaction. Some attempts have been to compact large pieces of fabric into a laminate, corresponding to the necessary filler thickness, and then the panel fillers would be cut using a ply cutter, such as an AGFM 6 axis ply cutter. However, the appropriate tooling is not always available which makes this a less viable option.
Alternatives to cutting each panel individually includes cutting rectangles of material into individual panels of a certain size and then compacting those rectangles to build a filler. Each panel is graduated by a certain offset to be a different net size, so as the second panel would be offset again from the net size of the first panel, and so forth until the number of panels (or plies) needed for the laminate was complete. With this method of preparing panels, given the volume of pieces and the number of different types of panels needed, it presents a challenge to keep the panels organized so that the desired panels can be easily identified and selected for use in the compacting process to form a filler. Having each panel separate requires marking and tracking each panel individually. Further, given that the panels would typically be strewn across a compaction table, the panels would have to be collected from the table to form a kit for later assembly and thus the laminate may need to be created at the compaction table. This results in reduced flexibility in where and how these fillers are prepared for use in the construction process, particularly given that the pieces would have to be stacked sequentially to meet requirements for proper assembly.
Other options for preparation of these fillers have included using tab-out stringers; building ply blankets and then cutting out the panels using a cutter, such as an AGFM cutter; using a Gerber cutter; using a two-step filler (filler and postage stamp); and using a one-step filler plus shear tie shim. Use of tab-out stringers has shown not to be preferable as there is significant material waste. When a ply blanket is built, the AGFM knife must cut through several lengths of material bearing the pattern at the same time and this is not an easy task to perform with an AGFM. When a traditional Gerber cutter is used, each panel must still be cut individually and each piece must be selected individually from the compaction table once cut. Further, the Gerber cutter only cuts a 90 degree cut. Thus, use of this method results in no time savings. Using a two-step filler process results in lay-up complexity (hand lay-up, automation issues, location tolerance), assembly complexity (shear-tie foot, probability of shimming), tooling complexity, and engineering complexity. Similarly, the one-step filler plus shear tie shim process results in lay-up complexity (hand lay-up), automation issues (location tolerance), assembly complexity (shear-tie foot, probability of shimming), tooling complexity, as well as engineering complexity.
These prior methods described above require time-consuming manual preparation and organization of the panels to later be used in filler materials. When the same selection of panels are to be used over and over again, a problem results in that these panels are not being organized or stacked together initially, and thus, the user has to search for the appropriate panels each time a filler is to be prepared. As the number of small parts needed increases, the number of steps for cutting the small parts increases as well.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a static electricity preventing assembly and a method of manufacturing a static electricity preventing assembly, employable by, e.g., a display device. More particularly, the invention relates to a static electricity preventing assembly, and a method of manufacturing a static electricity preventing assembly, for a display device in which metal wiring lines and a metal substrate may be electrically connected to each other.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Display devices may include, e.g., thin film transistor (TFT) devices. Such TFT devices may be damaged by static electricity during and/or after processing. Static electricity may be generated when, e.g., external opposite charges are instantaneously applied, thereby causing discharge that results in high current flow. Static electricity may damage a gate insulating layer of a TFT device, thereby deteriorating the TFT device. To help reduce and/or prevent such discharge from being electrified into static electricity, the charges in the metal wiring lines may be commonly extinguished.
A conventional static electricity preventing assembly may include a first shorting bar electrically connected to a plurality of scan lines, and a second shorting bar. The first shorting bar may enable the plurality of scan lines to have a same voltage, and the second shorting bar may enable the plurality of data lines to have a same voltage so as to help prevent charges from being concentrated in one or more areas. In conventional static electricity preventing assemblies, an effectiveness of the static preventing assembly depends on an area of the shorting bar(s) serving as the primary charge dissipation structure for charges generated in the metal wiring lines.
More particularly, when a large amount of charges are generated, the plurality of scan lines and/or the plurality of data lines may not have the same voltage and charges may be concentrated on one or more areas. When charges concentrate in one or more areas, external opposite charges may be attracted to the areas of concentrated charges, thereby generating discharge that may damage the device.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to fluidized beds and, more particularly, to a fluidized bed heat exchanger in which a baffle system is provided for separating the entrained particulate bed material from the discharging air and gaseous products of combustion.
The use of fluidized beds has been recognized as an attractive means of generating heat. In these arrangements, air is passed through a bed of particulate material, which normally consists of a mixture of inert material and a fossil fuel such as coal, to fluidize the bed and to promote the combustion of the fuel. When the fluidized bed system is utilized as a steam generator, a boiler, a gasifier, or the like, it offers an attractive combination of high heat release, improved heat transfer to surfaces within the bed, and compact size.
In all fluidized bed reaction processes unreacted or partly reacted particles are entrained by the air and gaseous products of combustion passing upwardly from the bed and escape into an area immediately above the bed commonly referred to as a "freeboard space." In a majority of these type of designs, the height of the freeboard space must be limited to less than an optimum value to reduce heat losses and maintain high inlet temperatures.
However, this limitation of the freeboard space height is not without disadvantages. For example, it curtails the residence time of the gases in the freeboard space resulting in less than optimum reaction efficiency. Also, it is inconsistent with the design goal of maintaining the freeboard space at temperatures at, above, or near operating bed temperatures to kinetically promote more complete reactions above the bed. Further, it promotes a maldistribution of the gaseous products of combustion which renders the latter excessively rich in carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons resulting in incomplete combustion.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Based on clinical studies, it has been reported that babies would develop furor and fear soon after birth or in the first few years after birth because of leaving the cozy womb to a strange and muddling environment. Once in a while, they become agitated and too sensitive. Therefore, their parents have to be extremely patient and indulgent to calm them down. Many parents provide their annoying babies with 10 comfort nipples to make them appeased. There is no doubt that the comfort nipple plays a significant role in comforting babies. In addition, to feed babies medicines always is a nightmare for most parents.
To solve these troubles the bi-functional comfort nipple is invented. With its simple configuration, the invention performs two functions as a comfort nipple and medicine feeder.
The bi-functional comfort nipple is composed of a nipple and a shank. A precise scale is set on the surface of the nipple. In the front of the shank is a plunger well fit to the cross section of the hollow barrel in the inside of the nipple. Moving the shank along the scale can push precise dosage of medicine from the barrel into the baby's mouth. The shank can always be kept in its position as a part of the comfort nipple and would not disturb the baby.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Small boats that employ electric trolling motors are known and are typically used on lakes and ponds for recreation and fishing. They are popular for a number of reasons. They are relatively small, lightweight, easy to handle and maneuver and can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
However, many trolling motor boats of this type do not integrate the trolling motors into the hull of the boat. Instead, trolling motors are attached to an exterior portion of the boat and because of that the trolling motors appear to be, and often are, add-ons. This means that the trolling motors may hang from the side of the boat and impair the boat's ability to be maneuvered through close quarters. Further, if the boat is transported from one lake to another, the trolling motors may have to be removed and replaced. In addition, security may be an issue if the boat with the trolling motors mounted thereon is left unattended.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a small, recreational boat that utilizes electric trolling motors where the trolling motors are integrated into the hull of the boat.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a submicron disc filter in use for filtering various chemicals, pure water and various gases, and more particularly to an improvement in such a submicron disc filter having a filter element constituted by superposing a plurality of filter units each including a support member and filter membranes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In connection with filtering various pharmaceuticals, chemicals and gases in use for production of electronic parts, and pure water used in food industry, such filters are required to have chemical-resistance, heat-resistance, and a filter precision of submicron order. Accordingly, a variety of submicron disc filters for such ultrafiltration have been proposed and used. One of such submicron disc filters is configured as follows: The filter consists of a filter element housed in a casing. The filter element includes a plurality of superposed filter units. The filter unit is constructed of a disc-type annular support member whose major parts on its both sides or surfaces are covered with porous filter membranes for ultrafiltration. Each support member is constructed of upper and lower counterparts which are secured to each other. Each counterpart is of the type of a grid to support the filter membrane thereon. Additionally, fluid flow passages are formed between the upper and lower counterparts so that filtrate after filtration with the filter membrane flows along the fluid flow passages to an axial fluid flow passage formed axially in the filter element.
However, in such a submicron disc filter of the above-mentioned construction, the structure of each support member for the filter membranes is considerably complicated and therefore difficult to produce. In this connection, high precision is required in production of the support member counterpart because the two support member counterparts are fitted with each other to form a support member. Additionally, such a structure unavoidably inceases the thickness of each support member, so that it is difficult to increase the number of filter units of the filter element in a casing having a limited volume. This makes it difficult to increase the filtering area of the filter element, thereby allowing pressure drop increase and filter life shortening. Furthermore, since the surface of the support member is grid-shaped, angular corners and edges tend to be formed on the support member surface on which the considerably thin and soft filter membrane is supported receiving fluid pressure of the fluid to be filtered. Accordingly, when a high fluid pressure acts on the filter membrane particularly in th event that clogging proceeds, concentrated stress is generated at the angular corners and edges, thereby stretching the filter membrane to enlarge the pore size thereof or to tear the filter membrane.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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