A new class of DNA vectors, each comprising two replication systems; a first origin of replication resulting in a low copy number and stable inheritance of the plasmid, and a second, high copy number, origin of replication at which replication is directly controllable such that, when host cells carrying the vector are propagated under a first set of conditions, replication takes mainly from the low copy number origin, and that when said cells are propagated under a second set of conditions, replication takes place also from the high copy number origin to produce a high yield of gene product. The controllable origin of replication may be under the control of a natural promoter of RNA transcription or a substitute promoter such as the PL promoter or lac promoter.

DNA vectors, such as plasmids, are normally circular, extrachromosomal DNA molecules which replicate autonomously within the cells of host organisms. The cells of many unicellular organisms, including some bacteria, contain naturally-occurring wild-type plasmids which contribute various functions to the host cells such as antibiotic resistance and fertility. These wild-type plasmids and derivatives of them are the basic tools of recombinant DNA technology, providing vehicles for the transformation of the cells of host organisms with foreign DNA sequences which code for production, within the transformed cells, of corresponding foreign polypeptide and protein products. Thus, in recombinant DNA techniques, plasmids are cut open at specific sites using restriction enzymes and recombined in vitro with additional DNA sequences including genes coding for desired foreign products, to give recombinant plasmids which may be used to transform appropriate host cells.
These recombinant plasmids, similar to the parent plasmids from which they are derived, are capable of autonomous replication within host cells, and on replication reproduce not only the DNA sequences of the parent plasmid but also the inserted additional DNA sequences, including the foreign genes. During protein synthesis, transcription and translation of the DNA sequences of the recombinant plasmids carried within transformed host cells give rise inter alia to the synthesis of foreign products corresponding to the inserted foreign genes.
One factor which affects the yield of synthesised foreign product is the number of copies of the foreign gene which are present within the transformed cells, i.e. the copy number at which the recombinant plasmid is maintained within the host cells, this being defined normally as the number of copies of the plasmid per host genome. Generally speaking, the higher the copy number of the recombinant plasmid the greater is the yield of foreign product. Both low copy number plasmids, usually maintained within host cells at about 1-10 copies per genome, and high copy number plasmids, usually maintained at from 11 up to several hundred copies per genome, are known. The copy number of a given wild-type replicon is controlled by DNA sequences surrounding and including a DNA sequence which defines the origin of replication. Thus hereinafter we refer to high copy number and low copy number origins of replication.
High copy number plasmids have been used in recombinant systems with a view to obtaining good yields of foreign products. This can lead to undesirable results, however, since many such high copy number plasmids tend not to be maintained stably within transformed cells and may be lost from the cells before they can be grown to sufficient levels to permit bulk production of foreign products. For example, the foreign product may inhibit propagation of the transformed cells or the high copy number plasmids themselves may be inherently unstable.
It is known that the copy numbers of some plasmids can be amplified above normal levels by inhibition of protein synthesis; for instance, by addition of protein synthesis inhibitors such as chloramphenicol to the fermentation medium. However, protein synthesis is required for production of most gene products, and therefore the inhibitor must be removed before synthesis of foreign gene products can take place. The removal of inhibitor requires complicated manipulations and is not always possible.
Various other solutions have been proposed to overcome the problem of stable maintenance of high copy number plasmids in host cells. For example, in UK Patent Specification No. 1,557,774 it has been proposed to use mutant plasmids having a temperature-dependent plasmid copy number pattern such that the plasmid shows a controlled constant plasmid copy number when host bacteria carrying the plasmid are cultivated at one temperature, but an altered plasmid copy number pattern, allowing a much higher or totally uncontrolled copy number, when the host bacteria carrying the plasmid are grown at a different temperature. Thus cells may be propagated to desired production size culture at one temperature at which the plasmid replicates at low copy number and at which its gene products do not significantly inhibit cell growth. The temperature may then be altered, greatly increasing the plasmid copy number and also the corresponding production of gene products. The introduction of copy number temperature dependence in such mutant plasmids, however, may introduce a source of instability into the plasmid, and it is likely that these mutant plasmids may be unstable or subject to loss when cells carrying them are propagated over a prolonged period of time.
The replication of plasmids is controlled by nucleotide sequences contained within the overall DNA sequence of the plasmid. These sequences include a sequence defining the origin of replication at which DNA replication is initiated and often also associated sequences which control the initiation of replication at the origin and the copy number at which the plasmid is maintained. For example, certain plasmids, of which ColE1 is a typical example, have plasmid replication systems having a number of features in common. These systems comprise a DNA sequence defining an origin of replication and upstream thereof a DNA sequence coding for transcription, in opposing directions, of two RNA species, RNAII and RNAI. The RNAII species provides and RNA primer which forms a complex at or near the origin from which DNA synthesis is initiated; the RNAI species interferes with the formation of this initiation complex. Transcription of the two RNA species is controlled by separate promoter sequences associated with the DNA sequences which code for their transcription. In addition there is a small polypeptide (the rop protein) which is believed to interact with the promoter for RNAII; this polypeptide is not essential for replication and its role is unclear. The origin of replication, the RNA coding sequences and associated promoters together provide an internally self-regulated system which controls the replication incompatibility and the copy number of these plasmids. Certain other plasmids, exemplified by RI and some Staphyloccocal plasmids, also control replication initiation at the transcriptional level, but by a messenger RNA species whose product provides an initiation factor, probably a polypeptide, which is involved in DNA replication.
It is an object of the present invention to provide new DNA vectors which have controllable copy number patterns and thereby overcome problems associated with stable maintenance of vectors which replicate at high copy number only, which new vectors will not be subject to the potential instability of previously described mutant plasmids which have temperature-dependent copy number patterns, and which, furthermore, will have the advantage that their copy number can be controlled by agents other than temperature, e.g. metabolite concentration.
Accordingly, in a first aspect the invention provides a DNA vector comprising two replication systems; a first origin of replication resulting in a low copy number and stable inheritance of the vector and a second, high copy number origin of replication at which replication is directly controllable as the result of replacement or alteration by DNA manipulation of the natural vector sequence(s) which control replication at said origin.
By means of the invention, when host cells carrying the vector are propagated under a first set of conditions, replication takes place mainly, and preferably exclusively, from the low copy number origin, and when the cells are propagated under a different set of conditions, replication takes place at high copy number at the second origin as well and the production of large amounts of foreign gene products encoded by the vector is induced.
In a second aspect the invention provides a DNA vector containing a replication system comprising an origin of replication and an associated DNA sequence encoding and RNA species which provides a primer or initiation factor (e.g. a polypeptide) which initiates DNA replication by formation of a complex at or near the origin of replication, in which transcription of said RNA species is directly controllable such that, when host cells carrying the vector are propagated under selected conditions, replication takes place at high copy number from the origin and the production of large amounts of foreign gene products encoded by the vector is initiated.
Preferably the second replication system of the first aspect of the invention is a replication system as specified in the second aspect of the invention.
The invention also includes a method for the preparation of a vector according to the first aspect, comprising including in the DNA sequence coding for the second replication system a DNA sequence which permits direct control of replication at the second origin.
Methods for the preparation of vectors according to the first aspect of the invention suitably comprise ligating a first DNA sequence coding for the replication system comprising the first origin with a second DNA sequence coding for the secondary replication system. The DNA sequence which permits direct control of replication at the second origin may be incorporated into the second DNA sequence either before or after ligation with the first DNA sequence. Thus the invention further provides methods for the preparation of vectors according to the second aspect of the invention, comprising including in the second DNA sequence a DNA sequence which permits control of replication at the second origin by controlling transcription of the RNA species.
The invention further includes a process for the production of a polypeptide, protein or other gene product which comprises transforming host cells with a vector according to the first aspect of the invention, in which said vector contains a gene sequence coding for production of said polypeptide, protein or other gene product, propagating said transformed cells under a first set of conditions at which replication takes place at low copy number mainly, and preferably exclusively, from the first origin, and then propagating said transformed cells under a second set of conditions at which replication takes place at high copy number also (or exclusively) from the second origin and the expression of said polypeptide, protein or other gene product is induced.
By means of the process of the invention, transformed cells are propagated to give the large scale cultures required for economic production of polypeptide, protein or other products under conditions where the vector replicates at low copy number and the instability problems associated with high copy number vectors are avoided, followed by propagation under different conditions where the vector replicates at high copy number with concomitant high yield of polypeptide, protein or other products.
In particular it has been found, when the expression of the gene product is under the control of a promoter which is regulated by cytoplasmic levels of a repressor, that the increase in vector copy number leads to outstripping of the repressor control and high level expression of the gene product. This is so even in the case when the synthesis of the repressor is autoregulated, e.g. when the promoter/repressor system is that of the tryptophan operon.
The control systems which are used to control the copy number of the vectors of the invention may comprise any of the control systems which are known for controlling replication (and/or expression) in recombinant DNA technology. In particular, the copy number of the controllable origin of replication may be controlled by temperature or one or more metabolites or metabolite analogues. Examples of metabolite-dependent systems which may be used include: tryptophan, lactose, galactose, arabinose or any other metabolite or metabolite analogue, the presence, removal or further metabolism of which can be used to achieve transcription from a given promoter.
The controllable replication system used in the vectors of the invention may be derived from high copy number cloning vectors, such as ColE1-like plasmids, e.g. pAT153, NTP1, CloDF13, RSF1030 or P15A, which have copy number control systems which involve transcription of RNAII or a similar RNA species which provides a primer which initiates DNA replication by formation of a complex at or near the origin or replication. In addition other plasmid replication origins whose replication is controlled by an mRNA species and/or its product(s) may provide the controllable replication systems used in the vectors of the invention. Such replication origins may be obtained from Gram negative bacterial species and are exemplified by R1, R6, R100, RP4, or Gram positive bacterial species, which are exemplified by pUB100, pC194 and certain other Staphylococcal plasmids. Furthermore, bacteriophage origins may be used for secondary controllable origin, e.g. those from .lambda., T3, T4, T7, M13,.phi.X174, SPP1, SPO2 etc.
In an important embodiment of the invention, the controllable replication systems may be prepared from such high copy number cloning vectors by replacement of the natural promoter, which promotes transcription of the RNA species, by a controllable promoter, such as the P.sub.L promoter, P.sub.R promoter, P.sub.re promoter, P'.sub.R promoter, T.sub.7 late promoters, trp promoter, tac promoter, lac promoter, gal promoter, ara promoter or recA promoter (the origin of replication in such a system is termed a"hybrid origin"). Alternatively the natural promoter may be used and transcription of the RNA species made controllable by incorporating a regulating function, such as an operator sequence, e.g. the lac operator or O.sub.L or O.sub.R operators of phage lambda, into the replication systems.
The plasmids pMG9 (containing an Xho I linker DNA sequence inserted as described by K. Tatchell et al, Cell, Vol 27, pages 25-35, November 1981 (Part 2)) provides a convenient starting material for preparation of a controllable replication system based on the ColE1 replication origin. This plasmid has a unique Xho I restriction site, close to the start of the sequence coding for transcription of the RNAII species, which we have found may be used for insertion of operator and controllable promoter sequences, e.g. .lambda.P.sub.L, to give a directly controllable replication system.
The replication system comprising the first origin of replication may be obtained from any suitable low copy number plasmid. For example, a replication system comprising the pSC101 origin may be used, and the plasmid pHSG415 (T. Hashimoto-Gotoh et al, Gene, 16 (1981) pages 227-235) provides a convenient source for such a replication system. It will be appreciated that pHSG415 has a temperature sensitive replication origin, but that this origin may be replaced by its wild-type temperature-stable counterpart from pSC101. pHSG415, however, provided a convenient, temperature sensitive replication origin for use in the examples hereinafter described.
Controllable functions may be incorporated into high copy number replication systems, high copy number and low copy number replication systems may be ligated, and foreign genes may be incorporated into the vectors to produce vectors according to the invention using techniques which are known and understood by workers skilled in the recombinant DNA art. The resultant vectors may then be used to transform suitable host cells using standard procedures to produce foreign polypeptide, protein and other products.
The host cells may comprise eucaryotic cells, including yeast cells e.g. S. cerevisae, or, more usually, bacterial cells, of species such as B. subtilis or, especially, E. coli.
The invention is further described by way of illustration only in the following Examples, Examples 1-7. These Examples relate to the construction of specific dual origin plasmids according to the invention, and to studies of copy number control, heterologous gene expression and stability of these plasmids. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific plasmids and methods described.

DNA vectors and their use in recombinant DNA technology


A shelf-stable, semi-moist pet food, wherein partly farinaceous solid pieces are covered by or immersed in an aqueous free gravy. The solid pieces are prepared to be resistant to significant swelling or disintegration when in contact with an aqueous liquid, preferably by incorporating binding means such as vital wheat gluten. A preferred aqueous gravy has a pH of less than about 4.7 and a sufficiently low water activity so that the gravy itself is also shelf stable. The mixture of gravy and solid pieces has a water activity of less than about 0.9 and a pH of less than about 4.7 to resist microbiological growth.

This invention relates generally to food products, and more particularly to an intermediate moisture, shelf stable pet food having a free gravy.
Pet foods are generally classified into one of three groups, depending upon the method of manufacture and, particularly, the moisture content of the final product. Dry pet foods, having less than about 12% total water content, are typically prepared from farinaceous base materials, with additions of proteinaceous materials for nutritional purposes. Dry pet foods are microbiologically stable without refrigeration, primarily because the very low moisture contents will not support microbiological growth. While such foods are convenient in that they may be stored in a sack at room temperatures and exposed to the atmosphere, they are the least palatable of the pet foods and have the lowest perceived desirability for the purchaser of the pet food.
At the high end of the moisture scale are moist pet foods, usually having more than about 60% water content. Moist pet foods are typically prepared from meat, meat by-products, poultry, poultry by-products, and fish and fish by-products. Further, because of the high water content such pet foods must be sterilized and preserved by techniques such as canning to avoid microbiological growth prior to consumption by the animal. Once the can is opened, the pet foods must be consumed relatively quickly to avoid spoilage.
Semi-moist pet foods have an intermediate amount of from about 15% to about 40% total water content, and are formulated so as to present an attractive compromise between dry and moist pet foods. The semi-moist pet foods are more stable than moist pet foods, and typically more palatable to the animal and attractive to the purchaser than dry pet foods. Semi-moist pet foods, are familiar to most pet owners as being provided as single servings packaged in a foil or film pouch. Such pouches may be conveniently stored at room temperature for extended periods.
Semi-moist pet foods are often prepared by extrusion of formulations based upon mixtures of farinaceous and proteinaceous ingredients, with addition of water, perservatives, flavorants and colorants. See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,514. The semi-moist pieces may be colored and processed to simulate meat, as, for example, strands formed into hamburger-like patties.
Semi-moist pet foods usually have a pliable, plastic feel and texture, and are essentially dry to the touch. Although water is present in an amount of about 15% to about 40% by weight, the water is not visually evident on or in the pet foods. On the other hand, the presence of a visually evident liquid phase, termed herein a "free gravy," is particularly desirable. However, as yet there have been provided no semi-moist pet foods having a free gravy.
Shelf stable, intermediate moisture content human foods are known, wherein pieces of meat or vegetable are cooked or immersed in a low-water-content perservative liquid of low water activity. The liquid essentially dehydrates the meat or vegetable pieces, which have a high water activity, with the result that the final product has a net water activity sufficiently low to be microbiologically stable during storage. The cooking liquid may be packaged with the meat or vegetable pieces, or an additional liquid having a water activity essentially the same as the dehydrated piece may be added prior to packaging. Such approaches are not, however, suitable for the preparation of intermediate moisture pet foods. In the described approach for making human food, the starting material is a relatively expensive meat or vegetable piece, rather than the relatively inexpensive farinaceous and proteinaceous mixture that form the majority of the dry weight of semi-moist pet foods.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a semi-moist, shelf stable pet food having a free gravy, but whose solid pieces are prepared from conventional, relatively inexpensive, farinaceous and proteinaceous base materials. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.

Semi-moist pet food having free gravy and process for preparation thereof


An apparatus for changing the direction of conveying paper in which paper is stopped by the operation of driving roller pairs in conjunction with idle roller pairs. The respective driving and idle roller pairs are urged against one another by the operation of a solenoid or the like. In order to move the paper, a clutch is engaged to rotatably operate the driving pairs.

Conventionally, in an apparatus for changing the direction of conveying paper by 90 degrees, the paper is made to register or to abut against a metal plate stopper or the like. The paper is then pulled to a lower guide plate, while a transverse conveying force is exerted to the paper to send the paper out of the lower guide plate. Generally, with the conventional machine, a paper conveying system constitutes a combination of a belt and a ball to give the paper freedom rightward and leftward so that the paper can be moved in a transverse direction.
Difficulties have been encountered in the art as a result of the inability of the conventional apparatus to control paper of varying thickness. More precisely, if the conveying direction of a thin sheet of paper and paper folded several times is to be changed by 90 degrees by the above-mentioned apparatus, the thin sheet is deformed by the strong force necesary for conveying a thick folded sheet on one hand, while the thin sheet conveying force is insufficient for conveying a thick sheet. Thus, it is exceedingly difficult to determine the appropriate force for the paper being conveyed.

Apparatus for changing the direction of conveying paper


A turbo-charged internal combustion cylinder assembly includes a combustion chamber, an intake port communicably connected with an intake manifold, and an exhaust port communicably connected with an exhaust manifold. An intake valve is disposed within the intake port, and an exhaust valve is disposed within the exhaust port, the valves facilitating, in an open position, or restricting, in a closed position, gas flow between their respective ports and the combustion chamber. A compressor may be communicably connected to the intake manifold so as to provide pre-combustion gases to, and regulate pressure of the combustion chamber. The exhaust valve may open while the intake valve is closed to exhaust post-combustion gases from the combustion chamber. Alternatively, the exhaust valve may open while the intake valve is open to admit post-combustion gases into the combustion chamber if the combustion chamber pressure is lower than the exhaust port pressure.

The invention relates to internal combustion engines, and in particular, to turbo-charged internal combustion engines with fuel injection rate shaping and internal exhaust gas recirculation.
Emission control standards for internal combustion engines have tended to become more stringent over time. The sorts of emissions to be controlled tend to fall into at least four broad categories: unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulates, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide tend to be produced by inefficient or incomplete combustion. Efficient, complete combustion, on the other hand, tends to produce oxides of nitrogen.
Efficient, complete combustion tends to be characterized by high combustion chamber temperatures. The heat associated with high combustion chamber temperatures acts as a catalyst, promoting the binding of oxygen in the air charge to the otherwise inert nitrogen and producing oxides of nitrogen. An engine that is running efficiently, therefore, may produce oxides of nitrogen. Controlling the amounts of emissions produced by an internal combustion engine, then, becomes an issue of balancing combustion efficiency against raising combustion temperatures high enough to produce oxides of nitrogen.
Since the ingredients of oxides of nitrogen come from the intake air, one possibility to reduce the amounts of oxides of nitrogen may be to limit the air available for combustion. Compression-ignition engines, unlike spark-ignition engines, are often run with an excess of air over the stoichiometric ratio, so there is lots of nitrogen available for oxidation. This is because the production of particulates, such as ash, tends to rise as the air/fuel (A/F) mixture approaches stoichiometric. This is evidenced by the observation that diesel trucks often emit puffs of smoke under heavy acceleration. Since compression-ignition engines need to run with an excess of air to avoid emitting particulates, reducing the production of oxides of nitrogen by reducing the amount of air available for combustion is not a practical solution.
Another way to control the production of oxides of nitrogen is to reduce peak combustion chamber temperatures. Since production of oxides of nitrogen tends to depend on high combustion chamber temperatures as a catalyst, reducing the peak temperature ameliorates one of the conditions necessary for the production of oxides of nitrogen. Reducing the peak combustion chamber temperature may thus reduce the amount of oxygen that binds with nitrogen, with a consequent reduction in the quantity of oxides of nitrogen produced.
One means of lowering the high combustion chamber temperatures produced by an efficient combustion event is to cool the combustion chamber during combustion. The combustion chamber may be cooled by, e.g. reintroducing some of the products of previous combustion events back into the combustion chamber, a process known as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Since the products of efficient combustion are primarily water and carbon dioxide, neither of which is very flammable, this has the effect of extinguishing the combustion somewhat. The peak temperatures reached in the combustion chamber will consequently be lower, which retards the production of oxides of nitrogen. Clearly, the amount and timing of the introduction of products of combustion must be controlled accurately to avoid impairing the performance of the engine.
Lowering combustion chamber temperatures may have the collateral benefit of reducing exhaust manifold temperatures, as well as stack temperatures. Reducing stack temperatures reduces the temperature in exhaust after-treatment equipment such as oxidation catalysts, with a consequent reduction in the formation of, e.g. sulfates. Reducing stack temperatures may also reduce the production of particulates.
One way to reintroduce some of the products of previous combustion events into the combustion chamber is with external EGR. In external EGR, a tube or plenum conducts some post-combustion gases from the combustion chamber, usually through an exhaust manifold, to a valve. When the valve is opened, the post-combustion gases are readmitted to the combustion chamber, often passing through the intake manifold first. If the post-combustion gases pass through the intake manifold they will mix with fresh make-up air coming in through the air cleaner and be distributed relatively evenly to each of the combustion chambers when its respective intake valve opens.
External EGR, however, relies on high engine heat rejection to work, since the post-combustion gases must travel a relatively long way. Also, the valves and other hardware associated with external EGR increase the cost and complexity of the engine. Furthermore, the addition of external EGR and its associated hardware to an existing engine may require the chassis, front clip, or sheet metal to be re-arranged to allow the engine to fit. Furthermore, if the external EGR is plumbed through the intake manifold, it may be difficult to control the amount of exhaust gas that is re-admitted to each individual combustion chamber. This may pose a problem if, e.g. some combustion chambers run hotter than other combustion chambers, such as those that are nearer the water jacket exit.
A combustion chamber near the exit to the water jacket will be transferring heat to warmer coolant, other things being equal, than a combustion chamber near, e.g. the entrance to the water jacket, since the coolant has already been past the other combustion chambers when it reaches the exit. There will thus be a smaller temperature differential between the combustion chamber and the coolant. Thus the metal around, e.g. the combustion chamber will be maintained at a higher temperature, other things being equal. It would be desirable if the amount of exhaust gas that is readmitted to a combustion chamber could be controlled on an individual basis, commensurate with the temperatures prevailing in that combustion chamber.
The EGR valve, along with the associated actuator and control hardware, is also a point of potential failure, jeopardizing the durability of the engine. It would be desirable if the EGR valve, and its associated actuator and control hardware, could be eliminated. It would further be desirable if the amount and timing of post-combustion gases that re-enter the combustion chamber could be controlled by varying the pressure in the exhaust manifold relative to the pressure in the combustion chamber, rather than with an external valve. Finally, allowing post-combustion gases to re-enter the combustion chamber directly from the exhaust manifold may reduce the transfer time of the post-combustion gases back into the combustion chamber, improving the responsiveness of the EGR system and allowing their application to be optimized or, at least, reduced.
Many truck engines are supercharged. Some superchargers are belt-, chain- or gear-driven, while others, so-called turbo-chargers, rely on a turbine to convert the kinetic energy in exhaust gases to rotational momentum in a compressor. There are those who define superchargers and turbo-chargers as separate entities. For the purposes of this application, however, a turbo-charger will be defined as a turbine-driven supercharger.
Turbo-machinery, such as superchargers, have components that rotate. These components possess inertia. These components gain momentum with respect to this inertia when they are turned, by, e.g. a belt or a turbine. Building rotational momentum requires time, which manifests itself as lag. The lag is generally proportional to the inertia of the turbine rotor and compressor. Thus the inertia of the turbine rotor and the compressor rotor contribute to lag. There are advantages to be found with using smaller compressors and turbine trim, such as better transient engine response, which in turn helps to control emissions, such as, for example, particulates. It would be desirable to be able to reduce the sizes of the turbine and the compressor rotors, thus reducing the lag normally associated with, e.g. turbo-chargers, and improving the transient response.
Turbo-chargers rely on post-combustion gases for their energy. Sometimes, under operating conditions such as at start-up or low-speed operation, an engine does not produce enough post-combustion gases to drive the compressor adequately. It would be desirable if a compressor had a secondary source of power, such as an electrical or belt driven-clutch-assist, for situations when more turbo boost is called for than the available exhaust gas can produce. This would be especially desirable if the turbo-charger were part of the emission control system.
Carnot taught that there are two ways to increase the efficiency of a heat engine, by raising the temperature at which heat is added or by reducing the temperature at which heat is rejected. Although every point within a diesel engine combustion chamber should be at or above the kindling temperature of the fuel when fuel is admitted to the combustion chamber, this may not always be the case. The fuel itself may, e.g. be cold relative to the combustion chamber, especially during winter driving. Cold fuel may thus reduce the temperature locally in the combustion chamber below the kindling temperature of the fuel.
Transient conditions such as those due, e.g. to start up or rapid changes in throttle position may contribute to cooler combustion chamber temperatures as well. Throttling is a cooling process, and so fuel that has been throttled will generally be cooled somewhat. It would be desirable if the fuel being injected were pre-heated slightly by, e.g. using the heat of the post-combustion gases, so that it would be more likely to be ignited completely upon entry into the combustion chamber.
Fuel is normally injected, on the average, into the center of a combustion chamber. Although average combustion chamber temperatures may be relatively constant, local temperatures may fluctuate. Combustion chamber temperatures, for example, may vary both spatially across the combustion chamber, and over time during the combustion event.
Since some points within a combustion chamber are hotter than others, it would be desirable to be able to adjust the rate at which fuel is injected. Thus, the rate at which fuel was injected could be varied at different times and at different points within the combustion chamber, during the combustion event, so fuel was injected where and when the combustion chamber temperatures are highest. This may, for example, allow the combustion process to rely less on propagation of a flame front to burn the fuel. It may also allow the peak temperature to be reduced, thereby reducing formation of oxides of nitrogen, since the fuel can be directed at a point where the temperatures are highest.
Adjusting the rate at which fuel is injected is often termed injection rate shaping. One means of injection rate shaping is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,444 B1 to Suder, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. It would be desirable for injection rate shaping to be combined with, e.g., a lash adjustment mechanism, improved turbo-charger efficiency, or in-cylinder exhaust gas recirculation with and without post bump shutoff capability.
In several aspects, the invention may provide post bump shutoff with a lash adjustment mechanism, improved turbo-charger efficiency, a modified post bump injection system, and in-cylinder exhaust gas recirculation with and without post bump shutoff capability. Camless or variable valve timing and lift technologies may be used to shape the post bump to match the region where exhaust port pressure is higher than intake port pressure. In addition, these technologies may provide post bump shutoff capability. Various air systems (shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, and 11) can be used to overcome lack of airflow (A/F) at low engine speeds with a fixed timing and duration post bump without the shutoff capability.
In one aspect, turbo-chargers may have variable geometry turbines and waste gates. In another aspect, turbo-chargers may be arranged in series. In still another aspect, post bump may be shut off at low engine speeds via, e.g. a lash adjusting mechanism to maintain an acceptable A/F ratio. A conventional turbo-charging scheme (with fixed geometry turbinexe2x80x94see FIG. 8) may also be implemented with shutoff capability. Engine power curves (engine speed and load) may also be manipulated to maintain acceptable A/F at lower engine speeds if the shutoff capability is not available.
In another aspect, the invention provides a combination of in-cylinder EGR and injection rate shaping with a fixed geometry turbo-charger that may be optimally matched for low speed engine operation and good transient response.
In still another aspect, the invention may be a combination of in-cylinder EGR and airflow control via an electrically-assisted turbo-charger, or a variable turbine geometry turbo-charger. Included are injection rate shaping and a turbo-charger that may be optimally matched for low speed engine operation, in addition to a variable turbine geometry turbo-charger and an electrically assisted turbo-charger.
Injection rate shaping may be provided in combination with the specific strategy of in-cylinder EGR. The in-cylinder EGR may be accomplished by, e.g. opening an exhaust valve during the intake stroke, while the exhaust port pulse pressure is greater than the cylinder and intake port pressure. Injection rate shaping may be a combination of pre-, or post-combustion injection rate shaping, and changing a shape of the main injection pulse. Airflow control via, e.g. an electrically assisted turbo-charger, a variable turbine geometry turbo-charger, or a smaller turbine and compressor match may also be included.
In particular, in one embodiment a turbo-charged internal combustion cylinder assembly includes a cylinder having a cylinder head at an end thereof, a combustion chamber with an intake port disposed in the cylinder head, and an intake valve movably disposed in the intake port. The combustion chamber may be communicably connected to the turbo-charger via the intake port so the compressor may provide pre-combustion gases to the combustion chamber when the intake valve is open. An exhaust port is also disposed in the cylinder head, with an exhaust valve movably disposed in the exhaust port that communicably connects the combustion chamber to an exhaust manifold. The exhaust valve may open to exhaust post-combustion gases to the exhaust manifold while the intake valve is substantially closed, and the exhaust valve may open to admit post-combustion gases to the combustion chamber while the intake valve is substantially open. A fuel injector disposed in the cylinder head may admit fuel to the combustion chamber near piston top dead center during, e.g. a compression stroke while both the intake and the exhaust valves are closed. Such a fuel injector may include a pump chamber, a fuel-injecting plunger for reciprocating within the pump chamber, and a discharge nozzle connected to the pump chamber for injecting fuel into the combustion chamber. A spill valve may be positioned between the chamber and the nozzle for controlling a rate of fuel injection to the combustion chamber, the spill valve having a first position providing a maximum fuel injection rate, a second position providing a substantially zero fuel injection rate, and at least one intermediate position providing an intermediate fuel injection rate between the maximum fuel injection rate and the zero fuel injection rate.
In a second embodiment a turbo-charged internal combustion engine system includes a cylinder having a combustion chamber with an intake valve disposed to admit pre-combustion gases to the combustion chamber, and an exhaust port. A first fuel injector may be disposed in the combustion chamber while a second fuel injector disposed in the exhaust port. An exhaust valve may be disposed to admit post-combustion gases to the combustion chamber while an exhaust port pressure in the exhaust port is higher than a combustion chamber pressure in the combustion chamber. The exhaust valve may be reopened while the exhaust port pressure is higher than the combustion chamber pressure, and fuel may be injected by a first fuel injector or a second fuel injector. A purpose for injecting fuel while an exhaust port pressure is higher than a combustion chamber pressure may be to elevate the fuel temperature with the exhaust gas, possibly vaporizing the fuel, and also to mix the fuel with the pre-combustion gases entering through the intake valve. Compression of the fuel and air mixture takes place after the intake and the exhaust valves close, allowing the fuel to autoignite and producing homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion. Autoignition may be controlled by, e.g. adjusting EGR, the timing of the intake valve event, the compression ratio, or the inlet manifold temperature.
In a third embodiment a fuel injector may be used to control the start of combustion. A first quantity of fuel may be injected into the exhaust port via a second fuel injector while an exhaust port pressure is higher than a combustion chamber pressure and when an exhaust valve is reopened. A temperature of the first quantity of fuel may be elevated by the heat of the exhaust gases, and the fuel may be vaporized, when the first quantity of fuel mixes with pre-combustion gases entering through the intake port. Compression of the fuel and air mixture takes place when the intake and exhaust valves have closed. The first quantity of fuel, however, is insufficient for auto-ignition to occur. Combustion may not occur until fuel is also injected by a first fuel injector in a quantity sufficient to auto-ignite. Engine-out emissions may be controlled by adjusting, e.g. the quantities of fuel injected by the first and the second injectors, a timing of fuel injection by the first fuel injector, the quantity of EGR, a timing of an inlet valve closing, a compression ratio, or an inlet manifold temperature.

Turbo-charged internal combustion engine with in-cylinder EGR and injection rate shaping


The motor control device includes a current detecting portion for detecting a phase current that flows in an armature winding of a stator of a three-phase motor based on current that flows between an inverter for driving the motor and a DC power supply. The motor control device performs a position sensorless vector control for the motor based on a control current that is obtained by a three-phase to two-phase conversion of the phase current based on an estimated rotor position of the motor. The motor control device farther includes a superposing portion for superposing a superposed voltage having a predetermined frequency on a drive voltage for driving the motor and an estimating portion for deriving the estimated rotor position based on the superposed current that is extracted from the control current and flows in the motor in accordance with the superposed voltage. A voltage vector locus of the superposed voltage from the superposing portion presents an ellipse.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor control device for driving and controlling a motor.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to perform a vector control of a motor by supplying three-phase AC power to the motor, it is necessary to detect phase currents of two phases (e.g., the U-phase current and the V-phase current) among three phases including the U-phase, the V-phase and the W-phase. Although two current sensors (current transformers or the like) are usually used for detecting the phase currents of two phases, the use of two current sensors causes an increase of cost of the entire system equipped with the motor.
For this reason, a conventional method is proposed, in which bus current (DC current) between an inverter and a DC power supply is sensed by a single current sensor, and the phase currents of two phases are detected from the sensed bus current. This method is also called a single shunt current detecting method.
FIG. 41 shows a general block diagram of a conventional motor driving system in which the single shunt current detecting method is adopted. An inverter (PWM inverter) 902 is equipped with half bridge circuits for three phases, each of which includes an upper arm and a lower arm, and it converts a DC voltage from a DC power supply 904 into a three-phase AC voltages by switching the individual arms in accordance with three-phase specified voltage values given by a controller 903. The three-phase AC voltage is supplied to a three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous motor 901, so that the motor 901 is driven and controlled.
A line connecting the individual lower arms in the inverter 902 with the DC power supply 904 is called a bus line ML. A current sensor 905 transmits a signal indicating the bus current that flows in the bus line ML to the controller 903. The controller 903 performs sampling of an output signal of the current sensor 905 at appropriate timing so as to detect a phase current of the phase in which a voltage level becomes a maximum value (maximum phase) and phase current of a phase in which a voltage level becomes a minimum value (minimum phase), i.e., the phase currents of two phases.
If voltage levels of phases are separated from each other sufficiently, the phase currents of two phases can be detected by the process described above. However, if the maximum phase of voltage and an intermediate phase become close to each other, or if the minimum phase of voltage and the intermediate phase become close to each other, it is difficult to detect the phase currents of two phases. Note that the description of the single shunt current detecting method including the description of the reason why it becomes difficult to detect the phase currents of two phases will appear later with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5A-5D.
Considering this, a method is proposed in which if the phase currents of two phases cannot be detected by the single shunt current detecting method in a certain period, pulse widths of PWM signals with respect to arms in the inverter are corrected based on three-phase gate signals.
An example of usual correction of the specified voltage value (pulse width) that corresponds to the above-mentioned correction is shown in FIG. 42. In FIG. 42, the horizontal axis indicates time, and reference numerals 920u, 920v and 920w denote voltage levels of the U-phase, the V-phase and the W-phase, respectively. Since a voltage level of each phase follows the specified voltage value (pulse widths) for each phase, they are considered to be equivalent. As shown in FIG. 42, the specified voltage value (pulse width) of each phase is corrected so that "a maximum phase and an intermediate phase" as well as "a minimum phase and the intermediate phase" of the voltage do not approach each other closer than a predetermined distance. Thus, voltages of individual phases do not become close to each other to the extent that the phase currents of two phases cannot be detected, and the phase currents of two phases can be detected stably.
On the other hand, as a method for estimating a rotor position without using a position sensor, there is proposed a method of applying a high frequency voltage. It is known that the rotor position estimating method based on the application of a high frequency voltage can perform a good estimation at a standstill or at a low rotation speed because the method utilizes salient magnetic poles of the motor.
It is possible to realize low cost and stable estimation at a standstill or the like by combining the single shunt current detecting method with the rotor position estimating method based on the application of a high frequency voltage, but a method for realizing the combination is not proposed yet. Therefore, as a matter of course, there is no technique about items to be considered when both the methods are combined.


A method of assembling a structure using a fixture is disclosed. The fixture comprises a first portion and a second portion, and the structure comprises an object and a beam that includes a web. The method comprises installing the fixture on the beam by gripping the beam between a first clamping face of the first portion and a second clamping face of the second portion so that a first contact face of the first portion and a second contact face of the second portion abut each other, and the first clamping face and the second clamping face engage the web; positioning the object relative to the beam between a first positioning face of the first portion and a second positioning face of the second portion without gripping the object; and installing a fastener so that the first portion is drawn toward the second portion.

When assembling structures, such as aircraft, it may be necessary to bond an object, such as a spacer, to a beam. If assembly is halted to accommodate bonding operations, manufacturing lead time may increase. If assembly continues during the bonding operations, the object may be inadvertently displaced from its intended location on the beam and/or damaged, thereby potentially necessitating costly rework and creating objectionable delays.


A process for preparing styrene by contacting a gaseous feed which contains 1-phenylethanol and at least 0.1% wt of phenol and/or ethylphenol with a heterogeneous dehydration catalyst in the presence of at least 0.40% wt of benzylalcohol and at a molar ratio of benzylalcohol to total amount of phenol and ethylphenol of at least 0.8.

A commonly known method for manufacturing styrene is the coproduction of propylene oxide and styrene starting from ethylbenzene. In general, such process involves the steps of (i) reacting ethylbenzene with oxygen or air to form ethylbenzene hydroperoxide, (ii) reacting the ethylbenzene hydroperoxide thus obtained with propene in the presence of an epoxidation catalyst to yield propylene oxide and 1-phenyl-ethanol, and (iii) converting the 1-phenyl-ethanol into styrene by dehydration using a suitable dehydration catalyst. The present invention particularly focuses on the last step, i.e. the dehydration of 1-phenyl-ethanol to yield styrene.
The synthesis of styrene is important because this product functions as starting material for valuable commercial products such as plastics and the like. A disadvantage of these processes is the formation of heavy by-products especially if these by-products are formed from valuable starting compounds. Phenol and ethylphenol are generally present in the feed to the dehydration unit. Both phenol and ethylphenol have been observed to react with 1-phenylethanol thereby forming mono- and polyalkylated phenols. This not only results in heavy by-product being formed but also results in the consumption of a valuable starting compound. A solution to this problem would be the removal of phenol and ethylphenol from the feed before dehydration. However, phenol and ethylphenol are difficult to separate from 1-phenylethanol and such separation process would be cumbersome and expensive.


Metal detection apparatus comprises an oscillator circuit including an inductive detection coil and a detector for rectifying the output of the oscillator circuit synchronously with the frequency of oscillation. A comparison circuit compares the rectified output of the oscillator circuit with a reference signal and generates an output signal having a value related to the amplitude of the oscillator output. A feedback circuit generates a positive feedback signal and applies it to the oscillator circuit to maintain its oscillation at a predetermined amplitude under quiescent conditions. The circuit is largely immune to electromagnetic interference and temperature sensitive effects.

This invention relates to metal detection apparatus.
Numerous metal detection circuits have been proposed. Most such circuits employ an oscillator circuit including an inductive detection coil. The presence of metal near the coil alters the parameters of the oscillating circuit, and the resulting variation in the output of the oscillating circuit is detected. Circuits of the kind described are sensitive to various electromagnetic signals, including radio frequency and mains-borne disturbances. Such circuits are also frequently highly sensitive to temperature variations and to variations in component values. This may result in unsatisfactory performance, or may necessitate the use of complex and expensive compensating circuitry, and the selection of expensive, high quality components.
It is an object of the invention to provide a metal detection circuit which is relatively insensitive to temperature variations and to electromagnetic interference.


The invention discloses a method for allocating resource including: a base station calculating a number of PDCCH aggregation degree groups based on CCE resources which can be occupied by PDCCH in a subframe, wherein PDCCH aggregation degree groups are divided based on a largest PDCCH aggregation degree; the base station setting at least one aggregation degree group in the middle of the total PDCCH aggregation degree groups as a common search space; and the base station, based on UE information and common information, determining PDCCH aggregation degree groups which are set as a UE specified search space using a space division function; and the base station searching a location of the UE specified search space in determined PDCCH aggregation degree groups which are set as the UE specified search space and performing PDCCH resource allocation. The invention achieves simplification of allocation modes and improves efficiency of PDCCH resource allocation.

The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is a very important downlink physical channel in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system. PDCCH transmits downlink control information and can be is used for scheduling the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) of User Equipment (UE) and allocating occupancy resources, and also for informing UE of modulation mode of service data associated therewith on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and resource occupancy conditions and so on so as to achieve correctly receiving and decoding service data by UE. The number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols that can be occupied by PDCCH is determined by the content transmitted by the Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH). If there is Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARM) information, then part of resources determined by PCFICH will also be occupied by the Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH) and only the rest resources can be used for PDCCH. LTE protocol stipulates that the resource occupied by PDCCH is allocated by taking the Control Channel Element (CCE) as a basic unit and finally CCE is mapped on specific physical resources and meanwhile stipulates that UE shall perform blind detection on the received data by taking CCE as a basic unit to resolve control information that belongs to the UE.
Currently, resource allocation of CCE is performed directly by taking one CCE as the unit. If the numbers of occupied CCEs (i.e., aggregation degree) by certain UE in different Transmission Time Intervals (TTI) are different, a base station needs to fully re-calculate in resource allocation, and similarly the search location of UE in blind detection shall also be re-calculated, which brings inconvenience to both resource allocation and blind detection. Meanwhile, the decoding rate of the control channel will affect demodulation and decoding of downlink data and also will affect uplink flow and downlink flow of the whole system. To improve sending processing speed and receiving processing speed of PDCCH and ensure uplink flow and downlink flow, it is required to improve the resource allocation efficiency, lower complexity of resource allocation at the side of the base station, and reduce times of blind detection for UE at the same time when keeping flexibility of resource allocation. However, no effective solution for solving said problem has been proposed yet.

Method and system for resource distribution, blind detection method, base station, user equipment


To provide a method of manufacturing an electrical contactor including a volute spring structure extending in upward and downward directions formed integrally using a single material, having mechanical simplicity and excellent functionality, and functioning as an electric circuit achieving connection without loss.

A test subject such as an integrated circuit formed on a semiconductor wafer or a packaged integrated circuit is subjected to a test for electrical characteristics at each manufacturing stage. An electrical test on an integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer is conducted using an electrical connecting apparatus such as a probe card. An electrical test on a packaged integrated circuit is conducted using an electrical connecting apparatus such as a socket. In such electrical connecting apparatuses, an electrical contactor to contact a first contact target and a second contact target is used, and an electrical signal is conducted between the first contact target and the second contact target through the electrical contactor.
Various types of electrical contactors conventionally existing include an electrical contactor formed by combining a plurality of constituting members. If an electrical signal is to be conducted between the first contact target and the second contact target using such an electrical contactor formed using a combination of a plurality of constituting members, a resistance may be increased at a point of contact between the constituting members, and this may cause there to be an influence on the electrical conduction performance.
Patent literature 1 discloses a spring probe with a spiral and tubular sleeve, a first terminal at one end of the tubular sleeve, and a second end at the other end of the tubular sleeve formed integrally by bending a thin strip-shaped substrate. As this spring probe is formed integrally using the thin strip-shaped substrate, favorable electrical conductivity is achieved.

Method of manufacturing electrical contactor

Abstract: The present disclosure is intended for a method of manufacturing an electrical contactor made of a plate-like member having electrical conductivity, comprising: (1) a first step of forming the plate-like member into a barrel shape by winding the plate-like member in a spiral pattern; (2) a second step of compressing the plate-like member formed into the barrel shape from a vertical direction until the plate-like member assumes a volute shape with an upper spiral structure and a lower spiral structure overlapping each other; and (3) a third step of forming a volute-shaped electrical contactor by performing predetermined hardening treatment on the plate-like member temporarily assuming the volute shape as a result of the second step.


A method for selectively controlling allocation of one or more computing resources for a process. The method includes providing a user option to execute a process using local or remote computing resources and then executing the process using a selected option. A more specific method includes predetermining two or more allocation options; displaying a plurality of the predetermined allocation options, wherein each option indicates a different allocation of resources between at least one resource on a local computing system and at least one resource on a remote computing system, wherein the resources; determining, by using the local computing system, a function to be performed; accepting a signal from a user-input device to select one of the plurality of options in association with performing the function; allocating the resources in accordance with the selected option; and then using the selected resource allocation to accomplish a task.

One typical approach to computing provides a user with a local computer system. The local computer system can include local computing resources such as processing power, storage capacity, bandwidth for data transfers, output capability (e.g., display, audio speakers, etc.), input capability (e.g., keyboard, mouse, touch screen, camera, gesture recognition, etc.), and other resources. The user is able to exercise a high degree of control over the local computer system and the local resources in order to perform desired functions to achieve desired results. For example, a user can use computing resources to search for and display information, run simulations; create documents, images, video, or other content; send messages, play games, or to perform many other tasks.
In some cases a user may wish to use "virtual" computing resources that are not part of a local, or otherwise dedicated computing system. Typically virtual computing resources can include any of the resources that are available in a dedicated machine, such as a local computer. The virtual computing resources are typically maintained by a different entity that is not under the user's ownership or control. For example, a company may operate dozens or hundreds of remote computers that include the ability to provide many times the amount of processing power, storage capacity, bandwidth or other resources that a user may desire. So a user may benefit from using virtual computing resources to have greater or different processing power at their disposal than they might otherwise have.
It is desirable to provide a user with controls to select among local and remote resources to perform various tasks or functions.

Computing with local and remote resources including user mode control


A gate turn-off thyristor includes a cathode emitter of n-type, a cathode base of p-type, an anode base of n-type and an anode emitter of p-type. A gate electrode is electrically connected to the p cathode base to enclose and define an elemental gate turn-off thyristor region. A plurality of n cathode emitter regions are arranged in proximity to each other in the elemental gate turn-off thyristor region. A highly-doped buried gate region is provided in the p cathode base with the substantially identical configuration for each n cathode emitter regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thyristor, and more particularly to a gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) having a multi-emitter.
2. Description of the Related Art
A gate turn-off thyristor is a thyristor which can not only turn on but also turn off a main current flowing between main electrodes (anode and cathode) by a control signal applied to a gate electrode in a state where a forward voltage is being applied between the anode and the cathode. In order to effectively perform the turn-off, it is preferable to narrow the area of the cross section of one current path so that the influence of the control signal can be effectively given to all positions of the current path. Also, in order to avoid a failure of the GTO, it is preferable to provide a plurality of current paths each of which is of an elongated stripe form having a predetermined length. A large current can be obtained by increasing the number of the stripes.
To show the general techniques concerning the gate turn-off thyristor, there are cited T. Yatsuo et al; IEEE Trans. ED, Vol. ED-31, No. 12, December 1984, pp. 1681-86, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,888 to T. Nagano et al issued Dec. 2, 1986 (filed Nov. 10, 1983, priority claimed Nov. 10, 1982), which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a typical GTO, a multiplicity of cathode emitters each of which is formed in the shape of elongated stripe and wherein each is enclosed by a gate electrode are arranged in a GTO pellet and each cathode emitter acts as an elemental GTO. A surface of the cathode emitter is metalized to provide a cathode (or emitter) electrode. An electrode plate is brought on the surfaces of the cathode electrodes of the pellet into pressure contact therewith so that all the elemental GTO's operate in a parallel manner.
However, in a large-current GTO using a large-diameter pellet, it is difficult to favorably form all of the cathode emitter regions. In order to allow the manufacture of large-diameter GTO's at a relatively high yield, an elemental GTO having a bad cathode is checked and eliminated from the use leaving only good elemental GTO's. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,011 issued to Okano et al on Jul. 27, 1982, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
On the other hand, a heat dissipation from the GTO is affected by bringing a heat sink member such as radiator fin into pressure contact with the electrode plate. In order to maintain the thermal resistance of the heat sink member low, it is required to apply a pressure not smaller than a predetermined value to a surface of the electrode plate having a fixed area. At the pellet surface, this force equal to (area).times.(pressure) is mainly carried by a surface of the cathode (emitter) electrode. Therefore, it is preferable to make the occupation ratio of the cathode (emitter) electrode surface area to the pellet surface area as large as possible.
If the area of a surface portion of a cathode base exposed to the principal surface of the pellet and the area of a gate electrode provided on the surface of the cathode base increase, the area of a cathode emitter region and the area of the cathode electrode are correspondingly decreased so that the electrode material is liable to be crushed when a pressure is applied. Moreover, if the number of elemental GTO's eliminated as the result of a test is large, the force applied to the remaining elemental GTO's is necessarily further increased. Accordingly, the electrode material is further liable to be pressed thin and crushed. The crushed cathode electrode may extend to and electrically become in contact with the gate electrode or the surface portion of the cathode base region, thereby causing a short circuit.
In many cases, a level difference is provided on the surface of a pellet so that a gate electrode is provided at the lower surface level. This provision is effective for prevention of a short-circuit trouble. However, the division of a cathode emitter into many elemental regions results in the expansion of the length of a margin providing the difference level. A strain is liable to generate at the marginal portion, thereby causing mechanical damage such as breakage. Therefore, the expansion of the length of the level-difference margin is liable to lower the manufacture yield.
If no level difference is provided, on the other hand, a cathode emitter electrode, a gate electrode and a cathode base region assume a co-planar arrangement. In that case, if the cathode and gate electrodes contact with each other due to the crush, etc. of the cathode electrode when the pressure contact is made, there results in a short-circuit trouble. Even in the case where no short circuiting has resulted between the electrodes, short-circuit trouble is encountered if a pin-hole is present in a passivation film on the cathode base and the crushed cathode electrode extends into the pin-hole.
A buried gate structure has been proposed for static induction (SI) thyristors, gate turn-off thyristors, etc. (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,611, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,995, U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,645 and JP-A-57-10971, which are hereby incorporated by reference). A p.sup.+ buried gate region of high impurity concentration is formed in a p.sup.- cathode base region of low impurity concentration, thereby permitting decrease of a distance between a current path and a region to be controlled.


A power supply adjusting system, method and apparatus, a chip, and an electronic device. The system includes: a power supply, a power storage circuit and a control circuit the control circuit is connected to the power supply and the load when in use; and the control circuit is configured to obtain a workload change condition of the load and to control, in a case where the workload change condition is that the load increases, the power supply to decrease the supply voltage so that the power storage circuit outputs power to supply power to the load.

A power supply is a device that supplies power to the load and the unstable supply voltage at the load side will cause the chip to work abnormally. Therefore, the stability of the supply voltage at the load side is extremely important, and special attention should be paid to the stability of the supply voltage at the load side when designing the chip.

Power supply adjusting system, method and apparatus, chip, and electronic device

CHENGDU HAIGUANG INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN CO., LTD.


An uplink transmission method includes obtaining control information useable for uplink transmission with dynamic scheduling, determining based on information about a first time-frequency resource allocated to the uplink transmission and configuration information of a first reference signal useable for the uplink transmission, a second time-frequency resource useable to send the first reference signal, obtaining first information of a semi-statically configured resource useable for the uplink transmission, and in response to performing the uplink transmission based on the control information, sending, by the communications apparatus on an overlapping time-frequency resource of a second time-frequency resource and a third time-frequency resource, a reference signal generated based on configuration information of a second reference signal or failing to send a signal. The control information includes information about the first time-frequency resource allocated to the uplink transmission and configuration information of the first reference signal useable for the uplink transmission.

In a fifth generation (the fifth generation, 5G) mobile communications system, an enhanced mobile broadband (enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB) service has features of a high data rate and high density, and a main application scenario includes big data transmission such as high-definition video transmission. An ultra-reliable and low latency communications (ultra-reliable and low latency communications, URLLC) service has features of a sporadic service and a relatively small data packet, and main application scenarios include self-driving, remote control, and the like. The two services have different latency and reliability requirements. Compared with the eMBB service, the URLLC service requires a low latency and high reliability.
5G transmission supports a plurality of numerologies. The eMBB service may use a numerology with a small subcarrier spacing and a long slot, for example, the subcarrier spacing is 15 KHz, and a corresponding slot is 1 ms. To meet a low latency requirement of URLLC, the URLLC service may use a numerology with a large subcarrier spacing and a short slot, for example, the subcarrier spacing is 60 KHz, and a corresponding slot is 0.125 ms. The URLLC service may further reduce a latency by using a transmission mechanism of grant-free transmission.
Different numerologies are used for the eMBB service and the URLLC service, and the eMBB service and the URLLC service need to be transmitted on different frequency band resources. When the URLLC service uses the grant-free transmission, a resource needs to be pre-configured for the URLLC service. Because the URLLC service has the features of the sporadic service and the relatively small data packet, resource utilization of a frequency band resource corresponding to the URLLC service is extremely low.
Currently, during downlink transmission, to improve system resource utilization, multiplex transmission of the eMBB service and the URLLC service on a shared downlink resource is supported. To be specific, a base station usually does not reserve a resource for the downlink transmission of the URLLC service. When a downlink URLLC service arrives, the base station may directly occupy a resource allocated to the eMBB service, to transmit the URLLC service. The base station notifies, by using a pre-emption indication (pre-emption indication, PI), user equipment (user equipment, UE) having the eMBB service of a resource occupied by the URLLC service and a retransmission location of an interrupted eMBB service.
To implement multiplex transmission of the eMBB service and the URLLC service on a shared resource during uplink transmission, a dynamic resource sharing manner in which the PI is used for notification during the downlink transmission may be applied to multiplex transmission of an uplink eMBB service and an uplink URLLC service on a shared resource.
However, indicating the occupied resource of the eMBB service by using the PI requires that the URLLC service is also transmitted based on uplink grant. In the process, both an SR for requesting a transmission resource by the UE from the base station and the UL grant delivered by the base station may increase the latency of the URLLC service. When the URLLC service uses uplink grant-free transmission, the base station cannot obtain information about the resource occupied by the URLLC service in advance, and cannot notify, by using the PI, the occupied resource of the eMBB service. Therefore, during the uplink transmission, how to implement the multiplex transmission of the eMBB service and the URLLC service on the shared resource is a technical problem that urgently needs to be resolved in a future communications system.

Uplink transmission method and apparatus


A method of synthesizing Pyrazoles by means of the oxidative conversion of Enamines with suitable N-containing carboxylic acid derivatives in the presence of copper ions and 2-picolinic acid derivatives is provided.

Heterocyclic compounds play an immense role in organic chemistry, especially in active ingredients and pharmaceuticals, and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds represents an important and steadily growing field of research.
Pyrazoles represent an important class of heterocycles. Pyrazoles occur relatively rarely in natural materials but are an important structural element in biologically active compounds, which in some cases can have great economic importance as pharmaceuticals or plant protecting agents. Two prominent examples are the COX-2 inhibitor Celecoxib, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, and the contact poison Fipronil®, which is effective as a GABA inhibitor against ectoparasites, such as fleas, lice, ticks, and mites.
A Pyrazole-synthesizing process using the coupling of carboxylic acid derivatives and Enamines under oxidative conditions is known from WO 2011/120861. However, the task at hand is to improve this method further.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pyrazole synthesis by coupling of carboxylic acid derivatives and enamines

Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster


A method is provided for detecting a collision between a robot and one or more obstacles before it occurs. The robot is modeled by spheres in a voxelized workspace. Each voxel within the workspace is assigned a value which corresponds to its distance from the closest obstacle. A collision is determined to be imminent if the voxel value at the center of a sphere is less than the radius of the sphere in voxels.

In the field of robotics, much interest has been generated over the years in methods of collision avoidance between a robot and obstacles in its environment. Methods of collision avoidance have at their core, a method of collision detection. In general, to prevent a collision, the intersection of a set of moveable elements with a set of obstacles must be determined before the collision actually occurs. After it has been determined that a collision state is imminent, action can be taken to redirect the robot to avoid the collision.
Two broad categories of collision detection methods are: those methods that encode the occupancy of obstacles in a spatial index, and those that do not. Methods relating to the latter category, while satisfactory for on-line path planning, tend to be too slow to be effective for real-time collision avoidance. Typically a collision is detected by analytically calculating the distance between a set of geometric primitives describing a moveable element, and a set of geometric primitives describing obstacles. Determination of the collision status of the moveable element therefore requires the intersection calculation to be performed a number of times, equal to the product of the number of geometric primitives describing the moveable element and the number of geometric primitives describing the obstacles.
Lozano-Perez in a paper entitled "Spatial Planning: A Configuration Space Approach," IEEE Transactions on Computers, vol. C-32, no. Feb. 2, 1983 teaches a method of the second category heretofore mentioned. Lozano-Perez models both the moveable elements and the obstacles as polyhedra, and analytically calculates the intersections of planes.
Khatib, O., in a paper entitled "Real-Time Obstacle Avoidance for Manipulators and Mobile Robots," published in The International Journal of Robotics Research, vol. 5 no. 1, Spring 1986, models moveable elements as a set of points and line segments and presents the analytical distance formulae for a number of geometric primitives, including a parallelepiped, a cylinder, and a cone. Dodds, G., in a paper entitled "Robotic Collision Control", IEEE Colloquium on controllers for Robotic Applications--Concepts and Implementations, Digest no. 127, 1989, pp. 2/1-2/4 models moveable elements as spheres, and the obstacles as polyhedra; it has been suggested by others to model the moveable elements and obstacles as polyhedra, cylinders or spheres.
One technique that improves the processing speed of collision detection is to encode the occupancy of the obstacles in a spatial index. An example of this is the use of voxels. Voxels are discrete volume elements in the form of cubes. In some known schemes, all the voxels that are occupied by an obstacle are assigned a predetermined value, for example zero, while all other voxels are given another value. To determine whether a certain point in space is occupied by an obstacle, it is sufficient to perform a simple table lookup, locating the corresponding voxel and checking its value.
Advantageously, this method obviates the need to perform an analytic calculation of the distance between the geometric primitives describing the moveable elements and the geometric primitives describing the obstacles. Rather, the geometric primitives describing the moveable elements need only be compared to the values of the voxels that are quick to identify.
Duffy et al. in a paper entitled "Real-Time Collision Avoidance System for Multiple Robots Operating in a Shared Workspace", IEEE Proceedings, Vol. 36, Pt. E, No. Nov. 6, 1989, pp. 478-484 describe a system wherein both the moveable element and the obstacles are represented as sets of voxels, and a specialized digital hardware system was constructed to determined the overlap of these sets as the element moves thorough space.
Although the prior art methods for collision avoidance and detection appear to perform their intended function, some of these methods are too slow for real-time applications.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method for collision detection that can determine a collision state in a timely manner.
Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of collision detection wherein the speed of detection is independent of the number of obstacles in the environment.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, in a device having one or more moveable elements residing within a finite space, a method of detecting a collision state between an object within the finite space and a model of the one or more moveable elements, comprising the steps of: (a) determining relative strengths of a set of discrete points throughout the space, the relative strength of any point being a measure of the distance from that point to the object; (b) storing values representative of the relative strengths in a memory; (c) determining values of relative strengths of a set of reference points which approximate a volume occupied by the model of the one or more moveable elements, the relative strength of each point being a measure of the distance around that point that is occupied by the model of the one or more moveable elements; (e) storing values representive of the relative strengths of the set of reference points in a memory and identifying a corresponding discrete point for each reference point; and, (f) comparing the stored values representative of the relative strengths of the reference points with the stored values representative of the relative strengths of the corresponding discrete points in the space, a collision state being detected when the ratio of any of the compared values representative of the relative strengths of the reference points and the values representative of the relative strengths of the corresponding discrete points in the space is greater than 1.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention in a device having a plurality of relatively moveable elements, there is provided a method of detecting a collision state between an object and a model of one of the moveable elements before a collision occurs, comprising the steps of: determining the value of the strength of each of a plurality of voxels within a finite space, the strength of any voxel being an indicator of the distance from that voxel to the object; identifying the voxel address at the center of one or more spheres which approximates a volume occupied by the model of the moveable element; and, comparing the values of the strengths of the voxels at the centers of the one or more spheres with a number of adjacent voxels that correspond to the respective radii of the one or more spheres, a collision state being detected when a compared value of the strength of the voxel at the center of a sphere is less than the value of the radii of that sphere.


A method and an arrangement (500) in a radio network node (130) for redistributing resources between at least a first and second communication device (110, 120) are provided. The radio network node (130) obtains a first estimate of a first signal quality for the first communication device (110) and a second estimate of a second signal quality for the second communication device (120). The radio network node (130) determines a first required signal quality for the first communication device (110) and a second required signal quality for the second communication device (120). When the first required signal quality is less than the first estimate and the second required signal quality is greater than the second estimate, the radio network node (130) allocates resources to the first and second communication devices (110, 120) such that the first signal quality decreases and such that the second signal quality increases.

The use of data transmission in wireless networks is increasing rapidly. One effect of new transmission technologies and operator business models is that data transmission capacity can be seen as a commodity. The increase in consumption is not only related to increasing bandwidth requirements but also verbose application design and the large number of users. Each generation of telecommunication technology has enabled higher data rates and lower delays which are important for the user experience. With the next emerging generation of telecommunication technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE), new challenges aiming at even more efficient use of radio resources have to be overcome in order to satisfy the demand for efficient data transmissions.
The Uplink (UL) transmission in a wireless LTE network relates to transmission of user data from a User Equipment (UE) to a Base Station (BS) of a wireless communication cell. The Base Station may commonly be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB). The UL transmission in an LTE enabled cell is typically administered by dividing the UL into a plurality of Resource Blocks (RBs). As illustrated in FIG. 1, two resource blocks (RBs) defines in the time domain one sub-frame, having a typical duration of 1 ms, whereas in the frequency domain one resource block typically comprise 12 sub-carriers. The technology used for UL transmission, in LTE, is Single Carrier FDMA. Consequently, if two RBs are assigned to a UE in the same subframe they must be consecutive in the frequency domain. The resource block of FIG. 1 may also be used for downlink transmission where the transmissions to a UE may be distributed in frequency, using frequency diversity schemes as is know in the art.
FIG. 5 is a signaling scenario illustrating a typical procedure for a UE requiring resources for data transmission. UE 100 having data to send requests UL resources by transmitting a Scheduling Request (SR) to an eNB 110, as indicated with a first step 1:1. The eNB 110 responds to such a request by performing resource scheduling, as indicated with a next step 1:2, wherein it assigns UL resources, i.e. one or several RBs, to UE 100, and decides on an appropriate UL transport format for the assigned UL resources. The transport format could comprise parameters defining e.g. Transport Block (TB) size, physical layer coding and multiplexing. Thereby, eNB 110 will be aware of the UL transmission format to be applied for the data transmission before the data is received. The parameters specified for the allocated radio resources are issued by eNB 110 and transmitted to UE 100 in a Schedule Grant (SG), as indicated with a subsequent step 1:3. By analyzing the received SG, UE 100 can find out the transport format and the RBs it has been allocated by eNB 110 and, on the basis of this information UE 100 can initiate the requested UL transmission to eNB 110, as indicated with a final step 1:4.
Scheduling of UL resources to UEs is a complex problem where numerous factors and parameters may have to be accounted for. One parameter to take into consideration could be the amount of data, presently stored in its respective send buffer that the UE has to send. The UE sends Buffer Status Reports (BSR) to the scheduler in the eNB, which uses these reports to prioritize and allocate resources between different UEs. A BSR may typically comprise information regarding the buffer sizes for corresponding logical channels.
FIG. 8 shows another signaling scheme, describing in general manner, the steps to be taken when data becomes available for transmission at a UE 100 and if this data belongs to a radio bearer (logical channel) group having a higher priority than those for which data already exists in the buffer, or if the UE 100 buffer was empty just before this new data became available for transmission, as indicated with a step 1:1. The UE 100 transmits a SR to the eNB in order to acquire UL resources, as indicated with another step 1:2. In response to the request of step 1:2, eNB 130 schedules RBs, as indicated with another step 1:3, and responds by transmitting a SG to the UE 100, as indicated with a subsequent step 1:4, after which UE 100 may initiate data and BSR transmissions in the UL, as indicated in a final step 1:5.
With this type of triggering mechanism, the eNB 130 can quickly be made aware when data with higher priority is available for transmission at UE 100, without having to request any excessive reporting from UE 100. The trigger of a regular BSR also triggers an SR. Another type of BSR, typically referred to as the periodic BSR, provides a timer-based trigger per UE, enabling reporting for continuous flows.
Different Transport Block (TB) sizes are available for data transmission. In case a TB size is larger than the amount of data available for transmission at the time of assembly of the Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) to be used for the transmission, one BSR, commonly referred to as a padding BSR, can also be included.
In order to increase throughput in a wireless cell, certain transmission schemes are currently employed. One commonly used scheme suitable for increasing the data rate between a UE and the eNB is Single User Multiple Input Multiple Output (SU-MIMO), which is a scheme utilizing at least two concurrent data streams for data transmission between a UE and the eNB. Applying this scheme increases the data rate between the UE and the eNB. However, this scheme relies on the fact that the send buffer of the UE is sufficiently large to bring satisfying gains.
LTE supports Multiple User (MU)-MIMO in the uplink (UL) and the downlink (DL). MU-MIMO schemes are configured to support multiple UEs sending simultaneously to an eNB by utilizing spatial multiplexing of the UEs. Even though this will cause intra-cell interference, the interference can be limited if the UEs are carefully selected. By defining a sufficiently high channel quality, commonly referred to as Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise-Ratio (SINR) for a UE, there is a possibility to identify UEs feasible to be involved in MU-MIMO. The selection of two, or in some cases, even more UEs for which MU-MIMO is to be applied may further be based on various factors such as spatial correlation of reference signals or sounding reference signals received from different UEs to acquire information of channel quality and spatial position of the UEs. In the uplink, the eNB measures the UL channel quality through sounding and demodulation reference symbols and thereby estimates the SINR.
Hence, MU-MIMO performance is generally affected by parameters such as e.g. SINR distribution, scheduling priorities and channel estimation. Current MU-MIMO schemes are designed to optimize with a focus on the most demanding UEs, i.e. UEs with high data rate services. Further, in order not to diminish each UE's level of data per RB, two UEs with high SINR are preferred.
Consequently, in order to increase the cell's efficiency by employing MU-MIMO, many UEs with high respective SINRs are required to be able to identify a number of UEs which are suitable for co-sending on the same RBs. If the respective SINR is not high enough, utilization of MU-MIMO may be less efficient than SU-MIMO for the UEs since the UEs amount of data per RB usually decreases. This implies that the highest throughput gains are accomplished when UEs with both high buffer data rates and high SINR are employed in MU-MIMO.
Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) transmission and reception refers to a system where the transmission and/or reception at multiple, geographically separated antenna sites are dynamically coordinated in order to improve system performance. The coordination can either be distributed, by means of direct communication between the different sites, or centralized in a central coordinating node. In some scenarios, the antenna sites may be Radio Remote Units controlled by one single radio network node, such as an eNB.
CoMP is considered for International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) as a potential technique to improve the coverage for high data rate users, to improve the cell-edge throughput and/or to increase system throughput. In particular, the goal is to distribute the user perceived performance more evenly in the network by taking control of the inter-cell interference.
Downlink coordinated multi-point transmission implies dynamic coordination among multiple geographically separated transmission points, and may be categorized as follows. Coordinated scheduling and/or beamforming may be applied in situations where data to a single UE is instantaneously transmitted from one of the transmission points, and scheduling decisions are coordinated to control, e.g. the interference generated in a set of coordinated cells. Joint processing/transmission may be applied in situations where data to a single UE is simultaneously transmitted from multiple transmission points, e.g. to improve the received signal quality and/or actively cancel interference for other UEs. Moreover, uplink coordinated multi-point reception implies joint reception and processing of signals at multiple, geographically separated points. Scheduling decisions may be coordinated among cells to control interference.
In systems employing CoMP in the uplink, similar dynamic coordination among multiple transmission points as described above is required. For example, such coordination may be performed by exchange of interference covariance matrices.
Most CoMP technologies try to optimize the system settings for a full buffer scenario where all users can utilize their signal quality, such as SINR. In other scenarios, the buffers may not be full. Consider for example a typical low data rate service such as speech. When sent over an IP network it is called VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP has a low data rate, but stringent delay requirements such that data must be sent periodically. For the AMR codec with a 12 kbps bit rate and 20 ms periodicity a typical VoIP packet is between 320-400 bits. When the user is listening, less information is sent in special packets called SID packets, which are approximately 120-150 bits. In addition to VoIP, gaming and certain M2M applications generate small packets. Furthermore, many background messages generated by PC applications are small and not bundled together. Thus, it is common to also send small packets, i.e. the buffers may not be full.
Therefore, a problem of prior art is that it is required that the UEs in the system require high data rates in order to fully make use of the schemes proposed for increased throughput.
US2009052371 discloses a method for distributed power control in a network. The method determines a transmit power for a plurality of transmitting nodes such that signals sent from each of the transmitting nodes are received at a receiving node at a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) set point. The method includes increase and decrease of SINR such that an average SINR is maintained. An SINR for transmitting nodes having a data rate higher than an average data rate, is increased.

Methods and arrangements for redistributing resources for use in a radio communication system


The disclosure herein describes a client-side system that enhances user experience on a remoting client without consuming additional network bandwidth. During operation, the system receives a sequence of frame updates for a display screen, and determines a sequence of frames corresponding to the frame updates. The system further adaptively applies one or more image enhancing techniques to the sequence of frames based on available network bandwidth, frame refresh rate, or image quality. The image enhancement techniques include predicting a frame based on previously received frames, interpolating a frame based on at least two buffered frames, and reducing appearance of artifacts in a received frame, thereby reducing visual artifacts.

In display remoting technologies, the graphical user interface (GUI) of an application or operating system is captured at a server and sent as a stream of pixels to a client device at the location of a user. Inputs by the user into the client device may be captured and transmitted to the application or operating system running at the server. Display remoting is used in a variety of circumstances, including when using Internet conferencing applications, when remotely accessing home or office computers using a variety of services, when using Microsoft Windows terminal services, instant gaming (or "game streaming") services, or when accessing a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), among others.
When a user connects to a lightly-loaded remoting server over a fast LAN network, the user experience can be comparable to consuming the content locally, i.e., comparable with using a locally-executing desktop, or playing a video game locally. However, in environments with limited network bandwidth and/or CPU resources, the remoting agent is forced to make tradeoffs. In most instances, such tradeoff involves reducing the frame rate and applying more aggressive compression techniques to the data transmitted to the remote client. While these bandwidth or computing-resource saving techniques ensure the remoting solution conforms to the available resource limitations, such techniques can degrade the user experience (e.g., resulting in fuzzy still images and jerky and fuzzy animation or video).

Method and system for enhancing user experience for remoting technologies


A device includes a channel, a slit, and a cap. The channel is formed on a surface of the device. The slit separates the channel to a first portion and a second portion. The first portion comprises liquid metal, e.g., gallatin. The second portion comprises gas. The liquid metal moves within the channel between the first and the second portions in response to external stimuli, e.g., pressure. The liquid metal moving within the channel changes electrical characteristics, e.g., capacitive value, inductance value, resistance value, resonance frequency, etc., of the device.

Many industries have experienced an increased use of electronics and smart devices in recent years. The increased use of electronic devices, for example, advent of artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles, smart homes, and Internet-of-things (IOTs) has increased the need to gather data and to use sensors. However, it is challenging to integrate bulky sensors into surfaces, e.g., surface of a vehicle.

Smart surface sensor for collecting data