A circuit for processing a supply voltage with a voltage peak to obtain an output signal with reduced or eliminated voltage peak, comprises a first capacitance and a second capacitance, wherein a controllable resistor is formed between the first and second capacitance in series to the same, which has a high resistance when a voltage at the first capacitance is smaller than an input voltage set value, and whose resistance is reduced to a lower resistance when the input voltage at the first capacitance is higher than or equal to the input voltage set value, so that finally, when the output voltage at the second capacitance reaches an output voltage set value, the controllable resistor is substantially no longer visible, but connects the two capacitances in parallel. The circuit is particularly advantageous as filter capacitance in a switching regulator, to achieve fast starting up of the switching regulator on the one hand and, on the other hand, simultaneously, fast charging of the second capacitance, wherein the energy of the voltage peak is used for charging the second capacitor more quickly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuits for processing a supply voltage with voltage peaks and particularly to switching regulators where the filter capacitance has such a circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 shows a known down converter with a simple switch, such as, for example, shown in "Halbleiter-schaltungstechnik" U. Tietze, C. H. Schenk, Springer-Verlag, 9. Auflage, 1989, illustration 18.37 on page 564. The down converter in FIG. 7 comprises a ring-like circuit with a coil 400, a capacitor 402 and a diode 404. Further, the down converter or switching regulator, respectively, in FIG. 7 comprises a charging switch 406 as well as a control not shown in FIG. 7, which is formed to control the charging switch 406 such that the output voltage of the switching regulator, indicated by USR in FIG. 7, is maintained on a defined level or in a range around the defined level, respectively.
The circuit shown in FIG. 7 comprises a determined number of nodes, which will be discussed below. A pole of an input voltage source U0 is connected to a first input node 410 of the circuit, while another potential of the input source U0 is connected to a second input node 412. The second input node 412 is typically the ground node. A first output node 414 is also referred to as first output rail or positive output rail, while a second output node 416 is also referred to as second output rail or negative output rail, respectively, when the convention shown in FIG. 7 is used for the output voltage of the switching regulator USR. On the one hand, the switch 406 is connected between the first input node 410 and a first intermediate node 418. Further, the diode 404 is connected between the first intermediate node 418 and the second input node 412, such that the anode of the diode is connected to the second input node 412, while the cathode of the diode is connected to the first input node 418. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the capacitor 402 is connected between the first output node 414 and the second output node 416. According to the configuration of the network of diode, coil and capacitor shown in FIG. 7, the coil is connected between the first intermediate node 418 and the first output node 414.
Below, the functionality of the circuit shown in FIG. 7 will be discussed. As long as the switch 406 is closed, UD is equal to the negative input voltage U0. If it opens, the inductor current IL maintains its direction, and the amount of UD sinks, until the diode becomes conductive, which means to about 0 potential. The time curve of the coil current results from the law of induction, according to which the voltage at the coil is equal to the product of inductance L of the coil and the derivation of the coil current according to time. During the switch-on time, which means when the input voltage U0 is applied to the diode 404, the voltage U0−USR is applied to the inductor. During the switch-off time taus of the switch 406, the voltage UL=−USR is applied to the inductor. Therefore, an amount of current change ΔIL results, which is as follows:ΔIL=1/L·(−USR)·Δtaus=1/L(U0−USR)teinFrom this balance, the output voltage can be calculated again, which is defined as follows:USR=[tein/(tein+taus)]·U0=tein/T·U0=p·U0.In the previous equation, T=tein+taus=1/F is the oscillation period and p=tein/T is the so called duty cycle. As expected, it can be seen that the arithmetic average of UD results as output voltage. Typically, the inductance L of the coil 400 is chosen such that the minimum current is not undershot, as is known in the art. Further, it is known that by increasing the clock frequency, the inductance can be reduced. Further, with too high frequencies, the effort for the switching transistor and the control circuit increases. Additionally, dynamic switching losses increase in proportion to the frequency.
The capacitor 402 and the inductor (400) determine the ripple of the output voltage. Generating the switching signal for switching the charging transistor 406 is usually performed by a pulse width modulator and a regulator with voltage reference. In particular, a reference voltage providing a set value is supplied to a subtracter, to which the current output voltage USR is also supplied as actual value. The output signal of the subtracter is supplied to a variable gain amplifier, feeding a comparator, to which, on the other hand, a signal generated by a saw tooth generator is supplied. The output signal of the comparator is the control signal for the switch 406 in FIG. 7. The variable gain amplifier is typically a PI variable gain amplifier. The same increases its output signal for so long until the difference at the output of the subtracter becomes 0, which means until the output voltage USR is equal to the set output voltage. Typical ranges for dimensioning the coil are in the millihenry range (e.g. 2.7 mH), while typical values for capacitors are in the three-digit micro Farad range (e.g. 100 μF), when switching frequencies in the range of 50 kHz are used.
Switching regulators shown in FIG. 7 are to provide a suitable voltage supply to a subsequently connected circuit, such as an ASIC. The voltage supply consists normally of one or several constant direct voltages of, for example, +5 V or ±15 V. Frequently, the same is not available in the desired form from the start and has to be generated first by, for example, a switching regulator shown in FIG. 7 that can be supplemented by a downstream linear regulator to remove the ripples of the output voltage. Usually, a rectifier is at the input side of the switching regulator shown in FIG. 7 which generates the input voltage U0 from the alternating current or three-phase current net (230 V or 400 V), respectively, of the power station.
Thus, in deviation from the switching regulator shown in FIG. 7, other regulators exist, with a transformer, a rectifier, a smoothing capacitor and possibly a linear regulator for voltage stabilization. However, the transformer is difficult to produce and thus expensive. Further, it requires a lot of space. A further disadvantage of the transformer is its frequency-depending working range. This is, for example, limited to the network frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz, respectively. If the frequency deviates, this also causes a deviation of the output voltage of the transformer. The voltage transfer does not work with a direct voltage at the input.
If the transformer is omitted and only rectifier, smoothing capacitor and linear regulator are used, a lot of energy in the form of heat is lost. Additionally, sufficient cooling of the linear regulator has to be provided, which is again very expensive and requires space. All this is avoided by using a switching regulator instead of the linear regulator, as illustrated with regard to FIG. 7. By the significantly better efficiency, little energy in the form of heat is lost and thus the effort for the cooling is significantly lower. As has already been discussed, the switching regulator requires an inductor (the inductance 400 in FIG. 7), which is relatively expensive in the production. However, the same has only one winding and is thus simpler to produce than a transformer having two windings. Above that, the inductor can be minimized by selecting a higher operating frequency, which also works for transformers.
Many known switching network parts, such as the switching network part shown in FIG. 7, are problematical in some regard. Normally, the input voltage range is limited to a ratio of UE,max/UE,min≦5, which can be seen from catalogs of different providers. This range is too low for some applications and should be increased to a ratio of about 20:1.
The voltage supply of the regulator itself is either performed via a separate voltage source or is generated from the input voltage, which means an additional voltage regulator and thus additional effort.
Further, for a flexible usage, it is intended to be able to select the input voltage significantly higher than the maximum allowable operating voltage of the regulator itself, without using additional voltage regulators for generating this operating voltage.
Additionally, when applying the input voltage, a possibly fast controlled starting of the switching regulator should be ensured. This so called starting-delay should be as small as possible, particularly for time-critical applications.
DE 199 46 025, DE 197 00 100 C2, DE 195 07 553 A1 or DE 197 06 491 A1 disclose switching regulators operating based on the basic block diagram shown in FIG. 7, wherein depending on the embodiment, the coil 400 is either connected between the first intermediate node 418 and the first output node 414, as shown in FIG. 7, or alternatively, between the second input node 412 and the second output node 416. The control voltage for the switch 406, which can be designed as transistor, is determined by the regulator determining the timing of the switch 406 or generated externally. This causes additional switching effort, which means additional costs with regard to design, testing and production. Additional costs are particular disadvantageous since switching regulators, particularly when they are provided within lamps or also designed fully integrated with an integrated circuit to be supplied, increase the price of the final product and particularly occur in chip applications where the chip area is a criterion, due to the increased chip area consumption.
Particularly when starting up a switching power supply, which means during first switching on the input voltage applied to the charging switch and the diode, it can happen that high voltage peaks occur. This is due to the fact that a high voltage peak occurs with a direction opposite in relation to the previous current direction when current is flowing through a coil and the current is switched off or converted to another current value, respectively. Since switching power supplies or switching regulators, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 7, are based on the fact that a current is constantly switched on or off, respectively, by a coil (and a capacitor connected in series), voltage peaks can already occur. Particularly in the startup process, where the states are not defined or where initial controls have to be performed, which possibly set a current through a coil to 0, such voltage peaks can occur. If the output voltage including such a voltage peak is used, e.g., in a switching regulator to supply the control of the switching regulator, it can happen that such a voltage peak in the output signal, which is to supply the control, can lead to destruction of the control or input component of the control, respectively. This could be counteracted by designing the input stages of the control with a very high electrical strength. However, this overdimensioning with regard to electrical strength and the normal operation causes additional costs. This way is less and less practicable when very high voltage peaks and relatively low output operating voltage or output voltage set value are required, respectively. Then, the "discrepancy" between voltage design of the control on the one hand and the actual voltage to be processed by the control on the on the other hand becomes higher and higher.
DE 4007593 A1 discloses an input current peak avoiding switching power supply. For avoiding input voltage peaks when turning on or switching on a switching power supply or when reloading the switching power supply after a breakdown of the input net alternating voltage or after a setback of the same during operation, the input capacitor of a fast clocked voltage regulator is eliminated and instead an output capacitor is applied to the output of the switching power supply. Simultaneously, the fast clocked voltage regulator itself is provided with an active current limitation in order to protect the same from destruction. The fast clocked voltage regulator is provided by a rectifier, which is again connected to the net alternating voltage itself via an input filter.
It is a disadvantage of these concepts of active current limitation that the active current limitation has to be implemented in circuit technology, which particularly in integrated embodiments causes additional test effort and a potentially increased rejection proportion of the finished integrated circuit, since the number of components is significantly increased compared to the case without active current limitation.

Circuit and method for processing a supply voltage with voltage peaks


An optical disk apparatus which has first and second light-emitting elements for emitting laser beams, and records data on a recording medium with laser beams from the first and second light-emitting elements includes first and second recording abnormality detectors, first and second protective circuits, and abnormality signal synchronization circuits. The first and second recording abnormality detectors detect abnormalities of recording by the first and second light-emitting elements from beams reflected by the recording medium during execution of recording. The first and second protective circuits immediately stop recording being executed by the first and second light-emitting elements, and protect data on the recording medium when the first and second recording abnormality detectors detect abnormalities. The abnormality signal synchronization circuits inform the second and first protective circuits of abnormalities in synchronism with completion of recording being executed by the second and first light-emitting elements when the first and second recording abnormality detectors detect the abnormalities.

The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus and, more particularly, to an optical disk apparatus capable of recording data on an optical disk medium using a plurality of laser beams.
In a conventional optical disk apparatus, data are recorded on an optical disk medium by irradiating the optical disk medium with a beam. In this case, data are recorded on the optical disk medium using changes in shape of those portions of the optical disk medium which are heated by irradiation of the optical disk medium with a beam, the direction of magnetic fields aligned under the influence of an external magnetic field when a high temperature decreases to room temperature, and changes in crystalline state caused by the temperature difference between a high temperature and room temperature.
In an optical disk apparatus of this type, when the servo becomes unstable during recording/erase of data on/from an optical disk medium, the recording/erase immediately stops in order to protect user data near portions where data are to be recorded/erased. Also, when an abnormal portion is detected on an optical disk medium, recording/erase immediately stops.
The above optical disk apparatus is constructed by a recording head 319 and an erase head 320, as shown in FIG. 5. The recording head 319 is constituted by a semiconductor laser 301, a laser driver 302, a protective circuit 303, a recording data generator 304, a photodetector 305, a medium reflection signal generator 306, a recording abnormality detector 307, a reproducing circuit 308, and an abnormal sector memory 309.
The erase head 320 is constituted by a semiconductor laser 310, a laser driver 311, a protective circuit 312, an erase data generator 313, a photodetector 314, a medium reflection signal generator 315, an erase abnormality detector 316, a reproducing circuit 317, and an abnormal sector memory 318.
When data are simultaneously recorded and erased with a plurality of heads, they are substantially simultaneously recorded by the recording head 319 and erased by the erase head 320 at the same portion of a recording medium 321 on the same track.
A signal obtained from the recording data generator 304 is transmitted to the laser driver 302 via the protective circuit 303. On the basis of the recording signal transmitted via the protective circuit 303, the laser driver 302 records data on the recording medium 321 using the semiconductor laser 301.
A signal obtained from the erase data generator 313 is transmitted to the laser driver 311 via the protective circuit 312. On the basis of the erase signal transmitted via the protective circuit 312, the laser driver 311 records erase data on the recording medium 321 using the semiconductor laser 310 to erase data from the recording medium 321.
In recording, a signal obtained via the photodetector 305 is converted into a medium reflection signal by the medium reflection signal generator 306. The medium reflection signal is transmitted to the recording abnormality detector 307. The recording abnormality detector 307 detects based on the medium reflection signal whether focusing control and tracking control fall within normal ranges, and the medium is free from any defect.
A recording abnormality detection signal detected by the recording abnormality detector 307 is transmitted to the protective circuit 303 and the abnormal sector memory 309, and in addition, to the protective circuit 312 and abnormal sector memory 318 of the erase head 320. Upon reception of the recording abnormality detection signal, the protective circuit 303 immediately stops transmission of recording data to the laser driver 302. In the abnormal sector memory 309, a sector detected to have a recording abnormality is stored on the basis of signals obtained from the reproducing circuit 308 and the recording abnormality detector 307.
In the erase head 320, the protective circuit 312 immediately stops transmission of erase data to the laser driver 311 upon reception of the recording abnormality detection signal. In the abnormal sector memory 318, a sector subjected to forcible stop due to the recording abnormality is stored on the basis of signals obtained from the reproducing circuit 317 and the recording abnormality detector 307. The abnormal recording sector and the abnormal erase sector obtained from the abnormal sector memories 309 and 318 are subjected to recording and erase retries or swapping of recording data on other sectors.
In erase, a signal obtained via the photodetector 314 is converted into a medium reflection signal by the medium reflection signal generator 315. The medium reflection signal is transmitted to the erase abnormality detector 316. The recording abnormality detector 316 detects based on the medium reflection signal whether focusing control and tracking control fall within normal ranges, and the medium is free from any defect.
An erase abnormality detection signal detected by the erase abnormality detector 316 is transmitted to the protective circuit 312 and the abnormal sector memory 318, and in addition, to the protective circuit 303 and abnormal sector memory 309 of the recording head 319. Upon reception of the erase abnormality detection signal, the protective circuit 312 immediately stops transmission of erase data to the laser driver 311. In the abnormal sector memory 318, a sector detected to have an erase abnormality is stored on the basis of signals obtained from the reproducing circuit 317 and the erase abnormality detector 316.
In the recording head 319, the protective circuit 303 immediately stops transmission of recording data to the laser driver 302 upon reception of the erase abnormality detection signal. In the abnormal sector memory 309, a sector subjected to forcible stop due to the erase abnormality is stored on the basis of signals obtained from the reproducing circuit 308 and the erase abnormality detector 316. The abnormal recording sector and the abnormal erase sector obtained from the abnormal sector memories 309 and 318 are subjected to recording and erase retries or swapping of recording data on other sectors.
In the conventional optical disk apparatus described above, if the recording abnormality detector 307 or the erase abnormality detector 316 detects an abnormality, the other circuit (erase head 320 or recording head 319) is also informed of this abnormality, and erase or recording in the other circuit is forcibly stopped.
For this reason, a sector, which may normally undergo recording or erase, is processed as an abnormal sector by an abnormal stop signal from one head. As a result, the recording and erase times of the optical disk apparatus are prolonged.
The above operation will be explained on the time axis shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, 2G, and 2H. FIGS. 2A to 2D, 2G, and 2H show the case wherein the recording head 319 records data on recording sectors 200 "X, X+1, X+2, . . . ", and the recording head 320 erases data from erase sectors 203 "Y, Y+1, Y+2, . . . ", as shown in FIG. 2D.
When a recording abnormality occurs in the recording sector 200 "X+1" (FIG. 2A), and an abnormality signal 201 (FIG. 2B) is output upon detection of the recording abnormality, an abnormal recording stop signal 202 (FIG. 2C) is input to the protective circuit 303 to stop current recording. "X+1" is stored as an abnormal recording sector in the abnormal sector memory 309.
At the same time, on the erase head 320 side, the abnormal recording stop signal 202 (FIG. 2C) input to the protective circuit 312 immediately stops current erase. "Y+1" is stored as an abnormal erase sector in the abnormal sector memory 318. As for the erase sector, no recording abnormality occurs in the sector "Y+1", but only the abnormal recording stop signal 202 (FIG. 2C) is input from the recording head 319. Processing for the sector "Y+1", which may normally end, abnormally stops a time T1 before the end, and thus "Y+1" is recorded as an abnormal sector.
When an erase abnormality occurs in the erase sector 203 "Y+4" (FIG. 2D), and an abnormality signal 206 (FIG. 2G) is output upon detection of the erase abnormality, an abnormal erase stop signal 207 (FIG. 2H) is input to the protective circuit 312 to stop current erase. "Y+4" is stored as an abnormal erase sector in the abnormal sector memory 318.
At the same time, on the recording head 319 side, the abnormal erase stop signal 207 (FIG. 2H) input to the protective circuit 303 immediately stops current recording. "X+4" is stored as an abnormal recording sector in the abnormal sector memory 309. As for the recording sector, no erase abnormality occurs in the sector "X+4", but only the abnormal erase stop signal 207 is input from the erase head. Processing for the sector "X+4", which may normally end, abnormally stops a time T2 before the end, and thus "X+4" is recorded as an abnormal sector.


A wood chip sampling apparatus which includes a chip collecting tray. The tray moves to a first location where it collects a sample of downwardly flowing wood chips and then to a second location where it discharges the chips into a chip sample bin for later analysis. The tray is pivoted about a horizontal axis and is weighted on one side of the pivot axis so that it automatically assumes a horizontal, chip receiving orientation after chip discharge. An abutment prevents the tray from pivotting and dumping collected chips in the first tray location, the tray automatically pivotting to dump the chips when in the second location. The collecting tray thus reciprocates along a horizontal path and pivots over a range of 90 degrees.

This invention relates to the art of wood chip sampling. In the papermaking art, it is often desired to determine the quality, size, composition, etc. of wood chips. Typically, wood chips are sorted by size or by weight, with those sizes or weights selected for particular parts of the papermaking process being sampled from time to time. A sample collecting receptacle is intermittently or periodically placed in the stream or flow of the wood chips, filled, withdrawn from the stream and then the wood chip sample is transferred to an analyzing station/apparatus for determination of its qualities or properties.
A typical wood chip sampling machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,529 issued to Laprise. In the Laprise apparatus, a wood chip collecting tray is carried by a frame member 17, 20 which reciprocates along an axis in a horizontal plane. The reciprocation is into a stream of falling wood chips which are to be analyzed, and out of the stream. When pulled back out of the stream, the tray of Laprise automatically pivots to a substantially vertical position to thereby discharge or dump the collected wood chips into a chip analysis collection chamber. In order to assume a horizontal position for the next chip collecting cycle, an abutment 10 is required to tilt the vertically disposed sample collecting tray to once more assume a horizontal position. Further, with each cycle the tray turns 180 degrees, so that after two cycles the tray has turned 360 degrees and keeps on turning, in a counterclockwise motion, throughout the sample collecting operation. Laprise thus finds it necessary to provide a sample collection tray which has two operational or chip receiving surfaces, on account of the required rotation of the tray caused by continuing striking of abutment 10.


The present invention provides methods of identifying antimicrobial agents that target genes essential for the survival of Staphylococcus bacteria, including antimicrobial agents that interfere with the expression of essential coding sequence products and antimicrobial agents that interfere with the function of essential coding sequence products.

The staphylococci, of which Staphylococcus aureus is the most important human pathogen, are hardy, gram-positive bacteria that colonize the skin of most humans. Staphylococcal strains that produce coagulase are designated S. aureus; other clinically important coagulase-negative staphylococci are S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus. When the skin or mucous membrane barriers are disrupted, staphylococci can cause localized and superficial infections that are commonly harmless and self-limiting. However, when staphylococci invade the lymphatics and the blood, potentially serious complications may result, such as bacteremia, septic shock, and serious metastatic infections, including endocarditis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia and abscesses in virtually any organ. Certain strains of S. aureus produce toxins that cause skin rashes, food poisoning, or multisystem dysfunction (as in toxic shock syndrome). S. aureus and S. epidermidis together have become the most common cause of nosocomial non-urinary tract infection in U.S. hospitals. They are the most frequently isolated pathogens in both primary and secondary bacteremias and in cutaneous and surgical wound infections. See generally Harrison""s Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed., Isselbacher et al., eds., McGraw-Hill, New York (1994), particularly pages 611-617.
Transient colonization of the nose by S. aureus is seen in 70 to 90 percent of people, of which 20 to 30 percent carry the bacteria for relatively prolonged periods of time. Independent colonization of the perineal area occurs in 5 to 20 percent of people. Higher carriage rates of S. aureus have been documented in persons with atopic dermatitis, hospital employees, hospitalized patients, patients whose care requires frequent puncture of the skin, and intravenous drug abusers.
Infection by staphylococci usually results from a combination of bacterial virulence factors and a diminution in host defenses. Important microbial factors include the ability of the staphylococcus to survive under harsh conditions, its cell wall constituents, the production of enzymes and toxins that promote tissue invasion, its capacity to persist intracellularly in certain phagocytes, and its potential to acquire resistance to antimicrobial agents. Important host factors include an intact mucocutaneous barrier, an adequate number of functional neutrophils, and removal of foreign bodies or dead tissue.
Cell wall components of S. aureus include a large peptidoglycan complex that confers rigidity on the organism and enables it to survive under unfavorable osmotic conditions, a unique teichoic acid linked to peptidoglycan, and protein A, which is found both attached to peptidoglycan over the outermost parts of the cell and released in soluble form. Proteins designated femA and femB are involved in the formation of cell wall peptidoglycan pentaglycine cross-bridges and are factors in methicillin resistance (Berger-Bachi et al, Mol. Gen. Genet., 219, 263-269 (1989)). S. aureus also has specific receptors for laminin and fibronectin that may mediate the organism""s spread through the bloodstream to other tissues. Both peptidoglycan and teichoic acid are capable of activating the complement cascade via the alternative pathway. S. aureus also appears to activate tissue factor in the coagulation pathway.
Certain enzymes produced by S. aureus may play a role in virulence. Catalase degrades hydrogen peroxide and may protect the organism during phagocytosis. Coagulase is present in both soluble and cell-bound forms and causes plasma to clot by formation of thrombin-like material. The high correlation between coagulase production and virulence suggests that this substance is important in the pathogenesis of staphylococcal infections, but its precise role as a determinant of pathogenicity has not been determined. Many strains also produce hyaluronidase, an enzyme that degrades hyaluronic acid in the connective tissue matrix and that may promote spreading of infection. A trypsin-like protease from some strains enhances influenza virus infection by proteolytic cleavage of the viral precursor hemagglutinin into its active fragments and may contribute to the morbidity of such co-infections. S. aureus produces numerous extracellular exotoxins that have been implicated in disease processes. The exfoliatin toxins A and B, the staphylococcal enterotoxins, and the toxic shock syndrome toxin, TSST-1, belong to the growing family of microbial superantigens that activate T cells and monocytes/macrophages, resulting in the production of cytokines that mediate local or systemic effects depending on the amount of toxin formed, the immune status of the host, and the access of the toxin to the circulation. The exfoliatin toxins mediate the dermatologic manifestations of the staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome and bullous impetigo. These toxins cause intraepidermal cleavage of the skin at the stratum granulosum, leading to bullae formation and denudation. Seven distinct enterotoxins (A, B, C1, C2, C3, D, and E) have been implicated in food poisoning due to S. aureus. These toxins enhance intestinal peristalsis and appear to induce vomiting by a direct effect on the central nervous system. Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is most commonly mediated by TSST-1, which is present in 5 to 25 percent of clinical isolates of S. aureus. TSS is also mediated less frequently by enterotoxin B and, rarely, enterotoxin C1.
S. aureus produces other toxins whose role in virulence is incompletely understood. Four different red blood cell hemolysins, which are designated alpha, beta, gamma, and delta toxins, have been identified. Alpha toxin also causes necrosis of the skin when injected subcutaneously into animals, while delta toxin also inhibits water absorption in the intestines and may play a role in the acute watery diarrhea seen in some cases of staphylococcal infection. Leukocidin lyses granulocyte and macrophage membranes by producing membrane pores permeable to cations.
The agr, xpr, sae and sar coding sequences have been identified as being involved in the regulation of staphylococcal exotoxins. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,228 and International Patent Publication Nos. WO 96/10579 and WO 97/11690. Of interest is the report in WO 97/11690 of screening for inhibitors of these regulatory systems.
Staphylococci can invade the skin or mucosa through plugged hair follicles and sebaceous glands or areas traumatized by burns, wounds, abrasions, insect bites, or dermatitis. Staphylococci often colonize prosthetic devices and intravenous catheters; S. aureus infection of the vascular access site is a major cause of morbidity and death among patients on hemodialysis. Colonization and invasion of the lungs may occur with endotracheal intubation, or when the lungs"" clearance mechanisms are depressed, e.g., after viral infections, after aspiration, or in patients with cystic fibrosis. Mucosal damage to the gastrointestinal tract following cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy predisposes to invasion from that site.
Once the skin or mucosa have been breached, local bacterial multiplication is accompanied by inflammation, neutrophil accumulation, tissue necrosis, thrombosis and fibrin deposition at the site of infection. Later, fibroblasts create a relatively avascular wall about the area. When host mechanisms fail to contain the cutaneous or submucosal infection, staphylococci may enter the lymphatics and the bloodstream. Common sites of metastatic spread include the lungs, kidneys, cardiac valves, myocardium, liver, spleen, bones and brain.
Bacteremia due to S. aureus may arise from any local infection, at either extravascular (cutaneous infections, bums, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, arthritis) or intravascular foci (intravenous catheters, dialysis access sites, intravenous drug abuse). Commonly, the disease progresses more slowly, with hectic fever and metastatic abscess formation. Rarely, patients with bacteremia die within 12 to 24 hours with high fever, tachycardia, cyanosis, and vascular collapse. Disseminated intravascular coagulation may produce a disease mimicking meningococcemia.
A major complication of S. aureus bactereria is endocarditis. S. aureus is the second most common cause of endocarditis and the most common cause among drug addicts. The disease is typically acute, with high fever, progressive anemia, and frequent embolic and extracardiac septic complications. Valve ring and myocardial abscesses are common. The mortality rate is 20 to 30 percent.
Staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome (SSSS) is a generalized exfoliative dermatitis that is a complication of infection by exfoliatin toxin-producing strains of S. aureus. The disease typically occurs in newborns (Ritter""s disease) and in children under the age of five. A scarlatiniform rash begins in the perioral area, becomes generalized over the trunk and extremities, and finally desquamates. The disease may consist of rash alone (staphylococcal scarlet fever), or large, flaccid bullae develop that may be localized (more common in adults) or generalized. The bullae burst, resulting in red, denuded skin resembling a burn. Most adults with SSSS are immunosuppressed or have renal insufficiency. Blood cultures are frequently positive, and mortality is significant.
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a multisystem disease mediated by toxins (generally TSST-1, and less frequently enterotoxins B and C1) produced by certain strains of S. aureus. It was first described in children, but in 1980 became epidemic among young women, with onset during menstruation. The diagnosis of TSS is based on clinical criteria that include high fever, a diffuse rash that desquamates on the palms and soles over the subsequent one or two weeks, hypotension that may be orthostatic, and evidence of involvement in three or more organ systems. Such involvement commonly includes gastrointestinal dysfunction (vomiting or diarrhea), renal or hepatic insufficiency, mucous membrane hyperemia, thrombocytopenia, myalgias with elevated creatine phosphokinase (CK) levels, and disorientation with a normal cerebrospinal fluid examination. The mortality rate of TSS is three percent.
S. aureus causes approximately three percent of community-acquired bacterial pneumonias. This disease occurs sporadically except during influenza outbreaks, when staphylococcal pneumonia is relatively more common, although still less frequent than pneumococcal pneumonia. Primary staphylococcal pneumonia in infants and children frequently presents with high fever and cough. Multiple thin-walled abscesses are seen on the chest X-ray, and empyema formation is common. In older children and healthy adults, staphylococal pneumonia is generally preceded by an influenza-like respiratory infection. Onset of staphylococcal involvement is abrupt, with chills, high fever, progressive dyspnea, cyanosis, cough, pleural pain, and sometimes bloody sputum. Staphylococcal pneumonia is seen more frequently in patients with cystic fibrosis, in intubated patients in intensive care units and in debilitated patients who are prone to aspiration.
S. aureus is responsible for the majority of cases of acute osteomyelitis. Although the disease is most common in people under the age of 20, it is becoming increasingly prevalent in adults over 50, particularly with involvement of the spine. A primary portal of entry is frequently not identified, although many patients give a history of preceding trauma to the involved area. Once established, infection spreads through the bone to the periosteum or along the marrow cavity. Rarely, the joint capsule is penetrated, producing pyogenic arthritis. Osteomyelitis in children may present as an acute process beginning abruptly with chills, high fever, nausea, vomiting, and progressive pain at the site of bony involvement.
S. aureus causes 1 to 9 percent of cases of bacterial meningitis and 10 to 15 percent of brain abscesses. Most commonly, the bacteria are spread from a focus outside the central nervous system, typically from infective endocarditis, by extension from a paraspinal or pararneningeal abscess, or by nosocomial infection following neurosurgical procedures. Over 50 percent of epidural abscesses are due to S. aureus; up to half of these cases may be associated with vertebral osteomyelitis. Patients present with either acute or chronic back pain, usually with low-grade fever and malaise. The onset of radicular pain is an ominous sign that the disease may progress to neurologic dysfunction and ultimate paralysis.
Antimicrobial resistance by staphylococci favors their persistence in the hospital environment. Over 90 percent of both hospital and community strains of S. aureus causing infection are resistant to penicillin. This resistance is due to the production of xcex2-lactamase enzymes; the nucleotides encoding these enzymes are usually carried by plasmids. Infections due to organisms with such acquired resistance can sometimes be treated with penicillinase-resistant xcex2-lactam antimicrobial agents. However, the true penicillinase-resistant S. aureus organisms, called methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MILSA), are resistant to all the xcex2-lactam antimicrobial agents as well as the cephalosporins. MRSA resistance is chromosomally mediated and involves production of an altered penicillin-binding protein (PBP 2a or PBP 2xe2x80x2) with a low binding affinity for xcex2-lactams. MRSA frequently also have acquired plasmids mediating resistance to erythromycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, and aminoglycosides. MRSA have become increasingly common worldwide, particularly in tertiary-care referral hospitals. In the United States, approximately 5 percent of hospital isolates of S. aureus are methicillin-resistant.
Thus, there continues to exist a need for new agents useful for treating bacterial infections, particularly those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and for methods of identifying such new agents. Such methods ideally would identify agents that are unrelated to existing antimicrobials and that target different aspects of staphylococcal invasion of and replication in the host, compared to existing antimicrobials.
The present invention provides a method for identifying an agent that binds a polypeptide. The method includes contacting a polypeptide and an agent to form a mixture, wherein the polypeptide is encoded by a coding sequence including a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, or wherein the polypeptide is encoded by an essential coding sequence having at least about 57% structural similarity to SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. Whether the agent binds the polypeptide is then determined by using, for instance, an enzyme assay, a binding assay, or a ligand binding assay.
The method may further include determining whether the agent decreases the growth rate of a microbe, for instance S. aureus. Such a method includes contacting a microbe with the agent, incubating the microbe and the agent under conditions suitable for growth of the microbe that is not contacted with the agent, and determining the growth rate of the microbe, wherein a decrease in growth rate compared to the microbe that is not contacted with the agent indicates the agent decreases the growth rate of the microbe. The microbe may be in vitro or in vivo. The invention includes an agent identified these methods.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for identifying an agent that decreases the growth rate of a microbe, for instance S. aureus. The method includes contacting a microbe with an agent, wherein the agent binds to a polypeptide encoded by a coding sequence comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, and 23. Alternatively, the agent binds to a polypeptide encoded by an essential coding sequence including a nucleotide sequence having at least about 57 percent identity with a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. The microbe and the agent are incubated under conditions suitable for growth of the microbe that is not contacted with the agent, and the growth rate of the microbe is determined, wherein a decrease in growth rate compared to the microbe that is not contacted with the agent indicates the agent decreases the growth rate of the microbe. The microbe may be in vitro or in vivo. The invention includes an agent identified these methods.
The present invention also provides a method for decreasing the growth rate of a microbe, for instance S. aureus. The method includes contacting a microbe with an agent that binds to a polypeptide encoded by a coding sequence that includes a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. Alternatively, the agent binds to a polypeptide encoded by an essential coding sequence including a nucleotide sequence having at least about 57 percent identity with a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. The microbe may be in vitro or in vivo.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for making a microbe, for instance an S. aureus, with reduced virulence. The method includes altering a coding sequence in an S. aureus to include a mutation, where the non-mutagenized coding sequence (i.e., the coding sequence before being mutagenized) includes a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. Alternatively, the method includes altering an essential coding sequence in an S. aureus to include a mutation, wherein the non-mutagenized coding sequence includes a nucleotide sequence having at least about 57 percent identity to a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23. Next, it is determined if the S. arueus that includes the mutation has reduced virulence compared to an S. arueus that does not include the mutation. The mutation may be, for example, a deletion mutation, an insertion mutation, a nonsense mutation, or a missense mutation. The present invention includes such an S. aureus having reduced virulence, and a vaccine composition that includes the S. aureus.
The present invention further provides an isolated polynucleotide that includes a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, and an isolated polynucleotide that includes a nucleotide sequence having at least about 57 percent structural similarity with a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, wherein the isolated polynucleotide includes an essential coding sequence. In another aspect, the present invention provides an isolated polynucleotide consisting essentially of a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, wherein the polynucleotide optionally further includes from zero to up to about 5,000 nucleotides upstream and/or downstream of the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, and an n isolated polynucleotide consisting essentially of a nucleotide sequence having at least about 57 percent structural similarity with a nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, or 23, wherein the isolated polynucleotide includes an essential coding sequence.
Definitions
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cagentxe2x80x9d refers to chemical compounds, including, for instance, a peptidomimetic, an organic compound, an inorganic compound, or a polypeptide that binds to a particular polypeptide.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cpolypeptidexe2x80x9d refers to a polymer of amino acids and does not refer to a specific length of a polymer of amino acids. Thus, for example, the terms peptide, oligopeptide, protein, and enzyme are included within the definition of polypeptide. This term also includes post-expression modifications of the polypeptide, for example, glycosylations, acetylations, phosphorylations and the like.
The term xe2x80x9cbinds to a polypeptidexe2x80x9d refers to a condition of proximity between an agent and a polypeptide. The association may be non-covalent, wherein the juxtaposition is energetically favored by hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, or electrostatic interactions, or it may be covalent.
As used herein, growth of a microbe xe2x80x9cin vitroxe2x80x9d refers to growth, for instance, in a test tube or on an agar plate. Growth of a microbe xe2x80x9cin vivoxe2x80x9d refers to growth, for instance, in a cultured cell or in an animal.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cmicrobexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbacteriaxe2x80x9d are used interchangeably and include single celled prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic (e.g., fungi) organisms, preferably prokaryotic organisms.


A toner transfer device which transfers toner on a photoconductor to an intermediate transfer belt applied on a plurality of rollers, wherein at least part of the surface of the photoconductor moves in an arc while being pressed against the intermediate transfer belt, the toner transfer device comprising: a pair of transfer rollers disposed along the intermediate transfer belt between two of the rollers in such a manner that the part of the surface of the photoconductor which moves in an arc is positioned between the transfer rollers, at least part of each transfer roller being located outside each of two tangents, one of the tangents touching the photoconductor and one of the two rollers, the other tangent touching the photoconductor and the other roller, thereby allowing a certain length of the intermediate transfer belt between the two transfer rollers to be pressed against the part of the surface of the photoconductor moving in an arc; and a means for applying voltage to the transfer rollers, the voltage polarity being opposite to that of the toner.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an improved intermediate transfer device which transfers toner on a photoconductor first to an intermediate transfer belt and then onto a paper, and to an improved toner transfer device (hereinafter called the "1st toner transfer device) which transfers the toner on the photoconductor to the intermediate transfer belt in the intermediate transfer device.
2. Description of the prior art
In recent image forming apparatuses for full color image forming, toner images of yellow, magenta, and cyan are separately formed on a photoconductor, and the thus formed toner images are transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt in such a way that one toner image is superimposed on top of the other, the transferred image being further transferred onto copy paper. Once the colored toner images are superimposed one on top of the other on the intermediate transfer belt, the transfer to the copy paper can be accomplished in a single operation, so this method can prevent copy paper from being damaged.
In the conventional 1st transfer device, toner transfer from the photoconductor to the intermediate transfer belt has been accomplished using a transfer charger which generates corona. However, the transfer charger that utilizes corona discharge for transfer of toner has had the following difficulties in terms of toner transfer.
(1) Transfer area is limited, and uneven transfer may be caused because of unevenness in the potential on the reverse surface of the intermediate transfer belt. (Refer to FIG. 9)
(2) When a low-resistivity (10.sup.8 .OMEGA. cm or lower) intermediate transfer belt is used, the transfer belt becomes charged because of the corona, and good quality transfer cannot be obtained for the 2nd transfer (transfer of the toner on the intermediate transfer belt to the copy paper). Therefore, in the conventional 1st transfer device, it has been necessary to restrict the resistivity of the intermediate transfer belt, or to provide a device which removes the charge from the intermediate transfer device prior to the 2nd transfer.
(3) Insufficient pressure between the photoconductor and the intermediate transfer belt has resulted in uneven superposing of the three color image layers, missing portions of the three color image layers, and other defects, that affect the copy quality.

Image forming apparatus with a toner transfer device


Disclosed herein is a voltage gain amplifier for use in an automotive radar receiver chain. The voltage gain amplifier utilizes pole-zero cancelation to yield a desired transfer function without gain peaking at a bandwidth in which attenuation is desired, and utilizes a low pass filter effectively formed by a feedback loop including a high pass filter and a differential amplifier to ensure the desired level of attenuation at the desired bandwidth. In some instances, a chopper may be utilized in the feedback loop prior to the high pass filter, and after the differential amplifier, so as to reduce the bandwidth of the differential amplifier in the feedback loop.

Radar systems are now regularly used in driver assistance systems in automobiles, such as for determining the distance to other vehicles and objects near the vehicle that is utilizing the radar system. As one example, the cruise control systems of vehicles may utilize radar such that, in the absence of a nearby vehicle in front of the vehicle utilizing the radar system, a set speed is maintained by the vehicle utilizing the radar system, yet when a nearby vehicle is present in front of the vehicle utilizing the radar system, the vehicle utilizing the radar system slows down to maintain a set distance between itself and the nearby vehicle.
Such a radar system includes a transmit chain to transmit radio waves, and a receive chain to receive radio waves that have reflected off a nearby vehicle or object and returned to the vehicle employing the radar system. By analyzing the received radio waves, the distance to the nearby vehicle or object can be determined.
With reference to FIG. 1, a receive chain 10 for a vehicular radar system is now described. The receive chain 10 includes a mixer 11, which receives an input radiofrequency signal RX_IN from a radar wave receiver. This input radiofrequency signal RX_IN represents radar waves that have reflected off a target and returned to the receive chain 10.
A local oscillator output signal LO_IN is amplified by an amplifier 12, and the mixer 11 mixes the amplified local oscillator output signal LO_IN with the input radiofrequency signal RX_IN to produce a baseband signal. A high-pass filter 13 filters the baseband signal to attenuate the DC spur and outputs the baseband signal in differential form. The outputs of the high-pass filter 13 are the differential signals Vinp and Vinm, and each output also carries the input common mode voltage Vicm.
A voltage gain amplifier (VGA) 15 disclosed herein receives the differential input signal Vicm+Vinp at its non-inverting input terminal, and receives the differential input signal Vicm-Vinm at its inverting input terminal. The VGA 15 generates the output differential signals Voutp and Voutm, which are received as input by a second voltage gain amplifier (VGA 2) 24 that provides further amplification.
Note that the second VGA 24 may be of any design, and in some instances does not have the same structure and function as the VGA 15. Output of the second VGA 24 is received and filtered by the low-pass filter 16 to produce the output differential signals Vlpfp and Vlpfm, which are then converted to the digital domain by the analog to digital converter (ADC) 17. The digital signal output OUT from the ADC 17 can be used to determine the distance between the vehicle into which the receive chain 10 is integrated and nearby vehicles or objects.
In this example, the bandwidth of the intermediate frequency is approximately 25 MHz, and the ADC 17 driven by the VGA 15 is a 12 bit ADC, with a sampling frequency of 100 MHz. The result of the 25 MHz intermediate frequency bandwidth and the sampling frequency of 100 MHz is an alias band at 75 MHz-100 MHz. Therefore, attenuation of about 72 dB at 75 MHz-100 Mhz is desired in order to avoid inadvertently sampling a signal in the alias band.
The low-pass filter 16 is therefore designed to act as an anti-aliasing filter, and is placed after the second VGA 24 because, if the low-pass filter 16 were to be placed before the VGA 15, then noise introduced by the low-pass filter 16 would be amplified, which is undesirable. Therefore, signals in the alias band of 75 MHz-100 MHz are present at the input of the VGA 15, and these signals could saturate the VGA 15, drowning out the desired signal inside the intermediate frequency band.
As such, it is desired for the design of the VGA 15 to attenuate signals in the alias band. Attempts at creating VGAs that attenuate signals in the alias band have been made, but they suffer drawbacks. For example, gain peaking in the bandwidth in which attenuation is desired may occur, making the desired level of attenuation unattainable.
Therefore, further development is needed.

Voltage gain amplifier for automotive radar


An electromagnetic flowmeter includes a measuring tube (1) through which a fluid to be measured flows, electrodes (2a, 2b) which are placed in this measuring tube and detect an electromotive force generated by a magnetic field applied to the fluid and the flow of the fluid, an exciting coil (3) and power supply unit (4) which apply a time-changing magnetic field to the fluid, a signal conversion unit (5) which extracts a ∂A/∂t component from the resultant electromotive force of the electromotive force based on the ∂A/∂t component irrelevant to the flow velocity of the fluid and the electromotive force based on a v×B component originating from the flow velocity of the fluid, which are detected by the electrodes (2a, 2b), and a flow rate output unit (6) which extracts only the v×B component by removing the extracted ∂A/∂t component from the resultant electromotive force, and calculates the flow rate of the fluid based on the v×B component.

An electromotive flowmeter of a sine wave excitation scheme using a sine wave for an exciting current to be supplied to an exciting coil has a drawback susceptible to commercial frequency noise. A high-frequency excitation scheme using an exciting current with an increased frequency can solve this drawback. An electromotive flowmeter of a high-frequency excitation scheme is disclosed in, for example, JNMIHF edition, "Flow Rate Measurement A to Z for Instrumentation Engineers", Kogyo Gijutusha, 1995, pp. 143-160 (reference 1). The high-frequency excitation scheme has a merit of being robust against 1/f noise such as electrochemical noise and spike noise and can improve responsiveness (characteristic of making a flow rate signal quickly follow up a change in flow rate).
The electromagnetic flowmeter of the sine wave excitation scheme has a structure in which a magnetic field is always changing, and the magnetic field is symmetrically distributed on the front and rear sides of the measuring tube, which are bordered on an electrode axis, in order to eliminate the influences of inter-electrode electromotive force components produced by this change in magnetic field. In practice, as the positions of electrodes and leads shift and the symmetry of the magnetic field generated from a coil deteriorates, the electromagnetic flowmeter is influenced by the components generated by temporal changes in magnetic field. The electromagnetic flowmeter of the sine wave excitation scheme therefore removes the influences of components generated by temporal changes in magnetic field as offsets at the time of calibration. However, the electromagnetic flowmeter is influenced by a magnetic field shift, a change in magnetic field distribution, and the like, and the zero point of the output of the electromagnetic flowmeter inevitably shifts. In addition, although the electromagnetic flowmeter of the sine wave excitation scheme cancels components due to changes in magnetic field by phase detection, since this phase detection is not stable, the zero point of the output is poor in stability.
An electromagnetic flowmeter of a rectangular wave excitation scheme, which uses a rectangular wave for an exciting current to be supplied to an exciting coil, uses a technique of detecting an inter-electrode electromotive force when a magnetic field stops changing, and hence is superior in the stability of the zero point of the output to the sine wave excitation scheme (see, for example, reference 1). The electromagnetic flowmeter of the rectangular wave excitation scheme cannot ignore the influences of the impedance of the exciting coil, the responsiveness of an exciting current, the responsiveness of a magnetic field, and overcurrent losses in the core of the exciting coil and the measuring tube as the frequency of the exciting current increases. This makes it difficult to maintain rectangular wave excitation (i.e., to detect an inter-electrode electromotive force in a place where no magnetic field change occurs), and makes it impossible to ensure the stability of the zero point of the output. As a consequence, in the case of the electromagnetic flowmeter of the rectangular wave excitation scheme, it is difficult to perform high-frequency excitation, and it is impossible to improve responsiveness with respect to a change in flow rate and remove 1/f noise.
Either the sine wave excitation scheme or the rectangular wave excitation scheme does not allow recognition of whether the zero point has shifted, while a fluid to be measured is kept flowing. This makes it necessary to stop the fluid to be measured so as to set the flow rate to 0, check whether the zero point of the output has shifted, and correct the offset of the set zero point.
The shift of the zero point of the output will be described with reference to FIG. 18. Referring to FIG. 18, U1 and U3 represent periods during which the flow velocity of the fluid to be measured is 0, and U2 represents a period during which the flow velocity is 1 (m/sec). Assume that, in spite of the fact that the flow velocity of a fluid to be measured has not changed, a magnitude V of the flow velocity measured by the electromagnetic flowmeter changes. In this case, the shift of the zero point can be thought of as a factor for this output variation.
Assume that the electromagnetic flowmeter is calibrated such that in an initial state, when the flow rate of a fluid to be measured is 0, an output from the electromagnetic flowmeter is 0 (v), and when the flow velocity is 1 (m/sec), the output becomes 1 (v). In this case, an output from the electromagnetic flowmeter is a voltage representing the magnitude V of a flow velocity. With this calibration, if the flow velocity of a fluid to be measured is 1 (m/sec), an output from the electromagnetic flowmeter should be 1 (v). When a given time t1 elapses, however, an output from the electromagnetic flowmeter becomes 1.5 (v) in spite of the fact that the flow velocity of the fluid to be measured remains at 1 (m/sec). Even if the flow velocity is returned to 0, 0.5 (v) may be output; the output may not become 0. The shift of the zero point can be though of as a factor for this output variation. The phenomenon of the shift of the zero point occurs as the voltage generated by a change in magnetic field varies due to a change in the ambient temperature of the electromagnetic flowmeter or the like, and the variation cannot be canceled.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A vehicular headlamp assembly with an auxiliary lamp which is small in size and does not require the provision of a special mounting space. A lamp chamber is defined by a generally capsule-shaped lamp body and a transparent front cover applied to the front opening of the lamp body, a reflection or projection lamp for forming a normal running beam, a projection lamp for forming a passing light beam, and an auxiliary lamp are disposed side by side within the lamp chamber, and a mirrored-surface inner cover having an opening through which the front end of the projection lamp is exposed. A bulb for the auxiliary lamp supported by the lamp body is disposed at a position located aslant on the side of the projection lens when viewed from the front in a state such that the bulb is directed forward. The lower edge of the inner cover corresponding to the bulb is substantially horizontally extended to form a horizontal extended part. A hole from which the front end of the bulb for the auxiliary lamp is projected is formed in the horizontal extended part, and a lens for the auxiliary lamp having a lens (prism) step area formed thereon for guiding light beams from the bulb in a given direction is mounted in the hole.

The present invention relates to a headlamp assembly for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a vehicular headlamp assembly including an auxiliary lamp in which an auxiliary lamp, such as a clearance lamp, is mounted in a lamp chamber.
FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional view showing a conventional headlamp assembly as disclosed, for example, in Published Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application No. Hei. 3-77735. As shown therein, a normal driving beam lamp 3, a fog lamp 4, and a clearance lamp 5 are disposed within a lamp chamber defined by a lamp body 1 and a front lens 2. The normal beam lamp 3 is constructed with a bulb a.sub.1 and a parabolic reflector b.sub.1. The fog lamp 4 is constructed with a bulb a.sub.2 and a parabolic reflector b.sub.2. The clearance lamp 5 is constructed with a bulb a.sub.3 and a parabolic reflector b.sub.3. To obtain desired quantities of light from the lamps, certain minimum sizes of the reflectors b.sub.1, b.sub.2, and b.sub.3 of the lamps 3, 4 and 5 are required. This constitutes one of the factors hindering a reduction in the size of the headlamp assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,458 proposes a headlamp assembly of this type utilizing a projection structure having a reduced size. In this approach, as shown in attached FIG. 11, light emitted from a bulb a4 is converged by a reflector c which is substantially parabolic in cross section. The light beams are then projected forwardly by a projection lens d. Reference numeral 6 designates a front cover, and reference numeral 7 indicates an inner cover with a mirrored surface, which is disposed around the projection lens d of the projection unit. The inner cover 7 keeps the interior of the lamp chamber from sight, and provides a brilliant appearance. A bulb a.sub.5 is used for a position lamp such as a parking light. The bulb a.sub.5 projects forwardly from the inner cover 7. The light emitted from the bulb a.sub.5 is reflected by a predetermined reflecting area 7a of the inner cover 7 and forwardly distributed.
In the structure shown in FIG. 10, the lamps 3, 4 and 5 of the reflection type having the parabolic reflectors are all disposed within the lamp chamber. Accordingly, there is a limit in reducing the size of the headlamp assembly. If the lamp of the projection type as shown in FIG. 11 is used, a limit in size reduction still exists because the clearance lamp 5 is large.
In the structure shown in FIG. 11, the bulb a.sub.5 is located in the upper portion of the lamp body, increasing the height of the lamp body. This hinders the size reduction of the headlamp assembly.

Vehicular headlamp assembly having auxiliary lamp


An organic light emitting display device which includes a base member; an organic light emitting display unit disposed on the base member and configured to generate an image; a sealing layer configured to seal the organic light emitting display unit; a capping substrate disposed on the sealing layer and having a plurality of metal layers, one of the metal layers being in contact with the sealing layer and having at least one groove; and a moisture absorbent provided in the groove.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to an organic light emitting display device, and more particularly, relate to an organic light emitting display device having a capping substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
As compared with a liquid crystal display device, an organic light emitting display device using organic light emitting elements may be characterized in that a response speed is faster, a viewing angle is wider due to a spontaneous light emitting property, and luminance is higher. The organic light emitting elements may be formed of two opposite electrodes and a light emitting layer interposed between the two electrodes and including an organic substance.
The organic light emitting elements may be sensitive to moisture. Upon contact with moisture, the organic light emitting elements may be easily degraded. If moisture is diffused into an organic substance layer, an electrochemically charge transfer reaction may be generated at the interface between a pixel electrode or an opposite electrode and the organic substance layer, so that an oxide is generated. The pixel electrode or opposite electrode and the organic substance layer may be separated by the oxide. This may mean that dark spot is generated. Accordingly, a life of the organic light emitting elements may be shortened.
To solve the above-described problem, a conventional organic light emitting display device may have a capping substrate for protecting an organic light emitting element from moisture.


Various embodiments of systems, devices, components, and methods for providing external therapeutic vibration stimulation to a patient are disclosed and described. Therapeutic vibration stimulation is provided to at least one location on a patient's skin, or through clothing or a layer disposed next to the patient's skin, and is configured to trigger or induce resonance or high amplitude oscillations in a cardiovascular system of the patient. Inducing such resonance can aid in training autonomic reflexes and improve their functioning.

Low or reduced baroreflex sensitivity in patients is associated with numerous problems and disorders (e.g., hypertension, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression, alcohol or drug use disorders and aging). Reduced baroreflex sensitivity in patients blunts the flexibility of the body's self-regulatory system. Contrariwise, high baroreflex sensitivity in patients is generally associated with health and wellness.
What is needed, therefore, are efficacious and cost effective means and methods for increasing baroreflex sensitivity in patients.
Various printed publications, patents and patent applications containing subject matter relating directly or indirectly to the methods, systems, devices and components described below include, but are not limited to, the following:    U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,482 to Vaschillo et al. for "Therapeutic method for a human subject," Dec. 7, 1999.    U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,681 to Stabler et al. for "Method of reducing stress," Dec. 28, 2004.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,032 to Childre et al. for "Systems and methods for facilitating physiological coherence using respiration training," Oct. 3, 2006.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,512 to Childre et al. for "Method and apparatus for facilitating physiological coherence and autonomic balance," Jan. 16, 2007.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,672 to Elliott et al. for "Method of presenting audible and visual cues for synchronizing the breathing . . . ," Aug. 14, 2007.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,713,212 to Elliott et al. for "Method and system for consciously synchronizing the breathing cycle with the natural heart rate cycle," May 11, 2010.    U.S. Pat. No. 8,002,711 to Wood et al. for "Methods and devices for relieving stress," Aug. 23, 2011.    U.S. Patent No. D628304 to Aulwes for "Massager," Nov. 30, 2010.    U.S. Patent No. D652524 to Messner for "Massage apparatus," Jan. 17, 2012.    U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0288601 to Wood et al. for "Methods and devices for relieving stress," Dec. 29, 2005.    U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0056582 to Wood et al. for "Methods and devices for relieving stress," Mar. 15, 2007.    U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0069728 to Hoffman et al. for "Randomic vibration for treatment of blood flow disorders," Mar. 12, 2009.    U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0320819 to Cohen et al. for "Chair and system for transmitting sound and vibration," Dec. 23, 2010.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0253236 to Moe et al. for "Methods and apparatuses for delivering external therapeutic stimulation to animals and humans," Oct. 4, 2012.    U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0277521 to Chamberlain for "Systems and methods for eliciting a therapeutic zone," Nov. 1, 2012.
Vaschillo, E. G., Vaschillo, B., Lehrer, P. M. Characteristics of Resonance in Heart Rate Variability Stimulated by Biofeedback. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2006, June; 31(2): 129-142.
Vaschillo, E G, Vaschillo, B, Buckman, J F, Pandina, R J, and Bates, M E. The Investigation and Clinical Significance of Resonance in the Heart Rate and Vascular Tone Baroreflexes. In BIOSTEC 2010, CCIS 127, A. Fred, J. Filipe, and H. Gamboa (Eds.), pp. 224-237, Springer, Heidelberg.    Vaschillo, E. G., Bates, M. E., Vaschillo, B., Lehrer, P., Udo, T., Mun, E. Y., & Ray, S. Heart Rate Variability Response to Alcohol, Placebo, and Emotional Picture Cue Challenges: Effects of 0.1 Hz Stimulation. Psychophysiology. 2008, September; 45(5): 847-858.    Lehrer P, Vaschillo E, Trost Z, France C. Effects of rhythmical muscle tension at 0.1 Hz on cardiovascular resonance and the baroreflex. Biological Psychology. 2009; 81:24-30[f1].    Schipke J. D. & Arnold G, Pelzer D. Effect of respiration rate on short-term heart rate variability., Journal of Clinical Basic Cardiology. 1999 2: 92.    Wheat, A. & Larkin, K. Biofeedback of Heart Rate Variability and Related Physiology: A Critical Review Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2010, 35: 3: 229-242    Zucker, T. L., Samuelson, K. W., Muench, F., Greenberg, M. A., & Gevirtz, R. N. The effects of respiratory sinus arrhythmia biofeedback on heart rate variability and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: A pilot study. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback 2009: 34-2:135-143.    France C R, France J L, Patterson S M. Blood pressure and cerebral oxygenation responses to skeletal muscle tension: a comparison of two physical maneuvers to prevent vasovagal reactions. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. 2006; 26:21-25
Vaschillo, E. G., Vaschillo, B., Pandina, R. J. and Bates, M. E. (2011), Resonances in the cardiovascular system caused by rhythmical muscle tension. Psychophysiology, 48: 927-936.    Vaschillo, E. G., Vaschillo, B., Lehrer, P. M. Characteristics of Resonance in Heart Rate Variability Stimulated by Biofeedback. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2006, June; 31(2): 129-142.    Muench F. (2008). The Stress Eraser portable HRV biofeedback device: background and research. Biofeedback Magazine, 36(1), 35-39.
The dates of the foregoing publications may correspond to any one of priority dates, filing dates, publication dates and issue dates. Listing of the above patents and patent applications in this background section is not, and shall not be construed as, an admission by the applicants or their counsel that one or more publications from the above list constitutes prior art in respect of the applicant's various inventions. All printed publications and patents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by referenced herein, each in its respective entirety.
Upon having read and understood the Summary, Detailed Descriptions and Claims set forth below, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least some of the systems, devices, components and methods disclosed in the printed publications listed herein may be modified advantageously in accordance with the teachings of the various embodiments that are disclosed and described herein.

Systems, devices, components and methods for triggering or inducing resonance or high amplitude oscillations in a cardiovascular system of a patient


A pneumatic vehicle tire with a wound bandage and a method for its manufacture are provided. In order to avoid discontinuities of the wound bandage within the area of the edges of the reinforcement belt, it is suggested to provide the strips of material for manufacturing the bandage with a narrow width in the area of the edges of the reinforcement belt and with a wide width at the center portion of the reinforcement belt. This is achieved by providing at least two strips of varying width and winding them onto the reinforcement belt such that the narrow strip of material is arranged at the edges of the reinforcement belt.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic vehicle tire having a radial carcass being anchored at the bead cores by being looped about the bead cores of the tire beads. The pneumatic vehicle tire further comprises a reinforcement belt connected radially outwardly to the radial carcass and a bandage, arranged radially outwardly of the reinforcement belt, for covering the reinforcement belt. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing the aforementioned pneumatic vehicle tire.
Pneumatic vehicle tires are known in which a bandage for covering the reinforcement belt is comprised of strip-like cord material wound radially outwardly onto the reinforcement belt in various manners, for example, by having neighboring windings abutting one another, or by having neighboring windings with various degrees of overlap. Generally, in the area of the edges of the reinforcement belt, within the respective axially outwardly oriented portions of the tire tread, a tighter and stronger bandage effect is desired as compared to the center section of the tire tread so that in the area of the edges of the reinforcement belt the bandage is provided with greater overlap or with more layers than the center section. Furthermore, a technique is known in which two strips of material of the same width are wound at the same time onto a reinforcement belt for forming the desired bandage.
When a relatively small strip of material is used for manufacturing the bandage, the beginning of the bandage which, in general, lies within the area of the edges of the reinforcement belt as well as at the reversing point at the opposite edge in the case of a multi-layer bandage, has a relatively small discontinuity resulting from the uneven mass distribution over the reinforcement belt circumference and an uneven force effect onto the reinforcement belt at these locations. On the other hand, when using a narrow strip of material a disadvantageously increased manufacturing station time must be taken into account since a greater number of windings is required for the manufacture of the cover layer. When a wider strip is used for the bandage, the station time is reduced; however, the aforementioned discontinuities or disturbances at the edges of the reinforcement belts are increased.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic vehicle tire in which the discontinuities of the bandage at the edges of the reinforcement belt are small without increasing the station time for the manufacture of the bandage.

Pneumatic vehicle tire having wound layer including wide and narrow strips covering belt


A vehicle and a method for controlling the same to prevent manipulation of odometer information by creating a network with another vehicle and sharing odometer information of a cluster with the other vehicle in the network. The vehicle includes: a cluster to obtain odometer information updated as the vehicle runs; a communication device to form a network with the other vehicle; a controller to generate cluster information to include a vehicle identification number, a cluster identification number, and odometer information, send the cluster information to the other vehicle using the network, and control the communication device to receive cluster information of the other vehicle; and a storage to store network information including the cluster information of the vehicle and the cluster information of the other vehicle.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
An accumulated distance traveled by a vehicle is typically calculated by a cluster based on information measured by a sensor equipped in the vehicle. That is, the accumulated distance is obtained by unilaterally providing information from the sensor and processing the information by the cluster.
We have discovered that such a traditional way of calculating the accumulated distance based on the unilateral provision of information makes arbitrary manipulation possible not only in the mechanical cluster but also in the electronic cluster. Especially, in an electronic digital cluster, the accumulated distance (or odometer) may be manipulated with little time and effort by replacing or reprogramming a chip. This odometer manipulation leads to dampening public trust in vehicle condition and especially causes significant side effects in aftermarkets.

Vehicle and method for controlling the same


A method and system for building/updating grammars in voice access systems is disclosed. The method includes receiving a grammar update request from a voice access system, retrieving data, filtering the data and providing the filtered data to the voice access system. The grammar update request identifies a navigation context of a user interface provided by a data system. The user interface provides access to information in the data system. The data is retrieved from the data system and pertains to the navigation context. The filtering is performed to obtain filtered data pertaining to user interface (UI) objects enabled for grammar updates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to voice access to data systems in general, and a method and system for updating grammars that are used in voice access systems in particular
2. Background Information
Recently, the development of new technologies in the telephony and speech recognition areas has enabled data systems to be accessed. via voice (e.g., spoken verbal input). Such voice-enabled data systems let users navigate to request a particular piece of data or a related set of data using voice commands, and then "reads back" the data to the user. These types of data systems are widely used in information systems in various industries, including banking, insurance, investments, etc.
In general, .in order to provide voice access to a data system, a complete voice interface must be provided. This typically involves integrating various hardware and software components, such as telephony interfaces, multi-channel access equipment, speech recognition software, text-to-speech (TTS) software and hardware, and other related components. A fundamental aspect of the a voice access system concerns the grammar used by the system. A grammar is a specification of all allowed user utterances (syntax) in an application, such as those used a voice application, which contains the logic for enabling interactions between a voice interface and a data system. A grammar also contains the meanings of each key word or phrase (semantics) corresponding to the user utterances.
Typically, a grammar will include information pertaining to specific data in the data system that is accessed via the voice interface. For example, if a voice access system is to include access to contact information, the grammar will generally include specific contact information, such as last name, first name, address, etc. This information is used to disambiguate between different user utterances. For instance, suppose a desired contact name is Laura Smith, and the data system includes contacts named, Laura Smith, Lauren Smith, Lori Smith and Lorna Smith. Since each of these names sounds similar but are different, there needs to be specific grammar information for each name.
Another aspect of grammars concerns performance. In order to provide adequate performance, grammar information will generally be stored locally (i.e., on a server that is local to a voice application). In some implementations, the grammar is stored in a pre-compiled format for further performance enhancement. To support these architectures, it is necessary to first provide an initial set of grammar information pertaining to data in the data system, and then periodically update the grammar information to reflect changes in the data in the data system. Typically, this grammar update process will require a specific grammar update module or application to be written for each voice application.
Several vendors now provide integrated voice-access systems that handle the voice-to-computer aspects of a voice-enabled data system. For example, these integrated systems handle telephony connectivity to a phone network, perform speech recognition to convert voice commands and verbalized data requests to a computer-readable form (e.g., ASCII text or binary text form), and handle the TTS functions. Although these integrated voice-access systems provide a lot of the workload, they still require grammars to be written and updated to enable access to the data system.

Method and system for building/updating grammars in voice access systems


A cap visor having display means which includes a lower visor, a foldable upper visor being connected to each other in the area where the cap visor is attached to the cap, the foldable upper visor being foldable along a weakened area which enables the foldable upper visor to be separated from the lower visor to an open position, the pop-up display located between the lower and upper visors, a locking member for forming a composite structure, and an L-shaped spring disposed in both visors through both ends thereof, whereby when the foldable upper visor is opened up with respect to the lower visor, the pop-up display reveals and when the foldable upper visor is closed onto the lower visor, the pop-up display is hidden.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cap visor containing display means and more particularly, to an improved cap visor which includes a lower visor and a foldable upper visor being connected to each other in the area where the cap visor is attached to the cap, the foldable upper visor being foldable along a weakened area which enables the foldable upper visor to be separated from the lower visor to an open position. A plurality of legs which extend onto from the weakened area, a locking member, and a biased spring positioned where the cap visor meets the cap, whereby when the foldable upper visor is opened up with respect to the lower visor, the display means such as a pop-up display is visible and when the foldable upper visor is closed onto the lower visor, the display means is hidden.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several types of cap visors having display means located between two foldable portions are well known in the art. However, such cap visors suffer from a number of difficulties such as, for example, two foldable portions do not hold in its open position and do not only form a composite visor but form a double layers visor as shown in the U.S. Pat. Des. 284,328, U.S. Pat. Des. 258,323, U.S. Pat. No. 911,126, U.S. Pat. No. 2,475,471, U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,847, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,109.


Methods and systems for efficient operation of a content origination system that uses private copies of content are described. In one embodiment, a generic media description (e.g. a DASH manifest) is modified by replacing generic media element references in the description (e.g. a URL to a media segment file) with a privatized version of the generic media element reference.

The video distribution industry (broadcast TV and Pay TV including satellite TV, cable TV and Telco TV) is actively transitioning from legacy broadcast distribution to Internet (IP-based) streaming delivery of its video assets.
Certain TV network broadcasters, such as CBS and ABC are offering some of their linear channels over IP as a continuous and unique feed using a Linear Origin. Such streaming content can be accessed for playback in real time or near-real time via a PC browser or via TV-specific services such as Apple TV or Roku.
Certain Pay TV service providers such as Comcast or Cablevision are offering subscribers the ability to store and playback on-demand and live content in the network. On-demand content is stored in general-purpose or dedicated servers, while live content is stored in network-based devices (N-DVR), cloud-based devices (C-DVR) or Live On-demand Origins (LOD). All these can be referred to as "Content Origination Systems" (COS). Such Content Origination Systems are hosted in a public or private cloud and provide the subscriber with capabilities similar to an in-home DVR by recording live events for live, near-live or deferred playback.
Content Origination Systems allow for on-demand access to linear (live TV) content. These systems enable the subscriber to catch up with live events (news, sports, weather), at any time, from the beginning of an event, while the event is still airing, or at any time after the event has ended.
Live and on-demand content delivery systems over IP utilize industry standards (such as HLS and DASH—e.g. ISO/IEC 23009-1) to define a media description (i.e. manifests (DASH) or playlist (HLS) depending on the delivery standards). The media description references audio and video media elements (i.e. segments or fragments depending on the delivery standards) and their associated metadata. Event media descriptions may reference one or multiple simultaneous audio and/or video tracks ("representations"), that may represent multiple audio languages, video resolutions, or camera angles.
The most efficient approach to deliver live video on-demand is to record a single copy of each event ("Common Copy") and deliver it to all subscribers. However, due to applicable copyright and broadcasting regulations, certain legal restrictions can mandate that a unique copy of each event ("Private Copy") is assigned to each subscriber. These requirements may be limited to certain content distributors, they may be limited to subscribers located in certain geographic regions and in certain jurisdictions and they may be limited to content copies originated from certain live channels.
The implementation of a COS with "Private Copy" capabilities can be very expensive and cumbersome to implement, because it requires to quickly and efficiently generate, maintain, retrieve and deliver a potentially large number of unique copies of otherwise identical content.
In general, the ability to generate, deliver, monitor and delete content copies must be available regardless of original event airtime and regardless of playback window. As an example, a subscriber may wish to watch an episode of an event that aired live the previous evening (catch-up), while another subscriber may wish to watch an event that started a few minutes ago and is still currently airing (start-over). In both scenarios sufficient individual copies of the event must be generated, delivered, and eventually disposed of with adequate reliability and performance to assure instant and continuous content access, smooth content playback and efficient system operation regardless of the number of channels being recorded, the number and duration of events being published, and the volume of subscribers accessing the content.
The timely availability, delivery and deletion of content copies is essential to the performance, efficiency and regulatory compliance of a COS operating in Private Copy mode. As an example, if an individual copy of an event is not yet available at the time that an individual subscriber requests it, the transaction will fail, and the resulting overall quality of service will be degraded. If at any time the content is delivered from a common copy instead of a unique Private Copy, the transaction will succeed but it will breach the unicity requirement, and the resulting compliance will be degraded. If there are no subscriber requests but the system still maintains multiple copies of an event, the system storage will be higher than required resulting in a cost overrun.

Methods and apparatuses for a private media engine


A motor includes a stator formed by stacking a plurality of core sheets. A plurality of stator windings are wound around a plurality of tooth portions of the stator. A rotor is freely rotatable on an inner peripheral side of the stator. A noise bypass line has one end connected to a core back portion of an outermost core sheet included in the stator and another end grounded to a ground (GND) of a power conversion circuit that drives the motor.

In a rotating electric machine driven by a power conversion circuit including such as an inverter, high-frequency conduction noise is generated due to switching of an element included in the power conversion circuit. When this high-frequency conduction noise leaks to a casing of the rotating electric machine and propagates to a peripheral equipment, an operation of the peripheral equipment may be adversely affected. Therefore, in the rotating electric machine driven by the power conversion circuit, it is required to reduce the leakage of the high-frequency conduction noise to the casing.
In a related-art rotating electric machine, there is known a technology involving additionally providing a shielding portion mounted on a tooth portion of a stator and grounding this shielding portion so as to reduce the high-frequency conduction noise to be propagated to the peripheral equipment (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
In Patent Literature 1, there is described a rotating electric machine in which a shielding portion having three-layer structure formed of an insulator, a conductor and an insulator is sandwiched between a coil and a salient pole of a stator. This shielding portion is grounded, and thus the high-frequency conduction noise is reduced.
Further, in Patent Literature 2, there is described a rotating electric machine in which a shielding portion formed by sandwiching a conductor plate between a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer is provided on each side surface of each tooth portion. A coil is wound around each tooth portion so as to sandwich this shielding portion.


An image processing system has an image processing function for use in, particularly, a word processor, a copying machine, or a facsimile apparatus. This apparatus includes an image reader to read and input image information; a keyboard to input character information; a recognizing unit for recognizing the character information in the image information inputted by the image reader; and an image processor for performing the editing of characters on the basis of the result by the recognizing unit. The character information includes lines of character strings, paragraphs in document information, spaces between words, spaces between characters, hyphens, or positions of words. The image processor means performs the image editing processes such as right alignment, deletion, rewriting, insertion, search, and the like with respect to the character information recognized by the recognizing unit. With this system, the character data inputted from the keyboard and the image data read by the image reader can be processed at the same level, so that the new documents can be freely produced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system having an image processing function and, more particularly, to an image processing system which recognizes the presence of word areas in an image (document) and lines, and detects spaces between words, positions of characters and the like and further which can perform the rewriting, editing, retrieval, or the like of documents.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Image processing systems, for example, word processors have at present various processing capabilities and are indispensable to produce and edit documents. A keyboard, an OCR or the like is mainly used as means for inputting a document. In general, input characters are converted to code data corresponding to the internal codes (ASCII, EBCDIC, JI, etc.) of the system used and thereafter they are subjected to processing such as storage, rewriting, retrieval, editing, or the like.
Documents ordinarily contain a table, a graph, a picture, a photograph, or the like as well as characters. A word processor for producing and editing documents by synthesizing those graphic data and sentences has been also considered. In this case, characters, tables, graphs, pictures, photographs, or the like are stored as different data formats, respectively. For example, characters are stored as character codes; tables and graphs are stored as data suitable to describe them; pictures are stored as graphic data or images., photographs are stored as images; and the like.
Apart from the production of new documents, in the case where a great amount of documents which have already been typed are inputted and used as a data base, particularly, it takes an extremely long time and is troublesome to input primary information by typing on a keyboard.
On the other hand, as other office machines having a function to input or output documents, a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus is known. Although copying machines can input information at a high speed, they merely output the inputted documents as they are or output the documents after they were enlarged or reduced, but the copying machines do not have the processing capability to process the inputted documents such as a word processing capability, or the function to store or retrieve the documents.