A liquid filter cartridge is provided. Preferred seal arrangements are provided, to provide for preferred axial load conditions, with respect to one or more of the end caps of the cartridge. Some cartridge configurations provided include no core structure or outer liner structure therein, to support axial load. Assemblies using the cartridge, and methods of assembly and use, are provided. The liquid filter cartridge can be a serviceable cartridge, or it can be retained permanently in a housing.

Liquid filters are used for a variety of applications, for example to filter lubricating fluids, fuels or hydraulic fluids. During use, liquid to be filtered is passed through a filter media, as filtration occurs. A well-known configuration, is to position the filter media as a cylinder surrounding a central clean liquid volume, with filtration flow occurring with an outside to inside (out-to-in) flow through the filter media. In other arrangements filtering flow is from inside the cartridge to outside (in-to-out).
In many instances, the filter media is provided in the form of filter cartridge, in extension between first and second, opposite, end caps. Typically, the arrangement is also provided with a liner. For an out-to-in flow, an inner liner provides for both: (a) radial support of the media against collapse or damage, due to radial pressure during normal use; and (b) axial support against cartridge collapse and damage. Examples of filter cartridges which utilize such constructions, are described for example in WO 02/070869 A1 published 12 Sep. 2002, (FIGS. 1 and 2), the complete disclosure of WO 02/070869 being incorporated herein by reference.
With an in-to-out flow, an outer liner can be used to provide media radial support and also axial support.
In many assemblies, the filter cartridge is constructed as a removable and replaceable (i.e., serviceable) component, see for example FIGS. 1 and 2 of WO 02/070869 A1. It is desirable to provide for liquid filter designs that allow for desired options in construction of service cartridges.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Filter cartridge for liquid filteration; assembly; and, methods


A marine fastener is disclosed using a base plate, a retainer nut, the Jaw button, and a spring made of thermoplastic, with the inner back opening of the spring cooperating with a ridge on the outer opening of the jaw button in order to selectively bias the jaw button in respect to the base plate.

Ball type fasteners are not ordinarily used in the United States due to the preference for twist and wire ring type fasteners. A typical application for a ball fastener will be a snapped metal device used to hold the covers over convertible tops in their down position. Other applications include fastening a boat cover to the open cockpit of a boat, to join together two parts of a seal cover, and other applications. These prior art fasteners have short lives due to the harsh environment. The snaps typically are used together with the thinness of nickel plated brass normally used to make such fasteners.


To provide a receiving device and a receiving method which achieve iterative decoding regarding concatenated codes containing a convolutional code while suppressing increase in circuit scale, a decoder and an error correcting part iteratively perform decoding and error correction corresponding to a convolutional code on soft-decision inputs corresponding to the received signal sequence. Depending on whether a decoding result matches error corrected decoded data obtained in previous processing or not, penalties are calculated corresponding to branches transiting with the respective decoded results, and a branch metric is calculated by reflecting the calculated penalties as to decrease likelihood ratio of each of the branches to which the penalties are to be added. The obtained branch metric is input to a decoder, thereby reflecting the penalty corresponding to the decoding result.

As error correction coding for digital terrestrial broadcasting, there is applied concatenated coding using a Reed-Solomon code (RS code) as outer code and a convolutional code as inner code. On the receiving side, error correction combining Viterbi decoding and Reed-Solomon decoding is performed.
There have been proposed iterative decoding methods which improve error correcting capability by iterating such error correction on the receiving side (see Non-patent Document 1: Meritxell Lamarca et al., "Iterative Decoding Algorithms for RS-Convolutional Concatenated Codes", 2003 and Non-patent Document 2: Shinichi Murata, "An Iterative-Decoding Method for Concatenated Error-Correcting Codes on ISDB-T", the IEICE General Conference 2008).
In the technique disclosed in Non-patent Document 1, a soft output method such as SOVA (Soft Output Viterbi Algorithm) decoding or Max-log-MAP decoding is used for decoding of convolutional codes. Further, the soft output method is also employed for the Reed-Solomon decoding.
On the other hand, in the technique disclosed in Non-patent Document 2, feedback values from Reed-Solomon decoding to decoding of convolutional codes are generated depending on success or failure of error correction, for every TSP (Transport stream packet) which is a processing unit of the Reed-Solomon code.
Now, in the technique of Non-patent Document 1, by using the soft decision method which represents whether a received signal is 1 or 0 with a certain range, information obtained from the received signal is used for error correction. Thus, in the receiving device to which the technique of the Non-patent Document 1 is applied, since the soft output method is applied to both decoding of convolutional codes and Reed-Solomon decoding, the circuit scale becomes large. Accordingly, it is difficult to be applied as it is to ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial) which is digital terrestrial broadcasting in Japan.
On the other hand, in the technique of Non-Patent Document 2, circuit structures are simplified in consideration of application to ISDB-T. However, there is no specific description about how to generate likelihood ratio information to be added to or subtracted from metric in the decoding of convolutional codes in order to feed back information on success/failure of error correction decoding to the decoding of convolutional codes.


The time required to transcode an encoded image signal to an image signal encoded by a different encoding method is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transcoder for converting the coding format of an image signal and to an imaging apparatus and signal processor using this transcoder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior Art
To record moving image signals on recording media or transmitting them over the Internet, radio and other communication media, techniques for compressing and encoding moving image signals by MPEG and other compressing algorithms have recently been used in various fields. For example, MPEG2-Video (ISO/IEC13818-2) is used for recording to and playing back from DVDs. In addition, MPEG4-Video (ISO/IEC14496-2) is used in radio communication and Internet applications. Including them, a variety of encoding methods have been proposed. With the diversification of encoding methods, however, it has become necessary to transcode data among these formats and improve the transcoding capability. In particular, if the time required for the transcoding process is reduced, the user side is given raised convenience:
A technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-152755 concerns improvement in the transcoding speed. This technique "reduces the temporal resolution of an input video stream by thinning out bidirectional predictive frames and reduces the spatial resolution by reducing the picture size of the temporal resolution-lowered video stream without inversely transforming transform coefficients" aimed at "shortening the transcoding time required to convert the video data to a different kind of video data by entirely eliminating the necessity of inverse transformation of coded transform coefficients in the frequency domain".

Transcoder and imaging apparatus for converting an encoding system of video signal

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a transcoder comprising: picture selector 4 which extracts specific types of pictures (I- and P-pictures) from a first image signal (MPEG2 stream) and generates a subset of the first image signal; a first decoder 5 which decodes the subset image signal; and a first encoder 7 which encodes the decoded image signal to a second image signal (MPEG4 stream). The picture selector 4 uses the extracted pictures to generate the subset image signal with a reduced effective length.


Systems and methods are provided for pricing, selling, and/or otherwise distributing electronic content using auction mechanisms. A randomized auction mechanism is used to determine both the number of goods that are sold and the selling price. The auction mechanism automatically adapts to the bid distribution to yield revenue that is competitive with that which could be obtained if the vendor were able to determine the optimal fixed price for the goods. In one embodiment a set of bids is randomly or quasi-randomly partitioned into two or more groups. An optimal threshold is determined for each group, and this threshold is then used to select winning bids from one or more of the other groups. In another embodiment, each bid is compared to a competing bid that is randomly or quasi-randomly selected from the set of bids. If the bid is less than the randomly-selected competing bid, the bid is rejected. Otherwise, the bid is accepted and the bidder buys the auctioned item at the price of the randomly-selected bid.

Improvements in digital recording and storage technology, together with the proliferation of digital and analog communication networks, have created a rapidly growing market for digital goods and services. The nature of digital goods is such that they can be reproduced at little cost. Thus, while it can be expensive to produce an original work, the marginal cost of producing additional copies is typically a negligible fraction of this initial cost. For example, commercial sound recordings, business reports, computer programs, and movies each typically cost a substantial sum to create; however, near-perfect digital copies can be produced easily and inexpensively using readily-available equipment. In the case of musical recordings, for example, digital formats such as MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, or MP3, enable high-quality copies of an original recording to be stored and transmitted with relatively little consumption of disk space or network bandwidth.
While increasing attention has been devoted to the protection of digital and other electronic content from unauthorized copying, distribution, and use, relatively little attention has been paid to another fundamental problem facing the vendor of digital goods—namely, the problem of maximizing the value derived from the sale of those goods. Since digital goods can be produced at negligible marginal cost, they can be supplied in virtually unlimited quantities. Thus, the primary criteria for determining the optimal sale price for a digital work will typically be the utility value that consumers place on the work, which for practical purposes can be approximated by the amount consumers are willing to pay.
Accordingly, one measure of a digital work's value is the aggregate utility that consumers derive from the work. A vendor could recover this amount by charging each individual buyer the maximum amount that each is willing to pay. For example, if a first buyer valued a digitally-recorded movie at $5, a second buyer valued the movie at $8, and a third buyer valued the movie at $1, the vendor could maximize revenue by charging the first buyer $5, the second buyer $8, and the third buyer $1 for a copy of the movie. Of course, this amount will typically be unattainable in practice, as consumers are generally unwilling to pay a higher price than others for the same item simply because the item is more valuable to them. As a result, vendors typically estimate consumer utility via market analysis, and then use those estimates to set a fixed price designed to maximize revenue. In the example described above, for instance, the vendor could maximize revenue by setting the fixed price at $5, thus obtaining a revenue of $10 (i.e., $5 from the first and second buyers). Pay-per-view movies are an example of the use of fixed pricing for the sale of digital or electronic content.
Determining an optimal fixed price can be a difficult task, however, as it requires near-perfect knowledge of consumer utilities. If the price is set too high, an insufficient number of items may be sold; if the price is set too low, insufficient revenue may be collected per item. In the example presented above, if the vendor were to set the price at $6, he or she would only obtain $6 in revenue, as only the second buyer would be willing to purchase the movie. Similarly, if the price were set at $1, the vendor would obtain only $3. Moreover, since the utility value of an item may vary with time—for example, a consumer may not be willing to pay as much for a movie that was released a year ago as for a movie that was released yesterday—the vendor will need to make periodic attempts to re-adjust the fixed price.
In the context of limited-supply goods, auctions are sometimes used to determine the sale price. An advantage of an auction is that if it is properly designed, it will set the price for an item at or near the optimum fixed price. For example, in a conventional English auction bidders compete against each other to "win" an item at the bid price. Bidders continue raising the bid price until it exceeds the utility value of enough of the other bidders that the number of active bidders is equal to the number of items to be sold. Thus, the winning bidders effectively pay some increment above the utility value of the last bidder to withdraw from the auction.
Another auction technique was presented by Vickrey in his classic paper, Counterspeculation, Auctions and Competitive Sealed Tenders, Journal of Finance, (16) 8-37 (1961). In a typical Vickrey auction, bidders submit sealed bids to the auctioneer. If k items are being sold, the k highest bids win, but pay a price equal to the highest losing bid. That is, if the bids are ranked in ascending order from 1 to n, the k highest bids each pay the auctioneer an amount equal to the n-k highest bid. FIG. 1 illustrates a Vickrey auction in which ten bidders submit bids for k items. As shown in FIG. 1, if k=1 the highest bidder—in this case bidder 5, with a bid of $9—wins the auction and purchases the item for $8, which is the amount of the second highest bid (submitted by bidder 1). Similarly, if k=3 the three highest bidders (i.e., bidders 1, 4, and 5) win the auction, and each obtain one of the auctioned items for $6, which is the value of the fourth highest bid. A characteristic of the Vickrey auction is that each bidder has an incentive to bid his or her true utility value, since the price that each winning bid will pay is independent of the value of the winning bid itself. Accordingly, there is no reason for bidders to try to guess what other bidders are bidding and to bid incrementally above that value, as such a strategy runs the risk of missing an opportunity to buy the item at a price that is at or below the bidder's utility value, and does nothing to lower the price that the bidder will ultimately pay for the item if he or she wins. Auctions which encourage bidders to bid their true utility values are sometimes referred to as "stable" or "truthful" auctions.
Conventional auction techniques break down, however, if there is an unlimited supply of the goods being auctioned, as is the case with digital goods. (Note that "unlimited supply," as used herein, refers generally to situations in which the seller has an amount of items that equals or exceeds demand, and/or situations in which the seller can reproduce items on demand at negligible marginal cost). For example, if the English auction described above were used to sell unlimited supply goods, bidders would have no incentive to raise the price in successive rounds, since all bids would be satisfied no matter what the bid value. Similarly, the Vickrey auction would be ineffective, as each bidder would pay an amount less than or equal to the lowest bid, which the bidders could set at an arbitrarily low level, knowing that it would nevertheless be satisfied. One way to avoid these problems is to artificially limit the supply of goods. However, it is apparent that this simply reintroduces the need for market analysis, since the problem of determining how to optimally limit supply so as to maximize revenue is typically no easier to solve than that of determining an optimal fixed price.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods which enable the vendor of digital or other goods of unlimited supply to sell those goods without resort to costly and error-prone market analysis, yet which also enable the vendor to obtain a revenue stream that is of approximately the same order of magnitude as the revenue stream the vendor could receive if he or she had perfect information about the market for the goods.

Systems and methods for pricing and selling digital goods


An optical disk drive system with quasi-parallel tasking comprises a decode/interface module, a servo control module and a procedure switch module. The decode/interface module receives and decodes at least one instruction to generate at least one corresponding procedure state. The servo control module generates at least one command according to the procedure state. The procedure switch module switches between the decode/interface module and the servo control module according to a received break signal. Furthermore, a servo control method is disclosed and comprises the following steps of: performing a decode/interface procedure for receiving and decoding at least one instruction to generate at least one corresponding procedure state; performing a servo control procedure for generating at least one command according to the procedure state; performing a break procedure for switching between the decode/interface procedure and the servo control procedure according to a received break signal.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an optical disk drive system and, in particular, to an optical disk drive system with quasi-parallel tasking and a servo control method.
2. Related Art
In a general optical disk drive system, as shown in FIG. 1, it usually comprises an optical pickup head 201 for reproducing signals from an optical disk 1, an R/F unit 202 for equalizing and shaping the RF signals reproduced from the optical disk 1 by the optical pickup head 201, and a synchronization unit 205 for creating a clock signal whose phase is synchronized with the binary data outputted from the R/F unit 202. The disk drive system also comprises a digital signal processing (DSP) unit 203 for processing the binary data stream received from the R/F unit 202 in order to retrieve digital data using the synchronization clock, an MPEG decoder 204 for decoding the retrieved digital data to obtain original pictures or audio data, and a sled motor 210 for moving the optical pickup head 201. The disk drive system further comprises a spindle motor 211 for rotating the optical disk 1, a driving unit 207 for driving the sled motor 210 and spindle motor 211, and a servo unit 206 for controlling the optical pickup head 201 and driving unit 207. A microprocessor 208 supervises overall operations of servo unit 206 and DSP unit 203, and a memory 209 stores data necessary for the microprocessor 208.
In the optical disk drive system, when the optical disk 1 is inserted into a disk tray of the optical disk drive system, it is clamped by a clamping device for alignment. Then, controlled by the servo unit 206, the driving unit 207 provides electric current to rotate the spindle motor 211, and maintains the rotation velocity of the optical disk 1 constant, at about 2,500 rpm.
To reproduce signals recorded on the optical disk 1, the optical pickup head 201, with a laser diode LD and photo diodes PD installed therein, forms a laser beam spot on the recording layer of the optical disk 1 by irradiating a laser beam emitted from the laser diode LD. The laser beam reflected from the optical disk 1 is collected by the photo diodes PD and converted into electric signals. The R/F unit 202 equalizes and shapes the electric signals to produce binary data, and the DSP unit 203 performs the processing of the binary data. The synchronization clock necessary for the DSP unit 203, synchronized with the binary data from the R/F unit 202, is provided by the synchronization unit 205.
The basic role of the sled motor 210 is to move the optical pickup head 201 in the radial direction. Controlled by the servo unit 206, the sled motor 210 moves the optical pickup head 201 rapidly in the radial direction in the track search mode for locating a desired track. If the track search mode is set by a user's request, the microprocessor 208 detects the position of the track which the optical pickup head 201 is currently accessing, calculates the distance between the present track and destination track, and issues a command to move the optical pickup head 201 to the destination track by jumping the calculated distance.
As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional microprocessor 208 may firstly perform a decode/interface procedure for receiving and decoding the instruction set by the user's request, so as to generate a procedure state, which represents the user's request (Step S01). Then, the microprocessor 208 performs a servo control procedure for generating a command (Step S02). Thus, the servo unit 206 can be controlled according to the issued command. At this point, the microprocessor 208 would not perform or execute other procedure unless the servo unit 206 returns the operation result according to the command. However, the waiting time of the microprocessor 208 results a waste of the microprocessor performance.
It is therefore a subjective of the invention to provide an optical disk drive system, which can solve the above-mentioned problems, for manufacturers and users.

Optical disk drive system with quasi-parallel tasking and servo control method


A powdered composition for food and drink comprising powdered soy protein isolate, anthocyanin and an organic acid composition is provided which is dissolved or suspended in water, milk, to provide a beverage which has a vivid reddish purple color characteristic of anthocyanin and which the anthocyanin is stabilized to maintain its various functions.

The present invention relates to a powdered composition for food and drink which comprises powdered soy protein isolate, an anthocyanin-containing powder, and an organic acid. More particularly, it relates to a powdered composition for food and drink which is dissolved or suspended in water, milk, etc. to stably provide a drink with a bright color developed by an anthocyanin pigment present in the anthocyanin-containing powder.
Although powdered soy protein isolate is widely used for food and drink for health maintenance, it is hard to take as such because of its peculiar beany flavor. Therefore, compositions containing soy protein isolate together with fruit components such as fruit juice or comminuted fruit for making the composition easy to take have been manufactured and commercially sold. Fruits used in combination with soy protein isolate are usually selected from those are rich in nutriment, such as vitamins, and contain a relatively vivid color juice.
Such fruits include blueberries and cranberries. They not only contain nutriment such as various vitamins but assume an appetizing bright reddish purple color. Of the pigments contained in these fruits, anthocyanins, which are glycosides of anthocyanidins, have now been turned out to possess various physiological functions, such as a rhodopsin (visual purple) resynthesizing function, a capillary protecting function, an anti-ulcer function, a circulatory organ improving function, an anti-inflammatory function, and a vitamin P-like function as reported, e.g., in 2nd Blueberry Function Symposium, held by Japan Blueberry Association at Minami Aoyama Kaikan in Minato-ku, Tokyo on Apr. 24, 1998. Addition of powder of such fruit containing an anthocyanin to soy protein isolate provides a powdered composition for food and drink which has the functions of soy protein isolate supplemented by the above-mentioned various functions and is easy to take.
However, when a powdered composition containing soy protein isolate and an anthocyanin-containing powder (e.g., an anthocyanin-containing fruit powder) is dissolved or suspended in water, milk, a sports drink, etc., the bright reddish purple color characteristic of anthocyanin pigments hardly develops but results in pale gray. Where the powdered composition is supplemented with minerals such as calcium and magnesium by addition of dolomite, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate or coral minerals, on dissolving or suspending the powdered composition in a liquid, such as water, milk, or sports drink, the mineral components will dissolve in the liquid to show a strong alkaline property, which makes the color unpleasantly grayer.
Equal in nutrition, nevertheless, such poorly colored drinks cannot be seen as appetizing and are likely to look like deteriorated in quality, which reduces consumers"" willingness to buy. As for an anthocyanin itself, which is a reddish purple pigment of the anthocyanin-containing powder, it sometimes decomposes with time to reduce the above-described various physiological functions. From this viewpoint, it has been desired to stabilize anthocyanins.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powdered composition for food and drink containing powdered soy protein isolate and an anthocyanin which develops a bright reddish purple color characteristic of an anthocyanin pigment when dissolved or suspended in water, milk, a sports drink, etc. for drinking, and in which the anthocyanin is stable with time to retain its various physiological functions.
The present inventors have conducted extensive studies to accomplish the object and found as a result that the above-described problems are settled by incorporating an organic acid, such as citric acid, into the composition of powdered soy protein isolate and an anthocyanin-containing powder. The present invention has been completed based on this finding.
The present invention provides a powdered composition for food and drink which comprises powdered soy protein isolate, an anthocyanin-containing powder, and an organic acid. While it is known that an anthocyanin itself satisfactorily develops a reddish purple color in an acidic condition, improvement on color development of an anthocyanin in the presence of powdered soy protein isolate is utterly unknown.
The powdered soy protein isolate which can be used in the present invention is not particularly limited in process of preparation. Any product containing powdered protein isolated from soybeans in a conventional manner can be used. Useful powdered soy protein isolates include a product prepared by extracting defatted soybeans (residue after removing soybean oil from whole soybeans) with water to remove saccharides, etc., separating protein with an acid, neutralizing the isolated protein, followed by sterilization and drying; a textured soy protein product prepared by extruding soy protein isolate followed by drying and granulating; and a soy peptide product prepared by enzymatically or chemically degrading a part or the whole of soy protein isolate followed by sterilizing and drying. Commercially available powdered soy protein isolates which can be used in the present invention include SUPRO 710, Fujipro, Proleena, Fujinix, Apex, and Hinute (all available from Fuji Protein Technologies Inc.).
The anthocyanin-containing powder which can be used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it contains an anthocyanin, including powdered products obtained from plant parts containing an anthocyanin, such as fruit, fruit juice, petals and leaves, by usual means such as lyophilization or hot air drying, and purified products obtained by extracting these plant parts. Preferred examples of anthocyanin-containing powders are powder prepared by drying juice or extract of cranberries having a urinary infection prophylactic function and powdered blueberry juice. Such anthocyanin-containing powder products are commercially available under trade names of Cranberry Powder (available from Kikkoman Corp.) and Blueberry Powder (available from Nihon SiberHegner K. K.). In addition, Hibiscus Funmatsu (powdered hibiscus petals, available from Biocon (Japan) Ltd.), Shiso-no-ha Funmatsu (powdered perilla leaves, available from Amino Up Chemical Co., Ltd.) and Murasaki-imo Powder (powdered purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Poir), available from Senba Foods Co., Ltd.) are also useful.
The organic acid which can be used in the present invention preferably includes those which are usually crystalline or powdery, such as citric acid, tartaric acid, and malic acid, seeing that the composition of the invention has a powder form. Organic acids which are usually liquid may be made usable by, for example, granulating as a cyclodextrin inclusion compound. Of the useful organic acids citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid are particularly preferred for their flavor when incorporated into the powdered composition as demonstrated later. Mineral acids, such as hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid are also capable of letting anthocyanin pigments develop their bright reddish purple colors when the powdered composition is dissolved or suspended. However, they give an unacceptably irritating taste and is unfit for application to the powdered composition for food and drink.
The mixing ratio of the powdered soy protein isolate, the anthocyanin-containing powder, and the organic acid is not particularly limited. It is arbitrarily selected according to the intended use of the powdered composition and the desired degree of color development by the anthocyanin on dissolving or suspending. Seeing that, in general, compositions of this type comprise powdered soy protein isolate as a main component and anthocyanin-containing powder as a supplementary component for making the composition easy to take, the formulation of the powdered composition of the present invention usually comprises about 50 to 95% by weight of powdered soy protein isolate, about 4 to 49% by weight of an anthocyanin-containing powder, and about 2 to 20% by weight of an organic acid each based on the total powdered composition. Higher contents of the anthocyanin-containing powder and the organic acid generally result in development of a denser color on dissolving or suspending the powdered composition in water and the like.
In order for the powdered composition to provide a palatable liquid with an appropriate color tone, the organic acid content in the powdered composition preferably ranges from 2.0 to 20.0% by weight. For example, where 10 g of powdered soy protein isolate and 2 g of an anthocyanin-containing powder are mixed, a preferred amount of an organic acid added is about 0.25 to 3.0 g. In this case, the resulting powdered composition consists of 66.7 to 81.6% by weight of soy protein isolate, 13.3 to 16.3% by weight of the anthocyanin-containing powder, and 2.0 to 20.0% by weight of the organic acid.
The powdered composition of the present invention is dissolved or suspended in a liquid, such as water, milk, and a sports drink containing phosphates, minerals, vitamins, etc., to provide a palatable drink with a pleasant color. In particular, incorporation of the organic acid is extremely effective on color development where the powdered composition further comprises mineral components showing strong alkalinity, such as dolomite, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and coral minerals for mineral supplement, because anthocyanin pigments hardly develop their characteristic colors when dissolved or suspended in the presence of such an alkaline substance. An adequate intake of the powdered composition for food and drink according to the present invention as a health maintenance food is generally about 10 to 50 g in terms of soy protein isolate per day for an adult, while somewhat varying depending on the formulation.
Since the color development of the powdered composition of the invention is attributed to organic acid-aided development of a color of a naturally-occurring pigment but not to artificial colorants as has been usual with this type of food and beverages, the powdered composition is highly safe. Further, the anthocyanin glycoside itself can be stabilized by rendering the powdered composition acidic, thereby keeping the above-described physiological activities during storage. Therefore, the powdered composition of the present invention is extremely beneficial as a health maintenance food.


A device, system and method for generating and rendering customized application data for first responders is provided. A device receives an assignment identifier and input to access a web-based application using a link and a browser application. The device incorporates the assignment identifier into the link to generate a customized link and launches the browser application using the customized link to retrieve customized application data indicative of the web-based application customized according to the assignment identifier. The device controls a display screen to render the customized application data in the browser application. A server receives the customized link from the device, generates the customized application data, indicative of the web-based application customized according to the assignment identifier, and transmits the customized application data to the device.

First responders, such as police officers, fire fighters, and the like, may generally be in mission critical situations where a length of time to access crucial information may be vital.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Device, system and method for generating and rendering customized application data for first responders


The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical formulation in colloidal form for topical application for the therapy and prophylaxis of pathological changes of the skin and/or integumentary structures of the skin and/or mucous membranes, including mucous membranes of the digestive tract, uro-genital tract and bronchial system and/or conjunctiva, containing a lipophilic phase in a quantity of 1-10% by weight, a mixture of surfactant and co-surfactant in a quantity of 1-50% by weight, a hydrophilic phase in a quantity of 40-80% by weight and, as active ingredient, cyclosporin and/or derivatives thereof in a concentration of 0.1-20% by weight.

The invention relates to colloidal pharmaceutical carrier systems, comprising cyclosporin, for topical application on skin and mucous membrane, comprising a surfactant/co-surfactant mixture (polyoxyethylene glycerol monooleate/poloxamers), a hydrophilic phase, e.g. propylene glycol/water mixtures, a lipophilic phase (isopropyl palmitate or oleic acid) and penetration enhancers.
This invention relates in particular to pharmaceutical formulations comprising cyclosporin A (CsA) for topical application for the therapy of pathological changes of the skin, integumentary structures of the skin or the mucous membranes, in particular atopical dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris, the use of these formulations and a method for production thereof.
It is known that CsA is a cyclic peptide comprising 11 amino acids, with a molar mass of 1202 g/mol, which is produced from the soil fungus tolypocladium inflatum. CsA is soluble in water only with great difficulty (<0.04 mg/ml at 25° C.), whereas it is readily soluble in oils and alcohols. Its immune-modulating effect is based on inhibiting the release of interleukin-1 from macrophages and of interleukin-2 from T-helper cells, which in turn activate cytotoxic T-precursor cells, from which the cytotoxic T-cells arise. The transcription of the genes which encode the mentioned cytokines is hereby inhibited. CsA only thereby affects the naturally occurring body defence to a small extent. From a galenic point of view, the pharmaceutical is a substance which is particularly unsuitable for topical therapy because the high lipophily makes penetration through the epidermal lipid barrier appear virtually impossible. There is indicated as a reason for the failure of previous attempts at production and application of different lipophilic, hydrophilic and liposomal preparations for topical application, generally inadequate penetration of the pharmaceutical.
In dermatology, CsA has proved to be particularly useful in systematic application for the treatment of severe psoriasis and atopical dermatitis. In addition, reports and studies exist with respect to the effectiveness after systemic application in the case of a multiplicity of further inflammatory dermatoses (e.g. dermatitis ulcerosa, lichen ruber, actinic reticuloid, disseminated granuloma annulare).
In WO 9302664, W/O microemulsions are described which contain a lipophilic phase (medium-chain triglycerides and a surfactant with a low HLB value in the ratio 5:1 to 1.5:1), an aqueous hydrophilic phase, a surfactant with a high HLB value and a water-soluble therapeutic agent.
GB 2222770 comprises microemulsion preconcentrates comprising CsA, a hydrophilic phase (propylene glycol or partial ether of low-molecular mono- or polyoxyalkane diols) (transcutol/glycofurol), a lipophilic phase (medium-chain triglycerides and a surfactant) (Cremophor RH 40). The systems are suitable for peroral application and improve the bioavailability compared with existing systems.
EP 760237 describes O/W microemulsions for water-insoluble pharmaceutically active substances such as CsA which are completely dissolved in the dispersed oil droplets. The systems comprise a C2-C20 substituted plant triglyceride, lecithin and another surfactant and a hydrophilic phase containing propylene glycol.
WO 97/22358 includes microemulsion preconcentrates with CsA, the pharmaceutical being dissolved in a system, comprising hydrophobic, (tocopherols or tocopherol derivatives) and hydrophilic components (propylene carbonate and polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight <1000) and also surfactant.
In WO 94/08603, WO 94/08605 and WO 99/39700, pharmaceutical formulations are described which cite cyclosporin and derivatives thereof as possible active ingredient in the colloidal system.
The previously described systems have however some substantial disadvantages. For solubilisation, partly organic solvents are used which must be removed subsequently again from the formulation without leaving any residue. Often, surfactant/co-surfactant combinations for improving the solubility of the pharmaceutical are used in too high concentrations (more than 20% m/m). Some publications mention systems which are not composed exclusively of skin-compatible ingredients. Some microemulsion preconcentrates are described, the actual structure of which is intended to be formed in situ only after application. Furthermore, the existing systems have much greater particle diameters.

Pharmaceutical formulation comprising cyclosporin and use thereof


When a vehicle climbs up/down a step, driving torque suitable for the step climbing operation is applied to a driving wheel, and the center of gravity of a vehicle body is moved in an upward direction of the step. Thus, a stable traveling state and stable posture of the vehicle body can be maintained both when climbing up a step and when climbing down a step, whereby an occupant can operate the vehicle safely and comfortably even on a place having steps. In view of this, the vehicle includes: a vehicle body; a driving wheel rotatably attached to the vehicle body; and a vehicle control apparatus for controlling driving torque that is applied to the driving wheel and controlling posture of the vehicle body. When climbing up/down a step on a road, the vehicle control apparatus controls a position of center of gravity of the vehicle body in accordance with the step.

Conventionally, techniques relating to vehicles using posture control of an inverted pendulum have been proposed. Examples of the proposed techniques include a vehicle that has two coaxially disposed driving wheels and is driven in accordance with detection of a change in posture of a vehicle body due to shifting of the center of gravity of a driver, and a vehicle that moves while controlling posture of a vehicle body attached to a spherical single driving wheel (see, e.g., Patent Document 1).
In this case, the vehicle is stopped or moved by controlling operation of a rotating body while detecting the balance of the vehicle body and the operating state.                Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2007-219986


The present invention is a method for synthesizing macrosphelides represented by the following formula, and relates to the following method. The hydroxyl group of methyl 3-hydroxybutyrate is protected and reduced to alcohol. The alcohol is then oxidized to give 3-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy) butylaldehyde, and this aldehyde is then reacted with tert-butyl diethylphosphonoacetate to give an olefin, and then deprotected. Next, dehydrative condensation with diethylphosponoacetic acid are performed to give tert-butyl 5-[2-(diethylphosphonoyl) acetoxy] hex-2-enoate, and this compound is reacted with 3-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy) butylaldehyde to form a diester. Following this, deprotection is performed to give an alcohol, and dehydrative condensation of the alcohol with 3-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy) butyric acid gives a triester. A hydroxycarboxylic acid is yielded by deprotection, and then the hydroxycarboxylic acid is converted into a macrolactone

Macrosphelides are macrolide compounds that have a 16-membered ring structure. For example, isolation and structure determination of known macrosphelides A to L, which are expressed by the following formulas, has been achieved using Microsphaeropsis sp. F0-5050 and Periconia byssoides OPUS-N133.
 Macrosphelide A:X = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide E:X = α-OH, β-HY = α-OH, β-HY = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide B:X = O, Y =α-OH, β-HMacrosphetide F:X = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide C:X = α-OH, β-HY = α-H, β-HY = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide G:X = α-H, β-HY = α-OH, β-H  Macrosphelide I:X = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide DY = α-OH, β-HMacrosphelide L:X = O, Y = α-OH, β-H  Macrosphelide HMacrosphelide J:R = OCH3Macrosphelide K:R = OC2H5
It has been shown by tests on cell adhesion inhibition that macrosphelides can inhibit adhesion of human leukemia cells and human vascular endothelial cells depending on concentration. Further, tests using monoclonal antibody have suggested that this action centers on a particle called Sialyl Lewis, which is a particle that influences reduction of adhesion of leucocyte cells or cancer cells to vascular endothelial cells. Moreover, it has also become apparent that macrosphelides do not cause any significant growth inhibition or have toxicity for various mammals, and thus there are growing expectations for their use as a lead compound for specific cancer spread inhibiting drugs that can be practically applied.
As the noteworthy biological activity of macrosphelides has become clear as described above, recently, research about total synthesis of macrosphelides has started to be reported. At present, as a result of research by two research groups, asymmetric total synthesis of macrosphelides A, B, C and F has been achieved using the convergent synthesis strategies shown below.

Recently, continuing research on macrosphelides has focused on the correlative relationship of their structure and effects with respect to not only biological adhesion inhibition activity, but also anti-virus activity and immunity suppression action. For this research, synthesis of natural and non-natural macrosphelides including derivatives and stereoisomers is essential. However, the synthesis methods for the above all use asymmetric induction reactions such as asymmetric oxidation or kinetic optical resolution, and the objective of the synthesis is to produce specific macrosphelides. Accordingly, application to other types of macrosphelides synthesis is not possible. Moreover, the above synthesis methods also suffer from the problem of having low yields of around 10%.
The present invention has been conceived of in light of the above described circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide a new synthesis method that allows high yield synthesis of a macrosphelide core that provides a core for obtaining multiple different types of macrosphelide deviates.


An apparatus for vector tracking a plurality of satellite signals received by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver from a plurality of satellites and a method for use thereof. The apparatus comprises: a hypothesis determiner configured to determine a most likely velocity hypothesis from a plurality of velocity hypotheses based on a plurality of correlation values, and to transfer data related to the most likely velocity hypothesis to a navigation engine of the GNSS receiver for tracking the satellite signals, wherein the plurality of velocity hypotheses have been generated based on a navigation engine output indicative of a current and/or a previous extended velocity solution for the GNSS receiver; and wherein the plurality of correlation values have been determined by a plurality of correlators and represent correlations between a plurality of first signals each comprising an expected Doppler shift derived from one of the plurality of velocity hypotheses, and a plurality of second signals each comprising a true Doppler shift derived from one of the plurality of satellite signals.

Many known GNSS receivers use code tracking loops to estimate pseudoranges to GNSS satellites and carrier tracking loops to estimate a carrier Doppler (or pseudorange rate) of signals received from the GNSS satellites. This method of satellite signal tracking may be termed scalar tracking.
A code tracking loop may, for example, be a delay lock loop (DLL) and a carrier tracking loop may, for example, be a frequency lock loop (FLL), a phase lock loop (PLL) or a combination of both, e.g. a FLL-assisted PLL. Such GNSS receivers include a code tracking loop and a carrier phase tracking loop per channel and each channel of the receiver processes signals from a specific GNSS satellite.
Broadly speaking, a DLL minimizes the timing difference between a signal received from a GNSS satellite and a locally generated version of the satellite signal. A DLL typically comprises two code correlators that correlates a received signal with a locally generated signal produced based on an output of a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO). The output of the code correlator is integrated over time to improve noise performance and the resulting signal is used in an algorithm to control the NCO to update the code phase of the next locally generated signal. In exemplary DLLs, there may be more than two code correlators, each producing one of early, prompt and late code correlations.
Broadly speaking, a FLL follows the same statistical signal processing technique. In one example, a carrier correlator correlates part of a received satellite signal (possibly at an intermediate frequency) with a corresponding locally generated carrier signal provided by a NCO. The output of the carrier correlator is integrated over time to improve noise performance and the resulting signal is used in an algorithm to control the NCO to update the locally generated carrier signal.
In practical implementations of GNSS receivers, the carrier tracking loop may be used to aid the code tracking loop. Further, the code and carrier tracking loops are typically in a nested arrangement whereby the carrier correlator is used to remove the carrier frequency and the resulting signal, which, in the case of perfect carrier tracking a DC signal, is passed to the code correlator.
Such GNSS receivers may implement separate signal tracking and navigation solutions in that the tracking loops operate in isolation to navigation solution determination. The code and carrier tracking loops provide the code and carrier measurements to a navigation engine, which uses those measurements to determine navigation solutions, typically position, velocity and time (i.e. receiver clock offset and drift) (PVT). Further, in scenarios where satellites from different GNSS constellations (for example, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS or BeiDou) are used to determine a navigation solution, satellite signals from each GNSS will also require separate tracking loops, which will be separately implemented and require separate elements and different configurations.
Vector tracking loops use a different architecture that combines signal tracking and navigation solution determination into a single loop. In exemplary vector tracking loops, pseudoranges and/or pseudorange rates are predicted, for example by a navigation engine, for each satellite signal to be tracked based on the navigation engine output, which may be a navigation solution (i.e. position, velocity and/or time). The predicted pseudoranges and pseudorange rates are fed into the tracking loop of each channel and are used to determine code estimates and carrier estimates that are fed to the navigation engine as in a standard GNSS receiver.

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal tracking


A write-once-read-once batteryless token stores access data using fuses similar to those found in programmable fuse link devices. These fuses indicate the status of a particular bit in either of two memory arrays. An intact fuse indicates that a bit is a logical zero, and a blown fuse indicates that a bit is a logical one. The process of reading a particular bit in either array causes the destruction of the corresponding memory cells in both arrays before the data from the selected cell becomes available to the reading device. The memory bit cells are destroyed by blowing the bit fuse during the read cycle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a physically secure forgery-resistant authorization device in the form of a token or key card. The token or key card represents authorization to perform some action or transaction such as providing access to information or a physical place. More particularly, this invention relates to a write-once-read-once batteryless authentication token having particular application in hardware-based security systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A security system is described in an article by Steve R. White and Liam Comerford entitled "ABYSS A Trusted Architecture for Software Protection", pp. 38-51, Proceedings of the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Security and Privacy, Oakland, Calif., Apr. 27-29, 1987. In that system, a use-once authentication mechanism, called a token, solves the problem of providing authorization to a computer to execute a piece of protected software without requiring the user to have two way communication with the software source. The system has many security applications, but in particular, enforcement of terms and conditions of the sale of software is mentioned.
The token is a small hardware device which may be characterized as analogous to a theater ticket. It is examined in an electronic transaction to ascertain whether or not it is valid and is concomitantly invalidated. The fact that invalidation is inherent in the examination process makes it a read-once device. The way that the token is examined to prove validity is straightforward. The token contains two forms of data. One form of the data is read and compared with what the token is expected to contain. If it matches, the token is valid. Note that the other form of the data in the token is an encrypted copy of the first form. The examining hardware has a cryptographic key to decode the second form of data for purposes of making the comparison with the first form of the data.
What makes the token a unique and viable authentication agent is that its architecture effectively prevents its forgery. That is, even if a query which requests data from the token and the token response are recorded, this information is not useful in an attempt to correctly answer a second query.
The token examination process consists of a random series of one-bit queries to the token and responses from the token during which a subset of the token's data is requested and revealed. For each bit of data which is revealed, a bit of data is destroyed. By the end of this process, half of the data contained in the token has been revealed and half has been destroyed, rendering it useless for further operations. To simulate this action, i.e., forge a token, one must be prepared to respond correctly to any sequence of queries. This implies that one must know the entire token contents. In general, at most half of any token's data is examined. This amount is sufficient to establish that the token is valid, but not enough to afford a prospective forger the information required to simulate a valid token in the face of any sequence of queries which differ in any way from the first examination.
FIG. 1 shows the logical and physical connection of a token 12 to a validating processor 10. To test for a valid token, the validating processor generates a random bit sequence, or query. It places the first bit on the token's query line 14 and pulses the token's clock line 16. The token places the content of the selected register on its output line 18. The processor 10 reads this value, stores it, and repeats the process with the next bit of the query. After completing the query/response sequence, the processor compares the response sequence with the expected response sequence to the given query. This expected response sequence is found by simulating the token query process using data supplied to the validating processor by other, typically cryptographic, channels. If they match, the token is considered valid.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate both the simplified token architecture and a sample portion of the token validation sequence. The token's data is stored in two n-bit shift registers 20 and 22. These shift registers feed into a multiplexer 23 which routes the data in response to the query line 24 from the selected register to the response line 28. Upon each register shift, each register shifts out one bit of data and shifts in a zero. This effectively erases the token after n-queries and renders the token useless. In the sample sequence shown, the procedure begins with "what's currently in the UP register?", and the response returned is "zero". The data in the DOWN register 22 is also shifted out, as indicated in FIG. 2B, but it is not provided to any external terminal of the device. This procedure is repeated n times with n randomly selected queries, during which n bits of data are revealed and n bits discarded.
In the current ABYSS security system, the tokens which allow access to the system are operated under battery power which gives the tokens a limited life and added cost of manufacture.

Write-once-read-once batteryless authentication token


A device for detecting and determining deformations on a structure surface containing diffractive stress indicator elements comprises a portable computing device having a camera, a processor, a memory, and a display screen, and a casing for conformably enclosing the portable computing device. In one embodiment, the casing includes an elongated light source, a first window positioned to provide access to the display screen of the portable computing device, and a second window positioned to allowing the light source to emit a band of light outside of the casing, and a port hole aligned with the camera of the portable computing device. When the device is positioned proximate to the structure, the elongated light source emits a band of illumination onto the diffractive stress indicator elements, the diffractive elements diffract the emitted radiation and the camera of the portable computing device receives at least a portion of the diffracted radiation.

Previously filed and commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/082,327 ("the '327 application"), entitled "Systems and Methods for Constructing and Testing Composition Photonic Structures," which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses a method of embedding stress indicator elements in the surfaces of structures to aid in determining ongoing stresses and/or deformations of the structure. The stress indicator elements can include an optical diffraction grating (e.g., photonic crystal, fiber Bragg grating) and, optionally, one or more fluorophore materials. The stress indicator elements are arranged so that deformation of the surface caused by, for example and without limitation, tensile stress, compressive stress, bending, temperature variations, and chemical composition changes or other material defects, changes the periodicity of the grating. When light is directed onto the structure including the stress indicator elements, light is diffracted by the elements into a pattern that corresponds to the periodicity of the grating. Changes in the periodicity caused by stresses and variations alter the diffraction pattern by shifting the wavelength of radiation at a particular angle of diffraction according to the well-known grating equation.
FIG. 1 shows an example embedded stress indicator element 10 disclosed in the '327 application. The element includes periodic components e.g., 12, 14, 16, each of which diffract wavelengths of light in varying angular modes (numbered m=0 through m=3). The periodic components of the stress indicator element, which can have a variety of shaped profiles, including sinusoidal, sawtooth, triangular, etc., include peak and valley features. The indicator elements are designed so that respective peaks and valleys of adjacent periodic features are a regular distance (d) apart. Deformations in the underlying structure will alter the inter-feature distance (d) of at least a portion of the components, which will, in turn affect the angle at which such altered components diffract incoming light.
While specialized detection and processing equipment can be used in this context for detecting radiation diffracted from the embedded elements in the structure and determining the deformation therefrom, such equipment can be cumbersome to transport to distant locations and difficult to set up in locations that have limited accessible space.
It would be useful to utilize the considerable processing capabilities of smart phones and tablets, which can be easily carried by field technical personnel to various sites and locations, in the performance of structural deformation detection. The present invention addresses these and other needs in the art.


A distributed electrical power generating and utilizing system includes an induction generator driven by a prime mover requiring reactive power to operate for providing electrical power on a bus. The bus has a gross load and is also connectable to a utility power grid by a switch. The gross load includes at least a non-linear electrical load component, typically including a variable speed device and associated diode rectifier front end. The bus includes a harmonic filter having a power factor-correcting capacitor integrated therewith for collectively compensating harmonic distortion caused by the non-linear load component and for correcting power factor to compensate for reactive power required by at least the inductive generator.

Entities other than the utility power grid now frequently generate electrical power for local or dedicated uses, as well for connection to the utility grid to generate revenues and/or offset costs. Such systems may be referred to as having a dual, or multiple, sourced power bus.
In some electric power generating systems, the manner of managing the energy that will operate the electric generator may require auxiliary equipment, such as pumps and fans. An example is a power system which recovers heat, from such sources as geothermal wells, food processing plants or landfills, or the like, utilizing an Organic Rankin Cycle system.
For economic efficiency, it is desirable that a low cost generator provide power for all auxiliary equipment, while at the same time providing power which has shape (little or no harmonic distortion), power factor (PF), and frequency that are all suitable for interface with the utility power grid. Synchronous generators are typically more expensive and require additional controls compared with other, cheaper generators such as induction generators which, because of their construction, are less expensive than synchronous generators. However, induction generators have an inherently lower power factor (PF) than what is typically acceptable to utility grids. Moreover, to the extent certain types of non-linear loads, such as variable-speed drives with diode front ends, are associated with the auxiliary equipment, high levels of harmonic distortion may occur in the current.
An example of the conditions described in the foregoing paragraph may be seen in the characterization of the "prior art" (FIG. 1 therein) described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,329 (hereinafter '329) to S. J. Fredette, et al for "Quality Power From Induction Generator Feeding Variable Speed Motor", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference to the extent consistent and appropriate. Similar thereto is the following characterization herein of that "prior art" as it is depicted in FIG. 1 herein.
Referring to FIG. 1 herein of the "prior art", there is depicted a single line of a typically multi-phase (typically 3-phase) power system in which an induction electric power generator 10, driven by some form of prime mover 12, is connected, or connectable, with the utility power grid 14 via power bus 16 including switch 18, typically a breaker or contactor. Moreover, there is depicted broadly in block form, one or more non-linear loads 20, typically including variable speed drives with diode rectifier front ends and associated with the auxiliary loads, operatively connected to the power bus 16. Those non-linear loads, and particularly the variable speed drives with diode rectifier front ends, are the same or similar to elements 11, 12, 13 and 16 of FIG. 1 of the aforementioned '329 patent. Because the induction generator requires reactive power to operate, the reactive power is provided by a power factor correction capacitor (Cpfc) 22 in order to maintain the power factor at the interface with the utility grid above limits imposed by accepted standards. The power factor limits are normally above 90%, and mainly above about 95%. The power factor correction capacitor(s) 22 is typically connected in shunt with the non-linear loads 20. Still further, to address the significant levels of harmonic distortion in the current that may be introduced by the non-linear loads 20, one or more harmonic filter(s) 24, is/are connected in series with the non-linear loads 20. A source inductance (Ls) 26 is represented in the power bus 16 as being the inductance of the power grid 14 and any interface transformer at or near the installation site, and an illustrated source resistance 27 is of similar origins.
As shown in FIG. 1 herein, as well as in FIG. 1 of the aforementioned '329 patent, the power factor correction capacitor (Cpfc) 22 and the harmonic filter(s) 24 are separate and distinct from one another. Stated another way, one may be said to be external to the other. Indeed, although the harmonic filter 24 may include a filter capacitor or capacitance in combination with one or more inductive impedance elements to provide the requisite filtering of the harmonics, such capacitor is separate from the power factor correction capacitor (Cpfc) 22.
The prior art configuration of FIG. 1 will be further understood in the context of prior art FIG. 2, which is substantially the same as FIG. 1 but configured to illustrate the harmonic filter 24 and the power factor correction capacitor 22 in greater detail and as separate from one another. The AC power grid and the induction power generator are collectively represented by section block 100 containing the AC source 114, the inductive source impedance 126, the source resistance 127, and induction generator 110. Correspondingly, the current to the various loads, including the non-linear loads, is represented by the current source symbol 120. Intermediate the AC source 114 and the output load current 120 are separate section blocks 122 and 124, representing the power factor correction capacitor 22 and the harmonic filter 24, respectively, of FIG. 1.
The power factor correction block 122 includes a power factor correction capacitor 22 having a detuning inductor (Ldet) 30 in series therewith, and is connected across the AC source 114 and across the induction generator 110. The inductor 30 is required to form a resonant tank so as to limit harmonic currents from flowing to the capacitor(s) and thereby causing excessive heating, which may be life-limiting.
Similarly, the harmonic filter section block 124 representing the harmonic filter 24 of FIG. 1 is also connected across the AC source 114 in a general "T" network including, more specifically, a "bridged-T". The cross arm of the general T harmonic filter section block 124 includes several inductances arranged or depicted in series, including an input inductance (Lin) 32 shown connected at one end to the junction of the source inductance 126 or the source resistance 127 and the detuning inductance 30, and at the other end to the cross arm of a bridged-T comprising a parallel-bridged arrangement of a further inductance (L1) 34 connected in parallel with a series connection of a resistance (R) 36 and a filter inductance (Lf) 38. The cross arm of the general T filter network is completed by the connection at the junction of inductances 34 and 38 of one end of a still further inductance (L2) 40, the other end of which is connected to one side of the non-linear load(s) represented by the current source 120. A filter capacitor (Cf) 42 is connected at one end to the junction between the resistance 36 and the filter inductance 38 and is thereafter connected in shunt with the power source 114 and current source 120 to complete the "vertical arm" of the bridged-T filter.
While the afore-described arrangement is effective in maintaining acceptable power factor in the presence of the induction generator and of also reducing or eliminating the harmonic distortion introduced by the non-linear loads, especially as represented by the variable speed drives with diode rectifier front ends, it nonetheless comes at significant parts count and cost of equipment. More specifically, the ratings required of the filter capacitor(s) and the power factor correction capacitor(s) cause them to be relatively large and expensive. Although the insulated gate bipolar transistor switched bridge and associated control circuitry of the aforementioned '329 patent do provide a good quality of power without power factor correction and with little or no harmonic distortion, that circuitry itself comes at a significant cost or expense, such that it may not be a particularly acceptable trade-off.
Accordingly, what is needed is an arrangement in which an induction generator and associated non-linear loads are connectable to the utility power grid and operate with an acceptable power factor and minimal harmonic distortion, yet are reliable and cost effective in attaining that result.

Harmonic filter with integrated power factor correction


Unwanted distortion of the planar configuration of a carbon-based X-ray lithography mask, that would otherwise occur during selective etching of the (silicon) support substrate, is prevented by incorporating a compensation layer of inorganic material that effectively offsets the internal compressive stress characteristic of the carbon. For this purpose, on a top, planar surface of a silicon substrate, a multiple layer structure containing a first layer of carbon having an internal compressive stress characteristic and a second layer of inorganic material having an internal tensile stress characteristic, is plasma-deposited. The tensile stress characteristic of the inorganic layer compensates for the compressive stress characteristic of the carbon layer and causes the composite structure to retain its substantially planar configuration after the underlying silicon substrate has been etched in the course of obtaining a rim structure on which the X-ray transmissive structure is supported. An X-ray absorption layer is then selectively formed on the composite structure. Preferably, the laminate structure has multiple alternating layers of carbon and inorganic material. The thickness of a carbon layer is on the order of 1000-3000 angstrom, the thickness of a tensile stress layer is on the order of 500-2000 anstroms, and the overall thickness of said laminate structure is on the order of 10000-30000 angstroms.

The manufacture of high density, narrow line width integrated circuits requires the use of high resolution lithography equipment. Because of current limitations in the resolution capability of optical lithography equipment, other wafer topography defining processes, such as those employing extremely short wavelengths, pattern forming beams (e.g. X-rays have been developed.
A critical component in the successful utilization of X-ray lithography equipment is the mask through which the X-ray beam defines the topography of the processed wafer. A typical X-ray mask employs an X-ray absorption pattern, usually comprised of a heavy metal, such as gold or tungsten, that is formed on an underlying support membrane. Not only must this membrane be capable of providing a support base for the absorption metal pattern, but it must be highly transparent to the wafer-processing write X-ray beam and to visible light. In this regard, it is normally required that the support membrane have a X-ray transmissivity of at least 50%, that it have a high transmissivity to visible light, particularly laser light, and the physical size of the mask itself must correspond to the size of the underlying (e.g. silicon) substrate to be patterned. Moreover, in terms of its structural parameters the mask, which is planar, must be dimensionally stable and of a uniform thickness with minimal defects.
Materials which have been commonly employed in the construction of X-ray mask for semiconductor lithography processing include carbon and carbide/nitride compounds, such as silicon nitride, boron nitride, silicon carbide, boron carbide, as well as materials such as silundum and silicon, and materials which utilize polymer films. Unfortunately, each material is not without its own problems. For example, silicon nitride, although enjoying thermal and dimensional stability and a high transmissivity to visible light, suffers from low tensile strength. Boron nitride, which is commonly manufactured by chemical deposition, suffers from surface defects. Silicon itself, even though being a material that is directly applicable to the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, has poor transmissivity to visible light.
The choice of organic materials for use as a support membrane has not be actively pursued since such materials typically suffer from thermal and dimensional stability and have a short useful life.
For an illustration of prior art which discloses the use of carbide, nitride and silicon compounds, such as silicon nitride, boron nitride, silicon carbide, etc. attention may be directed to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,873,824 and 4,608,326, which particularly address the use of silicon carbide as an X-ray mask support material.
Carbon itself, on the other hand, particularly diamond-like carbon, enjoys high transmissivity to both visible rays and X-rays. Moreover, its thermal, mechanical and chemical stability are excellent and a homogeneous film of carbon can be formed by plasma chemical deposition. Consequently, the properties of a membrane formed of high quality carbon make it a particularly attractive material as an X-ray processing mask.
Literature which discloses the use of carbon as the material of the support membrane includes the U.S. Pat. to Brady et al, No. 4,436,797 and published Japanese patent applications Nos. JP 62-174,378 to Morida Chinso, entitled "Manufacturing Method of a Hardened Carbon Film", published July 31, 1987, and JP 61-324,215 by Susuki Kumi, entitled "X-ray Exposure Mask", published by Feb. 15, 1986.
The '797 Brady et al patent discloses the use of hydrogenated amorphous carbon, in which carbon is deposited in the presence of hydrogen at a substrate temperature of less than 375.degree.. The hydrogen concentration in the resulting film is greater than 1% and the optical bandgap of the manufactured film is greater than 1 electron volt, and preferably 2 electron volts.
In the process described in the Chinso publication, a hardened carbon film is formed by reacting an organic monomer in the presence of hydrogen using a plasma CVD process and results in a film having a internal peel stress of 8.times.10-9.2.times.10-dyne/cm.sup.2. In the Kumi publication, the X-ray exposure mask produced is formed of a diamond-like carbon film and a built up layer structure containing an organic polymer film.
In conventional processes for depositing carbon films, a simple plasma chemical vapor deposition process is employed. Where a silicon substrate is employed as the support for the carbon film, the substrate is subjected to compressive internal stress, which leads to a warping of a carbon film during subsequent mask processing.
More particularly, with reference to the drawings, FIG. 1(a) shows the formation of a carbon film 102 on an underlying silicon substrate 101. Carbon layer 102 is formed on the silicon substrate 101 by plasma chemical vapor deposition, in which an upper electrode is grounded and the silicon substrate is coupled to a negative potential with a radio frequency voltage of 13.56 MHz established between the electrodes. With the introduction of a reaction gas such as CH4 or C2H6, and a reactor pressure on the order of 5-100 m Torr, carbon film 102 is deposited upon the silicon substrate 101. The rate of deposition of the carbon depends upon ambient pressure and RF 25 power within the reactor and is typically on the order of 100 .ANG. per minute.
A change in the conditions of the deposition process will affect the optical properties of the deposited carbon film 102. In particular, when using methane as a reaction gas, the optical bandgap may be varied between 0.5 eV to 2.5 eV by modifying the ambient conditions within the reactor chamber. The optical bandgap depends significantly upon a self-biased formed on the reactor electrode to which the substrate 101 is coupled. As this self-bias is produced, the optical bandgap increases.
As mentioned previously, one of the factors in the quality of the carbon membrane as an X-ray mask support layer is its internal stress. For an optical bandgap in a carbon film greater than 1.5 eV, the compressive stress within the film is greater than 5.times.10 dyne/cm.sup.2. As a consequence, when the based silicon substrate 101 upon which the carbon layer is deposited is etched away, so as to provide a silicon support border around the membrane, the internal compressive stress causes the carbon film 102 to warp as shown at (b) of FIG. 1, thus severely altering the planarity of the carbon support membrane and whereby the quality of the X-ray mask.

X-ray lithography carbon mask and method of manufacturing the same

Korea Electronics & Telecommunications Research Inst.


The compounds of formula I ##STR1## wherein either. R.sub.1 is hydroxy, PA1 R.sub.2 is allyl or n-propyl and PA1 there is a single bond between the carbon atoms numbered 14 and 15 PA1 R.sub.1 is missing, PA1 R.sub.2 is allyl and PA1 there is a double bond between the carbon atoms numbered 14 and 15,. or. have interesting immunosuppressant and anti-inflammatory properties.. They are obtained by fermentation or synthesis, e.g. by hydrogenation or dehydration.

Fujisawa EP 184162 discloses a group of compounds represented by formula A ##STR3## wherein R.sup.1 is hydroxy or protected hydroxy,
and salts thereof.
As is evident from the above formula, there are many asymmetry centers and therefore, a large number of possible stereoisomers exist for any given meaning of the substituents.
On the other hand, although on page 4 in EP 184 162 it is mentioned that there may be one or more coniormer(s) or stereoisomeric pairs such as optical and geometrical isomers due to asymmetric carbon atom(s) and double bond(s), for none of the compounds specifically disclosed in EP 184 162 is there any indication of the exact stereochemical configuration.
This is so in particular for the compound named FK 900506 (FK 506), which is the object of Examples 1 to 3 therein, its derivative hydrogenated at the allyl group to an n-propyl group, which is the object of Example 21 therein, and its derivative dehydrated between positions 14 and 15, which is disclosed in Example 17 therein. From the formula and the names indicated on page 32, 95 and 98 of EP 184 162 it is not apparent what confiuration FK 506 and these two derivatives have.
The configuration of FK 506 has however been published in the scientific literature, e.g. in H. Tanaka et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 109 (1987) 5031-5033, T. Kino et al., J. Antibiotics 40 (1987) 1249-1255 and T. Taga et al., Acta Cryst. C43 (1987) 751-753.
It appears therefrom that FK 506 and, by implication, the two derivatives thereof mentioned above, have the configuration indicated above for formula I of the present invention, except that at the carbon atom numbered I7 the configuration is reversed, i.e. it is the R configuration, whereas in formula I above the S configuration is shown.

Substituted 4-azatricyclo(22.3.1.0.sup.4,9)octacos-18-ene derivatives, their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions containing them


Systems and methods for effecting delayed delivery of data. There are received, at a scheduler, from a plurality of mobile computing devices, a plurality of requests for transmission of data objects. Responsive to the requests, communication is made to at least one of the devices at least one offer for a delayed transmission deadline of at least one data object. There is received, at the scheduler, at least one response to the at least one offer, and there is determined a scheduling priority of transmissions based on the at least one response.

Delivery of digital content to mobile devices over the 3G spectrum carries costs for mobile network operators, over-the-top-providers, and end users. Mobile network operators provide bandwidth for delivery of data services.
During peak times, such bandwidth may be depleted, thereby causing unintended delays in delivery and decreasing the user's quality of experience. Such delays also erode the user's quality of experience for over-the-top programming, thus eroding the user's confidence in the mobile network operator and the over-top-provider's services. Moreover, during off-peak demand times, bandwidth may go unused, and typically there is no way to recover the unused bandwidth for future use. Thus, the lost bandwidth decreases the total profits of the mobile network provider.
In view of these considerations and others, it has become readily apparent that conventional systems and methods have fallen short in providing a desirably efficient use of 3G spectrum bandwidth.

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a method for determining the salience map of an audio video document. The method comprises the steps for:                calculating a salience map in relation to the video part of said document,        determining at least one audio descriptor representing said document,        weighting the video salience map as a function of the variation of said audio descriptor.

The invention relates more particularly to the recognition of the audio characteristics for determining the salient of an audio video document.
The determination of the salient zones of an audio video document is useful for different applications such as compression (the salient zones are coded on a greater number of bits for example or the quantization step for said zone is modified), indexing (it is possible to index the documents by using the information in these salient zones), etc.
There are several methods for determining the salience of a video document. The European patent EP1695288 filed in the name of Thomson Licensing on 14 Dec. 2004 describes a particularly effective method for establishing the salience map of a video document.
However, in some cases, the video does not enable the salience of an audio video document to be obtained in sufficiently accurate manner.
To improve the relevance of current methods, the invention proposes to associate audio characteristics with the visual characteristics.

Method and device for calculating the salience of an audio video document


Techniques for cursor position based on focus of a glasses device are described and are implementable to enable cursor positioning and repositioning between different visual regions displayed by a glasses device. The described implementations, for example, track changes in focus orientation of a user of a glasses device and reposition and/or activate a cursor based on the changes.

Today's person is afforded a tremendous selection of devices that are capable of performing a multitude of tasks. For instance, desktop and laptop computers provide computing power and screen space for productivity and entertainment tasks. Further, smartphones and tablets provide computing power and communication capabilities in highly portable form factors. One particularly intriguing device form factor is smart glasses which provide computing functionality in the form of wearable glasses. For instance, virtual reality (VR) glasses and augmented reality (AR) glasses (examples of "glasses devices") provide an interactive experience in which various types of computer-generated content ("virtual content") are displayable via a glasses device. Virtual content, for example, includes gaming content, productivity content, entertainment content, communication content, and so forth.
While the ability to display virtual content on a glasses device provides for numerous user experiences it also presents challenges for managing user interactions with virtual content. For instance, when multiple different instances of virtual content are displayed via a glasses device, conventional glasses devices encounter difficulty enabling a user to interact with a specific instance of the virtual content.

Cursor position based on focus of a glasses device


A particular residential gateway includes a network interface, a connector interface to receive a signal via one or more communication lines, and a power coupling device to receive power from at least one of the one or more communication lines. The residential gateway includes a first module to receive first data via the signal and to route the first data to a first device coupled to the network interface. The first module is powered using the power received from the at least one communication line by the power coupling device.

Improvements in technology have led to an increase in service providers offering so-called "triple play" services. Triple play services provide voice, video and data service to a subscriber from a single provider. Offering triple play services that meet customer expectations in an efficient manner can be challenging. For example, providing new services to a customer or terminating existing services for a customer may require dispatching one or more service technicians to customer premises. Technicians may also need to be dispatched to customer premises when a customer complains about a service outage. Occasionally, the first dispatched technician diagnoses the problem and determines a that a second technician must be dispatched in order to solve the problem, lengthening service outage response time and further aggravating the customer.


An engine is provided, which includes a combustion chamber defined by a piston crown surface, an inner wall surface of a cylinder, and a pentroof ceiling surface formed in a cylinder head, and an ignition part of a spark plug disposed at the ceiling surface to achieve flame propagation combustion inside the combustion chamber. A cavity recessed in a spherical cap shape is formed in a central area of the crown surface. An opening of an intake port is formed in the ceiling surface (intake side) and an opening of an exhaust port is formed in the ceiling surface (exhaust side). When seen in a cross-sectional view taken along a cylinder axis, the ignition part is located above the cavity to be offset toward the exhaust side with respect to a cylinder axial line whereas a cavity center point is located to be offset toward the intake side.

For the purposes of improving thermal efficiency and fuel efficiency, daily studies have been done on a structure of a combustion chamber of an engine, particularly, on a structure of a piston. For example, JP2013-241922A discloses a combustion chamber provided with a pentroof-type ceiling surface, where a pentroof peak and a spark plug are offset toward an exhaust side with respect to the center axis of a piston.
Generally, in a combustion chamber having a pentroof-type ceiling surface, an intake port is a tumble port. In order to improve the thermal efficiency and the fuel efficiency in such a combustion chamber, it is essential to maintain a tumble flow until a latter half of a compression stroke so as to increase a combustion speed of a mixture gas. However, actually, a structure of the combustion chamber which can meet this requirement at a high level has not yet been proposed.


A cardiac pacemaker and method of its use. The pacemaker is provided with a pacing electrode array configured for location at a left anterior portion of a patient's thorax between the patients third and sixth ribs, outside the patient's thoracic cavity. The pacing electrode array includes multiple pacing electrodes and preferably includes one or more steering electrodes for configuring the electrical field produced by delivery of pacing pulses to avoid unwanted nerve and muscle stimulation while allowing cardiac stimulation. The electrode array may be located subcutaneously, submuscularly or on the patient's skin.

Interest has recently increased in the development of implantable defibrillators that may be inserted entirely subcutaneously or sub-muscularly, having no leads or electrodes within the thoracic cavity. The elimination of transvenous or epicardial leads is believed likely to allow for implant of the devices by a wider range of physicians, in some cases at a lower cost than traditional implantable cardio defibrillators (ICDs). Such devices, are therefore believed to offer the opportunity for increased levels of use, particularly for prophylactic implant. US Application Publication Nos. 2002/0042634, 2002/00068958 and 2002/0035377 to Bardy et al., are exemplary of current thinking with regard to such subcutaneous ICDs. Additional subcutaneous ICDs are disclosed in US Application Publication No. 20020082658 by Heinrich et al. and PCT publication WO/04043919A2 by Olson. All of the above cited applications and publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The above-referenced Bardy et al. applications disclose subcutaneously implanted ICD IPGs that are coupled with at least one cardioversion/defibrillation lead. In certain embodiments, the ICD IPG has a conventional configuration having a can electrode that functions as one cardioversion/defibrillation electrode and is implanted subcutaneously anterior or posterior to the heart. The cardioversion/defibrillation lead is tunnelled subcutaneously under the skin and around the thorax to locate the lead supported cardioversion/defibrillation electrode posterior or anterior to the heart, respectively. In certain embodiments, two cardioversion/defibrillation leads that are electrically connected together are tunnelled subcutaneously under the skin and around the thorax to locate the two cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes apart from one another and posterior or anterior to the heart, respectively. Electrical sensing of the cardiac electrical activity is accomplished across two sense electrodes displaced apart from one another on the IPG housing or on the lead. Cardioversion/defibrillation shocks are delivered across the thorax between the cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes on the ICD housing and the lead. It is also asserted that cardiac pacing pulses can be applied to the heart across the cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes on the ICD housing and the lead. In certain embodiments, the ICD housing is shaped in an elongated, thin, narrow shape to approximate and conform to the curvature of the thorax for cosmetic reasons and in some cases to fit between the ribs, e.g., between the fourth and fifth ribs. In some such embodiments, the ICD may have no associated subcutaneous lead and may have both cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes mounted to the ICD housing.
While the above-cited applications by Bardy et al generally propose that pacing be done using the large surface area cardioversion/defibrillation electrodes, the Olson publication proposes that pacing may be accomplished using two smaller electrodes. One of these electrodes may be located on each of two separate device housings that are coupled to one another by a subcutaneous lead. Alternatively, one of the pacing electrodes may be located on the subcutaneous lead.
Like transthoracic pacing, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,349,030, and 5,018,522, subcutaneous pacing has the potential to cause discomfort to the patient, as well as phrenic nerve and/or muscular stimulation, including direct diaphragmatic stimulation. This drawback may limit the use of subcutaneous pacing therapies, including anti-tachycardia, anti-bradycardia or post-shock pacing, in some patients.


Provided is a lubricating oil composition of an environmental regulation compliant type, comprising (A) a base oil for a lubricating oil, (B) sulfated oxymolybdenum dithiocarbamate, (C) an acid amide compound, (D) (d1) a fatty acid partial ester compound and/or (d2) an aliphatic amine compound and (E) a specific benzotriazole derivative, wherein a content of the component (B) is 0.02 to 0.1% by mass in terms of molybdenum; a content of the component (C) is 0.2 to 1.0 % by mass; a content of the component (D) is 0.2 to 1.0% by mass; and a content of the component (E) is 0.02 to 0.1% by mass each based on the whole amount of the composition, and it has an excellent friction reducing effect in combination with a high corrosion preventing effect to copper and lead.

The present invention relates to a lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines, more specifically to a lubricating oil composition for internal combustion engines which is improved in a corrosion inhibiting effect to metal materials and a friction reducing effect by using sulfated oxymolybdenum dithiocarbamate and a specific ashless base friction controlling agent in combination.


An automatic washing machine can be operated in accordance with a selected wash cycle by determining a concentration of a wash aid prior to a dispensing of the wash aid into at least one of a tub and a drum, and selecting an operating parameter of the automatic washing machine in response to the determined concentration.

Conventional automatic cleaning appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and the like, involve the mixing of a wash aid with water to create a wash liquid to facilitate the cleaning process. These wash aids may include detergents, water softeners, fabric softeners, whitening agents, brightening agents, in-wash stain removers, color safe bleaches, peroxygen bleaches and the like. One dispensing method is for the appropriate quantity of wash aid to be added to the cleaning appliance by an operator prior to the initiation of the laundering cycle. The operator places the wash aid in a dispenser, and the wash aid is introduced into the water at a preselected step in the cleaning cycle. The effectiveness of the wash aid is dependent, at least in part, on the quantity of wash aid dispensed. Thus, accurate measuring and dispensing of the wash aid is very desirable.
Certain wash aids, particularly laundry detergents, are increasingly supplied to the public in higher concentrations, such as twice or three times the concentration of a traditional laundry detergent. Thus, for example, if a traditional laundry detergent has a base concentration identified as "1×," a detergent having twice the concentration or triple the concentration can be identified as "2×" or "3×", respectively. Because these detergents are more highly concentrated, a smaller quantity of higher-concentration detergent is required to provide the same cleaning effectiveness as a 1× detergent.
The more highly concentrated wash aids have created a dispensing problem. Current dispensing systems are designed for wash aids of a known and standard concentration, such as the 1× detergent concentration. If a wash aid of a greater concentration is used, the dispensing system is dependent on the user to place the appropriate amount of wash aid in the dispenser. Unfortunately, reliance on the user provides a source of dispensing errors, the most likely of which is the filling of the dispensing system with too much of the higher concentration wash aid.
Conventional cleaning appliances, such as washing machines and dishwashers, require a specific amount of detergent in order to optimize cleaning and minimize the generation of excess suds, which can be detrimental to the cleaning process and certain components, particularly pumps. High concentrations of detergent can also be damaging to certain fabrics. The quantity of detergent required will be dependent on the concentration of the detergent. Thus, for example, if too large a quantity of a high-concentration detergent is dispensed, excessive sudsing can occur, or fabrics can be damaged. Conversely, if too low a quantity of a low-concentration detergent is used, soil removal from the laundered items can be less effective.

Apparatus and method for controlling laundering cycle by sensing wash aid concentration


The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and control method thereof capable of performing a handwriting input. A mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a display unit configured to display a virtual keypad, and a controller configured to implement a handwriting mode when a drag across the virtual keypad is sensed, and recognize a trace of the drag as a handwriting character when the drag is completed in the handwriting mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and control method thereof capable of performing a handwriting input.
2. Description of the Related Art
Terminals can be classified into a mobile terminal and a stationary terminal based on its mobility. Furthermore, terminals can be further classified into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal based on whether or not it can be directly carried by a user.
As it becomes multifunctional, the mobile terminal can be allowed to capture still or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player. Moreover, in order to support and enhance the function of the terminal, the improvement of the terminal may be considered in the aspect of structure or software.
Owing to the foregoing improvement, terminals have been evolved to support various input modes. As a result, a user can possess user interfaces suitable to his or her taste.

Mobile terminal for supporting various input modes and control method thereof


A mower blade sharpening device comprising a guide body having a sharpening rod guide, a sharpening rod having a sharpener end, and an operator end. The sharpening rod is disposed in the sharpening rod guide. A sharpener is disposed on the sharpener end of the sharpening rod. Also disclosed is a method for sharpening a mower blade using the sharpening device.

Mower blades should be sharpened on a regular basis to operate properly and to maintain a healthy lawn. Typically, mower blades are sharpened by removing the blade, mounting it on a fixture, sharpening the blade and reinstalling the blade. Removing blades can be difficult, time consuming, and dangerous. The bolt holding the blade may become corroded and difficult to remove because of the moist environmental conditions under a mower deck that grass cutting creates. Additionally, a method of keeping the blade from rotating while loosening the blade bolt is necessary, and attempting to hold the blade with one's hand while loosening the bolt is dangerous, and may cut fingers.
Sharpening a mower blade while it remains installed on a mower would alleviate the above mentioned problems associated with sharpening a mower blade.


A method and a composition for stimulating oil production from wells which have ceased production by pumping in a mixture of gluconic, oxalic and citric acids, isopropanol, ethylene glycol and sodium citrate between pre-flush and over-flush intervals, which composition and method does not include the use of hydrochloric acid or hydrofluoric acid.

This invention relates to a method and a composition to effectively stimulate oil production from a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing rock formation penetrated by a wellbore and, more particularly, to a composition and method to acidize a hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone formation to stimulate production without the use of either hydrochloric or hydrofluoric acids.

Composition and method for stimulation of oil production in sandstone formations