A cable clamp includes a housing having a cavity therein with two opposed walls and an open end in communication with the cavity. A pair of wedge shaped jaws are located within the housing and are slideably movable toward and away from the opening. Each of the jaws includes a semi-cylindrical gripping surface which are adapted to move toward each other to grip a cable therebetween when the jaws move toward the opening and are able to move away from each other when the jaws move away from the opening so as to release a cable located therebetween. A spring biases the jaws toward the opening so that they are biased into the gripping position. In order to more positively hold the cable, each of the gripping surfaces includes a plurality of teeth in the form of raised segments of spiral threads. Some of the spiral threads on each of said inserts are right handed and some are left handed to help prevent rotating movement of the cable as it is being gripped. The clamp can be used as a dead end clamp or the housing can contain a second pair of jaws, preferably extending in opposite directions, whereby the clamp is capable of gripping a second cable for electrically and mechanically connecting two cables together.

The present invention is directed toward a cable connector and more particularly toward a connector which is capable of quickly and securely connecting to a high voltage overhead cable. The connector has uses as a dead end connector, as a take off connector or as splice between two cables.
In dealing with overhead cables and electrical power transmission lines it is frequently desirable to have the ends anchored to a supporting structure. For this purpose, couplings or connectors referred to as "dead end" are often used. One example of a dead end connector can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,686 to De France. While the De France device may work well, it includes a plurality of nuts and bolts that must be manually turned in order to clamp the connector onto the cable. This is labor intensive and slow.
Arrangements have been proposed in the past to include a pair of opposing wedges within a housing to clamp the cable. Such arrangements are described in published International Application No. WO 02/073765 to Tolkko. According to Tolkko, the problem with prior anchor clamps of this type is that the cable slips between the wedges in the direction of pulling, especially before the wedges have moved sufficiently to the final gripping position. Tolkko attempts to solve the problem by adding a stay tightener to the system. The stay tightener is clamped onto the cable just behind the wedges. In this way, should the cable begin to slip in the wedges, the stay tightener pushes on the wedges forcing them to more tightly clamp onto the cable.
While the Tolkko clamp may be an improvement of similar prior devices, it still suffers from a number of deficiencies. As with the De France dead end connector, the stay tightener must be bolted onto the cable after it is inserted into the clamp which increases the time and effort needed to utilize the clamp. Because the stay tightener must be manually attached, a workman must be within arms length of the clamp when it is being attached and cannot connect the same from a remote location. In addition, the use of the stay tightener essentially prevents the Tolkko device from being modified to be used as a cable splice.


The present invention provides a specific binding molecule that binds to Annexin-1 (Anx-A1) for use in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or a disease related to OCD. The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a specific binding molecule of the invention for use in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or a disease related to OCD.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, relapsing psychiatric affliction with a lifetime prevalence of 1-3%. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed; DSM IV), the essential features of this disease are recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions (e.g., doubting, checking, washing) that are time consuming (i.e., they take more than 1 hour a day) or cause marked distress or significant impairment.
The most effective treatments for mental disorders like OCD are antipsychotic and behavioural treatments. Yet, around 30% of the patients are refractory to pharmaco- and behavioural therapy. In addition, side effects such as agranulocytosis (loss of the white blood cells that help a person fight infection) and changes in a person's metabolism (leading to diabetes) are serious problems that limit the use of these drugs. There is therefore a need in the art for a therapy for such diseases that does not have these unwanted side effects.

Methods of treating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or anxiety using an antibody that binds to annexin-1

Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London


Stable boron resins of high selective absorbent power and their production process. Said boron resins consist of a polyacrylic matrix functionalized with quaternary ammonium groups, an epoxy group and phenylboric groups in accordance with general formula (I): ##STR1## in which P, R, R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and X.sup.- are as defined in the text. The resins are prepared by reacting an amine resin with an epihalohydrin and condensing the reaction product with a suitable boroxin. The resins of formula (I) can be used for separating sugars, in particular for purifying lactulose. They have greater selective power than currently known boron resins.

This invention relates to new boron resins possessing very high selective absorbent power which are stable in organic solvents and in aqueous acid and alkaline solutions.
More particularly, the invention relates to boron resins consisting of an acrylic polymer matrix functionalized with quaternary ammonium groups, an epoxy group and phenylboric groups, of general formula (I): ##STR2## in which P is a polyacrylic matrix,
R is --(CH.sub.2).sub.n -- where n lies between 0 and 5, PA1 R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, which can be the same or different, are C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 alkyl, PA1 R.sub.3 is --(C.sub.n H.sub.2n) where n varies from 1 to 5, PA1 R.sub.4 is H or C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 alkyl, PA1 X.sup.- is an anion chosen from halogens and hydroxyl;
The invention also relates to a process for producing the resins defined by general formula (I).
In European Patent 85102934.8 we have already described boron resins With a polyacrylic matrix bifunctionalized with quaternary ammonium groups and alkylphenylboric groups, which possess good chemical and mechanical stability characteristics and can be used in industrial processes, they having a marked selective absorbent action particularly in separating lactulos from its mixtures with other carbohydrates, generally lactose and galactose.
It has now been discovered that boron resins with further improved selectivity in separating sugars can be obtained by the process of the present invention, which is described in detail hereinafter.
The boron resins of the present invention are prepared from a polyacrylic resin obtained by cross-linking an acrylic ester with divinylbenzene and preferably having the following characteristics:
______________________________________ Percentage of cross-linkage 4% Mean pore diameter 1100 .ANG. Specific surface area 10 m.sup.2 /g Particle size 0.2-0.4 mm (90%) ______________________________________
This resin is firstly subjected to a transamination reaction by reacting with disubstituted diamines by known methods.
Separately, a particular boroxin of the type corresponding to the indicated formula is obtained by reacting an aminophenylboroxin of formula ##STR3## with hydroxybenzaldehyde, to produce an intermediate of formula (II) ##STR4## To produce the boron resin, either:
(1) the transaminated polyacrylic resin is firstly reacted with an epihalohydrin: ##STR5## and the product of this reaction reacted with the boroxin (II): ##STR6## to give ##STR7## and then ##STR8## or:
(2) the boroxin (II) is firstly reacted with the epihalohydrin and the product of this reaction reacted with the transaminated polyacrylic resin, the product of this latter reaction then being reduced by NaBH.sub.4 in methanol, to obtain a product of formula (I): ##STR9##
The preferred conditions for implementing the individual steps of the process in the form of the two alternatives described schematically heretofore are as follows:
(a) Transamination of the polyacrylic matrix: this is conducted by known methods U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,036, reacting the polyacrylic matrix with a disubstituted diamine.
(b) Preparation of the boroxin of formula (II): a substituted benzeneboronic acid such as an aminobenzeneboronic or oxybenzeneboronic acid is mixed with p-oxybenzaldehyde in an alcoholic solvent, and left at ambient temperature for 15-24 hours. The crude product can be used for the subsequent reactions after filtration.
(c) Reaction of the transaminated polyacrylic resin with an epihalohydrin: the aminated acrylic resin is pretreated by a process comprising regeneration in Cl form by reaction with a dilute NaCl and HCl solution at about ambient temperature, washing with demineralized water until neutral, regeneration in OH form by treatment in aqueous ammonia at around ambient temperature, washing with demineralized water until neutral, washing with acetone and drying under vacuum.
At this point the resin is placed in a polar aprotic solvent such as dioxane, and heated under reflux with epichlorohydrin dissolved in the same solvent, triggering the reaction with potassium iodide and heating under reflux between 40 and 100 C for 15-25 hours. After filtration and repeated washes with the same solvent, the crude product is ready for the subsequent reactions.
(d) Reaction of the product obtained in (c) with the boroxin of formula (II) followed by reduction: this process is conducted by suspending the product obtained in (c) in a polar aprotic solvent such as dioxane, then adding the product obtained in (b). The suspension is kept at ambient temperature for 15-30 hours under agitation. It is filtered and the product taken up in alcohol. The suspension is treated with NaBH.sub.4 for 8-12 hours at a temperature of about 10-20 C.
After filtration, the resin is washed repeatedly by kneading with ethanol and with a mixture of ethanol and dilute hydrochloric acid, and finally with dilute hydrochloric acid alone.
(e) Reaction of the boroxin of formula (II) with the epihalohydrin: the crude product obtained in (b) is dissolved in the epihalohydrin and the mixture heated at 30-50 C for 15-24 hours. The excess epihalohydrin is then distilled off at reduced pressure at a temperature not exceeding 50 C.
The residue is taken up in alcohol and left under agitation under cold conditions for some hours.
The mixture is filtered under reduced pressure to recover the required product.
(f) Reaction of the product obtained in (e) with the aminated acrylic resin followed by reduction: the aminated acrylic resin, pretreated as described in (c) above, is placed in a solvent of the type used in (d), such as dioxane, a product such as that obtained in (e) is added, the reaction triggered with potassium iodide and the mixture heated under reflux at a temperature of between 40 and 80 C for 15-25 hours.
It is then filtered through a Buchner funnel and the residue obtained is taken up in alcohol. It is then reduced with NaBH.sub.4 and purification as indicated for the step described in (d) above.
Some practical embodiments of the processes and resin of the present invention are given hereinafter in order to make the processes and resin more easily reproducible.


Three-phase windings 11-13 and 21-23 of a first common-mode transformer 1 and a second common-mode transformer 2 are connected in series through connecting lines 8r-8t, respectively. The windings 11-13 are connected to an unillustrated AC power supply by connecting lines 91r-91t. The windings 21-23 are connected to a three-phase motor by connecting lines 93r-93t and through a converter and an inverter which are unillustrated. A winding 14 for common-mode voltage detection detects high-frequency leakage currents flowing through the connecting lines 91r-91t as a common-mode voltage V1, and an output voltage V2 obtained by voltage amplification by a voltage amplifier 3 is applied to a winding 24 for common-mode voltage application in such a manner that the output voltage V2 works in generally the same direction as the common-mode voltage V1, thereby canceling out the high-frequency leakage currents through the windings 21-23. Since a voltage amplification method is used, it is possible to reduce the high-frequency leakage currents with a simpler configuration as compared to a conventional current amplification method.

A high-frequency leakage current reduction apparatus known as a conventional leakage current reduction apparatus for reducing high-frequency leakage currents that can occur in three-phase power lines laid between an inverter and a three-phase motor, for example, includes a current detection coil for detecting the high-frequency leakage currents, a high frequency amplifier for amplifying the detected high-frequency leakage currents and a matching coil which electromagnetically injects the amplified high-frequency leakage currents into the three-phase power lines in opposite phase (refer to Patent Document 1, for example).

Leakage current reduction apparatus that includes a voltage amplifier and a voltage applicator


An arrangement (40) and process for coating a vehicle component (30) with a solid lubricant including a thermal spray device (10) having a spray direction along a spray line (S) corresponding to a central axis of a spray plume (16); a solid lubricant injection device (20) having an injection direction along an injection line (L) corresponding to a central axis of an injection plume (24); and a vehicle component (30) to be coated, having a surface (31) arranged at a distance (d) from an outlet orifice (13) of the thermal spray device (10) along the spray line (S). The solid lubricant injection device (20) is positioned such that the injection line (L) intersects the spray line (S) at an intersection point (P), which is intermediate the outlet orifice (13) of the thermal spray device (10) and the surface (31) of the component (30) to be coated. Also a process for thermal spray coating a vehicle component (30) with a solid lubricant coating and a vehicle, with such a coated component.

The components of internal combustion engines are routinely subjected to harsh conditions during operation. The combustion of fuels leads to high temperatures, high pressures and a corrosive environment for many components, not least inside the combustion chamber. At the same time, the movement of reciprocating parts leads to wear and frictional losses in the engine. Heavy duty vehicle engines have, due to their size, typically been provided with loose cast iron liners. Also other vehicle components such as gears or synchronizers are subject to frictional wear.
Vehicle component parts such as cylinder liners can be coated using any of a number of methods, depending on the coating required, the coating thickness and the conditions that the component tolerates. Thermal spray coating methods are among the most commonly used.
Thermal spray coating involves propelling melted or molten spray material at high speed onto a cleaned and prepared component surface. Methods of thermal spray coating can be further subdivided and include flame spray coating, electric arc spray coating, high velocity oxy-fuel spray coating and plasma spray coating. All thermal spray methods are characterized by the high temperatures that the thermal-coating compositions are subjected to during the coating process, which can be from approximately 2600° C. to 16000° C. depending on the method used.
An existing production process for coating cylinder liners is the plasma spray coating of grey cast iron liners with a powder comprising stainless steel and alumina-zirconia composite. Such coatings greatly improve the cylinder properties with regards to wear and corrosion. Honing of the coated surface also provides good lubrication properties of the surfaces that liquid lubricants can reach. However, due to increasing demands for better fuel economy and lower emissions, there remains a desire to further reduce friction in the engine, especially at surfaces that may be poorly lubricated using liquid lubricant systems.
The component parts of a combustion engine are typically lubricated using an oil-based lubricant system. While such systems have been proven to be effective, sufficient lubrication is difficult to achieve in all operating conditions and at all areas of frictional contact. This is especially a problem for vehicles implementing stop/start drive systems, for example hybrid vehicles. Therefore, the use of solid lubricants is attracting interest.
Solid lubricants are materials which despite being in the solid phase are able to reduce friction between two surfaces sliding against each other without the need for a liquid lubricant medium. Common solid lubricants include graphite, molybdenum disulphide and boron nitride. Solid lubricants can be used to reduce friction in situations where the use of conventional liquid lubricants is insufficient or inappropriate. Such uses include interfaces in reciprocating engines and turbines, such as in the cylinder liners of an internal combustion engine.
A number of methods for the thermal spraying of solid lubricant coatings are known in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,422A a plasma sprayable powder for coating surfaces such as cylinder bores of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The plasma sprayable powder comprises grain size agglomerates of i) a plurality of solid lubricant particles; ii) fusable ingredients adjacent the solid lubricant particles; and iii) a low melting medium binding the solid lubricant particles and fusible particles together in agglomerated grains.
In EP1785503A1 a coating with a low coefficient of friction that is wear resistant, corrosion resistant and heat resistant is disclosed. The coating is prepared by a process comprising the steps of: providing hard face material particles; agglomerating the hard face material particles using a first binder material; providing solid lubricant material particles; agglomerating the solid lubricant material particles using a second binder material; and applying to a substrate the agglomerated hard face material particles and the agglomerated solid lubricant material particles via a thermal spray process.
In US2008/0145554A1 a method of making a thermal spray powder is disclosed. The method comprises: providing a powder comprising a plurality of porous particles; infiltrating a mixture comprising a solvent and a plurality of solid lubricant particles into the porous particles; and heat-treating the powder to a temperature sufficient to evaporate the solvent.
In WO2011/094222A1 a thermal spray powder is disclosed. The thermal spray powder comprises a solid lubricant clad with at least one of a metal and metal alloy, mechanically blended with a metal or polymer clad with at least one of a number of specified metals or metal alloys.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,690A a method of producing a self-lubricating coating on a substrate is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing a matrix of particles including chromium carbide; mixing with the matrix a solid lubricant including barium fluoride and calcium fluoride particles to form a composite material; providing a high velocity oxy-fuel gas stream; and introducing the composite material into the gas stream to spray deposit the composite material onto the substrate.
There are a number of problems associated with these known methods. Many are based upon the principle of "encapsulating" or agglomerating the solid lubricant in order to avoid volatilization or decomposition. Manufacturing of such coating materials is complicated and expensive. If such an "encapsulated" solid lubricant is not used, the high temperatures used in thermal spray methods tend to volatilize or decompose the solid lubricant. This results in low incorporation of the solid lubricant into the final coating, manufacturing difficulties, production down-time and the loss of material since the final coating contains relatively little solid lubricant in relation to the amount used in the powder mixture. Moreover, the volatilized material risks being undesirably deposited on proximate surfaces if sufficient fume extraction is not obtained. Attempting to rectify these problems by reducing the temperature of the spray results in lower deposition efficiency of the other, less-volatile, constituents, such as ceramic particles and metal alloy particles. Using larger solid lubricant particles sizes or agglomerating the coating mixture can to some extent mitigate these problems, but instead leads to decreased anti-friction effects or a complex manufacturing procedure for the coating mixture.
There therefore exists a need for a method for producing a coating comprising solid lubricant that reduces or eliminates the problems associated with the methods known in the art.

Arrangement and process for thermal spray coating vehicle components with solid lubricants


A mass spectrometer that allows easy replacement of an MCP (microchannel plate) and is enabled to secure orthogonality between an incident surface of the MCP and an ion track at high accuracy is provided. A flight tube 2 where ions fly is arranged in a vacuum vessel composed of a vacuum flange 6 and a body 1, and an MCP group 4 is attached to a tail end of the flight tube 2 via an MCP-IN electrode 3. A vacuum flange 6 is attachably and detachably attached to the body 1, and the MCP group 4, by a spring 710 provided on a circuit board 7 for detection attached to the vacuum flange 6, is urged toward an end portion of the flight tube 2 so that its orthogonality with respect to an ion flight track is secured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) used for detection of the molecular weight of a polymer and the like.
2. Related Background Art
In a TOF-MS, the mass of detecting ions is detected based on time required for the detecting ions to fly within a vacuum flight tube. An apparatus of a type disclosed in JP2007-87885A has been known as a charged-particle detecting apparatus to be used as a detector in such a TOF-MS.
This charged-particle detecting apparatus has a detecting section including a microchannel plate (MCP) arranged on a vacuum flange, and thus has a configuration that makes it easy to replace the MCP when the detector reaches its life end.


A SiC Schottky diode which includes a Schottky barrier formed on a silicon face 4H—SiC body.

Although the main intrinsic parameters in Silicon Carbide material have not been exhaustively studied, several experimental and theoretical studies have been performed in recent years in order to better describe the current transport in ohmic and rectifying contact on SiC.
It has been known that in Schottky diodes the metal semiconductor interface (MST) between the Schottky barrier metal and the semiconductor plays a crucial role in the electrical performance of electronic devices. Many factors can worsen the performance of the MSI in a Schottky diode. For example, the quality of the semiconductor surface prior to the deposition of the Schottky barrier metal can cause the device to exhibit characteristics that are different from the ideal characteristics.
Current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characterizations are useful methods for determining the Schottky barrier height from which the MSI uniformity can be obtained. It has been known that the barrier height determined from C-V measurements often exceeds the value extracted from forward I-V measurements. The discrepancy is also seen to be greater for Schottky contacts with high ideality factor, i.e. poor Schottky MSI quality. Sullivan et al., J. Appl. Physics, 70, No. 12, (1991), 7403-7424, have explained that such a discrepancy is due to barrier height inhomogeneities, and have demonstrated that if the barrier height is assumed to follow some statistical distribution, the barrier height value extracted from C-V measurements is the arithmetic mean of the barrier height distribution (the capacitance of the Schottky contact comes from the modulation of the total space-charge as a function of bias). On the other hand, the value from I-V characterization is well below the value extracted from capacitance analysis, and is dominated by the current that flows through regions of lower barrier height. Also, the inhomogeneity of the barrier height is believed to be a primary reason for the observation of large ideality factors (n>1.1). For intimate contact and uniform MSI, the barrier height values extracted from C-V and I-V characterization are expected to be in close correlation, and ideality factors very close to unity.


The push-pull spout assembly (10) is configured to dispense fluid materials from a container (12). The spout assembly (10) includes a pair of generally tubular, telescopically interfitted first (20) and second members (54) defining a fluid passageway (22). Each member includes a complemental closure wall (30,58) projecting into the fluid passageway (22). In a blocking position the complemental walls (30,58) are aligned and block fluid flow through the passageway (22) and in an offset position the members (20,54) are shifted axially relative to one another to allow fluid flow through the passageway.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fluid containers and to a device to assist in neatly pouring the contents of the container. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a pouring spout which can be selectively opened and closed when attached to a container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many products are stored in containers and are dispensed for use by pouring them from their containers. By using a spout or funnel, a person can prevent spills. However, most funnels and spouts do not allow the user to stop the flow of fluid or selectively control the amount and rate of fluid being dispensed. There has thus developed a need for a pouring spout that allows the user to stop the flow of fluid or selectively control the amount of fluid being dispensed and yet still be simple and reliable to use and inexpensive to make.


A display device including a case having a transparent window that forms one side of a first air flow path, a display unit including a display surface that faces the transparent window to form the other side of the first air flow path, a ventilator to supply air to the first air flow path, and a diffuser disposed at an exit of the first air flow path and having a cross-sectional area that is gradually increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a display device with an air flow path to cool a display unit, which may be installed in an indoor, outdoor, or semi-outdoor environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, display devices have been employing a flat display unit such as a liquid crystal panel, a plasma panel, and a display panel using a light emitting diode (LED) array, which may be used to realize a large-sized screen with a thin thickness.
The large-sized screen and high brightness of a display unit are typically accompanied with increased heat due to increased power demanded by a light source and increased heat from a driving circuit. In particular, as the display device is applied to a public information display (PID) field, demands for large-sized screens and high brightness of the display unit are greatly increased. In addition, when the display device is used in an outdoor environment, a surface temperature of the display unit may be increased due to exposure to solar light. On the other hand, when the display device is used in an indoor environment, the display unit is exposed to the air therein, thus the device may be overcooled, such that its performance may be deteriorated.

Hongik Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation


A system, method and computer-program product for a client device to securely access a private network through a public wireless network. The system establishes a first network tunnel between the client device and a gateway of the public wireless network and then authenticates the client device with an authentication server of the private network using the first tunnel. The authentication is proxied by an authentication server of the public network. Once the authentication is successful, a second tunnel is established between the client device and a gateway of the private network for secure access by the client device to the private network.

Communication networks might either be private or public. In a private network, communications between multiple computers occur in a secure environment that prevents access from outside the network without appropriate authentication. These networks are considered as "trusted" networks because the communication signals securely travel from one computer to another within the private network without being exposed to the external environment.
Public networks such as the Internet, on the other hand, are not secure because the communication over these networks is not private and is susceptible to interception by other computers. In addition, the public networks cannot guarantee the delivery of the data packets being sent. They allow packets to be injected into, or ejected out of, the networks indiscriminately, and analyzed while in transit. To keep data sent over a public network private, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is commonly established on top of a public network when two computers use the public network to communicate with each other. In a Virtual Private Network, data sent from one computer to another is encrypted by a security gateway and transmitted in encrypted form over the public network to a second security gateway connected to the receiving computer. The second gateway decrypts the data before forwarding it to the receiving computer. Such a private channel established on top of another network is referred to as a network tunnel.
In order to set up a Virtual Private Network, a user first establishes a path to a VPN server and goes through an AAA process (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) for identification and authorization to create a secure tunnel with the server. Once the user is authorized, a secure network tunnel is established between the user and the VPN server over the public network, using a VPN protocol such as IPsec. This process requires a VPN client on the user's side, a VPN server and other VPN hardware on the other side of the tunnel, as well as appropriate user configurations.
Today's private networks often include wireless networks such as WiMAX to accommodate mobile access. In addition, to provide mobility access in a large geographic area, a private enterprise often relies on third-party wireless infrastructures besides its own wireless network. In this case, a user's device would need to be authenticated by both a third-party gateway and an enterprise authentication server before it could access the enterprise network. User credentials are typically requested by and securely returned to the third-party gateway. Once the user is authenticated and authorized, the user may communicate with the third-party wireless gateway.
The user, however, still needs a secure connection between the user's device and an enterprise VPN server in order to access the enterprise's private network when going through a public network. As a result, in an environment that includes a third-party wireless carrier network, the user must be authenticated and authorized by both the public gateway and the enterprise's authentication server in order to access a private enterprise network.
Therefore, there is still a need for an improved system and method for securely communicating with a private network through a public or third-party wireless network without the aforementioned drawbacks.

Secure access to a private network through a public wireless network

International Business Machines Corporation


A sheet-shaped medium processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a pair of arranging members 102a, 102b, and these arranging members 102a, 102b have both arranging function for arranging paper S piled on a tray 12 after being discharged in a discharge direction “a” from a paper discharge roller 3 at only fixed position, and sorting/arranging function for arranging the papers S grouped together at different position in direction (direction perpendicular to paper face) perpendicular to the discharge direction “a” in every copy of grouping together predetermined number of the paper S. For that reason, it is possible to conduct sorting/arranging action by using small drive power and to arrange the paper S in high precision regardless of largeness of piled amount of the paper S on the tray 12.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped medium processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus and a sheet-shaped medium after-treatment apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the sheet-shaped medium after-treatment apparatus and the image forming apparatus, which conduct after-treatment such as punch unit treatment of puncturing punch hole for filing on papers discharged from the image forming apparatus after image formation, staple treatment by using staple means, sealing treatment of a seal and so forth, the papers discharged from discharging means thereof are taken in on sheet piling means (hereinafter referred to as a tray). The piled papers are subjected to automatic arrangement for the sake of exploitation thereafter, however, degree of paper arrangement namely degree of precision of arrangement becomes problem.
In FIG. 25, which indicates one example of a conventional paper processing apparatus, sheet-shaped medium (hereinafter referred to as papers) S that is sent toward the paper processing apparatus along conveyance direction A after being subjected to image formation by using an image forming apparatus that is not illustrated, is introduced to one pair of paper discharge roller 3 as discharging means via a discharging sensor for detecting passage of the paper. A tray 12′ is located in down below of the paper discharge roller 3. The paper S, which is discharged in the discharge direction "a" (direction at right angle to an axis line of the paper discharge roller 3 in approximate horizontal plane) to be prolongation of the conveyance direction from the paper discharge roller 3, falls toward obliquely downward falling direction B depending on inertia and own weight after rear end portion of the paper S leaves from the paper discharge roller 3, then the paper is piled on a shift tray 12′.
When there is no paper on the shift tray 12′, the paper lands with free fall distance from upper surface of the shift tray 12′ to a nip section of the paper discharge roller 3, while when the paper S is piled on surface of the shift tray 12′, the paper lands with free fall distance L from the top surface of the piled paper S to the nip section.
Meanwhile, the paper processing apparatus possesses sorting function, in order to achieve this sorting function, the shift tray 12′ is capable of reciprocating with predetermined amount of stroke (shift amount) necessary for the sorting in a shift direction "c" at right angle to the discharge direction "a" in the horizontal plane. The shift tray 12′ capable of being slid, which is hold at a pedestal 4 extending in the shift direction "c", is made to reciprocate in the shift direction "c" on the pedestal 4 by using drive mechanism that is not illustrated, at the time of sorting.
Outline of sorting action is that the papers of predetermined number of sorting are piled on the shift tray 12′ of being at a halt in one end of reciprocating of movement stroke of the reciprocating. For instance, in cases where several copies of the paper sheaf with 8 sheets of papers as a copy are made to sort to be piled, {circle around (1)} at the time that the shift tray 12′ is located at one end of reciprocation, 8 sheets of papers are discharged to be piled continuously on the shift tray 12′ from the paper discharge roller 3 sequentially. {circle around (2)} next, the shift tray 12′ moves to the other end of the reciprocation, when the shift tray 12′ is located at the other end of the reciprocation, the papers S are discharged to be piled thereon from the paper discharge roller 3. {circle around (3)} After 8 sheets of papers are piled on the shift tray 12′ at the other end of the reciprocation, the shift tray 12′ moves to the one end of the reciprocation, and the same operation as the above {circle around (1)} is conducted.
And under, the same action is repeated until the paper sheaf corresponding to required number of copies are piled. As a result, on the shift tray 12′, it is possible to obtain piled state that is one in which required copies of paper sheaf are sorted in such a way that steps of paper end surface between respective copies are sorted by concave-convex shaped steps corresponding to shift amount of the shift tray 12′ with the paper sheaf of 8-sheet-one-set as one copy.
{circle around (1)} However, in order to reciprocate the shift tray 12′ in the shift direction "c" described above, it is necessary to provide drive means, as the drive means, for instance, a concave-convex-shaped section is formed at the rear end portion of the shift tray 12′, and a concave-convex shaped section fitted into the above described concave-convex shaped section at an end-fence to be rear end receive portion of the paper, in which these respective concave-convex shaped sections are made gearing conditions, further, an eccentric pin is made to engage into a hole extended in the radius direction formed at part of the end-fence, and the eccentric pin is made to rotate by a motor.
At this case, it is possible to obtain necessary shift amount for the sorting in accordance with amount of eccentricity of the eccentric pin, however, since power to operate is different depending on the number of the paper (weight) piled on the shift tray 12′, it is necessary to consider drive motor power of the tray, and the other mechanical parts on condition that maximum possible number of papers are piled, so, in the case of shift action for small number of the paper, it is impossible to use full power of the drive motor, resulting in design with low efficiency.
{circle around (2)} In addition, in FIG. 25, the paper S discharged from the paper discharge roller 3 is simply piled on the shift tray 12′ through being subjected to free fall within the space of free fall distance L. Namely, the paper S of departing from the paper discharge roller 3 is under free condition until the paper S is piled on the shift tray 12′, so, lateral resist of the paper S received from the image forming apparatus is off to the side, or the paper is twisted with skew, so that paper end face in the shift direction "c" of the paper of being piled on the shift tray 12′ does not line up among the papers resulting in occurrence of paper irregularity with lateral gap amount Δ.
Copy agency and so forth require pile with sorting condition of extremely precision because paper sheaves assorted to be piled are treated at next process, for instance the paper sheaves are treated by punch unit. If the paper sheaves are in sorting condition with bad precision, since punch unit processing should be conducted after the paper sheaves taken out from the shift tray 12′ are made to arrange again by hands, so that waste occurs at the point of working efficiency. For that reason, copy agency and so forth require severe arrangement precision about piled paper, so improvement of arrangement precision is desired.
{circle around (3)} Followings are this kind of known technique.                (a) Official gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 10-245148 discloses technique in which there is provided two aligning members capable of moving independently at both sides of width direction at right angles to sheet transfer direction, and these aligning members execute two processing actions of sheet arranging processing in the width direction and shift processing of sorting the sheet in every number of copy, however, since the aligning member conducts two kinds of processing of the sheet arranging processing and the shift processing, mechanism is complicated.        (b) Official gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 5-286609 discloses technique in which sheet is discharged on a carriage capable of moving in a direction of traversing sheet discharge direction, and position of the sheet is aligned in such a way as to move the carriage until the sheet on the carriage is detected by a sensor, however, it is difficult to say that the technique is suitable for alignment of mutual piled many sheets.        (c) Official gazette of the patent (U.S. Pat. No. 2,761,221) discloses technique for aligning transfer paper on the paper discharge tray by use of jogger fence to be aligning means, however, since the technique is one for aligning the transfer paper on the paper discharge tray, it is impossible to conduct sorting.        (d) Official gazette of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. HEI 5-10367 discloses technique in which there are provided two paper discharge side fences of standing upright oppositely on the paper discharge tray, and the paper is piled therebetween, so, respective insides of these side fences, there are provided guide sections capable of projecting and being evacuated, in which the paper discharged between side fences is made to curve by use of the guide sections under projected condition, thereafter, the paper is subjected to free-fall on the paper discharge tray with the guide sections evacuated, however, it is impossible to sort the paper.

Sheet-shaped medium processing apparatus


A more effective noise reduction method is provided. In the method, when mass spectrum information having a spatial distribution is processed, the whole data is taken as three-dimensional data (positional information is stored in an xy plane, and spectral information is stored along a z-axis direction), and three-dimensional wavelet noise reduction is performed by applying preferable basis functions to a spectral direction and a peak distribution direction (in-plane direction).

After the completion of the human genome sequence decoding project, proteome analysis, in which proteins responsible for actual life phenomena are analyzed, has drawn attention. The reason for this is that it is believed that direct analysis of proteins leads to finding of causes for diseases, drug discovery, and tailor-made medical care. Another reason why proteome analysis has drawn attention is, for example, that transcriptome analysis, in other words, analysis of expression of RNA that is a transcription product, does not allow protein expression to be satisfactorily predicted, and that genome information hardly provides a modified domain or conformation of a posttranslationally-modified protein.
The number of types of protein to undergo proteome analysis has been estimated to be several tens of thousands per cell, whereas the amount of expression, in terms of the number of molecules, of each protein has been estimated to range from approximately one hundred to one million per cell. Considering that cells in which each of the proteins is expressed are only part of a living organism, the amount of expression of the protein in the living organism is significantly small. Further, since an amplification method used in the genome analysis cannot be used in the proteome analysis, a detection system in the proteome analysis is effectively limited to a high-sensitivity type of mass spectrometry.
A typical procedure of the proteome analysis is as follows:    (1) Separation and refinement by using two-dimensional electrophoresis or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)    (2) Trypsin digestion of separated and refined protein    (3) Mass spectrometry of the thus obtained peptide fragment compound    (4) Protein identification by cross-checking protein database
The method described above is called a peptide mass fingerprinting method (PMF). In PMF-based mass spectrometry, it is typical that MALDI is used as an ionization method and a TOF mass spectrometer is used as a mass spectrometer.
In another method for performing the proteome analysis, MS/MS measurement is performed on each peptide by using ESI as an ionization method and an ion trap mass spectrometer as a mass spectrometer, and consequently the resultant product ion list may be used in a search process. In the search process, a proteome analysis search engine MASCOT® developed by Matrix Science Ltd. or any other suitable software is used. In the method described above, although the amount of information is larger and more complicated than that in a typical PMF method, the attribution of a continuous amino acid sequence can also be identified, whereby more precise protein identification can be performed than in a typical PMF method.
In addition to the above, examples of related technologies having drawn attention in recent years may include a method for identifying a protein and a peptide fragment based on high resolution mass spectrometry using a Fourier transform mass spectrometer, a method for determining an amino acid sequence through computation by using a peptide MS/MS spectrum and based on mathematical operation called De novo sequencing, a pre-processing method in which (several thousand of) cells of interest in a living tissue section are cut by using laser microdissection, and mass spectrometry-based methods called selected reaction monitoring (SRM) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for quantifying a specific peptide contained in a peptide fragment compound.
On the other hand, in pathologic inspection, for example, a specific antigen in a tissue needs to be visualized. A method mainly used in such pathologic inspection has been so far a method for staining a specific antigen protein by using immunostaining method. In the case of breast cancer, for example, what is visualized by using immunostaining method is ER (estrogen receptor expressed in a hormone dependent tumor), which is a reference used to judge whether hormone treatment should be given, and HER2 (membrane protein seen in a progressive malignant cancer), which is a reference used to judge whether Herceptin should be administered. Immunostaining method, however, involves problems of poor reproducibility resulting from antibody-related instability and difficulty in controlling the efficiency of an antigen-antibody reaction. Further, when demands for such functional diagnoses grow in the future, and, for example, more than several hundreds of types of protein need to be detected, the current immunostaining method cannot meet the requirement.
Still further, in some cases, a specific antigen may be required to be visualized at a cell level. For example, since studies on tumor stem cells have revealed that only fraction in part of a tumor tissue, after heterologous transplantation into an immune-deficient mouse, forms a tumor, for example, it has been gradually understood that the growth of a tumor tissue depends on the differentiation and self-regenerating ability of a tumor stem cell. In a study of this type, it is necessary to observe the distribution of an expressed specific antigen in individual cells in a tissue instead of the distribution in the entire tissue.
As described above, visualization is demanded of an expressed protein, for example in a tumor tissue, exhaustively on a cell level, and a candidate analysis method for the purpose is measurement based on secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) represented by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). In this SIMS-based measurement, two-dimensional, high spatial resolution mass spectrometry information can be obtained. Also, the distribution of each peak in a mass spectrum is readily identified. As a result, the protein corresponding to the spatial distribution of the mass spectrum is identified in a more reliable manner in a shorter period than in related art. The entire data is therefore in some cases taken as three-dimensional data (positional information is stored in the xy plane, and spectral information corresponding to each position is stored along the z-axis direction) for subsequent data processing.
SIMS is a method for producing a mass spectrum at each spatial point by irradiating a sample with a primary ion beam and detecting secondary ions emitted from the sample. For example, in TOF-SIMS, a mass spectrum at each spatial point can be produced based on the fact that the time of flight of each secondary ion depends on the mass M and the amount of charge of the ion. However, since ion detection is a discrete process, and when the number of detected ions is not large, the influence of noise is not negligible. Noise reduction is therefore performed by using a variety of methods.
Among a variety of noise reduction methods, PTL 1 proposes a method for effectively performing noise reduction by using wavelet analysis to analyze two or more two-dimensional images and correlating the images with each other. Another noise reduction method is proposed in NPL 1, in which two-dimensional wavelet analysis is performed on SIMS images in consideration of a stochastic process (Gauss or Poisson process).
The "at a cell level" described above means a level that allows at least individual cells to be identified. While the diameter of a large cell, such as a nerve cell, is approximately 50 μm, that of a typical cell ranges from 10 to 20 μm. To acquire a two-dimensional distribution image at a cell level, the spatial resolution therefore needs to be 10 μm or smaller, preferably 5 μm or smaller, more preferably 2 μm or smaller, still more preferably 1 μm or smaller. The spatial resolution can be determined, for example, from a result of line analysis of a knife-edge sample. In general, the spatial resolution is determined based on a typical definition below: "the distance between two points where the intensity of a signal associated with a substance located on one of the two sides of the contour of the sample is 20% and 80%, respectively."

Method and apparatus for reducing noise in mass signal


A torsional vibration damper, including: an axis of rotation; a spring retainer plate including a plurality of openings passing through and wholly surrounded by material forming the spring retainer plate and a plurality of rivet tabs, each rivet tab including a respective portion aligned with a respective opening from the plurality of openings so that a line in an axial direction, parallel to the axis of rotation, passes through the respective portion and the respective opening; an intermediate plate; a plurality of rivets passing through the plurality of rivet tabs and connecting the intermediate plate to the spring retainer plate; and a plurality of springs engaged with the spring retainer plate.

Known serial torsional vibration dampers include a spring retainer plate, an intermediate plate, and an output flange. A first set of springs is retained by and engaged with the spring retainer plate and engaged with the cover plate. A second set of springs is engaged with the intermediate plate and the output plate. The second set of springs can be engaged with the spring retainer plate as well. Typically, the spring retainer plate and the intermediate plate are non-rotatably connected, for example by rivets, in particular sheet metal rivets. Ideally the rivets are placed near openings in the spring retainer plate for the first set of springs without interfering with operation of the first set of springs. However, the portion of the spring retainer plate best suited for receiving the rivets is curved to form the outermost portion of the spring retainer plate, which retains the first set of springs in axial and radial directions. In other words, without this increment on the holes diameter placement, the contact wouldn't be uniform between these components surfaces (sheet metal rivets and flange tabs). Also, in order to get more clearance between the flange stop radius and the sheet metal rivet flat surfaces, the diameter of the sheet metal rivet holes are increased to avoid radial stack-up issues between components. The rivet heads contact the curved surface of the spring retainer, which degrades the strength and durability of the rivet connection.

Spring retainer plate with lanced rivet tabs


A sample manager of a liquid chromatography system implements a thermal system that uses a dual-loop feedback control system to control temperature within a thermal chamber. The sample manager includes an external heatsink disposed externally to the thermal chamber, an internal heatsink disposed within the thermal chamber, and one or more thermoelectric devices thermally coupled to the external and internal heatsinks to transfer heat therebetween in response to a pulse-width modulated power signal. A first temperature sensor disposed within the thermal chamber continuously measures a chamber temperature. A second temperature sensor coupled to the internal heatsink within the thermal chamber continuously measures temperature at the internal heatsink. A feedback control system controls a duty cycle of the pulse-width modulated power signal in response to a target chamber temperature and real-time temperature measurements produced by the first and second temperature sensors.

Chromatography is a set of techniques for separating a mixture into its constituents. For instance, in a liquid chromatography application, a pump takes in and delivers a mixture of liquid solvents to a sample manager, where an injected sample awaits its arrival. In an isocratic chromatography application, the composition of the liquid solvents remains unchanged, whereas in a gradient chromatography application, the solvent composition varies over time. The mobile phase, comprised of a sample dissolved in a mixture of solvents, passes to a column, referred to as the stationary phase. By passing the mixture through the column, the various components in the sample separate from each other at different rates and thus elute from the column at different times. A detector receives the elution from the column and produces an output from which the identity and quantity of the analytes may be determined.
During many chromatographic runs, the sample manager may maintain the sample at a low, near-freezing temperature. Critical to the reliability of the outcome of a chromatographic result is the ability to maintain the temperature consistently within the sample chamber (also called a thermal chamber). Because there are temperature differences between the cooling engine and the thermal chamber, the cooling engine needs to run colder than the desired chamber temperature. In addition, invariably there is moisture within the thermal chamber. This moisture condenses on the cooling engine, and will freeze if the cooling engine is at or below the freezing point. Icing of the cooling engine degrades the ability to control chamber temperature, which can have deleterious effects on the results of the chromatographic run.

Thermal control of thermal chamber in high-performance liquid chromatography systems


A method of performing inspection alignment point selection for semiconductor devices includes importing, with a computer device, one or more semiconductor design files corresponding to an area of a semiconductor die; aligning a design taken from the one or more semiconductor design files with an image taken from a die of a semiconductor wafer; and selecting an alignment point and recording a portion of the design file corresponding to the alignment point as a master reference image.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor device manufacturing and, more particularly, to robust inspection alignment of semiconductor inspection tools using design information.
Fabricating semiconductor devices, such as logic and memory devices, typically includes processing a semiconductor wafer (substrate) using a large number of fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. For example, lithography is a semiconductor fabrication process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle to a photoresist layer formed on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), etching, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in an arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Inspection processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on wafers in order to produce higher yield. While inspection has always been an integral part of fabricating semiconductor devices, the continued miniaturization of such devices has placed increased importance on inspection for the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices, as smaller defects can cause device failure. For instance, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, detection of defects of decreasing size has become necessary since even relatively small defects may cause unwanted aberrations in the semiconductor devices.
However, as the progressive shrinking of integrated circuits to submicron-sized features has continued, identifying and eliminating defects formed during wafer processing has (in addition to becoming increasingly more important) also become more difficult. Previously used optical inspection techniques are ineffective for a growing percentage of these defects. As such, fast response, high magnification inspection techniques are required to support rapid defect learning and to ensure device reliability, particularly during the product development phase. In this regard, automated e-beam inspection (EBI) wafer imaging tools with high resolution and large depth-of-focus have been developed in response to the need for rapid feedback on process or reticle defects which cannot be observed by conventional optical inspection. In general, e-beam imaging tools operate by rastering an e-beam across a wafer and comparing a signal from a given position on chips to the same position on two adjacent chips.
EBI is able to capture extremely small physical defects, as well as defects that can only be detected through voltage contrast from their electrical characteristics. Also, high quality patch images, which are very useful for classification of the defects, are captured for almost all defects. These advantages with respect to conventional optical imaging make EBI a preferred inspection technique for a wide range of applications in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Robust inspection alignment of semiconductor inspection tools using design information


A shift register unit, a gate driving circuit, a display device and a driving method. The shift register unit includes a blank input circuit, a blank pull-up circuit, a display input circuit, and an output circuit. The blank input circuit charges and holds the level of the pull-up control node, the blank pull-up circuit uses a first clock signal to charge a pull-up node, the display input circuit charges the pull-up node, and the output circuit outputs a plurality of output clock signals respectively to a plurality of output terminals. The plurality of output terminals include a shift signal output terminal and a plurality of pixel signal output terminals. The plurality of pixel signal output terminals are configured to respectively output a plurality of pixel signals to a plurality of rows of pixel units.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a shift register unit, a gate driving circuit, a display device, and a driving method.
In the display field, especially in Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panels, the gate driving circuit is currently generally integrated in a gate driving chip (GATE IC). The area of the chip in the IC design is the main factor affecting the cost of the chip. How to effectively reduce the area of the chip is a technical developer's important consideration.
At present, the gate driving circuit for OLEDs is usually composed of three sub-circuits, that is, a detection circuit, a display circuit, and a coupling circuit (or a gate circuit) that outputs a composite pulse of both. Such a circuit structure is very complex and cannot meet the requirements of a high-resolution narrow bezel of a display panel.

Shift register unit, gate driving circuit, display device and driving method


A solid thermoplastic semi-crystalline friction-activated adhesive composition comprising the mixture of:                (a) from about 50 to about 100 parts by weight of a semi-crystalline adhesive polymer that comprises:                    (1) crystalline monomer having an alkyl carbon length of at least 16 carbon atoms;            (2) non-crystalline monomer having a homopolymer Tg below about 80° C.;            (3) waxy, soft monomer having an average pendant alkyl carbon length of at least 14 carbon atoms;            (4) monomer having acid or base functionality;            (5) functional or non-functional macromere having a Tm from about 40 to about 120° C.;                        (b) 0 to about 50 parts by weight of tackifier;        (c) 0 to about 50 parts by weight of crystalline additive;        (d) 0 to about 50 parts by weight of filler;        (e) 0 to about 30 parts by weight of oil; and        (f) 0 to about 50 parts by weight of one surfactant.Also glue crayons and other application devices comprising such adhesive compositions.

The use of adhesives is commonplace. Commonly used adhesives are available as liquids, semisolid or stick forms, paste, or as solids which must be activated with water, heat, or a solvent for use. Many adhesives use one or more solvents, which, are subject to evaporation resulting in drying out of the composition rendering it unusable. Alternatively, there can be some type of curing mechanism after application to secure a bond.
Many adhesive materials require special storage conditions or packaging, both during distribution, sale, etc., and throughout service life. For example, conventional white glue and glue sticks must be kept tightly sealed or the solvent components thereof can escape, making the adhesive unusable for future applications.
Although solid adhesive sticks of friction-activated adhesive have been known for some time, they have not been sufficiently user-friendly.
Some solid adhesive sticks have poor writability, minimal tack, minimal open (bonding) time, and poor adhesion properties. Other solid adhesive sticks are difficult to apply to surfaces, sometimes requiring the adhesive to be applied to both surfaces being bonded, necessitating rubbing several times with a hard object to ensure bonding, sometimes requiring the use of very high pressures or temperatures to bond (well above what a child or person could apply by simply rubbing with their hand or finger).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,268 (Randen et al.) discloses a 100% solids friction-activated adhesive that typically contains a minimum of about 4 parts by weight of a "tackifying monomeric unit having a glass transition temperature (Tg) in the range of about 100° C." (e.g., Tg in the range of 80° to 110° C.).
The need exists for better friction adhesive formulations that easily apply with minimal writing pressure, produce an even coat of adhesive, and offer both good initial tack and eventual permanence.

Friction-activated adhesive formulations and application devices


A controller for a vehicle includes a processor and a memory storing processor-executable instructions. The processor of the controller is programmed to receive a side-impact signal representing a collision to a side of the vehicle, receive an occupancy signal indicating that a first rear seat of the vehicle is occupied, and send an output control signal to deploy an airbag between a front seat adjacent the side of the vehicle and a second rear seat adjacent the side of the vehicle in response to the side-impact signal and the occupancy signal only when the second rear seat is unoccupied.

Vehicles, such as automobiles, may include airbags designed to inflate and be impacted by occupants of a rear seat during a front or side impact of the vehicle. For example, a side curtain airbag may deploy from above a door during a side collision, and the side curtain airbag may be impacted by an occupant in the rear seat adjacent to the side curtain airbag. For another example, an airbag may deploy rearward from a seatback of a front seat during a front impact, and an occupant in the rear seat behind the front seat may impact the airbag.
During a side impact to a side of the vehicle opposite an occupant sitting in a rear seat, the occupant may be urged laterally toward the impacted side by the force of the impact. While a seatbelt may mitigate some effects of a side impact to the occupant seated on the far side from the impact, not all states mandate wearing seat belts in the rear seats, and not all occupants choose to wear seatbelts.


An image pickup lens system includes a lens 1 of a meniscus shape having a first face as a convex  concave face, and a diaphragm 2 disposed on an object side of the lens 1. The lens 1 meets the following conditions: Y′/fl equal to or larger than 0.6; Dt/Dc is equal to or smaller than 0.9 and equal to or larger than 0.5; and Ap2/Am2 is equal to or larger than 0.9. Thus, even when an image pickup element is of a reduced size, a desired optical performance can be maintained, and it is possible to produce a lens easily with a back focal length ensured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup lens system and particularly, to an image pickup lens system of a single lens construction, which is used in an image pickup device (e.g., a CCD camera) utilizing an image pickup element such as CCD, CMOS and the like mounted in a mobile telephone or the like, and which can be reduced in weight and size.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the multimedia have been developed remarkably, and for example, the demand for a camera utilizing an image pickup element such as CCD, CMOS and the like adapted to be mounted in a portable computer, a visual telephone, a mobile telephone and the like, e.g., a CCD camera, is being increased remarkably. Such a CCD camera is required to be mounted in a limited space and for this reason, it is desired that the CCD camera is small in size and lightweight.
Therefore, it is also desired that an image pickup lens system used in such a CCD camera is likewise small in size and lightweight.
A single-lens system using a single lens is conventionally used as such an image pickup lens system.
There is such a conventionally known image-pickup lens systems of a single lens type disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.10-282410 and the like.
A ¼ inch sensor (having a diagonal dimension of about 4.5 mm) has been conventionally used in many cases as a solid image pickup element mounted in a mobile telephone. In recent years, however, a 1/7 inch sensor (having a diagonal dimension of about 2.6 mm) of a further reduced size has been used mainly in place of the above-described ¼ inch sensor.
In the image pickup lens system of such an extremely small size, it is necessary to meet the following conditions:
First of all, in the image pickup element such as CCD, CMOS and the like, 100% of light obliquely entering into the image pickup element cannot be utilized for the structural reason, unlike a silver-salt film and hence, it is required that light enters into a lens at an angle closer to the vertical at any position on the image pickup element. In other words, it is required that a telecentric property is high, and a distance between the image pickup element and a pupil is large.
In the image pickup element, light is sensed by each of picture elements provided in the image pickup element, but the sensitiveness of each picture element within the image pickup element is uniform and hence, it is desirable that the amount of light entering into the image pickup element is kept constant at any position within the image pickup element. In other words, it is required that the amount of light is uniform in a central portion and a peripheral portion of the image pickup element and hence, it is required that the amount of light in the peripheral portion ensured as much as possible.
These conditions are more important than those in the prior art, because the size of each picture element is reduced with a reduction in size of the image pickup element and as a result, the sensitiveness is also reduced.
Further, in general, a cover glass is disposed on a surface of the image pickup element, and depending on the application, any one of various filters (such as an IR cutting filter, a low-band pass filter and the like) is also inserted. Therefore, a relatively long back focal length is required.
For example, in an image pickup lens of a wide-angle type used in the ¼ inch sensor, it is relatively easy to ensure a distance between the image pickup element and a pupil and a back focal length, because the focal length is as relatively long as about 4 mm.
In an image pickup lens of a wide-angle type used in the 1/7 inch sensor, however, the focal length is as extremely short as about 2 mm. For this reason, the distance between the image pickup element and a pupil and the back focal length are also shortened with a reduction in focal length. Therefore, the following problem is encountered: It is extremely difficult that the image pickup lens used in the conventional ¼ inch sensor is reduced in size and used for the /7 inch sensor. When the size of the lens is merely reduced, as described above, there is also a problem that the accuracies of the thickness of the central portion of the lens and the thickness of a flange are degraded remarkably.
The position of the pupil can be set at the maximum by disposing a diaphragm in the vicinity of the position of the focal length on the side of an object. In this case, however, the following problem is encountered: The size of the entire lens (the thickness and the effective diameter of an optical face) is increased extremely, but also the workability of the lens is degraded.
Further, the back focal length can be improved by forming the lens into a meniscus shape, but there is a problem that if the lens is not of an appropriate shape, the workability of the lens is degraded.


A process is provided for producing nitrophenetole where nitrochlorobenzene is reacted in a cosolvent of a monohydric alcohol and N-alkylpyrrolidone with aqueous alkali metal hydroxide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved process for the manufacture of nitrophenetole. More particularly, the present invention relates to the manufacture of nitrophenetole by the ethoxylation of p-nitrochlorobenzene wherein the reaction is carried out in the presence of oxygen to suppress the formation of azo and azoxy compounds as by-products and wherein nitrophenetole is produced with greater conversions and greater yields.
2. Prior Art
For a variety of organic syntheses p-nitrophenetole is an important chemical intermediate. One significant commercial use of p-nitrophenetole is as an intermediate chemical in the manufacture of p-phenetidine. p-Phenetidine is an important intermediate in the manufacture of ethoxyquin, the common name of 2,2,4-trimethyl-6-ethoxy-1-H-dihydroquinoline. Ethoxyquin has found wide commercial use in reducing or suppressing the oxidation of oils in animal feeds and the like. Animal feeds having an effective antioxidant amount of ethoxyquin have significantly longer shelf life than feeds not having the same incorporated therein. p-Phenetidine is also an important intermediate compound useful in the manufacture of phenacetin, phenocoll, p-phenetyl-urea and various dyestuff intermediates.
A well-known method for the manufacture of p-nitrophenetole involves the ethoxylation of p-nitrochlorobenzene in an ethanolic solution containing an alkali metal hydroxide, such as sodium hydroxide according to the following equation: ##STR1## Unfortunately, this known reaction is plagued with the formation of azo and azoxy compounds as undesirable by-products. These by-products are the result of an exothermic side reaction of p-nitrochlorobenzene under the reaction conditions normally employed. The by-products have been identified as 4,4-dichloroazoxybenzene and 4,4'-dichloroazobenzene. When p-nitrochlorobenzene is reacted with ethanol in the presence of an aqueous solution of alkali metal hydroxide, the azo and azoxy by-products may be produced in yields as high as 40 mol percent and higher. Accordingly, in commercial production of p-nitrophenetole steps are taken to minimize or suppress the runaway exothermic reactions that result in the formation of the azo and azoxy by-products. One effective way to control the formation of the azo and azoxy by-products is to introduce molecular oxygen in the liquid reaction mixture of p-nitrochlorobenzene, ethanol and aqueous sodium hydroxide. In order to optimize the control of the formation of the by-products, the oxygen content in the headspace above the reaction mixture is usually maintained above 15 mol percent. Oxygen being present in such high amount, together with ethanol, gives rise to a potential flammability and explosion hazard. As will be appreciated, a desired end would be to carry out the reaction at a lower oxygen content in the headspace while controlling the formation of azo and azoxy by-products. The present invention discloses a method that enables one to carry out the reaction of p-nitrochlorobenzene and ethanol with alkali metal hydroxide at significantly reduced levels of headspace oxygen while at the same time minimizing the formation of the azo and azoxy compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,113 describes the ethoxylation of p-nitrochlorobenzene to produce p-nitrophenetole in the presence of air to suppress the occurrence of side reactions that result in the production of undesirable azo and azoxy compounds. In accordance with this known process, the air quantity must be carefully controlled in order to suppress the side reactions forming the azo and azoxy compounds.
Romanian Patent No. 62,677 discloses a process wherein the ethylation of p-nitrophenol with ethyl chloride is carried out in a polar aprotic solvent. In this known process, p-nitrophenol is used in the form of anhydrous sodium salts with the introduction of gaseous ethyl chloride as it is consumed in the reaction. N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide and N-methylpyrrolidone are mentioned in the patent as suitable polar aprotic solvents.
German Patent No. 2,639,700 describes the synthesis of p-nitrophenetole by reacting p-nitrochlorobenzene with ethanol in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide in dimethyl sulfoxide solvent. This known method is not concerned with the use of an air sparge to minimize the formation of the azo and azoxy by-products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,190 discloses preparing p-nitrophenetole by reaction of p-nitrochlorobenzene with ethanol and alkali metal hydroxides in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst, such as the customary quaternary organic ammonium salts.

Process for the manufacture of nitrophenetole


A method and system for automatically analyzing and searching a database of digital content items includes a process for analyzing digital content items to identify portions capable of receiving text. In one implementation user input is received, where the user input helps construct a set of ordered values representing digital content item features desired by the user. The constructed set of ordered values is compared to sets of ordered values corresponding to digital content items in the database of digital content items, and digital content items are retrieved with sets of ordered values corresponding to the constructed set of ordered values.

In the sales, marketing and copywriting industries one of the desired features of an image is the availability of copy space. Copy space generally refers to a physical place on an image where copy or text may be added when the image is used in a design of an advertisement or display of the image in sales and marketing or related material.
With the proliferation of large libraries of internet sites making digital images available to these designers and copywriters, there is a need for a system and method to quickly search these libraries for images having copy space that satisfy their design requirements.
Current techniques for identifying images with copy space or specific features include tags, which are generally text descriptors, included as part of the image metadata. The tag data must be determined before the images are uploaded to the library. The user then searches the library for all such images having tags indicating available copy space.
A disadvantage of the tagging is that each image must be viewed and then appropriately tagged when uploaded to the library. This process can be time consuming and highly susceptible to human error. Furthermore current tags are limited in the amount of information they provide. Current searches will retrieve images that simply have copy space available, but not provide an indication as to how much space is available, where it occurs in the image, etc. So, users are not easily able to identify whether a selected group of images have, for example, a large enough copy space.

System and method for searching digital images


A method for configuring a remote-control system includes querying via a bus a High Definition Multi-Media Interface (HDMI) display for an Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) for the HDMI display; receiving via the bus from the HDMI display the EDID for the HDMI display; and storing via a processor in a memory the EDID and a link between the EDID of the HDMI display a set of command codes configured for controlling the HDMI display.

The present invention generally relates to remote-control systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a remote-control system configured to operate on a variety of remote control platforms, such as High Definition Multi-Media Interface appliances.
Traditional remote-control devices for controlling appliances have typically been hand-held electronic devices, and have typically been configured to control a variety of appliances including televisions, DVD players, stereo equipment (e.g., CD players, tuners, amplifiers, etc.), personal video recorders (PVRs), set-top-boxes (cable television tuners, satellite dish tuners, etc.), surround sound devices, other remote-control devices (e.g., IR blasters, RF blasters, etc.), media applications on a computer, or other types of processor controlled devices, etc. Some remote-control devices are also configured to control heating systems, cooling systems, lighting, window coverings, and the like.
Modern remote-control devices have progressed from traditional hand-held electronic devices to remote-control systems that may be embedded in appliances, blasters, set-top-boxes, bridges, etc. One or more components of such embedded systems may continue to be hand-held, either in a form factor similar to a traditional remote-control device, or as a software-based controller embedded in hand-held devices, such as smartphones. As is well known by those of skill in the art, the High Definition Multi-Media Interface (HDMI) standard specifies the Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) standard, which provides for connected HDMI appliances (e.g., connected via HDMI cables) to remotely control one another. That is, the CEC standard provides that connected HDMI appliance may each include a remote-control system, which is embedded in an HDMI appliance, where each remote-control system in each connected HDMI appliance may control the other connected HDMI appliances. The CEC standard is an option standard and is not required to be implemented in HDMI appliances. The goal of the CEC standard is to simplify the remote control of HDMI appliances by providing that a single command entered in one HDMI appliance may be proliferated throughout a set of HDMI appliances to place the set of HDMI appliances in a desired state. For example, one of the more commonly expected remote control functions under the CEC standard is "one touch play." For one touch play, an HDMI DVD player, for example, receiving a play command to play a DVD may issue CEC command codes to an HDMI TV to power on, switch the input to the HDMI DVD player, and format the screen dimensions (e.g., widescreen) for the DVD. The HDMI DVD player may also issue CEC command codes to an HDMI surround sound system to power on and adjust to a given volume level and sound equalization setting. The foregoing described remote-control operation has traditionally required a series of button presses on one or more traditional remote-control devices. The CEC standard provides that these multiple commands may be accomplished with a single button press (e.g., press of the play button on the HDMI DVD player, the press of the play button on a traditional remote-control device configured to control the HDMI DVD player, etc.).
While the CEC standard was designed to simplify remote control operations, the CEC standard introduces a number of complications into remote-control systems embedded in HDMI devices. One complication that the CEC standard introduces is the allowance of custom CEC command codes for HDMI appliances. More specifically, custom CEC command codes may be created for some HDMI appliances where these custom CEC command codes are unrecognized and not understood by other HDMI appliances. Therefore, not all HDMI appliances that are interconnected will be configured to understand the custom CEC command codes of other HDMI appliances. Further, the CEC standard provides limited solutions for correcting and compensating for failed CEC command codes.
Therefore, new remote-control systems, such as new embedded remote-control systems, are needed to provide solutions for known short comings in the CEC standard as well as to provide enhanced functions not specified by the CEC standard.

Apparatus and method for configuration and operation of a remote-control system


One embodiment provides a content addressable memory, including: a pair of spin MOSFETs including: a first spin MOSFET whose magnetization state is set in accordance with stored data; and a second spin MOSFET whose magnetization state is set in accordance with the stored data, the second spin MOSFET being connected in parallel with the first spin MOSFET; a first wiring configured to apply a gate voltage so that any one of the first spin MOSFET and the second spin MOSFET becomes electrically conductive in accordance with search data; and a second wiring configured to apply a current to both of the first spin MOSFET and the second spin MOSFET.

Content addressable memory (CAM) is used, for example, between a router and a CPU/cache or the like, so that high speed searching is performed. In a general memory like an RAM such as an SRAM or DRAM sends back data stored in a particular address upon designation of the address. On the contrary, the CAM retrieves stored data matching with designated search data from all contents and sends back an address where the stored data is stored upon designation of the search data. In practice, the CAM is combined with an ordinary RAM as a CAM/RAM and functions such that, when a certain data word is inputted from a user, another data word associated with the data word is outputted.
The CAM can perform searching at a higher speed than the RAM in all searching purposes. However, since the CAM requires a physical memory space for searching, the circuit area becomes large. In the CAM which operates perfectly concurrently, a circuit for comparison with input data in accordance with all bits in the memory is required differently from the RAM composed of simple storage cells. Moreover, in order to find not matching one bit but matching a data word as a whole, a circuit for collecting comparison results is also required. Since the circuit area of the CAM increases because of these additional circuits, the manufacturing cost increases. And, since increase of the circuit area results in relative reduction of a data storing region, the memory space is relatively decreased. Further, since the above-mentioned comparison circuit performs a standby operation so as to wait for data input, large static power consumption is required compared with the RAM. As a result, search speed has a trade-off relationship with cost and power consumption. And, the CAM is used almost mainly for the case where searching at a very high speed is essential.


A device for keeping a razor that, on the one hand, allows safe storage and keeping of the razor and, on the other hand, can be used as a stand from which the razor can easily be removed for its designated use includes a housing with two housing portions pivotable relative to one another, a longitudinal guide in the first housing portion and at least one guide element mounted on the second housing portion and slidable along the longitudinal guide. The guide element also forms the pivot point for pivoting the two housing portions out of a first position in which the device is closed into a second position in which the razor is accessible for removal.

The invention concerns a device for keeping a razor.
Razors and in particular wet shavers are as a rule presented in hard packages which consist of a bottom portion and a usually transparent cover portion. Such packages are suitable both for sales-promoting presentation of the razor and for protective safe keeping thereof, for example, during traveling. A disadvantage of the known packages is that they are less suitable for easy removal of the razor for daily use. Separate stands from which the razor can easily be suspended are therefore often employed by the users.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a device for keeping a razor, which, on the one hand, allows safe storage and keeping of the razor and which, on the other hand, can be used as a stand from which the razor can easily be removed for its designated use.


A solid electrolytic capacitor according to an aspect of the present invention includes an anode conductor including a porous valve metal body, a dielectric layer formed on a surface of the anode conductor, and a solid electrolyte layer including a conductive polymer layer formed on a surface of the dielectric layer, in which the solid electrolyte layer includes a first solid electrolyte layer formed on a surface of the dielectric layer, and a second solid electrolyte layer formed on a surface of the first solid electrolyte layer, and at least one continuous or discontinuous layer containing an amine compound exists between the first and second solid electrolyte layers, and inside the second solid electrolyte layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor and its manufacturing method, in particular to a solid electrolytic capacitor having a low ESR and high reliability, and its manufacturing method.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of a solid electrolytic capacitor in which a dielectric oxide film is formed on a porous body made of a valve metal such as tantalum and aluminum by an anodic oxidation method, and then at least one conductive polymer layer is formed on this oxide film and used as a solid electrolyte layer has been in progress.
The formation method of the conductive polymer layer, which is used as the solid electrolyte layer of such a solid electrolytic capacitor, is broadly divided into two methods, i.e., a chemical oxidation polymerization method and an electrolytic oxidation polymerization method. Examples of known monomers that can constitute a conductive polymer material include pyrrole, thiophene, 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene, aniline or the like.
The solid electrolytic capacitor like this has a lower equivalent series resistance (called "ESR") than that of conventional capacitors using manganese dioxide as a solid electrolyte layer, and is beginning to be used for a variety of purposes. As the frequency and the current of integrated circuits have been increasing in recent years, the demand for solid electrolytic capacitors having a lower ESR, a larger capacitance, and a smaller loss has grown.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-306788 (Patent literature 1) discloses a technique to achieve excellent capacitor characteristics while reducing the number of necessary processes by adding a colloidal solution of polymer fine particles during formation of a conductive polymer layer.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-109252 (Patent literature 2) discloses a technique to form a conductive polymer layer on a dielectric oxide film by chemical oxidation polymerization and then to apply and dry a conductive polymer solution. According to the literature, by doing so, it is possible to ensure the thickness of the conductive polymer layer, prevent damage to the dielectric oxide film caused by a stress, and reduce the manufacturing time.
In the method disclosed in Patent literature 1, the colloid of polymer fine particles is present. However, the conductive polymer layer is formed by chemical oxidation polymerization. Therefore, because of the nature of the chemical oxidation polymerization, it is very difficult to form a fine conductive polymer layer having an excellent adhesive property.
Meanwhile, the method disclosed in Patent literature 2 makes it possible to form a conductive polymer layer having a sufficient thickness by applying and drying a conductive polymer solution. However, due to the effects of the surface tension and the wettability of the conductive polymer solution, the central portion of the conductive polymer layer tends to become thicker while the peripheral portion (corner portion) tends to become thinner. Further, since the adhesive property between the layer formed by the chemical oxidation polymerization and the layer formed by applying and drying the conductive polymer solution is poor, there is a problem that they tend to be separated from each other due to a thermal stress or a mechanical stress that is caused at the time of mounting or the like.

Solid electrolytic capacitor and its manufacturing method


Disclosed is a processor-implemented method for processing image data comprising a plurality of pixels and system for performing the method. The method includes the following acts: determining at least one type of data represented by the plurality of pixels, determining, for each type of data, a number of pixels from the image data representing that type of data in the image data, and determining a compression scheme for compressing the image data based on a relative or absolute amount of each type of data in accordance with a predetermined scheme. The type of data may be determined by received input (e.g., user selected type and compression quality) or by analyzing its pixels and comparing it to thresholds. Basing the compression technique on the data type allows for better selection of a compression technique (e.g., MRC or JPEG), and thus greater image quality, compression ratios, and file size.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is generally related to a method of and system for improving quality and size of image data. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method of and a system for selecting a compression scheme based on the type of image data being processed, and may include user selections such as original type of data, file size, image quality, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Before image data is stored (and later output) to a digital output device, the image data is preferably compressed, i.e., coded to minimize the space needed to store and output the image data. In particular, due to its large size, digital image data for export or that is output to a device such as a multi-function printer (e.g., for copying and/or printing) typically requires compression.
One technique for manipulating digital image data includes segmentation (or auto-segmentation). Segmenting image data into two or more planes tends to improve compression of the image, and also allows different compression methods to be applied to the different planes. For example, it is generally known in the art that a compression scheme such as mixed raster content (MRC) (also referred to as multiple raster content) may be used by digital multifunction devices (MFDs) or printers to manipulate and compress image data (such as image data comprising mixed content such as text and pictorial data). Examples of common MRC schemes include 3-layer MRC and N-layer MRC models. Such MRC compression models are becoming increasingly popular for image storage or archiving, especially for text and mixed content documents and forms because of their increased compressibility. Alternatively, other compression methods, such as JPEG compression, may be used to compress image data.
Current devices typically apply one of the above noted compression schemes to process image data, regardless of the image data type and/or user selection of job parameters. This results poor image quality in some images, sometimes along with a poor compression ratio.
As such, a method of and a system for selecting a compression scheme based on the type of image data being processed is desirable in order to at least improve output image quality as well as file size.

Compression scheme selection based on image data type and user selections


A water pipe bowl assembly includes a hollow adapter having a connector and an opposed insert, and a bowl support extends radially outward from hollow adapter between the connector and the insert. A hollow bowl fixture is positioned on the bowl support and over the insert, and includes inwardly-directed upper flange encircling the closed outer end of the insert, an inwardly-directed lower flange encircling the inner end of the insert, and a smoke-collection chamber between the upper and lower flanges through which the insert extends from the inner end to the closed outer end. The upper flange and the closed outer end of the insert form a bowl for receiving a substance to be smoked and a smoke-inhalation pathway from the bowl to the smoke-collection chamber, and the opening through insert is for transferring inhalation smoke from the smoke-collection chamber to the hollow adapter.

The use of water in smoking implements is well known, in which smoke from a substance combusting in a bowl is drawn through a container of water from a smoke inlet tube connected to the bowl to a drawtube to the mouth of the smoker. Drawing the smoke through the water cools the smoke, and filters ash, tars, and other contaminants from the smoke. A typical water pipe includes container for holding the water, a bowl for the smoking substance, a smoke inlet tube coupled between the bowl and the container at a point beneath the water applied to the container, and a drawtube for the passage of smoke from the water to the mouth of the smoker. The bowls of modern version of water pipes easily clog, are difficult to clean between uses, and tend to produce excessive ash buildup in the water necessitating frequent changing of the water. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved bowl assembly that solves at least these problems.