A method is provided of preparing a compound of formula II: where: R1 and R2 are independently selected from —CH2OR′, —CHO, —COOR′ and —H, provided that R1 and R2 are not both —H; and R′ is selected from —H and C1-6 hydrocarbyl groups, from a compound of formula I: the compounds of formulas I and II being optionally in the form of a salt. The method comprises dehydrating the compound of formula I at: a pH in the range of from 0 to 6 or 8 to 11.5; and a temperature in the range of from 10 to 80° C. The method is particularly useful for synthesizing substituted furans from compounds derived from sugars.

Substituted furans are a class of compounds of significant interest, since they can be derived from renewable resources such as sugars and are useful in a wide range of applications. Substituted furans are useful in the preparation of polymers. 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is particularly useful, as it represents a renewable monomer which can be used in polymers instead of terephthalic acid. Moreover, polymers such as polyethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate (PEF) which contain FDCA can exhibit improved properties as compared to the equivalent terephthalate-containing polymer.
However, producing substituted furans such as FDCA from renewable sources has been challenging. In particular, many of the steps involved in converting sugars to substituted furans exhibit low selectivity and therefore low yield. Moreover, some methods require the use of fructose as a starting material, rather than more readily obtainable sugars such as glucose. Though some methods use glucose, it is often processed into fructose, which can be inefficient.
Recently, there have been a number of advances in the production of substituted furans. For example, a method is disclosed in US 2017/050944 in which gluconic acid derivatives are chemically dehydrated in the presence of a dehydration catalyst to give FDCA. A further method is disclosed in US 2018/057897 in which 5-hydroxymethyl furoic acid, a substituted furan, is prepared from 2-keto-3-deoxy-gluconate (KDG).
Though the recent developments are promising, the relatively high temperatures and high acid concentration required lead to relatively modest yields with significant quantities of byproduct. Such methods can furthermore only deliver higher yields when the dehydration is performed in a solvent system which is not fully aqueous, e.g. in an acetic acid- or ethanol-based system, which increases the economic cost of the process. Where predominantly aqueous systems have been used, a low yield is obtained.
Accordingly, there is a need for further methods for preparing substituted furans which preferably address one or more of the drawbacks associated with existing preparation methods.


A material sorter apparatus includes a drum mounted for rotation and a coaxial trommel mounted within the drum. Raw material is applied to the trommel. Rotational movement of the drum imparts expulsion of large material in the raw material from the trommel out of the device. The rotational movement of the drum imparts filtration of the raw material through the trommel into the drum as fine material. The drum is fluid impervious and is formed with an inwardly-directed lip. The trommel and drum are angled with respect to a horizontal. A wash is directed into the drum to wash the raw and fine material in the trommel and drum. The drum is mounted for pivotal movement to a stand.

Historically, prospecting for precious metals has been a laborious pursuit for income. In recent times, prospecting has evolved into a venture typically undertaken by two different sorts: industrial operators and enthusiastic hobbyists. The mining industry, and the gold-mining industry in particular, has developed high technology-driven methods of location and extraction to leverage economies of scale and massive budgets. Hard-rock mining of lode deposits produces a large amount of the world's commercial gold and occurs in open-pit or underground mines using explosives to release rock embedded with gold. The rocks are crushed into a slurry, and a chemical leaching and electrowinning process purifies the gold.
Hobbyists, on the other hand, do not have the financial resources to take on large-sized installation prospecting work, and so typically will instead rove from site to site exploring for precious metals. Due largely to financial and portability considerations, hobbyists use tools and methods very similar to those first used in prospecting, and the manual labor associated with the effort has diminished little. Because most of the tools prospectors use have not changed greatly, the process of searching, classifying, and panning for precious metals is still a difficult task involving a great deal of digging, heavy lifting, stooping and bending over, and shaking dirt. Additionally, modern prospecting tools still require that the prospector first classify "raw" material and then filter gravel and debris from the fine materials before panning the fine material.
Modern prospectors often use metal detectors to help locate gold deposits. Once a site has been located, the prospector will prepare the site with equipment such as a shovel, a classification screen, and a gold pan. The prospector begins by digging up raw material such as dirt and gravel from the site, placing it on top of the classification screen, and shaking the screen, which filters the smaller rocks from the larger rocks. Three to four shovel-fulls of dirt can be classified at once, depending on the size of the classification screen. The larger rocks are discarded, and the remaining loose material and gravel can be panned. Material is placed into a pan. The prospector fills the pan with water or dips it into a river, and shakes, vibrates, or gyrates the pan to slosh water about inside the pan. At most pressures and temperatures, water is typically 1 gram per per cubic centimeter in density, rocks and gravel vary between 2 to 3 grams per cubic centimeter, and gold is 19.3 grams per cubic centimeter, and so this process allows the denser gold to settle to the bottom of the pan and the lighter materials to move to the top where they can be skimmed off and removed. Repeated shaking and skimming eventually leaves the dense materials at the bottom. If gold was in the pan initially, the gold will have settled near the bottom of the pan after this process has been repeated many times.
While panning is an effective means of filtering dense material from less dense, it can only be used to process a limited amount of fine material at once. Some prospectors use a sluice box to process a large amount of raw material. With a sluice box, a prospector can dump one shovelful of raw material after another into the upstream end of the sluice box, and riffles, or baffles along the bottom of the sluice box, trap gold as the water and raw material flow by. However, the classification step is still necessary when using a sluice box, as larger rocks will not be carried through the sluice box, but will instead come to rest on top of it, creating turbulence and vortices that can lessen the effectiveness of the sluice box at trapping fine gold. These processes are time-consuming because each requires several steps to reduce the raw material to pannable fine material, and thus little volume of raw material can be processed quickly.


A syringe and needle assembly having a means to align the beveled tip of the needle with the volumetric scale on the syringe is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, a visible mark is placed longitudinally on the hub of the needle on the same side and in coaxial alignment with the beveled tip of the needle. This allows for the needle to be installed on the syringe and the beveled tip quickly aligned with the volumetric scale printed on the syringe body without the need for removing the needle safety cap prior to or during installation.

Common medical syringes are well known and have been used for many years both to inject fluids into a body and to withdraw fluids from a body. A typical syringe comprises a cylindrical syringe body having a needle receiving end and a plunger slidably disposed within the body to control the discharge or withdrawal of fluid therefrom. In order to accurately monitor the withdrawal and discharge of fluid from the syringe body, a volumetric scale is imprinted on one side of the syringe body. The needle receiving end is adapted to mate with a hypodermic needle assembly, the needle assembly typically comprising a hub adapted to engage the syringe needle receiving end, and a hypodermic needle having a beveled tip.
The syringe comes in a sterile holder and the needle assembly is provided for separately, and comes with a color-coded cap over the needle and a clear cap over the hub. These caps keep the needle sterile, with the color-coded needle cup further providing a means to determine the gauge size of the needle (e.g. pink=20 gauge, blue=22 gauge, and white=16 gauge). Thus, the assembly procedure is to remove the syringe from its holder, choose the proper gauge needle, and pull the clear cap off of the hub, and then connect the hub to the syringe. It is preferred that the colored-cap remain on the needle during assembly in order to prevent harmful contact and to insure the needle remains sterile.
When inserting the needle into a vein, it is inserted with the bevel side up. Often times when anesthetizing an animal or a patient, the syringe has more drug than necessary, so you only want to give to effect, that is, until the animal is sleeping. This dosage varies depending on, among other things, the size of the animal and the strength of the drug. Thus, you must carefully monitor how much drug is administered, since overdose is dangerous. Generally, the drug is given in 0.1 cc increments. In order to monitor this rate, it is preferred that the volumetric scale imprinted on the syringe is facing up. Similarly, when taking blood from a patient, only a certain amount is required, e.g. for blood tests about 1.0 cc, so again, it is preferred to have the volumetric scale facing up.
Normally, the needle is inserted into the body of the animal/patient with the bevel side up. However, in order to allow the volumetric scale on the syringe body to face up, it must be aligned with the bevel on the needle. Presently, this task is both difficult and time consuming because the bevel on the needle cannot be seen through the colored cap. In order to prealign the bevel of the needle with the imprinted scale on the syringe body, the colored cap may have to be removed and replaced repeatedly during adjustment, exposing it to a less sterile environment and increasing the likelihood of potentially hazardous contact with the doctor, nurse, or caregiver. Moreover, in emergency situations, the syringe and needle assembly must be connected as quickly as possible. Thus, there is a need to be able to align the beveled tip of the needle with the imprinted scale on the syringe body.
Heretofore, no method or means has been provided to quickly and easily align the beveled tip of the needle with the volumetric scale on the syringe body, Thus, the tedious and potentially dangerous process of repeatedly removing the color coded cap to check alignment, replacing the cap and adjusting the needle is required.


A burn-in board connection device includes a first connection unit to hold a burn-in board and move in a first direction perpendicular to the burn-in board that is inserted in a chamber of a burn-in test device, a second connection unit to move in a second direction parallel to the burn-in board to attach/detach the burn-in board that is held by the first connection unit to/from a connector disposed in the chamber. A burn-in board connection method includes coupling a finger to the burn-in board by moving the finger in a first direction, attaching the burn-in board to a connector by moving the finger in a second direction, and driving the finger by converting a rotation of a servo motor into a linear movement of the finger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor test device, and more particularly, to a burn-in board connection device, a burn-in test device including a burn-in board connection device, and a burn-in board connection method.
2. Description of the Related Art
After a semiconductor device passes a wafer-level test, it is cut from the wafer, packaged, and then subjected to a monitoring burn-in test (MBT) which is performed by a burn-in test device. In the MBT process, packaged devices are inserted in sockets on a burn-in board, the burn-in board is loaded on a rack that can receive multiple burn-in boards, and the rack is placed in a chamber of the burn-in test device for a predetermined time, during which electric signals and heat are applied to the packaged devices to test the reliability of the packaged devices under harsh conditions.
In the MBT process, a test signal line is connected between the packaged device mounted on the burn-in board and the burn-in test device to connect a main board disposed in the main body of the burn-in test device to the burn-in board. In addition, when the burn-in board is withdrawn from the burn-in test device after test is completed, the electric contact between the main board and the burn-in board must be separated.
The burn-in board is frequently attached/detached to/from a connector on the main board. During the attaching/detaching processes, problems such as defective contacts, abrasion due to friction, signal distortion due to an increase in contact resistance, and damage to connecting portions may occur between the connector of the main board and the burn-in board, and thus, errors increase in the reliability test process.

Burn-in board connection device and method


A functional chitosan derivative which comprises a chitin/chitosan, which is a natural polysaccharide, and incorporated therein at least one of a carbohydrate, a photo-reactive functional group, an amphipathic group, e.g. a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, and a glycosaminoglycan and which, due to the incorporation, has solubility in a neutral medium, self-crosslinking ability, the property of highly containing water or healing wounds, and antithrombotic properties. Namely, the derivative has various properties required of health care materials such as medical products and cosmetics.

The application of natural materials has been widely researched in the medical and cosmetic fields for their biocompatibility such as their histocompatibilities and biodegradability. In particular, various uses can be conceived by solidification or formation of insoluble hydrogels by means of chelating with salts or crosslinking reactions.
For example, in recent years, research relating to the function of carbohydrate chains has become more active, making it clear that they play a considerable role in cell adhesion and viral infection. The carbohydrates in mammals exist mostly as composites such as glycoproteins and glycolipids, with some of these carbohydrate chains contributing to specific functional expressions. For this reason, these types of substances containing carbohydrate chain are often biologically active, but in practice, present problems in terms of their handling and cost.
On the other hand, in plants and marine organisms, carbohydrate chains exist as macromolecular substances for the skeletal structures of the organisms. Cellulose, pectin, gum arabic, polygalactomannan, arginic acid and the like are contained in plants and algae, and are macromolecular substances with high viscosity capable of being cheaply mass-collected. Additionally, chitin/chitosans are widely distributed in the exoskeletons of insects and the shells of crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters, glucosamin which is the constituent carbohydrate thereof having the function of an elicitor for protecting against infection and decomposition.
Since these carbohydrates exist as polysaccharides having extremely high molecular weights and also have high viscosity, their application to medicine such as in wound dressings, artificial skin, implants used in oral surgery or plastic surgery, hemostatics and adhesives, or to cosmetics such as humectants has been considered, but their range of application is limited due to the difficulty of chemically modifying them with regard to solubility in solvents and the like in comparison to proteinous ingredients.
Chitin/chitosans, which are unique even among polysaccharides, contain amino groups as constituent carbohydrate units, so that their use in conjunction with chemical crosslinking agents such as isocyanates, aldehydes and carbodiimides in wound dressings, anti-adhesion materials and decomposing absorbents has been studied.
However, chitins are not soluble in water due to their crystallinity, which is based on hydrogen bonds, and must be decomposed to low-molecular weight substances by means of hydrolysis or partially deacetylated in order to prepare them to be suitable for application to a wide range of industrial fields including medicine. Additionally, chitosans with increased carbohydrate units with amino groups exposed by active deacetylation for the purposes of improving the physical properties of chitins are soluble in acidic solvents including dilute organic acids, but are still extremely thick, making them difficult to handle in wound dressings and biological adhesion which are required to be easily worked on the scene of medical treatment. Additionally, since the thick chitosan solution does not retain a physiological pH, it is difficult to freely add physiologically active reagents used for therapeutic purposes, and there is the problem of toxicity when used with free chemical crosslinking agents, thus limiting the possibilities of use in the field of health care including medicine.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An image capturing apparatus 100 first executes JPEG encoding on RAW data. On the basis of the compression ratio of JPEG image data obtained, the image capturing apparatus 100 selects a Huffman table to encode the RAW data. With the higher compression ratio of the JPEG data obtained, the image capturing apparatus 100 assumes that the RAW data is image data with a larger number of low frequency components. The image capturing apparatus 100 thus selects a Huffman table that assigns a particularly short code to a predictive differential value with a smaller absolute value. In contrast, with the lower compression ratio of the JPEG image data obtained, the image capturing apparatus 100 selects a Huffman table that assigns a code of a relatively equal length to the predictive differential value regardless of its absolute value.

Image data acquired via an image sensing device in an image processing apparatus such as a digital camera is subjected to A/D conversion. In many cases, the resulting digital data is then subjected to necessary image processing, and lossy compression such as JPEG encoding is executed on the processed data. The compressed data is stored in a storage medium as JPEG image data. This enables a large number of image data to be efficiently stored in a storage medium having a limited storage capacity.
To focus on image quality, all information obtained via an image sensing device (hereinafter also referred to as "CCD-RAW data") is subjected to lossless compression instead of image processing inside an image processing apparatus such as a digital camera before being stored in a storage medium. The stored image data (hereinafter referred to as "compressed RAW data") is then subjected to image processing using computer software or the like provided by a digital camera manufacturer or the like. Users can then obtain high-quality images. In this case, each compressed RAW data is stored simultaneously with the corresponding JPEG image data. The user can thus check stored images on the fly, save them as they are, or print them out.
To generate compressed RAW data or JPEG image data from CCD-RAW data, a digital camera encodes the CCD-RAW data on the basis of various encode parameters. The encode parameters indicate, for example, the type of a Huffman table for Huffman encoding in the digital camera and the type of a quantization table for quantization. The compression ratio of compressed RAW data or JPEG image data varies depending on the types of encode parameters used. The Huffman table indicates what code is to be assigned to what value.
Many conventional digital cameras efficiently store images in a storage medium by selectively applying a preferred one of plural encode parameters so as to maximize the compression ratio. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-326939 proposes a technique for experimentally executing encoding with each of the plural encode parameters held in a storage unit and adopting an encode parameter resulting in the maximum compression ratio.
However, the conventional technique in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-326939 must experimentally execute encoding with all of the plural encode parameters held in the storage unit, thus increasing the time required to process each image data. This disadvantageously degrades the response of the apparatus and reduces the continuous shooting speed and continuous shooting frame count.
The present invention is made in view of these circumstances and is characterized by providing a technique for quickly selecting an encode parameter for an image encoding apparatus which achieves high compression efficiency.

Image encoding apparatus and image encoding method


A temperature control system is described for producing and maintaining temperatures in a pre-defined space within a pre-defined temperature range. A working fluid comprising an aqueous solution of 1-3 propanediol is circulated through a heat transfer system in thermal communication with both the working fluid and the pre-defined space to produce and maintain the temperature in the pre-defined space that is within the pre-defined temperature range.

The present invention relates to temperature control systems and, more particularly, to a multi-stage commercial refrigeration system.
Glycol-based fluids are commonly employed as coolant fluids. The formulations used are typically based on alkylene glycols such as ethylene and propylene glycol. However, problems exist with the use of these compounds as coolant fluids in certain applications. One use of such compounds is in commercial refrigeration systems. At temperatures approaching xe2x88x9240xc2x0 F., the viscosity of propylene glycol compounds increases to the point where their use becomes impractical in commercial refrigeration systems charged with maintaining very low temperatures in product zones of the refrigeration units. This causes high pressure drop, low mechanical efficiency and high power consumption in the refrigeration system. In addition, ethylene glycol compounds are toxic. This causes concerns with regard to piping system integrity and problems with regard to detecting, repairing and cleaning up system leaks, changing of the refrigerant and disposal of the used refrigerant.
In view of the above, a requirement exists for a non-toxic heat transfer fluid having a viscosity low enough at temperatures down to approximately xe2x88x9240xc2x0 F. to be used as a coolant fluid. A need also exists for a system which utilizes such a working fluid.

Temperature control system using aqueous 1,3-propanediol solution


A hydrocyclone unit for separating a fibre pulp suspension containing relatively heavy contaminants has an elongate tapering separation chamber, an inlet member that feeds the suspension tangentially into the separation chamber at a base end, so as to form a vortex in the separation chamber, a reject fraction outlet at the apex end of the separation chamber for discharging a reject fraction containing heavy contaminants, and a central accept fraction outlet at the base end for discharging a central fraction containing fibres. A fluid injection member is adapted to inject a fluid tangentially into the separation chamber at a distance from the apex end which is at least 40% of the length of the separation chamber, such that the injected fluid increases the rotational speed of a portion of the vortex in the chamber to increase the separation efficiency with respect to fibres existing in the vortex portion.

Hydrocyclones are used in the pulp and paper making industry for cleaning fibre pulp suspensions from contaminants, in particular but not exclusively from contaminants that differ from fibres in density. An important application is cleaning from contaminants in the form of heavy weight particles of a specific gravity greater than that of fibres, such as specks, shives, sand and metal particles in the size range of 100-1000 microns. The separation chamber of a conventional hydrocyclone designed for such an application normally has a diameter at the suspension inlet member smaller than about 150 mm to create centrifugal forces strong enough to pull the heavy contaminants radially outwardly in the vortex. The tapering design of the separation chamber is necessary to maintain the rotational speed of the vortex and, consequently, the required magnitude of the centrifugal forces acting on the heavy contaminants along the separation chamber, so that the separation efficiency is satisfactory throughout the separation chamber. In addition, maintaining the speed of the vortex is particularly important when cleaning high consistency fibre suspensions to prevent formation of fibre network. Such a fibre network negatively affects the separation efficiency and could plug the relatively small axial opening at the apex end of the separation chamber. Since the tendency of fibre network formation increases with increasing fibre concentration, the conventional hydrocyclone is normally used for separating fibre suspensions having a fibre concentration of up to 1.0%, in exceptional cases up to 1.5%.
A plurality of hydrocyclones of the conventional type coupled in parallel and forming a first separation stage has been employed in a conventional hydrocyclone plant to achieve the necessary total capacity for cleaning the large suspension flows, typically between 40 000 and 200 000 litres/minute, that often exist in the paper making industry. The conventional hydrocyclone plant also includes further separation stages of hydrocyclones of the conventional type, typically there are four to five stages coupled in cascade, to recover fibres from the reject fraction of the suspension developed in the first stage, whereby the separation efficiency of the plant is increased.
It is known to provide a hydrocyclone with a fluid injection member for injecting a flushing liquid into the separation chamber close to the vicinity of the reject fraction outlet to flush the thickened reject fraction so that fibres are released from the heavy contaminants and plugging of the reject outlet is prevented.

Separation of fibre pulp suspensions containing relatively heavy contaminants


A system (1) for enhancing the resolution of a video image by a predetermined enhancement factor is provided. System (1) generally includes an interpolation subsystem (10), a data storage module (20), and a pixel insert positioning module (30). Included within interpolation subsystem (10) are a classification module (100), a bilinear interpolation module (200), and an adaptive interpolation module (300). Classification module (100) receives the original image pixels in a specified field of the given video image and designates for each original image pixels it receives one of a plurality of predefined classifications. Based upon this classification, one of the bilinear interpolation (200) and adaptive interpolation (300) modules is selected for actuation in generating the supplementary image pixels necessary to support resolution enhancement. Adaptive interpolation module (300) employs an interpolation scheme adapted for the orientation of a given image portion detected by classification module (100) through a plurality of adaptation parameters which, once generated, may be stored within data storage module (20) to promote computational efficiency. The generated supplementary image pixels may then be inserted at the pixel insert positions generated by pixel insert positioning module (30) in accordance with the given enhancement factor to form a resolution enhanced image.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject adaptive video image resolution enhancement system (and the method incorporated thereby) is generally directed to a system for generating the additional image pixels necessary for increasing the resolution of the video image initially represented by a plurality of original image pixels. More specifically, the subject adaptive video image resolution enhancement system generates and assigns for insert at the proper locations adjacent the original image pixels a plurality of supplementary image pixel intensity levels. The subject system accomplishes this in a manner that optimally preserves image fidelity so that the detrimental effects typically accompanying image resolution enhancement, such as the introduction of abrupt discontinuities in otherwise smooth image edges, are significantly diminished.
The need for resolution enhancement of an image defined by a set of image pixels is present in many video applications. For instance, where an original image is expanded in size, either to simply zoom into a portion thereof, or to re-display it on a display monitor having a larger or denser array of available image pixels, the expanded image would invariably be characterized by discontinuous, jagged edges and a general degeneration of discernible details if a corresponding enhancement in its image pixel resolution is not also performed. Similarly, where a video image is to be electronically transmitted to remote site to support, for example, a video conferencing application, the goal towards instantaneous exchange of video information between conferencing sites demands that the volume of data transmitted be minimized as much as possible. Consequently, the video reproduced at the receiving site often lacks the image data content to yield high fidelity images. There is, therefore, a need exemplified in such applications for a system capable of generating additional pixel data with which to supplement some or all of the pixels of an original image in a manner which preserves much, if not all, of the fidelity present in the original image.
Simply adding additional image pixels in reproducing an original video image, or a portion thereof, does not necessarily meet this need. The additional image pixels must be carefully generated. One must consider in this regard that the features of a given video image which most perceptively affect its overall image fidelity are the numerous image edge portions by which that image is typically defined. Whether they be ones tracing the peripheral outlines of an image or ones tracing particular features within the body of the image, edges are highly discernible and therefore disproportionately important to the average viewer in visually discriminating the image. Thus, it is essential for the preservation of image fidelity that the smoothness and sharpness of edges be effectively preserved.
2. Prior Art
Video image resolution enhancement systems and image size expansion systems are known in the art. The best prior art known to Applicant includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,853,794; 5,418,899; 5,473,383; 5,054,100; 5,131,057; 5,515,457; 5,513,281; 5,125,042; 4,532,602; 5,444,493; 5,579,418; 4,833,531; 5,294,998; 5,301,266; 5,329,614; 5,450,096; 5,418,900; 5,627,953; 5,388,166; 5,418,714; and, 5,384,904. This prior art reveals that it is known in the prior art to perform various types of interpolation such as nearest neighbor, bilinear, and cubic convolution. The prior art also discloses systems or methods which perform edge detection for adjusting the interpolation process to incorporate such measures as compensation for blurring that might otherwise occur. The prior art, however, fails to disclose a system or method which provides the degree of adaptivity provided by the present invention, much less a system or method which effects such adaptivity by alternatively performing a bilinear interpolation scheme and an adaptive interpolation scheme responsive to a classification process as provided by the present invention.
Systems and methods known in the prior art which seek to offer image resolution enhancement with a level of adaptivity sufficient to measurably compensate for the detrimental effects on image fidelity of processes such as image scale expansion invariably fail to yield the combined degree of effectiveness and computational efficiency to be practicable. Consequently, the resolution enhancement systems most widely utilized in the prior art have been those systems which simply employ one known form of interpolation, such as bilinear interpolation, wherever possible in the entire field of a given image. While, in most cases, bilinear interpolation is acceptable for low-contrast, internal body portions of an image, it is not acceptable for more discernibly contrasted portions such as an image's edge portions. High image fidelity cannot be consistently preserved without additional measures.

Method and system for adaptive video image resolution enhancement


A keytop component for use in a keytop support member is disclosed that presses a key switch when the keytop component is pressed down. The keytop component includes a keytop member and a base member. The keytop member includes a pair of engagement members. The base member includes a pair of engagement receiving parts to be engaged by the pair of engagement members so as to detachably hold the keytop member, a locking section to lock the base member to the keytop support member, and a projection member extending downward under the base member for pressing the key switch when the base member is pressed down.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keytop component that allows easy changing of printed indications along with a function change, an operation key having the keytop component, and an electronic device, such as a copy machine and a fax machine, having the operation key.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, operations panels of electronic devices, such as copy machines and fax machines, have been provided with various operation keys.
FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the configuration of a related-art operation key.
The operation key shown in FIG. 12 comprises a keytop component 51 and a key switch 61. The keytop component 51 serves as an operation button. An indication representing its function is printed on the upper surface of the keytop component 51. The key switch 61 is located under the keytop component 51 and configured to be turned on when the keytop component 51 is pressed.
To prevent the keytop component 51 from being separated from a cover 53 during use, the keytop component 51 includes locking claws 52 that are inserted into holes formed in the cover 53 so as to lock the keytop component 51 to the cover 53. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose related-art keytop components.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3083182
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-269001
When the function of the operation key is changed, the keytop component is replaced by another keytop component on which characters, symbols and the like representing a new function are printed.
For replacing the keytop component 51 by another keytop component, the keytop component 51 is removed by disassembling the operations panel or by applying force against the locking claws 52. This may result in losing components or damaging the keytop component 51 and the cover 53.
These problems may be avoided by, for example, reducing the insertion depth of the locking claws 52 of the keytop component 51 so as to facilitate the removal of the keytop component 51. However, reducing the insertion depth of the locking claws 52 makes the keytop component 51 more likely to come off during use.
For example, the operation key comprising the keytop component 51 is required to securely complete an input even when an end section of the keytop component 51 is pressed. In the case where the keytop component 51 has a rectangular top surface, if an end section of the top surface in its longitudinal direction is pressed, the locking claw 52 formed at the opposite end section, which serves as a support point upon turning on the key switch 61, might come off because of its reduced insertion depth, and thus failing to turn on the key switch 61.
An example of a keytop replacing method is disclosed in Patent Document 1. With the disclosed method, however, a keytop might not be securely fixed to a component (keytop sheet) to which the keytop is attached, or the keytop might come off because of a small insertion depth of a claw.

Keytop component, operation key, and electronic device


A computing apparatus may process an operation. The computing apparatus may output information regarding an aggregation operation and an operand corresponding to a variable stored in a memory, store information regarding an operator and the aggregation operands regarding the aggregation operation, perform a first partial operation with respect to the aggregation operands and store a result value of the first partial operation, and process the aggregation operation based on storing the variable, performing a second partial operation with respect to the result value of the first partial operation stored in the cache and the operand corresponding to the variable, and storing a result value of the second partial operation.

The inventive concepts relate to a computing apparatus, and more particularly, to a method by which a computing apparatus processes an aggregation operation.
The role of a processor in a computing environment is becoming increasingly important. Processors have been used to process images or moving images having gradually increasing resolution, and software algorithms used by processors have become increasingly more complicated. Processor architectures have been developed in relation to developments of various technology fields. For example, the development dual-core processor architectures, quad-core processor architectures, and multi-threading architectures, is directly related to developments associated with of image processing and software engineering.
Within a computing environment, a processor may be driven with a limited resource. For example, a communication bandwidth between a processor and a memory may be limited due to a performance bottleneck, and energy consumption of the processor may be limited to a certain level (e.g., a certain limited rate of energy consumption).
Therefore, research into increasing processing performance with a limited resource of a computing environment has been actively conducted in recent years.

Computing apparatuses and methods of processing operations thereof


The present invention concerns an extrusion formed reticulated web, mesh or netting including reticulated hook fasteners for use with hook and loop fasteners the polymer netting comprising two sets of strands at angles to each other. The first set of strands are a plurality of oriented (molecular orientation created by stretching) strands extending in a first direction and are generally mutually parallel and linear. The second set of strands are a plurality of substantially parallel strands attached only to a first face of the first set of oriented strands. The first set of oriented strands occupy a first planar cross-sectional area in the thickness direction of the formed netting. Said second set of oriented strands occupy a second planar cross-sectional area in the thickness direction of the formed netting. Preferably, these first and second planar cross-sectional areas are substantially mutually exclusive and are abutting. The polymer netting is preferably made by extruding a thermoplastic resin through a die plate, which die plate is shaped to form a base film layer and spaced ridges or ribs projecting from a surface of the base layer. The spaced ridges or ribs formed by the die form the first set of strands forming the reticulated mesh or netting. The second set of transverse strands are formed by transversely cutting the base layer at spaced locations along a length, at a transverse angle to the ridges or ribs, to form discrete cut portions. Subsequently longitudinal stretching of the ridges (in the direction of the ridges or the machine direction) separates these cut portions of the backing, which cut portion then form the second set of spaced apart strands of the reticulated mesh or netting.

A method of forming a reticulated hook element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,366 which describes forming hooks by known methods, similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,894,060 and 4,056,593, discussed below. A reticulated web or mesh structure is formed by intermittently slitting (skip slit) extruded ribs and bases and then pulling to expand the skip slit structure into a mesh.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,549 describes a method for forming a net sheet having surface protrusions thereon. The net is used primarily as spacer elements for drainage and like applications. The net has parallel elements that extend at right angles to each other and it would appear to be formed by a direct molding process involving directly extruding the net-like structure onto a negative mold of the netting.
A film extrusion process for forming hooks is proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,894,060 and 4,056,593, which permits the formation of hook elements by forming rails on a film backing. Instead of the hook elements being formed as a negative of a cavity on a molding surface, as is the more traditional method, the basic hook cross-section is formed by a profiled film extrusion die. The die simultaneously extrudes the film backing and rib structures. The individual hook elements are then preferably formed from the ribs by cutting the ribs transversely, followed by stretching the extruded strip in the direction of the ribs. The backing elongates but the cut rib sections remain substantially unchanged. This causes the individual cut sections of the ribs to separate each from the other in the direction of elongation forming discrete hook elements. Alternatively, using this same type extrusion process, sections of the rib structures can be milled out to form discrete hook elements. With this profile extrusion, the basic hook cross section or profile is only limited by the die shape and hooks can be formed that extend in two directions and have hook head portions that need not taper to allow extraction from a molding surface.


A composite vibration diaphragm fabrication method includes the steps of: (a) mixing a reinforcing material with a hot melt adhesive to form a first mixture and to let the reinforcing material be wrapped in the hot melt adhesive uniformly, (b) mixing the first mixture with a thermosetting adhesive to form a second mixture, (c) coating the second mixture on a vibration diaphragm material and then heating the second mixture coated vibration diaphragm material, and (d) cooling down the coated vibration diaphragm material in which the second mixture is cured and bonded to the vibration diaphragm material. Thus, when baking the second mixture, the internal hot melt adhesive will be melted and integrated with the thermosetting adhesive, and the thermosetting adhesive will also be cured, enabling the reinforcing material to be uniformly bonded to the vibration diaphragm to reinforce the strength and rigidity of the composite vibration diaphragm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to composite vibration diaphragm technology and more particularly, to a method for making a composite vibration diaphragm by utilizing the integratable characteristic between a hot melt adhesive and a thermosetting adhesive to let a powered reinforcing material be uniformly bonded to a vibration diaphragm.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development of smart phones leads to the development trend of micro speaker. In order to output sounds having superior acoustic characteristics, a variety of diaphragm materials have been continuously developed. Some of speakers adopt a composite diaphragm design.
The conventional method for making a composite vibration diaphragm is achieved by: (a) mixing alumina, silica, carbon nanotubes or any other reinforcing material uniformly in an adhesive (such as epoxy resin or any other thermosetting resin); (b) subsequently applying the mixture on the surface of a diaphragm material, and then baking the mixture coated diaphragm material in a hot air oven to cure the reinforcing material and the thermosetting resin; and (c) finally cooling down the composite vibration diaphragm thus obtain. However, because said reinforcing material is porous nano powder particles, it exhibits very poor adhesion to adhesive. Thus, the reinforcing material may drop from the vibration diagram material easily upon a severe vibration or impact of environmental factors, affecting the physical characteristics of the composite diaphragm. Therefore, it is disadvantageous to the acoustic properties of the output sound of the speaker.

Composite vibration diaphragm and its fabrication method


The present invention is directed to methods for increasing or decreasing the phosphorylation of histone H3 using factors that alter the activity of the kinase haspin. The invention includes assays for identifying inhibitors, peptides that can serve as inhibitors or in the generation of antibodies that specifically recognize phosphorylated histone, polynucleotides encoding peptides, procedures for increasing intracellular haspin levels, and methods for assaying haspin activity in a biological sample to determine whether abnormalities in cell division may be due to the overexpression or underexpression of haspin.

Errors during cell division can lead to genomic instability and aneuploidy, contributing to the generation of cancer and birth defects. A select group of kinases has been found to orchestrate mitosis. In particular, members of the cyclin-dependent kinase, Aurora, Polo, and NIMA/Nek families phosphorylate substrates in chromatin and at the spindle apparatus to regulate events during cell division (Nigg, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol. 2: 21-32 (2001)).
Not surprisingly, histones are major targets of mitotic kinases. For example, histone H3 is extensively phosphorylated at serine-10 during mitosis and meiosis (Hendzel, et al., Chromosoma 106:348-360 (1997); Prigent, et al., J. Cell Sci. 116:3677-3685 (2003)). The function of this modification is debated, but it may facilitate chromatin condensation or the release of cohesin and ISWI chromatin-remodeling ATPases (Van Hooser, et al., J. Cell Sci. 111:3497-506 (1998); Andrews, et al., Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 15:672-683 (2003); Prigent, et al., J. Cell Sci. 116:3677-3685 (2003); Swedlow, et al., Mol. Cell. 11:557-569 (2003)). A Tetrahymena strain with histone H3 mutated at serine-10 showed perturbed chromatin condensation and abnormal chromosome segregation during meiosis and mitosis (Wei, et al., Cell 97:99-109 (1999)), while a similar mutation in S. cerevisiae had no such effect (Hsu, et al., Cell 102:279-291 (2000)). Therefore, histone phosphorylation at serine-10 has an important role in mitosis but the extent to which it is required appears species-dependent, perhaps because of redundancy provided by other mitotic histone modifications ((Hsu, et al., Cell 102:279-291 (2000)). In fact, a number of highly conserved serine and threonine residues that might be phosphorylated are found in the core histones of all eukaryotes. Mitotic phosphorylation of threonine-11 (Preuss, et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 31:878-885 (2003)) and serine-28 (Goto, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274:25543-25549 (1999)) of H3 has been reported.
The identities of protein kinases that phosphorylate the histones during mitosis in vivo remain somewhat uncertain. The best studied is aurora B, a "chromosome passenger protein" that is located on the chromosomes during prophase and becomes concentrated at inner centromeres by metaphase before relocalizing to the spindle midzone at anaphase (Carmena, et al., Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol. 4:842-854 (2003)). Consistent with this, aurora B has both chromatin and spindle-associated substrates and influences mitosis at a number of steps. Aurora B homologues play an important role in ensuring chromosome bi-orientation at metaphase by correcting mono-orientated attachments to the spindle, and are involved in normal chromatid separation and cytokinesis (Shannon, et al., Curr. Biol. 12:R458-460 (2002); Andrews, et al., Curr. Opin. Cell. Biol. 15:672-683 (2003)). They are also required for phosphorylation of the centromeric histone variant CENP-A at serine-7 and of histone H3 at serine-10 in many organisms (Hsu, et al., Cell 102:279-291 (2000); Adams, et al., J Cell Bio. 153:865-880 (2001); Giet, et al., J. Cell Biol. 152:669-682 (2001); Petersen, et al., J. Cell Sci. 114:4371-4384 (2001); Zeitlin, et al., J. Cell Biol. 155:1147-1157 (2001); Crosio, et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 22:874-875 (2002); Ditchfield, et al., J. Cell Biol. 161:267-280 (2003); Hauf, et al., J. Cell Biol. 161:281-294 (2003)).
It has not been possible, however, to unambiguously assign the role of mitotic histone H3 serine-10 phosphorylation solely to aurora B (Nigg 2001; Prigent and Dimitrov 2003). Indeed, in Aspergillus, mitotic histone H3 serine-10 phosphorylation is dependent on the kinase NIMA (De Souza, et al., Cell 102:293-302 (2000)). In addition, kinases that bring about the phosphorylation of other histone residues during mitosis must exist. The nature of these key enzymes remains unclear, although there is some evidence that aurora B and the Dlk/ZIP kinase are responsible for mitotic phosphorylation of H3 serine-28 and threonine-11 respectively (Goto, et al., Genes Cells 7:11-17 (2002); Preuss, et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 31:878-885 (2003)).
Haspin/Gsg2 (Haploid Germ Cell-Specific Nuclear Protein Kinase/Germ Cell Specific Gene-2) was first identified as a testis-specific gene in mice (Tanaka, et al., FEBS Letts. 355:4-10 (1994); Tanaka, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274:17049-17057 (1999)). More recent work has suggested that lower levels of haspin mRNA are also present in other organs and in all proliferating cell lines tested, suggesting that expression of haspin is not truly haploid germ cell-specific (Higgins, Gene 267:55-69 (2001). Genes encoding haspin homologs are present in all major eukaryotic phyla, including yeasts, microsporidia, plants, nematodes, flies, fish, amphibians and mammals (Higgins, Cell Mol. Life. Sci. 60:446-462 (2003)). These haspin genes encode proteins that contain a distinctive C-terminal putative kinase domain and together constitute a novel eukaryotic protein kinase family (Higgins, Prot. Sci. 10:1677-1684 (2001). The N-terminal portion of the haspin proteins is less conserved between species and has no clear homology to known domains (Tanaka, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274:17049-17057 (1999); Yoshimura, et al., Gene 267:49-54 (2001); Higgins, Cell Mol. Life. Sci. 60:446-462 (2003)).

Compositions and methods based upon the kinase haspin


The present invention relates to a radiometer comprising an IR detector, a lens and a light source. The lens is arranged with respect to the IR detector such that it focuses IR radiation from a measuring surface to the detector. The light source emits visible light for marking the measuring surface. The beam path of the visible light extends through the lens. Moreover, the invention relates to a sighting device for a radiometer for visibly marking a measuring surface the temperature of which is measured by the radiometer. The sighting device comprises a light source for emitting a visible light beam, which marks the measuring surface. A piezoactuator controls the direction of the light beam. As an alternative to the piezoactuator, the light beam may be guided at a constant angular velocity, and a stepwise change of the direction of the light beam may be accomplished by a sectorized mirror. The invention finally relates to corresponding methods. In addition, the invention relates to the adjustment of light sources in a sighting device.

Radiometers serve to detect the temperature of an object in a contactless manner by the detection of the infrared (IR) radiation emitted by the object by means of an IR detector. The area of the object, the radiation of which is detected by the detector, is called radiation measuring surface or only measuring surface of the temperature measuring device. In order to measure the temperature reliably, it is important to know the location and the size of the measuring surface. The location and the size of the measuring surface depend on the alignment of the measuring device, the construction of the detector, the properties of an IR optics and the measuring distance. Different kinds of construction of sighting devices for the visualization of measuring surfaces are known, which produce a visible marking inside and/or at the edge of the measuring surface.
The marking can, for example, comprise several light points which are produced at the edge of the measuring surface by means of one laser or several lasers and adapted projection lenses. According to DE 196 54 276 A1 the light points are produced with laser beams extending to each other in a skew manner, each of which are directed into the desired direction by means of a deviating prism.
It is known from EP 0 867 699 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,392 to mark the measuring surface by a continuous bordering line. The bordering line may be produced by a rotating laser. According to another embodiment, a laser beam is deflected by a rotating mirror such that it produces a circular bordering line on the object. If the laser beam is moved at a frequency of more than 30 Hz it seems to draw a continuous bordering. Another embodiment of said documents uses a beam splitting device for splitting one laser beam into a plurality and for marking the periphery of the measuring surface with several points. An optical fiber bundle may be used as beam splitting device. Alternatively, also several individual lasers may be employed.
Documents EP 0 458 200 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,978 disclose a radiometer whereof the sighting means is coaxially arranged about a combination of a detector and a condensing lens. With said condensing lens the detector is projected on the object in a focused manner. The measuring surface merely has the size of the sensor surface of the detector. The sighting device is formed by at least one concentric Fresnel lens, with which an additional light source is projected onto the object, likewise in a focused manner. The IR beam path is separated from the beam path of the visible light. According to an embodiment described in said documents two concentric Fresnel lenses may be employed. According to another embodiment described in said documents an annular mirror may be employed together with an annular lens for projecting the visible light.
A similar radiometer is known from DE 100 36 720 A1. The annular lens known from EP 0 458 200 A2 is called a toroidal lens. Since said document discloses that marking light hits the rear side of the toroidal lens, here, too, the IR beam path is separated from the beam path of the visible light. According to an embodiment the IR optics finitely projects the detector along an optical axis so that the measured beam path is a hyperboloid with one shell. The corresponding marking beam path is formed in that light from the light source is deviated into straight paths at the toroidal lens, with the paths extending to each other in a skew fashion and to the optical axis on a hyperboloid surface which encloses the measured beam path. The marking beam path therefore shows a narrowest contraction. For producing the marking beam path, the toroidal lens has a non-rotationally symmetrical lens body, the rear side of which is a conical surface and the front side of which is a piece-wise, continuous screw-shaped annular surface. Disclosed are annular surfaces with one, two, ten and thirty-six sections.
It is desirable to provide an improved radiometer, sighting device and corresponding methods.

Radiometer, sighting device for a radiometer and method therefor


The invention relates to antibodies, antibody fragments and binding agents that specifically recognizes oligomeric Aβ that is resistant to denaturation by SDS but does not bind monomeric, fibrillar or other oligomeric forms of Aβ that are generated in vitro.

Aggregation and deposition of amyloid β-protein (Aβ or beta amyloid) is considered to be a primary pathological event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) (1). While the longer 42-43 amino acid Aβ forms have been implicated in the formation of amyloid plaques (2-4), the aggregation state of the peptide is critical in determining its neurotoxicity. Many different forms of Aβ have been identified and characterized including fibrils, proto-fibrils, annular structures, globular structures, amorphous aggregates and various soluble oligomers (5-9). Numerous studies indicate that small oligomeric morphologies of Aβ are the primary toxic species in AD (10). These small oligomers are also called "low-n oligomers" (i.e., dimers, trimers, or tetramers).
One type of naturally occurring oligomeric Aβ species is a low-n oligomer that is SDS-stable, and inhibits long term potentiation in mammalian hippocampus (13). The naturally occurring low-n SDS-stable Aβ oligomers cause short term memory loss in rats, one of the earliest symptom associated with AD (19), and also affect dendritic morphology in neuronal cells resulting in synaptic losses (20). Concentration levels of this SDS-stable oligomeric form correlate strongly with dementia in AD patients (14). Unlike in vitro generated Aβ, naturally occurring low-n oligomeric aggregate does not dissociate in SDS (e.g., 1-10%) or chaotropic salts such as guanidine hydrochloride (e.g., 1-10%), and cannot be pelleted from physiological fluids by ultra-centrifugation (15). The naturally occurring low-n oligomeric aggregates can be detected in brain tissue by Western blot analysis (16-17). They are also resistant to the Aβ degrading protease insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) (18).
Synthetically generated (i.e., in vitro generated) Aβ aggregates function similarly to naturally occurring Aβ species (11). Antibody fragments generated against synthetic oligomeric Aβ recognize naturally occurring oligomeric Aβ in human brain tissue (12). While intracerebral injections of synthetic Aβ oligomers exerted a deleterious effect on learned behavior in rats (21-22), these responses were delayed and the concentrations and amounts of synthetic Aβ were much higher than concentrations of naturally derived SDS-stable low-n Aβ oligomers required to interfere with the memory of a complex learned behavior (19). Together these studies clearly suggest that the naturally derived SDS-stable Aβ oligomers may be important mediators in synaptic dysfunction in early AD and that these naturally derived oligomers behave differently than in vitro derived oligomers.
Antibodies and small molecule inhibitors of Aβ aggregation have been shown to prevent spine loss induced by the SDS-stable Aβ oligomers (23-24). Since they have not been raised against a particular oligomeric form, however, anti-Aβ antibodies have a wide range of specificities, targeting different regions or multiple morphologies of Aβ. Therefore, reagents that can specifically target these naturally derived SDS-stable oligomers would be valuable tools for diagnostic and therapeutic applications for AD.
Accordingly, there exists the need for new therapies and reagents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, in particular, therapies and reagents capable of effecting a therapeutic and diagnostic benefit at physiologic (e.g., non-toxic) doses.

Antibody based reagent that specifically recognizes toxic oligomeric form of beta-amyloid


A digital input signal is modulated using multiple digital signal modulators operating at a variety of clock frequencies and clock frequency phase relationships to drive a load, such as an opposed current amplifier or other opposed current converter. The combinations of frequency relationships and digital signal modulator elements provide significant digital signal processing capabilities and flexible output signal timing. In one embodiment, a digital input signal, which may be biased, is modulated by multiple digital signal modulators to generate corresponding output signals. The corresponding output signals are utilized to drive a load, such as a half bridge, opposed current amplifier and to produce a single output signal. By adjusting the phase relationships between the clock frequencies, various output signal characteristics are achieved. Additionally, by utilizing digital signal processing to modulate the input signal, various processing technologies are applied to the input signal. For example, noise shaping may be implemented using delta-sigma modulators as one stage in digital signal modulators.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of signal processing, and, more specifically, to a system and method for modulating an input signal with multiple digital signal modulators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Analog and digital modulators are utilized to convert analog and digital input signals into drive signals. For example, the modulators convert an input signal into discrete pulses using well-known pulse width modulation techniques. The pulses are used as drive signals. The drive signals are utilized to drive output current to a load. In an acoustic application, voice signals may be modulated to drive a load, such as audio speakers.
Power converters may be used to convert direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) to be used as an AC power supply, or as battery chargers/dischargers, motor controls, etc. Power converters may also be used as amplifiers, both for entertainment (sound amplification) and industrial uses. Many conventional pulse width modulated (PWM) converters use a pair of switches to connect a load alternatively to DC power supplies of opposite polarity. A modulator alternately opens and closes the switches to produce a width modulated output signal that is subsequently filtered by a low pass filter before being transmitted to the load. Care must be taken to assure that both switches are not turned xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d at the same time to prevent drawing transient xe2x80x9cshoot-throughxe2x80x9d current. Several means are used to limit or prevent such shoot-through current. For example, Current limiting inductors may be employed or xe2x80x9cunderlapxe2x80x9d circuits may be used to create small controlled time gaps between the conduction times of the switches. Opening and closing the switches creates a generally undesirable xe2x80x9cripplexe2x80x9d frequency on an output waveform generated by the conventional modulator.
Opposed current converters (xe2x80x9cOCCsxe2x80x9d) address the problem of ripple frequency generation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,219 entitled xe2x80x9cOpposed Current Power Converterxe2x80x9d by Gerald R. Stanley (referred to herein as the xe2x80x9cStanley Patentxe2x80x9d) discloses an example of an OCC. Stanley and Bradshaw, Precision DC-to-AC Power Conversion by Optimization of the Output Current Waveformxe2x80x94The Half bridge Revisited, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 14, No. 2, Mar. 1999 provide additional discussion. Opposed current converters (xe2x80x9cOCCsxe2x80x9d), which include amplifiers referred to as class-I amplifiers, opposed current amplifiers, balanced current amplifiers, and opposed current interleaved amplifiers, are particularly useful in audio applications due to their high efficiency and high signal to noise ratios in frequency bandwidths of interest.
Referring to FIG. 1, the Stanley Patent discloses a power converter circuit 100, which is also sometimes referred to as an opposed current amplifier stage and is one embodiment of an OCC. Power converter circuit 100 receives two input drive signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2. Signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 are square-waves with pulse-widths that are determined by modulating an input signal.
Power converter circuit 100 has four states of operation in the continuous current mode. Signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 determine the states of operation by respectively controlling the conductivity of switches 102 and 104. Switches 102 and 104 conduct during the interval when Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 are both HIGH causing the main output inductor currents Ip and In to increase at a rate of approximately V/L, in which L=Lp=Ln and V is the magnitude of each supply voltage (Vsupply). When Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 are both HIGH, the magnetization of inductors Lp and Ln are increased. When Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 are both LOW, switches 102 and 104 become nonconductive, the inductor voltages are reversed, the diodes 108 and 110 conduct, and the inductor current magnitudes ramp down at the same rate. When Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 are both LOW, the magnetization of inductors Lp and Ln are decreased. When Spxe2x80x2 is LOW and Snxe2x80x2 is HIGH, switch 104 and diode 110 conduct resulting in negative output current (Iout) into output node 106. When Spxe2x80x2 is HIGH and Snxe2x80x2 is LOW, switch 102 and diode 108 conduct resulting in positive output current Iout from node 106.
Table 1 summarizes the four continuous current mode states of operation for power converter circuit 100 with reference to signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2. Table 1 uses xe2x80x9cHIGHxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cLOWxe2x80x9d to represent the states of signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a HIGH signal causes switches 102 and 104 to conduct, and a LOW signal causes switches 102 and 104 to open.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the Stanley Patent describes an analog modulator 200 utilized to produce signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 for driving power converter circuit 100. Analog modulator 200 utilizes an error amplifier 202 to generate an error signal 204 from an input signal 206, representing a desired level at output node 106 of power converter circuit 100, and a feedback signal 208 taken from output node 106. Inverter 218 inverts error signal 204 to generate inverse error signal 216. Comparators 210 and 214 generate respective signals Spxe2x80x2 and Snxe2x80x2 by comparing a triangle waveform 212 with respective error signal 204 and inverse error signal 216. Spxe2x80x2 is HIGH when the magnitude of triangle waveform 212 exceeds error signal 204, and Spxe2x80x2 is LOW when the magnitude of error signal 204 exceeds triangle waveform 212. Likewise, Snxe2x80x2 is HIGH when the magnitude of triangle waveform 212 exceeds inverse error signal 216, and Snxe2x80x2 is LOW when the magnitude of inverse error signal 214 exceeds triangle waveform 212.
For example, the triangle waveform 212 is also biased to address cross-over distortion during the switching of switches 102 and 104. Triangle waveform generator 220 generates triangle waveform 212 from a square wave input signal 222. The direct current (DC) level of the triangle waveform 212 is adjusted by adding or subtracting bias signal 224 from triangle waveform 212. The bias is normally adjusted such that, at input signal equal zero, both switches are on slightly more than 50% of the time, and an idle current exists in the inductors Ln and Lp, which keeps the diodes 108 and 110 clamped during the de-magnetization phase.
Referring to FIG. 2B, U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,336, entitled Method of Attenuating Zero Crossing Distortion and Noise in an Amplifier, an Amplifier and Uses of the Method and the Amplifier, inventors Niels Anderskouv and Lars Risbo, (referred to herein as the xe2x80x9cAnderskouv-Risbo Patentxe2x80x9d) describes an example of using dual pulse width modulators, PWM A and B, to drive respective half bridge amplifiers A and B connected to load 258. A signal source 252 provides an input signal to inverting block 254 and noninverting block 256. PWM A provides one output signal to drive the switches of Half bridge A, and PWM B provides one output signal to drive the switches of Half bridge B. The Anderskouv-Risbo Patent introduces a delay element xcex94T into the signal path between PWM B and half bridge B to prevent simultaneous switching of switches on the half bridges A and B and, thus, attenuate cross-over distortion. The Anderskouv-Risbo Patent does not teach providing appropriate signals to drive switches separately within a half bridge amplifier such as power converter circuit 100. In contrast, the Stanley patent teaches switching techniques for use within a half bridge. Two copies of the Stanley circuit could be used for creating a full bridge circuit.
For example, the Stanley Patent, the Anderskouv-Risbo Patent, and others do not address the application of digital signal processing technology to provide appropriate input signals to loads such as power converter circuit 100.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a digital input signal is modulated using multiple digital signal modulators operating at a variety of clock frequencies and clock frequency phase relationships to drive a load, such as an OCC. The combinations of frequency relationships and digital signal modulator elements provide significant digital signal processing capabilities and flexible output signal timing.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus includes a first digital signal modulator to generate a first output signal derived from a digital input signal and a second digital signal modulator to generate a second output signal derived from the digital input signal. The first and second digital signal modulators are operable to process digital signals in one embodiment and mixed analog and digital signals in another embodiment. Pairs of delta-sigma modulators and pulse width modulators form the first and second digital signal modulators in one embodiment. The first output signal has a direct relationship to change in the digital input signal, and the second output signal has an inverse relationship to change in the digital input signal. The first and second output signals are suitable for driving an OCC stage such as a half bridge, opposed current amplifier.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing multiple output drive signals derived from a common input signal using multiple modulators includes receiving a first digital input signal, the first digital input signal being derived from a common input signal and a first bias signal. In one embodiment, the common input signal is a digital audio signal, and the first digital input signal is derived by summing the common input signal and the first bias signal. The method further includes converting the first digital input signal into a first output signal using a first modulator. The method also includes receiving a second digital input signal, the second digital input signal being derived from the common input signal and a second bias signal and converting the second digital input signal into a second output signal using a second modulator. The method includes providing the first and second output signal to circuitry for deriving a drive signal from the first and second output signals. In one embodiment, the drive signal is derived by using the first and second output signals to generate the drive signal of an amplifier, such as an opposed current converter.

Modulation of a digital input signal using multiple digital signal modulators


Compounds of the formula (I):

The insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) is one of 58 trans-membrane tyrosine kinase receptors present in humans [Review: Structure and function of the Type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor. T. E. Adams et al. Cell. Mol. Life. Sci. 57 (2000) 1050-1093; Insulin-Like Growth Factors. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers (2003). Editors: LeRoith, D., Zumkeller, W. and Baxter, R. C.]. Genetic evidence and studies on cells lacking the IGF-1 receptor have demonstrated that it is required for optimal growth, but not an absolute condition for growth [Baserga et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1332 (1997) 105-126]. An expression of the IGF-1 receptor protects cells from apoptosis and seems to be a requirement for the establishment and maintenance of the transformed phenotype both in vitro and in vivo [R. Baserga et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1332 (1997) 105-126]. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that inhibition of the expression or function of the IGF-1 receptor reverses the transformed phenotype and inhibits tumour cell growth. The techniques used in these studies include neutralizing antibodies [Kalebic et al. Cancer Res. 54 (1994) 5531-5534; Arteaga, C. L. et al. Cancer Res. 49 (1989) 6237-6241; De Leon, D. D. et al. Growth Factors 6 (1992) 327-336], antisense oligonucleotides [Resnicoff et al. Cancer Res. 54 (1994) 2218-2222; Andrews, D. W. et al. J. Clin. Oncol. 19 (2001) 2189-2200; White, P. J. et al. Antisense Nucleic Acid Drug Dev. 10 (2000) 195-203], dominant negative mutants [D'Ambrosio et al. Cancer Res. 56 (1996) 4013-4020; Prager, D. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91 (1994) 2181-2185; Reiss, K. et al. Clin. Cancer Res. 4 (1998) 2647-2655], triple-helix forming oligonucleotides [Rinninsland et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94 (1997) 5854-5859], antisense mRNA [Nakamura et al., Cancer Res. 60 (2000) 760-765] and RNA interference using a double stranded RNA [V. M. Macaulay et al. WO-A-03/100059].
The use of antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit the IGF-1 receptor expression in keratinocytes has been shown to reverse the epidermal hyper proliferation in psoriasis lesions [C. J. Wraight et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 18 (2000) 521-526].
Down-regulation of the IGF-1 receptor would possibly also have beneficial effect with respect to diseases such as diabetic retinopathy [L. K. Shawver et al. DDT 2 (1997) 50-63] as well as atherosclerosis, restinosis [A. Bayes-Genis et al. Circ. Res. 86 (2000) 125-130] and rheumatoid arthritis [J. Pritchard et al. J. Immunol. 173 (2004) 3564-3569].
The IGF-1 receptor system is regarded as an attractive target in the prevention and/or treatment of diseases that are dependant on an expression or over-expression of the IGF-1 receptor for their proliferation [L. Long et al. Cancer Research 55 (1995) 1006-1009, R. Baserga TIBTECH 14 (1996) 150-152; R. Baserga et al. Endocrine 7 (August 1997) 99-102; V. M. Macaulay et al. Annals of Oncogene 20 (2001) 4029-4040; A. J. Salisbury et al. Horm. Metab. Res. 35 (2003) 843-849; Mitsiades, C. S. et al. Cancer Cell 5 (2004) 221-230].
A series of substances, named tyrphostins, have been claimed to down-regulate or inhibit the expression of the IGF-1 receptor [M. Parrizas et al. Endocrinology 138 (1997) 1427-1433; G. Blum et al. Biochemistry 39 (2000) 15705-15712; G. Blum et al. J. Biol. Chem. 278 (2003) 40442-40454]. The drawback with the tyrphostins are their low activity in cell systems and that they cross-react with the insulin receptor.
It has been demonstrated [L. Kanter-Lewensohn et al. Mol. Cell. Endocrinology 165 (2000) 131-137] that, tamoxifen, at high concentration, has the ability to down-regulate or inhibit the tyrosine phosphorylation of the IGF-1R β-subunit, thereby blocking downstream signalling.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,338 B1, a number of heteroaryl-aryl urea substances are described as antagonists of the IGF-1 receptor. In cell growth inhibition studies on MCF-7 and MCF-10 cell lines the substances showed low activities.
In the patent application WO 02/102804 A1 it is demonstrated that podophyllotoxin, deoxypodophyllotoxin, picropodophyllin and deoxypicropodophyllin are selective and efficient inhibitors of the IGF-1 receptor. Deoxypicropodophyllin has previously [A. Akahori et al. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 20 (1972) 1150-1155] been shown to be superior to deoxypodophyllotoxin in retarding the death of mice inoculated with lymphatic leukemia L1210. No mechanism of action, however, was proposed.
In the patent application WO 02/102805 A1 it is shown that also acetylpodophyllotoxin, epipodophyllotoxin, podophyllotoxone and 4′-demethylpodophyllotoxin are potent inhibitors of the IGF-1R phosphorylation.
In two patent applications (WO 03/048133 A1 and WO 02/092599 A1) a number of pyrimidine derivatives are described as modulators of the IGF-1 receptor. However, these pyrimidine derivatives have shown a poor IGF-1R down-regulating activity.
WO 01/32624 (DU PONT PHARM CO) discloses 4-phenyl-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds. These compounds are useful in the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, (e.g., ADHD) by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin.
WO 2004/054996 (AXELAR AB) refers to compounds belonging to the group of substituted 1-phenyl-tetrahydronaphtalenes and the use thereof as inhibitors of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor. Said compounds can be used for treatment of IGF-1R dependent diseases, such as cancer, psoriasis, arteriosclerosis and acromegaly.
WO 02/102804 (KAROLINSKA INNOVATIONS AB) refers to the use of specific cyclolignans, wherein the carbon atoms in positions 9 and 9′ have cis configuration, for inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor. Said compounds can be used for treatment of IGF-1R dependent diseases, such as cancer, psoriasis, artherosclerosis and acromegaly. A preferred compound is picropodophyllin.
China Raju B et al., ("Quinone methide initiated cyclization reaction: synthesis of 4-aryl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines" TETRAHEDRON LETTERS, ELSEVIER, AMSTERDAM, NL, vol. 45, no 40, 27 Sep. 2004, pp 7487-7489, XP004561736 ISSN: 0040-4039) discloses the synthesis of 4-aryl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines in very good yields by in situ generation of p-quinone methides resulting in a novel C—C bond formation.
EP-A-1 113 007 (PFIZER) relates to tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds that are estrogen agonists and antagonists, and the pharmaceutical uses thereof. Said compounds are useful for treating or preventing obesity, breast cancer, osteoporosis, endometriosis, cardiovascular disease, prostatic disease, and the like.
PCT/CH2004/000147 (Analytecon S. A.) provides new heterocyclic compounds with surprisingly improved IGF-1R down-regulating activity.
There is, however, still a need for IGF-1R down-regulating compounds as alternatives to those described in PCT/CH2004/000147 and elsewhere, with e.g. improved aqueous solubility as well as different physical and metabolic properties.
The present invention aims at providing new compounds with high IGF-1R down-regulating activity, wherein the above-identified problems are successfully solved.

Abstract: Compounds of the formula (I):

Abstract: were synthesized. In at least one embodiment, they were found to down-regulate or inhibit the expression or function of the IGF-1 receptor.


Detection and proper deduplication of a re-started data stream in a segmentation analysis-based deduplication system are provided by retaining information about a previous data stream and using that information when performing segmentation of the re-started data stream. Information such as a segment size associated with a last data object received in the previous data stream and a record of how much data was present in the last segment associated with the previous data stream is retained. The retained segment size information is used to set a first data object segment size of the re-started data stream, and the size of last segment information is used to determine how much information should be put in the first segment associated with the re-started data stream in order to maintain proper alignment of the remainder of the segments for the first data object in the re-started data stream for deduplication.

An ever-increasing reliance on information and computing systems that produce, process, distribute, and maintain such information in its various forms, continues to put great demands on techniques for providing data storage and access to that data storage. Business organizations can produce and retain large amounts of data. While data growth is not new, the pace of data growth has become more rapid, the location of data more dispersed, and linkages between data sets more complex. Data deduplication offers business organizations an opportunity to dramatically reduce an amount of storage required for data backups and other forms of data storage and to more efficiently communicate backup data to one or more backup storages sites.
Generally, a data deduplication system provides a mechanism for storing a piece of information only one time. Thus, in a backup scenario, if a piece of information is stored in multiple locations within an enterprise, that piece of information will only be stored one time in a deduplicated backup storage area. Or if the piece of information does not change between a first backup and a second backup, then that piece of information will not be stored during the second backup as long as that piece of information continues to be stored in the deduplicated backup storage area. Data deduplication can also be employed outside of the backup context thereby reducing the amount of active storage occupied by duplicated files.
In order to provide for effective data deduplication, data is divided in a manner that provides a reasonable likelihood of finding duplicated instances of the data. For example, data can be examined on a file-by-file basis, and thus duplicated files (e.g., operating system files and application files and the like) would be analyzed and if the entire file had a duplicate version previously stored, then deduplication would occur. A drawback of a file-by-file deduplication is that if a small section of a file is modified, then a new version of the entire file would be stored, including a potentially large amount of data that remains the same between file versions. A more efficient method of dividing and analyzing data, therefore, is to divide file data into consistently-sized segments and to analyze those segments for duplication in the deduplicated data store. Thus, if only a portion of a large file is modified, then only the segment of data corresponding to that portion of the file need be stored in the deduplicated data storage and the remainder of the segments will not be duplicated.
One mechanism for breaking data into a series of segments is for a client of the deduplication system to provide a stream of data to a deduplication server. Such a stream of data can include numerous data objects (e.g., backed-up files). Depending upon a type of a data object, the deduplication system can select an appropriate segment size and store data from the incoming data stream into a series of appropriately sized segments. A potential problem with such a scheme of breaking a data stream into segments is that a data stream may abnormally terminate during the course of providing data to a segment. Such an abnormal termination may result in the last segment of that transmission being incomplete. In addition, upon the resumption of the transmission of the data stream from the client (or a fallback client) data in subsequent segments will be shifted by an amount of data equal to the data placed in the final incomplete segment of the previous transmission stream. Such shifting will make the subsequent segments completing the data object ineligible for deduplication in the single instance data store. A further problem may be that since the segment sizes are chosen to be optimal for a particular object, since the second data stream may resume mid-data object, the stream segmenter of the deduplication system would not be able to select an appropriate segment size for the remainder of the data object in the beginning of the second data stream.
It is therefore desirable for a data deduplication system to have a stream segmenter that can associate a data stream received after an abnormal termination of a previous data stream with that previous data stream in order to determine an appropriate segment size for the remainder of a data object received at the beginning of the second data stream. Further, it is desirable for the stream segmenter of the deduplication server to perform a segment splice, allowing fixed size segmentation of the data object to proceed at the proper segment alignment for deduplication to occur, as if the first data stream had never been interrupted.

Method and apparatus to recover from interrupted data streams in a deduplication system


The present invention provides a liquid protectant composition composed of a cationic microemulsion of a natural wax (carnauba wax) nanometer sized particles and zinc oxide nanometer sized particles in combination with a quaternary siloxane compound. The protectant composition of the present invention cleans, protects preserves and enhances the appearances of leather or vinyl surfaces used for covering items in the home or in vehicles. The product is easy to apply to both smooth and textured surfaces and has a transparent appearance. The product dries quickly and does not leave an oily residue. Utilization of nano technology to select components having nano sized particles provides a uniform deposition of the product leaving a thin film having exceptional protection properties. Unlike conventional protectants, the invention of the instant composition dries quickly and leaves no oily residue behind.

1. Technical Field
The present invention provides a liquid protectant composition composed of nanometer sized carnauba wax particles and zinc oxide nanometer sized particles in combination with a silicone quat for cleaning, protecting and enhancing the appearance of leather and vinyl on interior surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automotive and household products such as upholstery for automobiles, boats, planes, trucks, and other vehicles, in addition to house hold items such as furniture are comprised in large part of vinyl or leather materials. Exposure of these materials to heat and light, especially in extreme environmental conditions such as the interior of an automobile can degrade and damage the material over time resulting in discoloration, cracking and fading of the material.
Protectant products have been developed to coat the surface of these materials to minimize the degradation of the material due to environmental factors and provide a durable and shiny appearance. Problems occur when the products are sprayed onto a surface to be protected such as the vinyl surface of a car door or dash and over spray results in a residue on the interior of the glass. Alternatively, the product may be composed of a gel typically does not spray as easily in cold weather and may leave too thick of a coating on the surface resulting in a slippery or greasy surface.
Compositions for protecting rubber, plastic, vinyl, and the like are known in the prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,962 by Burke et al. teaches a coating composition containing a fluorine containing polymer, micronized wax, hydrocarbon solvent, organosilicone compound, surfactant and water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,323 by Klayder et al. teaches a silicone gel wax for metal surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,765 by Ghodoussi teaches a composition containing a wax, ultraviolet protectant, and surfactant containing an anionic and cationic surfactant. U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,556 by Batdorf et al. utilizes submicronized zinc oxide together with an acrylic latex composition and viscosity control agent to maximize UV protection. U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,767 by Fisher teaches a composition containing micronized wax, organic solvent, emulsifier, silicone liquid in water. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,217,758 and 5,462,587 by Greenleaf et al. teaches the use of a polysiloxane, diluent, and micronized wax composition. U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,433 teaches a organopolysiloxane based composition for elastomeric applications. U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,200 by LeGrow teaches a alkylaryl polysiloxane copolymer composition for protecting vinyl and rubber surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 6,933,268 by White teaches the use of a composition containing a cleaning agent, silicone, thickener, neutralizing agent, ultraviolet agent, and water. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,843 by Wright teaches the use of a water based emulsion of acrylic copolymer containing polyethoxylated alkylphenol and ammonium hydroxide. U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,956 by Muntz et al. teaches a organopolysiloxane emulsion based composition for protecting elastomeric surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,387 by Faber et al. teaches the use of a volatile silicone fluid, an amino-functional silicone fluid, and an organopolysiloxane fluid to protect rubber, vinyl, and leather surfaces.

Ashland Licensing and Intellectual Property, LLC (ALIP)


To endow such a device, of the type with a bolt (1) actuated by a key (2), with a high level of tamper-proofing and security without compromising its simplicity and reliability, the device includes two bolt-guiding members (3, 4) carried by one of the two elements, and the bolt includes a key-inserting aperture (114), two guiding ramps (112, 113) cooperating with the guiding members, and a third guiding ramp (115) cooperating with the key (2) when the latter is inserted into the aperture (114), in order to selectively actuate the bolt (1) from a locking position to an unlocking position, and vice versa, by rotation of the key.

The present invention relates to a locking device for mutually locking two elements, in particular a covering element to an element forming a support frame for this covering element, and applies for example to devices for closing shafts for inspecting an underground network, such as roadway or footway manholes, and to devices for closing technical inspection chambers of an underground cable network, such as trapdoors.
At present, there are numerous mechanical devices for making such covers or trapdoors tamper-proof, both of the lock type and of the latch type.
Locks include a mechanism which may be complex, causing the displacement of a bolt under a keeper by means of a specific key. They generally afford a relatively high level of security, but their complex mechanism, often situated in a environment which is corrosive and favourable to fouling, requires costly protection (xe2x80x9cnoblexe2x80x9d materials and leaktight housing).
Latches are simple and economical devices which are not very sensitive to the environment and are generally actuable by a key rotationally driving a pivot with a special head integral with a bolt movable under a keeper. They generally afford a lower level of security, the head of the pivot being visible and capable of manipulation by conventional tools.
The object of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages by creating a device of the latch type which is not very sensitive to fouling and corrosion and can easily be made invisible to the outside and inaccessible to conventional tools, so as to afford a level of tamper-proofing and security comparable to that of a lock.
To this end, the invention relates to a locking device for mutually locking a first and second element, in particular a covering element to an element forming a support frame for the covering element, of the type including a movable bolt and a key for actuating the bolt, characterised in that it further includes two bolt-guiding members carried by one of the said first and second elements, and the bolt includes a key-inserting aperture, two guiding ramps adapted to cooperate with the two guiding members respectively, and a third guiding ramp adapted to cooperate with the contour of the key when the latter is inserted into the said aperture, in order to selectively actuate the bolt from a locking position to an unlocking position or from an unlocking position to a locking position, by rotation of the key.
The fact that the actual latch consists of few members also makes it very economical.
The locking device according to the invention may further have one or more of the following characteristics:
one of the bolt-guiding members is carried by the first element and is formed by a member for securing the bolt to the first element, and the guiding ramp adapted to cooperate with this member is a wall of an oblong hole which is made in the bolt and into which the securing and guiding member is inserted;
the securing and guiding member is a screw, the body of which is passed through the oblong hole and carries a locknut situated under the bolt;
the other bolt-guiding member is carried by the first element and formed by a wedge-shaped finger, and the guiding ramp adapted to cooperate with this member is a region of a lateral edge of the bolt including an indentation forming a receptacle for the finger;
the wedge-shaped finger is in one piece with the cover and extends in a manner projecting from a bottom face thereof;
the third guiding ramp adapted to cooperate with the contour of the key consists of the lateral wall of the aperture, this lateral wall being adapted to cooperate with a key bit when the latter is inserted into the aperture;
the aperture has an indentation, one edge of which forms an abutment for the bit when the bolt is in the unlocking position;
the bit has a notch adapted to come into engagement with a boss in the shape of a circular crown surrounding a hole for inserting the key, made in the cover and situated facing the aperture, this boss projecting into the aperture and also cooperating with the third guiding ramp;
the hole has a frustoconical shape flared towards the outer face of the cover and adapted to cooperate with a complementary frustoconical surface of the key, so as to ensure the rotational guidance of the key;
the frustoconical hole has a major diameter significantly smaller than the aperture; and
the key includes, at the base of a shank, a collar intended to bear on the cover, and the region for connection of the bit to the collar has a frustoconical surface adapted to cooperate with a frustoconical surface of a hole of the cover.

Device for mutually locking two elements, in particular a covering element to an element forming a support frame

Abstract: Use: devices for closing roadway or footway manholes, or underground technical chambers.


A device (20) for controlling an audio signal comprising at least: means for commanding, rotationally mobile around an axis of rotation (A) relatively to a footing, first means for detecting a movement in rotation of the commanding means, capable of delivering a first signal, second means for detecting a movement in translation along an axis (z) substantially parallel to the said axis of rotation (A), capable of delivering a second signal. According to the invention, the said second means for detecting comprise at least one pressure sensor (210) delivering said second signal and comprising at least a upper part (210A), a lower part (210C), and a central part (210B) located between the upper part and the lower part, at least one of these parts being rigid, and at least one of these parts being elastic and deformable along an axis substantially parallel to the said axis of rotation (A).

Electronic mixing controllers or consoles are widely used by professional or amateur DJs (disc-jockeys) to select and broadcast pieces of music in discotheques or a parties and to interact with these pieces of music (if necessary with visual accompaniments such as images, video material or visual effects) especially to accelerate, slow down and/or repeat a portion (these are processing operations known as "mixing").
These electronic mixing consoles are an alternative or a complement to vinyl turntables (or record players). They can furthermore be used to mix audio-video clips and synchronize music with video (or vice versa).
There are relatively compact mixing consoles which can be easily transported. Some of them can be connected to a data-processing apparatus, a laptop computer, for example, on which a mixing software program is implemented, for example the "Virtual DJ" (registered mark) software from the firm Atomix Productions which is capable of mixing audio and video tracks. With this software, it is possible to perform scratching with the video in the same way as with audio only, i.e. with the same impact on the sound track of the video clip as if a soundtrack having no visual accompaniment were to be mixed.
Classically, a mixing console comprises a control surface on which there are control means such as for example rotary buttons, push buttons, rectilinear potentiometers or faders used for setting the audio signals (in terms of equalization, volume, balance, gain etc).
One or more jog wheels or jog dials are also provided. A jog wheel of this kind enables the user to move within musical libraries or within a musical piece or else accelerate or slow down the playback of a musical piece.
During the reading of a piece of music, a pressure exerted by a user on the jog wheel enables the creation of a sound effect known as a "scratch" as when a DJ places his hand on a vinyl microgroove record when it is being played on a record player (thus interrupting its rotation) and moves the record forward or backward.
It is desirable that the mixing console should detect such scratching on the part of the user, i.e. the action of the user's hand or fingers on the jog wheel.
Solutions have been proposed implementing a capacitive electrical detection device. This solution has the drawback of requiring the use or addition of a microcontroller enabling this type of detection, which is not supported by all present-day microcontrollers. The cost of the electronics is therefore increased.
Furthermore, the working of a capacitive detection device of this kind can be disturbed by the presence of static electricity or for example by the fact that the user's shoes are not ground-connected and therefore electrically insulate the user.
Furthermore, it is desirable for the user to know that the mixing console has detected the pressure that he is exerting on the jog wheel, i.e. the weight of his hand or fingers when he makes a scratch.
In addition, certain jog wheels are not sufficiently silent.
Besides, most current-day mixing consoles do not allow the DJ to adjust the resistance of the rotation of the jog wheel or wheels according to preference.
More generally, present-day mixing consoles do not offer any sensation close to that of vinyl turntables.
Nor are they compatible with jog wheels of different diameters.
Finally the jog wheels of current mixing consoles detecting the pressure of the user's hand or fingers use numerous parts which make them complex to assemble and increases their cost.
In other words, existing mixing consoles do not give full satisfaction.

Device for controlling at least one audio signal and corresponding electronic mixing console