Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be drawn to ingestible delivery devices. An ingestible delivery device may include a first compartment and a second compartment. A lipase may be contained within the first compartment, and a fat may be contained within the second compartment. The first compartment may be sealed from the second compartment prior to exposure to a trigger, preventing the lipase and the fat from contacting each other, and at least one of the first compartment or the second compartment may at least partially rupture upon exposure to the trigger, allowing the lipase and the fat to contact each other.

Fatty acids, e.g., long-chain fatty acids, are important to human health and development. Many fatty acids are consumed as triglycerides, in which three long-chain fatty acids are bound to a glycerol molecule via ester linkages. Absorption of triglycerides by the body first requires the enzymatic action of lipases (e.g., pancreatic lipase) and bile salts, which digest triglycerides through hydrolysis, breaking them down into a monoglyceride and two free fatty acids. Digestion products consisting of a mixture of tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and free fatty acids, which, together with the other fat soluble contents of the diet (e.g., the fat soluble vitamins and cholesterol) and bile salts, form mixed micelles in the watery duodenal contents. Once broken down, the monoglycerides and free fatty acids may be absorbed by enterocytes—epithelial cells lining the small intestine—for example, in the region of the jejunum. The contents of these micelles (but not the bile salts) enter the enterocytes where they are resynthesized into triglycerides and packaged into chylomicrons, which are released into the lacteals (the capillaries of the lymph system of the intestines). Medium-chain triglycerides are absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
Patients suffering from various malabsorption impairments may be unable to adequately digest triglycerides and other forms of fat through hydrolysis, inhibiting absorption of the fatty acids required to maintain health. Further, patients may have one or more impairments that may be ameliorated by the uptake of free fatty acids, triglycerides, and/or other forms of fat. Exemplary impairments include, but are not limited to, the following: traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, Alzheimer's, compromised pancreatic output, acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic insufficiency, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, irritable bowel syndrome, chronically abnormal epithelium, amyloidosis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ischemia, radiation enteritis, tropical sprue, Whipple disease, inadequate gastric mixing, rapid emptying, or both, Billroth II gastrectomy, gastrocolic fistula, gastroenterostomy, insufficient digestive agents, biliary obstruction and cholestasis, cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis, cholestyramine-induced bile acid loss, cystic fibrosis, lactase deficiency, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic resection, sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, abnormal milieu, abnormal motility secondary to diabetes, scleroderma, hypothyroidism, or hyperthyroidism, bacterial overgrowth due to blind loops (deconjugation of bile salts), diverticula in the small intestine, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (low duodenal pH), acutely abnormal epithelium, acute intestinal infections, alcohol, neomycin, impaired transport, abetalipoproteinemia, Addison disease, blocked lacteals due to lymphoma or tuberculosis, intrinsic factor deficiency (as in pernicious anemia), lymphangiectasia, jejunoileal bypass for obesity, or other conditions. Other patients may need or want additional dietary supplementation. Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy ("PERT") pills containing lipase enzymes may be consumed to improve the hydrolysis of triglycerides. Typically, PERTs are taken prior to eating and/or after eating.
However, these PERTs appear to not work or work inefficiently. Hence a need exists to overcome the deficiencies of PERTs and/or address the needs of patients unable to adequately digest triglycerides and other forms of fat.


A structure is provided for securing a casing of a car stereo on a periphery of an opening formed in a dashboard of a motor vehicle. A screw is rotatably supported in the casing by supporting members, and a movable member is engaged with the screw to be moved along the screw by rotating the screw. A clamping member is pivotally and axially movably mounted on the screw. When the movable member is moved, and engages with the clamping member, the clamping member is pivoted and axially moved. The clamping member has a clamping portion provided to be abutted on an inside wall of the dashboard when the clamping member is pivoted and axially moved, whereby clamping the dashboard.

The present invention relates to a mounting structure for mounting an instrument such as a car stereo on a member of a motor vehicle, for example on a dashboard.
The operation for mounting the instrument on the dashboard must be performed at the front and rear sides of the dashboard, which requires much manual labor and time. A mounting structure to solve such a problem is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-35505, which is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
Referring to FIG. 8, reference numerals 9 and 11 designate supporting members formed on a casing of a car stereo and 12 is a nose portion of the car stereo. A crew 6 is rotatably supported on the supporting members 9 and 11. A movable member 1 is engaged with the screw 6, and a clamping member 3 is slidably mounted on the movable member The movable member is prevented from revolving about the screw 6 by a part of the casing, and the clamping member 3 is slidable only in the lateral direction, restricted by a stopper 2.
The casing of the car stereo is inserted in a dashboard and a projection 9a of the casing is abutted on a flange 8 of the dashboard 7. The clamping member 3 is moved with a tool 4 in the direction a (FIG. 9). Thereafter, the screw 6 is rotated with a hexagonal lever 5, so that the movable member 1 and the clamping member 3 are moved in the direction b of FIG. 9. As a result, a projection 3a of the clamping member 3 clamps the flange 8 together with the projection 9a to fix the casing of the stereo.
In the mounting structure, the manual operation of the tool 4 is considerably troublesome.
Japanese Utility Model Publication 63-22708 discloses a mounting structure eliminating the above described defect. FIG. 10 shows the mounting structure. A clamping member 3a is pivotally mounted on the movable member 1 by the pin 2. A spring 10 is attached to the screw 6 so as to urge a side of the clamping member 3 to an edge 9b of the supporting member 9. When the screw 6 is rotated with the lever 5, the movable member 1 is moved in the direction e. As the movable member 1 moves, the clamping member 3a is pivoted in the direction d by the spring 10. Finally, the clamping member 3a clamps the dashboard 7 as shown in FIG. 11.
In the structure of FIG. 10, the spring 10 is additionally mounted on the screw, which causes an increase of the member of parts of the structure. In addition, a space for the spring must be provided, so that the size of the stereo increases.

Mounting structure for mounting an instrument on a supporting member of a motor vehicle


A repeatedly usable downhole pumping assembly including; a conduit comprising a plurality of pipes, wherein the pipes are uniformly entwined together along their length to provide multiple fluid passageways, wherein the conduit is to be wound onto a reel and off the reel repeatedly; a rotatably mounted reel, upon which the conduit is adapted to be wound without collapsing; a pump for pumping fluid through the conduit; and a driving means to lower and raise the conduit relative to the bore.

The type of pipe that can be stored on a reel is limited by many factors. A stiff pipe cannot be rolled onto a reel. As pipe stiffness is related to the diameter of a pipe, large diameter pipes are of lower stiffness. Therefore, a pipe of large diameter, or of thin wall thickness, cannot be stored on a reel as it is likely to collapse when wound onto the reel. Also the inside diameter of the reel dictates the initial layer or layers of pipe to be reeled, and cannot be too small as a small diameter will encourage kinking and collapse of the pipe. Generally, for a pipe to readily coil on a reel the inside diameter of the reel needs to be many times the diameter of the pipe.
Another limiting factor on the size of reeled pipes relates to the constraints associated with transportation. Due to the limitations, both inherent and regulatory, associated with reels and road transportation, large diameter, high flow pipes cannot readily be transported on a reel.
Conventionally, where high flow pipe is required, the pipe must either be wound in short lengths on large diameter reels that are too large for easy transportation, or supplied in short individual lengths that require coupling together at site. Commonly these short individual lengths are 12 m to 18 m.
Where high flow bore pumping is required, straight short individual lengths of pipe are transported to the bore site and are then craned into position and welded or otherwise connected together. This requires multiple pieces of equipment such as trucks and cranes in addition to several technicians. Due to the inherent risk involved there is also the need of safety personnel to ensure that suspended loads are dealt with appropriately.
In relation to travelling irrigation sprinklers, the spray area is limited to the diameter of the pipe used and either large numbers of pumps and pipes in close proximity are used on small nominal bore reeled pipe so that the travelling sprinklers can extend large distances with a wide spray. This requires many lengths of pipe and pumps to achieve good spay coverage. Alternatively large diameter pipes are used, but these limit the distance the travelling sprinklers can travel due to the difficulty in reeling large diameter pipe.
When typical test pumping is undertaken variable flow is required. To accommodate this, a variety of different volume pumps are needed with associated different diameter riser pipes to cater for different levels of water and different required pressures and flows. This requires multiple pieces of equipment and skilled staff to change between required pumps and risers as needed. To change between different pumps and risers takes time and expense that could be otherwise spent pumping.
Conventionally, when bores require a high flow downhole pumping device of large flow rate capacity, a pipe needs to be lowered into the bore or raised from the bore. In some applications a pipe diameter of 110 mm or larger is required to meet the desired flow rate. Due to the diameter of the pipe, the pipe cannot be rolled onto a reel without the pipe collapsing. As a result, pipes of large diameter are typically supplied in straight lengths of up to 6 m. These straight lengths are transported to the bore site on trucks, coupled together and then lifted with a crane as a suspended load to be placed into the bore. The straight lengths are lowered by the crane and joined together whilst in an upright orientation. Flexible lay flat pipe may be used, but requires a crane and manpower crew for the installation and still involves lowering the pipe in section.
This conventional method of lowering a high flow pipe and pump into a bore requires a crane to suspend and support the high flow pipe and pump using chain. A crane is required due to the size and weight of the required high flow pipe. To meet site requirements, technicians and a safety supervisor are required to be on site each time operations to lower and operate or raise the pumping assembly are conducted. An electricity cord travels down the side of the high flow pipe and the pump to power the pump. The high flow pipe can be a large diameter flexible pipe, connected to pump to direct the pumped fluid to a desired location.
The coupling, lowering and raising of pipes is time consuming and requires a team of technicians, safety supervisors as well as multiple pieces of equipment. It also places the technicians and supervisors in direct danger as they must physically interact with the suspended pipe to raise, lower and couple them.
Where conventional test pumping is undertaken, a submersible pump, an electric cable, a stainless steel security cable, a monitoring tube and a rising/delivery pipe are lowered down a water containing bore/well. When different flow rates are required for different testing applications pipes of different diameters coupled with pumps of different capacity are required to be placed in the bore. Raising and lowering of the test pump is required each time a different diameter pipe or different flow pump is needed. This involves a crane, suspended loads and technicians every time, costing money and placing the technicians at risk. The time taken to raise or lower the pipe, connecting or disconnecting the straight lengths with the aid of a crane can take hours.
The preceding discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
The preceding discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.


The present invention is directed to a method and system for identifying content in an unsent electronic message composed by a sender affiliated with a business, wherein the content is potentially not authorized by the business or potentially harmful to the business. An electronic screening tool is applied to the unsent electronic message prior to transmission of the unsent electronic message from a server, associated with the business, to the recipient. The electronic screening tool is programmed to identify content that is potentially not authorized by the business or potentially harmful to the business. The sender's request to transmit the electronic message to the recipient may be automatically cancelled and/or expunged from the server if the output of the electronic screening tool indicates that the unsent electronic message contains content that is potentially not authorized by the business or potentially harmful to the business.

In a typical electronic messaging system (e.g., an email system), a user composes a message in an editor and then initiates a 'Send' action. This causes the email client application to (i) move the message into a queue (or folder) where a software component transforms that message into the representation needed by the message transport agent (MTA—e.g., SMTP), (ii) execute code to connect to the message transport agent ("MTA") and (iii) pass the message to the MTA for delivery.
Originally, this was the only manner in which email messages were sent. In a traditional email system 1, an email client 100 sent an electronic message through an outbound message queue 200 which then directed the electronic message to the MTA 140, FIG. 1. The MTA 140 then delivered the electronic message to the recipient's inbox 160. No mechanism existed for any message processing once the Send button was pressed unless the user could find the message and delete it before it had been handed off to the MTA.

Abstract: The present invention is also directed to a method for identifying whether a first party is engaging in electronic communications that are potentially harmful to the first party in commercial or residential environments. An electronic screening tool is applied to one or more electronic messages sent or received by the first party. The electronic screening tool is programmed to identify content associated with a situation that is potentially harmful to the first party. An alert message is automatically sent to a second party indicating that the first party may be involved in a situation that is potentially harmful to the first party if the output of the electronic screening tool indicates that the electronic messages contain content associated with a situation that is potentially harmful to the first party.


A moisture control garment formed of a material that has moisture wicking (hydrophobic) properties joined to another material that has moisture absorbing (hydrophilic) properties. In certain embodiments, the moisture wicking and moisture absorbing materials are of similar thickness, have the same estimated shrinkage percentage, and the fibers of such materials are positioned in the same direction.

Various sports or athletic activities cause participants to perspire in different ways. The participant's ability to more effectively manage this perspiration can often provide a competitive advantage during participation.
Athletes have, for decades, used varying fabrics to optimize performance. By way of specific example, a quarterback that uses a terrycloth towel hanging from his uniform waistband to keep his hands dry during play is generally provided greater accuracy when throwing the football. Tennis players wear headbands while playing to keep perspiration from getting on their face and into their eyes. Similarly, many basketball players wear wristbands to prevent moisture from reaching their hands and affecting ball control. These are examples of independent use of hydrophilic fabrics to absorb moisture from selected parts of the participant's body.
More recently, hydrophobic or moisture wicking fabrics have become somewhat commonplace in athletic activewear. These fabrics are typically defined as nonabsorbent materials that pull moisture away from the participant's skin, distributing the moisture evenly throughout the fabric and allowing the fabric to dry quickly. By wicking away the moisture, less moisture is absorbed by the fabric, generally keeping the garment lighter and in many cases, more comfortable for the participant.


A wheeled rake apparatus (10) including a wheeled unit (11) adapted to detachably receive a generally V-shaped framework member (20) having downwardly angled arm segments (22,23) provided with rake teeth (26) for removing and collecting debris as the apparatus (10) is pushed across a lawn.

As can be seen by references to the following U.S Pat. Nos. 4,009,560; 4,516,393; 4,635,429; and 4,821,500; the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse leaf raking devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, these prior art devices rely on antiquated physical principles and structures which multiply the time and effort that must be devoted to a relatively simple and straightforward task.
As anyone who is engaged in lawn maintenance is all too painfully aware, one of the most bothersome and time consuming tasks associated with that pursuit involves the removal of leaves, mowed grass, and other debris from the lawn.
Not only is the act of raking a time consuming chore, but it also must be done each time the lawn is mowed and on a periodic basis during the fall leaf season.
Most of the prior art devices that have been developed to accomplish this task have used the time proven, yet relatively inefficient, pulling of the rake across discrete contiguous areas on the lawn repeatedly, until such time as the entire surface area of the lawn has been cleared of debris.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among the general populace for a more efficient method of raking debris from a lawn and the provisions of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.


The method for displaying according to the present invention is used for displaying the displacement of an object (group) on the display of an electronic device. The method calculates an animation interval according to an amount of animation and an animation time; calculates an animation end time according to the animation interval and the order of animation to be executed; calculates a distribution ratio according to the animation end time and a distribution curve; calculates a displacement according to the distribution ratio and an animation execution distance; calculates an updated coordinate according to the displacement after the object (group) is moved; and replots the displaced object (group) in the display window of the display of the electronic device according to the updated coordinate. By calculating the displacement of each step of animation during the animation process, the present invention can present the process of object (group) movement. Thereby, when the object (group) is moving, the animated displaying effects with speed variations can be exhibited.

In recent years, with the fast advancement of technologies, various electronic devices, in particular mobile devices such as notebook computers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and personal multimedia players, are developed rapidly and hence substantially enhancing people's convenience in daily lives. Because earlier electronic devices emphasized on their functionality, the appearance of their pictures are generally monotonous. Nonetheless, people's demands increase day by day. In addition to comprehensive functions, they also request for novel and varied displays. Accordingly, current electronic devices can exhibit many functional options or image functions such cursor operations. Moreover, they can even provide animated effects, for example, the effects of cursor animation or of dynamic menus.
For easier operations of electronic devices, the displays of most of present electronic devices are touch panels, which enables direct selection of menus on the displays by simply using an indicator, such as a finger or a stylus, and then executing the corresponding functions. Thereby, people need not select by means of the buttons of electronic devices, and hence improving convenience while using electronic devices. Besides, people can further interact with electronic devices via touch-panel displays. For example, people can drag directly an object displayed (such as an object of data item) and move it. After dragging, an animation can be formed for exhibiting dynamic visual effects, which are distinct from static presentations.
Modern electronic devices can further display animation with different speed and thus enhancing dynamic effects. For instance, people can drag an object displayed and release it. Then the object can maintain moving and form an animation with varying moving speeds (for example, from fast to slow or vice versa) for presenting dynamic animated effect having varying speeds on the display. The methods for adjusting the moving speed of animations according to prior art mostly adopt the method of adjusting the speed, such as adjusting the speed by using a parabolic curve equation. However, it is difficult to control the moved distance of an object by using this adjusting method. Consequently, an object tends to move exceeding the display range of the display window on the display, leading to incomplete display of the object and hence affecting the animated effects.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for displaying the displacement of an object on the display of an electronic device for solving the problems described above. According to the present invention, in addition to exhibiting animated effects having speed changes while an object (group) is moving, the drawback of inability to position correctly an object in a display window according to the prior art is also improved. Thereby, the animated effects are enhanced, and the above-mentioned problems are solved.

Method for displaying displacement of object on display of electronic device


A method of manufacturing a reinforced plate glass by which glass surface strength is sufficiently increased, and a stable quality reinforced plate glass is manufactured at high production efficiency. The reinforced plate glass is formed of an inorganic oxide glass, and is provided with a compression stress layer by chemical reinforcement on plate surfaces opposed to each other in a plate thickness direction. Plate end faces have regions where a compression stress is formed and regions where no compression stress is formed.

I. Technical Field
The present invention relates to plate glass used as a substrate material or a cover glass member to be mounted on an image display portion or an image input portion of various kinds of portable information terminals typified by a mobile phone and a PDAandanelectronic appliance typifiedbya liquid crystal display, and a method of manufacturing the plate glass.
II. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as recognized in the progress of a digital technology involving all the industrial fields and the like, the information industry has been remarkably developed, and the prosperity thereof is presenting animated appearance in the same way as in the textile industry, steel industry, shipbuilding industry, or the like. Along with this, the technical innovation regarding various kinds of information-related terminals is expanding continuously, as in the increase in sales of mobile appliances such as a mobile phone, a digital camera, and a PDA and a large-type image display apparatus such as a liquid crystal television. A transparent substrate for displaying information such as images and characters or inputting information with a touch panel display is mounted on such information-related terminals, and the substrate adopts glass as a material so as to realize high environment performance and ensure high reliability.
Various environment performances required for glass used for the application shouldering the prosperity of the information industry include various physicochemical performances such as mechanical strength in conformity with the environment in which glass is used, chemical resistance such as weather resistance, and appropriate optical constants such as a transmittance and a refractive index. Therefore, designing a glass material determines an ultimate composition for solving all those problems. A secondary treatment has been conducted with respect to glass so as to solve the higher problems, which cannot be solved only by designing a glass material. Examples of the secondary treatment include physical reinforcement such as the adjustment of a refractive index and a density, a slow cooling operation (which is also called annealing) for maintaining strength, air-cooling reinforcement for reinforcing a glass surface, and chemical reinforcement such as ion exchange.
Of the secondary treatments, the chemical reinforcement of a glass surface has been utilized for a glass product used for various applications requiring reinforcement. Glass products to be chemically reinforced cover a fairly broad spectrum, which includes small things such as a cover glass for a watch such as a wristwatch to large things such as a window plate glass. Further, a large number of inventions have been carried out, which overcome weak points caused when a chemical reinforcement method is conducted. For example, regarding a problem in that the chemical reinforcement method generally decreases the chemical durability of a glass surface, JP 07-223845 A discloses a method of soaking a float plate glass in a potassium nitrate molten salt and further soaking the glass in a lithium aqueous solution so as to produce a chemically reinforced glass excellent in chemical durability. Further, regarding a problem in that a plate glass used for the application such as a touch panel is warped by chemical reinforcement, JP 2004-189562 A discloses an invention which solves the problem by changing the support position of the plate glass while being soaked in a vertical direction for chemical reinforcement with the ratio between the length of a long side and the length of a short side of the plate glass. Further, regarding a problem in that, for chemically reinforcing the entire plate glass, the management of a heat treatment step should be conducted strictly, particularly for treating a large-size plate glass such as a display, which makes it difficult to shorten the time for the step, JP 2006-282492 A discloses an invention solving the problem by spraying an atomized reinforcing agent or a powdery reinforcing agent to a cut portion of a glass plate and irradiating the cut portion with light for heating. Further, JP 2003-514758 A discloses an invention in which a partial reinforcement treatment of a glass plate used for a large display such as a plasma display can be achieved by laminating a paste containing a potassium salt and a high-melting point compound on a glass surface.

Reinforced plate glass and method for manufacturing the same


A semiconductor device includes a main surface, a back surface opposite to the main surface, a first side on the main surface, a second side opposite to the first side, a third side between the first side and the second side, a fourth side opposite to the third side, a first point on a periphery of the main surface between the first side and the third side, a second point on the periphery of the main surface between the second side and the fourth side, a third point on the periphery of the main surface between the first side and the fourth side, and

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to technology useful for semiconductor devices including a plurality of semiconductor chips.
To produce a semiconductor device with a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on a substrate like an SoC (System on Chip), a larger substrate is required than when a single semiconductor chip is mounted on a substrate. However, increasing the thickness of the substrate depending on the area of the substrate brings disadvantages in the process of making through holes.
On the other hand, if the area of the substrate is increased without an increase in its thickness, warpage or deformation is likely to occur in the semiconductor device. One reason for such warpage or deformation lies in the heating or cooling step of the semiconductor device manufacturing process. Specifically, the substrate included in the semiconductor device, semiconductor chips, resin for sealing the semiconductor chips on the substrate, and lid for covering the semiconductor chips have different thermal expansion coefficients, so deformation may occur during heating or cooling.
If warpage or deformation occurs in the semiconductor device, it may be difficult or impossible to mount the semiconductor device on the wiring substrate. Particularly, if the semiconductor device is mounted through a ball grid array (BGA) provided on the back surface of the semiconductor device, some of the solder balls of the BGA might fail to reach the wiring board due to warpage or deformation.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-196008 discloses a multichip semiconductor device. In this multichip semiconductor device, three or more semiconductor chips are disposed over one surface of a quadrangular substrate with a conductor layer in a planar manner and electrically coupled to the conductor layer. In this multichip semiconductor device, a ball grid array including a plurality of electrodes for coupling the conductor layer to the outside electrically is formed over the other surface of the substrate. In this multichip semiconductor device, at least one semiconductor chip lies over each of the two centerlines which couple the middle points of opposite sides of the substrate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-251731 discloses a semiconductor device. This semiconductor device includes a plurality of semiconductor chips and a virtually rectangular circuit substrate and has an MCM package structure. In the MCM package structure, a plurality of semiconductor chips are disposed in parallel over a semiconductor chip mounting surface of the circuit substrate for mounting a plurality of semiconductor chips and the semiconductor chip mounting surface is covered by sealing resin along the outer edge of the circuit substrate to seal the semiconductor chips. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip which lies across the centerline where the longitudinal-division plane bisecting the semiconductor chip mounting surface in the long-side direction intersects the transverse-division plane bisecting the semiconductor chip mounting surface in the short-side direction. In this semiconductor device, the above semiconductor chip in has a larger thickness than the other semiconductor chips mounted over the semiconductor chip mounting surface in a direction perpendicular to the semiconductor chip mounting surface.

Abstract: a fourth point on the periphery of the main surface between the third side and the second side, a first semiconductor chip disposed over the main surface of the substrate, and a second semiconductor chip disposed over the main surface of the substrate.


It has been found that syntaxin binds and regulates the nucleotide binding folds (NBFs) of sulfonylurea receptors (SURs) in a ATP- and ADP-dependent manner. The present invention therefore provides methods for identifying compounds that effect the binding between a syntaxin protein and a NBF1 and/or NBF2 of a sulfonylurea receptor (SUR). Compounds identified using the method of the invention are useful for treating and/or preventing diseases and/or conditions that have, as their underlying basis, a dysregulation of KAT 191 channels.

Electrically-excitable cells include not only neurons and neuroendocrine cells (i.e. pancreatic islet β-cells), but also cardiac and muscle cells. The electrical activity (membrane potential) of these excitable cells is regulated by membrane ion channels which effect either membrane depolarization or repolarization.
The KATP channel has been best studied in the pancreatic islet β-cell1,11,12 whereby glucose entry and metabolism into the islet β-cell generates a change in the ratio of adenine nucleotides, adenosine trisphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Increased ATP and decreased ADP cause a closure of the plasma membrane KATP channel proteins. The resulting cell membrane depolarization then causes the opening of Ca2+ channels which effects Ca2+ influx into the cell to act on a set of SNARE proteins on the insulin secretory granules and plasma membrane which come together to form a complex that induces the fusion of the granule to the membrane and subsequent release of insulin.
In the normal cardiac muscle, the KATP channels are closed by the high intracellular ATP concentrations [ATP].2,13 However, during ischemia, the [ATP] are lowered, and results in the opening of KATP channels, and the resulting increase in outward K+ currents shortens the duration of membrane action potentials, leading to a reduction of Ca2+ influx, and consequent reduced contraction and energy consumption. The KATP channel opening therefore serves to protect the myocardium from ischemic injury.2,13
These KATP channels are each composed of two distinct subunits, SUR and a member of the inward rectifying KATP channel family, Kir6.X, which is the actual gating pore.1 There are several isoforms of SUR.1 SUR1A (1581 aa, 177 kDa) is the dominant isoform in pancreatic islets and brain,3 SUR 2A4,5 (1545 aa, 174 kD) in the heart and skeletal muscle, SUR2B4,5,7 (1546 aa, 175 kD) in smooth muscle and vascular smooth muscle and the more ubiquitously expressed SUR2C (1512 aa, 170 kD).5 Kir6.X2,6-8 has two isoforms including Kir6.1 in smooth muscle and Kir6.2 in cardiac and skeletal muscles, pancreatic islets and brain. These SUR and Kir6.X proteins come together (i.e. SUR1A/Kir6.2, SUR2A/Kir6.2, SUR2B/Kir6.1) to form hetero-octamer (4SUR+4Kir6.X)1,14 proteins in the native cell plasma membrane. Each of the SUR proteins contains two large (180-200 aa) cytoplasmic folds (NBF1 and NBF2) each of which contains Walker A (WA) and Walker B (WB) motifs (FIG. 1).1 The Walker motifs form nucleotide binding pockets (hence called nucleotide binding fold-NBF). Much is known about the SUR1/Kir6.2 structure-function, as these were the first to be cloned,3,6,8 and because of its presence in islet β-cells and consequent therapeutic relevance to diabetes.1 Genetic mutations for the disease familial persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy PHHI15 were identified (G1479R in NBF2) within SUR1 to cause the pathologic closure of the KATP channel. Discovery of such mutations further contributed to the elucidation of the structure-function of SUR1. However, no such mutations have been found with SUR2. In both SUR1 and SUR2, ATP closes the KATP channel by binding to the SUR subunit, as well as Kir184.108.40.206,17 Upon ATP hydrolysis to ADP, the ADP in combination with Mg2+, opens the KATP channel mainly by binding to NBF2.8,20 Both NBFs act cooperatively to modulate not only MgADP binding and activity, but also Kir6.2 regulation by ATP.1 In fact, early studies showed that ATP has a secondary, albeit non-essential, binding site at NBF1 which prolongs KATP opening.21
Overall, there is a 68% homology between SUR1 and SUR2A at the amino acid level,4 and the heterogeneity is attributed to the N-terminal transmembrane and the very C-terminal domains.22 Of a total of 17 transmembrane segments, the N-terminal five transmembrane helical domain confers the distinct binding affinity to sulfonylureas (100× higher affinity to SUR1>SUR2A) and burst intervals (shorter for SUR1 than SUR2A).4,22 In contrast, the NBF1 and NBF2 domains between the SUR1 and SUR2A possess very high homology.4 At the amino acid level, SUR1-NBF1 (aa 694-893) and SUR2A-NBF1 (aa 682-873) has a 81.4% homology, whereas SUR1-NBF2 (aa 1356-1535) and SUR2A-NBF2 (1320-1499) has a 86.6% homology.4 SUR2 has 3 alternatively spliced variants, SUR2A, SUR2B and SUR2C.1 SUR2A and SUR2B differ only in the last 42 amino acids at the C-terminus which is just outside the NBF2 region.4,22 Interestingly the C-terminal 42 aa domain of SUR2B is more similar to that in SUR1 (aa 1539-1581).7 The distinct C-terminus (42 aa) of the SURs confers the different ATP sensitivity22 (4-fold higher ATP sensitivity in SUR1 than SUR2A and SUR2B) and MgADP actions23 (increases potassium channel opener (KCO) binding to SUR2A, inhibits KCO binding to SUR2B24). Compared to SUR2A, SUR2C has a 35 amino acid deletion just outside the N-terminal end of NBF1 which corresponds to aa 635-670 region of SUR2A,5 and this region is interestingly also the most divergent region between SUR2A and SUR1.4 The NBF1s and NBF2s are therefore very well conserved between the SUR1 and SUR2 isoforms.
There has not been a ternary protein found to bind and regulate SUR or Kir6.2 in an ATP- and/or ADP-dependent manner.

Drug target within the sulfonylurea receptor


[Problems to be Solved]

A high-refractivity low-dispersion optical glass is much demanded as optical element materials such as various lenses. For example, it can constitute a compact and highly functional optical system for correcting chromatic aberration when combined with a high-refractivity high-dispersion lens.
Further, when the optical function surface of a high-refractivity low-dispersion lens is rendered aspherical, various optical systems can be functionally enhanced and downsized.
A precision press-molding method is known as a method of efficiently producing optical elements made of a glass such as an aspherical lens, etc., that require much labor and a high cost when they are produced by grinding and polishing. High-refractivity low-dispersion glasses used in the above precision press-molding method are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

Optical glass, precision press-molding preform, optical element and process for producing the same

Abstract: [Problems to be Solved]

Abstract: To provide a high-refractivity low-dispersion optical glass that enables the stable production of high-quality optical elements.

Abstract: [Means to Solve the Problems]

Abstract: An optical glass comprising, as essential components,                20 to 50% of B3+,        5 to 35% of La3+,        1 to 30% of Nb5+,        0.5 to 15% of Ta5+, and        11 to 40% of Zn2+,        the total content of B3+ and Si4+ being 20 to 50%, the total content of La3+, Gd3+ and Y3+ being 5 to 35%, the cationic ratio of ((B3++Si4+)/(La3++Gd3++Y3+)) being from 1 to 5, the total content of Ti4+, Nb5+, Ta5+ and W6+ being 10 to 35%, the cationic ratio of ((Nb5++Ta5+)/(Ti4++Nb5++Ta5++W6+)) being from 0.7 to 1, the cationic ratio of ((B3++Si4+)/(Ti4++Nb5++Ta5++W6+)) being from 0.5 to 4, the cationic ratio of ((La3++Gd3++Y3+)/(Ti4++Nb5++Ta5++W6+)) being from 0.2 to 3, the cationic ratio of Zn2+/Zn2++Mg2++Ca2++Sr2++Ba2+) being from 0.8 to 1, the optical glass having a refractive index nd of 1.89 or more and an Abbe's number νd of 27 to 37.


An adjustable lamp holder has a mounting structure arrayed about a longitudinal axis. A pair of hollow pivot pillars extends from the mounting structure parallel to the longitudinal axis and a receptacle is positioned on the mounting structure parallel to the longitudinal axis and substantially opposite the pivot pillars. A body with a body axis coaxial with the longitudinal axis has a pair of pivots formed thereon for engaging the pivot pillars. A projection is formed on the body substantially opposite the pivots and an angle adjuster, having a proximal end and a distal end, has the proximal end positioned in the projection and the distal end positioned in the receptacle. Movement of the angle adjuster tips the angle of the lamp.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a pivoting mounting useful for a facia mounted fog lamp assembly for automobiles.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Many modern automobiles have a plastic ornamental facia covering the front bumper. The facia is sometimes formed with sockets for receiving fog lamps. Typically, the fog lamps are mounted in the sockets by screws threaded into plastic bosses on the facia. However, this arrangement makes installation and removal of the fog lamps difficult and in addition; the screw threads in the bosses have a tendency to strip, particularly after servicing.
Attempts to remedy these failures have led to mount structures involving extended pins riding in U-shaped slots that allow a reflector to pivot slightly. These structures, too, have been difficult to maintain and to service and, additionally, have usually required custom installation for each different vehicle with which they were to be utilized.


An acquisition unit of a user terminal acquires an initiator ID including a user ID and a computer ID. The initiator ID is transmitted by a transmitter unit, and then, received by a transmitter/receiver unit of a storage device. A LUDB stores information determining a LU corresponding to each user ID of several users. A masking unit refers to the LUDB to determine the LU corresponding to the user ID. If the received initiator ID differs from an initiator ID stored in a table corresponding to the determined LU, an access control unit refuses access to the LU by the user terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage system including computers used by users and a storage device shared by these computers. In particular, the present invention relates to access control to a logical unit of the storage device shared by the computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage system includes several computers which can be used by any user and a storage device shared by the computers. In the storage system, working environment information of the computer for each user is stored in a logical unit (LU) in the storage device which is located at, for example, a data center. In other words, each user owns a LU in the storage device. In such a storage system, a user does not own any computer.
These computers and the storage device are connected via a network, for example, a Storage Area Network (SAN), using a fiber channel technique. The user can use own working environment information through any computer connected to the storage device via the SAN.
None of the computers connected via the SAN have a hard disk. The computers can be used by any user. In brief, the computers and users do not have the relationship of one-to-one correspondence, and instead have a relationship of N-to-M. The number of computers is denoted by "N" and the number of users is denoted by "m".
The foregoing storage system has the following two advantages. First, the user is not required to carry around a computer, and can use a computer provided at each branch office given as per the infrastructure. Second, the user can arbitrarily select and use any of non-used computers; therefore, the computer availability is enhanced.
For example, large enterprises have many branch offices all over the world. In this case, working environment information of all employees are stored in the storage device located at the company data center. Here, the working environment information includes an operating system, application software, those configurations and data which are used by the employee.
Any computer provided at any of the branch offices can be connected to any user's working environment information. By doing so, any user can use any computer as if it were own computer. For example, even if the employee goes to another branch office on business, the employee can access own working environment information.
However, the foregoing storage system has the following problem. Namely, the computers and the users have the relationship of N-to-M correspondence; for this reason, a mutual exclusion problem arises among computers and among users.
The computer used for the foregoing storage system includes no hard disk. For this reason, when the user turns off the computer to end the use of the computer, no data remains on the computer. Thus, even if several users sequentially use the same computer, the following user is in no way affected by how the previous user uses the computer; therefore, there is no mutual exclusion problem.
On the other hand, the operating system was traditionally stored in a hard disk of each computer; for this reason, it is not designed to work on multiple computers simultaneously. For example, in the case that a user forgets to turn off the power of a computer connecting own working environment information, and subsequently connects to own working environment information from another computer, the operating system malfunctions. As a result, there is a possibility that data is destroyed. In other words, if several computers simultaneously access the same working environment information, a mutual exclusion problem arises.
In order to solve the foregoing problem, the following technique is disclosed (see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-75853). According to the technique, a table showing a relationship between computers and LUs storing working environment information of users is stored in the storage device. Then, an accessing LU is mapped in the table depending on the connected computer. The technique can solve the foregoing mutual exclusion problem because the computer accesses the working environment information in only correspondence of the intended computer and the working environment information.
According to the foregoing technique, only the computer corresponding to the LU storing the working environment information can access the working environment information. Therefore, the mutual exclusion problem is solved.
However, when the correspondence of the computer and the working environment information changes, namely, the user changes the using computer, storage device configuration of correspondence between computers and LUs must be changed every time.
Thus, a change of the correspondence of the computer and the working environment information is accurately grasped to always reflect it in the storage device.
However, this is difficult in a storage system in which many users exist, and the correspondence of users and computers changes variously in accordance with requests from users.

Method and system for controlling access to logical unit of a storage device shared by computers


An information storage apparatus includes a storage media including a plurality of information tracks. Each storage medium has a head assembly having a substantially planar surface and a plurality of read/write heads positioned in registry with the information tracks. The read/write heads are arranged substantially in the plane of the planar surface. The information storage medium and the head assembly are arranged in mutually sliding abutment such that the heads are substantially in sliding contact with the outer surface of the information storage medium. In another aspect an information storage and retrieval apparatus includes an information storage medium including an information storage area, and an array of information read/write heads. The information storage medium and array of heads are arranged to be oscillated with respect to each other in use such that each region of the information storage area is aligned with at least one of the heads during oscillation.

A conventional hard-disk drive typically comprises a rotatable disk on which digital information can be stored, say by means of magnetic or optical recording techniques, such that information can be read, written and erased as desired. A typical magnetic hard-disk comprises a rigid platter made from a metal or ceramic and on which a magnetic coating is provided so that information can be stored of the disk by altering the magnetic properties of the coating.
The available storage area of the disk is organised physically into a number of concentric tracks between a central portion of the disk and an outer portion of the disk. The available storage area of each track is also subdivided into a number of sectors of a fixed number of bytes and which are generally wedge or pie-shaped regions. By organising the available storage area of the disk into concentric tracks and sectors, information can be written to specific areas of the disk and stored information can be located and retrieved.
In order to read or write data to a particular location on the disk, the disk-drive typically includes a read and a write head. Traditionally induction read/write heads comprising a coil of conductive material wound over a magnetic core were used with magnetic media. Information could be written on the disk by passing an electric current through the coil to generate a magnetic field which in turn alters the magnetic properties of an area of the disk. Information could be read from the disk by passing the head over the disk such that the magnetic material of an area of the disk causes an electric current to be induced in the coil that forms the read/write head.
Following on from that magneto-resistive and particularly Giant Magneto-Resistive (GMR) heads have been employed. These are micro structures which react with a detectable change in electrical resistance to magnetic polarity or spin resonance of a region of the magnetic storage medium. They are preferable to the induction heads described above since they have a greater sensitivity to magnetic flux changes therefore allowing greater spatial resolution allowing more densely packed information storage.
A more recently proposed alternative is a Hall effect detector which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,317.
The read/write head is typically attached to one end of a movable arm. The other end of the arm is supported on a pivot or head gimbal assembly (HGA) and is connected to some form of drive means so that the arm can be selectively rotated. As the arm rotates, the read/write head moves over the surface of the disk in a shallow arc from a central region of the disk to an outer region of the disk and can thus be selectively located over any of the tracks of the disk. The drive means must be able to move the arm at high speed as information is read or written and typically comprises some form of "voice-coil" mechanism, similar to a typical drive mechanism of a loud-speaker.
In use, the disk is rotated at high speed, usually at several thousand revolutions per minute (r.p.m.), and the read/write head effectively "flies" on a cushion of air generated by the spinning disk. The read/write head is thus maintained in very close proximity to the surface of the disk without actually touching it. Indeed significant damage can be caused to the surface of the platter if the head accidentally touches it during operation. This is known as a head crash and is most likely to occur when the drive is subject to sudden physical shock. This is a potential fragility of conventional hard disk drives.
Information is either written to or read from a disk as a result of instructions generated by a computer program as the program is processed. For example, a program may generate a request for information which is then sent, typically, to a disk controller and the physical position of the data is identified using a File Access Table (FAT), the New Technology File System (NTFS), a Virtual Table Of Contents (VTOC) or other well known means. The signal requires processing and amplifying, with a number of coding protocols being used to obtain the optimum spacing and signal strength. The disk controller then causes the arm on which the read/write head is mounted to be rotated so that the head overlies the appropriate track on the disk which contains the sector in which the desired data is stored. The data cannot be read however until the correct portion of the track is brought into alignment with the read head by the spinning disk. It is therefore necessary for the disk to spin at high speed to enable the desired circumferential portion of a track on the disk to be accessed at relatively high speed, i.e. to minimise the 'arrival time' of the data which will on average be half the time it takes for the disk to complete one revolution.
It is well known to increase the available storage capacity of a hard drive by providing a number of disks which are mounted to and rotatable about a single central shaft. The storage capacity of the drive can also be further increased (effectively doubled) by storing information on both faces of a single disk, i.e. by providing a magnetic coating and a movable read/write head on each side of a disk. For example early mainframe drives had between one and eight disks and therefore between two and sixteen surfaces and the protocols used reflected this limit. Information stored on other types of information storage media, such as on removable floppy disks and optical information stored on removable or fixed optical disks (compact disks, DVDs and so on) is generally accessed in a similar manner. An optical disk, for example, allows information to be read (or written) by optical means, such as by a laser arrangement, however the general principles of organising information into a spiral track or a number of concentric tracks on a spinning disk and providing means to selectively position a read/write head over a desired track portion are usually followed.
As well as the above described types of information storage system, proposals have also been made to construct disk-drives that do not employ a movable arm to position a read/write head over a particular track on a disk. Instead, the disk drive is provided with a head assembly that includes one read/write head per track of an information storage disk. The head assembly generally comprises a disk-shaped element with a number of read/write heads deposited on one surface of the disk-shaped element. The heads themselves comprise generally needle-shaped elements which extend from the surface of the head assembly and which, in use, make contact with the surface of a media disk. This form of disk-drive therefore does not require a movable arm since a read/write head can be positioned over each of the available information storage tracks at all times. In this way, the inbuilt latency of more conventional disk-drives caused by the activation and movement of a head/arm assembly is removed thus enabling improved information access speeds.


A method for locating the position of each wheelset of a motor vehicle. Each wheelset including at least one wheel equipped with an electronic unit including at least one sensor to measure, for the wheel, the extent of the contact patch via which the tire is in contact with the ground, and a transmitter transmitting data regarding the extent of the tire contact patch to a control unit. The motor vehicle includes a load sensor for each of the wheelsets that measures and delivers to the control unit a value for the load supported by the associated wheelset. The method employing, on the one hand, data originating from a sensor able to determine the extent of the contact patch via which a tire is in contact with the ground and, on the other hand, a load sensor able to measure the load supported by a wheelset of the motor vehicle.

It is known practice to equip each wheel of a motor vehicle with a monitoring system comprising sensors which are mounted on each wheel of the vehicle. These sensors allow a certain number of parameters, such as the pressure and the temperature of the tires with which the wheels are equipped, to be measured. This allows the driver to be kept informed as to the condition of the tires of each wheel.
TPMS sensors for example may be fixed to the end of the tire valve and inform the driver of the pressure and temperature of the tire. TPMS sensors may also be installed in the tread of the tire and thus inform the driver notably as to the pressure, the temperature and the wear of the tire, but also as to the extent of the contact patch via which the wheel is in contact with the ground. Knowledge regarding this contact patch also makes it possible to evaluate the load supported by the wheel and the thickness of rubber of the wheel. However, this type of sensor is not able to detect uneven tire wear because these sensors feed back only mean wear. Document EP 3237239 A1 (WO2016102379), incorporated herein by reference, describes a method making it possible to determine the load supported by a wheel from the size of the contact patch via which the wheel is in contact with the ground.
Monitoring systems take the form of an electronic unit further comprising parameter sensors, a microprocessor, a data signal transmitter and possibly a signal receiver. The transmitter is able to transmit a signal containing the data collected by the sensor to a control unit situated on the motor vehicle. The control unit for its part is provided with a computer and with a signal receiver so as to receive and analyze the signals originating from the monitoring systems.
However, the signal transmitted by the monitoring systems does not contain information relating to the location of the electronic unit. Now, it is necessary to associate with each transmitted signal information regarding the location of the monitoring system so that the position of each wheel of the motor vehicle can be located and the driver informed as to the location of, for example, a worn tire.
There are in existence numerous solutions that make it possible to locate the position of each wheel of a motor vehicle. The known document FR 2974033, incorporated herein by reference, for example describes an electronic unit comprising means for measuring the angular position of the electronic unit and a transmitter intended to transmit signals containing data representative of operating parameters of each wheel and an identification code identifying the electronic unit. Associated with information originating from a wheel speed sensor positioned in the vicinity of each of the wheels, the method makes it possible to locate the position of each of the wheels of the vehicle. In particular, this method involves, on the one hand, the ability of each electronic unit to identify its angular position as the wheel turns, something which requires a great deal of computation resources and usually leads to an increase in the energy consumption and therefore to a reduction in the life of the electronic unit and, on the other hand, the use of a set of wheel speed sensors, typically integrated into specific equipment of the ABS or ESP type, which operate individually on each wheel in order to supervise the instantaneous angular orientation thereof. The angular information supplied by the set of wheel speed sensors is then crossed with the angular information established by each of the TPMS sensors in order to definitively determine the position thereof. Now, certain categories of vehicle, particularly vehicles of the truck semitrailer type, are rarely equipped with such ABS or ESP systems, and this accordingly invalidates the application of such a location method.

Method for locating the position of each wheelset of a motor vehicle


Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses a hybrid switched capacitor array power amplifier (H-SCPA). The H-SCPA may have an array of storage elements divided into sub-arrays. A first sub-array may be configured to receive a delta sigma modulated (DSM) signal. A second sub-array may be configured to receive a Nyquist-rate signal. The H-SCPA may provide an output based on the received DSM and Nyquist-rate signals. The first sub-array and second sub-array may have different architectures. The DSM signal may represent the least significant bits of the signal and the Nyquist-rate signal may represent the most significant bits of the signal.

Power amplifiers (PA) have continued to be of interest to radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) designers, owing to their dominance in energy consumption in most wireless transceivers. Digital power amplifiers (DPA) have seen growing interest owing to their mixed signal interface that allows them to simultaneously act as a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), frequency up-converter/mixer and power amplifier (PA). This not only provides for significant advantages in energy efficiency, but also allows for significant chip-area savings, as the resulting DPA is actually a bandpass transmitter and does not require large area base-band filtering.
One of the prime challenges with any DPA is that it is a quantized system and its out-of-band (OOB) noise is dominated by signal quantization. Quantization noise is an additive white Gaussian process and hence it exhibits a broad spectrum. Because the quantization noise is broadband, it greatly affects the OOB performance of DPAs and can only be reduced with additional filtering, or with enhanced resolution.
There are two primary modes of operation for DPAs, current-mode DPAs and switched-capacitor power amplifier (SCPA). An example of an SCPA is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,547,177. In some applications, the SCPA is preferable to current-mode DPAs. For example, SCPAs use capacitors, along with transistors acting as switches, to achieve their linearity. This is advantageous, as deeply scaled CMOS transistors are optimized for their performance as switches and offer low intrinsic gain and output impedances. This allows the SCPA to offer higher linearity and efficiency at higher output power when compared to current-mode DPAs. However, it may be challenging to increase the resolution of an SCPA, owing to the desire to use metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors that can only be divided down to their minimum value, limiting either the resolution of the SCPA, or the quality factor (Q) achievable. Hence, SCPAs may have a tradeoff between higher resolution and achievable quality factor.

Apparatuses and methods for hybrid switched capacitor array power amplifiers


A tilt preventing structure for electromagnetic driving device comprises: a casing, a driven object (such as lens module), a guiding mechanism and an electromagnetic driving module. The driven object is received within the casing and is movable along an axial direction. The guiding mechanism is furnished inside the casing and is sleeved with the driven object, so as to guide the driven object to move along the axial direction. The electromagnetic driving module comprises a plurality of magnetic elements mounted on the driven object. The guiding mechanism is made of magnetically susceptible material and is nearby one of the magnetic elements. By means of the magnetic pulling force generated by the nearby magnetic elements, the guiding mechanism is pulled by the force and leans against the driven object, so as to minimize the tilts when the driven object is moving relative to the guiding mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tilt preventing structure for an electromagnetic driving device. The tilt preventing structure comprises a guiding mechanism comprising a magnetically susceptible material and a magnet disposed on a lens assembly. The magnet exerts a magnetic attraction force upon the guiding mechanism to reduce a dynamic tilt of the lens assembly during its movement along the guiding mechanism and thereby enable the lens assembly to move steadily.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded perspective view of a conventional zooming or focusing lens. A mechanical-transmission focusing mechanism 9 for use with a conventional focusing lens employs a high-cost precise driving element 91 (such as a stepper motor, an ultrasonic motor, or a piezoelectric actuator) to function as a power source for driving a support 93 having a lens assembly 92 and employs plenty of transmission elements, thereby resulting in a complicated mechanical structure, an intricate and difficult assembly process, an excessive volume, high costs, excessive power consumption, and a lack of price competitiveness.
In the early stage of the photography art, large human labor has been involved in metering, focusing and winding. Inevitably, it can be foreseen that how sorry would be if meeting a human mistake in taking photos in an important scene. Obviously, a quality photographer is the only answer to ensure photographing during such an important scene. Yet, it is well known that no 100% photographer is available anywhere and anytime. In the 50's and 60's, a great step has been achieved in the mechanical automation, from which people believe that automation would be the key to the future world. At that time, in the photography art, various developments such as the auto-metering device, the electrical winding apparatus and so on, have convinced people that automation is the future to the photography art. Among these developments, the development in the automatic focusing system who ensures the possibility of rapid photo-taking plays an important part.
Along with the technology development, conventional photographic apparatus has been progressed both in photographing quality and in the miniaturized appearance. However, the mechanical focusing lens set driven by the step motor hinders a further reduction in occupation of the apparatus
On the other hand, electromagnetic technology has also been introduced to improve the VCM electronic feedback system in monitoring the bias of the coil, which can replace the conventional step motor and provide a size down in the driving mechanism. Another development of the photography art is to add the photographic function to the other apparatus; for example, the integration of the photographic unit to the mobile phone, the PDA, the notebook computer and so on. All these changes make the current electronic merchandises equipped with a photographic unit that enhances a powerful video application to these aforesaid apparatuses.
Nevertheless, the aforesaid mobile phone, PDA, notebook computer, and the like portable electronic apparatus all have limitations in the battery capacity. Therefore, in aiming at the future of the photography art, the devotion upon how to design a low-energy-consumed driving device for focus or zoom lens set and how to anchor the lens set while the power is off is definitely welcome to the skilled person in the art.
Furthermore, all conventional lens driving devices are equipped with a guiding mechanism for guiding a lens to perform linear reciprocating displacement in a predetermined direction. To prevent the lens from getting stuck during its movement or proceeding with jerks and jolts, every conventional guiding mechanism always has an appropriate allowance (i.e., clearance) between its movable part and non-movable part (such as an axle hole and an axle). However, the clearance accounts for a slight quiver or a dynamic tilt that occur to the lens while at rest or in motion. The clearance increases with the tolerance of the axle hole to the detriment of the imaging quality of the lens or the precision in the positioning of the lens in motion. Accordingly, there is still room for improvement in the prior art.

Tilt preventing structure for electromagnetic driving device


A sample take-off system incorporating a small volume pump with a speed loop for pressurizing excess extracted sample for return into the process stream using a single multi-channel probe for both take-off and return of the excess extracted sample is illustrated and described.

In the gas processing industry, excess sample fluid, often referred to as "boil off gas" or "BOG", is disposed of by flaring or other disposal means. When provisions are made to avoid flaring, such as by recirculating excess extracted sample to the take-off source or pipeline, sample take-off and return of unused take-off fluids are typically carried out by using a first take-off probe and a second return probe. The addition of a discrete pathway and the second return probe for reinjection, particularly in the case of a highly expandable and even explosive fluid such as natural gas, adds additional requirements for system equipment, installation, and maintenance. The use of such additional equipment also presents further opportunities for leakage and/or system failure. Moreover, in cases of cryogenic fluid sampling, such as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), conventional design requires the sample extraction probe to be located close to the sample vaporizer and conditioner so as to avoid issues resulting from pre-vaporization and deadheading.
A system that allows for reinjection of unused take-off fluids into the pipeline source without the need for additional equipment, installation, and/or maintenance requirements to the system, such as requirements associated with having a discrete fluid pathway through a second return probe, would be useful in overcoming traditional problems associated with conventional system designs in the gas processing industry, for example, avoiding leakage and/or system failures that result from the use of unnecessary system components.

Speed loop for take-off and return by single pipeline probe


The present invention provides a liposome useful as a vaccine adjuvant. More specifically, the present invention provides a liposome which comprises a lipid bilayer comprising dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and egg phosphatidylglycerol and a conjugated compound in which a low-molecular weight compound enhancing the physiological activity of TLR7 is bound to squalene via a linker, said conjugated compound being encapsulated in the lipid bilayer.

Vaccines comprising a protein or a partial peptide thereof from microorganisms can be produced using chemical synthesis or genetic recombination technology and are advantageous in terms of safety and process for the production. On the other hand, subunit vaccines comprising a partial peptide (epitope) tend to have lower immuno-stimulating ability than that of live vaccines and inactivated vaccines. Accordingly, in order to enhance the immunogenicity of the epitope and to improve the immuno-stimulating activity of the vaccine, it has been investigated for prophylactic or therapeutic methods using an adjuvant and an antigen in combination.
Adjuvants are an additive to enhance humoral and/or cellular immune responses to antigens, and adjuvants such as Alum and saponin have been used as a vaccine adjuvant.
Recently, it was revealed that Toll-like Receptor (TLR) plays an important role in the activation of innate immunity, which is a defense mechanism in living organisms against microorganisms. Of the known ten TLRs identified in human, TLR7 is activated by its agonist to activate dendritic cells (DC) and the like. As a result, expression of T cell costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86, CD40) is enhanced, and inflammatory cytokines including type I interferon (especially IFNα), TNFα, IL-6 or IL-12 are produced.
In addition to such activation of DC, TLR7 agonists were known to activate B cells and further stimulate NK cells and T cells to promote IFNγ production, and therefore, it is expected to have a vaccine adjuvant activity. Indeed, adjuvant activity of TLR7 agonists, such as Resiquimod and Imiquimod, has been reported (Non-Patent Document 1).
From the above, there is need for development of new vaccine adjuvant that activates TLR7.
On the other hand, squalene is an oily substance used as an oil component for oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsion preparations, and a squalene-containing adjuvant such as MF59 has been used as an adjuvant for influenza vaccine (Non-Patent Documents 2, 3 and 4).


A rail lubrication apparatus of the type used with a rail having a base with outwardly extending flanges, a head, and a web connecting the base and the head, is comprised of a wiping bar and a first set of clamps for maintaining the wiping bar in position with respect to the rail. The lubrication apparatus also comprises a pump actuator and a second set of clamps for maintaining the pump actuator in position with the rail. The rail lubrication apparatus may be used with a pump, responsive to the pump actuator, for pumping a lubricant from a reservoir to the wiping bar to form a complete rail lubrication system. The clamps, wiping bar, and pump actuator are each of a unique construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for lubricating rails and wheel flanges on a railroad and to apparatus for rigidly securing such lubricators and portions of them to railroad rails.
2. Description of the Invention Background
In the operation of railroads, it has long been the practice to apply grease or similar gel-like lubricants to the sides of the rail at curves, turn-outs, switches and, in some cases, to the sections of track immediately before a switch. Such lubricants have been and still are applied to the inside sides of the rail head at these locations to reduce the friction which naturally occurs as a train's wheels, particularly the wheel flanges, contact the sides of the rail. The resulting reduction in friction reduces wear on both the rail itself and the wheel flanges and contributes to reduced fuel consumption in the locomotion of the train. When such lubricant is dispensed on the rail immediately preceding a switch, the movement of the train tends to move the lubricant into the area of the switch so as to reduce the friction on the rail sections and wheel flanges as the train passes over the switch.
In furtherance of this practice, there have been many designs of lubricators and apparatus for securing them so as to permit the automatic application of a lubricant to the rail by reason of the train's passing. In some of these devices, it is the depression of the roadbed that triggers the dispensation of lubricant; in others, it is the tripping of a mechanical device, such as a lever or a plunger, by the train's wheels which activates a lubricant dispensing mechanism. Examples of such prior art devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,884,093; 2,518,786; 2,231,394 and 2,223,714.
Common to these devices is the need for means to rigidly secure the device either to the rails or to the track roadbed so that lubricant can be dispensed repeatedly at the desired rate and at the needed location. In most cases, such means involve a mechanical connection to the rail itself, such as by bolting or clamping in various ways. Examples of such connection means are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,147,822 and 2,168,554.
The problems associated with these prior art devices are many. Among other things, these prior art devices are often mechanically complex and difficult to install in the field. As a result, they are also often difficult to maintain and, due to the complexity of their design features, they tend to loosen and then become less effective as they are subjected to vibrations and rail roadbed flexion from traffic and contraction/expansion of the rail from thermal stress. Further, none of the prior art devices can easily accommodate different rail sizes. In effect, these devices either need to be manufactured in different sizes to accommodate each rail size or they need to be adapted to different rail sizes through various shim arrangements or adjustment bolts. These features only add to the tendency of the prior art devices to loosen and become less effective as they are used. Finally, these devices are difficult or impossible to adjust for the effects of wear on the head and face (or side) of the rail.


A gable ventilator comprising a vent member which holds and displaces an eaves panel and a bracket which positions and supports the vent member is disclosed. The vent member is provided with a plurality of apertures through which air may pass, is configured to extend the length of the gable wall.

The need for venting hot and humid air from building spaces beneath roofs is well known. Without adequate and controlled ventilation of attics and like spaces, damage results to the roof structure, as well as to articles stored within the attic or like space. For instance, accumulated attic heat during cold winters may melt snow on the roof which can then refreeze in and damage gutters and drainage systems. Furthermore, lack of proper ventilation makes cooling and heating the remainder of the building more difficult, and permits the accumulation of condensed moisture which reduces effectiveness of insulation and may result in stained interior panels as well as promote mildew.
Although gable ventilators are known in the art, each deficient in some respect. In some cases, the ventilator is bulky, cumbersome or very expensive to manufacture. Yet other gable ventilators suffer from an inability to achieve complete ventilation. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,513,056. Another common problem is the inability of the ventilator to exclude insects and other pests.
Thus, there is a need for a gable ventilator that is simple in construction, durable and easy to adapt to existing gables, that is capable of providing full circulation without leaving dead spots where hot, humid air can accumulate and that is capable of preventing insects and other pests from entering the building space.


To keep communication even if a distance between transmission devices is farther and a transmission distance therebetween is longer.

There is a time compression multiplexing (TCM) system as a transmission system between transmission devices. The time compression multiplexing system is directed for realizing bidirectional transmission by performing time division on a pair of cables and repeating transmission and reception, and may be also called ping-pong transmission system. A technique for such a transmission system is described in Patent Literature 1.
With the bidirectional transmission device described in Patent Literature 1, when a transmission distance between a master machine and a slave machine is within a predetermined distance, a redundant period in a frame period is removed, thereby transmitting more data than in typical bidirectional transmission devices. Thereby, a performance of the entire transmission system can be enhanced.

Transmission method, transmission device, transmission program, and transmission system

Abstract: A transmission device for alternately performing transmission and reception to/from a communication destination transmission device transmits transmit data to the communication destination transmission device. It receives return data transmitted by the communication destination transmission device after the transmit data reaches the communication destination transmission device. A predetermined period of time is assumed as one time unit, one transmission of transmit data and one reception of return data are tried within the one time unit, and when it is determined that one transmission of transmit data and one reception of return data do not fall within the one time unit, the transmission device is controlled such that N number of transmit data are continuously transmitted and then N number of return data are continuously received within N (N is an integer of two or more) time units.


An imaging apparatus includes a pixel unit having a photoelectric conversion section and an amplifying device for amplifying a signal from the photoelectric conversion section and outputting the signal, a reading unit having a first mode in which a signal obtained by resetting an input section of the amplifying device is sampled a plurality of times via the amplifying device and a second mode in which a photoelectric conversion signal generated in the photoelectric conversion section is sampled a plurality of times via the amplifying device; a mixing unit for generating a first mixing signal by mixing the signals that are sampled in the first mode, outputting the first mixing signal, generating a second mixing signal by mixing the signals that are sampled in the second mode, and outputting the second mixing signal; and a difference processing unit for performing difference processing between the first mixing signal and the second mixing signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus for capturing a subject image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital still cameras that are mainly used for capturing still images and imaging devices having a maximum number of 10,000,000 pixels have come into use, and even for movie cameras, whose main application is to capture moving images, imaging devices of several million pixels have come into use.
It is clear that such increases in the number of pixels of imaging devices is attributable to the shrinking of the pixel size. However, as a result, the aperture area of the pixel also becomes smaller, and a low sensitivity and light shot noise become noticeable problems. Furthermore, as the number of electrons involved decreases, noise resulting from the imaging device become conspicuous.
As a method of reducing noise of an amplifying imaging device, it is common practice that, in order to remove reset noise at the input stage of an amplifying transistor, which appears as fixed pattern noise on the image capturing-plane and Vth variations of a transistor forming the amplifier, the noise is read in advance, and thereafter, a photoelectric conversion signal is superposed on the noise and read, and noise processing is performed by subtracting them, that is, so-called (S−N) processing is performed. In this method, it is recognized as common knowledge that fixed pattern noise can be reduced, but random noise becomes √2 times as great.
A conventional example in which such random noise is reduced is described below.
(1) As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,094, in the pixel noise reduction process, based on capturing output obtained in a light shielding state, predetermined noise data is generated from a plurality of pieces of noise data. For the captured data, data at one time after AD conversion after an image-capturing operation is performed is used. Since the predetermined noise data is averaged, the random noise is reduced. However, the random noise contained in the image-captured data cannot be reduced. Furthermore, some time for reading noise from the imaging device is required, the image-capturing interval becomes long, and image capturing cannot be performed immediately. Furthermore, the reactive power consumption becomes larger.
(2) As disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 20020191742, in order to reduce X-ray noise, the photo-converted signal is read a plurality of times, and based on the difference, the X-ray noise is separated. In this case, random X-ray noise can be separated, but the pixel noise increases.
(3) As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,577, a method of reducing the influence of noise generated by a signal processing circuit at the subsequent stage by reading noise or a signal from an amplifying transistor a plurality of times and by increasing the noise and the signal amplitude by performing charge addition has been proposed. In, for example, FIG. 2 of the embodiment, charge addition is difficult in the case where, merely, a signal is electrically supplied to the capacitor after passing through a conventional MOS switch. When a charge-transfer MOS transistor is used, since the transfer of the signal requires a sufficient time, high-speed driving and high-speed continuous image capturing are difficult, and the possibility that 1/f noise of the amplifying transistor cannot be reduced is high.
(4) As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2001-36920, a method of reducing noise in a reading-system signal processing circuit is known. In this case, in a method of reducing noise from the amplifying transistor, noise of the signal processing circuit at the subsequent stage can be ignored by a CDS (correlated double sampler) circuit and amplifier, which is effective in reducing the fixed pattern noise of the amplifying transistor.
In the foregoing, the conventional example is described with a view to reducing noise of the imaging device. In the applications of an imaging device having a large number of pixels, it is common practice that image-capturing is performed with a large number of pixels in high-precision image-capturing requiring a high resolution, and image-capturing is performed with a small number of pixels in a case in which a low resolution is sufficient. At that time, in the high-precision image-capturing, almost all of the pixel signals are read from the imaging device. In the low-resolution image capturing, for preventing battery consumption of the camera or for capturing moving images, pixel signals are read while being thinned out, or pixel signals are read while being thinned out and added.
In a first example of the above-described technology, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,888, reading addition is performed by thinning out the pixels of the same color in units of 4×4 pixels. In a second example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2001-36920, by using 4×4 pixels as one group, a plurality of pixel signals are added so that the spatial color arrangement of each color before addition and the spatial color arrangement of each color after addition become the same.
In the publicly known example of noise reduction of the conventional amplifying imaging device, the fixed pattern noise caused by the amplifying transistor can be reduced to an image level at which no problem is posed in the (S−N) processing. As a result, 1/f noise (including random noise), which occurs when the amplifying transistor is driven, has become a problem. Or, it may be said that, finally, a technology level has been reached where the 1/f noise of the amplifying transistor after the S−N processing becomes a problem. This noise of the amplifying imaging device is less than or equal to that of a CCD in the high-precision image-capturing mode. However, in the addition reading of signals inside the imaging device, it has become a new problem. This is due to the following reasons. Since pixel addition in the CCD is charge addition, the signal is amplified as a result of the addition of the photoelectric conversion signals from a plurality of pixels. However, since the noise is determined by the amplifier (floating diffusion amplifier) at the final stage of the CCD, this case is the same as addition. However, in the amplifying imaging device, since a signal containing the noise for each pixel is added, noise becomes larger. It may be said that, when compared to the CCD, the amplifying imaging device has a poor SN ratio during dark time by √n times as large as the number of addition pixels. The 1/f noise of the amplifying transistor remains a significant problem.
Next, the problems of the method of adding a plurality of pixel signals are described.
In the above-described first example, the problem is that the number of effective pixels used from among the 4×4 pixels is small. In recent imaging devices, as a result of the imaging device having a larger number of pixels, the pixel unit size becomes smaller, and insufficient sensitivity has become a more significant problem. In the digital still camera, when a dark subject is captured, insufficient sensitivity can be compensated for by strobe light-emission, but during moving-image capturing, an expensive and heavy light source cannot be used, and significant noise occurs. As a result of thinning-out of the pixel signals, moire fringing due to a decrease in the sampling frequency occurs, and the deterioration of the image quality is severe.
In the above-described second example, the number of additions of the pixel signals within one group is increased, and sensitivity is improved. However, the problem is that pixel signals that are not used (discarded pixel signals) exist. A plurality of pixel signals are added so that the spatial color arrangement of each color becomes the same before and after addition within one group. However, another problem is that moire fringing occurs when the captured image is expanded.
As described above, in the conventional technology, since the pixel signals are thinned out, the sensitivity is not improved sufficiently, and moire fringing occurs even though the spatial color arrangement is identical.

Imaging apparatus for processing noise signal and photoelectric conversion signal


A regulating device for an intravenous drip set comprising a main housing unit (1) which comprises a mobile roller (2) which can gradually compress a flexible tubing (4) until the tubing (4) is fully compressed and a fixed roller (3) which together with the mobile roller (2) squeeze the flexible tubing of an intravenous line into a totally closed position to act as a flusher for the intravenous line, whereby when by sliding the entire device downwards along the tubing (4) proximally towards a patient, flushing of fluid in the intravenous line is thereby achieved.

Intravenous drips are commonly used to administer a continuous flow of fluid to a patient for a predetermined length of time. The intravenous drip set generally includes a bag or container of intravenous fluid that is connected through a series of conduits comprising of flexible tubing, chambers and monitoring devices to a cannula inserted into a vein of the patient. The bag or container is supported at a higher elevation than the patient, so that the intravenous fluid flows down through the conduits by the force of gravity.
The drips are checked at regular intervals by nursing staff to ensure that the drip is working properly at all times and that the fluid is flowing into the patient at the correct rate. Such intravenous infusion systems have to be faithfully monitored by the nurse, to confirm that the delivery is not interrupted; that complete emptying does not take place; and that administration does not occur at a rate different from the prescribed rate. This would result, in the first case in an unnecessary lengthening of administration time; in the second case, the drawing of blood into the tube because its pressure is no longer opposed by that of the drip liquid; and in the third case, delivery at a rate other than the prescribed rate may have harmful consequences to the patient and his treatment.
Therefore, regulating the rate of flow through the intravenous drip set into the patient to achieve a desired or necessary rate of infusion of the fluid is essential and sometimes critical to successful patient treatment. It is also necessary, at regular intervals, to flush the system to achieve the optimum result and prolonging the use of the peripheral line.
To maintain a peripheral line flow, it is important to ensure that the flow of the liquid is always in good condition. In prior art devices, this is normally achieved by flushing with an additional syringe, drawing the fluid from the intravenous line and flushing it back inside. However this process of repeated punctuating of the line increases the risk of infection to the patient and increases the cost of having to replace every time with sterile syringes. Flushing is usually done when the flow is found to be decreasing and in order to maintain the desired flow. It is also done prior to an operation, to ensure that the flow of the medication during operation is uninterrupted. Flushing is also carried out preferably before intravenous medication is infused to prevent extravasation and after intravenous medication, to ensure the medication flows properly into the blood stream.
Prior art devices include expensive and sophisticated machines which are attached to the intravenous line separately and controlled either mechanically or electronically to monitor and regulate the flow as well as perform the flushing function. These devices are designed to be shared, when in use, and are not available for use, every time, on every intravenous line as that would be inconvenient, as well as uneconomical to do so. In most establishments, it is not possible to attach these devices on every intravenous line in use, as a result of which manual flushing is generally carried out.
Conventional methods of manual flushing which includes the use of the syringe, also may be attempted by simply increasing the flow of the intravenous drip by adjusting the regulator to provide a wider opening, or in most cases by the nurse simply milking the intravenous device by twirling the tube round her fingers and compressing the tube by squeezing the fluid proximally towards the patient, especially when getting additional syringes would be unavailable or inconvenient.
There is therefore a need for a simple, economical yet efficient in-built device that can perform both the task of regulating as well as flushing the intravenous line that can automatically be incorporated into every intravenous set in use.

Intravenous drip set controller with flusher