A sheet adjusting device applicable to a sheet holding receptacle, an image forming mechanism, and an image reading mechanism includes a sheet setting plate to place a sheet thereon; first and second regulating member to slidably move in a given direction, and a friction-reducing unit disposed on the sheet setting plate to reduce a frictional force on an underside of the sheet. Alternatively, a sheet adjusting device includes a sheet setting plate, a sheet contact face disposed downstream of the sheet setting plate to cause the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the sheet contact face, first and second regulating member, and a friction-reducing unit disposed on the sheet contact face to reduce a frictional force on the sheet contact face and the leading edge of the sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a sheet adjusting device for adjusting a sheet to a given position on a sheet setting plate, a sheet holding receptacle including the sheet adjusting device, an image forming mechanism including the same, and an image reading mechanism including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known related-art apparatuses that handle sheet-like recording media such as image forming apparatuses (copiers and printers), image reading apparatuses (scanners), and automatic document feeders (ADFs), have a sheet adjusting device for adjusting a sheet such as a recording sheet (including an overhead projector (OHP) film, and document sheets, etc.) to a given position in a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction. For example, certain related-art image forming apparatuses include the sheet adjusting device in each sheet cassette or on each manual feed tray. Further, the scanners and the ADFs are also known to include such a sheet adjusting device on a document setting table on which original document sheets are placed preparatory to being read.
Typically, in related-art sheet adjusting devices, two opposed side fences serving as regulating members are provided to regulate a sheet placed on a sheet setting plate or a document setting table to adjust the position of the sheet. One side fence regulates one side edge of the sheet and the other side fence regulates the other side edge of the sheet. At least one of these side fences is slidably movable. Before inserting a sheet stack into a sheet setting tray or a document setting table, an operator slides the side fences manually to the edges of the sheet setting tray to create space for the sheet stack. The width between the edges of the sheet setting tray can be greater that the width of the sheet stack. After the sheet stack is inserted into the space formed between the side fences, the operator slides the side fences manually to securely sandwich the sheet stack from either side therebetween. Since the operator presses the side guides lightly against a sheet or sheets that differ from a reference sheet position on the sheet setting plate, the position of the sheet stack can be adjusted to the reference sheet position.
Different known related-art sheet adjusting devices have a configuration including of a combination of the above-described sheet adjusting device and a structure including a drive source and a drive transmission mechanism to drive the side fences so as to slide the side fences automatically. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-267474 (JP-H07-267474-A) discloses the above-described combined configuration to center a sheet stack set on a manual feed tray in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction of the manual feed tray.
Although these related-art sheet adjusting devices adjust a sheet easily, the sheets are easily scratched or damaged. Specifically, in the process of pressing the sheet stack on the sheet setting plate to the reference sheet position, the sheet is slidably pressed by the side fences, which can damage the sheet. In addition, when a large number of sheets is loaded on the sheet tray, the whole weight of the sheet stack presses on a lowermost sheet thereof so as to press down on the sheet setting plate of the manual feed tray, and therefore a surface of the lowermost sheet and a surface of a contact face that faces the surface of the lowermost sheet can be scratched or damaged easily. Further, when a coated sheet such as glossy paper for printing thereon is used, even if only one sheet is slid on the sheet setting table, sliding over the sheet setting plate can generate small scratches on the surface of the sheet due to abrasion of the sheet surface.
Further, sheet folding and damage to the sheet can be generated, for example, when the side fences slide on the sheet setting plate to move the sheet to the reference sheet position. In this process, the leading edge of the sheet may contact the end fence disposed to regulate the leading edge of the sheet. If the side fences are slidably moved in this condition, the sheet can be folded or torn.

Sheet adjusting device, sheet holding receptacle, image forming mechanism, and image reading mechanism


Coupling devices for different landing gears of aircraft are disclosed. In one embodiment, a coupling device for coupling to a landing gear of an aircraft may include a first landing gear adapter that is designed for coupling to a landing gear of an aircraft of a first type. A second landing gear adapter that is designed for coupling to a landing gear of an aircraft of a second type is provided. The second type is different from the first type. A change device is coupled to the first and second landing gear adapters and designed such that optionally the first or the second landing gear adapter can be positioned in an operating position, or location of the coupling device, suitable for coupling to the landing gear. A plurality of second landing gear adapters may be provided and may one at a time be moved into the operating position in a pivoting manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the performance of ground movements of aircraft, that is to say changes in position, using a towing device.
2. Description of Related
Ground movements of aircraft which cannot be accomplished by means of the drive of the aircraft take place by means of external tractors, for example when an aircraft which is ready to take off is to be pushed back from the loading position onto the taxi strip or a change in position between loading positions is required or when it is necessary to convey the aircraft from the loading position to a maintenance position, for example in the hangar. For this purpose, tractors are used which are initially mechanically coupled to the aircraft, generally to the nose landing gear thereof, and then pull or push the coupled aircraft to the desired position. The towing process often takes place by means of a tow bar which is provided with its own chassis, is coupled at one end to the landing gear of the aircraft via a landing gear adapter and is connected at the other end to the tractor. Before or after the towing process the tow bar is transported by the tractor, for example to a new position of use, to or from a tow bar depot and the like.
The tow bar or at least the nose landing gear adapter fastened thereto is tailored to the specific aircraft type to be towed, and therefore, in the case of two or more towing processes of different aircraft types, the appropriate adapter must be installed or a tow bar having the appropriate adapter must be fetched from the depot. In the first case, for this purpose an adapter is fitted to a universal socket of the tow bar and after this retooling the towing process can then be carried out using the appropriate adapter. The retooling is generally very time-consuming, and therefore a large number of tow bars having different pre-installed adapters is preferably kept ready, in particular because, owing to the large spectrum of aircraft weights, correspondingly adapted bar diameters are also required. For this reason, it is also preferable to use tow bars in which a permanently mounted adapter for a specific aircraft type is provided, but this makes it necessary to change the entire tow bar, with a corresponding journey to the depot.

Coupling device for different landing gears of aircraft


A display device may include: a plurality of layers configured to modulate pixel values in two directions; an obtaining unit configured to obtain matching information about matching of pixels belonging to differing layers; and/or a controller configured to control the plurality of layers based on the matching information. An image creating method may include: obtaining a target light field; obtaining a projection matrix corresponding to a viewpoint of a user; and/or creating a plurality of layer images for a plurality of layers configured to modulate pixel values in two directions based on the target light field and the projection matrix.

1. Field
Some example embodiments relate to display devices for display of stereoscopic images. Some example embodiments relate to image creating methods for display of stereoscopic images.
2. Description of Related Art
A dominant factor contributing to recognizing a stereoscopic image is a difference in an image viewed by both eyes of a user. A method of displaying differing images to both eyes of a user may be classified into a glasses-type, method in which a desired image is filtered based on polarization division, time division, and/or wavelength division based on differing wavelengths of primary colors, and an auto-stereoscopic method, in which a plurality of images is viewed in a predetermined space using a parallax barrier or a lenticular lens.
The auto-stereoscopic method has an advantage in mitigating the inconvenience of wearing glasses. However, it also has disadvantages in that a large number of viewpoints may be required to expand a viewing area, image quality may be degraded by crosstalk between viewpoints, and image quality may be significantly deteriorated when deviating from a fixed optimum viewing distance.

Display devices and image creating methods for layered display technologies


Systems and methods for performing high-speed multi-channel forward error correction using external DDR SDRAM is provided. According to one exemplary aspect, an interleaver/deinterleaver performs both read and write accesses to the DDR SDRAM that are burst-oriented by hiding active and precharge cycles in order to achieve high data rate operations. The interleaver/deinterleaver accesses data in the DDR SDRAM as read blocks and write blocks. Each block includes two data sequences. Each data sequence further includes a predetermined number of data words to be interleaved/deinterleaved. The PRECHARGE and ACTIVE command for one data sequence is issued when a preceding data sequence is being processed. Data in one read/write data sequence has the same row address within the same bank of the DDR SDRAM.

The present invention generally relates to forward error correction (FEC) and, more specifically, to a method and system for providing high-speed, multi-channel FEC using external DDR SDRAM.
Convolutional interleavers and deinterleavers are commonly employed in an FEC scheme to protect against a burst of errors from being sent to a block decoder, such as a Reed-Solomon decoder. It is well known that interleaving techniques improve error correction capability. U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,171 provides a multi-channel interleaver/deinterleaver for use with conventional SDRAM type memory.
FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic block diagram illustrating a typical convolutional interleaver and deinterleaver. In many applications, interleaved data are buffered using static random access memory (SRAM). The width of data to be stored into the memory matches the interleaver/deinterleaver symbol size. For the interleaver 110, each successive branch (102, 103, . . . , 109) has J more symbols than the immediately preceding branch. For example, branch 103 has J more symbols than branch 102. To the contrary, for the deinterleaver 120, each successive branch (102′, 103′, 104′, . . . , 109′) has J fewer symbols than the immediately preceding branch. For example, branch 103′ has J fewer symbols than branch 102′. Unless indicated otherwise, "I" represents the interleaving depth and "J" represents the interleaving increment. Thus, one branch has a different delay from another branch. The foregoing characteristic, i.e., the delay difference, thus creates sequential-write addresses and non-sequential-read addresses, or vice versa, when conventional memory access is used. This asymmetry between write and read addresses affects data throughput. Furthermore, another problem associated with SRAM is that SRAM is relatively more expensive than other types of memory, such as, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM).
In some applications, DDR SDRAM is used to store interleaved data. However, use of DDR SDRAM based on the interleaving/deinterleaving approach described above also has its disadvantages. For example, one disadvantage is that by using conventional SDRAM access, the overhead ACTIVE and PRECHARGE command cycles for non-sequential read or write addresses significantly reduce data throughput. Another disadvantage is that since DDR memory access is burst-oriented, conventional methods for access, the burst cannot reach its maximum efficiency for non-sequential read or non-sequential write.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide a method and system that is able to handle interleaving and deinterleaving in a more efficient manner when using DDR SDRAM.


The present invention provides new compounds. The compounds are useful as CDK5 inhibitors, and accordingly they can be included in pharmaceuticals compositions for treating any type of pain, inflammatory disorders, immunological diseases, proliferative diseases, infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. formula (I).

Cyclin-dependent protein kinases ("CDKs"), constitute a family of well-conserved enzymes that play multiple roles within the cell, such as cell cycle regulation and transcriptional control (Science 1996, Vol. 274:1643-1677; Ann. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol., 1997, 13:261-291).
Some members of the family, such as CDK1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 regulate the transition between different phases of the cell cycle, such as the progression from a quiescent stage in G1 (the gap between mitosis and the onset of DNA replication for a new round of cell division) to S (the period of active DNA synthesis), or the progression from G2 to M phase, in which active mitosis and cell division occur. Other members of this family of proteins, including CDK7, 8, and 9 regulate key points in the transcription cycle, whereas CDK5 plays a role in neuronal and secretory cell function.
CDK complexes are formed through association of a regulatory cyclin subunit (e.g., cyclin A, B1, B2, D1, D2, D3, and E) and a catalytic kinase subunit (e.g., cdc2 (CDK1), CDK2, CDK4, CDK5, and CDK6). As the name implies, the CDKs display an absolute dependence on the cyclin subunit in order to phosphorylate their target substrates, and different kinase/cyclin pairs function to regulate progression through specific portions of the cell cycle.
It is known that cell-cycle dysregulation, which is one of the cardinal characteristics of neoplastic cells, is closely associated with genetic alteration and deregulation of CDKs and their regulators, suggesting that inhibitors of CDKs may be useful as therapeutics for proliferative diseases, such as cancer. Thus, small molecule inhibitors targeting CDKs have been the focus of extensive interest in cancer therapy (Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 2003(3): 362-370). The ability of inhibiting cell cycle progression suggests a general role for small molecule inhibitors of CDKs as therapeutics for proliferative diseases, such as cancer. While inhibition of cell cycle-related CDKs is clearly relevant in oncology applications, this may not be the case for the inhibition of RNA polymerase-regulating CDKs.
The serine/threonine kinase CDK5 along with its cofactor p25 (or the longer cofactor, p35) has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders, and inhibitors of cdk5/p25 (or cdk5/p35) are therefore useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, or Huntington's disease. Treatment of such neurodegenerative disorders using CDK5 inhibitors is supported by the finding that CDK5 is involved in the phosphorylation of tau protein (J. Biochem, 117, 741-749 (1995)). CDK5 also phosphorylates Dopamine and Cyclic AMP-Regulated Phosphorprotein (DARPP-32) at threonine 75 and is thus indicated in having a role in dopaminergic neurotransmission (Nature, 402. 669-671 (1999)).
Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) is involved in regulating the state of phosphorylation of DARPP-32. CDK5 was originally identified as a homologue of p34cdc2 protein kinase. Subsequent studies have shown that unlike cdc2, CDK5 kinase activity is not detected in dividing cells. Instead, the active form of CDK5 is present only in differentiated neurons, where it associates with a neuron-specific 35 kDa regulatory subunit, termed p35. CDK5/p35 plays a variety of roles in the developing and adult nervous system. Recent studies have linked mis-regulation of CDK5 to Alzheimer's disease (Kusakawa, G. et al. 2000. J. Biol. Chem. 275:17166-17172; Lee, M. S. et al. 2000. Nature 405:360-364; Nath, R. et al. 2000. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 274:16-21; Patrick, G. N. et al. 1999. Nature 402:615-622). In these studies, conversion of p35 to p25 by the action of calpain causes prolonged activation and altered localization of CDK5. In turn, cdk5/p25 can hyperphosphorylate tau, disrupt cytoskeletal structure and promote apoptosis of primary neurons.
Recent studies have also shown that CDK5 phosphorylates DARPP-32 at Thr75 (Nishi, A. et al. 2000. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:12840-12845; Bibb, J. A. et al. 1999. Nature 402:669-671). DARPP-32 phosphorylated at Thr75 is an inhibitor of PKA (Bibb et al. 1999. Nature 402:669-671). Phosphorylation of DARPP-32 at Thr75 by CDK5, by inhibiting PKA, decreases phosphorylation of Thr34 in DARPP-32 by PKA and plays an important modulatory role in the DARPP-32/PP1 cascade (Bibb, J. A. et al. 1999. Nature 402:669-671).
Surprisingly little is known about the regulation of CDK5 by first messengers and other signalling events. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide new compounds that can be used to develop novel compositions or drugs that can be used to treat diseases or disorders related to the regulation of CDK5. Furthermore, there is a need to develop treatments for such diseases or disorders that are due, at least in part, to an aberration or dysregulation of an intracellular signalling pathway regulated by CDK5. The present invention provides such methods and compositions.
Furthermore, the involvement of CDK5 in pain signalling has been reviewed in Pareek et al., PNAS 103, pp. 791-796, and in Pareek et al., Cell Cycle 5:6, pp. 585-588.
More than 50 pharmacological CDK inhibitors have been described, some of which have potent antitumor activity (Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 2003(3): 362-370). A comprehensive review about the known CDK inhibitors may be found in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 2003, 42(19):2122-2138.
The use of 2-anilino-4-phenylpyrimidine derivatives as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors for the treatment of e.g. cancer has been reported in WO 2005/012262. Furthermore, 2-pyridinylamino-4-thiazolyl-pyrimidine derivatives for the treatment of cancer etc. have been described in WO 2005/012298. The use of 4,5-dihydro-thiazolo, oxazolo and imidazolo[4,5-h]quinazolin-8-ylamines as protein kinase inhibitors is known from WO 2005/005438. Furthermore, indolinone derivatives and induribin derivatives, which are useful as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors have been disclosed in WO 02/081445 and WO 02/074742. Additionally, CDK inhibitors for various therapeutic applications have been described in WO2005/026129.
Known CDK inhibitors may be classified according to their ability to inhibit CDKs in general or according to their selectivity for a specific CDK. Flavopiridol, for example, acts as a "pan" CDK antagonist and is not particularly selective for a specific CDK (Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 2003(3): 362-370). Purine-based CDK inhibitors, such as olomoucine, roscovitine, purvanolols and CGP74514A are known to exhibit a greater selectivity for CDKs 1, 2 and 5, but show no inhibitory activity against CDKs 4 and 6 (Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 2003(3): 362-370). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that purine-based CDK inhibitors such as roscovitine can exert anti-apoptotic effects in the nervous system (Pharmacol Ther 2002, 93:135-143) or prevent neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers's disease (Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2002 (297):1154-1158; Trends Pharmacol Sci 2002 (23):417-425).
Given the tremendous potential of targeting CDKs for the therapy of conditions such as proliferative, immunological, infectious, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, the development of small molecules as selective inhibitors of particular CDKs constitutes a desirable goal.
The present invention provides novel small molecule inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases. Preferably, said small molecule inhibitors show an increased potency to inhibit a particular CDK. Said small molecule inhibitors may have a therapeutic utility for the treatment of conditions such as proliferative, immunological, neurodegenerative, infectious and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, the small molecule inhibitors of the present invention have surprisingly been shown to exert a beneficial effect in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and of any type of pain.
Current treatments for pain are only partially effective, and many also cause debilitating or dangerous side effects. For example, many of the traditional analgesics used to treat severe pain induce debilitating side effects such as nausea, dizziness, constipation, respiratory depression, and cognitive dysfunction (Brower, 2000).
Although there is already a broad panel of approved pain medications like non-narcotic analgesics, opioid analgesics, calcium channel blockers, muscle relaxants, and systemic corticosteroids available, said treatments remain merely empirical and, while they may relieve the symptoms of pain, they do not lead to complete relief in most cases. This is also due to fact that the mechanisms underlying the development of the different types of pain are still only poorly understood. Researchers are only just beginning to appreciate the complexity and diversity of the signalling systems used to relay nerve impulses for each type of pain.
Generally, pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Specifically, pain may occur as acute or chronic pain.
Acute pain occurs for brief periods of time, typically less than 1 month and is associated with temporary disorders. It is a natural body response to let the host be aware of physiological or biochemical alteration that could result in further damage within a short period of time. It is felt when noxious stimuli activate high threshold mechanical and/or thermal nociceptors in peripheral nerve endings and the evoked action potentials in thinly myelinated (Aδ) and/or unmyelinated (C) afferent fibres reach a conscious brain. Said noxious stimuli may be provided by injury, surgery, illness, trauma or painful medical procedures. Acute pain usually disappears when the underlying cause has been treated or has healed. Unrelieved acute pain, however, may lead to chronic pain problems that may result in long hospital stays, rehospitalizations, visits to outpatient clinics and emergency departments, and increased health care costs.
In contrast to acute pain, chronic pain persists long after the initial injury has healed and often spreads to other parts of the body, with diverse pathological and psychiatric consequences. Chronic somatic pain results from inflammatory responses to trauma in peripheral tissues (e.g., nerve entrapment, surgical procedures, cancer, or arthritis), which leads to oversensitization of nociceptors and intense searing pain responses to normally non-noxious stimuli (hyperalgesia). Chronic pain is continuous and recurrent and its intensity will vary from mild to severe disabling pain that may significantly reduce quality of life.
Chronic pain is currently treated with conventional analgesics such as NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Naproxen), Cox-2 inhibitors (Celecoxib, Valdecoxib, Rofecoxib) and opiates (codeine, morphine, thebain, papaverin, noscapin). For a significant number of patients however, these drugs provide insufficient pain relief.
Another subtype of pain, inflammatory pain, can occur as acute as well as chronic pain. Resulting injuries of tissue and neurons must not but may develop into long-lasting chronic neuropathic pain effects in succession to such inflammatory events.
Inflammatory pain is mediated by noxious stimuli like e.g. inflammatory mediators (e.g. cytokines, such as TNF α, prostaglandins, substance P, bradykinin, purines, histamine, and serotonine), which are released following tissue injury, disease, or inflammation and other noxious stimuli (e.g. thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli). In addition, cytokines and growth factors can influence neuronal phenotype and function (Besson 1999). These mediators are detected by nociceptors (sensory receptors) that are distributed throughout the periphery of the tissue. Said nociceptors are sensitive to noxious stimuli (e.g. mechanical, thermal, or chemical), which would damage tissue if prolonged (Koltzenburg 2000). A special class of so called C-nociceptors represent a class of "silent" nociceptors that do not respond to any level of mechanical or thermal stimuli but are activated in presence of inflammation only.
Current approaches for the treatment of especially inflammatory pain aim at cytokine inhibition (e.g. IL1β) and suppression of pro-inflammatory TNFα. Current approved anticytokine/antiTNFalpha treatments are based on chimeric antibodies such as Infliximab and Etanercept which reduce TNFα circulation in the bloodstream. TNFα is one of the most important inflammatory mediators that induces synthesis of important enzymes such as COX-2, MMP, iNOS, cPLa2 and others. The main drawbacks of these "biologicals", however, reside in their immunogenic potential with attendant loss of efficacy and their kinetics that lead to a more or less digital all-or-nothing reduction of circulating TNFα. The latter can result in severe immune suppressive side effects.
A distinct form of chronic pain, neuropathic (or neurogenic) pain, arises as a result of peripheral or central nerve dysfunction and includes a variety of conditions that differ in etiology as well as location. Generally, the causes of neuropathic pain are diverse, but share the common symptom of damage to the peripheral nerves or components of central pathways. The causative factors might be metabolic, viral or mechanical nerve lesion. Neuropathic pain is believed to be sustained by aberrant somatosensory processes in the peripheral nervous system, the CNS, or both. Neuropathic pain is not directly linked to stimulation of nociceptors, but instead, is thought to arise e.g. from oversensitization of glutamate receptors on postsynaptic neurons in the gray matter (dorsal horn) of the spinal cord.
Neuropathic pain is associated with conditions such as nerve degeneration in diabetes and postherpetic neuralgia (shingles). Neuropathic pain conditions are the consequence of a number of diseases and conditions, including diabetes, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, stump and phantom pain after amputation, cancer-related neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, traumatic nerve injury, ischemic neuropathy, nerve compression, stroke, spinal cord injury.
Management of neuropathic pain remains a major clinical challenge, partly due to an inadequate understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Many existing analgesics are ineffective in treating neuropathic pain and most of current narcotic and non-narcotic drugs do not control the pain. Current clinical practice includes the use of a number of drug classes for the management of neuropathic pain, for example anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, and systemic local anaesthetics. However, the usual outcome of such treatment is partial or unsatisfactory pain relief, and in some cases the adverse effects of these drugs outweigh their clinical usefulness. Classic analgesics are widely believed to be poorly effective or ineffective in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Few clinical studies on the use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or opiates in the treatment of neuropathic pain have been conducted, but in those which have, the results appear to indicate that NSAIDs are poorly effective or ineffective and opiates only work at high doses. A review analysing the controlled clinical data for peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP) (Pain, November, 1997 73(2), 123-39) reported that NSAIDs were probably ineffective as analgesics for PNP and that there was no long-term data supporting the analgesic effectiveness of any drug.
Available analgesic drugs often produce insufficient pain relief. Although tricyclic antidepressants and some antiepileptic drugs, for example gabapentin, lamotrigine and carbamazepine, are efficient in some patients, there remains a large unmet need for efficient drugs for the treatment of these conditions.
In conclusion, there is a high unmet need for safe and effective methods of pain treatment, in particular of chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and system for testing a memory controller are provided herein. A test sequence may be generated within the memory controller. A test output may also be generated within the memory controller, where the test output is associated with the test sequence. The test output may then be verified. The test sequence may comprise one or more of a control command, a memory address, and/or a DQM signal. The test output may be generated by a sequencer. The test output may be verified by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) module. The test sequence may also comprise random write data. The random write data may be communicated to a memory controller write data output via a write data bus.

To verify a Double Data Rate (DDR) interface, numerous out-of-chip screenings may be required to ensure compliance with manufacturer's specifications. Such out-of-chip screenings may be performed by automatic test equipment (ATE), for example. An ATE may apply functional test patterns to the chip containing the DDR interface. The result from applying a test pattern may be collected at the DDR interface output. Another set of patterns may be applied back by the ATE, whose end result may be collected at some other interface. A test pattern may be selected so that if the DDR interface functions properly and is compliant with specifications, a known result may be expected after the ATE verification process is complete.
However, problems with out-of-chip screenings may arise especially at higher operating frequencies, for example if a DDR interface is operating at 200 MHz (i.e., the data rate is at 400 MHz). A vector slip may occur, which does not allow for a proper screening. For example, a sequence of test vectors may be applied to the DDR interface at a time tn and a specific pattern output, or output vector, may be expected at the DDR interface output at a later time tn+m. However, because of process variation within the DDR interface, a vector slip may occur and the expected output vector may be generated at the DDR interface output at a time tn+m+2, i.e., two clock cycles later than expected. In addition, during out-of-chip screening, the DDR interface does not utilize the on-chip PLL clock for the screening process since an out-of-chip process is applied and there is no synchronization between the internal DDR interface PLL clock and the external clock related to the generated out-of-chip testing vectors. An out-of-chip clock, therefore, has to be utilized to accomplish proper DDR interface screening. An out-of-chip clock, however, may not account for process variations (e.g., jitters) within the DDR interface.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.


A liquid-sealed vibration isolation device including: a cylindrical outer tube member; a boss member; a vibration isolation base body ; a diaphragm; a partition member; an orifice; a decompressing-cum-pouring hole allowing the liquid-sealed chamber to communicate with the outside; and a sealer sealing the decompressing-cum-pouring hole. In the liquid-sealed vibration isolation device, an annular attaching member is provided to which the diaphragm is vulcanizingly adhered on the inner peripheral side and which is formed into an annular shape when viewed in the axial direction and attached to the upper end side of the outer tube member, and the decompressing-cum-pouring hole is disposed in the annular attaching member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid-sealed vibration isolation device and a vibration isolation unit, and relates specifically to a liquid-sealed vibration isolation device and a vibration isolation unit which can prevent the disposal position of a partition member from being restricted by a decompressing-cum-pouring hole even when the decompressing-cum-pouring hole is arranged which is used for decompressing the inside of a liquid-sealed chamber and filling it with liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a vibration isolation unit preventing vibration of an engine of an automobile from being transmitted to a vehicle body while supporting and fixing the engine, a liquid-sealed vibration isolation device is known. With respect to manufacturing the liquid-sealed vibration isolation device, there is one adopted method in which, after the inside of a liquid-sealed chamber has been decompressed by vacuum suction, liquid is poured in, and the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber is filled with the liquid. According to the method, facilities can be simplified because it is not required to execute the assembling work in the liquid.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-270785 (refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, paragraph 0029, and the like), a method is disclosed in which a liquid-sealed chamber 18 is formed between a vibration isolation base body 14 connecting a first attaching tool 10 (boss member) and a tubular member 22 (outer tube member) to each other and a first diaphragm 16 (diaphragm) attached to the tubular member 22, and liquid is poured to the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber 18 through a pouring hole 66 (decompressing-cum-pouring hole) arranged in the tubular member 22.
More specifically, a pipe with one end being connected to a vacuum pump through a three-way valve and with the other end being connected to a liquid tank is furnished to the pouring hole 66, the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber 18 is decompressed by vacuum suction by the vacuum pump, the three-way valve is thereafter switched, and the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber 18 is connected to the liquid tank. Thus, the liquid is poured to the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber 18 to fill it. After filling, a rivet 68 is inserted to the pouring hole 66 for sealing.
However, in the conventional liquid-sealed vibration isolation device described above, the pouring hole 66 is arranged in the tubular member 22, and the rivet 68 sealing the pouring hole 66 projects to the inside of the liquid-sealed chamber 18. Therefore, in order to avoid interference with the rivet 68, the disposal position of a partition member (an excitation plate 32 and an orifice member 38) is required to be retracted in the axial direction. That is, there is a problem that the disposal position of the partition member is limited.

Liquid-sealed vibration isolation device and vibration isolation unit


A display adaptation method for an application executed by a terminal includes: displaying a setting interface for setting at least one zone boundary of an interface safe operation zone, the interface safe operation zone being a zone used for displaying a human-computer interaction control responsive to one or more gesture operations in the application; receiving a boundary setting operation triggered on the setting interface; determining positional parameters of zone boundaries of the interface safe operation zone according to the boundary setting operation; and generating, according to the positional parameters, the interface safe operation zone adapted to the terminal.

Special-shaped (e.g., non-rectangular) screens are screens widely used on mobile terminals such as a smartphone and a tablet computer. A typical special-shaped screen is a notch screen, that is, a screen on which a notch is formed on an upper edge of a rectangular screen.
Because shapes and resolutions of special-shaped screens used on different types of mobile terminals are different from each other, it is difficult for the same application to adapt to a plurality of types of mobile terminals. In the related art, a mobile terminal provides an adaptation manner using black borders in an operating system layer. When an application that has not been adapted to the screen shape runs in a landscape mode, an operating system automatically displays black edges at two or four sides of the screen, and displays a user interface (UI) of the application in the central part of the screen of the mobile terminal.
In the foregoing technology, because the two sides of the screen of the mobile terminal need to be displayed as black, a scene, a background, and a UI control of the UI of the application need to be cropped toward a central direction. Consequently, a field of view displayed by the UI of the application is limited, and a display effect is relatively poor.

Display adaptation method and apparatus for application, and storage medium

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


In a method for controlling an electronic braking system for vehicles, in particular for trailer vehicles, signals of wheel-speed sensors are processed. At least signals of one or more sensors that are not wheel-speed sensors are processed for a detection of motion and/or standstill.

Modern commercial vehicles with pneumatic brakes exhibit, in addition, an electronic braking system which, among other things, has an anti-lock function. An electronic brake control unit (EBS ECU) processes signals of wheel-speed sensors and, where appropriate, intervenes in the actuation of the brakes.
The electronic braking system performs further functions. For this purpose the signals of further sensors may be evaluated. The further sensors may have been integrated into the brake control unit, may have been directly linked to the brake control unit via lines, or signals of further sensors may be communicated to the brake control unit via a data-bus system, for instance a CAN data bus. A lateral-acceleration sensor has preferentially been integrated into the brake control unit. In the case of pneumatically suspended vehicles, a bellows-pressure sensor registers the level of the loading or axle load. In the case of mechanically suspended vehicles, spring-deflection sensors may have been provided for the same purpose.
Trailer vehicles may have been equipped with their own electronic braking system and/or with a brake control unit. The electronic braking system of the trailer vehicle has been connected to the corresponding system of the towing vehicle via a standardized plug-in connection. A data-bus link may have been integrated into the plug-in connection or may be additionally present. As a result, signals acquired in the towing vehicle can be transferred to the trailer vehicle.
For reasons of safety, if no signals are provided by the wheel-speed sensors after expiration of a definite time-interval after switching on the electronic braking system, an error is presumed and an error message is output. For example, the wheel-speed sensors may be defective, may not have been inserted correctly, or cable links may be defective. In fact, an error does not have to be present in every case. For instance, with the electronic braking system switched on and without the parking-brake engaged, quite long standstill-times may arise, for example in the course of a stay in a workshop, or for other reasons.
If a vehicle has lift axles and the latter are equipped with wheel-speed sensors, the case may arise that the vehicle is in motion, the wheel-speed sensors in question are correctly transmitting no signals, on account of the raised axles, and nevertheless an error message is generated, since signals of the wheel-speed sensors are expected within the defined time-interval.

Method of controlling an electronic braking system


An elevator car has an access opening, a car door for closing the access opening, which door has at least one door panel that can be displaced parallel to the access opening, a thrust crank drive for displacing the at least one door panel between an open position and a closed position, an electric motor for driving the thrust crank drive, and a control device for actuating the electric motor. The control device actuates the electric motor so that a displacement velocity of the at least one door panel is substantially constant over the entire displacement path between the open position and the closed position of the door panel.

Such an elevator car includes, inter alia, an access opening, a car door for closing the access opening, wherein the car door has at least one door panel displaceable parallel to the access opening, a thrust crank drive for moving the at least one door panel between an open setting and a closed setting, an electric motor for driving the thrust crank drive and a control device for controlling the electric motor.
EP 0 677 475 B1 discloses a method of controlling an elevator door, wherein an elevator door is brought from one extreme setting to another extreme setting and phase or directional data resulting from the movement step are stored. The movement of the elevator door is carried out at a constant, preselected speed, whilst pulses generated by an incremental coder are counted.
A method for force limitation for automatic elevator doors is known from EP 0 976 675 A1. In that case a plot of the drive force to be employed in operation which is free of a disturbance force is determined by means of a mathematical model for the door drive and compared with the drive force plot produced by the door drive. Departures therefrom can lead to stopping of the door.
EP 0 383 087 A1 describes an elevator car with an elevator door with several door panels. Door drive arms are provided which are parts of a thrust crank drive and driven by an electric motor via a drive disc.

Device and method for controlling elevator car door


An intraoral acupressure apparatus and method of treating a user are disclosed. The apparatus may include a base shaped to conform to a palate of a user, the base configured to be removably held adjacent to the palate in a predetermined position relative to acupressure points located on the user's palate. The apparatus may additionally include one or more projections extending out from the base and configured to contact one or more acupressure points of the user's palate when the apparatus is removably held in the predetermined position. The base may be configured to be removably held in the predetermined position without wire hooks or clasps.

The present disclosure relates to acupressure treatment and more specifically to a method and apparatus for applying pressure and/or stimulation to intraoral sites to elicit a response in a person. For example, the apparatus may be used to elicit responses for habit control, smoking, weight loss, anxiety treatment and/or other responses from acupressure/acupuncture stimulation.
Examples of related devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,296 issued to McCall, which discloses an acupressure device for the ear. Other acupressure devices for the ear includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,143 issued to Tanaka and U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,574 issued to Sun. Other patents describe devices that are used on the human hand and provide a means of applying the stimulus to various parts of the body, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,064 issued to Leupold and U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,586 issued to Cao. Finally, other patents described devices that may be applied to the skin of various areas on the body, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,647 issued to Ferber, U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,176 issued to Chang, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,067 issued to Gelfer et al. The complete disclosures of the above patents are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.


Additional data useful for the management of copies of a document for an image forming apparatus is embedded in a hard copy of the document. The additional data is embedded in an image of a document as discrete dots arranged in a prescribed format. Preferably, the size of each of said discrete dots is such as not to be recognized easily with the naked eye. The image data for embedding the additional data can be obtained by reading a document, or by receiving data sent from a computer. Additional data embedded in a hard copy can be extracted from the image data on the hard copy. Further, the production of a copy according to the image data, can be controlled according to the extracted additional data. Additional data is generated for each copy according to the extracted additional data for embedding it in a hard copy to identify each copy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine for producing a copy and a management system therefor which can prevent illegal copy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, copying machines are developed and used widely. Then, infringement of copy right and illegal copies of secret documents become problems to be solved. However, it is impossible for analog copying machines to check an original document precisely. Further, for a document including a partial copy, it is quite impossible to manage hard copies after the second generation of copy of the original document.
There have been proposed many apparatuses and methods in order to prevent the leakage of secret documents by copying. For example, if a copying apparatus detects a phrase registered beforehand such as xe2x80x9cDO NOT COPYxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCONFIDENTIALxe2x80x9d, the copy operation is stopped (Japanese Patent laid open Publication 266,759/1990). However, an illegal copy is easy by copying a document by shading the registered phrases. Therefore, if a copy is once obtained by shading the registered phrases, it cannot be prevented to be leaked. It is also disclosed that an illegal copy can be detected by using information on the characteristics of a document on the image of the whole document such as the position and the number of a specified character such as xe2x80x9cuxe2x80x9d. However, this requires a memory of large capacity to store all characters.
In order to prevent illegal copies of paper moneys and valuable securities with a copying apparatus, it is proposed to store a pattern of characteristics of an image for prohibiting copying and to stop the copying operation for an image of a document including such a characteristic (Japanese Patent laid open Publication 52,384/1990). If a whole document image is stored as a characteristic pattern, this copying machine can deal with even a case where a part of the characteristic pattern is shaded. However, in order to store all characteristic information for a secret document, a memory of large capacity is needed also in this case. Further, it is difficult to detect all information in correspondence to copying operation.
It is also proposed that a password is needed for a copying apparatus (Japanese Patent laid open Publications 120,753/1990 and 120,561/1991). However, it is a problem that a password is needed even for a non-secret document.
On the other hand, in order to trace the origin of leakage of a secret document, it is proposed to add information to a part of a copy of a document (Japanese Patent laid open Publication 111,161/1990). That is, information such as recognition data of a copying apparatus, copy data and copy time are expressed as bar codes, and the bar codes are added in a part of a copy. However, this approach is ineffective if the bar codes to be added in a copy is shaded or if bar codes added for another non-secret document is stuck to a copy to re-generate the copy.
It is also proposed to change a font for a secret document from that of an ordinary document in order to recognize a copy of secret document from the others (U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,737). Then, even if the copies of secret documents are edited or changed, a copy of a secret document can be recognized. However, this approach is ineffective if a document includes only drawings, graphs or the like.
The synthesis of character data with an image data in the image processing with a computer is proposed (Yasuhiro Nakamura and Kineo Matsui, xe2x80x9cA unified coding method of image and text data using three-level micro-patternsxe2x80x9d, Gazou Densi Gakkaishi Vol. 17, No.1 (1988) 3-9). In the image processing wherein the sum of the dots in a small area of nxc3x97n dots is used as a density of a dot to be displayed, a pattern corresponds with a density, and text data are synthesized with an image data by using the patterns. However, if this approach is applied to a copying machine, it is impossible to recognize the patterns in a hard copy. Therefore, this approach cannot be applied to trace the leakage of secret documents.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which can prevent an illegal copy effectively.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which can detect an illegal copy effectively.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a copy management system which can manage copies to detect and to prevent an illegal copy.
In one aspect of the present invention, an additional data useful for the management of copies of a document produced by an image forming apparatus is embedded in a hard copy of the document. The additional data is embedded in an inherent image of a document as discrete dots arranged in a prescribed format. Preferably, the size of each of said discrete dots is not so large as to be recognized easily with naked eyes. The additional data can be embedded in unit of blocks. Further, the density of the discrete dots is selected to be different from the density adjacent to the discrete dots. The image data for embedding an additional data can be obtained by reading a document, or by receiving data sent from a computer or read from a floppy disk,
In a second aspect of the present invention, an additional data embedded in a hard copy as mentioned above can be extracted from an image on the hard copy. That is, the image data includes an additional data embedded in the inherent image as discrete dots arranged in a prescribed format, and it can be recognized and extracted. Further, an image forming means for producing a copy according to the image data can be controlled according to the extracted additional data. For example, if the additional data means that the source of the hard copy is a secret document, the copying is allowed only for a legitimate user.
In a third aspect of the present invention, an additional data as mentioned above is generated for each copy according to the extracted additional data. Then, the generated additional data is embedded in a hard copy. Thus, each copy can be identified.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a management means stores the additional data generated for each copy produced in a plurality of printers and the like. Thus, copies of various sources can be managed systematically and illegal copies can be traced easily. If the additional data extracted from an image in a hard copy is not consistent with the additional data already stored, the printing of the hard copy may be prohibited.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention, a document such as a book includes a transmitter which transmits an additional data of the document wireless. The additional data received is used to control the image forming means.
An advantage of the present invention is that the situation of copying can be grasped according to the additional data. For example, the total copy number from the same original document can be counted easily.
Another advantage of the present invention is that an additional data for managing copies can be embedded in an image of a document without deteriorating the reproduced image substantially.
A still another advantage of the present invention is that an illegal copy such as a copy of a secret document by an non-legitimate user can be detected according to the additional data extracted from the copy.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the leakage of a secret document can be prevented.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that an illegal copy can be detected even if a document is edited.

Image forming apparatus and copy management system


The invention relates to a network component comprising one, two or more server units 12, 14. Each server unit 12, 14 serves a group of distributed network components CC. The network component comprises a hosting unit for hosting for a specific group of network components a plurality of program code portions including a program code portion for generating a graphical user interface having a control element for creating or updating electronic dossiers. The network component additionally comprises a database 20, 22 for storing a plurality of electronic dossiers for a specific group of distributed network components and a report generation processor having access to the database 20, 22. The report generation processors is configured to automatically generate an electronic report by processing standardized data included in the plurality of electronic dossiers.

Modern communications networks like the public Internet, non-public intranets or combinations thereof have greatly facilitated the exchange of information over both shorter and longer distances. The facilitated information exchange, however, necessitates an improved information management to cope with issues like lack of accessibility of information, sub-optimal speed of information retrieval, unnecessary duplication of processes and information, etc. It is obvious that due to the steadily increasing amount of information to be managed, the task of information management becomes increasingly laborious.
To facilitate the task of information management, numerous standard platforms have been developed. As an example for such a standard platform, Lotus Domino R5 distributed by Lotus/IBM Inc. can be mentioned. Despite the availability of such standard platforms, the existence of individual needs still requires complex considerations for example regarding network technologies and topologies, regarding the programming and interconnecting of network components and regarding the distribution of specific processing tasks among the individual network components.
Information to be processed by individual network components can relate to various aspects and usually the above considerations of a network technologist are independent from the specific nature of the processed information. However, there exist situations in which the nature of the processed information does influence technical aspects of the communications network and its components. In such a case it becomes essential that the technical environment including network topology, user interfaces, etc. is adapted to the specific type of information to ensure a proper, efficient and secure operation of the communications network. In this context information relating to tasks, processes or events that are associated with some kind of risk can be mentioned.
There is a need for a technical environment which allows an improved information management. More specifically, there is a need for appropriately configured network components and a method of controlling such network components which allow a fast, efficient and secure processing of information relating to tasks, processes or events that are associated with some kind of risk.


A system and method for securing media content are provided. A method for distributing security media content includes embedding a marking payload into media content, thereby producing embedded media content, applying a transform to the embedded media content, thereby producing secured media content, and distributing the secured media content. The marking payload is embedded based on perceptual information regarding the media content.

Protecting the value of media content is among the biggest challenges of media content delivery. Without proper protection, content owners, content providers, and service providers may be reluctant to release their valuable media content. In the past, digital rights management has been widely used for content protection. Valuable media content is encrypted in scrambled form, which prevents unauthorized access to the media content. Only those with the proper rights to the media content could decrypt and access the content.
However, digital rights management is a passive content protection scheme and only protects the content very well when the media content is in scrambled form. When the media content is decrypted and in its clear form, the protection is gone. While in the clear form, the media content may be freely copied and distributed. Thus a more active content protection technique is needed. The active content protection technique may be used in additional to digital rights management.

System and method for securing media content


A pipette for metering powder has a pipette sleeve and a metering piston having an end face for ejecting powder from the sleeve. The sleeve includes a free end and, on the sleeve inside, includes a circumferential wall extending in a closed manner around a longitudinal axis. The wall extends in the direction of the axis up to the free end and ends there in an edge which extends around the axis. The piston is guided to be movable parallel to the axis inside the wall. The end face, with the piston in a retracted metering position, defines a chamber with the wall. The wall is, in the region of the chamber, divided into a guide portion and a release portion adjoining the guide portion and extends up to the edge. The release portion surrounds a cross section of the chamber which is radially widened compared to the guide portion.

Pharmaceutical preparations, food supplements or other powdery or granular substances are frequently provided in precisely measured consumer units. To this end, target containers such as hard gelatin capsules, blister packs or the like are filled with correspondingly measured quantities of powder. As a rule, in this case, volumetric metering of the individual portions is performed, the desired target weight being produced from the metering volume and a density distribution which is as reproducible as possible. Along with panel, roller or membrane metering, it is also possible to use so-called pipettes for such volumetric metering. Such pipettes include a pipette sleeve and a metering piston. On its inside, the pipette sleeve includes an inner circumferential wall which is closed about its longitudinal axis. The inner circumferential wall extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis up to the free end of the pipette sleeve and ends there in a pipette edge which extends around the longitudinal edge. The metering piston is guided displaceably parallel to the longitudinal axis inside the inner circumferential wall. In this case, the end face of the metering piston, in the retracted metering position thereof, defines a metering chamber together with the inner circumferential wall.
A powder bed is prepared for the metering operation. One or multiple pipettes are plunged into the powder bed from above. The respective metering piston is retracted relative to the pipette edge by such an amount that, in the metering position then assumed, it provides the desired volume of the metering chamber. During the plunging operation, the metering chamber is filled with the powder thereby realizing a powder pellet with the desired target volume. On account of the inherent static friction forces present, the powder pellet initially remains in the metering chamber and can be lifted out of the powder bed together with the pipette. The respective pipette is then positioned above an assigned target container. The powder pellet is then ejected via the metering piston and falls into the target container intended for it.
Observations have shown that the ejection operation of the powder pellet is not without problems. In particular, it could be observed that the powder pellet, initially positioned upright in the pipette, does not remain in the upright position when being ejected and falling down, but tends to tilt sideways. Such sideways tilting impairs the target accuracy of the falling powder pellet. It has to be ensured in an expensive and time-consuming manner that the powder pellet passes entirely into the target container without colliding with the edges of the container on account of its tilting movement. In particular in the case of target containers with small fill openings compared to the size of the powder pellet, as is the case with two-piece capsules, this can result in powder losses and consequently in a reduced yield of good capsules.
Furthermore, the use of pipettes in conjunction with 100% in-process control has proved to be difficult. The use of AMV sensors (Advanced Mass Verification) for capacitive measuring of the metered powder units has up to now only supplied insufficiently precise results.

Harro Hoefliger Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH


The present invention provides a method and system for detecting hardened concrete buildup in a mixer drum which is substantially devoid of plastic concrete. An exemplary method involves monitoring the hydraulic pressure required to rotate the drum through at least two successive rotations at constant speed, using a hydraulic pressure sensor on hydraulic charge side, discharge side, or preferably both sides of the hydraulic motor which turns the mixer drum; and detecting when the pressure/time data curve indicates eccentric behavior of the mixer drum, whereby an alarm or other indication is provided to confirm that the hardened concrete buildup in the truck is not acceptable. The buildup detection method and system of the present invention does not require the use of an automated slump monitoring system, but can be implemented in combination with such systems with favorable results and advantages.

The present inventors believe that concrete which hardens inside a concrete mixer drum (hereinafter "buildup") can adversely affect the production and delivery of concrete in numerous and often inter-related ways.
In the first instance, the hardened concrete means extra weight on the truck. This extra weight can lead to lower fuel efficiency during transportation as well as give rise to increased energy consumption for rotating the mixer drum. This extra weight also reduces the operational safety of the vehicle because it can throw the truck off balance during a turn or at various other points of transit. In extreme cases, the truck can turn over causing serious injuries or fatalities.
The present inventors believe that the hardened concrete buildup can also reduce volume capacity within mixer drums, leading to a reduction in mixing and loading efficiency, because loading and batching times could be unnecessarily prolonged.
Decreased mixing efficiency could also lead to mixing of a concrete load that is non-homogeneous in nature. If non-homogeneous, the concrete mix could have quality issues at the construction site especially in terms of slump and strength.
The present inventors further believe that hardened concrete buildup within the mixer drum is not easily detectable by the truck driver or plant foreman during the batching and delivery operations. It is often the case that the largest buildup of hardened concrete is located in the belly portion of the mixer drum, and, hence, out of the line of sight. Even after hardened concrete is "chipped out" of the drum, the hardened concrete can quickly build-up again within a matter of days. In many plants, truck drivers are instructed to park their trucks with the drum label in a position which advertises the company brand. Since the drum is held in the same position, the plastic concrete remaining in the drum tends to settle into the drum belly and accumulate at the same place time after time, creating buildup quickly.
The process of "chipping out" hardened concrete buildup in the delivery trucks is dangerous. This operation requires that workers climb into the drum with jack-hammers to remove the accumulated buildup which may be located at various circumferential places around the interior of the drum, such as on or along mixing blades that are spirally mounted to around the rotational axis of the drum. The risk of injury is perhaps proportional to the amount of buildup within the drum, particularly where chunks of hardened concrete, hanging over the head or limbs of a worker, become easily dislodged by jack-hammer operation.
Previous attempts to resolve the problem of concrete buildup have not provided sufficient accuracy with respect to determining how much buildup has occurred and when to address the buildup problem. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,990 (owned by the common assignee hereof), Koehler et al. taught that the hydraulic pressure required to rotate the concrete mixer drum of a delivery truck could be used to monitor and to analyze plastic concrete as it flowed over the blades within the rotating drum belly. The waveform of energy could be analyzed as the plastic flowed over the rotating blades within the drum, by using a large number of sampling rates per drum rotation.
The present inventors, on the other hand, believe that buildup cannot be addressed with desired accuracy by wet concrete monitoring. Part of the problem is that once a wet concrete load is batched into the drum, the first priority of the driver is to deliver it to the customer. It is unlikely that the driver will stop the delivery to clean out a truck after it has been freshly loaded with plastic concrete. Another problem is that, once the load of plastic concrete is batched into the drum, the presence of hardened buildup can be masked by the increase of the weight on the drum.
Hence, a novel method and system for detecting and measuring hardened concrete buildup in the mixer drum of a concrete delivery vehicle is desperately needed.

Eccentric buildup detection in concrete drums


A method of making a mask includes computing a mask volume correction matrix for a given mask layout to be used to perform a lithography process. The mask volume correction matrix represents a diffraction field for a predetermined thickness of a material of the mask. A simulated mask pattern is computed by applying the mask volume correction matrix to the given mask layout. The simulated mask pattern is provided to a mask making tool.

Creating accurate masks used in lithography processes for making integrated circuits is more challenging as the feature sizes of integrated circuits get smaller. As the feature size decreases below the diffraction limit of the illuminating radiation used in lithography, distortions resulting from higher order optical effects can create unwanted features in the pattern generated on the wafer. Further, as pattern density increases, intensity of light diffracted from neighboring patterns is no longer negligible. Moreover, the variation in the lens pupil function across the exposure slit is not negligible for smaller wavelengths, such as those used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
The pattern written on the photomask pre-compensates for the potential distortions through the various optical and chemical processes such that the desired pattern is printed on the wafer after the distortions. The pre-compensated pattern is often run through a simulation of the lithography process using a calibrated lithography model to verify that the pre-compensated pattern results in printing of the desired pattern on the wafer. The calibrated lithography model takes into account the various optical and chemical processes during the lithography step. The verified pre-compensated pattern is then printed on the photomask which is used for the manufacturing process.

Lithographic mask correction using volume correction techniques

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to novel polymorphic and amorphous forms of a phosphate salt of 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one, and to processes for their preparation. Such polymorphic forms may be a component of a pharmaceutical composition and may be used to treat a mammalian disease condition mediated by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity including the disease condition such as cancer.

The compound 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one represented by formula 1
is a small molecule inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The compound of formula 1 and salts thereof, can be prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,495,541; PCT Application No. PCT/IB2004/000915, International Publication No. WO 2004/087713; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/612,457, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
To date, eighteen enzymes have been identified by DNA sequence homology in the PARP family and the biochemical and enzymatic properties of seven have been investigated: PARP-1, and PARP-2 are stimulated by DNA strand breaks, PARP-3 interacts with PARP-1 and the centrosome, PARP-4 also known as vault PARP (VPARP), is the largest PARP and is associated with cytoplasmic vaults, tankyrase 1 and 2 (PARP-5a and 5b) are associated with telomeric proteins and the function of PARP-7 (TiPARP) is not clear at present but it may be involved in T-cell function and it can poly(ADP-ribosylate) histones (Ame J C, Splenlehauer C and de Murcia G. The PARP Superfamily. Bioessays 26 882-893 (2004)). Pharmacology studies have shown that the compound of formula 1 is an inhibitor of PARP-1 (Ki=1.4 nM) and PARP-2 (Ki=0.17 nM). Based on structural similarities in the amino acid sequences among the PARP enzymes, the compound of formula 1 likely binds with high affinity to the other members of the family as well.
Enzyme-mediated repair of single- or double-strand breaks in DNA is a potential mechanism of resistance to radiotherapy or cytotoxic drugs whose mechanism depends on DNA damage. Inhibition of DNA repair enzymes is thus a strategy for the potentiation of these agents. PARP-1, the best-characterized member of the PARP family, is a nuclear enzyme that upon activation by DNA damage mediates the transfer of ADP-ribose fragments from NAD+ to a number of acceptor proteins. Depending on the extent of DNA damage incurred, PARP-1 activation and subsequent poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation mediate the repair of the damaged DNA or induce cell death. When DNA damage is moderate, PARP-1 plays a significant role in the DNA repair process. Conversely, in the event of massive DNA damage, excessive activation of PARP-1 depletes ATP pools (in an effort to replenish NAD+), which ultimately leads to cell mortality by necrosis (Tentori L, Portarena I, Graziani G. Potential applications of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Pharmacol Res 2002, 45, 73-85). This activation of PARP can also lead to release of AIF (apoptosis-inducing factor) triggering a caspase-independent apoptotic pathway. (Hong S J, Dawson T M and Dawson V L. Nuclear and mitochondrial conversations in cell death: PARP-1 and AIF. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 25 259-264 (2004)).
As the result of the dual role of PARP-1, inhibitors of this enzyme, such as 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one represented by formula 1, may have a role as chemosensitizing agents (by preventing DNA repair, for example, after anticancer therapy), or as treatments for a variety of disease and toxic states that involve oxidative or nitric oxide induced stress and subsequent PARP hyperactivation. Such conditions include neurologic and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease) (Love S, Barber R, Wilcock G K. Increased poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of nuclear proteins in Alzheimer's disease. Brain 1999;122:247-53; Mandir A S, Przedborski S, Jackson-Lewis V, et al. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation mediates 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced parkinsonism. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1999;96:5774-9); cardiovascular disorders (e.g., myocardial infarction, ischemia-reperfusion injury) (Pieper A A, Walles T, Wei G, et al. Myocardial postischemic injury is reduced by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 gene disruption. J Mol Med 2000;6:271-82; Szabó G, Bährle S, Stumpf N, et al. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition reduces reperfusion injury after heart transplantation. Circ Res 2002;90:100-6; U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,705); inflammatory diseases, (Szabó C, Dawson V. Role of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase in inflammation and ischaemia-reperfusion. TIPS 1998;19:287-98); diabetic vascular dysfunction (Soriano F G, Virág L, Szabó C. Diabetic endothelial dysfunction: role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species production and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation. J Mol Med 2001;79:437-48); arthritis (Szabó C, Virág L, Cuzzocrea S, et al. Protection against peroxynitrite-induced fibroblast injury and arthritis development by inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) synthase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998;95:3867-72); and cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity (Racz I, Tory K, Gallyas F, et al. BGP-15—a novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor—protects against nephrotoxicity of cisplatin without compromising its antitumor activity. Biochem Pharmacol 2002;63:1099-111). Furthermore, it was shown that BRCA2 deficient tumor cells are acutely sensitive to PARP-1 inhibitors alone (Bryant H E, Schultz N, Thomas H D, Parker K M, Flower D, Lopez E, Kyle S, Meuth M, Curtin N J and Helleday T. "Specific killing of BRCA2 deficient tumors with inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase," Nature: in press). PARP inhibitors are also involved in enhancing the induction of the expression of Reg gene in β cells and HGF gene and, accordingly, promote the proliferation of pancreatic β-cells of Langerhans' islets and suppress apoptosis of the cells (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0091453; PCT Publication No. WO 02/00665). In addition, PARP inhibitors are also used in cosmetic preparations, especially in after-sun lotions (PCT Publication No. WO 01/82877). There are no marketed PARP inhibitors presently.
Cancer remains a disease with high unmet medical need. Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay of systemic therapy for the majority of cancers, particularly late-stage disease. However, for patients with advanced or metastatic disease, few of the cytotoxic chemotherapy agents or regimens have been effective in increasing overall survival. Furthermore, the small therapeutic window associated with cytotoxic agents results in significant toxicity in conjunction with suboptimal efficacy. Therefore, a chemosensitizer that enhances the efficacy of cytotoxic drugs at well-tolerated doses would fulfill a critical need for cancer patients. U.S. Provisional Patent Applications No. 60/612,458 and 60/683,006, entitled "Therapeutic Combinations Comprising Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerases Inhibitor," the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describe pharmaceutical combinations of 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one.
To prepare pharmaceutical compositions containing 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one for administration to mammals, there is a need to produce this compound in a form having physical properties amenable to reliable formulation. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide improved forms of 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-cd]indol-6-one having enhanced properties, such as improved solubility or bioavailability and stability to heat, moisture, and light.

Polymorphic and amorphous forms of the phosphate salt of 8-fluoro-2-{4-[(methylamino)methyl]phenyl}-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-6H-azepino[5,4,3-ce]indol-6-one


The invention relates to surface display of proteins on microorganisms via the targeting and anchoring of heterologous proteins to the outer surface of cells such as yeast, fungi, mammalian, plant cells, and bacteria. The invention provides a proteinaceous substance comprising a reactive group and at least one attaching peptide including a stretch of amino acids having a sequence corresponding to at least a part of the consensus amino acid sequence listed in FIG. 10 and further includes a method for attaching a proteinaceous substance to the cell wall of a microorganism comprising the use of the attaching peptide.

Heterologous surface display of proteins (Stahl and Uhlen, TIETECH May 1997, 15 185-192) on recombinant microorganisms via the targeting and anchoring of heterologous proteins to the outer surface of host-cells such as yeast, fungi, mammalian and plant cells, and bacteria has been possible for several years. Display of heterologous proteins at these cells' surfaces has taken many forms, varying from the expression of reactive groups such as antigenic determinants, heterologous enzymes, (single-chain) antibodies, polyhistidyl tags, peptides, and other compounds. Heterologous surface display has been applied as a tool for research in microbiology, molecular biology, vaccinology, and biotechnology, and several patent applications have been filed.
Another application of bacterial surface display has been developing live-bacterial-vaccine delivery systems. The cell-surface display of heterologous antigenic determinants has been advantageous for inducing antigen-specific immune responses when using live recombinant cells for immunization. Another application has been the use of bacterial surface display in generating whole cell bioadsorbents or biofilters for environmental purposes, microbiocatalysts, and diagnostic tools.
In general, one has used chimeric proteins consisting of an anchoring or targeting part specific and selective for the recombinant organism used and has combined this part with a part comprising a reactive group as described above. A well known anchoring part, for example, comprises the so-called LPXTG box that binds covalently to a Staphylococcus bacterial surface, i.e., in the form of a fully integrated membrane protein. In this way, chimeric proteins are composed of at least two (poly)peptides of different genetic origin joined by a normal peptide bond. For example, in PCT International Publication Number WO 94/18830 relating to the isolation of compounds from complex mixtures and the preparation of immobilized ligands (bioadsorbents), a method has been claimed for obtaining such a ligand which comprises anchoring a binding protein in or at the exterior of the cell wall of a recombinant cell. The binding protein is essentially a chimeric protein produced by the recombinant cell, and is composed of an N-terminal part, derived from, for example, an antibody, that is capable of binding to a specific compound joined with a C-terminal anchoring part, derived from an anchoring protein purposely selected for being functional in the specific cell chosen. In PCT International Patent application Publication WO 97/08553 a method has been claimed for the targeting of proteins selectively to the cell wall of Staphylococcus spp, using as anchoring proteins long stretches of at least 80-90 amino acid long amino acid cell wall-targeting signals derived from the lysostaphin gene or amidase gene of Staphylococcus which encode for proteins that selectively bind to Staphylococcus cell wall components.
Vaccine delivery or immunization via attenuated bacterial vector strains expressing distinct antigenic determinants against a wide variety of diseases is now commonly being developed. Recently, mucosal (for example nasal or oral) vaccination using such vectors has received a great deal of attention. For example, both systemic and mucosal antibody responses against an antigenic determinant of the hornet venom were detected in mice orally colonized with a genetically engineered human oral commensal Streptococcus gordonii expressing the antigenic determinant on its surface (Medaglini et al., PNAS 1995, 2; 6868-6872). Also, a protective immune response could be elicited by oral delivery of a recombinant bacterial vaccine wherein tetanus toxin fragment C was expressed constitutively in Lactococcus lactis (Robinson et al., Nature Biotechnology 1997, 15; 653-657). Especially mucosal immunization as a means of inducing IgG and secretory IgA antibodies directed against specific pathogens of mucosal surfaces is considered an effective route of vaccination. Immunogens expressed by bacterial vectors are presented in particulate form to the antigen-presenting cells (for example M-cells) of the immune system and should, therefore, be less likely to induce tolerance than soluble antigens. In addition, the existence of a common mucosal immune system permits immunization on one specific mucosal surface to induce secretion of antigen-specific IgA, and other specific immune responses at distant mucosal sites. A drawback to this approach is the potential of the bacterial strain to cause inflammation and disease in itself, potentially leading to fever and bacteremia. An alternative approach avoids the use of attenuated bacterial strains that may become pathogenic themselves by choosing recombinant commensal bacteria as vaccine carriers, such as Streptococcus spp. and Lactococcus spp.
However, a potential problem with such recombinant organisms is that they may colonize the mucosal surfaces, thereby generating a long-term exposure to the target antigens expressed and released by these recombinant microorganisms. Such long term exposure can cause immune tolerance. In addition, the mere fact alone that such organisms are genetically modified and contain recombinant nucleic acid is meeting considerable opposition from the lay public as a whole, stemming from a low level of general acceptance for products containing recombinant DNA or RNA. Similar objections exist against the use of even-attenuated strains of a pathogenic nature or against proteins or parts of proteins derived from pathogenic strains. However, as explained above, present techniques of heterologous surface display of proteins in general entail the use of anchoring or targeting proteins that are specific and selective for a limited set of microorganisms which in general are of recombinant or pathogenic nature, thereby greatly restricting their potential applications.


A system and method for monitoring the state of health of a power electronic system. Data representing an initial expected temperature of the circuit element and an initial value of an electrical parameter of the circuit element is obtained. An electrical pulse is applied to the circuit element to heat the circuit element. After the electrical pulse decays to a predetermined value, the electrical parameter of the circuit element is sensed and a subsequent value of the electrical parameter is obtained. A subsequent temperature of the circuit element is estimated based on the initial expected temperature of the circuit element, the initial and subsequent values of the electrical parameter, and the predetermined value of the electrical pulse. Based on the subsequent temperature, the signal that indicates whether the circuit element is operating as expected is generated.

1. Technical Field
System and method for monitoring the state of health of a power electronic system.
2. Background Art
Power conversion systems, such as median electric power conversion systems and motor drive systems, have gained increasing attention in automotive applications. Power conversion systems typically include various power semiconductor devices, such as a power switch. The power switch may include a diode and an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). Many of these semiconductor devices switch hundreds amperes (A) and hundreds volts (V) at a high rate, often in the tens of kilohertz (kHz). During these switching operations, the semiconductor device may dissipate a large amount of heat on order of kilowatts (kWs). Furthermore, the large amount of heat can degrade the semiconductor device and cause the semiconductor device to reach a high temperature. The high temperature of the semiconductor device can cause the semiconductor device to be degraded or fail unless the semiconductor device is cooled to a lower temperature.
Various materials can be used to fabricate the semiconductor device. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of the material may be limited to various operating temperatures due to inherent properties of the material. If the material used to fabricate the semiconductor device overheats, the semiconductor device may degrade or fail unless the semiconductor device is cooled to a lower temperature. In addition, a degrading or failure of the semiconductor device can cause a power conversion system in an automotive vehicle to degrade or fail.
Many factors can impede or degrade the performance of the semiconductor device. For example, high electrical stress or large temperature excursion can reduce the performance of the semiconductor device or a module of which it is a part. As the temperature of the semiconductor device increases, the performance of the semiconductor device may be reduced.
Various electronic devices have been used to measure the temperature of a semiconductor device. For example, a thermocouple, a thermistor, or an optical thermal sensor have been used as temperature sensors in semiconductor modules. However, these devices used as temperature sensors have provided neither an in situ nor an instantaneous response.
Furthermore, inherent electrical temperature-sensitive parameters (TSPs) in various electronic devices have been used to determine the temperature of the semiconductor device. TSPs may include a voltage drop, saturation voltage, and gate threshold voltage of the semiconductor device. For example, the semiconductor device may be a diode, a bipolar transistor, an IGBT, or a field-effect transistor (FET). Using the TSPs, the temperature of the semiconductor device can be calculated and the thermal performance of the semiconductor device can be deduced. However, TSPs depend significantly on the operating conditions of the semiconductor device and typically require measuring multiple factors that affect the operation of the semiconductor device. For example, voltages of semiconductor devices depend greatly on the operation conditions, such as current, bias, and dynamic transitions. In addition, interaction of cascaded subsystems may cause a measurement of a TSP in a semiconductor device to be inaccurate.


A stent delivery system includes a self-expanding stent, an inner tube body which has a guide wire lumen, and a sheath which has the stent contained within the tip section thereof. The stent can be discharged by moving the sheath to the base end side relative to the inner tube body. The inner tube body is provided at a position within the base end section of the stent and is provided with an elastic member for pressing the stent in the direction to the sheath. The stent is gripped by the elastic member and the sheath and is adapted to be slidable relative to the sheath.

A stent is a generally tubular medical device which, for treatment of various diseases arising from stenosis or occlusion of a blood vessel or other living body lumen, is indwelled in the stenosed or occluded part to dilate the part and secure the lumen (i.e., keep the lumen in an open state).
The following describes an example in which the stent is used in a blood vessel. The stent is a body which, for insertion from the outside into the inside of a living body, is small in diameter at the time of insertion, and is expanded at the target stenosed or occluded part so as to be enlarged in diameter and to maintain the lumen as it is (i.e., in an open state).
In general, stents are hollow cylindrical bodies obtained by processing metallic wires or a metallic pipe. A stent is mounted to a catheter or the like in a radially reduced state, is inserted into a living body, and is expanded in a target part by some method, to be fixed in close contact with the inner wall of the lumen at the target part, thereby maintaining the lumen in an open state. The stents are classified by function and placement method into self-expandable stents and balloon-expandable stents. A balloon-expandable stent is a stent which itself does not have an expanding function. The balloon-expandable stent is used in a method in which the stent mounted on a balloon is inserted into a target part, and thereafter the balloon is dilated to expand (plastically deform) the stent by the dilation force of the balloon, thereby fixing the stent in close contact with the inner surface of the target lumen. This type of stent requires the stent-expanding operation as described above. On the other hand, a self-expanding stent is a stent which itself is provided with an expanding function. The self-expanding stent is used in a method in which the stent contained in a radially contracted state within a stent-containing tube body is inserted into a living body, and is discharged from the stent-containing tube body at a target part so as to automatically return into its original expanded state, thereby being fixed in close contact with the inner wall of the lumen at the target part and maintaining the lumen shape in an open state.
The purpose of the placement of a stent at present is to return a blood vessel stenosed for some reason to its original open state. In most cases, the stents are mainly for preventing or reducing the risk or extent of restenosis which might occur after such a procedure as PTCA. In recent years, to suppress the probability of restenosis more assuredly, drug-eluting stents with a drug such as immunosuppressor or carcinostatic loaded on the stent are also used, and the effect is generally known.
Most of the self-expanding stents are used in peripheral regions such as blood vessels of inferior limb and carotid arteries. An example is disclosed in International Application Publication No. WO 96/26689 (JP-T-H11-505441.
In this known system, the self-expandable stent is contained in a stent-containing tube body in a stent delivery system. Due to the self-expanding property of the stent, the positioning of the stent at the time of placement is difficult as compared with the case of a balloon-expandable stent. In addition, a jumping phenomenon may occur in which the stent jumps out of the stent-containing tube body unguardedly. If this phenomenon occurs, the stent would be disposed at a position deviated from the planned position. It may in some cases be necessary to readjust the placement position after the stent is exposed to a certain extent from the stent-containing tube body during the stent placement procedure. In the case of the known system, however, it is difficult to re-contain the stent into the stent-containing tube body (i.e., to once again load the stent in the stent-containing tube body).


Managing insurance policy processing includes: receiving a set of insurance policy hold criteria specifying an insurance policy hold, the insurance policy hold criteria comprising an insurance policy hold period during which the insurance policy hold is in effect; receiving a request to execute an insurance policy processing operation on an insurance policy; determining, based at least in part on the set of policy hold criteria, that the insurance policy processing operation is subject to the insurance policy hold; disallowing the insurance policy processing operation from being executed; determining that the insurance policy hold is to be released; and allowing the insurance policy hold to be released.

Typically, when a customer wishes to purchase or update an insurance policy, he works with an insurance agent to provide information and obtain quotes. A quoted insurance policy typically requires review and approval by an underwriter for the insurance company before it can be bound and become legally binding.
There are circumstances under which an insurance company may not allow certain operations to take place. For example, when the weather forecast indicates that a certain area will experience a hurricane in a few days, no new policy or updates to existing policies would be permitted until the weather condition passes. As another example, the rates for certain insurance products may be under regulatory review by the insurance bureau; therefore, no quotes can be generated for such products until regulatory approvals are obtained.
Currently, putting certain insurance policy related actions on hold is typically a manual process. The insurance agents or underwriters have to remember that certain actions for certain products are on hold so that they do not proceed with the unpermitted actions. The manual hold processing can be unreliable and error-prone, and can expose the insurance company to unwanted risks.


The present disclosure is related to a display panel. The display panel may include a plurality of switch units. Each of the plurality of the switch units may include a first electrode; a second electrode; a third electrode; a fourth electrode opposite the first electrode; a piezoelectric material layer between the first electrode and the fourth electrode; a connecting electrode above the fourth electrode and electrically insulated from the fourth electrode; and a driving transistor comprising a driving gate. The driving gate may be the third electrode. An orthogonal projection of the second electrode and an orthogonal projection of the third electrode on a plane of the connecting electrode may overlap the connecting electrode respectively.

Currently, the display products are mainly composed of two types: thin film transistor liquid crystal display products (TFT-LCD) and active matrix organic light-emitting display products (AMOLED).
The TFT-LCD product mainly uses amorphous silicon, low-temperature polysilicon, semiconductor oxide (eg, indium gallium zinc oxide) or other semiconductor materials to form an insulated gate field effect transistor with a gate, a source, and a drain. Under the control of the gate scan line and the signal line, the pixel capacitor is charged and discharged, and the field-induced deflection of the liquid crystals of each pixel is controlled to achieve the purpose of display. The TFT-LCD product has advantages such as mature technology, high yield, and long service life. The disadvantages thereof are low transmittance of the panel, passive light emission, high power consumption, and limited pixel response time due to liquid crystal deflection.
The AMOLED product mainly uses high-mobility low-temperature polysilicon or oxide semiconductor field effect transistor TFT to form a multi-level driving circuit, and the driving current is loaded on the anode and the cathode at both ends of the organic light-emitting material. Electrons in the cathode (usually metal electrodes) reach the Emitting Layer (EL) through the electron transport layer (ETL). At the same time, holes in the anode (usually transparent electrode such as Indium Tin Oxide) reach the EL layer through the hole transport layer (HTL). Electrons and holes recombine in the EL layer, creating excitons in the excited state and exciting the electron transitions of the organic light-emitting molecules to the excited state. When the excited electrons of the organic light-emitting molecule transit back to the ground state, they emit energy in the form of emitted electromagnetic waves (photons) to achieve light emission. AMOLED has the advantages such as active light emission, flexible display support, high contrast, short response time, high luminous efficiency, and low power consumption.

Switch unit, display panel, manufacturing method thereof, and display apparatus

CHONGQING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


In an NMOS device, the turn-on voltage or the triggering voltage is reduced by adding an NBL connected to an n-sinker and contacted through an n+ region, which is connected to a bias voltage. The bias voltage may be provided by the drain contact or by a separate bias voltage.

Integrated circuits that include MOS transistors are particularly susceptible to damage by electrostatic discharge (ESD) events, e.g. when the circuit is touched by a person handling the circuit causing static electricity to discharge from the handler through the circuit. This is particularly the case once the circuit has been packaged but prior to it being installed in a product.
Different protection circuits have been developed to deal with ESD events, including CMOS transistors and SCR devices that shunt ESD current to ground. The CMOS transistors may be implemented as normal operation devices or as snapback devices.
The advantage of using snapback NMOS devices for ESD protection of analog circuits is that they can be implemented using the same process steps for the supported analog circuit. The disadvantage is that the NMOS protection devices therefore also have similar characteristics as the supported or protected circuit devices. This creates a problem since the ESD protection device clearly should have a lower turn-on or triggering voltage than the circuit it is protecting.
The present invention seeks to provide an ESD protection device implemented in a BiCMOS process that has a lower turn-on voltage characteristic.

ESD protection cell with active pwell resistance control