In a method for determining excitation profiles from excitation pulses in a magnetic resonance, a homogeneous phantom is placed within the measurement volume of the magnetic resonance apparatus, at least one measurement data set of the phantom is acquired by operating the apparatus with a test pulse sequence composed of one excitation pulse, of which the excitation profile is to be determined, and a test gradient that is already activated on at full strength while the excitation pulse (A) is irradiated. The intensity profile of at least one acquired measurement data set in the direction in which the test gradient was switched on is determined in a processor, and the excitation profile of the excitation pulse is determined from the calculated intensity profile. The determined excitation profile is saved.

Field of the Invention
The invention refers to the determination of excitation profiles from excitation pulses in magnetic resonance.
Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic resonance (MR) technology (also called magnetic resonance imaging), is a well-known modality, with which images can be made of the inside of an object under examination. In simple terms, the object under examination is positioned in a magnetic resonance device in a relatively strong static, homogeneous basic magnetic field, also called B0-field, with field strengths ranging from 0.2 Tesla to 7 Tesla and more, so that nuclear spins in the subject are aligned along the basic magnetic field. In order to trigger nuclear spin resonances, radio-frequency excitation pulses (RF-pulses) are irradiated, and the triggered nuclear spin resonances are measured as so-called k-space data and MR-images are reconstructed or spectroscopic data are determined from the k-space data. For spatial coding of the measured data, the basic magnetic field is superimposed with rapidly changing magnetic gradient fields, also simply called gradients. The recorded data that are measured is digitalized and entered as complex number values in a memory organized as a k-space-matrix. From the k-space-matrix which is filled with values, it is possible to reconstruct an MR-image e.g. via a multidimensional Fourier-transformation.
Some MR-sequences use a non-selective excitation pulse, which is simultaneously applied with activated imaging gradients. Examples are the PETRA-sequence and the Silenz-sequence. The PETRA-sequence, as well as the Silenz-sequence, has the special feature of allowing for a particularly quiet imaging.
Such a non-selective excitation with activated gradients, however, has disadvantages. A specific slice selection is not possible; rather, an undesired slice selection is performed by the activated gradient at the time of the excitation, when the object that is to be measured is superimposed with the excitation profile of the pulse.
This undesired slice selection can be solved within the constraints of certain limitations, as described, e.g. in the United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0101198 A1. In such procedures, the exact knowledge of the actually executed excitation is important.
The excitation pulse that is used in the aforementioned sequences is usually a well-defined, rectangular-shaped pulse with an extremely short duration (e.g. 14 μs at a flip angle of 6°). Due to technical reasons, the shape of the pulse that is actually applied by the magnetic resonance device is generally slightly different from the theoretically desired rectangular-shaped pulse. The deviations from the desired shape of the pulse differ depending on the kind of magnetic resonance system and the implemented software.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for determination of excitation profiles from excitation pulses


A garment for protecting a person against bites from insects uses a fabric of fine mesh for hindering the entry of small insects and an inner skeleton for supporting the fabric of fine mesh. The fine mesh includes a plurality of outer edges and elastic material. The elastic material connects to a different outer edge. The elastic material allows the fine mesh to fit snugly over the inner skeleton. The elastic material also constricts any openings around the neck, wrists, waist, and ankles of the wearer. The inner skeleton comprises a group of supporting bands, each band comprising a group of poly-filled spacers and a group of second spacers connected to the poly-filled spacers. Each band encircles and surrounds a particular area of the garment wearer's body. Each band also connects to a contiguous supporting band by stretchable material attached to the second spacers and by a poly-filled spacer on one side. The poly-filled spacers contain a coil tubing to support the inner skeleton and accommodate movement of the wearer's body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to articles of clothing and more specifically to a garment for protection against small insects.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the seasons of warm climate, mosquitoes and other biting or stinging insects hinder the enjoyment of open air activities by hunters, hikers, joggers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Attempts to diminish or lessen the proximity of such insects include various chemicals and protective clothing. The chemicals available to tackle the insect problem are often in the form of a spray or liquid. These chemicals are relatively effective but have disadvantages including adverse environmental effects and also adverse health or allergic effects on the consumer, especially during extended use.
Protective clothing, on the other hand, includes garments which have a fine mesh fabric for screening mosquitoes from the wearer's skin. Various devices, such as buttons, springs, spacers made of rope, plastic or cloth tufts, inflatable tubes, or plastic inserts, space the fine mesh fabric away from the skin of the wearer to prevent an insect from reaching through the mesh and contacting the skin. For example, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,451 by Malin discloses an insect-protective garment comprising an insect netting coupled to skin separating members such as circular rings, elongated ribs, or inflatable tubes for spacing the netting away from the wearer's skin. This garment provides only a single airflow pattern (i.e., through the net to the wearer's skin). Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,594 by Shannon, which provides a protective garment comprising a plurality of fabric components secured together by stitching seams. The fabric components comprise inner and outer layers. The outer layer prevents the passage of mosquitoes, while the inner layer is thick enough to space the outer layer at a distance from the skin of the wearer which is greater than the spanning reach of a mosquito's stinger. These prior art devices are particularly uncomfortable to wear in warm climates because their inner spacing members have a large surface area which bears directly on the wearer's skin and thereby limits circulation of air. Further, these devices are also uncomfortable to wear in sport and hunting activities because their design restricts against normal movement of the human body.

Articular skeleton, insect protective garment


The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a final metal part for a nacelle of a turbojet. The method includes brazing at least two parts, one being an inner part having an inner surface and the other being an outer part having an outer surface. The method further includes a step of heating the outer surface of the outer part using an external heating means, and a step of heating the inner surface of the inner part using an internal heating means.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Brazing tools are in particular applied in the field of aeronautics, and more particularly for manufacturing revolution parts, or having two complex surfaces, for example closed surfaces, in particular revolution surfaces, to be put opposite to each other, such as gas ejection cones for aircraft turbojet engine or IFS (Internal Fixed Structure).
In a known manner, the brazing is a technique for the assembly of two materials.
There is known the brazing method carried out using a filling metal of a different nature having a melting temperature lower than the melting temperature of the materials to be assembled and capable of properly wetting the surfaces of said materials. In practice, the brazing is carried out by interposition of the filling metal between the two components to be assembled, the area to be brazed being then heated at a temperature allowing the melting of the filling metal but not the melting of the components to be assembled. The liquefied filling metal wets the surfaces of the two components to be assembled and is then cooled so as to solidify between the two components in order to ensure the link therebetween.
The filling metal is generally tin, copper, silver, aluminum, nickel or else precious metal alloys.
It is also known from the prior art a brazing tooling using a gas pressure. Such a device comprises a cylindrical central barrel constituting gas chamber, contained in a counter-shape on which a sealing device consisting of upper and lower flanges is fastened by screwing. The pressure is applied on an inner cylindrical skin, causing the plating of said skin on a honeycomb structure, then of the assembly consisting of the inner skin and the honeycomb on an outer skin. Then, the cylindrical assembly inner skin/honeycomb structure/outer skin is deformed under the effect of the pressure until meeting the counter-shape whose inner surface takes the desired final shape.
Such devices have disadvantages in particular in that the use of a metal brazing tooling involves an additional cost of the thermal cycle related to the inertia of the tooling and to the inertia of the metal to be brazed; the use of a brazing tooling by gas pressure has in particular the disadvantage that it involves an additional cost to carry out the gas sealing, as well as technical difficulties such as the control of the pressure, time and temperature parameters, in order to avoid a crushing of the honeycomb and to optimize the marking phenomenon of the honeycomb (telegraphing) on the skin.
On the other hand, the brazing techniques of the prior art for large-sized parts have the disadvantage of a significant temperature gradient during the heating of the parts to be brazed, which in particular extends the thermal cycle time and involves an additional cost due to the fact that the desired temperatures for the brazing must be greater.

Method for producing an especially large aeronautical part


A tissue dispenser assembly for late model CORVETTE, such as for the model years 1997 to 1999. The assembly includes a box-like housing for slidable receiving a conventional box of facial tissue, and a support adapter secured to at least a portion of the housing. The housing and adapter are positioned to lie contiguous with a pair of angled walls forming a part of the console of the CORVETTE.

The present invention relates to a tissue dispenser for a late model Chevrolet CORVETTE, such as for the years 1997 to 1999, where the dispenser is mounted facing the driver on the console adjacent the gear shifting mechanism.
The prior art is replete with various references for conveniently mounting a tissue dispenser or receptacle where the dispenser is typically positioned above the driver in association with a pivotal sunvisor. A review of such prior art, as reflected in the following U.S. Patents, are products designed solely for convenience and not to aesthetically support a customized sports car, such as a late model CORVETTE. The prior art is as follows:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,856, to Shyu, teaches a tissue rack including a springy mounting plate fastened to the inside rear view mirror of an automobile and the roof thereof, and a rack body welded to the mounting plate for holding a body of tissue. The rack body is made by bending a metal wire into shape, having two front clamping portions and a back clamping portions disposed in parallel for clamping on two opposite sides of the box of tissue paper, and two supporting portions connected between the front and back clamping portions at two opposite sides for supporting the box of tissue paper. PA1 b.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,138, to Gross et al., relates to a tissue container which is mounted to the visor of a vehicle and which can be filled with tissues or a box of tissues without removing the container from the visor. The tissue container has a fairly narrow width so that it takes less head room in smaller vehicles. However, for larger vehicles, an increased number of tissues, which are greater in volume than the volume of the housing of the tissue container, may be inserted in the container. The container is mounted to the visor using elastic cords which stretch to accommodate the increased volume of the tissues or a larger box of tissues inserted in the container which has a greater volume than the volume inside the housing of the container. PA1 c.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,243, to Landon, is directed to a tissue dispenser for a motor vehicle which is molded as an integral part of the interior trim of a motor vehicle in such a manner that no additional hardware is needed. The tissue dispenser is preferably located in a readily accessible location in the interior of the motor vehicle-such as the dashboard, the passenger rear seat arm rest compartment, the center console, the overhead console, or the door. PA1 d.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,343, to Wohl, teaches a tissue dispenser for mounting over the transmission hump between the driver and passenger seat. The dispenser includes a boxlike structure having a removable lid with openings therein to accommodate the housing of a plurality of containers, such as a tissue dispenser, a litter plurality of container, storage boxes, etc. A resilient C-shaped clamp having elongated resilient U-shaped members, is mounted thereon by a resilient clip which is adapted to receive and hold the boxlike member containing its multiple compartments. The mounting and retaining action of the C-shaped clip is particularly suitable for mounting the multiple container holder on top of the tunnel hump of an automobile. PA1 e.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,157, to Wright, is directed to an open top container having a lid hinged thereto and a tissue dispensing opening in its top wall, a tissue package having a tissue dispensing opening in its top wall, and means releasably holding the tissue package in an operative position at the inner side of the lid with the tissue dispensing openings in registration and permitting removal of a used tissue package from said operative position and mounting a refill tissue package in such position when the lid is swung on its hinge to an open position. PA1 f.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,398, to Larkin, relates to a tissue box container for automobiles, where the container includes a saddle pad element secured to its bottom wall and being of an elongate character and having end portions that extend beyond the opposed side walls of the container and which end portions are flexible and weighted so that they will drape downwardly from the bottom of the container to closely hug the top and side walls of the tunnel hump which is a feature of most automobile bodies, whereby the container may sit upon such tunnel hump closely adjacent to the passenger front or rear set of a motor car. PA1 g.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,238, to Grafton, teaches a tissue holder for mounting above the driver or front passenger. PA1 h.) U.S. Pat No. 3,214,059, to Stark, relates to a tissue dispenser to be mounted snugly to the internal roof of an automobile.

Tissue dispenser for use in a sports automobile


A hydraulic main brake cylinder, preferably having an electro-mechanical brake booster for a brake assembly of a vehicle is disclosed. The main brake cylinder is provided with two pressure rod pistons, preferably nesting within each other, one of which is actuated by muscle power, and the other one is actuated by the brake booster. Furthermore, an energy store is provided, which stores energy when the main brake cylinder is released and then transferred to the main brake cylinder upon the actuation thereof, thus supporting the operation of the main brake cylinder.

Master brake cylinders having a vacuum-type brake force booster are known and are common for vehicle brake systems in passenger motor vehicles.
The laid-open specification DE 103 27 553 A1 discloses an electromechanical brake force booster having an electric motor which acts via a rotation/translation conversion mechanism on a thrust rod piston of a hydraulic master brake cylinder. The electric motor of the known brake force booster is a hollow-shaft motor, the hollow shaft of which is formed as a nut of a spindle gearing. The spindle gearing forms a rotation/translation conversion mechanism which converts the rotational drive movement of the electric motor into a translatory drive output movement for displacing the thrust rod piston. An electromechanical brake force booster may be of some other design. A thrust rod piston refers here to the or a piston of the master brake cylinder which, for the actuation of the master brake cylinder, is displaced in the master brake cylinder by the brake force booster and/or by the muscle force of a vehicle driver. The thrust rod piston may also be referred to as primary piston or simply as piston or master brake cylinder piston. The displacement of the thrust rod piston by muscle force, that is to say an actuation of the master brake cylinder under muscle force, is conventionally carried out with a foot by means of a (foot-operated) brake pedal or by hand by means of a (hand-operated) brake lever.


A balloon catheter assembly comprises an elongate catheter shaft having a proximal portion and a distal portion, and an inflatable balloon secured to the shaft distal portion. A plurality of cutters are arranged along an outer surface of the balloon. The cutters are shielded by folds of the balloon when the balloon is uninflated, and are arranged and configured to facilitate breakdown of a vascular restriction when said balloon is inflated. Preferably, the cutters are arranged in at least three generally parallel longitudinal rows along the balloon outer surface, and there are at least three longitudinally-aligned cutters in each row. Preferably, the cutters are formed of the same or a similar base composition as the balloon, and are bonded to the balloon outer surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to balloon catheters, and more particularly, to a balloon catheter assembly for use in angioplasty procedures wherein the balloon portion of the assembly is provided with plaque-cutting edges disposed along the outer surface of the balloon.
2. Background Information
Coronary artery disease, or atherosclerosis, results in restrictions in the flow of blood to the heart and other areas of the circulatory system. Such restrictions occur primarily as a result of the formation of obstructions, such as plaque, in one or more of the blood vessels of the patient.
The medical community has long sought effective ways to remove such obstructions to restore the free blood flow in the vessel, and to maintain that flow for an extended period of time. One technique that has come into widespread use for treating atherosclerosis is known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), or as it is more commonly known, balloon angioplasty. Balloon angioplasty is utilized to open arteries whose lumens have been restricted due to this build-up of plaque, a condition known as stenosis. In a typical balloon angioplasty procedure, an incision is made in a specific area of the patient's body to gain access to an artery, such as the femoral artery. A balloon-tipped catheter is inserted into the artery and threaded through the artery to the site of the blockage. When the blockage site is reached, the balloon is inflated. The inflated balloon pushes the plaque back against the artery wall, thereby removing the restriction and restoring the pathway for blood flow through the vessel. The balloon may be deflated and re-inflated one or more additional times. If desired, a stent may be inserted at the position of the blockage to prop the artery open.
Balloon angioplasty has been well-received in the medical field as an alternative for the much more invasive and expensive surgical by-pass techniques. Although balloon angioplasty and related procedures have proven successful in many cases for treating coronary artery disease, the procedure continues to suffer from some shortcomings. Since the plaque is pressed against the vessel wall, it is not generally removed from the vessel. In a significant number of patients, the plaque re-forms as a restriction and re-clogs the artery, a condition referred to as restenosis. When restenosis occurs, it is often necessary to repeat the balloon angioplasty procedure, or in some instances, undertake a more invasive procedure, such as cardiac by-pass surgery.
In addition, in some severe cases of stenosis, the plaque deposit may have hardened or become calcified to such an extent that it does not easily yield to the balloon. In such instances, balloon angioplasty must often be carried out at higher pressures to crack the calcified plaque. When higher pressures are employed, the physician must exercise a high amount of care to avoid rupturing the balloon and/or the artery at the site of the plaque deposit.
It is desired to provide a balloon angioplasty device that is capable of breaking down build-ups of plaque from a vessel, and that is capable of cracking calcified plaque at low pressures such that the inherent risks of rupture of the balloon and/or artery may be minimized.

Catheter assembly with plaque cutting balloon


A flying head slider for supporting a magnetic head operative to transmit information into and out of a recording medium has a slider body having a surface to be disposed in faced relationship to the recording medium. Positive pressure generating portions are formed on the surface of the slider body to generate a positive pressure during rotation of the recording medium relative to the slider body. A bearing is formed in the fluid-inlet end of each positive pressure generating section to enhance a bearing action due to abrupt compression of fluid. A bleed slot is defined between the positive pressure generating sections and has a fluid-inlet end provided with a negative pressure generating means, whereby the slider stably floats a predetermined distance away from the recording medium during rotation thereof to enable the magnetic head to transmit information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flying head slider which floats above a relatively movable recording medium, such as a magnetic disc device, with a minute gap left therebetween, which has an improved floating characteristic and suited for mass production.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of the conventional flying head slider for use with a magnetic disc apparatus is the so-called taper-flat type which has a pair of air-bearing rails provided on the opposite sides of the slider and each having a flat surface portion and an oblique surface portion on the air-inlet side of the slider, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Pat. Publication No. 57-569 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,416 issued Jul. 9, 1974 to Michael Walter Warner. The pair of air-bearing rails define therebetween a bleed slot sufficiently deep enough not to provide any air-bearing function.
The prior art slider has been fabricated in such a manner that the bleed slot is mechanically ground by a slicer, for example, and the oblique surfaces are machined by, for example, a lapping machine. As such, the prior art sliders are each machined by two kinds of working methods and, thus, one unsatisfactory from the view point of productivity.
Recently, the distance over which the slider is required to float above a recording surface has been minimized due to the fact that the density of the recording system is highly increased. Accordingly, the deviation of the floating distances of sliders due to dimensional tolerances thereof must be of a controlled small value. In the case where machining, such as grinding, is employed to work flying sliders, however, it is difficult to control the dimensional tolerances on the order of microns. In addition, sliders are liable to be broken during the machining process.
As discussed above, the productivity and an increase in accuracy have not been, taken into account in the conventional method of manufacture of flying sliders.
In the prior art, moreover, no attention has been paid to the decrease in the deviation of the floating distances of flying sliders caused by the increase in the working accuracy as well as productivity, so that there have been problems with meeting the demands for the decrease in the floating distances of sliders and for the decrease in the sizes thereof. Also, the prior art has not considered reducing the friction caused between the polished recording surface of a recording medium. For this reason, the prior art had a problem that the floating characteristic was unsatisfactory.


A charging handle for a firearm includes a longitudinal body with a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The proximal end portion includes at least one latch lever operable between a first position and a second position, the latch lever including a blocking plate. Moving the handle from the first position to the second position moves the blocking plate from a blocking position to a non-blocking position. The charging handle can be used with a firearm that includes a protrusion extending up from the rear-end portion of the lower receiver or from the recoil assembly. In the blocking position, the blocking plate is aligned with the protrusion and prevents the charging handle from rearward movement. When the blocking plate is in the non-blocking position, the blocking plate clears the protrusion to permit the charging handle to be drawn rearward.

A charging handle is a device on a firearm which serves multiple functions. In general, the charging handle is an interface between the operator and the bolt, where the operator can use the charging handle to move the bolt within the receiver. One function is to ready the firearm for firing from an unloaded state. For example, after installing a loaded magazine into the magazine well, the operator pulls back on the charging handle to draw the bolt group rearward to "charge" the action. From the rearward position, releasing the charging handle sends the bolt group forward to strip and chamber a round. The charging handle can also be used to manually cycle the action, eject a cartridge or spent shell from the chamber, resolve interruptions to the supply of ammunition to the chamber (e.g., a stoppage, double feed, stovepipe, or misfire), and clear the chamber of any obstructions.
The figures depict various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. Numerous variations, configurations, and other embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed discussion.


A method for reducing the dynamic range of FT-ICR signal generated by the SWIFT technique includes the step of time shifting wave packets corresponding to segments of the Fourier spectral magnitude function to prevent coherent summing of the various frequency components of the excitation signal.

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry has become one of the most powerful techniques for mass analysis and for the study of ion-molecule reactions.
A particularly useful technique is the Stored Waveform Inverse Fourier Transform (SWIFT) technique. In a SWIFT excitation experiment, the magnitude spectrum is specified by the user. A phase function is selected and the magnitude and phase functions are subjected to inverse Fourier transformation to produce the excitation waveform, which is then stored in a buffer memory. The stored digital waveform data are clocked out and these digital amplitudes are converted to an analog time domain analog excitation signal, amplified, and applied to the excitation plates of an FT-ICR cell. A particular frequency component of the excitation signal excites only those ions having a particular m/z ratio corresponding to the particular frequency component. Thus, by controlling the frequency and amplitude of the Fourier magnitudes included in the excitation signal, selected ions may be excited or ejected from the FT-ICR cell.
A major problem with the SWIFT technique has been the large excitation signal amplitude at the start of the excitation signal (t=0) attributed to the coherent summing of the various frequency components. This large signal amplitude often exceeds the dynamic range of the driver amplifier and is clipped thereby introducing spurious frequency components into the excitation signal and reducing the effectiveness of the SWIFT technique. Further, large digital amplitudes requires longer word length in the hardware, such as the analog to digital converter, for storing, transferring, and processing the time-domain data.
Various techniques have been developed to break the phase coherence at t=0. One technique is phase randomization. However, although this technique reduces the dynamic range of the excitation signal, phase discontinuity may cause the non-uniform excitation power observed between the specified inverse Fourier transform intervals in the resulting excitation signal. A second technique found useful for a uniform magnitude spectrum is a quadratic phase modulation technique. However, this is not a general method.
However, no effective phase function has previously been found to reduce the dynamic range of an excitation signal derived from a generalized magnitude spectrum.

General phase modulation method for stored waveform inverse fourier transform excitation for fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry


A fault-tolerant computer has a pair of duplex systems having respective CPU subsystems that are operable identically in lock-step synchronism. Each of the duplex systems has a CPU, a main storage unit, a CPU bus controller, and a DMA controller. The CPU and the main storage unit are included in each of the CPU subsystems. The CPU bus controller continuously operates the CPU of its own system even if it detects an asynchronous operation while the CPU subsystems are operating in synchronism with each other. Even if the asynchronous operation is detected, the DMA controller holds a DMA transfer process for transferring data stored in the main storage unit of its own system or the other system to the main storage unit of the other system or its own system after the asynchronous operation is detected until a certain time is reached.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fault-tolerant computer with DMR (Double Modular Redundancy) systems each including a CPU subsystem having a CPU and a main storage unit and an IO subsystem, and a method of controlling such a fault-tolerant computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, growing computer functionality has enabled computers to be used in a wider variety of fields. Such computers are required to operate continuously even in the event of faults. One solution to meet the requirement is fault-tolerant technology with duplex systems.
A fault-tolerant computer built on the fault-tolerant technology has duplex systems each including a CPU subsystem having a CPU and a main storage unit and an IO subsystem. Some fault-tolerant computers employ a lock-step system for operating the two CPU subsystems synchronously with each other based on synchronous clocks.
In fault-tolerant computers with a lock-step system, the two CPU subsystems may operate out of synchronism, tending to bring the data stored in the main storage units thereof out of conformity with each other. Causes of the asynchronism are of relatively minor nature, including a CPU failure, a software error caused by a radiation to change the data stored in the main storage units, and an operational event that is not guaranteed by the lock-step system.
When a fault-tolerant computer with a lock-step system suffers an asynchronous operation, a resynchronizing process is performed to synchronize the two CPU subsystems with each other. The resynchronizing process is divided into several phases. One of the phases copies the data stored in the main storage unit of one of the CPU subsystems to the main storage unit of the other CPU subsystem, thereby bringing the data in the main storage units into conformity with each other.
A conventional fault-tolerant computer that is designed to speed up the above resynchronizing process is disclosed in JP-A-1998-177498 (hereinafter referred to as "Document 1"), for example.
In the fault-tolerant computer disclosed in Document 1, when a write event occurs to write data to one of the main storage units while the CPU subsystems are operating in synchronism with each other, each of the CPU subsystems records information representing the position (page) of the main storage unit where the recorded data is updated by the write event and the time when the recorded data is updated by the write event. In the event of an asynchronous operation, based on the recorded information, only the updated data of the data stored in the main storage unit of one of the CPU subsystems is copied to the main storage unit of the other CPU subsystem.
In the fault-tolerant computer disclosed in Document 1, since only the updated data, but not all the data stored in the main storage unit, is copied, the time required to copy the data is shortened, and hence the resynchronizing process is shortened.
However, when an asynchronous operation of the fault-tolerant computer disclosed in Document 1 is detected, the cause of the asynchronous operation is not detected, but the resynchronizing process is immediately carried out to copy the updated data of the data stored in the main storage unit of one of the CPU subsystems to the main storage unit of the other CPU subsystem.
Consequently, if the asynchronous operation is caused by a failure of the CPU of the CPU subsystem from which the updated data is to be copied, then the fault-tolerant computer will not be guaranteed for its operation even after the resynchronizing process is fully completed.
Accordingly, when an asynchronous operation of a fault-tolerant computer, is detected, it is necessary to identify the cause of the asynchronous operation and then to start the resynchronizing process.
If a long period of time is consumed to identify the cause of an asynchronous operation, however, because the CPU subsystems keep operating out of synchronism during that period of time, the nonconformity of the data stored in the main storage units of the CPU subsystems grows, making it difficult to shorten the resynchronizing process that is to be performed subsequently.
Therefore, if the cause of an asynchronous operation is to be identified prior to the start of the resynchronizing process, then it is necessary to minimize the nonconformity of the data stored in the main storage units of the CPU subsystems.

Securing time for identifying cause of asynchronism in fault-tolerant computer


A spin valve read element for use with, for example, magnetic recording media, includes a permanent magnet as one of the multilayers that make up the spin valve. The spin valve may also include a pinned ferromagnetic layer, an antiferromagnetic coupling inducing layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, an electroconductive layer, and/or a free ferromagnetic layer. Epitaxy breaking layers may also be advantageously positioned within the spin valve. The multilayers of the spin valve may be constructed as a current perpendicular to the plane or a current parallel to the plane type spin valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnetic structures. More specifically, the invention relates to spin valve read elements that may be used in magnetic recording heads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spin valves for reading from magnetic recording media, i.e., for sensing a magnetic field, have been used to overcome the limited sensitivity of inductive reading. A spin valve may comprise a pair of ferromagnetic layers having a nonmagnetic layer therebetween, with an antiferromagnetic layer adjacent to one of the ferromagnetic layers. The antiferromagnetic layer is a material that is generally not affected by external magnetic fields, and is therefore generally considered to be nonmagnetic. However, the material has been given a permanent magnetic orientation through exposure to magnetic fields at high temperature. The magnetization in the ferromagnetic layer closest to the antiferromagnetic layer will align itself with the magnetic field in the closest layer of the antiferromagnetic material. The combination of the ferromagnetic layer and adjacent antiferromagnetic layer is commonly known as the pinned layer, with the opposite ferromagnetic layer known as the free layer. When the spin valve is exposed to a magnetic field, the magnetic orientation within the free layer will change to correspond with this magnetic field. This relative change in the orientation of the magnetizations within the free layer will alter the spin dependent scattering of conduction electrons, thereby increasing or decreasing the resistance of the spin valve to an applied test current. Parallel magnetic orientations of the ferromagnetic layers corresponds to minimum resistance, and anti-parallel orientations of these magnetic moments corresponds to maximum resistance. A constant level of resistance, whether the minimum or maximum, indicates a binary xe2x80x9c0.xe2x80x9d A change in the level of resistance indicates a binary xe2x80x9c1.xe2x80x9d
Antiferromagnetic materials have several disadvantages when used within read elements. Most antiferromagnetic materials have poor corrosion resistance. The high temperature process used to induce antiferromagnetic properties in antiferromagnetic materials causes diffusion between the thin layers of a typical read element, thereby degrading performance. This anneal may limit the choice of materials that can be used in other parts of the head that will also be subjected to this anneal. Additionally, antiferromagnetic properties are subject to temperature, and will typically no longer effectively pin the layer of the adjacent ferromagnetic material at temperatures at or above 300xc2x0 C.
In addition, spin valves also have disadvantages that are inherent in their basic structure. For example, magnetic flux from the pinned layer, and specifically the magnetic flux from the ferromagnetic portion of the pinned layer, affects the free layer magnetic orientation. This affects the ability of the free layer to properly operate in the presence of the magnetic field that is being sensed by the spin valve and, therefore, results in a reduced effectiveness of the read element that employs a spin valve arrangement.
There is identified, therefore, a need for an improved spin valve read element that overcomes limitations, disadvantages, and/or shortcomings of known spin valve read elements. There is also identified a need for an improved magnetic structure that overcomes limitations, disadvantages, and/or shortcomings of known magnetic structures.
The present invention relates to a spin valve used, for example, for reading from magnetic recording media, wherein the antiferromagnetic layer has been replaced by a permanent magnet.
The present invention includes a recording head combining a read portion and a write portion. The write portion may be of either perpendicular or longitudinal configuration. A perpendicular recording head may include a main pole, an opposing pole magnetically coupled to the main pole, and an electrically conductive coil adjacent to the main pole. The bottom of the opposing pole may have a surface area greatly exceeding the surface area of the main pole""s tip. Likewise, a typical longitudinal recording head includes a pair of poles, with a coil adjacent to one pole. Unlike a perpendicular recording head, a longitudinal recording head may use poles having bottom surfaces with substantially equal areas. In either case, electrical current flowing through the coil creates a flux through the main pole. The direction of the flux may be reversed by reversing the direction of current flow through the coil. The opposing pole of the perpendicular head (or the first pole of the longitudinal head) can also form one of two substantially identical shields for the read elements. The shields are substantially parallel to the trackwidth, with the read element disposed between these shields. A read element of the present invention is a spin valve wherein the antiferromagnetic layer has been replaced by a permanent magnet.
One embodiment of the spin valve includes a permanent magnet, followed by a pinned ferromagnetic layer, an Ru layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, an electroconductive layer (for example, copper) and a free ferromagnetic layer. Another preferred embodiment includes a permanent magnet, an Ru layer, a pinned ferromagnetic layer, a copper layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer. Another embodiment includes a permanent magnet, a pinned ferromagnetic layer, a Ta layer, a Ru layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, a copper layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer. Current may be applied parallel or perpendicular to the plane for embodiments of the invention.
To read from the magnetic recording medium, the recording head is separated from the magnetic recording medium by the flying height. The magnetic recording medium is moved past the recording head so that the recording head follows the tracks of the magnetic recording medium, typically with the magnetic recording medium first passing under one shield, followed by the read element, then passing under the write portion of the recording head. As the magnetic recording medium passes under the read element, the magnetic fields within the recording medium orient the magnetic moment within the free ferromagnetic layer of the spin valve so that they are either parallel (corresponding to minimum resistance) or antiparallel (corresponding to maximum resistance), relative to the pinned ferromagnetic layer depending on the direction of the magnetic field being read from the recording medium. A sense current is passed through the GMR element by a pair of electrical contacts, thereby enabling the read element""s resistance to be detected. A constant level of resistance may be read as a binary xe2x80x9c0,xe2x80x9d and a changing resistance may be read as a binary xe2x80x9c1.xe2x80x9d
Presently available spin valves utilize, for example, an antiferromagnetic layer adjacent to a ferromagnetic layer, followed by an electroconductive layer and another ferromagnetic layer. The combination of the antiferromagnetic layer and adjacent ferromagnetic layer forms a pinned layer, although sometimes the adjacent ferromagnetic layer alone is referred to as the pinned layer. The antiferromagnetic material is one which is not generally affected by external magnetic fields, but which can be given a magnetic orientation once subjected to a magnetic field at high temperature. The adjacent ferromagnetic layer will have a magnetic orientation parallel to the orientation of the magnetic orientation in the closest layer of the antiferromagnetic layer. The ferromagnetic layer on the other side of the electroconductive material is known as the free layer, and the orientation of its magnetic moment will vary based on the magnetic fields to which it is subjected.
Antiferromagnetic materials have important disadvantages. They typically have poor corrosion resistance. They typically lose their antiferromagnetic properties at temperatures at or above 300xc2x0 C. The high temperature heating process used to induce antiferromagnetic properties can cause diffusion between the thin layers of the read elements, thereby destroying its magnetoresistive properties. The high temperature anneal also limits the choice of materials for other parts of the head that will also be subjected to this anneal. A spin valve of the present invention avoids these disadvantages by substituting a permanent magnet for the antiferromagnetic material.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a spin valve includes a permanent magnet layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer. A coupling inducing layer, that provides antiferromagnetic coupling, is positioned between the permanent magnet layer and the reference ferromagnetic layer. An electroconductive layer is positioned between the free layer and the reference ferromagnetic layer. The coupling inducing layer may be formed of, for example, Ru, Rh and Cr. The electroconductive layer may be formed of, for example, Cu, Au, Ag or an alloy consisting of at least one of Cu, Au or Ag.
The spin valve may also include a pinned ferromagnetic layer positioned between the permanent magnet layer and the coupling inducing layer. In addition, the spin valve may include an epitaxy breaking layer positioned, for example, between the coupling inducing layer and the pinned ferromagnetic layer and/or an epitaxy breaking layer positioned between the coupling inducing layer and the reference ferromagnetic layer. The epitaxy breaking layer may be formed of, for example, Ta, Zr or Nb.
The spin valve may also include a seed layer positioned adjacent the permanent magnet, such that the seed layer is formed on an opposing side of the permanent magnet layer from the side on which the coupling inducing layer is positioned. The seed layer may be formed of, for example, Cr, W, TiW or MgO. The spin valve may also include a flux shunt layer and an epitaxy breaking layer positioned between the flux shunt layer and the seed layer. The flux shunt layer may be formed of, for example, NiFe, CoFe, NiCoFe or an alloy containing at least one of the elements Co, Ni or Fe.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a magnetic disc drive storage system includes a housing, a rotatable magnetic storage medium positioned in the housing, and a recording head mounted in the housing adjacent the rotatable magnetic storage medium. The recording head includes a spin valve wherein the spin valve may be constructed in accordance with the spin valve embodiments described herein. In addition, the spin valve may be constructed as a current perpendicular to the plane type spin valve or a current parallel to the plane type spin valve.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a current perpendicular to the plane (CPP) spin valve includes a permanent magnet layer, a pinned ferromagnetic layer adjacent the permanent magnet layer, and an antiferromagnetic coupling inducing layer adjacent the pinned ferromagnetic layer. The CPP spin valve may also include a reference ferromagnetic layer adjacent the antiferromagnetic coupling inducing layer and an electroconductive layer adjacent the reference ferromagnetic layer. A free ferromagnetic layer may be positioned adjacent the electroconductive layer. In addition, an epitaxy breaking layer may be positioned between the pinned ferromagnetic layer and the antiferromagnetic coupling inducing layer and/or between the antiferromagnetic coupling inducing layer and the reference ferromagnetic layer and/or between the permanent magnet layer and the pinned layer.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the invention, a magnetic device comprises a multilayer magnetic structure including a permanent magnet layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer. The magnetic structure may also include a pinned ferromagnetic layer positioned between the permanent magnet layer and a coupling inducing layer. In addition, the magnetic structure may include one or more epitaxy breaking layers. The magnetic structure may be utilized in a magnetic recording head or in other applications where it may be advantageous to employ such a multilayer magnetic structure such as, for example, in a magnetoresistive random access memory device.
It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve avoiding the disadvantages of antiferromagnetic material.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve having a permanent magnet, a pinned ferromagnetic layer, an antiferromagnetic coupling layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, an electroconductive layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve having a permanent magnet, an antiferromagnetic coupling layer, a pinned ferromagnetic layer, an electroconductive layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve having a permanent magnet, a pinned ferromagnetic layer, a Ta layer, an antiferromagnetic coupling layer, a reference ferromagnetic layer, an electroconductive layer, and a free ferromagnetic layer.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve avoiding the use of corrosive materials.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a spin valve whose properties will not be compromised by high temperature.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a read element having a manufacturing process that does not result in diffusion of the read element""s layers.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent through the following description and drawings.

Spin valve read element using a permanent magnet to form a pinned layer


In one embodiment, a multi-beam writing method includes forming a beam array of a multi-beam, assigning sub-beam arrays to each of a plurality of sub-stripe regions, the sub-stripe regions being obtained by dividing a region on the substrate, and the sub-beam arrays being obtained by dividing the beam array, calculating an irradiation time modulation rate being used for each beam belonging to each of the sub-beam arrays, calculating a weight for each of the sub-beam arrays based on the irradiation time modulation rate for each of the beams belonging to a group of the sub-beam arrays, and assigning the calculated weight to the sub-beam array, and performing multiple writing on each of the sub-stripe regions by performing writing on each of the sub-stripe regions with the sub-beam arrays, based on the weight assigned to the sub-beam array and the irradiation time modulation rate of the beam belonging to the sub-beam array.

Along with high integration of LSI, a circuit line width required for a semiconductor device is decreasing year by year. In order to form a desired circuit pattern in a semiconductor device, a technique is used, which reduction-transfers a highly accurate original pattern onto a wafer using a reducing projection exposure apparatus, the highly accurate original pattern being formed on a quartz substrate as a light shielding film or a reflection film. For production of such a highly accurate original pattern, so-called an electronic beam lithography technology is known, which exposes a resist with light to form a pattern by an electron beam writing apparatus.
A writing apparatus that uses a multi-beam can irradiate with many beams at one time, as compared with when writing is performed with a single electron beam, thus the throughput can be significantly improved. In a multi-beam writing apparatus using a blanking aperture array, as an embodiment of the multi-beam writing apparatus, for instance, an electron beam discharged from an electron gun passes through a shaping aperture array having multiple openings, and forms a multi-beam (multiple electron beams). The multi-beam passes through the corresponding later-described blankers of the blanking aperture array. The blanking aperture array has electrode pairs for individually deflecting the beams, and an opening for beam passage is formed between each electrode pair. Blanking control on a passing electron beam is performed by controlling the electrode pair (blanker) at the same potential or at different potentials. An electron beam deflected by the blanker is shielded, and an electron beam not deflected by the blanker is emitted to a substrate.
In the multi-beam writing, an irradiation position shift of a beam due to lens distortion and a variation in the intensity of each beam may occur, and it is not possible to correct these defects for each beam. However, it is possible to eliminate the effect of beam position displacement on a dose distribution applied to the resist by modulating the irradiation amount for each beam.
However, a problem arises in that due to modulation of the irradiation amount, the maximum irradiation amount per beam is increased and the irradiation time is increased, thus the writing throughput is degraded.

Multi-beam writing method and multi-beam writing apparatus


Wavelength assignment schemes that provide full-connectivity in RANs with fixed-tuned OADMs. In the first scheme, wavelengths are assigned to nodes according to Hadamard code, and in the second scheme, bands of contiguous wavelengths are assigned to nodes. Simulation results show that on the average, the Hadamard wavelength assignment schemes approach the performance of RANs with OADMs that add-drop all wavelengths, while saving 50% of the TDM terminals. The saving of TDM terminals by using wavelength tunable OADMs vary in different cases. Tunable OADMs are advantageous for lower traffic granularity and more interactions of a RAN with the outside network.

The present invention is generally directed to the field of communication networks and more particularly, is directed to wavelength allocation in a regional access network with optical add-drop multiplexers.
FIG. 1 illustrates a two-tier wide area network (WAN) as with a regional access network (RAN). As shown in FIG. 1, nodes are divided into backbone and regional nodes. Backbone nodes are equipped with optical cross connects (OXCs), and regional nodes are equipped with less expensive optical add-drop multiplexers (OADMs). The RAN is a bus network between two backbone nodes as encircled in FIG. 1.
Wavelengths are divided into backbone and local wavelengths. Backbone wavelengths pass through the regional nodes without being add/dropped. Regional nodes communicate through local wavelengths. If a connection is requested from an outside network for a node in the RAN, it is carried on a backbone wavelength to the backbone node and then on a local wavelength from the backbone to the regional node. Also, if a connection is requested by a regional node to the outside network, it is carried on a local wavelength from the regional to a backbone node and then on a backbone wavelength to the destination node, the connection being converted at the backbone node. Traffic is carried on bidirectional pairs of fibers.
Adding and dropping all wavelengths at each regional node is appropriate if it exchanges the information only with the adjacent node. A connection may traverse multiple nodes without being dropped at intermediate nodes. Thus, the required number of ports per node should be less than the total number of wavelengths to save cost. It is known in the prior art to minimize the number of OADM ports in RANs assuming static traffic. It is assumed, apriori, node-to-node demand for bandwidth and wavelengths are assigned to be add/dropped at nodes to meet the demand while minimizing the number of OADM ports. Saving of OADM ports in a RAN can be calculated for uniform and distance dependent static traffic patterns. If nodes may request a fraction of the bit-rate transported by a single wavelength, the saving is calculated through 'super-node' modeling. Nodes are grouped into 'super-nodes' which request only full wavelength bit-rates.
The prior art as proposed two heuristics to minimize the number of OADM ports in a ring network and to improve the heuristics by combining them with routing decisions. While WDM optical network in the prior art serve the SONET layer, it serves the ATM layer. At each node, packets on dropped wavelength are either received by that node or routed to the added wavelengths together with the packets generated by that node. Virtual connections are requested and released according to the specified statistics. Blocking probability of connection requests is calculated for the proposed system with reduced number of OADM ports.
With exponentially increasing demand for bandwidth, dynamically reconfigurable optical networks will soon become a reality. In such networks, wavelengths are assigned and released on demand. We analyze the performance of a RAN based on different OADM technologies and with dynamic traffic. Routing is done on-line, so that connections are not rearranged when a new connection is requested. Connections can carry a full bit-rate of wavelengths, or only the portion of it. A connection is carried on a single wavelength, and it is not converted at intermediate nodes. Such a choice simplifies network management. Given this assumption, each pair of nodes in a RAN with fixed-tuned OADMs should have at least one wavelength in common.

Wavelength allocation in regional access network with optical add-drop multiplexers


The present invention concerns therapeutic agents that modulate the activity of PTH and PTHrP. In accordance with the present invention, modulators of PTH and PTHrP comprise:

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) play important physiological roles in calcium homeostasis and in development, respectively. Calcium concentration in the blood is tightly regulated, due to the essential role of calcium in cell metabolism. PTH is an endocrine hormone which is secreted from the parathyroid gland in response to decreased serum calcium levels. PTH acts directly to increase bone resorption and to stimulate renal calcium reabsorption, thus increasing or preserving circulating calcium stores. PTH also indirectly increases calcium absorption in the gut by stimulating the renal hydroxylation of vitamin D.
Both primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism are conditions that are associated with excessive levels of circulating parathyroid hormone. Through the aforementioned pathways, excess PTH levels can cause hypercalcemia and osteopenia. Bone resorption inhibitors such as bisphosphonates and OPG can effectively protect bone and can inhibit the skeleton""s contribution to hypercalcemia. However, the calcemic effects of hyperparathyroidism on the kidney and gut are not addressed by currently available therapy.
PTHrP is produced by many cell types, and plays an important role in regulating skeletal development. Postnatally, the roles for PTHrP are less clearly defined. Circulating levels of PTHrP are essentially non-detectable in normal healthy adults. However, many tumors of diverse embryological origins produce and secrete PTHrP in quantities sufficient to cause hypercalcemia. In fact, humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is the most common paraneoplastic syndrome, which accounts for significant patient morbidity and mortality.
Currently, HHM is treated with saline hydration followed by bone resorption inhibitors such as bisphosphonates. This treatment regimen typically takes 3-4 days to achieve significant reductions in serum calcium, and the effects are relatively short-lived (less than one month). For patients with high circulating levels of PTHrP, the effects of current treatment options are even less impressive. Repeated administration of conventional therapies are usually progressively less effective. These limitations to current therapy strongly indicate an unmet medical need for rapid, effective, and long-lasting treatments for HHM.
A major reason for the limited benefits of current HHM therapy is the failure to directly inhibit PTHrP, which is very well established as the principal pathophysiologic factor in HHM. Bone resorption inhibitors such as bisphosphonates only inhibit bone resorption, while PTHrP also has significant calcemic effects on the kidney and the gut. Total neutralization of PTHrP would be the ideal adjuvant therapeutic approach to treatment of HHM.
Both PTH and PTHrP interact with PTH-1 receptor, which accounts for most of their known effects. Mannstadt et al. (1999), Am. T. Physiol. 277. 5Pt 2. F665-75 (1999). Only PTH interacts with the newly discovered PTH-2 receptor. Id. PTHrP can be changed to a PTH-2 receptor agonist, however, by changing two residues to the residues at those positions in PTH. Gardella et al. (1996), J. Biol. Chem. 271 (33): 19888-93.
An N-terminal fragment of PTH has been used as a therapeutic agent. Intermittently administered native PTH-(1-84) exhibits osteogenic properties, and it has been recognized for decades that these properties can be fully realized with the C-terminally truncated fragment PTH-(1-34). Both peptides bind and activate the PTH-1 receptor with similar affinities, causing the activation of adenylate cyclase (AC) as well as phospholipase C (PLC). AC activation through PTH-1 receptor generates cAMP, while PLC activation through PTH-1 receptor generates PKC and intracellular calcium transients. PTH-(1-34) can maximally activate both the AC and the PLC pathways. It has been demonstrated that the anabolic effects of PTH-(1-34) require short intermittent (daily) exposures Dobnig (1998), Endocrinol. 138: 4607-12. In human trials on postmenopausal women, daily subcutaneous injection of low doses of PTH(1-34) were shown to result in impressive bone formation in the spine and femoral neck with significant reduction in incidence of vertebral fractures. These clinical data reveal PTH as one of the most efficacious agents tested for osteoporosis.
Truncated PTH fragments have diminished AC/cAMP activation and similarly diminished anabolic activity. Rixon et al. (1994), J. Bone Min. Res. 9: 1179-89; Hilliker et al. (1996), Bone 19: 469-477; Lane et al. (1996), J. Bone Min. Res. 11: 614-25. Such truncated PTH fragments have this diminished activity (Rixon et al. (1994); Hilliker et al. (1996); Lane et al. (1996)) even if they maintain full agonism towards PKC. Rixon et al., (1994). These observations have led to the proposal that the AC/cAMP pathway is critical for the bone anabolic properties of PTH, while the PLC/PKC pathway is dispensable in this regard. Rixon et al, (1994); Whitfield et al. (1996), Calcified Tissue International 53: 81-7.
An opposing, but not mutually exclusive, theory suggests that PLC activation (in addition to AC) might also be an important property of anabolic PTH fragments. Takasu (1998), Endocrinol. 139: 4293-9. The apparent absence of PLC activation by some anabolic C-terminally truncated PTH peptides may be an artifact of insensitive assay methods combined with lower receptor binding. Takasu (1998). Progressive truncations from the C-terminus of PTH-(1-34) result in stepwise reductions in binding affinity for the PTH1R Takasu (1998). PKC activation through PTH-1 receptor appears to be acutely sensitive to binding affinity and to receptor density (Guo et al. (1995), Endocrinol 136: 3884-91), whereas cAMP activation is far less sensitive to these variables. As such, hPTH-(1-31) has a slightly reduced (1-6 fold) affinity for PTH-1 receptor compared to hPTH-(1-34), while hPTH-(1-30) has a significantly reduced (10-100 fold) affinity Takasu (1998). Perhaps due to this decreased PTH-1 receptor affinity, PTH-(1-30) is a weak and incomplete agonist for PLC activation via the rat PTH-1 receptor.
Compared to PTH-(1-34), PTH-(1-31) has similar or slightly reduced anabolic potential (Rixon et al. (1994); Whitfield et al. (1996), Calcified Tissue International 53: 81-7; Whitfield et al. (1996), Calcified Tissue International 65:143-7), binding affinity for PTH1R, and cAMP induction (Takasu (1998)). PTH-(1-31) also has slightly reduced PLC activation. Takasu (1998). In healthy humans, infusion of PTH-(1-31) and PTH-(1-34) had similar stimulatory effects on plasma and urinary CAMP concentration, but unlike PTH-(1-34), PTH-(1-31) failed to elevate serum calcium, plasma 1,25(OH)2D3, or urinary N-TX levels. Fraher et al. (1999), J. Clin. Endocrin. Met. 84: 2739-43. These data suggest that PTH-(1-31) has diminished capacity to induce bone resorption and to stimulation vitamin D synthesis, which is a favorable profile for bone anabolic agents.
PTH-(1-30) was initially shown to lack anabolic properties Whitfield et al. (1996), Calcified Tissue International 53: 81-7. More recently, however, it has been demonstrated that PTH-(1-30) is anabolic when administered at very high doses (400-2,000 xcexcg/kg, vs. 80 xcexcg/kg for PTH-(1-34)). The lower potency of PTH-(1-30) could be predicted by its lower binding affinity for PTH-1 receptor, its diminished CAMP activation, and/or to its greatly diminished PKC activation. Takasu (1998). It remains to be determined whether PTH-(1-30) has a similar or even more desirable reduction in apparent bone resorption activity.
PTH-(1-28) is the smallest reported fragment to fully activate CAMP. Neugebauer et al. (1995), Biochem. 34: 8835-42. However, hPTH-(1-28) was initially reported to have no osteogenic effects in OVX rats. Miller et al. (1997), J. Bone Min. Res. 12: S320 (Abstract). Recently, a very high dose of PTH-(1-28) (1,000 xcexcg/kg/day) was shown to be anabolic in OVX rats, whereas 200 xcexcg/kg/day was ineffective. Whitfield et al. (2000), J. Bone Min. Res. 15: 964-70. The diminished or absent anabolic effects of some truncated PTH fragments has been attributed to rapid clearance in vivo. Rixon et al. (1994).
Recombinant and modified proteins are an emerging class of therapeutic agents. Useful modifications of protein therapeutic agents include combination with the xe2x80x9cFcxe2x80x9d domain of an antibody and linkage to polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran. Such modifications are discussed in detail in a patent application entitled, xe2x80x9cModified Peptides as Therapeutic Agents,xe2x80x9d U.S. Ser. No. 09/428,082, PCT appl. no. WO 99/25044, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A much different approach to development of therapeutic agents is peptide library screening. The interaction of a protein ligand with its receptor often takes place at a relatively large interface. However, as demonstrated for human growth hormone and its receptor, only a few key residues at the interface contribute to most of the binding energy. Clackson et al. (1995), Science 267: 383-6. The bulk of the protein ligand merely displays the binding epitopes in the right topology or serves functions unrelated to binding. Thus, molecules of only xe2x80x9cpeptidexe2x80x9d length (2 to 40 amino acids) can bind to the receptor protein of a given large protein ligand. Such peptides may mimic the bioactivity of the large protein ligand (xe2x80x9cpeptide agonistsxe2x80x9d) or, through competitive binding, inhibit the bioactivity of the large protein ligand (xe2x80x9cpeptide antagonistsxe2x80x9d).
Phage display peptide libraries have emerged as a powerful method in identifying such peptide agonists and antagonists. See, for example, Scott et al. (1990), Science 249: 386; Devlin et al. (1990), Science 249: 404; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,409, issued Jun. 29, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,731, issued Mar. 31, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,530, issued Mar. 12, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,018, issued Jul. 11, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,665, issued Aug. 16, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,545, issued Jul. 13, 1999; WO 96/40987, published Dec. 19, 1996; and WO 98/15833, published Apr. 16, 1998 (each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). In such libraries, random peptide sequences are displayed by fusion with coat proteins of filamentous phage. Typically, the displayed peptides are affinity-eluted against an antibody-immobilized extracellular domain of a receptor. The retained phages may be enriched by successive rounds of affinity purification and repropagation. The best binding peptides may be sequenced to identify key residues within one or more structurally related families of peptides. See, e.g., Cwirla et al. (1997), Science 276: 1696-9, in which two distinct families were identified. The peptide sequences may also suggest which residues may be safely replaced by alanine scanning or by mutagenesis at the DNA level. Mutagenesis libraries may be created and screened to further optimize the sequence of the best binders. Lowman (1997), Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 26: 401-24.
Structural analysis of proteinxe2x80x94protein interaction may also be used to suggest peptides that mimic the binding activity of large protein ligands. In such an analysis, the crystal structure may suggest the identity and relative orientation of critical residues of the large protein ligand, from which a peptide may be designed. See, e.g., Takasaki et al. (1997), Nature Biotech. 15: 1266-70. These analytical methods may also be used to investigate the interaction between a receptor protein and peptides selected by phage display, which may suggest further modification of the peptides to increase binding affinity.
Other methods compete with phage display in peptide research. A peptide library can be fused to the carboxyl terminus of the lac repressor and expressed in E. coli. Another E. coli-based method allows display on the cell""s outer membrane by fusion with a peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL). Hereinafter, these and related methods are collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cE. coli display.xe2x80x9d In another method, translation of random RNA is halted prior to ribosome release, resulting in a library of polypeptides with their associated RNA still attached. Hereinafter, this and related methods are collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cribosome display.xe2x80x9d Other methods employ peptides linked to RNA; for example, PROfusion technology, Phylos, Inc. See, for example, Roberts and Szostak (1997), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94: 12297-303. Hereinafter, this and related methods are collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cRNA-peptide screening.xe2x80x9d Chemically derived peptide libraries have been developed in which peptides are immobilized on stable, non-biological materials, such as polyethylene rods or solvent-permeable resins. Another chemically derived peptide library uses photolithography to scan peptides immobilized on glass slides. Hereinafter, these and related methods are collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cchemical-peptide screening.xe2x80x9d Chemical-peptide screening may be advantageous in that it allows use of D-amino acids and other unnatural analogues, as well as non-peptide elements. Both biological and chemical methods are reviewed in Wells and Lowman (1992), Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 3: 355-62. Conceptually, one may discover peptide mimetics of any protein using phage display, RNA-peptide screening, and the other methods mentioned above.
The present invention concerns therapeutic agents that modulate the activity of PTH and PTHrP. In accordance with the present invention, modulators of PTH and PTHrP comprise:
a) a PTH/PTHrP modulating domain, preferably the amino acid sequence of PTH/PTHrP modulating domains of PTH and/or PTHrP, or sequences derived therefrom by phage display, RNA-peptide screening, or the other techniques mentioned above; and
b) a vehicle, such as a polymer (e.g., PEG or dextran) or an Fc domain, which is preferred;
wherein the vehicle is covalently attached to the carboxyl terminus of the PTH/PTHrP modulating domain. The preferred vehicle is an Fc domain, and the preferred Fc domain is an IgG Fc domain. Preferred PTH/PTHrP modulating domains comprise the PTH and PTHrP-derived amino acid sequences described hereinafter. Other PTH/PTHrP modulating domains can be generated by phage display, RNA-peptide screening and the other techniques mentioned herein. Such peptides typically will be antagonists of both PTH and PTHrP, although such techniques can be used to generate peptide sequences that serve as selective inhibitors (e.g., inhibitors of PTH but not PTHrP).
Further in accordance with the present invention is a process for making PTH and PTHrP modulators, which comprises:
a) selecting at least one peptide that binds to the PTH-1 or PTH-2 receptor; and
b) covalently linking said peptide to a vehicle.
The preferred vehicle is an Fc domain. Step (a) is preferably carried out by selection from the peptide sequences in Tables 1 and 2 hereinafter or from phage display, RNA-peptide screening, or the other techniques mentioned herein.
The compounds of this invention may be prepared by standard synthetic methods, recombinant DNA techniques, or any other methods of preparing peptides and fusion proteins. Compounds of this invention that encompass non-peptide portions may be synthesized by standard organic chemistry reactions, in addition to standard peptide chemistry reactions when applicable.
The primary use contemplated for the compounds of this invention is as therapeutic or prophylactic agents. The vehicle-linked peptide may have activity comparable toxe2x80x94or even greater thanxe2x80x94the natural ligand mimicked by the peptide.
The compounds of this invention may be used for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes by formulating them with appropriate pharmaceutical carrier materials and administering an effective amount to a patient, such as a human (or other mammal) in need thereof. Other related aspects are also included in the instant invention.
Of particular interest in the present invention are molecules comprising PTH/PTHRP modulating domains having a shortened PTH C-terminal sequence, such as PTH-(1-28) or (1-34). The prior art shows no anabolic studies using sustained duration delivery of such C-terminally truncated PTH fragments. Although the art does not suggest it, molecules comprising smaller fragments such as PTH-(1-30)-Fc can be anabolic on their own. Despite their weak agonism towards PLC (see Background of the Invention), hPTH-(1-30) is nearly as effective at CAMP stimulation as is hPTH-(1-34). While not wanting to be constrained by theory, the inventors note that the anabolic properties of PTH fragments may be selectively related to their CAMP activation, rather than PLC activation, so that PTH fragments with reduced receptor affinity will have a favorable anabolic profile. It is possible that continuous exposure to truncated PTH fragments would have a different, and more favorable effect on bone compared to continuous exposure to PTH-(1-34) or PTH-(1-84) that has been demonstrated in humans by Fraher et al. (1999).

Modulators of receptors for parathyroid hormone and parathyroid hormone-related protein

Abstract: (a) a PTH/PTHrP modulating domain; and

Abstract: (b) a vehicle, such as a polymer (e.g., PEG or dextran) or an Fc domain, which is preferred;

Abstract: wherein the vehicle is covalently attached to the C-terminus of the PTH/PTHrP modulating domain. The vehicle and the PTH/PTHrP modulating domain may be linked through the N- or C-terminus of the PTH/PTHrP modulating domain, as described further below. The preferred vehicle is an Fc domain, and the preferred Fc domain is an IgG Fc domain. Preferred PTH/PTHrP modulating domains comprise the PTH and PTHrP-derived amino acid sequences described hereinafter. Other PTH/PTHrP modulating domains can be generated by phage display, RNA-peptide screening and the other techniques mentioned herein. Such peptides typically will be modulators of both PTH activity and PTHrP activity, although such techniques can be used to generate peptide sequences that serve as selective modulators (e.g., agonists of PTH activity but not PTHrP activity).


A piston rod (15) and a first piston (13) are arranged in the interior of an external cylinder (11) and internal cylinder (12); a second piston for absorbing the change of volume of operating fluid (24) is also arranged therein. Also, a first return spring (18) for returning the piston rod (15) to the interruption position is provided and a second return spring (20) for returning the operating fluid 24 into the high-pressure chamber (25) by pressurizing the second piston (14) is provided. In addition, the air in the interior of the buffering device (10) is withdrawn by a vacuum pump (38), and operating fluid (24) is thus introduced in a degassed condition.

In general, the operating mechanism for a high-voltage switchgear is operated by opening/closing operation (interruption/closure operation) of the switchgear, by reciprocating drive of an electrical contact of the switchgear between the open and closed positions. In order for the switchgear to exhibit good interruption performance, it is important for the moving body including the electrical contact to be driven at high speed by the operating mechanism.
In this process, it is desirable for the operating mechanism to maintain the speed of the moving body until a little before it reaches the end position of its interruption operation and then to reduce the speed of the moving body in a comparatively short distance. Consequently, usually, a buffering device constituting means for reducing the speed of the moving body is employed in the operating mechanism.
A first prior art example of such a buffering device is disclosed for example in Laid-open Japanese Patent Gazette, Laid-open Patent Application Number H9-303,467 (FIG. 1) (hereinafter referred to as Patent Reference 1) or, likewise, Laid-open Japanese Patent Gazette, Laid-open Patent Application Number 2008-291898 (FIG. 1) (hereinafter referred to as Patent Reference 2). In this first prior art example, a double-layer cylinder comprising outer and internal cylinders is provided. Of these, the operating fluid is sealed within the external cylinder. Also, buffer orifices are formed at both ends of the internal cylinder.
In addition, within the internal cylinder, a slide rod and piston are slidably arranged. The slide rod is coupled with the drive section of an operating mechanism. Steps provided with a taper are arranged on both sides of the piston. The steps at both ends of the piston are fitted into the buffer orifices at both ends of the internal cylinder.
On the outside of the buffer orifices, a packing is arranged constituting a sealing section for preventing leakage of operating fluid that is sealed within the external cylinder. It should be noted that the operating fluid that flows out from the buffer orifices flows into the opposite side of the piston through an oil return passage that is formed from the gap between the external cylinder and the internal cylinder.
In a buffering device constructed as above, in the case of both interruption operation and closure operation, a slide rod (including a piston) that is coupled with the drive section of the operating mechanism is operated, and, just before the termination of operation, the steps of the piston penetrate into the buffer orifices. From this instant, the pressure within the buffer orifices rises, and a large reaction i.e. braking force is generated tending to push the piston back. By means of this braking force, it is possible to reduce the speed of the slide rod only just before termination of operation.
Also, a second prior art example of a buffering device for the operating mechanism for a switchgear is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Gazette, Laid-open Patent Application Number H 10-228847 (FIG. 1) (hereinafter referred to as Patent Reference 3). In this Patent Reference 3, just as in the above first prior art example, a double-layer cylinder is provided and a piston is freely slidably arranged in the interior of the internal cylinder. Also, in the internal cylinder, there are formed a plurality of outflow holes for operating fluid, along the circumferential direction. It should be noted that the piston is directly coupled with the output shaft of the operating mechanism.
In the above second prior art example, the number of outflow holes that are in an open condition decreases with sliding movement of the piston. Consequently, the rate of flow of operating fluid out from the internal cylinder decreases, with the result that the pressure of the operating fluid rises, generating braking force. Consequently, a large braking force is generated immediately prior to completion of operation, in reciprocal operation.

Buffering device for the operating mechanism of a switchgear, and method of lubrication thereof


A squirting toy capable of squirting water received from a reservoir and/or from an external source. The squirting toy can include a housing, a piston, a shaft, and an handle portion. As the piston is slidably moved through the housing the water can be squirted out of the housing. Further, as the piston is slidably moved through the housing an electrical assembly including a turbine can be activated generating electricity to power an electric device (e.g., a light).

Squirt guns are well known in many forms in the prior art. Numerous squirt guns and squirting toys are made and have been made over the years for use by persons while swimming in or standing adjacent to a swimming pool, which are adapted to quickly take in water from the swimming pool for squirting. One such toy is called MAX LIQUIDATOR™ and is sold by Prime Time Toys Ltd. This toy, representative of many such squirting toys, is basically comprised of a housing having a nozzle at its squirting end. A piston, which includes a graspable handle, is adapted to slide within the housing so that, when the nozzle end of the housing is submerged in the pool and the piston is pulled backwards, water is drawn into the housing through the nozzle. And when the piston is subsequently forced forwardly, that water is forced from the housing, through the nozzle, towards a target, in a powerful stream.
Additionally, many squirt guns of the prior art are constructed in a manner that entraps air and thereby inadvertently enables those guns to partially float in water, but do not float when no air is entrapped. The degree of such buoyancy is relative to the amount of water that has been taken into the gun and the longevity of such buoyancy is relative to the amount of air leakage from the housing.
There are also floating toy "swimming noodles" in the prior art, which are made of resilient floating closed-cell polymer foam. These toys are used to provide buoyancy to the user while swimming. Because these toys are often left floating in the pool when not in use, their softness eliminates the safety threat that they would otherwise pose.
Further, some have produced squirting toys that illuminate or make sounds when activated. Generally speaking, these toys utilize energy stored in batteries to power the illuminating or sound making device when, for example, a user depresses a button or trigger. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,129 to Esposito "Esposito" and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0247043 to Liao "Liao", the contents of both of which are incorporated herein in their entireties. However, as the batteries lose power illumination or sound making tends to decrease and eventually fails to work without replacement of the batteries. These systems also require wiring and other electronics offset from the batteries which can fail when exposed to moisture.
Liao further discloses a squirting toy that connects to a hose. When connected to a hose a water driven generator module connected to a water channel receives the flowing water from the hose and thereby generates electricity for an electronic device. Liao's squirting toy is thereby restricted for use by the range of the hose (tether) since electricity can only be generated when the squirting toy receives water from the hose.

Squirting toy including a dynamo system and methods thereof


A method for producing a dental shaped part includes checking an outer contour of a tool of machining equipment, using least one gauge provided on a blank formed from a tooth restoration material from which a dental shaped part is to be machined using the machining equipment. The method also includes machining the dental shaped part from the blank using the tool of the machining equipment, when the outer contour of the tool corresponds to the at least one gauge provided on the blank.

The invention relates to a blank as defined in the generic clause of claim 1 which is to be used in the production of a dental shaped part, and to a method of producing said shaped part.
EP 0 160 797 discloses a blank for the production of dental shaped parts, which blank is made up of a handle and a corpus of different materials. A reference surface on the handle can be formed in such a way that control information for the machining process depending on the characteristics of the blank, can be derived.
Another blank for the production of dental shaped parts is disclosed by DE 196 12 699. Here again, recognition of the type of blank from the geometrical shape of its contours is disclosed.
EP 0 455 854 discloses a blank, from which there can be carved a mating part to be administered to the patient, on the one hand, and an additional retaining or supporting part, on the other hand. A recess is carved into the mating part, which is shaped in such a way that it can be fitted on the retaining or supporting part.
The position of the abrasion-prone tools used for machining the blank is adjusted such that the tools are moved to engage defined reference surfaces on the blank. These reference surfaces can be on the handle, as shown in EP 0 160 797 or they can, as shown in DE 196 12 699, be positioned on the corpus of the blank or on its own reference part, which is attached to the blank at more or less arbitrary places.
The reference surfaces that are provided in the prior art are only suitable for purposes of adjustment of the tool relative to the blank.
It is an object of the invention to make it possible to reliably analyze or identify the tool equipment and/or the type and state of wear of the tool used in the machining equipment employed for machining the blank. In particular, it is intended to provide means of recognizing incorrect tool setups in grinding machines using different types of tool at the same time.

Method for producing a dental shaped part


According to one aspect of the invention, a novel control circuit is coupled to a pin at a circuit node. The circuit node has a particular default condition of one of two logic states. The control circuit stores the default value and subsequently attempts to drive an alternate logic state onto the pin. The circuit then reads the logic state at the pin to determine if there has been a change of logic state registered. If a change has been registered, then the existence of a third condition or fourth condition is indicated, depending upon the default logic state.

The present invention relates generally to determining the existence of one of a number of conditions on a bidirectional pin. More particularly, the present invention relates to a circuit used in graphics adapter cards to determine which of four types of digital to analog converters are connected thereto by reading logical values at a single pin.
It is known to decode one of two states at a single pin by determining whether the pin level is a logical one or zero. This technique has been fine for graphics adapter cards when only one of two types of digital to analog decoders (DACs) could be used. Prior art devices could use only an 8 bit DAC, only a 6 bit DAC, or provision could be made for either one of these DACs to present. This means that both conditions could be decoded by use of a single pin.
The recent proliferation of computing systems, with their diversity in hardware, have required that hardware manufacturers make provision for adaption of hardware with variable parameters on "as transparent as possible" basis. In other words, a graphics adapter card installed in a system, should be able to detect various attributes of the hardware it is to interface with and configure and operate appropriately. For example, programmable DACs have been developed which operate as an 8 bit DAC or a 6 bit DAC, but have the capability of operating in the alternate mode if selected. Typically, a default logic state is established by external circuitry to operate the DAC in one of the conditions.
As a result, it may become necessary to distinguish among more than two types of hardware. More pins is a solution, but pins are a scarce resource. A user selectable switch having multiple contacts to provide more than two binary conditions represents a solution, but is not transparent to a user who must determine the type of hardware and enter it correctly into the switchbank. Additionally, the user selectable switch approach requires more complex (and expensive) components, and requires additional digital logic to process and store the multiple bits of information from the switches.

Apparatus and method for decoding four states with one pin


A horizontal charge coupled device (CCD) driving circuit, a solid-state image-sensing device having the same, and a method of driving the solid-state image-sensing device, transmits image signals using horizontal driving signals having a middle voltage during rising and falling of the horizontal signals. The middle voltage of the horizontal driving signals is generated when an equipotential switch is turned “on” while the output nodes of buffer circuits are in a floating state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image-sensing device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a charge coupled device (CCD) solid-state image-sensing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional color solid-state image-sensing device system 100 using a conventional CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120. Referring to FIG. 1, the color solid-state image-sensing device system 100 includes a controller 110, the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120, an interpolator 130, and a signal processing unit 140. The color solid-state image-sensing device system 100 is applied in, for example, a mobile phone and a digital still camera. The CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 senses visible images, converts the images into electrical signals, and periodically generates color image data (red, green, and blue). The controller 110 generates vertical driving signals and horizontal driving signals to drive the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120. The three-color (red, green, and blue) signals R, G, and B are interpolated by the interpolator 130. The interpolated three-color signals R, G, and B are output as Vout to and displayed on a display device, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), via the signal processing unit 140.
Particularly, the solid-state image-sensing device 120 includes photodiodes arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, a vertical CCD (not shown) for transmitting electric charge packets vertically while connected to each photodiode, and a horizontal CCD (not shown) for receiving the electric charge packets output from the vertical CCD and transmitting them horizontally. The vertical CCD is controlled by the vertical driving signals and transmits the electric charges generated by the photodiodes vertically to the horizontal CCD. The horizontal CCD is controlled by the horizontal driving signals, which are generated by the controller 110, and receives the electric charge packets output from the vertical CCD and transmits them horizontally.
The driving of the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 is usually composed of, e.g., a vertical drive of tens of kHz, a horizontal drive of tens of MHz, a reset drive for the output, applications of other bias voltages, etc. The vertical drive needs a separate driving circuit because the voltage level required by the vertical drive is different from the output level of a typical logic circuit. The horizontal drive uses a conventional buffer logic circuit in a simple pull up-pull down form. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a horizontal CCD driving circuit 200 of the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the horizontal CCD driving circuit 200 in the controller 110 typically generates at least two horizontal driving signals H1 and H2 to maximize transmission efficiency. That is, the at least two horizontal driving signals H1 and H2 with different logic states from each other are generated at inverters 201, 202 and 203 from a clock signal XH for driving the horizontal CCD.
When the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 is to be adopted in small mobile devices, e.g., mobile phone cameras or digital still cameras, reducing power consumption becomes more critical. To solve this problem, bias voltage and current of an amplifier at the output end have been reduced. However, in the case of the horizontal drive, an increase in capacitance corresponding to an increase in the resolution of the CDD solid-state image-sensing device 120, and overall power consumption of the same, continue to increase. The capacitance of the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 is hundreds to thousands of pF, and an alternating current (AC) for repeatedly charging and discharging the capacitance during operation is a major cause of power consumption when the operating frequency is high. In this case, the power consumption Pø, which depends on the driving signal, can be represented by Equation (1) below. In Equation (1), f is driving frequency, C is capacitance, and V is voltage amplitude.Pφ=f×C×V2  (1)
In the vertical CCD drive of the conventional CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120, the operating frequency is about 10-20 kHz, the capacitance is about 500-2000 pF, and the voltage amplitude is about 5-10 V. Accordingly, the power consumption is in the range of 0.12-4 mW. In the horizontal CCD drive, the operating frequency is about 8-40 MHz, the capacitance is about 10-50 pF, and the voltage amplitude is about 3-5 V. Accordingly, the power consumption is in the range of 0.72-50 mW. Thus, the power consumption of the horizontal CCD drive is higher than the vertical CCD drive, and tends to incrementally increase as the resolution increases. In the CCD solid-state image-sensing device 120 designed to be integrated into small mobile devices, the very end driving voltage of an amplifier at the output end has been reduced from 12-15 V to 5 V, which reduces the overall power consumption to 73 mW. However, the power consumption in the horizontal CCD drive is around 37.4 mW, thereby consuming about 50% of the total power.
A method of reducing the power consumption in the horizontal CCD drive by the driving signals of opposite from each other includes three devices, which perform switching operations, between a driving signal outputting unit and a horizontal CCD. Connection of driving signals is open while they are being inverted into another logic state, and signal lines are equipotentialized. However, when signals to open the connection of the driving signals and signals to equipotentialize the signal lines are simultaneously applied, a switch for equipotential may be connected while the connection of the driving signal is not completely open due to the difference in time each switch needs to respond. Here, power sources are short-circuited through output buffers. Accordingly, in the output buffers, high current instantly flows through the switch for the equipotential. As a result, the power saved may be decreased, and, in the extreme, power consumption may even be higher than in the conventional technology.

Horizontal charge coupled device driving circuit with reduced power consumption, solid-state image-sensing device having the same, and driving method of the solid-state image-sensing device