A lifting attachment for lifting paint containers into and out of paint mixers of the type supported by a generally horizontal surface and including at least one side, the lifting attachment having a pair of rigidly connected arms, each including a proximal end pivotably connected to the paint mixer and a distal end extending beyond the side of a paint mixer, a mechanical link in the form of a strap and hook connected to a cross member intermediate the proximal and distal ends of the arms for lifting and lowering a paint bucket into and out of the paint mixer and a pair of gas springs connected between the paint mixer and the lifting arms for urging the lifting attachment vertically upwards.

Powered mixers are popular in retail outlets selling paint. When the paint is vended in five gallon buckets (or similar containers), considerable effort required to lift the buckets into and out of the mixers. One fort of assistance has been to provide a roller conveyor in front of one version of a paint mixer to raise the bucket to a height at or near that necessary to slide the bucket into the mixer. However, with xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d type paint mixers further lifting effort is still required to move the bucket between the conveyor and mixer. The present invention reduces this effort and provides an attachment that makes it easier to lift five gallon buckets or similar containers of paint into and out of xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d type paint mixers. The present invention will accomplish its function whether or not a conveyor is present in front of the mixer.
The present invention, in one aspect, includes a lifting attachment apparatus for lifting paint containers into and out of paint mixers, where the attachment apparatus is in combination with the paint mixer and includes a paint mixer supported by a generally horizontal surface with at least one side, at least one lifting arm including a proximal end pivotably connected to the paint mixer and a distal end extending beyond the side of a paint mixer, a mechanical link connected to the lifting arm intermediate the proximal and distal ends for lifting and lowering a paint container into and out of the paint mixer, and a spring means connected between the paint mixer and the lifting arm for urging the lifting arm vertically upwards.
The present invention, in another aspect, includes a method of assisting movement of a paint container into and out of a paint mixer according to the steps of providing a lifting attachment having at least one lifting arm with a proximal end pivotably connected to a paint mixer and a distal end extending beyond a side of a paint mixer, a mechanical link connected to the lifting arm intermediate the proximal and distal ends for lifting and lowering a paint container into and out of the paint mixer, and spring means connected between the paint mixer and the lifting arm for urging the lifting arm vertically upwards, engaging the mechanical link to the paint container; and assisting movement of the paint container with respect to the mixer by moving the lifting arm with the assistance of the spring means.

Paint container lifting attachment for paint mixers


A digital rights management system is provided that includes a receiving device for receiving an encryption key request from a client device, a first database for storing a set of supported security capabilities corresponding to client device, a second database for storing a set of required security capabilities corresponding to at least one of the encryption key and content associated with the encryption key, a content management system for establishing rules to determine the set of required security capabilities corresponding to content, and a processing device. The processing device may be configured to identify the set of supported security capabilities corresponding to the client device and identify the set of required security capabilities corresponding to the content associated with the encryption key. The content management system may be configured to configure the set of supported security capabilities and configure the set of required security capabilities.

Content studios and service providers often want high value content to be played and/or processed on only those devices (or clients) that are guaranteed to conform to a set of security constraints. The high value content is suitably encrypted and a goal is to ensure that encryption keys used in the encryption of the high value content are secure.
The security constraints may be delivered in a license to the client. The client may report its security capabilities to the content studios and service providers. However, the content studios and service providers risk that a client does not report correct information either through mistake or intentional deception. Additionally, security constraints may be modified by the content studios and service providers without being updated by the client.
Modifying the security constraints may introduce operational complexity in client software management and consequently heightens the risk of a poor client experience.
Thus, there is a need for a technological solution to protect high value content with a changing set of security constraints (capabilities) required by the content of the service provider and supported by the client. The technical solution should not need to trust clients, should not increase operational complexity, should not hamper an end user experience, and should not increase complexity of content and/or software management.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method to configure required security capabilities


The invention provides a ligand-bonded fiber in which a ligand having affinity for a cell membrane receptor is immobilized on a fiber precursor, and a cell culture substrate capable of repeating ex vivo amplification of a cell expressing a cell membrane receptor by using the ligand-bonded fiber.

Many cell membrane receptors exist on the cell surface of multicellular organisms, and they receive information given from the outside of the cell and play a role of converting same to information into the cell. Physiological extracellular (intercellular) signal transduction substances (i.e., ligand) targeting cell membrane receptors can be classified into a neurotransmitter, an endocrine substance (hormone), a low molecular substance, a cell proliferation/differentiation factor (cytokine and the like), and a cell adhesion factor, and they respectively have specific affinity for targeting receptors in different secretory formats.
Various studies have conventionally been conducted utilizing the reactivity between cell membrane receptors and ligands. For example, in the treatment of malignant lymphoma and the like, there is a method which includes collecting, from the blood, CD34 positive cells, which are undifferentiated hematopoietic stem cells present in a large amount in the bone marrow and slightly present in blood, and transplanting same. It has been reported that proliferation and differentiation of CD34 positive cells, increase in the engraftment to bone marrow, and recovery of hematopoietic ability can be promoted by using a ligand (antibody) that activates the thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor present on the membrane surface of CD34 positive cells (patent document 1).
However, when a ligand that activates a TPO receptor is taken into the body and the blood concentration of the ligand changes, a different disease may be caused.
On the other hand, a method of immobilizing a ligand (notch ligand delta 1) on a resin has been reported to achieve ex vivo growth of CD34 positive cell while maintaining the undifferentiated state thereof (patent document 2).
However, in the aforementioned method, immobilization of a ligand on general organic resins (polymethyl methacrylate and the like) requires a pre-treatment of the resin, which in turn problematically increases time and labor of operation.
On the other hand, patent document 3 reports a biological function fiber provided with a biomolecule bonded to a polymer.

Ligand-binding fiber and cell culture substrate using said fiber


In a sheet discharge mechanism for enabling a wide range of sheets stored on a sheet discharge tray from a processing section, a brake lever for reducing a velocity of a sheet fed from a sheet discharge outlet is held detachably relative to an attachment frame above the sheet discharge tray, and it is possible to select whether brake action is made corresponding to sheet discharge conditions. A sheet discharge mechanism includes a sheet discharge path having a sheet discharge outlet, a sheet discharge tray disposed on the downstream side of the sheet discharge outlet with a level difference, and a brake section of a sheet carried out at the sheet discharge outlet, wherein the brake section includes a lever member in which its base end portion is axially supported by an attachment frame, and its front end portion moves up and down corresponding to a load amount of sheets.

Generally, sheets fed from a processing section such as an image reading section are carried out to a sheet discharge tray disposed on the downstream side of a sheet discharge path, loaded, and stored. Therefore, a sheet discharge roller is disposed in a sheet discharge outlet of the sheet discharge path to carry out a sheet toward above the tray. A sheet discharge mechanism is known in which the sheet discharge tray is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet discharge outlet with a level difference formed to load and store carried-out sheets.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a sheet is fed from a paper feed tray disposed vertically to an image reading section, and is stored in a sheet discharge tray disposed below the reading section. At this point, using a stopper member suspended downwardly from above in front of the sheet discharge outlet, the sheet is prevented from being scattered on the tray.

Mechanism for discharging sheets in apparatus for processing sheets and apparatus for reading images provided with the mechanism


A method for generating a targeted label is provided. An official account in a social network platform is determined by processing circuitry of an apparatus. A plurality of user accounts in the social network platform that follows the official account of the determined provider is determined. Each of the plurality of user accounts has a corresponding user label that indicates a user attribute of a user associated with the respective user account. The plurality of user accounts is added to a set of targeted user accounts. The targeted label for the recommendation information is determined according to the user labels of the plurality of user accounts. Subsequently a set of target user accounts in the social network platform is determined according to the determined targeted label, and the recommendation information is sent to user clients of the user account included in the set of target user accounts.

In the process of targeted advertising, an advertiser sets several targeted labels on an advertisement platform, such as at least one of the age, gender, education, region, and interest. The advertisement platform determines a target user group corresponding to an advertisement according to the several targeted labels, for advertising to the target user group. Target quality users that are interested in the advertisement of the advertiser can be quickly positioned by advertising according to the targeted label.

Method and apparatus for generating targeted label, and storage medium

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A display terminal comprises a position storage, a status storage, a connection relationship storage, and a display device. The position storage stores a position of each of the terminals and the printers. The status storage stores a status of each of the printers. The connection relationship storage stores a connection relationship between each of the terminals and each of the printers. The display device displays a layout of a print network system. The layout comprises a plurality of terminal objects, a plurality of printer objects, and a communication path object. Each of the terminal objects and the printer objects is disposed at a corresponding position stored in the position storage. Each of the printer objects is displayed in a manner that represents a status of a corresponding printer stored in the status storage. The communication path object is disposed between each of the terminal objects and each of the printer objects based on the connection relationship stored in the connection relationship storage.

1. Field
One aspect of the present invention relates to display technology for displaying a layout of a print network system. In particular, the aspect relates to a display terminal that displays the layout. In addition, the aspect also relates to the print network itself. Furthermore, the aspect also relates to a layout display method, and computer program product for displaying the layout.
Note that the term "printer" in the present specification is to be interpreted in the broadest sense, and includes all devices that print text, images, etc. on print media. For example, a copying machine, an ink jet printer, a laser printer, a facsimile device, a multi-function device, and the like are included in the term "printer".
2. Description of the Related Art
It is widely known to communicably connect a plurality of printers with a plurality of PCs to form a print network system. A device that displays a layout of a print network system is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0052995. The layout displays a plurality of printer objects and a plurality of PC objects. Each printer object corresponds to different one printer in the system. In addition, each PC object corresponds to different one PC in the system. Each printer object is arranged in a position in which the corresponding printer is actually located. In addition, each PC object is arranged in a position in which the corresponding PC is actually located.
Each printer object shows a status of the corresponding printer (e.g., paper jam, power off, etc.). The printer object shows text data such as "PAPER JAM", "POWER OFF", or the like.
Although the aforementioned conventional technology is useful to a certain degree, the amount of information displayed by the layout is insufficient.

Display technique for displaying a layout of a print network system


A modular shelving system has a pair of vertical supports for a central stack of shelves. Each shelf is supported by a pair of shelf support brackets extending between the vertical supports and the back wall of a closet, for example. Each shelf has a plurality of sheet metal planks of generally trapezoidal cross section which elastically snap into complementary bosses along the tops of the shelf support brackets. Similar shelves extend from the central stack to side walls of the closet and are supported there by side wall brackets which also have bosses along the top complementary to the cross section of the planks. Some of the brackets have sockets for receiving the ends of hanger bars beneath the shelves.

It often provides economy of storage space to install shelves into closets under construction as well as into existing closets in the home. It is desirable to provide a versatile modular shelving and hanger bar system which could be configured in a variety of ways and installed in closets of varying sizes. It is also desirable that the components of the system be of lightweight yet strong materials, and that the assembled system have a solid, stable appearance as well as actually being rigid.
Some prior art shelving systems for the home after market are constructed of welded, coated wire, and although lightweight, do not present a sturdy appearance. Further, items smaller than the gaps between wire supports may not be stored with this type system.
Other prior art shelving systems are of wood, particle board, or sheet metal construction. These types of systems usually comprise shelves and vertical supports of single plank construction and require the retailer to stock a large variety of plank sizes to allow for versatility of configuration. Further, when packed for retail sale, these systems comprise large, heavy and unwieldy packages.
Some prior art systems have proposed creating shelf planks from smaller shelf segments, two inches wide for example. One such system contemplates an inter-plank linking mechanism on each plank segment allowing the required number of segments to be coupled together to form a shelf. However, attachment of the completed plank to a horizontal support bracket occurs only between the front and back plank segments and the horizontal support. The interior plank segments only rest against the horizontal support bracket and are susceptible to disturbance from beneath the segments. Another plank segment system requires a variety of cross members spanning between corresponding horizontal support brackets. These brackets must be attached to the support brackets by nuts and bolts and anchoring hardware.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a strong and lightweight modular shelving and hanger bar system having shelf plank segments which are each positively connected to horizontal support brackets. Further, it is desired that attachment of each plank segment to the support brackets be accomplished quickly and easily without the need for any additional fasteners.
The present invention fulfills these needs for a shelving system that is strong, lightweight, and sturdy in appearance. The system is versatile and can be adapted for use in any size closet. Each shelving plank segment is designed to snap on to the horizontal support members in a manner providing positive attachment with no additional hardware required.


A method of producing a synthetic resin made article having a porous elastic member, which is useful as an air duct opening/closing damper adaptable in air conditions for automobiles, including the steps of:. placing a porous elastic member in position against the inner wall surface of one of the opposing segments of an injection mold splittable into two or more segments; PA1 closing said injection mold and compressing said porous elastic member by the clamping pressure; PA1 casting a synthetic molding resin along the surface of said porous elastic member; and PA1 applying a dwell pressure of a preset level for a prescribed period of time to the synthetic resin injected into said mold, and PA1 a method of producing a synthetic resin made article having porous elastic members, which is useful as an air duct opening/closing damper adapted in air conditions for automobiles, which includes the steps of: PA1 placing the porous elastic members in position against the inner wall surfaces of each pair of opposing segments of an injection mold splittable into two or more segments; PA1 closing said injection mold and compressing said two porous elastic members by clamping pressure while the protuberant end of a gate provided in the mold is thrust into said elastic members so that said protuberant gate end will pass through one of the two porous elastic members and slightly wedge into the surface of the other elastic member; PA1 casting a synthetic molding resin along the opposing faces of said two porous elastic members; and PA1 applying a dwell pressure of preset level, for a prescribed period of time, to the synthetic resin injected into said mold.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for efficiently producing the articles having a joint structure consisting of a synthetic resin portion and a portion made of a porous elastic member, such as an air duct opening/closing damper adaptable in air conditioners for automobiles, by using a synthetic resin injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to give airtight sealing properties and an impulsive sound absorbing capacity (when the damper is closed) to said hard synthetic resin-made damper body, the idea of efficiently incorporating a porous elastic member such as soft polyurethane foam sheet has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-Open) No. 24939/86.
This patent application shows techniques for forming a laminate damper according to which a sort of packing member comprising a soft foam sheet having bonded to its surface a sheet for preventing the extruded molten resin from permeation into said foam sheet is prepared, and a molten synthetic resin layer is laminated on the surface of said packing member to a desired thickness by using a resin extruder, followed by stamping molding to form an integral laminate. Also disclosed in this patent application is a sandwich structure comprising packing members laminated on both sides of a synthetic resin layer.
Said prior art techniques contribute to the simplification of the manufacturing process in that bonding of packing members is accomplished coincidentally with molding of the synthetic resin-made damper body by making use of the bonding properties of molten resin.
On the other hand, this technique still involves several problems to be solved such as mentioned below:
(a) The time required for the manufacturing is too long because of a series of steps involving stamping after extrusion of a molten synthetic resin onto the surface of packing member. PA1 (b) Although it is possible to make a planar laminate structure, it is difficult to obtain an article having a three-dimensional configuration. PA1 (c) Adhesive force between the soft foam sheet and the resin permeation preventive sheet made of paper or cloth tends to vary from product to product, and also the bonding strength between packing member and resin molding may prove unsatisfactory.
The present invention has for its object to provide an injection molding method for integral molding of a porous elastic member and a synthetic resin, which method is capable of substantially eliminating said problems of the prior art.

Method of producing synthetic resin made articles having porous elastic member


A method for generating a three-dimensional spatial image that has a greatly improved three-dimensional (3-D) effect. The method utilizes a series of two dimensional stereoscopic image pairs which have been composed by different scenes photographed on different bases or computer generated using a single channel or multi-channel optical image projector, beam splitter, camera, and a retro-reflective screen.

Three-dimensional imaging can be classified into two major groups according to the quantity of information required to record the images: (1) binocular stereoscopic imaging, and (2) autostereoscopy or three-dimensional spatial imaging. See Takanori Okoshi, Three-dimensional imaging Techniques, Academic Press Inc. New York pp.4-28 (1976). The binocular viewers, parallax stereogram's, lenticular-sheet binocular stereoscopic pictures, and binocular displays using polaroid glasses or color filters belong in the first group. Parallax panoramagrams, lenticular-sheet three-dimensional imaging, projection type three-dimensional displays, and integral photography etc. belong in the second group.
In the second group, autostereoscopy or 3-D spatial imaging, a three-dimensional image is created by a series of 2-D images of an object captured from different perspectives, and therefore the 3-D image so produced contains multiple-angle information about the object. In all of these 3-D spatial imaging techniques, the most important parameter, called "base", impacts directly on the 3-D effect and the quality of the autostereoscopic display produced. "Base" is defined as the distance between adjacent camera placements from which the pictures of the object are taken. With the base properly adjusted, the overall 3-D spatial quality is produced. If the base is too large, the excessive spatial parallax will cause the image being viewed to degrade the quality of the 3-D effect due to flipping and smearing. If the base is too small, the reduction in parallax will cause the image being displayed to be viewed as somewhat flattened and therefore less 3-D sensational.
Lo et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,563 suggests that the maximum spatial parallax between two adjacent images should be controlled so as not to exceed five lenticules in width if the width of the lenticule in the picture is greater than 5 mils, or should not exceed ten lenticules in width if the width of the lenticule is smaller than 5 mils. This technique of trying to control the spatial parallax between an image pair by setting the number of lenticules between an image pair of the same object is not very effective under some circumstances.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,112 attempts to solve the problem by a special calculator for use in taking stereoscopic pictures. This calculator is designed to obtain the desired parallax value by determining the location of the camera relative to the foreground element, the background element and the key subject matter element of the scene to be photographed.
However, in spite of these prior art attempts at solving the problems of 3-D spatial imaging, the major difficulty remains in getting both the middle key subject image with perfect 3-D effect while at the same time producing large depth of field for both the background and foreground without causing "flipping".
It is therefore the principal object of the invention to provide a method for overcoming this major difficulty and thereby dramatically improving the 3-D effect of the image. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a synthesized depth of field and sensational three-dimensional effect.

Method for generating three-dimensional spatial images


One or more embodiments manage emergency response services. An emergency event is determined to have occurred. A set of civilian responders currently available to respond to the emergency event is selected from a plurality of civilian responders in response to determining that the emergency event has occurred. Each civilian responder in the set of civilian responders is associated with at least one wireless communication device. The set of civilian responders is notified that the emergency event has occurred. A set of emergency event information associated with the emergency event is transmitted to at least one wireless communication device associated with each civilian responder in the set of civilian responders.

The present invention generally relates to emergency response systems, and more particularly relates to managing emergency response services.
Around the globe, vehicle traffic congestion is growing at an astounding rate, and will likely continue to increase as more people continue to move into urban settings. Given this trend, even if the amount of traffic accidents remains consistent, emergency response authorities (e.g., police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs)) will have a more difficult time responding to accidents due to longer average travel times to accident sites. Overall, these trends can place accident victims in further peril, especially if they have been involved in a rather severe accident and/or require immediate (and specialized) medical attention due to special medical conditions.

Managing emergency response services using mobile communication devices

International Business Machines Corporation


Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive operational power from a primary power supply at a processor housed within a wagering game machine, where the processor is operable to present a wagering game. Further activities may include determining that the wagering game machine is currently in a hibernation state, authenticating at least one hibernation file, and resuming operation of the wagering game machine to a base operation state defined by the at least one hibernation file. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Wagering game machine manufacturers and operators continually strive to provide new and entertaining games. One way of increasing the entertainment value associated with casino-style wagering games (e.g., video slots, video poker, video black jack, and the like) includes offering a variety of base games and bonus events. However, despite the variety offered, players may still tend to lose interest. Some circumstances can exacerbate this situation.
For example, due to repairs and other routine operations, the power supplied to wagering game machines is cycled, resulting in a lengthy boot process that occurs before the machine is fully operational. The longer the process, the less likely players are to use the machine. In short, the boot process adds a noticeable delay to machine operations, and players may be motivated to look elsewhere for entertainment when their patience is exhausted. This can result in a loss of revenue.


A headlight includes a plurality of luminescence diode emitters. At least one first group of the luminescence diode emitters is arranged in a matrix having at least two columns and at least two rows, wherein in the first group the electrical connections of a first connection type of the luminescence diode emitters of a column and the electrical connections of a second connection type of the luminescence diode emitters of a row are in each case electrically connected to one another. The electrical connections of the first connection type of different columns and the electrical connections of the second connection type of different rows of the matrix are electrically insulated from one another.

Headlights are known which, by way of example, have a plurality of luminescence diode emitters in the form of luminescence diode components. The luminescence diode components contain a component housing, in which at least one luminescence diode chip is mechanically and electrically mounted.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a headlight comprising luminescence diode emitters, which headlight can be realized technically in a simple manner and affords a high degree of flexibility with regard to the realization of the different headlight functions. It could also be helpful to provide different headlight functions which comprise, in particular, the formation of differently sized and differently shaped headlight emission cones.

Headlight comprising a plurality of luminescence diode emitters


Methods and systems for managing supply chains are disclosed. Replenishment of items within retail stores and distribution centers is optimized to respond to real-time demands. One method includes receiving demand signals corresponding to a sold inventory items and evaluating those demand signals against real-time inventory positions and demand forecasts for that particular inventory item to determine whether to replenish the inventory item and how much inventory to replenish. A router service for assessment of such demand signals is also disclosed.

Retail supply chains typically involve the transfer of inventory from vendors to warehouses to retail stores. Such supply chains typically analyze the amount of inventory transferred among locations (between vendors and warehouses, warehouses to retail stores, and retail stores to customers) to determine whether to replenish the moved inventory (including inventory sold at the retail store). However, inventory is typically moved in large bundles or pallets. Thus, a large bundle of inventory may be moved to replenish sold or transferred inventory, even when less than an entire bundle is necessary. This type of inventory transfer oftentimes leads to overstock situations in which inventory is left sitting in the back room of a retail store, where space is limited and expensive. Additionally, the retailer may be forced to mark down certain products just to reduce stored inventory, leading to reduced sales revenue.

Demand signal router for demand aware replenishment system


Method for determining oxygenate content and/or octane of hydrocarbon fuels suitable for automotive vehicles. Selecting nanometer frequencies in the range 1,300 to 1,350 reduces the temperature dependence of calibration equations that predict values representative of both oxygenate content and octane. This can be further improved by using only derivatives of selected temperature-dependent frequencies in addition to those in the 1,300 to 1,350 nanometer range. The selected frequencies preferably primarily correspond to C-H vibrational modes.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to the determination of physical or chemical properties of compositions by means of near-infrared absorption bands. More specifically, this invention relates to compositions that involve hydrocarbons and substituted hydrocarbons, along with oxygenates such as ethers and alcohols. Still more specifically, this invention relates to octane determinations of oxygenate-containing fuels and percents by volume or by weight of oxygenate content of such fuels.
Oxygenate content for purpose of this specification and claims includes the oxygen that would be contained in hydrocarbons. Examples of typical oxygen-containing hydrocarbons that are particularly useful for automotive fuels are: alcohols, such as ethanol, methanol, butanol, iso-butanol, t-butanol, and iso-amyl alcohol; and ethers, such as methyl t-butyl ether, ethyl t-butyl ether, methyl iso-amyl ether, and ethyl iso-amyl ether.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art as shown in the following U.S. patents shows that it is possible to find near-infrared absorption bands which correlate with octane. Note in this regard, European Patent Application (Publication number 0285251) 88301646.1 of Lambert et al. of BP Oil International Limited, filed Feb. 25, 1988. Heat content of certain fuel compositions and number of methyl groups per molecule were also shown to be correlatable to certain near-infrared absorption bands.
"Use of Indirect Multi-Variable Calibration Equations for Quality Control of Agricultural Products by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy," G. Puchwein and A. Eibelhuber (Mikrochim. Acta) Wein), (1986; It 43-51) teach a computer program for calibrating an instrument. The program picks relevant frequencies for spectral data for part of a set of samples with which to calibrate an instrument and then validates with respect to the remaining samples not used to establish to calibration.
A near-infrared regression model for octane measurements in gasoline which contain MTBE was published in a book of proceedings by the American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry, in Volume 35, Number 1, Pages 266-275 which was written by Steven M. Maggard and also presented by him at the 199th American Chemical Society National Meeting in Boston, Mass. on Apr. 22-27, 1990. Specifically disclosed in this paper and presentation is the use of methyne t-butyl combination bands, including overtones, in models to predict octanes of MTBE-containing gasoline compositions.
B. G. Osborne, in an article entitled, Calibration of Instrument for Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, 48 Spectroscopy, Vol. No. 4, pages 48-55), discloses in detail the steps for establishing simple correlations by multiple linear regression and also the use of derivatives of linear terms. Validation of calibration curves are discussed: specifically how particular wavelengths are chosen to establish the terms in multiple linear regression equations, along with the statistical significance of a particular calibration sample. This method can be used in this invention for the purpose of defining the calibration equations with which one can calculate oxygenate content or octane from absorption spectral data.
Still other methods for determining calibration equations are those discussed in Analytical Chemistry Journal, volume 60, pages 1193-1202 (1988) by David M. Haaland and Edward V. Thomas. The principles of inverse least squares, partial least squares, classical least squares, and principle component regression analysis are disclosed. All of these methods are useful in the instant invention.
Jeffrey J. Kelly and James B. Callis in Analytical Chem. 1990, volume 62, pages 1444-1451, in an article entitled, Nondestructive Analytical Procedure for Simultaneous Estimation of Major Classes of Hydrocarbon Constituents of Finished Gasolines, discloses how frequencies are selected and how the statistical significance of a particular set of frequencies are determined. Specifically stepwise multilinear regression was performed. Mathematical treatments of the data prior to multiple regression analysis, such as base-line drift correction, end-point smoothing, and first and second derivatives, were explored to determine best-fit linear-regression equation for each data set. The inter-correlations between the regression wavelengths were calculated, and the wavelengths that exhibited high correlations were eliminated in order to reduce information redundancy and over fitting. This selection of wavelengths did not take into account the degree of temperature dependence.
Jeffrey J. Kelly, C. H. Barlow, T. M. Jinguji, and J. B. Callis in an article entitled, Prediction Of Gasoline Octane Numbers from Near-Infrared Spectral Features in the Range 660-1215 nm, published in Analytical Chemistry, Volume 61, No. 4, Feb. 15, 1989, on page 313-319, disclose use of multi-variable analysis of spectra to predict ASTM motor-determined octane numbers. Independent multi-variable analysis using partial leased-squares (PLS) regression analysis is also disclosed. The key step in the setting up of the calibration equations appears to be that high correlations were eliminated in order to reduce information redundancy and over-fitting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,279 to Hieftje et al. (Jan. 24, 1989) teaches use of near-infrared (NIR) to predict physical properties of certain hydrocarbon mixtures.
Currently, programs exist to find and optimize correlations between near infrared absorption spectra for a particular material, or their mathematical transforms, and physical and chemical properties of such a material. Specific properties that are known to be indirectly determinable from near infrared spectra include: octane; cetane; enthalpy or heat content; percent water in grain; a PIANO analysis; and the like. Currently, the method followed in the art as presently practiced and known, is to essentially look for spectral properties that correlate with some property of interest, such as a physical or chemical property. This is both reasonable and logical. This approach is described in "The Analyst", Volume 107, published October 1982, pages 1282-1285 in an article entitled, Determination of Ethanol in Gasoline Mixtures by Near Infrared Method, by Jane L. Wong and Bruno Jaselskis. The article found that 1580 nanometers was a particularly useful absorption frequency for determining the % ethanol content of gasohol. However, neither suggested nor disclosed is the fact that a finite difference derivative such as discussed in Example 1 when taken at the first and higher levels of derivative can result in a two fold decrease in error from temperature dependence when the value of the dependent variable calculated. Preferably, in the case of a second derivative of absorbance in the range of 1576 to 1596 for a calibration equation that predicts volume percent oxygenate content the segment preferably in integral multiples of 2 nanometer lengths is in the range of 4 to 30, and more preferably 15 to 25 and the gap is an integer in the range, of 0 to 5 and more, preferably 0.
Alternatively, one would expect that the most intense bands representative of the functional groups of interest; e.g., in the case of oxygen-containing gasoline components, a CO or OH characteristic vibrational frequency in the near infrared would be of most interest. Examples of such bands for OH are in the first overtone near 1410 nanometers, in the second overtone near 1000 nanometers, and for combinations bands near 2000 nanometers. These frequencies are most likely to give the highest correlation to percent by volume oxygenate content. These frequencies are mentioned by L. G. Weyer in "APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY REVIEWS", Volume 21 (Issues 1 and 2), pages 1-43, published 1985 in an article entitled, Near-Infrared of Organic Substances.
This invention discloses the surprising discovery that there are particularly useful bands for determining oxygenate content of gasoline blends, that includes ethers and/or alcohols, that are overlooked in the "Applied Spectroscopy Reviews". One must use the absorption frequency in the range of 1,300-1,350, and preferably 1,310 through 1,340 nanometers. Once one limits the contribution in the correlation equation to expressly include those in this frequency range, one finds that the correlation can lead to a substantially reduced temperature dependence.
This invention further discloses the discovery that there is a markedly decreased temperature dependence in the calculated dependent variable that corresponds to any chemical or physical property. For example, there is a reduced temperature dependency in calculated octane or cetane when one correlates a derivative of absorption at unexpected frequencies in the range 1568 to 1596 preferably 1576 to 1592 nanometers. This becomes particularly important in those cases in which the spectral properties for the components making up the mixture are markedly temperature dependent. Such compounds are often those that give rise to hydrogen bonding such as methanol, ethanol, and other alcohols. The temperature dependence of any near infrared absorption results from a complex array of interactions including dipole-dipole interactions; including hydrogen bonding; density effects; and refractive index changes. Though 1580 has been reported as useful by Wong and Jaselskis, there was no suggestion or disclosure that as much as a ten fold decrease in temperature dependence could be achieved by taking finite difference derivatives, such as for example, shown in Examples Ill and IV.
That different functional groups have different degrees of temperature dependence makes multi-component analysis by NIR especially complex and difficult. Dipolar moments interacting with other dipolar moments tend to be temperature dependent. The variation in dipolar moments of various functional groups give rise to different degrees of temperature dependence.
Prior art analysis of composition by means of NIR, such as a PIANO which stands for the group acronym for: paraffins, isoparaffins, aromatics, naphthenes, and olefins involve determinations based upon total amount of those molecules taken together that are respectively members of some one of these groups. They did not determine the specific volume percent of a particular specie within any one of the various groups. Previous determinations of PIANO by NIR were limited to determining the compositions based upon groups of molecules rather than individual species. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 506,391, filed Apr. 9, 1990, to Maggard (Attorney Docket No. 6362AUS) discloses PIANO-NIR and the usefulness of PIANO bands for predicting octanes. Of course, use of techniques such as gas phase or liquid phase chromatography were able to isolate specific components of each of these species. The reason, however, that in an NIR-based determination, one is forced to deal with molecules by groups results from the extensive overlap with spectra from various species within a particular mixture. For example the CH bands of isoparaffins, and normal paraffins have large regions of absorption overlap. Consequently, to distinguish the contributions from one specie of a mixture separate from that contribution of another is very difficult, if not impossible. Attempts to do this become extremely complicated mathematically because one would have to determine each component's contribution to a particular band, and one would have to have enough bands so as to be able to distinguish how much of each specie was contributing to the various bands. If one had as many as ten unknowns, one would need at least nine different bands if all of the components had absorption bands that overlapped one another. J. D. Winefordner has done work detailing such requirements for such mixtures.

Indirect method for determining oxygenate content using near-infrared absorption spectra


In an A/D conversion device, each delay unit in a pulse delay circuit has inverters INV of m×n stages (m, n are positive integers), a clock generator has m-delay lines, and each delay line has inverters INV of i×n stages (i=1, 2, . . . , and m). Those delay lines DL1 to DLm output sampling clocks CK1 to CKm. Each of those inverters INV has a same characteristic. In the A/D conversion device, the delay time in each of the delay lines DL1 to DLm is adjusted by the number of the inverters INV. It is thereby possible to provide the m-sampling clocks CK1 to CKm of a different phase ΔT with one another, namely whose phases are preciously shifted by ΔT with one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an analog to digital (A/D) conversion device for converting an analog input signal into numerical data using a pulse delay circuit that has a plurality of delay units connected in series with one another, each of the delay units inputs, delays, and outputs a pulse signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 5A, a pulse delay type A/D conversion device 500 has been known, which has a pulse delay circuit 100, a clock generator 110, "m" pulse position numerizing units 120, and an adder 14. Such a pulse delay type A/D conversion device was disclosed in a Japanese patent laid open publication number JP 2004-7385, for example. In the conventional pulse delay type A/D conversion device 500, the pulse delay circuit 100 includes a plurality of delay units 102, each delay unit 102 inputting, delaying, and outputting a pulse signal, which are connected in series with one another. The clock generator 110 generates "m" sampling clocks CK1 to CKm, of different phases with one another. The "m" pulse position numerizing units 120 detects the number of the delay units 102 through which the pulse signal PA has passed through the pulse delay circuit 100 during one period that is determined based on both a reference clock CK0 and one of the sampling clocks CK1 to CKm generated by the clock generator 110. The "m" pulse position numerizing units 120 then outputs numerical data DT1 to DTm of n bits as the detection result. The adder 14 adds the "m" numerical data DT1 to DTm of n bits output from each of the "m" pulse position numerizing units 120, and then provides numerical data DΔT of "n+log2 m bits".
In the A/D conversion device 500, each delay unit 102 forming the pulse delay circuit 100 is composed of a gate circuit such as an inverter, and an analogue input signal (voltage) Vin that becomes as a target for a A/D conversion to be processed is provided to each delay unit 102. The delay time of each delay unit 102 is changed according to the signal level (voltage level) of the analogue input signal Vin and is decreased according to the increasing of the analogue input signal Vin.
When the pulse signal PA is input to and transferred through the pulse delay circuit 100, the numerical data DT1 to DTm generated in synchronization with the analogue clock CK1 to CKm in each pulse position numerizing unit 120 is changed according to the signal level of the analogue input signal Vin. The signal level of the analogue input signal Vin is increased according to the increase of the numerical data DT1 to DTm. That is, each pulse position numerizing unit 120 performs the A/D conversion of the analogue input signal Vin, generates, and outputs the numerical data.
As shown in FIG. 6, a period of the reference clock CK0 is set to a constant time length Ts that is adequately longer than the delay time of each delay unit 102 (for example, more than several ten times of the delay time of each delay unit 102). The number of the stages for the delay units 102 in the pulse delay circuit 100 is set to the number that is adequately longer than the period Ts of the reference clock CK0 so that each pulse position numerizing unit 120 can perform the numerizing process more than a given times in synchronization with the reference clock CK0.
Each sampling clock CK1 to CKm is generated by delaying the reference clock CK0 and the phase of each sampling clock CK1 to CKm is delayed by unit time ΔT (=Td/m) which is obtained by dividing the delay time Td of the delay unit 102 forming the pulse delay circuit 100 by the number "m" of the sampling clocks CK1 to CKm. That is, each of the sampling clocks CK2 to CKm is delayed integral times of unit time ΔT such as 1×ΔT, 2×ΔT, 3×ΔT, . . . , and (m−1)×ΔT on the basis of the sampling clock CK1.
Each pulse position numerizing unit 120 performs the numerizing process of the number of the delay units 102 in the pulse delay circuit 100 through which the pulse signal PA passes during the sampling period (Ts+ΔT, Ts+2×ΔT, Ts+3×ΔT, . . . , and Ts+(m−1)×ΔT), and outputs the result of the numerizing to the adder 14. The sampling period (Ts+ΔT, Ts+2×ΔT, Ts+3×ΔT, . . . , and Ts+(m−1)×ΔT) is a time until a rising edge (or falling edge) of each sampling clock (CK1 to CKm) after the elapse of the period TS counted from a common initiation timing t0 for initiating the numerization process that is a rising edge (or a falling edge) of the sampling clock signal CK1.
Even if the voltage level of the analogue input signal Vin is a constant, a different sensitivity, namely a different voltage resolution of each pulse position numerizing unit 120 causes different output values DT1 to DTm from those units 120. This can perform the A/D conversion with a high preciously.
That is, the pulse position numerizing units 120 in the A/D conversion device 500 have different sampling times, and the adjacent those units 120 have the different sampling times that are shifted by unit time ΔT with one another. Each pulse position numerizing unit 120 performs the A/D conversion from the analogue input signal Vin to the numerical data DTi (i=1 to m) and as a result, provides the numerical data DTi that is shifted by Vd/m, where reference character Vd designates a voltage per LSB (Least Significant Bit) of the numerical data DTi, as shown in FIG. 7A.
The adder 14 receives and adds those numerical data items DTi (i=1 to m) transferred from each of the pulse position numerizing units 120, and outputs numerical data DTA. As shown in FIG. 7B, the numerical data DTA, namely the output data DTA of the adder 14 has the characteristic to increase the level of the output data DTA by one LSB every increment Vd/m of the signal level of the analogue input signal Vin.
That is, the numerical data DTA obtained by adding the numerical data DT1 to DTm has a voltage resolution and a dynamic range of m-times when compared with those of the numerical data DTi before the addition. In other words, the voltage resolution is increased by the number of bits (log2m) increased by the addition, so that the A/D conversion for the analogue input signal Vin can be performed with a high precision.
However, as shown in FIG. 5B, the A/D conversion device 500 disclosed by the Japanese patent laid open publication number JP 2004-7385 generates the m-sampling clocks CK1 to CKm by delaying the reference clock CK0 using the inverter INV0 of a preceding stage and the inverter INVm of a following stage. Further, in order to shift the phases of the sampling clocks CK1 to CKm by Td/m with one another, following parameters Lp, Ln, Wp, and Wn are adjusted:
Gate lengths Lp and Ln; and Transistor widths Wp and Wn, in a P channel transistor and a N channel transistor (such as FET: field effect transistor) forming each inverter INV1 to INVm of following stages.
That is, the delay time corresponding to the phase difference of the sampling clock CK1 to CKm is achieved by adjusting the level necessary for the inverting operation of an inverter that is obtained by adjusting the transistor size (determined by the above parameters) of those N and P channel transistors.
However, the above conventional manner of adjusting the amount of delay time of the clock generator 110, namely an analogue manner to adjust the delay time of each inverter INV1 to INVm by changing the transistor size forming the inverter INV1 to INVm causes a drawback or problem that it is difficult to form each transistor of a desired length and thereby difficult to shift the amount of the delay in each inverter INV1 to INVm by ΔT with a high precisely because in general etching error occurs during IC manufacturing. As a result, it becomes difficult to obtain the conversion characteristic of converting an analogue input signal Vin to numerical data DT1 to DTm in each pulse position numerizing unit 120 with a precisely shifted Vd/m and it further occurs variation of the magnitude of one LSB in the numerical data DTA obtained by adding the numerical data DT1 to DTm. This also causes the drawback that it is difficult to obtain highly precise numerical data from the A/D conversion device.

Analogue to digital conversion device operable on different sampling clocks


A form of the disclosed invention employs data validation and screening based on the proximity of sequentially measured data points. Another form of the invention detects noisy conditions manifested in a pilot signal measurement, and discards data taken just after (and/or, if desired, just before) detection of the condition.

This invention relates to graphical digitizer equipment and, more particularly, to improvements in validating and screening measurements obtained from such equipment.
Graphical digitizers are conventionally used to input graphical coordinate information, or the like, to a companion system. In a graphical digitizer, wave energy is typically passed between a movable element (such as a stylus or cursor) and one or more transducers located at fixed reference locations. The transit time of the wave energy traveling (in either direction) between the movable element and the reference locations is used in determining the position of the movable element in one, two, or three dimensions, typically in terms of digital coordinates. A type of graphical digitizer manufactured and sold by the assignee hereof, Science Accessories Corporation, measures the transit time of acoustic or sonic energy propagating through air. The transit time of sound traveling from a source on the movable element to each of a plurality of microphones is used, in conjunction with the velocity of sound in air and known geometrical relationships, to compute the position of the movable element.
Graphical digitizer equipments, like most measuring equipments, are susceptible to errors caused by noise and other factors. For example, through-the-air sonic digitizers of the type described above are susceptible to extraneous acoustic noise in the environment, and also to multipath echoes of the sound energy employed by the digitizer equipment itself. Electronic interference or other intermittent phenomena can also lead to substantial digitizing errors.
Since digitizers are typically utilized to measure and store data points at a relatively high acquisition rate, and since the acquired data is often immediately used by a companion system, the occurrence of occasional inaccurate coordinate measurements, even grossly inaccurate ones, may not be recognized at all, or until they cause a problem in subsequent processing. The outputting of even occasional incorrect coordinate data can be particularly undesirable for certain applications. Further, when subsequent processing involves averaging of acquired data points, a few grossly inaccurate measurements can result in substantial errors in averaged data that would otherwise be quite acceptable.
It is among the objects of the present invention to reduce or eliminate these type of problems in graphical data digitizers and particularly, although not necessarily, in sonic graphical digitizers.

Method and apparatus for position determination


A method and apparatus for mucosal biopsy including a stationary base clevis component, upon which an open frame jaw is actuated rotationally to engage tissue and retract samples. A rack and pinion mechanism drives the jaw motion, which can be controlled axially by the physician. A metal retriever component captures tissue from the open frame jaw, and advances the samples proximally into the collection chamber, where they are maintained as the retriever is returned to its most distal position. Furthermore, the open frame design employs a reliable and compact means for actuation that can be decoupled from sample transfer and storage functions.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to biopsy forceps and, more specifically, to multiple biopsy forceps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Endoscopy is the practice of looking inside the body of a subject for medical purposes. In modern endoscopy, a small scope called an endoscope is inserted into the subject, often, but not necessarily, through a natural opening. The endoscope may incorporate a viewing device such as a camera or suitable optics for viewing the interior of the subject.
Examples of endoscopes include colonoscopes for examining the colon, gastroscopes for examining the stomach, and bronchoscopes for examining the bronchi.
Mucosal biopsies may be obtained to assess the histology of the gastrointestinal tract. Biopsy forceps may be used for the execution of mucosal biopsy. The mucosal biopsy tissue sample may be, for example from 2 mm to 4 mm in diameter.
Biopsy forceps may operate in conjunction with standard endoscopes and may be inserted through the working channel, engage the mucosa, and either cut or tear the sample from the surrounding tissue. Biopsy forceps may include means for removing and storing a biopsy sample. After the sample has been cut and stored, the biopsy forceps may be removed from the working channel and the specimen may be biopsied. In biopsy, samples may be stained, sliced and evaluated microscopically to evaluate the presence of disease, inflammation, and a host of other possible pathological responses.
When taking multiple biopsy samples, repeated insertion and removal of the biopsy forceps from the working channel may increase the risk of complications such as perforation and/or patient discomfort. Moreover, repeated insertion and removal may compromise both procedure time and the precision of the topography covered by the diagnostic procedure. It is therefore desirable to utilize biopsy forceps that have the ability to remove and store multiple biopsy specimens.
Traditional biopsy forceps may utilize a pair of jaws that may be made to simultaneously close around the biopsy specimen to cut and remove the specimen. These jaws have a limited range of motion that restricts the maneuverability of the biopsy forceps thereby complicating the removal of biopsy specimens at certain angles. It is therefore desirable to utilize biopsy forceps that have the ability to remove biopsy samples from greater angles.
One example of traditional biopsy forceps is German Patent Specification DE 43 19 968 C1, Mondrowski. Mondrowski relates to a biopsy forceps described as a tubular shaft instrument. Mondrowski utilizes a cutting jaw that appears capable of opening to an acute angle and cutting in a scissor-like fashion as the jaw closes. In Mondrowski, the jaw is attached to a toothed sector which engages with a toothed rack and the opening and closing of the jaw is achieved by actuating the toothed rack. Because Mondrowski only appears capable of opening to an acute angle and because Mondrowski cuts in a scissor-like fashion, Mondrowski suffers from the same shortcoming of the prior art discussed above. Specifically, Mondrowski has a limited range of motion that restricts the maneuverability of the biopsy forceps thereby complicating the removal of biopsy specimens at certain angles.

Endoscopic multiple biopsy forceps with swing member


Multi-color recording materials where the color forming layers are established on the same side of the support are disclosed. The multi-color recording system may be either of:. (1) a two-color recording material comprising a support having provided thereon: PA0 (2) a multi-color recording material comprising a support having provided thereon: PA0 (3) a multi-color recording material comprising a support having provided thereon:. (a) a light-sensitive heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising (i) microcapsules containing a leuco dye which is capable of forming a color by oxidation and a photo-oxidizing agent and (ii) a reducing agent; and PA1 (b) a heat-sensitive color forming layer having a color forming temperature differing from the glass transition temperature of the microcapsule walls, and which comprises an electron donating leuco dye capable of forming a color of a hue differing from that of the light-sensitive heat-sensitive layer and an electron accepting compound capable of reacting with the electron donating lueuco dye to form a color; PA1 (a) a light-sensitive heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising (i) at least two types of microcapsules each containing a leuco dye capable of forming a color by oxidization and a photo-oxidizing agent and (ii) a reducing agent, wherein the polymer walls of the at least two microcapsules have different glass transition temperatures from each other, and the leuco dyes contained in the microcapsules have different hues from each other; and PA1 (b) a heat-sensitive color forming layer as described above; or PA1 (a) a light-sensitive heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising (i) at least two types of microcapsules each containing a leuco dye capable of forming colors by oxidation and a photo-oxidizing agent and (ii) a reducing agent, wherein the leuco dyes contained in the microcapsules have different hues from each other, and the photo-oxidizing agents contained in the microcapsules are activated by actinic light of different wavelengths; and PA1 (b) a heat-sensitive color forming layer as described above.

Hitherto, silver salt photography was widely used as the most general method of obtaining multi-color images in the past because of its high sensitivity, high picture quality and ability to reproduce gradation. However, the silver salt photographic method has a disadvantage in that processing is complicated, involving processing in a development bath after imagewise exposure followed by conversion of the remaining silver halide to a silver complex salt which is soluble in water or to a silver salt which is stable in light.
The disclosure of dry type silver salt photographic light-sensitive materials in, for example, JP-A-59-48764 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese Patent Application"), the disclosure of dye transfer type photographic light-sensitive materials, for example, in British Patent 249,530, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,020,775, 2,004,625, 2,217,544, 2,255,463 and 2,699,394, and the disclosure of silver dye-bleach type photographic light-sensitive materials, for example, in U.S. Patent 2,844,574, were made with a view to ameliorating these disadvantages.
Recording systems such as electrophotographic systems, thermal transfer systems, and ink jet systems which have a multi-color recording mechanism have been used in apparatus with recording materials in which silver salts are not used, but these systems have disadvantages in that the apparatus is large, in that recording fidelity is poor, and in that considerable effort is required to change consumables.
On the other hand, heat-sensitive recording systems do not suffer from the above mentioned disadvantages and if practical multi-color recording systems could be realized for this system they would be easy to use. There are methods in which heat-sensitive recording systems are used in which a plurality of color forming units are formed simply in sequence by increasing the thermal energy which is applied to provide color mixing and making change to render the hues impure, as disclosed, for example, in JP-B-51-19989 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,895,173), JP-B-52-11231, JP-A-54-88135, JP-A-55-133991 and JP-A-55-133992 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"). Other methods include those in which a decolorization mechanism in which a decolorizing agent operates at the same time when color forming units form colors at temperatures higher than the thermal response temperature and in which color units which have formed colors at low temperature are decolorized, as disclosed, for example, in JP-B-50-17868 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,384), JP-B-51-5791, JP-B-57-14318 and JP-B-57-14319. However, there is a major problem with color hard copy of this type in that the number of colors which can be formed with these materials is small.
Recording materials in which heat-sensitive and light sensitive color forming systems, for example, are combined have been disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 07/174,306, JP-A-63-172681, JP-A-63-45084 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 07/174,306) and JP-A-63-134282 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 07/125,675) as multi-color recording materials which provide an improvement in respect of the above mentioned weaknesses. Thus, units in which a combination of diazo compound and coupler form a color forming component and/or units in which a combination of leuco dye and color developer form a color forming component are used as color forming unit layers in recording materials in which at least one color forming unit is established on either side of a transparent support and the color forming units form colors of different hues.
However, problems arise in respect of the fresh storage properties and the image densities of the recording material when a plurality of color forming unit layers is formed on the same side with recording materials of this type and so a transparent support is used and the color forming layers are formed on both sides of the support. This imposes a fundamental limitation in that non-transparent supports cannot be used for these materials, and it is inconvenient in respect of the fact that a new opaque layer has to be established during production.


Cork-screw with double propping lever, with an adjacent extraction cork-screw, in which the double propping lever presents a first base lever hinged which one end to the handle of the tool, and a second extension lever for the propping hinged at the end of said first base lever, whereby said second extension lever for the propping presents two propping support teeth, one support teeth at the end and one support teeth close to its articulation to the print base lever.

The cork-screw of the present innovation is of the pocket type with switchblade particularly suitable for the extraction of plugs from bottles and for the extraction of crown caps.
Cork-screws of this type are well-known indeed in many forms and configurations, as per FR-A-2689115; U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,359; US-A1-2002/157188; EP-A-1350756.
Among the many configurations the cork-screw FR2689115 is known, with, in the support propping lever for the neck of the bottle, instead of a single propping lever, a lever subdivided in arm (5) and forearm (13), in which in the arm internally a hook (7) is provided for taking away the crown caps and over this a support tooth and bottle neck propping (8) for a first extraction of the plug and, with end pivoting (14), a second extension lever or forearm (13) with a second support tooth for propping for completing the extraction of the plug (15).
This solution is thus particularly advantageous for the extraction, with the help of the screw or corkscrew spiral (3), of caps from bottles also when they are partially extracted by means of the action with the first lever (5) for facilitating the completion of the extraction, precisely by means of the second openable lever (13).
Drawbacks of this earlier solution substantially consist in the impairment of the support tooth (8) because of the appendix (9) that, during extraction comes into contact with the border of the bottle trying to drag outwards the tooth (8). In fact during the extraction, for a vertical exit of the cap, the propping lever must perforce tilt. At the start it is pratically parallel to the spiral, after having extracted about 1 centimeter of the cap it is inclined and therefore the appendix (9) hits the border of the bottle and drags the support tooth (8) outwards. Repeating the operation several times the support tooth (8) blunts and does not guarantee anymore the propping on the border of the bottle.
In fact the difficulty of incipient extraction of the cap is known, due to excessive approach or remoteness of the propping lever (5) from the cork-screw.
In fact it is well known that during the operation of the lever, as the lever handle must unavoidably tilt as to the axis of the bottle, the distance between the propping lever and the extraction lever (cork-screw) varies.
To solve this problem many solutions have been conceived, among which the variation with cam of the pivoting axis of one or the other lever (6) and/or (4).
These solutions however involve a considerable complexity of construction and therefore high realization costs.
Therefore if the second support in the propping lever extension (15) can adjust better in the distance, certainly the first cannot, so the problem of a maximum perfect functionality still remains.
The aim of the present invention is to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, realizing a much more versatile and functional pocket cork-screw, however at a reasonable cost.


A switched mode negative inductance circuit includes an input node responsive to a voltage signal. The circuit also includes first and second voltage sources, first and second controlled switches having first poles coupled to the first and second voltage sources, respectively and an inductor having a first electrode coupled to second poles of the first and second controlled switches and a second electrode coupled to the input node. The input node is coupled to a control electrode of the first controlled switch, and to a control electrode of the second controlled switch through a voltage inverting circuit. The disclosure also illustrates balanced negative inductance circuits and implementation approaches using NMOS transistors.

There are a variety of applications where canceling inductive reactance over a wide frequency bands are required. Such applications can benefit from negative inductance circuits to offset the inductive reactance and provide for efficient power transfers. Examples of such applications include systems with small transmit antennas, and in particular to antennas at and below VHF frequencies. In order to operate efficiently, antennas must be matched to the transmitting circuitry.
Large antennas are more easily matched because they operate at a relatively low Q factor. However, full size antennas are often times not feasible on mobile platforms such as aircraft. This necessitates use of compact antennas with their associated high Q.
One approach to providing matching for compact antennas is to resonate the load with capacitance. The disadvantage is that it results in an extremely narrowband performance for high-Q loads, such as compact antennas, and is not useful if wideband performance is required. In addition, performance outside the band of interest results in extremely poor performance.
Another approach to drive an antenna is either unmatched or with lossy matching. This approach has extremely low power efficiency. Large and expensive power amplifiers and cooling systems are needed to generate and dissipate RF power. The unmatched case complicates amplifier design because it must handle reflected power, while lossy matching further reduces efficiency.
The use of small signal non-Foster circuits to match antennas has been tried. Such use does not extend to high power levels due to their high power dissipation, leading to low efficiency.
The use of resonant non-Foster circuits overcomes the high voltage problem by resonating the load then canceling the reactance with a resonant non-Foster circuit. At the resonant frequency, the voltage across the NFC is zero; however, this voltage quickly rises above and below the resonant frequency. Therefore, the high power efficiency is only realized over a bandwidth comparable to passive matching.
Waveform synthesis methods do not attempt to resonate the antenna but instead simply drive it with an on-off waveform. The two main disadvantages are a) it requires digital synthesis control and does not respond to an input waveform and b) the antenna is not resonated and must essentially be driven by a voltage source. This gives no flexibility to obtain the desired frequency response.
Linear non-Foster circuits (NFCs) are based on the concept of impedance and are well known. Current negative inductance circuits, often referred to as non-Foster circuits because they break Foster's reactance theorem, use amplifiers, transistors operating in small signal transconductance mode or negative resistances to generate a small-signal impedance approximating jωL, where L is negative. These circuits are typically biased in class A, meaning that they constantly draw DC current and dissipate DC power.
The current small signal circuits do not extend to the large signal regime applicable to transmit antennas because of the high-voltage problem. Consider power delivery to a reactive load with impedance Z=R+jX with X>>R and a quality factor Q=X/R. The power delivered to the load is I2*R and the magnitude of the voltage across the load is approximately 1*X. One may employ an NFC to "resonate" the load over a wide bandwidth, giving an input impedance Z′=R+jX−jX=R. Now the current flowing through the NFC is I, resulting in a voltage of I*X. The active devices must be biased with enough headroom to handle both the current I and the voltage I*X. This means that while the NFC dissipates no RF power, the DC power dissipation is I2*X, which is Q times the RF power delivered to the load. Resonant NFCs have been proposed to solve this problem, but the power efficiency is obtainable only over a narrowband.
In short, passive networks can only match an antenna for discrete frequencies and resonating loads with capacitance leads to narrowband responses. NFC circuits are either inherently narrow band or dissipate proportionally high DC power, hence less efficient.
Hence, there is a compelling need in the field of circuit synthesis for simple and efficient negative inductance circuits that can operate at high power levels with high efficiency over a wide frequency band. Such circuits will allow the use of compact antennas for wideband applications.


The invention relates to a cabriolet vehicle comprising a displaceable roof which can be maintained in the closed position thereof at a point on the windscreen frame. According to the invention, at least one displaceable engaging element and one spring-loaded pivotable drive lever which engages in a direct or indirect manner with said element is provided for the movement thereof in or out of the engaged position for the maintenance thereof. The cabriolet vehicle is embodied in such a manner that the pivotable drive lever, which acts against the spring force with a component which is oriented away from the pivotable axis of the pivotable drive lever and which also enables the pivotable drive lever to be displaceably mounted.

A number of convertible vehicles are known in which the movable roof can be secured to the windshield frame of the vehicle in its closed position via, for example, two laterally outwardly disposed engagement members, for instance rotary latches, arresting hooks or similar, and for which purpose the engagement members are connected to a central drive.
DE 44 15 969 C2 shows a convertible vehicle of this type in which a shaft, which is disposed substantially transversely to the vehicle and is termed a threaded cable 7 there, can be rotated and thereby rotates a spindle 9 on which a slider 10 is translatorily movable transversely to the vehicle. This slider takes along a further and stepped lever guided between two cylinder bars on its movement via a curved track guide, said lever being in contact via its step with the front edge of a spring-loaded pivotable drive lever, called an adjustment lever 36 there. The front edge is disposed opposite the pivot axis 37 of the pivotable adjustment lever. An inward and outward pivoting of the adjustment lever 36 is controlled by the displacement of the stepped lever in that the step impacts onto the front edge and, on the further displacement, counteracts a spring acting on the adjustment lever 36. Since the step initially abuts in front of the edge and has to be pushed over it on the displacement of the connector, the force development is not favorable and a high force effort is required. An exact track guide of the stepped connector is required for this. In particular due to the linear guide elements provided therefore, the construction is complex and heavy, and moreover requires a substantial construction space in the transverse direction of the vehicle, which is not expedient in view of the tight space requirements in a roof peak or for a head impact in this region which is as defused as possible.
Thus, it remains desirable to provide an improved roof closing mechanism for securing the roof to the vehicle windshield.


A perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus has a perpendicular two-layered medium including a pinning layer, a soft underlayer and a perpendicular recording layer, and a write head including a main pole, a return yoke and an exciting coil. In this apparatus, a magnetization recoverable magnetic field Hexf by which the pinning layer and the soft underlayer ensure a magnetization recovery ratio of 1 is larger than a magnetic field applied by the write head to the pinning layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus presently being developed uses a method in which writing to a so-called perpendicular two-layered medium having a soft underlayer (SUL) and a perpendicular recording layer is performed by using a single-pole head. In this perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus, data is written in the perpendicular recording layer by employing the magnetic coupling between the single-pole head and the soft underlayer, i.e., the magnetic flux which flows from a main pole to a return yoke through the soft underlayer. From the standpoint of signal quality, it is important that the magnetization in the soft underlayer be stable.
One requirement for the perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus is little medium noise. More specifically, it is desirable that no spike noise be produced, colored wideband noise be little as a whole, and the frequency characteristics be small. However, since the coercivity Hc of the soft underlayer is small, it often forms magnetic walls under the influence of a magnetic field. When the head passes over a magnetic wall, spike noise is produced in the read signal. Therefore, it is desired that magnetic walls rarely be formed in the soft underlayer. To achieve this object, a structure is used which fixes the magnetization in the soft underlayer in a predetermined orientation by forming below the soft underlayer a pinning layer made of, e.g., a hard magnetic material.
Conventionally, a medium in which magnetic walls are rarely formed even when a magnetic field is applied to the soft underlayer has been proposed (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-109201). In this reference, on the basis of an M-H curve in the in-plane direction of the soft underlayer, the intersection of a straight line connecting a point (Hs, Ms) at which magnetization saturates in the first quadrant and a positive intersection (0, Mr) of the M-H curve and the ordinate, and a tangent at a negative intersection (−Hc, 0) of the M-H curve and the abscissa is obtained, and an absolute value Hn of a magnetic field at this intersection is used as a parameter. In this perpendicular recording medium, the maximum magnetic field applied longitudinally to the magnetic recording medium is smaller than the magnetic field Hn. Therefore, the magnetization of the soft underlayer varies with retaining the value of the saturation magnetization, and the M-H curve does not form a minor loop. This makes it possible to keep the magnetizations oriented in the same direction by the exchange coupling interaction between the soft underlayer and pinning layer.
If the exchange coupling between the pinning layer and the soft underlayer is too strong, the magnetization in the pinning layer may reverse together with the magnetization in the soft underlayer when a magnetic field is applied. Accordingly, a proposal which suppresses magnetization deviation in the soft underlayer by appropriately weakening the exchange coupling force between the pinning layer and the soft underlayer is also known (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-162807). More specifically, in a magnetic recording medium in which an in-plane hard underlayer, an intermediate layer, an in-plane soft underlayer and a magnetic recording layer are stacked on a substrate, the intermediate layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of a magnetic layer having saturation magnetization smaller than that of the in-plane hard underlayer, a nonmagnetic layer having a thickness of 0.5 nm or less and an oxide layer of the in-plane hard underlayer.
A cause that makes the magnetization of the soft underlayer in the perpendicular two-layered medium deviate from a predetermined direction includes the magnetic field applied by the write head to the pinning layer. To obtain a high write performance, a head magnetic field in the center of the recording layer must be strengthened. However, when this head magnetic field becomes strong, the magnetic field applied to the pinning layer also becomes strong. If the magnetic field from the write head is too strong, therefore, magnetization deviation may occur in the soft underlayer.
When the manufacturability of the medium is taken into account, a thinner soft underlayer is presumably more preferable because the uniformity of the soft underlayer can be increased and dust can be reduced. Although the thickness of a conventional soft underlayer is 200 to 250 nm, the aimed thickness for the future is preferably 150 nm or less, and more preferably, 100 nm or less. When the soft underlayer is thus made thinner, the field strength applied by the write head to the pinning layer increases further, and the magnetization in the soft underlayer may easily deviate. Unfortunately, a design criterion of a perpendicular recording disk apparatus for preventing magnetization deviation in the soft underlayer has yet to be established.

Perpendicular recording magnetic disk apparatus


An improved method of filling vias and openings in semiconductor devices comprises first faceting the top of the openings, depositing in sequence a barrier layer, as of TiN, treating the barrier layer to reduce its porosity, depositing a titanium-containing wetting layer, sputter depositing a first layer of aluminum at low temperatures and sputter depositing a second layer of aluminum at high temperatures to fill the opening and planarize the layer. The improved method is carried out preferably in a multichamber sputtering system.

In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, metal contacts are deposited onto silicon wafers that have been processed to form devices connected to each other by the metal contacts to form an integrated circuit. In particular, aluminum or aluminum alloy lines have been deposited into vias and openings such as trenches or grooves, formed in a layer such as silicon oxide. This method has long been used and is effective. However, as devices have been made smaller, openings must also be made smaller, and the openings to be filled have higher aspect ratios, i.e., the depth of an opening divided by its width is higher.
Difficulties have been encountered in depositing aluminum lines and contacts by conventional sputtering processes when submicron high aspect ratio openings are to be filled. As the openings become smaller and deeper, the bottom and sides of an opening receive fewer deposited metal ions than the top surface of the device, with the result that the metal layer hangs over the opening. Thus, over time, the bottom and sides of the opening receive even fewer deposited metal ions, and the overhang closes before the opening is filled, creating a void in the opening. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein a deposited aluminum layer 3 overlies and overhangs an opening 5 in a silicon oxide layer 4.
Various techniques have been tried for depositing aluminum-containing layers in an attempt to improve step coverage. For example, combinations of varying sputtering rates and substrate temperatures have been tried in an effort to combine sputtering and melting of the aluminum-containing film so that the aluminum will at least partially melt and flow, thereby forming a continuous film in the opening. However, very high temperatures can damage devices already formed in the substrate or cause changes in other portions of the semiconductor devices in the substrate.
Sputtering chambers have been modified to reduce sputtering rates to allow aluminum atoms to move around and coalesce, but this also increases the time required to make a semiconductor device, which is costly. Further, such modification of existing equipment is also expensive.
Talieh et al in copending application Ser. No. 07/749,096 filed Aug. 23, 1991, "Material Deposition Method for Integrated Circuit Manufacturing", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,412 describes a two step sputter deposition process whereby in a first step a metal is deposited at low temperatures (up to about 100.degree. C.) using a collimation grating to improve the directionality of sputtered ions and cover the bottom of openings and grooves in a substrate with a seed metal layer, and then sputter depositing the material without a collimation grating at high temperatures that will allow the metal to flow somewhat, thereby filling the openings and producing a planarized metal layer.
Another advance in the art of sputtering high aspect ratio vias and contacts was disclosed by Inoue et al. Their method comprises depositing aluminum films by sputtering at elevated temperatures. Aluminum/silicon films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Vias etched into patterned 1 micron thick phosphosilicate glass layers were filled in and the temperature of the substrate maintained at about 530.degree. C. Good step coverage and planarization was achieved. Reactive sputtering of a TiN barrier film about 0.1 micron thick further improved planarization of the above aluminum layer, probably by minimizing reaction between aluminum and the underlying silicon or silicon oxide and it prevented spiking of the aluminum into the silicon substrate.
More recently, a process was described by Chen that specifically addresses sputter deposition and planarization of aluminum for submicron openings. After formation of vertical wall contact openings in a borophosphosilicate glass layer, a first titanium nitride (TIN) barrier layer was deposited in the opening by reactive sputtering. An aluminum alloy layer (AlSi.sub.1% Cu.sub.0.5%) was sputter deposited to fill the openings at an elevated wafer temperature using conventional sputtering equipment. The deposition of a first TiN barrier layer allowed smooth, planarized aluminum films to be deposited while completely filling high aspect ratio openings.
However, none of the above processes is completely effective to fill in submicron size vias and openings of high aspect ratio without the formation of voids and with planarization of the metal layers, in an economically viable process.

Method of filling contacts in semiconductor devices


A patient system including a first patient device for being carried by a patient and a second patient device arranged remotely from the first patient device, wherein a user interface of the first patient device is provided separately from the first patient device on the second patient device.

The present invention relates to medical devices, and to methods of making and using such devices. More particularly, it relates to medical devices and systems comprising portable components or features for treating patients, wherein a patient can carry on as completely as possible with normal day-to-day activities. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices for administering, delivering, infusing, injecting or dispensing substances, and to methods of making, using and operating such devices.
Portable patient devices are known for a multiplicity of applications, for example for blood pressure measurement, pulse measurement, ECG recording and medication supply. These patient devices are now an important aid in diagnosis and therapy, allowing a patient to go about everyday life without great restrictions, while offering doctors informative measurements under everyday conditions.
An example of a patient device for supplying medication is an insulin pump, for example the Accu-Chek® insulin pump from Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Germany. A patient carries the insulin pump, generally on or near their body. Via a thin tube and a cannula is placed under the skin, the insulin pump delivers insulin continuously to the body. Microprocessors control a motor which moves a plunger in an insulin vial via a threaded rod, for example every three minutes or on demand. This movement, which corresponds to a respectively programmed basal rate, i.e. the patient's basic insulin demand, supplies the body with the required amount of insulin. The patient can adjust and operate the insulin pump via a user interface, including a display unit (display) and buttons.
These patient devices can be worn or carried relatively inconspicuously and discreetly by the patients. In the course of a day, the patients occasionally need to adjust the devices or check the settings, which under certain circumstances is not possible to do discreetly.

System with a portable patient device and external operating part


A die-to-die interconnect structure includes an interconnect network including a plurality of metal interconnect layers. The interconnect network is configured to electrically couple a first die and a second die mounted on a top surface of the die-to-die interconnect structure. A first metal interconnect layer of the plurality of metal interconnect layers includes a plurality of ground lines and a plurality of signal lines distributed across the first metal interconnect layer according to a GSSG pattern. In some examples, adjacent signal lines within the first metal interconnect layer are separated by a dielectric region. In some embodiments, a second metal interconnect layer of the plurality of metal interconnect layers is disposed above the first metal interconnect layer and includes a plurality of configurable signal/ground lines. By way of example, each of the plurality of configurable signal/ground lines is disposed over the dielectric region and within the second metal interconnect layer.

The electronics industry has experienced an ever increasing demand for smaller and faster electronic devices which are simultaneously able to support a greater number of increasingly complex and sophisticated functions. Accordingly, there is a continuing trend in the semiconductor industry to manufacture low-cost, high-performance, and low-power integrated circuits (ICs). Thus far these goals have been achieved in large part by scaling down semiconductor IC dimensions (e.g., minimum feature size) and thereby improving production efficiency and lowering associated costs. However, such scaling alone is not sufficient to provide the logic capacity and on-chip resources required to meet industry demands.
To address this limitation, 3D integrated circuits (3D ICs) have been introduced. 3D ICs offer improved performance (e.g., increased logic capacity, more internal memory, reduced latency, etc.) as well as heterogeneous functionality (e.g., logic, memory, etc.) in a reduced form factor. In some 3D IC examples, passive silicon interposers (e.g., with microbumps and through-silicon vias) are used to combine multiple die in a single package. As such, die of different types and/or die manufactured using different silicon processes may be interconnected on the interposer. In particular, to meet the high density routing needs of the multiple interconnected die, the interposer may be designed using metal interconnect layers having a high-density and fine metal pitch to complete all the required signal routing. Further, to meet the increasing memory bandwidth demand, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has been introduced for use in 3D ICs. However, the integration of HBM with 3D ICs has been a challenge at least because of the high HBM RC delays associated with the high-density, fine metal pitch interconnect layers of the interposer. Increasing the size of the interposer interconnect layers (e.g., line width) may reduce resistance, but doing so would also increase inter-metal capacitance and would require a larger metal pitch, which cannot be used to meet both high-speed (e.g., for HBM) and high-density (e.g., as in FPGAs and SOCs) interconnect requirements.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems providing interposer structures.


A light emitting diode (LED) and a method are provided for fabricating the a LED with an improved structure for better light emitting efficiency and better light output performance. The LED includes an n-GaN layer formed on a substrate to have a plurality of protrusions, thereby having an uneven surface, wherein a side surface of the protrusions is inclined with a first inclination angle α (35°≦α≦90°) with respect to an upper surface of the substrate; an active layer conformally formed on the surface of the n-GaN layer, wherein the surface of the active layer formed on the side surface of the protrusions is inclined with a second inclination angle β (35°≦β≦α) with respect to the upper surface of the substrate; a p-GaN layer conformally formed on the surface of the active layer, wherein the surface of the p-GaN layer formed on the surface of the inclined portion of the active layer is inclined with a third inclination angle γ (20°≦γ<β) with respect to the upper surface of the substrate; and an n-electrode formed on a predetermined area of the n-GaN layer to correspond to the p-electrode.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a light emitting diode and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a light emitting diode and a method of fabricating the same with an improved structure capable of increasing the light emitting efficiency and the light output efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
A light emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device, which emits light by electrons moving from a point of high energy level to a point of low energy level when an electric power is applied to it. A LED consumes 1/12 of the power of the conventional light source, and has 100-time longer life time, and 1000-time faster response speed than the conventional light source. Moreover, the LED emits light of high brightness with low power consumption, and is regarded as the optimal light source for very large electric display signs. The light color of the LED varies depending on which compound material is used, such as GaP or GaAs. Red and green LEDs were developed decades ago and have been used widely in various industrial fields and in home electronic appliances.
The LED is categorized into a top-emitting light emitting diode (TLED) and a flip-chip light emitting diode (FCLED) according to the direction of the light. The TLED emits light through a p-type compound semiconductor layer and a p-type electrode which forms an ohmic contact. The p-type electrode is a stack of Ni and Au loaded sequentially on the p-type compound semiconductor layer. However, the p-type electrode formed of Ni and Au is semi-transparent, and the TLED in which the p-type electrode is applied has a low light utility efficiency and a low luminescence character. In the FCLED, light generated in an active layer is reflected on a reflection electrode formed on the p-type compound semiconductor layer, and the reflected light is emitted through the substrate. The reflection electrode is formed of a material having a high light-reflective characteristic, such as Ag, Al, and Rh. A FCLED in which the reflection electrode is applied has a high light utility efficiency and a high luminescence characteristic.
A LED with a micro-reflector structure has been developed to enhance the light output efficiency of a conventional LED. When fabricating a LED with a micro-reflector structure using nitride semiconductors, an uneven structure can be obtained by etching a p-GaN layer or etching the lower part of an active layer. However, in an uneven structure obtained by etching a p-GaN layer, current injection may be problematic because of the thickness reduction of the p-GaN layer. Also, in an uneven structure obtained by etching the lower part of the active layer, light emitting efficiency may be reduced due to the reduction of the area of the active layer. In addition, an electric insulation layer is required between an n-GaN layer and a p-GaN layer, thereby complicating the electrode formation process. Therefore, an improved structure for improving the light emitting efficiency and the light output efficiency of the LED is needed.

Light emitting diode and method of fabricating the same