The administration of antagonists and blockers of amylin or CGRP or both for the treatment of obesity and essential hypertension and associated lipid disorders and atherosclerosis.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is medicine, and more particularly, the effect of amylin antagonists and amylin blockers on glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues as a treatment for obesity and essential hypertension and associated lipid disorders and atherosclerosis.
2. Description of Related Art and Introduction of the Invention
Publications and other materials including patent applications used to illuminate the specification are incorporated herein by reference.
A 37-amino acid peptide called amylin has been isolated, purified, sequenced and characterized. The present invention discloses the use of amylin antagonists and amylin receptor blockers to control glucose and lipid metabolism for the treatment of obesity and essential hypertension and associated lipid abnormalities and atherosclerosis.
The peptide hormone amylin (previously termed "diabetes associated peptide") was isolated and characterized by Cooper et al. from the amyloid of the islets of Langerhans in Type 2 diabetics, and immunoreactivity to the peptide has been demonstrated in islet B-cells of both normal and Type 2 diabetic subjects. In view of our discovery that this hormone is derived from pancreatic amyloid masses, we have proposed the name "amylin".
Although it has been known for some time that amyloid masses in the islets of Langerhans are a feature of the pancreas in Type 2 diabetes, the monomer has only recently been shown to be the 37-amino acid peptide amylin (Cooper, G. J. S. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1987; 84: 8628-8632), which has the following amino acid sequence: ##STR1## Specific immunoreactivity to amylin is found in islet amyloid, and in cells of the islets of Langerhans, where it co-localizes with insulin in the islet B-cells (see: Cooper, G. J. S. et al., Lancet ii: 966 (1987)). We have shown that the native amylin molecule contains a disulfide bridge between the Cys residues shown at positions 2 and 7 and is amidated at its 3' end. Both of these post-translational modifications are necessary for the complete biologic activity of amylin.
Insulin resistance is a major pathophysiological feature in both obese and non-obese type 2 diabetics, and was previously believed to be due mainly to a post-binding defect in insulin action (see: Berhanu et al., J. Clin. Endoc. Metab. 55: 1226-1230 (1982)). Such a defect could be due to an intrinsic property of peripheral cells, or caused by a change in concentration of a humoral factor in plasma, or both. Previous attempts at demonstrating a humoral factor responsible for insulin resistance have yielded conflicting results. Nor has it been possible to demonstrate an intrinsic post-binding defect in insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (see: Howard, B. V. Diabetes 30: 562-567 (1981); Kolterman, O. G. et al., J. Clin. Invest.: 68: 957-969 (1981)).
The mechanisms of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes are complex. Evidence, gleaned mainly from studies on adipose tissue, was said to suggest that in the mildest cases, insulin resistance could be accounted for largely by a deficiency in numbers of insulin receptors on peripheral target cells, but that as the degree of fasting hyperglycaemia increases, a post-receptor defect of insulin action emerges and progressively increases in significance (see: Kolterman et al., supra). The impaired glucose tolerance accompanying insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes is believed to be caused largely by decreased glucose uptake in perpheral tissues, but incomplete glucose-induced suppression of hepatic glucose production has also been said to be implicated (see: Wajngot et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 70: 4432-4436 (1982)). In both obese and non-obese type 2 diabetics, the insulin dose-response curve is shifted to the right and there is a marked decrease in the maximal rate of glucose disposal and of total-body glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetics compared with non-diabetic subjects (Kolterman et al., supra; De Fronzo, R. A. et al., J. Clin. Invest. 76: 149-155 (1985)).
The majority of the glucose in an oral glucose load in humans is utilized in the periphery where, quantitatively, the most important tissue is skeletal muscle (De Fronzo, R. A. et al., J. Clin, Invest. 76: 149-155 (1985); Katz et al., Diabetes 32: 675-679 (1983)), and it has recently been shown that reduced clearance of glucose into skeletal muscle accounts for the bulk of the decrease in total body glucose uptake in type 2 diabetics (see: De Fronzo et al., supra). The in vivo decrease in insulin-mediated glucose disposal in type 2 diabetes is said to be caused mainly by a marked decrease in non-oxidized glucose storage, primarily in skeletal muscle, rather than by a major shift in glucose or lipid oxidation (Meyer et al., Diabetes 29: 752-756 (1980); Boden et al., Diabetes 32: 982-987 (1983)). The degree to which relative insulin deficiency contributes to the overall reduction in whole-body glucose clearance is unclear. Muscle glycogen synthesis has been shown to determine the in vivo insulin-mediated glucose disposal rate in humans (Bogardus et al., J. Clin. Invest. 73: 1185-1190 (1984)).
Weight gain requires an intake of energy that is greater than its expenditure. It therefore follows that obesity occurs in response to sustained caloric intake in excess of requirement. Food intake need not be abnormally high during the development of obesity, provided activity is limited, although the development of obesity is normally accompanied by a high caloric intake. Once attained, the obese state is commonly maintained at a level of caloric intake insufficient to produce obesity, said to happen because accompanying morbidity prevents exercise (Foster, D. W. In: Wilson, J. D. & Foster, D. W., eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 7th ed. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1985: 1081-1107).
Obese patients frequently claim that they gain weight on amounts of food that do not cause obesity in other persons, perhaps due to a more efficient use of ingested calories than would be the case in lean individuals Conversely, some persons can maintain weight near normal despite wide swings in the amount of food eaten (Black, D. et al., J.R. Coll. Phys. Lond. 1983; 17: 5-65). The excess calories necessary to gain weight vary considerably even among normal subjects; for example, in one study, individuals on a high fat diet required between 4703 and 8471 kcal/kg to gain 1 kg (Goldman, R. F. et al. In: Bray, G. A., ed. Obesity in perspective. DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 75-708. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975: 165-186). Numerous experimental findings support a difference in metabolic efficiency between lean and obese, the former apparently having the ability to waste calories as heat not shared by the latter. Observations in genetically obese rodents also support this notion, as these rodents have a defect in theromoregulation on exposure to cold (Trayhurn, P. et al. Theromoregulation in genetically obese rodents: the relationship to metabolic efficiency. In: Festing, M. W. F., ed. Animal Models of Obesity. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979: 191-203). Since ingested energy can be utilized for work, heat generation, or energy storage, it follows that the greater the conversion of excess calories to heat, the lesser will be their availability for storage as fat, given a fixed requirement for work.
On the basis of animal studies, it has been proposed that the propensity to develop obesity is genetically influenced through alterations in thermogenic capacity (James, W. P. T. & Trayhurn, P. Lancet 1976; 2: 770-773; James, W. P. T. & Trayhurn, P. Br. Med. Bull. 1981; 37: 43-48; Coleman, D. L. Nutr. Rev. 1978; 36: 129-132). The idea is that, in the past, when food supply was intermittent, genetic pressure would favor an efficient metabolism, so that a high percentage of food eaten would be stored for periods when food was not available. This genetic property would then manifest as obesity when food was constantly available.
Experimental evidence for this theory has been provided by experiments with the children of obese parents, which were based on the observation that obese children frequently have obese parents. Numerous metabolic indices indicated that the children of the obese have more efficient metabolisms, and that, early on, they may control their weight by restricting their food intake (i.e. eating physiologically) (Griffiths, M. & Payne, P. R. Nature 1976; 260: 698-700). In persons with established obesity, it has been said that there is probably a defect in glucose-induced (post prandial) theromogenesis, presumably as a result of insulin-resistance, but the defect is relatively small (Golay, A. et al., Diabetes 1982; 31: 1023-1028).
Hypertension, obesity and glucose intolerance (impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus) are associated in both clinical and epidemiological studies (Chiang et al., Circulation 39: 403-421 (1960); Sims, E. A. H. Hypertension 4 (Suppl. 3); 43-49 (1982); Bray, G. A. Dis. Mon. 26: 1-85 (1979); West, K. M. Epidemiology of Diabetes and its Vascular Lesions. Elsevier/North Holland, New York, pp. 191-284, 351-389 (1978); Medalie et al., Arch. Int. Med. 135: 811-817 (1975); Zimmett, P. Diabetologia 22: 399-411 (1982); Barrett-Connor, AM. J. Epidemiol. 113: 276-284 (1981); Jarrett et al., Int. J. Epidemiol., 7: 15-24 (1978); Butler et al., Am. J. Epidemiol. 16, 971-980 (1982) and may have common pathogenetic mechanisms (Modan et al., J. Clin. Invest. 75: 809-817 (1985)).
There are two major and distinct syndromes of hypertension in diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension and hypertension accompanying diabetic nephropathy (see respectively: Sleight, P. Essential Hypertension. In: The Oxford Textbook of Medicine. Weatherall, D. J. et al., eds. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1987); Magili et al., N. Engl. J .Med. 318: 146-150 (1988)). Over 50% of patients presenting clinically with type 2 diabetes mellitus have essential hypertension, i.e. elevated arterial blood pressure not secondary to an established primary cause of hypertension. Essential hypertension should be distinguished from the hypertension that frequently develops during the course of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which is usually related to the onset and progression of diabetic nephropathy, and is therefore a secondary, renal form of hypertension, although the possibility of an inherited predisposition to raised arterial pressure in this condition has also been suggested (Magili et al , supra). The latter form of hypertension is accompanied by biochemical evidence of progressive nephropathy (i.e. microalbuminuria, elevated serum creatinine, etc.) and can thus be distinguished from essential hypertension not accompanied by nephropathy.
Insulin resistance is a major feature common to essential hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes. This insulin resistance occurs primarily in skeletal muscle, and results mainly from depressed rates of glycogen synthesis (non-oxidative glucose storage). Recent evidence confirms that essential hypertension is an insulin resistant state (Ferrannini et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 317: 350-357 (1987); Shen, D. C. et al., J. Clin. Endoc. Metab. 1988: 580-583 (1988)). The insulin resistance involves glucose but not lipid or potassium metabolism, is located in peripheral tissues, is limited to nonoxidative pathways of intracellular glucose disposal (primarily glycogen synthesis), and is directly correlated with the severity of the hypertension. It has also been demonstrated that the bulk (more than 70%) of glucose uptake in the whole body occurs in skeletal muscle (De Fronzo, R. A. & Ferrannini, E. Diabetes Metabolism Reviews 3: 415-459 (1987)). In type 2 diabetes, it is primarily insulin resistance in skeletal muscle that is said to account for the low rates of glucose clearance from the blood and, hence, to be a major determinant of impaired glucose tolerance (Kolterman, O. G. Diabetes/Metabolism Reviews 3: 399-414 (1987)). Therefore, a major common feature between essential hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity is insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. While we believe that elevated amylin levels are the cause of this insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes, it is our further determination that they also contribute to the disease state in essential hypertension and obesity.

Treatment of obesity and essential hypertension and related disorders


Disclosed is a system and method for aligning a free-space optical signal in an optical system having a light modulator having an array of pixels. In this system and method, certain pixels of the light modulator array are initially assigned for the modulation of the free-space optical signal. An alignment optical signal is generated and monitored, to determine whether the optical system components are properly aligned. The alignment optical signal is generated and propagated along a path that is substantially aligned with the path of the free-space optical signal. Detector elements are used to monitor the position (and shifts in the position) of the free-space optical signal. By reassigning the pixels of the array of the light modulator at the direction of a control system, it is possible for the light modulator to compensate for shifts in the alignment of the optical components within the system.

In an optical system employing free-space optical components with pixel-based light modulation, such as reflective spatial light modulators or reflective or transmissive liquid crystal displays, it is important that the light beam be properly aligned with the modulating elements. The light beam also must be properly aligned with the other optical components within the optical system. Mechanical alignment is presently used to position the components in a free-space optical system such that proper alignment is established. Such mechanical alignment can be a time-consuming and laborious process. Typically, the assembler of the system monitors received and/or transmitted power levels in various stages within the system as the positioning of the components is tweaked using mechanical, piezoelectric, or other forces to move components into alignment.
Not only must free-space optical systems and subsystems be initially configured for proper alignment, but such free-space optical systems are prone to instability in their alignment due to, for instance, environmental temperature variation and corresponding Coefficient of Thermal Expansion ("CTE") mismatches between components made of differing materials within the systems. Thus, over temperature ranges required for operation, e.g., 0-70° C., individual lenses, gratings, mirrors and other components within an enclosure may shift by differing amounts and in different directions. Such shifting may come from the above components, the mounting enclosures and/or adhesives capturing the components having different CTEs.
Other techniques for dealing with environmental stresses and variation include active temperature control and hermetic sealing of components and/or systems. These techniques, however, can be difficult and/or expensive depending upon the size and other system or component design factors.

Feedback control for free-space optical systems


The monolithic base is a porous alumina body that includes pores and that is configured by alumina particles as an aggregate and an oxide phase as a binding material. The alumina particles include microscopic alumina particles having a particle diameter of greater than or equal to 0.5 μm and less than or equal to 5 μm and coarse alumina particles having a particle diameter of greater than 5 μm. The number of microscopic alumina particles that are encapsulated in the oxide phase is greater than or equal to 50% of the total number of microscopic alumina particles and coarse alumina particles.

In relation to a typical monolithic structure that is provided with a monolithic base that includes a plurality of filtration cells and a separation membrane that is formed on an inner surface of the filtration cells, a technique has been proposed to inhibit adverse effects on strength that result from high-temperature alkali processing by suitable provision of a thickness to the separation layer and a partition wall thickness between two filtration cells (reference is made to PCT Laid Open Application 2012/128218).

Monolithic base and production method therefor


Split collars function to releasably attach shelving to a plurality of vertical support posts. Each collar comprises a front half and a rear half with interlocking structure between the collar halves for releasably locking them together. Each split collar has a frusto-conical interior surface, and an upwardly extending shelf supporting hook is integral with one of the collar halves. When the split collars are attached to the support posts the hooks engage and support the shelving, Such shelving may be mounted horizontally or angularly, if desired.

The present invention relates to an adjustable shelving assembly, and more particularly to an assembly that may include horizontally and/or angularly mounted shelving without the need for dismantling the overall assembly when additional shelving is desired.
Prior to the present invention numerous adjustable shelving systems have been proposed. In many of these systems adjustment of the shelving by adding or removing individual shelves thereof required total dismantling and reconstruction of the shelving. This disadvantage is the result of unitary comer collars on the shelving. A relatively simple and economical procedure has long been sought for the removal and/or addition of shelving without the need for total dismantling the shelving assembly.

Metal Masters Foodservice Equipment Co., Inc.


Prior to multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) measurement condition optimization, an analysis operator prepares, for each precursor ion of an objective compound, two lists on a product-ion selection condition setting screen 200, i.e. a list 203 which shows ions to be preferentially selected as product ions for which the optimization needs to be performed and a list 202 which shows ions to be excluded from the optimization. When a measurement is performed, a product-ion scan measurement for the precursor ion of the objective compound is performed and a spectrum is obtained. Among the ions extracted from this spectrum, any ion registered in the excludable-ion list 202 is excluded, while any ion registered in the preferred-ion list 203 is preferentially selected as a product ion. For each combination of the m/z values of the precursor ion and the product ions thus determined, optimum conditions of the MRM measurement are searched for.

A method called an MS/MS analysis (or tandem analysis) is widely used as one of the mass spectrometric techniques for identification, structural analyses or quantitative determination of compounds having large molecular weights. There are various kinds of mass spectrometers with different configurations designed for the MS/MS analysis, among which tandem quadrupole mass spectrometers are characterized by their relatively simple structures as well as easy operation and handling.
As described in Patent Literature 1 or other references, in generally used tandem quadrupole mass spectrometers, ions generated from compounds in an ion source are introduced into a front-stage quadrupole mass filter (which is commonly represented as "Q1"), in which an ion having a specific mass-to-charge ratio m/z is selected as a precursor ion. This precursor ion is introduced into a collision cell containing an ion guide with four (or more) poles (this ion guide is commonly represented as "q2"). A collision-induced dissociation (CID) gas, such as argon, is supplied into this collision cell, and the precursor ion introduced into the collision cell collides with this CID gas, to be fragmented into various kinds of product ions. These product ions are introduced into a rear-stage quadrupole mass filter (which is commonly represented as "Q3"), whereby a product ion having a specific mass-to-charge ratio m/z is selectively allowed to pass through this filter, arrive at a detector and be detected.
An MRM measurement mode is one mode of the MS/MS measurement available in tandem quadrupole mass spectrometers. In the MRM measurement mode, the mass-to-charge ratio of an ion to be allowed to pass through is fixed in each of the front-stage and rear-stage quadrupole mass filters so as to measure the intensity (amount) of a specific kind of product ion produced from a specific kind of precursor ion. The two-stage mass filtering in the MRM measurement enables the removal of ions and neutral particles originating from impurities or compounds which are not the target of the measurement, so that ion intensity signals with high S/N ratios can be obtained. Due to this feature, the MRM measurement is particularly effective for the quantitative determination of a trace constituent.
Tandem quadrupole mass spectrometers can be used independently. However, they are often coupled with a liquid chromatograph (LC) or a gas chromatograph (GC). For example, the liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS), in which a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer is used as a detector for a liquid chromatograph, is frequently used for a quantitative analysis of a compound contained in a sample which contains a large number of compounds or a sample which contains impurities.
When an MRM measurement is performed with an LC/MS/MS (or GC/MS/MS), a combination of the mass-to-charge ratio of a target precursor ion and that of a product ion must be set, as one item of the measurement conditions, in association with the retention time of an objective compound before the measurement of an objective sample is performed. By setting an optimum combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion for each objective compound, the signal intensity of the ions originating from each objective compound can be obtained with high accuracy and high sensitivity, and the quantity of the compound can also be determined with high accuracy and high sensitivity. The combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion can be manually set by analysis operators. However, the manual setting is considerably cumbersome and yet does not always ensure successful setting of an optimum combination. To address this problem, a system capable of an automatic and highly reliable setting of an optimum combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion for an objective compound has been developed, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1.
A high-accurate and high-sensitive quantitative determination of an objective compound by an MRM measurement does not only require the aforementioned optimum setting of the combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion for the objective compound but also the optimum setting of the collision energy and other measurement conditions for that combination. As described in Non Patent Literature 1, mass spectrometers having the function of automatically optimizing control parameters used in the MRM measurement have also been commonly known (this function is hereinafter called the "MRM measurement condition optimizing function"). In an example described in Non Patent Literature 1, the control parameters include the "Q1 pre-rod voltage" in the front-stage quadrupole mass filter, the "Q3 pre-rod voltage" in the rear-stage quadrupole mass filter and the "collision energy CE."
Conventional MRM measurement condition optimizing functions can be classified into the following two methods:
(1) An analysis operator specifies a combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion originating from a target compound. Then, an analysis of a known sample containing that compound (e.g. a standard sample) is performed so as to search for optimum values of the control parameters for the specified combination of the mass-to-charge ratios of the precursor ion and the product ion. The result is shown on a display unit.
(2) An analysis operator only specifies the mass-to-charge ratio of the precursor ion originating from the target compound. Then, a product-ion scan measurement of the specified precursor ion is performed using a known sample containing that compound to obtain a product-ion spectrum, and a predetermined number of product-ion peaks are selected from that spectrum in descending order of signal intensity. Subsequently, for each combination of the originally specified precursor ion and each of the selected product ions, the search for the optimum values of the control parameters is conducted and the result is shown on a display unit.
In the case of method (1), the analysis operator needs to have previous knowledge of not only the mass-to-charge ratio of the precursor ion originating from the compound but also that of the product ion. By contrast, method (2) has the advantage that an appropriate product ion is automatically searched for and appropriate values of the control parameters can be obtained even if the analysis operator does not know the mass-to-charge ratio of the product ion to be selected as a target. However, it should be noted that, in the case where a plurality of product ions are generated from one precursor ion, the product ion showing the highest signal intensity is not always the most suitable ion for quantitative determination; in some cases, a product ion with a lower signal intensity may have a higher degree of peak purity and be more suitable for quantitative determination. If the product ion most suitable for quantitative determination has such a low intensity that is not included in the predetermined number of ions selected in descending order of intensity, the optimum parameter values for that ion cannot be obtained by method (2).
In the previously described conventional MRM measurement condition optimizing function, it is assumed that the analysis is conducted in such a manner that a standard sample or a sample containing a single compound is introduced into the ion source of the tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer by infusion or flow injection. Therefore, the result of a series of measurements performed for one injection of the sample can be used to optimize the values of the control parameters for the MRM measurement for the mass-to-charge ratio of only one kind of precursor ion. If there are a number of precursor ions for which the values of the control parameters need to be optimized, the sample injection and the series of measurements need to be repeated as many times as that number, so that a considerable amount of time is required for optimizing the MRM measurement conditions.


Providing a multicast service to a mobile node includes receiving a first request to join a multicast group from a first cell site. The first request requests that a first mobile node be permitted to join the multicast group. A first multicast source operable to provide content to the first mobile node is identified. The multicast group and the first multicast source are associated to yield a first group-source combination. A first key is assigned to the first group-source combination, and the first key is provided to the first cell site.

Multicasting allows content to be distributed to multiple devices of a communication network. To multicast packets to a multicast group, a single device may send copies of the packets to the members of the multicast group. Multicasting typically involves distributing packets using a group identifier that uniquely identifies the multicast group. In certain situations, however, the group identifier itself might not provide for effective multicast group identification. For example, a group identifier might not be sufficient in networks that have private or overlapping addresses. It is generally desirable to effectively distribute packets.

Providing a multicast service using a multicast group-source key


The present invention is a bag or backpack with the addition of at least one mesh pouch affixed within the bag. The at least one pouch is preferably made of mesh fabric, and includes a top opening with a top hem to contain fasteners which are placed inside of the hem. The top opening of the at least one pouch can be tightened together so that personal belongings which are placed inside of the at least one pouch will not drop out of the pouch. With the aid of the at least one interior pouch, the bag or backpack of the present invention significantly improves convenience, ease for organizing personal belongings being placed inside of the bag or backpack, and efficient use of the internal volume of the bag or backpack.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to sports bags, and more particularly to a bag containing interior nylon mesh pouches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bags are well known and enable people to store, carry and transport various types of personal belongings including sports equipment. A very popular type of bag is a duffel bag with a plain storage compartment having a zippered top. However, the bag with one plain compartment fails to effectively keep various items placed inside of the compartment in an organized fashion. There is a significant need to have a bag which provides a means to more efficiently store and organize items and especially sports items retained within the bag.

Sports bag and backpack containing nylon mesh pouches within the bag and the backpack


A cutting insert having a front cutting edge and a connecting surface including male- and/or female-like engagement portions, in order to rigidly secure the cutting insert, a geometrically predetermined reference locus serving as a force-application spot for the clamping of the cutting insert. Simultaneously active engagement portions are of only two types—a first, elongate engagement portion, which is located between the front cutting edge and the reference locus, and a second, elongate engagement means, which is oriented at an angle to the first engagement portion and situated at a greater distance from the front cutting edge than the reference locus. In such a way, it is guaranteed that a tightening force always is applied to the cutting insert in a substantially triangular area, which is defined by the free ends of the engagement portions. Furthermore, a tool for chip removing machining, as well as an attachment, e.g., a shim plate, for such tools is provided.

Within the art of cutting machining, it has become more and more common to use connecting surfaces of the type that are formed with co-operating male- and female-like engagement portions. Particularly frequently, such connecting surfaces are found in the interface between the basic body of the tool and the replaceable cutting insert or inserts. An earlier, simple type of connecting surface—which by those skilled in the art commonly is denominated "serrations"—is built up by a plurality of conformal, straight and parallel ridges of generally V-like cross-section shape, which are spaced apart by grooves having the same general cross-section shape as the ridges. Therefore, the ridges in one of the two connecting surfaces can engage and be wedged up in the grooves in the other connecting surface, and vice versa.
Connecting surfaces of this type counteract relative motions between the components of the tool in one direction, i.e., perpendicular to the ridges. However, relative motions in the direction parallel to the ridges are not prevented. To overcome this imperfection, recently, connecting surfaces have been developed that include not only a certain a number of parallel, longitudinal ridges or male-like engagement portions, but also one or more transverse ridges. The object of such connecting surfaces—which by those skilled in the art usually are denominated "cross serrations"—is to lock the components of the tool also in the other co-ordinate direction. In such a way, turning of the cutting insert is counteracted. Examples of cutting tools featuring connecting surfaces having oblique or crossing engagement portions in the form of male- and female-like, respectively, engagement portions, are disclosed in, among others, U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,919, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,518, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,613 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,060.
Common to earlier known connecting surfaces of the type generally mentioned above, is that they include a comparatively great number of pairs of co-operating flanks, which should be brought into contact with each other when connection of two tool components is carried out. As a representative example of this, reference is made to the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,613, which accounts for a cutting tool, the cutting insert and insert seat of which are formed with connecting surfaces, each one of which includes no less than five pairs of active, i.e., actively contactable, flanks. Clamping of the cutting insert in the insert seat of the basic body is carried out by means of a screw, which is inserted through a hole in the cutting insert, and is tightened in a threaded hole present in the basic body and mouthing in the insert seat. The tightening force that the screw applies to the cutting insert is accordingly applied in a reference locus, which is defined by the common, geometrical center axis of the screw and the holes. Of the five active flank pairs in the respective connecting surfaces, two are situated in front of the center axis, i.e., in an area between the same and an active, front edge of the cutting insert, while the other three flank pairs are situated behind the center axis. Of these rear flank pairs, two are mutually parallel and extend in a conceived extension of the two front flank pairs, while the third, rear flank pair is transverse, i.e., extends perpendicularly to the other flank pairs, the transverse flanks being spaced-apart and located on both sides of the center axis.
In theory, the connecting surfaces disclosed in the above-mentioned document offer a good solution to the problem of rigidly securing a cutting insert in an insert seat of a basic body. However, in practice, this solution—as well as similar solutions to the problem, which are based on the use of a greater number of force-carrying flank pairs—has turned out to be associated with drawbacks difficult to master. Thus, for a satisfactory function, it is required that all flanks not only in the connecting surface of the cutting insert, but also the connecting surface of the basic body, are manufactured with very narrow tolerances in order to guarantee such a good form and dimensional accuracy that the flanks in question de facto obtain force-transferring surface contact with each other. However, as soon as a smallest form defect unintentionally arises in any single flank, there is a risk that the cutting insert cannot be rigidly fixed in the insert seat of the basic body. In other words, the support of the cutting insert against the insert seat becomes over-determined, whereby the precision in respect of the position of the cutting edges in relation to the basic body is lost. In this connection, it should be borne in mind that individual cutting inserts, which constitute a mass produced wear part, never can be tailor-made for individual tools, in that the cutting insert is manufactured somewhere, usually from cemented carbide, while the basic bodies of the tools are manufactured elsewhere and from another material, usually steel.

Cutting insert and a tool for chip removing machining, as well as an attachment for such tools


An identification card holder, on the front side of which a replaceable identification card can be placed. A spring-loaded yo-yo is fastened and positioned on the reverse side of the holder, such that the yo-yo remains partially or completely invisible as the card, along with its holder, is viewed from the front side. As the yo-yo is integrated with the holder, the result will be a small-sized, readily portable, and easy-to-handle assembly, which can be distanced from a bearer to the proximity of a code reader for an electric lock without releasing the suspension.

The invention relates to a holder for an identification card, comprising a front side and a reverse side and provided with holding or gripping elements for the identification card for placing the replaceable identification card removably on the front side of the holder, a suspension clip for suspending the holder to a necklace or directly to a bearer's garment, as well as with a yo-yo present between the holder and the suspension clip and comprising a spring-loaded string winder and a string to whose end the suspension clip is attached.
It is prior known to use a separate yo-yo for the suspension of an identification card by way of threading a suspension clip attached to the end of the yo-yo's string through a hole in the identification card. Thus, the identification card can be distanced from its bearer or carrier for example to the proximity of a code reader for an electric lock or some other actuator without releasing the suspension.
On the other hand, it is prior known to attach identification cards to holders which can be suspended to a necklace or directly to a carrier's garment. Distancing or drawing away such identification cards from carrier to code reader is inconvenient as the carrier is often forced to assume an awkward posture to get in the immediate proximity of a code reader or to remove the card along with its holder or to remove the card from the holder (if the microchip carrying the identifier code is on the card).
The existing yo-yos and card holders may also be suspended as extensions of each other by way of suspending a card holder to a suspension clip present at the end of a yo-yo string, whereby the card, along with its card holder, can be distanced from the bearer or carrier to the proximity of a code reader without releasing the suspension. Since the yo-yo and the card holder are separate from each other and suspended as extensions of each other, the result is a bulky, awkward and poorly manageable assembly which is not pleasant to carry in suspension from a garment or around the neck. Hence, it is conventional to use a yo-yo or a card holder as alternatives to each other, the selection depending on a particular application or necessity. In ski lifts, for example, cards suspended to a yo-yo are in general use while plain card holders, without a yo-yo, have become established in office use.


A phase-locked loop incorporates a quadrature modulator for generating constant envelope phase or frequency modulation. Locating the quadrature modulator within the feedback loop or feeding the output signal of the quadrature modulator into the feedback loop permits accurate constant envelope phase modulation of the loop reference oscillator and completely suppresses undesired AM and PM components of the modulated signal.

Phase modulation in communications systems may generally be accomplished in one of three ways. The first technique is direct modulation of the transmitter oscillator, typically using a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in a phase-locked loop (PLL) as illustrated in FIG. 1. The desired baseband signal 150 containing signalling information is summed in a summer 130 with an error voltage 180 from a phase detector/comparator 120. This composite signal is then conditioned by low pass filter 140 before being applied to VCO 160. In theory, phase changes in the baseband signal can be preserved through summation and filtering to generate a voltage that regulates the VCO 160 to phase modulate as well as phase lock the RF output signal to the reference oscillator frequency.
In practice, however, this PLL circuit 100 exhibits poor accuracy since it is difficult to determine and generate the specific voltage required to regulate the VCO 160 to obtain the desired phase modulation. Errors introduced by both the summer 130 and the VCO 160 make it very difficult to achieve accurate phase modulation. This accuracy problem is exacerbated by component tolerances, aging, temperature, DC offset in driver amplitudes, and the frequency response of each of the component devices. Thus, the circuit of FIG. 1 fails to provide accurate phase modulation.
Accurate phase modulation can be achieved using a quadrature modulator as illustrated in FIG. 2. Quadrature modulator 200 accepts two modulating inputs: the I, or in-phase component 210, and the Q, or quadrature component 230. The quadrature relationship between these components is achieved by splitting a common reference signal generated by local oscillator 220 with a quadrature hybrid 280 and feeding the resulting orthogonal signals 240, 250 as respective local oscillation signals into in-phase 260 and quadrature 270 mixers. The outputs of the mixers 260, 270 are then summed at summer 290 to form the phase modulated output signal 295.
A major drawback of the quadrature modulator 200 is the generation of phase and amplitude imbalances between the two paths. These imbalances result in leakage of the local oscillator 220 to the modulated output 295 which generates intermodulation products. The imbalances and intermodulation responses manifest themselves as undesired amplitude (AM) and phase modulations (PM) in the phase modulated signal output 295.
Another approach to the accuracy problem is direct digital synthesis (DDS). However, practical direct digital synthesizers generate relatively high levels of spurious outputs, consume more power relative to other approaches, and are generally unsuitable for many narrowband applications.
The phase modulation problems described above are particularly troublesome in narrowband digital communication systems that seek to minimize the bandwidth occupied by transmitted signals. For example, narrowband communication systems often employ saturated (or non-linear) RF power amplifiers because of their relatively high efficiency. Unfortunately, non-linear amplification of amplitude varying signals generates spectral components outside the carrier fundamental frequency. This spectral spreading is particularly undesirable in narrowband communications.
To maintain high efficiency transmission in narrowband communications environments, it is important therefore to avoid amplitude modulation of the carrier signal. Consequently, the carrier is usually modulated with the input information signal using phase or frequency modulation techniques to preserve the constant amplitude envelope of the carrier. While in theory, phase modulation does not affect the amplitude of the input signal, practical phase modulation techniques, e.g. quadrature modulation, suffer residual phase and amplitude modulation imbalances between their in-phase and quadrature paths that lead to the above-described generation of undesired spurious AM and PM components in the output of the modulated signal as described above.
Therefore, when quadrature modulators are used with high efficiency nonlinear amplifiers, it is likely that some amplitude component will be added to the carrier. As a result, undesirable spreading of the transmission spectrum occurs defeating the intent of narrowband signaling. Although the PLL modulator of FIG. 1 provides constant envelope modulation, its poor accuracy as a phase modulator makes it an undesirable alternative.
The present invention accomplishes both of these seemingly incompatible goals of efficiency and narrowband transmission. The present invention provides a quadrature modulated, phase-locked loop for use in a narrowband communication system that does not generate AM or undesirable PM components. A quadrature modulator is either placed within (or fed into) the feedback path of a phase locked loop. The phase modulated feedback signal is compared to a reference frequency signal in a phase comparator such as a digital synthesizer. Since the synthesizer only compares the relative phases of-the input signals, the spurious AM components of the quadrature modulator output are effectively removed. Thus, accurate phase modulation is achieved while still maintaining a constant envelope carrier signal and a subsequent amplification of the modulated carrier by a nonlinear power amplifier does not result in transmission of signals outside the desired bandwidth. The present invention therefore is particularly advantageous for narrowband communications.
A primary phase-locked loop includes an oscillator for generating an output signal in response to a regulating signal. A modulator combines a feedback signal from the output signal with an information signal to produce a modulated signal. A phase comparator compares the phase of the modulated signal with the phase of a reference frequency signal to produce the regulating signal. A first filter is connected between the modulator and the phase comparator for conditioning the modulated signal. A second filter is connected between the phase comparator and the oscillator for conditioning the regulating signal. A sampling means samples the output signal to generate the feedback signal. The modulator may be a quadrature modulator, the sampling means a coupler, the oscillator a voltage or current controlled oscillator, and the phase comparator a digital synthesizer.
A frequency scaler for prescaling the frequency of the feedback signal may be connected in the feedback loop before or after modulation of the feedback signal. The frequency scaler includes a variable local oscillator and a mixer for mixing the local oscillator output signal and the feedback (or modulated) signal. The variable local oscillator may employ a secondary phase-locked loop and includes means for changing the frequency of the variable local oscillator which then tunes the primary phase-lock loop to different frequencies. A low pass filter is provided to minimize phase noise in the primary phase locked loop caused by changes in the local oscillator frequency.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the phase-locked loop includes a reference oscillator for generating an oscillator output signal in response to a regulated signal. A modulator combines the first reference signal and an information signal to produce a modulated signal. A mixer mixes the feedback signal and the modulated signal, and a phase comparator compares the phase of an output signal of the mixer with the phase of a second reference signal to produce the regulated signal. In yet another embodiment, the modulator combines a referenced signal and an information signal to produce a modulated signal, and the phase comparator compares the phase of a feedback signal with the phase of the modulated signal to produce the regulated signal.
The present invention also includes a phase modulation method for maintaining a constant envelope oscillator output signal generated by an oscillator in a phase-locked loop (PLL). The oscillator output signal is sampled to generate a PLL feedback signal which is then modulated with an information signal. The phase of the modulated signal is compared with the phase of a reference signal to determine the difference, and the difference is used to regulate the oscillator. The result of the method of the present invention is that the oscillator output signal is substantially free of spurious amplitude modulation.
In another embodiment, a constant envelope reference oscillation signal is phase modulated with an information signal. Any spurious amplitude modulations generated in the phase modulation are translated into spurious phase modulation components. Thereafter, the phase of the phase modulated signal is compared with the phase of a reference signal to generate a control signal for controlling the phase locked loop, wherein the spurious phase modulation components are removed in the comparing step.


A configurable module editor and viewer (CMVE) reads the RTL description of a configurable module keeping track of all possible configuration options. Configuration options include pre-processor macros that are normally removed by RTL parsers. The CMVE allows users to view multiple configurations simultaneously. The CMVE assists users in editing the configurable module by presenting a simplified view of interest, while automatically propagating changes and maintaining consistency in the configurable module. The CMVE outputs updated RTL that maintains all configuration options.

Electronic chip designers develop chips of ever increasing complexity using more and more transistors. Complex chips are often called a Systems-on-a-chip (SOC). SOC designers frequently simplify the development task by incorporating intellectual property (IP) modules into their design. IP modules implement pre-defined functions, are often developed by third parties and have usually been successfully used in multiple, earlier designs.
IP module developers make their modules configurable so that the module can be used in as many designs as possible. Configuration options affect the functionality of the module and how it is implemented. IP modules are usually written in RTL design languages such Verilog and VHDL. The SOC designer can customize an IP module by defining parameter values and specifying macro keyword values. Different members of the SOC development team may use different configuration options. Team members who emulate the design using FPGAs may use configuration options that allow the design to be implemented on an FPGA. Team members concerned with speed, timing and power may use different configuration options.
For many designs the SOC designer has to make significant modifications to IP modules. IP modules typically use generic memories and have few or no options for limiting power use. The SOC designer may replace all generic memories defined in the IP module with memory modules customized for the target process. The SOC designer may wish to replace time-critical or power-inefficient RTL constructs. The SOC designer wants to preserve the configurability of the IP module as he or she modifies it. Modifying these configurable IP modules is often a difficult, error-prone and time-consuming task. Each modification needs to work with all possible configurations. The problem is often compounded because the IP module developers are typically improving their IP modules and supplying periodic updates. If the SOC designer wants to use the latest version of an IP module, he or she will have re-make all of his or her changes.
Existing design tools treat RTL macros as pre-processing directives. They simplify the RTL by propagating macro values and effectively remove all reference to the macros.
SOC designers need an electronic design tool to help them modify configurable modules and SOC designs.

System and method for viewing and modifying configurable RTL modules


In various embodiments, an encoder may be configured to divide received content in a first format into one or more segments and then to transcode the previously-divided segments into other formats and/or bitrates for presentation. In various embodiments, the encoder may include multiple segmenting computing devices configured to perform the dividing of the content into segments. The encoder may also include multiple transcoding computing devices configured to transcode the divided segments into a format for presentation. In various embodiments, the computing devices may be configured to communicate with each other via a network to determine which content has been divided into segments and which divided segments have been transcoded. The determination may be performed autonomously by the devices. Thus, in various embodiments, the devices included in the encoder may be configured to perform segmenting and transcoding on a distributed basis without necessarily requiring coordination by any one device.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Advances in computing, networking and related technologies have led to proliferation in the availability of multi-media content, and the manners in which the content is consumed. Today, multi-media content may be made available from fixed medium (e.g., Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)), broadcast, cable operators, satellite channels, Internet, and so forth. Users may consume content with a television set, a laptop or desktop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or other devices of the like. Further, content may be made available in various formats and bitrates in order to support the capabilities of the various consumption technologies that are available to consumers.

Segmenting and transcoding of video and/or audio data


Noise reduction circuitry for a communication apparatus can apply different noise reduction transfer functions, depending on whether a listening device is connected to the apparatus. If no listening device is connected, the noise reduction transfer function can be adapted for use with microphones and speakers that form an integral part of the communication apparatus, which may be a cellular telephone. If a listening device is connected, the noise reduction transfer function can be adapted for use with microphones and speakers that form a part of the listening device. This allows the noise reduction circuitry to provide improved noise reduction performance.

The present invention relates to ambient noise-reduction systems for communications apparatus such as cellular phone handsets, walkie-talkies or the like, and it relates more especially to systems for handsets that are capable of being used both with and without listening devices such as earphones, headphones or headsets. That is, the user of the apparatus may choose, at any given time, to listen directly to the internal loudspeaker provided in the apparatus, or to listen using a wired or wireless listening device connected temporarily to the handset.
It has been proposed to provide ambient noise reduction in a cellular phone handset, by providing a signal processing device that receives a signal derived from detected ambient noise, and generates a sound that tends to cancel the effect of the ambient noise at the ear of the user.
It has now been recognized that, if ambient noise reduction is to be provided in a communications apparatus that can be listed to either directly by means of an internal loudspeaker or by means of a separate listening device, the ambient noise reduction must take account of the fact that the use of the separate listening device changes the sound environment, in terms both of the degree of exposure to ambient noise and of the noise-sensing and signal-processing approaches needed to reduce the ambient noise as perceived by the user.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communication apparatus with ambient noise reduction


A plurality of nonvolatile memory cells that constitute a nonvolatile memory are disposed in array form. Selection MIS•FETs for memory cell selection are electrically connected every bits. Each of the nonvolatile memory cells has a MIS•FET for writing data, a MIS•FET for reading data, and a capacitance section. Gate electrodes of the MIS•FETs and a capacitance electrode of the capacitance section are constituted of part of the same floating gate electrode. A control gate electrode of the nonvolatile memory cell is formed of part of an n well to which the capacitance electrode is opposite.

The present invention relates to semiconductor device technology, and particularly to a technique effective if applied to a semiconductor device having a nonvolatile memory.
Of semiconductor devices each having a nonvolatile memory, there is known one used to store relatively small-capacity information, like information used upon, for example, trimming, relief and image adjustments to an LCD (Liquid Crystal Device), the production number of the semiconductor device, etc.
This type of semiconductor device having the nonvolatile memory has been described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-185633 (patent document 1), which discloses a single level/poly EEPROM configured over a single conductive layer disposed over a semiconductor substrate with being insulated by an insulating layer, wherein the area per bit can be reduced.
A technique capable of causing a nonvolatile memory element formed by a single-layer poly flat technique to enhance a long-term information retention characteristic has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-257324 (patent document 2).


Compounds selected from the group consisting of a compound of the formula ##STR1## and compound of the formula ##STR2## wherein x is 1 or 2,. Y is carbobenzoxy or benzoyl, and PA1 XR is ##STR3## have use as elastase enzyme inhibitors. Particularly potent are the L-proline diastereomers.. Elastase Enzyme inhibitory compositions comprise a carrier and an elastase enzyme inhibiting amount of the compounds of the invention.. A method of selectively inhibiting the enzyme elastase in an animal or a human in need of such treatment comprises administering to the animal or human an enzyme elastase inhibiting amount of one of the compounds of the invention or a composition thereof.

Proteinases from polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages, especially elastases (human leukocyte elastase and cathepsin G), appear to be responsible for the chronic tissue destruction associated with inflammation, arthritis and emphysema. During infection or inflammation the normal lung is protected from proteolytic digestion by the protease inhibitor a.sub.1 -antiryspin. The protective mechanism appears to be non-operative in individuals with an a.sub.1 -antitrypsin elastase inhibitors capable of replacing a.sub.1 -antitrypsin therefore appear to be useful in the treatment of pulmonary emphysema and related diseases.
Several types of elastase inhibitors have been reported in the literature. These include peptide chloromethyl ketones as described in "Inhibition of Human Leukocyte Elastase by Peptide Chloromethyl Ketones", P. M. Tuhy and J. C. Powers, FEBS Letters, 50, 359-61 (1975); "Specificity of Porcine Pancreatic Elastase, Human Leukocyte Elastase and Cathepsin G. Inhibition with Peptide Chloromethyl Ketones", J. C. Powers, B. F. Gupton, A. D. Harley, N. Nishino and R. J. Whitley, Biochem. Biophys. Acta. 485, 156-66 (1977); azapeptides "Proteinase Inhibitors. 1. Inhibitors of Elastase", C. P. Dorn, M. Zimmerman, S. S. Yang, E. C. Yurewicz, B. M. Ashe, R. Frankshun and H. Jones, J. Med. Chem., 20: 1464-68 (1977); "Reaction of Serine Proteases with Aza-amino Acid and Aza-peptide Derivatives", J. C. Powers and B. F. Gupton, Meth. Enzymol., 46: 208-16 (1977); sulfonyl fluorides "Specificity and Reactivity of Human Leukocyte Elastase, Porcine Pancreatic Elastase, Human Granulocyte Cathepsin G, and Bovine Pancreatic Elastase, Human Granulocyte Cathepsin G, and Bovine Pancreatic Elastase, Human Granulocyte Cathepsin G, and Bovine Pancreatic Chymotrypsin with Arylsulfonyl Fluorides; "Discovery of a new series of potent and specific irreversible Elastase Inhibitors", T. Yoshimura, L. N. Barker and J. C. Powers, J. Biol. Chem., 257, 5077-84 (1982); heterocyclic acrylating agents "Inhibition of Elastase and Other Serine Proteases by Heterocyclic Acylating Agents", M. Zimmerman, H. Morman, D. Mulvey, H. Jones, R. Frankshun and B. M. Ashe, J. Biol. Chem., 255: 9848-51 (1980); "Selective Inhibition of Human Leukocyte Elastase and Bovine a.sub.1 -Chymotrypsin by Novel Heterocycles", B. M. Ashe, R. L. Clark, H. Jones and M. Zimmerman, J. Biol. Chem., 256: 11603-6 (1981); imidazole N-carboxamides, W. C. Groutas, R. C. Badger, T. D. Ocain, D. Felker, J. Frankson and M. Theodorakis, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 95: 1890 (1980); and p-nitrophenyl-N alkyl carbamates, "p-Nitrophenyl Carbamates as Active-Site-Specific Reagents for Serine Proteases", R. E. Scofield, R. P. Werner and F. Wold, Biochemistry, 16: 2492 (1977).
Although some peptide chloromethyl ketones have been shown to be effective in preventing elastase induced emphysema in animal models there is considerable question whether such reactive agents could be used for treating emphysema in humans. ("Prevention of Elastase Induced Experimental Emphysema by Oral Administration of a Synthetic Elastase Inhibitor," A. Janoff and R. Dearing, Am. J. Respir. Dis., 121: 1025-3 (1980)). This is not surprising since the alkylating moieties in these inhibitors might render them toxic when used on a continuous basis. To be suitable for human use, an enzyme inhibitor has to show a high degree of selectively and must have minimal toxic side effects. As a result, most drugs are molecules that reversibly bind to specific enzymes or receptor sites. Examples are the carbamate esters physostigmine and neostigmine which have been clinically used as inhibitors of acetyl choline esterases, A. G. Gilman, L. S. Goodman and A. Gilman, "The pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics", p. 101, MacMillan Publishing Co. (1980).
A series of peptide elastase inhibitors were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,991 to Digenis et al. Another group of polymer-bound elastase inhibitors was disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 242,294 by Digenis et al filed on Sept. 9, 1988.
There still remains a need in the art for compounds which are superior specific, active-site directed inhibitors of the enzyme elastase without the concommittant detrimental features of other prior art compounds.

Novel peptidyl carbamate inhibitors of the enzyme elastase

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (1) determining that a user is viewing a user interface of an application, (2) detecting that the user has requested assistance with interacting with a specific portion of content displayed within the user interface, and then (3) assisting the user with interacting with the specific portion of content by (A) identifying, within a repository of software documentation that describes features of the application, information relevant to utilizing the specific portion of content and (B) dynamically integrating the relevant information into the user interface. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Software developers often compile and distribute software documentation that explains the functionality of various features of their software applications. In one example, software documentation may include and/or represent a technical manual containing information that enables users to navigate and/or operate an application. Traditionally, software documentation may be stored in a file, document, and/or website that is separate from the application itself. For example, documentation for an application may be compiled within a .PDF document or a similar type of file. When a user is unsure of how to properly utilize a particular feature of the application, the user may access the file and then search for information that is relevant to the particular feature.
Unfortunately, extracting useful information from traditional software documentation systems may be complicated, tedious, and/or ineffective. For example, a user may end up sifting through dozens of irrelevant documentation pages before finding information that is pertinent to a specific question or feature. Moreover, users may be deterred from accessing documentation for an application if the documentation is not readily available (e.g., if the documentation must be accessed or opened in a different window than the window that displays the application). Accordingly, while software documentation may contain valuable information about features of an application, users may be unable and/or unwilling to efficiently access and/or utilize this information.
The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for systems and methods for providing relevant software documentation to users.

Systems and methods for providing relevant software documentation to users


An outer ring member for a constant velocity joint is manufactured. An intermediate preformed product having a cup section with an incomplete shape is formed by pressing a large diameter section without applying a low temperature annealing treatment and a lubricating chemical conversion coating treatment. Then, applying a low temperature annealing treatment and a lubricating chemical conversion coating treatment to the intermediate preformed product, thereafter a formed product having a cup section provided with ball-rolling grooves is formed by backward extrusion to the intermediate preformed product. Subsequently, the product is ironed before hardening, without applying a low temperature annealing treatment and a lubricating chemical conversion coating treatment to the formed product.

FIG. 10 shows a driving force transmission mechanism which is carried on an automobile or the like and which is used to transmit the driving force from an internal combustion engine to axles. In the driving force transmission mechanism, outer ring members 1, 1 for a barfield-type constant velocity joint and outer ring members 2, 2 for a tripod-type constant velocity joint are connected to one another by spline shafts 3, 3. A differential gearing 4 is interposed between the outer ring members 2, 2 for the tripod-type constant velocity joint. Both of the outer ring members 2, 2 for the tripod-type constant velocity joint are arranged near the differential gearing 4. On the other hand, the outer ring members 1, 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint function to transmit the rotary driving force to unillustrated wheels. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 5 indicates a half shaft for bridging the differential gearing 4 and the outer ring member 1 for the tripod-type constant velocity joint.
The end of the half shaft 5 is connected to the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint by a plurality of rollable balls 6.
FIG. 11 shows a schematic perspective view illustrating the entire outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint, and FIG. 12 shows, with partial cutaway, a sectional view illustrating the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint. The outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint is made of carbon steel, and it has a shaft section 7 and a cup section 8 which are integrally formed.
In particular, six ball-rolling grooves 9a to 9f are formed on the inner wall surface of the cup section 8 so that the ball-rolling grooves 9a to 9f are spaced from each other by predetermined angles in the circumferential direction (see FIG. 11). The ball-rolling grooves 9a to 9f are provided for rolling the balls 6 (see FIG. 10). The ball-rolling grooves 9a to 9f are provided to extend to the vicinity of the end of the cup section 8 along the inner wall surface of the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint (see FIGS. 11 and 12). On the other hand, a center hole 10 is provided at the end of the shaft section 7 (see FIG. 12).
The outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint is manufactured by cold forging. At first, as shown in FIG. 13A, a pretreatment is applied to a workpiece 11 of a columnar material having a diameter slightly larger than that of the shaft section 7. That is, the workpiece 11 made of carbon steel is subjected to a spheroidizing annealing treatment for depositing cementite in a spherical form in a metal microstructure. Subsequently, a lubricating chemical conversion coating is formed on the surface thereof by bonderizing. In general cold forging, a coating of zinc phosphate is frequently used as the lubricating chemical conversion coating.
Subsequently, an unillustrated first forging die is used for a primary forging (forward extrusion) to the workpiece 11 on which the lubricating chemical conversion coating has been formed. That is, one end surface of the workpiece 11 is pressed against a cavity which is formed in the first forging die and which has a diameter smaller than that of the workpiece 11. Accordingly, the other end surface of the workpiece 11 is forcibly inserted into the cavity. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13B, a primary forged product 13 is obtained with the shaft section 7 and a diametrally reduced section 12 having a reduced diameter in a tapered form. The shaft section 7 and a diametrally reduced section 12 are formed by the other end of the workpiece 11.
Subsequently, a secondary forging (upsetting forming) is performed for the primary forged product 13. Specifically, an unillustrated second forging die is used to successively compress only a large diameter section 14 of the primary forged product 13 as shown in FIGS. 13C and 13D so that the large diameter section 14 is diametrally expanded to obtain a secondary forged product 15.
The secondary forged product 15 is subjected to a low temperature annealing treatment for removing any stress or the like and a shot blast treatment for removing any oxided scale or the like generated during the low temperature annealing treatment. Further, bonderizing is performed to form a lubricating chemical conversion coating of zinc phosphate or the like on the outer surface of the second forged product 15.
Subsequently, a tertiary forging process (backward extrusion) is applied to the secondary forged product 15 which is arranged in a cavity of an unillustrated third forging die after the respective treatments as described above. The diametrally expanded large diameter section 14 is elongated, ball-rolling grooves 17a to 17f are formed on the large diameter section 14, and the cup section 8 is formed.
That is, an unillustrated punch, which has a projection to form the ball-rolling grooves 17a to 17f, abuts against a central portion of one end surface of the-cup section 8. Subsequently, the end of the shaft section 7 is pressed to displace the secondary forged product 15 toward the punch. Accordingly, the secondary forged product 15 is crushed by the punch while the large diameter section 14 is surrounded by the inner wall of the cavity. Consequently, the large diameter section 14 is elongated, and the ball-rolling grooves 17a to 17f, which have shapes corresponding to the shape of the projection of the punch, are formed on the large diameter section 14. Thus, a tertiary forged product 18 is obtained as shown in FIG. 13E.
A low temperature annealing treatment is applied to the tertiary forged product 18 to soften the tertiary forged product 18. After that, a shot blast treatment is performed again, and a lubricating chemical conversion coating is formed again by the bonderizing treatment as described above. When various treatments are performed as described above, it is possible to avoid cracks which would be otherwise caused by the tensile stress on the inner surface of the cup section 8 when ironing is performed in the next step.
Finally, an unillustrated fourth forging die is used to apply the ironing (final sizing forming), i.e., a quaternary forging process for finishing the final product shape. Accordingly, the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint as the finished product is consequently obtained (see FIG. 13F).
As clearly understood from the above, in the conventional production method, it is necessary that various treatment operations, which are complicated and require a long period of time, are successively performed before forging and processing the workpiece 11, the secondary forged product 15, and the tertiary forged product 18. For this reason, the entire time required for the production is prolonged until the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint is obtained. In other words, in the conventional production method, it is impossible to efficiently manufacture the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint.
Further, it is inevitably difficult to inexpensively supply the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint under the situation since it is impossible to mass-produce the outer ring member 1 for the barfield-type constant velocity joint as described above.
An object of the present invention is to provide an outer ring member for a constant velocity joint and a method of manufacturing the member in which the outer ring member for the constant velocity joint can be efficiently manufactured by performing continuous forging machining without various treatment operations such as low temperature annealing and bonderizing treatment, and it is possible to reduce production cost.

Outer ring member for constant velocity joint and method of manufacturing the member


A nail driving tool is fashioned as a cylindrical member having an interior void through which a pin is capable of partial movement. The pin is secured within the cylindrical unit by a knob disposed through the cylindrical member, thereby keeping the pin from being fully ejected therefrom. The tool is capable of securing a nail at a first end and upon a force delivered to the pin, driving the nail in a workpiece.

As anyone who performs a lot of construction or building work will attest, there is perhaps no more useful tool than the hammer and nail. They are used in all phases of construction from initial rough in carpentry work to final detailing finishes. They have been around and in use since almost the beginning of mankind and have remained little changed over the years. However, one disadvantage of their use is that require a fair amount of access around the nail driving point for the hammer to swing.
As such, they cannot be used in tight locations that have access restrictions not only around the nail itself, but above the nail to allow the hammer to swing. In some cases, pneumatic nail guns may not have access room either thus forcing the worker to approach the construction problem from a completely different manner, often at the cost of additional time and labor. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which conventional nails can be easily driven in tight locations with a hammer and without the problems as described above. The development of the nail driving tool fulfills this need.


Shrouds and substrate treating systems including the same are provided. Substrate treating systems may include a process chamber, a supporter, and a plasma source that is spaced apart from the supporter in a vertical direction. The substrate treating systems may also include a shroud configured to contain the plasma therein. The shroud may include a sidewall portion and a first flange portion extending horizontally from the sidewall portion and including a plurality of first slits that extend through a thickness of the first flange portion. The first flange portion may define a first opening, and a portion of the supporter may extend through the first opening. The sidewall portion may include a plurality of second slits, and each of the plurality of second slits may extend through a thickness of the sidewall portion and may extend from one of the plurality of first slits toward the plasma source.

The present disclosure relates to a shroud and a substrate treating system including the same.
Due to their small-size, multifunction, and/or low-price, semiconductor devices are important elements in the electronics industry. Semiconductor devices are fabricated using a variety of unit processes, such as deposition, ion-implantation, photolithography, and etching processes. Some of the unit processes may be performed using plasma produced using a process gas.


A rechargeable multipurpose power management system has a power management system that can include a plurality of power management units. The power management units sources can be individually activated and deactivated (I think there might be a confusion between power sources and the system. Everything is within one box itself (the image that I sent you). Each unit is a power management system that can be connected to a variety of INPUT power sources. Several power management units can be combined together to create a stack of them but each one can operated individually as well). and each one is configured to be coupled to a variety of inputs. A rechargeable battery is coupled to the (One rechargeable battery is attached to only one power management units). A charging controller provides regulated charging to the battery. A plurality of convertors are (do we need to specify here what kind of converters, like DC-DC converters) coupled to the battery and provide output voltages that are accessible individually. A plurality of sensing circuits sense external signals and provide selective activation or deactivation of the system.

In recent years, advances in miniaturization have generated a great variety of personal electronic devices. Indeed, many people have come to depend on cellular telephones, electronic address books, personal digital assistants (PDA's) and pagers for their day-to-day professional lives. Likewise, consumer electronics such as personal stereos and hand-held video games are common recreational devices.
A feature common to all these personal electronics is the need for some type of energy storage to supply power. Particularly in off-grid areas or regions with irregular power supply, batteries remain as the predominant form of energy. Users need to carry multiple batteries to power their devices and also need to be able to provide a whole range of voltage and current ratings to meet the power requirements of different appliances. Even in areas with constant grid power, high drain devices such as cellular telephones, often require the user to carry multiple batteries and perhaps a charging station for even relatively short trips. The user must constantly track the remaining battery capacity for each device to ensure that the charge will hold for a desired length of time.
Alternatively, the user must carry spare batteries. Since each electronic device typically has its own requirements and form factors, the user might be forced to carry several different spare batteries to power the various devices. It is also quite desirable to provide these personal electronic devices with rechargeable batteries, both for their relative economy and to minimize environmental impact. However, such recharging systems are rarely compatible. One device's charger often will not recharge another's battery, nor will that battery be usable with a different device.
In the prior art the devices are mentioned in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,783,327, 6,027,828. These devices stack batteries for discharging and require special connections and switches to create different voltages. The single use batteries are discarded after the charge is depleted. However, some batteries are designed to be rechargeable. Rechargeable batteries typically require some form of battery charging system. Typical battery charging systems transfer power from a power source, such as an AC wall plug, into the battery. The recharging process typically includes processing and conditioning voltages and currents from the power source so that the voltages and currents supplied to the battery meet the particular battery's charging specifications. For example, if the voltages or currents supplied to the battery are too large, the battery can be damaged or even explode. On the other hand, if the voltages or currents supplied to the battery are too small, the charging process can be very inefficient or altogether ineffective. Inefficient use of the battery's charging specification can lead to very long charging times, for example. Additionally, if the charging process is not carried out efficiently, the battery's cell capacity (i.e., the amount of energy the battery can hold) may not be optimized. Moreover, inefficient charging can impact the battery's useful lifetime (i.e., number of charge/discharge cycles available from a particular battery). Furthermore, inefficient charging can result from the battery's characteristics changing over time. These problems are compounded by the fact that battery characteristics, including a battery's specified voltages and recharge currents, can be different from battery to battery.
Existing battery chargers are typically static systems. The charger is configured to receive power from a particular source and provide voltages and currents to a particular battery based on the battery's charge specification. However, the inflexibility of existing chargers results in many of the inefficiencies and problems described above. It would be very advantageous to have battery charging systems that were more flexible than existing systems or even adaptable to particular batteries or the changing battery charging environment. Thus, there is a need for improved battery charger systems and methods that improve the efficiency of the battery charging process.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a system to integrate the power supplies of multiple personal electronic devices. There has also been a need for a power management system that knows, what it is being charged from, what it is charging and how much power it is to deliver.
In places that are currently off the grid or receive an unreliable supply of power, there is a lack of choice to purchase a multipurpose power source that can be used to power a wide variety of electronics. Largely, people have access to singular appliances such as solar powered LED lanterns, solar fans, heaters etc. To buy each new appliance, the user must purchase the entire set of generator, storage device and the end appliance. These components are usually integrated into one device and the user can use them only for a particular application, for example lighting. Thus, there is an urgent need of a power management system that can be used to power a variety of appliances and that can be connected to more than one end appliance simultaneously. There is also a need of a power management system that be charged by all available renewable sources of energy or, thus making optimum use of the available resources.
In areas described above, the current solutions like solar lanterns are extremely expensive for the end user. Since typical family incomes in these regions are around $40-$150/month, a single solar lantern usually costs upwards of 50% of the monthly household income. Other solutions like kerosene or diesel powered microgrids are extremely harmful to the environment and provide mostly lighting for very few hours/day because of their high operational costs. Thus, there is a need for a power management system that can not only provide high utility by powering a whole range of appliances like lights, fans, radios, cell phones, TVs, and other commonly found household appliances, but it also needs to be purchased in small cash amounts over a period of time since income levels in these areas are extremely low. Thus, to ensure regular payments the power source needs to be smart enough to deactivate itself after expiration of the installment/payment period. Also, it should be able to get activated for a fixed period of time based on how many installments have been paid by a user. This allows users to adopt a payment scheme suited to their varying income levels thus making the device extremely affordable.
The power sources as disclosed under prior art batteries do not allow different kinds of input generators to charge the unit. Though stacking of the sources are disclosed in the prior art but they are not facilitated for charging and/or output purposes simultaneously. The present disclosure provides a solution overcoming the prior art problems by proposing a stack, wherein, without any moving part, two modules can be stacked together by simply placing one on top of the other. The inputs and outputs get connected automatically to enable simultaneous multi-cell charging and high power dissipation. When stacked, there is more than one module producing the output and thus the total output power increases linearly with the number of units stacked. This further cleans the output voltage since the errors due to passive components get averaged. Thus, high power appliances can be operated with even better input power characteristics.

Rechargeable multipurpose smart power source


A system and method is described for providing an encoding scheme for a bit stream and displaying or printing the encoded bit stream. Using the encoded bit stream, a pen with a camera may capture an image of a portion of the encoded bit stream. The captured image may then be decoded to provide an indication of the location of the image in relation to the encoded bit stream. The encoding scheme includes information regarding orientation, thus making decoding easier.

Computer users are accustomed to using a mouse and keyboard as a way of interacting with a personal computer. While personal computers provide a number of advantages over written documents, most users continue to perform certain functions using printed paper. Some of these functions include reading and annotating written documents. In the case of annotations, the printed document assumes a greater significance because of the annotations placed on it by the user. One of the difficulties, however, with having a printed document with annotations is the later need to have the annotations entered back into the electronic form of the document. This requires the original user or another user to wade through the annotations and enter them into a personal computer. In some cases, a user will scan in the annotations and the original text, thereby creating a new document. These multiple steps make the interaction between the printed document and the electronic version of the document difficult to handle on a repeated basis. Further, scanned-in images are frequently non-modifiable. There may be no way to separate the annotations from the original text. This makes using the annotations difficult. Accordingly, an improved way of handling annotations is needed.
One image pattern is shown in FIG. 10. This pattern is used by the Anoto pen (by Anoto Inc.) to determine a location of a pen on a piece of paper. The pattern as shown in FIG. 10 is difficult to easily orient from any portion and determine the accurate rotation of the pattern. If the determination of the rotation is based on the decoding of the pattern itself to find information encoded in the data stream, this determination requires significant processing for decoding the data stream itself to determine the proper orientation of the pattern. This labor-intensive decoding approach impedes quick adoption of the pattern, as it requires substantial hardware resources just to locate a captured portion of the image. Scaling of the use of the pattern beyond a short note becomes difficult (for example, composing a large document by handwriting only) as each camera image relating to an ink stroke may need to be completely processed in all orientations to determine the proper orientation of the pattern. An improved pattern is needed to represent data streams.


An effective and efficient means for composition printing of multi-page image data is disclosed. Multiple image files may be received and read into memory to be processed and printed as a single job. Pages may be reordered and/or a subset of pages may be selected for printing by changing the link order between image file directories (IFDs) in the image headers before sending the image data to a printing device. Once processed to select and reorder pages for printing, the image data is streamed directly to the output, with each offset entry in the IFD being modified on-the-fly to correspond to its relocated position. When an image is skipped, the data associated with the image is not written out to the printing device. When the end of one file is reached, the next file is merged into the existing output stream relative to the end of the previous file.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to direct (driverless) printing of multi-page image data, and more particularly to effective and efficient composition printing of multiple multi-page image data files as a single print job.
2. Background and Related Art
Some printers and printer controllers support the direct printing (without a print driver) of a limited number of image formats (e.g. TIFF, JPEG[2K], PNG, BMP, GIF, EXIF). However, such printers and printer controllers are limited in that they are unable to batch print multiple image files as a single print job (i.e., composition print).
One method of direct printing provides the user the ability to download (e.g., FTP) a device independent document/image file format (e.g., TIFF), which is native to the device, for printing. The document is then printed according to the device's default device settings. But this method is limited, in that: (1) It cannot do composition printing. Instead, each file is printed as a separate job with each job separately finished. (2) It requires longer processing times. By printing each image file as a separate job, the device incurs an inter-job delay between each image file. (3) It does not perform streaming conversion. If the page order in an image file is non-linear, then the entire image file may need to be read in to the device before processing can start. This results in a longer wait before a first page is output. (4) It provides no method for manipulating page order or selection of limited pages for printing. FIG. 1A is a depiction of this method.
In one improved method using a Direct Print API (DPAPI), when a TIFF file is selected for printing, the DPAPI parses each image file directory (IFD) entry and checks the file offsets to determine if the TIFF file is in streaming page order. If not, the DPAPI creates a new file and uses a relocation method which copies the contents of the non-streaming TIFF file to the new TIFF file in streaming page order.
While this is an improvement to the above, it is still limited in that: (1) It is not optimally efficient, since the TIFF data must be copied to another file, which results in slower input/output than memory access. Additionally, when the data is ready to print, the TIFF data must be read from the hard disk a second time. (2) It cannot do a composition print. Each file is printed as a separate job with each job separately finished. (3) It requires longer processing times. Besides the additional processing previously discussed, by printing each image file as a separate job, the device incurs an interjob delay between each image file. (4) It provides no method for manipulating page order or selection. FIG. 1B is a depiction of this method.
In another improved method, the page order and or selection of a TIFF file is supported by manipulating the next IFD link in each IFD entry. For example, if the user chooses reverse page order, the method would reverse each next IFD link, such that each IFD would now point to the previous IFD, instead of the subsequent IFD. In another example, a page selection can be implemented by changing certain IFD links to skip over IFDs for which printing is not desired (i.e., those pages of the TIFF file which are not part of the page selection to be printed). Further, the manipulations can be performed in memory.
But this method still has limitations, in that: (1) It cannot perform a composition print. Each file is printed as a separate job with each job separately finished. (2) It requires longer processing times. By printing each image file as a separate job, the device incurs an inter-job delay between each image file. (3) It does not perform streaming conversion. If the page order in an image file is non-linear, then the entire image file may need to be read into memory before processing can start. This will result in a longer time before first page out. FIG. 1C is a depiction of this method.
A further improved method uses efficient reordering of pages within a TIFF file. In this method, the IFD's next IFD offsets are re-linked in memory according to the selected/ordered page order. The TIFF data is then passed through a streaming relocator, to relocate the images in streaming page order, which is then passed directly to the printer.
While this method has benefits of performing all operations in memory, it still has limitations, in that: (1) It cannot do composition printing. Each file is printed as a separate job with each job separately finished. (2) It requires longer processing times. By printing each image file as a separate job, the device incurs an inter-job delay between each image file. FIG. 1D is a depiction of this method.

Direct composition printing method for rapid streaming


Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for complexity-scalable video coding. One embodiment of a method for video coding includes receiving a sequence of one or more video frames, obtaining a budget for the one or more video frames, the budget specifying a maximum number of computations that may be used in performing motion estimation for the one or more video frames, allocating the maximum number of computations among individual ones of the one or more video frames, performing motion estimation in accordance with the allocating, and outputting a motion estimate for the sequence.

Many applications that employ video encoding operate on fixed or limited power. Mobile devices such as cellular telephones or sensors, for example, have a fixed amount of total battery power. Much of this fixed amount of battery power may be consumed by video encoding operations, which are some of the most dominant power-consuming operations in wireless video communication. Because much of the available power is consumed by these operations, the amount of time that the devices are capable of operating may be severely limited. As another example, real-time video coding systems require video coding to be completed in a fixed amount of time (e.g., one frame/group of pictures per fixed amount of time/computation). In this case, computationally intensive video coding processes are also inefficient.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for complexity-scalable video coding that efficiently allocates computations in video coding process.

Method and apparatus for complexity-scalable motion estimation


A ripper tool for a tunnel boring machine includes a tool body and a plurality of cutting element inserts. The tool body has a plurality of socket cavities. A tool body blank can be heat treated to increase the hardness of the tool body blank. The socket cavities can be machined in the tool body blank after the tool body blank is heat treated. The cutting element inserts are mounted to the tool body. The cutting element inserts are respectively press fit in the socket cavities. The ripper tool can be pivotably mounted to a cutter head of the TBM.

A tunnel boring machine (TBM) is designed for different geological conditions. Typically, a TBM is fitted with a number of cutting head tools, such as, ripper tools for softer rock conditions, for example. Ripper tools experience abrasive wear as well as impact loading. A ripper tool is considered a wear part that may be replaced repeatedly during the excavation of a given tunnel. It can be costly and time consuming to replace these ripper tools. As such, the industry highly values ripper tools possessing superior wear life.
A conventional ripper tool is manufactured by attaching carbide inserts to steel shanks through brazing. It has been observed that the brazing process softens the material of the shank, making it more susceptible to abrasive wear and other failures. In operation, this softened steel has a tendency to become "washed away" during cutting operations by abrasive action such that the shanks of the carbide inserts become exposed. The loss of the material allows the inserts to break off before the inserts themselves are completely worn, thereby necessitating the premature replacement of a ripper tool that otherwise still would have cutting life remaining.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,868 is entitled, "Cutting Tool and Shrink Fitting Method for the Same." The '868 patent is directed to a cutting tool including a tool holding portion and a tool. The tool is configured to be inserted into a hole of the tool holding portion. The tool includes a tool main body, a guide portion, and a shoulder portion. The tool main body has a tool outer diameter that is larger than the inner diameter of the hole when the tool holding portion is not heated. The guide portion is coaxially connected to the tool main body and configured to position the tool substantially coaxially with respect to the tool holding portion. The guide portion has a guide outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the hole so that the guide portion can be inserted into the hole. The shoulder portion is formed between the tool main body and the guide portion so as to sit on a surface around the hole to support the tool when the guide portion is inserted into the hole.
The '868 patent is also directed to a cutting tool shrink fitting method which includes inserting a guide portion which is coaxially connected to a tool main body of a tool into a hole formed in a tool holding portion in order to support and position the tool substantially coaxially with respect to the tool holding portion such that a shoulder portion which connects the tool main body and the guide portion sits on a surface around the hole of the tool holding portion. The tool holding portion is heated such that the tool main body of the tool can be inserted into the hole. The tool holding portion is cooled.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventor to aid the reader, and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some aspects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.

Cutting head tool for tunnel boring machine