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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a grill cooker and smoker combination for rendering a grill cooker convertible into a smoker in which a grill cooker can increase its utility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The relevant prior art for grill cookers is known to have a bowl in which the fuel for cooking is deposited beneath a grill which supports the objects to be cooked are placed. The cooker is provided with a cover to reflect the heat back to the grill to retain the heat and smoke. While smoke can influence the taste characteristics of the objects placed on the grill, the closeness of the objects on the grill to the burning fuel results in rapid cooking which prevents obtaining a desired smoked taste quality.
Attempts have been made to devise a cooker that is able to convert to a smoker in a single embodiment, such as shown in a Weber-Stephen Model No. 2890. That embodiment requires an access door to the fine area for the addition of fuel. The objection is that the method of introducing fuel for smoking is very haphazard in regard to being able to establish the right amount of fuel which is an important aspect for obtaining good smoking results.
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Wind turbines are currently being designed with blades which can attain several tens of meters. Such blades clearly present numerous technical problems, and likewise logistical problems. The terrestrial or maritime transport of these structures can prove to be problematic, especially if the accessibility of the implantation zone is difficult.
From a technical point of view, the utilization of composite materials permits the blades to be lightened, and hence the stress on the entire structure of the wind turbine to be reduced.
From a logistical point of view, the assembly of sections of blades on site permits the criticality and the cost of the phases of transport to be reduced.
It is thus advantageous to be able to transport these blades in the form of sections that are subsequently assembled at the production site.
However, producing these sections and assembling them gives rise to the problem of the assembly of components made of composite materials, from the point of view of a mechanically optimized solution in terms of mass, cost and simplicity.
Different types of connections and methods of assembly are available for components such as sections of wind turbine blades, and reference may be made here, for example, to the types of connections and methods disclosed in documents FR 2 937 687 A1, FR 2 937 689 A1 in the name of the applicant, which propose solutions for which the sections may be folded over, and FR 2 948 154 A1, which proposes a solution having fasteners at the end provided by means of fittings extending a central box of the blade sections.
These connections and methods of assembly generally require numerous components and are based, in particular, on the utilization of interface means inserted between the composite parts of the sections.
It is also known to produce junctions of components by jointing.
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The present invention is related to computer Chat Room systems or similar network-based systems providing services to network users, specifically, the automated process of paging a chatter or other network participant. In one embodiment the paging may result in a display of information related to one or more chatters within a Chat Room system. In a related embodiment, the paging may be an audio, visual or similar sensory cue which may or may not be associated with a visual display related to the other chatter.
Heretofore, a number of patents and publications have disclosed computer-based Chat Room systems, the relevant portions of which may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,916 to Busey et al. for a “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REAL TIME COMMUNICATION OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK,” issued Jun. 9, 1998 is an exemplary representation of a Chat Room.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,839 to Moncreiff for a “COMPUTER NETWORK CHAT ROOM BASED ON CHANNEL BROADCASTS IN REAL TIME,” issued in Oct. 27, 1998 is directed to one or more Chat Rooms with the conversation being related to TV/Radio broadcasts of the chatters' preferences. The spirits of these inventions best capture the essence of the present-day Chat Room system; people conversing via a computer network designed to accommodate chatters with themed Chat Rooms for the purpose of initiating a common conversation. Traditionally, those chatting have had to type the conversation, however, Voice and Video communication technology is being introduced through Internet Portals using data compression methods similar to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,927 to Gillon et al., issued Nov. 17, 1998 for a “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING A CONTINUOUS, INDISTINCT DATA STREAM.”
WO 98/16045 to Goldfinger et al., PCT Publication of 16 Apr. 1998 for a “COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM,” hereby incorporated by reference for its teachings, is directed to a communication network wherein users of the network can list “sought” users and the sought users are identified to the “seeking” user whenever they are “on-line.” The list of sought users must, however, have been predefined by the seeking user. The publication further describes in detail, aspects of such a system, wherein the user's are tracked or identified by an identifier or identification code, and the identifier is associated with the user's network address of the user's communication terminal.
Furthermore, various well-known Internet Portals (IPs) such as Yahoo.com, Excite.com, AOL.com have Chat Rooms systems with functionality beyond simple conversation (communication via typing on a keyboard or via voice chat). For example, these Internet portals employ Chat Rooms systems that provide additional functionality such as: 1. Search Engine—Many Chat Room systems provide search engines that enable a user to search for other chatters by inputting previously known chat name(s) and being presented with a list of where the desired chatter(s) are “chatting.” The user normally has previously encountered and conversed with the other chatter(s) and is simply looking for a chatters' chat name within the search engine archives to see if that person is currently logged into the Chat Room system. This information is valuable to a user, because it shows whether the other chatter(s) is available to chat in real-time. Usually, this functionality accompanies a display, providing a link that takes the user from the search engine interface screen directly to a Chat Room in the system. This is a completely proactive approach of finding friends. 2. Paging System—Several chat systems allow a chatter to keep a list of “friends” within the Chat Room system memory. When a chatter is logged into the Chat Room system, the Chat Room software will prompt or page the user upon detecting that one or more friends are logged in the chat system. A display of the chat name within the user's current Chat Room will appear notifying the user that the friend is logged into the system. 3. Profile—Many chat Room systems use a database to provide or display a list of characteristics of one chatter to another chatter. The characteristics, (the data) are provided to the Chat Room system by the chatters themselves. Commonly, chatters are given a set of questions to answer when first registering or logging into a Chat Room system. The answers to these questions are intended for display to other chatters. Criteria such as personal interests, hobbies, geographic location, age group, astrological information and sexual preferences are stored in a database and may subsequently be compiled into a list, which is revealed graphically, to other chatters in a visual display window should the other chatters choose to look at such a profile. The profile is commonly accessed by chatters using a computer mouse that enables the chatter to click a button and bring up another chatter's profile, where the button typically launches a new and separate display to the chatter revealing the profile. 4. Navigation within a Chat Room System—A chatter attends and moves to new Chat Rooms by clicking on a link that conveys to the computer Chat Room software (such as IRCD “Internet Relay Chat Daemon”) that the chatter wishes to move to the Room that Corresponds to the link. Within the Chat Room system, there are a multiple of rooms. Each room has a theme or topic for discussion. For example, there are rooms that have a politics theme. A chatter would click the appropriate link for the politics room in order to chat with others about politics.
Most Chat Room systems have functionality that allows a maximum number of chatters to chat in one room. For instance, the functionality may only allow up to twenty-five chatters to chat in one room at a time. This is a necessary limitation, as too much activity in a room may hinder the ability to comprehend or create fluidity in a conversation. Hypothetically, the theme of this room could be Politics. With this model, the Chat Room system software will automatically create a new room of the same theme (Politics) once the room reaches its limitation of 25 chatters within a room. This new room will accommodate any new chatters who wish to be in the Politics Room.
Perhaps more important is the fact that when a new chatroom is created, a user who enters later may not know that other chatters he/she is accustomed to seeing are already participating in a filled chat room. The current invention eliminates such problems by showing (or paging) a user with characteristics of another person who may be in the same chat system, but in another room.
For example, if there were 300,000 chatters that Yahoo has at any one time in the same room, there wouldn't be a need for paging, because one could see all of the characteristics that are shown in the room (Assuming that one has a visual display devise that will show all 300,000 chatters' names at once.) The limitation of the number of users in any particular chat room emphasize the advantages of a profile display or paging system as described herein.
Ultimately, the Chat Room systems are very similar. There are multiple rooms; each room has a theme, or topic to induce a common conversation. Each chatter has a fictitious name and a means of finding other chatters via a search engine. And lastly, they have a paging system that will display information to a chatter if a friend(s) should log into the Chat System during the time that the chatter is logged into the system himself. These Chat Room systems' style of communication is effective for initiating or guiding a common conversation. They are designed to unite chatters with the intent of creating conversation subject matter through themed rooms, such as politics, for the sake of a common conversation. It will be appreciated that the paging of “friends,” as provided by one aspect of the present invention, may not be important for inducing a conversation based on a themed room. However, the purpose of identifying the common paging process is that the pager in any other chat room is completely pro-active. Thus, a “friends” paging system only pages those who already know each other and functions only when the user enables or programs it to do so.
The aforementioned Chat Room functionality does not provide a way of introducing, prompting or paging unknown or non-“friends” chatters based upon either personality traits (including, for example, astrological sign) and/or geographic location. This functionality, however, is crucial for establishing lasting interpersonal relationships that extend beyond a Chat Room experience. Unfortunately, well-known Chat Room systems are not designed to unite chatters for the sake of creating new and meaningful interpersonal relationship with another chatter.
It is common knowledge, in the psychiatric community, that interpersonal relationships are most successful when the people involved have much in common. Examples of commonality include chatters having similar interests, such as a leisure time activity, or commonality of the area in which they live. Living within the same area or city accommodates a more likely chance that chatters will establish more involved relationships outside of the Chat Room system. However, there is no paging (or introduction) system that will alert a user should another unknown chatter, have favorable commonalities such as geographic area and common psychological traits; thereby matching people from all over the world that are logged into the Chat Room system.
Knowledge of being able to share in these common leisure time activities, with other chatters, and having commonalities in psychological traits assures the chatters of a greater chance of successful relationship. On this point, existing Chat Room systems are believed to be inferior because they are unable to alert, page, or otherwise notify a user that there is another chatter(s) that meets favorable requirements for a successful interpersonal relationship.
The present invention is, therefore, directed to a new system designed to unite chatters for the purpose of creating new interpersonal relationships. The system is referred to as an Intelligence Driven Paging Process (IDPP). The IDPP is a process that augments and adds functionality to the profile functionality of known Chat Room systems and provides a means for promoting or prompting communications between two or more individuals. The current and common profiling system only displays profile information to a user upon request, usually by clicking a link. Because the profile display process of conventional Chat Room systems is only initiated when a user requests the information, it can be seen as reactive. Once the buttoned is clicked, the Chat Room system launches a separate and new display for review, where the display depicts the profile information of only one chatter.
Conversely, one aspect of the IDPP is different in that it is proactive and automated; instead of waiting for a chatter to click a button to review a profile, the IDPP uses predetermined preferences to ascertain personal compatibility between chatters based upon profile information for each chatter logged into the Chat Room system. If the IDPP system determines that these preferences are favorable for interpersonal compatibility, the system will automatically notify or page the chatters to be introduced.
It will be further appreciated that a user may control the desirable profile characteristics that will be used to select chatters for display to the user. It will also be appreciated that the simple process of displaying a table, or similar visual representation, of chatter profile information in association with an ongoing chat session may prove, in and of itself, a valuable feature.
This novel paging process is further intended to solve the problem of overcrowded Chat Room systems. For example, large Internet Portals such as America Online and Yahoo may have hundreds or thousands of chatters within the system at any given time. It is impossible for a user to view every profile of the other chatters (via a link to a profile display) who were logged into the Chat Room system at that given time; people log in and out of the system randomly. Another aspect of the IDPP solves this problem due to its proactive, intelligence-driven paging process. More specifically, the IDPP may be employed to notify a user of other chatters' characteristics without having to click on links to find other chatters' profile information. The IDPP uses the profile information and preset compatibility preferences of all chatters that are logged into the Chat Room system in order to determine interpersonal compatibility. If the IDPP's system logic determines that two or more people are compatible (using Compatibility Criteria), the profile information may be automatically displayed. This saves chatters time by not requiring them to click on the profiles of every chatter within the system to determine the compatibility of said chatters.
The Compatibility Criteria used by the IDPP can be identified and determined by well-established psychological methods. The methods used may also be based upon identified commonality between chatters' personality traits and geographic location. Commonality includes that of psychological personality traits; such as the way chatters interact emotionally or the way chatters cognitively function. Any given information will suffice, however.
As will be appreciated by those knowledgeable in the area of psychiatry, there are myriad of methods to identify cognitive and emotional personality traits in order to create data for a Chat Room system to determine which chatters should be introduced to other chatters. These traits or data can be identified and saved into the Chat Room system memory. The data that is saved into the system memory can be used to compare such data to the archived data of all other chatters within the Chat Room system.
For example, the IDPP may use the results of standard industry personality typing tests such as the Myers, Briggs Personality Assessment Test or the Keirsey, Bates Temperament Sorter, another personality typing system, as used in Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types, published in 1978 by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates. Additionally, Astrology, a controversial science spanning thousands of years, can be used to identify and describe such traits. These are only two examples of ways to determine and identify data of a chatter needed to compare with data of other chatters. Data required for comparison may be as simple as marital status (e.g., single and divorced chatters being identified as compatible), need for employment, religious preferences, or age.
As used herein, the processes are examples of ways that are intended to identify facets of a chatter's personality. It does not matter which system is used for identifying these facets, as the IDPP system will compare any and all data contained in chatters' profiles in order to page and Introduce two or more of said chatters.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for the automated display of human participant-specific data to a human participant of a network chat room, comprising the steps of: (a) collecting human participant customized data for a plurality of chat room participants; (b) storing, in memory, the human participant customized data collected, (c) sorting said human participant customized data from a plurality of chat room participants by participant-specified preferences; and (d) automatically displaying sorted human participant customized data to at least one participant in association with a network chat room.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining the compatibility of at least two participants in a chat room, and for the automated paging of compatible participants, comprising the steps of: (a) collecting human participant customized data for a plurality of chat room participants; (b) storing, in memory, the human participant customized data collected; (c) sorting said human participant customized data from a plurality of chat room participants by participant-specified preferences; (d) automatically computing the compatibility of at least two human participants, and (e) paging the participants to indicate their compatibility.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically prompting compatible users in a network based upon a compatibility criteria, comprising the steps of: (a) collecting human participant customized data for a plurality of network users; (b) storing, in memory, the human participant customized data collected; (c) sorting said human participant customized data from a plurality of network users by participant-specified preferences; (d) automatically computing the compatibility of at least two network users using the predetermined criteria; and (e) paging the network users to indicate their compatibility.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for the automated display of human participant-specific data to a human participant of a network chat room, comprising: a computer network for collecting human participant customized data for a plurality of chat room participants; a database for storing, in a memory, the human participant customized data collected via the network; and a processor, associated with said network and with access to said database, for sorting said human participant customized data from a plurality of chat room participants using compatibility criteria, and automatically displaying at least a portion of the sorted human participant customized data to at least one participant in association with the network chat room.
The techniques described herein are advantageous because they significantly improve the functionality of traditional chat rooms, with little additional overhead. Moreover, the techniques provide to chat rooms, the opportunity to easily identify compatible chatters, avoiding the tedious process of manually reviewing chatters' profiles. As a result of the invention, it is believed that chat room and network participant satisfaction will increase as will the usage of chat rooms and networks that employ aspects of the present invention.
The present invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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This invention relates to a method and apparatus for quickly and inexpensively automatically editing and recording personal makeup videos customized to the specific makeup needs of an individual. More particularly, the present system and method utilizes a computer along with stored, selectable video makeup segments to produce personal makeup videos which are tailored to the makeup needs of the individual users.
In the past, it has not been a conventional practice to video record makeup instructions personalized to individual customers and sell those recordings to the customers for their personal use.
Women have generally learned their particular makeup habits in various ways, such as from female relatives and peer group, magazine articles, or when purchasing cosmetics. However, since such instructions in makeup methods are usually given by one who has only developed techniques for their particular features, or on a model as the makeup subject, the instructions cannot be personalized to each individual. Accordingly, there frequently arises requests for makeup instruction tailored to the individual's specific makeup needs.
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The present disclosure relates generally to dispensing systems for dispensing warm wet wipes or wet wipes capable of warming quickly after being dispensed, and processes for dispensing warm wet wipes or wet wipes capable of warming quickly after being dispensing. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to dispensing systems for dispensing wet wipes wherein the wet wipes include microencapsulated heat delivery vehicles that can be effectively utilized such that, upon activation, the contents of the microencapsulated heat delivery vehicles are released and contacted with an aqueous solution, which causes a warming sensation on the wipe and skin upon product use. The microencapsulated heat delivery vehicles may optionally include one or more moisture protective and fugitive layers to improve overall capsule performance.
Wet wipes and related products have been used for some time by consumers for various cleaning and wiping tasks. For example, many parents have utilized wet wipes to clean the skin of infants and toddlers before and after urination and/or defecation. Many types of wet wipes are currently commercially available for this purpose and are known in the art.
Today, many consumers are demanding that personal health care products, such as wet wipes, have the ability to not only provide their intended cleaning function, but also to deliver a comfort benefit to the user. In recent studies, it has been shown that baby wet wipes currently on the market are sometimes perceived to be uncomfortably cold upon application to the skin, particularly for newborns. To mitigate this problem, there have been many attempts to produce warming products or warming dispensers to warm the wet wipes to comfort the wet wipe users from the inherent “chill” given off by the contact of the moistened wipes upon the skin.
These warming products are generally electrically operated and come in two distinct styles. One is an “electric blanket” style which is sized to wrap around the external surfaces of a plastic wet wipes container or dispenser. The other is a self-contained plastic “appliance” style which warms the wet wipes with its internally positioned heating element. Though such currently known and available wet wipe warming products typically achieve their primary objective of warming the wet wipe prior to use, they possess certain deficiencies, which can detract from their overall utility and desirability.
Perhaps the biggest deficiency of the current wet wipe warming products and dispensers is their inability to sustain the moisture content of the wet wipes. More specifically, drying of the wet wipes occurs due to heating of their moisture which accelerates dehydration. As a result, wet wipes may become dried-out and unusable.
Other complaints by wipe warmer users include discoloration of the wet wipes after heating, which appears to be inevitable because of a reaction of various chemicals in the wipes upon the application of heat. Wipe warmer users further complain about warmer inconvenience and potential electrical fire hazards, which can result with the use of electrical warming products.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the art for wet wipes and wet wipe dispensing systems that can produce a warming sensation just prior to, or at the point of use, without using external heating products. It would be desirable also provide dispensing systems that can extend the shelf life of the wet wipe and heating compounds used therewith.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to operational electric switches for wall- or ceiling mounted devices such as hazard detectors, and more particularly, to a repetitively useable on/off switch which is engaged or disengaged whenever the device/detector is installed or uninstalled, respectively.
2. Background Information
Many hazard detectors, such as fire, smoke, gas, heat, and proximity (motion) types are known and used in residential dwellings and commercial buildings. These are also termed ambient condition monitors or detectors and operate off internal and external power sources. The internal power sources are generally single or ganged batteries of practically every commercially available type, including those described generically as long-life. Although the present invention does not apply only to use of the long-life battery, its greatest utility is realized therewith, because modern production methods and economics have fostered the idea of transshipping detectors, and other battery-using devices, with the batteries installed. Indeed, in some instances, the device contains the battery power supply installed, and even hard-wired, into the operative circuitry; but, this feature can only be employed where care is taken to comply with current industrial safety and transportation laws that may not allow movement of xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d electrical devices. Moreover, from the perspective of battery life, it is generally undesirable to have the device xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d during shipment and while the device remains in a retailer""s inventory. It is to exploit this quiescent, yet battery-installed, feature that the instant invention is provided and prior art now discussed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,996, issued for a LONG LIFE DETECTOR, there is disclosed a seemingly conventional ambient condition, surface-mountable detector which contains within its construction: a mounting bracket; a base, which contains part of a single-use, frangible, and rotatable switch mechanism, the complementary switch portion, borne on a circuit board, which is attached also to the base and secures a hard-wired, long-life battery, and a protective cover. The detector remains inactive until its installation, which requires insertion of a flat- or chisel-blade screwdriver into a slot of the switch and rotation thereof to break a frangible restraint, thus closing the switch and activating the detector. Until activation, the frangible switch impedes mounting of the detector to its bracket; the bracket serving no other function than to secure the detector (proper) to a surface. Upon reaching the end of its useful life, the detector is removed from its bracket and a screwdriver is again used to rotate the aforesaid switch to a battery xe2x80x9cdrainxe2x80x9d position in which a second switch may be actuated to drain the battery. Thereafter the unit is discarded. This disclosure is silent regarding whether the switch is capable of retrograde motion that would allow the unit""s deactivation for removal, storage and later movement to alternate locations; in the (disclosed) alternate embodiments, retrograde motion is foreclosed.
In another disclosure, U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,295, providing a DETECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD, an operational switching mechanism for a gas sensor is shown that uses a key member to house a battery package, but does not entertain a circuit-inclusive battery feature. The key, when inserted, activates the circuit irrespective of the installation status of the sensor; thus giving rise to a severe impediment to satisfying the aforesaid quiescent, battery-installed feature that is desired by the instant inventor.
An EXTENDED LIFE SMOKE DETECTOR, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,434, avoids use of a physical on/off switch. The avoidance of the switch, according to the purpose stated therein, is to preclude mishaps that can occur due to improper or negligent usage. The patentee""s objectives are met by constructing the device in an incipiently operative mode, providing extended long- life batteries (up to 12 years use) and avoiding the likelihood of accidental or negligent disablement, by withholding the switch/shutoff means. In the preferred embodiment, the batteries are factory-soldered into the circuitry and the external cover is permanently fixed to the (operative) detector.
Earlier hazard detectors were provided a switching that, although distinctive from the form in the instant invention, nevertheless allowed disablement of a part of their circuitry. Such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,110, entitled: SMOKE ALARM HAVING TEMPORARY DISABLING FEATURES. In this application of the art, battery power is selectively applied to, or removed from, only portions of the device""s circuitry, in order to temporarily silence the alarm signal. However, power continues to be furnished to the critical areas, assuring automatic alarm (enabling) should a hazard occur. An operational mode is originally acquired when the batteries are connected, irrespective of when the device is installed. In similar fashion, U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,635, for INTERFACING ATTACHMENT FOR REMOTE MECHANICAL FIRE ALARMS discloses a switch that is part of a relay system. The switch function is magnetically induced and can be inhibited by interposition of a shield (magnetic spoiler). Tripping of the (local) fire alarm, which is an essentially mechanical activity, results in driving a lever that withdraws the shield from between the switch and a proximate magnet, thus closing the switch and activating a remote alarm circuit.
Three of the previously discussed U.S. Pats. Nos. 5,578,996, no. 5,793,295 and No. 5,444,434, particularly the figures therein, are incorporated by reference for their showing of current state-of-the-art.
The following terms shall have the indicated meanings, as may be further defined throughout this specification:
bridge(ing)xe2x80x94is synonymous with short(ing) and means an electrical connection(ing) between two or more set-apart contacts or circuit portions;
connect(able)xe2x80x94is synonymous with mate(able) and join(able), in all verb tenses, and means a union of two or more parts, portions or members in(to) the complete fashion or mode for which they are designed, such as, for example, providing electrical continuity between two or more contacts;
complementxe2x80x94is the quantity remaining after a part or portion is removed or separated from a unit or a whole, and is both definite and discrete;
contact(s)xe2x80x94is one (or more) point(s) of an electric circuit that expose a conductor;
devicexe2x80x94refers generally to something devised or constructed, but may be a design or pattern, depending on contextual usage;
drive(er)xe2x80x94refers to an article, part, etc., or force that effects a motion or state;
interleavexe2x80x94means to insert or set between a leaf, flap or tab and used herein to describe certain bayonet-type connections in apparatus;
interrupt(ion)xe2x80x94is a gap in, or the act or state of breaking or opening a circuit;
separablexe2x80x94indicates that a whole is divisible into two or more non-operative parts;
spring-biasingxe2x80x94means using any resilient article to retain/return to a position; and
unmate(d)(ing)xe2x80x94are grammatically incorrect, but will be used throughout to mean de-mate(d)(ing), because these word(s) define a single-step activity, as opposed to a two-step mate(d)(ing) activity.
All other terms of art shall have their conventional meanings or will be defined, parenthetically, with their usage.
The instant invention overcomes deficiencies in the prior art by providing to a device, a hazard detector, an on/off switching mechanism that has a physical multiple use (multiuse) capability, i.e., it can be used, repeatedly, to activate/deactivate an electrical circuit. This on/off switch, distinctive from the types commonly used in contemporary hazard devices/sensors/detectors, is made functional only upon the mating of two or more separable portions of such a device. Until the switch is activated, the device, which contains batteries and is otherwise ready to be energized, is quiescent.
According to the invention, one (major) portion of the device or detector (hereinafter, xe2x80x9csensorxe2x80x9d shall apply only to a specific element) contains essentially all the operative circuitry, power source, and sensor elements, including its protective cover. Within the circuitry an interrupt is provided consisting of a simple, single-point break embodied by two exposed, set-apart conductive points on a circuit board that contains and supports the aforesaid circuitry, power source, and sensor elements. The major portion is designed for contact and mating with its complement, the primary functions of the latter being to serve as a surface-mountable bracket and to securely retain the major portion. The mating, which is achieved by both contact and rotation (two steps) of the device""s two mentioned portions, securely engages at least two mutually-borne, interleaving tabs, or captures two or more bayonet connectors, and effects simultaneous switch activation. This facility advantageously assures that the device is not electrically activated until its two major portions are mated consistent with proper installation. Another advantage of this construction is that it nominally prevents the device from being inadvertently mounted in a deactivated state once properly installed. An unmating, by counter-rotating the major portion (one step) will immediately cause the switch to open. Thus, the switch is activated only when the major portion and its complement are mated. The installed device is deactivated merely by applying a single counter rotation motion to its protective cover.
The switch mechanism includes a shorting element and is spring-biased in a position apart from the aforesaid interrupt, and a mating of the two portions of the device urges the shorting element into contact with it. In another embodiment, the interrupt is spring-biased to extend to a prospective shorting strip location that is attained by the strip only upon full mating of the aforementioned portions. In another embodiment, the switch mechanism includes a conductive key. The device is activated only upon inserting the key fully into the device, thereby electrically connecting two or more contact springs.
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In recent years, electronic equipment such as cellular phones has been made smaller and has an even higher packaging density, and it has been desired for capacitors such as multilayer ceramic capacitors to be smaller and have even higher packaging density (e.g. see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
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Mobile communication equipment represented by a cellular phone is rapidly advancing toward downsizing and extended talk time in recent years. For this reason, there is a strong demand for increasingly high efficiency in a transmission power amplifier which consumes a large portion of power during a call.
Especially, a recent communication system represented by CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) has a so-called “power control function.” This is the function that a terminal communicates with a base station with reduced transmission output when the terminal is located in a short distance from the base station.
At this time, the operation of the transmission power amplifier is switched from high output power (approximately 27.0 dBm) to low output power (approximately 13 dBm). During this low output power period, the transmission power amplifier operates within a range where sufficient linearity is obtained. This allows a bias point to be reduced (reducing an operating current) while maintaining linearity. Thus, there is a mobile communication terminal configured to achieve high efficiency as shown in FIG. 9.
In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1 denotes a bias supply transistor, 2 denotes a radio frequency power amplifier transistor, 11, 12, 13, 16 denote resistors, 14, 15 denote Schottky barrier diodes for temperature compensation, 31 denotes a Vctrl voltage which determines a base potential of the bias supply transistor 1 and 32 denotes a Vcc voltage which gives a potential to the collector of the power amplifier transistor 2. An idle current value of the collector of the power amplifier transistor 2 is determined by a base current generated by the Vctrl voltage 31, bias supply transistor 1, resistors 11, 12, 13, 16, Schottky barrier diodes 14, 15, and makes the Vctrl voltage 31 variable and controls a bias point of the RF power amplifier transistor 2.
FIG. 10 shows a circuit described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-51720, which newly adds a power control transistor 3 and resistors 21, 22 to the emitter of the bias supply transistor 1 and applies a power control voltage 33 to the base of the power control transistor 3 through the resistor 21 to improve controllability in FIG. 9. Applying the power control voltage 33 in this construction allows the idle current value of the collector of the power amplifier transistor 2 to be reduced in the low output power.
However, when the operating current of the RF power amplifier transistor 2 is controlled (restricted) by controlling the Vctrl voltage 31 in the low output power, the power amplifier bias circuit shown in FIG. 9 needs to control the Vctrl voltage 31 in hundred mV units (e.g., controlling it to 2.8 V to 2.7 V), resulting in a problem that control is difficult and a special circuit or a high accuracy external regulator is required. Furthermore, the circuit shown in FIG. 9 operates with the diodes 14, 15 compensating for the temperature characteristic of the RF power amplifier transistor 2, but when the operating current of the RF power amplifier transistor 2 is controlled (restricted) by the Vctrl voltage 31 in the low output power, the current flowing through the diodes 14, 15 reduces, which results in a problem that the temperature compensation effect is reduced.
Though a proposal to solve the above described problem is presented in the example shown in FIG. 10, it requires the power supply 33 for bias control in addition to the Vctrl power supply 31 and the power supply 32 of the RF power amplifier transistor 2, which requires complicated control. Furthermore, its efficiency improvement effect is solely based on bias control.
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The ever-increasing complexity and performance requirements of portable media devices call for effective system-level power management in Integrated circuits (ICs). Having one or more Switchable Power-Domains in Core-logic is a well-known low-power methodology that is employed for ICs in portable media devices. When a supply of a specific Power Domain is powered down, the outputs of that power-domain serving as inputs to IO (input/output) circuits are no longer valid and these IO circuits need to be tristated to avoid possible leakage current. An IO circuit drive/receive signals on a PAD to interface with the outside world. If the IO circuit is not properly tristated, it results in high leakage currents (conduction currents) from the PAD into the IO circuit. A similar condition results when the IO supply voltage is powered up or down, while the PAD is held at a logic-HIGH. Serial Low-power Inter-chip Media Bus (SLIMbus) is a standard interface between baseband or application processors and peripheral components in portable media devices. The SLIMbus is a failsafe interface and requires the devices to have ultra low PAD current (or pin current) during powering-up, powering down and in stable power state in portable media devices.
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The present invention relates to the cultivation of trees, such as coniferous trees, and to methods of pruning the roots of tree seedlings.
The demand for trees, such as coniferous trees, to provide lumber for making wood products continues to increase. There is therefore a need for methods that improve the growth rate of commercially desirable trees, so that the time from planting to harvest of the tree is reduced. The present inventors have discovered methods of pruning tree seedling roots that stimulate an unexpectedly high level of root growth. Enhanced root growth also promotes growth of the whole seedling, thereby improving the efficiency of commercial tree culture.
In accordance with the foregoing, in one aspect the present invention provides methods for pruning the roots of tree seedlings. The methods of this aspect of the invention include: (a) a first root pruning step wherein the roots of a majority of members of a population of tree seedlings are laterally pruned; and (b) a second root pruning step, that occurs after the first root pruning step, wherein the roots of the majority of members of the population of tree seedlings are again laterally pruned. In the practice of the methods of this aspect of the invention, the population of tree seedlings is arranged as at least two adjacent pairs of rows (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9crow pairsxe2x80x9d) of seedlings, and the roots of the majority of the seedlings are pruned shorter during the first pruning step than during the second pruning step. In some embodiments of the invention, the population of tree seedlings is arranged as six adjacent row pairs of seedlings. In some embodiment of the methods of the invention, a multiplicity of Coulter discs (hereinafter referred to as Coulters) are used to prune the seedling roots. Typically the second root pruning steps takes place within six months of the first root pruning step. For example, the first root pruning step can occur in July and the second root pruning step can occur in December of the same year.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides methods for pruning the roots of a population of tree seedlings wherein: (a) the population of tree seedlings comprises a first row pair, a second row pair, a third row pair, a fourth row pair, a fifth row pair, and a sixth row pair; (b) a first adjacent area is adjacent to the first row pair, and external to the population of tree seedlings; (c) a second adjacent area is adjacent to the sixth row pair, and external to the population of tree seedlings; (d) a first inter-row space is defined by the first row pair and the second row pair, a second inter-row space is defined by the second row pair and the third row pair, a third inter-row space is defined by the third row pair and the fourth row pair, a fourth inter-row space is defined by the fourth row pair and the fifth row pair, and a fifth inter-row space is defined by the fifth row pair and the sixth row pair; (e) the first pruning step utilizes a first Coulter, a second Coulter, a third Coulter, a fourth Coulter, a fifth Coulter, a sixth Coulter, a seventh Coulter, an eighth Coulter, and a ninth Coulter, wherein the first Coulter prunes roots in the first adjacent area, the second Coulter prunes roots in the first inter-row space, the third and fourth Coulters prune roots in the second inter-row space, the fifth Coulter prunes roots in the third inter-row space, the sixth and seventh Coulters prune roots in the fourth inter-row space, the eighth Coulter prunes roots in the fifth inter-row space, and the ninth Coulter prunes roots in the second adjacent area; and (f) the second pruning step utilizes a tenth Coulter, an eleventh Coulter, a twelfth Coulter, and a thirteenth Coulter, wherein the tenth Coulter prunes roots in the first adjacent area, the eleventh Coulter prunes roots in the second inter-row space, the twelfth Coulter prunes roots in the fourth inter-row space, and the thirteenth Coulter prunes roots in the second adjacent area.
The methods of the invention promote tree seedling root growth, thereby promoting the growth and development of the seedlings. The methods of the invention are useful in any situation in which it is desired to prune the roots of tree seedlings. For example, the methods of the invention are useful for pruning the roots of coniferous tree seedlings, thereby promoting the growth of a fibrous root system which, in turn, promotes the survival and growth of the whole seedling upon transplantation or outplanting to a new growth environment.
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To perform repairs on utility equipment located beneath streets or other paved surfaces or to install new equipment beneath streets or other paved surfaces, utility companies typically cut and remove a section of the overlying pavement material, i.e., asphalt or concrete, thus leaving a hole in the pavement. After the installation or repair has been completed, the paved surface is repaired by filling the hole with new paving material. The repaired sections are generally referred to as utility cut patches.
Government regulations generally require paving companies to label utility cut patches that they have installed. Current markers consist of a metal washer which is secured to the surface of the utility cut patch by means of a nail which extends through the washer and into the paving material. These nails and washers have been mistaken for survey tags. This has led to improper laying of building foundations.
Furthermore, it is not uncommon for the nail to work its way loose within a short time. This occurs due to contraction and expansion of the paving material. This may also occur due to repeated striking of the washer and nail by cars and pedestrians which occurs because the washer and nail typically protrude above the surface of the cut patch.
Once it has worked loose, the nail and washer may be dislodged from the utility cut patch. This eliminates a primary record of the company that has installed the cut patch. This also results in a loose nail on the surface of a roadway, which could puncture an automobile tire or otherwise injure members of the public.
In addition, the nails often extend through the paving material. When the nails loosen, and particularly when they are dislodged, moisture easily penetrates the cut patch through the nail hole. Such water seepage may cause rust or have some other detrimental effect on the underlying equipment.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic discharge protecting circuit in a semiconductor device, and more particularly to an electrostatic discharge protecting circuit capable of protecting an internal circuit in a semiconductor device, by minimizing the occupying area thereof.
2. Brief Description of Related Arts
In general, an electrostatic discharge protecting circuit has been widely used to prevent overvoltage from being applied to the internal circuit in the semiconductor device. FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the configuration of a conventional electrostatic discharge protecting circuit. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional electrostatic discharge (referred to herein as an ESD) protecting circuit is connected to an input/output (I/O) pad which is formed between the ground voltage level Vdd and the power supply Vss in the semiconductor device. To discharge overcurrent from an external circuit, the ESD protection circuit has three current discharging paths provided by a P+/N-well diode 18 and N+/P-well diodes 20 and 22. The first and second current discharging paths are provided by the P+/N-well diode 18 and the N+/P-well diode 20, respectively. The P+/N-well diode 18 is formed between the power supply Vdd and the I/O pad, and the N+/P-well diode 20 is formed between the I/O pad and the ground voltage level Vss. Also, the third current discharging path is provided by the N+/P-well diode 22 formed between the power supply Vdd and the ground voltage level Vss.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the detailed structure of the ESD protecting circuit shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional ESD protection circuit includes a plurality of P-well regions 26, 32 and 34, which are formed by implanting P-type impurity ions into a semiconductor substrate 24, a plurality of N-well regions 28 and 30, which are formed by implanting N-type impurity ions into the semiconductor substrate 24, and a plurality of field oxide layers 360 to 371 spaced apart from one another in order to define active and non-active regions in the semiconductor device 24. Further, the conventional ESD protection circuit includes P+-type impurity regions 381 to 386 and N+-type impurity regions 401 to 405 which are formed between the field oxide layers 360 to 371, respectively. The concentration of the P+-type impurity regions 381 to 386 is higher than that of the P-well regions 26, 32 and 34 and also the concentration of the N+-type impurity regions 401 to 405 is higher than that of the N-well regions 28 and 30.
The P+-type impurity regions 381, 382 and 384 to 386 formed in the P-well regions 26, 32 and 34 are connected to the ground voltage level Vss, and the N+-type impurity regions 402 to 404 formed in the N-well regions 28 and 30 are connected to the voltage supply Vdd. Furthermore, one of N+-type impurity regions 401 and 405 in the P-well regions 26 and 34, for example, the N+-type impurity region 401 and the P+-type impurity region 383 formed in the N-well region 30 are connected to the I/O pad. On the other hand, the N+-type impurity region 405 in the P-well region 34 are connected to the power supply Vdd.
As described above, between the I/O pad and the power supply Vdd, the first current discharging path is formed by the P+/N-well diode due to the junction of the P+-type impurity region 383 and the N-well region 30. The second current discharging path, between the I/O pad and the ground voltage level Vss, is formed by the N+/P-well diode due to the junction of the N+-type impurity region 401 and the P-well region 26, and, between the ground voltage level Vss and the power supply Vdd, the third current discharging path is formed by the N+/P-well diode due to the junction of the N+-type impurity region 405 and the P-well region 34.
However, because the conventional ESD protecting circuit has a plurality of well regions forming the current discharging paths, it has problems in that the lay-out is very complicated and it is in need of a large area in the semiconductor device.
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The retina of the eye has two parts: the macula and peripheral retina. The macula is very small and in the center of the retina. The area surrounding the macula is the peripheral retina and makes up 95% of the retina.
The macula is necessary for normal central vision acuity and consists mostly of light-sensitive cells called cones. In macular degeneration, the light-sensitive cells are damaged and, thus, inoperative. Common causes of macular degeneration are age, diabetic retinopathy, ocular vascular accidents or disease, retinal dystrophies, central nervous system diseases, etc. The inoperative macula can create a very dim and blurred central spot in the vision field, called a scotoma, and the rest of the vision field can become dimmer than normal. The severity of the loss depends on the progression of the disease. In the advanced stages of macular degeneration, central vision may be reduced or completely lost making it impossible to read, watch television, drive, sew, etc.; however, the peripheral vision remains unaffected.
The peripheral retina provides side or peripheral vision for orientation in space and consists mostly of light sensitive cells called rods. The rods are more sensitive to light and motion than cones. The outer, peripheral part of the retina typically remains un-diseased and intact in persons with macular degeneration.
Surgical procedures, such as laser photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy, and therapeutic treatments, such as supplements or pharmaceutical agents have had mixed results for treatment of macular degeneration.
Additionally, vision aids such as eyeglasses fitted with special telescopes and magnifying glasses are commonly used by persons suffering from macular degeneration.
A bioptic telescope uses a plurality of lenses, constituting a Galilean telescope, to magnify the image formed on the retina of the eye and to provide light to the operative light-sensitive cells. However, the bioptic telescopes can only achieve a moderate image enlargement to a limited visual field and are cumbersome.
Magnifying glasses can provide image magnification and can be coupled with a light to assist in the transmission of light. However, distortion of the image increases with the power of magnification and the eyeglasses can be heavy due to the thickness of the lens.
Therefore, a need exists for a vision enhancing device for persons with macular degeneration that can redirect incident light away from the optic axis outwardly toward the un-diseased region of the retina.
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The field covers the structure of a ported cylinder of an opposed-piston engine. More specifically the field is directed to a liner component with cooling passageways and stiffening members defined by a ring of powdered material encircling the liner.
With reference to FIG. 1, an opposed-piston engine includes at least one cylinder in which pistons 20, 22 move in opposition. As taught in related U.S. Pat. No. 8,485,147, a cylinder for an opposed-piston engine includes a liner 10 having a bore 12 and longitudinally displaced exhaust and intake ports 14, 16 that are machined or formed therein. One or more injector ports 17 open through the side surface of the liner. The two pistons 20 and 22 are disposed in the bore 12 with their end surfaces 20e, 22e in opposition to each other. In a compression stroke, the pistons move toward respective top center (TC) locations where they are at their innermost positions in the cylinder. When combustion occurs, the pistons move away from TC, toward respective ports. While moving from TC, the pistons keep their associated ports closed until they approach respective bottom center (BC) positions where they are at their outermost positions in the cylinder. An annular portion 25 of the liner surrounds the bore volume within which combustion occurs, that is to say, the portion of the bore volume in the vicinity of the piston ends when the pistons are at or near TC. For convenience, that portion of the liner is referred to as the “TC” portion. While the engine runs the TC portion 25 is subject to extreme strain from the temperatures and pressures of combustion. Consequently, there is a need for structural reinforcement and cooling measures at the TC portion 25 to mitigate the effects of combustion.
The '147 patent describes a cylinder structure in which the liner is provided with an annular reinforcing band encircling the TC portion of the liner sidewall and a metal sleeve received over the TC portion of the liner. The reinforcing band provides hoop strength to resist the pressure of combustion. Grooves disposed between the metal sleeve and the liner provide channels for a liquid coolant. Longitudinal coolant passageways drilled in the liner extend through bridges in the exhaust port to transport liquid coolant from the grooves. The grooves conduct liquid coolant from the vicinity of the reinforcing ring toward the ports; the drilled passageways provide an added measure of cooling to the exhaust port.
Manifestly, an opposed-piston cylinder liner presents unique engineering and manufacturing challenges. The thin exhaust port bridges are exposed to very hot exhaust gases during engine operation and consequently require coolant flow to maintain structural integrity. Furthermore the combustion volume of the cylinder, particularly in the annular TC portion of the liner, requires additional strength and coolant flow to withstand the extreme temperatures and high pressures of combustion.
One procedure for producing the coolant passageways through the exhaust port bridges includes gun drilling; see the above-referenced '147 patent, for example. According to another procedure, slots are machined or cast in the port bridges and then covered with a metal ring that is press-fit, welded soldered, or brazed to attach the ring to the liner. In this regard, see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,818,558 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,892,277. The high-pressure TC portion of the liner where combustion occurs may have grooves formed in the outer surface of the liner for coolant passages which are covered by a press-fit hard steel ring or sleeve to enclose the coolant and relieve hoop stress in the TC portion of the sleeve. In this regard, see U.S. Pat. No. 1,410,319, and the above-referenced '147 patent. All of these structures have limitations. Cold press-fit joints require precision manufacturing, extra components and precision assembly, all of which result in high cost. Welded joints change the microstructure of the joined pieces in local areas, thereby changing tempering and mechanical properties that can increase failure and scrap rates. Soldered or brazed joints include substrate material that can decay over time with varying results. Materials that are able to withstand the exhaust temperatures are expensive.
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Handheld surveillance and weapon mounted sights are well known, and typically include a number of lens elements arranged to focus light from a scene viewed by a user via an eyepiece of the sight. Such sights often include image intensifier arrangements to increase the intensity of available light in the optical system to permit use of the sight in low-light conditions such as at night, or for conversion of non-visible light sources such as infrared.
However, previously proposed sights of the type described above suffer from significant disadvantages when used in the field, which can adversely affect their usefulness in real world conditions. For example, the image intensifier components may be more sensitive to shock and/or vibration than other components of the weapon sight, and may be damaged in the course of operation of the weapon, for example, by recoil from discharge of a firearm.
An image intensifier tube is a device that intensifies (or amplifies) low light level images to levels that can be seen with the human eye or detected by digital image sensors. In general, image intensifier tubes include a photocathode, a micro-channel plate (MCP), and a phosphor screen. Image intensifier tubes may collect the existing ambient light through the objective lens of the night vision device. The light may originate from natural sources, such as starlight or moonlight, or from artificial sources such as streetlights or infrared illuminators. The low level of incoming light, which consists of photons, enters the tube through an input window and strikes the photocathode. The photocathode is generally a very thin light sensitive layer deposited on the inside of an image intensifier input window that converts the photons into electrons and releases them into the vacuum of the tube. Image intensifier tubes generally operate under a vacuum, for example, of about 10-9 to 10-10 torrs, which protects the photocathode from oxidation and rapid destruction. Once released by the photocathode, these photo-electrons are accelerated and focused by a high electrical field towards the MCP. The MCP is generally a thin glass disc, for example, less than half a millimeter thick. The MCP produces a large number of secondary electrons for each received electron, which are accelerated toward the phosphor screen. One or more of these components may be damaged when an image intensifier tube is mounted to a weapon.
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary prior art mounting arrangement of an image intensifying tube 110. A sight 180 is mounted to a weapon 190 via sight mounts 185. The image intensifying tube 110 is directly mounted to the sight 180 by direct contact means, for example, by a threaded mount, or other similar attachment means. When the weapon 190 is discharged or otherwise subject to shock, impact, or vibration, the force is transmitted from the weapon 190 through the sight mounts 185 and the sight 180 to the image intensifying tube 110, potentially causing damage to the image intensifying tube 110.
Previous shock isolation solutions using padding, for example, elastomer pads, have suffered from several shortcomings, such as reduction in performance over time, non-linear impact response, degradation due to thermal conditions, movement during temperature excursions, and failure to return to original shape after deformation. Therefore, there is a need in the art to address the abovementioned shortcomings.
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On a parking area, the rotorcraft is subjected to weather conditions and more particularly to wind that can sometimes be violent.
The rotors of most modern rotorcrafts are equipped with blades that are flexible. As a result, while camping, such blades can start flapping vertically under the action of the wind.
This phenomenon lies behind many problems: personnel working on the ground can be injured by a blade moving suddenly downwards; when the blades are fitted with flapping hinges and bottom abutments, then during wind-driven vertical movements, the hinges and the abutments are subjected to high levels of force that can damage them in the long run; depending on the locations of the blades, they can be blown by the wind so as to come into contact with structural elements of the rotorcraft, thereby leading to severe damage; and finally, a rising blade can cause the rotorcraft to be turned over.
A first known solution consists in a sock which covers the tip cap of a blade. A cord secured firstly to the sock and secondly to the structure of the rotorcraft, limits movements of the blade. Nevertheless, it is not unusual for socks to become deformed or to separate from the tip cap under wind forces.
A second known solution consists in a support permanently secured to the blade tip cap and in a removable endpiece which is connected to said support when lashing down. The blade is held by tensioning the cord between said endpiece and an anchor point provided on the structure of the rotorcraft. Those systems have the advantage of never coming undone.
Nevertheless, in both of the above-mentioned solutions, keeping the blades in a low position induces high levels of force on the anchor points of the rotorcraft. That means that the anchor points must be overdimensioned in order to be able to withstand high levels of force, and that is extremely penalizing, particularly in terms of cost and weight.
Furthermore, it is sometimes difficult to position the rotor blades so that they are in register with the anchor points, for example a blade might overlie the tail boom or the nose of the rotorcraft. Personnel in charge of lashing down then look for anchor points other than those initially provided, and that can lead to damage to the structure.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combustion apparatus, and more particularly to a combustion apparatus utilizing swirling or cyclonic combustion for high specific heat release while producing exhaust gases with ultra-low concentrations of nitrogen oxide, commonly known as NO.sub.x.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, cyclone combustion chambers have been used to produce a cyclone of turbulent gases within a combustion chamber for combusting various solid materials, including poor quality coal and vegetable refuse. Combustors of this type are disclosed in "Combustion and Swirling Flows: A Review," N. Syred and J. M. Beer, Combustion and Flame, Volume 23, pages 143-201 (1974). This document is incorporated herein by reference. A firetube boiler having a cyclonic combustor was commercially marketed by Cyclotherm Division, Oswego Package Boiler Co., Inc.
Although known adiabatic cyclone combustors provide high specific heat release, such known combustors have the disadvantage that combustion temperature and NO.sub.x emissions are high. Moreover, in conventional cyclone combustors, combustion is unstable at low capacity burning and high turndown ratios are not possible in non-adiabatic combustors. The turndown ratio of a combustion apparatus in a boiler, defined as the ratio of maximum load to minimum load, measures the ability of the boiler to operate over the extremes of its load ranges. A high turndown ratio allows for a wide range in the level of steam generation at a particular time. This wide range is important to allow the boiler to efficiently respond to varying steam demands.
With pollution control requirements becoming constantly more stringent, it is necessary to reduce NO.sub.x emissions in exhaust gases while maintaining a high turndown ratio. For instance, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has proposed emission regulations for boilers, steam generators and process heaters that would require any units with capacities greater than or equal to 5 MM BTU/hour to limit their discharge of NO.sub.x to 40 PPM and carbon monoxide to 400 PPM at 3 percent oxygen. Even more stringent NO.sub.x emission standards are expected to be proposed and promulgated in the near future. It is expected that in certain parts of the country, NO.sub.x emissions will be required to be less than 25 PPM.
With pollution control requirements becoming increasingly more stringent, it is necessary to decrease NO.sub.x emissions even further than is achieved with presently known combustion apparatuses, while not increasing or while even decreasing the cost of the combustion equipment. A known technique of staged combustion, wherein primary air or initial combustion is at fuel rich conditions and secondary combustion air is added or staged to complete combustion, has been utilized in various combustion apparatuses to reduce NO.sub.x formation. It has previously been thought impractical to utilize staged combustion in a firetube boiler because there is no known way for introducing a secondary stream of air into the Morison tube. The Morison tube and outer shell of a firetube boiler comprise a pressure vessel which cannot be penetrated to introduce a second stream of air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,137 to Wright discloses an apparatus for supplying four streams of air into a cyclonic combustion vessel connected to a firetube boiler for staged combustion of biomass materials. However, the disclosed apparatus is concerned with providing an increased rate of heat transfer from the flame to the Morison tube and minimizing slag formation in the combustion process. There is no disclosure in Wright of reducing NO.sub.x emissions to an ultra-low level, i.e., less than 25 PPM. To the contrary, the disclosed apparatus results in a high concentration of NO.sub.x in the exhaust gases. Wright increases the luminosity and emissivity of the flame to achieve an increased heat transfer rate. This increase in the flame temperature actually increases NO.sub.x emissions. Wright cannot produce the ultra-low NO.sub.x emissions that are obtained by the present invention.
There are approximately 250,000 existing firetube boilers in the United States and abroad. In their existing condition, these boilers are unable to meet the more stringent pollution control requirements currently being proposed. Therefore, in addition to the need for an apparatus to be used on new firetube boilers for reducing NO.sub.x emissions, a need exists for an apparatus which can be retrofitted onto existing firetube boilers for lowering their NO.sub.x emissions. In addition to the problem with providing staged combustion in a firetube boiler previously discussed, i.e., there is no known way for introducing a second stream of air into the Morison tube, other problems will be encountered in attempting to retrofit existing firetube boilers with an apparatus for staged combustion. For instance, the apparatus must be able to be fit onto the front flange of the boiler without cutting or welding any part of the pressure vessel, i.e., the Morison tube or the shell.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a non-fossil fuel power generating system and more specifically to a passive, geothermal system which utilize the heat energy at predetermined subterranean locations for producing a working fluid suitable for driving a turbine-type prime mover.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
During the past few years, attention has been focused on alternative sources of energy because of the real or contrived shortages of crude oil and the attendant substantial price increases for that commodity. While scientists and engineers have looked to atomic energy facilities as well as coal consuming systems, a high degree of concern has been expressed by environmentalists over the use of these latter energy systems. Attempts are being made to devise non-polluting energy sources which can be rendered affordable.
It has been known for many years that vast energy resources are stored with the earth's crust in the form of geothermal beds deep within the earth. Again, scientists have determined that the heat energy present within the earth, if properly harnessed, would be sufficient to meet the total energy needs of the world population for many, many centuries. This energy source is potentially non-polluting and modern technology has advanced to the point where it becomes practical to harness this energy in an attempt to solve the world's increasing energy demands.
For example, modern drilling techniques developed for recovery of oil and gas deposits makes it possible to form a bore hole into the earth for substantial distances. It is now possible to drill several miles into the earth and it is found that at such depths there is a significant temperature gradient relative to the ambient temperature at the earth's surface. In attempts to recover this heat, several prior art processes have been tried. For example, systems wherein water is injected into the bore hole and later pumped out either as hot water or steam have been tried. The equipment needed to accomplish this task tends to be quite costly and, further, contaminants picked up by the water tend to create damage to the equipment requiring frequent periodic maintenance, flushing, etc. Also, the fact that energy must be expended in moving the fluid detracts from the overall efficiency of the generating system.
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The subject invention relates to a mat that is given more dimensional stability through the inclusion of binder and to the method of making the dimensionally more stable mat through a unique application of the binder to the mat.
Mats are commonly used in the roofing and other industries to reinforce laminates, membranes, shingles, roll roofing, etc. and provide these articles with dimensional stability. For example, in the roofing industry, single ply roofing membrane systems are commonly used as the roofing systems for low sloping roofs, especially in industrial and commercial applications. These single ply roofing membrane systems utilize roofing membranes that each include two thermoplastic olefin (“TPO”) sheets bonded to each other and to a dimensionally stable reinforcing mat. To meet industry standards, these roofing membranes typically have a maximum linear dimensional change of plus or minus 2% as measured by ASTM D 1204, 6 hours at 158° F./70° C.; and a minimum puncture resistance as measured by ASTM D 4833 of 90 pounds of force at 73° F./23° C. The reinforcing mats used to reinforce these roofing membranes, to reinforce other roofing products, and to reinforce various laminates and membranes used for other non-roofing applications may be woven or unwoven mats of staple fibers and/or continuous filaments and include a binder that is evenly distributed throughout the mats to give the mats the required dimensional stability for a particular application. While these mats perform quite well as reinforcements for various laminates, membranes, etc., there is a need for lower cost dimensionally stable mats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,003 discloses a reinforced glass fiber mat made in a wet process that has a predetermined pattern of relatively high and low concentrations of binder throughout the length of the glass fiber mat and a method of forming the mat wherein, in a wet process, binder is either selectively applied only to portions of the mat via an applicator or selectively removed from portions of the mat via a vacuum. However, the need remains for reduced cost reinforced fiber mats, with relatively high and low binder concentrations, which do not require the selective application or vacuum removal of binder.
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, series-connected tandem image forming systems in which two image forming apparatuses are connected in series for two-sided printing and the like have been in practical use (refer to JP 2005-022243 A, for example). For example, a primary image forming apparatus (primary apparatus) forms an image on a front face of a sheet, and a secondary image forming apparatus (secondary apparatus) forms an image on a back face thereof. This enables improvement in productivity as compared to a case where two-sided printing is performed by one image forming apparatus. Such series-connected tandem image forming systems are typically applied to the field of production print where higher productivity is sought.
JP 2005-022243 A discloses an image forming system capable of total management through sorting of printed recording media into one-sided printing and two-sided printing without lowering the processing efficiency of one-sided printing and two-sided printing.
Furthermore, JP 2001-502813 W does not disclose a series-connected tandem image forming system but discloses an image forming apparatus including two conveyance paths for conveying sheets, and image forming units disposed on the two conveyance paths and configured to form images on the sheets. With the image forming apparatus disclosed in JP 2001-502813 W, even in a case where a failure occurs in one of the image forming units, an image can be formed on a sheet by the other image forming unit.
The aforementioned series-connected tandem image forming systems, however, are disadvantageous in that the entire image forming system halts and printing is disabled in the event of occurrence of a problem in image formation in either of the two image forming apparatuses, such as a failure of the printed control board for controlling the image forming process, or a paper jam.
JP 2005-022243 A mentioned above teaches a measure for two-sided printing even if a failure occurs in either of the first printer and the second printer, but has another disadvantage in that two sheet discharging devices (first sheet discharging device and a second sheet discharging device) are required for this measure, which results in an increase in size of the image forming system.
Furthermore, the technology disclosed by JP 2001-502813 W mentioned above relates to one image forming apparatus and cannot solve the disadvantages relating to the series-connected tandem image forming system.
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Recently, there have been rapidly popularized imaging devices (hereinafter, referred to merely as digital cameras), such as a digital still camera, a digital camcorder, and the like, which are capable of converting an optical image of an object into an image signal and outputting the image signal. As such digital cameras, there have been proposed many single-lens reflex camera systems (hereinafter, referred to merely as single-lens reflex cameras), each including mainly a camera body and an interchangeable lens barrel which is detachable from the camera body.
Further, in accordance with enhancement of functions of the digital camera, a microcomputer is incorporated in the interchangeable lens barrel for the single-lens reflex camera. The microcomputer operates in accordance with a program and data which are written in a ROM. For example, the microcomputer transmits data, which is specific to a lens, to the digital camera body, and controls a motor for driving the lens. The program and the data allow the single-lens reflex camera to operate optimally when a digital camera body and an interchangeable lens are combined in a manner as assumed when a camera system is designed.
However, nowadays, while a product cycle of the digital camera body has been shortened, basic performance of a lens, such as optical performance, and the like, is unlikely to become obsolete. Generally, a product cycle of the interchangeable lens barrel is longer than that of the digital camera body. Thus, there is a desire for an interchangeable lens barrel which is capable of being combined with various digital camera bodies and being used over long periods of time. However, there is a problem that unless a program and data in the interchangeable lens barrel are updated, the interchangeable lens barrel cannot be used in combination with a digital camera body having a new function, which is not assumed when a camera system is designed.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-332691 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1), there is proposed a system incorporating therein a one-chip microcomputer realized by a microcomputer having a flash-memory. In the system disclosed in the Patent Document 1, an update program for a camera body and an interchangeable lens barrel is transmitted from a program transmitting device to the camera body. As a result, programs existing in the camera body and the interchangeable lens barrel, which is connected to the camera body through a lens mount, are replaced with the update program. As described above, in the Patent Document 1, the connection of the digital camera body to the interchangeable lens barrel allows update of the program in the interchangeable lens barrel.
Meanwhile, for enhancing the convenience of the user, there have been proposed a standard of the single-lens reflex camera system, in which a communication system between the digital camera body and the interchangeable lens barrel, a lens mount, and the like are standardized. Thus, a digital camera body and an interchangeable lens barrel, which comply with the standard, are compatible with each other, and the user can use in combination a camera body and an interchangeable lens barrel, which are manufactured by different manufacturers, for performing photographing.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-332691
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1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a wireless connecting technique, and particularly relates to a wireless device, a wireless control system and a wireless control method which can easily make wireless connection for which authentication is required.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a wireless communication function is increasingly contained in various devices so that the devices can be installed more flexibly. When the devices which contain the wireless communication functions are wirelessly connected to each other, a wireless authenticating operation should be set in advance. In this case, various methods for realization can be used, according to the wireless standard to be used. In the case of wireless LAN, switches provided to both devices are pressed so that authentication is conducted. In the case of wireless USB, both devices are connected physically by a USB cable so that authentication information is exchanged and authentication is conducted. Remote operation commands of the devices are stored in a remote control module in advance, and the devices are remotely controlled by using the stored remote operation commands. In this case, when a new device is operated by the remote control module, a remote operation command of the new electronic device is registered in the remote control module so that the new electronic device can be operated. For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-143670 discloses a technique in which a remote operation command is transmitted from a new electronic device to be operated to a remote control module and the new electronic device is operated by the remote control module.
However, when the device which is controlled by the remote control module is wirelessly connected to another device by using the technique disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-143670, the user should go to the device and operate it. When this device is very large and heavy, or when the device is installed in a place where the user cannot work easily, the setting becomes very difficult. Normally, the remote control module is attached to the respective devices, but the user should operate them separately, and when the number of devices to be used increases, the operation becomes very complicated.
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Conventionally, in a battle game server, each user's deck is formed by a plurality of battle cards or the like stored for each user, and the battle game server allows a plurality of users to compete with each other based on the total value of the attack strength and defense strength of the deck (for example, see JP 2008-220984 A (PTL 1)). In such a battle game server, the user acquires a battle card by methods such as purchasing the battle card.
In a conventional battle game server, however, the methods for acquiring battle cards and the like are limited, causing the user to lose interest in the game. In particular, since it is difficult to acquire a battle card or the like with a high rarity value, the user ends up with the impression that such an item cannot be acquired at all and suffers a drastic loss of interest in the game.
Exemplary embodiments of present disclosure have been conceived in light of the above circumstances and therefore provides a server, a method of controlling a server, and a program that can increase the variations on methods for acquiring a battle card or the like and enhance interest in the game.
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Recently, a variety of information provision systems using network have been proposed to prepare information infrastructure.
Some of such information provision systems provides service to users, with which players at remote locations can play board games such as shogi (Japanese chess) and igo (Game of go) by using internet server, and a leased server and leased line for portable telephone, such as i-mode.
As typical representative of the system providing the board game service, there are techniques disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 56-3078 and 54-110033, and Publication of EP114210.
In the system disclosed in these Publications, a game player of a competitive game (a board game such as mah-jongg, shogi, igo, chess, or othelo) starts a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a “PC”) at the player's convenience to connect with a server through which the player can play the competitive game, thereby receiving the service.
However, against the system of the prior art, the following problems have been pointed out.
(1) It is seldom that the competitor is always present at the time of connect with the server. Therefore, the fact is that due to the absence of the competitor, the user often gives up receiving the competitive game service and releases the connection with the server. If this circumstance is frequent, the manager (administrator) of the server might lose the user (membership). From a cost standpoint, it is difficult to always guarantee a game player on access to the server.
(2) There is a competitive game in which the user can compete with the server side computer. It is equally true, however, that the user playing a game via a communication-line has such a potential desire that “he/she wants to enjoy the game with an actual human player.” In addition, if the player of the communication-line competitive game knows that the competitor is the computer, it is meaningless to specially use the communication line because there is no difference with a game or consumer game that is already installed in a PC.
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For an audio speaker, a diaphragm is a core component of the audio speaker and the performance of the diaphragm has great effects on the performance of the audio speaker. In the prior art, different materials, such as paper pulp, polypropylene and metal materials etc., but traditional audio speakers made of these materials have drawbacks in audible sound reproduction. For example, the diaphragm made of paper pulp is sensitive to humidity and the temperature and non-durable; the humidity resistance thereof is bad; the water can be absorbed by it. As a result, the diaphragm made of paper pulp tends to be degraded after being used for a period of time; the wet weather condition accelerates the process of degrading. Meanwhile, the heat resistance of the diaphragm made of paper pulp is bad too, and in high temperature environment, the diaphragm made of paper pulp may be deformed over time. Therefore, the paper cone is sensitive to the temperature and the humidity, and the changes of the using environment may have a certain impact on the sound; besides, the changes of the using environment may cause the paper cone to produce irrecoverable deformations. Therefore, the performance of many audio speakers employing the diaphragm made of paper pulp is degraded after the audio speakers are used for a period of time. Compared with the diaphragm made of paper pulp, the diaphragm made of polypropylene is at lower density and poor in heat resistant. The diaphragm made of metal has a strong rigidity and low resistance and the energy will not be absorbed by the diaphragm itself, so when the paper cone is split, there is an obvious formant at the high point of the frequency response. If not properly handled, the formant will easily lead to “metallic sound”, which means the harmonic distortion may be formed during the process of the sound reproduction.
To overcome these drawbacks, in the prior art there is an alternative solution of using the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet (hereinafter called PET sheet) containing micropores having the average size of 10-30 microns to make the audio speaker diaphragm. The diaphragm made of such solution has a better elasticity level and a lighter weight, which can ensure that the audio speaker diaphragm is durable, and produces less distortion during the sound reproduction process. However, the audio speaker diaphragm made of PET sheet still has the following problems: firstly, during the production, it needs to make sure that the foaming PET sheet is sufficiently foamed, the PET sheet is too thick (the limiting value of the present thickness is 0.85 mm), compared with the existing audio speaker diaphragm with micropores; secondly, the microspores are still too large, which will affect the best adaption between the density level and the rigidity level. Therefore, the foaming PET sheet in the prior art is not recognized as the best material for producing audio speaker diaphragm in industry. For a long time, people have been seeking for new materials to make diaphragms and until now there are still many researchers and research institutions working on it, so the prior art still needs to be improved.
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Electrical stimulation can be useful for treating a variety of conditions. Deep brain stimulation can be useful for treating, for example, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, chronic pain. Huntington's disease, levodopa-induced dyskinesias and rigidity, bradykinesia, epilepsy and seizures, eating disorders, and mood disorders. Typically, a lead with a stimulating electrode at or near a tip of the lead provides the stimulation to target neurons in the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) or computerized tomography (“CT”) scans can provide a starting point for determining where the stimulating electrode should be positioned to provide the desired stimulus to the target neurons.
After the lead is implanted into a patient's brain, electrical stimulus current can be delivered through selected electrodes on the lead to stimulate target neurons in the brain. Typically, the electrodes are formed into rings disposed on a distal portion of the lead. The stimulus current projects from the ring electrodes equally in every direction. Because of the ring shape of these electrodes, the stimulus current cannot be directed to one or more specific positions around the ring electrode (e.g., on one or more sides, or points, around the lead). Consequently, undirected stimulation may result in unwanted stimulation of neighboring neural tissue, potentially resulting in undesired side effects.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and a memory cell used for the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, more specifically to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having a variable resistive element in which a memory cell can store information in accordance with a change of electrical resistances.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, an MRAM (Magnetic RAM), OUM (Ovonic Unified Memory), and RRAM (Resistance control nonvolatile Random Access Memory) are present and proposed as nonvolatile memories respectively using a variable resistive element capable of storing information in accordance with a change of electrical resistances. Each of these devices realizes a nonvolatile memory in the form of storing information by changing resistances and reading the information in accordance with a change of the resistance values. For example, the MRAM constitutes a memory cell by using an MTJ (Magnetic Tunnel Junction) device and its contents are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-151661. FIG. 16 shows a configuration of a portion of the memory cell relating to reading. Moreover, a configuration is described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-185234 by the applicant of this application as a memory cell configuration using an RRAM element. FIG. 17 shows the memory cell configuration. Though the memory cells shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 are different from each other in variable resistive element but they are common to each other in that selection transistors serving as a variable resistive element and a selection element respectively are connected in series. In the case of each memory cell, the gate of a selection transistor 3 is connected with a word line WL, one end of a variable resistive element 2 is connected with a bit line BL, the source of the selection transistor 3 is connected with a source line SL, and the other end of the variable resistive element 2 is connected with the drain of the selection transistor 3.
A case of a memory cell using an RRAM element is described below. FIG. 18 shows a memory cell array configuration when using the memory cell in FIG. 17. A memory array (the same meaning as a memory cell array) has a plurality of word lines WL and a plurality of source lines SL and a memory cell at a portion where a bit line BL intersects a word line WL and memory cells are arranged like a matrix. FIGS. 19A and 19B show schematic section views of the memory cell shown in FIG. 18.
The reading operation of the memory array is described below. A bit line selection transistor 4 and a word line driver 6 are controlled so that a memory cell to be read is selected by a bit line BL and a word line WL, and a source line control circuit 7 sets a source line SL connected to the selected memory cell to the ground potential. Under the above conditions, by applying a bias voltage for reading to a selected bit line from a charging circuit of a bit line of a reading circuit 5, a current route is formed in the range from a selection bit line to the RRAM element 2 of a selected memory cell, selection transistor 3, source line SL, and ground potential. The current circulating through the selection bit line is changed depending on the resistance value of the RRAM element 2 of the selected memory cell. The current circulating through the bit line is determined by the reading circuit 5 to output the data stored in the memory cell. FIG. 20 shows an example of a reading circuit for determining the current value. According to the reading circuit in FIG. 20, a load circuit 8 is connected to a bit line BL through the bit line selection transistor 4 to convert a bit line current into a voltage at a connection point N of the bit line selection transistor 4 and the load circuit 8. A current source for generating a reference current for determining each current value corresponding to the data value stored in the memory cell is prepared and a voltage generated by the current source (the voltage is hereafter referred to as a reference voltage Vref) and the voltage converted by the bit line current is determined by a comparator circuit 9 to output the determination result (CPOUT). FIG. 21 schematically shows a load line (straight line) A when using a resistance as the load circuit 8 and current-voltage characteristics B and C of a bit line current corresponding to each binary data.
In the case of the above reading operation, the voltage difference input to the comparator circuit 9 increases as the bit line current difference increases as shown by the graph in FIG. 21. When the voltage difference input to the comparator circuit 9 is large, operations of the comparator circuit 9 are also accelerated. Therefore, to read information from a memory cell at a higher speed and more stably, it is preferable to increase the bit line current difference. In this case, the bit line current is obtained from the total value of resistance values of various portions through which the bit line current circulates, that is, the resistance of the RRAM element 2, on-state resistance of the selection transistor 3, on-state resistance of the bit line selection transistor 4, and wiring resistance (parasitic resistance) of a bit line BL. Therefore, when other resistances are larger than the resistance of the RRAM element 2, the above bit line difference is relatively decreased and a stable reading operation and high-speed operation become difficult.
FIG. 22 shows a simple model of a bit line current route. In FIG. 22, the model is constituted by the selection transistor 3 connected to the RRAM element 2, bit line selection transistor 4 for selecting a plurality of bit lines BL, and a bit line BL. It is enough that the number of bit selection transistors 4 is equal to the number of bit lines in order to select a plurality of bit lines BL. The number of bit selection transistors 4 is smaller than the number of the selection transistor 3 of a memory cell. Therefore, even if the driving capacity of a transistor is increased in order to decrease an on-state resistance, that is, the gate width of the transistor is increased, the influence of increase of the whole area of a memory array is small. Moreover, to decrease the resistance value of a bit line, there is a method of decreasing the wiring material of a bit line in resistance or length. Anyway, this is a problem common to nonvolatile memories. However, the situation is different for the selection transistor 3 in a memory cell. To improve the driving capacity of the selection transistor 3, it is effective to increase the gate width of the above transistor. However, when the transistor is connected to each RRAM element 2, a lot of transistors are required. Therefore, when increasing the gate width, the whole area of a memory array is increased and the manufacturing cost is greatly influenced. As a result, the on-state resistance of the selection transistor 3 is a big factor that the above bit line current difference cannot be increased.
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The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Yomistique’.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the program is to create or discover new potted Chrysanthemum cultivars that are suitable for year-round production with uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, numerous inflorescences, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast and uniform flowering response, and good postproduction longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made in August, 1997 in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary selection of Chrysanthemum×morifolium identified as code number YB-6500, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Chrysanthemum×morifolium identified as code number YB-4714, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. in December, 1998. The selection of this plant was based on its uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast and uniform flowering response, and good postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Avla, Fla. in March, 1999. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
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Hyperlipidemia has been recognized as the major risk factor in causing cardiovascular diseases due to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis and other such peripheral vascular diseases affect the quality of life of a large population in the world. The therapy aims to lower the elevated plasma LDL cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and plasma triglycerides in order to prevent or reduce the risk of occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
Hypolipidemic agents which are PPAR modulators have been disclosed in WO 91/19702, WO 94/01420, WO 94/13650, WO 95/03038, WO 95/17394, WO 96/04260, WO 96/04261, WO 96/33998, WO 97/25042, WO 97/36579, WO 98/28534, WO 99/08501, WO 99/16758, WO 99/19313, WO99/20614, WO 00/23417, WO 00/23445, WO 00/23451, WO 01/53257. WO 03009841 discloses compounds of the following general formula:
These compounds are reported to be hypolipidemic agents. WO 03009841 also discloses certain salts including the sodium salt of some of the compounds disclosed therein. However, these salts either were difficult to isolate due to rapid degradation or were poorly absorbed limiting their efficacy and possibility of further development or were found to degrade on long term storage thereby also limiting their suitability for further pharmaceutical development. It has surprisingly now been found that certain compounds and their selected salts are effective in further pharmaceutical development and are also efficacious than some of the earlier known salts.
The present invention provides synergistic composition of certain hypolipidemic and hypocholesterolemic compounds of formula (Ia) wherein ‘M+’ represents Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Zinc and Lithium, preferably Magnesium, in combination with one or more therapeutic agents as described herein after.
In another embodiment the present invention describes compounds of formula (I)
wherein ‘R’ is selected from hydroxy, hydroxyalkyl, acyl, alkoxy, alkylthio, thioalkyl, aryloxy, arylthio and M+ represents Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Zinc, Lithium, L-Arginine, Tromethamine, L-Lysine, Meglumine, Benethamine, Piperazine, Benzylamine, Dibenzylamine, Dicyclohexylamine, Diethylamine, Diphenylamine, α-naphthylamine, O-phenylenediamine, 1,3-Diaminopropane, (S)-α-naphthylethylamine, (S)-3-methoxyphenylethylamine, (S)-4-methoxyphenylethylamine, (S)-4-chlorophenylethylamine, (S)-4-methylphenylethylamine, Cinchonine, Cinchonidine, (−)-Quinine, Benzathine, Ethanolamine, Diethanol amine, Triethanolamine, imidazole, Diethylamine, Ethylenediamine, Choline, Epolamine, Morpholine 4-(2-hydroxyethyl), N—N-diethylethanolamine, Deanol, Hydrabamine, Betaine, Ammonia, Adamantanamine, L-Adamantanmethylamine & Tritylamine. Many of these salts also shows certain superior pharmaceutical &/or chemical properties.
In a preferred embodiment, ‘R’ represents thioalkyl or alkoxy or hydroxyalkyl group; in a still preferred embodiment, ‘R’ represents —SCH3 or —OCH3 group.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease arising from a complex pathophysiology involving the dual endocrine defects of insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. The treatment of Type 2 diabetes typically begins with diet and exercise, followed by oral antidiabetic monotherapy. For many patients, these regimens do not sufficiently control glycemia during long-term treatment, leading to a requirement for combination therapy within several years following diagnosis. However, co-prescription of two or more oral antidiabetic drugs may result in treatment regimens that are complex and difficult for many patients to follow. Combining two or more oral antidiabetic agents into a single tablet provides a potential means of delivering combination therapy without adding to the complexity of patients daily regimens. Such formulations have been well accepted in other disease indications, such as hypertension (HYZAAR™ which is a combination of losartan potassium and hydrochlorothiazide) and cholesterol lowering (VYTORIN™ which is a combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe). The selection of effective and well-tolerated treatments is a key step in the design of a combination tablet. Moreover, it is essential that the components have complementary mechanisms of action and compatible pharmacokinetic profiles. Examples of marketed combination tablets containing two oral antidiabetic agents include Glucovance™ (Metformin and Glyburide), Avandamet™ (Metformin and Rosiglitazone), Metaglip™ (Metformin and Glipizide), Janumet™ (contains Sitagliptin and Metformin), etc.
Biguanide antihyperglycaemic agents are commonly used in the treatment of NIDDM (or Type II diabetes). 1,1-Dimethylbiguanidine (or Metformin) is an example of a biguanide antihyperglycaemic agent.
Metformin represents the only oral antidiabetic agent proven to reduce the total burden of microvascular and macrovascular diabetic complications and to prolong the lives of Type 2 diabetic patients. Furthermore, metformin treatment is often associated with reductions in body weight in overweight patients and with improvements in lipid profiles in dyslipidemic patients. Metformin hydrochloride is marketed as either immediate-release or extended-release formulations with tablet dosage strengths of 500, 750, 850, and 1000 milligrams. Extended-release formulations of metformin have advantages over immediate-release in terms of affording a more uniform maintenance of blood plasma active drug concentrations and providing better patient compliance by reducing the frequency of administration required.
It has now surprisingly been found that Compound of formula (Ia) in combination with a biguanide antihyperglycaemic agent such as Metformin provides a particularly beneficial effect on glycaemic control with no observed adverse effects; such combination is therefore particularly useful for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, especially Type II diabetes and conditions associated with diabetes mellitus.
Statins (or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) are a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol in the liver. Increased cholesterol levels have been associated with cardiovascular diseases and statins are therefore used in the prevention of these diseases. Several statins have been approved for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases including Lovastatin (MEVACOR, U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,938), Simvastatin (ZOCOR; U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,784), Pravastatin sodium salt (PRAVACHOL; U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,227), Fluvastatin sodium salt (LESCOL; U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,772), Atorvastatin calcium salt (LIPITOR; U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,995) and Rosuvastatin calcium (CRESTOR; U.S. RE37314). The above mentioned publications are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is also based on the surprising finding that statins can increase the activity of PPAR agonists compound of formula (Ia) and can be used to treat or prevent dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes and other disorders responsive to PPAR activators or PPAR activation, without increasing the risk for side effects such as rhabdomylosis, fluid retention, edema, or congestive heart failure.
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors represent a novel class of agents that are being developed for the treatment or improvement in glycemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Specific DPP-4 inhibitors currently in clinical trials for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes include sitagliptin phosphate (MK-0431), vildagliptin (LAF-237), saxagliptin (BMS-47718), alogliptin (X), carmegliptin (X), melogliptin (X), dutogliptin (X), denagliptin (X), linagliptin (X), P93/01 (Prosidion), SYR322 (Takeda), GSK 823093, Roche 0730699, TS021 (Taisho), E3024 (Eisai), and PHX-1149 (Phenomix). For example, oral administration of vildagliptin or sitagliptin to human Type 2 diabetics has been found to reduce fasting glucose and postprandial glucose excursion in association with significantly reduced HbA1, levels. Several reviews on the application of DPP-4 inhibitors for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, have been published such as H.-U. Demuth, et al., “Type 2 diabetes—Therapy with dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1751: 33-44 (2005), K. Augustyns, et al., “Inhibitors of proline-specific dipeptidyl peptidases: DPP IV inhibitors as a novel approach for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes,” Expert Opin. Ther. Patents, 15: 1387-1407 (2005) etc.
DPP-4 inhibitors currently approved or in clinical trials for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes include sitagliptin phosphate, vildagliptin, saxagliptin, alogliptin, carmegliptin, melogliptin, dutogliptin, denagliptin, linagliptin, P93/01 (Prosidion), SYR322 (Takeda), GSK 823093, Roche 0730699, TS021 (Taisho), E3024 (Eisai), PHX-1149 (Phenomix), etc.
Sitagliptin free base and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,871 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Crystalline sitagliptin phosphate monohydrate is disclosed in international patent publication WO 2005/0031335.
Vildagliptin is the generic name for (S)-1-[(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)amino]acetyl-2-cyano-pyrrolidine. Vildagliptin is specifically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,063, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Saxagliptin is a methanoprolinenitrile derivative specifically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,767, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Alogliptin is a DPP-IV inhibitor under investigation for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, specifically disclosed in EP 1586571 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Linagliptin is a DPP-IV inhibitor approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes specifically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,407,955 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Other DPP-IV inhibitors useful in the formulation of the present invention include, but are not limited to alogliptin, carmegliptin, melogliptin, dutogliptin, and denagliptin.
The present invention is also based on the surprising finding that DPP IV inhibitors can increase the activity of PPAR agonists of formula (Ia) and can be used to treat or prevent dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes and other disorders responsive to PPAR activators or PPAR activation, without increasing the risk for side effects such as rhabdomylosis, fluid retention, edema, or congestive heart failure.
Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of diabetic medications indicated only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. SGLT-2 inhibitors work by reducing the amount of glucose being absorbed in the kidneys so that it is passed out in the urine and also by reducing the amount of glucose in blood. Their use in clinical practice is associated with improved glycaemic control, weight loss and a low risk of hypoglycaemia. Dapagliflozin, Canagliflozin, Empagliflozin are some of the SGLT-2 inhibitors which are either approved or are under clinical trials for the treatment of diabetes and associated disorders.
The present invention is also based on the surprising finding that SGLT-2 inhibitors can increase the activity of PPAR agonist compounds of formula (Ia) and can be used to treat or prevent dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes and other disorders responsive to PPAR activators or PPAR activation, without increasing the risk for side effects such as rhabdomylosis, fluid retention, edema, or congestive heart failure.
Glucagon-like-peptide-1 agonists or GLP-1 agonists are a class of drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) enhances glucose-dependent insulin secretion following its release into the circulation from the gut. GLP-1 receptor agonists enhance glucose-dependent insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta-cell, suppress inappropriately elevated glucagon secretion, and slow gastric emptying. GLP-1 agonists are used for diabetes type 2 combined with other anti-diabetic drugs.
The present invention is also based on the surprising finding that GLP-1 receptor agonists can increase the activity of PPAR agonist compounds of formula (Ia) and can be used to treat or prevent dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes and other disorders responsive to PPAR activators or PPAR activation, without increasing the risk for side effects such as rhabdomylosis, fluid retention, edema, or congestive heart failure.
The acid of Formula (I) is a thick liquid which is difficult to isolate, purify and develop into a pharmaceutical formulation. It is therefore necessary to isolate the acid in a form that is easy to purify, handle, scale up and develop into suitable pharmaceutical formulation. Conversion into suitable salts represent one such means.
Salts often improve physical and biological characteristics of mother compounds without modifying primary pharmacological activity, based on mechanism of action of the compound. Thus there is a continuing need to obtain new salts of Formula (I) having improved physical and/or chemical properties. The present invention satisfies this need by providing new salts of Formula (I).
In an embodiment, the new salts of Formula (I) provide a new opportunity to improve the performance of the synthesis of the Formula (I) acid in a chemically and chirally pure form. These new salts are produced in solid state, have improved characteristics such as stability, and flowability, and are therefore easy to handle in an industrial scale. This makes these new salts suitable as intermediates for preparing the compound of formula (I) in a chemically and chirally pure form, though some of these salts may not be pharmaceutically useful. Some of these salts can also have superior biological properties over one or more of the known salts of Formula (I).
These salts may be present either in substantially crystalline or amorphous forms or may be present as partially crystalline forms. In a preferred embodiment the salts are present in crystalline form. In another preferred embodiment, the salts are present in an amorphous form. In another embodiment, the salts are present in non-solvated/unsolvated form or in a solvent free form. In another embodiment, the salts are present in solvated/hydrated form.
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The present invention relates to a solid state imaging device capable of suppressing generation of a dark current, a method of manufacturing the same, and an imaging apparatus.
Solid state imaging devices, such as a CCD (charge coupled device) and a CMOS image sensor, are widely used in a video camera, a digital still camera, and the like. Improvement in sensitivity and noise reduction are important issues in all kinds of solid state imaging devices.
In particular, a dark current, which is detected as a very small current when an electric charge (electron) generated from a minute defect in a substrate interface of a light receiving surface is input as a signal, or a dark current generated due to the interface state on the interface between the light sensing section and an upper layer even though there is no pure signal charge generated by photoelectric conversion of incident light in a state where there is no incident light is a noise to be reduced in the solid state imaging device.
As a technique of suppressing generation of a dark current caused by the interface state, for example, an embed type photodiode structure having a hole accumulation layer 23 formed of a P+ layer on a light sensing section (for example, a photodiode) 12 is used as shown in (2) of FIG. 42. Moreover, in this specification, the embed type photodiode structure is referred to as an HAD (hole accumulated diode) structure. As shown in (1) of FIG. 42, in a structure where the HAD structure is not provided, electrons generated due to the interface state flow to the photodiode as a dark current. On the other hand, as shown in (2) of FIG. 38, in the HAD structure, generation of electrons from the interface is suppressed by the hole accumulation layer 23 formed on the interface. In addition, even if electric charges (electrons) are generated from the interface, the electric charges (electrons) do not flow to a charge accumulation section, which is a potential well in an N+ layer of the light sensing section 12, but flow to the hole accumulation layer 23 of the P+ layer in which many holes exist. Accordingly, the electric charges (electrons) can be eliminated. As a result, since it can be prevented that the electric charges generated due to the interface are detected as a dark current, the dark current caused by the interface state can be suppressed.
As a method of forming the HAD structure, it is common to perform ion implantation of impurities for forming the P+ layer, for example, boron (B) or boron difluoride (BF2) through a thermally oxidized layer or a CVD oxide layer formed on a substrate, to activate injected impurities by annealing, and then to form a p-type region near the interface. However, heat treatment in a high temperature of 700° C. or more is essential in order to activate doped impurities. Accordingly, formation of the hole accumulation layer using ion implantation is difficult in a low-temperature process at 400° C. or less. Also in the case of desiring to avoid long-time activation at high temperature in order to suppress diffusion of dopant, the method of forming a hole accumulation layer in which ion implantation and annealing are performed is not preferable.
Furthermore, when a silicon oxide or a silicon nitride formed on an upper layer of the light sensing section is formed in a low-temperature plasma CVD method, for example, the interface state is reduced compared with an interface between of a light receiving surface and a layer formed at high temperature. The reduction in interface state increases a dark current.
As described above, in the case of desiring to avoid ion implantation and annealing process at high temperature, not only the hole accumulation layer cannot be formed by known ion implantation but also a dark current is further reduced. In order to solve the problem, it becomes necessary to form a hole accumulation layer in another method that is not based on ion implantation in the related art.
For example, there is disclosed a technique in which charged particles having the same polarity as an opposite conduction type are embedded in an insulating layer formed of a silicon oxide on a photoelectric conversion element having a conduction type opposite a conduction type of a semiconductor region formed within a semiconductor region to thereby pull up an electric potential of a surface of the photoelectric conversion section and form an inversion layer on the surface and as a result, generation of a dark current is reduced by preventing depletion of the surface (for example, refer to JP-A-1-256168). However, in the above technique, a technique of embedding the charged particles into the insulating layer is needed, but it is not known which kind of embedding technique is used. In addition, in order to inject electric charges into the insulating layer from the outside as normally used in a nonvolatile memory, an electrode used to inject electric charges is needed. Even if electric charges can be injected from the outside in a non-contact state without using an electrode, the electric charges trapped in the insulating layer are not detrapped. Accordingly, an electric charge holding property becomes a problem. For this reason, since a high-quality insulating layer having a high electric charge holding property is requested, it has been difficult to realize the insulating layer.
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The present invention relates to a power-generation detection circuit and, in particular, to power-generation detection for use in an electronic device which is driven by an AC power generated by motion of a rotating weight or motion of a spring. The invention further relates to a semiconductor device in which the power-generation detection circuit is formed. And more in particular an electronic device, having the power-generation detection circuit, which is a timepiece and a power-generation detection method and a power consumption control method for operating the electronic device.
In a compact portable electronic device, such as a wrist watch, it is known to incorporate a power-generation device therein to obtain power for driving the electronic device without a battery. Referring now to FIG. 15, there is shown a simplified configuration of an electronic device which incorporates a power-generation device 6. This portable electronic device includes an electromagnetic power-generation device as the power-generation device 6. Power-generation device 6 includes a rotating weight 7 that moves in a swinging motion when the electronic device is moved or shaken, a train wheel mechanism 8 for transmitting the rotating motion of rotating weight 7, a stator 9 and a rotor 10. When rotor 10 rotates, an electromotive force is generated by an output coil 11 of stator 9, so that an AC power is output In addition, the AC power output from electromagnetic generator 6 is full-wave rectified by a rectification diode bridge 12 to supply the power to a large-capacity capacitor 13 and a circuit unit 14 of the electronic device. When no power generation is performed by electromagnetic generator 6, circuit unit 14 is driven by power stored in large-capacity capacitor 13. For this reason, the portable electronic device can continuously operate circuit unit 14 without a battery.
Because the electronic device described above has no means for detecting the state of power generation supplied from power-generation device 6, the current consumption of circuit unit 14 is constant regardless of the state of power generation of power-generation device 6. As a result, power is consumed by circuit unit 14 even while no power is being generated by power-generation device 6. This may result in large-capacity capacitor 13 being discharged within a short period of time with the possibility of circuit unit 14 stopping completely.
The present invention is for a power-generation detection circuit for detecting the state of power generation in an electronic device. In accordance with the present invention, a power-generation detection circuit is provided which includes a switching element for performing a switching operation in response to the cycle of an externally generated AC power signal. A capacitor element is coupled to the switch for storing charges depending on the state of the switch, the capacitor element having a discharge path. A discharging element is inserted in the discharging path of the capacitor element for discharging the charges stored in the capacitor element. A voltage detector is coupled to the capacitor element for detecting whether voltage of the capacitor element exceeds a predetermined value.
In an exemplary embodiment, the discharging element of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is a resistor element.
In an exemplary embodiment, the discharging element of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is a constant-current circuit. The constant-current circuit of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention includes a constant-current source and a current mirror circuit.
In an exemplary embodiment, the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention includes a current-limiter connected in series with the capacitor element for limiting the charge current of the capacitor element.
In an exemplary embodiment, the voltage detector of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is an inverter circuit.
In an exemplary embodiment, the voltage detector of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is a Schmidt trigger inverter circuit.
In an exemplary embodiment, the voltage detector of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is a comparator circuit.
In an exemplary embodiment, the switching element of the power-generation detection circuit of the present invention is a transistor. The transistor may be a MOS transistor or a bipolar transistor.
In accordance with the present invention, a semiconductor device is provided which includes a switching element for performing a switching operation in response to the cycle of an externally generated AC power signal. A capacitor element is coupled to the switch for storing charges depending on the state of the switch, the capacitor element having a discharge path. A discharging element is inserted in the discharging path of the capacitor element for discharging the charges stored in the capacitor element. A voltage detector is coupled to the capacitor element for detecting whether a voltage of the capacitor element exceeds a predetermined value.
In an exemplary embodiment, the discharging element of the semiconductor device of the present invention is a constant-current source and a current mirror circuit. The current mirror circuit of the semiconductor device of the present invention is a pair of transistors.
In an exemplary embodiment, the switching element of the semiconductor device of the present invention is a transistor. The transistor may be a MOS transistor or a bipolar transistor.
In accordance with the present invention, an electronic device is provided which includes a power-generation device for generating AC power. A power-generation detection circuit, coupled to the power generation device, includes a switching element for performing a switching operation in response to the cycle of AC power generated by the power-generation device; a capacitor element is coupled to the switch for storing charges depending on the switching operation performed by the switching element, the capacitor element having a discharge path; a discharging element is inserted in the discharging path of the capacitor element for discharging the charges stored in the capacitor element, and a voltage detector is coupled to the capacitor element for detecting whether a voltage of the capacitor element exceeds a predetermined value.
In an exemplary embodiment, the power-generation device of the electronic device has a rotating weight for performing swinging motion and a power-generation element for generating electromotive force from the rotating motion of the rotating weight.
In an exemplary embodiment, the power-generation device includes an elastic member on which deformation forces act. A rotating member rotates as a result of a recovery force generated by the elastic member returning to its original shape. A power-generation element generates electromotive force from the rotating motion of the rotating member.
In an exemplary embodiment, the power-generation includes a piezoelectric element which generates electromotive force by a piezoelectric effect when displacement acts on the piezoelectric element.
In accordance with the present invention, an electronic device is provided which includes a power-generation device for generating AC power. A power-generation detection circuit, coupled to the power generation device, includes a switching element for performing a switching operation in response to the cycle of the AC power generated by the power-generation device; a capacitor element, coupled to the switch, stores charges in response to the switching operation performed by the switching element. A discharging element, inserted in the discharging path of the capacitor element, discharges the charges stored in the capacitor element; a voltage detector, coupled to the capacitor element, detects whether a voltage across the capacitor element exceeds a predetermined value; and a control circuit is coupled to the voltage detector for controlling power consumption of the device in response to the detection of the voltage detector.
In an exemplary embodiment, the control circuit of the electronic device of the present invention determines that the power-generation device is not performing power generation when a voltage across the capacitor element is not more than the predetermined value, and, as a result, reduces power consumption of the device. The control circuit of the electronic device of the present invention determines that the power-generation device is performing power generation when a voltage across the capacitor element exceeds the predetermined value, and, as a result, cancels the reduction in power consumption.
In an exemplary embodiment, the control circuit of the electronic device of the present invention controls the power consumption of the device based on the length of time in which a voltage across the capacitor element exceeds the predetermined value.
In accordance with the present invention, a timepiece includes a power-generation device for generating AC power. A power-generation detection circuit, coupled to the power-generation device includes a switching element, coupled to the power-generation device, for performing a switching operation in response to a cycle of AC power generated by the power-generation device; a capacitor element, coupled to the switching element, stores charges in response to the switching operation performed by the switching element; a discharging element is inserted in a discharging path of the capacitor element for discharging the charges stored in the capacitor element; and a voltage detector is coupled to the discharge element for detecting that a voltage across the capacitor element exceeds a predetermined value; and a timer circuit for counting time.
In an exemplary embodiment of the timepiece of the present invention, the power-generation detection device, power-generation circuit, and timer circuit are included in a housing of a wrist watch.
In an exemplary embodiment of the timepiece of the present invention, the power-generation device, power-generation detection circuit, and timer circuit are included in a housing of a pocket watch.
In an exemplary embodiment of the timepiece of the present invention, the power-generation device, power-generation detection circuit, and timer circuit are included in a housing of a table timepiece.
In accordance with the present invention, a power-generation detection method is provided that includes the steps of charging a capacitor element by a switching operation in response to a cycle of AC power which is externally generated; discharging the capacitor element when charging of the capacitor element is not performed; determining whether the voltage across the capacitor element is a predetermined voltage; and determining that power generation is being performed when the voltage across the capacitor element exceeds the predetermined voltage.
In accordance with the present invention, a power consumption control method is provided that includes the steps of charging a capacitor element by a switching operation in response to a cycle of AC power 8 which is externally generated; discharging the capacitor element when charging of the capacitor element is not performed, determining whether the voltage of the capacitor element is a predetermined voltage; determining that no power generation is performed when the voltage across the capacitor element does not exceed the predetermined voltage; and reducing power consumption of a circuit unit when no power generation is performed.
In an exemplary embodiment, a power consumption control method of the present invention also includes the steps of determining whether the voltage exceeds the predetermined voltage for a predetermined period of time, and canceling a reduction in power consumption of the circuit unit when the voltage exceeds the predetermined voltage for the predetermined period of time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a power-generation detection circuit which can detect the state of generation power (i.e., the presence/absence of power generation and the strength of power generation) supplied from a power-generation device of an electronic device by a simple method so that power consumption of a circuit unit can be controlled depending on the detected state of power generation.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
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Conventional wireless telephones generally offer both voice and data communications capabilities and allow real-time voice communications. As described below, such real-time communications are not always desirable by a user who wishes only to receive a message without having his current activity disturbed.
Pagers, on the other hand, are miniature receivers which receive data transmissions from at least one paging terminal which covers a selected geographic area. A pager is generally tuned to a particular tone or data bit-modulated frequency that is shared with many other pagers. A particular sequence of tones or data bits is used as an address or the identification of a selected pager. Reception of the particular sequence activates an acoustic, tactile or visible alert, thereby indicating that a call has been placed to the paging terminal from a telephone connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or other telecommunications network and communicated via the transmitter to the pager. Depending on the complexity of the pager, the paging device may receive a voice or data message following the alert, or the alert alone may simply indicate to the user that a call was made and a prearranged action should be taken. To respond to a page, the paged party typically must find an available conventional or wireless telephone and initiate a telephone call to the party that initiated the page.
There have been several attempts to make wireless telephones a substitute for pagers by incorporating pager features into the wireless telephone system. The objective of these attempts is to enable the wireless telephone user to receive short digital messages and to allow the user to screen incoming calls and respond to selected messages when time allows, without interrupting the user's activities.
One such attempt is called short messaging services (SMS). Using SMS, an alpha-numeric or numeric message (hereinafter collectively "alpha-numeric message") is transmitted to a wireless telephone and appears on the screen of the unit. This may be accomplished in at least three different ways: First, the caller may call the wireless telephone number and be transferred to the user's voice mailbox. The caller is then prompted to enter the caller's telephone number or other alpha-numeric message, which is transmitted to the wireless telephone by the voice mail system. Second, a caller can use either e-mail or a web page to send an alpha-numeric message to a user's wireless telephone. A third way is to use a paging system such as a voice response system (VRS), whereby the caller calls a toll-free number, is prompted by the system to enter the user's PIN number (usually the user's 10-digit telephone number or a 7-digit alias) and the caller's telephone number or other alpha-numeric message which is transmitted to the wireless telephone by the VRS. Only the first of these methods permits the caller to call the user's wireless telephone number, as opposed to calling another number or accessing e-mail or the world-wide web. Moreover, these SMS methods have the drawback that their use is not controlled by the wireless telephone user, and consequently he cannot force callers to use SMS during time periods when he does not want his activities disturbed by calls to his wireless telephone.
From the wireless telephone user's perspective, he has several options for making his wireless telephone function like a pager. Conventional wireless telephones have several operating modes, including silent or meeting mode and a pager mode. In silent mode, there is no audible or tactile ringing signal in response to incoming calls. In meeting mode, the user is alerted by different ringing signals (e.g. different tone volumes or patterns) corresponding to various Caller IDs stored by the user in the memory of the wireless telephone. In pager mode, the user is alerted to an incoming call with yet another distinguishable tone. In any of these conventional modes, unless the user answers the call, the caller must wait several rings before being transferred to voice mail, where he is prompted to leave either an alpha-numeric or recorded voice message for the user. Although the ringing signal is typically silenced in both the silent mode and pager mode, the caller still must wait a system-determined time interval (e.g., 60 seconds) before being transferred to voice mail. In addition, in some wireless telephone systems such as the Global System Mobile (GSM) system (implemented in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and parts of the Orient), a user can screen calls based on the Caller ID and send selected calls directly to voice mail by pushing a button. Even in the GSM system, however, unless the user accepts or rejects a call, the caller must wait several rings before being transferred to voice mail.
In view of the foregoing drawbacks in existing wireless telephone systems, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless telephone which functions similar to a pager. Another object of the invention is to provide a pager mode for a wireless telephone in which incoming calls are transferred immediately to voice mail without waiting for 60 seconds or other system- or user-determined time interval for allowing wireless telephone users to accept incoming calls. A further object of the invention is to provide a high priority screening feature which allows certain preselected high priority calls to circumvent the pager mode and be answered by the wireless telephone user in the normal fashion. A still further object of the invention is to provide a screening feature which permits the user to screen the Caller IDs of all incoming calls before they are transferred to voice mail, while the wireless telephone is in pager mode.
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Inhalers are commonly used to deliver drugs into the lung of a patient in need thereof. Different types of inhalers have been developed and are available on the market, amongst which dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are becoming attractive in the treatment of various respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for the delivery of non-asthma drugs delivered via inhalation.
In dry powder inhalers, the dose of medicament is present in dry powder form and usually pre-packed in a capsule. Blister-based dry powder inhalers are also known.
In capsule-based dry powder inhalers, a capsule is placed into a capsule chamber of the inhaler before inhalation and opened, e.g. by piercing the capsule at its ends. Subsequently, the patient inhales through a nosepiece or mouthpiece whereupon an inhalation airflow is generated within the inhaler. The medicament in dry powder form is released from the capsule, entrained into the inhalation airflow and inhaled by the patient.
For dose consistency, it is desirable that as much as possible of the dose of medicament is released from the capsule, inhaled by the patient and delivered to the site of action in the lung. Moreover it is desirable to break down the particle size of the medicament in dry powder form contained in the capsule in order to enable a good absorption of the medicament in the lung.
Medicaments in dry powder form contained in capsules usually consist of a blend of the active ingredient and a bulking agent, e.g. lactose. The powder blend is usually present in form of big agglomerates which are usually a mixture of big and small particles. However, big agglomerates often show a poor release from the capsule and/or a poor lung uptake. Thus, in conventional dry powder inhalers it is desired to break and/or de-agglomerate larger particles into smaller, breathable particles prior or during inhalation in order to allow for an efficient release from the capsule as well as an efficient lung uptake. Particles with a size of not more than 5 μm are believed to be particularly advantageous for an efficient lung uptake.
One approach of breaking down/de-aggregate big agglomerates inside the capsule during inhalation is to set the capsule into motion thereupon causing impacts between the capsule and the capsule chamber, whereby stronger impacts are believed to lead to a better breakdown of the powder particles and consequently to a more efficient release from the capsule.
Pending European Patent Application No. 15191215.1 describes an improved dry powder inhaler for delivering a dose of medicament in dry powder form from a container to a patient in need thereof. The inhaler comprises first and second airflow paths which are arranged such that during inhalation, a capsule having a longitudinal axis and first and second end sections delimiting the capsule on opposing ends located in the capsule chamber performs an oscillating movement in the capsule chamber parallel to its longitudinal axis between first and the second sidewall portions of the capsule chamber. The particles of the medicament inhaled by the patient are too large to enable an optimal absorption in the lung of the patient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inhaler device that overcomes the problems associated with the devices of the prior art, and further improves the airflow of the device. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inhaler device that improves the deagglomeration of the particles in which the medicament is contained.
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Generally, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are formed using a diode with a first contact layer, an active layer, and a second contact layer on a substrate. When these layers are forward biased, light at various wavelengths can be generated, which then propagates outward in multiple directions. Some of these directions may be undesired, such as when the light is intended to propagate in a particular direction, or the light impacts a light-absorbing material (such as a silicon substrate), which decreases the overall luminosity of the LED.
These problems of luminosity and directionality have been treated by such methods as placing a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) beneath the active layer of the LED to reflect the light away from the substrate. However, DBRs become less efficient reflectors at higher incident angles relative to normal to the surface of the DBRs. Additionally, some light may not even impact a DBR as the light escapes the LEDs and propagates toward the substrate, which may absorb the light and prevent its reflection.
Another solution has been to use a light transmissive substrate such as sapphire and form a reflective layer on an opposite side of the substrate from the LEDs. However, this procedure limits the materials available for LED substrates to light transmissive substrates such as sapphire, and prevents the usage of more preferred substrates such as silicon. This can lead to more complicated and expensive manufacturing processes.
Accordingly, what is needed is a structure that allows for the use of more materials for substrates without a corresponding absorption of light.
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This invention relates to the field of optical imaging and more specifically to the field of medical imaging with interferometric detection.
Over the past decade there have been tremendous advances in biomedical imaging technology. For example, magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray computed tomography, ultrasound, and confocal microscopy are all in widespread research and clinical use, and have resulted in fundamental and dramatic improvements in health care. However, there are many situations where existing biomedical diagnostics are not adequate. This is particularly true where high resolution (xcx9c1 xcexcm) imaging is required. Resolution at this level often requires biopsy and histopathologic examination. While such examinations are among the most powerful medical diagnostic techniques, they are invasive and can be time consuming and costly. Furthermore, in many situations conventional excisional biopsy is not possible. Coronary artery disease, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, is one important example of a disease where conventional diagnostic excisional biopsy can not be performed. There are many other examples where biopsy can not be performed or conventional imaging techniques lack the sensitivity and resolution for definitive diagnosis.
Moreover, for medical procedures such as balloon angioplasty, conventional techniques have not been able to provide high resolution imaging of the artery while a balloon is being inflated. Many other interventional procedures would greatly benefit from high resolution, in-vivo visualization technology. This technology would be useful for performing preoperative and post-operative diagnostics, to alert medical personnel to problems, or to avoid problems encountered during medical procedures.
The present invention seeks to overcome the problems associated with such conventional imaging techniques.
It is an object of this invention to provide an endoscopic imaging system that provides high resolution images and is useful during a medical procedure to enable medical personnel to view a procedure or actively help control the procedural process while it is occurring. In one embodiment the optical imaging system comprises an endoscopic unit and an interferometer for performing multi-dimensional scanning of a structure by utilizing an optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique. In one embodiment, the present invention uses OCT to perform high resolution imaging of structures. OCT measures the optical properties of a structure interferometrically using a short coherence length or frequency tunable light source.
In one embodiment the system includes an interferometer which includes a broadband optical radiation source; an optical radiation detector; a reference optical reflector; a first optical path leading to the reference optical reflector; and a second optical path including an endoscopic unit. The endoscopic unit, in one embodiment, includes an elongated housing defining a bore, within which is positioned a rotatable single mode optical fiber extending the length of the bore of the elongated housing. In an alternative embodiment, the endoscopic unit of the present invention includes a fixed fiber and rotatable optical beam directing elements at the distal end of the endoscopic unit. An optical beam directing system is coupled to the distal end of the rotatable single mode optical fiber and is positioned to transmit the optical radiation from the single mode optical fiber to the structure and to transmit reflected optical radiation from the structure to the single mode optical fiber. The optical beam directing system of the endoscopic unit typically includes a lens and a beam director located at the distal end of the single mode optical fiber and positioned to direct light from the single mode optical fiber to the structure. The beam director may include a prism, a lens or a mirror and may be driven from a motor external to the endoscope via a mechanical linkage, or may be driven from a micromotor.
The endoscopic unit also includes a transparent window typically formed at the distal end of the housing or around the circumference of the distal end thereof to permit the transmission of optical radiation to and from the structure. Additionally, an irrigation port may be formed in the housing for delivering fluid to the structure in question. The endoscopic unit can further include one or more inflatable balloons for performing procedures such as balloon angioplasty, for maintaining the opening in a vessel.
The interferometer of the system further includes a beam divider which divides the optical radiation from the optical radiation source along the first optical path to the reflector and along the second optical path to the structure being viewed. The optical radiation detector is positioned to receive reflected optical radiation from the reflector and reflected optical radiation from the structure and to generate a signal in response to the reflected optical radiation. A processor utilizes the signals from the detector to generate an image of the structure being viewed.
In one embodiment the reference optical reflector is typically coupled to a movable actuator to provide periodic movement to the reference mirror. In another embodiment the movable reference mirror is replaced with a static reference mirror and the broadband optical source replaced with a narrow bandwidth frequency tunable source, such as a semiconductor laser with tunable external gratings, a tunable solid state laser, or a dye laser. With such a source, optical radiation reflected from the structure being observed will arrive at the detector after the radiation reflected from the reference mirror is received at the detector. If the source is frequency modulated this delay will result in a beat frequency that is dependent on the difference between the distance from the detector to the reflection site within the structure, and the distance from the detector to the reference reflector. In still other embodiments of the present invention, the detector forming part of the imaging system includes a polarization diversity receiver, or alternatively a polarization analyzer. In still another embodiment the source consists of a broad band optical source, an interferometric detector using an optical spectrum analyzer wherein the Fourier transform of the spectrum is used to derive the reflectance profile of the sample.
It should be noted, that as used herein, the term endoscopic, applies to medical as well as non-medical imaging. One example of non-medical imaging in which the present invention may be used is as a replacement for a borescope to detect faults in cavities and bores in various industrial applications. For purposes of discussion only, the description to follow describes the present invention in terms of medical imaging, but the it is not the intent to limit the applications so described herein. Furthermore although the term endoscope is used, this invention directly relates to guidewires, catheters, and imaging with probes placed through trocars.
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The past decade has been marked by a technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry with the consumer electronics industry. An area where this relationship has been advantageous is that of digital video recording. A variety of digital recording devices have been replacing the analog VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders) that have been the video recording standard for a generation. Digital video recording has many advantages, including the ability to randomly access any portion of the digitally recorded content, higher definition video displays and longer storage life. This has resulted in the emergence of several classes of digital video recorders, such as set top boxes based upon the Personal Video Recorder (PVR). A description of the PVR and other digital video recorders and their increasing consumer functions as computer controlled “engines” in television set top boxes may be found in: IEEE Spectrum periodical (IEEE Inc.), New York, N.Y., July 2002, at pp. 26-31.
As is the case with each major technological advance, particularly in consumer fields, the video recording industry is faced with a conventional dilemma. All of the millions upon millions of conventional VCRs cannot be scrapped and everyone provided with a new digital device. Even if such a momentous transition were possible, what would become of presentation content presently stored in the VCR sequential tape cassettes. At the electronic entertainment field institution levels of the commercial video and film industries, this does not present a problem. There is effective higher level but expensive apparatus for making video tape content conversions to digital content. However, the personal consumer would need the means to inexpensively convert from his video cassette recorder to a digital data storage format. Even more significantly, this personal consumer would be in need of a way to inexpensively convert his personal libraries of VCR video program and presentation recordings, as well as personal video memorabilia into a digital format.
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Underground storage devices are known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,550 issued to Cash discloses a storage device for a rake that includes a chamber buried under the ground with an upwardly opening exposed. The chamber with an opening upwardly exposes the rake stored therein to rainwater and debris, which may defile the rake and make the rake unpleasant to use. The debris may also clog the lower part of the chamber and prevent the rake handle to be inserted therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,739 issued to Erichson et al. discloses a rake for use in a golf course sand trap. The rake has a head portion on the same plane as the handle which extends at an angle therefrom. When not in use, the rake is horizontally stored in a container buried in the ground adjacent a sand trap. The container is provided with a hinged cover having an artificial turf surface flush with the ground. Downward pressure on the cover unlatches the cover and an internal spring opens the cover and raises the rake handle from the container. A container that stores a rake horizontally occupies a large ground area. The latch and internal spring design is complicated and cost inefficient. Further the internal spring is subject to rust and failure, thereby adversely affecting the durability of the container.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a simple and inexpensive underground storage device for storing an implement such as a rake used on a golf course sand trap. It is desirable for the storage device to be reliable, durable, and user friendly. It is also desirable for the storage device to effectively protect the implement from the environment. It would be of further advantage for the storage device to be space efficient, e.g., occupying a small ground area.
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British Patent No. 2,028,365, Gray, published Mar. 5, 1980, discloses built liquid detergents containing anionic surfactants and one or more brighteners, including NTS brighteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,041, Inamorato, issued May 21, 1974, discloses unbuilt liquid detergents containing nonionic surfactants and anionic surfactants in a weight ratio of nonionic to anionic of at least 1. Optional brighteners can include the NTS type.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,157, Inamorato, issued May 25, 1976, discloses liquid detergents containing nonionic surfactants, quaternary ammonium softening agents and optional brighteners, including NTS brighteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,236, Franks, issued Feb. 7, 1984, discloses liquid detergents containing nonionic surfactants, optional anionic surfactants, hydrogen peroxide, brightener, and preferably quaternary ammonium softening compounds. NTS brighteners are specifically mentioned as being useful.
Japanese Patent Application No. J74-017004, published Apr. 26, 1974, discloses liquid detergents containing NTS brighteners said to be stable to light.
German Patent Application No. 2,543,998, published Apr. 7, 1977, discloses clear liquid detergents containing certain diphenyl distyryl brighteners. Examples 1 and 2 are of liquid detergents containing mixtures of monosulfonated and disulfonated brighteners.
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Several pumping circuits or dispositions are known that correspond to such a leak detection system.
Firstly there is a circuit in which the pre-evacuation pump and the primary pump are distinct, each generally being constituted by a vane pump.
In other assemblies, the pre-evacuation pump for the test chamber and the primary pumping system situated at the delivery of the secondary mechanical pump are constituted by a common pump with a valve being disposed between said common pump and the delivery of the secondary pump, or else a three-way valve system is provided for enabling the common pump to be connected either to the delivery of the secondary pump, or else to the first duct leading to the test chamber.
Under these circumstances, prior assemblies are capable of operating either in direct flow or in counterflow, or else of operating selectively in direct flow or in counter flow, For direct flow operation, the suction of the secondary pump is connected to the test chamber via an inlet valve. For countercurrent operation there is a connection including a valve suitable for connecting the delivery of the secondary pump to the test chamber.
Which ever configuration is used, it takes a long time to pre-evacuate the part under test when its volume is large. At less than 10.sup.-1 mb, the flow rate through a primary vane pump is relatively low. Unfortunately, the valve connecting the chamber under test to the secondary pump can be opened only after the press has dropped down at least to 10.sup.-2 mb.
In addition, throughout the possibly long period that the chamber is being pre-evacuated under molecular conditions, there is always the risk of the chamber being polluted by oil from the primary pump.
A helium memory phenomenon exists in configurations having a single primary pump, with this phenomenon being due to the vane primary pump whenever a prior test has caused a large leak to be detected. This phenomenon disturbs the results of the following tests.
The object of the present invention is to mitigate these drawbacks and it also has the advantage of reducing the signal "background noise" that exists in such a detection system.
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With development of wireless network communications technologies, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) technology is more widely applied, and an increasing quantity of terminal devices access a core network by using a WiFi access point (AP). Because quality of a signal sent by a WiFi access point and received by a terminal device is affected by factors such as a distance between the terminal device and the WiFi access point and ambient interference, to ensure that the terminal device can always well receive the signal sent by the WiFi access point and to reduce energy consumption, a transmit power of the WiFi access point needs to be adjusted. For example, when the distance between the terminal device and the WiFi access point is relatively short, the transmit power of the WiFi access point is reduced, to reduce energy consumption. When the distance between the terminal device and the WiFi access point is relatively long, the transmit power of the WiFi access point is increased, to ensure receiving quality.
Some approaches provide a power adjustment method: a current received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value of the WiFi access point is obtained at intervals of a preset time period, and the transmit power of the WiFi access point is dynamically adjusted according to the obtained RSSI value. Generally, when the distance between the terminal device and the WiFi access point is relatively short, the RSSI value is relatively large; when the distance between the terminal device and the WiFi access point is relatively long, the RSSI value is relatively small. Therefore, the terminal device can well receive the signal sent by the WiFi access point and energy consumption can be reduced by adjusting the transmit power according to the RSSI value.
However, the RSSI value can reflect only strength of a signal sent by the terminal device and received by the WiFi access point, and cannot exactly reflect a status of the signal sent by the WiFi access point and received by the terminal device. In some cases, received signal strength of the WiFi access point is extremely great, but the quality of the signal sent by the WiFi access point and received by the terminal device is extremely poor. For example, when the distance between the WiFi access point and the terminal device is extremely short, but ambient noise is extremely great, strength of the signal received by the terminal device is also extremely great, but because the noise is also extremely great, affected by the noise, the terminal device cannot well restore the signal during decoding, causing extremely poor received signal quality of the terminal device.
In such a case, the transmit power should be increased to improve the received signal quality of the terminal device. However, in the existing mechanism, the WiFi access point incorrectly determines, according to a relatively large RSSI value, that the transmit power does not need to be increased, which causes the extremely poor received signal quality of the terminal device.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an umbrella, which as in the ordinary course of events, may become useful in case of rain or like precipitous climatic conditions. More particularly the present invention relates to a low cost disposable umbrella, the construction of which is believed would most likely be found with art classified in Class 135, Subclasses 19.5, 20R, and 34 in the United States Patent Office if such construction were to actually exist in the prior art.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most relevant prior art known to applicant insofar as the present invention is concerned includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
1,457,679--VINCENT PA1 1,580,864--STEVENSON PA1 1,715,322--FOSTER PA1 2,455,288--ALVAREZ PA1 2,757,679--RIVKIN et al PA1 2,767,722--SMITH PA1 4,062,369--HERMANSON
Of the art listed above, FOSTER, U.S. Pat. No. 1,715,322 is of interest in that it discloses an umbrella comprising the broad combination of a canopy of cardboard or like material with a pair of handle or support members of cardboard material foldably secured to the underside thereof.
STEVENSON, U.S. Pat. No. 1,580,864, is of interest in that it discloses an umbrella having a canopy secured to a plurality of radially extending ribs 12 which may be of cardboard and have handle portion 16. The ribs 12 and handle portions 16 are stacked upon each other when the umbrella is closed.
SMITH, U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,722, is of interest in that it discloses an umbrella of the type disclosed in Foster, but developed to the extent of including foldable support flaps 17 and 18 which are secured together and formed with hand receiving apertures and foldable support flaps 19 and 20 also secured to each other. As may be understood from FIGS. 3 and 4 of Smith in the umbrella disclosed therein, flaps 17 and 18 and flaps 19 and 20 extend generally along a single diametrical plane when the canopy is erected.
The VINCENT U.S. Pat. No. 1,457,679 is of interest in that it relates to a foldable umbrella comprising a canopy and support ribs of cardboard or like material wherein the portions of the canopy are foldable between folds of the ribs, as may be seen in FIG. 5. The Vincent umbrella also includes a rod 11 and disk 12 slidably extending therearound and in cooperation therewith to reinforce the ribs as illustrated in FIG. 6.
The ALVAREZ U.S. Pat. No. 2,455,288 is of interest in that it discloses the use of a pair of bendable supporting ribs each of which includes a pair of portions extending extending generally at right angles to each other when the umbrella is erected. The canopy of the umbrella in the Alvarez patent comprises a generally rectangular web and may be rolled around the various components into storage condition.
The RIVKIN et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,769 is of interest in that it shows umbrellas with various forms of foldable canopies. The umbrella construction illustrated in FIGS. 8-12 of Rivkin et al is of particular interest in that in addition to including a foldable canopy of cardboard material, it includes two foldable cardboard support members of which one member has a hand grip.
The HERMANSON U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,369 is of interest in that it discloses a disposable umbrella with a canopy which is generally similar to that which is disclosed in the present application.
While the prior art patents noted above all relate to umbrellas, some of which include features generally similar to those included in the umbrella disclosed herein, they do no disclose nor do they suggest the canopy and specific support structure in combination therewith to provide the umbrella disclosed herein.
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Amorphous solids are those which have no crystalline structure or long range order. Silicate glasses are a common example of an amorphous solid, but other materials can form amorphous structures as well. For example, certain metal alloys can solidify to an amorphous state upon rapid cooling from a melt. Such metal alloys are known as amorphous or glassy metals.
Although a number of amorphous metals are known, they have found only limited commercial usefulness other than as a magnetic material, discussed below. Amorphous materials are often thermally instable, i.e., they crystallize at relatively low temperatures. Some amorphous metals are particularly brittle, which limits their use in applications requiring a ductile material. Also, some glass-forming compositions can be made amorphous only with difficulty. The widest commercial use made of amorphous metals to date has been as a soft magnetic material in transformers. In particular, the alloy formed by rapid quenching of an Fe-Ni melt with additions of metalloids such as B or P has yielded an amorphous metal suitable for this purpose.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,682 discloses a class of amorphous metal alloys of a ternary composition rich in Fe, Ni, Co, Cr, or Mn, but differing from the Fe-Ni glasses of the previous paragraph in that there are at least two glass forming additives present, which are chosen from two different groups of elements, one of which comprises a larger atomic size element such as Zr or Y and the other of which comprises a smaller atomic size element such as B, with the elements from both groups acting synergistically to produce glasses low in total additive concentrations (under 25 atomic percent of total additive). Al-based, Al-rich ternary compositions which are glass forming and contain representatives of two different additive groups are also known.
Among noble metal element alloys, especially those based on Ag and Au, Au.sub.80 Si.sub.20 is known to be readily glass forming, but this glass is not thermally stable at room temperature. The known glassy metal Au.sub.80 Ge.sub.12 Si.sub.08 has a temperature of crystallization T.sub.c of 307K. Binary Au-lanthanide systems form more thermally stable glasses, but require high concentrations, approximately 40 percent, of the additive elements for glass formation. Ag is notorious for being a poorly glass forming element; the only known binary glass-forming, Ag-rich alloys contain the divalent lanthanides Eu or Yb as additives, containing less than 82 atomic percent Ag. (It should be noted that both Eu and Yb are expensive addition elements.) Thus, amorphous metal alloys comprising at least 70 percent of the noble metals Ag and Au do not form upon rapid quenching at the cooling rates of melt-spinning, discussed below, or are not long-term thermally stable at room temperatures, or contain expensive addition elements. For some of the other noble metals, glass forming compositions are known, but, except for Pd.sub.80 Si.sub.20, these are generally not rich in the noble metals.
In the metallic glasses in general, and in the noble metal glasses contemplated in this invention in particular, there are advantages to obtaining compositions rich in the majority metal component or components (in the case of mixtures, e.g., of noble metals), because in such compositions the desirable characteristics of the majority component or components (magnetic, corrosion resistance, ductility, color and visual appearance) are most likely to be retained in the glassy state.
Amorphous solids may be formed by several processes. For bulk materials, the most commercially useful processes use liquid quenching techniques, in which a melt of the alloy composition is cooled rapidly, generally at a rate greater than 10.sup.5 K/s, so that no crystalline structure forms. The melt spinning technique, a type of liquid quenching, directs a stream of melt toward a rapidly spinning wheel, upon which the melt solidifies and is formed into a ribbon. Other processes, which are unsuitable for bulk quantity production, include vapor deposition processes, such as thermal vapor deposition and sputtering. Last, electroless chemical deposition is suitable only for certain elements not containing the noble metals.
Thus, there is a need for formulating alloy compositions rich in the noble metals, especially Au and Ag, that could be readily glass forming upon quenching from the liquid at cooling rates obtainable by melt spinning.
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The invention relates to a device for supporting a body lumen. More particularly, the invention is related to a stent formed from stent preforms. Each stent preform has a core that is completely isolated from the lumen walls for supporting a body lumen.
The importance of stents in modem medical treatments cannot be over-emphasized. Stents have revolutionized the care of patients by allowing far less invasive and risky surgical procedures to be undertaken. In coronary care, for example, complications following angioplasty can result in acute damage to artery walls, which prior to the development of stent technology required immediate bypass surgery. Stents are now recognized as a viable means of avoiding such procedures, because implantation of such a mechanical device into the area of concern allows the artery walls to be reinforced with permanent artificial scaffolding. Additionally, stents are now recognized as an effective modality for reducing the frequency of restenosis, the recurrent narrowing of the lumen (cavity or channel within a body tube).
Balloon treatment of narrowed arteries can initially increase the diameter of the artery by compressing blockage. However, recoil may result in lumen of insufficient diameter. Such recoil can be hindered by using a stent to dictate the diameter that the lumen is to assume.
Stent delivery and deployment may be performed by balloon mounting the stent and using a catheter to access the area of concern. By inflating the balloon at the lumen defect site, the stent may be expanded to the optimal size to support the lumen. Multiple stents may be deployed as necessary to accommodate defects of larger size or multiple defect locations.
Through the use of stent delivery systems, successful implantations can result in remarkable increase in blood flow, and over time new tissue growth in the area of the implant allows the lumen to maintain a typical structure.
It should be no surprise, however, that as a foreign object introduced into the body, the stent implant may also produce undesirable results. Among the problems encountered with implantation are tearing or cracking of the artery lining. In addition, the stent may irritate the lumen, resulting in blood clot formation on the stent itself. Serious consequences may result, including the need for further invasive procedures and concomitant increased risks.
Thus, there is a need for improved stents which minimize damage to the lumen as a result of interaction of the stent with the lumen, thereby allowing the management of acute vessel dissection and occlusion, decreasing the rate of restenosis, and increasing the safety and efficacy of stent treatments. There is also a need to reduce the frequency of stent thrombosis, the formation of solid masses from blood constituents caused by the thrombogenic surface of prior art stents, by providing a stent preform that when formed as a stent is less likely to damage the lumen.
Stents designed for use in arteries are currently fabricated in metal wireform or tubular shapes that are laser cut. Wireforms may be twisted or coiled mechanically using manual or automatic coil winding machines, or otherwise braided or knitted with similarly useful technology. Individual or multiple stent preforms may be used to create the stent. Prior art stents include metal-polymer composites, in which a metal layer is sandwiched between two layers of a polymer. Alternatively, the faces of the metal layer are coated using thin film deposition techniques, such as Pulsed Laser Deposition, which allow polymer films of micron-level thickness to be applied. The metal layer may also be sandwiched between two layers of biologic material.
The in vivo expansion of the stent using a balloon or other expansion device can create mechanical trauma at the site of application. When using a balloon, for example, the surface of the stent impacts the wall of the artery with a force equivalent to the pressurization of the balloon, and the trauma to the vessel wall from this impact can lead to undesirable tissue proliferation in the long-term. In almost one-quarter of all stent implantations, restenosis through tissue ingrowth occurs. The polymer-overlayer stents with exposed core ends cause inflamation and thrombosis. Furthermore, during the pulsatile force inside the artery, the stent continuously rubs against the artery wall, creating trauma in the region of the implant and to soft tissues of the vessel wall.
In this regard, the present invention is directed to a stent preform that isolates the core of the stent from the body lumen to prevent undesirable additional trauma in the lumen.
The present invention relates to a stent preform for implantation in a body lumen. The stent preform includes an elongated metal core having first and second core ends, a contact surface, and a solid cross-section, and a hollow outer sheath made of a biocompatible polymer and having first and second sheath ends, caps disposed on the sheath ends, and an interior surface. The outer sheath surrounds and contacts the contact surface of the core to prevent the core from directly contacting the body lumen.
The stent preform may include an elongated core that is expandable, and the outer sleeve may be capable of deforming to compensate for dimensional changes in the cross-section of the expanded core. The cross-section of the core of the stent preform may be substantially cylindrical.
The biocompatible polymer of the outer sheath may be formed of a heat-shrinkable polymer material. The outer sheath also may be formed from a polymer tape.
Preferably, the stent preform may include an elongated core that is formed of a shape-memory alloy. The outer sheath may be made of a polymer film having a thickness between about 0.1 micron and about 5 millimeters. In a preferred embodiment, the sheath caps of the stent preform have a generally rounded contour to minimize stress concentration along the walls of the lumen. The stent preform may also include a cover of a biological or synthetic coating to minimize interference of the stent preform with normal blood function. The coating may be an anticoagulent selected from the group of heparin, hirudin, coumadin, tichlopidiene, and chlopidogrel. The coating may also be disposed in micropores in the outer sheath, allowing controlled release of constituents of the coating.
In another embodiment, the stent preform includes an elongated metal core having first and second core ends, a contact surface, and a solid cross-section, at least one intermediate sleeve disposed between the outer sheath and the core, and a hollow outer sheath made of a biocompatible polymer and having first and second sheath ends, caps disposed on the sheath ends, and an interior surface. The outer sheath surrounds the intermediate sleeve and contact surface of the core to prevent the sleeve and core from directly contacting the body lumen.
The at least one intermediate sleeve may be a lubricious lining, with the core and the lining forming a composite body that is configured and dimensioned to be slidably received by the outer sheath. In a preferred embodiment, the outer sheath and the lining may form a composite body that is configured and dimensioned to be slidably received by the core.
In another embodiment, a filamentary member for implantation in a body lumen includes a rigid inner filament with first and second filament ends, and an outer sheath with first and second sheath ends. Preferably, the outer sheath is made of a biocompatible polymer, and the outer sheath completely encapsulates the inner filament to prevent the core from directly contacting a wall of a body lumen. The inner filament may be made of a plurality of woven fibers. The inner filament may be made from carbon fiber, kevlar, or glass fiber.
The present invention also relates to a method of making a stent preform. The method includes the steps of: providing an elongated core; completely surrounding the core with a polymer jacket to create a composite; heat treating the composite to promote bonding of the core and jacket; and bending the composite to a desired shape.
Preferably, the elongated core is made of metal. The metal may be a shape-memory alloy, and the polymer jacket may be formed of a biocompatible polymer.
In a preferred embodiment, the elongated core is expandable, and the polymer jacket is capable of deforming to compensate for dimensional changes in the cross-section of the expanded core.
The method may also include the step of heat treating the elongated core prior to encapsulating the core with a polymer jacket.
In a preferred embodiment, the polymer jacket is formed of a tape of a biocompatible polymer.
In another embodiment, a method of making a stent preform includes the steps of: providing an elongated metal core; completely encapsulating the core with a polymer tape to create a composite; and bending the composite to a desired shape. The tape may be a vascular fabric.
In another embodiment, a method of making a stent preform comprising the steps of: providing an elongated core made of a shape-memory material; completely encapsulating the core with a biocompatible fabric to create a composite; and bending the composite to a desired shape. At least one intermediate sleeve may be disposed between the biocompatible fabric and the core.
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This invention relates generally to transmitters and/or modulation for encoding angular position as a polarization state of the energy along a selectable one of a plurality of dimensions across the beam. More particularly, it relates to such devices which allow for the rapid change of the encoded dimension, for example, between the pitch and yaw dimensions, by electro-optical control means.
My U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,686; entitled "POSITION DETERMINING SYSTEMS"; and assigned to a common assignee; includes a transmitter for transmitting energy encoded such that the polarization states of the energy vary across the beam; and a receiver which responds to the polarization of the received energy to provide signals indicative of the relative position of an object within the beam.
According to one of the preferred embodiments disclosed in my just referenced U.S. Pat., the transmitter includes means for encoding the beam such that the polarization varies from elliptical polarization of a first rotational sense at one edge of the beam to linear polarization at the beam's center through elliptical polarization of the opposite sense at the opposite edge of the beam. The term "elliptical polarization" includes circular polarization as a special case thereof.
In my said prior patent polarization encoding across the beam was implemented by means of a laser unit that applies linearly polarized light to a wedge of birefringent material such as crystalline quartz. The polarization of the incident laser energy is oriented at 45.degree. to the optical axis of the wedge whereby the wedge decomposes the input light into two components one of which is along and the other perpendicular to the optical axis of the wedge. In passing through the wedge one of the light components is phase shifted with respect to the other and the configuration of the wedge is such that the phase shift is .+-.90.degree. at the edges of the beam. With this arrangement right-handed circular polarization is encoded at one beam edge and left-handed circular polarization at the other. The light transmitted through the center of the wedge has substantially no relatively phase shift except for an integral number of half wavelengths, between the orthogonal components thereof, and its polarization state is substantially the same or orthogonal to that of the input light to the wedge. The output light from the wedge is passed through a diverger lens which expands and shapes the beam, e.g. to produce a conical beam.
In accordance with the systems disclosed in my above cited U.S. patent, position information along a second dimension across the beam is obtained by rotating the wedge in its optical plane and transmitting a second pulse, or by using parallel transmission channels each of which is associated with a respective dimension across the beam.
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The present invention relates to an inside pad for a helmet which has a thick platelike cushion member and a bag-like member covering the cushion member like a bag, and a helmet using this inside pad.
Conventionally, as a helmet to be worn by the head of a helmet wearer (to be referred to as a xe2x80x9cwearerxe2x80x9d hereinafter) such as the rider of a motor cycle, a full-face-type helmet is known. Usually, a pair of right and left blockish inside pads for the cheeks are built into the inner surface portion of the cap-shaped head protecting body of the full-face-type helmet. These blockish inside pads for the cheeks are usually attached to the inner surface of an impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner with an adhesive, a tape, recess-projection engagement or the like. The blockish inside pads for the cheeks are usually formed by respectively accommodating thick platelike cushion members made of urethane foam or the like in bag-like members made of a flexible sheet material through their openings and sealing the openings by sewing or the like.
In the above full-face-type helmet, if the thicknesses or sizes of the cushion members of the inside pads for the cheeks are changed in order to change the size and shape of the internal space of the cap-shaped head protecting body, the cap-shaped head protecting body may always be made to precisely fit on the heads of a plurality of wears. In the conventionally known full-face-type helmet described above, however, the cushion members cannot be easily taken out of the bag-like members of the blockish inside pads for the cheeks.
For this reason, blockish inside pads for the cheeks in which the cushion members can be taken out of and put in the bag-like members comparatively easily have also been proposed. Even among these blockish inside pads for the cheeks, one with a simple structure, light weight and large strength, in which the cushion member can be taken out of and put in a bag-like member very easily does not exist.
The present invention is directed to correcting the drawbacks described above of the conventional helmet very effectively with a very simple arrangement.
It is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide an inside pad for a helmet, which has a simple structure and relatively high strength, and in which since a cushion member can easily be taken out of and put in a bag-like member of the inside pad of the helmet, a cushion member with substantially the same or different shape as that of the cushion member taken out of the bag-like member replaces it and is put in the bag-like member, so the old cushion member can be replaced with a new one or the size and shape of the internal space of the head protecting body of the helmet can be changed very easily, and a helmet using this inside pad.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inside pad for a helmet, in which a holding member and accordingly a bag-like member have higher strengths, and a helmet using this inside pad.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an inside pad for a helmet, in which not only a bag-like member has a high strength but also a cushion member can be taken out of and put in the bag-like member more easily, and a helmet using this inside pad.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an inside pad for a helmet, which can be attached to a head protecting body reliably and correctly with a simplified attaching structure, and a helmet using this inside pad.
According to the first aspect, the present invention relates to an inside pad for a helmet, comprising at least one thick platelike cushion member and a bag-like member covering the cushion member like a bag, wherein the bag-like member has a bag main body with an opening, through which the cushion member can be taken out of and accommodated in the bag main body, in one surface thereof, and at least one thin platelike holding member having flexibility at least partly and covering the opening at least partly, the holding member being attached to the bag main body. In this case, the holding member has a thickness of preferably 0.3 mm to 2.5 mm, and more preferably 0.5 mm to 1.8 mm.
According to the first embodiment of the first aspect, the holding member comprises a plurality of holding members, and the plurality of holding members are detachably connected to each other through a connecting mechanism.
According to the second embodiment of the first aspect, the connecting mechanism comprises a recess-projection engaging mechanism with an engaged projection and an engaging hole detachably engageable with the engaged projection, the engaged projection being formed on one certain holding member of the plurality of holding members, and the engaging hole detachably engageable with the engaged projection being formed in another holding member of the plurality of holding members.
According to the third embodiment of the first aspect, the engaging hole is a notched engaging hole.
According to the fourth embodiment of the first aspect, the engaged projection is a male hook.
According to the fifth embodiment of the first aspect, at least one portion of a periphery of the holding member is attached to the bag main body at least at one portion of a periphery of the opening.
According to the sixth embodiment of the first aspect, at least one of the holding members is attached to the bag main body so as to be turnable inside out from one surface to the other surface of the bag main body.
According to the seventh embodiment of the first aspect, the holding member comprises an inner holding member and an outer holding member that are partly overlaid on each other, the engaged projection is formed on the inner holding member, and the engaging hole is formed in the outer holding member.
According to the eighth embodiment of the first aspect, each of the cushion member, the bag-like member, the inner holding member and the outer holding member has a substantially forked shape.
According to the ninth embodiment of the first aspect, the inner holding member is attached to the bag main body such that, after recess-projection engagement of the inner holding member and said outer holding member through the engaged projection and the engaging hole is released and the inner holding member is brought outside the outer holding member, the inner holding member can be turned inside out from one surface to the other surface of the bag main body.
According to the second aspect, the present invention relates to a helmet wherein the inside pad according to the first aspect is built into a head protecting body so as to form at least part of an inner surface portion of the head protecting body.
According to the third aspect, the present invention relates to a helmet wherein the inside pad according to any one of the second to ninth embodiments of the first aspect is built into a head protecting body so as to form at least part of an inner surface portion of the head protecting body, and the engaged projection and/or the engaging hole of the recess-projection engaging mechanism detachably engages with an engaging hole and/or an engaged projection formed on the head protecting body through recess-projection engagement.
According to the fourth aspect, the present invention relates to a helmet wherein the inside pad according to any one of the second to ninth embodiments of the first aspect is built into a head protecting body so as to form at least part of an inner surface portion of the head protecting body, and the engaged projection detachably engages with a female hook formed on an impact absorbing liner of the head protecting body, thereby attaching the inside pad to the impact absorbing liner.
According to the fifth aspect, the present invention relates to a helmet wherein a pair of inside pads each according to the first aspect are built into a head protecting body so as to respectively form a left cheek blockish inside pad and a right cheek blockish inside pad of the head protecting body.
According to the first to fifth aspects described above, the inside pad preferably further has an elongated, thin platelike flexible engaging member attached to the bag-like member, and at least one portion of the engaging member being preferably inserted and supported between an outer shell and an impact absorbing liner.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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This invention relates to a method of measuring the quality of a resistance weld, typically the welded joint which forms the side seam of a metallic can.
Applicant' earlier patents EP 0381312B and EP 0438204B are directed to techniques for monitoring resistance welds in metallic cans, for example by measuring the relative movement of the electrode wheels of the resistance welding apparatus. The present invention provides a further method of measuring the quality of resistance welds, which is capable of generating additional information concerning the welding process.
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The total bandwidth in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system is divided into narrowband frequency units called subcarriers. The number of subcarriers is equal to the Fast Fourier Transform/inverse Fast Fourier Transform (FFT/IFFT) size N used in the system.
Currently-implemented OFDM networks use either a frequency division duplexing (FDD) or a time division duplexing (TDD) scheme. In FDD-based communication systems, the uplink uses a different frequency band from the downlink. Typically, these systems make use of symmetric spectrum allocation, i.e., the bandwidth allocated to the downlink is the same as in the uplink. Disadvantages of this approach include the use of a fixed spectrum band that is inflexible to reconfiguration of the uplink and downlink bandwidth to support different data rate and capacity requirements for different classes of service. In TDD-based communication systems, the uplink and the downlink share the same frequency band, but the uplink and downlink transmissions occur at different times. Thus, these systems provide flexible use of the spectrum between uplink and downlink. The disadvantages with this approach include delays in transmissions due to having to wait for the allotted transmission time and lower link budgets due to mobile stations not being able to transmit continuously.
The use of a sub-carrier division duplexing (SDD) scheme overcomes the disadvantages of FDD and TDD schemes by allowing the allocation of sub-carriers to be changed dynamically at any time based on network conditions. Thus, for example, if additional sub-carriers are needed for the downlink while the uplink is not being fully used, a base station may allocate more sub-carriers as downlink sub-carriers and less sub-carriers as uplink sub-carriers.
Edge guard sub-carriers are operable to provide a guard to protect against interference between communication using the sub-carriers assigned to the base station and frequency bands that may be assigned to other systems. Similarly, transition guard sub-carriers are operable to provide a guard to protect against interference between communication on the downlink sub-carriers and communication on the uplink sub-carriers.
Further description of dynamically allocating sub-carriers can be found in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2006/0209755 A1, which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein.
Like OFDMA, a single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) scheme also provides orthogonal access to multiple users simultaneously accessing the system. Another attractive feature of SC-FDMA in comparison to OFDMA is a low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) due to its single carrier transmission property. In an SC-FDMA scheme referred to as Interleaved Frequency Division Multiple Access (IFDMA), a data sequence is first repeated for a predetermined number of times. The repeated data sequence is then multiplied with a user-specific phase vector.
Another way of looking at this approach is FFT preceding the data sequence and then mapping the FFT-precoded data sequence to uniformly spaced subcarriers at the input of the IFFT. The uniform spacing is determined by the repetition factor Q. The multiplication of the repeated data sequence with a user-specific phase vector can be seen as a frequency shift in order to map transmissions from multiple users on non-overlapping orthogonal subcarriers. Although having each data modulation symbol spread out on all the subcarriers used by the user can provide frequency-diversity benefit in a frequency selective channel, there may be some impact on performance as well due to the loss of orthogonality or noise enhancement when data symbols experience frequency selective fading.
The mapping of FFT-precoded data sequence to contiguous subcarriers results in a localized transmission in the frequency domain. Similar to distributed mapping or DFDMA, localized mapping also results in a low PAPR signal. The distributed and localized mapping of FFT pre-coded data sequence to OFDM subcarriers is sometimes collectively referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread (OFDM DFT-Spread) OFDM.
Further description of FFT-precoding can be found in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2006/0227888 A1, which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein.
However, in general, the number of subcarriers used for data transmission is still less than N because some subcarriers are used as transition guard sub-carriers, and typically no information is transmitted on transition guard sub-carriers.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method for allocating sub-carriers for communication in an OFDM network that allows the transition guard sub-carriers to be used for data transmission. In particular, there is a need for a subcarrier division duplexing scheme that allows the transition guard sub-carriers to be used for data transmission by neighbor cells.
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This description relates to an approach to compiling graph-based program specifications.
One approach to data flow computation makes use of a graph-based representation in which computational components corresponding to nodes (vertices) of a graph are coupled by data flows corresponding to links (directed edges) of the graph (called a “dataflow graph”). A downstream component connected to an upstream component by a data flow link receives an ordered stream of input data elements, and processes the input data elements in the received order, optionally generating one or more corresponding flows of output data elements. A system for executing such graph-based computations is described in prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,072, titled “EXECUTING COMPUTATIONS EXPRESSED AS GRAPHS,” incorporated herein by reference.
Dataflow graphs are often specified such that there is a possibility that two or more components can execute concurrently (i.e., in parallel). Many systems for compiling and executing dataflow graphs capitalize on the possibility of concurrency by compiling dataflow graphs such that the components of the dataflow graphs execute concurrently, where possible. By doing so, these systems focus on executing the dataflow graph with a minimal latency.
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The traditional way to make concrete in ready mix plants is to place sand, gravel and cement in separate hoppers feeding a drum or mixer which discharges into a concrete truck having a rotating drum to further mix en route to the job site where the cement is poured into the desired location, where it solidifies into concrete. Because the physical characteristics of each of the ingredients varies so much, traditional plants use powerful motors to mix, and the motors waste energy, and are inefficient. Typically, a batch will be twelve cubic yards of material premixed at the plant without water, and then placed in the concrete truck for further mixing by tumbling.
The prior art cement plants often do not have uniform mixing because of the large batch size and the differences in particle size among cement, fly ash, sand and aggregate. Water, if it is present, does not facilitate mixing, and sometimes hinders mixing when ingredients have hydrophobic surfaces. Also, the stiffness of the concrete affects the mixing characteristics. That is, high strength concrete has greater stiffness than low strength concrete, and the higher the strength, the more difficult it is to get complete mixing.
The strength of the concrete is measured by a variety of techniques, one of them is "slump," an analog of the strength of the concrete. Slump is determined by taking a cone-shaped receptacle filled with mixed, but not set, concrete 16 inches deep, turning the receptacle upside down on a horizontal surface, and releasing the cone. As the cone slumps when unsupported by the receptacle, it indicates the stiffness of the concrete. A slump of four inches, for example, indicates a relatively weak concrete, while a slump of one inch indicates a relatively strong concrete. The strongest concrete has zero slump. It will be apparent that a concrete that does not slump does not mix as readily as one that inherently oozes around the ingredients to achieve better mixing.
If there is inadequate mixing, there are pockets of unmixed materials that will be either voids or non-adhering particles. As a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so too concrete is only as strong as the average strength of the set product. This has led designers of sky-scrapers, for example, to demand higher strength than would otherwise be called for in order to be sure the average strength meets the requirements. This overengineering leads to unnecessary costs that could be avoided by thorough mixing.
The desire for adequate mixing is also reflected in the mixing cycles. If a plant normally has a 60 second mixing cycle for a 12 yard batch, the operator will run the plant at 60 seconds even with a 8 yard batch, just to be sure the mixing is adequate. This means that the throughput of the plant is reduced with different sized batches. The result is a waste of energy and time.
Yet another mixing problem is that the size of aggregate varies widely, from about 3/16 inch to 1 and 1/2 inches. A great deal more energy is needed to mix large rock in making concrete, so plants are designed for the maximum energy requirements, even though those requirements are rarely needed.
In recent years, cement plants have used high intensity mixers, having two motors on the order of 100 horsepower each, to more thoroughly mix sand, cement, gravel and water before discharge into the concrete truck. Fly ash, a by-product of other industrial processes, is cheap and abundant, and may be substituted for up to 20% of the cement used in the typical ready mix plant. The motors are driven at peak power for a few seconds to charge the mixer with six cubic yards of ingredients, but the power is to some extent wasted, because the high energy consumption does not result in thorough mixing at the time of charging. After the first six yards are mixed and emptied from the mixer a second six yard batch is charged into the mixer. The motors are again driven at peak power to mix the second half of the 12 yard load on the truck. Again, the power is not optimally used.
Moreover, the high intensity mixers are practically limited to low strength concrete in transit mix operations, because the time needed to move stiff "low slump" concrete out of the premixer and into the truck is not compatible with the normal cycle times of the premixer. There is a bridging effect with low slump concrete in the truck, whereby the stiff concrete piles up and forms voids, with the result that the truck cannot hold a full load unless the concrete is added more slowly than usual. The capacity of the plant having high intensity mixers is reduced when high strength concrete is shipped.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optically readable record carrier comprising a radiation-sensitive layer upon a disc-shaped substrate and having an information recording area arranged in accordance with a spiral or concentric track pattern, which record carrier is intended for the recording and/or reproduction of information in the information recording area by means of a radiation beam, which track pattern exhibits a periodic modulation for the purpose of generating a clock signal for controlling the recording and/or reproducing process.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for manufacturing such a record carrier, comprising a writing device for writing the track pattern by means of a radiation beam and a control device for generating a periodic control signal for the writing device so as to modulate the track pattern at a frequency which corresponds to the frequency of the periodic control signal.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for recording information on such a record carrier, comprising means for scanning the tracks by means of a radiation beam, a modulation device for modulating the radiation beam intensity with an information signal, an optical system with a detector for detecting the radiation reflected or transmitted by the record carrier during scanning, and a device for deriving from the radiation detected by the detector a clock signal for controlling the recording apparatus.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for reading an information signal recorded on the information tracks of such a record carrier, comprising a scanning device for scanning the information tracks with a substantially constant velocity by means of a radiation beam, an optical system with a detector for detecting the radiation reflected or transmitted by the record carrier during scanning, a device for deriving from the detected radiation an information signal representing the recorded information, and a device for further deriving from the detected radiation a clock signal for controlling the reading apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a record carrier and apparatus are described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 3100421, which corresponds to pending U.S. application Ser. No. 110,063, assigned to the present assignee.
The known record carrier has a spiral track which exhibits a track modulation of constant frequency. As the spiral track is scanned by means of the radiation beam during reading and/or recording this track modulation produces a modulation of the reflected radiation beam. This modulation is detected and from the modulation thus detected a clock signal is derived which is utilized for controlling the recording and/or reading process.
Further, the spiral track is provided with information recording areas between which synchronisation areas are interposed. The information recording areas are intended for the recording of information. The synchronisation areas contain position information in the form of the address of the adjacent information recording area. The position information in the synchronization areas makes it possible to derive from the reflected radiation beam during scanning which part of the record carrier is being scanned. This enables a specific part of the disc to be located rapidly and accurately.
However, the known record carrier has the disadvantage that the information recording areas are constantly interrupted by synchronization areas. This is a drawback in particular when EFM-encoded information is to be recorded on the record carrier such because such recording of such information requires an uninterrupted information recording area. EFM-encoding is a method by which groups of 8 data bits at a time are translated into 14 channel bits for recording information on a compact digital disc. This is described, for example, in the article "Compact Disc: System Aspects and Modulation", Philips Tech. Rev. 40, No. 6, 1982.
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The present invention relates to a technical field of a seat belt retractor for winding up a seat belt while allowing winding and withdrawal of the seat belt. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technical field of a seat belt retractor provided with a seat belt load limiting mechanism (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “EA mechanism”), which, by means of an energy absorbing member such as torsional deformation of a torsion bar, limits load acting on the seat belt to absorb energy added to an occupant when the seat belt is locked in the event of an emergency such as a vehicle collision where a large deceleration acts on the vehicle under the condition that the occupant wears the seat belt, and a seat belt apparatus having the same.
Conventionally, a seat belt apparatus installed in a vehicle such as an automobile restrains an occupant with a seat belt thereof in the event of the emergency as mentioned above. The seat belt apparatus comprises a seat belt retractor. In the seat belt retractor, the seat belt is wound onto a spool when the seat belt apparatus is not used and is withdrawn from the spool to be worn by the occupant when the seat belt apparatus is used. A locking mechanism of the seat belt retractor is actuated in the event of an emergency as mentioned above so as to prevent the spool from rotating in a belt withdrawing direction, thereby preventing the seat belt from being withdrawn. Accordingly, the seat belt restrains the occupant in the event of the emergency.
In the seat belt retractor of the conventional seat belt apparatus, the occupant is forced to move forward due to large inertia because a large deceleration acts on the vehicle when the seat belt restrains the occupant in the event of the emergency such as the vehicle collision. Accordingly, a large load is applied to the seat belt and the occupant receives a significant force from the seat belt. This force does not cause a serious problem to the occupant, but it is preferable to limit this force.
For limiting this force, a seat belt retractor has been proposed which is provided, in addition to a torsion bar, with a second EA mechanism which can operate independently so as to further flexibly and variously set the limited load applied on the seat belt according to information in the event of the emergency (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2008-114659: Patent Document 1). According to the seat belt retractor disclosed in Patent Document 1, the limited load can be flexibly and variously set according to the situation in the event of the emergency. Therefore, it is possible to effectively and suitably restrain the occupant during the vehicle collision.
In the seat belt retractor disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to activate a gas generator for the second EA mechanism whenever the second EA mechanism is operated. Therefore, the second EA mechanism cannot be effectively operated.
The present invention has been made under the aforementioned circumstances and an object of the present invention is to provide a seat belt retractor wherein, in addition to a first EA mechanism, a second EA mechanism is independently and effectively operated so as to flexibly and variously set the limited load applied to the seat belt depending on the emergency situation, and a seat belt apparatus having the same.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
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{
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Prostacyclin derivatives are useful pharmaceutical compounds possessing activities such as platelet aggregation inhibition, gastric secretion reduction, lesion inhibition, and bronchodilation. Beraprost is a synthetic benzoprostacyclin analogue of natural prostacyclin that is currently under clinical trials for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension and vascular disease (excluding renal disease) in North America and Europe.
Beraprost and related benzoprostacyclin analogues of the formula (I) are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,447 and Tetrahedron Lett. 31, 4493 (1990). Furthermore, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,345,181, several synthetic methods are known to produce benzoprostacyclin analogues.
Known synthetic methods generally require one or more resolutions of intermediates to obtain the pharmacologically active isomer of beraprost or a related benzoprostacyclin analogue. Also, current pharmaceutical formulations of beraprost or a related benzoprostacyclin analogues may consist of several isomers of the pharmaceutical compound, and only one of which is primarily responsible for the pharmacologic activity of the drug. Isolation of the pharmaceutically active isomer of beraprost compounds from current synthetic methods requires multiple preparative HPLC or chromatographic purification procedures or multiple recrystalizations that are not amenable to a commercially applicable scale. Therefore, it is desired to achieve an efficient, commercially applicable synthetic route to the active isomer of beraprost or a related benzoprostacyclin analogue.
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Tearing of, or the complete or partial detachment of ligaments, tendons and/or other soft tissues from their associated bones within the body are commonplace injuries, particularly among athletes. Such injuries generally result from excessive stresses being placed on these tissues. By way of example, tissue tearing or detachment may occur as the result of an accident such as a fall, over-exertion during a work-related activity, or during the course of an athletic event. In the case of tearing or a partial or complete detachment of soft tissue from a bone, surgery is typically required to reattach the soft tissue (or a graft tissue) to the bone.
Numerous devices have been used to secure soft tissue to bone. Examples of such devices include screws, tacks, staples, suture anchors, and suture alone. In soft tissue repair or re-attachment procedures utilizing suture anchors, an anchor-receiving hole is drilled into bone at the desired point of fixation or tissue re-attachment, and a suture anchor is deployed into the hole using an appropriate installation tool. A suture, coupled to the anchor and passed through or around the soft tissue, thus becomes effectively locked to the bone, which secures the soft tissue to the bone.
During a suture anchoring procedure, it can be challenging to deploy the suture anchor into the anchor-receiving hole. Further, existing suture anchors and inserter devices used to insert the anchors into bone may have certain disadvantages that complicate their use and/or impose certain undesirable limits. Also, procedures that require the suture to be tied into a knot can be time-consuming and cumbersome due to inherent space constraints, which can complicate a surgery.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and systems for attaching tissue to bone.
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The invention relates to a sealed fibre optic assembly for a fibre optic gyroscope.
Fibre optic gyroscopes for measuring rotation rates are known. Such systems use the Sagnac effect in which light traverses an optic fibre loop rotating about an axis perpendicular to its plane and the optic transit time of the light around the loop varies with the loops rotation rate. If two optical signals are sent in opposite directions around the optic fibre loop, a phase difference is generated which is proportional to the rotation rate.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved sealed fibre optic assembly for a fibre optic gyroscope.
The invention provides a sealed fibre optic assembly for a fibre optic gyroscope which assembly comprises a fibre optic support ring carrying at least one loop of optic fibre, a sealed casing surrounding said support ring and comprising a base plate, a perimeter wall upstanding from the base plate and surrounding said support ring, a cover secured to the perimeter wall so as to close the casing on the side of the support ring remote from the base plate and electrically connecting circuitry comprising external electrical terminals and electrical connectors extending from said terminals through part of the casing in sealed engagement with the casing, to the interior of the casing, and optical circuitry coupled to said loop to direct light in opposite directions around said loop and to receive light from the loop, said optical circuitry comprising a light source, a light detector and phase detecting means, and being mounted within said sealed casing, and electrically coupled to said electrical connectors in the interior of the casing.
Preferably said optical circuitry is located on said base plate within said support ring.
Preferably said electrical connectors are formed as a unit with part of the casing remote from the cover so that electrical connection may be made between the optical circuitry and the connectors while the cover is removed.
Preferably said base plate includes a projecting region outside said perimeter wall on which external electrical terminals are provided and connected to said optical circuitry.
Preferably said base plate comprises electrically insulating material and includes buried electrical connectors extending below said perimeter wall interconnecting said optical circuitry with external electrical terminals.
Preferably said optical circuitry includes at least one phase modulator.
Preferably said optical circuitry includes polarising means for polarising light transmitted around the loop.
Preferably said optical circuitry comprises an integrated semiconductor optical device.
Preferably said optical circuitry is integrated on a single planar substrate.
Preferably said integrated semiconductor optical device includes at least one silicon waveguide.
Preferably said integrated semiconductor optical device includes a plurality of silicon rib waveguides.
Preferably said perimeter wall is cylindrical.
Preferably said cover comprises a circular plate.
Preferably said base plate comprises a circular portion on which said perimeter wall is secured in sealed contact.
Preferably the perimeter wall is metallic and the base plate has a solder ring formed over an insulating layer covering the electrical connectors, the solder ring being soldered to an edge of the perimeter wall.
Preferably the cover is metallic and is soldered to the other end of the perimeter wall.
Preferably the or each optic fibre loop is wound on a spool having a cut away portion in part of the spool adjacent the base and the base has a mating projection to engage the cut away portion and hole the spool in a required rotational position relative to the base.
Preferably the or each optic fibre loop is wound on a spool having a cut away portion of sufficient arcuate extent to allow fibres to pass from the outside of the spool through the cut away portion to the optical circuitry without unwanted stress in the fibres.
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The present invention is directed to a headrest apparatus and more particularly to a headrest apparatus for vehicles adapted with an upward and downward locking device.
A conventional device of this type is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Pat. No. 58 (1983)-112511 which was laid-opened on July 5, 1983. The conventional device is provided with a support member disposed in a seatback and mounted up- and downwardly slidable by a source of compressed air. A stay of the headrest is slidably supported on a seatback frame via a stay guide, and it fixedly connected to the support member by means of a screw. Accordingly, the control of the up and down movement of the headrest is performed by up- and downwardly moving the support member in accordance with the supply and discharge of compressed air.
However, since the stay of the headrest is attached to the support member with a screw in the conventional headrest apparatus, it was very difficult to remove the headrest from the seatback. For instance, when a user wants to change a seat cover, it becomes very troublesome for him.
According to the present invention, a locking means is fixedly connected to a support member and engageable with a stay by a up- and downward movement of a stay guide member for regulating the movement of the stay. The locking means is actuated by moving the stay guide member and the stay is thus removable from the support member. As a result, the headrest can be removed from the seatback at any time, if it is desired.
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This invention relates to a reformer that processes a hydrocarbon fuel to separate and provide hydrogen from the hydrocarbon fuel, and in particular, to a composite membrane for an electrochemical autothermal reformer (EATR).
A "reformer" is a known device for converting hydrocarbon fuels to hydrogen, in which a hydrocarbon fuel is mixed with air and with or without steam to convert the mixture to hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water, and impurities. An autothermal reformer uses fuel, air, and steam. Since most known reformers are adversely sensitive to the presence of impurities, impurities such as sulphur are generally removed from the fuel before entering the reformer. An electrochemical autothermal reformer combines the principles of electrochemical hydrogen separation with those of an autothermal reformer. The purpose of the electrochemical autothermal reformer is to effect the removal of hydrogen produced from the reaction zone of the reformer so as to drive the reforming reaction to completion by separating or selectively extracting the hydrogen component from the rest of the product mixture.
For example, the principal reactions in a natural gas or "methane" reformer such as an autothermal reformer are: EQU CH.sub.4 +H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.CO+3H.sub.2 Reforming EQU CO+H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.H.sub.2 +CO.sub.2 Shift EQU CH.sub.4 +2O.sub.2 .fwdarw.CO.sub.2 +2H.sub.2 O Combustion
In an autothermal reformer, the exothermic combustion reaction is used to drive the endothermic reforming reaction. The shift reaction is mildly exothermic. If hydrogen is abstracted or removed from the reaction zone of the autothermal reformer, then by LeChatelier's principle, the reforming and shift reactions are driven to completion. Accordingly, the fuel processing in an EATR is greatly simplified since shift converters and selective oxidizers are not required downstream from the fuel processor.
Marianowski et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,485) teaches a hydrogen forming process and apparatus wherein one side of a hydrogen ion porous and molecular gas non-porous metallic foil is contacted with mixed gases comprising molecular hydrogen formed by a chemical reaction in a hydrogen production zone. During the reaction, the molecular hydrogen is dissociated and passed as ionic hydrogen to the other side of the metallic foil from which it is withdrawn, thereby removing hydrogen from the hydrogen production zone. The concept of the '485 patent above is restricted to the use of a metal foil as the hydrogen separator. Foil separators have been proven to be difficult to achieve in practice. For example, they do not provide for a reliable structure which can operate for a reasonable time at high efficiencies.
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{
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Mobile robotic devices have minimized the human effort involved in performing everyday tasks. For example, automatic cleaning devices help maintaining and cleaning surfaces, such as hardwood floors, carpet and the like. Mobile robotic devices are useful, but location detection can be a challenge for the operation of such devices.
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The present invention relates to a computer system and particularly relates to a data input-output control method used in the case where high throughput and high-speed response are required, and an apparatus using the method.
This type input-output controller (I/O controller) is generally disposed between a higher-rank apparatus such as a central processing unit and devices such as secondary storage devices represented by magnetic disk devices so that a chief object thereof is to perform I/O processing between the higher-rank apparatus and the devices asynchronously.
The I/O controller and the devices are connected by a single channel path or a plurality of channel paths, so that I/O commands and data are transferred through the channel paths between the I/O controller and the devices. The channel paths and the devices may be connected in one-to-one correspondence or one-to-multi correspondence or multi-to-one correspondence. The I/O controller can process a plurality of I/O requests simultaneously. In this situation, channel paths may be so busy that commands and data cannot be transferred even in the case where an I/O request is issued from the higher-rank apparatus. As a conventional measure to cope with the problem, an I/O device is described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Sho-60-183660. In the I/O device, an I/O request queue is provided on a storage device connected to the I/O device so that an I/O request can be registered in the queue and that the I/O request can be picked up from the queue and processed when a target channel path is free.
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Cloud computing is a computing paradigm in which a customer pays a “cloud provider” to execute a program on computer hardware owned and/or controlled by the cloud provider. It is common for cloud providers to make virtual machines hosted on its computer hardware available to customers for this purpose. The cloud provider typically provides an interface that a customer can use to requisition virtual machines and associated resources such as processors, storage, and network services, etc., as well as an interface a customer can use to install and execute the customer's program on the virtual machines that the customer requisitions, together with additional software on which the customer's program depends. For some such programs, this additional software can include software components, such as a kernel and an operating system. Customers that have installed and are executing their programs “in the cloud” typically communicate with the executing program from remote geographic locations using Internet protocols.
For programs that are web applications, the additional software can further include such software components as middleware and a framework. Web applications are programs that receive and act on requests in web or other Internet protocols, such as HTTP. It is common for a user to use a web application by using a browser executing on the user's client computer system to send requests in a web protocol via the Internet to a server computer system on which the web application is executing. It is also common for automatic user agents to interact with web applications in web protocols in the same fashion.
While many web applications are suitable for execution in the cloud, it often requires significant expertise and effort in order to install, execute, and manage a web application in the cloud. For example, an administrator typically should identify the software components that a web application needs in order to execute, and what versions of those software components are acceptable. In addition, the administrator typically should obtain, install, and appropriately configure each such software component, as well as the application itself. Where this high level of expertise and effort has been invested in order to get a web application running on a particular hypervisor and in a particular provider's cloud, a similarly high level of expertise and effort usually should be subsequently invested to execute the web application instead or in addition on a different hypervisor and/or in a different particular provider's cloud. Also, it can be difficult to obtain useful information about how the application is performing and otherwise behaving when executing in the cloud.
Accordingly, software and/or hardware facilities for facilitating the execution of web applications in the cloud have been introduced, and are known as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings. PaaS offerings typically facilitate deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software and provisioning hosting capabilities, providing the facilities required to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web application and service entirely available from the Internet. Typically, these facilities operate as one or more virtual machines (VMs) running on top of a hypervisor in a host server.
In present PaaS offerings, a first customer's deployed applications do not co-exist with any other customer's deployed applications on the VMs that are hosting the first customer's deployed applications. However, such an arrangement can be inefficient to the PaaS provider offering the platform services. This is because the applications being deployed in the PaaS are generally quite small packages, and the size of the VM does not correspond to the size of the application. It can be costly to initialize a new VM for each application deployment, and it may also be a waste of resources that are not being utilized. In a public cloud environment, a PaaS provider pays for deploying a VM whether the VM lies idle or not. In a private cloud environment, there is still a strain on resources for running VMs that are not completely utilized.
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a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of ligands specific to a Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-class I antigen, especially an HLA-ABC surface antigen, which is normally exposed at the surface of cell membranes, and which is therefore present in or on endometrial cell, for the diagnosis of endometriosis. The detection of this antigen is carried out according to a process comprising the reaction of a ligand, preferably an antibody, which is normally used to detect the presence of a MHC-class I antigen at the surface of all cells expressing it.
This invention also relates to a method for the diagnosis of endometriosis using the same ligand(s).
b) Description of Prior Art
Endometriosis is one of the most common disorders encountered in the field of gynaecology, affecting the health of an estimated 10 to 15% of women during their reproductive years. Although not life threatening, endometriosis is often associated with severe pelvic pain and infertility.
Endometriosis is classically defined as the presence of endometrial tissue (i.e. glands and stroma) outside the uterine cavity which is its normal location. Although various hypothesis have been proposed for its pathogenesis (i.e. transplantation, lymphatic and vascular metastasis, or coelomic metaplasia), there are several lines of evidence to support the idea that retrograde menstruation and implantation are the primary mode of developing pelvic endometriosis.
The implantation theory proposes that viable endometrial tissue is refluxed through the fallopian tubes and implants on the peritoneal surface or pelvic organs. Some additional etiologic factors must be present for the development of endometriosis and could be implicated in an altered immune function.
To date, there are no sensitive reliable, non-invasive methods for the diagnosis of endometriosis.
Over the last decade, an increasing number of reports suggest that endometriosis is associated with abnormal immune function. It was first suggested, in 1980, that changes in humoral immunity cause endometriosis. The C3 components of the complement and IgG antibodies have been found in the endometrium of women with endometriosis, with a reduction in the levels of total complement. In addition, IgG and IgA antibodies have been already identified in the ovarian and endometrial tissue of women with endometriosis.
Recently, a high incidence of autoantibodies to phospholipids (particularly phosphatidylserine) and to histones and nucleotides has also been reported (Gleicher, 1987), suggesting polyclonal B-cell activation in endometriosis. The presence of more generalized autoantibodies have suggested that endometriosis could be an autoimmune disease. The evidence for autoimmune involvement is, however, far from unequivocal and many important questions remain.
The possibility that cell-mediated immunity is altered in women with endometriosis was first suggested in 1980. The concentration and total number of peritoneal macrophages are increased in endometriosis as well as their activator status. The contribution of reactive oxygen metabolites (superoxide anion (O.sub.2-) hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) and singlet oxygen (.sup.1 O.sub.2)) to the damage of adjacent normal tissues in the presence of endometriosis has been suggested by an increased chemiluminescence of peritoneal macrophages.
More recently, a defect in natural killer cell (NK) activity has been reported. This reduced activity of the NK cells could also be present locally, at the level of the peritoneal fluid. Moreover, women with endometriosis show significantly more T-cell suppressor/cytotoxic in their peritoneal fluid.
Even though a defect in the activity of the NK cells has been noted in the presence of endometriosis, an increased resistance of the endometrial cells to the NK mediated cytotoxicity was also suggested. The mechanisms involved in this endometrial resistance have remained unexplained.
In the last five years, a considerable amount of research has been directed towards the development of a better diagnostic method for endometriosis. However, a problem lies in the fact that women suffering from endometriosis may not exhibit any symptoms other than infertility or they may only exhibit symptoms that mimic those of many other gynaecological diseases.
Hitherto, it has been common to use an invasive surgical method requiring general anesthesia to diagnose endometriosis, such as laparoscopy or laparotomy which allows the direct visualization of the pelvic content. However, there are certain disadvantages in using this difficult and inaccurate method for diagnosing endometriosis.
One such disadvantage of this method is that it is sometimes difficult to detect cases of minimal endometriosis. In addition, other disadvantages exist resulting from, for example, the presence of adhesions which can obscure the direct visualization of the pelvis, making it impossible to even carry out a laparoscopy; or from the presence of ovarian endometriomas which are often similar in appearance to functional ovarian cysts and could result in these endometriomas being misdiagnosed. Moreover, up to sixteen descriptive types of endometriosis have been identified recently, which can make the diagnosis of endometriosis even more difficult. Furthermore, what is even more worrisome is the fact that certain microscopic foci of endometriosis, which are not identifiable by laparoscopy, have been identified and documented using a peritoneal biopsy by scanning with an electron microscope.
Therefore, even with an increased use of laparoscopy, endometriosis remains a frequently underdiagnosed condition.
In general, imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, CT scanning, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have limited value in the diagnosis of endometriosis. They can provide information about the invasiveness of the disease, but none of these imaging techniques are able to identify superficial diseases of peritoneal surfaces. Moreover, the high cost of these procedures rarely justifies their use for the diagnosis of endometriosis.
The technique of using antibodies like, for instance, anti-endometrial antibodies as mentioned hereinabove in a method for the diagnosis of various diseases is a widespread and well known technique.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,744, an improved method is provided for using radiolabelled antibodies to detect the presence of cell surface antigens, including the type HLA-A, HLA-B AND HLA-DR surface antigens located on cancer cells, in order to locate and diagnose these cancer cells. These highly specific radiolabelled antibodies against the cell surface antigens are also used in a method for tumour therapy.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,845, labelled mouse monoclonal antibodies, namely MF116, MH94, MD144, MH55, MF61, ME46, and ME195 were used to detect the presence of a plurality of surface antigen on human endometrial, cervical or uterine cancer cells and to diagnose these cancer cells.
These labelled monoclonal antibodies are also used in the treatment of endometrial, cervical or uterine cancers.
In Canadian patent publication number 2,081,900, a method of diagnosing endometriosis is described. This method detects the presence of particular antibodies which are present in specimens obtained from patients suffering of endometriosis. The antigens used as an immunogical reagent were isolated from the cytoplasm of epithelial adenocarcinoma cells. These antigens have been characterized only by their molecular weight and by their ability to bind the antibodies to be detected.
In Canadian patent publication number 2,011,704, two methods of diagnosing endometriosis are described. One makes use of an antibody, particularly the MS2B6 monoclonal antibody, to detect endometrial antigens, while the other makes use of antigens also isolated from epithelial carcinoma cells to detect the presence of anti- endometrial antibodies. No attempt is made in this application to clarify the similarity or the complete identity of the antigens of both methods neither to clarify the similarity or equivalence of the MS2B6 antibody with regard to the endometrial antibodies. Furthermore, the antigens isolated from carcinoma cells are also grossly characterized by their molecular weight and their ability to bind the antibodies to be detected.
The first two patents are directed to the use of monoclonal antibodies to detect surface antigens present on various cancer cells, including endometrial cancer cells, and to the diagnosis of these cancer cells. In all cases, the expression of surface antigens of cancer cells cannot be considered as being similar to surface antigens found on endometrial cells of a woman suffering from endometriosis.
Therefore, the particular techniques illustrated in these patent documents could not be used as a method for diagnosing endometriosis or for detecting the different expression of surface antigens on endometrial cells of a woman with endometriosis.
In light of these results, there is clearly a great need for a non-invasive diagnostic test which is more reliable than the previous techniques and which is easier for both the patient and the physician. This new test may decrease the need for laparoscopy in women with pelvic pain or infertility.
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The present invention is directed to a semi-submersible trailer for carrying and transporting boats from and to a lake, or the like. Existing prior art, semi-submersible trailers generally comprise a main frame upon which the boat is supported, which main frame is provided with a forward, upwardly-extending, V-shaped section upon which the forward portion of the hull is supported. This forward, V-shaped, upwardly-sloping section of the frame is provided with an upstanding, padded V-shaped support for the forward vertical edge of the bow of the hull, which is commonly termed a "bow-stop." In operation, the boat is driven onto the semi-submersible trailer until the boat makes physical contact with the padded bow stop, at which point the boat is stopped. The power for causing the abutment of the bow against the bow-stop is provided by the engine of the boat itself, and entails considerable skill on the part of the driver of the boat. First, the boat must be driven onto the trailer proper, with continuous powering thereafter in order to cause the abutment of the bow against the bow-stop. Continual powering of the boat is required thereafter in order to finally align the bow against the bow-stop, so that a loop, or what is commonly termed a "bow-eye," is correctly positioned so as to receive a pivotal locking lever arm, commonly termed a "security bar," which secures the boat to the frame, which security bar is provided as part of the bow-stop unit itself, with the bottom of the security bar being pivotal below the padded bow-stop. This prior-art trailer and method of use suffers from considerable drawbacks. Hull damage is common, owing to the contact between the bow area of the hull and the bow-stop itself during positioning and centering. In the worst-case scenario, the padded bow-stop board may split open upon firm contact by the boat's hull, exposing the bolt heads which gouge the boat's hull. Normal wear and tear owing to abrasive contact is also inevitable, causing cosmetic damage to the bow of the hull. An additional drawback to the prior-art method and frame is the requirement of positioning the security bar's slot over the boat's bow-eye, which more often than not causes fingers to be pinched during such positioning, owing to the tight fit therebetween. The security bar has a 3-inch long slot on the upper portion thereof, in which the boat's bow-eye is received, which is an extremely tight fit and often leads to the catching of fingers during such procedure. A more considerable problem associated with this prior-art frame and method is the common occurrence of overdriving the boat while positioning it on the trailer. This occurs because of variable loading situations, in which very different amounts of load are positioned on the boat. Specifically, during the final stages of driving the boat onto the frame, when it is necessary to position the hull such that the bow-eye is in substantial alignment with the security bar, the boat may often move forward 2 or 3 feet during such maneuvering, which has, in the past, caused the rear propeller of the boat to strike against the rearmost cross member of the trailer frame, causing considerable damage to the propeller, sometimes the propeller shaft, and the cross member, all of which is costly. In the prior-art trailer frame, the security bar has substantially no lateral movement, only vertical pivotal movement, with the centering of the hull on the bow-stop being a tedious task, often leading to any of the problems mentioned above, all of which occurs because of the need to properly center the hull of the boat on the trailer frame.
The present invention is directed to an improved type of trailer frame and method of use, by which positioning of the boat on the trailer frame is considerably made easier and more facile, and which also overcomes all of the above-mentioned drawbacks.
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The present invention relates to fluid pumping impellers, in particular to expandable impellers.
Conventional impellers are manufactured with a particular blade configuration, and significant deformation of the blades is generally undesirable. Conventionally, the impeller has the same configuration during storage, movement to its operating location, and use. However, there are situations where access to the operating location is through a restricted space, or space is otherwise at a premium during storage or transport of the impeller, in which case the use of conventional impellers can be problematic.
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Surfaces of many different materials are coated in a variety of applications for a wide range of motives, from aesthetic reasons to protection of the surface of the underlying substrate against physical and environmental damage. Often it is desirable to determine the thickness of these coatings, especially for applications where extremely thin coatings are critical on polymer or composite substrates containing directionally oriented inclusions, such as fiber-reinforced polymer composites.
Such directional orientation can cause undesirable variations in spectroscopic measurements, which ultimately can negatively impact measurements of thin coatings carried thereon.
In attempting to measure thicknesses of coatings, it has been found that small differences in orientation of the sensor with respect to the substrate can result in deleterious variations in spectral data. Thus, there is a need to eliminate the variation in spectral data due to differences in orientation of the sensor relative to the substrate and thus yield reproducible coating measurements that are independent of the sensor with respect to the substrate.
Most known nondestructive coating measurement techniques are limited in their applicability for polymer composite and other non-metal substrates. In one known method, ultrasound testing is used to determine thickness of coatings on surfaces of composite or plastic substrates. However, ultrasound testing has been shown to have subjective data interpretation issues and therefore can be inconsistent and unreliable. Moreover, ultrasound techniques have great difficulty in determining coating thicknesses below approximately 0.002 inches (2 mils). In another known method, the same sensor and substrate alignment is maintained for all measurements. This is difficult to achieve, especially in cases where the coating is opaque. With this method, reproducibility is difficult because small variations in orientation negatively impact reproducibility of spectroscopic data. Many of the known nondestructive methods do not correct for orientation effects. Current methods to compensate for orientation effects are based on anecdotal information and include making measurements at several orientations and using the average result.
Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been successfully used to measure coating thicknesses on a variety of substrate materials. However, to date, there has been significant difficulty in using NIR methods for high specular reflectance coatings, coatings of less than 2 mils, and coatings on oriented substrates. One problem encountered in obtaining accurate and reproducible thickness measurements is specular reflectance from the coating that interferes with the NIR diffuse reflectance measurements. The disclosure of the co-pending, commonly-owned application having U.S. Ser. No. 11/566,902, filed Dec. 5, 2006 proposes the use of a diffuser element between the light source and the substrate on which the coating thickness is being measured. The diffuser described in the above-mentioned disclosure somewhat reduced variation due to orientation differences, but did not eliminate them.
However, in attempting to measure opaque coatings (for example, paint, sealants, protective films, etc.) on substrates containing directionally oriented components, including fiber-reinforced polymer composites, the substrate orientation is not observable.
Therefore, there is an unmet need to provide an apparatus and method to accurately and nondestructively measure the thickness of thin coatings applied to substrates containing directional oriented components, such as fiber-reinforced polymer composites, without regard for relative orientation of the sensor or the substrate.
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1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an automated method for carrying out reactions with high spatial resolution on libraries of different materials and for analysis of the products obtained using a simple robot system and an analyzer, for example a mass spectrometer.
In particular, the method relates to determining the activity and selectivity of solid or molecular materials to be used as catalysts for gas phase reactions. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a commercial pipetting or synthesis robot is used to position the sensor lines in order to examine reactions on a combinatorial library with high spatial resolution. The method according to the invention is characterized, in particular, by the simplicity of its set-up that is not restricted to a specific type of reactor as well as by the ease with which it is possible to switch between synthesis and screening.
2. Description of Related Art
While combinatorial chemistry has established itself as an important tool for the development of new compounds in the areas of organic, biochemical and pharmaceutical chemistry (see, e.g., the special issue: Combinatorial Chemistry, Acc. Chem. Res., 1996, 29; G. Lowe, Chemical Society Reviews, 1995, 24(5), 309; S. R. Wilson, A. W. Czamik, Combinatorial Chemistry—Synthesis and Application, John Wiley & Sons, 1997), only a few examples of using combinatorial methods are known in the areas of inorganic solid state synthesis, materials research and catalyst development. The prior-art is defined by the manufacturing of libraries of materials by means of physical vapor deposition methods and by combining these methods with masking techniques, or, in the field of wet chemistry, by using ink-jet techniques, or by employing synthesis robot systems. Here, the size of libraries varies from below 100 components to 25,000 components per library. The analysis or characterization of specific properties is essential for the analysis of such libraries. Due to the dimensional miniaturization that is mandatory for the implementation of large libraries of materials, only minimal amounts of sample are available.
As of yet, only few examples are prominent with respect to the effort to record the catalytic properties of materials within combinatorial libraries of materials. The emitted heat of reaction on components of a library of catalysts can be imaged by means of IR-thermography, corrected for emissions, with spatial resolution and great sensitivity, both for gas-phase reactions with heterogeneous catalysts (A. Holzwarth, H. W. Schmidt, W. F. Maier, Angew. Chem. 1998, 110, 2788) and in fluid phases with enzyme catalysts (M. T. Reetz, M. H. Becker, K. M. Kuehling, A. Holzwarth, Angew. Chem. 1998, 110, 2792). However, using IR-thermography only allows for conclusions on the relative reactivity of the components of a library. This is insufficient whenever secondary or parallel reactions have to be taken into account, such as in the case of complete oxidation used for the search for selective oxidation catalysts. Therefore, it is desirable to have methods of analysis at hand, besides IR-thermography, that allow for the recording of chemical selectivities with high spatial resolution directly on the library, preferably in an automated manner.
The recent work of Weinberg et al. describes the application of methods of mass spectrometry for high speed scanning of libraries of catalysts (P. Cong, R. D. Coolen, Q. Fan, D. M. Giaquinta, S. Guan, E. W. McFarland, D. M. Poojary, K. Self, H. W. Turner, W. H. Weinberg, Angew. Chem. 1999, 111, 508; W. H. Weinberg, E. W. McFarland, P. Cong, S. Guan (Symyx Technologies), WO-A 98/15969 A2, 1998). Using mass spectrometry, Weinberg and collaborators have detected the CO2 formed during the oxidation of CO with O2 or NO at metallic alloys of Rh, Pd, Pt and Cu, as well as the educt gases. The system described in more detail in the aforementioned patent application relates to the spatially separated feed of educts and the removal of products via holes in the mass spectrometer and is expensive and requires significant implementation efforts. This system is specifically designed for yielding results even for the smallest amount of catalyst, down to 2–4 μg per catalyst element. This requires a costly modification of the mass spectrometer by introducing a second quadrupol filter (“ion guide”) as well as the construction of a system of separated vacuum chambers for separating synthesis, sample preparation and the actual screening. Thus, a direct transfer of the library is possible from the preparation area to the mass spectrometer. However, remote handling of the sample and establishing realistic reaction conditions is exacerbated under this design. In the aforementioned publication (oxidation of CO with O2 or NO to yield CO2), only catalytic activities are discerned but no conclusions are possible on differences in selectivities of individual components of the library. In complex reactions with several possible products (often produced in low yield) where the products are very different or where the products have similar selectivities, this method has failed because the quantity of product is too small.
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Recently, so-called flat panel sensors have become popular as X-ray digital imaging apparatuses. These sensors have the potential to replace conventional imaging systems using films, and are designed to output data obtained by directly digitizing an X-ray image, and hence are expected to be developed in a wide range of applications. Many such flat panel sensors use amorphous silicon, and are required to increase imaging areas and resolution. At the same time, such sensors are required to achieve high sensitivity and high S/N ratio.
On the other hand, imaging units have recently been required to be reduced in size, and cassette type imaging units and the like have also been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-248060). An imaging unit incorporates the above flat panel sensor, its driving circuit, a signal detection circuit, a digital circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like. Of these components, the power supply circuit is, in particular, a bottleneck in achieving a compact imaging unit. The power supply circuit generally acquires power from a commercial AC power supply, and hence includes a transformer for converting AC to DC and the like. As a consequence, the overall circuit increases in size. Mounting such a power supply circuit in an imaging unit makes it impossible to achieve a reduction in size. For this reason, there has been proposed a method of separating a power supply circuit portion which converts AC to DC from an imaging unit, causing this portion as a discrete power supply unit to generate a predetermined DC voltage, and applying it to the imaging unit through a power cable of several meters.
The imaging unit needs to apply different DC voltages to several circuits like those described above. Generating these voltages within the above discrete power supply unit and applying them to the imaging unit pose many problems in practical use, including drop voltage in the cable, superimposition of noise, and the like, if the length of a power cable is several meters or more. For this reason, the following method is employed: power is supplied at a relatively high DC voltage as a uniform voltage from the power supply unit, and a switching power supply (to be referred to as an SW power supply hereinafter) such as a DC/DC power supply is provided in the imaging unit to generate various voltages and apply them to the respective circuits. Although DC/DC power supplies have been increasingly miniaturized owing to recent technical advances, they produce conductive noise and radiation noise because they are SW power supplies. Such noise may be superimposed on peripheral circuits, and more particularly a sensor panel, amplifier IC, and A/D conversion circuit to affect images. Leakage magnetic field noise which is radiation noise may be magnetically coupled to peripheral circuits, and more particularly a detection system including a flat panel sensor and amplifier IC, to generate an induction noise voltage, thereby seriously affecting image quality.
In addition, in order to miniaturize the imaging unit, it is necessary to place the above flat panel sensor and other peripheral circuits closer to the DC/DC power supply as well as to reduce the size of the DC/DC power itself. Recently, with miniaturization of imaging units, the spatial distances between a power supply and a sensor and its peripheral circuits, which are incorporated in an imaging unit, have decreased more and more. As a consequence, the sensor has become susceptible to the influence of magnetic coupling, and more particularly leakage magnetic field noise from the DC/DC power supply. For this reason, noise is superimposed on a read signal from the sensor to cause line noise on images. It is therefore indispensable to provide countermeasures against noise in the DC/DC power supply.
In general, as measures to suppress electromagnetic wave noise such as leakage magnetic field noise from an SW power supply, the following measures have been executed: measures associated cable laying, measures at a component level such as a transformer, preventing magnetic field leakage by shielding the entire power supply, and the like. With only measures associated with cable laying, the noise suppressing effect is small. In addition, it is difficult to confine a leakage magnetic field with a magnetic field shield. In addition, this makes it difficult to achieve reductions in size and weight. As a measure at a component level, for example, rounding a switching waveform can reduce noise. This, however, reduces the conversion efficiency. In addition, an efficiency loss will lead to heat generation. In consideration of the problems associated with size, shape, weight, cost, heat, and the like, it is difficult to prevent the influences of leakage magnetic fields while miniaturizing the overall apparatus.
In addition, the above problems also originate from the fact that a very high level of measures against noise is required for a power supply because the signal level to be handled corresponds to microvolt-level voltages. For example, of general DC/DC power supplies, even high-quality power supplies cause ripples of several tens of millivolts and spike noise (conductive noise). Even noise of such a level is superimposed on an image signal through a route for supplying power to a detection circuit and affects an image.
With regard to ripple noise leaking at a main oscillation frequency, there are available measures to be taken at the noise source, a measure of adding an output filter circuit, and the like. A certain degree of effect can be obtained by such measures. In addition, in a low frequency band including a main oscillation frequency and the like, the low leakage ratio of noise from a signal amplifier power supply to signals effectively serves to reduce noise. However, high-frequency noise is produced at a switching point (ON/OFF switching point) in an oscillation signal for the DC/DC power supply. It is difficult to obtain effective results on such high-frequency noise by using the above measures.
Against high-frequency noise, a countermeasure component such as a ferrite core may be mounted in the apparatus. However, in consideration of reductions in size and weight and cost, it is not preferable to mount such an additional countermeasure component. In addition, measures to reduce noise may sometimes lead to a reduction in conversion efficiency, making it difficult to execute effective measures.
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The present invention relates to diodes, and more particularly to diodes having a buried lateral construction suitable for integrated circuits.
An impact-avalanche-and-transit-time (IMPATT) diode is a desirable component for use as a generator of microwave frequency radiation due to its simplicity. However, its input resistance is low compared to a standard 50 ohm transmission line at these frequencies and its input capacitance is relatively high, resulting in restricted bandwidth. A solution to these problems would be to couple several such diodes in series in order to raise the input resistance and lower the input capacitance. However, such a diode is usually formed in a vertical (perpendicular to a substrate) configuration, which makes a series connection impractical due to the difficulty of making a connection from the bottom electrode of one diode to the top electrode of another diode when the diodes are made in integrated circuit (IC) form. U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,073 discloses a lateral semiconductor Gunn device adjacent an oxide and expressly suggests a similar construction for an IMPATT diode in the penultimate paragraph of the detailed description thereof. However, while a Gunn device has only regions of a single conductivity type with an applied electric field distributed across all the regions, an IMPATT diode has a P-N junction having a high electric field thereacross. This can result in voltage breakdown of the IMPATT diode due to crystal defects at the oxide-semiconductor interface before the critical field necessary for oscillation is achieved. Further, carriers can become trapped in the oxide and surface states of the semiconductor, which reduces the efficiency of the diode since trapped carriers, even if remitted, will usually be out of phase with the avalanche current.
It is, therefore, desirable to have a diode that can be made in IC form that can be readily series coupled with other such diodes and which resists voltage breakdown and loss of efficiency.
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This invention relates to an improved structure for the serviceability and performance of hydraulic presses, utilizing an enclosed hydraulic fluid container which eliminates the need for pressure or gasket fittings and increases the overall performance of the hydraulic power system. This invention also relates to the modification of existing conventional hydraulic power apparatus systems to accommodate the above-described invention.
Heretofore, numerous efforts have been made to isolate hydraulic or pneumatic fluids which serve to transfer power from one source under pressure to another source. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 699,936; 1,149,114; 2,773,482; and 3,206,159 teach the use of self-containerized interior cavities which stabilize the interior structure of the mechanism against power transmitted by another source. In this sense, the structures defined by these patents serve as resisting mechanisms which react to the movement of contiguous pieces powered from other sources.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,870,904; 2,191,861; 2,465,560; and 3,014,460 utilize self-contained mechanisms which alter their shape to power various pieces within the overall mechanisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,465,560 teaches the transmission of fluid into an expanding reservoir within the apparatus to power a piston.
All of the patents recited above disclose self-contained reservoir systems, which are assembled at the time of the construction of the entire apparatus, without provision made for the serviceability of any of the pieces during use. Substantial cost is incurred, should a breakdown in the internal components of the power system occur.
Hydraulic presses conventionally employ a hydraulic power system which places a ram within a ram pot, the two being separated by gasket means and gland rings. The ram is generally shorter than the ram pot, allowing a cavity to remain where hydraulic fluid, in an uncontained free flowing state, is pumped to achieve necessary pressure to lift the ram from the ram pot. The entire apparatus is dependent upon the ability of the fluid to remain pressurized within the cavity created between the ram and the ram pot. The gasket and gland rings are sources of common breakdown, and the expense to repair and service these items is in direct proportion to the expense of removing the ram from the ram pot and replacing the various seals contained near the upper portions of the apparatus.
The seepage of hydraulic fluid around the connections between the ram and ram pot, at the various gaskets, is a substantial problem for hydraulic presses commonly known in the art at the present time. Should a leak develop, the hydraulic pressure drops rapidly and the performance of the hydraulic press is seriously hindered. This may even develop into a dangerous situation causing human injury and property damage.
It has been found by the inventor that the maintenance and repair of hydraulic presses is costly to the operators thereof and once any portion of the ram or ram pot is cracked, or receives a serious structural blow, the entire apparatus is rendered worthless.
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Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medical devices, and more particularly to a device for supporting and protecting feet.
Description of the Background Art
It is common for people to suffer from foot pain. Many conditions such as, for example, gout can cause pain so significant that the weight of bedding (i.e., sheets, blankets, etc.) on the feet can be unbearable. In effort to alleviate this pain, there are many devices intended to elevate bedding over feet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,615 (Dilascio) discloses an in-bed tent frame designed to keep bedding off the toes of a person lying on his or her back on a standard bed. The frame includes a flat lower support frame which extends transversely across the bed between the mattress and box spring. The opposite ends of the lower support frame extend upward over the opposite sides of the mattress and connect to two hub assemblies. The two hub assemblies hold a support frame in a transversely aligned, elevated position over the mattress. Bedding placed over the upper support frame is then elevated over the user's feet when sleeping.
Although the device of U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,615 alleviates pain caused by the weight of bedding, there are disadvantages. For example, the in-bed tent frame of Dilascio provides no foot support. This is problematic for gout sufferers because joint movement is particularly painful. Another disadvantage is that the in-bed tent frame is inconvenient to use. That is, it has to be adjusted specifically to the size of the bed it is being used on. Furthermore, the mattress has to be lifted so that the flat lower support frame can be positioned between the bed spring and the mattress.
Previous devices designed to elevate bedding over feet are also disadvantageous, because they are not conveniently portable. For example, previous devices are bulky and either cannot fit into a suitcase or take up most of the room in the suitcase. This leaves a traveler with two options: bring additional luggage, which is inconvenient and can be expensive, or suffer from foot pain caused by non-elevated bedding.
What is needed, therefore, is a device that protects feet from bedding and also provides foot support. What is also needed is a device that is more convenient to use. What is also needed is a device that is readily portable.
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Desiccants have been used in refrigeration systems for drying, and maintaining dry, refrigerant liquids, such as fluorochlorohydrocarbons. Dry fluid in refrigerant systems is essential because humidity causes serious difficulties such as ice formation or hydrolysis or refrigerant fluids to corrosive acids. The conditions of use vary somewhat from one type of refrigerant system to another. For example, in automotive refrigeration systems, the desiccant is subject to a much higher vibration and attrition than that normally found in non-automotive refrigeration systems. To combat attrition problems in automotive refrigeration, it has been proposed to protect the desiccant in several ways. One known method is to encase desiccant beads or granules in wool or polypropylene felt bags. These bags must be heat sealed or end-sewn to reduce desiccant loss, abrasion and/or dust in the cooling liquid. Further attrition problems are encountered by loosened bag fibers due to cooling liquid flow and vibration. In the case of polypropylene, there is a potential attrition problem and loss of drying efficiency due to melting or thermoplasticity of the polypropylene bags in use. Other attempts have been made to sandwich the desiccant material between fiberglass pads and metal screens. Such assemblies are cumbersome and costly, and difficulties are still encountered by attrition and escape of desiccant.
It has also been proposed to employ drying agents together with binding agents. Bonded blocks of desiccant with aluminum phosphate are suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 2,583,812; organic binders such as phenol-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, methyl cellulose, polyvinylbutyral, epoxide resin formed from epichlorohydrin and Bisphenol-A, i.e., 2,2 bis (4 hydroxyphenyl) propane, and polyurethanes are suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,025,233; 3,091,550; 3,375,933; 3,687,297; Re. 25,400; 3,545,622 and 3,538,020. These desiccant bodies suffer from one or more disadvantages, for example, rigidity which causes cracking and attrition, insufficient water sorption capacity, swelling or solution in the refrigerant, lack of sufficient permeability for the liquid refrigerant and water molecules, chemical instability, lack of heat resistivity, sensitivity to vibration and shock, and heterogeneity of desiccant particles in the binder matrix, among other disadvantages.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for building a carcass structure of a tyre for vehicle wheels, said apparatus being usable in carrying out the above process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tyre for vehicle wheel generally comprises a carcass structure comprising at least one carcass ply comprised of reinforcing cords embedded in an elastomeric matrix. The carcass ply has end edges respectively engaged with annular anchoring structures. The latter are arranged in the zones of the tyre usually identified with the name of “beads” and normally consist each of an annular substantially circumferential insert on which at least one filling insert is applied, in a radially outer position thereof. Such annular anchoring structures are commonly identified as “bead cores” and have the task of keeping the tyre well fixed to the anchoring seat specifically provided in the wheel rim, thus preventing, in operation, the radially inner end edge of the tyre coming out from such seat.
At the beads specific reinforcing structures may be provided having the function of improving the torque transmission to the tyre.
In a radially outer position with respect to the carcass ply, a belt structure comprising one or more belt layers is associated, said belt layers being arranged one on top of the other and having textile or metal reinforcing cords with crossed orientation and/or substantially parallel to the direction of circumferential extension of the tyre.
Between the carcass structure and the belt structure a layer of elastomeric material, known as “under-belt”, can be provided, said layer having the function of making the radially outer surface of the carcass structure as uniform as possible for the subsequent application of the belt structure.
In a radially outer position with respect to the belt structure a tread band is applied, made from elastomeric material as well.
Between the tread band and the belt structure a so-called “under-layer” of elastomeric material can be arranged, said layer having properties suitable to ensure a steady union of the tread band itself.
On the side surfaces of the carcass structure respective sidewalls of elastomeric material are also applied, each one extending from one of the side edges of the tread band up to the respective annular anchoring structure to the beads.
With particular reference to the zone of the tyre identified as “bead”, this is defined by a free end portion of the carcass ply specifically turned up and housing the annular anchoring structure or bead core and the filling insert therein. The coupling of the bead core to the carcass ply comprises in particular for a step prior to the step of turning up the free end portion of the carcass ply, wherein the filling insert of the bead core is brought into contact with the end edge of the carcass ply and a step simultaneous to the step of turning up-the free end portion of the carcass ply, wherein the filling insert of the bead core is laid down or pulled down on the end edge of the carcass ply.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,586 describes a process wherein turning up of the free end portion of the carcass ply and simultaneous pulling down of the filling insert of the bead core on the end edge of the carcass ply is carried out using an air tube specifically provided in an axially outer position with respect to the forming support on which the carcass ply is arranged. Such air tube, once inflated, raises the free end portion of the carcass ply so that this can be then turned up by the effect of the thrust action exerted on the inflated air tube by a special thrust member.
US 2005/0150587 A1 describes a process similar to the one discussed above, wherein a specifically designed and shaped air tube is used for turning up the free end portion of the carcass ply and simultaneously pulling down of the filling insert of the bead core on the end edge of the carcass ply, without the need of using any thrust member.
US 2006/0102272 A1 describes a process of the type discussed hereinabove, wherein in order to carry out the turning up of the free end portion of the carcass ply and the simultaneous pulling down of the filling insert of the bead core on the end edge of the carcass ply, a mechanical arm provided with pressing rolls at a free end thereof is used in place of an air tube.
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A semiconductor nanowire refers to a semiconductor wire having transverse lateral and vertical dimensions of the order of a nanometer (10−9 meter) or tens of nanometers. Typically, the transverse lateral dimension and the vertical dimension are less than 20 nm.
The limitation on the lateral dimension applies to the transverse lateral dimension (the width) and the vertical lateral dimension (the height). The longitudinal lateral dimension (the length) of the semiconductor nanowire is unlimited, and may be, for example, from 1 nm to 1 mm. When the lateral dimensions of the semiconductor nanowire is less than ten nanometers, quantum mechanical effects may become important.
A semiconductor nanowire enables enhanced control of the charge carriers along the lengthwise direction through a complete encirclement of the cross-sectional area of the semiconductor nanowire by a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The charge transport along the semiconductor nanowire by the gate electrode is better controlled in a semiconductor nanowire device than in a fin field effect transistor (finFET) because of the complete encirclement of the semiconductor nanowire.
The transverse lateral dimension of a semiconductor nanowire is currently sublithographic, i.e., may not be printed by a direct image transfer from a photoresist that is patterned by a single exposure. As of 2008, the critical dimension, i.e., the smallest printable dimension that may be printed by lithographic methods, is about 35 nm. Dimensions less than the critical dimension are called sublithographic dimensions. At any given time, the critical dimension and the range of the sublithographic dimension are defined by the best available lithographic tool in the semiconductor industry. In general, the critical dimension and the range of the sublithographic dimension decreases in each successive technology node and established by a manufacturing standard accepted across the semiconductor industry.
To enable the transverse lateral dimension for a semiconductor nanowire, a thinning process is typically employed in which a semiconductor link portion formed by lithographic methods and having a lithographic transverse dimension is reduced in size by conversion of the outer portions of the semiconductor link portion. For example, a thermal oxidation of the semiconductor material constituting the semiconductor link portion may be employed to form a semiconductor nanowire having a sublithographic transverse lateral dimension.
Such thinning process generates significant level of stress and oftentimes results in structural breakdown of a semiconductor nanowire. However, structural stability of the semiconductor nanowire to form semiconductor nanowire devices with high yield.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the simulation of a physical system such as an automobile, and more particularly to a software-based simulation system.
2. Description of Related Art
In the early 20th century, an automobile was made up of an engine as a power source, and mechanical parts including a brake, an accelerator, a steering wheel, a transmission, and a suspension, with little use of electrical mechanisms except for an ignition plug for the engine and headlights.
However, around the 1970s, there arose the need to control the engine efficiently in preparation for air pollutions, oil crisis, and the like. Thus, an engine control unit (ECU) started to be used for engine control. In general, the ECU includes an input interface used, for example, for A/D conversion of an input signal from a sensor, a logical operation unit (microcomputer) for processing a digital input signal according to predetermined logic, and an output interface for converting the processing result into an actuator operating signal.
A significant proportion of a recent automobile is now occupied not only by mechanical parts but also by electronic components and software, which range from control systems for the engine and the transmission, an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), and a power steering, to wiper control, a security monitoring system, and the like. The development cost for the latter is said to be 25% or 40% of the total cost, and accounts for 70% in a hybrid car.
Multiple ECUs are arranged to provide electronic control. The ECUs are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network such as a controller area network (CAN). The engine, the transmission, and the like, which are to be controlled, are wire-connected directly to the respective ECUs.
The ECU is a small computer, and is operated according to an interrupt from a sensor input or the like. Meanwhile, the engine and the like continuously perform mechanical operations. In other words, a computer digital system and a mechanical physical system perform cooperative operations in parallel in a single system as an automobile. Naturally, software supporting those operations has become more and more complicated. Therefore, it is desired to achieve a mechanism not only for verifying the operation of a single ECU but also for verifying the operations of multiple ECUs at the same time.
Meanwhile, actuators driven by output signals from respective ECUs include an electromagnetic solenoid, a motor, etc. The solenoid is used, for example, for an injector of the engine, shift control of the transmission, brake valve control, door lock, and the like.
As a conventional technique for testing such devices, there is HILS (Hardware In the Loop Simulation). Particularly, an environment for testing all the ECUs in the automobile is called full-vehicle HILS. In the full-vehicle HILS, a test is conducted in a laboratory according to a predetermined scenario by connecting a real ECU to a dedicated hardware device emulating an engine, a transmission mechanism, or the like. The output from the ECU is input to a monitoring computer, and further displayed on a display to allow a person in charge of the test to check if there is any abnormal action while viewing the display.
However, in HILS, the dedicated hardware device is used and the device and the real ECU have to be physically wired. Thus, HILS involves a lot of preparation. Further, when a test is conducted by replacing one ECU with another, the device and the ECU have to be physically reconnected, requiring even more work. Since the test uses the real ECU, it takes actual time to conduct the test. Therefore, it takes an immense amount of time to test many scenarios. In addition, the hardware device for emulation of HILS is generally very expensive.
Therefore, there has recently been a technique using software without using such an expensive emulation hardware device. This technique is called SILS (Software In the Loop Simulation), in which all components to be mounted in the ECU, such as a microcomputer, an I/O circuit, and a control scenario, are configured by using a software simulator. This enables the test to be conducted without the hardware of the ECU.
A simulation system for automobiles includes a continuous system simulator and a discrete system (discrete event) simulator. An example of the continuous system simulator is a simulator for simulating a mechanical part of the engine. An example of the discrete event simulator is a simulator for an ECU operated with pulse timing of the engine rotation to control the timing of fuel injection or ignition.
For simulation of a 4WD, there is a simulator for repeatedly calculating the behavior of the car from the torque distribution to each wheel as an example of the continuous system simulator, and there is a simulator operated with a periodic pulse signal output at every interval of 10 milliseconds to simulate an ECU to determine the torque distribution to each wheel from a sensor input such as the yaw rate of the car as an example of the discrete event simulator.
The discrete event simulator reads and writes data through an I/O port other than input of pulse signals asynchronously with respect to the time slices of the continuous system simulator. Typically, it reads data from a sensor and updates it.
An ECU emulator as a typical discrete event simulator consists of CPU emulators and peripherals that interface the CPU emulators with the continuous system simulator.
The simulation of peripherals is a particular problem in such a simulator. Since the peripherals are of many kinds and their operation timings vary from peripheral to peripheral, it is difficult to configure the simulation system to operate correctly.
One solution is to run a peripheral emulator step by step while faithfully following hardware descriptions provided by an ECU vendor.
The TLM 2.0 user manual (June 2008) gives a description about “Loosely-timed coding style and temporal decoupling” at Chapter 3.3.2.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-101156 discloses a system for automatically estimating an optimum simulation parameter. The system includes a parameter variation setting dialog window used for setting a start value, a variable step width, and an end value to create a parameter variation table in order to enable an objective judgment of the consistency between raw data and simulation data, and a data comparison module for evaluating the degree of similarity between the result of simulated calculation and comparative data, in which the simulated calculation is performed on all conditions in the parameter variation table to evaluate the degree of similarity between the calculation result and the comparative data so as to estimate the optimum simulation parameter.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-318990 discloses a simulation system, in which processing is performed in a known state up to the jth step, and a predictor and a corrector are calculated at the j+1th step to determine whether an estimate of error is smaller than an error tolerance. When the result of determination is “Yes,” the next step width or solution is calculated and processing is advanced by one step. When the result of determination is “No,” the step width is reduced or processing is returned by one step.
With the above conventional techniques the simulation system is operated at more relaxed timing than previously and the operation conditions are changed as required. However, adjustment of operation timing among multiple functional blocks, such as peripherals, different in operating condition is neither disclosed nor suggested.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing, and more specifically to a passivation structure and its method of fabrication.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Integrated circuits are made up of literally millions of individual devices such as transistors and capacitors formed on a semiconductor substrate. The devices are integrated together by alternating conductive and insulating layers to form functional circuits such as microprocessors. The final layer deposited is typically a passivation layer which is an insulating layer which provides protection against mechanical and chemical damage during assembly and packaging.
An example of a conventional passivation structure is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a substrate 100 having formed on its outer surface a metal interconnect layer 102 which includes a bond pad 104 and interconnects 106. A passivation layer 108 which includes a silicon nitride layer 110 and a thick polyimide layer 112 is formed over metal layer 102 as shown in FIG. 1. A contact opening 114 is then formed through the silicon nitride layer 110 and the polyimide layer 112 to enable an electrical contact, such as a wire bond 116, to be made to bond pad 104 to enable the inputting and outputting of external signals to the substrate. Silicon nitride layer 110, which is a hermetic layer, is formed in direct contact with the lower metal layer 102 to ensure that no moisture path exists to the underlying substrate, especially in the bond pad openings 114.
Although such a passivation structure provides an excellent hermetic seal of substrate 100, device performance suffers due to high metal line-to-metal-line capacitance. That is, because silicon nitride layer 110 has a high dielectric constant (approximately 7.0) and because it is formed in gaps 118 between adjacent metal features 104 and 106, line-to-line capacitive coupling is increased and device performance reduced. Another problem associated with the passivation structure shown in FIG. 1 is that it is difficult to deposit a silicon nitride layer into high aspect ratio gaps 118 to a thickness necessary to obtain a sufficient hermetic seal.
Thus what is desired is a passivation structure and methodology which forms a hermetic seal and which provides low interconnect capacitance.
A novel passivation structure and its method of fabrication. According to the present invention a first dielectric layer is formed upon a conductive layer formed over a substrate. The first dielectric layer and the conductive layer are then patterned into a first dielectric capped interconnect and a dielectric capped bond pad. Next, a second dielectric layer is formed over and between the dielectric capped interconnect and the dielectric capped bond pad. The top portion of the second dielectric layer is removed so as to expose the dielectric capped bond pad and the dielectric capped interconnect. A third dielectric layer is then formed over the exposed dielectric capped bond pad and the exposed dielectric capped interconnect and over the second dielectric.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical image capturing system, and more particularly is about a minimized optical image capturing system which can be applied to electronic products.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as the popularization of portable electronic devices with camera functionalities, it has elevated the demand for optical system. The photosensitive element of ordinary optical system is commonly selected from charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor (CMOS Sensor). Besides, as the advancement in semiconductor devices manufacturing technology, the pixel size of the photosensitive element is gradually minimized, and the optical systems make a development about the high pixel field by degrees. Therefore, it increases daily the demand of the quality of the image.
Conventional optical systems of portable electronic devices usually adopt six lenses or seven lenses structure as main structure. However, since the pixel of the portable electronic devices continuously raises, and more end-users are demanding for cameras having large aperture, which is equipped with functionalities such as low light mode or night mode. The conventional optical image capturing systems may not be sufficient to meet those advanced photography requirements.
Therefore, it is an important issue about how to effectively increase the amount of light admitted into the optical image capturing system and further elevate the image quality thereof.
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Embodiments of the present invention relate to computer systems, and more particularly to techniques for automatically performing one or more actions responsive to a successful login.
Most computers require a user to log into the system before the user can access any data or applications provided by the system. The resources provided by the computer system are thus not available and cannot be used until after the user has successfully logged in. After the user has logged in, the user may then manually open one or more applications, create content using the application, provide instructions to save the content, etc. This reliance upon a login is however quite restrictive.
Some Internet-based applications such as shopping carts on many commercial websites allow a user to open a shopping cart and fill it with items to be purchased without requiring a login. However, in order to purchase the items in the shopping cart, the user has to first login and then manually go through a series of user-interactive steps to complete the purchase of the items, which then associates the items with the user's account.
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In a cellular wireless telecommunications system, radio coverage is provided by areas known as cells. Abase station is located in each cell to provide the radio coverage area. Traditional base stations provide coverage in relatively large geographical areas and these cells are often referred to as macro cells. It is possible to provide smaller sized cells, often within a macro cell. Such smaller sized cells are sometimes referred to as micro cells, pico cells or femto cells. Such small cells are typically established by providing a small cell base station that provides radio coverage having a relatively limited range within the radio coverage area of a macro cell. The transmission power of the small cell base station is relatively low and, hence, each small cell provides a smaller coverage area compared to that of a macro cell and covers, for example, an office or a home. A group of such small cell base stations may together provide a wireless small cell network.
Such small cells are typically provided where the communications coverage provided by the macro cell is poor or where a user wishes to use an alternative communications link provided locally, by the small cell base station, to communicate with the core network. Such a situation might arise where, for example, a user has a pre-existing communications link and the user wishes to utilise that link in preference to that provided by a macro cell network provider to communicate with the core network. The group of small cell base stations providing the wireless small cell network can together provide extended local coverage to user equipment throughout, for example, a home or an office building by using multiple small cell base stations distributed throughout those buildings which enables each of those base stations to transmit at a lower power than would otherwise be necessary if coverage was to be provided by a single small cell base station.
However, the proliferation of the deployment of base stations makes the control of base stations difficult to achieve.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved technique for controlling base stations.
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Lift brackets are used to install suspension parts in a lower position on a vehicle's frame to provide a higher ground clearance for said vehicle. The use of lift brackets allows a vehicle to clear higher obstacles thereby enhancing off road driving capabilities. Further, the use of lift brackets is considered to increase the aesthetics of the vehicle employing the lift brackets.
However, due to the unique nature of the suspension system of an off-road vehicle, no such lift brackets are available for those brands of vehicles. Thus, there is a need for a lift bracket suitable for use on off-road vehicles.
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A precise and stable reference frequency is often desired, e.g., in a communication device required, by standard, regulation, or otherwise, to transmit at a specified frequency within a prescribed tolerance. For example, ETSI GSM Standard 05.10 specifies that the GSM air interface requires a frequency stability of ±0.1 ppm, and not meeting this specification at a base transceiver station (BTS) site can lead to dropped calls and other problems. A precise and stable reference frequency has been achieved through high-precision and high-stability reference oscillators, but these reference oscillators are exceedingly bulky, power inefficient, and/or expensive for many communication devices that require a precise and stable reference frequency. Global Positioning System (GPS) disciplined oscillators have also been used to provide reference frequencies, but GPS requires an unobstructed view of the sky, which may not be available to a communications or other equipment located in an interior office or apartment. Even if an unobstructed view of the sky is available, GPS is expensive and difficult to install. Therefore, there exists a need for an alternative way to provide a precise and stable reference frequency.
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Physical vapor deposition by sputtering is a well known process that has found widespread application in the fabrication of very large scale integrated (VLSI) semiconductor devices. In magnetron sputtering a plasma is formed in a low pressure inert gas. The plasma is confined to a region near a sputter target, which is made of the material to be sputtered and which usually serves as the cathode of the system. A magnetic field, typically having field lines which loop through the sputter target surface, restricts the trajectories of the electrons in the plasma, thereby intensifying and confining the plasma. Ions in the plasma bombard the sputter target dislodging atoms of the target material which are then deposited on a substrate.
A large number of VLSI devices are typically fabricated on a thin, generally circular silicon substrate referred to as a wafer. VLSI device fabrication involves a large number of processing steps, with sputtering being used to provide metallization layers and interconnects between device layers. Most commonly, sputtered aluminum is the material used for these purposes.
In recent years wafer sizes have continually increased, and now the use of eight-inch diameter wafers is common in the industry. Large wafer sizes permit a larger number devices to be grown on a single substrate. However, larger wafer sizes impose greater demands on sputtering systems. For example, one requirement of a sputtering system used in semiconductor processing is that it deposit a layer of uniform thickness over the entire wafer surface. (Hereinafter the term uniformity will be used in connection with the thickness of the deposited film unless the context suggests otherwise.) Lack of uniformity may result in lowered device yield (i.e., the percentage of devices which meet operating specifications) and/or variations in device performance. Larger wafer sizes make it more difficult to achieve very demanding levels of uniformity.
One approach to improving the uniformity of a sputtering system is to sputter from two concentric targets. For an example of this approach see U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,806 which describes a sputtering source sold by the assignee of the present invention under the trademark ConMag.sup..RTM. II. In the ConMag.sup..RTM. II sputtering source each of the sputter targets has a unique shape and its own separate power supply enabling separate control over the sputtering rate from each target. In addition to providing good uniformity, this configuration provides good step coverage, i.e., the ability to uniformly cover vertical "steps" and other angled surfaces on the wafer.
A number of commercially available sputtering sources use a planar sputtering target. One such source, commercially available from the assignee of the present invention under the trademark VersaMag.sup.#, relies on a rotating magnet mounted behind the target for moving the plasma over the face of the target. Rotation of the plasma was introduced for the purposes of improving uniformity and step coverage, as well as improving the uniformity of target erosion so that targets are more efficiently utilized.
In the recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,958, entitled Sputtering Apparatus With A Rotating Magnet Array Having A geometry For Specified Target Erosion Profile, which is also assigned to the assignee of the present invention, it was shown how to construct a closed-loop rotating magnet, for use with a planar sputtering source, which enables one to realize a predetermined erosion profile to thereby achieve, for example, highly efficient target material utilization and high deposition rates. The invention of the '958 patent is readily adapted to use in a VersaMag.sup.# sputtering source.
A closed-loop magnet configuration of the type described in the '958 patent has the additional advantage of being easily adjustable so that the shape of the magnet array, and therefore the characteristics of the sputtering source, can be changed without great difficulty or expense. As described in that patent, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, a plurality of magnets are held in position by two iron keepers which define the shape of the closed loop. Replacement and/or adjustment of the iron keepers to provide a different closed-loop configuration is a relatively simple matter. In this manner it is possible to use one source for different purposes.
As noted, the original objective of the closed-loop rotating magnet of the '958 patent was to achieve better target utilization efficiency, normally an important objective given the high cost of sputter targets, and to achieve high deposition rates, another important factor due to the demand for ever greater system "throughput". In some instances, the need for greater uniformity might outweigh the desire for efficient target utilization and deposition rate. In such a case the high levels of uniformity achieved by multiple sputtering rings remain attractive.
In this context the ability to provide a multiple ring sputtering source which is adaptable to other uses, and without the need to design an entirely new source is especially desirable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple ring sputtering source capable of highly uniform deposition.
Another object of the present invention is to adapt existing rotating magnet technology to provide a multiple ring sputtering source.
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"Do-it-yourself" handtools for family use require two sets of wrench sockets for driving fasteners, one set for square fasteners and another set for hexagonal fasteners. It would be desirable to provide a single wrench tool, such as a socket wrench or box end wrench, which would not only fit both a given square and a given hexagonal nut or bolt, but which would, in addition, provide a set of six notches for a hexagonal opening, with planar surfaces and engaging surfaces separately sized, to allow engagement with hexagonal nuts or bolts having a maximum 5% difference in size to each other.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to railroad dump cars. In particular, the present invention is a hydraulically powered system for operating the dumping mechanism of the dump car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since about 1920, the railroad industry has built what is known as a side dump rail car. The car consists of a main car frame and a dump body pivotally connected to the car frame so that it is capable of tilting to a 45.degree. angle, on either side of center. As the dump body tilts, a side door also drops. This design is well suited for unloading bulk commodities and large, difficult to handle material.
The overall design of side dump rail cars has not changed materially in 60 years. Power to lift either side of the dump body comes from a pair of approximately 26" bore telescopic air cylinders mounted directly under each side of the dump body (four cylinders in all per car). By operating a control lever on one side of the car, air from the train's auxiliary air system is directed to the air cylinders on the same side of the car as the lever. This causes dumping of the contents of the car on the opposite side of the car from the operator.
The prior art air operated dump car systems have several significant disadvantages. First, water vapor in the train's auxiliary air system can condense in the rail car components and piping and freeze during cold winter months in northern climates. This prevents operation of the air operated dumping system.
Second, the compressibility of the air poses serious safety hazards. For example, it can create a condition where the car dumping cannot be stopped due to the residual forces of the compressed air, even though the control lever has been released. This can cause derailing of the dump car.
Third, the large bore air cylinders required to pivot the dump body cannot be made really tight. Piston bypass leakage allows rapid settling of the car in midposition. This also poses a significant safety hazard.
Fourth, the prior art systems are expensive to build and maintain. The large bore air cylinders are specially made, difficult to obtain, and expensive. In addition, due to the large size and weight of the air cylinders, replacement of a worn-out or defective air cylinder with a new air cylinder is time-consuming and expensive.
Other types of railroad dump cars, such as bottom slide gate cars, also use air cylinders to move a movable dumping mechanism to thereby unload the contents of the dump car. Like the side dump rail car, these other air operated dump cars suffer from serious performance, safety, and cost disadvantages associated with the air cylinder system.
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1) Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a handle of a trowel, more specifically, a one with the feature of using multiple fastening methods to tightly seal a narrow rod of a blade so as to prevent a trowel blade from loosening constantly.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Accordingly, when using a trowel to build a wall, a cement worker frequently knocks the bricks by the trowel to make the positions thereof flush, therefore, the trowel itself should has the practical function of resisting vibration and not easily loosening; the most commonly used handle structure of a cement trowel has a narrow rod with a proper diameter disposed at the distal end of the blade and a wooden handle with a hole penetrating in the center; the distal end of the narrow rod of the trowel is forced into the hole of the handle for fastening; however, although the wooden handle possesses a proper tightness, it tends to expand when it gets wet and it tends to contract when it is too dry during the work; after a long usage time, it may crack and decompose to cause the joint area of the handle of the trowel in use to loosen and that is the major shortcoming of this kind of trowel.
Referring to FIG. 5 of a structure of a preferred handle for a trowel, mainly, a penetrating hole (52) is disposed inside the handle (50); an arcuate bearing piece (51) extends from the lower rim of the penetrating hole (52); thereby, when the narrow rod (61) of the trowel blade (60) inserts into the penetrating hole (52) of the handle (50), two sides of the said narrow rod (61) are pressed against by the arcuate bearing piece (51) not to rotate but to make the structure thereof more sturdy; however, when the handle (50) is making a longitudinal knocking vibration, (this is the frequent movement made by the cement worker during building a wall), the blade (60) still doesn""t have a proper effect of stopping; therefore, gradually, loosening situation may happen; furthermore, the said bearing piece (51) doesn""t tightly and complete joint the narrow rod (61); constantly, the sand and the cement chips may clog in the gap and which will cause the difficulty in cleaning and influence the stability thereof; that is the shortcoming of this kind of structure.
Therefore, the primary objective of the present invention is to a dispose a penetrating hole longitudinally along a rod body, with one end rim thereof extending to form a bent arcuate bearing piece permitting a narrow rod of a blade to insert in the penetrating hole and to press against onto a concaved arc-plane on the front rim of the bearing piece, wherein, the circumferential side of the penetrating hole of the handle is disposed longitudinally with a plurality of ribs to enable the inserted narrow rod at the distal end of the blade to have preferred tightness; at least one positioning slot and an interlock tenon are disposed on the bearing piece; a sealing cover in a corresponding shape of the bearing piece is disposed to interlock with the bearing piece to sheath the narrow rod so as to firmly seal the blade.
Another objective of the present invention is to dispose a rear press member fixedly sealed from the other end of the penetrating hole of the handle and to make the front end of the said rear press member press against the narrow rod of the blade to position the blade and make it not easy to loosen.
To enable a further understanding of the present invention, a brief description of the drawings below is followed by the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.
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Silicon is unique in photovoltaic materials in that it is an elemental semiconductor with no stoichiometry and interdiffusion problems. Crystalline silicon solar cells have high efficiency and excellent stability. Currently, about 72% of the world's photovoltaic module shipments consist of single or polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Crystalline silicon can tolerate high-temperature device processing steps, and, indeed, requires many high-temperature steps for high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing. These high-temperature steps have been the dominant factor for the high cost of silicon solar cell manufacturing.
The present invention uses concentrated sunlight instead of electricity, as the energy source for the high-temperature steps needed to manufacture silicon solar cells. When concentrated sunlight strikes a surface, such as a silicon wafer, the surface is rapidly heated to accomplish a variety of thermal processing steps, and can be cooled in an easily controlled manner.
Sunlight is concentrated using a high flux solar furnace. Generally, a high flux solar furnace is comprised of a heliostat to track the movement of the sun, a concentrator, and a target point. The concentrator can be one or more mirrors, or, one or more refractive lenses, aligned so as to direct the incident sunlight at a predetermined focal point. This focal point is selected to maximize the concentration of incident light, or achieve a desired flux profile. The target point coincides with this focal point, and a platform or chamber is placed at this focal point to support the material to be processed.
Most electricity is currently generated by converting conventional sources, such as fossil fuels and nuclear power, to heat, and then from heat to electricity. This electricity is then converted back into heat for high-temperature processing of solar cells. This inefficient method results in considerable transmission and generation losses, and excessive pollution. The concentrated sunlight of the present invention is provided by a solar furnace, which produces high temperatures directly from the radiant energy of concentrated sunlight. In addition, the heating rate is extremely high, with the concentrated sunlight often being able to heat thin layers of the surface being treated to the desired processing temperature in fractions of a second, while leaving the bulk unaffected. Also, because a solar furnace can deliver photons from the entire solar spectrum, preferred portions of the spectrum can be selected by using the proper filters. Also, a solar furnace relies on an abundant and clean supply of energy.
The prior art teaches silicon solar cell processing by using heating lamps, such as tungsten-halogen quartz lamps that are rich in infrared, and lasers, such as excimer lasers that are rich in ultraviolet. Flash lamp heating has already been used in commercially available products for firing screen printed contacts for silicon (Si) solar cells and for soldering metal ribbons for interconnecting cells to form modules.
An important difference between using a high flux solar furnace and artificial light sources is that the solar furnace offers a slow and easily controllable cool-down rate. Rapid thermal processing (RTP), as disclosed by Hartiti, B. et al (Progress in Photovoltaics, Research and Applications, Vol. 2, pp. 129-142, 1994), states that "Rapid thermal processing has only little success for devices like power diodes, nuclear detectors, and solar cells because the problem for these kinds of devices is the preservation of high bulk lifetimes. This last point has been the major source of drawbacks of early solar cells (fabricated) using rapid thermal processing . . . The origin of this degradation is related to transition metals or metallic complexes involving carbon, oxygen and the dopant which are not deactivated during the quenching step inherently associated to the fast cooling (of the rapid thermal processing process)." While fast cooling is inherent to rapid thermal processing using artificial sources, it is not inherent to a high-flux solar furnace. Slow, controllable cooling, as is achieved using a high flux solar furnace, is believed to contribute to the improved performance of high flux solar furnace-processed cells over conventional cells. In addition, it is very easy to control the cooling rate in a high flux solar furnace. Rapid thermal processing for solar cells has been studied for at least over ten years, and has not been adopted in a large scale by the solar cell industry.
Another advantage of using concentrated sunlight is the very broad (wide) wavelength spectrum of the high flux solar furnace compared to most artificial sources. Many of the artificial light sources used for solar cell processing are "single-wavelength" lasers. A broad wavelength spectrum provides more uniform heating through the thickness of the solar cell. This uniform heating is important for solar cells because, unlike integrated circuits which are planar devices, solar cells need to have electric charge transported through the entire thickness of the cell. A planar device like an integrated circuit uses only the top surface region of the device.
Artificial light sources, such as arc lamps, can produce broad spectra, but usually have very short electrode life and are not spatially uniform enough for large area solar cell processing. Solar cells are "large-area" devices. i.e. typically 10 cm.times.10 cm in area, or larger. Some commercial solar cells are as large as 1.2 m.times.1.2 m (4 ft.times.4 ft). It is not easy to make high-intensity artificial light sources having even distribution over such large areas. A major advantage of using a solar furnace over arc lamps is that the long focal length of the solar furnace permits substantial flexibility in the geometry of the set up which is not possible with the characteristically short focal length of an arc lamp.
Another advantage of the process of the present invention is that it is a cold-wall process; i.e., only the sample under treatment is heated, not the reactor walls. This greatly reduces the possibility of impurity contamination from the chamber walls. Impurity contamination from the chamber walls has been a major factor in reducing the carrier lifetime of silicon in conventional high-temperature processes. This in turn reduces the performance of the solar cells manufactured. Periodic, sometimes daily, cleaning of the high-temperature furnace using hydrofluoric acid-containing solutions is required. This increases the cost of manufacturing solar cells and also generates large quantifies of toxic waste. In conventional hot-wall furnace processing, the need to heat up the entire furnace is a tremendous waste of energy, and also limits the throughput because it is a time consuming process to heat up and cool down high-temperature furnaces. In contrast, high flux solar furnace processing rapidly and efficiently heats only the sample directly with concentrated sunlight. And, because the reactor walls remain cool, the chances of sample contamination from impurities emanating from the reactor walls are greatly reduced. This method of manufacturing high-efficiency solar cells also reduces the cost of manufacturing because less frequent cleaning of the reactor is needed.
In summary, the high-intensity, large-area light flux and the high degree of control over the flux profile that can be achieved using a high flux solar furnace cannot be readily achieved using any single or combination of artificial light sources currently available. Because of its simplicity, the high flux solar furnace can easily be modified for a variety of manufacturing applications.
Another silicon solar cell process which is recently gaining importance and which can be effectively accomplished using the high flux solar furnace is the crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films into multicrystalline silicon. Multicrystalline silicon is defined herein as being non-amorphous silicon.
Multicrystalline silicon thin films (mc-Si) are usually deposited on a substrate by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a physical vapor deposition (PVD), or a liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) technique. Si films deposited by physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition on a low-cost, nonepitaxial substrate usually have an average grain size of less than 1 micron. Microcrystalline (.mu.c-Si) silicon is defined herein as having an average grain size on the order of 1 micron, or less. Microcrystalline silicon films deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with strong hydrogen dilution of the Si-containing feedgas and high radio-frequency (RF) power densities are widely used as heavily doped window contact layers and tunnel-junction contact layers in hydrogen containing amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. (Luft, W. and Tsuo, Y. S. 1993, Ch. 15, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Alloy Deposition Processes, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1993 and Tsuo et al., "Solar Cell Structures Combining Amorphous, Microcrystalline, and Single-Crystalline Silicon," Proc. 23rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf., pp. 281-186, 1993). However, larger Si grain sizes are needed for use as active semiconductor layers in such applications as thin film transistors for controlling active-matrix liquid-crystal picture elements (pixels) of large-area flat-panel displays. (See, for example, Powell, M. J., IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices Vol. 36, p. 2753, 1989, and Kanicki. J., Editor, "Amorphous & Microcrystalline Semiconductor Devices, Vol. II: Materials and Device Physics", Artech House, Inc., Boston, 1992) and photovoltaic solar cells (Meier, J., Fluckiger, R., Keppner, H. and Shah, A. "Complete microcrystalline p-i-n solar cell-crystalline or amorphous cell behavior?", Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol.65, pp. 860-862, 1994.) A post-deposition annealing of physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition deposited amorphous silicon or multicrystalline silicon is usually needed to obtain large crystalline grain sizes. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is usually used to deposit the initial amorphous silicon film because of its low temperature deposition and high purity. Relatively high deposition rates can be used because the initial electronic property of the amorphous silicon is not important, since the film will subsequently be crystallized.
Liquid-phase epitaxy silicon deposited on an epitaxial substrate usually has the high deposition rate and large grain size required for semiconductor device applications. However, the need for a substrate with large grain size and a lattice constant that closely matches that of the deposited silicon and the relatively high deposition temperature are disadvantages of liquid-phase epitaxy silicon growth. For liquid-phase epitaxy silicon films deposited on a low-cost, nonepitaxial substrate, a post-deposition annealing technique to enlarge the grain size is also needed. It is also important to note that many low-cost substrates, such as Corning 7059 glass, cannot stand processing temperatures above 600.degree. C. Thus, a low-temperature, solid-phase crystallization (SPC) method is often preferred.
For conventional furnace annealing of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition deposited a-Si:H, grain size as large as 4 .mu.m and field effect mobility as high as 158 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s have been reported by Nakazawa, K. and Tanaka, K., J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 68, p. 1029, 1990. For comparison, the effective electron mobility in a-Si:H is only up to 1 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s; in single-crystal Si, it is up to 1400 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s. However, such annealing usually takes over ten hours or even days and cannot be used to selectively crystallize certain areas of an a-Si:H film. Sanyo Electric Company recently produced an 8.5%-efficient, 1-cm.sup.2 solar cell using a 10-.mu.m-thick, solid-phase crystallization multicrystalline silicon with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/p-type a-Si:H/intrinsic a-Si:H/n-type .mu.c-Si/metal. The solid-phase crystallization poly-Si deposited on a textured substrate has a maximum mobility of 623 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s at a carrier concentration of 3.10.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-3. The solid-phase crystallization was done in a conventional furnace at 600.degree. C. for 10 hours. (Matsuyama, T., Baba, T., Takahama, T., Tsuda, S., and Nakano, S., "Polycrystalline Si thin-film solar cell prepared by solid phase crystallization method", Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 34, pp.285-289, 1994). This 8.5% conversion efficiency is higher than the stabilized efficiency of most a-Si:H solar cells.
Melt recrystallization methods using a directed energy beam are interesting alternatives that have the added advantage of being able to selectively crystallize areas of the deposited film. Conventional rapid thermal processing with a continuous-wave laser requires high substrate temperature and is not very practical since high substrate temperature can cause substrate damage and semiconductor film contamination. Rapid thermal processing also has high energy requirements. (Troxell, J. R., Harrington, M. I., and Miller, R. A., "IEEE Electron Device" Lett. Vol. EDL-8, p. 576, 1987).
More recent investigations involving using a pulsed laser, such as an excimer laser have achieved considerable success. (Sera, K., Okumura, F., Uchida. H., Itoh, S., Kaneko, S., and Hotta, K., "IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices" Vol. 36. p. 2868, 1989: and Bachrach, R. Z., Winer, K., Boyce, J. B., Ready, S. E., Johnson, R. I, and Anderson. G. B., J. Electronic Materials Vol. 19, p. 241, 1990). For example, Sera et al. reported that the field effect mobility increased from 0.23 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s for a-Si:H to 102 cm.sup.2 /V.multidot.s for laser-crystallized .mu.c-Si. Recently, solar cells with 6.5% conversion efficiency have been made using 4.2-.mu.m-thick laser-melt-and-crystallization silicon with optical confinement by diffuse reflective substrate (Shimokawa. R., Ishii, K., Nishikawa, H., Takahashi, T., Hayashi, Y., Saito, I., Nagamine, F., and Igari, S., "Sub-5 .mu.m Thin Film c-Si Solar Cell and Optical Confinement by Diffuse Reflective Substrate," Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 34, pp. 277-283, 1994). Instead of a laser beam, an ion beam can also be used for crystallization. High-energy (1.5 MeV) Xe.sup.+ ion irradiation has been shown to enhance the solid-phase crystallization of a-Si:H at low temperatures (500.degree.-580.degree. C.). (Im, J. S. and Atwater, H. A. Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol 57, p. 1766, 1990).
Zone-melting recrystallization (ZMR) by scanning a carbon strip heater is also a popular method of crystallizing silicon. Recently, a 14.2% photovoltaic solar cell has been made using a 60-.mu.m-thick active polycrystalline silicon layer with n-millimeter grain size. The polycrystalline silicon film was originally deposited on a SiO.sub.2 -coated single-crystalline silicon wafer by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (Arimoto, S., Morikawa, H., Deguchi, M., Kawama, Y., Matsuno, Y., Ishihara, T., Kumabe, H., and Murotani, T., "High-efficient Operation of Large-area (100 cm.sup.2) Thin Film Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cell Based on SOI Structure," Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol.34, pp.257-262, 1994).
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Conventionally, an electric power converter that converts an electric power by using two inverters is known in the art. For example, a patent document, JP 2011-188674 (Patent document 1) discloses a ripple current reduction scheme that varies a shift value of both of a first duty center value that concerns a voltage applied to a first winding wire group, and a second duty center value that concerns a voltage applied to a second winding wire group, for the reduction of a ripple current together with a prevention of uneven heat loss.
Further, in the patent document 1, for a distribution of heat generation, a shift direction of a duty instruction signal is periodically switched. Furthermore, in the patent document 1, switching of the shift direction of the duty instruction signal is controlled, i.e., is set to have certain switching cycle, in consideration of a noise sound due to such a switching of the shift direction. However, the patent document 1 is silent about a frequency-considered control of the phase current.
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Resonant sensors are devices which use mechanical vibrations, typically induced at a specific resonant frequency, to detect any of a variety of conditions. Typical implementations include “tuning fork” resonators, piezo-electric resonators, hemispherical resonators, and tilting wheel resonators. In many cases, resonant sensors (such as Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems [MEMS] sensors) can be compact, low in cost, and highly accurate. Because of the inherent sensitivity of most vibrating systems to physical manipulations, resonant sensors can be used to detect accelerations and rotations, and are often used in accelerometers and in devices which detect rotations (referred to sometimes as “gyroscopes,” although not based on the classic “spinning top” gyroscope approach).
Resonant sensor accelerometers, gyroscopes, and other resonant sensors that are critical to flight guidance algorithms, are frequently used in guided rockets and missiles, which typically have severe vibration environments. Under some circumstances, including the burn of the rocket motor fuel, the body vibrations may induce a resonant frequency at, or close to, the resonant frequency of the sensor, which can interfere with the initialization of the device and can cause the device to provide highly inaccurate data.
In many cases, for example for many air-to-surface missiles, the rocket motor burn lasts for only a short period of time after the initial launch of the rocket, such as a few seconds, after which the rocket glides to its target with relatively low vibrations. However, if the guidance system has been improperly initialized due to vibrations during the initial fuel burn, then the guidance system may provide highly erroneous data, both during and after the burn, and the missile may accept the data from the guidance system as if it were accurate, thereby causing the missile to rapidly deviate from its intended course.
Typically, this problem is addressed by providing shock isolators, which attempt to isolate the resonant sensors from shocks and vibrations experienced by the rocket or missile. However, this approach can be inadequate and/or impractical.
Some guidance systems include a “Built-in-Test” (BIT) fault detector. However, these fault detectors can also be fooled by vibrations of the rocket or missile, and can fail to detect if a resonant sensor has been improperly initialized.
What is needed, therefore, is a system for reliably detecting when a rocket or missile guidance system which includes at least one resonant sensor has been improperly initialized, and providing appropriate corrective action, so as to improve the fault tolerance of the guidance system.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image processing apparatus formed by interconnecting DSP modules in two or more stages.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an image processing apparatus which can flexibly deal with change in the contents of the image processing and/or addition of contents by only changing the software without changing the circuit boards, there have been known those employing DSP (digital signal processor) modules for signal processing only. The DSP module comprises a signal processor unit which carries out image processing according to program data and a peripheral unit including an input port, a memory and an output port.
In an image processing apparatus employing a DSP module, the overall image processing is generally carried out by one DSP module. When high speed processing is required, the overall image processing is sometimes divided into a plurality of fractions and each fraction of the image processing is carried out by one DSP module. That is, a multi-DSP arrangement is sometimes employed by interconnecting a plurality of DSP modules so that the image processing is carried out by the DSP modules in a pipeline processing (simultaneous parallel processing) system.
For example, when the overall image processing is to be distributed to means A to F as shown in FIG. 14A, functions of means A to F are respectively assigned to DSP modules DSP0, DSP2, DSP4, DSP5, DSP7 and DSP8. Each DSP module carries out designated processing on data input through the input port according to designated program data and outputs processed data through the output port.
In the illustrated example, spare DSP modules are provided for groups of means each surrounded by broken lines in FIG. 14A. More specifically, a spare DSP module DSP1 is provided for the DSP module DSP0, a spare DSP module DSP3 is provided for the DSP module DSP2, a spare DSP module DSP6 is provided for the DSP modules DSP4 and DSP5, and a DSP module DSP9 is provided for the DSP modules DSP7 and DSP8. Normally, these spare DSP modules are caused to operate as data bypass portions which transfers data as-input through the input port to the output port.
When the content of processing by the means A is to be changed, the program data for the DSP module DSP0 is changed. When means G is to be added behind the means A, the program data for the means G is input into the spare DSP module DSP1 and the means G is assigned to the spare DSP module DSP1. When means G is to be added before the means A, the program data for the DSP module DSP0 is changed to the program data for the means G, the program data for the means A is input into the spare DSP module DSP1 and then the means G and A are respectively assigned to the DSP modules DSP0 and DSP1.
In this manner, by employing a multi-DSP arrangement, change in the contents of the image processing and/or addition of contents can be flexibly dealt with by only changing the software without changing the circuit boards.
However, in the image processing apparatus of a multi-DSP arrangement, each DSP module functions as a processing portion corresponding to each means or a data bypass portion, and accordingly, when the means are connected in series, the DSP modules are also connected in series and when the means are connected in parallel, the DSP modules are also connected in parallel. That is, the DSP modules must be connected in the same manner as the means.
Though parallel addition of contents of the processing can be dealt with by connecting in parallel spare DSP modules in a number corresponding to an expected number of parallel processing portions, this approach is disadvantageous in that the size of the circuit becomes too large. That is, in the conventional multi-DSP arrangement, it is difficult to deal with addition of parallel processing with the processing speed kept unchanged without enlarging the circuit size by simply changing the software.
When processing in one or more means becomes unnecessary, the DSP module(s) assigned to the means must be caused to function as a data bypass portion with the DSP module(s) left on the circuit board in vain.
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A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. 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 a radiation beam in a given direction (the “scanning”-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
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 final element of the projection system and the substrate. In an embodiment, the liquid is distilled water, although another liquid can be used. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to liquid. However, another liquid may be suitable, particularly a wetting fluid, an incompressible fluid and/or a fluid with higher refractive index than air, desirably a higher refractive index than water. Fluids excluding gases are particularly desirable. 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 numerical aperture (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, or a liquid with a nano-particle suspension (e.g. particles with a maximum dimension of up to 10 nm). The suspended particles may or may not have a similar or the same refractive index as the liquid in which they are suspended. Other liquids which may be suitable include a hydrocarbon, such as an aromatic, a fluorohydrocarbon, and/or an aqueous solution.
Submersing the substrate or substrate and substrate table in a bath of liquid (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,852) means that there is a large body of liquid that should be accelerated during a scanning exposure. This may require additional or more powerful motors and turbulence in the liquid may lead to undesirable and unpredictable effects.
Other arrangements which have been proposed include a confined immersion system and an all wet immersion system. In a confined immersion system a liquid supply system provides 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 confinement 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 no. WO 99/49504.
In an all wet immersion system, as disclosed in PCT patent application publication WO 2005/064405 the immersion liquid is unconfined. In such a system the whole top surface of the substrate is covered in liquid. This may be advantageous because then the whole top surface of the substrate is exposed to the substantially same conditions. This may have an advantage for temperature control and processing of the substrate. In WO 2005/064405, a liquid supply system provides liquid to the gap between the final element of the projection system and the substrate. Liquid is allowed to leak over the remainder of the substrate. A barrier at the edge of a substrate table prevents the liquid from escaping so that it can be removed from the top surface of the substrate table in a controlled way.
The immersion system may be a fluid handling system or apparatus. In an immersion system, immersion fluid is handled by a fluid handling system, structure or apparatus. In an embodiment the fluid handling system may supply immersion fluid and therefore be a fluid supply system. In an embodiment the fluid handling system may at least partly confine immersion fluid and thereby be a fluid confinement system. In an embodiment the fluid handling system may provide a barrier to immersion fluid and thereby be a barrier member, such as a fluid confinement structure. In an embodiment the fluid handling system may create or use a flow of gas, for example to help in controlling the flow and/or the position of the immersion fluid. The flow of gas may form a seal to confine the immersion fluid so the fluid handling structure may be referred to as a seal member; such a seal member may be a fluid confinement structure. The fluid handling system may be located between the projection system and the substrate table. In an embodiment, immersion liquid is used as the immersion fluid. In that case the fluid handling system may be a liquid handling system. In reference to the aforementioned description, reference in this paragraph to a feature defined with respect to fluid may be understood to include a feature defined with respect to liquid.
In a fluid handling system or liquid confinement structure, liquid is confined to a space, for example within a confinement structure. The space may be defined by the body of the confinement structure, the underlying surface (e.g. a substrate table, a substrate supported on the substrate table, a shutter member and/or a measurement table) and, in the case of a localized area immersion system, a liquid meniscus between the fluid handling system or liquid confinement structure and the underlying structure i.e. in an immersion space. In the case of an all wet system, liquid is allowed to flow out of the immersion space onto the top surface of the substrate and/or substrate table.
In European patent application publication no. EP 1420300 and United States patent application publication no. US 2004-0136494, each hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference, the idea of a twin or dual stage immersion lithography apparatus is disclosed. Such an apparatus is provided with two tables for supporting a substrate. Leveling measurements are carried out with a table at a first position, without immersion liquid, and exposure is carried out with a table at a second position, where immersion liquid is present. Alternatively, the apparatus has only one table.
After exposure of a substrate in an immersion lithographic apparatus, the substrate table is moved away from its exposure position to a position in which the substrate may be removed and replaced by a different substrate. This is known as substrate swap. In a two stage lithographic apparatus, for example ASML's “Twinscan” lithographic apparatus, the substrate tables swap takes place under the projection system.
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The present invention relates to Internet browsing and in particular multiple parties browsing the Internet collaboratively.
Internet browsing is a well-known concept. In the typical browsing scenario, a user of a personal computer (xe2x80x9cPCxe2x80x9d) establishes a connection to the Internet (from the user""s PC) through an Internet Service Provider (xe2x80x9cISPxe2x80x9d), such as ATandT WorldNet Service(trademark). As part of establishing this connection, the user runs one of the many available Internet browser software programs, such as Netscape Navigator(trademark) or Microsoft Internet Explorer(trademark), on the PC. The user is presented with an initial xe2x80x9cpagexe2x80x9d of information from an Internet server, usually associated with the user""s ISP. This page is a display of a document communicated from the server in accordance with the well-known hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The document is expressed in hypertext mark-up language (HTML) which is used by the browser in displaying the page (i.e., the document).
A displayed document may contain many elements such as text and images. The document may also contain xe2x80x9chyperlinksxe2x80x9d to other pages on the Internet, as is well-known in the art. These hyperlinks may be selected by the user with use of the user""s computer mouse. As is well-known, a hyperlink may be an object in the document (e.g., text, an image, a graphical design, etc.) which is associated with another document on the Internet (either accessible from the same or different server; a hyperlink might also represent a portion of the current document for display). When a hyperlink makes reference to another document, the selection of that hyperlink triggers the browser software""s transmission of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) over the Internet. The URL specifies, among other things, the address of the document the user wishes to retrieve for viewing. The server containing the document identified by the URL returns the document to the user""s PC through use of the user""s Internet Protocol (IP) address, which the server received along with the URL. A user can thus follow a type of trail, from one document to the next, through the selection of hyperlinks.
Browsing the Internet is a popular way for individuals to gather information on virtually any topic. However, the present system of Internet browsing is designed around a model of users browsing individuallyxe2x80x94that is, a single PC receiving a sequence of documents defined according to a sequence of hyperlinks selected at the PC. While two or more persons can sit at a single PC and together experience a sequence of documents corresponding to a sequence of selected hyperlinks, current browsers do not provide for collaborative browsing among users at different PCs.
The present invention is directed to a technique for collaborative browsing among users at two or more different PCs. In an illustrative system in accordance with the present invention, copies of selected URLs are shared among collaborating PCs, each of which uses the URL to retrieve the corresponding document. In this system, a PC is configured to select hyperlinks for itself and one or more other PCs. Each URL corresponding to a selected hyperlink is communicated via the Internet (using standard Internet protocols) to a server. The server broadcasts the URL to the collaborating PCs each of which retrieves the corresponding document in conventional fashion. The server knows the IP addresses of the collaborating PCs through a collaboration set-up process which occurs in advance of the actual collaborative browsing session.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the variable frame structure-based frequency adjustment in a digital communication field such as a satellite broadcast, a high definition television (HDTV), etc., and more particularly to a multiplexing/demultiplexing apparatus in a digital communication system with a variable frame structure and a method of controlling the same, in which different clocks are used at input and output stages by virtue of a general oscillator without deriving a data output clock from a data input clock, thereby preventing a transmission signal from being degraded in quality due to a phase noise or jitter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a phase locked loop is adapted to extract a stable frequency signal and detect a phase of an input signal. Recently, according to developments in semiconductor techniques, the phase locked loop has been applied to the necessaries of life such as radio, TV, etc. and a control system such as a servo motor, as well as a communication system. Such a conventional phase locked loop is shown in block form in FIG. 2. As shown in this drawing, the conventional phase locked loop comprises a phase comparator 1, a loop filter 2 having a signal input terminal connected to a signal output terminal of the phase comparator 1, and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 3 having a signal input terminal connected to a signal output terminal of the loop filter 2, and a signal output terminal connected to a feedback input terminal of the phase comparator 1.
In the conventional phase locked loop, the phase comparator 1 detects a phase difference between input and output signals, which is then passed through a low pass filter (LPF) of the loop filter 2. An output frequency of the VCO 3 is adjusted upward or downward according to the level of a control voltage from the loop filter 2. For example, in the case where the output frequency of the VCO 3 is higher than an input frequency, it is earlier in phase than the input frequency. In this case, the control voltage from the loop filter 2 is reduced, resulting in a reduction in the output frequency of the VCO 3. As a result, the output frequency of the VCO 3 becomes equal to the input frequency.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional phase locked loop, a data output clock is derived from a data input clock and then passed through the LPF. At this time, the data output clock is subjected to a natural phase noise, resulting in a degradation in the quality of a transmission signal.
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Mobile machines are often needed in adverse conditions and on rugged terrain. One way to deal with these conditions is with the use of a track-type machine. A track-type machine utilizes articulating track chains to engage the ground and propel the machine. Since the track chains are the interface point between the machine and the ground, the track chains are directly exposed to destructive forces, such as abrasive mixtures of water, dirt, sand, rock and chemical elements. The track chains are also exposed to large forces and torques. Failure of a track chain can lead to significant losses in productivity. Consequently, manufacturers of track-type machines have sought to improve the durability of the track chains.
One method of improving track chain design and durability is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,680 (the '680 patent). The '680 patent discloses a cartridge assembly for a track chain assembly. The cartridge assembly of the '680 patent includes a bushing rotatably positioned about a track pin. Bearing members are positioned about the track pin adjacent the bushing. Collars are positioned about the track pin adjacent the bearing members. Seal arrangements are positioned between the collars and the bearing members and between the bearing members and the track bushing for excluding contaminants and retaining a lubricating fluid.
Although the device of the '680 patent may improve the durability of a track chain, it may still be improved further. For example, rotation of the bearing members relative to the bushing (e.g., when bushing is constrained from rotating due to contact with an external object) may produce galling in a side wall of the bushing over time. This disclosure is directed at overcoming the problems described above and/or other problems associated with track chains.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of electromagnetic field measurements and more particularly to apparatus for measuring electromagnetic fields using modulated scatterers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Measurement of the characteristics of the radiated field from the antenna is of practical importance in antenna design, as well as for other purposes including the determination of the characteristics of the medium through which the radiated wave passes. Numerous techniques have been developed to obtain the desired radiated field measurements. See, e.g. W. H. Kummer, et al., "Antenna Measurements--1978", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 66, No. 4, April, 1978. Using transform techniques and computers, it is possible to measure the near-field of an antenna aperture, and predict the far-field with substantial precision. Such measurement techniques eliminate the need for large antenna testing ranges or large anechoic chambers, and allow antennas in the field to be tested quickly after installation.
A common current technique of measuring field distributions involves the use of two mutually orthogonal polarized antennas. The output of each antenna is alternatively switched and each is measured in time sequence using a single radio frequency receiver. Several problems are encountered when using this technique, including the difficulty of completely uncoupling and balancing the two antennas. The radio frequency signals received by the two antennas must be transmitted via waveguides or coaxial cables to a synchronous switch connected to a radio frequency receiver. This additional equipment can affect the field being measured. Generally, the orthogonal antennas can only measure the orthogonal components of the electric field. While this may be sufficient in some applications, if the tilt of the polarization ellipse and the ratio of the major axis to minor axis is desired, then the data must be further processed by a computer.
Electric field distributions have been measured utilizing the back scattered signal from a modulated electric dipole or a spun dipole. However, previous techniques for making such field measurements have not been able to simultaneously determine, in real-time, the magnitude, phase shift, and polarization of the electric or magnetic field at the scatterer.
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A wire grid polarizer (WGP) can be used in an application with high temperatures, such as for example computer projectors. As computer projectors decrease in size and increase in brightness, due to customer demand, the need for WGPs that can endure a high temperature environment also increases.
Selectively-absorptive WGPs are particularly susceptible to damage in high-light-intensity computer projectors because they absorb a large percent of incident light. Such WGPs typically have wires that include a reflective portion (e.g. aluminum) and an absorptive portion (e.g. silicon). The absorptive portion can absorb about 80% of one polarization of light, and thus about 40% of the total amount of light. Much of the heat from this absorbed light conducts to the reflective portion of the wire, which can melt, thus destroying the WGP.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a paper hole punch. More particularly, the invention relates to a paper hole punch which applies a reinforcing member to a sheet of paper as a hole is created in the sheet of paper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hole punches for creating a series of holes in a sheet of paper are well known. In most instances, the holes are created so that the sheet of paper may be securely placed within a binder. Unfortunately, however, holes made in this manner are often fragile, and may easily be torn from the binder.
Reinforcing members have, therefore, been developed for positioning about holes created within a sheet of paper. These reinforcing members are commonly applied to the sheet of paper after the holes have been formed by a hole punch. Hole punches have been developed for applying reinforcing members adjacent formed holes as the holes are created by the hole punch. These prior hole punches are generally difficult to use and do not efficiently apply reinforcing members to a sheet of paper as holes are created therein.
As a result, a need exists for a hole punch which efficiently and effectively applies reinforcing members about a hole generated when the hole punch cuts through a sheet of paper. The present invention provides such a hole punch.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a communication system and, in particular, to an improved bit mapping method and apparatus for a communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a wireless communication system, the data generated at a source is transmitted after being subject to signal processing, which may include source coding, channel coding, interleaving, modulation, and further suitable steps. The signal received at a destination is subject to signal processing, which may include demodulation, deinterleaving, channel decoding, and source decoding, and further suitable steps.
Typically, the signal transmitted over the air is likely to be distorted by noise and fading effects of the channel and Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI).
Particularly in the high speed digital communication systems (such as next generation mobile communication systems, digital broadcast systems, broadband Internet access systems), overcoming these noise, fading, and ISI problems is one of the significant issues to fulfill the high data rate and reliability requirements. Channel coding and interleaving are well-known techniques to provide protection from error.
Interleaving is a technique to arrange data in a non-contiguous manner to avoid burst errors while passing through fading channels, thereby protecting the data from errors. Interleaving also increases the coding efficiency.
Channel coding is a technique to overcome transmission errors over a noisy and fading channel such to a destination node to improve the communication reliability. Due to their error correction functionality, the codes using in channel coding are referred to as Error Correction Codes (ECC). In order to improve the error correction capability, various types of error correction codes are proposed and under development.
Well-known error correction codes include a block code, a convolutional code, a turbo code, a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code, and so forth. The embodiments of the present invention to be described hereinafter make use of the LDPC code. Accordingly, a brief description is now given of prior art LDPC codes.
Although not guaranteed, the LDPC code is known to be able to minimize the transmitted signal loss. The LDPC code invented in the early 1960's is a forward error correction code that exhibits properties close to the Shannon limit.
Soon after the invention of the LDPC codes, they were forgotten due to their implementation complexity that surpassed the technology at that time. As the use LDPC code has been rediscovered since 1996 with the advance of information and communication technologies, extensive research has been conducted to determine the characteristics and methods for creating LDPC codes available with iterative decoding without compromising complexity. Recently, the LDPC code has become as an excellent error correction code appropriate for the next generation wireless communication systems along with the turbo code.
The LDPC code is usually represented by a bipartite graph, and its characteristics can be analyzed using the methods based on the graph theory, algebra, and probability theory. Typically, a graph model of a channel code is useful for describing a code. When information on an encoded bit corresponds to a vertex in a graph and the relation between encoded bits corresponds to an edge (i.e. a line segment), the graph model of the channel code may be considered as a communication network in which vertexes exchange predetermined messages through edges, thereby deriving a natural decoding algorithm. For instance, a decoding algorithm derived from a trellis, which may be considered a type of graph, includes a well-know Viterbi algorithm and a Bahl, Cocke, Jelinek, and Raviv (BCJR) algorithm.
Typically, the LDPC code is defined by a parity-check matrix and can be represented by a bipartite graph commonly referred to as a Tanner graph. In the bipartite graph, vertexes are divided into two different types. The LDPC code is represented by the bipartite graph formed by vertexes referred to as “variable node” and “check node.” A variable node corresponds to an encoded bit.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a parity check matrix of an LDPC code having the codeword length of 8, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a Tanner graph corresponding to the parity check matrix of FIG. 1.
The description of an LDPC code represented by a graph is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIG. 1, 8 rows of the parity check matrix means that the LDPC code generates a codeword having the length of 8, and each column corresponds to the encoded 8 bits.
Referring to FIG. 2, the Tanner graph representing the LDPC code has 8 variable nodes x1 202, x2 204, x3 206, x4 208, x5 210, x6 212, x7 214, and x8 216, and 4 check nodes 218, 220, 222, and 224. The ith column and ith row of the parity check matrix H1 of the LDPC code correspond to the variable node xi and the jth check node, respectively. If the element position at the place where the ith column and the jth row of the parity check matrix H1 of the LDPC code is 1, i.e. non-zero, this means that there exists an edge between the variable node xi and the jth check node in the Tanner graph as shown in FIG. 2.
The degree of each variable node or check node in the Tanner graph of the LDPC code means the number of edges of the node, and the number of edges of the node is equal to the number of non-zero elements on the column or row to which the corresponding element belongs in the parity-check matrix H1 of the LDPC code. Accordingly, in FIG. 2, the degrees of the variable nodes 202, x2 204, x3 206, x4 208, x5 210, x6 212, x7 214, and x8 216 are 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, and 2, respectively, and the degrees of the check nodes 218, 220, 222, and 224 are 6, 5, 5, and 5. Also, the numbers of nonzero elements of the columns or rows to which the respective elements corresponding to the variable nodes are identically 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, and 2; and the numbers of nonzero elements of the column or row to which the elements corresponding to the check nodes are identically 6, 5, 5, and 5.
As described above, each coded bit is mapped to a corresponding column of the parity check matrix and a corresponding variable node of the Tanner graph. The degree of each variable node corresponding to the coded bit is also referred to as a degree of coded bit.
The LDPC code is characterized in that a code word bit having a high degree is superior to a code word bit having a low degree in decoding performance. This means that the high degree variable node can acquire much information through more iterative decoding steps as compared to the low degree variable node, resulting in superior decoding performance.
A description of the signal constellation of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), as a high degree modulation scheme typically used in wireless communication, is described hereinafter. In the QAM, the modulated symbol is composed of a real part and an imaginary part and is defined by the sizes of the real and imaginary parts with different signs. Prior to explaining the characteristics of the QAM, a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation scheme will be described.
FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) signal constellation.
In FIG. 3A, a QPSK symbol represents two bits of input data. The y0 determines the sign of the real part, and y1 determines the sign of the imaginary part. That is, if the y0 is 0, the real part has the plus sign (+) and, otherwise, if the y0 is 1, the real part has the minus sign (−). Also, if y1 is 0, the imaginary part has the plus sign (+) and, otherwise, if the y1 is 1, the imaginary part has the minus sign (−). Since the y0 and y1 are the sign bits, the error probabilities of the y0 and y1 are identical with each other. In the y0,q and y1,q, q is an index indicating the qth symbol.
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a 16-QAM signal constellation.
In FIG. 3B, a 16-QAM symbol represents 4 bits of input data (y0, y1, y2, and y3). The y0 and y2 bits determine the sign and size of the real part respectively, and the y1 and y3 bits determine the sign and size of the imaginary part. That is, the y0 and y1 bits determine the signs of the real and imaginary parts, and the y2 and y3 bits determine the sizes of the real and imaginary parts. Since it is easier to determine the sign of a signal than to determine the size of the signal, the error probabilities of the y2 and y3 are higher than those of the y0 and y1. Accordingly, the non-error probability or reliability of the bits can be expressed as R(y0)=R(y1)>R(y2)=R(y3). Here, R(y) denotes the reliability of y bit. Unlike the QPSK, the bits (y0, y1, y2, and y3) constituting the QAM symbol have different reliabilities.
In 16-QAM, two bits among the 4 bits constituting the modulated symbol represent the signs of the real and imaginary parts of the modulated symbol, and the remaining two bits represent the sizes of the real and imaginary parts of the symbol. The order and roles of the bits (y0, y1, y2, and y3) constituting the symbol can be changed depending on the system implementation.
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a 64-QAM signal constellation.
In FIG. 3C, a 64-QAM symbol represents 6 bits of input data (y0, y1, y2, y3, y4, and y5). The y0, y2, and y4 bits determine the sign and size of the real part of the symbol, and the y1, y3, and y5 bits determine the sign and size of the imaginary part of the symbol. Since it is easier to determine the sign of the modulated symbol than to determine the size of the modulated symbol, the reliabilities of the y0 and y1 bits are higher than those of the y2, y3, y4, and y5. The y2 and y3 are determined according to whether the size of the modulated symbol is greater than 4 or not. The y4 and y5 are determined according to whether the size of the modulated symbol is close to 4 or 0 from the point of reference of 2 or whether the size of the modulated symbol is close to 4 or 8 from the point of reference of 6. Accordingly, the determination range of y2 and y3 is 4, and the determination range of y4 and y5 is 2. This means that the reliabilities of the y2 and y3 are greater than those of the y4 and y5. In short, the reliabilities of the bits constituting a modulated symbol have the relationship of R(y0)=R(y1)>R(y2)=R(y3) R(y4)=R(y5).
In the 64-QAM scheme, 2 bits among the 6 bits constituting the modulated symbol determine the signs of the real and imaginary parts of the modulated symbol, and the remaining 4 bits represent the sizes of the real and imaginary parts of the modulated symbol. The order and roles of the bits (y0, y1, y2, y3, y4, and y5) can be changed depending on the system implementation. In the high order QAM constellations including 256-QAM, the bits constituting a modulated symbol are arranged with their roles and reliabilities in similar manner. That is, the modulated symbol consists of y0, y1, y2, y3, y4, y5, y6, and y7, the reliabilities of the bits constituting the modulated symbol have the relationship of R(y0)=R(y1)>R(y2)=R(y3)>R(y4)=R(y5)>R(y6)=R(y7).
In the conventional communication systems based on LDPC codes, however, interleaving and deinterleaving is performed without taking into consideration the characteristics of the reliabilities of the bits constituting the LDPC code or high order modulated codes, or only taking into consideration the order of variable nodes or check nodes, thereby failing to minimize the distortion of the transmission signal.
Furthermore, the conventional LDPC code-based communication systems are implemented in a group of two consecutive bits, y2i and y2i+1, only with the reason that these two bits are identical to each other in reliability, thereby failing to maximize the benefit of LDPC codes.
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The present invention relates to a digital information recording medium having a limited storage amount and premised on variable bit rate recording.
The present invention also relates to a digital information recording/playback system using a digital information recording medium having a limited storage amount.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a digital video recorder for recording and playing back information such as digital moving pictures and the like, which are compressed by MPEG.
In recent years, systems for playing back the contents of optical discs that record video data (moving pictures), audio data, and the like have been developed, and have prevailed for the purpose of playing back movie software titles, karaoke data, and the like as in LDs (laser discs), video CDs (video compact discs), and the like.
DVD (digital versatile disc) standards that use MPEG2 (moving picture expert group) international standards, and also use an audio compression scheme such as AC-3 (digital audio compression), or the like, have been proposed. The DVD standards include read-only DVD video (or DVD-ROM), write-once DVD-R, recordable/readable DVD-RW (or DVD-RAM).
The DVD video (DVD-ROM) standards support MPEG2 as a moving picture compression scheme, and AC-3 audio and MPEG audio in addition to linear PCM as audio recording schemes in accordance with the MPEG2 system layer. Furthermore, the DVD video standards are configured by adding sub-picture data obtained by runlength-compressing bitmap data for superimposed dialogs, and presentation control data (navigation data) for fastforward, rewind, data search, and the like. The standards also support the UDF Bridge format (a hybrid of UDF and ISO9660) to allow computers to read data.
An optical disc currently used in DVD video (DVD-ROM) is a single-sided, single-layered 12-cm disc having a storage amount around 4.7 GB (gigabytes). A single-sided, two-layered disc has a storage amount around 9.5 GB, and a double-sided, two-layered disc is capable of recording a large amount of data around 18 GB (when a laser of a wavelength of 650 nm is used for reading).
An optical disc currently used in DVD-RW (DVD-RAM) is a 12-cm disc, and has a storage amount of 2.6 GB (gigabytes) on one surface, i.e., 5.2 GB on the two surfaces. The currently available DVD-RAM optical disc has a smaller storage amount than that of a DVD-ROM disc of the corresponding size. However, technical developments for expanding the amount of the DVD-RAM disc have been extensively made, and it is certain that a DVD-RAM disc having a storage amount more than 4.7 GB on one surface will be available in the near future.
However, since an MPEG2 video file that can obtain high picture quality has a large data size, the currently available DVD-RAM disc (single-sided 2.6 GB disc or double-sided 5.2 GB disc) does not always have a sufficient recordable time (around 1 hour for 2.6 GB disc, around 2 hours for 5.2 GB disc).
That is, the storage amounts of individual DVD-RAM discs do not have an enough margin for the purpose of long-time moving picture recording in the status quo, and efficient data management (release of unnecessary storage areas, management of variable recording rates in correspondence with the remaining recordable amount and/or monitoring of the remaining recordable time at a variable recording rate, and the like) is required. Even if the storage amount of a DVD-RAM disc increases in the future, requirements for longer-time recording arise accordingly, and efficient data management is also required.
In an optical disc such as a DVD-RAM on which data can be written or rewritten, a function of allowing the user to easily edit data is demanded. However, no recording/playback apparatus which can be easily handled by the user for home use is available to date.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable bit rate digital information recording/playback system, which can extend the recordable time for a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital information recording/playback system, which can inform or display the remaining recordable time upon executing digital recording on a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount at a variable bit rate.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a digital recording medium which can compression-record digital moving picture information at a variable bit rate, and can record dummy data that is used for editing recorded information after recording.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a remote controller which makes a system, which performs digital information recording at a variable bit rate on a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount, inform or display the recording bit rate and/or the remaining recordable time at that bit rate.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a computer program or a method corresponding to the processing contents of this program, which is used for achieving the above objects using a computer system such as a personal computer or an information processing terminal comprising a microcomputer.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recording method, recording apparatus, or recording medium, which allows user""s easy edit operation to attain flexible edit operations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recording method, recording apparatus, or recording medium, which can efficiently manage data and, consequently, can flexibly manage keep units.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recording method, recording apparatus, or recording medium, which can efficiently manage data by assigning erase or delete prohibition flags in units of cells.
In order to achieve the above objects, a digital information recording/playback system according to an embodiment of the present invention informs or displays the average recording rate used currently and/or the remaining recordable time upon executing digital recording at a variable recording rate on a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount.
Also, a digital information recording/playback system according to an embodiment of the present invention adjusts the recording quality and recordable time for a digital recording medium by changing the variable recording rate.
Furthermore, a digital information recording/playback system according to an embodiment of the present invention changes the average recording rate upon recording a program of a predetermined duration in correspondence with the remaining amount of a recording medium so as to record the entire program.
Moreover, a digital information recording/playback system according to an embodiment of the present invention changes the average recording rate upon recording unrecorded programs in correspondence with the remaining amount of a recording medium, the number of unrecorded programs, and the recording times required by these programs, so as to record all the predetermined number of programs.
A digital recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention records digital moving picture information in a predetermined unit at a variable rate, and also records dummy information that can be used for editing recorded information in a unit corresponding to the predetermined unit.
A remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention has an operation key for making a system, which performs digital information recording on a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount at a variable bit rate, inform or display the average recording rate used currently and/or the remaining recordable time.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a process for, when a free space or area that remains on a medium having a limited storage amount becomes smaller than a predetermined value as a result of information recording on the medium at a variable recording rate, calculating the remaining recordable time on the medium on the basis of the free space and variable recording rate; and a process for displaying the variable recording rate and the remaining recordable time at that variable recording rate on the basis of the result of the remaining recordable time calculation process.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a process for, when a recordable free space remains on a medium which has a limited storage amount and undergoes information recording at a variable recording rate, calculating an average recording rate for the medium on the basis of the free space and a length of information to be recorded on the medium; and a process for setting the calculated average recording rate as a recording rate for the free space.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a process for, when a free space that remains on a medium having a limited storage amount becomes short upon information recording on the medium for a predetermined period of time at a variable recording rate, decreasing an average recording rate for the medium discontinuously or stepwise on the basis of the free space and an information recording time; and a process for setting the decreased average recording rate as a recording rate for the free space.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first average recording rate calculation process for calculating an average recording rate for a medium having a limited storage amount on the basis of a remaining amount on the medium and the information recording time upon information recording on the medium for a predetermined period of time; a second average recording rate calculation process for, when the calculated average recording rate is smaller than a predetermined lower limit value, changing recording contents of the information, and then calculating an average recording rate for the medium on the basis of the changed information recording time and the remaining amount on the medium; and a process for, when the average recording rate calculated by the first or second average recording rate calculation process is not less than the predetermined lower limit value, setting the calculated average recording rage as a recording rate of the recording contents of the information for the remaining amount.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a process for, when a remaining amount of a medium having a limited storage amount is not less than a predetermined value upon digital moving picture recording on the medium at a variable recording rate, performing the digital moving picture recording by MPEG2; and a process for, when the remaining amount of the medium is smaller than the predetermined value upon digital moving picture recording on the medium at a variable recording rate, performing the digital moving picture recording by MPEG1.
A computer readable program or a processing method corresponding to this program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a process for, when a remaining recordable amount on a medium having a limited storage amount is not less than a predetermined value, recording dummy information together with predetermined information to be recorded; and a process for, when the remaining recordable amount on the medium is smaller than the predetermined value, canceling recording of the dummy information.
In an embodiment of the present invention, means for setting an erase prohibition range indicates the erase prohibition range of a file. When this range is not set in units of cells of the current cell, the current cell is divided by a cell separator to set an advanced cell sequence. A reassemble means reassembles presentation management information of the advanced cells and current cell, and appends erase prohibition information to the presentation management information of the advanced cells that belong to the set range.
With the above arrangement, playback information can be subjected to flexible playback sequence management, and user""s operations are easy.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of boiler systems, and more particularly to devices and methods for providing substantially continuous measurement of water conductivity in a boiler.
2. Prior Art
In order to control the rate of build up of scale and other adverse effects in a boiler, it is a common practice to intermittently blowdown a boiler, that is, remove a portion of water therein and replace it with make-up water of lower mineral content and higher purity. The frequency with which this process must be carried out, however, will vary depending upon such factors as the boiler itself and its operating characteristics, and the purity and mineral content of the make-up water. Since the concentration of minerals, salts and other materials in the boiler water affect the electrical conductivity of the water, systems have been developed and are known in the prior art for providing blowdown valve control signals responsive in some form to the apparent conductitivy of the boiler water.
One such prior art system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,531 entitled "Automatic Boiler Blowdown Control." This patent discloses a specific location for the conductivity probe outside of the boiler region, chosen so as to minimize the entrained bubbles in the water flow around the probe. The patent also discloses electronic circuitry to provide control signals and alarm signals responsive to the apparent conductivity of the water as sensed by the probe. In particular, in this system the probe is located in the blowdown line, and approximately every 15 minutes the blowdown valve is opened and an alternating signal is applied to the probe to provide the conductivity measurement. The blowdown valve is maintained in the open condition for so long as the apparent conductivity remains above a preset control valve, and is closed when the conductivity falls to the control point. Accordingly, if the apparent conductivity is below the control limit, the blowdown valve will close immediately after the conductivity reading is taken, whereas if the conductivity is above the control limit, the blowdown valve will remain open until the apparent conductivity is brought within the control value by the makeup water simultaneously being added to the boiler.
While the prior art systems attempt to minimize the presence of bubbles and flashing in the region of the probe, such adverse affects cannot be entirely eliminated. Accordingly, these systems have attempted to integrate the basic signal from the probe to provide an integrated or average signal in an attempt to minimize the erratic indications caused by the bubbles. However, the presence of bubbles and flashing in the region of the probe only reduces the apparent conductivity of the water. Therefore, the control signal derived by such systems is not responsive only to the conductivity of water, but instead is responsive to the conductivity of the boiler water as reduced by the frequency of occurence and the size of steam bubbles in the water.
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As oil supplies diminish the need for improved recovery methods continually increases. One of the predominant methods used to improve viscous or heavy crude oil recovery involves injecting steam into the oil well, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,172. Injecting steam into a well results in recovery of an oil/water mixture, where the water is typically removed from the oil and then contaminated produced water is lightly treated and recycled as poor quality steam back into the formation. This eventually results in an increase of the injection pressures over time as the recycled water builds up in the formation and eventually blocks the movement and recovery of known oil reserves in the formation. As a result, the produced water eventually has to be disposed of to decrease the volume of water in the formation and in turn improve production. However, disposal of this produced water is problematic due to the presence of a large number of solutes, including minerals and organic compounds, which requires that the produced water be injected underground at a remote site or treated for surface discharge.
With increasing water quality standards, surface discharge of the produced water has become even more problematic and has produced a need for methods to treat the produced water prior to discharge. In addition, the loss of drinking and/or irrigation water in arid regions presents a motivation to reclaim the produced water to a purity level allowing above ground disposal.
Unfortunately, the solutes present in produced water vary depending upon its origin and the particular characteristics of the oil well site. This has made the standardization of water treatment facilities difficult, if not impossible. California has imposed standards for irrigation water that require removal of certain elements or compounds to levels below those of the initial source water, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,185. In light of these difficulties, there is a need in the art for a water treatment method that removes the various solutes to levels that are acceptable for surface discharge under various state and/or federal regulations, particularly the California regulations.
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Many types of devices, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, and other computing, communication, and entertainment devices increasingly offer more functions, applications, and features which are beneficial to a user, and can enhance one's personal time as well as work and social activities. However, even with the many communication applications for email, text, and instant messaging, as well as the seemingly unlimited number of third-party organization-centric applications that are available to users of the devices, such as calendar, list, and other types of user data-sharing applications, it can still be difficult or inefficient for families or other groups of people to collectively get together the many different resources and unrelated applications to effectively coordinate efforts.
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Movie audiences are familiar with browsing for video movies in video rental stores. These stores offer hundreds to thousands of videos that are conveniently arranged in racks throughout a physical building space. Typically, the videos are grouped according to different categories. For instance, videos are grouped by kind, such as new releases, oldies, westerns, foreign films, family films, video games, and so forth. Other groupings might be by actor/actress name, alphabetical order of title, or topic. The movie groups assist shoppers in locating a video section of the store that interests them. The shopper can then limit his/her search for a suitable video to that section.
Newer, interactive television (ITV) systems are now bringing the video store to peoples'homes. ITV systems have a single computerized control center, known as the “headend”, which interactively communicates with multiple distributed television units located in subscriber homes. The headend provides traditional forms of programming, such as the familiar cable and broadcast programs, as well as newer forms of programming, such as video-on-demand. In the video-on-demand (VOD) mode of operation, a viewer can order video movies directly from his/her own television set. Indeed, in a full interactive entertainment network system like this invention, it is contemplated that a viewer will be able to order “on demand” movies, video games, television shows, and other video content programs from their home.
It would be advantageous for an ITV system to provide movies in a convenient organized fashion like that afforded by a video store. Unfortunately, unlike a video store which has an abundance of physical floor space to present many different movies, the ITV system only has limited space available on a TV screen to present the options. Due to the space constraints, the ITV system is limited to displaying short lists of movies for possible rental. Browsing through hundreds or thousands of movie titles using short lists is fairly cumbersome for a viewer. This inconvenience is multiplied if the viewer is forced to revisit the selection process of the entire, overwhelmingly large database of movies each time he/she wants to rent a video.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide an ITV system with a convenient way to manage lists of movies according to the preferences of each viewer.
Another issue that often arises when renting video movies is the dilemma of selecting one or two movies from among all of the available choices. After browsing for a good length of time, a shopper commonly weeds out a vast majority of the video options to arrive at several movies of interest. From this filtered selection, the shopper selects one or two movies for rental, a process which can be particularly tough if two or more people are shopping together. The non-selected videos are returned to the shelf with the shopper resolving to remember the other selections for “next time”. On the next trip to the video store, however, the shopper has inevitably forgotten the previous selections and thus repeats the entire filter-and-select process, again consuming a tremendous amount of browsing time.
In the ITV environment, where short lists and menus are presented, a viewer might experience difficulty in browsing through lists and then returning to one list to rent a particular movie. This task is different than the video store arena where the shopper simply returns to the physical racks which hold the movies of interest. Many individuals are not accustomed to manipulating selections using computer user interfaces, and might find them less intuitive than physically walking to the same section of the video store each time to rent movies of interest. The additional problem of “remembering” other movies of interest in the ITV setting is equally daunting because the viewer must not only remember the movies themselves, but must also remember how to intelligently traverse through the various screen menus to find these movies.
Accordingly, another object of this invention is to provide an ITV system that allows a viewer to easily identify movies of interest.
|
{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
}
|
Online services are under near constant risk from malicious parties who seek to compromise devices within those online services to subvert their functionality or compromise sensitive data stored in those services. Compromised devices may have data exfiltrated to an outside device, or may be commanded to perform various actions by the malicious party, such as, for example, as part of a botnet. Identifying individual hosts that have been compromised within the online service can be a resource and time intensive operation, which can leave the malicious party in control of one or more devices for a long period of time despite countermeasures deployed in the online service. Current Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems may miss some compromised devices or miss-identify secure devices as compromised, which lengthens the amount of time the malicious party remains in control and increases the processing resources needed to re-secure the online service.
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{
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
}
|
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