A floating point operation unit comprises an exponent operation circuit, a sign operation circuit and a mantissa operation circuit. The mantissa operation circuit comprises a fixed point multiplier, a first right shifter, an incrementer, a rounding off controller, a second right shifter, and further, an inversion circuit between the first right shifter and the incrementer. By controlling the inversion circuit and the rounding off controler when one operation of an iterative approximation in a division or a square root operation is executed, the number of cycles in the above operation is reduced, and as a result, the operating speed is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floating point operation unit, and more particularly, relates to an operation unit for executing division or square root operations on numerical values expressed by a floating point notation.
2. Description of the Related Art
An operation using a floating point notation provides a wide dynamic range and a high accuracy, and therefore, the floating point operation is currently used to enable various high grade operations, and particularly, a high speed processing of division and square root operations.
In conventional division operations two methods are used: subtraction and shift, and a converging method, for example, the Newton-Raphson method. In the former method, the shifted divisor is repeatedly subtracted from a dividend; an example of this is the non-restoring method, and in an improved non-restoring method a quotient can be obtained at a high speed. In the latter method, a reciprocal of the divisor is calculated by a converging method and the reciprocal is multiplied by the dividend to obtain the quotient. In this method, the number of operation cycles needed to realize a convergence is reduced due to a close similarity of the initial assumed reciprocal value to a true value.
The converging method (e.g., Newton-Raphson method) is also used for a square root operation. In this method, to obtain a square root of a number B, first 1/.sqroot.B is obtained, the obtained value is multiplied by B, and .sqroot.B is obtained. When the calculation of 1/.sqroot.B is executed by the Newton-Raphson method, the number of cycles is reduced due to the close similarity of the initial assumed reciprocal value to a true value.
Many of the known floating point operation units utilize the Newton-Raphson method because, in the other methods, the quotient obtained by one cycle is at most 3 to 4 bits, and to obtain the final quotient, the calculations must be repeated for eight cycles in an IEEE single-precision standard. Conversely, in the Newton-Raphson method, if the initial value of the reciprocal can be given within a certain limit, the quotient is obtained by a converging calculation of about 3 to 4 cycles, and accordingly, in the dividing operation using the Newton-Raphson method, the quotient can be obtained at a higher speed than with the other methods. Many units also utilize the Newton-Raphson method for the square root operation, since in this method, if the initial reciprocal value is given within a certain limit, a converging calculation of about 3 to 4 cycles is sufficient, and accordingly, the square root operation by the Newton-Raphson method can be processed at a high speed.
The division operation using the Newton-Raphson method is explained below.
First, when the division is executed, a reciprocal function is calculated. For example, the division C=A/B is expressed as C=A(1/B) using a reciprocal form. The reciprocal function (1/B) is expressed by the Newton-Raphson method as follows. EQU X.sub.i+1 =X.sub.i (2-BX.sub.i)
Where, i=0, 1, 2, . . . , X.sub.0 is the initial reciprocal of a divisor corresponding to i=0, and X.sub.i expresses an ith approximation of (1/B). If the initial value X.sub.0 satisfies the following inequality, (2/B)>.vertline.X.sub.0 .vertline.>0, the operation is completed. In a typical method of obtaining the initial value, approximately the upper 10 bits of the divisor are used as a pointer of a memory (ROM) in a look up table. The ROM outputs the initial value in response to an address pointed out by bits of the divisor. Usually, the bit number of an output (bit number of X.sub.0) is approximately the same as the bit number of an input (approximately upper 10 bits of the divisor). In the case of the division in the floating point operation, the reciprocal of an exponent portion and a mantissa portion are obtained from individual look up tables (ROM).
The conventional division process is explained below.
First, two binary data A and B are expressed by the floating point notation, as follows, EQU A=(-1).sup.Sa 2.sup.Ea-BS (1.multidot.Fa) EQU B=(-1).sup.Sb 2.sup.Eb-BS (1.multidot.Fb)
and the following operations are executed. The mantissas (1.multidot.Fa) and (1.multidot.Fb) of the input data A and B, respectively are multiplied by each other through a fixed point multiplication circuit, and the result (1.multidot.Fa).times.(1.multidot.Fb) is obtained. Namely, the result is 1.xxxx . . . or 1x.xxxx . . . , and although 1.xxxx . . . is already normalized, 1x.xxxx . . . still remains to be normalized. This normalization is executed by shifting the data to the right by one bit and by increasing the exponent portion by one in response to an overflow signal. Then, the normalized value is rounded off to match the output data form. If the bits are all "1", an overflow occurs, and in this case the data is shifted by one bit to the right. The above processes provide a final output which is the normalized number.
In the exponent portion, the operation of (Ea+Eb) is executed and the result is added to a negative bias (-BS); i.e., (Ea+Eb-BS) is obtained. Then, when the overflow must be corrected by normalization, the mantissa value is incremented by one. For a correction of the overflow by rounding off, the increment by one is previously executed.
The operation in the sign operation portion is performed by an exclusive OR circuit.
When the division operation is carried out using the above conventional floating point operation unit, the binary calculation of (2-BX.sub.i) necessary in the division using the converging method cannot be executed in one step. Namely, to calculate the repeating calculation executed when the reciprocal of the divisor is obtained by the converging method, i.e., X.sub.i+1 =X.sub.i (2-BX.sub.i), the multiplication BX.sub.i, the subtraction (2-BX.sub.i) and the multiplication X.sub.i (2-BX.sub.i) are necessary. Therefore, the total processing time is prolonged and it becomes difficult to realize a high speed operation.
Further, an addition or subtraction circuit must be added to execute the subtraction in (2-BX.sub.i). Assuming that the above X.sub.i+1 =X.sub.i (2-BX.sub.i) is performed by an addition of the above circuit, still three arithmetic operations must be repeated, and thus no improvement is obtained from the view point of a high speed operation of the floating point division process.
The square root operation using the Newton-Raphson method is explained. When the square root operation is carried out, first a reciprocal function is calculated, for example, C=.sqroot.B is expressed as C=B(1/.sqroot.B). The repeat expression of the Newton-Raphson method is as follows. EQU X.sub.i+1 =(1/2)*X.sub.i (3-BX.sub.i.sup.2)
Where X.sub.0 corresponding to i=0 is an approximate value of the initial reciprocal of .sqroot.B, X.sub.i is an ith approximation value, and the asterisk indicates multiplication. If the initial value X.sub.0 satisfies the inequality 0<X.sub.0 <.sqroot.3/B, the operation is completed. In a typical method of obtaining the initial value, the approximately upper 10 bits of B are applied to a look up table (ROM) as a pointer, and the ROM outputs the initial value from the memory addressed by the value of B. Usually, the output bit number is approximately the same as the input bit number. Generally, in the square root operation by the floating point operation, the reciprocals of the exponent and the mantissa are stored in individual look up tables.
In the square root operation, repeated calculations of X.sub.i+1 =(1/2)*X.sub.i (3-BX.sub.i.sup.2) must be made for carrying out the following five arithmetic operations.
MLT: B*X.sub.i (hereinafter B*X.sub.i =A) PA0 MLT: A*X.sub.i PA0 SUB: 3-(A*X.sub.i) PA0 MLT: X.sub.i *(3-(A*X.sub.i)) PA0 MLT: (1/2)*(X.sub.i *(X.sub.i *(3-(A*X.sub.i)))
Where MLT: multiplication, SUB: subtraction. Accordingly, the total operation time is prolonged and it becomes difficult to execute a high speed operation.

Floating point operation unit in division and square root operations


The present invention relates to sample-to-answer systems, devices, cartridges, and method of using the same for detecting the presence of microorganisms in a sample, such as bacteria.

Several simple, rapid, Point-of-Care (POC) or Point-of-Need (PON) diagnostic systems and tests exist in the market, some of which have obtained a CLIA-waiver. The benefit of these systems and tests is that they can provide diagnostic results within the timeframe of a patient visit to a medical practitioner or clinic. This can be beneficial to patient health, especially in developing countries where testing locations are a significant distance from patients, and many do not return to receive their test results.
One area in which POC and PON systems are of particular relevance is STD testing. Some STD's are asymptomatic in a number of infected individuals, and can be spread during the time between testing and result. While these POC and PON tests are rapid, many of them show poor performance for sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values (PPV).
Robust sample prep is generally not rapid enough for point of need/point of care. Some new methods have been developed but they are generally not fully automated. Causative microorganisms are often present in sufficient numbers in samples but generally are present at low concentration. As a result, effective POC or PON systems need to consider enrichment of target microorganisms by a process that concentrates the targets to facilitate rapid detection. When sample enrichment is used, processing time can be shortened. Since mare targets are available for amplification, the sample preparation process can be more crude and performed faster.
Filtration methods have been used for sample preparation as part of nucleic acid amplification tests such as those done using PCR. However, these methods are too often labor intensive.
Filter materials can also introduce potential amplification inhibitors such as glass fibers, dust, etc. Further, a multitude of possibly inhibitory substances exist within the samples themselves and care is required to ensure those do not end up in the lysate. In addition, if samples are filtered through a dry filter, inhibitors can be absorbed into the filter. These inhibitors may later be released during the elution step, adversely affecting amplification reactions such as PCR.
Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) show much higher sensitivity and specificity, but are often too complex for POC or PON systems—involving multiple manual steps, and requiring laboratory hardware such as centrifuges or biosafety hoods. There is a need for a simplified, automated NAAT test that can bring high accuracy to the POC environment.
The device simplifies and automates the processes required for Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAAT), allowing it to be used in POC/CLIA-Waived applications. This simplified NAAT delivers higher sensitivity and specificity than other technologies currently being used in POC/CLIA-Waived applications.

Sample-to-answer system for microorganism detection featuring target enrichment, amplification and detection


A lens array includes a plurality of micro-lens modules. Each of the micro-lens modules includes a first lens group and a second lens group. The first lens group and the second lens group are arranged sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis. An effective focal length (EFL) of the first lens group is f1, an EFL of the second lens group is f2, and the micro-lens modules satisfy a following condition: −0.2<f1/f2<0.5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lens array, and in particular to the aspheric surfaces of first and second micro-lens modules of the lens array not being the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional lens array delivers the light of different wavelengths to an image sensor. By processing the light of different wavelengths received by the image sensor, the resolution and depth of field can be improved. However, as the light of different wavelengths passes through the lens array having a different refractive power, the axial aberration grows worse. Thus, improvements to the design of lens arrays are needed.


The present invention relates to method of identifying gene sequences of potential vaccine antigens. Also included are gene sequences and the polypeptides encoded by the gene sequences as well as the use of such sequences to induce a protective immune response in animals. Particularly, the invention relates to identifying potential antigen gene sequences of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of identifying expression proteins translated from a nucleotide sequence in an expression vector, said method comprising the use of a marker co-expressed with a protein translated from the nucleotide sequence. In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of identifying a therapeutic antigenic gene sequence encoding a therapeutic antigenic protein of a disease, from a sample of nucleotide sequences. Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.

The present invention relates to methods of identifying gene sequences of potential vaccine antigens. Also included are gene sequences and the polypeptides encoded by the gene sequences as well as the use of such sequences to induce a protective immune response in animals. Particularly, the invention relates to identifying potential antigen gene sequences of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.
The success of a vaccine to a pathogen resides in identifying a suitable antigen of a pathogen which is readily accessible to a host immune system. Once identified, it can form the basis for protection against the pathogen.
In recent years a number of vaccines have been commercialised by Animal Health companies. Many of the vaccines are based on inactivated whole cell bacterins. Although these vaccines provide a reasonable level of efficacy there is considerable scope for improvement. Therefore the presently available vaccines could be improved on by developing vaccines that were not based on whole cells or fractions of whole cells.
Other means of generating vaccines against pathogens includes the use of crude inactivated antigen mixtures of various proteins. However, the problem with these methods is that they present to the host a variety of antigens, none of which may provide suitable overall protection since the proteins most readily accessible to a host immune system are swamped by the other antigens. Moreover, some pathogens are difficult or expensive to grow because of their fastidious requirements. Some pathogens are also harmful to handle. Therefore, a vaccine which does not require the growing of the cells or bacteria and the processing of whole cells or fractions of whole cells would provide a safer, cheaper and possibly more efficacious vaccine.
One way of achieving a cleaner and more specific vaccine is by using recombinant protective antigens. By providing specific antigens, only those antigens readily accessible to the host immune system may be used.
There is the problem of identifying potential antigens. One way is to create a gene library. However, from the library, it is very time consuming to determine those sequences which may include a potential protective antigen.
To efficiently screen through a large number of potential antigen genes for their efficacy in providing some level of protection from disease it is useful to initially clone them as expressing clones. In this way the need for tedious and time consuming clone analysis and subsequent expression subcloning is avoided. The whole process of antigen discovery is speeded up. Applicants now provide a novel method to ensure that the clones initially investigated were expressing recombinant protein.
Previously, expression libraries have been screened for clones expressing all or part of a specific protein by using an antibody specific for or enriched for the protein of interest.
Identifying the DNA sequences that code for the proteins, also makes it possible, using appropriate expression vehicles, to form recombinant DNA molecules and to transform appropriate hosts (eg., prokaryotic or eukaryotic hosts) with those recombinant DNA molecules. Culturing of the transformed hosts then permits the hosts to express the DNA sequences and to produce the desired proteins.
Administering the produced and subsequently isolated proteins, active ingredients or combinations thereof (eg., by injection), in an amount sufficient to elicit a protective immune response, provides a means for immunising against infections.
One pathogen for which vaccines have been commercialised by Animal Health companies is Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. This pathogen causes Enzootic pneumonia in pigs. It rarely causes death, but often results in severe morbidity and reduced performance manifesting in significant depression in feed conversion efficiency resulting in reduced weight gain in pigs. The animals show symptoms of coughing and fever and are often prone to secondary infection by opportunistic microorganisms.
Numerous attempts to provide a vaccine against Mycoplasina hyopneumoniae have not been terribly successful. Particularly, the use of heat inactivated, live or extract of Mycoplasma have proven to be ineffective in providing protection. Some vaccines based on inactivated whole cell bacterins have shown some level of efficacy but there is scope for improvement.
Additionally, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is difficult and expensive to grow because of its fastidious requirements. Therefore the presently available vaccines could be improved on by developing vaccines that were not based on whole cells or fractions of whole cells.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least alleviate some of the problems of the prior art.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of identifying expression proteins translated from a nucleotide sequence in an expression vector, said method comprising the use of a marker co-expressed with a protein translated from the nucleotide sequence.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a use of a polyHis tag for identifying expression proteins encoded by a nucleotide sequence in an expression vector wherein said polyHis tag is co-expressed with said protein.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for identifying expression proteins encoded by a nucleotide sequence from a mixture of nucleotide sequences, said method comprising the steps of:
providing an expression vector including a marker;
introducing a nucleotide sequence from the mixture into the expression vector; and
identifying an expression protein expressed by the expression vector by determining the presence of a fusion protein comprising the marker co-expressed with the expression protein.
In a preferred embodiment the marker is a polyHis tag.
In a further preferred embodiment, the expression vector is transfected into a host cell for expression of a marker-fusion protein comprising an expression protein. Preferably the marker fusion protein is a polyHis tag-fusion protein comprising a polyHis tag and an expression protein. Introduction of a population of expression vectors into the host cell may create a genomic or cDNA library which may be screened.
In a further preferred embodiment of the method there is included a step of purifying the expression protein using the marker expressed in the fusion protein. Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.
There is provided in another aspect, a purified recombinant protein identified according to the above method. Preferably the recombinant protein is an expression protein.
In another aspect, there is provided a purified nucleotide sequence which encodes a recombinant protein identified according to the above method.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided an expression vector including a marker, preferably a polyHis tag for use in identifying expression proteins encoded by a nucleotide sequence.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a host including an expression vector, said vector including a marker, preferably a polyHis tag for use in identifying an expression protein.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of identifying gene sequences encoding antigenic proteins from a sample of nucleotide sequences, said method comprising the steps of:
providing an expression vector including a marker;
introducing a nucleotide sequence from the sample into the expression vector;
identifying an antigenic expression protein expressed by the expression vector by determining the presence of a fusion protein comprising a marker co-expressed with the expression protein translated by the nucleotide sequence; and
identifying the antigenic expression protein.
Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further includes determining the gene sequence of the antigenic protein encoded by the expression vector.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of screening a library of nucleotide sequences, said method including the steps of:
providing a source of nucleotide sequences;
providing an expression vector including a marker;
creating a library by introducing a nucleotide sequence into the expression vector;
identifying an expression protein expressed by the expression vector by determining the presence of a fusion protein comprising a marker co-expressed with the expression protein translated by the nucleotide sequence; and
determining the nucleotide sequence of the expression protein.
Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.
In another aspect, there is provided a method of screening to identify expression clones in an expression library wherein said method includes:
providing a source of nucleotide sequence;
providing an expression vector including a marker;
introducing the nucleotide sequence into the expression vector;
transforming the expression vector into a host to create an expression library; and
locating an expression clone by detecting the expression of a fusion protein, comprising a marker, preferably a polyHis tag co-expressed with an expression protein.
In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of identifying a therapeutic antigenic gene sequence encoding a therapeutic antigenic protein of a disease, from a sample of nucleotide sequences, said method comprising the steps of:
providing an expression vector including a marker;
introducing a nucleotide sequence from the sample into the expression vector;
identifying an antigenic expression protein expressed by the expression vector by determining the presence of a fusion protein comprising a marker, co-expressed with the expression protein translated by the nucleotide sequence;
inoculating an animal with the expression vector which expresses the antigenic expression protein;
challenging the animal with the disease;
identifying an expression vector and expression protein that provides a therapeutic effect induced by vaccination; and
determining the gene sequence of the antigenic expression protein encoded by the expression vector.
Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of screening a library of nucleotide sequences for a nucleotide sequence encoding polypeptides of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a source of nucleotide sequences from a sample of Mycoplasma;
providing an expression vector including a marker;
introducing a nucleotide sequence into the expression vector;
identifying a Mycoplasma expression protein expressed by the expression vector by determining the presence of a fusion protein comprising a marker, preferably a polyHis tag, co-expressed with the expression protein translated by a nucleotide sequence; and
determining the nucleotide sequence of the expression protein of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.
Preferably the marker is a polyHis tag.
In a preferred embodiment, the gene sequence encodes an antigenic polypeptide of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nucleotide sequence, mutant, analogue, derivative or functionally active fragment thereof encoding a polypeptide of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, said nucleotide sequence identified by the methods described above. Preferably the nucleotide sequence composes a sequence according to any one of FIGS. 1 to 42, and mutants, analogues derivatives or functionally active fragments thereof. More specifically, the nucleotide sequence is according to SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 11, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 23, SEQ ID NO: 25, SEQ ID NO: 27, SEQ ID NO: 29, SEQ ID NO: 31, SEQ ID NO;33, SEQ ID NO: 35, SEQ ID NO: 37, SEQ ID NO: 39, SEQ ID NO: 41, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 45, SEQ ID NO: 47, SEQ ID NO: 49, SEQ ID NO: 51, SEQ ID NO: 53, SEQ ID NO: 55, SEQ ID NO: 57, SEQ ID NO: 59, SEQ ID NO: 61, SEQ ID NO: 63, SEQ ID NO: 65, SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 69, SEQ ID NO: 71, SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 75, SEQ ID NO: 77, SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 81 or SEQ ID NO: 83 or a mutant, analogue, derivatives or functionally active fragments thereof.
In an even further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polypeptide encoded by the nucleotide sequence mutant, analogue, derivatives or functionally active fragments thereof encoding a polypeptide of Mycoplasma, preferably Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, said nucleotide sequence identified by the methods described above. Preferably the polypeptide is encoded by a nucleotide sequence encoded by a sequence according to any one of FIGS. 1 to 42, mutant, analogues, derivatives or functionally active fragment thereof. More specifically the polypeptide has an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 26, SEQ ID NO: 28, SEQ ID NO: 30, SEQ ID NO: 32, SEQ ID NO: 34, SEQ ID NO: 36, SEQ ID NO: 38, SEQ ID NO: 40, SEQ ID NO: 42, SEQ ID NO: 44, SEQ ID NO: 46, SEQ ID NO: 48, SEQ ID NO: 50, SEQ ID NO: 52, SEQ ID NO: 54, SEQ ID NO: 56, SEQ ID NO: 58, SEQ ID NO: 60, SEQ ID NO: 62, SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 66, SEQ ID NO: 68, SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 72, SEQ ID NO: 74, SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 78, SEQ ID NO: 80, SEQ ID NO: 82 or SEQ ID NO: 84 or a mutant, analogue, derivatives or functionally active fragments thereof.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is included compositions comprising the polypeptides or nucleotide sequences described above. Furthermore in other aspects, there is included pharmaceutical compositions and vaccine compositions of the polypeptide or nucleotide sequences described above.
Other aspects of the invention include monoclonal antibodies generated against the polypeptides.
Also included as a further aspect of the invention is a method of treating Mycoplasma infection, said method including administering an effective amount of an antigen polypeptide of Mycoplasma encoded by a nucleotide sequence or nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide identified by the methods above. Preferably, the antigen polypeptide is encoded by a nucleotide sequence according to any one of FIGS. 1 to 42 or a mutant, analogue, derivative or functionally active fragment thereof. More specifically the nucleotide sequence is according to SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 11, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO;15, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 23, SEQ ID NO: 25, SEQ ID NO: 27, SEQ ID NO: 29, SEQ ID NO: 31, SEQ ID NO: 33, SEQ ID NO: 35, SEQ ID NO: 37, SEQ ID NO: 39, SEQ ID NO: 41, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 45, SEQ ID NO: 47, SEQ ID NO: 49, SEQ ID NO: 51, SEQ ID NO: 53, SEQ ID NO: 55, SEQ ID NO: 57, SEQ ID NO: 59, SEQ ID NO: 61, SEQ ID NO: 63, SEQ ID NO: 65, SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 69, SEQ ID NO: 71, SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 75, SEQ ID NO: 77, SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 81 or SEQ ID NO: 83 or a mutant, analogue, derivatives or functionally active fragments thereof.
Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word xe2x80x9ccomprisexe2x80x9d and variations of the word, such as xe2x80x9ccomprisingxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccomprisesxe2x80x9d, is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Methods of identifying antigen gene sequences

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation


There is provided methods, apparatuses and computer program products for forming a plurality of syntax element assignments, each syntax element assignment relating to a subset of parameters of a set of parameters, and each syntax element assignment comprising assignments of values to said related subset of parameters, forming an index for each of said plurality of syntax element assignments, forming a plurality of combination parameter sets, each combination parameter set comprising indexes of a plurality of said syntax element assignments of said subsets of parameters, and encoding at least one said combination parameter set into a video bitstream for determining parameter values for video decoding.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the detailed description. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In a typical video coding scheme, a sequence of pictures is coded, pictures contain slices, and slices contain elementary coding units, such as macroblocks or coding tree units. The macroblocks, in turn, contain the luma and chroma samples corresponding to a small rectangular area in the picture. The pictures may be of different types: intra pictures can be coded without using other pictures for reference, and inter-predicted pictures use other pictures for coding. Different types of pictures may form a group of pictures or a sequence of pictures that has a certain prediction pattern between pictures.
Modern video codecs utilize various prediction schemes to reduce the amount of redundant information that needs to be stored or sent from the encoder to the decoder. Prediction can be done across time (temporally) such that an earlier pictures are used as reference pictures. In multi-view video coding, prediction can also take place (spatially) by using a picture of another view as a reference picture, or by using a synthesized picture formed by view synthesis as a reference picture. Prediction generally takes place so that picture information (such as pixel values) for a block in the reference picture is used for predicting picture information in the current picture, that is, forming a predicted block. So-called motion vectors may be employed in the prediction, and they indicate the source of picture information in the reference picture for the current block being predicted. The reference pictures to be used are kept in memory, and reference picture lists are used to manage the use of the reference pictures.
Some video coding standards introduce headers at slice layer and below, and a concept of a parameter set at layers above the slice layer. An instance of a parameter set may include picture, group of pictures (GOP), and sequence level data such as picture size, display window, optional coding modes employed, macroblock allocation map, and others. Each parameter set instance may include a unique identifier. Each slice header may include a reference to a parameter set identifier, and the parameter values of the referred parameter set may be used when decoding the slice. For example, a picture parameter set may be understood to be a syntax structure containing syntax elements that apply to zero or more entire coded pictures as determined by a syntax element found in the slice headers. Parameter sets decouple the transmission and decoding order of infrequently changing picture, GOP, and sequence level data from sequence, GOP, and picture boundaries.
The number of pictures of multi-view coded video bitstreams can be clearly higher than in the traditional single-view coded video bitstreams. Also, as the resolution (in terms of number of pixels) of the video increases, each picture may have a significantly higher amount of image data to code and transmit.
There is, therefore, a need for solutions that improve the coding efficiency of video.


A collapsible apparatus for supporting a container at an adjustable angle of incline to drain its contents includes a base, a shoulder support attached to the base for supporting a shoulder of the container, and a body support for supporting the container body above the shoulder.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to mechanical support for objects and, in particular, to an apparatus and method for supporting a container.
2. Description of Related Art
Many situations arise in which it is desirable to support an object at a position or angle of incline different from the natural position of the object, which natural position is typically an upright or other freestanding and stable position. In the case of a container for dispensing a liquid or viscous fluid, such as condiment bottles, condiment tubes and oil containers for example, it is often desirable to position the container at an angle of incline for draining the contents of the container in a manner that is stable, adjustable and will not mark, scar or otherwise damage the container.
Several schemes for draining a container have been devised. However, many such schemes use expensive materials or are complex to manufacture. Many such schemes do not provide adjustability of the angle of incline. Some schemes involve clamping or gripping of the container, which can mark, scar or otherwise damage the container, is not suitable for fragile containers, and is not convenient for malleable containers which deform when attempts are made to grip or clamp them. Many such schemes support only one part of the container with the effect of reducing stability, which increases the likelihood of the container falling or being knocked over and damaged.
Many such schemes expose the outer surface of the container at its dispensing end to contents drained from the container with the effect of contaminating the drained contents by any material or substances on the container's outside. Furthermore, dispensed contents may remain on the container's outside and drip when the container is separated from the drained contents, necessitating the inconvenience of cleaning the drips and/or the container's outer surface. In the case of food containers, contamination of the drained contents is unsanitary and can render the drained contents unsuitable for human consumption.
Many schemes for draining a container involve the use of bulky devices and devices which are not collapsible for convenient storage.

Abstract: The shoulder support includes a pair of legs hingedly attached to the base at spaced apart hinge ends and joined at its opposite ends supported by a strut hingedly connected to the base, and spaced apart crosspieces between the legs to act as a shoulder stop. The body support includes a pair of arms hingedly attached to the base at spaced apart arm hinge ends and slidably attached to a body support member which is removably attachable at its ends to the shoulder support. The angle of incline is adjusted by slidably adjusting the distance between the arms.


A semiconductor device includes an integrated circuit die on a substrate. A first subset of wire bonds is between the substrate and the die. A second subset of wire bonds is between the substrate and the die. A dielectric material coats the first subset of the wire bonds along a majority of length of the first subset of the wire bonds. A medium is in contact with the second subset of the wire bonds along a majority of length of the second subset of the wire bonds.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to packaged integrated circuits, and more specifically, to packaged integrated circuits having wirebonds.
2. Related Art
Integrated circuits have a variety of issues relating to further developments in reducing dimensions. One continuing issue is high frequency performance as wires become closer together while maintaining reliable packaging. In plastic packaging, for example, a molding flow typically causes wire sweep which must be taken into account in making changes to improve performance. Improvements in speed are continuously pursued which can be adversely impacted by wires in close proximity to each other. Additionally, an impedance mismatch can adversely impact overall performance of a circuit.
Accordingly, there is a need for integrated circuit packaging that improves upon one or more of the issues referenced above.

Packaged integrated circuit using wire bonds


A Resistance based Random Access Memory (ReRAM) can include a current reference circuit including at least three ReRAM reference cells coupled in parallel with one another and configured to provide a reference current to respective ReRAM sense amplifier circuits.

Resistive based memory devices (ReRAMs), such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM), phase changeable random access memory (PRAM), resistance random access memory (RRAM), etc. can store data by programming the resistance of cells included therein. For example, an MRAM can store a logical data value of "zero" by programming a data cell to have a relatively low resistance or can store a logical data value of "one" by programming the data cell to have a relatively high resistance as shown in FIG. 1.
As further shown in FIG. 1, the resistance values provided by the different values stored therein can be distributed over a range so that different memory cells exhibit different levels of resistance even though those different memory cells are programmed with the same logical data values.
When the data is read from the data cell, the programmed value can be determined by essentially comparing the programmed resistance to a reference resistance. The programmed resistance and reference resistance can actually be provided by respective currents (i.e., currents that correspond to the logical data value stored in the cell as well as the reference). Accordingly, when the data cell is read, circuitry in the MRAM can determine the level of resistance provided by the data cell being read, based on the current, to output the logical data value stored therein. MRAMs are further discussed in, for example, Durlam et al. "A low power 1 Mbit MRAM based on 1T1MTJ bit cell integrated with Copper Interconnects" 2002 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Digest of Technical Papers 158-161 (2002). MRAMs are also discussed in, for example, Debrosse et al. "A High-Speed 128-kb MRAM Core for Future Universal Memory Applications" IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 39(4):678-683 (2004).
One conventional way of determining the logical data values stored in an MRAM is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,908 to Cho. The approach discussed in Cho uses reference cells that are programmed to store both a logical data value of zero and a logical data value of one. These reference cells are placed in parallel with one another so that a current provided by the combination (i.e., the reference current) should ideally have a value that is the midpoint between a current corresponding to a logical data value of one and a current corresponding to a logical data value of zero, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 of Cho, each of the wordlines includes a pair of reference cells where one of the pair is programmed with a logical data value of one, whereas the other reference cell in the pair is programmed with a logical data value of zero so that the combination of the two can provide a midpoint therebetween as a reference.
One of the drawbacks associated with this type of approach is that the actual current generated by reading the data cell (and the reference cell) can vary based on a bias voltage provided thereto, as shown in FIG. 3. The Cho patent cited above also discussed an approach to reduce the effects of biasing by including two reference cells for each wordline activated for read operations, as shown, for example, in FIG. 3 of Cho.
FIG. 4 is a conventional sense amplifier circuit (S/A) that can be used to determine data values stored in the MRAM cells using reference currents. In particular, a parallel arrangement of reference cells can be programmed so that half of the cells store a logical data value of zero whereas the remaining half store a logical data value of one to provide a reference current Iref that should ideally be at a midpoint between the currents associated with different logical data values, as shown in FIG. 5.
According to FIGS. 4 and 5, when a data cell is accessed, a current Icell is provided to a first input of the sense amplifier, whereas the reference current Iref is provided to the second input of the sense amplifier. The sense amplifier compares the voltages developed in response to the respective currents and produces a difference at the output thereof based essentially on the comparison between the reference current and the current actually provided by accessing the particular memory cell. As shown in FIG. 5, the currents provided by the data cells (and the currents provided by the reference cells) can be spread over respective ranges.

Resistive memory devices including selected reference memory cells


A switching circuit and a method of operating the same are disclosed. In an embodiment, the switching circuit includes a switching transistor adapted to control operation of the switching circuit according to a control signal applied to the control terminal of the switching transistor, a regulating circuit adapted to generate the control signal, and a detecting circuit adapted to sense a voltage at the control terminal when the switching transistor is in an OFF state and to generate a drive signal according to the sensed voltage. The regulating circuit is adapted to generate the control signal based on the generated drive signal.

In self oscillating converters, such as boundary conduction mode buck converters, the detection of a lowest voltage in a voltage swing (i.e. the trough a voltage valley) may be required for determining when to turn on a switch in order to minimize hard-switching. Hard-switching results in significant power dissipation into the switch. Switching on at the lowest point of a drain voltage swing of a MOSFET switch reduces this power dissipation and therefore helps to operate at improved efficiency.
By way of enabling a better understanding, the circuit diagram of a conventional boundary conduction-mode buck converter 10 is shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B shows the variation of gate 11 and drain 13 voltage for the MOSFET switch 12 and the variation of output current 15 over the duration of a switching cycle.
In the first part of the cycle (i.e. in the first stroke), the gate voltage 11 is at a HIGH value and the MOSFET switch 12 is on. The current 15 in the inductor rises linearly to a predetermined peak value, which is sensed, and then the switch is turned off and the second part of the cycle (i.e. the second stroke) is entered. In the second stroke, the gate voltage 11 of the MOSFET switch 12 is at a LOW value and the current in the inductor drops linearly until it reaches zero. When the current in the inductor reaches zero, the voltage at the drain 13 of the MOSFET switch 12 swings due to resonance between the drain capacitance and the inductor. When the gate voltage 11 is then reverted back to a HIGH value (and the MOSFET switch 12 is thus switched on as a result) the drain-capacitor-charge into the MOSFET switch 12 is dissipated and the current 15 rises linearly once again.
As mentioned above, switching on the MOSFET switch 12 at the low value of the drain voltage swing (i.e. at the trough of the voltage valley) is known to be preferable so as to reduce power dissipation into the MOSFET switch 12.
In conventional implementations, the voltage valley is detected by sensing one terminal of a capacitor in the integrated circuit (IC), whose other end is connected to the drain. Such a known approach to detecting the voltage valley is shown in FIG. 2. This requires (a) the drain node to be accessible from the IC, and (2) high voltage capacitor inside the IC.
For controller-only ICs this is not feasible because the drain node is not accessible. Further, it would require either an extra pin with an internal high-voltage (HV) cap (which then necessitates HV components in the IC), or an extra pin with an external HV cap. This results in increased cost and reduced accuracy.
A known alternative approach to detecting a voltage valley is to use a capacitance from the MOSFET drain to a sense pin of the controller. However, this has the disadvantage of requiring an additional HV capacitor and HV resistor.

Switching circuits with voltage valley detection


A hands-free kit for a mobile radio-telephone handset, the hands-free kit having an earpiece and an infra-red transmitter with the transmitter being able to relay audio signals from the handset to the earpiece. The earpiece includes an infra-red receiver for receiving audio signals from the transmitter. By positioning the transmitter in the line of sight of the earpiece receiver, audio signals may be relayed from the handset to the earpiece with the reduced likelihood of the earpiece becoming dislodged as the user moves his head.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hands-free kit for a mobile radio-telephone handset.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Concerns have recently grown over the safety of mobile radio-telephones handsets, otherwise known as cellular phones, which have been found to emit high levels of microwave radiation.
To reduce the risks associated with such handsets, a number of hands-free kits have been devised which connect an earpiece and microphone to a handset via wires, thereby allowing the handset to be located a safe distance from the user's head.
However, it has been found that the earpieces of such kits are easily dislodged by tension on the connecting wires caused, for example, by the wires catching on the user's outer garments as he moves his head.
More importantly, it has recently been suggested that the connecting wires of such kits act as a conduit, channelling microwave radiation from the handset to the user's head.

Hands-free kit for mobile radio-telephone handset


An ink jet recording head having a recording element substrate including three or more discharge port arrays comprising a plurality of discharge ports and recording elements for discharging ink from the discharge ports and supplying heat to areas around the discharge ports; wherein each of the discharge port arrays matches one or another of a plurality of types of ink whose viscosity decreases with a rise in temperature, and the discharge port arrays matching the most viscous of the inks to be discharged being arranged between other discharge port arrays to enable ink drips to be discharged stably, and an ink jet recording apparatus using the same are to be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus for imprinting a plurality of different kinds of ink, such as inks of a plurality of colors, on a recording medium, such as paper.
2. Related Background Art
Among known ink jet recording heads for printing color images, there are so-called integrated multicolor type ink jet recording heads, in which a plurality of heat generating resistance devices (electrothermal conversion devices) matching inks of a plurality of colors and densities are arranged on the same substrate, and nozzles and flow channels matching the respective heat generating resistance devices are also disposed on this substrate (e.g., the Japanese Patent No. 2718939).
In recent years, further improvement in picture quality, especially in terms of the definition and contrast of recorded pictures, has come to be required of color ink jet recording apparatuses. Known ways to meet this requirement include enhancing the definition of pictures by increasing the densities of dye of inks.
However, as the densities of dye of inks are increased, they become more viscous. Increased viscosity entails a slowdown in the refilling of nozzles with inks after they are discharged from the outlet. In short, the higher the densities of dye of inks, the slower the refilling after they are discharged from the outlet.
Therefore, where an ink of a density of dye exceeding a prescribed level of viscosity is used, ink drips may be discharged before the nozzle is fed with a sufficient quantity of ink, which would prevent stable discharging of ink drips.
At the same time, the viscosity of ink varies with the temperature and humidity of the external environment. If, for instance, the temperature or the humidity of the external environment is low, the ink will become more viscous, likely to make stable discharging of ink drips impossible.
Therefore, a color ink jet recording apparatus using inks of densities of dye exceeding a prescribed level of viscosity is more susceptible to inability to stably discharge ink drips when the temperature or the humidity of the external environment is low. Eventually, it may become impossible to normally form main drips of ink, or faulty discharging may occur as a consequence of the deviation of the discharging direction of ink drips from the designed discharging direction or a total failure to discharge ink drips.

Ink jet recording head and ink jet recording apparatus


A method includes determining conference data associated with a conference and determining an optimum congestion control technique for a call leg of the conference based on the conference data. The determining the conference data includes obtaining or receiving the conference data from at least one of: a Home Subscriber Service (HSS), a presence server, and a conference object. The conference is a Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) conference.

The Session Initiated Protocol is a text-based signaling protocol that can be used for controlling networked multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol (IP). SIP is commonly used for setting up and tearing down voice and video calls between two parties (e.g., unicast sessions) or more than two parties (e.g., multicast sessions) with one or several media streams. SIP is commonly used for large scale multiparty conferencing (e.g., up to hundreds of participants) using multicast techniques. Participants in SIP conferencing may be spread across a varied network topography and may communicate with each other via the SIP conference using numerous protocols including public switched telephone network (PSTN), mobile telephony (e.g., 2 G, 3 G, etc.), wireless broadband, wireline broadband, etc.
Network congestion may occur on shared telecommunications networks when plural users contend for access to the same data-transmission resources. Too much network congestion may lead to what is known as congestive collapse, which curtails the usefulness of the network. Congestion control deals with controlling network traffic entry into a network, so as to avoid congestive collapse by attempting to avoid oversubscription of any of the resources, e.g., processing or link capabilities of the intermediate nodes and networks. Congestion control may also involve taking resource reducing steps, such as reducing the rate of sending packets.

Delivery in session initiated protocol (SIP) conferencing

International Business Machines Corporation


A magneto-optic recording medium has a cartridge provided with a magnetization direction indicating portion for indicating the direction of magnetization of a second magnetic layer. Alternatively, the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer is recorded in advance in the first magnetic layer. The direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer indicated or recorded is detected and recognized. A magnetic field oriented in an opposite direction to the direction of magnetization detected is imparted to the magneto-optic recording medium. Alternatively, predetermined information is recorded in the first magnetic layer, the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer is detected on the basis of a signal reproducing that information, and the direction of a magnetic field to be applied to the magneto-optic recording medium is set on the basis of the direction of magnetization thus detected. In addition, the direction of the magnetic field to be applied to the magneto-optic recording medium is set and the output of a light beam is changed on the basis of the direction of the second magnetic layer detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optic recording medium in which at least a first magnetic layer for recording information and a second magnetic layer are laminated on a substrate, a magneto-optic recording system for recording information on the magneto-optic recording medium, and a magneto-optic recording method using the magneto-recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 9A to 9E are conceptual drawings of the operation of recording and erasing information in a magneto-optic recording medium. A magneto-optic recording medium 4 is arranged such that a first magnetic layer 2 which exhibits vertical magnetic anisotropy and whose direction of magnetization is reversible is laminated on a substrate 1, and a second magnetic layer 3 which exhibits vertical magnetic anisotropy and is magnetized in one direction and whose direction of magnetization is irreversible under the same conditions as those of the first magnetic layer 2 is laminated on the first magnetic layer 2. The second magnetic layer 3 of the magneto-optic recording medium 4 shown in FIG. 9B is magnetized in an opposite direction to that of the substrate 1, i.e., in an upward direction. In addition, the second magnetic layer 3 of the magneto-optic recording medium 4 shown in FIG. 9D is magnetized in a direction toward the substrate 1, i.e., in a downward direction. Thus, in the magneto-optic recording medium 4 of this type, there are two types of the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer 3, i.e., one which is oriented toward the substrate, and the other which is oriented away from the substrate.
A description will now be given of the operation in a case where information is recorded or erased with respect to the magneto-optic recording medium 4 thus arranged.
First, in cases where information is recorded or erased with respect to the magneto-optic recording medium 4 whose direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer 3 is oriented away from the substrate 1, as shown in FIG. 9B, by means of recording signals RD representing "1" and "0", as shown in FIG. 9A, the magneto-optic recording medium 4 is rotated, and a downwardly oriented external magnetic field +H which is indicated by a bold arrow and which is oriented in an opposite direction to the direction of magnetization of its second magnetic layer 3 is applied to the magneto-optic recording medium 4. During the time when the recording signal is "1", a light beam LB with high output P.sub.H in a projecting direction indicated by an outline arrow, as shown in FIG. 9C, is projected onto the first magnetic layer 2. Then, when the first magnetic layer 2 is heated by the light beam LB and reaches its Curie temperature, the direction of magnetization of the first magnetic layer 2 is reversed in the same direction as that of the external magnetic field +H, i.e., in the direction toward the substrate 1. When the light beam LB ceases to be projected due to the rotation of the magneto-optic recording medium 4, and the temperature of the first magnetic layer 2 drops, the first magnetic layer 2 remains magnetized in the direction toward the substrate 1, thereby recording information. In addition, during the time when the recording signal RD is "0", the light beam LB with low output P.sub.L is projected to the first magnetic layer 2, as shown in FIG. 9C. As a result, the coersive force of the first magnetic layer 2 declines, and the direction of magnetization of the first magnetic layer 2 is influenced by the second magnetic layer 3 and is reversed in the same direction as the direction of magnetization thereof, i.e., the first magnetic layer 2 is magnetized in the direction away from the substrate 1, thereby erasing the information.
Meanwhile, in cases where information is recorded on the magneto-optic recording medium 4 whose direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer 3 is oriented toward the substrate 1, as shown in FIG. 9D, in the same way as described above by means of the recording signal RD shown in FIG. 9A, during the time when the recording signal RD is "1", the light beam LB with low output PL is projected onto the first magnetic layer 2. Then, the coersive force of the first magnetic layer 2 declines, and the direction of magnetization of the first magnetic layer 2 is reversed in the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer 3, i.e., is magnetized in the direction toward the substrate 1, thereby recording information. Meanwhile, during the time when the recording signal RD is "0", the light beam LB with high output P.sub.H is projected onto the first magnetic layer 2, as shown in FIG. 9E. As a result, the first magnetic layer 2 is heated and reaches its Curie temperature, and the direction of magnetization of the first magnetic layer 2 is reversed in the same direction as that of the external magnetic field -H, i.e., is magnetized in the direction away from the substrate 1, thereby erasing the information.
Namely, in cases where information is recorded on the magneto-optic recording medium 4, the power of the light beam LB must be set to high output P.sub.H or low output P.sub.L in correspondence with the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer 3.
However, with the above-described magneto-optic recording medium, there are cases where the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer differs depending on its manufacturer. If the direction of magnetization of the second magnetic layer thus differs, there is a drawback in that information cannot be recorded on the magneto-optic recording media unless magneto-optic recording systems suited for the respective directions of magnetization are used.
For that reason, in order to record information on the magneto-optic recording media irrespective of the manufacturers of the magneto-optic recording media, it is necessary to provide separate magneto-optic recording systems for coping with the directions of magnetization of the second magnetic layer, so that there has been the problem that the equipment costs become high.

Magneto-optic recording medium, magneto-optic recording system and magneto-optic recording method


A rivet-shaped electrical contact for relay is used as a movable contact for the relay. The rivet-shaped electrical contact includes a heavy-load contact portion formed of a first silver-oxide type contact material; and a light-load contact portion formed of a second silver-oxide type contact material. The hardness of the first silver-oxide type contact material is set to be higher than that of the second silver-oxide type contact material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical contact for relay suitable for, for example, vehicle-mounted relay or the like and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a vehicle-mounted electromagnetic relay used in a motor load circuit or the like has a structure in which a pair of fixed contacts, i.e., a normal-open side (hereinafter referred to as "NO-side") fixed contact and a normal-close side (hereinafter referred to as "NC-side") fixed contact is arranged so as to sandwich a movable contact, and has a function of switching two electrical circuits by alternately contacting a movable contact with two fixed contacts.
For example, for an electromagnetic relay for switching ON/OFF of a wiper driving motor, wearing resistance characteristics and welding resistance characteristics for a motor drive current which is a large load current are required for the NO-side contact pair, and characteristics for suppressing a material transition projection to be formed by a motor braking circuit are required for the NC-side contact pair. The direction of the rotation of a motor is switched using electromagnetic relays in pairs so as to open/close a power window. Also in this case, wearing resistance characteristics and welding resistance characteristics are required for the NO-side contact pair, and characteristics for suppressing the formation of a material transition projection are required for the NC-side contact pair.
In particular, in a hinge-type electromagnetic relay for general purpose, the contact force at the contact of the NC-side contact pair cannot be principally increased as compared with that of the NO-side contact pair, and thus, the contact chattering occurs at the NC-side contact pair many number of times for a long time. Consequently, the amount of contact transition caused by a short-arc generated during the contact chattering increases, and thus, a contact locking occurs due to transition projections and holes generated in the NC-side contact pair, which may cause malfunction of the electromagnetic relay. In order to solve the problems, the contact hardness of the NC-side contact pair needs to be made lower than that of the NO-side contact pair.
As described in these examples, since the characteristics required for the NO-side contact pair are different from that required for the NC-side contact pair in the application of an electromagnetic relay often used in vehicles, it is preferable that a contact material suitable for each of the contact pairs be selected.
For this reason, conventionally, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a rivet-shaped clad electrical contact in which a silver-cadmium type unoxidized material or a silver-tin type unoxidized material and a silver or a silver-3-15% by weight of nickel alloy are cold welded and molded into a rivet shape, and the resulting material is then subjected to oxidization by heating in a pressurized oxygen atmosphere of 3 atm or higher at a temperature of 600° C. to 850° C. to thereby oxidize the silver-cadmium type unoxidized material or the silver-tin type unoxidized material to the silver-cadmium oxide type oxidized material or the silver-tin oxide type oxidized material.
In this technology, an electrical contact manufactured as described above is attached to a transfer type electrical contactor. By doing so, even when such electrical contact is used under the condition that large amount of current flows through one of the contact pairs and small amount of current flows through the other one, welding and wearing of a large-amount-of-current-side contact pair are suppressed, and contact resistance of a small-amount-of-current-side contact pair is small so as to ensure stable contact and conduction.

Electrical contact for relay and method of manufacturing therefor


A new and distinct cultivar of Hibiscus plant named `Caroline`, characterized by its glossy, undulate, very dary green leaves, upright, outwardly spreading, uniform, dense and symmetrical plant habit that is appropriate for container production; very freely flowering; numerous orange-colored flowers; good resistance to flower bud abscission; and excellent postproduction longevity.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hibiscus, botanically known as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Caroline.
The new Hibiscus is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new freely-branching Hibiscus cultivars with uniform and compact plant habit appropriate for container production, early and uniform flowering, numerous flowers per lateral branch, desirable flower color, resistance to flower bud abscission, and good postproduction longevity.
The new Hibiscus originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Alva, Fla., of a proprietary Hibiscus rosa-sinensis selection, designated as code number YB-0602, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Hibiscus rosa-sinensis selection, designated as code number YB-1340, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Caroline was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., on Sep. 13, 1995.
Compared to plants of the female parent, the proprietary Hibiscus selection code number YB-0602, plants of the new Hibiscus are more compact; have slightly glossier leaves; and have lighter and brighter flower color. In addition, flowers of plants of the new Hibiscus do not have the contrasting "eye" color, however flowers of plants of the female parent have strong pink-colored "eyes". Plants of new Hibiscus have slightly lighter green and less glossy foliage; produce more flowers per day per plant; have smaller flowers; flower about one week later; and differ in flower color when compared to plants of the male parent, the proprietary Hibiscus selection code number YB-1340.
Asexual reproduction of the new Hibiscus by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Hibiscus are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A method of collaborative interactions with billboards includes receiving a request, by a billboard network manager, from an advertisement company to display synchronized interactive advertisements and video games on billboards in an area, inviting users in the area to participate in the advertisements and video games through the billboards and mobile devices of the users via a network, checking registration of the users to participate in the collaborative interactions with billboards, and checking a volume of the users in the area for appropriate synchronized advertisements and video games. If the volume of users is appropriate for synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network manager displays the synchronized advertisements and video games, and continues to track the volume of the users in the area. If the volume of users is not appropriate for synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network management reconfigures synchronized billboard content for more appropriate advertisements and video games by one of randomly changing a content, and propagating and extending through synchronized billboards a particular content of some billboard section that brought more interest from the users.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and system for collaborative interactions with billboards, and more specifically to a method and system for allowing a crowd of cell-phone users to interact with a billboard networked to other billboards in a local area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Billboards and similar hoardings are generally passive and display a mounted picture or pictures for a fixed period of time. Their content is decided by the lessee of the space. Electronic displays have enhanced the billboards to allow remote interaction with a particular hoarding for modifying a message. Some billboards, including one launched in Times Square in 2004, allow mobile cell phone users to register by calling the displayed phone number on the hoarding and participate in a mock "auto race" on screen. However, such a billboard was rigged to take a single input interface.
Conventional billboards do not allow participation of a high volume of users from a variety of mobile devices. For example, the billboard system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,389 is designed for use in a defined location with a single input device. Therefore users from various locations (e.g., different parts of a city) with different mobile devices (e.g., cell phone, MP3 player, or PDA) cannot participate in an interactive display. Likewise, the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,129 does not allow a user to control images or interact with a visual display. The user can only input information. Furthermore, a group of users cannot interact among each other using the display. Similarly, the billboard system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,259,747 allows multiple users to interact with a large display, but the users cannot participate from a remote location. Indeed, the users have limited control over the display and cannot use their mobile devices to interact with the display.

Collaborative and situationally aware active billboards


An ester polyurethane foam is prepared by reacting a mixture of one or more polyester polyols with one or more isocyanates and one or more silicone surfactants in the presence of a blowing agent, such as water, and other additives, such as catalysts. The cured foam is chemically treated in a caustic solution to form a hydrophilic ester polyurethane foam having a water absorption rate of at least 20 pounds of water per square foot per minute, preferably at least 25 pounds of water per square foot per minute. The foam also has greater water holding capacity and wet strength than cellulose.

This invention relates to certain ester polyurethane foams that have been chemically modified, following which the foams have unexpectedly improved liquid absorption and wicking. The foams may be incorporated into articles used to wipe and absorb liquids, such as household cleaning sponges and mop heads.
Polyurethane foams are generally prepared by the reaction of an active hydrogen-containing compound (i.e., a polyol) and a polyisocyanate, in the presence of a blowing agent such as water, and usually a reaction catalyst and foam stabilizer. The cellular polymer structure of polyurethane foam has a skeletal framework of relatively heavy strands forming an outline for the cell structure. The skeletal framework strands are connected by very thin membranes, often called windows, which form the cell walls. In open-celled foams, some of the windows are open or torn in each cell, thus forming an interconnecting network open to fluid flow (liquid or gas). However, conventional polyurethane foams are not sufficiently porous or open-celled to allow significant fluid flow there through.
Reticulation relates to methods for removing or breaking the cell windows of polyurethane foams. Mechanical, chemical and thermal methods for reticulating foams are known. As one example, foam may be reticulated by melting the windows with a high temperature flame front or explosion, which still leaves the strand network intact. Alternatively, the cell windows may be etched away using the hydrolyzing action of water in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,125,542; 3,405,217; 3,423,338; 3,425,890 and 4,670,477 for descriptions of various reticulating methods for polyurethane foams.
Household cleaning sponges and mop heads most commonly are formed from cellulose. Paper pulp is the primary ingredient for cellulose sponges. The pulp is reacted with carbon disulfide to form a soluble cellulose xanthate compound. This compound is dissolved into a honey-like liquid viscose and mixed with reinforcing fibers to add strength to the pulp mixture. The cellulose is formed with a double cell structure to replicate natural sea sponges. Sodium sulfate crystals are added to the pulp, and this mixture is heated in a mold to melt the crystals. Heating regenerates the mix to pure cellulose and leaves the signature sponge holes where the crystals have melted away. Bleaching chemicals and humectants maintain the moisture level and color purity of the cellulose sponge. While the cellulose has good water absorption and wicking, it has lower wet integrity than other materials. Moreover, upon drying, the cellulose becomes hard and brittle such that it must be pre-wet before using for wiping.
Open celled ester and ether polyurethane foams have greater softness and flexibility than cellulose, and retain flexibility upon drying without humectants. As compared to cellulose, foams have greater wet strength, better wet integrity and exhibit less swelling when wet. Foams also can be foamed to have a double cell structure to more resemble natural sea sponges. Generally, polyurethane foams can be produced more cheaply than cellulose. However, polyurethane foams are hydrophobic, lacking good liquid absorption and wicking characteristics, which makes them less suitable for household sponges and mop heads. Even after the polyurethane foams are post-treated with surfactants in an attempt to improve water absorption and wicking, they still do not match the performance of cellulose for these properties.
Reticulated polyurethane foams have been used as components of filters. Such foams also have been suggested for use as components of household sponges, particularly for the abrasive surface presented by a reticulated foam. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,857,133 and 5,640,737. The art still seeks polyurethane foams suitable to replace cellulose materials as liquid absorbing and wicking components of household sponges and mop heads.
According to the invention, a hydrophilic ester polyurethane foam is made by first forming a cellular polyurethane foam that has a network of at least some strands and at least some cell windows by mixing together certain foam-forming components. Typically, the recipes for polyurethane foams are expressed in terms of parts by weight per 100 parts polyol. Thus, for each 100 parts by weight of a polyester polyol, the foam formulation according to the invention includes: from 20.0 to 62.0 parts by weight of an isocyanate; from 1.5 to 5.0 parts of a blowing agent, such as water; from 0.5 to 2.0 parts of a blow catalyst; from 0 to 0.3 parts of a gel catalyst, and from 1.0 to 3.0 parts of a stabilizing surfactant, such as a silicone surfactant. Other additives such as antimicrobial additives, double cell additives, dyes, pigments, colorants, crosslinking additives, fragrances, detergents and extenders may also be incorporated into the foam formulation.
After the foam forming components have been mixed together, the foam is permitted to rise and cure, preferably under atmospheric temperature and pressure. The resulting foam has pore sizes preferably in the range of from 70 to 130 pores per linear inch, most preferably 70 to 90 pores per linear inch, but may also have a double cell or sea sponge-like structure. The preferred double cell structure has a distribution of larger and medium sized cells scattered across a background of finer cells. The larger cells may range from 0.06 to 0.09 inches in diameter.
The cured foam is cut into slabs and then chemically treated by immersing the slab in a heated caustic bath for from three to fifteen minutes, preferably from six to ten minutes. One preferred caustic bath is a sodium hydroxide solution (from 5.0 to 10.0 percent, preferably 7.5% NaOH) that is heated to from 70xc2x0 F. to 160xc2x0 F., preferably from 120xc2x0 F. to 160xc2x0 F. The caustic solution etches away at least a portion of the cell windows within the foam cellular structure, leaving behind a hydrophilic ester polyurethane foam. The treated foam is compressed between calendaring rolls, and then rinsed thoroughly and oven dried.
After treating, the foam structure comprises a hydrophilic ester polyurethane foam with good wicking characteristics that will absorb water at a rate of at least 20 pounds of water per square foot per minute, preferably at least 25 pounds of water per square foot per minute. The foam also has greater water holding capacity and wet strength than cellulose. The hydrophilic ester polyurethane foam does not swell appreciably upon absorbing and retaining liquids and would make an ideal component of a household sponge or mop head.


A high-precision and high-stability resistor element, which exhibits zero, or close to zero, resistance deviation during time and in given temperature and power ranges, includes a bonded sandwich of several substrates of inorganic insulating material having a substantially zero coefficient of thermal expansion with one or more R (Resistance) and TCR (Temperature Coefficient of Resistance) trimmed resistive metal foil patterns which can be retrimmed in two directions during periodic verifications.

The present invention relates to very precise and stable metal foil resistor elements intended for R-standards, and also to high precision devices, such as multi-meters, R-bridges, R-decade boxes, R-potentiometers and other resistor networks, which may use such resistor elements and which thereby would obviate the need for frequent control tests and retrimming by using supplemental R-standard resistors.
A wide variety of applications could advantageously use such precise and stable resistor elements. The existing resistors, having precise and low temperature coefficients of resistance (TCR), are very small and are therefore easily incorporated into electronic instruments; however, they cannot be used as R-standards, e.g., as SR104 of ESI R-standard, because of their insufficient accuracy and stability (shelf life, power and thermal shocks), and because of their low rated power dissipation. On the other hand, the known R-standard resistors having high precision, high stability and high power dissipation, are very expensive, are of large size, are time consuming for steady state conditions, and generally are intended only for checking and measuring electrical circuits under laboratory conditions.
The absence of such resistor elements of high precision, high stability, relatively high power dissipation, and low cost impedes the development and design of many instruments, which in turn impedes the development of measuring techniques.
The majority of the shortcomings in the existing photo-etched metal foil resistors are caused by the following:
a. the small size of the chips, and accordingly the small width of the lines and spaces of the resistive patterns path: thus, the deleterious effects induced by the "notches", "holes" and "bridges" upon R-stability, resulting from the exiting metal-foil and photo-etching technology, are increased when decreasing the width of the lines and the spaces, depending on the thickness and the quality of the foil and the standard of photo-etching procedure; also, the small surface of the chip does not allow to dissipate high power; PA1 b. the influences of the surrounding environment: for example, oil absorbed at elevated temperatures by cement layers, and their shrinkage and "creep" occurring at high shear stresses, cause substrate and metal foil pattern deformations and resistance deviation. PA1 a. Pattern--a metal foil resistive element, photo-etched or etched in an other way, bonded to an insulating substrate and comprising series connected non-trimming (i.e., nonadjustable resistive part, trimming steps or fired and termination pads (e.g., conductive platings) for external connections. PA1 b. TCR-characteristic--the temperature dependence of relative resistance change of the bonded metal foil pattern(s) of resistance R, i.e. ##EQU1## T.sub.o --is the middle of the given temperature range of resistor elements; .DELTA.T.sub.f, .DELTA.T.sub.s --are the temperature deviations of the pattern foil and substrate from the middle temperature T.sub.o ; and R=R(T.sub.o, .DELTA.T.sub.f, .DELTA.T.sub.s)-R(T.sub.o) --are the resistance changes due to temperature changes .DELTA.T.sub.f and .DELTA.T.sub.s of the pattern foil and substrate, to which it is bonded. PA1 c. Slope S(T.sub.o)--is the slope of the TCR-characteristic at the middle temperature T.sub.o : ##EQU2## d. Curvature C(T.sub.o) is the curvature or nonlinearity of the TCR-characteristic at the middle temperature T.sub.o : ##EQU3## for precision resistors. e. R(T.sub.o)=.rho.(T.sub.o).times.l.sub.o is the Ohm's law for a bonded to insulating substrate unstrained metal foil strip (pattern) at initial temperature To, where .rho.(T.sub.o)--is the resistivity of the metal foil material at initial temperature T.sub.o equals the resistance per one foil's square, ohms/square; l(T.sub.o) --is the initial length of a strip (path of pattern) in units of squares. PA1 -K(.alpha..sub.f .DELTA.T.sub.f -.alpha..sub.s .DELTA.T.sub.s)--is the relative resistance change of the thermostressed bonded metal foil due to its strain- effect, .alpha..sub.f, .alpha..sub.s --are coefficients of thermal expansion of materials of metal foil and substrate; and PA1 K - is the strain gauge factor of the foil for uniform temperature deformation, dependent upon the foil material and is usually close to 2. PA1 f. Two sandwiched patterns of the same selfheating. PA1 (7) Basic pitch: p=l+s, and squares/pitch=p/(p-s), where l and s are the widths of the line and space of the path, and determine the overwhelming component of pattern resistance for the given resistivity of film and pattern surface. In this and in other cases of the same selfheatings, the following correlations can be written: ##EQU7## where: lower indexes 1 and 2 concern the first and the second patterns; PA1 (11) R(T.sub.o)=R.sub.1 (T.sub.o)+R.sub.2 (T.sub.o) - sum of the resistance of two patterns at temperature T.sub.o ; ##EQU8## g. R-trimming step--a discrete part of the R-trimming section of a metal foil resistive pattern which is series connected to its non-trimming parts. It includes a resistive pattern of the step, and its shunt that can be cut and recovered (by soldering or welding), if the shunt is copper-nickel-gold plated and has sufficient size; in these ways, the pattern's resistance R is increased or decreased by the given step value. PA1 h. TCR-trimming step--a part of a copper-nickel-gold plated TCR trimming section of the metal foil resistive pattern is series connected to its non-trimming parts, and includes a temperature sensitive step pattern of relative low resistance, and a shunt that can be cut and recovered (by soldering or welding, if it has sufficient size); in these ways the slope S of the pattern's TCR-characteristic is increased or decreased by given step value. PA1 i. Copper-nickel-gold plating--the plating of the given region, and formed of a material selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel and gold. PA1 j. Foil batches--metal foils produced from the same alloy batch but subjected to different thermal treatments in order to obtain different slopes of TCR-characteristics by keeping the curvature and resistivity substantially constant. PA1 k. Foils modification--foils produced from the same basic alloy but with special alloying element(s) in order to change the sign and curvature value of the basic TCR-characteristic.
An object of the present invention is to provide a resistor element having important advantages in the above respects.

High-precision, high-stability resistor elements


Provided are a comparison device that may minimize an influence of banding noise by offsetting the banding noise, and a CMOS image sensor including the comparison device. The comparison device may include a comparison circuit configured to compare a pixel signal and a ramp signal with each other and output a comparison signal, a banding noise adjustment circuit coupled to the comparison circuit to adjust electrical characteristic values of the comparison circuit, a banding value generation circuit coupled to the banding noise adjustment circuit to provide the banding noise adjustment circuit with a banding value generated based on a setting code value, and a banding noise reduction circuit coupled to the banding noise adjustment circuit and configured to reduce the banding noise of the comparison circuit by adjusting electrical characteristic values of the comparison circuit.

There is a trade-off between operating speed and power consumption in designing a CMOS image sensor (CIS). Accordingly, a current CMOS image sensor technology employs a column-parallel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) architecture to reduce the power consumption while improving the operating speed. A readout circuit with the column-parallel ADC architecture, however, should be highly integrated to match the small size of the photo sensing pixel, and this is why a single-slope ADC having a simple structure is mainly used.
In a CMOS image sensor having the column-parallel architecture, however, adjacent analog-digital-converters may not be separated far enough apart to prevent interference due to the small pixel size, and thus coupling noise may occur between adjacent analog-to-digital converters.
Furthermore, interferences between adjacent analog-digital-converters may also cause banding noise. When a plurality of column-parallel analog-to-digital converters convert analog pixel signals into digital signals, the completion timings of the analog-to-digital conversion may vary depending on the amplitude of the analog pixel signal. As a result, analog-to-digital converters performing the analog-to-digital conversion are affected by adjacent analog-to-digital converters through a current/voltage bias line connected to the column-parallel analog-to-digital converters in common, resulting in unwanted variation in analog-to-digital conversion values.
Since such banding noise occurs for various reasons in an image extraction process and degrades image quality, various tuning points are considered in circuit design in order to minimize the banding noise.
However, it is difficult to minimize the banding noise by simply adjusting the size of a transistor or the amount of a current because a variation in an operation speed or power can cause the performance degradation of an entire system.

Comparison device and CMOS image sensor including the same


A portable compact dental hygiene kit, comprising a cylindrical case threadably receiving a handle end on one end, a cap end on the opposite end of the case, a removable toothbrush with 360 degree bristles fitting the handle end and removably extending into a toothpaste reservoir within the case, a restrictor proximal to the toothpaste reservoir whereby toothbrush removal retains a metered dose of toothpaste upon the toothbrush, a removable spool of dental floss disposed within the cap end, a removable spool shaft retaining the spool, a floss outlet and cutter within the cap end.

Over time there have been repeated attempts to provide compact tooth brush kits. The need for such has increased with a more mobile society. Meals away from home, travel, and hurried schedules have increased the desire and need for more portability in dental hygiene. Addressing issues such as halitosis, cavities, and gingivitis are routine concerns. A complete dental hygiene kit is needed. Additionally, any device which fulfills the needs raised by these issues and concerns must address the particular concerns of child dental health as well. Children, for example, have a difficult time positioning a toothbrush such that the brush contacts their teeth. The present invention solves these problems, concerns, and more.