3139results about How to "Space minimization" patented technology

The invention relates to an instrument for surgery, in particular minimally invasive surgery. The instrument includes means for feeding back a force which is exerted on the working element of the instrument to the operating element. These means include at least a first force sensor for measuring the force which is exerted on the working element, a control unit and a first actuator. On the basis of a signal which originates from the first force sensor, the control unit controls at least the first actuator in order to control the operating element. Furthermore, the means preferably include a first position sensor for measuring a position of the working element with respect to the frame. The control unit advantageously determines an impedance which the working element is subject to as a result of the presence of a tissue or the like, on the basis of which impedance the control unit controls at least the first actuator.

A gear change mechanism coupling a pair of shafts employs a planetary gear set comprising a sun gear fast with a first of the shafts, planet gears in a planet carrier, and an annulus or ring gear, the latter being fixed. A selector hub slidable on the other of the shafts has sets of radially spaced dogs to engage with corresponding dogs on the planet carrier and sun gear respectively, so as to couple the shafts at two different ratios depending on the axial position of the selector hub. This results in a more axially compact package than conventional dog clutch gear changers. In an alternative embodiment a reversing mechanism is provided by fixing the planet carrier and engaging the selector hub with the sun gear or annulus depending on its axial position.

The invention relates to an instrument for surgery, in particular minimally invasive surgery. The instrument includes means for feeding back a force which is exerted on the working element of the instrument to the operating element. These means include at least a first force sensor for measuring the force which is exerted on the working element, a control unit and a first actuator. On the basis of a signal which originates from the first force sensor, the control unit controls at least the first actuator in order to control the operating element. Furthermore, the means preferably include a first position sensor for measuring a position of the working element with respect to the frame. The control unit advantageously determines an impedance which the working element is subject to as a result of the presence of a tissue or the like, on the basis of which impedance the control unit controls at least the first actuator.

An object is to suppress differences in concentration between processing gases supplied to a plurality of works in a chemical solution vaporizing tank. The chemical solution vaporizing tank includes a tank body having a plurality of vaporizing chambers formed by laterally and airtightly partitioning an internal space of the tank body, a chemical solution passage located under a liquid level in each vaporizing chamber and formed at each partition member for passing the chemical solution between the vaporizing chambers, and a gas passage located above the liquid level in each vaporizing chamber and formed at the partition member to communicate the vaporizing chambers with each other for uniformizing pressures in the respective vaporizing chambers. A quantity of the channel layer in each vaporizing chamber is controlled by managing, e.g., the liquid level.

An electric power tool has a device housing with a rear grip extending in the longitudinal direction of the device housing. The device housing has first opposed housing sides and second opposed housing sides. An electric drive motor and its electronic control are arranged in the device housing. A battery pack compartment arranged in the device housing receives a battery pack that has a parallelepipedal shape and extends in a direction of a height axis, width axis and depth axis. The battery pack is arranged such that the width axis and the height axis extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the device housing. The battery pack has narrow sides extending approximately parallel and at a minimal spacing relative to the first opposed housing sides, respectively. The battery pack has opposed end faces neighboring the second housing sides, respectively.

The invention relates to an impulse chamber which can be used for expelling an amount of a fluid compound at a high pressure. The impulse chamber comprises a variable-volume impulse chamber adapted for containing a volume of a flowable drug, an outlet nozzle in fluid communication with the impulse chamber and being adapted to be arranged against the skin of a subject, and a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the impulse chamber. The impulse chamber is defined substantially by a deformable chamber portion, such that deformation thereof reduces the volume of the cavity. In an exemplary embodiment the compressible chamber portion is in the form of an elastomeric tube, this providing a simple, yet reliable and cost-effective impulse chamber unit.

A biometric method and system for personal authentication using sequences of partial fingerprint signatures provides a high security capability to various processes requiring positive identification of individuals. This approach is further enhanced by employing a frequency domain technique for calculating a Similarity Index of the partial fingerprint signatures. In a baseline usage, the sequential partial fingerprint sequence techniques augments sentinel systems for gaining access to restricted areas, and when used in combination with financial cards, offer a unique and greatly simplified means for authenticating or identifying individuals. A highly automated technique initially obtains four (illustratively) linear partial fingerprint signatures which serve as reference data against which later proffered candidate data in the form of at least two linear partial fingerprint signatures are compared for authentication. The particular two candidate signatures used and the sequence in which they are submitted are selected with the user's consent and serve as a PIN-like unique personal code. In an advanced embodiment, the same two candidate signatures in the chosen sequence are processed in a unique FFT / DFT process to produce a highly reliable Similarity Index to authenticate or verify the identity of individuals. The use of only partial fingerprint data greatly allays the concerns of widespread fingerprint dissemination by many individuals.

An electronic camera includes a plurality of three or more image sensors for generating three or more sensor outputs; a plurality of three or more fixed focal length lenses for forming a corresponding three or more images of the scene on the corresponding three or more image sensors, each of the lenses providing a different field of view of the scene; a control element for selecting one of the sensor outputs from one of the image sensors; and a processing section for producing the output image from the selected sensor output.

A touch sensor panel is disclosed having an array of co-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate. The sense (or drive) lines can be fabricated in a single strip as columnar or zig-zag patterns in a first orientation, and the drive (or sense) lines can be fabricated as rows of polygonal (e.g. brick-shaped or pentagonal) conductive areas in a second orientation. Each sense (or drive) line in the first orientation can be coupled to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel, and each polygonal area in the second orientation can also be coupled to a metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel. The metal traces can allow both the row and column lines to be routed to the same edge of the substrate for flex circuit attachment.

A needleless luer access connector is disclosed having a septum disposed in a housing. The septum has a proximal portion with a cross section, a medial portion with a cross section smaller than the cross section of the proximal portion, and a distal portion. A longitudinal slit extends through the septum from the proximal portion to the distal portion. The septum and housing are designed so that septum will not be rotated or removed from the housing when the connector is accessed by a male luer taper. In addition, the septum and housing are designed to bias the slit at the distal portion closed and so a male luer connector does not have to extend completely through the distal portion to open the slit at the distal portion. Finally, the septum and housing are designed to minimize the amount of dead space in the connector when accessed with a male luer taper.

Disclosed is a system for assisting in preventing over heating of the internal electrical components of a computer in the event of a failure of one of the adjacent fans of an array of fans employed to circulate cooling air over the components. The fans include openings through which air is forced from their inlet sides to their outlet sides. The system includes a vent for each fan arranged adjacent to and aligned with the fan opening at its outlet side. The vents are open and closed by vanes, having hinged slats construction to allow them to fall downwardly by their own weight or additional assistance. The vanes are kept open by the airflow created by the fans. Upon the failure of a fan, the absence of airflow through the opening thereof allows the slats of the vane to drop to close off the fan opening and prevent airflow into the fan opening from its outlet side.

A power tool system includes a hand-held power tool having a housing with a battery pack interface, an electrically-driven device and a first connector. A battery pack is detachably attached to the battery pack interface and supplies current to the electrically-driven device. An adapter has a second connector physically and electrically connected with the first connector in a detachable manner. The adapter receives power from the battery pack via the hand-held power tool and provides at least one additional electrical function to the hand-held power tool or performs at least one additional electrical function that the hand-held power tool is not otherwise capable of performing. Further, the adapter is at least partially disposed in a space defined in part by the housing and in part by the battery pack when the housing and battery pack are attached to each other.

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a reflective element, a housing or casing supporting the reflective element, and the casing including a storage space. The storage space provides storage for at least one accessory and for storing the accessory in the location easily accessible by an occupant of the vehicle whereby the accessory can be inserted into and removed from the storage space for use by an occupant of the vehicle. The storage space may take the form of a recess provided in a top wall of the casing, a recessed portion provided in a front wall, back wall, or end wall of the casing. In one form, the recessed portion houses a pendent accessory which is movable between a retracted position within the recess to an extended position for viewing by an occupant of the vehicle. For example, the pendent accessory may include a reflective element or a display element, for displaying information to an occupant of the vehicle.

A portable cooler having one or more ice sheets including built-in refrigerant cubes. The cooler comprises an outer fabric shell and one or more sets of spaced apart refrigerant cubes encapsulated in plastic to form ice sheets that are attached to the interior walls of the cooler. The walls of the cooler may also include one or more layers of thermal insulation. The ice sheets provide a visually pleasing appearance to the inside of the cooler suggestive of cooling effects. The ice sheets may be retained along the walls of the cooler by seams sewn along the lanes passing between the refrigerant cubes, by being retained in pockets formed by sidewall liners or by being secured into chambers defined by the cooler's outer walls and a plastic insert fitted into the cooler. The cooler may include a hinged top and bottom that can be folded flat for allowing the cooler to assume a compact configuration during storage or freezing of the refrigerant cubes.

Laser scanning module employing a scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly supported by a stationary stator structure. The scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly includes: a silicone frame having a pair of silicone torsional hinges (i.e. posts) aligned along a scan axis and a supported by a pair of support elements associated with the stator structure, to support the scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly. When the scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly is rotated about its scan axis, by forces generated by an electromagnetic coil structure acting on the permanent magnet mounted on silicone frame, the silicone torsional hinges are elastically distorted and generate linear restoring forces which return the rotor subassembly back to its home position about the scan axis.

The present invention relates to an antenna arrangement connectable to a transceiver for transmitting and receiving RF signals in at least two separate frequency bands. The antenna arrangement has at least two sets of antenna elements arranged on a reflector, and the antenna elements are arranged in an interleaved configuration along a single column. The two separate frequency bands are substantially non-overlapping but relatively close to each other, and the distance between adjacent antenna elements in said column is substantially the same along the column.

A component that functions with bulk acoustic waves, particularly a bandpass filter, has an increased number of degrees of design freedom in order to improve the transmission characteristics of the component. The component has BAW resonators coupled acoustically in the vertical and / or lateral direction through common electrodes, coupling layer systems and through the excitation of lateral acoustic modes. Through the acoustic coupling of the resonators, it is possible to create additional pole points in the transfer function so that in this manner, the rejection band characteristics of a bandpass filter can be improved. Through acoustic paths which are added in addition to the electrical connection, the insertion loss can be reduced. Through an acoustic coupling instead of an electrical connection, decoupling between input and output loops of a circuit can be achieved.

An array stimulator has a plurality of electrodes in an array (22), the electrodes forming a plurality of electrode pairs, and a signal generator (18) for generating signals to the electrodes so as to generate electrical pulse in a patient to which the stimulator has been applied either transcutaneously or by implantation. Those electrical pulses form a composite pulse in the patient which stimulates the nervous system of the patient. The composite pulse has a duration between 4 μs and 1500 μs and a maximum voltage between 2V and 50V when the stimulator is implanted, and 15V to 500V when applied transcutaneously. The electrical pulses themselves are significantly shorter duration than the composite pulse, so they stimulate the nervous system of the patient much less than the composite pulse or not at all.

Novel techniques for hearing enhancement based on a pair of glasses are disclosed. In one embodiment, the glasses include a first lens holder, a second lens holder, a bridge element, a first temple, a second temple, a first speaker, a second speaker, a microphone and at least one electrical component that performs a hearing enhanced function to enhance audio signals from the microphone to be sent to the speakers for the user to hear. At least one electrical component in the glasses is for generating other audio signals by the speakers, with the other audio signals originating from signals other than audio signals captured by the microphone. In another embodiment, some of the electrical components are in a portable device, wired or wirelessly, coupled to the glasses. In yet another embodiment, the glasses function as a headset, with other electrical components in the portable device. In such embodiment, since the glasses can provide a number of different hearing functions, a third party may not be able to tell whether the user is wearing the glasses to have his hearing enhanced, or for hearing other audio signals.

A compact write element includes a conductive shield layer, an insulating write gap layer, a pole pedestal, a coil, and a conductive pole layer, and, in some embodiments also includes a backgap. The pole pedestal and the coil, and, in some embodiments the backgap, constitute a self-aligned array of components that may be formed in a single masking operation to allow for very tight tolerances between the components for a shorter yoke length. The pole layer is substantially flat and parallel to the conductive shield layer, providing for a shorter stack height. Also, a compact MR read / write head includes such a write element and a magnetic data storage and retrieval system includes the compact MR read / write head having such a write element.

A light emitting diode (LED) structure includes a plurality of devices arranged side by side on a support layer. Each device includes a first conductivity type semiconductor nanowire core and an enclosing second conductivity type semiconductor shell for forming a pn or pin junction that in operation provides an active region for light generation. A first electrode layer extends over the plurality of devices and is in electrical contact with at least a top portion of the devices to connect to the shell. The first electrode layer is at least partly air-bridged between the devices.

Graphical interfaces are provided to a customer enabling her to identify her existing hair color and to select a desired change to that hair color, based upon which there is produced hair dyes and / or intensive toners in which the intermediates (developer and coupler) and the direct dyes are dissolved in liquid or creamy carrier masses that are mixed together by a computer-controlled device based on recipes stored in a computer. Using packaged dyes and chemicals, there is formulated, mixed, packaged and dispensed to the customer a custom hair colorant.

A laser scanning module employs a scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly supported by a stator structure using a pair of elastomeric wheel hinges. The scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly includes: a scan mirror and magnet rotor subassembly having a rotor frame having a pair of rotor support posts aligned along a scan axis passing through the rotor frame; a scan mirror mounted on the rotor frame; and a permanent magnet mounted on the rotor frame. The elastomeric wheel hinge includes a central portion having an aperture for passage and fixed attachment of one rotor support post, a plurality of elastomeric spoke portions extending from the central portion and radially extending from the central aperture to a circumferential rim portion connected to the outer end portion of each spoke portion so as to form the elastomeric wheel hinge.

A catheter adapted for ablation, mapping, injection, and directional control by an external magnetic system has a catheter body, an intermediate section, and a tip section having a tip electrode configured with an omnidirectional distal end and a concentric needle port. The tip electrode houses a magnetic device and a position sensor arranged in an integrated configuration, wherein the configuration facilitates a path in the tip section for a component, including an injection needle, to extend through the tip section for extension and retraction with reduced stress and friction. The integrated configuration is an efficient use of space in the tip electrode that allows the tip section to carry both the position sensor for determining location and orientation of the tip section and the necessary volume of magnetic or magnetizable material to accomplish magnetic navigation. The catheter also includes a very soft and flexible intermediate section and an even softer and more flexible distal transitional section carrying additional magnetic members to facilitate remote magnetic navigation.

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for customizing a graphical function display. In one aspect, the invention features operations to customize a toolbar graphically representing tools including one or more groups of tools. A tool is represented by an icon on the toolbar, and a group of tools is represented by one or more icons on the toolbar. In response to user input, an icon representing a group of tools can be replaced with all or a subset of icons representing tools in the group of tools. Similarly, in response to user input, a plurality of icons representing tools in a group of tools can be replaced with an icon representing the group of tools and can also represent a tool in the group of tools.

A needleless luer access connector is disclosed having a septum disposed in a housing. The septum has a proximal portion with a cross section, a medial portion with a cross section smaller than the cross section of the proximal portion, and a distal portion. A longitudinal slit extends through the septum from the proximal portion to the distal portion. The septum and housing are designed so that septum will not be rotated or removed from the housing when the connector is accessed by a male luer taper. In addition, the septum and housing are designed to bias the slit at the distal portion closed and so a male luer connector does not have to extend completely through the distal portion to open the slit at the distal portion. Finally, the septum and housing are designed to minimize the amount of dead space in the connector when accessed with a male luer taper.

A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel having a first substrate and a second substrate opposed thereto arranged so that the inner surfaces thereof oppose each other with an intermediate sealing member and a liquid crystal interposed in the internal space, and a flexible printed circuit board having an input / output terminals connected thereto. A circuit board on which a plurality of electronic components required for operating the liquid crystal display apparatus are mounted on the flexible printed circuit board.