The invention relates to a concentration device using magnetic particles and a method therefor aimed at performing concentration of a large volume of liquid efficiently and reliably with a simple structure and on a small device scale. The construction involves having: a liquid suction passage in which liquid can pass through only in a suction direction; a liquid discharge passage in which liquid can pass through only in a discharge direction; a magnetic force device which can exert a magnetic field from outside of the liquid passage on at least one liquid passage thereof or remove the magnetic field, and which can separate magnetic particles having directly or indirectly captured a target substance suspended in the liquid by having the magnetic particles adhere to the inner wall of the liquid passage; a storage section communicated with each liquid passage, for storing the sucked liquid; and a pressure adjustment device for sucking and discharging the liquid by adjusting the pressure in the storage section.

The present invention relates to a concentration device using magnetic particles and a method therefor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles applied to medical treatment, examination, diagnosis, treatment, research, quantitative, qualitative, measurement or the like, in which concentration is automatically and reliably increased so that a target substance such as a microscopic amount of bacteria to be suspended in a large volume of liquid, is concentrated to thereby be suspended in a small volume of liquid, in order to perform processing such as separation, extraction or recovery of, for example, immunity substances such as antibodies or antigens, genetic substances (DNA, RNA, mRNA, oligonucleotide or the like), biopolymers such as proteins or hormone substances, organisms such as bacteria, viruses, cells, or other useful compounds such as medical drugs, in various fields such as the engineering field, medical field, agricultural field, scientific field and pharmaceutical science field.
Recently, the need for performing various processing such as separation, extraction, inspection or measurement of target substances such as organisms or biopolymers of bacteria or the like (for example, aqueous dissolved bacteria such as 0-157, cryptolipolysium, salmonella or the like, genetic materials such as DNA) is increasing.
For the purpose thereof, it is necessary to perform various processing after having cultured the bacteria, or in the case of genetic materials or the like, after having increased the concentration of the target substance by performing amplification.
The target substance such as bacteria or genetic materials is naturally obtained with a small amount thereof suspended in a large volume (for example, several liters) of liquid. In order to perform culture or amplification for this target substance, it is necessary to extract or separate the target substance from the suspension.
Therefore, separation and extraction has been heretofore performed by passing a large volume of suspension containing the target substance suspended therein through a filter. Normally, however, many impurities are contained other than the target substance in the suspension. In the case of a membrane filter or the like, these are likely to cause clogging due to the impurity and fouling. Hence this has the problem in that it is difficult or it requires time and labor to separate the target substance from a large volume of suspension.
Moreover, considering a case where a substance such as bacteria that affect organisms such as humans is handled, there is a demand for an apparatus which can automatically perform processing without requiring human intervention, which makes it possible to replace a part coming in contact with the suspension, and which does not require cleaning and can be used efficiently and reliably.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, which can perform concentration of a large volume of liquid efficiently, quickly and reliably.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, wherein concentration, separation or extraction processing is not affected by the existence of impurities.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, wherein the part coming in contact with the suspension can have a construction such that a container or a disposable tip can be replaced, and a simple mechanism is used to thereby make it low-priced and easy to handle, without requiring cleaning.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, which are suitable for automated processing and consistent processing without requiring human intervention.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, suitable for handling microorganisms such as bacteria and biopolymers such as DNA substances. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a concentration device using magnetic particles and a concentration method using magnetic particles, suitable for amplification by a PCR method for genetic materials such as DNA.
In order to solve the above technical problems, a first aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a liquid suction passage in which liquid can pass through only in a suction direction; a liquid discharge passage in which liquid can pass through only in a discharge direction; a magnetic force device which can exert a magnetic field from outside of the liquid passage on at least one liquid passage thereof or remove the magnetic field, and which can separate magnetic particles having directly or indirectly captured a target substance suspended in the liquid by having the magnetic particles adhere to the inner wall of the liquid passage; a storage section communicated with each liquid passage, for storing the sucked liquid; and a pressure adjustment device for sucking and discharging the liquid by adjusting the pressure in the storage section.
The term xe2x80x9cdirectly capturing the target substancexe2x80x9d herein stands for capturing the target substance by bonding the target substance such as bacteria with the magnetic particles. In order to do that, it is necessary that the magnetic particles have a substance for bonding with the target substance by means of a coating or the like. For example, there can be mentioned a case where glass is coated on the magnetic particles, and genetic materials such as DNA are adsorbed on the glass and captured.
The term xe2x80x9cindirectly capturing the target substancexe2x80x9d herein stands for a case where magnetic particles, target substance and a carrier originally existing separately and independently are suspended in liquid, and the carrier bonds with the magnetic particles and the target substance, so that magnetic particles capture the target substance. As the carrier, for example, there are gel substances such as hydroxyapatite and a cellulose carrier. When a gel substance such as hydroxyapatite is used as a carrier, the gel substance takes both the magnetic particles and the target substance into the inside thereof to thereby capture the target substance. When the cellulose carrier is used as a carrier, magnetic particles and the target substance are adhered to holes and gaps in the cellulose carrier to thereby capture the target substance. Capture can be effected by putting the magnetic particles or magnetic particles and the carrier into the liquid containing the target substance, and mixing or stirring these. The target substance captured by the magnetic particles can be dissolved by physical processing such as stirring or heating, or can be eluted or alienated from the magnetic particles by chemical processing such as by adjusting the pH to dissolve the target substance as with the hydroxyapatite, or by mixing with a reagent. The liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage are capable of passing the liquid only in the suction direction or in the discharge direction of the liquid by, for example, a check valve. The check valve may be provided in a part of the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage, or may be provided outside the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage, for example, attached to the storage section. When the suction port and the discharge port of the liquid passage are inserted into different containers, the suspension before separating the magnetic particles and the residual liquid after the separation thereof can be separated, thereby enabling efficiency improvement of the processing. When these ports are inserted into the same container, the liquid passage forms a circuit, thereby enabling separation to be repeated without replacing the suction port and the discharge port.
According to the first aspect, at the time of repeating a simple operation such as passing a large volume of suspension through the liquid passage, or sucking the liquid from the liquid suction passage and discharging the liquid from the liquid discharge passage, with respect to all of the suspension, the magnetic particles in the suspension are automatically separated. Hence, all of the magnetic particles in the suspension can be efficiently and easily separated with a simple construction and without leakage.
According to the present invention, by re-suspending the separated magnetic particles in an optional amount of liquid, concentration to an optional proportion can be performed. Hence, the culture process and the amplification process thereafter can be made efficient, and the density of a large volume of suspension in which the target substance is suspended in a dilute amount can be increased efficiently or within a short period of time.
According to the present invention, the target substance can be captured by magnetic particles, and the liquid can be made to pass through the liquid passage, with the magnetic particles attracted to the liquid passage and separated, by exerting a magnetic field from outside of the liquid passage. Hence, since impurities can be eliminated by the suction and discharge operation, separation, extraction or the like of the target substance is not hindered.
Also, in the case where the magnetic particles capture the target substance indirectly via a carrier, it is not necessary to perform processing such as coating with respect to the magnetic particles. Hence processing can be performed at a low cost.
A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the first aspect, the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage are provided in parallel to each other with a space, so as to protrude downward below the storage section, with the pressure adjustment device provided above the storage section. According to the present invention, since the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage are provided in parallel to each other with a space, if a container that can be divided by that space is prepared and each liquid passage is inserted therein, the sucked liquid can be discharged to another container without requiring a shift. According to the second aspect, since the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage are provided so as to protrude downward below the storage section, and the pressure adjustment device is provided above the storage section, the apparatus can be made compact, and concentration processing can be performed efficiently by using a special container.
A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the first aspect or in the second aspect, the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage are formed substantially in a two-stage form with a tip portion having a small diameter and a large-diameter portion, respectively. Hence the liquid passage can be inserted also with respect to a container having a thin opening, and by performing separation of the magnetic particles by the large-diameter portion, clogging or the like can be prevented. According to the third aspect, insertion is also possible with respect to a container having a thin opening, and clogging or the like can be prevented at the time of performing separation of magnetic particles.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, the magnetic force device is obtained by providing a permanent magnet, an electromagnet or a magnetic substance outside of at least one of the liquid passages. In the case of the permanent magnet, by providing this so as to be able to be brought near or alienated from the liquid passage, the magnetic field can be exerted or removed.
Moreover, in the case of the electromagnet, by flowing or cutting off the electric current, the magnetic field is generated or removed. In the case of the magnetic substance, by magnetizing or demagnetizing the magnetic substance, the magnetic field is generated or removed. As a result, the magnetic field can be reliably exerted or removed. According to the fourth aspect, the magnetic field can be reliably exerted on or removed from the inside of the liquid passage.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, the storage section has a cylinder, and the pressure adjustment device has a plunger inserted into the cylinder so as to slide therein. Here, in the storage section, it is desirable to control so that the surface of the sucked liquid and the bottom surface of the piston do not come in contact with each other via an air layer. As a result, contact between the mechanical part and the suspension can be avoided, thereby enabling reuse without requiring cleaning. Moreover, it is desirable to provide an O-ring groove around the circumference of the plunger, so as to attach an O-ring formed of a resilient body in that groove. As a result, liquid leakage can be reliably prevented. With the fifth aspect, by controlling so that the surface of the sucked liquid and the bottom surface of the piston do not come in contact with each other via the air layer, in the storage section, reliable processing can be performed without the possibility of contamination.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, the pressure adjustment device has an air flow path provided in the storage section, and a pump for performing suction and discharge of a gas in the storage section via the air flow path. As a result, the structure thereof can be made simple and cleaning becomes easy, without requiring a complicated mechanical portion in the storage section. With the sixth aspect, the pressure adjustment device is communicated with the pump performing suction and discharge of a gas in the storage section, via the storage section and the air flow path. Hence, it is not required to provide a complicated mechanical portion in the storage section, thereby simplifying the structure and making cleaning easy.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, the storage section is provided detachably with respect to the pressure adjustment device. Here, the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage may be formed integrally with the storage section, or may be provided detachably with respect to the storage section. According to the present invention, since the storage section including the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage is provided detachably with respect to the pressure adjustment device, by attaching a new storage section, processing can be proceeded without cleaning. Hence, rapid processing is possible. According to the seventh aspect, since the storage section is provided detachably with respect to the pressure adjustment device, by attaching a new storage section, processing can be proceeded without cleaning. As a result, this is very efficient.
An eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the seventh aspect, when the storage section is detached, the pressure adjustment device can be mounted with one pipette tip, in which the liquid can pass through both in the suction direction and the discharge direction. As a result, efficient processing is possible by using the same pressure adjustment device and replacing only a portion contacting with the suspension. With the eighth aspect, in the case where the storage section is detached from the pressure adjustment device, one pipette tip can be mounted on the pressure adjustment device. As a result, efficient processing is possible by using the same pressure adjustment device and replacing only the portion contacting with the suspension.
A ninth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, hydroxyapatite is sintered and secured to the magnetic particles, and the pH of the solution containing the magnetic particles suspended therein is adjusted to change the hydroxyapatite to a sol form or a gel form, to thereby make the hydroxyapatite capture or alienate the target substance. According to the present invention, by a simple operation such as adjustment of pH, the hydroxyapatite is changed to a gel form or a sol form so that the magnetic particles can capture the target substance, or the target substance can be eluted or alienated.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a liquid passage having a suction port and a discharge port, in which liquid can pass therethrough; a magnetic force device which can exert a magnetic field from outside of the liquid passage to inside thereof, which can separate magnetic particles having directly or indirectly captured a target substance suspended in the liquid, by having the magnetic particles adhere to an inner wall of the liquid passage; and a pump provided in the liquid passage, for transferring the liquid along a transfer direction of the liquid in the liquid passage.
As a result, magnetic particles in the suspension can be separated or re-suspended during passing through the liquid passage without leakage, with a simple structure and a simple control.
As the xe2x80x9cpumpxe2x80x9d, for example, a peristaltic pump may be used, in which a part or the whole of the liquid passage is formed of a resilient body, and liquid is transferred by sequentially making the liquid passage contract from the outside along the transfer direction of the liquid.
At that time, since there is no contact between the suspension and the mechanical portion for transfer or the magnetic force device, the device can be reused by merely cleaning or replacing the liquid passage. Contact between the suspension containing the target substance such as bacteria suspended therein and the mechanical portion can be avoided or can be made minimum. Particularly, the resilient body portion may be cut and formed detachably, for example, by making as a cartridge. In such a case, this is taken out together with the magnetic particles attracted to that portion, to thereby perform processing such as re-suspension.
According to the tenth aspect, at the time of repeating a simple operation such as passing a large volume of suspension through the liquid passage, or sucking the liquid from the liquid suction passage and discharging the liquid from the liquid discharge passage, with respect to the whole suspension, the magnetic particles in the suspension are automatically separated. Hence, all of the magnetic particles in the suspension can be efficiently and easily separated with a simple construction and without leakage.
According to the present invention, by re-suspending the separated magnetic particles in an optional amount of liquid, concentration to an optional proportion can be performed.
Also, in the case where the magnetic particles capture the target substance indirectly via a carrier, it is not necessary to perform processing such as coating with respect to the magnetic particles. Hence processing can be performed at a low cost.
An eleventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the tenth aspect, a switchover mechanism for switching over the liquid passage in order to re-suspend and discharge the separated magnetic particles is provided in the middle of the liquid passage. In order to switchover, for example, a rotor having a through hole is rotatably provided in the middle of the liquid passage, and at the time of separating the magnetic particles from the suspension, the rotation position of the rotor is set so as to communicate with the liquid passage, and at the time of re-suspension, the rotation position is set so that passing in both the suction direction and the discharge direction of the liquid is possible, and so as to communicate with another liquid passage (pipette device) having a magnetic force device capable of exerting a magnetic field therein. According to the eleventh aspect, by using a liquid passage for re-suspension which is different from the liquid passage for separation, separation and re-suspension can be effectively performed.
A twelfth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the tenth aspect or the eleventh aspect, a whole of the liquid passage or a part of the liquid passage is provided so as to be able to be taken out, while attracting the separated magnetic particles. As a construction capable of being taken out, for example, this may be taken out by removing a member attaching the whole liquid passage to a frame or the like, or only a part of the liquid passage may be provided detachably from other parts of the liquid passage. The removed part may be directly attached to an apparatus for performing processing and then used. According to the twelfth aspect, by taking out the whole or a part of the liquid passage, the separated magnetic particles can be used. Hence, processing such as concentration can be easily performed.
A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the tenth aspect to the twelfth aspect, hydroxyapatite is sintered and secured to the magnetic particles, and the pH of the solution containing the magnetic particles suspended therein is adjusted to change the hydroxyapatite to a sol form or a gel form, to thereby make the hydroxyapatite capture or alienate the target substance. According to the present invention, by a simple operation such as adjustment of pH, the hydroxyapatite is changed to a gel form or a sol form so that the magnetic particles can capture the target substance, or the target substance can be eluted or alienated.
A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: the concentration device described in any one of the first to the thirteenth aspects; a shift device capable of shifting the concentration device itself and/or a container mounted outside of the concentration device; and a control device for controlling the operation of the liquid drive device, the magnetic force device and/or the shift device. As a result, the concentration processing can be automated collectively.
A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the fourteenth aspect, the container has two tanks into which the suction port of the liquid passage and the discharge port of the liquid passage are respectively inserted, a thickness of a partition section for separating the two tanks being formed thinner than a distance between the suction port and the discharge port, and a bottom portion of each liquid receiving section has a slope of downward inclination toward the partition section. As a result, a large volume of liquid can be sucked completely and discharged. Hence, concentration can be performed quickly and efficiently.
A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the fourteenth aspect, the control device controls so as to suck from a container storing a first volume of suspension, in which the magnetic particles having directly or indirectly captured the target substance are suspended, and pass the suspension through the liquid passage, with the magnetic force device exerting a magnetic field from outside to the liquid passage, to thereby attract the magnetic particles to the inner wall of the liquid passage and separate the magnetic particles, and so as to insert the suction port and the discharge port into a container where a second volume of liquid is stored, the second volume being smaller than the first volume, and suck and discharge the second volume of liquid to effect re-suspension to thereby concentrate the suspension containing the target substance such as bacteria suspended therein, without exerting the magnetic field by the magnetic force device.
Here, the above separation is continued until all the suspension to be sucked by the liquid passage has been sucked. When there is no more suspension to be sucked, by sucking the discharged liquid by the liquid passage, separation can be further performed. In this manner, by repeating separation, separation of magnetic particles can be performed more reliably.
A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a capture step for capturing a target substance such as bacteria in a suspension directly or indirectly by magnetic particles; a separation step for separating the magnetic particles by exerting a magnetic field from outside of a liquid passage to the inside of the liquid passage to thereby attract the magnetic particles to an inner wall of the passage, at a time of passing a suspension having a first volume and in which the magnetic particles which have captured the target substance are suspended, through the liquid passage; a re-suspension step for re-suspending the magnetic particles which have captured the target substance in the liquid, by passing a liquid having a second volume smaller than the first volume through the liquid passage in with the magnetic particles which have captured the target substance have been separated, in a state with the magnetic field not exerted on the liquid passage; and an elution step for eluting the target substance from the magnetic particles which have captured the target substance suspended in the liquid, and separating only the magnetic particles to obtain a suspension in which the target substance is concentrated.
Here, the elution step for obtaining the suspension in which only the target substance is concentrated is performed by, for example, physical processing such as suspension and stirring, or by chemical processing involving mixing a predetermined reagent or the like.
An eighteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the seventeenth aspect, the separation step effects separation by sucking the suspension from a container storing a first volume of suspension, in which the magnetic particles having directly or indirectly captured the target substance are suspended, and passing the suspension through the liquid passage, with the magnetic field exerted from outside of the liquid passage, to thereby attract the magnetic particles to the inner wall of each liquid passage. Moreover, the re-suspension step effects re-suspension by sucking and discharging a second volume of liquid to the container where the second volume of liquid is stored, the second volume being smaller than the first volume, without exerting the magnetic field by the magnetic force device.
A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in either one of the seventeenth aspect or the eighteenth aspect, the separation step effects separation by sucking the suspension from a container storing a first volume of suspension in which the magnetic particles which have captured the target substance are suspended, to a storage section via the liquid suction passage, with the magnetic field exerted from outside to the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage by the magnetic force device, and discharging the suspension from the storage section via the liquid discharge passage, to thereby attract the magnetic particles to the inner wall of each liquid passage. Moreover, the re-suspension step effects re-suspension by inserting the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage into a container where a second volume of liquid is stored, the second volume being smaller than the first volume and substantially the same amount as that of the storage section, to thereby suck and discharge the second volume of liquid, without exerting the magnetic field by the magnetic force device.
The reason why the second volume of liquid is xe2x80x9csmaller than the first volume and substantially the same amount as that of the storage sectionxe2x80x9d is that if a liquid amount is used which is sufficient for filling the storage section, being the maximum amount of liquid which can be added to the separated magnetic particles with one suction or one discharge by the apparatus, in order to efficiently and reliably re-suspend the magnetic particles attracted to the inner wall of each liquid passage of the concentration device and separated, the magnetic particles can be most efficiently stripped off from the inner wall to effect the re-suspension.
A twentieth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the seventeenth aspect to the nineteenth aspect, in a container storing the suspension re-suspended in the re-suspension step, the magnetic particles in the suspension are separated and then re-suspended in a liquid having a third volume smaller than the second volume, by sucking and discharging the suspension, with a magnetic field exerted on the liquid passage, by means of a pipette apparatus having a liquid passage in which liquid can pass through both in the suction direction and the discharge direction of the liquid, and a storage section communicated with the passage and having a capacity smaller than the second volume, and also having a magnetic force device for exerting and removing a magnetic field to/from the liquid passage from outside of the liquid passage.
A twenty-first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the seventeenth aspect to the twentieth aspect, the separation step shifts all of the liquid stored in a second container to a first container, after having shifted all of the suspension stored in the first container to the second container, by sucking the liquid stored in the second container via the liquid passage, and discharging the liquid to the first container via the liquid passage, with a magnetic field exerted on the liquid passage from outside.
A twenty-second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the seventeenth aspect to the twenty-first aspect, the separation step shifts all of the liquid stored in a second container to a first container, after having shifted all of the suspension stored in the first container to the second container, by sucking the liquid stored in the second container via a liquid suction passage, and discharging the liquid to the first container via a liquid discharge passage, with a magnetic field exerted on the liquid suction passage and the liquid discharge passage from outside. As a result, magnetic particles remaining in the suspension can be separated completely. Moreover, when all of the liquid is shifted to the first container, the process can be repeated according to the eighteenth aspect.
According to the sixteenth to the twenty-second aspects, at the time of repeating a simple operation such as passing a large volume of suspension through the liquid passage, or sucking the suspension from the liquid suction passage and discharging the suspension from the liquid discharge passage with respect to all of the suspension, since the magnetic particles in the suspension are automatically separated, all of the magnetic particles in the suspension can be efficiently and easily separated completely with a simple construction.
According to the present invention, concentration can be performed to an optional proportion, by re-suspending the separated magnetic particles in an optional volume of liquid. Therefore, as pre-stage processing of a culture process of bacteria or the like, or of an amplification process of DNA or the like, the density of a large volume of suspension containing a target substance suspended therein in a dilute amount can be increased efficiently or within a short period of time.
Since contact between the suspension containing the target substance such as bacteria suspended therein and the mechanical parts can be avoided or made minimal, the present invention is suitable for handling microorganisms such as bacteria and biopolymers such as DNA substances. Moreover, in the case where the target substance is indirectly captured by the magnetic particles via a carrier, it is not necessary to perform processing such as coating with respect to the magnetic particles, thereby enabling low-cost processing.

Concentration device using magnetic particles and method therefor


A lens assembly is disclosed, which includes a base and a lens barrel. The base has a front edge, a back edge opposite to the front edge and a passage penetrating the front edge and the back edge. The lens barrel is disposed in the passage and includes a lens and a lens holding member holding the lens, wherein an outer surface of the lens holding member is in contact with an inner wall of the passage, and at least one of the inner wall of the passage and the outer surface of the lens holding member includes a smooth surface, arranged such that a thrust force applied on the lens barrel while assembling the lens assembly causes a sliding movement between the base and the lens barrel on the smooth surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optical element and a method for assembling the same, in particular relates to a lens assembly that is used to capture image and a method for assembling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a progress of technology, various portable electronic products such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), notebook computers, tablet computers, etc. are generally equipped with a micro camera to facilitate users taking pictures in daily life. With a development trend of continuous improvement in performance and declining in price, the camera function has become a basic function of the portable electronic products.
Generally, a micro camera includes an image sensor and a lens assembly. The image sensor may be a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, etc. The lens assembly may include a lens barrel and a base, wherein screw portions are disposed on both of the lens barrel and the base, and the lens barrel and the base are assembled via the screw portions. Through a rotation of the lens barrel, the position of the lens barrel relative to the base can be adjusted so as to project an image onto an imaging plane of the image sensor.
Recently, size reduction is a trend for portable electronic products; however, the screw portions may cause an increase in thickness of the lens assembly which cannot satisfy the demand of portability. Therefore, a need exists for a lens assembly that overcomes the structural issues inherent with the conventional lens assembly found in the art.

Lens assembly and method for assembling the same


A piping assembly and a method for connecting an inner shell and an outer shell in a turbine system are disclosed. The piping assembly includes an inner fitting for connection to the inner shell and an outer fitting for connection to the outer shell. The piping assembly further includes an attenuation member extending between the inner fitting and the outer fitting and comprising an attenuation curve. The attenuation curve permits movement of the attenuation member in at least one of a longitudinal direction, a radial direction, or a tangential direction.

Turbine systems are widely utilized in fields such as power generation. For example, a conventional gas turbine system includes a compressor section, a combustor section, and at least one turbine section. The compressor section is configured to compress air as the air flows through the compressor section. The compressed air is then flowed from the compressor section to the combustor section, where it is mixed with fuel and combusted, generating a hot gas flow. The hot gas flow is provided to the turbine section, which utilizes the hot gas flow by extracting energy from it to power the compressor, an electrical generator, and/or other various loads.
Various sections of a turbine system, such as the compressor section and/or the turbine section, may include casings surrounding various internal components. For example, one or more sections may include an inner shell surrounding the various components and an outer shell spaced from and surrounding the inner shell. Linear pipes, such as tube seals, extend in a generally radial direction between the outer shell and inner shell. These pipes provide cooling flows from external to the shells, such as from the compressor section, to the components inside the shells.
However, the linear pipes that are currently utilized in many turbine systems have a variety of disadvantages. For example, many known pipes do not allow for movement between the respective inner and outer shells. When one of the shells moves with respect to the other due to, for example, differing rates of thermal growth, the pipes may resist this movement and leak or become damaged. Some known pipes allow for such movement through the use of spherical tube ends that are precision fitted into receptacles. However, such tube ends and receptacles are easily damaged and leakage prone, require wear coatings, and may be prohibitively expensive.
Thus, an improved piping assembly and method for connecting an inner and outer shell in a turbine system are desired in the art. Specifically, a piping assembly and a method that allow for movement of the inner and outer shells with respect to one another would be advantageous.

Piping assembly and method for connecting inner and outer shell in turbine system


An apparatus and system for preventing branch circuit current overload in a non-dedicated branch circuit where current is supplied at least in part by a co-generation power system through an electrical receptacle or outlet. Co-generation systems of this type are typically used in residential applications and can include solar photovoltaic systems and wind turbines. The apparatus modulates or adjusts the current flowing into the branch circuit from the co-generation power system so that the apparatus does not cause the combination of current supplied from the utility power grid into the branch circuit and current supplied by the co-generation system into the branch circuit outlet to exceed the branch circuit current capacity.

The present invention relates to co-generation power systems, for example, solar photovoltaic or wind-power, connected to non-dedicated branch circuits in a residential or commercial setting. Specifically, the application relates to a safety device for adjusting the current flowing into a non-dedicated branch circuit from a co-generation device.
Utility-interactive solar power or wind power co-generation systems of various sizes are commonly installed on homes and businesses, but implementation can be cumbersome. For example, solar photovoltaic panels and utility-interactive inverters are available and may be configured as effective and safe power generation systems whereby a home may be powered by a combination of utility and solar-generated electricity. However, these systems require installation of a properly sized and dedicated branch circuit or separate electrical service in order to safely add solar generating capacity to a home.
With the use of small co-generation system in a residential or office setting, it may be desirable to supply power from the co-generation system into an existing branch circuit using existing wiring. For example, it may be desirable to supply power from a solar or wind-power co-generation system or device into an existing electrical outlet or receptacle already present in a home or business.
It is common in residential and commercial wiring, to have non-dedicated or general branch circuits. A non-dedicated branch circuit can have several outlets or receptacles, each receptacle capable of supplying power to different devices or loads. Branch circuits originate at an electrical service panel or breaker box. Electricity is supplied from the power utility into the branch circuit through a circuit protection device, typically a circuit breaker. The breaker prevents the flow of current from the power utility into the branch circuit when the current required by one or more loads on the branch exceeds the rated current capacity of the branch circuit. However, when a co-generation system also supplies power into a non-dedicated branch circuit, the current from the co-generation system can flow directly through the branch circuit to the load and bypass the circuit breaker. This creates the potentially dangerous situation where the combination of utility supplied current and co-generation system supplied current together exceed the current capacity of the branch circuit.
While systems have been proposed that connect small residential and commercial PV solar and wind power systems through AC outlets or receptacles, none have adequately addressed the problem that the rated current capacity of a non-dedicated branch circuit can be exceeded when one or more loads are connected to the branch circuit. Therefore, the need exists to provide a device that prevents current overload in a non-dedicated branch circuit supplied by both utility power and a co-generation device.

Safety device for plug and play solar energy system


A code combining soft handoff method is disclosed. A mobile terminal measures a strength of respective pilot signals received from a plurality of base stations. If the strength of the received pilot signal is higher than a given value, a base station controller allocates a new code pattern to the corresponding base station to additionally receive a signal from the base station. If the strength of the received pilot signal is lower than the specified value, it drops a signal of the corresponding base station. The mobile terminal and the base station change the code pattern of one of the signals from the two base stations into a code pattern different from the code pattern of the other signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, and more particularly to a code combining soft handoff (CCSH) method.
2. Background of the Related Art
In mobile communications, a handoff is an automatic switchover of the current traffic channel that occurs when a mobile terminal moves from one cell to another cell. Such a handoff is typically classified into a hard handoff and a soft handoff. The hard handoff first breaks the existing communication channel before opening a new traffic channel, and the soft handoff first connects a new channel and then breaks the existing channel.
In other words, according to the hard handoff, when a mobile communication terminal (i.e., mobile station) moves from one base station to another base station, the channel connected to the existing base station is broken, and then a new channel of the new base station is connected.
According to the soft handoff that is a handoff between cells, when a mobile communication terminal (i.e., mobile station) comes near another cell region having the same frequency while the mobile terminal is in use, the mobile terminal detects and informs the current cell that the signal strength of the pilot signal of a new cell is sufficiently high, and the new cell opens a traffic channel for the mobile terminal with the new base station. At this time, the mobile terminal simultaneously maintains communication through the traffic channels of the two cells.
As the mobile terminal approaches the new cell, the signal of the previous cell becomes weaker. If the strength of this previous signal is lower than a predetermined level, the mobile terminal informs the two cells of this fact, and then the previous cell breaks the communication channel through the mobile station. The mobile terminal thus continues the call through the new cell of a good signal state.
A softer handoff is a handoff between different sectors of one cell. According to the softer handoff, one cell is divided into several sectors, and when the mobile terminal in use moves from one sector to another sector within the same base station, the traffic channel is connected in the same manner as the soft handoff.
Meanwhile, a high-speed data transmitting system uses a CCSH (also known as a code combining and packet combining) handoff method using turbo coding. According to the CCSH, one signal is encoded by different coding methods, and resultant coded signals are transmitted. A receiving part decodes and combines the signals encoded by the different coding methods to obtain a gain. According to the CCSH handoff method, several base stations transmit the signals encoded by different coding methods from the various base stations and a mobile terminal receives and combines the signals encoded by the different coding methods to obtain the gain. If the mobile terminal receives the signals encoded by the same coding method, however, it obtains no gain.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, data to be transmitted to a base station is outputted from a master switch center 101 of a base station controller. The data is then inputted to a turbo encoder 101b, which encodes the data. The turbo encoder 101b then outputs two signals encoded with different patterns.
The two signals are transmitted to the respective base stations with pilot signals from respective pilot channel sections 102a and 102b included therein. The transmitted signals are then received by the mobile terminal from each of the respective base stations. The mobile terminal decodes and combines the two signals encoded with different patterns to obtain the gain.
Meanwhile, according to the CCSH handoff method, the respective base station is allocated with a PN number for discrimination among base stations and cell regions that transmit/receive signals to/from the mobile terminal. In transmitting/receiving the signals to/from the mobile terminal, the respective base stations are under the control of the base station controller, and have different code patterns.
Here, the mobile terminal receives the signals with specified code patterns from all the base stations located in the cell region where the mobile terminal itself is included. Since two code patterns can be used in the CCSH handoff method, the more than 3-way handoff method allocates two code patterns with the permission of overlapping of the respective base stations.
Specifically, when the mobile terminal moves between cells, it moves through a 2-way or 3-way handoff regions where two or three cells of the base stations overlap. Since two code patterns are allocated to the base station, one of the two code patterns is allocated if the signal is received from one base station. If the signal is received from two base stations, the two code patterns are allocated to the two base stations, respectively. Thus, the mobile terminal receives a first code pattern from the first base station and a second code pattern from the second base station.
If the signal is received from three base stations, however, one of the two code patterns is allocated twice. That is, two code patterns are allocated with the permission of overlapping of the respective base stations.
The 2-way or 3-way region indicates the number of base stations from which the mobile terminal simultaneously receives the signal. Thus, a mobile terminal receives a signal from two base stations in a 2-way region, and receives a signal from three base stations in a 3-way region. The number of base stations from which a mobile terminal receives a signal is determined in accordance with the level of the pilot signal received from the respective base station. If the level of the pilot signal received from the base station is higher than a predetermined value, the mobile terminal additionally receives the signal of the corresponding base station, while if the level of the pilot signal is below the predetermined level, the mobile terminal drops the signal of the base station not to be received. The 2-way or 3-way region is thus determined
Now, a related code combining handoff method will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, A to C base stations 201, 202, and 203 are allocated with PN numbers a, b, and c, respectively, for discrimination among base stations. In neighboring portions of the base stations exist 2-way (210a, 210b, and 210c) and 3-way (220) handoff regions where the signal is received from two and three of the base stations 201, 202, and 203, respectively.
First, if the mobile terminal 205 in the cell region of the A base station 201 is in an operation state, it receives the signal from the A base station 201, is allocated with a code pattern α, and thus receives the signal of the A base station 201 with the code pattern α.
At this time, the mobile terminal 205 receives an extended supplemental channel assignment message (ESCAM) from a new base station, and determines with which code pattern the mobile terminal 205 and the base station initial communicate. The ESCAM includes a PILOT_PN field and a PUNCTURE_PATTERN (also called CCSH_TYPE) field. The PILOT_PN field includes the PN code allocated to the respective base stations 201, 202, and 203, and discriminates from which base station the ESCAM message is received. The PUNCTURE_PATTERN field informs which code pattern the corresponding base station uses. For example, for discrimination among the base stations, the A base station 201 is allocated with the PN number a, the B base station 202 with the PN number b, and the C base station 203 with the PN number c. Also, if information defined in the PUNCTURE_PATTERN is 00, no code pattern is used. If the information is 01, the code pattern α is allocated as the code pattern of the base station that transmitted the ESCAM, while if the information is 10, a code pattern β is allocated as the code pattern of the base station that transmitted the ESCAM. It should be understood that the code pattern could be a puncture code pattern, or any other coding scheme.
Since there are two code patterns, at least three cases including an unusable state should be defined. Accordingly, the PUNCTURE_PATTERN field requires at least 2 bits.
Though the signal is received from the B base station 202 and the C base station 203, the mobile terminal disregards this since the signal is weak.
Meanwhile, as the mobile terminal 205 gradually approaches the B base station 202, the pilot signal strength of the signal received from the B base station 202 becomes greater. The mobile terminal 205 detects whether the pilot signal strength of the signal received from the B base station 202 is higher than a specified value, and if the pilot signal strength of the B base station 202 becomes higher than the specified value, the mobile terminal 205 transmits an extended pilot strength measurement message (EPSMM) to the respective base stations to indicate as such, and allocates the code pattern β to the B base station 202. The respective base stations transmit an universal handoff direction message (UHDM) to the mobile terminal 205 to inform this. The mobile terminal 205 receives the code pattern α (or of a default encoder type) from the A base station 201, receives the code pattern β (or of a complementary encoder type) from the B base station 202, and transmits an extended handoff completion message (EHCM) to the respective base stations to complete the handoff.
Here, the fact that the pilot signal of the B base station 202 becomes higher than the specified value means that the mobile terminal 205 at least enters into the 2-way handoff region 210a where the A base station 201 and the B base station 202 overlap.
If the mobile terminal 205, which is in the 2-way handoff region 210a of the A base station 201 and the B base station 202, gradually approaches the C base station 203, the strength of the signal received from the C base station 203 becomes greater. If the pilot signal strength of the C base station 203 becomes higher than the specified value, the mobile terminal 205 transmits an EPSMM to the respective base stations to inform this, and allocates one of the code patterns, which were allocated to the A base station 201 or to the B base station 202, to the C base station 203. The respective base stations transmit an UHDM to the mobile terminal 205 to inform this. The mobile terminal 205 receives the signal from the C base station 203, and transmits an EHCM to the respective base stations to complete the handoff.
Here, the fact that the pilot signal of the C base station 203 becomes higher than the specified value means that the mobile terminal 205 enters into the 3-way handoff region 220 where the A base station 201, B base station 202, and C base station 203 overlap.
If the code pattern α is allocated to the C base station 203, the mobile terminal 205 receives the signal of the code pattern α from the A base station 201 and the C base station 203, and receives the signal of the code pattern β from the B base station 202.
At this time, the mobile terminal 205 receives, decodes, and combines the signals of different code patterns αand β, and thus a signal of a better quality can be produced by the diversity effect to obtain a gain.
The allocation of the code patterns to the base stations is performed by the base station controller (not illustrated) which receives information from the respective base stations. That is, the base station controller allocates different code patterns in the 2-way handoff region, and allocates two code patterns to three base stations with the permission of overlapping in the 3-way handoff region.
Here, if the mobile terminal 205 in the 3-way handoff region 220 moves to the cell region of the A, B, or C base station 201, 202, or 203, only one code pattern corresponding to the base station remains, and the signals of the remaining two base stations are dropped because the level of the pilot signals of the two base stations becomes lower than the specified value. The mobile terminal consequently receives the signal from the corresponding remaining base station only.
If the mobile terminal 205 in the 3-way handoff region 220 moves to the 2-way handoff region 210a of the A and B base stations 201 and 202, or to the 2-way handoff region 210b of the B and C base stations 202 and 203, the respective signal of the C base station 203 or of the A base station 201 is dropped, and thus the mobile terminal 205 receives the signals from the B and C base stations 202 and 203, or from the A and B base stations 201 and 202.
At this time, since the A and C base stations 201 and 203 use the code pattern α, and the B base station uses the code pattern β, there exists no problem in performing the code combining handoff method that receives, decodes, and combines the signals of different code patterns, and obtains a gain.
If, however, the mobile terminal 205 in the 3-way handoff region 220 moves to the 2-way handoff region 210c of the A and C base stations 201 and 203, the signal from the B base station 202 is dropped, and the mobile terminal 205 receives the signals from the A and C base stations 201 and 203. In this case, since both the A and C base stations 201 and 203 use the code pattern α, no gain can be obtained by the code combining handoff method.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Code combining and packet combining handoff method


A low-k, non-flammable dicyclopentdiene (DCPD)-derived polyether and a method of producing the same are introduced. Incorporation of a phosphorus group and a DCPD derivative into a low-k, non-flammable dicyclopentdiene (DCPD)-derived polyether enable the DCPD-derived polyether to not only serve as an epoxy resin curing agent but also cure itself such that the cured product not only features satisfactory thermal properties and low-k characteristics but is also non-flammable.

Among polymeric materials, epoxy resin material has long been in use in coating and semiconductor packaging, because it is resistant to solvents, easy to process, and suitable for use with an appropriate curing agent. Rapid development of electronic products is accompanied by increasingly strict restriction of application of epoxy resin because of its disadvantages: high flammability and high dielectric constant. Highly ductile and thermally stable, aromatic polyethers are suitable for use as epoxy resin tougheners. commercially-available aromatic polyethers used as tougheners are mostly provided in the form of oligomers such that a terminal reacting group thereof serves to cure epoxy resins. However, owing to a scarcity of their reacting groups, aromatic polyethers cannot work without any curing agent. Hence, their modifying function with respect to epoxy resins still has room for improvement.
To this end, the industrial sector developed a polyether with an active group, which is not only capable of curing and toughening, but also effective in improving the characteristics and applications of epoxy resins. In 2013, Lin and others (Polymer, 2013, 54 (6), 1612-1620) disclosed producing, by one-pot reaction, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polysulfones which have repeating units. The repeating units each have an active group and a flame-retarding structure. The active group of the repeating unit contributes to flexible applications of polymers. The hydroxyl group of the structure serves as an epoxy resin curing agent. The phosphorus-based structure renders a cured product flame-retarding and cures epoxy resins to thereby achieve a satisfactory glass transition temperature Tg. However, the hydroxyl group produces high-polarity secondary alcohol while curing epoxy resins, and thus remains unsatisfactory in terms of the dielectric constant.
In 2014, U.S. Pat. No. 8,791,214 B2 disclosed esterification of phenolic compounds, namely phenol novolac (PN) and dicyclopentadiene phenol novolac (DCPDPN), by mono-group or bi-group acyl chloride before the resultant ester cures epoxy resin HP7200, wherein ring-opening reactions of the epoxy resin is accompanied by transesterification which takes place in the presence of an active ester. After the epoxy resin has been cured, production of high-polarity secondary alcohol is impossible and thus conducive to a reduction in the dielectric constant. However, after reacting with the epoxy resin, the active ester substitutes for the hydroxyl group of the ring-opened epoxy resin and thus weakens intermolecular hydrogen bonds, thereby lowering the Tg of the cured product.
In addition to modifying an active hydroxyl group, dicyclopentdiene (DCPD) is easy to process because it is a high-rigidity aliphatic dicyclic compound and a promising green material. In 2004, Huang and others (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2005, 96, 2079-2089) disclosed introducing DCPD into cyanate ester and comparing it with commercially-available bisphenol A cyanate ester, and the findings showed a marked decrease in its dielectric constant. In 2006, Huang and others (Polymer International, 2006, 55, 1341-1349) disclosed introducing DCPD into bismaleimide to prove that its cured product has satisfactory dielectric characteristics.
The above citation documents show that introduction of a polyether into DCPD is conducive to improvement of electrical characteristics and enhancement of processability. Hence, the industrial sector currently needs a method of producing a DCPD-derived polyether and thereby producing a polyether material which not only features low-k characteristics, high thermal properties, and high mechanical strength, but is also non-flammable and curable, so that the polyether material can be applied to optoelectronics.

DCPD-derived polyether and method of producing the same

NATIONAL CHUNG SAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


The yield of a peeling process is improved. A first step of forming a peeling layer to a thickness of greater than or equal to 0.1 nm and less than 10 nm over a substrate; a second step of forming, on the peeling layer, a layer to be peeled including a first layer in contact with the peeling layer; a third step of separating parts of the peeling layer and parts of the first layer to form a peeling trigger; and a fourth step of separating the peeling layer and the layer to be peeled are performed. The use of the thin peeling layer can improve the yield of a peeling process regardless of the structure of the layer to be peeled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object, a method, or a fabrication method. In addition, the present invention relates to a process, a machine, manufacture, or a composition of matter. One embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a light-emitting device, a display device, an electronic appliance, a lighting device, and a method for fabricating these devices. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a light-emitting device using an organic electroluminescence (hereinafter also referred to as EL) phenomenon, and a method for fabricating the light-emitting device. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a peeling method and a method for fabricating a device including a peeling process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a flexible device in which a functional element such as a semiconductor element, a display element, or a light-emitting element is provided over a substrate having flexibility (hereinafter also referred to as a flexible substrate) has been developed. Typical examples of the flexible device include, as well as a lighting device and an image display device, a variety of semiconductor circuits including a semiconductor element such as a transistor.
As a method for fabricating a device including a flexible substrate, a technique has been developed in which a functional element such as a thin film transistor or an organic EL element is formed over a formation substrate (e.g., a glass substrate or a quartz substrate), and then the functional element is transferred to a flexible substrate. This technique needs a step of peeling a layer including the functional element from the formation substrate (also referred to as a peeling step).
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following separation technique using laser ablation: a separation layer formed of amorphous silicon or the like is formed over a substrate, a layer to be peeled that includes a thin film element is formed over the separation layer, and the layer to be peeled is bonded to a transfer body with the use of an adhesive layer. The separation layer is ablated by laser light irradiation, so that peeling is caused in the separation layer.
Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which peeling is conducted by physical force with human hands or the like. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses the following separation technique: a metal layer is formed between a substrate and an oxide layer and peeling is caused at the interface between the oxide layer and the metal layer by utilizing a weak bond between the oxide layer and the metal layer at their interface, whereby a layer to be peeled and the substrate are separated.

Peeling method and light-emitting device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A cartridge casing for rifles is made from a high strength aluminum alloy. A method for making such cartridge casing includes the steps of (a) forming a cylindrical blank from an aluminum alloy having a tensile strength greater than 80,000 psi, and (b) rotating the blank at a rate greater than 500 rpm and forcing the blank into a die, the die having a bore with progressively reduced interior diameters which are less than the external diameter of the blank. In the method, the forcing of the blank into the die results in the finished cartridge casing having a distal end with an external diameter which is less than the external diameter of its proximal end.

Fire arm cartridge casings are typically made from brass. There are a few notable exceptions. Shotgun cartridge casings today are made from a combination of brass and plastic. In the past, shotgun cartridge casings having been made from brass and paper, brass and plastic, all brass and all plastic. Also, some pistol and rifle cartridges have been made from steel.
There are many reasons why cartridge casings made from aluminum would be highly desirable. Aluminum casing weights would be typically ⅓ the weight of either a steel or brass casing. For example four fully loaded aluminum cased cartridges weigh the same as three with brass or steel casings. This has significant impact on the battlefield where weight is critical—for either allowing aircraft to carry more ammunition, fuel or cargo, or relieving the load on a foot soldier, allowing him or her to go further faster, or carry more ammunition.
Another significant advantage aluminum has over brass is material pricing. Brass prices are closely coupled to copper prices which are typically much higher than aluminum.
Aluminum is also less harmful to the environment than the copper and lead in brass. Aluminum also has an advantage over steel in corrosion resistance.
While there are some pistol cartridge casings that are made from aluminum, as well as some cartridge casings for large projectiles (such as grenade launchers) made from aluminum, there are almost no aluminum cartridge casings for rifles.
There are several reasons why cartridge casings made for rifles have hither to not been made from aluminum.                1) Chamber pressures for different firearms are typically as follows: Rifle 60,000 psi, Pistol 40,000 psi, Shotgun 10,000 psi, Grenade Launchers 3000 psi. As the chamber pressure increases, stress on the casing increases. Thus, with higher pressures, damage from leaking propellant gasses can cause significantly more damage. Only aluminum alloys with exception tensile strength can safely withstand the chamber pressures of most rifle cartridges.        2) Aluminum has the capability of being explosive and in rapid high temperature ignition "explosive" environment, can become molten, and rapidly decompose (explosive plasma). Leakage of propellant past the primer in cartridge casings can cause the aluminum to melt and explode damaging the firearm and can cause injury. The explosive plasma nature of aluminum can cause any gas leak to have the potential to damage the firearm and cause significant injury.        3) Most rifle cartridge casings are "necked" meaning the end that secures the bullet is smaller than the end that holds the powder charge and primer. Such "necking" of rifles casings is highly desired to provide sufficient room for the required propellant without having to construct the cartridge with excessive length. Necking forces the casing to be made in one of two ways. Either the inside of the casing is machined away with a tool that has to be small enough to pass through the neck, then cut the inside diameter larger—a tedious time-consuming process referred to as "undercutting." Alternatively, the neck may be somehow formed by other mechanical means. However, the formability of high-strength aluminum alloys is quite poor, making undercutting and other mechanical means difficult and expensive procedures.
Accordingly, there is a need for an aluminum rifle cartridge casing which avoids the aforementioned problems in the prior art.


Systems and methods to manage same-origin-policy (SOP) failures that occur in a computing environment are provided. In an illustrative implementation, an exemplary computing environment comprises a lockbox module, and an instruction set comprising at least one instruction directing the lockbox module to process data and/or computing application execution commands representative of and a request for a selected operation/feature according to a selected SOP management paradigm. In the illustrative implementation, the SOP management paradigm comprises one or more instructions to deploy a “lockbox” computing application element allowing for the management, monitoring, and control of computing application features/operations operable under a same origin policy.

The protection model of the World Wide Web and cooperating web browsers is generally governed by the Same-Origin Policy (SOP). Typically, SOP provides a domain or site-based isolation on the browser side, preventing code of one domain from accessing any resources belonging to another domain.
Unfortunately, SOP has been constantly violated. Such violations could be due to Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Web services, which enable maliciously injected scripts to unrightfully run with the privilege of the domain of the Web service. The violations could also be exploiting cross-domain browser vulnerabilities that are often due to the complex browser logic such as navigation, scripting, user event handling, etc. The compromise of SOP can be detrimental and can result in damages, such as information theft, Web server intrusions, and vandalism.
Other current practices such as secure sockets layer (SSL) are not excepted from the vulnerabilities of SOP. Despite the end-to-end authentication and encryption in an SSL session, a SOP compromise can cause an unauthenticated, malicious script to run in the name of the hypertext transfer protocol secured (HTTPS) domain. With current practices, SOP violations can be widespread contributing significantly to security vulnerabilities. Cross-domain vulnerabilities are sometime called "universal XSS" bugs. In this context, when a browser contains these types of bugs, webpages from other websites are also vulnerable to SOP attack, as if the websites contained XSS bugs. Cross-domain bugs are not browser agnostic and affect various commercially available web browsers including but not limited to Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, Opera and Netscape Navigator.
Generally, it is difficult to anticipate all possible SOP vulnerabilities in today's Web services. Stated differently, the combined complexity of client mashups, server software and the browser can be unmanageable. Given the nature of SOP attacks, as long as an SOP vulnerability exists in any point of this complex system, a malicious script can subvert the entire victim domain. Generally, current practices do not provide effective, efficient, and repeatable mechanisms/operations to allow for the management of domain operations to mitigate and/or eliminate the effects of an SOP attack.
From the foregoing it is appreciated that there exists a need for systems and methods to ameliorate the shortcomings of existing practices.

Lockbox for mitigating same origin policy failures


To provide a pneumatic tire in which noise can be reduced without changing the basic design of the block pattern, a chamfered portion 24 is provided at a tire widthwise-direction outer side end 18A of a leading edge 18A of a block 18. When the tire rolls and the block 18 contacts a road surface, first, with respect to the leading edge 18A, a flat portion 22 contacts the ground, and then the chamfered portion 24 contacts the ground. Because the height of the chamfered portion 24 gradually decreases towards the tire widthwise-direction outer side end, the leading edge 18A at the chamfered portion 24 gradually makes contact with the road surface, whereby force input that generates sound is dispersed in terms of input timing and it is possible to suppress the generation of noise (mainly a striking sound) at the initial state of the block 18 contacting the road surface. Furthermore, by changing the tire widthwise-direction position of the flat portion 22 in a tire circumferential direction, it is possible for the entire block to gently receive stress generated at the time of rolling, whereby it is possible to suppress the level of noise generated by the block 18 at the time the block 18 contacts the ground at a low level.

Tire tread patterns are provided in a tire tread from the objective of improving running performance in rain. Because most tire tread patterns have grooves that extend in circumferential and widthwise directions of the tire, land portions called blocks are formed in the tread.
However, it is known that pattern noise is generated because the blocks are provided.
Conventional technology concerning overcoming pattern noise can be largely categorized into two types.
The first type is a method in which the angle of lug grooves with respect to the tire widthwise direction is increased, in order to extend the time during which input is applied to a single block.
The second type is a method in which peaks are not given to a single frequency, by utilizing the relation with other blocks, for example, by varying the circumferential-direction lengths of the blocks or shifting phases within the same tire tread.
These technologies were mainly developed on the basis of two-dimensional conception, and their history is long.
However, with respect to automobiles in recent years in which quietness has been sought, the effects of the aforementioned conventional technology have not been sufficient. Moreover, because designs that place importance only on noise reduction using the aforementioned methods are not realistic in view of balance with other characteristics, new technology is in demand.
Particularly with respect to a single block, it has been reported that, when the angle of the lug grooves with respect to the widthwise direction of the tire is increased (i.e., when the pattern design is changed), block rigidity deteriorates as the configuration of the block becomes similar to a parallelogram which is long and thin in the circumferential direction. Further, in this case, partial wear is likely to occur.
In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic tire in which noise can be reduced without changing the basic design of the block pattern.

Pneumatic tire with tread having blocks including highland portions and convex surface that is smoothly chamfered and defines line edge at the top of block sidewall


Flicker (1/f) noise is suppressed in an oscillator by reducing oscillator voltage-frequency pushing to zero. A varactor (56) is incorporated in the resonator circuit and is biased with a tuning voltage setting the varactor to a capacitance value providing the zero oscillator pushing at a given frequency. A common bias connection (62) is provided between the varactor and the active element (64) such that a random perturbation voltage change across the active element also causes a change in voltage across the varactor, to compensate a change in oscillator frequency otherwise caused thereby. The varactor capacitance versus voltage characteristic is shaped such that a change in active element voltage provides a change in varactor voltage, and the combination of these voltage changes results in a zero change in oscillator frequency. The tuning slope of the oscillator provided by the varactor is opposite the tuning slope of the oscillator resulting from a change in active element voltage.

The invention relates to oscillators operational in the millimeter wave and microwave range, and more particularly to suppression of flicker (1/f) noise.
Phase noise on signal sources used as transmitters and receiver local oscillators in communication and radar systems can cause a degradation in system sensitivity and selectivity. In a digital communication system, for example, phase noise close to the carrier affects the system bit-error rate. In a Doppler radar system, phase noise on both the transmitter and local oscillator sources set a detection limit on Doppler shifted target returns in the presence of a larger clutter return signal that is close in frequency to the target return. Sources with low phase noise at millimeter wavelengths are of interest to various applications where a significant clutter signal is normally present, "Semi-Active Radar Guidance", A. Ivanov, Microwave Journal, Sept. 1983, pp. 105-120. A basic oscillator or VCO source must generally incorporate a noise reduction technique (e.g. phase locking, filtering) to meet typical system requirements on phase noise close to the carrier.
The present invention provides a unique and simple circuit addition integral to an oscillator or VCO source that functions to suppress the generation of output flicker (1/f) noise, the major contributor to phase noise at frequencies close to the carrier. Although the phase noise suppression method is applicable to a variety of source types (e.g. Gunn, Impatt, FET, Bipolar transistor), the subsequent discussion will describe the circuit technique as applied to a Gunn oscillator. It can be used with active devices other than a Gunn diode wherewith oscillator frequency pushing is a significant controller of 1/f noise in the output spectrum.

Millimeter wave oscillator with flicker (1/f) noise suppression


Joint demodulation of a desired transmission and an interfering transmission received from an interfering cell with an unknown combination of transmission parameters is performed. For each subcarrier, an exhaustive search for the serving cell symbols and projection for the interfering cell symbols is performed for tested hypotheses of the interfering cell, by minimizing a whitened noise parabola for each combination of searched hypothesis and hyper constellation point of the serving cell. A constellation point for the interfering cell that is closest to the minimum point of the parabola is selected, where coefficients of the parabola are calculated once for each subgroup of four modulation types of the interfering cell. A measure of likelihood for each of the tested hypotheses is calculated. A cumulative measure of likelihood for each of the tested hypotheses is calculated, and the most likely hypothesis is selected based on the cumulative measure of likelihood.

Various standards for wireless communication are known, for example, to ensure interoperability between equipment from multiple vendors. The standards typically aim to ensure that an allocated spectrum for the wireless communication system is used efficiently.
One such widely adopted standard is the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard. The 3GPP standard has had many revisions, including an evolution into the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standards. The LTE standards also continue to evolve, such that there are multiple releases, one of which is the LTE standards Release 12 (e.g., Rel-12).
NAICS (network assisted interference cancellation and subtraction) is a recently introduced feature in LTE rel. 12 (3GPP TR 36.866 V12.0.1 (2014-03) http://www.3gpp.org/dynareport/36866.htm). User equipment (UE) receivers with NAICS capabilities are required to implement advanced receiver schemes that allow substantial suppression of an interfering cell's contribution to a cellular communication signal received at the UE. This is achieved through joint demodulation of a transmission from the serving cell (which can be the desired transmission) with an interfering transmission from the interfering cell, for example, a neighboring interfering base station.
NAICS is made possible by exchange of semi-static cell configuration information between neighboring base stations and the serving base station that narrows the neighboring base station transmission modes into small sets. The sets of transmission modes may be delivered to the UE and used by the UE to simplify the joint demodulation process.

System and method for blind detection of transmission parameters of an interfering cell


An arrangement used to fix conductor rails for multi-phase switchgears to allow for mounting and dismantling the conductor rails in a simple manner is provided. The switchgear housing (4) comprises straight guide elements (16) which are used to receive the mounting position using the conductor rails (8). Each conductor rail (8) includes a continuous bore (22) which is covered by a receiving bore (24) when in a mounted position, the receiving bore being formed in the switchgear housing (4). Insertion journals (28) extend through the continuous bores (22) into the receiving bores (24) associated therewith and are combined with a connecting web (30) in order to form an insertion comb (26) made of an insulating material.

Contact straps in multiphase electrical switching devices have a connecting terminal at their outer end and are directly or indirectly connected to a stationary contact member with their inner end, said stationary contact member being brought into and out of contact with a movable contact member. It is known for contact straps to be secured in the switching device housing by pressing them in or embedding them by an injection molding process (DE 19904355 A1), by adhesive bonding (DE 10036350 A1), by a screw connection with a female thread in the switching device housing (DE 29604726 U1), in threaded plates (DE 19814410 A1), or in the contact straps (DE 3232173 C2), by holding them down with housing parts intended for this purpose (EP 645792 A1), by insertion (DE 10061394 A1) or by riveting.
The disadvantages of the known arrangements for securing contact straps are the high technological requirements in terms of equipment, tools and work hours for implementing the attachment, as well as the removal of the contact straps, which is sometimes impossible, sometimes possible only under certain conditions, and sometimes requires considerable effort. For example, in the case of a three-phase contactor having screwed contact straps, a customer who wants to do the manufacturer-recommended replacement of worn contacts with new contacts by himself/herself must unscrew and re-attach at least six screws along with their six retaining elements. Adhesive bonding of the contact straps requires pretreatment of the surfaces as well as curing times. Adhesively bonded parts entail an increased recycling effort.

Arrangement used to fix conductor rails for multi-phase switchgears


A method/apparatus receives a user selection of a predetermined standard for scanning sheets of media through a user interface and optically detects marks on the sheets of media using a scanning device to produce electronic images of the sheets of media. The method/apparatus automatically determines if the electronic images comply with the predetermined standard using a processor to classify the electronic images as acceptable electronic images or non-acceptable electronic images. Then, first sheets of media corresponding to the acceptable electronic images are directed into a first sheet storage device and second sheets of media corresponding to the non-acceptable electronic images are directed into a second sheet storage device.

Embodiments herein generally relate to document scanning and more particularly to devices, systems, and methods that automatically identify and sort non-acceptably scanned documents.
Frequently many copies of similar forms are scanned to archive those forms. These forms need quality assurance, but when the forms are scanned in a distributed manner, the quality assurance step may occur after the scan has taken place. The local operator may not be able to do the quality assurance, and rescanning may be difficult.

Automatic recognition of document scan error


A control system algorithm is provided for the computer control of a solid-state switching device in a Stirling-electric hybrid vehicle. The algorithm satisfies the demands for electrical energy management, regulation, allocation and distribution to the electrical system of the vehicle during the operation thereof. The control system controls the management, regulation, allocation and distribution of electrical current throughout the vehicle's electrical system in response to the commands of the vehicle operator. This includes the operation of wheel motors, electrical storage systems, the drivetrain and a plurality of other components, accessories and subsystems.

The Stirling engine is a heat engine that runs on the Sterling Cycle—that is, it operates by cyclic compression and expansion of a working fluid at different temperatures, such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work. More specifically, the Stirling engine is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine with a working fluid that remains in a gaseous state at all times. Here, the term "closed-cycle" refers to a thermodynamic system in which the working fluid is permanently contained within the system, while the term "regenerative" describes the use of a specific type of internal heat exchanger and thermal store (known as the regenerator). The inclusion of the regenerator is a point of differentiation between a Stirling engine and other closed cycle engines that use gaseous working fluids.
Sterling engines were explored early on in the field of automotive design. Although these engines demonstrated some utility, the use of such engines was subsequently abandoned in favor of internal combustion engines. This occurred despite the fact that Stirling engines offer the greatest potential for fuel efficiency out of any of the real heat engine designs, have few noxious emissions, and can be run on a variety of fuels.
The reason for the abandonment of the Sterling engine in favor of internal combustion engines was two-fold. First of all, early Stirling engines could not generate useful amounts of power immediately after cold start, but had to be heated to an operating temperature first. By contrast, internal combustion engines can generally be used immediately after starting. Moreover, early Stirling engines were not very responsive to varying power demands, and accelerated and decelerated at significantly slower rates than internal combustion engines.
More recently, the use of Sterling engines in automobiles has been revisited, and improvements have been made in the form of hybrid systems which address some of the shortcomings on this technology. These improvements are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,130 (McDowell), entitled "Sterling-Electric Hybrid Automobile".

Computer controlled solid state switching device for electrical system in a Stirling-electric hybrid vehicle


Disclosed herein are a novel diamine compound having a dendron side chain and a liquid crystal alignment material produced using the diamine compound. Specifically, the diamine compound is used to prepare a polyamic acid, which is then used to produce the liquid crystal alignment material. According to the liquid crystal alignment material, the pretilt angle of a liquid crystal is easy to control, and the alignment properties of a liquid crystal are good. Particularly, since the liquid crystal alignment material shows superior chemical resistance to washing solvents used in LCD panel fabrication processes, it has an advantage in that the alignment properties of a liquid crystal are not degraded even after washing.

In general, conventional polyimide resins for liquid crystal alignment films are prepared from the polycondensation of an aromatic dianhydride, e.g., pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) or biphthalic dianhydride (BPDA), and an aromatic diamine, e.g, para-phenylenediamine (p-PDA), meta-phenylenediamine (m-PDA), 4,4-methylenedianiline (MDA), 2,2-bisaminophenylhexafluoropropane (HFDA), meta-bisaminophenoxydiphenylsulfone (m-BAPS), para-bisaminophenoxydiphenylsulfone (p-BAPS), 4,4-bisaminophenoxyphenylpropane (BAPP) or 4,4-bisaminophenoxyphenylhexafluoropropane (HF-BAPP), as monomers.

Diamine compound having dendron side chain and liquid crystal alignment material produced using the same


Each of a hot-carrier non-volatile memory device and a method for fabricating the hot carrier non-volatile memory device is predicated upon a semiconductor structure and related method that includes a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor structure. The semiconductor structure and related method include at least one of: (1) a spacer that comprises a dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than 7 (for enhanced hot carrier derived charge capture and retention); and (2) a drain region that comprises a semiconductor material that has a narrower bandgap than a bandgap of a semiconductor material from which is comprised a channel region (for enhanced impact ionization and charged carrier generation).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to non-volatile memory devices. More particularly, the invention relates to hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices with enhanced performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to resistors, diodes, capacitors, conventional field effect transistors and conventional bipolar transistors, semiconductor circuits now routinely also include non-volatile memory devices. Non-volatile memory devices are often employed in applications that require permanent, or at least semi-permanent, digital data storage. Such non-volatile memory devices are particularly desirable for providing permanent or semi-permanent digital data storage within the context of applications such as but not limited to digital imaging applications.
A particular type of non-volatile memory device that has relatively recently evolved within semiconductor fabrication technology is a hot-carrier non-volatile memory device, which is typically a semiconductor device. Hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices are generally predicated upon accelerated hot-carrier impact ionization into electron-hole pairs and injection into designated charge capture and trapping material layers. Hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices are desirable insofar as they are predicated upon conventional and well-characterized hot-carrier phenomena that under certain circumstances may become more prevalent as semiconductor device dimensions and semiconductor structure dimensions downwardly scale. Notwithstanding, hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices may be undesirable under alternative circumstances where reliable operation of a particular hot-carrier non-volatile memory device requires an increased hot-carrier non-volatile memory device operating voltage.
Various hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices are known in the semiconductor fabrication art.
For example, Wong et al., in U.S. Pub No. 2004/0007732 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,203, teaches a hot-carrier non-volatile memory device that is highly scalable. This particular hot-carrier non-volatile memory device includes a lateral bipolar transistor as a charge injector for injecting electrons from a semiconductor substrate into a floating gate that is located over and separated from the semiconductor substrate within the hot-carrier non-volatile memory device.
In addition, Jang, in U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0087096 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,957 teaches a hot-carrier non-volatile memory device that is compatible with logic devices. This particular hot-carrier non-volatile memory device includes a particular dielectric layer located interposed between a spacer and a semiconductor substrate as an electron capture and retention material.
Further, Hong et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,490, and Swift in U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,490 each teach a hot-carrier non-volatile memory device that is fabricated within a trench within a semiconductor substrate. These particular hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices use a discontinuous storage element layer conformally lining the trench but not filling the trench, and a conductor spacer located upon the discontinuous storage element layer as a control gate.
Due to the possibility of ease in fabrication, and also the existence of a mechanism of operation that is predicated upon a generally well-characterized hot-carrier injection phenomenon, hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices are likely to be of continued importance as semiconductor technology advances. For that reason, desirable are hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices with enhanced performance, and methods for fabrication of those hot-carrier non-volatile memory devices with enhanced performance.

Non-volatile memory device using hot-carrier injection

International Business Machines Corporation


A solution monitoring system is provided for gathering, filtering, and analyzing information associated with solutions for managing monitoring, upgrades, and migrations. Telemetry may be recorded for various types of solution events and various properties of solutions as part of an add-in intelligence. Furthermore, add-in management tools are provided for administrators and end users.

With the proliferation of computing and networking technologies, a number of business, productivity, and similar software solutions are used widely by individuals and groups. Compared to the conventional local application model, where each user had individually installed applications, the more common usage model today includes hosted (e.g., cloud-based) applications, data management tools, or even operating systems. Typically, a managing entity may provide and oversee multiple facets of software based solutions including multiple applications for a wide range of end users.
Because innovation is high paced in software world, user needs change rapidly, and competition is strong, new programs and features for existing programs (for example, to address user demands, and/or take advantage of newer hardware platforms) are constantly developed by software providers. While updates, upgrades, and other enhancements are typically desired, in a hosted environment (or even a manufacturer-to-user model), frequent upgrades may not be practical or feasible in some cases. For example, service providers may spend substantial periods to upgrade to a new version because of lack of visibility into what solutions (e.g., document files, add-ins, web extensions) are actively used by end uses, which ones are the business solutions that need to be kept active with new version of, where the compatibility issues may exist and how to remediate them, etc.
Information Technology (IT) administrators typically need to spend substantial time to make sure that solutions are ready for an upgrade. For example, a list of solutions may need to be created to understand how many solutions need to be tested and remediated for version compatibility. Solution owners (people responsible for groups of users) may be surveyed, etc.
An add-in is a set of software components that adds specific abilities to a larger software application. Add-ins enable customization of the functionality of an application. For example, add-ins are commonly used in web browsers to play video, scan for viruses, and display new file types. A host application may provide services which an add-in can use, including a way for add-ins to register themselves with the host application and a protocol for the exchange of data with add-ins. Add-ins depend on the services provided by the host application and do not usually work by themselves. In conventional systems, an IT administrator may not be able to manage which add-in are loaded with an application in a user's computer, block or force loading of particular add-ins. To manage add-ins, an administrator may need to learn which add-ins are commonly used, have loading errors, or have slow performance.


The activity of antimicrobial compounds selected from isothiazolones and compounds which release formaldehyde is enhanced with a metal complex of a lower alkanolamine, particularly copper (cupric) triethanolamine. The enhancement is particularly useful in metalworking fluids.

1. Field of the Invention
Antimicrobial compounds which interact with environmental and/or cell nucleophiles are potentiated by one or more transition metals mixed with a trilower alkanolamine. The antimicrobial compounds include isothiazolones, preferably alkyl and chloroalkyl 4-isothiazolin-3-one, benzylisothiazolone and n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one alone or in admixture, and also compounds referred to as formaldehyde condensates whose biocidal properties are in part or wholly related to released formaldehyde. The metals are preferably used in the form of a polyfunctional ligand, namely a 1:1 molar complex of the metal with triethanolamine. This complex, which is stable at a broad pH range, effectively delivers the metal cation to nucleophiles, usually amine and/or sulfhydryl compounds (particularly peptides and amino acids) which are produced by the microorganism or are components of the system being protected and which prevent interaction of the microorganism with the antimicrobial agent. The result is prolonged and increased efficacy. Other metal complexes with a trilower alkanolamine can be used.
2. Description of Related Art
Disodium monocopper (II) citrate is a polyfunctional ligand in which the Cu-ligand bond is via oxygen (Maurer and Shringapurey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,509 (1978) on copper citrate; and Tauler, R., et al., Inorg. Chem. Acta: 105(2): 165-170 (1985) for copper TEA). Also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,616, 4,608,183, 4,707,282, and 4,708,808 to Rossmoore describe the use of citrate complexes as the polyfunctional ligands.
Distinctions are made between the potentiation of isothiazolone derivatives (U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,183; Intl. Biodetn. 26: 303-313, 1990) in which the biocides are irreversibly inactivated by nucleophiles and the formaldehyde-based biocides (U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,616; Intl. Biodetn. 26:51-61, 1990; Europ. J. Biochem. 62:151-160) in which the enzyme degrading formaldehyde is blocked. In the former the transition metal cation protects the isothiazolone molecule from inactivation by non-critical nucleophiles in and outside the microbial cell allowing the biocide to react with critical nucleophilic sites on the microorganism resulting in lethality. The above referenced patents show that a metal polyfunctional ligand has an advantage over the naked metal cation because of greater stability at neutral and alkaline pHs. The insolubility of the metal hydroxides reduces or eliminates the activity of the metal ions.

Antimicrobial mixtures and method of use