A destination navigation method is disclosed, which includes locating present position and destination, searching route to the destination. The method includes giving driving guidance along a route set on basis of a predetermined evaluation index or selection of driver and further determining whether searched route contains a short distance lane change section, where a road having many lanes and distance between an entryway to the road having many lanes and a junction (exit way) is short in order to give notice that it is coming and for driver to avoid it if necessary because the short distance lane change section may cause stress and fatigue especially for an unskilled driver.

The present invention relates to a destination navigation method used for an in-vehicle navigation system for giving a driving guidance along a route to a set designation (hereinafter referred to as a routing line to destination) and, in particular, to a destination navigation method in a case when the routing line to destination has a section requiring a lane change.
FIG. 1 is an illustration to show a destination navigation method in the prior art, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 2000-18956. As shown in FIG. 1, when a routing line to destination for connecting the present position to a destination is set in a navigation system, every time a vehicle comes near to a branch point (hereinafter referred to as a guide branch point) where a guidance is given to a driver along the routing line to destination, a driving guidance relating to the guide branch point is given, for example, by means of voice. In this case, for example, a distance to the guide branch point and a direction to turn such as xe2x80x9cxxx meter ahead, Turn to the rightxe2x80x9d are announced by voice. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, not only the distance to the guide branch point but also the position of lane to pass such as xe2x80x9cxxx meter ahead, To xxxx, Go to right end lanexe2x80x9d is announced by voice.
Since the destination navigation method used in the navigation system in the prior art gives the driver the driving guidance in the manner described above, even in the case when the routing line to destination has a section requiring a lane change, it gives the driver only a guidance of the lane to pass at an every predetermined appropriate timing when the vehicle comes near to the guide branch point. However, in a case when there is a road having many lanes on the routing line to destination and the vehicle is driven along the routing line to destination, if a distance for an entryway or a junction (exit way) is short to/from a highway having many lanes along the routing line to destination, it is necessary to make a large lane change in a short distance but, even in this case, as described above, the destination navigation method in the prior art does not give a special alarm but only gives an appropriate guidance of a lane change. Therefore, the destination navigation method in the prior art requires the driver to make a large lane change in a short time without informing the driver of the necessary large lane change, in advance, which presents a problem of raising the possibility that the driver, in particular, an unskilled driver who gets a driving license a short time ago, is given a mental fatigue and is uselessly tired in driving.
Further, when the driver searches a route from the present position of the vehicle to the destination, the destination navigation method in the prior art uses a travel distance, a driving time, expenses including a highway toll (hereinafter referred to as a cruising toll) as evaluation indexes for selecting the routing line to destination, but does not take into account whether or not the routing line to destination includes a section requiring the driver to make a large lane change in a short distance (hereinafter referred to as a short-distance lane change section) in performing a search for the routing line to destination. Therefore, the destination navigation method in the prior art presents a problem that it can not respond to the request of the driver who desires to avoid such a short-distance lane change section.
The present invention has been made to solve the problem described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a destination navigation method for informing or warning a driver that the vehicle is coming near to the short-distance lane change section at the time when a vehicle comes near to a short-distance lane change section.
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a destination navigation method for judging whether or not a set routing line to destination includes a short-distance lane change section and for changing the set routing line to destination to a bypath including no short-distance lane change section according to the selection of a driver.
A destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention includes a step of judging whether or not one searched route or a plurality of searched routes include a short-distance lane change section.
This makes it possible to set a routing line to destination on the basis of the presence or absence of the short-distance lane change section, and thus can produce an effect of responding to the request of a driver to desire to bypass the short-distance lane change section.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step of making the driver select whether or not the driver avoids passing the short-distance lane change section.
This make it possible to reflect a driver""s intention of avoiding or accepting passing the short-distance lane change section to the setting of the routing line to destination, and thus can produce an effect of setting the routing line to destination in accordance with the driver""s intention.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step of judging whether or not one route or a plurality of routes among the routes for connecting the present position to the destination include the short-distance lane change section and a step of making the driver select whether or not the driver avoids passing the short-distance lane change section only in the case when the route is judged as including the short-distance lane change section.
This makes it possible urging the driver to select the route only in the case when the route having a possibility of being set as the routing line to destination includes the short-distance lane change section and thus can produce an effect of eliminating the need for asking an unnecessary selection of the driver and of improving the convenience of a navigation system.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step of judging whether or not one route or the plurality of routes for connecting the present position to the destination have an appropriate route including no short-distance lane change section.
Thereby, in the case when the driver desires to avoid passing the short-distance lane change section, if an appropriate route including no short-distance lane change section is found, it is possible to automatically set the route as the routing line to destination, and thus to produce an effect of setting the routing line to destination that the driver desires without asking an unnecessary selection of the driver.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step of informing the driver that there is the short-distance lane change section on the routing line to destination in a case when the set routing line to destination includes the short-distance lane change section, by an use of image information or voice information.
Thereby, it make possible for the driver to recognize in advance that the driver passes a route including the short-distance lane change section and thus to produce an effect of making the driver prepare driving for passing the short-distance lane change section and of reducing the mental fatigue of the driver.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step by which the driver is given an alarm or a driving guidance relating to the short-distance lane change section every time the driver comes near to the short-distance lane change section in the case when the set routing line to destination includes the short-distance lane change section.
Thereby, it makes possible to call a driver""s attention before the driver passes the short-distance lane change section and thus to produce an effect of improving safety in driving a vehicle.
The destination navigation method in accordance with the present invention further includes a step of displaying one route or a plurality of routes including a short-distance lane change section and one route or a plurality of routes including no short-distance lane change section in such a manner that they can be discriminated from each other, and a step of making the driver select one route out of the plurality of routes displayed in the said displaying step.
Thereby, even in the case when the route including no short-distance lane change section is judged as being not appropriate, the route can be set as the routing line to destination by the selection of the driver, and it is possible to produce an effect of expanding the alternatives of cruising routes and improving the effectiveness of the navigation system.


The present invention embodiments relate to compound of Formula I

1. Technical Field of Invention
The present invention embodiments relate to novel 4-(indol-3-yl)-pyrazole derivatives, including pharmaceutically acceptable enantiomers, salts and solvates thereof. Compounds of certain embodiments of the invention are inhibitors of TDO2 (tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase) and are useful as therapeutic compounds, particularly in the treatment and/or reduction in the likelihood of occurrence of and/or prevention of cancers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two decades after the importance of tryptophan catabolism for maintaining the immune privilege of the placenta was discovered (Munn, D. H. et al., Science, 1998, 281, 1191-1193), increasing evidence is extending its biological relevance beyond immune tolerance to non-self. According to the generally accepted concept, tryptophan, an essential amino acid, is catabolized in the local microenvironment of tumors, immune-privileged sites, or sites of inflammation (Mellor A L and Munn D H., Nat Rev Immunol, 2008, 8, 74-80). In these tissues, cancer cells, immune cells, or specialized epithelial cells (e.g., syncytiotrophoblasts in the placenta) create an immunosuppressive environment in tumors that shut down antitumor immune responses in tumors and in tumor-draining lymph nodes by inducing T-cell anergy and apoptosis through depletion of tryptophan and accumulation of immunosuppressive tryptophan catabolites (Munn D H et al., J Exp. Med., 1999, 189, 1363-1372; Fallarino F et al., Cell Death Differ., 2002, 9, 1069-1077).
It has now been discovered that a key enzyme in tryptophan catabolism, tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO2), which is considered responsible for regulating systemic tryptophan levels in the liver, is constitutively expressed in some cancers. TDO2 expression in tumor cells prevents tumor surveillance by the immune system and thus prevents tumor rejection by locally degrading tryptophan (Opitz C A et al., Nature, 2011, 478(7368), 197-203). In addition, inhibition of TDO2 by a small molecule prevents tumor growth in animal models for immunotherapy (Pilotte L et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2012, 109(7), 2497-502).
The tryptophan catabolism in some cancers might be also increased by the expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) by tumor cells (Uyttenhove, C. et al., Nat. Med., 2003, 9, 1269-1274).
Because tryptophan catabolism is induced by inflammatory mediators, notably IFN-gamma, it is thought to represent an endogenous mechanism that restricts excessive immune responses, thereby preventing immunopathology. In the context of cancer, this feedback loop may not be beneficial, as tryptophan catabolism has been implicated in inflammation-driven cancers such as colon cancer (Muller A J et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2008, 105, 17073-8). There is strong evidence that suppression of antitumor immune responses in precancerous lesions and established cancers by tryptophan catabolism promotes tumor growth, which would make such catabolism an attractive target for therapeutic intervention (Dolugie E and Frederick R., Expert Opin Ther Pat., 2013, 23(10), 1367-81). Hence, a considerable effort is being made to identify selective and efficient inhibitors of tryptophan catabolism to enhance the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy, immune checkpoints (Holmgaard R B et al., J Exp Med., 2013, 210(7), 1389-402) or therapeutic vaccines.
Some TDO2 inhibitors were proposed in WO2010/008427 and by Dolusic, E. et al. (Dolusic et al., J. Med. Chem., 2011, 54, 5320-5334), however either their affinity for the target is limited, or their pharmacokinetic properties are not suitable for development as a drug for human use.
Therefore, there is a need for new TDO2 inhibitors with improved efficacy for treating and/or reducing the likelihood of occurrence of cancer and/or for cancer prevention. The present invention provides according to certain herein disclosed embodiments new TDO2 inhibitors which may be administered to any patient diagnosed with cancer, or to any subject being at risk of developing a cancer.

4-(indol-3-yl)-pyrazole derivatives, pharmaceutical compositions and methods for use

Abstract: or pharmaceutically acceptable enantiomers, salts or solvates thereof. The invention further relates in certain embodiments to the use of the compounds of Formula I as TDO2 inhibitors. The invention also relates in certain embodiments to the use of the compounds of Formula I for the treatment and/or prevention of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, chronic viral infections such as HCV and HIV, depression, and obesity. The invention also relates in certain embodiments to a process for manufacturing compounds of Formula I.


A flat panel display is integrated with and mounted to an exterior portion of a motor vehicle. The flat panel display, such as LED or plasma display, is mounted flush to an exterior portion of a vehicle body. A protective rim surrounds at least a portion of the perimeter the display. A protective layer is disposed on a viewing surface of the display. A control circuit is coupled for controlling the display. A memory device is coupled to the control circuit for storing images. An operator control panel is coupled to the control circuit for controlling operation of the display. A communication link is coupled to the control circuit for receiving images for display on the flat panel display. A sensor is coupled to the control circuit for sending a sensor signal to the control circuit and causing an image to be displayed on the flat panel display.

Viewable displays are well-known and can be implemented in many different technologies, e.g., cathode ray tubes (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and plasma displays. Displays present information from some electronic system in a format for viewing by human audiences. For example, displays are used for televisions, computer screens, airport monitors, and hand-held electronic devices such as pagers, cell phones, and personal organizers. Displays also find applications in the interior dashboard of automobiles to show road speed, engine revolutions per minute, fuel level, and engine monitoring and diagnostics. In more sophisticated applications, the dashboard display may present global positioning system (GPS) data in the form of maps, surrounding terrain, weather, and traveler's information and advisories.
Automobile owners and occupants often find the need or desire to put information on the exterior of the vehicles. The information is intended for those who need to know, or for those whom the occupants of the automobile would like to reach. For example, bumper stickers have been around for many years to make political statements, support favorite sport teams, demonstrate for or against causes, show allegiance to schools or organizations, tout child's academic performance, and generally to make a statement. License plate frames contain advertisements and statements about the occupants' hobbies, e.g., "I'd rather be golfing". Taxis have billboards attached to the trunk or roof. Busses have advertisements on the side panels. Commercial transport trucks have caution signs, such as "Hazardous material" or "Oversized Load". These type of fixed displays are pre-printed, affixed to a surface of the vehicle, and are not designed or intended to be readily changed or re-used. When the need or desire to make the statement has passed, then the message is removed and possibly replaced with another fixed message.
In another application, changeable vehicle displays can be found on buses and public transportation. A bus may have the next scheduled stop displayed on a front display, e.g., mounted interior against the windshield. The next-stop display is a separate stand-alone unit which is bolted to the roof of the bus. The bus displays are low-resolution, generally a light emitting diode (LED) matrix. At best, the bus display may contain a few letters indicating the next scheduled stop or present status, e.g., "Main St.", or "University", or "Out-of-Service". Although the display can be changed, it typically requires some input from the driver. The driver may punch up "Main St.", which will be displayed until the bus arrives at Main St. The driver then dials-in the next scheduled location with a push button or knob.
The difficulty in the fixed displays and selectable displays is the limited amount of information that is presented and the requirement to manually change the information content of the display. The driver must peal-off the bumper sticker, change out the sign or billboard, or press buttons to put up other information. Even displays that can be changed are low-resolution, convey very limited information, and the information remains fixed until it is manually changed.

Integrated flat panel display for mounting to exterior surfaces of motor vehicles


A transducer for detecting pressure changes in pipes by detecting deformation of the pipes and for converting the pressure changes in the pipes into electric signals includes a piezoelectric element having a bimorph structure as a sensor element. The piezoelectric element is constructed in such a way that an intermediate layer is interposed between two piezoelectic pieces. The element is pressed against the pipe surface by a holder which is sufficiently elastic to allow opposite ends of the piezoelectric element in the circumferential direction of the pipe to elastically abut against the pipe periphery. Thereby the ends of the piezoelectric element can be pressed in tight contact against the outer surfaces of pipes having various diameters, and the internal pressure of the pipes can be detected reliably.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transducer for detecting pressure changes in pipes, for example, pipes for supplying a fuel oil to be injected into a diesel engine and pipes in oil pressure systems, by detecting deformation of the pipes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical prior art arrangement is shown in FIGS. 1(1)-1(3). On a pressure pipe 1 in which a pressure change is to be detected, a piezoelectric element 3 having a bimorph structure is arranged circularly and forced against the pipe 1 by means of a holder 4. A holder 5 is also provided on the pipe 1. The holders 4, 5, hitherto, have been made of a material such as synthetic rubber. From outside the holders 4, 5, cases 6, 7 in the form of two half structures are mounted by means of tightening pieces 8.
When fuel oil is fed into the pipe 1 under pressure, the diameter of the pipe 1 varies accordingly. Thereby, a voltage corresponding to the change in the radius of the pipe 1 is generated in the piezoelectric element 3. By detecting this voltage change, the pressure change in the pipe 1 may be detected.
The holder 4 serves to press the piezoelectric element 3 against the pipe surface so as to trace changes in the pipe diameter at high fidelity.
The piezoelectric element 3 is in tight contact with the pipe 1 when its radius is R in the natural condition as shown in FIG. 1(1).
As schematically shown in FIG. 1(2), when fluid pressure developed in the pipe 1 is enhanced for an instant, the pipe 1 is deformed as shown by the reference numeral 1a and has a radius R1 larger than the radius R of FIG. 1(1). Accordingly since both circumferential ends 3a of the piezoelectric element 3 are contacted tightly to the surface of the pipe 1a, the element 3 is stressed to be spread, and thus the element 3 generates a signal of an electrical voltage which makes it possible to detect the pressure change in the pipe 1a. When the pressure of the fluid in the pipe returns to the original state, the diameter of the pipe simultaneously returns to the original diameter and the piezoelectric element recovers accordingly.
In such prior art arrangement, as shown in FIG. 1(3), when the transducer is utilized on a pipe 1b having a radius R2 smaller than the pipes 1, 1a, opposite circumferential ends 3a of the piezoelectric element 3 may possibly contact loosely the surface of the pipe 1b of reduced diameter. The inventors determined that since the holder 4 is made of synthetic rubber as aforementioned and its compression elastic modulus (young modulus) is relatively small, 10 to 10.sup.2 kg/cm.sup.2, the ends 3a of the piezoelectric element 3 will not be tightly pressed against the pipe.

Transducer for detecting pressure changes in pipes


This invention provides a cell pattern recovery tool comprising a base material layer having a surface subjected to easy adhesion treatment, a temperature responsive polymer layer that is provided on the base material layer and has a surface subjected to silane treatment, and a cell adhesion inhibiting material layer provided on the temperature responsive polymer layer. According to the present invention, a cell pattern can be rapidly recovered while maintaining the cell pattern stably and reliably under minimally invasive conditions for the cells.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a novel cell pattern recovery tool (or a cell cultivation support for cell pattern recovery). More specifically, the present invention relates to a cell pattern recovery tool that can cultivate cells so as to have a desired cell shape to form a cell pattern (sheet) that can be rapidly recovered. Further, the present invention relates to a process for producing the cell pattern recovery tool and a process for preparing a cell pattern using the cell pattern recovery tool.
2. Background Art
A cell sheet is a sheet-like cell aggregate comprising cells that have been linked to one another through at least a single layer by cell junction. The cell pattern is a cell sheet that has been formed so as to have a desired specific shape. The cell sheet and the cell pattern are often used, for example, for regenerative medical techniques.
The cell sheet is obtained by cell cultivation on a support such as a petri dish. The cell sheet formed on the support is strongly bound to the surface of the support, for example, through adhesive molecules. Accordingly, rapidly separating the cell sheet from the cultivation support without breaking binding between cells is not easy. Accordingly, in the case of a cell pattern, due to a specific shape, further difficulties are encountered in rapidly, stably, and reliably separating the cell pattern from the cultivation support.
Up to now, various studies have been made to propose methods that can efficiently separate a cell sheet from a cell cultivation support. Conventional separating methods are classified roughly into two groups. The methods belonging to the first group are to weaken binding between the support and the cells by an enzymatic reaction. The methods belonging to the second group are to use a support having low cell adherence or a support with adherence of cells thereto being variable.
More specifically, the methods belonging to the first group comprise degrading proteins constituting intercellular adhesion molecules (tight junction, adhering junction, desmosome junction, gap junction, or hemidesmosome junction), collagen connective tissues surrounding a culture, and extracellular matrix (ECM) formed between cells and the support by enzymes such as proteases (proteolytic enzymes) and collagenases (collagenolytic enzymes). These methods, however, weaken junction between cells and the surface of the support, as well as junction between cells. Accordingly, the methods belonging to the first group cause not a little damage to the cell sheet. The binding substances degraded by this method are substances produced in cells which are cultivated, tissues, and organs. Accordingly, even after the separation, binding substances that have been degraded under given conditions and in a given period can be regenerated. The regeneration of the binding substances, however, takes a lot of time.
Regarding a method using a support with adherence of cells thereto being variable among the methods belonging to the second group, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 104061/1994 (EP 0382214A) (document 1) discloses a support having a cell growth surface covered with a temperature responsive polymer. This document describes a process for producing a temperature responsive polymer layer by a graft polymerization method in which electron beam is applied to cause both a monomer polymerization reaction and a (grafting) reaction by which at least one end of a temperature responsive polymer is covalently bonded to molecules constituting a base material and thus to immobilize the temperature responsive polymer to the surface of the base material. Further, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 192130/1993 (document 2) also refers to the use of a temperature responsive polymer in cell cultivation. In these documents, however, no study has been made to rapidly and stably recover a cell pattern in the cultivation support using a temperature responsive polymer.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 082119/2003 (document 3) discloses a cell recovery membrane and a process for producing the cell recovery membrane. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 342112/2005 (US 2007259328A) (document 4) discloses a tissue body which has been formed in vitro and recovered in such a state that a cell pattern is maintained, and a process for producing the tissue body. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 8975/2006 (document 5) discloses the cultivation of desired cells according to a desired pattern. These documents, however, do not describe that a temperature responsive polymer layer is provided and a cell adhesion inhibiting material layer is formed, on the temperature responsive polymer layer, in a desired cell pattern shape. Accordingly, these documents neither describe nor suggest the formation of a cell pattern which is then rapidly recovered. In the method disclosed in patent document 5, ultraviolet irradiation is also performed for cell pattern separation.
Therefore, a cultivation support, that is, a cell pattern recovery tool, that can rapidly recover a cell pattern while maintaining the cell pattern stably and reliably under minimally invasive conditions for the cells has been still demanded.


The present invention is provided with an input device for inputting connection information between information processing equipment and information reproduction equipment connected to the information processing equipment, a storage device for storing the connection information and an output device for outputting the connection information; and a control unit having a recognition device for recognizing the connection between the information processing equipment and the information reproduction equipment connected to the information processing equipment, based on the connection information output from the remote control operating unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control system, a remote control operating device, and a remote control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional AV (Audio & Visual) amplifier, an input terminal is named beforehand, but even if any equipment is connected to any terminal, the AV amplifier becomes an operable state, thereby enabling operation of the equipment, unless the remote control operation is performed erroneously. Therefore, it is difficult for an operator to perform the remote control operation for selecting desired equipment without an error, unless the operator accurately understands which equipment is connected to which input terminal.
In the AV amplifier and the remote control operating device, even if the operator wants to watch a video connected to the AV amplifier, when the operator does not know to which terminal of the AV amplifier the video is connected, the operator must look for the terminal from which the image of the video is output, by changing over the selector of the amplifier each time. Therefore, there is a problem in that much stress is applied on the operator.
One example of problems that the present invention solves is an improvement in the user interface, on which it can be easily recognized which equipment is connected to which terminal of the AV amplifier.

Remote control system, remote control operating device, and remote control method


In a method of making a solid electrolytic capacitor using an oxide film of an electrochemical valve metal as the dielectric and having, as solid electrolytes, first and second conducting polymer layers formed successively on the oxide film, the first and second conducting polymer layers are formed by chemical oxidative polymerization processes using an oxidizing agent, and the first conducting polymer layer (3) is formed from a compound having a lower reaction rate than the compound used to form the second conducting polymer layer (4).. According to this method, there can be obtained solid electrolytic capacitors having high heat resistance and showing an improvement in capacitance appearance factor and frequency characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to solid electrolytic capacitors using conducting polymer layers as solid electrolytes, and a method of making the same.
2. Prior Art
With the progress of science and technology, a reduction in the size of electronic equipment and an improvement in the reliability thereof are being desired. In the field of capacitors, there is a growing demand for high-capacitance solid electrolytic capacitors having good characteristics even in a high frequency region and, moreover, a high degree of reliability. In order to meet this demand, research and development are being actively carried on.
Usually, a solid electrolytic capacitor has a structure in which a porous compact of an electrochemical valve metal such as tantalum or aluminum is used as a first electrode (anode), an oxide film thereof as a dielectric, and a solid electrolyte such as manganese dioxide (MnO.sub.2) or a 7,7', 8,8'-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) complex as part of a second electrode (cathode). In this case, the solid electrolyte must perform the function of electrically connecting the whole dielectric surfaces within the porous compact with an electrode lead, and the function of repairing electrical short circuits arising from defects of the dielectric film. Consequently, metals having a high electric conductivity but lacking the dielectric repairing function cannot be used as solid electrolytes. For this reason, manganese dioxide which is converted into an insulator, for example, upon exposure to heat generated by a short-circuit current has been used. However, in capacitors using manganese dioxide as part of the cathode, the impedance in a high frequency region is not lowered because of the insufficient electric conductivity of manganese dioxide. On the other hand, capacitors using a TCNQ complex as part of the cathode have poor heat resistance because TCNQ complex are liable to thermal decomposition.
Recently, the development of new materials in the field of polymers has made considerable progress. As a result, conducting polymers comprising conjugated polymers (e.g., polyacetylene, poly-p-phenylene, polypyrrole and polyaniline) doped with an electron-donating or electron-attracting compound (dopant) have been developed. Among others, five-membered heterocyclic compounds (e.g., polypyrrole and polythiophene) and polyaniline can easily yield conducting polymers by electrolytic polymerization, and such conducting polymers are being used as solid electrolytes for capacitors (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 36012/'89 and 64013/'91). However, this method involves electrolytic polymerization on an oxide film having electrical insulating properties, so that it has been very difficult to form a uniform conducting polymer film.
Accordingly, a method which comprises first forming an electrically-conductive precoat layer and then forming a conducting polymer on the oxide film by electrolytic polymerization is being extensively employed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 32619/'89, 36012/'89, 74712/'89, 225110/'89, 117121/'90, 64013/'91, 304055/'93 and 45200/'94). However, this method has the disadvantage that an auxiliary electrode must be disposed in proximity to the capacitor device, resulting in very low mass productivity.
There has also been proposed a method for applying a conducting polymer soluble in an organic solvent and then drying it to form a polymer layer useful as a solid electrolyte. For example, it has been proposed to make a solid electrolytic capacitor using polyaniline as the solid electrolyte according to a method in which a solution of previously prepared polyaniline is applied onto the surface of an oxide film of a metal and then dried to form a layer of polyaniline (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 35516/'91). However, this method has the disadvantage that the polyaniline solution has very high viscosity and fails to permeate throughout an oxide film having a finely porous structure and hence a highly extended surface area. As a result, in the capacitors made by this method, the capacitance appearance factor (i.e., the ratio of the actual value of electrostatic capacity to the design value) is significantly low.
On the other hand, a method for forming polyaniline by polymerizing aniline monomer on an oxide film is known. In this case, a satisfactorily high capacitance appearance factor can be achieved. However, since polyaniline itself has a lower electric conductivity than polypyrrole, the capacitors made by this method have the disadvantage that their characteristics in a high frequency region are poorer than those of capacitors using polypyrrole.
Moreover, a method for forming polypyrrole by polymerizing pyrrole monomer on an oxide film is also known. However, since polypyrrole is not be easily formed in the central part of a porous body, it is difficult to coat an oxide film having a finely porous structure completely with polypyrrole. As a result, the capacitor thus obtained has the disadvantage of showing a low capacitance appearance factor.
Furthermore, a method for forming a derivative of polythiophene on an oxide film has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 15611/'90). The polymer formed by this method undergoes a high degree of shrinkage and hence tends to peel from the capacitor device, resulting an increase in impedance. Moreover, since the oxide film is exposed in the parts where the polymer has peeled off, the device becomes mechanically weak against external stresses and tends to show an increase in leakage current. Thus, it is impossible to secure the reliability of the device.
Furthermore, it has been proposed to use two layers of conducting polymer having different properties as solid electrolytes and thereby make the most of the characteristics of each compound (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 45481/'95, 45199/'94 and 45201/'94). Specifically, according to this method, the capacitance appearance factor of a capacitor can be enhanced by forming relatively easily formable polyaniline in the inside of the device and then forming polypyrrole thereon, or the heat resistance of a capacitor can be improved by forming polypyrrole having a high electric conductivity in the inside of the device and then forming thereon polyaniline having high heat resistance. In the former case (polyaniline/polypyrrole), the capacitance appearance factor is enhanced, but the impedance in a high frequency region is not sufficiently lowered because of the low electric conductivity of polyacetylene. In the latter case (polypyrrole/polyaniline), the heat resistance is improved, but the capacitance appearance factor is reduced because polypyrrole cannot be easily formed in the inside of the device.
As described above, conventional solid electrolytic capacitors have involved difficulty in improving their capacitance appearance factor, frequency characteristics, heat resistance and reliability at the same time.

Method of making solid electrolyte capacitor using a conducting polymer solid electrolytic capacitor using a conducting polymer method of making


A reactor comprising a body made of a heat-resistant material and having an inlet and an outlet for water/moisture gas, having a gas-diffusing member provided in an internal space of the body, and having a platinum coating on an internal wall surface of the body. Hydrogen and oxygen fed from the inlet are diffused by the gas-diffusing member and then come into contact with the platinum coating to enhance reactivity, thereby producing water. A temperature of the reactor is held to be below an ignition temperature of hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing gas. The platinum-coated catalyst layer on the internal wall of the reactor body is formed by treating the surface of the internal wall of the body, cleaning the treated surface, forming a barrier coating of a nonmetallic material of an oxide or nitride on the wall surface, and forming the platinum coating on the barrier coating.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/117,350, filed Jun. 9, 1999, now abandoned; which corresponds to International Application No. PCT/JP97/00188, filed Jan. 27, 1997. The entire disclosures of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention is primarily used in semiconductor manufacturing facilities. More specifically, the present invention is used for supplying water when silicon dioxide film is affixed by a so-called water oxidation method (or steam oxidation method) using a process chamber.
For example, for affixing a silicon oxide film by the water oxidation method in semiconductor manufacture, high-purity water is required.
Consequently, for a conventional affixing of a silicon oxide film, as shown in FIG. 52, a process in which hydrogen gas H2 and oxygen gas O2 are allowed to combust in a quartz furnace 50 has been extensively used in which water generated by the combustion of these two gases is fed into semiconductor manufacturing equipment; and the oxide film is formed on the Si wafer surface.
In FIG. 52, numeral 51 designates a hydrogen gas nozzle, 52 a Si chip for ignition held in a vicinity of a top side of the hydrogen gas nozzle 51, and 53 is a heating lamp for heating the Si chip 52. A vicinity at a tip end of the hydrogen gas nozzle 51 inside the quartz furnace attains a high temperature from about 1800xc2x0 C. to 2000xc2x0 C. due to flames of combustion. In addition, an amount of oxygen gas O2 supplied to the quartz furnace 50 is set to a level exceeding one half that of the hydrogen gas H2 in order to completely combust the hydrogen gas H2 and to maintain safety, and flow rates of O2 and H2 are respectively separately set to several liters/min.
The process of FIG. 52 achieves excellent practical effects in that water thereby generated is of a high purity and can be instantaneously generated at a rate of several liters/min.
However, in the process of FIG. 52, there is a problem in that if the feed rate of hydrogen gas H2 or oxygen gas O2 is reduced to decrease the water amount, combustion can easily be thereby stopped and it is therefore extremely difficult to apply controls for decreasing the generated water amount, and a control range of a ratio of water to oxygen (moisture content/oxygen) is narrow.
The process has a difficulty in that because raw gas is fed directly into the reactor pipe, when combustion stops an interlock mechanism becomes indispensable to prevent explosion.
In addition, there is also a problem in that when gas flow rate is reduced, flames are generated in the vicinity of the nozzle, SiO2 composing the quartz nozzle evaporates, and these volatile materials mix in a reactor atmosphere (H2O+O2) and contaminate a gas (H2O+O2) fed to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to such an extent that it can no longer be used for manufacturing high performance semiconductors.
In the meantime, for solving difficulties of combustion furnace type water-generating equipment as shown in FIG. 52, the inventors of this application previously developed a water generating process using the equipment shown in FIG. 53, disclosed in Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-6-115903.
That is, this water generating process first mixes hydrogen H2, oxygen O2 and inert gas Ar to form a mixture gas C, the mixture gas C is introduced into a reaction pipe 54 made of a material having a catalytic action that can radicalize hydrogen and oxygen and at the same time the reaction pipe 54 is heated to allow hydrogen and oxygen in the mixture gas C to react, thereby generating water.
The water generating method according to the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-115903 can obtain a mixture gas containing high-purity water ranging from low concentration on a ppb order to high concentration on a percent order, and at the same time is excellent in responsiveness, in ease of maintaining control, and in achieving high effects.
However, the water generating process using the equipment shown in FIG. 53 still has many problems that must be solved.
A first point is that because the mixture gas C of hydrogen and oxygen and argon is introduced into the reaction pipe 54, a reactivity degrades as compared with a case in which only hydrogen and oxygen are supplied, and as a result, the reactor size is increased. In particular, there is a case in which hydrogen or inert gas is added to water to adjust an oxidation-reduction power, and N2O, etc. are added to water in order to improve interface characteristics of Si and SiO2, and in such event, an increase of the reactor size results in an increase of gas consumption rate, posing a serious problem from a standpoint of economy, etc.
It is also a problem that even if hydrogen and oxygen finish the reaction completely, the product gas is a mixture gas of moisture and argon, and it is unable to output high-purity water only or a mixture gas of water and oxygen.
A second problem is a problem of responsiveness and reactivity of water generation. Because stainless pipes are used as a material having the catalytic action and catalytic action of pipe surfaces are utilized, it is unable to achieve a large reaction gas rate per unit surface area.
As result, when a large volume of generated water, for example, a water volume of about 1 liter/min., is required, the reaction pipe 54 itself is markedly increased and, at the same time, considerable time is taken to generate water.
A third problem is safety. In order to improve safety of this water-generating equipment, the invention of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-115903 adjusts a heating temperature of the reaction pipe 54 to be between 50xc2x0 C. and 500xc2x0 C., and at the same time, the whole reaction pipe 54 is uniformly heated to the same temperature.
However, because a significant portion of the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the reaction pipe 54 takes place at a portion close to an inlet end of the reaction pipe 54, the temperature of the reaction pipe 54 rises more at a portion closer to the inlet end of the mixture gas due to reaction heat.
As a result, for example, if the heating temperature of the reaction pipe 54 is set to a high temperature of about 500xc2x0 C., the temperature at the reaction pipe inlet end sometimes reaches nearly about 600xc2x0 C., and even in a case of argon mixture gas, ignition of hydrogen gas may result when the argon mixture rate is small.
When the temperature of the reaction pipe 54 is lowered, there is a problem in that the reaction gas increases.
A primary object of this invention is to solve the problems in the conventional water generation process or water-generating equipment for semiconductor manufacturing equipmentxe2x80x94that is: (1) in a combustion furnace system using a quartz furnace, it is difficult to adjust the flow rate in a small flow rate region of generated water, generated water is likely to be polluted, and high-purity water cannot be obtained; (2) in a water generating process for introducing argon mixture gas into a stainless steel reaction pipe heated to a high temperature, it is unable to output water or water and oxygen mixture gas; (3) a reactor size is increased and it is difficult to downsize this equipment and at the same time, responsiveness is poor; and (4) when a heating temperature of the reactor is raised to increase reactivity and responsiveness, an inlet end temperature of the reactor rises excessively, giving rise to a danger of causing an explosion, etc.xe2x80x94, and it is another object of this invention to provide a water generating process, a water-generating reactor, a temperature control process for the water-generating reactor, and a process for forming a platinum coating catalyst layer of the water generating reactor which can greatly reduce the size of water-generating equipment and which can safely and stably produce high purity water at a rate exceeding 1 liter/min. as well as a mixture gas of high purity water and oxygen under conditions of higher responsiveness and reactivity.
That is, a water generating process of this invention basically relates to supplying hydrogen and oxygen into a reactor equipped with a material with catalytic action that can activate a reactivity of hydrogen and oxygen, and seeks to hold the reactor temperature at a level below an ignition temperature of hydrogen or gas containing hydrogen, thereby allowing the hydrogen to react with the oxygen while preventing combustion of the hydrogen and the oxygen in a process for generating water from the hydrogen and oxygen.
A first water-generating reactor according to this invention has a basic construction in which cylinders made of a material having the catalytic action that can activate the hydrogen or oxygen reactivity, or a material whose surface is covered with the same material having the catalytic action, are in a casing, to form passages through which the hydrogen and oxygen flow while coming into contact with inner and/or outer wall surfaces, there being a heater outside or inside the casing.
Furthermore, a second generating reactor according to this invention has a basic construction in which a column (filled with: granules made of a material having the catalytic action that can activate reactivity of hydrogen and/or oxygen; sintered materials of powders or fibers made of the material having the catalytic action; laminates or honeycomb bodies comprising thin sheets made of the material having the catalytic action; mesh bodies, sponge bodies, or fin-shaped bodies made of the material having the catalytic activity; or granules, sintered materials, thin sheet laminates, honeycomb bodies, mesh bodies, sponges or fin-shaped bodies whose surfaces are covered with the material having the catalytic activity) are placed, or two or more of these are placed, in the casing, and passages are formed for allowing hydrogen and oxygen to flow therethrough while coming in contact with said granules, sintered materials, laminates, honeycomb bodies, mesh bodies, or fin-shaped bodies, and, at the same time, a heater is placed outside or inside the casing.
In addition, a third water-generating reactor of this invention comprises a reactor body made of heat resistant material equipped with an inlet and water and moisture gas outlet, and a platinum coated film on an inner wall surface of the reactor body, wherein hydrogen and oxygen supplied from the inlet is brought in contact with the platinum coated film to activate the reactivity and water is produced from the hydrogen and the oxygen.
A fourth water-generating reactor according to this invention comprises a reactor body made of heat resistant material equipped with an inlet and water and moisture gas outlet, a gas diffusing member provided inside an internal space of the reactor body, and a platinum coated film provided on an inner wall surface of the reactor body, wherein hydrogen and oxygen supplied from the inlet are diffused by the gas diffusing member, are then brought into uniform contact with the platinum coated film to activate the reactivity, and water is produced from the hydrogen and the oxygen.
A process of temperature control of a water-generating reactor of this invention comprises providing a catalyst in a casing that can activate reactivity of hydrogen or oxygen, and holding an upstream-end temperature of hydrogen and oxygen under reaction in the water-generating reactor at a level lower than a downstream-end temperature in the water-generating reactor by allowing the hydrogen and oxygen to react with each other at a high temperature.
A process for forming a platinum coated catalyst of a water-generating reactor according to this invention comprises cleaning an inner wall surface of a metallic body of a reactor by applying a surface treatment, forming a barrier coating of a nonmetallic material of an oxide or a nitride on the inner wall surface and forming a platinum coated film on the barrier coating in the water-generating reactor, with the platinum coated film formed on the inner wall surface of the metallic reactor body (the body having an inlet and a water and moisture gas outlet) being used as a catalyst, with hydrogen and oxygen supplied through the inlet being brought into contact with the platinum coated film to activate their reactivity and water being generated from the hydrogen and oxygen in the water-generating reactor.
Hydrogen and oxygen, mixed at a ratio of nearly 2:1, are allowed to come into contact with the high-temperature catalyst material surface in the reactor, and radicalized by catalytic action of the catalyst material to directly react and generate water.
The generated water is guided out of an outlet end of the reactor as a steam, and thereafter, is mixed with a suitable amount of O2, N2, Ar, etc. and heated, and then supplied to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Because a majority of the reactions between the hydrogen and oxygen take place in a vicinity of the gas inlet end of the reactor, in the first and the second water-generating reactors according to this invention, the inlet end of the reactor is more strongly heated by reaction heat and temperature rises greatly. Consequently, catalytic action at the reaction inlet end is weakened, gas supply position is distributed in a longitudinal direction of the reactor, or an inlet-end heater temperature is lowered so that temperature rise on the reactor inlet end is prevented.
Contrary to this, in the third and fourth water-generating reactors of this invention, because reactions of hydrogen and oxygen take place nearly uniformly throughout whole inside areas of reactor bodies, a temperature of the whole reactor body rises nearly uniformly.
In a water-generating reactor in which a platinum coating catalyst layer is formed according to this invention, the barrier film formed on the inner wall surface of the reactor body prevents metal components forming the reactor body from diffusing into the platinum coated film. Consequently, an amount of metal oxides formed in the platinum coated film greatly decreases and a high catalytic performance of platinum can, thereby, be stably maintained over a long period of time.


In one embodiment, a method for delay scheduling includes determining whether a communications controller has information for a machine type communication (MTC) device and determining a first subframe to transmit a downlink control information (DCI) message on when the communications controller has information for the MTC device. The method also includes transmitting, by the communications controller to the MTC device, the first subframe including the DCI message and the information in accordance with the first subframe.

In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Release-10 technical standards, transmissions from a communications controller to user equipments (UEs) include both data channels and control channels. LTE is a standard for wireless communication of high speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. Compared to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network technologies, LTE increases the capacity and speed of a network by using a different radio interface along with core network improvements.
In LTE Release-10, the carrier bandwidth is one of six possible values (1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz). The frequency dimension contains subcarriers that may be 15 kHz apart. The time dimension of the system uses symbols, slots, subframes, and frames. In an example, the slots are 0.5 ms in duration. The subframes may contain two slots and be 1 ms in duration, while the frames may contain ten subframes and be 10 ms in duration. There are seven symbols in a slot when a normal cyclic prefix (CP) is used. When an extended CP is used, there are six symbols per slot. The subframes are numbered from 0 to 9.


A computer-implemented method, an accelerator hardware unit, and an article of manufacture for supporting virtual machine migration. The method includes: acquiring a task request from a task queue of an accelerator hardware unit; extracting identification information of a related virtual machine from the task request; determining whether the identification information of the related virtual machine matches the identification information of a virtual machine to be migrated, where the identification information of a virtual machine to be migrated is recorded in a virtual machine identification information table; and deleting the task request from the task queue if the extracted identification information matches the identification information of a virtual machine to be migrated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accelerator, particularly to an accelerator supporting virtual machine migration and its method for realizing the virtual machine migration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cloud computing is a new Internet-based computing manner, and provides on-demand computing for individual and enterprise users through heterogeneous and autonomic services on the Internet. Cloud computing is usually considered to include the following levels of services: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). The virtualization technology is an important and fundamental technology in "cloud computing" technology, and since it has the capabilities of on-demand configuration and dynamic migration, it becomes a key for realizing dynamic and scalable extension of cloud computing. In order to realize the high flexibility of the cloud computing to satisfy policies and requirements of services or management, dynamic migration and aggregation of virtual machines among physical machines need to be performed frequently, so as to achieve the objectives of reducing energy consumption, improving resource utilization and lowering management costs, etc.
However, virtual machine migration is a high I/O sensitive process. During the process where the virtual machine is migrated, since the services or applications thereon are still in operation, this will produce unexpected influence on the migration of the virtual machine. And, currently virtual machines usually perform service-related logic operations and IO operations using the accelerator on the physical machine, in which case, the problem becomes more severe and challenging, since only after the accelerator has processed the current task request in the task queue can the virtual machine be migrated; while the time for the accelerator to finish processing the request is uncertain, making the time for the virtual machine to be migrated become more uncertain. And, a long time of wait makes new requests of the user unable to be processed, which greatly reduces quality of services for the user.
Therefore, in the case that the physical machine provides an accelerator application and support, how to improve the efficiency and performance of the virtual machine migration is of vital importance and value to realizing the elasticity of the cloud system and ensuring the quality of the cloud service.

Accelerator and its method for realizing supporting virtual machine migration

International Business Machines Corporation


An electromagnetic shielding gasket is provided, which is capable of reducing the amount of projection from the inner surface of a first opposing wall having gasket holding holes and is less likely to come off through the gasket holding holes in the direction from the inner surface side toward the outer surface side of the first opposing wall. A communication device as an electronic device has a device body having a plural number of sub-casings and electromagnetic shielding gaskets 1. A first opposing wall 102a disposed on the sub-casing of the device body includes a plural number of gasket holding holes 104 and gasket guiding holes. The electromagnetic shielding gasket 1 has a gasket body 2 and a plural number of fitting parts 4 and come-off stopping parts 3. The fitting parts 4 are guided in the gasket guiding holes and then fitted in the gasket holding holes. The come-off stopping parts 3 are formed not to come off through the gasket holding holes 104 in the direction from the inner surface side to the outer surface side of the front wall 102a even if they deform under external forces.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an electromagnetic shielding gasket for electromagnetically shielding gaps in electronic devices and also relates to an electronic device provided with the electromagnetic shielding gaskets.
2. Background Art
Conventionally, electromagnetic shielding gaskets for electromagnetically shielding gaps in electronic devices have been proposed. For example, a gasket is known that includes: a fitting part for fitting into a gasket holding hole bored from outer surface to inner surface of the first opposing wall constituting part of the casing of an electronic device, a gasket main part contacting the outer surface, and a come-off stopping part contacting the inner surface. The come-off stopping part has a leg part and a foot part that is connected to the leg part and disposed to form an acute angle relative to the leg part. The fitting part may be fitted in the gasket holding hole in the following manner; when the come-off stopping part is forced from the outer surface side of the first opposing wall into the gasket holding hole, the foot part of the come-off stopping part deforms elastically to reduce its width, passes through the gasket holding hole, and comes out on the inner surface side of the first opposing wall. When the foot part comes out on the inner surface side, the elastically deformed foot part restores original shape, and its tip comes into contact with the inner surface. In this way, the electromagnetic shielding gasket may be held in the gasket holding hole. In this state, even if a force works to draw the foot part from the inner surface side toward the outer surface side, because the foot part is disposed to form an acute angle relative to the leg part, the foot part is less likely to deform elastically, so that the foot part is less likely to be drawn through the gasket holding hole from the inner surface side toward the outer surface (Refer to Patent Document 1).
However, as the come-off stopping part of the above gasket is made up of the leg part and the foot part that is disposed to form an acute angle relative to the leg part, the distance from the base to the tip of the foot part is great, so that the overall height of the come-off stopping part is great. As a result, the foot part, in the state of being placed on the inner wall surface side, ends up in projecting by a great dimension from the inner wall surface toward the inside of the casing. Therefore, in the case for example other objects such as components housed in the casing are present near the inner wall surface of the casing of an electronic device, the foot part, in the process of being passed through the gasket holding hole, ends up in contacting the other objects and is hard to be placed on the inner wall surface side. So there may be cases in which the work of causing the electromagnetic shielding gasket to be held in the gasket holding hole is difficult. Therefore, the electromagnetic shielding gasket with the above-described come-off stopping part passed from the outer wall surface side into the gasket holding hole is hard to adapt to the electronic devices in which other objects are housed near the inner wall surface of the casing.
Patent Document 1
JP-A-2004-200444

Electromagnetic shielding gasket and electronic device provided therewith


The invention relates to starch used in the baking-industry. Creams, (fruit-) fillings, toppings, glazes and other bakery products are often thickened by the inclusion of a certain amount of starch as binder, filling or thickening agent, for example providing gel-strength, viscosity, glaze, texture or creaminess to the cream or filling. Commonly used starches have insufficient stability to for example heat applied during baking. The invention provides a starch-containing filling or topping for a bakery product wherein said starch comprises a tuber or root starch containing less than about 5% amylose and use of such a filling or topping for improving a bakery product. Furthermore, the invention provides a heat-stable starch and bakery products comprising a heat-stable starch.

The invention relates to starch used in the baking-industry in starch-containing fillings or toppings, such as bakery cream, Swiss cream, fruit filling, savoury or sweet pie filling, almond paste filling, choux pastry filling, pizza topping, glazes on pastry or snacks and such.
Creams, fruit- or piefillings, toppings, glazes and other fillings or toppings for use in bakery products are often thickened by the inclusion of a certain amount of starch as binder, filling or thickening agent, for example providing gel-strength, viscosity, glaze, texture or creaminess to the cream or filling.
Many factors influence a decision to apply a particular ingredient or additive in a bakery product. These may include functional properties, cost or, perhaps most importantly, the regional preference for taste, mouth feel and texture. Moreover many different processing technologies are used in the baking industry also affecting the properties of the bakery product.
Starches are widely applied in fruit fillings, creams, other fillings, topics and glazes often in conjunction with hydrocolloids such as alginates, pectin, gelatin and others. In cold prepared fruit fillings, a starch should provide clarity, rapid viscosity built-up and a smooth shiny appearance. If a pulpy, more fruity appearance is required this can be achieved by applying coarser products. In cook up preparations the clarity and shininess are of importance as well and a partial pectin replacement is sometimes possible.

Cooperatieve Verkoop-en Productievereniging van Aardappelmeel Derivaten AVEBE B.A.


An electrostatic dust collector includes a dust charging section and a dust collecting section. The dust charging section includes: a discharge electrode which is made up of a plurality of paralleled discharge wires, and a counter-electrode which is made up of a metal honeycomb net. The dust collecting section includes: positive metal electrodes and negative metal electrodes disposed alternately, and insulating spacers disposed between each of positive metal electrode and negative metal electrode.

The electrostatic dust collector of prior art comprises a dust charging section and a dust collecting section, wherein said dust charging section comprises a plurality of wires applied with high voltage and a counter-electrode which is made up of paralleled wires or plates, and said dust collecting section comprises positive electrodes and negative electrodes disposed alternately. Ionizing air in dust charging section so that dust particles in the air are charged, then the charged dust particles are attracted onto corresponding electrodes by the electric field force in the dust collecting section; as a result, dust particles are separated from the air. By electrostatic dust collecting technology, the force for separating dust particles directly works on the dust particles themselves, therefore, compared with filter dust collectors or other types of dust collectors, electrostatic dust collectors are more widely applicable to different sizes of dust particles from the largest scores of microns to the smallest 0.001 microns with the lowest power consumption and the minimum air flow resistance.
However, the efficiencies of prior art electrostatic dust collectors are generally low, particular to tiny dust particles, due to the following reasons: the ionizing voltage applied in dust charging section can not be too high because of the limit by corona current, otherwise the ozone concentration is likely to exceed standards, thus the applied voltage in dust charging section is relatively low, and dust particles are not charged sufficiently; the electric field intensity between metal electrodes is limited in consideration of air breakdown or disruptive discharge, thus Coulomb forces by charged electrodes on tiny dust particles are weak, and dust particles are not easily attracted onto the corresponding electrodes with limited air flow strength.


In a gas combustion type striking machine, a combustion chamber is opened and closed by moving a movable sleeve in a vertical direction. A safety lever is attached to a trigger, and a switch is switched by being pressed by a switch lever arranged to be engageable with the safety lever. A hold member which is engageable with the movable sleeve is rotatably connected to the trigger. A shaft supporting a base end of the hold member positions between a shaft supporting the switch lever and a cylinder in a right-left direction which is perpendicular to the vertical direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas combustion type striking machine for driving a nail into concrete or lumber using a combustion pressure of fuel gas.
2. Related Art
In general, in a gas combustion type striking machine, a piston is provided vertically slidably within a cylinder disposed within a body. A cylindrical-shaped movable sleeve is vertically slidably fitted with an upper outside portion of the cylinder. The movable sleeve is energized downwardly by a spring in such a manner that it is normally situated at its lower position. When the machine is put into its nailing operation, the movable sleeve is moved upward against the spring and is thereby contacted with a cylinder head disposed upwardly of the cylinder, so as to form a closed combustion chamber. Combustion gas existing within the combustion chamber is ignited and combusted explosively to thereby actuate a driver together with the piston. Specifically, using the driver connected to the lower surface side of the piston, a nail supplied to a nose portion disposed downwardly of the cylinder is struck and driven out from the nose portion.
While a trigger for starting the nailing operation of the machine is being pulled, the movable sleeve must be held at its upper position to thereby form a closed combustion chamber. US2010/0176177 discloses a structure in which the movable sleeve is received by a cam made of synthetic resin through a lock-out bar (hold member). The cam is slidably provided in the body and is used to hold the movable sleeve in a combustion chamber sealed state. In order to prevent an activation of the machine in a case that the trigger is pulled first and then the machine is pressed to a workpiece, the cam embraces the lock-out bar to thereby prevent the movable sleeve against movement.
In the above structure, the cam fulfills an important function. However, there is a possibility the cam is deformed due to a heat generated owing to a combustion of mixed gas within the combustion chamber and/or a sliding surface of the cam is damaged by dust or sand generated in a working site.
Also, in a case that a leading end of the machine is struck strongly against the workpiece, the cam can be deformed or damaged.
In view of the above, JP-A-2008-260094 discloses a mechanism in which the lock-out bar is connected to the trigger without using a synthetic resin cam. According to this technology, it is not necessary to pay attention to an influence of heat generated due to the combustion of gas, but a space of the machine corresponding to the cam can be saved to thereby be able to reduce a whole height of the machine.
However, in the structure in which the lock-out bar is connected to the trigger, since a switch mechanism cannot be located in a vicinity of an upper portion of the trigger because the lock-out bar provides an obstacle. Thus, a dead space is generated in the upper portion of the trigger, whereby the space cannot be used effectively.


A method to select ions based on their electrical mobility is described. Ions are separated in space, and a continuous flow of mobility filtered ions is produced at the outlet of the device, as in Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMAs). Yet, no high fluid velocity field is required, avoiding limitations associated in DMAs to flow unsteadiness. Instead, separation relies on the use of time-dependent electric fields. Separation is based on synchronizing the period of the field with the flight time of an ion from an inlet to an outlet for a particular electrical mobility.

Selection and analysis of ions and charged aerosols by means of their physical properties is very useful for many applications including chemical analysis, environmental analysis, for the production of small particles of controlled size, for nano-technological applications and related scientific studies, etc. The present invention can be used with charged particles suspended in a gas, where the term charged particles should by understood in its broadest sense as particles of any size whose net electrical charge is different from zero. However, for simplicity, charged particles and ions will all be referred to as ions.
Any apparatus used to select, analyze or measure is characterized by its sensitivity and its resolution. Analyzers are used to measure key properties of the substances under study. The sensitivity refers to the minimum amount of substance that the apparatus is able to sense or work with, while the resolution refers to the smallest difference in such key properties that the apparatus can distinguish. A widely used definition of the Resolution is based on the Full With at Half Maximum algorithm (FWHM). Applying this definition to a Gaussian peak yields
      R    gauss    =      μ          σ      ·      2      ·                                    2            ·            ln                                                                        2                    where μ and σ are, respectively, the mean and the standard deviation.
Among the most commonly used ion analyzers, Mass Spectrometers, also termed MS, produce information very relevant to the chemical structure and composition of ions with very high resolution and very high sensitivity. There are different types of mass spectrometers, but they all have in common that the ions are separated according to mass/charge due to the mass/charge dependence of their motion when subjected to specific electric and magnetic fields in vacuum. The present invention can be coupled to an MS trough a simplified version of an API system. The API interface (Atmospheric Pressure Interface) requires some more detail that will later provide a background for the present invention. The MS inlet is most often a small orifice in a plate or the bore of a capillary, through which gas and ions are sampled at sonic speed into the vacuum system of the MS. To prevent neutral vapors from entering the MS, a counterflow dry gas is sometimes interposed between the electrospray and the atmospheric inlet of the MS. Ions are pushed forward by the electric field while neutral species and droplets are dragged away by the counterflow. See Refs [1] [2], and U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,056.
Complex samples produce very complex spectra difficult to evaluate. Big proteins are also difficult to analyze by simple MS techniques. Either because the high amount of different compounds produce overlapped peaks in the mass spectrum or because there are many isomers and many charged states for each mass, the spectrum produced by simple MS when the amount of different substances is very complicated tends to be difficult to interpret if not impossible. Tandem analysis techniques are a very powerful tool which allows unfolding a complex spectrum over more than one variable.
Ions can also be separated according to their electric drift velocity in a bath gas. More specifically, ions can be selected or characterized by their electrical Mobility Z, defined as the ratio of electric velocity to electric field. Note that, at atmospheric pressure, the effect of magnetic force is usually negligible because ionic speed is limited and the effect of electric fields is substantially stronger than the effect of state of the art magnetic fields. Using the definition of mobility, the electric velocity of an ion is: VE=Z·Ē  (1)where VE stands for the electric velocity of the ions induced by the electric field, and E stands for the electric field. And the total velocity of the ion is the sum of the electric velocity plus the fluid velocity:
                                                        ⅆ                              X                →                                                    ⅆ              t                                -                                    V              →                        E                    +                                    V              →                        f                          =                              Z            ·                          E              →                                +                                    V              →                        f                                              (        2        )            where Vf stands for the fluid velocity, X stands for the position of the ion, and t is the time.
The mass of an ion is a very specific and useful information, since it is directly related to its composition. The mobility is not related to the structure of the ion so directly, but it still gives some information on its structure. Basic kinetic theory states that mobility is inversely proportional to the collision cross section and the square root of the reduced mass of the ion and the gas molecules. Heavier molecules usually have lower mobility. Isomers having identical masses can still be differentiated according to their mobility when they have different cross sections. Various methods have been used to separate ions according to their electrical mobility.
IMS: Ion Mobility Spectrometry consist of a pulsed gate, which produces packets of ions, followed by a drift tube, in which an axial steady electric field parallel to the drift tube pushes the ions along the axis of the drift tube towards a detector at the end of the drift tube. The gas is usually at rest and the fluid velocity is usually negligible compared to the electric velocity. When the gate produces a packet of ions at time t=t0, the different ions enter simultaneously in the drift tube. Once in the drift tube, each different type of ion drifts at a different electric velocity. Therefore, the original packet of ions is separated into different packet of ions according to their mobility. Ions reach the sensor at time
                    t        =                              t            0                    +                                    l                              Z                ·                E                                      .                                                          More mobile ions travel faster and reach the sensor before less mobile ions which travel slower. After each pulse of the gate, the IMS produces a full spectrum of the sample. As ions travel along the drift tube, the different packets of ions of the same mobility are also broadened by Brownian diffusion which limits the resolution achievable by IMS techniques. The resolution achieved in a drift tube depends on the length of the drift tube, but typical resolutions can be around 100. Resolution in an IMS spectrum is defined as RIMS=τ/δτ, where 'τ' is the time required to travel along the drift tube and 'dτ' is the duration of the signal produced by the packet of ions. The time τ is equal to τ=l/VE, where l is the length of the drift tube, while δτ=σ/VE where σ is the size of the broadened packet of ions. On the other hand, σ is given by: σ=√{square root over (2·D·τ)}, where D is the diffusion coefficient of the ion in the gas. Finally, using Einstein equation, which states that
      D    =          Z      ·                                    k            B                    ·          T                e              ,where kB is the Boltzmann constant and T is the temperature of the gas, and e is the charge of the ion, a first approximation to the IMS resolution is:
                              R          IMS                =                                            l              ·              E              ·              e                                      2              ·                              k                B                            ·              T                                                          (        3        )
Numerous methods have been used to increase the resolution and the duty cycle of IMS instruments. Of particular relevance to the present invention have been various attempts to do so by synchronization of various gates or various electric fields applied in various regions separated by gates or electrodes subject to sequences of voltages:
Resolution can be increased by increasing the applied high voltage l·E But, too high voltages can be difficult to produce, they are difficult to handle and, in any case, too high voltages can be dangerous. A solution to this problem is using a sequence of drift tubes in which they are switched on and off sequentially. This type of configuration is useful to study a narrow range of mobilities. Only the region containing the ions is switched on. In this way, ions under study are always subjected to a strong electric field, but the total voltage required remains limited. By doing this, very high resolutions can be achieved. The problem of this configuration is that only a very narrow range of mobility can be studied at a time. Only those ions hose drift time is synchronized with the on/off switching sequence can pass the filter. For some applications requiring a narrow band mobility filter this is not a problem. In fact, IMS devices have also been used as narrow band mobility filters by including a pulsed gate at the end of the drift tube. Only those ions hose drift time is synchronized with the offset time between the inlet and outlet gates can pass the IMS. Sequences of drift tubes and pulsed gates have also been used. However, these configurations produce a very low duty cycle, very poor transmission, and dilution of the ions when diffusion of the packet of ions is not compensated for.
The length of the IMS is also limited by the Brownian broadening of the ion packets in the transversal direction because ions are dispersed transversally, diluted, and eventually, they can be lost in the inner walls of the drift tube. Transversal diffusion can be counterbalanced by means of ion funnels. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,628. Various drift tubes can be coupled by synchronizing their gates producing a sequence of IMS to increase resolution of the mobility-filtered packets of ions. In order to counteract the dilution of the packets due to long drift times in long sequences, ion funnels can be also intercalated between the drift tube stages. This configuration also filters ions by synchronization between the residence time of an ion in the analyzer and the gates aperture offset time or the drifts tube switching on and off period. An interesting configuration of a sequence of gates, drift tubes, and ion funnels, was presented by D. Clemmer and colleagues, and termed High-Resolution Ion Cyclotron Mobility. See Ref [3]. In this configuration, ions are driven through a closed loop sequence of four drift tubes and four ion funnels. As the total electric potential difference has to be zero along a closed loop, they are forced to switch two of the drift tubes with an opposite field that pushes the ions backwards. This problem is easily overcome by using only two of the four drift tubes at a time and by changing the polarity of the system at a given frequency when the packs of selected ions are within the ions funnels. No gates are required in the loop because the two opposing drift tubes act themselves as gates. When the polarity changes in a drift tube, lagging ions, that could not reach the ion funnel in time, are chopped from the pack of ions. While overspeeding ions are stopped when they try to leave the ion funnel too early before the subsequent drift tube changes its polarity to push the ions favorably upwards.
Clemmer et al. explain that they accomplish filtration by changing the drift field at a frequency that is resonant with the ion's drift time through each region. Note that the selected ions are only affected by the favorable part of the cycle of the varying electric field that pushes the ions upwards in each stage of the cyclotron, while other ions are stopped by the unfavorable electric field. Selected ions are thus always subjected to a steady electric field as if they where traveling through a multistage drift tube with steady electric fields and far more than four drift tubes, ion funnels and gates. As a result, the output of filtered ions is pulsed as if a very long sequence of IMS was used to filter by means of gate synchronization.
IMS have been coupled with mass spectrometers, gas chromatography (GC), and liquid chromatography (LC). The IMS-MS technique produces tandem mass and mobility data which, as mentioned earlier, is useful for the analysis of complex samples and big molecules. Nevertheless, coupling an IMS with most commercial MS instruments is nontrivial because the IMS output is pulsed and generally takes place at low pressure, while most MS systems used in combination to LC sample steady (rather than pulsed) atmospheric pressure gases.
Two other devices have been used to separate ions carried in a gas, both producing steady beams of selected ions. These instruments are therefore more readily coupled with atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometers than drift time IMS. DMA: The first is the Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMA). In a DMA, a steady electric field and a steady laminar fluid velocity field are used. Different configurations have been proposed; see PCT/US2004/005133 U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,596,136 and 5,606,112 and Ref [4]. In the most common configuration, the flow moves in a channel where a perpendicular electric field is produced between two walls of the DMA channel. The ions are introduced continuously in the DMA through an inlet slit. The ions exhibit oblique trajectories as their velocity is the sum of the fluid velocity in one direction and the electric velocity in a different direction. According to their mobility, different ions have different trajectories. Only those ions within the selected narrow range of mobilities reach the DMA exit slit. This happens for a given fluid to electric velocity ratio which depends on the exact geometry of the DMA. A main difference between DMA and IMS is that the DMA produces spatial separation rather than time separation. The DMA is a narrow band filter, rather than a spectrometer. Once the fluid velocity is fixed, the filtered mobility can be selected by tuning the high voltage responsible for the electric field. Higher mobility ions require weaker electric fields while low mobility ions require stronger electric fields. Although the DMA is a narrow band filter, it is scannable, and therefore it can produce spectra. There are many types of DMA, cylindrical DMA have been widely used for the analysis of aerosols. However, it is difficult to access their inlet and outlet slits. For this reason it is difficult to couple cylindrical DMA with MS. Planar DMAs have more accessible inlet and outlet slits and have been coupled to several MS to produce two dimensional Mobility-Mass data. The main advantage of DMA-MS versus IMS-MS technique is that, once tuned at the mobility of interest, the DMA produces a steady flow of ions with a 100% duty cycle. Transmission and sensitivity is therefore much higher and synchronization with a MS is much simpler. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,869,831 and 5,936,242, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/786/688 (PCT/EP2008/053762). The resolution achievable by a DMA is also limited by Brownian diffusion, but there are other factors affecting DMA resolution. Some details on the resolution of the DMA are required to provide the background of the present invention.
DMA resolution: If one assumes that the flow is perfectly laminar, the resolution in a DMA is limited by the Brownian diffusion and by the finite flow of ions. The limit given by Brownian diffusion can be broadly estimated as the characteristic length of the DMA channel 'L' divided by the diffusion broadening length given by σr=√{square root over (2·D·τ)}, where D is the diffusion coefficient of the ions in the gas, and τ is the time spent by the ions in the DMA channel. On the other hand, at a given geometry and a given fluid velocity, the time spent by the ions in the DMA channel can also be broadly estimated as τ=L/Vf. Joining the expressions for σ and τ, and the definition of the Reynolds number, yields a first rough expression for the resolution limit due to diffusion:
                              R          D                =                                                            L                ·                                  V                  f                                                            2                ·                D                                              =                                                                      R                  e                                ·                v                                            2                ·                D                                                                        (        4        )            where v is the kinematic viscosity of the drift gas. Equation 4 implies that the resolution increases with the Reynolds of the gas velocity field. The main problem arising in DMA is that, increasing the Reynolds to reduce diffusion effects, the flow of gas becomes unstable and resolution is spoiled by turbulence. DMA achieves satisfactory resolutions at low Reynolds that guarantee laminar flows when the diffusion coefficient D is low. Although it is difficult to achieve laminar flows at high Reynolds, a careful design can overcome this type of limitations. For instance, Martinez Lozano et al. have measured record resolutions above 100 [1/FWHM] for small ions of Tetra Heptil Ammonium Bromide (THABr+) on a cylindrical DMA, and J. Rus and J. Fernandez de la Mora have made planar DMA coupled to several MS with which they have measured record resolutions up to 80 for the same THABr+ ion.
These relatively high resolving powers are not easy to match, as the resolution of DMAs is strongly limited by turbulence, compressibility effects limiting the maximum velocity achievable, and sound pressure waves traveling upstream the DMA channel. Another problem regarding the DMA operation is that the pump required to produce the fast fluid flow in the DMA channel limits its operating temperature range and also hinders miniaturization. The DMA-MS technique also has the problem that it is difficult to deactivate the DMA and work in MS-only mode because there is an important offset between inlet and outlet slits.
FAIMS: Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) is an alternative technique that, as the DMA, also separates ions geometrically rather than in time and, therefore, it also produces a continuous flow of selected ions with a 100% duty cycle. Moreover, FAIMS does not require a strong fluid velocity field, FAIMS has been successfully miniaturized, it has been successfully coupled to LC, GC and MS and, when coupled to an MS inlet, it is easy to deactivate and work in MS-only mode. FAIMS separates ions steadily in space according to weak nonlinearities associated to the slight dependence of their mobility on the strength of the electric field. In practice, mean ion trajectories are composed by the steady influence of a long lasting weak electric field (usually referred to as steady compensation voltage) and the small displacements due to many short opposed pulses of intense electric fields for which the ion mobility differs from that produced by the weak electric field. FAIMS therefore does not provide clearly interpretable structural information, as it separates not according to mobility, but according to slight nonlinearities in the mobility arising at high fields. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,424 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,806,466.
The main limitations of FAIMS are the need for a complex high voltage and high frequency (around 200 KHz) power supply, and, especially, its relatively low resolution compared to what can be achieved by drift time IMS or a DMA. Its main advantage is that, like the DMA, it can be coupled with many mass spectrometers having an atmospheric pressure interface.
In conclusion, there are presently no known solution to the related problem of achieving (i) a continuous, non-pulsed, narrow band ion mobility filter separating according to electrical mobility rather than according the non linear behavior of the mobility; (ii) operating at low flow Reynolds number (Re<5000) such that laminar and stable fluid movement is assured; (iii) achieving resolution higher than 40; (iv) being easy to couple to other analyzer equipments such as mass spectrometers (MS); (v) being easy to sidestep when coupled with other analyzer equipments such as MS in order to permit switching from Mobility-Mass measuring mode to simple Mass measuring mode.

Method and apparatus to produce steady beams of mobility selected ions via time-dependent electric fields

Abstract: Unlike FAIMS, the new invention separates ions according to their absolute mobility within one or a few characteristic times for field variation, rather than via many tiny separation steps over many periods of field variation producing separation according to non-linearities in the mobility. Unlike conventional pulsating ion mobility spectrometry, a steady flow of ions is produced.


Features are disclosed for processing user queries into a form that can produce relevant results. Spoken user queries can be transcribed into textual queries. Textual queries can be processed using a statistical model to identify entities within the queries. Running searches using the entities rather than the original search query can produce relevant results even when no result would have been obtained by running the original search query. In some embodiments, attributes may be identified and used during the search to narrow the results and potentially produce results that are more relevant.

Speech processing systems include various modules and components for receiving spoken input from a user and determining what the user meant. In some implementations, a speech processing system includes an automatic speech recognition ("ASR") module that receives audio input of a user utterance and generates one or more likely transcriptions (e.g., recognition results generated by the ASR module) of the utterance. ASR modules typically use an acoustic model and a language model. The acoustic model is used to generate hypotheses regarding which words or subword units (e.g., phonemes) correspond to an utterance based on the acoustic features of the utterance. The language model is used to determine which of the hypotheses generated using the acoustic model is the most likely transcription of the utterance based on lexical features of the language in which the utterance is spoken.
Speech processing systems can use the transcriptions generated by the ASR module in various ways. For example, some speech processing systems simply fill in a form field or otherwise save the transcription of the user utterance. As another example, some speech processing systems may include modules or components that accept a transcription of a user utterance and determine the meaning of the utterance in a way that can be acted upon, such as by a computer application. One example of such a module is a natural language understanding ("NLU") model. To facilitate the interpretation of the utterance, the NLU module can classify elements of textual input in various pre-defined categories using a process known as named entity recognition. Examples of categories or types of named entities include the names of persons, organizations, locations, expressions of times, quantities, monetary values, and the like.

Selective generalization of search queries


This invention provides, among other things, proteins, polypeptides, and fragments thereof, derived from the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis B. Also provided are nucleic acids encoding for such proteins, polypeptides, and/or fragments, as well as nucleic acids complementary thereto (e.g., antisense nucleic acids). Additionally, this invention provides antibodies which bind to the proteins, polypeptides, and/or fragments. This invention further provides expression vectors useful for making the proteins, polypeptides, and/or fragments, as well as host cells transformed with such vectors. This invention also provides compositions of the proteins, polypeptides, fragments, and/or nucleic acids, for use as vaccines, diagnostic reagents, immunogenic compositions, and the like. Methods of making the compositions and methods of treatment with the compositions are also provided. This invention also provides methods of detecting the proteins, polypeptides, fragments, and/or nucleic acids.

N. meningitidis is a non-motile, Gram-negative diplococcus that is pathogenic in humans.
Based on the organism's capsular polysaccharide, 12 serogroups of N. meningitidis have been identified. Group A is the pathogen most often implicated in epidemic disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Serogroups B and C are responsible for the vast majority of cases in the United States and in most developed countries. Serogroups W135 and Y are responsible for the rest of the cases in the United States and developed countries.
The meningococcal vaccine currently in use is a tetravalent polysaccharide vaccine composed of serogroups A, C, Y and W135. Meningococcus B remains a problem, however. The polysaccharide approach cannot be used because the menB capsular polysaccharide is a polymer of □(2-8)-linked N-acetyl neuraminic acid that is also present in mammalian tissue. One approach to a menB vaccine uses mixtures of outer membrane proteins (OMPs). To overcome the antigenic variability, multivalent vaccines containing up to nine different porins have been constructed [e.g., Poolman J T (1992) Development of a meningococcal vaccine. Infect. Agents Dis. 4:13-28]. Additional proteins to be used in outer membrane vaccines have been the opa and opc proteins, but none of these approaches have been able to overcome the antigenic variability [e.g., Ala'Aldeen & Borriello (1996)]. The meningococcal transferrin-binding proteins 1 and 2 are both surface exposed and generate bactericidal antibodies capable of killing homologous and heterologous strains. [Vaccine 14(1):49-53].