1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the providing of anesthesia during surgery, and particularly to devices and methods for coordinating and organizing the numerous patient tubes, catheters, wires, monitoring lines and other objects used by an anesthesiologist during surgery, particularly major surgery. The invention is designed to travel with the patient for use by other health care practitioners following surgery, particularly in the intensive care unit and in the recovery room.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a patient arrives at the operating room (OR) for major surgery (such as, for example, heart, major chest, abdominal, renal or liver surgery), the anesthesiologist will ordinarily attach a host of invasive tubes, lines, catheters, wires and other devices to the patient that are used throughout the surgery and often afterwards. These include such things as one or two intravenous peripheral lines that are attached to an upper extremity of the patient; an arterial line that is attached to an arm or the groin of the patient; one or two central lines that are attached to the neck or upper chest of the patient; a cordis line that is attached to the neck or upper chest of the patient; and a Swan-Ganz catheter attached to the neck or upper chest of the patient.
During and after surgery, the patient will need drugs (such as, for example, vasopressor and other supportive drugs) some of which are administered via dripping methods, and others via injection into tubes. The patient may also require blood, plasma and other fluids. These materials and drugs may be supplied directly to the patient through the central line, or through one of the lines extending through the Swan-Ganz catheter. Depending upon which Swan-Ganz catheter is used, it may have several ports which will be connected to different tubing, monitoring cables and pressure transducers. One of these ports may also be connected to a drip line that holds several stopcocks which could receive different medications from the dripping machines to be given to the patient.
All of these lines, tubes, and catheters come from different parts of the patient body and lead around the head of the patient where the anesthesiologist is stationed during surgery. Here, the multitude of lines and tubes are connected to monitors, screens, drip lines, injection ports and other devices that the anesthesiologist must keep control of during the hours of surgery. It is easy to confuse these numerous lines and tubes. This can be dangerous in the event that an emergency situation arises during surgery where the anesthesiologist is required to quickly provide a drug or other medication to the patient. Delay by the anesthesiologist while trying to locate the correct tube to administer the drug, or inadvertent administration of a drug to the wrong site could endanger the life of the patient and affect the outcome of the surgery.
During lengthy surgery, a first anesthesiologist may be relieved by a second anesthesiologist who must step in and figure out how the tubes, lines and wires have been set up by the first anesthesiologist. Since there is no established or standard way to set up these tubes, lines and wires, the second anesthesiologist must figure out how the first anesthesiologist set everything up. If the transition from one health care practitioner to another is not smooth, there is another dangerous potential for delay or error by the second anesthesiologist in administering a needed drug during an emergency situation. Similarly, the maze of unorganized tubes, lines, tape, labels and devices make it difficult to teach student doctors (residents and fellows).
It is also very easy for the tubes and lines to become tangled, and unless they are well secured and supported, it is possible that they can be pulled out, or become dislodged or disconnected—sometimes without the knowledge of the anesthesiologist—placing the patient in a threatening and risky situation. This is especially true for the Swan-Ganz catheter which can cause serious or potentially fatal results if dislodged.
Once surgery is completed, the patient must be transported from the operating room to an intensive care unit or elsewhere. Many of the monitors, drip lines and other tubes must remain inserted into the patient for hours or days after surgery. The simple act of transporting the patient down the hall from an operating room to an intensive care unit requires bringing all of these wires, tubes and lines along too—as well as the machines, drip bags/bottles, pacemaker, and other devices that they are connected to. There is a serious risk of pulling out a tube, line or catheter as all of these things are manipulated during transport.
Some of the devices must be disconnected while the patient is traveling, and reconnected when the patient arrives at the intensive care unit. Once the patient arrives at the intensive care unit for recovery, the nurses and other health care providers must again untangle and sort out all of the tubes and lines, and reconnect the lines and wires to their associated monitors and other devices. Some of the monitors provide critical data regarding the condition of the patient, such that any unnecessary delay in reconnecting could pose serious risks to the patient.
There are some organizational tools in the prior art that begin to address these situations, including the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,062. This patent discloses a multi-part pad with pivotally attached wings, the wings having manifold devices attached at their distal ends for receiving and separating the tubes and lines coming out of the patient. However, this device is not designed to travel with the patient, and once the tubes are placed in the manifolds, the wings may still be pivoted which could cause the tubes to be pulled out or disconnected, having potentially disastrous results. Another device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,403 is a removable pad that is designed to be placed across the torso of a patient, the upwardly facing surface of the pad being composed of loop pile material (such as Velcro®) for receiving corresponding strips that hold down the tubes and lines leading from the patient. However, this device is designed to stretch across the torso of the patient, and therefore cannot be used during abdominal surgery, nor can it be used by an anesthesiologist who is stationed above the head of the patient. There are also elaborate trays such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,720,881, 5,334,186 and 5,435,448. None of these prior art inventions provides an organizational guide for the numerous tubes, lines, catheters and wires used by an anesthesiologist during major surgery; none of them are designed to travel with the patient from the operating room to intensive care or elsewhere for use by other health care providers; and none of them serves as an educational tool or reference for the new anesthesia student, resident, fellow or new graduate anesthesiologist to learn about Swan-Ganz catheter usage, pacemaker modes, doses, and administration of commonly used drugs during surgery.
It is therefore desirable to provide devices and methods for coordinating and organizing the numerous patient tubes, catheters, wires, monitoring lines as well as other objects and machines (e.g., pacemaker, pressure monitors) used by an anesthesiologist during major surgery; to provide standardization for the positions of these various tubes, wires and lines so that the anesthesiologist, his/her replacement and other health care providers (particularly residents and fellows) can know instantly where everything is; to provide coordination and organization devices that prevent inadvertent disengagement of tubes, lines and wires leading from the patient during and after surgery; and to provide coordination and organization devices that can travel with the patient and remain with the patient during recovery for hours or days after surgery.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to electronic memories for data processors and signal processors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Multitudes of different types of memories are used in the prior art including magnetic memories, integrated circuit memories, and optical memories. The most pertinent prior art is integrated circuit read only memories and integrated circuit charge coupled device (CCD) memories. Integrated circuit read only memories are significantly more expensive than charge coupled device memories, primarily because such read only memories require more complex monolithic processes than are required for CCD memories and because such read only memories are random access memories thereby requiring more complex accessing circuitry and multitudes of parallel interconnections than are required for CCD memories. CCD memories are lower in cost than conventional read only memories, but CCD memories are volatile where all stored information is lost when power is turned off. This volatility characteristic is verified in the "Engineer's newsletter"; Electronics Magazine; Mar. 31, 1977; page 121; last sentence.
Therefore, the prior art has been constrained to expensive memories such as magnetic memories and integrated circuit read only memories when non-volatile capability is required.
The prior art is further defined in the art-of-record of the related applications including U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,989 to Autry; U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,777 to Quay; U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,106 to Berwin; U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,926 to White; U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,745 to LeBail; U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,958 to Whitehouse; U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,989 to Bankowski; U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,245 to Gosney; U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,738 to Quay; U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,852 to Puckette; U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,977 to Amelio; U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,342 to Mallet; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,806 to Uchida; U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,748 to Barton; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,034 to Buss and including the article by Dennard, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol 14, No 12, May 1972, pages 3791-3792; the article by Altman, Electronics Magazine, Feb. 28, 1972, pages 62-71; and the article by Baertsch, Electronics Magazine, Dec. 6, 1971, pages 86-91 which references are all incorporated herein by reference.


The present invention relates to a method for aligning a pair of planar templates on opposite sides of a planar board, and apparatus for practicing this method.
Double-sided circuit boards having aligned circuit patterns on opposite board sides are commonly used in the electronics industry. In the usual case, such a board is formed by placing circuit pattern layouts at mutually aligned positions on opposite sides of the board. A photo-etching process is used to remove copper selectively from plating on the two board sides, so as to leave the desired circuit pattern on opposite sides of the board.
The present invention contemplates a method and apparatus for aligning a pair of templates on opposite sides of a board. The method of the present invention includes cradling a board and a template placed against one side thereof, with such cradling producing alignment in the template and the board. Where the templates and board have matching, intersecting edges, the template and board are supported, in their cradled position, at such edges. The aligned board and template are flipped to expose the board's other side. The second template is placed against the exposed side of the board, and the two templates and board are cradled, again to produce alignment between the board and the second-mentioned template.
The apparatus of the invention includes structure defining a pair of surfaces, each surface being adapted to promote alignment between a board and a template placed against one side of the board. The surfaces are mounted for shifting toward and away from a position wherein a board and template placed against one are flipped onto the other to expose the other side of the board.
A preferred embodiment of the invention includes an open-book structure having a pair of interior surfaces which intersect along an inclined edge having raised and lowered ends. The structure pivots about an axis substantially paralleling this edge. Projecting from each of the surfaces in the structure, adjacent the lower end of the inclined edge, is a pin which cooperates with the two surfaces to promote alignment of a board and template placed against one of the surfaces.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a simple, efficient method for aligning a pair of substantially planar templates on opposite sides of a planar board, and apparatus for practicing the method.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide such a method wherein alignment between a board and a template placed against one side of the board is produced by cradling the board and template.


1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to navigation systems and industrial control systems and more specifically to combinations of navigation and industrial controls that provide centimeter accuracy in the positioning and movement of operating machinery and robots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When originally conceived, the global positioning system (GPS) that was made operational by the United States Government was not foreseen as being able to provide centimeter-level position accuracies. Such accuracies are now commonplace.
Extremely accurate GPS receivers depend on phase measurements of the radio carriers that they receive from various orbiting GPS satellites. Less accurate GPS receivers simply develop the pseudoranges to each visible satellite based on the time codes being sent. Within the granularity of a single time code, the carrier phase can be measured and used to compute range distance as a multiple of the fundamental carrier wavelength. GPS signal transmissions are on two synchronous, but separate, carrier frequencies "L1" and "L2", with wavelengths of nineteen and twenty-four centimeters, respectively. Thus within nineteen or twenty-four centimeters, the phase of the GPS carrier signal will change 360.degree..
However, the number of whole cycle (360.degree.) carrier phase shifts between a particular GPS satellite and the GPS receiver must be resolved. At the receiver, every cycle will appear the same. Therefore there is an "integer ambiguity". The computational resolution of the integer ambiguity has traditionally been an intensive arithmetic problem for the computers used to implement GPS receivers. The traditional approaches to such integer ambiguity resolution have prevented on-the-fly solution measurement updates for moving GPS receivers with centimeter accurate outputs. Very often, such highly accurate GPS receivers have required long periods of motionlessness to produce a first and subsequent position fix.
There are numerous prior art methods for resolving integer ambiguities. These include integer searches, multiple antennas, multiple GPS observables, motion-based approaches, and external aiding. Search techniques often require significant computation time and are vulnerable to erroneous solutions or when only a few satellites are visible. More antennas can improve reliability considerably. If carried to an extreme, a phased array of antennas results whereby the integers are completely unambiguous and searching is unnecessary. But for economy, the minimum number of antennas required to quickly and unambiguously resolve the integers, even in the presence of noise, is preferred.
One method for integer resolution is to make use of the other observables that modulate a GPS timer. The pseudo-random code can be used as a coarse indicator of differential range, although it is very susceptible to multipath problems. Differentiating the L1 and L2 carriers provides a longer effective wavelength, and reduces the search space. However, dual frequency receivers are expensive because they are more complicated. Motion-based integer resolution methods make use of additional information provided by platform or satellite motion. But such motion may not always be present when it is needed.
Another prior art method and apparatus for precision attitude determination and kinematic positioning is described by Hatch, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,889, comprises the steps of determining the approximate initial relative position of a secondary antenna that is freely movable with respect to a reference antenna; making carrier phase measurements based on the reception of "N" number of satellites, where N is the minimum number of satellites needed to compute the relative position of the secondary antenna; deriving from the carrier phase measurements an initial set of potential solutions for the relative position, wherein the initial set of potential solutions all fall within a region of uncertainty defined by a sphere having a radius equal to the maximum distance between the two antennas, and wherein multiple potential solutions arise because of whole-cycle ambiguity of the carrier signal; making redundant carrier phase measurements based on the reception of a carrier signal from an additional satellite (N+1); and eliminating false solutions from the initial set of potential solutions, based on a comparison of the redundant carrier phase measurements with the initial set of potential solutions, to reduce number of potential solutions to close to one, whereby the number of potential solutions is not increased by use of the redundant carrier phase measurements.
"Deriving from the carrier phase measurements an initial set of potential solutions" means that the initial set are derived from just two satellites. The rest of the Hatch specification explains why N is exactly two in the case of attitude determination. Planar intersections of wave fronts are formed from the two satellites, thus obtaining a collection of parallel lines. The intersection points of these lines and a baseline sphere are determined, producing the initial set of potential solutions. For example, as explained at column 12, line 35 of Hatch, there are 188 points or potential solutions in the initial set. In the Hatch method, "eliminating false solutions from the initial set of potential solutions," means eliminating 187 of those 188 points. The idea of potential solutions refers to the initial set of 188 points.
Hatch forms an initial collection of around 188 potential solutions using just two satellites, and then uses phase measurements of the remaining satellites to whittle away at that small initial collection, leaving only one candidate solution if phase measurements are accurate enough. Hatch avoids having to deal with large numbers of integer combinations.
Donald Knight, in U.S. patent application, titled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION DIRECT INTEGER SEARCH IN DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER PHASE ATTITUDE DETERMINATION SYSTEMS", Ser. No. 07/976,174, filed Nov. 13, 1992, and incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of reducing the mathematical intensity of integer ambiguity resolution.
Aside from making carrier phase measurements and determining a region of uncertainty, Hatch's method is essentially a two-step method, which is a way to avoid the problem of large numbers. The essence of the Knight patent is to do the opposite, plunging into a sea of possible solutions, even if there are trillions of them, and finding the single, best solution out of the entire product space of possibilities.
If ten different whole cycle values can be added to the first difference phase measurements from each of four satellites, then Knight defines 10.sup.4 or 10,000 possible acceptable solutions. Knight then finds the one-and-only solution out of 10,000 that matches the measured phase data better than all 9,999 other combinations. If eight satellites are available (which does happen), then Knight finds the single best solution out of 10.sup.8 or 100 million possibilities. If two antenna pairs are present, then the number becomes (10.sup.8).sup.2 =10.sup.16. Thus whereas Hatch uses a two-step method of avoiding large numbers, Knight provides a practical method for finding the single best solution in a solution space with thousands or millions of possibilities. Hatch even suggests that the Knight approach is incorrect. For example, at column 8, Line 63, Hatch states: "if ten different whole cycle values can be added to the first differences from each of the four satellites, then one might expect 10.sup.3 or 10,000 possible solutions within the uncertainty region . . . . Indeed, some authors have defined the number of possible acceptable solutions in exactly this fashion."
Knight describes a method that is more computationally intensive than Hatch's, and has proven to be reliable and workable in commercially-viable applications. Hatch's method avoids the problem of large numbers, and does best under conditions in which the problem of large numbers does not exist, e.g., under conditions where the myriad of possible solutions collapse into a handful. In the real world, conditions are usually not optimum, which would require the corresponding equipment that uses Hatch's method to be more complex, in order to achieve the same results as the present invention's.
Hatch's two-step method includes preliminary steps involving making carrier phase measurements, and then numbering them one through N, followed by an (N+1).sup.th measurement. It could be expected that any similar apparatus will make carrier phase measurements, and the basic idea of interferometry is conventional, regardless of how the carrier phase measurements are numbered. Such preliminary steps define which carrier phase measurements are involved in generating an initial set of potential solutions, and which carrier phase measurement is defined to be the redundant measurement for eliminating potential solutions. As applied to attitude determination, the step of determining the approximate relative position of the secondary antenna equates to measuring the distance between the antennas, and noticing that the secondary antenna has to lie on a sphere centered at the main antenna.
Hatch's method involving a "plurality N of satellites" is not the same as a "plurality of satellites". As applied to attitude determination, N is exactly two. As applied to kinematic surveying, N is exactly four. Hatch makes this explicit in FIG. 7, blocks 58 and 62, and states at column 12, line 3, "The first computations to be performed in an attitude determination application are to compute the entire set of potential solutions based on the carrier phase measurements from two satellites. One of the significant features of the method described is the use of only two of the satellites to determine the set of potential solutions, rather than more than two satellites. Hatch explains that only a plurality of N=2 satellites are required" . . . in the attitude determination application, . . . there is! only a two dimensional uncertainty region corresponding to the surface . . . . Thus only two satellites are needed to define all the potential solutions that can exist on the two dimensional uncertainty region . . . . The attitude detection application is a two dimensional uncertainty problem, requiring two satellites to define all of the potential solutions . . . . The final broad step in the method of the invention is eliminating false potential solutions based on redundant information from additional satellites, i.e. additional to the minimum two . . . satellites required to define all of the potential solutions.
The phrases "initial set", "initial set of potential solutions" and "possible solution", refer specifically to the result obtainable by applying the first step of Hatch's two-step method. This "initial set of potential solutions", is to be generated from the received carrier signals of two and only two satellites, since the teaching is that "only two satellites are required to define all of the potential solutions."
The notion of "potential solutions" is thus restricted to 188 points, or to some such number in a similar example, but certainly not 10,000 solutions. It is also very clear that "eliminating false solutions from the initial set of potential solutions" means eliminating 187 points out of 188 points.
Hatch contends that it is not necessary to consider 10,000 possible solutions, because "the uncertainty region is two dimensional" and the measurements from any two satellites span the region of uncertainty. Using two satellites results in a collection of only 188 possibilities. Hatch contends that the correct solution is one of those 188 points, and that those 188 points are the only possibilities, that those other myriad of possibilities do not exist.
The "initial set of potential solutions" of Hatch cannot be extended to cover an entire product space of 10,000 solutions, because the essence of the two-step method is avoiding the problem of large numbers. Hatch proposes reducing the dimensionally of the solution space to the bare minimum and declares that the right answer has to lie within that reduced solution space, and that only the first measurements corresponding in number to the bare dimensionally are required to determine all the possible solutions.
Knight does not include an initial set. The method of Knight is to search for the right answer somewhere among 10,000 possibilities and finds the single best match out of such possibilities. There is no reason to stop and look at 188 possibilities when the remainder of 10,000 possibilities have to be searched. Furthermore, those 188 possibilities defined by Hatch do not resemble anything in Knight. Knight does not involve deriving from the carrier phase measurements an initial set of potential solutions for the relative position. Furthermore, Hatch generates those 188 points using a nonlinear operation on the carrier phase measurements of two satellites, something that Knight does not.
Hatch eliminates false solutions from the initial set of potential solutions, whereby the number of potential solutions is not increased by use of the redundant carrier phase measurements. Knight does not deal with Hatch's "initial set", whether to create it or eliminate from it. Most of the time, in a commercially-viable apparatus, the right solution will not be found in such an initial set.
If carrier phases could be measured perfectly, without radio reflections, reception noise, non-common antenna phase center motion, temperature sensitive drifts and other corruption of the measured phase data, then the attitude determination problem really would be two-dimensional. The right solution for position of the secondary antenna might then be found within Hatch's initial set of 188 potential solutions. Determining the right solution would be a simple matter of eliminating 187 false solutions by comparison with the third carrier phase measurement. As long as phase measurement errors are small enough, the two-step method based on near perfect measurements is satisfactory. Though there is some small perturbation in computed results, the right answer comes out in the end most of the time. Phase measurement errors of about two degrees RMS are usually tolerable.
Only one whole cycle value results in a surface that passes closer to a specific potential solution than any other whole cycle value. The problem is that phase measurements contain error, and geometric considerations amplify this error when measurements are processed in a computing apparatus. There is only one surface that passes closer to a specific potential solution than any other, but unfortunately, the surface that passes closest is often the wrong surface. Another surface farther away may be the right one. Not only can the surface be in the wrong place due to measurement error, Hatch's potential solution may be in the wrong place as well, due to error effects that are worse for the potential solution than the surface.
The supposed potential solution is actually a computational result that is often badly perturbed by phase measurement error combined with geometrical dilution of precision. A scissors effect can amplify measurement errors that distort the planes. Subsequently, the formation of intersections of lines with a sphere introduces a nonlinear operation on noisy data which greatly amplifies some of the errors. Hatch actually chooses the two satellites closest together in order to form an initial set with fewer than 188 points, whereas considerations of error sensitivity would dictate the opposite.
Hatch teaches that only one of the whole cycle values passes closer to a specific potential solution than any other. The two-step Hatch method prescribes that only the closest whole cycle value (from the additional satellite data) is selected for each of the potential solutions whereby the number of potential solutions is not increased. At some point, as phase measurement errors are increased, corresponding to less favorable operating conditions, the prescription begins picking the wrong whole cycle values a significant fraction of the time. Using Hatch's method, there is no way to pursue any option but the closest, and processing a phase measurement with the wrong whole cycle value added to it further accelerates the deterioration of computed results.
By comparison, all of the whole cycle values are tried as possibilities in the Knight method. An integer combination that looks very poor initially becomes more attractive as the solution progresses, eventually finishing as the best possible solution out of 10,000 or more. Every possible integer combination is pursued until, taken as a whole, it can be decided that the combination under development is less likely than another combination that has been completely finished and weighed with all satellite data included. The Knight method does not minimize the solution space dimensionally to the bare minimum and then restricts attention to an "initial set of solutions" obtained with only the data of the first measurements corresponding to that bare dimensionally. Most of the time, under real world conditions, the right answer simply is not to be found. The job of finding the right solution cannot be accomplished by avoiding the problem of large numbers.
Benjamin W. Remondi, reported the status of differential GPS (DGPS) accuracy and on-the-fly (OTF) kinematic GPS (KGPS) in a paper titled, "On-The-Fly Kinematic GPS Results Using Full-Wavelength Dual-Frequency Carrier Ranges".
On-the-fly real-time kinematic (OTF-RTK) positioning systems are useful in earth moving machinery control and guidance, robotic applications and the placement of structures, such as bridge sections. For example, in Japan, a particular construction project in Tokyo Bay requires the highly accurate placement of bridge pilings and sections in the bay from the decks of ships that are rolling and drifting with the sea. Highly accurate OTF-RTK control systems are also useful in guiding unattended bulldozers in the path of volcano lava flows to redirect the flow of lava in hot, hostile environments.
Philip M. Clegg describes an automated earth grading system in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,131. A powered grading machine is combined with a laser level to control the blade of the grader. The control system described includes an elevation control, a location positioning device, a grader-blade tilt detector, a digital terrain model, a digital computer for terrain comparisons, a blade servo controller and a visual display unit. The automated moving of earth for a wide-range of engineering applications is described. The system computes the location and elevation of a grader-blade and then compares this with a corresponding design height/grade specified in a computerized digital terrain model. If the design height is lower than the current height of the blade, then a cut is required, and the blade is lowered automatically or manually by an operator.
Of particular interest is the use of satellite-based positioning systems, such as the global positioning system (GPS). Clegg mentions the use of celestial satellite positioning systems for the location of the grader. Many engineering applications require precise horizontal and vertical positioning. Centimeter-level GPS is typically achieved by using carrier phase and solving an integer lane ambiguity problem. Clegg does not teach the specifics of GPS nor how it might be used with his device.
The carrier phase ambiguity resolution problem has been the focus of a great deal of attention from research communities. In essence, the integer number of carrier cycles that existed between GPS receiver and satellite at the time that the signal was acquired must be determined. Direct range measurements, combined with the satellite geometry, allow the correct integer carrier phase ambiguities to be determined for a plurality of satellites tracked at two or more sites. Ambiguity resolution techniques that only use GPS measurements have become computationally efficient. The use of additional sensors such as a laser level, electronic distance meter, a compass, a tape, etc., provide valuable constraints that limit the number of possible integer ambiguities that need to be considered in a search for the correct set. For example see, INTEGRATED TERRESTRIAL SURVEY AND SATELLITE POSITIONING SYSTEM, filed Jul. 1, 1993, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/086,665.


The present invention relates to a poker-type card game and entertainment apparatus for playing the game.
Gambling is an exceedingly common form of entertainment to a great number of people. Players tend to like games that provide a chance of "winning big", are exciting to play, are simple to play, utilize a reasonable amount of thinking ability, and have a high payout ratio. For the casino, desirable games are fast so that the game can be played repeatedly in a very short period of time with each play only taking a matter of a few seconds.
Casinos have long utilized machines to be operated by the players obviating the need for dealers. An exceedingly common form of such machines have been referred to as "slot machines". Slot machines do not require the need of a dealer and permit the player to play at his/her pace at the particular machine.
At one time, slot machines utilized only a plurality of rotating tumblers with indicia, such as cherries, lemons, oranges and other fruit, being represented on the tumblers. When the same type of fruit is in alignment at a horizontal line, the slot machines paid off a winning amount.
Within recent years, the slot machine has been expanded to be utilized with other types of games. For example, machines have been utilized to play blackjack and poker. Such machines have been readily accepted and provide a way of playing blackjack and poker at wagering levels which are substantially less than that would be required at a table for such a game where a dealer is utilized.


In 1962, Hanna-Barbera Production, Inc. produced a cartoon titled “The Jetsons” that featured the Jetson family living in a utopian future having incredible conveniences based on communication devices, large and small displays, and even robots. Everything they wanted required only a voice command or a push of a button.
In 1966, a television show titled “Star Trek” debuted that followed the interstellar adventures of James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. Star Trek is known for its influence on the world outside of science fiction for inspiring inventions such as desktop and tablet computers, wireless head phones, biometrics, cell phones, and even the automated sliding door.
An epic science fiction film released in 1968 titled “2001: A Space Odyssey” follows a voyage of a U.S. spacecraft to Jupiter. The film had tablet computers like Star Trek but also had two-way video conferencing, a suitcase phone, a voice controlled chessboard, and a sentient computer named HAL having artificial intelligence.
Forty-three years later, Apple® introduced the iPhone 4S®, which includes a computer program called Siri® that works as an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator. Siri uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions. Siri adapts to a user's individual language usage and preferences and returns individualized results.
Many vehicles now offer various features activated by voice commands such as making telephone calls, selecting music, and interfacing with car navigation systems to find nearby restaurants, hotels or gas stations or to receive driving directions to a known address. Pioneer sells a car receiver that connects to an iPhone to take advantage of Siri® Eyes Free functionality including listening to text messages, calendar information, and reminders.
A home automation system integrates electrical devices in a house with each other. The techniques employed in home automation include those in building automation as well as the control of domestic activities, such as home entertainment systems, houseplant and yard watering, pet feeding, changing the ambiance “scenes” for different events (such as dinners or parties), lighting control system, and the use of domestic robots. Devices may be connected through a home network to allow control by a personal computer, and may allow remote access from the internet. Through the integration of information technologies (e.g., PCs, phones) with the home environment, systems and appliances can communicate in an integrated manner which results in convenience, energy efficiency, and safety benefits.
Automated “homes of the future” have been staple exhibits for World's Fairs and popular backgrounds in science fiction. However, problems with complexity, competition between vendors, multiple incompatible standards, and the resulting expense have limited the penetration of home automation to homes of the wealthy or ambitious hobbyists.
Current voice-controlled home automation systems typically involve wall-mounted control panels that provide a combination of touch and voice-controlled features. Such systems typically require a person to be standing next to the control panel, which substantially limits the ‘value add’ of using voice commands over using touch features of the control panel or a phone.
Technology improvements are needed to remove current limitations and inefficiencies of home (and business) automation systems.


In environments such as office buildings, shopping malls, airports, schools, sporting events, etc., personnel, which may include people generally, move between different locations to accomplish certain tasks or goals. For example, in an office building, in the event of a fire, personnel may move from their office location to an exit location with the goal of evacuating the office building. In an airport environment, personnel, which may include employees and travelers generally, may move from an airport entry to a check-in terminal, to security, and then to their specified gate for boarding and/or assisting with the boarding of an aircraft.


Heretofore a method of mapping the passivation layers of integrated circuits was disclosed by the applicant herein in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,364, entitled "Defect Detection and Thickness Mapping of the Passivation Layer(s) of Integrated Circuits," issued Oct. 11, 1988. In accordance with this patent, a penetration voltage method is used to determine the energy required by an electron beam to penetrate a passivation layer of an integrated circuit. As disclosed therein, an accelerating electron beam voltage is applied to an integrated circuit and is varied until the electrons have just enough energy to penetrate through the thickness of the passivation layer. Then, the acceleration voltage is increased to a predetermined amount (i.e., at least 3 KeV) so that the electron beam penetrates into the integrated circuit thin film and thereby interacts with the sublayer or film material to generate X-rays. The X-rays, in turn, are detected by an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. The increased intensity-electron beam is x/y "raster" scanned over the area of the film and the generated X-ray intensity is stored at each pixel and displayed on a cathode ray tube.
With this method, however, greater accuracy is required in order to perform reliability tests on VHSI circuits and to map thickness profiles of the passivations layer in three dimensions. This lack of accuracy is due to a lack of resolution in the x-y plane which is a result of the averaging techniques employed by this method and it is due to a lack of specific correction for absorption effects in thin films. Accordingly, it is an objective of those who design VHSI circuits to obtain detailed thickness profiles of integrated circuits. The present invention addresses this objective.


The present invention relates to an analog to digital converter, and to a reference voltage source for a pipeline analog to digital converter.
Modern digital signal processing circuits are of central importance to recent advances in telecommunications, human/computer interface technology, image processing, and many other technologies. Analog to digital converters (ADC""s) form an essential link in the signal processing pathway at the interface between the analog and digital domains. Advances in ADC technology have increased the speed, lowered the cost, and reduced the power requirements of analog to digital converters, and resulted in a proliferation of ADC applications.
Among existing ADC technologies are flash ADC, successive approximation ADC, Sigma-Delta ADC, and pipelined ADC. Flash ADC is performed by a highly parallel comparison of an input analog signal to each of a set of reference voltages. Flash ADC can provide very high speed and accuracy at the cost of high component count and high power consumption.
Successive approximation ADC uses one or a few comparators, operated iteratively, to yield high accuracy conversion with far fewer components than flash conversion. Successive approximation ADC, however, operates at much slower conversion rates than flash ADC.
Sigma-Delta converters provide high accuracy conversion by oversampling, but at conversion rates that are also significantly slower than flash conversion.
Pipeline ADC provides analog to digital conversion that, while slower than flash conversion, is faster than most other ADC architectures. Pipeline ADC""s introduce a latency (delay) between analog signal input and digital signal output. Conversion throughputs of pipeline ADC""s, however, approach those of flash converters. Unlike flash converters, for which component counts increase exponentially with converter resolution, the component counts of pipeline ADC converters increase linearly with resolution. Consequently, pipeline ADC converters are relatively compact, inexpensive, and power efficient. Accordingly, pipeline ADC""s are widely used in portable signal processing apparatus.
Pipeline ADC""s require stable, low noise, reference voltages for optimum operation. Preferably, these reference voltages are available at low cost in terms of chip real estate and power consumption.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary pipeline ADC in block diagram form. The FIG. 1 circuit is shown as a single ended ADC. In common practice, however, many pipeline ADC""s are implemented as fully differential circuits. Nevertheless, single ended representation has been chosen for FIG. 1 so as to reduce the complexity of the diagram, and enhance clarity of the disclosure. The exemplary converter FIG. 1 includes a 10-bit pipeline ADC such as might be integrated on a single substrate with a CMOS Active Pixel Sensor (APS) array.
The pipelined ADC 100 includes a sample-and-hold stage 102 followed by 9 conversion stages 104. Each conversion stage 104 includes a coarse ADC 106 for analog to digital conversion of a stage input signal received at a stage input 108. The coarse ADC 106 produces a 1.5 bit digital output signal at an output 110. A 1.5 bit output includes two output bits adapted to output only three possible states, rather than the four states available on a full 2 bit output. Each conversion stage 104 also includes a coarse digital to analog converter (DAC) 112 adapted to receive the 1.5 bit digital output signal of the coarse ADC 106 and produce a corresponding analog output voltage at an analog output 114. The digital output of the ADC conversion stage is also coupled to a digital correction circuit 118 having a plurality of digital inputs 120 each coupled to a respective one of the 9 conversion stages 104. Each conversion stage 104 further includes a subtracting node 122 with first 124 and second 126 analog inputs, and an analog output 128. Also included in the ADC stage 104 is a high precision gain element (amplifier) 130 with a gain of two.
Operation of the above-described conversion stage 104 is as follows: an analog stage input signal is received at an input 107 of the coarse ADC 106 and at the first (positive) input 124 of the subtracting node 122. The coarse ADC 106 produces a 1.5 bit output representing one of three possible values. This 1.5 bit output is applied to the digital input 113 of the coarse DAC 112 which, responsively, produces an analog output signal with a magnitude equal to one of three possible output signal values. As further discussed below, these three output signal values are +VR/4, 0, and xe2x88x92VR/4 where VR is a reference voltage of particular magnitude. The output signal of the coarse DAC is applied to the second (negative) input 126 of the subtracting node 122. The subtracting node 122 produces an output equal to an arithmetic difference between the magnitude of the analog inputs at its first and second input terminals. This difference, referred to as a residual, is then applied to an input 131 of the high-precision gain stage 130. The precision gain stage 130 produces an amplified residual output signal at its output 134 having a magnitude equal to two times the magnitude of the residual signal. This amplified residual signal is passed on to the input 108 of the next successive ADC stage 104. Meanwhile, the digital output of the coarse ADC is received by the digital correction circuit 118 and logically combined with the digital outputs of the other 8 conversion stages 104 to produce a 10 bit digital output for the pipeline ADC at the output 140 of the digital correction circuit 118.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing additional detail of the ADC conversion stage 104 described above with respect to FIG. 1. Note that as in FIG. 1, the FIG. 2 circuit is a simplified (single ended) representation of a circuit more commonly implemented as a fully differential stage. Accordingly, one sees an input terminal 108, a coarse ADC stage 106 including first 202 and second 204 comparators each having a respective first input 206 coupled to the input terminal 108 and a respective second input 208 coupled to a respective source 210, 212 of a respective reference voltage. The first 202 and second 204 comparators have respective first 214 and second 216 outputs coupled to respective first 218 and second 220 inputs of a digital latch circuit 224.
The digital latch circuit 224 includes a control input 226 and a 2 bit wide digital output 228. A coarse DAC 112 includes a multiplexer 240 with a 2-bit wide digital control input 242, first 246, second 248, and third 250 analog inputs and an analog output 252. The digital control input 242 of the DAC is coupled to the digital output 228 of the latch 224. As is well known, the analog output 252 of the multiplexer is switchingly coupled to, and assumes the electrical potential of, one of the analog inputs 246, 248, 250 depending on a signal received at the digital input 242.
The precision gain circuit 130 includes a high-gain differential amplifier 130 with a positive input 260, a negative input 262, and an output 264. The positive input 260 of the amplifier 130 is coupled to a source of constant potential (e.g. ground potential 300). The negative input 262 of the amplifier is coupled to a first plate 270 of a first capacitor 272, and a second plate of a second capacitor 276. The negative input 262 of the amplifier is also switchingly coupled to source of ground potential 300 by means of a switching device 280. The first capacitor 272 has a third plate 282 switchingly alternately coupled to the output 264 of the amplifier 130 and to the input terminal 108 of the ADC converter stage 104. The second capacitor 276 has a fourth plate 284 switchingly alternately coupled to the input terminal 108 of the ADC converter stage 104, and the analog output 252 of the multiplexer 240. The first 272 and second 276 capacitors have equal capacitance. Accordingly, the gain of the gain stage is 2 when the first capacitor 272 is switched into the feedback circuit 290.
Each conversion stage 104 of the pipeline ADC 100 requires respective sources of five electrical potentials: ground 300 (common node voltage in a fully differential system), +VR applied at input 246, xe2x88x92VR applied at input 250, +VR/4 210, and xe2x88x92VR/4 212.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional reference circuit 400 for generating the delta xe2x88x92Vref (=Vref_hixe2x88x92Vref-lo) differential reference voltage required by a fully differential pipeline ADC. The differential reference voltage deltaxe2x88x92Vref corresponds to the +VR and xe2x88x92VR reference voltages applied at the inputs 246 and 250 of the multiplexer 240 of the single-ended FIG. 2 circuit. The +Vref/4 and xe2x88x92Vref/4 signals required at the respective second inputs 208 of the FIG. 2 comparators 202, 204 are readily derived by a capacitive voltage dividing circuit, as known in the art. The corresponding reference voltages (delta xe2x88x92Vref/4) required by a fully differential pipeline ADC are achieved in the same manner.
The FIG. 3 circuit includes a fixed current source 404 coupled between a source of supply voltage 406 and one end 414 of a resistive ladder 408. The current source 404 is adapted to drive a fixed current through the resistive ladder 408. The resistive ladder includes a plurality of resistors 410 with a respective plurality of tap nodes 412 disposed therebetween. A second end 416 of the resistive ladder 408 is coupled to a source of ground potential 300. A first amplifier circuit 440 having a first (positive) 442 and a second (negative) 444 input and a first output 446 is provided. Also provided is a second amplifier circuit 450 with third (positive) 452 and a fourth (negative) 454 input and a second output 456. Both amplifier circuits 440, 450 are single ended.
The output 446 of the first amplifier circuit 440 is directly coupled back to the second negative input 444, yielding a gain of 1 for the first amplifier. The output 456 of the second amplifier circuit 450 is directly coupled back to the fourth negative input 454 yielding a gain of 1 for the second amplifier. The first 442 and third 452 inputs of the respective first 440 and second 450 amplifiers are coupled to respective output terminals 460, 462 of respective first 464 and second 466 switching devices. The first 464 and second 466 switching devices each has three inputs 480, each input 480 being coupled to a respective tap node 412 of the plurality of tap nodes.
When electrical current is driven through the resistive ladder 408 by the current source 404, each tap node 412 assumes a particular electrical potential. When a particular tap node 412 is switchingly coupled to the respective positive input 442, 452 of the single ended amplifier 440, 450, the output 446, 456 of the amplifier assumes the voltage of the tap node. By an appropriate choice of tap nodes, a desired deltaxe2x88x92Vref can be established between the respective outputs 446, 456 of the first and second amplifiers. Because the first and second amplifiers are independent single-ended amplifiers, however, the voltage deltaxe2x88x92Vref between the output nodes 446, 456 is subject to common mode noise. Moreover, the current that flows through the current ladder dissipates substantial power. Reference circuit 400 is thus costly in terms of thermal budget and battery resources, particularly in the context of miniature equipment.
Accordingly there is a need for a voltage reference circuit capable of supplying a stable and precise reference voltage deltaxe2x88x92Vref to an ADC circuit such as a fully differential pipeline ADC circuit.
The present invention applies a fully differential amplifier operating with negative feedback in the charge domain to source a stable reference voltage to, for example, a pipeline analog to digital converter (ADC). In one aspect, a reference voltage value is established by applying a voltage dropped across a single resistor to differential inputs of the fully differential amplifier through a sample and hold circuit.
In a further aspect of the invention the sample and hold circuit is a crowbar network adapted to transfer electric potential across a pair of matched capacitors in response to the closing of a crowbar switch. In a further aspect of the invention a fully differential amplifier is configured with capacitive feedback connections so as to exhibit unity gain.
In yet another aspect of the invention a control circuit is adapted to couple ancillary capacitors into the feedback circuit so as to controllably vary the gain exhibited by the differential amplifier.
In a still further aspect of the invention the differential output voltage output by the fully differential amplifier is divided with a further switched capacitor network to produce a divided reference voltage. In other aspect of the invention, the reference voltage and divided reference voltage are applied at inputs to an ADC such as a pipeline ADC used in a CMOS active pixel sensor array (APS).
In an additional aspect of the invention, the voltage dropped across the single resistor is established by the action of a programmable current source. The programmable current source is adapted to receive a control input corresponding to a required output current. The control input may be a numerical (digital) value or may be an analog signal, one or the other being implemented according to the requirements of a particular system. The control input may be a value received from an external controller, and may include a value based on a feedback signal taken from an output of the fully differential amplifier.
These and other advantages and features of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the invention which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.


Much research has been carried out in the field of human probiotics in the last decade (see review Huis in't Veld et al. (1994) Tibtech 12, 6–8). This research has been prompted by the rising interest by the public in their health and well-being. Many probiotic products are now available on the market and some of the beneficial effects derived from these products range from alleviation of lactose intolerance (Gilliland, S. E. (1990) FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 87, 175–188) to prevention of diarrheal diseases (Marteau, P. et al. (1993) FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 12, 207–220) and possible prevention of carcinogenesis (Adachi, S. (1992) In “The Lactic Acid Bacteria in Health and Disease”. (Wood, Ed.), 233–262, Elsevier, Barking). Controversy exists over many of these beneficial effects as no standardised procedures are available and contradictory results have been published with regard to the possible beneficial effects of cultured products containing ‘probiotic’ bacteria.
Poor choice of strain has been cited as one of the contributing factors to the inconsistency and variability of results (Marteau, P. et al. (1993) supra) (Kim, H. S. (1988) Cult. Dairy Prod. J. 23, 6–9) and Fuller, R. ((1989) J. Appl. Bact. 66, 365–378) outlined criteria pertaining to the successful isolation of probiotic strains. The strains should be indigenous to the intended host species and also have the ability to (i) survive and grow within that host; (ii) exert a beneficial effect at the target site and (iii) be maintainable in the carrier food or system throughout product manufacture and storage.
There is a fast growing market for health-promoting products including probiotics. Many such products are now available (Jong, S. C. and Birmingham, J. M., (1993) ATCC Quart. Newslett. 13(1), 1–11). One of the more important components of these products is the microorganisms used. The most frequently utilised species include Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus sp., and Propionibacterium sp. (O'Sullivan, M. G., et al. (1992) Trends in Food Sci. and Tech. 3(12), 309–314). There is a lack of substantiated evidence from controlled trials that the organisms currently used in such products are those which have beneficial effects on the gut flora (Tannock, G. W. (1983) In Human Intestinal Microflora in Health and Disease 517–5399 D. J. Hentges (ed.), New York, Academic Press). The source of the microorganism is critical to its survival and therefore its function in the human intestinal tract. Lee, Y-K and Salminen, S. ((1995) Trends Food Sci. Technol. 6, 241–245) stated that as a general requirement, a probiotic strain should be of human origin as some health-promoting effects may be species dependent. It is well known that the indigenous microflora is one of the major defense mechanisms that protects the human against colonisation by allochthonous invading bacteria (Tancrede, C. (1992) Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 11(11), 1012–1015) and it is also the human's best ally when supporting the immune system. Bacterial populations at different levels of the gastrointestinal tract constitute complex ecosystems depending on the physiology of the host and on interactions between bacteria.
Ten Brink et al. ((1994) Journal of Applied Bacteriology 77 140–148) isolated and screened a large number (˜1000) of Lactobacillus strains for the production of antimicrobial activity. Lactobacilli were isolated from various fermented foods and feeds (sauerkraut, cheese, sausage and silage), human dental plaque and faeces derived from different laboratory animals (rat, mouse, guinea pig and quail) and human volunteers. Only eight positive strains were found and two of these were studied, namely Lactobacillus salivarius M7 and Lactobacillus acidophilus M46. The former strain produces the broad spectrum bacteriocin salivaricin B which inhibits the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Enterococcus faecalis and many lactobacilli. L. acidophilus M46 produces a bacteriocin acidocin B which combines the inhibition of Clostridium sporogenes with a very narrow activity spectrum within the genus Lactobacillus. However, these strains are not indigenous to the infected host species, which is one of the criteria which is required for a successful probiotic strain for human use.
Arihara, K. et al. ((1996) Letters in Applied Microbiology 22, 420–424) have isolated Salivacin 140 a bacteriocin from Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinius T140. Strain T140 was isolated from the surface of Japanese pampas grass leaves grown close to an animal barn and thus the strain was likely to have derived from animal faeces.
There is a need for probiotic strains which meet the aforementioned criteria. Bacteriocin production by lactobacilli is thought to play an important role in the competitive exclusion of pathogens and other undesirable microorganisms of the intestinal tract of humans. Bacteriocins are broadly defined as proteinaceous compounds which exhibit a bactericidal effect against a wide range of microorganisms.
Due to their diversity of species and habitats lactobacilli are the most bacteriocinogenic of the lactic acid bacteria. As many as forty bacteriocins produced by lactobacilli have now been isolated (Klaenhammer, T. R. (1993) FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 12, 39–86).
Bacteriocins have been isolated from human infant faeces. However, the bacteriocins were found to have narrow host ranges and were active only against other lactobacillus species (Toba, T. et al. (1991) Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 12, 228–231.).
There is a need for bacteriocins with a broad spectrum of activity.


This invention relates to the field of information networks, and more specifically to finding and distributing things to interested parties through a personalized network of trusted parties defined by a member.
Existing methods of finding interested parties for things are inadequate. Most methods of finding interested parties are sent to loosely defined groups and do not allow the differentiation of parties things are available to. Selling things using such services as want ad Web sites and auction Web sites make things available to the entire general public that uses such services. Methods of targeting only certain parties require a great deal of manual labor to complete. To ensure selectivity in which person the thing is made available to, a person must personally ask close friends and family. This would be both time consuming and may not produce fruitful results because the limited size of the pool asked.
Existing methods also do not allow their members to establish a priority between people or different groups of people. Finally, even if an interested party is found, there is difficulty in transferring the thing to the interested party because of varying methods of doing so (e.g., courier services, or mail).
Therefore, what is needed is an electronic or other automated method of creating and storing personalized networks of trusted members on computerized networks.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to filters and filtration material, and in particular, but not exclusively to tobacco smoke filters, and methods of producing same.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Numerous methods of making filtration material have been proposed. One method previously proposed by the Applicant was disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 2 205 102A, wherein a particulate plastics material, a polysaccharide, optionally a binder, and water are fed to an extruder which is operated under such heat and pressure conditions that upon emergence from the extruder die, the extrudate assumes a cross-section greater than that of the exit orifice of the die. The expanded product may be fed to the garniture of a cigarette filter making machine or shredded and then gathered and formed into a cigarette filter in a garniture of a cigarette filter making machine. A disadvantage with the product obtained by following the teaching in this document was that, although the product was considerably expanded, it was not very suitable for standard filter making product because at low moisture contents the product could be friable and brittle. Thus, the use of such product on a filter tipping machine, where the filter element is rolled to interattach same to the tobacco rod, would be likely to result in the physical breakage thereof. Furthermore, it has been found that polypropylene, and other plastics materials having similar melting points, fuse with itself and/or the polysaccharide expansion medium and will not break down if left in the physical environment without leaving a fused amalgamation of plastics material.


This disclosure relates to a new and distinct variety (cultivar) of sweetpotato named ‘CX-1’.
This new variety of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) was developed by selection of ‘Xushu 18’, and designated ‘CX-1.’ It was selected for large roots, very high dry matter content and higher yield. Field tests were conducted in Florida and South Carolina. Although there are a large number of sweetpotato varieties, there is a wide range of appearance, growth parameters, and uses, not a lot is known about the genetics of this crop species. Sweetpotato is the 7th largest food crop in the world and is a major food staple in many countries, mostly in the tropics.
Sweetpotatoes are underground storage roots, not tubers. The botanical description of a tuber is a short, thickened portion of an underground stem. The tuber has eyes composed of a ridge bearing a ‘scale-like’ leaf with tiny meristematic buds in the axial of this scale-like leaf. The sweetpotato is a true root, not an underground tuber that has buds. The anatomy of a storage root is the same as any root, with an additional ability to expand radially to store additional starch and nutrients. The sweetpotato crop is asexually propagated crop from ‘seed’ roots and plant cuttings.
Currently grown U.S. sweetpotato varieties were developed to be eaten as a highly nutritious and delectable vegetable. This variety type has been bred for specific traits for that use. They produce relatively uniform, attractively shaped storage roots, with dark orange flesh, a sweet, delicious flavor, and a moist texture (from 77% to 81% moisture). The typical size of these roots is from 6 to 16 ounces. The typical fresh weight yields of these varieties will range from 12 to 15 tons of marketable roots per acre.
The sweetpotato variety Xushu 18 is a variety that was publicly released in 1972 from China. It was bred by researchers in Jiangsu Province, China. Xushu 18 was a seedling from a cross from the variety Xindazi and breeding line 52-45. (Gitoner, C. 1996. Potato and Sweetpotato in China: systems, constraints, and potential. International Potato Center. Lima, Peru).
‘Xushu 18’ has been a popular variety in China, a country that is a major producer of sweetpotatoes. Researchers in China report that during several decades, dozens of new varieties derived by mutation from named varieties have been registered. Researchers in Xuzhou, China report that a single plant resulting from a selection of ‘Xushu 18’ with superior characteristics was named ‘Xu 77-6’ and was selected to replace normal ‘Xushu 18’ (Daifu, M., Hongmin, L., DaPeng, L., and Yi, W. 2000. Sweetpotato varieties decline in China and the present practices. International Workshop on Sweetpotato Decline Study Sep. 8-9 2000. Kyushu National Agricultural Experiment Station. Miyakonojo, Japan.)
‘Xushu 18’ was not developed as a table vegetable. It was developed for its production of starch and for animal feed. It is not sweet or delicious, but is white fleshed, very bland and very dry,—about 28% dry matter. Commercial yields in China have been reported from 6.88 ton up to 18.5 tons of fresh root weight per acre (Gitoner, 1996). Currently there are no sweetpotato varieties, with high dry matter content, commercially grown in the U.S. for industrial uses such as starch and ethanol.
Starting with the ‘Xushu 18’, a distinctive, new cultivar was selected and developed for large roots, high dry matter and higher total yield. The original ‘Xushu 18’ cultivar was obtained from the Plant Genetic Resourses Unit, USDA, ARS, Griffin, Ga. In Spring 2008 ‘CX-1’, was first asexually propagated as cuttings from a single plant selection of ‘Xushu 18’. At the test farm in Colleton County, S.C., a single plant was selected for very high yield and propagated there for multiple location testing. After years of field trials, it was determined that a selected high-yielding single plant of Xushu 18, named ‘CX-1’, produced a higher yield of sweetpotatoes with a higher dry matter content compared to published data on ‘Xushu 18’ (Table 1).
TABLE 1Fresh Fresh Weight inWeight inRoot DryResearcherLocationStatusTons/haTons/AMatter %Ma Daifu, China Virus 4017.829CIP(mean 19 Freelocations)uVirus 3415.228CheckGruneberg, PeruMean3013.625Crop SciTingo MariaHighest7031.5NRaLa MolinaLowest 5 2.2NRXie Yi Zhi, ThailandHighest2712.026ARCRyan-BohacUSAFL49.033‘CX-1’USASC37.533aNR is Not Reported;ha = hectors;A = acresWolfgang, G., Manrique, K., Zhang, D, and Hermann, M. 2005. Genotype X Environment interactions for a diverse set of sweetpotato clones evaluated across varying ecogeographic conditions in Peru. Crop Science. 45:2160-2171.Zhi, X. Y. Effect of Potassium on the yield of three sweet potato varieties. 1991. Asian Regional Vegetable Research Center. Proceedings of Training Workshop.Daifu, M., Hongmin, L., DaPeng, L., and Yi, W. 2000. Sweetpotato varieties decline in China and the prevent practices. International Workshop on Sweetpotato Decline Study Sep. 8-9, 2000. Kyushu National Agricultural Experiment Station. Miyakonojo, Japan.
Sweetpotato roots of ‘CX-1’ can be used to produce both starch and fuel ethanol. Estimates of at least 1500 gallons per acre of sweetpotatoes were based on field tonnage per acre, and on laboratory tests of the amount of ethanol produced per ton of dry matter from storage roots. Sweetpotato roots of ‘CX-1’ were also used to make chips and fries. The high dry-matter ‘CX-1’ roots are more suited to making chips and fries than those made from the sweet, watery-textured vegetable types of sweetpotato like the leading U.S. variety, ‘Beauregard’, (19-20% dry matter). The dry matter content of the ‘CX-1’ cultivar is at least 32%. In contrast, commercial vegetable type sweetpotatoes cultivars have a dry matter content that ranges from 19 to 23%. The texture of the ‘CX-1’ is dry and mealy in contrast to vegetable types that are moist and sweet with visible syrup in the flesh. The chips made from ‘CX-1’ were crisp, and light in color, similar to a commercial chip made from the white potato. (FIG. 5). Both the ‘CX-1’ chips and fries with high dry matter take up significantly less oil and were less bitter than these products made from the white potato.
When properly cured and stored at 50° to 60° F., the ‘CX-1’ variety can store up to one year. Long-term storage is a genetically controlled trait and a requirement for any successful cultivar in the temperate zones of agricultural production like the U.S. This is in contrast to typical tropical dry fleshed varieties that will deteriorate very quickly in storage. The asexual reproductions run true to the original sweetpotato and to each other in all respects.
Samples of the ‘CX-1’ variety will be deposited and maintained.


The current disclosure relates generally to foundations for mattresses to increase mattress support, and more particularly to foundations having novel slat construction to improve mattress support.
While traditional foundations are sufficient in many situations, applicant believes that in some situations, improvement can be made. By way of example, in some situations, a sleeper's downward force on traditional slats may cause the mattress to dip in between the slats of the foundation (referred to herein generally as “mattress dip”). Applicant believes mattress dip may be caused by any of a number of problems, including at least one of mattress spring position relative to the slat, spring size, slat size, slat spacing, sleeper weight, sleeper habits, etc. Regardless of the cause, applicant believes mattress dip can result in decreased sleeping comfort and/or mattress life.
Accordingly, applicant desires foundations that can reduce mattress dip by providing increased mattress support.


It has been heretofore conventional that the forming of a musical-tone signal for an electronic musical instrument is effected by forming a musical-tone signal waveform and passing the same through an envelope circuit to obtain a musical-tone signal having a specific envelope.
This envelope circuit requires a condenser and is defective in that the condenser may be rather large in size. As a result of the necessity of limiting the capacity for that reason, available envelopes are limited to those within a certain range and many envelopes which characterize various natural musical instruments or which have to be specially created cannot be formed as occasion demands.


The present invention pertains to a hardenable copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene (C.sub.2 F.sub.4), at least one other monomer selected from chlorotrifluoroethylene (C.sub.2 F.sub.3 Cl) or vinylidene fluoride (C.sub.2 H.sub.2 F.sub.2), an allylic polyol, and an allylic or acrylic monomer with a fluorocarbon chain. This copolymer is soluble in organic solvents and is particularly recommended for the fabrication of paints and varnishes whose principal properties include resistance to stains and soiling.
The fluorinated polymers are known for their good mechanical properties and their excellent resistance to chemical products and weather. However, their lack of solubility in conventional solvents prevents their use for certain applications such as resin for paints and varnishes where their properties are desired for the production of coatings with good resistance and easy maintenance.
In order to take advantage of the properties of the fluorinated polymers while avoiding their drawbacks, attempts have been make to make them soluble in the conventional organic solvents. In order to accomplish this, it is known to diminish the crystallinity of the fluorinated polymers by copolymerization of ethylenically unsaturated monomers, at least one of which is fluorinated. Because of its low crystallinity, such polymers generally have mediocre mechanical properties and, particularly, poor hardness. For this reason, it is desirable for certain applications, particularly when employing them in the fabrication of paints and varnishes, to preserve a sufficient degree of rigidity and to make them hardenable by incorporating functional groups in their structure.
Such hardenable fluorinated copolymers are described in French Patent No. 2,488,260. They have fluorine atoms at the alpha position of the principal chain which is indispensable for a product with good aging properties. The presence of fluorine atoms at the alpha position of the principal chain also brings to bear an effect of not retaining dust which is manifested by the fact that fluorinated paints soil less quickly then other paints. However, the presence of the fluorine at the alpha position of the principal chain is markedly insufficient to assure, in particular, protection against graffiti in the case of light-colored paints where a "ghost" image of the inscription will always subsist even after cleaning. In attempting to improve this stain-resistance characteristic, many solutions have been envisaged, principally involving the techniques described in the documents below.
In order to prevent coatings from becoming soiled quickly by dust, there is proposed in EP 186,186 a soil-resistant coating characterized by the combination of a fluorinated polymer that has reactive sites with specific fluorcarbon compounds of the type: EQU CF.sub.3 --(CF.sub.2).sub.n --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --OH EQU or EQU OH--CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --(CF.sub.2).sub.m --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --OH
The addition of these products in small quantities generally does not have a stain-resistant effect. In larger amounts, they limit the cross-linking capability of the film and subsequently lead to the flotation of pigments in the paints and varnishes and thus have a negative impact on the regularity of the colors applied.
In EP 311,052 there is described a soil-resistant coating obtained by combination of a fluorinated polymer and a specific copolymer containing fluorine in the form of a polyfluorocarbon chain and molecular constituents from a hydrophillic monomer. The introduction of this specific copolymer does not have a favorable effect on the aging characteristics of the coating.


The desired characteristics for electrode materials which are to be used in redox cells to and other electrolytic processes include: low electrical resistivity, good mechanical properties and chemical stability and optionally low weight and low volume. The electrode material should not be attacked by reactants or products during cell operation. Thus there is a need for an electrode material which has good mechanical properties to withstand the hydraulic pressure and cell assembling operation without cracking and which is solution impermeable so that penetration and attack of the metal current collector (in end-electrodes) and loss in current efficiency (due to electrolytes crossing the bipolar electrodes) is low.


As Internet-connected devices become ever more ubiquitous, such devices are becoming physically smaller and otherwise resource-constrained. One term that has been used to describe this trend is the emerging “Internet of Things” (IoT) which utilizes resource-constrained devices to enable various types of internetworked functionality with respect to the objects or things in our everyday environment. In particular, such devices include sensors of various types including imaging sensors. For resource-constrained and particularly energy-constrained devices, compression of sensor data is desirable as a way to efficiently use resources such as wireless transmission resources. However, data compression is itself a computationally intensive task which can cause a significant and possibly excessive draw on device resources.
In addition to the challenges of resource-constrained devices, there are drawbacks associated with conventional computing architectures. In some computers, improvements in memory speed could not match the speed up gain by processor frequency due to increased focus on logic gate density, which resulted in a communication bottleneck. Hence, researchers introduced cache memories closer to the processor to help alleviate the bottleneck and improve the overall system speed. As further enhancement in frequency for a single core could not be achieved due to IO bandwidth limit, the focus moved to multi-core systems combined with memory hierarchy. Although such architecture supports parallel computing, the speed-up gain of the system heavily depends on the ability to parallelize the software code on that architecture. Also, putting accelerators closer to the main memory and sending the result of the executed task instead of the whole data has helped to mitigate the memory access bottleneck. However, the “von Neumann bottleneck” is still there since data needs to be sent back and forth between the memory and core blocks. Increase memory size and hierarchy improves system performance but has negative impact on energy and area. It also adds complexity especially for multi-core where memory coherency need to be dealt with. It is estimated that data migration from off-chip memory to the last level cache (LLC) and through the cache hierarchy, buses, and register file can account for up to 66% of the total energy in data-intensive applications such as those involving data compression.
Conventional attempts to solve the problems of implementing data compression for resource-constrained devices have shortcomings. For example, some conventional attempts are costly, inefficient (e.g., with respect to power consumption, resource utilization, and/or physical space utilization) and/or ineffective (e.g., with respect to particular performance criteria for particular applications). Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems as will be apparent from the description below.