A lubricating apparatus of the present invention is applied to a transmission having a plurality of rotating shafts, and includes a first rotating shaft having a first oil passage, a second rotating shaft, and an impeller fixed to an axial end of the first rotating shaft. The impeller is arranged in a first oil storage chamber communicated with an outlet of the first oil passage. The impeller rotates with the first rotating shaft to scatter oil, and supplies the oil to the second rotating shaft.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lubricating apparatus for rotating shaft, and in particular, a lubricating apparatus for supplying oil to a plurality of rotating shafts arranged in a case.
Description of the Related Art
The lubricating apparatus is mounted in, for example, a gear transmission to lubricate bearings of the rotating shafts, engaged portions of gears, and fitted portions of the gears and the rotating shafts. Examples of a method of supplying oil include a method of pumping lubricating oil compressed in an oil pump to each portion to be lubricated via passages inner of rotating shafts and a case wall, a method of scraping oil accumulated on a bottom of a case with gears and supplying the oil to each portion to be lubricated (for example, US2015-0060207 A1, US2015-0308559 A1), and an oil mist lubrication method of lubricating each portion to be lubricated with oil mist filled in a case.
In terms of size of the above-mentioned gear transmission, the transmission can be made compact in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the rotating shafts by adjusting layout of the rotating shafts, especially, the height of the rotating shafts. However, when the rotating shafts is located high, the amount of supplied lubricating oil decreases. In addition, high-load and high-speed rotation of the transmission require an increase in the amount of supplied lubricating oil. According to the forced oil supply method using the oil pump, such decrease in the amount of supplied lubricating oil can be addressed by increasing the capacity of the pump. However, since the oil pump is required, the number of parts increases.

Lubricating apparatus for rotating shaft


Mobile device-activated vehicle functions are implemented by authenticating a vehicle with a device via wireless signals transmitted between a low frequency antenna of the device and a low frequency antenna of the vehicle when the vehicle is in communicative range of the device. The mobile device-activated vehicle functions are further implemented by receiving, via computer processor embedded in the device, a selection from one of a plurality of input components embedded in the device, the selection associated with a vehicle function, and transmitting a request to implement the vehicle function via the low frequency antenna coupled to the computer processor and the low frequency antenna of the vehicle.

With the increased popularity of mobile communications devices, such as cellular telephones and smart phones, many individuals state they are more likely to forget their car keys and other electronic devices than they are to forget their mobile communications devices.
With the advent of wireless technology, many vehicle functions can now be implemented using a key fob that is programmed to perform remote functions with respect to the vehicle. However, keeping track of multiple key fobs and other electronic devices, such as mobile communications device and music players, etc., can be a difficult task.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a way to integrate features of various electronic devices to a single device.


A signal generator includes a baseband unit, generating a digital, and an I/Q modulator, modulating the digital baseband signal. A storing memory stores a time slot of said digital baseband signal and an optical display unit represents the digital baseband signal stored in said memory according to a predetermined representation mode.

As a rule, hitherto signal generators do not have a display of the baseband signal currently being generated. At best, a static display is available of the theoretically generated signal, but not of the signal actually being generated currently. The observation of the change in the signal as a function of time or a signal evaluation of the baseband signal actually being currently generated is not possible.


This disclosure relates to the treatment of hematologic cancers, for example, cancers of the blood, by methods that include administration of EGCG and at least one of a purine nucleoside analog and an alkylating agent. In particular, methods of treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) are described.

Cancer is now the second leading cause of death in the United States and over 8,000,000 persons in the United States have been diagnosed with cancer. In 1995, cancer accounted for 23.3% of all deaths in the United States. See, e.g., U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, Health United States 1996-97 and Injury Chartbook 117 (1997).
Green tea has long been touted as a health promoting substance. Recent scientific investigations have identified the active chemical compounds in green tea, designated tea polyphenons or catechins Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the major catechin in tea. A number of epidemiologic studies have linked consumption of green tea to decreased risk of cancer, and animal models have supported green tea's ability to prevent tumorigenesis.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


A system for medication delivery comprises a package containing a medication and a dosing device for delivering a dose of the medication, formulated as a multiparticulate, microspheres, a powder or a liquid. The package comprises a bottle, a bottle insert that covers a bottle opening and includes a dispense nozzle. The dispense nozzle is sealed using a valve that opens when the dosing device is engaged with the bottle. A closure covers the bottle insert and closes the bottle. The dosing device, similar to an oral syringe, comprises a barrel with a valve at a distal end of the barrel, a plunger and a dose control clip for attachment to the plunger. After the dosing device is connected to, the valve of the dispense nozzle, withdrawal of the plunger causes the dosing device to receive the dose of the medication, a user pushes the plunger which pushes the medication through the valve of the barrel and into a patient's mouth.

The vast majority of pediatric formulations today are oral solutions or suspensions. Liquid formulations are commonly used for the pediatric population for their ease of administration and ease of modifying the dose volume, but are limited by their need for large dosing volumes, bad taste that requires taste masking with sweeteners, and often the requirement for refrigeration during storage and transportation (cold chain storage and transportation). Solid oral doses have better dosing volumes, but can be difficult for children to swallow, and dose volumes are not easily changed by the user.
Children in low resource countries often do not receive the correct dose of medicine because pediatric formulations either are not available or existing formulations are not properly dosed. Powder that can be reconstituted to a liquid solves the cold chain storage and transportation issue but requires potable water which might not be readily available in low-resource settings.
Children with taste sensitivities or difficulty swallowing can have significant issues taking a precise dose of liquid oral medications. The taste can cause vomiting, spitting or outright refusal to swallow the medicine. Likewise, adults with difficulty swallowing pills and tablets could also benefit from an easier to swallow form of medication.
The Multi-Particulate (MP) formulation brings together the advantages of both liquid and solid formulations—high dose flexibility and ease of administration—to facilitate the effective and safe administration of drugs for children and adults. MP drugs are microspheres of dry drug that can contain a coating that masks the flavor of the drug and can be designed to remain intact in water or saliva and only dissolve in mild acid, such as in a patient's stomach.
While MP drugs offer a solution to the difficulties of liquid oral medications and solid pills, they offer unique challenges to measuring a precise dose and administering that dose. MP drugs are shaped like tiny spheres, generally ranging from about 100 to about 400 microns in diameter. They have no surface tension to each other and so they flow more easily than water, but when put under compression they can lock against each other and not move at all. MP drugs are also sensitive to moisture and can clump if they get too moist.
Current solutions for dosing and dispensing MP and powdered drugs include the following: Unit doses in foil lined packets, Unit doses in break-open capsules and Unit doses in filter straws. In the case of the packets and capsules, the MP needs to be poured into the patient's mouth or onto a secondary dispensing device, such as a spoon. Dispensing using gravity into a mouth requires the patient to tilt his or her head back. It is also difficult to guide the MP into a location in the mouth that is acceptable and will not cause the patient to spit or cough it out, such as the inside of the cheek. Pouring it into the mouth usually results with the MP resting on the tongue instead. Dispensing onto a spoon is feasible for children who are old enough to use a spoon, or who have a care-giver who can handle a spoon; this still introduces a high probability of some drug spilling from the spoon, reducing the effective dose to the patient.
The other difficulty using packets or capsules is when different doses are needed than what is contained in a single capsule or packet. To achieve variable dose levels a care giver needs to combine capsules of identical or different dosages. This introduces chances of errors and spilling.
Filter straws are another method of dispensing MP drugs. They are a single-use disposable drinking straw with a filter at one end. The MP is contained within the straw and a child drinks through the straw, pulling the MP up with the diluent, generally water, and into the mouth. This avoids the spilling potential but it is only suitable for children old enough to use drinking straws. It is a fixed dose system and uses a disposable device for each dose that is more expensive than a capsule or packet.
What is desirable is a system that can be used to measure a dose of MP drug and then dispense it to even the youngest pediatric patients with high probability of an accurately delivered dose. The system should be useable by parents and/or other care givers with little or no training. The system should be suitable for use in most environments, including low resource environments. The system should also be suitable for use by geriatric patients who have swallowing problems or related difficulties, as well as people of other ages who have similar medical problems, such as, for example only, the result of an accident.
Traditional liquid medications that are drawn into a syringe are done so in two common ways. One is with a needle at the end of the syringe which punctures a septum or dips into a bottle. The other, commonly used for liquid oral medication, is to place the end of the syringe, typically a luer-style nozzle, into a bottle such that the nozzle is inserted into a matching hole in the top of the bottle. The system is inverted with the syringe below the bottle and then the plunger is drawn back to align with a printed dose marking, pulling the liquid into the syringe. The syringe is then separated from the bottle. In these systems the liquid is prevented from spilling out of the syringe and bottle only by means of surface tension of the liquid and the size of the openings, along with the user keeping the opening upright; however, none of these methods are absolute and leaking often occurs. Furthermore, the dose volume is selected visually by the user. What is desirable is a means to prevent leaking from the bottle and the syringe, especially with expensive drugs or those which skin contact is undesirable. What is also desirable is a means to set a dose that is more accurate and repeatable than by visual alignment of the plunger rod to a printed marking on the syringe barrel.

System for dosing and dispensing medication


A winch installation comprises a rotatably supported main winch device, such as a drum, for winding and unwinding an elongated flexible object such as a wire or cable. At least one auxiliary winch device is rotatably supported so as to be rotatable around the main winch device, said at least one auxiliary winch device being provided with at least one aperture for allowing the flexible object to pass from the circumference of the main winch device and outwardly with respect to the circumference of the auxiliary winch device, and control means for controlling the rotations of said winch device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to a winch installation comprising a rotatably supported main winch device, such as a drum, for winding or unwinding an elongated flexible object such as a wire or cable. Such winch installation is widely known, and can be used for winding or unwinding all kinds of wires or cables, such as electric, hydraulic, pneumatic wires, steel cables, umbilicals of all kinds and so on. In so far as such objects are of a relatively flexible nature, the winding and unwinding process proceeds rather smoothly and usually does not give rise to particular problems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In specific applications, e.g. umbilicals which are provided with intermediate segments which are of a relatively rigid or stiff nature, the process of winding and unwinding can become more cumbersome. The relatively rigid segments are not flexible enough to follow the curved contour of the winch, which means that special precautions have to be taken when winding or unwinding such segmented umbilicals. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,088, describing a lifting system according to which the relatively stiff segments are to be removed from the cable before winding said cable to the winch drum.
The disadvantage of such lifting system is obvious. Each time the stiff segments in question have to be dismounted from the cable upon winding said cable onto the winch drum, or have to be mounted onto the cable again upon unwinding thereof. Such process is cumbersome and time-consuming, and not fit for frequent winding and unwinding operations.

Winch for a segmented wire and method for operating said winch


There is provided a track ball type data input apparatus which can input data showing the movement in the direction vertical to the image or the rotation around the axis vertical to the image and visually and easily assures the operation flexibility in the threedimensional inputs. In this apparatus, the first encoder and the second encoder are driven by rotating the spherical manipulator called a track ball and the pulse outputs obtained from the encoders cause an object displayed in the image to move or rotate. When the attitude sensor detects inclination of the body case, the coordinate axes are rotated depending on the direction and angle of inclination and are then converted. Thereby the object can be moved or rotated with reference to the converted coordinate axes. Moreover, the moving operation control mode and rotating operation control mode can be switched by manipulating the mode switching button.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data input apparatus for inputting coordinate data for moving or rotating an image displayed on the display screen of a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a data input apparatus of the related art utilizing so-called a track ball.
A spherical manipulator 1 called a track ball is supported to freely rotate in the three-dimensional directions in order to drive an X encoder 2 and a Y encoder 3 in these directions.
The X encoder 2 comprises a roller 2a which rotates around the axis extending in the Y direction and a disc 2b which rotates together- with the roller 2a. At the external circumference of the disc 2b, cutout sections are formed. These cutout portions and the section where the cutout section is not formed are alternately formed in the circumference direction with a constant pitch At the external circumference section of the disc 2b, a photocoupler 2c is provided opposing thereto. The photocoupler 2c is provided with a light emitting element and a light receiving element opposed to each other and the external circumference of the disc 2b is provided between the light emitting element and light receiving element. When the roller 2a and disc 2b rotate, a pulse output of the frequency depending on the rotating velocity of the disc 2b can be obtained.
In the same manner, the Y encoder comprises a roller 3a rotating around the axis extending in the X direction, a disc 3b rotating together with this roller 3a, and a photocoupler 3c provided opposed to the external circumference of the disc 3b. At the external circumference of the disc 3b, the cutout portions and the section where the cutout section is not formed are formed alternately in the circumference direction in the constant pitch. Thereby, a pulse output in the frequency depending on the rotating velocity of the roller 3a and disc 3b can be obtained from the photocoupler 3c.
An ordinary input operation occurring when the data input apparatus explained above is connected to a computer will be explained below.
When the spherical manipulator 1 is rotated in the X direction, the roller 2a and disc 2b of the X encoder 2 rotate and thereby a pulse output can be obtained from the photocoupler 2c and it is then converted to the coordinate data. When this coordinate data is input to the computer, a cursor or character and object on the display image moves in the X direction, for example, on the display screen connected to the computer. Moreover, when the manipulator 1 is rotated in the Y direction, the roller 3a and disc 3b of the Y encoder 3 rotate, a pulse output from the photocoupler is converted to the coordinate data, and is then input. Thereby the cursor, etc. moves in the Y direction on the image explained above.
Moreover, when the manipulator 1 is rotated, for example, in the .alpha. direction having an angle for both X and Y axes, both roller 2a and roller 3a are rotated, the pulses from the photocoupler 2c and photocoupler 3c are converted into the coordinate data and thereby the cursor is moved in the .alpha. direction on the display image.
Moreover, it is also possible to input the data of rotating mode as the coordinate data by rotating the manipulator 1, for example, while the predetermined key on the keyboard is depressed. When the manipulator 1 is rotated in the X direction, for example, while depressing the key explained above and thereby the pulse output can be obtained from the photocoupler 2c of the X encoder, this pulse output is converted to the rotating data on the coordinate and is then input to the computer. As a result, a character or object, for example, displayed on the display image is rotated around the Y axis (.theta.y direction). In the same manner, when the manipulator 1 is rotated in the Y direction while depressing the key, the character explained above rotates, for example, around the X axis (.theta.x direction) on the display image.
Namely, the character, etc. on the display image rotates in the same direction as the manipulator 1. Therefore, when the manipulator 1 is rotated in the .alpha. direction, the character, etc. rotates around the axis orthogonal to the .alpha. direction.
As explained above, in the data input apparatus comprising the spherical manipulator 1, X encoder 2 and Y encoder 3, the coordinate data of the moving direction, amount of movement and moving velocity in the two-dimension of the X-Y coordinates can be input and moreover the rotating data around the Y axis and the rotating data around the X axis can also be input in the input mode of the rotating coordinate. However, the input coordinate data is limited only to that explained above and it is a disadvantage of the related art that it is impossible to execute the following input.
(1) When inputting the rotating data on the coordinate, the rotating data around the Z axis orthogonal to the X and Y axes cannot be input. Namely, as explained above, when the manipulator 1 is rotated in the X direction or in the Y direction in the rotating mode where the predetermined key is depressed, it is possible to input the data to rotate the character in the same direction as the manipulator 1 on the display image. However, even when the manipulator 1 is rotated in the .theta.z direction (rotation around the X axis) in FIG. 5, the rotating data around the Z axis cannot be input. Namely, if the manipulator 1 rotates in the .theta.z direction, the X encoder 2 and Y encoder 3 rotate due to the elements around the X axis and Y axis of the manipulator 1 during this rotation and the character tries to rotate only around the X axis and Y axis depending on such output pulse. PA0 (2) In the input apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the moving data in the Z axis direction cannot be input. Therefore, it is impossible to input the data for moving, for example, the character and object appearing on the display image in different directions such as X axis and Y axis directions. PA0 (3) As explained above, in the data input apparatus of the related art, it is possible to input the coordinate data with reference to the X-Y coordinates forming the orthogonal coordinates on the horizontal plane where this data input apparatus is installed, but it is impossible to input the data in the coordinates with reference to the Y-Z plane other than the X-Y plane and moreover to input the data to the coordinates on the plane inclining against the X-Y plane. PA0 (4) In the data input apparatus of the two-dimensional input type as shown in FIG. 5, when the X encoder 2 is rotated depending on the operation of the manipulator 1, an object M on the display image (refer to the coordinates in the image of FIG. 2) moves in the X axis direction and when the Y encoder 3 is rotated, the object M on the image moves in the Y axis direction. In this case, regarding the X axis direction, the rotating direction of the manipulator 1 visually matches the moving direction of the object M on the display image but regarding the Y axis direction, although the manipulator 1 is actually moving in the Y axis direction, the moving direction of the object M moves in the vertical direction of the image, namely in the Z axis direction and therefore visual matching of the movement cannot be obtained. Therefore, when inputting the three-dimensional data in the X-Y-Z coordinates by improving the data input apparatus of this type, it is assumed that correspondence between operation and rotation in the direction of axis or around the axis may be confused.


A continuous, pinhole-free thermoplastic polymer coating, which may be a fluoroelastomer, is applied to a porous metal surface in a single coating step by spraying the thermoplastic polymer from a thermal spray gun onto a porous metal surface which is at substantially room temperature to form a semi-fused, highly porous coating. The porous metal surface is then heated to fuse the thermoplastic polymer coating into a well-anchored, continuous film. This method permits the application of a continuous thermoplastic polymer coating with one coating step rather than with the plurality of coating steps currently needed to produce a coating with comparable properties.

Fluoroelastomer coatings have a wide variety of industrial uses. Such coatings are commonly used to provide corrosion protection for metals in corrosive services, to reduce friction between metals in sliding services, or to act as release surfaces in services in which such surfaces are desirable. Fluoroelastomers typically used as coatings include perfluoroalkoxy (PFA). In order for these materials to provide the desired properties, they should be applied to the metal substrate in such a way that they form a continuous, pinhole-free coating.
Fluoroelastomer coatings are difficult to apply to metal surfaces because they are generally inert and therefore, cannot be readily bonded chemically to metal surfaces. Moreover, fluoroelastomers have coefficients of thermal expansion several times larger than the metal substrates to which they are applied. As a result, fluoroelastomer coatings which are exposed to significant changes in temperature tend to slough off the metal substrates. Both of these problems may be overcome by mechanically bonding the fluoroelastomer to a porous metal surface, or tie coat, which can be bonded to the metal substrate. The tie coat contains numerous pores and cracks. The mechanical bond between the fluoroelastomer coating and the metal tie coat is formed when molten fluoroelastomer is allowed to flow into the pores and cracks of the tie coat and solidify.
Several techniques are available to prepare the tie coat. One method is to spray molten metal onto the surface of the substrate using a thermal or plasma spray gun. The tie coat, which cools rapidly, becomes porous as it solidifies. Another method is to electroplate a metal onto the substrate and then make it porous by reversing the polarities of the electrodes in the electroplating means. This electroplating technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,468 to Nishio et al. The tie coat may be primed to improve fluoroelastomer adhesion. Typical primers include highly fluid fluoroelastomer compounds such as fluoroethylenepropylene (FEP) or inorganic primers such as CaSiO.sub.3 or Cr.sup.++.
The fluoroelastomer coating is normally applied to the tie coat by a series of deposition steps. Each deposition step comprises heating the tie coat to a temperature which will melt the fluoroelastomer followed by electrostatically depositing the fluoroelastomer in the form of a powder to a thickness of between approximately 0.5 mil and approximately 1 mil. A plurality of deposition steps is used to produce coatings thicker than approximately 1 mil. If this method is used to deposit coatings thicker than approximately 1 mil with a single deposition step, the coating will skin over, resulting in an aerated, porous, low density coating. Such a coating might not provide the desired protective properties. Skinning occurs when a coating which has been applied as a low density powder fuses on the surface and traps air within the rest of the coating. In addition, a coating which has been applied to a thickness greater than approximately 1 mil with a single deposition step may tend to fall from the surface of the tie coat when the coated substrate is moved.
Using this sequential deposition method to produce fluoroelastomer coatings thicker than approximately 1 mil is very time consuming and labor intensive. Labor costs can account for up to 80% of the total cost of a fluoroelastomer coating applied by this method.
Accordingly, there has been a continuous effort in this field of art to develop a quicker and less labor intensive means for producing a continuous fluoroelastomer coating of the desired thickness.

Method of applying a continuous thermoplastic coating with one coating step


A memory device includes a memory cell, a logic device and a high voltage device formed on the same semiconductor substrate. Portions of the upper surface of the substrate under the memory cell and the high voltage device are recessed relative to the upper surface portion of the substrate under the logic device. The memory cell includes a polysilicon floating gate disposed over a first portion of a channel region of the substrate, a polysilicon word line gate disposed over a second portion of the channel region, a polysilicon erase gate disposed over a source region of the substrate, and a metal control gate disposed over the floating gate and insulated from the floating gate by a composite insulation layer that includes a high-K dielectric. The logic device includes a metal gate disposed over the substrate. The high voltage device includes a polysilicon gate disposed over the substrate.

Split gate non-volatile memory devices are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,994 discloses a split gate non-volatile memory cell. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of such a split gate memory cell formed on a semiconductor substrate 12. Source and drain regions 16 and 14 are formed as diffusion regions in substrate 12, and define a channel region 18 there between. The memory cell includes four conductive gates: a floating gate 22 disposed over and insulated from a first portion of the channel region 18 and a portion of the source region 16, a control gate 26 disposed over and insulated from the floating gate 22, an erase gate 24 disposed over and insulated from the source region 16, and a select gate 20 disposed over and insulated from a second portion of the channel region 18. A conductive contact 10 can be formed to electrically connect to the drain region 14. U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,056 discloses another split gate non-volatile memory cell, which is similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,994, but without a control gate. FIG. 2 illustrates the memory cells of the '056 patent (with similar elements indicated with the same element number).
The memory cells are arranged in an array to form a device, with columns of such memory cells separated by columns of isolation regions. Isolation regions are portions of the substrate in which insulation material is formed. Logic (core) devices and high voltage devices can be formed on the same chip as the memory array, often formed sharing some of the same processing steps. Those dedicated areas of the substrate in which logic device and high voltage devices are formed will be referred to herein as the logic and high voltage areas, respectively.
One issue with conventional split gate memory cells is the height of the memory cells on the substrate is greater than that of the devices in the logic and high voltage areas. Yet, it can be challenging to reduce the height of the memory cells while still preserving desired performance. The present invention is a novel technique for forming a split gate non-volatile memory device on the same chip as logic and high voltage devices, with the memory cells utilizing control gates having a metal material with conventional ONO (oxide/nitride/oxide) or OHKO (oxide/HK/oxide) under the control gate as the coupling dielectrics to the floating gate.

Non-volatile split gate memory cells with integrated high K metal control gates and method of making same


In a speaker unit having a voice coil bobbin, a diaphragm and a damper, the voice coil bobbin is integrally molded with at least one of the damper and diaphragm. The voice coil may be molded into the voice coil bobbin, and the brocade lead wires from the voice coil may be molded into the damper.

The present invention relates to a speaker unit, and more particularly to a speaker unit having improved water-proof properties.
In a conventional water-proof speaker unit. the water-proof/water-resistant material is selected for any vibration members which may be exposed, such as a vibrating edge. a diaphragm. etc., or such members are coated with a water-proof material. In addition, the rear side of the diaphragm cabinet is made water-proof and/or water resistant, with the goal being to obtain a water-proof speaker unit.
In a conventional water-proof speaker unit of the type described above, the selection of a water-proof material for the vibrating members per se will result in a high cost, and the coating of the members with a water-proof material will result in an increase in the number of manufacturing steps while also increasing the material's cost per se. In either case the resulting product is expensive.
In addition, even aside from cost. it is very difficult to provide a water-proof property to a brocade lead wire for supplying a drive current to the voice coil.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive water-proof speaker unit capable of providing not only the speaker unit structure but also the brocade lead wire with acceptable water-proof properties.


A novel architecture for a network of deep reinforcement modules that enables cross-functional and multi-system coordination of autonomous systems for self-optimization with a reduced computational footprint is disclosed. Each deep reinforcement module in the network is comprised of either a single artificial neural network or a deep reinforcement module sub-network. DReMs are designed independently, decoupling each requisite function. Each module of a deep reinforcement module network is trained independently through deep reinforcement learning. By separating the functions into deep reinforcement modules, reward functions can be designed for each individual function, further simplifying the development of a full suite of algorithms while also minimizing training time. Following training, the DReMs are integrated into the full deep reinforcement module network, which is then refined through additional reinforcement training or genetic multi-objective optimization to maximize the overall performance of the network.

Sensors are used throughout the modern world to collect data. Sensors collect a wide variety of information. For example, sensors may be acoustic sensors, electric current sensors, position sensors, angle sensors, displacement sensors, distance sensors, speed sensors, acceleration sensors, optical sensors, light sensors, heat sensors, proximity sensors, etc.
As the use of modern sensors systems expands around the world, through land, sea, air, and space, the collection of data from such sensors is a problem of increasing proportions. Efficiently analyzing the data collected from devices with sensors across a network of inter-connected devices must be achieved in order to control the devices collecting the data in order to achieve some goal. In this way, sensor systems may be tasked with accomplishing goals involving the collection of data and the direction of the devices collecting the data and/or other devices to efficiently accomplish a goal or task.
The optimal tasking of sensor systems is of the utmost importance, for example, in many military and intelligence domains. The sparseness of targets of interest within the massive environments of the four physical domains, i.e. land, sea, air, and space, presents a significant challenge for the tasking of sensor systems responsible for the monitoring and surveillance of these regimes. With relatively few systems, sensor coverage is thin, resulting in an overtasked sensor architecture overwhelmed by the fog of uncertainty. This challenge is answered with the construction of dense sensor populations; however, this often results in a network of underutilized resources and the added challenges of data congestion and data fusion. Any entity involved in managing sensor systems has an interest in tasking systems capable of addressing the optimal allocation of scarce resources and the data fusion of large-scale sensor networks. For this reason, the automation of sensor network tasking is a highly important area of research. Cross-system tasking and cross-domain intelligence demands highly-efficient and autonomous data-management and tasking systems.
Consider as an example the problem of space situational awareness ("SSA"). SSA is a mission area of growing complexity given the increasing number of satellites flown for military, commercial, and civil applications. The space environment is becoming congested and contested. Thus, there is a growing need for new and better systems to search, track, characterize, and catalog resident space objects. Automation of these sensors and functions is a necessary requirement to maximize the effectiveness of SSA; however, the development and maintenance of an optimized suite of autonomous algorithms to manage a ground- and space-based enterprise is incomparably complex and cost prohibitive. A potential answer to this problem is the development of self-optimizing, cooperative, autonomous systems that are inherently adaptable to an ever-changing mission environment.

Methods and systems for implementing deep reinforcement module networks for autonomous systems control


Systems and methods for obtaining two-dimensional images of an object, such as a patient, in multiple projection planes. In one aspect, the invention advantageously permits quasi-simultaneous image acquisition from multiple projection planes using a single radiation source.

It is often desirable to take x-rays of a patient from a number of different positions, preferably without the need for frequent manual repositioning of the patient of the x-ray system. Mobile C-arm x-ray diagnostic equipment has been developed for this purpose, and has become well known in the medical art of surgical and other interventional procedures.
A C-arm refers generally to an elongated C-shaped member terminating in opposing distal ends of the "C" shape. An x-ray source and an image receptor are typically mounted at or near the distal ends, respectively, of the C-arm in opposing orientation, with the C-arm supported in a suspended position. The space within the C-shape of the arm provides room for the physician to attend to the patient substantially free of interference from the x-ray support structure. The support structure usually rests upon wheels, which enable the C-arm to be wheeled from room to room, also to move along the length of a patient while the physician operates or examines. The x-ray images from such devices are often used in the operating room environment to help ensure that devices such as surgical instrumentation are properly positioned during the procedure.
The C-arm is usually mounted so as to enable rotational movement of the arm in two degrees of freedom, i.e. about two perpendicular axes in a spherical motion. More specifically, the C-arm is slidably mounted to the support structure to enable orbiting rotational movement of the C-arm about its center of curvature, thereby permitting selective orientation of the x-ray source and the image receptor vertically, horizontally, or somewhere in between. The C-arm is also laterally rotatable, i.e. in a perpendicular direction relative to the orbiting direction to enable selectively adjustable positioning of the x-ray source and receptor relative to both the width and length of the patient. The spherically rotational aspects of C-arm apparatus allows the physician to take x-rays of the patient at an optimal angle as determined with respect to the particular anatomical condition being imaged. An example of such a C-arm apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,046 to Siczek, et al., which discloses a C-arm apparatus on a wheeled support cart.
In many cases, it is desirable to obtain x-ray images of a patient from multiple projection planes, preferably in quick succession and without repositioning the C-arm. Such a configuration is often referred to as bi-planar imaging and allows an object to be viewed in two planes simultaneously. The two x-ray beams emitted from the two x-ray tubes may cross at an iso-center. Bi-planar imaging is useful for checking of a catheter position, a balloon status or performing a digital subtraction run.
Bi-planar imaging may be accomplished in several ways. One way is by using two independent imaging systems, or two C-arms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,293 to Koyama discusses a dual imaging system with one imaging system being mounted to the floor and the other being mounted to the ceiling. One disadvantage of this system is that it is permanently mounted to the floor and ceiling. Thus, the system cannot be moved about a hospital as needed. Another disadvantage of this system is that, although the C-arms are coordinated, the imaging systems operate independently of one another. Thus, the images produced are not coordinated.
Another configuration for obtaining bi-planar imaging is slidingly nesting one C-arm in another. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,416 to Siczek et al. describes a dual imaging system with one C-arm being mounted to the floor and the other C-arm being slidingly disposed on the first C-arm. One disadvantage of this system is that the two imaging systems may not be moved independently of one another. Thus, the positioning of the second imaging system is limited by the position of the first. Another disadvantage is that the dual x-ray system is permanently mounted to the floor. Thus, it cannot be moved about a hospital. A further disadvantage is that the two images must share a common iso-center because they are nested.
Yet another configuration for obtaining bi-planar imaging is disposing the imaging systems in a ring, as opposed to C-arms. U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,885 to Andersson discloses a dual imaging system with both imaging systems being mounted perpendicularly in a rotatable ring. One disadvantage with this system is that the bi-planar images are always disposed at a fixed, perpendicular angle with respect to each other.
Still another configuration for obtaining bi-planar imaging is disposing the imaging systems on a G-arm, as opposed to C-arms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,501 to Kobayashi discloses a dual imaging system with both imaging systems being mounted perpendicularly in a G-shaped arm. Like the ring configuration above, one disadvantage of this system is that the bi-planar images are always disposed at a fixed, perpendicular angle with respect to each other.
Furthermore, it is often desirable to view x-rays in real time and to save or store x-rays taken of a patient for later review. Dual imaging systems are complicated and difficult to operate because they require simultaneous coordination and operation of two independent and distinct imaging systems. In addition, if both imaging systems operate at the same time, the two x-ray beams interact to cause a blurred image. Moreover, the use of two x-ray sources can result in exposure of the subject to excessive radiation, particularly due to scattering effects. To date, there does not exist an electromagnetic radiation imaging system that employs a single source to provide simultaneous or near-simultaneous acquisition of object images from multiple projection planes.

Systems and methods for quasi-simultaneous multi-planar x-ray imaging

Abstract: An imaging apparatus comprises a gantry having a central opening for positioning an object to be imaged, a source of radiation that is rotatable around the interior of the gantry ring and which is adapted to project radiation onto said object from a plurality of different projection angles; and a detector system adapted to detect the radiation at each projection angle to acquire object images from multiple projection planes in a quasi-simultaneous manner. The gantry can be a substantially “O-shaped” ring, with the source rotatable 360 degrees around the interior of the ring. The source can be an x-ray source, and the imaging apparatus can be used for medical x-ray imaging. The detector array can be a two-dimensional detector, preferably a digital detector.


This invention is directed to a polymerization inhibitor and a polymerization inhibiting method which enables the continuous operation of a device for producing vinyl compounds over a long period of time and virtually eliminates corrosion. Further, the polymerization inhibitors according to the present invention are superior in polymerization inhibition when transferring and storing the vinyl compound products and in other cases. The polymerization inhibitor according to the present invention contains manganese dithiocarbamate or a thiuram compound as an effective component. The polymerization inhibiting method of this invention comprises individual or joint use of said inhibitors, or joint use of a copper salt, another manganese salt, or quinones in addition to said inhibitors. Further, the method may comprise jointly using copper dithiocarbamates in a manganese salt as polymerization inhibitors, or jointly using quinones in addition to the salts.

The present invention relates to a polymerization inhibitor and a polymerization-inhibiting method for a vinyl compound.
The vinyl compound generally has easily polymerizable properties by light and heat, etc. Therefore, to prevent the polymerization of a vinyl compound, various kinds of polymerization inhibitors are used alone or in combination with other polymerization inhibitors in accordance with the surrounding conditions of the vinyl compound.
An example of a particularly highly polymerizable vinyl compound includes (meth)acrylic acid. Hereinafter, in this specification, (meth)acrylic acid indicates both methacrylic acid and acrylic acid.
Hitherto, as methods for producing (meth)acrylic acid, there have been frequently used, for example, a method for producing acrylic acid by a catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction of propylene and/or acrolein, and a method for producing methacrylic acid by a catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction of isobutylene and/or methacrolein, etc.
In these methods, gas produced from the catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction is cooled and collected by water to obtain an aqueous solution of (meth)acrylic acid containing such by-products as acetic acid and an aldehyde, etc. and, from this aqueous solution, (meth)acrylic acid is separated and purified by combining processes such as distillation and extraction by a solvent. The method for producing (meth)acrylic acid by the forementioned catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction involves a process to separate, enrich, and purify, etc. the acid by distillation. Also, as methods for producing (meth)acrylic acid other than the above-described, there have been known a method for producing acrylic acid by Reppe's method and a method for producing methacrylic acid by the acetone cyanhydrin method, etc. In these methods there has been involved a process to separate, enrich, and purify (meth)acrylic acid by distillation.
The (meth)acrylic acid is very easily polymerized by light and heat, etc. Therefore, the polymerizing properties of (meth)acrylic acid increases, especially, under high temperature conditions such as in the forementioned distillation process. Accordingly, when highly polymerizable (meth)acrylic acid like the forementioned is industrially produced, polymerization of these acids in a distillation process is a very important item in operation of the process. Further, to establish an effective polymerization-preventive art in a distillation process the acid under a high temperature is an essentially important item for operating the process continuously for a long period of time and under a stable condition. According to the knowledge of present inventors, the polymerization most easily takes place in a dehydrating process (a water-separating process) during the forementioned distillation course and this fact is a main factor which disturbs continuous operations of a production device including a distillation column.
When subjecting (meth)acrylic acid to operations such as separation, enriching, and purification using a distillation column, most of the places where a polymerization product is easily formed by a polymerization reaction of the acid are areas with scarce wetting by liquid such as a rear side of a tray, an inside of bubble cap, a rear side of a downcomer, a hollow on a column inside, etc. and a place of easily liquid-stagnating such as a metal fittings (bolt and nut, etc.) for putting-in a tray and a packing part, etc. The polymerization product is hardly soluble in (meth)acrylic acid, water, and usual organic solvents and, once formed in a column, it becomes a seed for polymerization and gradually accumulates. Finally, the column inside is clogged by it and a continuous operation of the production device becomes impossible. Further, it is very difficult to remove these accumulated polymerization products.
Conventionally, a method of carrying out distillation in the presence of a polymerization inhibitor has been adopted as a measure for preventing polymerization of (meth)acrylic acid in a distillation process when producing (meth)acrylic acid. As polymerization inhibitors of this kind, is hitherto known a polymerization inhibitor (A) composed of the following ingredients: at least one kind of compound selected from the group consisting of hydroquinone, methoquinone (p-methoxyphenol), cresol, phenol, tertiary-butylcatechol, diphenylamine, phenothiazine, and methylene blue, at least one kind of copper dithiocarbamate selected from the group consisting of copper dimethyldithiocarbamate, copper diethyldithiocarbamate, and copper dibutyldithiocarbamate, and molecular oxygen (for acrylic acid, refer to Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, showa 49-85016; for methacrylic acid, refer to Japanese Official Patent Gazette, showa 57-61015). Hitherto-known polymerization inhibitors of (meth)acrylic acid other than the above are a polymerization inhibitor (B-1) composed of a manganese salt such as manganese acetate etc., a polymerization inhibitor (B-2) composed of a manganese salt such as manganese acetate etc. with hydroquinone and/or methoquinone, a polymerization inhibitor (B-3) composed of a manganese salt such as manganese acetate etc. with molecular oxygen, and a polymerization inhibitor (B-4) composed of a manganese salt such as manganese acetate etc., hydroquinone and/or methoquinone, and molecular oxygen (for all of these, refer to Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, showa 51-98211).
However, the inventors examined polymerization-inhibiting effects of the above-mentioned known polymerization inhibitors of (A) and from (B-1) to (B-4), so that the inventors found that the polymerization inhibitors of (A) and from (B-1) to (B-4) have the following problems.
That is, the polymerization inhibitor (A) disclosed in the Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, showa 49-85016 and Japanese Official Patent Gazette, showa 57-61015, has low polymerization-inhibiting effects when polymerization of (meth)acrylic acid very easily occurs by containing water, acetic acid, and aldehyde compounds in the feed composition as in an azeotropic separation column (a water-separating column) of an aqueous (meth)acrylic acid solution in the distillation process, when (meth)acrylic acid is produced by a catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction. Due to the low inhibiting effect, there was a problem that, with generation of a popcorn polymer and a sticky polymer in the course of distillation, continuous operation in a long period of time of a production device including a distillation column became impossible. Also, since this polymerization inhibitor (A) contains a copper salt having a corrosive character, there is a problem that the distillation column easily corrodes during a continuous operation in a long period of time.
On the other hand, the polymerization inhibitors of from (B-1) to (B-4) disclosed in the Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, showa 51-98211, contains a manganese salt having a low corrosive character, so that there is no problem about corrosion of the distillation column. The polymerization inhibitors of from (B-1) to (B-4) have sufficient polymerization-inhibiting effects on the products from (meth)acrylic acid, but the polymerization-inhibiting effects is insufficient, similarly to the case of the polymerization-inhibitor (A), in a case where polymerization of (meth)acrylic acid very easily occurs as in an azeotropic separation column of an aqueous (meth)acrylic acid solution in the distillation process, when (meth)acrylic acid is produced by a catalytic gas phase oxidation reaction. Thus, there was a problem that, with generation of a popcorn polymer and a sticky polymer during distillation, continuous operation over a long period of time in a production device became impossible.
Also, there were problems similar to the forementioned in the conventional polymerization inhibitors and polymerization-inhibiting methods of a vinyl compound other than (meth)acrylic acid.

Polymerization inhibitor and inhibiting method for vinyl compound


A power semiconductor device module includes: a base plate; an insulating substrate mounted on the base plate; and a diode chip mounted on the insulating substrate, wherein the insulating substrate has an upper surface electrode layer disposed on an upper main surface and a lower surface electrode layer disposed on a lower main surface, the diode chip is joined onto the upper surface electrode layer, the lower surface electrode layer is joined onto the upper main surface of the base plate, and a thermal resistance reducing section that reduces thermal resistance is provided in lower surface electrode layer or the base plate of a portion corresponding to a place immediately below the diode chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power semiconductor device module, and particularly relates to a power semiconductor device module for use in a power converter that controls electric equipment such as a motor.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a conventional power semiconductor device module, especially in a power semiconductor device module for use in applications required to have high reliability, such as a power semiconductor device module for use in railways, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-344841, a configuration has been adopted in which an insulating substrate with an electrode layer provided on each surface thereof is bonded by soldering onto a base plate made of copper or the like, and a semiconductor chip such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) or a free wheel diode is joined by soldering onto the insulating substrate.
In the power semiconductor device module with such a configuration, any of the base plate, the insulating substrate, the electrode layer on the insulating substrate, and a solder thickness is set to a uniform thickness, and the module is configured to make thermal resistance equal.
Recently, as a semiconductor substrate in place of a silicon substrate, there has been developed a semiconductor device by means of a semiconductor substrate having a wide band gap such as a semiconductor substrate formed of a silicon carbide (SiC)-based material, a gallium nitride-based material, or a diamond.
For example, a silicon carbide semiconductor device can be operated with a current density thereof increased from that of the conventional silicon semiconductor device. However, there has been a problem in that, when a semiconductor chip (SiC semiconductor chip) made up of the silicon carbide silicon device is mounted in a package with a conventional structure, a temperature rise due to heat generation of the semiconductor chip cannot be suppressed unless a configuration is adopted in which the thermal resistance is decreased in accordance with an increase in current density, thus shortening a product life.


The method of producing soda ash and calcium chloride provides an environmentally friendly method of producing soda ash and calcium chloride without the production of waste and hazardous byproducts. The method of producing soda ash and calcium chloride is initiated with a volume of brine, which is ammoniated with gaseous ammonia to form ammoniated brine. Limestone is heated to produce calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. The ammoniated brine is reacted with the carbon dioxide to produce sodium bicarbonate, ammonium chloride and a brine effluent. The sodium bicarbonate is then calcined and decomposed to produce soda ash and gaseous carbon dioxide. The calcium oxide is reacted with the ammonium chloride to produce calcium chloride, water and ammonia. The ammonia is recycled to be used in the initial step of ammoniating the brine. The water and the brine effluent are also recycled and used to provide the brine in the initial step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of soda ash and calcium chloride, and particularly to a modified version of the Solvay process that recycles ammonia, sodium chloride and water to eliminate harmful waste byproducts.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most common method of producing soda ash (sodium carbonate) is the Solvay process. The Solvay process was developed into its modern form by Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. The ingredients for this process are readily available and relatively inexpensive: salt brine (from inland sources or from the sea) and limestone (from mines).
The Solvay process results in soda ash (predominantly sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)) from brine (as a source of sodium chloride (NaCl)) and from limestone (as a source of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)). The overall process is given by 2NaCl+CaCO3→Na2CO3+CaCl2.
However, industrial plants using the Solvay process produce waste and byproducts that may result in environmental problems, such as water pollution from calcium, chloride ions, and salt (NaCl) that accumulates in fresh water streams, ponds, and lakes.
Thus, a method of producing soda ash and calcium chloride solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Method of producing soda ash and calcium chloride


Systems and methods for cleaning vehicle sensors are disclosed that optimize sensor cleaning fluid usage. An exemplary vehicle sensor cleaning system includes a sensor cleaning fluid delivery system that delivers sensor cleaning fluid to a sensor of a vehicle and a sensor cleaning control system in communication with the sensor cleaning fluid delivery system. The sensor cleaning control system determines a target cleanliness level for the sensor based on sensor cleaning data associated with the sensor. The target cleanliness level is less than a maximum cleanliness level indicating indicates a contaminate-free sensor. The sensor cleaning control system further monitors a cleanliness level of the sensor and initiates a sensor cleaning operation when the cleanliness level of the sensor is less than an operational cleanliness threshold, such that the sensor cleaning fluid delivery system delivers sensor cleaning fluid to the sensor to clean the sensor to the target cleanliness level.

Vehicles often execute operations that rely in varying degrees on data obtained by sensors, which provides information about a surrounding and/or external environment of the vehicles. Over the course of normal driving use, sensors accumulate dust, debris, dirt, etc., that gradually degrades the sensors' ability to detect information. Vehicles thus include a sensor cleaning system that automatically cleans the sensors with sensor cleaning fluid when detection degradation reaches and/or falls below a threshold level.
Since sensor data is needed to accurately carry out many vehicle functions, an amount of remaining sensor cleaning fluid can limit how far (for example, a distance) a vehicle can safely travel. Optimizing use of the sensor cleaning fluid can thus improve functioning of the vehicle and extend how far the vehicle can safely travel.

Sensor cleaning system and sensor cleaning method for vehicle

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.


Systems, techniques and applications for nanoscale coating structures and materials that are superhydrophobic with a water contact angle greater than about 140° or 160° and/or superoleophobic with an oil contact angle greater than about 140° or 160°. The nanostructured coatings can include Si or metallic, ceramic or polymeric nanowires that may have a re-entrant or mushroom-like tip geometry. The nanowired coatings can be used in various self-cleaning applications ranging from glass windows for high-rise buildings and non-wash automobiles to pipeline inner surface coatings and surface coatings for biomedical implants.

Clean technology is the application of the environmental sciences and engineering knowledge to conserve natural environment and resources. This emerging sector deals with products and processes that harness renewable energy sources, reduce the depletion of natural resources including water supply, and minimize pollution and waste.
With the ever increasing shortage of energy and water, clean technology may offer many opportunities for innovations, business markets and job creation. For example, water is often used for washing or cleaning of automobiles, house windows and high-rise building windows. Self-cleaning coatings on glasses which may no longer need the use of washing water can be one of the approaches to reducing water consumption.
The science and technology of self-cleaning coatings have been advancing in recent years. Their potential as a commercial product can be huge yet their global market has not been fully exploited. Potential applications of self-cleaning coatings may range from window glass, building exterior, textiles for reducing the usage of water, cleaning chemicals, and labor costs, to processes and materials for enhancing safety/reliability in transportations and communications by minimizing dirt or snow accumulations on airplane cockpit windows, wings and telecommunication antennas.
There are two different technical approaches for self-cleaning coatings—hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic. These two types of coatings both clean themselves through the action of water. The underlying mechanism in the case of hydrophobic surface is the rolling droplets taking away the dirt and dust while the sheeting water carrying away dirt is the mechanism for hydrophilic surface. Nature prefers hydrophobic self-cleaning coatings like Lotus leaf to hydrophilic coatings. There are more than 200 species of plants known to utilize superhydrophobic rolling droplets of water to keep clean.
Hydrophilic coatings, if a TiO2 type material is used, have an additional property of photocatalytic breakdown of adsorbed organic dirt by UV (sunlight) illumination, which is then washed away when it rains. For environments with minimal rain over the year, hydrophobic self-cleaning coatings which eliminate the need to use water or chemicals may be preferred over hydrophilic coatings, as hydrophobic coatings are more proactive measures that prevent the accumulation of rain-carried dirt in the first place.
The self-cleaning action of hydrophobic coatings (commonly known as the "Lotus Effect") arises from their high water contact angles. Water on these surfaces can form almost spherical droplets which do not adhere to the surface at all as they roll away very easily, carrying dust and dirt with them. Dirty water falling onto a hydrophobic coating may thus be rapidly removed before it can evaporate. Droplets tend to roll only on surfaces with very high contact angles (θc). If the contact angle is very high, e.g., θc>˜140 or 160°, the surface can be referred to as superhydrophobic.

Nanostructured superhydrophobic, superoleophobic and/or superomniphobic coatings, methods for fabrication, and applications thereof

The Regents of the University of California


A process for forming a color proofing image by thermal transfer systems and an improved thermal transfer receptor sheet are described. The receptor sheet has a hot melt adhesive layer with one quarter percent or less of particles therein. In the thermal transfer process, both the image and a thermal transfer receptor layer are transferred to a second receptor surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thermal transfer receptor sheets and to thermal transfer processes using receptor sheets of the invention. These processes and receptor sheets are particularly useful in enabling thermal transfer images to be applied to diverse geometric shapes and irregular surfaces.
2. Background of the Art
In a graphic arts design or an artistic environment, it is often necessary to create many preliminary, test, or proof images of a single subject before the final image is accepted. Such preliminary images may be produced by many different media techniques including, for example, color chalk on paper, oil on canvas, water color on paper, dyes in photographic film, and digital images in a computer memory. When many copies of such images are needed, they are usually reproduced as ink on paper by a printing press.
Traditionally in the printing process, the colors making up the design or image are separated using photomechanical (analog) means. This separation requires multiple exposures of the original image through select color filters to obtain so called color separations which can be transferred onto printing plates. Those individual color plates are then used sequentially to print respective colors as ink on paper.
The means most often used to produce full color ink on paper images is a reproduction chain that increasingly allows artists, designers or advertising agencies to expand their creativity. Images are often sought which contain custom colors (as in corporate logo colors) or special color combinations to attract attention. Metallic effects such as silver, gold or copper are also being used more frequently. A system of visualizing how such designs might look as ink on paper is often employed. Such systems are called "proofs" or "proves".
Traditionally, two different technologies are used to produce commercial grade, single sheet (analog) prepress proofs from existing hard copy half-tone separation films. One system is based on powder deposition wherein a colored powder (toner) is directed to adhere to a tacky image, and the other system is based on the change in solubility of a layer of colored photomechanical imaging materials after being imagewise exposed to light. With single sheet proofs, the color information in each of four color separations is produced and overlaid in register to produce a full color reproduction.
Increasing emphasis is being placed on electronic imaging where an image (digital) is constructed by means of computers, graphic design, or publishing programs and a TV like color monitor. Because these images only exist as (digital) electronic files, special equipment is used to make a hard copy for file purposes or approval by an authority higher than the image designer.
Several types of color printer devices may be used to output digital images. Copier (printer) devices at present do not deliver color representations sufficiently indicative of the final image as reproduced with ink on paper to be useful as a proofing image.
To achieve acceptance of the interim or final image produced from such digital files, a proofing or "Proving" device is desirable over a computer (copier) printer. In the case of electronic color images that are destined to convey a concept or predict the final printing of a color image, the difficulty in predicting the final image is complicated by the fact that the image produced by these output devices are not physically and integrally on the same substrate that will be used for the final image.
Commercially, images can be printed on various stocks and surfaces from very thin paper made for publication printing exemplified by what is referred to in the industry as "Brownwood" paper, to highly glossed thick paper for magazine covers or commercial high grade laminated papers called "Chromcoat".
Furthermore, in some design instances it is necessary to visualize the appearance of an image as it would appear when used on round containers such as beer cans, a final box package such as those in which cereal or toothpaste is sold, or a closure such as the toothpaste tube itself. For example, in the packaging industry, innovative container designs are used to effect point of sales purchases. In the packaging industry it is often a requirement that candidate packaging be examined in its three-dimensional form before being approved by the advertising or concept group in charge of merchandising.
The individual proofing color images made by analog means can be transferred to other substrates using the information disclosed in (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/728,311). The transfer of such images is facilitated by the fact that each color image exists separately on a layer of polymeric material and the integral color images making up the design as a whole is assembled into a sandwich. Such a sandwich can be used in a cut and paste mode to simulate a box or other diverse shape package. Such hand craft manipulations are time consuming and cost ineffective. The final output of such efforts are at best meager substitutes for the real package.
Images created in an electronic file of a computer and generated on a copier or prover such as those using dye (unit transfer) or mass transfer systems or wax crayon type materials to produce color areas are overprinted on each other without the need for separate integral supports. However, these images also require hand manipulation to form a box, bottle shape, or complex three dimensional design.
In an electronic printer or proofer, the image is in the form of a numerical file. Image data can be transferred to a transducer to enable conversion of that image into a thermal pattern through the use of a wire embedded head or a liquid crystal display which serves as a mask, or by other devices that change one form of informational energy to another.
In systems using thermal transfer, a transducer allows the electronic file to be generated by heat in an imagewise manner. A donor sheet of a fully coated tape or sheet panel of a color on a substrate in contact with a imagewise heated transducer and colorant receptor sheet allows color to be transferred imagewise from the donor sheet to a receptor sheet. These devices theoretically could be constructed so that color can be transferred imagewise to the various can diameters, box dimensions and tubes of various shapes. Such a machine, with the versatility desired to allow for full creative expression, while theoretically possible to construct, is uneconomical to make and use in the work areas normally used by artists and designers. These areas include art studios, offices, and image maker environments of restricted size, shape, and design.
Former techniques for providing transfer images by means of traditional graphic arts mechanical means include techniques wherein an adhesive is applied onto the entire surface of the support sheet and graphic design, relying on various mechanisms for adhesive cleavage of the image area. Specifically U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,225 (Reed et al.) and B.R. 959,670 (Mackenzie) disclose articles wherein adhesive sheer is induced at the edges of the design or incorporated to assist indifferential transfer, by incorporation of a solvent or dispersing powder in the adhesive. Others have used the concept of migrating components to advantage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,309, (Shadobolt) uses a polar wax to lower the tack adhesive in contact with image areas while simultaneously unaffecting adhesive in contact with image areas. Tordjiman (U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,787) discloses solvent migration as a means of disrupting the bond between the graphic design and the carrier. Bennett et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,179) discloses the preparation of a dry transfer technique wherein differential tack and transfer characteristics are achieved by photomechanical means. Specifically, graphics are printed onto the surface of a low energy carrier such as polypropylene and subjected to drying and corona treatment. Both graphics and carrier are overcoated with an actinic radiation responsive adhesive. To facilitate differential tackification the adhesive is exposed, using graphics as an exposure mask. The end result is a diminution or detackification of the exposed adhesive. The article is then burnished to a support and the image transferred to said support. U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,917 (Karian et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,734 (Rosenfeld) disclose dry transfer articles employing non-differentially tackified adhesives. The articles disclosed are made by printing ink on to a low energy support to form a desired graphic pattern and overcoating the bottom side of the graphic pattern and exposed portions of the carrier with an adhesive. Application to a new substrate is provided by contacting the article to the substrate and applying pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,076 (Incromona et al.) describe a transfer system whereby 1) a release liner is coated with at least one layer of adhesive, 2) application in imagewise fashion of at least one layer of an imaging material to the exposed substrate and forming a graphic pattern from the imaging material and adhesive, and forming a graphic pattern from the imaging material and adhesive, 3) contacting the graphic pattern and exposed surface of the adhesive with a carrier film having high compatibility with the adhesive and low compatibility with the graphic pattern and 4) applying sufficient pressure, and if necessary heat, to the carrier film to adhere the adhesive there to. This disclosure makes a special point of stressing that the imaging material be applied to the adhesive and that the graphic pattern be subsequently formed thereof (by drying, curing, fusing, etc.). Prime coats for the described construction include Boehmite, modified silica, etc.
The use of dye sublimation as a transfer medium is not new, having been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,442, U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,495, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,998 which describe dye image transfer by dye sublimation from intermediate 3-4 color sublimable images printed onto a carrier sheet. Transfer of images produced by the exposure of sequentially coated panels of sublimable color panels and their retransfer onto diverse final supports are described in "Color in Color" by Dybvig, Revensen, Ulseth, and Wiese in "Color Theory and Imaging Systems" edited by R. Enyard, Published by the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, 1962 pages 403-411. Image transfer from an intermediate sheet to a final substrate after initial image-wise sublimation is also described in this paper. Heat retransfer of sublimable color images made by analog dye transfer means is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,018. Additional art illustrating the use of volatile dyes of the type used in dye transfer printing can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,394 wherein an analog process is employed to transfer coated sublimable dyes by infra-red absorbing images. U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,611 teaches the transfer of a dye sublimation image formed by digital laser exposure of a photoconductor and dye attraction by electrostatic means to said photoconductor. The image is transferred to a support and then retransferred to a final support.
In areas of prepress proofing transfer systems including those wherein a photosensitive layer is made to coat over a low adhesion material and, after being imaged and processed to disclose a visible image, the formed image areas are made to transfer to a substrate either as an individual colored image or as a packet of at least 4 different color images each formed by the process of exposure then development, then transferred individually until a full 3-4 color image is completed, such a transferred pattern consists only of images that are isolated from one another (individual halftone dot areas) without the benefit of interstitial binder or a joining adhesive layer. Other systems have image areas formed by exposure of a photosensitive color containing or color adjacent layer laminated onto a temporary receptor which is developed and then reapplied to a second support as a single sheet containing a packet of individual color images. In this type of system, a full image (that is an image consisting of a series of layers of different color dots) without interstitial binder is transferred in situ with an adhesive layer holding the halftone dots (Matchprint.TM.). Under certain circumstances the first transferred layer can again be transferred (2nd transfer) to a final support.
More recently, thermal-transfer type color provers or printers have been developed using either dye transfer or mass transfer (single or first transfer) from color containing donor sheets to a final support, such final supports being a specially prepared final sheeting. Although a more market acceptable rough paper is needed, transfer systems today have difficulty in making a first transfer to this type surface. References on these points include S. Masuda, N. Kihara, and O. Majima "Color Video Printer" IEEE Transaction on Consumer Electronics, CE-28 (3) pp. 226 (1982) and N. Taguchi, T. Shimixu, A. Imai, S. Hotta, S. Mina, and H. Irie "Dye Transfer Type Thermal Printing Sheets" Proceedings of the 14th Joint Conference on Image Technology.
Such transfers are from color donor sheet to a first transfer receptor (one-shot or final receptor). To facilitate such transfers (facilitation includes continuous tone not mass transfer of color images, uniform dye coverage of solid layers, reduced friction or smooth transport through the printing device during the transfer action), inventors have resorted to spherical or non-subliminal spacers in either the donor sheet and/or the 1st transfer (receptor) layers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,830, 4,772,582, and 4,876,235). Such spacers are placed in the top surface of said layer and protrude through that surface to provide an air interface between donor and receptor.
Also described are coated layers on top of a color donor sheet, such layers containing polysiloxane materials having terminal hydroxyl groups (E.P. 2011969, T. Kawakami, H. Matsuda, S. Tanimore and S. Sano). Other have used donor layers containing silicone or fluorinated moisture cured resins (E.P. 336394, A. Imai, et al.). Receptor sheets containing polyester resin and white micropowder (J.P. 63001595) have also been employed for this purpose. Other patents including U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,582, A. Imai, et al. and Hotta et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,830 described receptor sheets containing uniformly distributed, non-subliminal particles to form surface irregularities to enable stable running, good color depth, and reduced color drop out and noise.
U. S. 4,923,848 assigned to Dai Nippon Printing, Co. claims a process for forming sublimation transfer images on an objective body. The process involves 1) making a 3-4 color sublimation transfer image on a receptor sheet, and 2) retransferring the formed sublimation transfer image to a final surface. This process seems to be capable of retransferring the sublimation transfer image only once, resulting in a mirror image of the original. This process is similar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,138 in which a transparent secondary print is formed by the re-transfer of a sublimation dye from a formed image onto a temporary primary sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,848 describes the imagewise transfer of dye sublimed images from donor sheet (transfer 1) to a transfer sheet (transfer n). The transfer steps cannot proceed past n+2. The receptor sheet in U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,848 consists of a image receiving layer and a layer of hot melt adhesive adjacent to the support (referred to in this application as an "A" sheet). The imaged "A" sheet is mated coated layer to coated layer to a "B" sheet containing an adhesive layer and a film protective layer. In this invention the "A" sheet consists of a dye receptor layer, an optional barrier layer, and a hot melt adhesive layer to affect image-wise transfer of a dye (transfer 1) to a transfer sheet (n) and from that sheet to many sheets (n+ infinity). In all such transfer actions in this invention, the layer closest to the base of the transfer sheet ("A" sheet) is the top layer on the transferred image (a hot melt adhesive). In such systems the top layer provides the adhesive force to remove the image from its prior support. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,848 the unused "B" sheet is described as having a film protective layer closest to its support. Images transferred from an "A" sheet to a "B" sheet (transfer n) result in having a film protective layer on their upper surface. They therefore have no adhesive properties for further transfer (n+1). In this invention both used and unused "B" sheets have an upper layer of hot melt adhesive allowing infinite transfers. Transfer repetition is only limited by the flexability needed in the last transfer/ retransfer step.
Addenda have also been described for coated layers on top of a non-transferable color donor sheet, such layers containing polysiloxane materials having terminal hydroxyl groups (E.P.O. 2011969, T. Kawakami, H. Matsuda, S. Tanimore and S. Sano). Other have used donor layer containing silicone or fluorinated moisture cured resins (E.P.O. 336394, A. Imai, et al.). Receptor sheets containing polyester resin and white micropowder (J.P. 63001595) have also been employed for this purpose. Other patents including U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,582, A. Imai, et al. and Hotta et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,830 described receptor sheets containing uniformly distributed, non-sublimable particles to form surface irregularities to enable stable running, good color depth, and reduced color drop out and noise.
Substrates using waxes have also been described (E.P.O. 319331, N. Taguchi, et al.), as have dye donor sheets with dispersions of colloidal silica in a polyester resin or silane copolymer (J.P. 1034784 [EPO 312637], A. Iami et al.). Dye Transfer materials (donor sheets) have been described using lubricant or heat releasing particles protruding above the level of the sublimed dye coating to improve running stability. Receptor layers (Single Transfer Receptors) have been disclosed containing matrices with silane couplers, and colloidal silica particles (E.P. 261970, H. Matsuda et al.) to improve dye transfer and smooth transfer during printing.
The objective of the present invention is to provide materials and processes that enable the transfer and retransfer of a thermal dye and/or mass images multiple times, allowing both the production of correct-reading images as well as mirror images on a variety of final supports.
Additionally, a color transfer printing machine has been described in "A High Speed Dye Transfer Printing Process Applicable To Rough Paper" by N. Taguchi, A. Imai, and Y. Fukui of Matsushita Electrical in Preprints of Technical Papers presented at the May 1991 meeting of the Society of Imaging Technology in Minnesota pgs. 308 to 311 which allows a double transfer system to improve image transferability. Such a device uses two heated sources. The first is a matrix of imbedded wires to transmit a digital signal to a donor sheet in contact with a first transfer sheet. The transfer is done individual color by color using a thermal print head, with an originating (first) dye transfer sheet transferring color onto an intermediate transfer sheet. The device then allows the individual first transferred color layer to be additionally transferred to a rough paper sheet by means of a nonimaging hot roller. It should be noted that this transfer is accomplished individual color by color until a single full color image (3 or 4 color image) is obtained. It is believed that the material in use in this device is described in J.P. 58220788, N. Taguchi, T. Shimizu, S. Hotta, W. Shimotsuma and S. Arai.

Thermal receptor sheet and process of use

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


TIRAP polypeptides and polynucleotides and methods for producing such polypeptides by recombinant techniques are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing TIRAP polypeptides and polynucleotides in therapy, and diagnostic assays for such.

The drug discovery process is currently undergoing a fundamental revolution as it embraces "functional genomics," that is, high throughput genome- or gene-based biology. This approach is rapidly superceding earlier approaches based on positional cloning. A phenotype, that is a biological function or genetic disease, would be identified and this would then be tracked back to the responsible gene, based on its genetic map position.
Functional genomics relies heavily on the various tools of bioinformatics to identify gene sequences of potential interest from the many molecular biology databases now available. There is a continuing need to identify and characterize further genes and their related polypeptides/proteins, as targets for drug discovery with the potential for affecting immune response.
The strategy of innate immune recognition is based on the detection of constitutive and conserved products of microbial metabolism. Many metabolic pathways and individual gene products are unique to microorganisms and absent from host cells. Although these targets of recognition are not absolutely identical between different species of microbes, the gene products may be found in the context of a common molecular pattern, which is typically highly conserved and invariant among microbes of a given class. Because the targets of innate immune recognition are conserved molecular patterns, they are called pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).
The recent discovery and characterization of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family have incited new interest in the field of innate immunity. TLRs are pattern recognition receptors that have a unique and critical function in animal immunity. TLRs typically are transmembrane receptors characterized by an extracellular leucine rich repeats domain and an intracellular TIR (Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor) domain. The TIR domain is a conserved protein-protein interaction module and plays a role in host defense. In other words, TLRs play a critical role in microbial recognition and control of adaptive immune responses.
In mammalian species, there are at least ten (10) TLRs, and each has a distinct function in innate immune recognition. The TLRs mainly differ from one another with regard to ligand specificity, the use of accessory molecules, expression profiles and differences in signal transduction pathways.
Human TLR4 was the first identified and functionally characterized mammalian Toll. TLR4 functions as the signal transducing receptor for the PAMP lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as other PAMPs, which are apparent to one skilled in the art.
Activation of signal transduction pathways by TLRs leads to the induction of a variety of genes that function in host defense including inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, MHC and co-stimulatory molecules. Mammalian TLRs also induce multiple effector molecules such as inducible nitric oxide synthetase and antimicrobial peptides that can directly destroy microbial pathogens.
The signaling pathway, which appears to be shared by all members of the Toll and Interleukin-1 Receptor (IL-1R) families, includes four essential components: the adapters TRAF6, MyD88 and Tollip and a protein kinase, IRAK. MyD88 contains two protein interaction domains: an N-terminal death domain and a C-terminal TIR domain. The TIR domain of MyD88 associates with the TIR domain of TLR and IL-1R, while the death domain interacts with the death domain of IRAK.
In cells wherein MyD88 expression has been suppressed (i.e. in MyD88 knockout mice), macrophages and dendritic cells do not produce cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-12 when stimulated with LPS, MALP-2 or CpG, which signal through TLR4, TLR2 and TLR9, respectively. Consequently, MyD88 knockout mice are resistant to endotoxic shock. Furthermore, when normal bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) are stimulated with LPS or CpG, they produce large amounts of IL-12 and upregulate cell surface expression of MHC and co-stimulatory molecules. However, in MyD88 deficient BMDCs, stimulation with LPS or CpG does not produce IL-12 or IL-6.
Additionally, RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR)-deficient cells fail to activate c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) and p38 MAP Kinase (p38) in response to LPS stimulation. As TLR4 is required for signals downstream of LPS, this indicates that PKR is a component of the TLR4 signaling pathway. Although phosphorylated PKR can be detected in LPS stimulated wild-type macrophages, phosphorylated PKR has also been detected in LPS stimulated MyD88-deficient macrophages. Interestingly, PKR from the MyD88-deficient macrophages was activated with slower kinetics.
Although some cellular responses are completely abolished in MyD88-deficient cells, TLR4, but not TLR9 or TLR2, can still activate NF-κB and MAP kinases. This difference indicates that another adapter protein exists that can mediate MyD88-independent signaling in response to TLR4 ligation.
Thus, there is a need to determine the structure and function of the adapter protein involved in the MyD88 independent signaling downstream of TLR4 for various purposes including to develop compounds to treat diseases related to TLR4 function.

Toll/interleukin-1 receptor adapter protein (TIRAP)


Techniques for configuring a commodity server to host virtual hard disks are disclosed herein. In an exemplary embodiment, a virtual hard disk file can be split into a plurality of differencing VHD files and one or more of the files can be downloaded to a virtualization host as it runs off the VHD files stored on the server. After the one or more VHD files are downloaded, the virtualization host can be configured to use the local copy instead of the copy on the commodity server. In addition to the foregoing, other techniques are described in the claims, the detailed description, and the figures.

Virtual machine platforms enable simultaneous execution of multiple guest operating systems on a physical machine by running each operating system within its own virtual machine. One exemplary service that can be offered in a virtual machine is a virtual desktop session. A virtual desktop session is essentially a personal computer environment run within a virtual machine that has its user interface sent to a remote computer. In order to virtualize a desktop, an operating system and all of a user's programs and data is encapsulated in a virtual hard disk file (VHD), which is then executed by a virtual processor in a virtual machine; and accessed by a remote client device. This architecture is similar to a remote desktop environment, however instead of having multiple users simultaneously connect to an operating system, each user has access to their own operating system executing in a virtual machine in a virtual desktop environment.
When a virtual desktop is deployed in a datacenter, the virtual hard disk files are typically deployed on a centralized storage server such as a Storage Area Network (SAN) target and virtualization hosts read the virtual hard disk files off the SAN target. This deployment allows the virtual desktop to be dynamically instantiated on any virtualization host in the datacenter. SAN targets make logical unit numbers (LUNs), e.g., disks, available over a high-speed network to the virtualization hosts and unlike network attached storage, SAN targets do not appear as remote storage to the virtualization hosts. SAN targets however, are expensive and it would be beneficial if a commodity server (with low priced central storage) could be used to centrally deploy virtual hard disk files.

Techniques for streaming virtual machines from a server to a host


A measuring apparatus such as a fish school detecting apparatus or a navigation apparatus which displays tide or tidal current data and is installed on a ship. The measuring apparatus comprises a transmitter/receiver for emitting ultrasonic search signals and receiving echo signals resulting from the search signals, a signal processor for processing output signals of the transmitter/receiver to produce signals representative of underwater conditions, a first memory for storing the signals outputted by the signal processor, a second memory having stored tide or tidal current data corresponding to ages of the moon in relation to points on the earth, a position signal inputting device for inputting latitude and longitude signals representative of a desired point on the earth, a time inputting device for inputting data representative of a day and an hour, a data searching device for searching relevant tide or tidal current data in the second memory based on inputted latitude and longitude and a day and hour data and reading the searched data, and an indicator for displaying tide or tidal current data searched by the data searching device or signals outputted by the first memory.

There is a close relationship between tides or tidal currents and an amount of fish catch in a fishery. Particularly, in angling, fish schools can be effectively detected and caught by paying attention to a tide or a tidal current to find a good fishery. Since an amount of fish catch depends on a tide or a tidal current in an angling area, it becomes very important in fishing to obtain tide or tidal current data in an expected area and at a day and hour beforehand and to take into account the tide or the tidal current at an area when fish schools are detected.
When a ship proceeds through a strait or the like, tides or tidal currents may become obstructions, or they may help a ship to advance efficiently. Thus, it is important to know beforehand tides or tidal currents along a route the ship proceeds or to know a tide or a tidal current at the present position of the ship.
Conventionally, such tide or tidal current data have been edited by, for example, the Maritime Safety Agency to produce tides or tidal currents table. Thus, it has been possible to know tide or tidal current conditions corresponding to ages of the moon at various points in Japan.
However, the tides and tidal currents table is voluminous, since there are described therein tides or tidal currents data corresponding to ages of the moon at many points throughout Japan. It has taken much energy and a long time to search the relevant tide or tidal current at a desired place and a desired day and hour out of the data in the table.

Measuring apparatus having an indicator for displaying tide or tidal current data


A method for image processing and a mobile terminal, and a computer readable medium are disclosed. In one method, n number of first images and m number of second images are acquired. The first images and the second images are captured by a primary camera and a secondary camera respectively, and both the n and the m are integers greater than 2. A synthesizing-denoising process is performed on the n number of first images and the m number of second images respectively to obtain a primary image and a secondary image respectively. Depth information of the primary image is obtained based on the primary image and the secondary image. A blurring process for the primary image is then performed based on the depth information of the primary image to obtain a target image.

For a mobile terminal, it usually cannot achieve a blurring effect of the background in an optical mode due to the limitation of its size. In order to blurring-process the background of an image, in an existing technology, two cameras may be adopted to capture a photo respectively. One of the two photo is selected as the imaging photo, and depth information of the imaging photo is calculated based on the other of the photo. Then, a blurring process is performed for the background of the imaging photo according to the depth information.
However, in the case of dark light environment, the imaging effect of the imaging photo is poor, and meanwhile the depth information is not accurate enough, resulting in poor effect of the blurring-processed photo.

Method for image-processing and mobile terminal using dual cameras

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.