A method and apparatus are provided for adaptively allocating pilots in a pilot-aided channel estimation system. A multipath delay is measured between a base station (BS) and a mobile station (MS). A distribution density of pilots of a signal to be transmitted between the BS and the MS is controlled. When the multipath delay is large, the pilot distribution density is relatively raised. However, when the multipath delay is small, the pilot distribution density is relatively lowered. The pilot distribution density is adaptively controlled according to the multipath delay, such that resources are effectively utilized and throughput is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a communication system, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for adaptively allocating pilots according to a change in a channel environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A receiving side of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system must perform channel estimation for coherent detection to compensate for distortion due to channel fading. The receiving side estimates characteristics of a channel by which a signal is transmitted and compensates for the distortion due to the channel fading. Accordingly, a transmitting side transmits a pilot signal known by the receiving side through predetermined subcarriers. The receiving side performs the channel estimation using the pilot signal associated with subcarriers by which data is transmitted.
When a large number of pilots are used, an accurate channel estimate can be determined. However, for this case, many subcarriers are used to transmit pilots rather than data. Therefore, the increased number of pilots causes an overhead and reduces valuable data transmission resources.
Various techniques are used to allocate pilots in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. For example, a predetermined number of pilots are fixedly arranged in an entire frame as illustrated in FIG. 1 which illustrates the arrangement of pilots in a downlink frame to be transmitted from a base station (BS) to a mobile station (MS) in the OFDM system.
Referring to FIG. 1, a frame structure includes an OFDM symbol (hereinafter, referred to as a "symbol") used for a preamble, symbols of a common message region subsequent to the preamble symbol, and symbols of a data burst region subsequent to the symbols of the common message region. The symbols of the common message region are used to transmit information to be commonly received by all MSs, and the symbols of the data burst region are used to transmit traffic data from the BS to the MS. In FIG. 1, the short arrows arranged along the subcarrier axis indicate pilots. It can be seen from FIG. 1 that a predetermined number of pilots are fixedly arranged in the data burst region as well as in the preamble and the common message region.
The frame structure in which a predetermined number of pilots are fixedly arranged (as illustrated in FIG. 1) has been designed by taking into account the worst channel environment in a system. When pilots are mapped by accommodating the worst channel environment, channel estimation is also possible under a better channel environment. Even when a small number of pilots are used under the better channel environment, the channel estimation is possible. However, when pilot mapping used for the worst channel environment is also used for the better channel environment, an excessive number of pilots are used.
When the number of pilots appropriate for the worst channel environment is fixed in the data burst region of a better channel environment, data transmission resources are reduced by the number of excessively allocated pilots. As a result, this overhead that reduces the total throughput.
A technique for reducing the overhead is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2004-0051904 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Signal Constitution for Downlink of OFDMA Based Cellular Systems" filed on Dec. 13, 2002, and laid-open on Jun. 19, 2004. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2004-0051904 discloses a technique for reducing an overhead and transmission power for a pilot symbol in a downlink, and assigning adaptive pilot symbols and allocating subcarriers to increase the total data transmission capacity. According to the disclosed technique, the number of pilots assigned on the time axis is different in a downlink according to a moving speed of a user and the number of antennas used. Additional pilots are assigned for users traveling at higher speeds. Accordingly, the overhead due to pilots is reduced, the total data transmission rate is increased, and power consumption required for transmitting pilots is reduced.
A channel environment in the OFDM system is different according to a multipath delay as well as a moving speed of a user. More specifically, when the speed of a user increases, the Doppler effect becomes large and fading channel is fluctuated according to time. When it is assumed that users communicate with each other in the non-moving or low speed state, a difference in the channel environment between the users is largely a multipath delay.
It is preferred that pilots are adaptively allocated according to a multipath delay such that the total throughput is improved by allocating an appropriate number of pilots according to a channel environment to effectively utilize subcarriers.

Adaptive pilot allocation method and apparatus for use in a communication system


A driver assistance system and method for operating a driver assistance system, the driver assistance system provides a plurality of distance sensors, in particular ultrasonic sensors, which are spatially distributed and communicate with each other with the aid of a data bus. The sensors have an identical design and may be initialized by themselves using a method without a control unit and may synchronize the distance detection among themselves. The overall result of a measurement of the sensors is supplied to an output unit and displayed to the driver.

In detection systems of this type, ultrasound or microwave sensors are used, for example, for transmitting wireless signals and for detecting echo signals which are reflected by objects in the surroundings of the vehicle.
By ascertaining the propagation times of the signals and with the aid of different methods, a distance between the reflected objects and the sensors may be individually determined.
In many modern systems of the above-described type, a plurality of sensors is used for improving the detection range and the detection resolution with the objective of detecting the surroundings of the vehicle in all relevant directions.
German Patent Application No. DE 102005033403 A1 describes a conventional method for measuring distances, for example, using radar, lidar, or acoustic waves in which a signal propagation time is measured and analyzed. In order to accurately determine the propagation time, the reflected and detected signal is compared with a reference signal associated with the transmitted signal via correlation analysis, using a "matched filter."
German Patent Application No. DE 19744185 A1 describes an ultrasound distance measuring system for a motor vehicle, in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers is used. The simultaneous transmission of ultrasound pulses is used by making use of the superimposition and addition of corresponding wave amplitudes in order to achieve a more powerful transmission and thus greater detection ranges.
Great Britain Patent No. GB 2352294 A describes an ultrasound distance measuring system for motor vehicles in which transducers are operated consecutively at different frequencies in order to correct interferences or cancellations which may accidentally occur at certain frequencies, by operating at other frequencies.
German Patent Application No. DE 19963755 A1 describes a device for distance measurement for a motor vehicle in which a Plurality of distance sensors are provided which may be operated in different operating modes to improve the quality of measurement.
European Patent No. EP 0613428 B1 describes a bus system, in particular in a motor vehicle, which has a bus connecting a plurality of control units and in which the data transmitted on the bus are analyzed in a central device. Messages are output at a low transmission repeat frequency and extracted from the individual control units as needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,810 A1 describes a device for synchronized data transmission between spatially offset measuring devices or sensors or between these and a data processing device. The device includes a serial bus over which the components of the device communicate in two different operating modes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,367 A1 describes a device for controlling and monitoring a plurality of relay circuits which are connected to the device via a single-wire bus system.
German Patent Application No. DE 102006021378 A1 describes a reverse drive sensor for a motor vehicle in which the function of a control unit for a plurality of sensors is assumed by a master sensor, which has, like similar, associated slave sensors, a microprocessor, and a transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasound signals. The master sensor controls the timing for operating the slave sensors and for detecting the results.

Driver assistance system and method for operating same


The present invention provides 1-{[2-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)-4-fluorophenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dimethoxy-2-p yrimidinyl)urea which has the structural formula I ##STR1## Further provided are compositions and methods comprising that compound for the control of undesirable plant species.

Weeds cause tremendous global economic losses by reducing crop yields and lowering crop quality. In the United States alone, agronomic crops must compete with hundreds of weed species. In particular, barnyardgrass, broadleaf weeds and sedges cause extensive economic losses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,007 discloses certain sulfamoyl urea herbicides. However, that patent does not specifically disclose the compound of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compound which is highly effective for controlling undesirable plant species.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling undesirable plant species.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description thereof set forth below.


A polyamide resin-based heat-shrinkable multilayer film is caused to satisfy various properties required of a packaging material, especially a food packaging material, at high levels, and particularly exhibit a highest level of heat-shrinkability. The multilayer film comprises at least three layers including an outer surface layer (a) which comprises a polyester resin or a polyolefin resin; an intermediate layer (b) which comprises a mixture of 85-60 wt. % of an aliphatic polyamide resin, and 15-40 wt. % of an aromatic copolyamide resin which is a copolymer of aliphatic diamine/isophthalic acid and aliphatic diamine/terephthalic acid, and an inner surface layer (c) which essentially comprises a copolymer of ethylene and xcex1-olefin having a density below 0.915. The heat-shrinkable multilayer film has been biaxially stretched and then heat-treated to have hot-water shrinkabilities at 80xc2x0 C. of at least 30% in each of longitudinal/transverse directions and at least 35% in at least one of longitudinal/transverse directions.

The present invention relates to a heat-shrinkable multilayer film suitable for use as a heat-shrinkable packaging material and comprising at least three layers including an outer surface layer (a) formed of a thermoplastic resin, an intermediate layer (b) formed of a polyamide resin, and an inner surface layer (c) formed of a heat-sealable resin.
Hitherto, it has been widely practiced as a packaging and processing technique for content materials, inclusive of foods such as raw meat, ham and sausage, principally, and other products, to form a casing, such as a bag or a pouch, from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film, and then fill the casing with such a content material, or to automatically package such a content material per se or a tray loaded with such a content material while simultaneously forming a casing from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film.
As heat-shrinkable films for such use, many films comprising a polyamide resin as a principal resin have been proposed heretofore, inclusive of, e.g., a heat-shrinkable polyamide film using a polyamide resin composition comprising an aromatic copolyamide resin which is a copolymer of aliphatic diamine/isophthalic acid and aliphatic diamine/terephthalic acid, and an aliphatic polyamide resin (Japanese Laid-Open Pat. Appl""n (JP-A) 62-41261); and biaxially stretched laminate films or heat-shrinkable multilayer films including an (outer) surface layer comprising a polyester resin, an intermediate layer comprising a polyamide resin and a heat-sealing layer comprising a polyolefin (JP-A 4-99621 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,549, and JP-A 11-300914 corresponding to WO99/55528). These packaging films have succeeded in acquiring respectively intended properties.
However, diversity of properties are required of a packaging film inclusive of, e.g., (a) to (g) described below.
(a) First of all, a packaging film is required to have a strength sufficient to package a content material and provide a skin having a good appearance and allowing a customer to see the content material beautifully therethrough. In order to improve the appearance, it has been widely practiced to heat-shrink the film after packaging the content material. For this purpose, the film should preferably have as large a heat-shrinkability as possible. In this respect, a polyamide resin-based film can be provided with an excellent strength and a large heat-shrinkability through biaxial stretching, and the above-mentioned heat-shrinkable films all have take advantage of such properties of polyamide resin. However, a single layer of polyamide resin cannot satisfy many other properties required of a packaging film.
(b) For Example, a heat-sealing method is adopted in many cases for hermetically sealing a packaging film after packaging the content material, whereas a polyamide resin does not generally have a good heat-sealability. Accordingly, an inner surface layer comprising a heat-sealable resin is disposed on an inner side of the polyamide resin layer.
(c) In case where a moisture-absorptive polyamide resin layer is used to constitute an outer surface layer, the surface layer absorbs water at the time of shrinking with hot water or atmospheric moisture to cause a lowering in strength of the polyamide resin layer when the packaged product is frozen or refrigerated. Particularly, in the case of freezing, the moisture absorbed in the polyamide resin surface layer is frozen to lower the strength thereof. Accordingly, it is preferred to dispose a layer of thermoplastic resin which is moisture-impermeable or has only a small moisture-permeability on an outer side of the polyamide resin layer.
(d) A polyamide resin has a certain degree of gas-barrier property, but it is preferred to dispose a gas-barrier resin layer in addition to the polyamide resin layer for packaging of a content material of which the degradation is extremely undesirable.
(e) The additional layers shown in (b)-(d) above, when used, all function to reduce the good heat-shrinkability after biaxial stretching of a film composed of a single layer polyamide resin.
(f) A film imparted with a heat-shrinkability through biaxial stretching is liable to cause some degree of shrinkage during a period of storage thereafter until its use for packaging or when heated to a temperature of at most 50xc2x0 C., thus causing wrinkles or size change. This is liable not only to impair the appearance of the product film but also to cause a trouble in an automatic packaging step. For removing these difficulties, a heat treatment (for relaxation or heat-setting) of holding the film after biaxial stretching at a temperature of 60-80xc2x0 C. is performed, as desired. This heat treatment however also functions to reduce the heat-shrinkability of the film after biaxial stretching.
(g) As a preferred mode of biaxial stretching treatment of a polyamide resin film, an inflation process has been practiced. In the inflation process, only a certain range of inflation gas pressure is commercially feasible and practically used. As a result, in the case of forming various diameters of inflation bubbles, a larger deformation stress is applied for a small diameter bubble (e.g., in lay-flat width of below 400 mm, particularly below 250 mm) and a smaller deformation stress is applied for a larger diameter bubble, respectively to the film section. Accordingly, it is not easy to provide a laminate film structure capable of exhibiting stable inflation performances (capability of forming a stable inflation bubble and acquiring a high heat-shrinkability owing to a biaxial stretching effect of the inflation) for a wide range of bubbles (i.e., a wide range of lay-flat widths) receiving different biaxial stretching stresses.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a polyamide resin-based heat-shrinkable multilayer film capable of satisfying the above-mentioned properties (a)-(g) at high levels, and particularly capable of exhibiting a highest level of heat-shrinkability even after heat-setting.
According to our study, it has been found possible to achieve the above-mentioned object by a combination of an intermediate layer (b) comprising a very limited composition of polyamide resin, an outer surface layer (a) comprising a specific composition of thermoplastic resin, an inner surface layer (c) comprising a specific composition of sealable resin, and appropriate biaxial stretching and heat-treating steps.
Based on the above-knowledge, the present invention provides a heat-shrinkable multilayer film, comprising: at least three layers including an outer surface layer (a) formed of a thermoplastic resin, an intermediate layer (b) formed of a polyamide resin, and an inner surface layer (c) formed of a heat-sealable resin; wherein
the thermoplastic resin forming the outer surface layer (a) comprises a polyester resin or a polyolefin resin,
the polyamide resin forming the intermediate layer (b) comprises a mixture of 85-60 wt. % of an aliphatic polyamide resin, and 15-40 wt. % of an aromatic copolyamide resin which is a copolymer of aliphatic diamine/isophthalic acid and aliphatic diamine/terephthalic acid,
the heat-sealable resin forming the inner surface layer (c) essentially comprises a copolymer of ethylene and an xcex1-olefin having a density below 0.915, and
the heat-shrinkable multilayer film has been biaxially stretched and then heat-treated to have hot-water shrinkabilities at 80xc2x0 C. of at least 30% in each of longitudinal/transverse directions and at least 35% in at least one of longitudinal/transverse directions.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.


A golf game apparatus having a plurality of game boards representing different golf hole playing areas set within different scenic settings. A grid pattern having intersecting longitudinal and transverse straight lines forming quadrilateral blocks gradually changing in size relative to the perspective distance encompasses the playing areas and provides the playing surface. A plurality of playing pieces move on the playing surface subject to chance devices including combinations of dice having numerical indicia, dice having weather conditions indicia and playing cards affecting the club and direction of the hit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a golf board game and, more particularly, it concerns a golf board game in which the playing area for each hole is set within a different elaborate picturesque scenic setting wherein the game of golf is not played and wherein combinations of chance devices are used to simulate actual playing conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various simulated golf games are known to have a variety of different chance devices to enhance the playing. Many of these games concentrate on the use of the chance devices and deal very little with the actual playing characteristics involved in golf. Also, the playing area of many of these games fail to stimulate the imagination and interest of the players. As a result, very few simulated golf games hold the interest of the game players.


A gear reducer includes a first non-rotatable gear. A second transfer gear formed of a resilient material engages the first gear. The second gear is eccentrically driven about the first gear by an eccentric collar mounted in the second gear and coupled to a motor output shaft. The second transfer gear nutatingly engages a rotatable third gear and moves one tooth of the third gear into alignment with one tooth of the first gear for each predetermined amount of rotation of the second transfer gear. A rotatable driven shaft is coupled to and rotated by the third gear. The first and third gears each have a plurality of gear teeth arranged at the same pitch circle diameter; but provided in a different number of teeth on each of the first and third gears to provide a selective reduction between the speed of rotation of the motor output shaft and the speed of rotation of the driven shaft coupled to the third gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to gear reduction devices and, more specifically, to power seat adjusters for vehicle seats employing gear reduction devices.
2. Description of the Art
Gear reducers or gear reduction units are employed with rotating devices, such as motor output shafts, lead screws, drive shafts, etc., to reduce the speed of rotation of one shaft or element to a lower speed of rotation of a coupled or driven element. Gear reducers are available in a variety of configurations and provide gear reductions of between 1:2 to 1:1000 and more.
One application of gear reducers is in a power seat adjuster for a vehicle seat which provides for selective fore and aft, up and down and/or seat back reclining features. A typical power seat adjuster carries an upper support frame or support members which engage and support the seat bottom of a vehicle seat. The upper support members are mounted on first and second, spaced track assemblies, each formed of an upper track which is connected to the upper support frame and slidably mounted in a lower track fixedly anchored to the vehicle floor. A drive mechanism, typically formed of a bi-directional electric motor mounted on the power seat adjuster, rotates a pair of shafts extending outward from the motor to a gear assembly or gear box mounted on each upper track. Each gear box includes a gear reducer unit to reduce the high speed of rotation of the shaft to a lower speed of rotation of a lead screw which is coupled to each upper track and which is rotatively driven by the gear box.
While such a power seat adjuster provides smooth selective positioning of a vehicle seat, it is well known that a considerable amount of noise is generated in a typical power seat adjuster due to the high speed of rotation of the shafts, particularly when a flexible shaft is employed. One drive motor used for horizontal fore and aft positioning of the seat is typically mounted between the spaced track assemblies with flexible shafts extending outward from opposite sides of the motor to the gear boxes mounted on the track assemblies. Both shafts rotate at the same time thereby doubling the noise generated by rotation of such shafts.
Thus, it would also be desirable to provide a gear reducer which has multiple numbers of gear teeth in engagement at any one time so as to provide a desired amount of torque while enabling the use of low strength, low cost materials for such gears. It would also be desirable to provide a gear reducer which is quiet in operation. It would also be desirable to provide a gear reducer which prevents any back drive. It would also be desirable to provide a gear reducer which reduces the noise generated by rotation of a drive shaft when the gear reducer is employed in a vehicle power seat adjuster. Finally, it would also be desirable to provide a gear reducer which may be directly connected to or integrally formed with an electric drive motor so as to reduce the size of the mechanical components of a vehicle power seat adjuster.


A data storage device with compensation for coercivity variations in a magnetic disk storage medium is disclosed. Two procedures are executed to perform the coercivity compensation. In a first procedure, typically performed prior to writing of data, the coercivity at a number of locations on the disk is measured and stored. A second procedure writes data to locations on a magnetic disk storage medium having varying coercivities. To maintain writing widths within predefined limits, a writing parameter is varied according to a predetermined relationship between the value of the writing parameter and the coercivity. Choices of writing parameter comprise the writing current and fly height. The method may be employed for both data writing and self-servo writing of servo patterns.

The present invention relates to data storage devices employing magnetic disk data storage media. These media have a layered structure 800 as depicted schematically in FIG. 8, where physical vapor deposition (PVD, or "sputtering") or another thin-film deposition process may be used to first deposit a magnetic layer 806 with a thickness 816 onto a disk substrate 808, typically made of glass or aluminum. Next, a protective layer 804 having a thickness 814 is deposited on top of the magnetic layer 806—the purpose of protective layer 804 is to prevent oxidation of magnetic layer 806 which could adversely impact the magnetic properties. Finally, a lubricating layer 802 with a thickness 812 is deposited on top of the protective layer 804—lubricating layer 802 protects both the disk and magnetic head (not shown) from damage due to contact with the head slider during disk operation. The spacing between the read/write head contained in an air bearing slider (ABS) and the top surface of the lubricating layer is called the "fly height" (FH) and may be controlled by both aerodynamic factors and thermal fly height control (TFC) as is well known. Note that the actual distance between the read/write heads and the magnetic layer 806 also includes the thicknesses 812 and 814 of lubricating layer 802 and protective layer 804, respectively. Thus variations in the thicknesses of layers 802 and 804 may affect the magnetic writing process which strongly depends on the distance between the read/write head and magnetic layer 806. In addition, magnetic layer 806 may also vary in thickness and magnetic properties as a function of location (radial and azimuthal, roughly equivalent to track and sector) on the disk storage medium due to inevitable process variations during deposition. These variations in the magnetic properties of layer 806 are comprised in the "coercivity", defined as the reverse field needed to drive the magnetization to zero after the magnetic material has been saturated—the current in the write head required to generate this reverse field is called the "coercive current". Generally, in order to write a bit of information, a higher, "writing" current will be required to drive the magnetic medium to saturation in the opposite direction—the magnetic flux density needed for writing may be termed the "writing flux density". The ratio of the writing current to the coercive current is commonly assumed to be constant, often with the notation "k". Since this ratio is generally assumed to be constant (in the absence of saturation within the write head magnetic circuit), variations in coercivity induce proportional changes in the required writing currents—if the writing current is not changed in response to coercivity variations, the pattern of magnetization may vary, potentially adversely affecting writing widths. The magnetic field at the magnetic layer 806 is controlled by a number of factors including the writing current, Iw, and the "fly height", FH.
It is typically found that variations in coercivity are relatively "smooth", i.e., varying over distances of several mm on disks with diameters of a few tens of mm. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the lowest spatial frequency coercivity variation in a plan view 400 of a disk storage medium—this variation is called "1F", corresponding to one side 402 of the disk having higher coercivity than the opposite side 406. The origin of the term "1F" is that with this pattern of coercivity variation, the resulting electronic frequency when the disk storage medium is rotating corresponds to the fundamental rotational frequency of the disk, e.g., a 6000 rpm rotation of disk 400 (corresponding to 100 rps) would generate a 100 Hz signal (the frequency "F"). Region 402 with darker shading represents a higher coercivity than region 406 (lighter shading) 180° azimuthally around the disk. Regions 404 and 408 have intermediate coercivities, lower than region 402, but higher than region 406. The coercivity across the disk 400 will vary gradually between the higher and lower values in regions 402 and 406, respectively. Typical magnitudes of the coercivity variation are a few percent (see FIG. 9).
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of disk storage medium 500 with a 2F variation in coercivity—in this example, regions 502 and 506 have higher coercivities, while regions 504 and 508 have lower coercivities. Because the coercivity goes through two maxima and two minima azimuthally around the disk, this is termed a "2F" variation, since for a 6000 rpm rotation of disk 500 (100 rps), the resultant electronic frequency would be 200 Hz.
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of disk storage medium 600 with a 3F variation in coercivity—in this example, regions 602, 606 and 610 have higher coercivities, while regions 604, 608 and 612 have lower coercivities. Because the coercivity goes through three maxima and three minima azimuthally around the disk, this is termed a "3F" variation, since for a 6000 rpm rotation of disk 600, the resultant electronic frequency would be 300 Hz.
FIG. 7 is a schematic graph 700 of the coercivity 704 as a function of the azimuthal angle (i.e., angle around the circumference) 702 on a disk storage medium for the three examples in FIGS. 4-6. Curves 706, 708, and 710 correspond to FIGS. 4-6, respectively. These are schematic sinusoidal curves which can be compared with actual measured coercivity data in FIG. 9 corresponding to a 2F disk (FIG. 5).
FIG. 1 is a schematic cutaway diagram of a write head 102 (the surrounding air bearing slider structure has been omitted for clarity) and a region 108 of a storage medium where the coercivity is nominal. Flux lines 104 and 106 emerge from head 102 and enter disk 108. The flux density is approximately proportional to the writing current (in the absence of saturation in the magnetic circuit of the write head) and approximately inversely to the fly height. In general, the flux density 106 near the center of head 102 will be higher than the flux density 104 nearer the edges of head 102. Where the flux density is above the writing flux density, medium 108 will be magnetized to produce track 110 with writing width (WW) 112. Outside track 110, flux 104 is below the writing flux density and the magnetic material will not be sufficiently magnetized to record data. FIG. 1 illustrates the nominal writing width 112, resulting from region 108 having the nominal coercivity.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cutaway diagram of the write head 102 as in FIG. 1 and a region 208 of a storage medium where the coercivity is below the nominal value. In this example, where the present invention is not employed, there has been no change to either the writing current or the fly height, thus the distribution of flux lines is essentially unchanged from FIG. 1. However, since the coercivity is lower here, it is "easier" (i.e., the writing flux density, which is proportional to the coercivity, is also lower) to magnetize medium 208 than medium 108 (signified here by wider spacings of the shading lines), thus writing width 212 extends outwards farther on each side into regions where the magnetic flux density from head 102 was too low to magnetize medium 108 in FIG. 1, but is now adequate to magnetize medium 208. As a result, the width 212 of track 210 may be larger than the width 112 of track 110 in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cutaway diagram of the write head 102 as in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a region 308 of a storage medium where the coercivity is above the nominal value—this represents the opposite situation from FIG. 2, since now medium 308 is more difficult (i.e., the writing flux density, which is proportional to the coercivity, is higher) to magnetize than medium 108 (signified here by narrower spacings of the shading lines). Again, compared with FIG. 1, there has been no change to the flux distribution from head 102, but because it takes a higher magnetic flux density to magnetize medium 308 than medium 108, the width 312 of track 310 may be smaller than the width 112 of track 110 in FIG. 1.
Various methods have been proposed to deal with variations in the coercivities within magnetic storage media. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,009,379 B2, during the writing process the ambient temperature within the disk drive is monitored. Temperature variations can affect the writing process in at least two ways: 1) by affecting the air density directly above the disk surface, the fly height may change due to aerodynamic factors, and 2) the coercivity typically decreases with an increase in temperature. Given the measured temperature, the writing current is varied in a step-wise fashion in an attempt to match the writing current to the writing parameters such as fly height and/or coercivity. No attempt is made to map spatial variations of coercivity across the disk medium to correct for process variations—instead, the average coercivity of the disk at nominal room temperature is determined, and this coercivity is then corrected for temperature fluctuations, either above or below room temperature. Another writing parameter monitored in U.S. Pat. No. 8,009,379 B2 is the degree of "overwrite", which is a measure of how much residual data remains from any previous writing on an area of the disk—generally it is undesirable to write excessively "hard" (thereby eliminating all residual data), so that a small amount of residual information is preferred. No measurement of the spatial distribution of coercivity on the disk medium is performed prior to writing in the method of this patent, thus undesirable time "overheads" may occur due to the requirement for real-time process parameter monitoring during writing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,521 B1, a test pattern is written using a plurality of writing currents. The bit error rates (BER) are then measured with the read head intentionally offset from the center of the track where the data is to be stored. The procedure outlined here is laborious, requiring large numbers (e.g., 32) of error rate measurements for each track in order as well as writing operations for noise (with the write head offset) and test patterns (with the head at the nominal track center).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,995 B2 discloses an approach for compensating the effects of thermal coercivity variations. The coercivity distribution of a disk storage medium is first mapped by writing data into spots distributed radially and azimuthally across the surface of the disk medium. The writing parameters are then optimized for a nominal room temperature. During writing operations, if the ambient temperature of the storage device is near room temperature, then data may be written at random locations (i.e., anywhere) on the disk medium. Conversely, if the ambient temperature exceeds the nominal room temperature, data may only be written in areas of the disk with higher coercivities when measured at the nominal room temperature. If the ambient temperature is below the nominal room temperature, the opposite procedure is followed and data may only be written in areas having low coercivities when measured at the nominal room temperature. Thus, instead of compensating the writing process for temperature-induced coercivity variations, this method "seeks out" regions whose coercivity will have undergone a thermally-induced change in a direction matching the requirements of a fixed writing process. Obviously, this method may limit writing amounts or speeds, since it imposes undesirable limits to which areas of the disk medium are usable in any particular operational environment.
Given that we have seen that some variation, at least at the few percent level, in the coercivity of the disk storage medium is inevitable, and also given that this variation in coercivity may have deleterious effects on the writing widths of tracks on the disk, it would be advantageous to reduce or eliminate these effects.
It would be advantageous if this control method could be implemented without requiring changes to the physical structure of the read/write head or the arm electronics (AE) which position the read/write head relative to the rotating disk storage medium.

Write current and fly height adjustment for compensating media coercivity variation


Intraocular implants and methods of making intraocular implants are provided. The intraocular implants can improve the vision of a patient, such as by increasing the depth of focus of an eye of a patient. In particular, the intraocular implants can include a mask having an annular portion with a relatively low visible light transmission surrounding a relatively high transmission central portion such as a clear lens or aperture. This construct is adapted to provide an annular mask with a small aperture for light to pass through to the retina to increase depth of focus. The intraocular implant may have an optical power for refractive correction. The intraocular implant may be implanted in any location along the optical pathway in the eye, e.g., as an implant in the anterior or posterior chamber.

1. Field
This application relates generally to the field of intraocular devices. More particularly, this application is directed to intraocular implants and lenses (IOLs), with an aperture to increase depth of focus (e.g. "masked" intraocular lenses) and methods of making.
2. Description of the Related Art
The human eye functions to provide vision by transmitting and focusing light through a clear outer portion called the cornea, and further refining the focus of the image by way of a crystalline lens onto a retina. The quality of the focused image depends on many factors including the size and shape of the eye, and the transparency of the cornea and the lens.
The optical power of the eye is determined by the optical power of the cornea and the crystalline lens. In a normal, healthy eye, sharp images of distant objects are formed on the retina (emmetropia). In many eyes, images of distant objects are either formed in front of the retina because the eye is abnormally long or the cornea is abnormally steep (myopia), or formed in back of the retina because the eye is abnormally short or the cornea is abnormally flat (hyperopia). The cornea also may be asymmetric or toric, resulting in an uncompensated cylindrical refractive error referred to as corneal astigmatism.
A normally functioning human eye is capable of selectively focusing on either near or far objects through a process known as accommodation. Accommodation is achieved by inducing deformation in a lens located inside the eye, which is referred to as the crystalline lens. Such deformation is induced by muscles called ciliary muscles. In most individuals, the ability to accommodate diminishes with age and these individuals cannot see up close without vision correction. If far vision also is deficient, such individuals are usually prescribed bifocal lenses.


A diagnostic system for detecting and indicating cranial movements in a human subject whose brain case is composed of a plurality of articulated bones which define the cranium. The system includes infrared reflector elements placed on selected bones of the cranium and infrared video cameras directed at the cranium emitting infrared light during a test period that is reflected by the elements and picked up to produce in an image analyzer associated with the cameras a two or three-dimensional image providing information regarding relative motion between the reflector elements. This information is supplied to a computer programmed to reconstruct the perceived motion as a diagram illustrating cranial movements during the test period. To eliminate the effect of motion from other kinetically active parts of the body, such as muscle movement variables, respiration and heart beat, included in the system is an EMG unit associated with separate electrode elements placed on the head and torso of the subject to measure and indicate muscle activity. Also electrodes are placed on the torso to monitor the EKG of the subject. The EMG and EKG indications are subtracted from the reading so that the motion detected of cranial bone movement is indicative only of this movement.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a diagnostic system adapted to measure accurately minute cranial movements in a human subject and to determine whether these movements deviate from a normal cranial movement pattern and thereby facilitate treatment of the patient by cranial manipulation.
2. Status of Prior Art
In a human skull, the eight cranial bones which together form a hollow protective brain case or cranium are the occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid and frontal bones, as well as the paired temporal and parietal bones. Skull articulations are generally serrated sutures. The concern of the present invention is with the movements of articulated cranial bones and the degree to which deviations from a normal pattern of rhythmic movement reflect a pathological condition that lends itself to treatment by osteopathic manipulative therapy.
In this background section, reference will be made to published papers in scientific journals listed at the end of the section, each paper being identified by a number (1 to 22).
The basic principles underlying the practice of osteopathy center around the need to establish the optimal structure and function of the body in order to prevent or alleviate illness. Historically, allopathy seeks to treat illness by eradicating foreign offenders, and this method of treatment often results in merely alleviating the symptoms. The osteopathic approach which deals with how disturbances in the musculoskeletal system affect other bodily parts, is to consider the body's defenses in attempting to overcome illness. Osteopathic treatment is aimed at improving the body's structural components, thereby improving the body's functional capabilities and allowing the body to heal itself.
Until recently, the efficacy of osteopathic treatment was determined largely by subjective analysis of clinical improvement and patient testimony. During the past two decades, various modalities have been employed in order to objectively demonstrate the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT). Toward this end, instrumentation such as pressure transducers, forced-displacement meters, and electromyography (EMG) have been utilized (See refs. 9, 10, 13, 16, 18 and 20).
The aim of the present invention is to objectively measure, confirm and evaluate cranial mobility by focusing on the movement of the cranial bones, and to correlate subjective perception of cranial movement with kinematically acquired actual movement. Confirmation can be achieved by isolating the cranial bone movement from movements arising from other parts of the body. The objective measurement of cranial mobility is useful in diagnosis in determining cranial bone alterations as a result of pathological conditions. Also, the results of cranio-facial manipulation can be quantified using a system in accordance with the invention.
Craniosacral theory in osteopathy is based on essentially four factors: namely, (a) movement of bone structures, (b) movement of membranous structures, (c) motility of the central nervous system, and (d) movement of fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (See refs. 5, 9 and 10 for complete review). This theory postulates that a cranial rhythmic impulse exists which is palpable at various locations in the body, with an average rate of 8 to 14 cycles per minute. This impulse does not correspond with other well defined pulses such as respiration and heart beat. The cranial rhythmic impulse can be evaluated with respect to rate, amplitude and quality, with quality defined in terms of the characteristic wave form (See ref. 10).
The concepts underlying cranial theory which tie it in with other forms of osteopathy involve the body as a unity and its ability for autoregulation which maintains homeostasis. It also takes into account the crucial interrelationship between body structure and function. This theory was originally developed from a study of the structure of the cranial sutures. It was postulated that the orientation of the sutures were such that movement about the suture lines was possible (See refs. 9, 10 and 16). Originally it had been believed that movement of the cranial bones was possible in an infant or child, but not in adulthood, for then these sutures had ossified to the point were movement was no longer possible (See refs. 1 and 17).
However, recent studies have demonstrated the relationship between variations in the volume of cerebrospinal fluid (CFC) and changes in intracranial pressure (See refs. 2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14 and 22). Marmarou, et al. (see ref. 12) demonstrated that many inanimate containers have ideal elastic properties. Such properties include a coefficient of compliance which does not vary with time or is constant for all degrees of expansion of the container. In such an ideal container, pressure varies linearly with volume and the slope of the volume-pressure curve (or compliance) is constant. Pressure and volume in the compartments containing CSF are not linearly related (See ref. 12). These findings led Marmarou, et al. to conclude that various structures within the central nervous system (CNS) alter their structure or function in order to accommodate various challenges to the system. Marmarou, et al. attributed this ability to the brain, ventricles and blood vessels.
Two of the major assumptions upon which Marmarou, et al. and others (See refs. 2, 8, 14 and 22) have based their findings are that the cranium is a fixed structure, unable to alter its shape or capacity to accommodate any changes in the system. Furthermore, the dura mater, likewise, is a firm fibrous structure which similarly cannot adapt to changes in the structures enveloped within it. Studies performed have demonstrated that the administration of a bolus of fluid into the ventricular system causes a temporary increase in pressure which then returns to steady state (See refs. 11 and 12). It is the conclusion of these investigators that the increased volume causes a chain of events in the circulartory/ventricular system of CNS to modify its function and enable the body to overcome the insult and reestablish homeostasis (See refs. 11 and 12).
One group of investigators (See ref. 11) concluded that the individual effects of these processes relating to pressure are difficult to isolate by experimental means, since formation, absorption and elasticity are mutually interactive, and their combined effects upon intracranial pressure are hydrodynamically complex. One study, performed on infants with hydrocephalus, concluded that a much larger amount of fluid is necessary to produce hydrocephalus than in adults due to the opened suture lines at the fontenelles (See ref. 17).
It was further concluded that the mobility of the cranial bones was able to compensate for increase in CSF volume until the volume was such that the system was overwhelmed (See ref. 17). Intracranial monitoring studies have demonstrated that changes in the cerebrospinal fluid pulse waves exist under conditions of hypercapnia and increased intracranial pressure (See ref. 14). Several investigators have recognized that the cerebrospinal fluid pulse wave was similar to the arterial pulse, but the exact origin of the wave has not been determined (See ref. 14). One investigator (see ref. 3) believed that the wave emanates from the choroid plexus. However, another group (See ref. 4) demonstrated that the cerebrospinal fluid pulse wave could be observed in the lumbar spinal canal when the cervical fluid pathway had been obstructed. A more recent study concluded that the cerebrospinal fluid pulse wave is derived from the transmission of an arterial pulse into the cerebral veins, and that the pulsations within the thin-walled veins are transmitted to the CSF (See ref. 14).
A striking feature of these studies is that many of the conclusions are based on the assumption that the structure and function of the cranium and dura mater are limited and constant. If, however, these assumptions were proven to be false, conclusions drawn from them would likewise be in error and an alternative method of compensation by the CNS would be possible.
There have been studies performed which seek to objectively demonstrate the phenomenon of Cranial Rhythmic Impulse. This is the phenomenon which osteopathic physicians trained in cranial therapy are able to palpate. These studies have been approached anatomically (histologically) and physiologically.
Anatomical or histological studies have focused largely on the suture lines. Retzlaff, et al. (See ref. 15) found the existence, within the suture line, fibrous connective tissue, elastic connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves and sensory endings. They further hypothesized that pain may result from compression along these suture lines due to the structures contained within the suture. Further analysis of the cranial bones and suture lines led Retzlaff, et al. to define four articular patterns observed between parietal bones and adjacent cranial bones: (a) plane suture, (b) squamous suture, (c) serrate suture, and (d) denticulate suture. Retzlaff, et al. further suggested that the plane and squamous sutures allow for a sliding and separating movement, while the serrate and denticulate articulations permit a hinge type of movement. The general conclusion of these investigations is that movement of the cranial bones along suture lines is highly probable.
Physiological studies include a series of experiments performed by Frymann (See ref. 7) designed to investigate the motion of the living cranium. Frymann observed a rhythm which was synchronous with respiration and cardiac activity, and another slower wave motion independent of the other two. Other investigators performed experiments on anesthetized squirrel monkeys to measure parietal bone movement (See ref. 16). They found that when the monkey's head was allowed free movement in a stereotaxic apparatus, the pattern of movement was directly related to cardiac and respiratory activity. With limited movement in the stereotaxic apparatus, right parietal bone movement corresponded to respiratory activity, whereas the left parietal bone appeared to move independently. Complete immobilization resulted in independent motions of each parietal bone with resulting independent wave motion. It was further noted that flexion and extension of the monkey's body resulted in an increased amplitude of these waves. It was concluded from this study that this direct correlation of vertebral column movement and parietal bone movement indicates that alterations in cerebrospinal fluid are responsible for bone movement.
Another study correlated mechano-electric patterns acquired using electrodes on various portions of the subject's body with subjective findings of a physician during craniosacral diagnosis and treatment. This study found that a strong correlation existed between the physician's subjective findings and the data acquired from the sensors (See ref. 20).
A more recent study aimed at identifying parietal bone mobility in anesthetized cats demonstrated that rotational and lateral movement of the parietal bones occur in reference to the medial sagittal suture (See ref. 1). In this study, an isotonic monitoring device was attached to the exposed cranium of anesthetized cats. Data was collected during spontaneous movement as well as movement under stress (i.e., increased intracranial pressure) when a compressive force was applied, a bolus of artificial CSF injected, or induction of hypercapnia.
Their results indicated that cranial motion was affected by insults or challenges to the system. Furthermore, restriction of head movement (i.e., by placement in a stereotaxic apparatus) resulted in a decrease in cranial motion as well as a decrease in the amount of compensation by cranial motion to an imposed challenge. These investigators concluded that lateral and rotational mobility of the parietal bones at the sagittal suture contribute to cranial compliance. They further hypothesize that cranial sutures play an important role in cranial compliance, and have the ability to absorb energy.
Various other studies have demonstrated craniosacral pathology in children with diagnosed emotional or behavioral disorders or learning disabilities (See ref. 21). This investigator has also found a positive correlation between complicated obstetrical delivery and restricted craniosacral motion. These studies, in conjunction with documentation of successful therapy of illnesses and disorders such as dyslexia, reactive and endogenous depressions and hyperkinesis (see ref. 9) lend strong support to the craniosacral theory and practice.
Although utilized in various other aspects (e.g., gait analysis), motion analysis using kinematics has not heretofore been considered useful in testing the hypothesis of cranial movement. No studies have heretofore been performed which allow a two or three-dimensional reconstruction of cranial movement in a human subject. This has been due to the technology itself, for the available kinematic systems lacked the sensitivity to detect minute movements at a reasonable working distance.

Diagnostic system for detecting and indicating cranial movements


To minimize any decrease in image quality, even in an instance in which there is a displacement in a landing position of a fluid in a region in which nozzle rows overlap, (A) a fluid-ejecting device including: a first nozzle column; (B) a second nozzle column, the second nozzle column being arranged so as to form an overlapping region; and (C) a control part for causing the fluid to be ejected so that in each of a plurality of raster lines arranged in a row in the predetermined direction in the overlapping region, dots to be formed are apportioned between the first nozzles and the second nozzles; the control part causing the fluid to be ejected so that there are produced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fluid-ejecting device and a fluid-ejecting method.
2. Background Technology
Inkjet printers ("printers" hereafter) for ejecting ink (fluid) from nozzles provided to a head and forming an image are an example of a fluid-ejecting device. An example of a printer of such description is a printer in which a plurality of short heads are arranged in a direction of paper width; and ink is ejected from the heads, and an image is formed, onto a medium conveyed under the heads.
In Patent Citation 1, there is disclosed a printer in which a plurality of heads are arranged so that end parts (a part of a nozzle column) of each of the heads overlap.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-255175 (Patent Citation 1) is an example of the related art.

Fluid-ejecting device and fluid-ejecting method for ejecting a fluid by a first nozzle column and a second nozzle column that form an overlapping region


A dispenser for delivering different grades of gasoline through a single nozzle at each fueling position, includes a pair of hoses connected to the nozzle, one of which hoses is used for selectively delivering high octane gasoline, and the other of which hoses is for selectively delivering either low octane or mid octane gasoline through the nozzle, whereby a control system is programmed for monitoring the dispensing of low octane gasoline relative to the dispensing of mid octane gasoline, for injecting a sufficient quantity of high octane gasoline through the nozzle at the initiator of a mid octane dispensing cycle for compensating for low octane fuel remaining in the other hose from an immediately prior low octane dispensing cycle relative to a mid octane dispensing cycle.

Many gasoline service stations require the installation of multi-fuel dispensers, each for dispensing a plurality of different grades or octane levels of gasoline products at each fueling position. Known dispensers or pumps typically include a separate hose, nozzle and nozzle boot for each fuel product or octane level of gasoline capable of being dispensed at an associated fueling position. Note that such dispensing systems are known as "wet hose systems", in which the hose remains filled with fuel from the most recent delivery. Through the use of such separate hoses, dispensers of the prior art avoid contamination of fuel being dispensed at a particular time, with fuel from a previous delivery that may remain in the hose at the termination of the last or prior to the last dispensing cycles. Buchanan et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,738 discloses such a dispenser, in which three fuel hoses, each for a different grade of gasoline, are used in a concentric hose configuration.
If the same hose is used for all fuel, the fuel remaining in the hose is of a different grade or octane level than fuel to be dispensed in the next subsequent dispensing cycle, contamination of the initial quantity of fuel delivered in the next dispensing cycle will occur through initial mixing of the desired fuel with the fuel remaining from the prior dispensing cycle. As long as the fuel being delivered in a given dispensing cycle is of a lower or equal octane or grade level than the residual fuel in the hose, a customer will receive at least the same or initially a higher grade of fuel, and suffer no detriment. However, if for example a lower octane gasoline was delivered in the last dispensing cycle, relative to fuel being delivered in a present dispensing cycle, through the same hose, a customer will initially receive a lower octane or grade level of fuel than requested. As previously mentioned, prior dispensing systems use separate hoses, nozzles and nozzle boots for each fuel available at a given fueling station, to avoid such fuel contamination during the initial phases of a given dispensing cycle.
There are many disadvantages in the use of discrete hoses for multi-fuel dispensers of the prior art. The cost of such dispensers is increased via the requirement for multiple hoses, each associated with an individual nozzle and nozzle boot. Also, the operation of such dispensers is substantially more complicated, and therefore more confusing for a user to operate. Another problem with such multi-hose dispensers is that the hoses sometimes become tangled with one another. The use of multiple hoses also compromises the appearance of such dispensers and increases the overall size and space requirements of the dispenser.

Multi-fuel dispenser with one nozzle per fueling position


An external display may support bias lighting via lights located on the rear of the display. Embodiments provide a baffle connected to the rear of the display such that the baffle redirects light output from the rear-facing bias lights. Rather than redirect bias light output off a surface behind the display, embodiments provide a known surface for redirecting bias light output towards the front side of a display. A multi-segment baffle may be adjusted by articulating segments of the baffle and modifying the angles of redirection of the bias light output. Such adjustments modify the size of an opening between the baffle and the display and thus alter the characteristics of the bias light output. An inner surface of the baffle may be coated with a reflective material to improve efficiency. The baffle may be formed from a portion of a rear cover of the display.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHSs may utilize a wide variety of displays. Certain IHSs, such a portable IHSs, utilize integrated displays. Some IHSs may also support the use of an external display. In some scenarios, IHSs may be coupled to television sets, such that the television is utilized as an external display of the IHS. Some displays that may be coupled to an IHS, including television sets, may support the use of bias lighting via one or more light sources that are located on the back of the display and are operated to illuminate surfaces or objects that are behind the display. Bias lighting may be used to improve the user's perception of the output of the display, to reduce eyestrain and/or as decorative lighting.

Adjustable halo for display bias lighting


A method and system for altering the frequency or harmonic spectra of a disturbance characterized by an output generator (26) and a response generator (24) that cooperate to produce shaped control signals in response to first input signals (23).

In designing exhaust silencers or mufflers for automobiles, the quality or timbre of the residual noise is often as important as the overall power level. The noise is characterized by a fundamental period which is related to the rotation rate of the engine, so the frequency spectrum has peaks at multiples of a fundamental frequency. This frequency changes as the speed of the engine changes. The frequency spectrum of the noise can be altered by the design of the passive silencer, but the quality of the noise is related to the relative levels of the various harmonics in the noise which cannot be controlled by a passive silencer.
Active noise cancellation techniques have been applied to automobile exhausts. These techniques seek to reduce the exhaust noise by adding noise with an equal amplitude but opposite phase. The system comprises an actuator, such as a loudspeaker or flow modulator, a sensor to monitor the residual noise and an electronic control system to determine the required drive signal for the actuator. The input to the control system can be a frequency or phase signal from a tachometer or the input can be from a sensor which is responsive to the sound pressure in the exhaust pipe or the input can be from the residual sensor itself (or it can be from a combination of these).
Active noise cancellation techniques seek to cancel as much of the offending noise as possible. The residual noise has an unpredictable quality and, although the total power is reduced, the residual noise may be subjectively worse than the original noise.
In the case of automotive mufflers or silencers, it is often not desirable to have a completely silent exhaust, since the quality of the exhaust noise will affect the character of the automobile.
There are many other applications where it is thought to be beneficial to adjust the frequency or harmonic content of a noise. These include noise inside aircraft and vehicle cabins. There is therefore a desire to be able to control the quality or shape of noise.
Control techniques have been used extensively in the areas of flight control and process control. One such technique is that of model reference control. In this approach the desired relationship between the input (command) signals and the system response is known in advance (this relationship is the `model`). An example of this type of system is shown in FIG. 1. The input signal, 1, is applied to both the physical system, 20, (via a regulator, 4) and to the model system, 21. The difference between the desired response, 6, and the actual physical response, 3, is used to generate an error signal, 22. The error signal and the input signal are used in adaption unit, 7, to adjust the regulator 4. (See Astrom and Wittenmark, `Adaptive Control`, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1989, Section 1.2 for example, FIG. 1.2 in particular). These methods are designed to alter the effective response of the physical system, whereas the noise shaping control system of this invention is designed to alter the characteristics of a disturbance (there is no disturbance shown in FIG. 1, but this style of control system is usually designed to be insensitive to any disturbances).
The quality of a noise is best characterized by the shape of the frequency spectrum. There are several known techniques for canceling noise using frequency domain methods.
One approach is shown in FIG. 2. A reference input signal, 1, is input to a filter, 4, to produce the output signal, 2. An error signal, 3, related to the performance of the system is transformed in forward transform module, 6, to give the frequency spectrum of the error signal, 11. The input signal, 1, is transformed in forward transform module, 9, to give the frequency spectrum, 12. The frequency signals 11 and 12 are used in adaption unit 7 to estimate the transform of the filter response, 13. An inverse transform is applied in module 5 to provide a new filter characteristic.
An alternative approach is shown in FIG. 3. This configuration is the same except that the filtering is also performed in the frequency domain. The transform, 12, of the input signal is used together with the frequency domain filter, 4, to calculate the transform, 10, of the desired output signal. The inverse transform is then applied at 5 to produce the final output signal, 2.
A variation of this approach is shown in FIG. 4. This approach, which is designed for canceling periodic noise, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,841 to Chaplin et al. The frequency transforms of 5 and 6 are synchronized to the frequency, 8, of a noise source. This means that the output of transform module 6 provides the complex amplitudes of the harmonic components of the residual signal, 3. This approach has been applied successfully to muffler noise cancellation where the frequency signal is provided by a tachometer signal.
The system is equivalent to using an input signal with a unity harmonic spectrum. The reference input, 1, is shown for comparison to the other schemes. It is not a physical input.
This technique provides a means for canceling selected harmonics of the noise, but there is no mechanism for determining or controlling the degree of cancellation.
One of the common adaption algorithms used in the adaption module is the filtered-input (filtered-x) LMS algorithm (Widrow and Steams, `Adaptive Signal Processing`, Prentice Hall, 1985, p288-294). One feature of this algorithm is that the adaption rate is dependent on the level and frequency content of the input signal. In the approach disclosed by Sjosten et al, (Proceedings of Inter-noise 90, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1990, pp1251-1254) the input signal is a sum of sinusoids synchronized to the frequency of the engine. By adjusting the relative levels of these input signals the relative rate of adaption of the harmonics can be varied. This approach has limited use since the adaption rate alone does not determine the levels of residual noise.
In other approaches the harmonics are controlled separately, so a different adaption step size can be used for each harmonic to control the relative rate of adaption.
However, neither of these approaches directly govern the amount of cancellation of the harmonics. For example, for a steady signal they will still attempt to cancel all of the noise and for transient signals the reduction will depend on the rate of change of the noise.
Another approach for altering the levels of the residual noise requires that the desired residual signals are known in advance. This method can be used for periodic or broadband noise. The desired signal can be subtracted from the residual signal before being used in the adaption algorithm. However, it is not practical to supply a desired signal for the whole range of operating conditions.


A method for eyes-off training of a dictation system includes translating an audio signal featuring speech audio of a speaker into an initial recognized text using a previously-trained general language model. The initial recognized text is provided to the speaker for error correction. The audio signal is re-translated into an updated recognized text using a specialized language model biased to recognize words included in the corrected text. The general language model is retrained in an “eyes-off” manner, based on the audio signal and the updated recognized text.

Dictation systems may require a large number of exemplary labelled speech audio data for training. Acquiring the labelled speech audio data typically requires humans to label the data so as to accurately indicate words present in the speech audio data. Furthermore, performance of a dictation system may be sensitive to context of the speech audio data (e.g., speaker accent and speaking style, domain-specific vocabulary, etc.), and good performance in a particular context may require exemplary labelled speech audio data for that particular context. However, in many contexts, human labelling of data may be infeasible. For example, dictation systems may be used to input private and/or confidential data, and it may not be feasible to provide the private and/or confidential data to a third party for labelling. Furthermore, human labelling of data may be expensive, time-consuming, and/or error-prone.

Eyes-off training for automatic speech recognition


Used batteries and other material for reclamation and recovery or environmentally safe disposal are transferred from a feed bin by an auger into a crusher and then into a pyrolysis chamber. The feed system excludes air or oxygen from passing through the auger and crusher into the pyrolysis chamber. The material from the crusher is transferred by an auger through the pyrolysis chamber which is heated to a decomposition temperature between 350.degree. and 650.degree. F. and is decomposed. The pyrolysis chamber includes a vapor recovery system for removing the vapors and maintaining a vacuum in the pyrolysis chamber. The vapors are withdrawn through a heat exchanger and into the liquid/gas separator where the condensed liquids are removed and the gas is further processed. The residue from the pyrolysis chamber is discharged into a residue recovery system which includes a closed auger for transferring the residue from the pyrolysis chamber into a bin. A pressure sensitive switch which maintains a minimum level of solid material in the bin which acts as a seal to prevent air or oxygen from entering the pyrolysis chamber. The residue is transferred to a screening collector having an upper and a lower screen. The screens are vibrated and the finer sized metals are collected from the bottom of the screening collector, the heavier metals off the lower screen and the paper and plastic off the upper screen.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for reclamation of batteries other than lead-acid batteries and more particular to reclamation and environmentally safe disposal of nickel cadmium, lithium, carbon-zinc, mercury, alkaline, metal hydride, etc. batteries.
Currently, there is considerable concern with the disposal of used batteries in industrial countries occasioned by the accumulation of batteries from those used in wrist watches to those used in diesel locomotives. Also, even with the increased use of rechargeable batteries, disposal still persists as a problem in many industrial countries.
Various processes have been proposed utilizing pyrolysis for reclaiming rubber tires, plastics, inorganic compounds and metals, such as, cadmium, lithium, mercury, etc. Processes dealing with the treatment of used rubber tires by pyrolysis to recover liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and separate these from solid residue proliferate as described in various patents. Likewise, a number of pyrolysis processes are described for reclaiming waste metals containing coatings of organic insulation. Further, a number of processed have been proposed for recovery of metals used in various batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,676, issued to Chambers discloses a process for reclamation and treatment of organic waste materials, such as, rubber automobile tires or industrial plastic waste or residential trash, which preferably has metal of inorganic matter removed therefrom, is passed through an elongated chamber by means of a screw conveyor with the temperature in the chamber maintained at 1100.degree. F. The vapors and gases are removed from the chamber by means of a vacuum with the vapors being condensed and the gases separated therefrom. The chamber is maintained free from air or oxygen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,738, issued to Harris et al discloses a method of treating and recovery of organic waste material in an oxygen-free chamber filled with molten lead which is inclined to allow organic material with a lessor specific gravity than the lead to migrate through the molten lead to a higher portion of the chamber. The organic material from the chamber is recycled as fuel gas and the residual solids flow to a reservoir connected to the chamber. Carbon black is drawn into a receiver by a vacuum line located near the top of the reservoir and all the other residual solids flow over a reservoir wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,659, issued to Wingfield, Jr. et al discloses a process for improving the pyrolytic conversion of waste selected from rubber and plastic to low molecular weight olefinic materials by employing basis salt catalysts in the waste mixture. The salt catalysts comprise alkali or alkaline earth compounds and Wingfield, Jr. cites sodium carbonate as one.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,270, issued to Roy discloses a process for treatment of used rubber tires by vacuum pyrolysis in a reactor to produce liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and solids. The pyrolysis is carried out in a temperature range of 360.degree. C. to about 415.degree. C. under sub-atmospheric pressure. The process is claimed to increase the yield of liquid hydrocarbons and lower the yield of gaseous hydrocarbons and carbonaceous material. The process produces hydrocarbon oils suitable for use as heating fluids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,008, issued to Gibson discloses apparatus for thermal decomposition or pyrolysis of shredded vehicle tires. Undecomposed rubber, fiberglass, carbon and metal products are collected at the end of the pyrolysis chamber, and the gaseous products are separately collected and sent through a fractionator. The undecomposed materials are treated separately.
A number of processes are similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,509, issued to O'Reilly disclose a process wherein a quantity of plastic-insulated wire is placed in a sealed air-tight chamber with limited air therein. The wire is heated in the chamber to a temperature to reduce the plastic to a crisp residue and to evolve gases from the plastic. The off-gases are then wet-scrubbed to remove undesired constituents and the crisp residue is ultimately removed from the wire.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,890, issued to Kemp discloses a process for decomposing organic and pseudo-organic materials into useable and reusable forms. Inorganic metals and salts are treated in the same convertor system. The materials are carried on a conveyor through a controlled atmosphere chamber virtually free of oxidizing agents. A negative pressure is maintained upstream of the chamber to collect liquid and gaseous vapor streams which are processed through successive stages of collection containers, condensers and gas scrubbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,825, issued to Baker discloses another pyrolysis process in which metallic scrap containing a coating of organic insulation is processed in a pressure pyrolysis vessel maintained at a pressure between 20 to 40 psi and in a temperature range of about 500.degree. to 1000.degree. F. depending on the type of insulation.
A number of processes describe the method or process of treating batteries to recover useful products. Such a process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,107, issued to Heng et al which discloses a process of crushing and then roasting batteries at a temperature of 500.degree. to 1000.degree. C. in an oxidizing atmosphere with volatilized mercury recovered from the off-gas. The roasted material is separated by sieving and magnetic separation which separates iron-containing scrap, and the residue containing magnesium, zinc and silver. Heng et al cites several processes for treating batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,975 issued to Gunjishima et al discloses a method for recovering cadmium in used nickel cadmium batteries by heat treatment. The process discloses the purity of high cadmium by volatilizing cadmium in a non-oxidizing atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,189 issued to Celi discloses a thermal mechanical treatment in a closed container at a temperature at which, with the assistance of mechanical pressure metal-plastic and metal-metal bonds are disrupted. Synthetic plastic parts and graphite electrodes are separated by physical methods, vaporized mercury is extracted and washed with sulphuric acid. A gas washing device for inert gas leaving the container employs sulphuric acid in which the vaporized mercury reacts forming mercury sulphate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,064, issued to Volhardt discloses a general waste arrangement for the low temperature carbonization of waste material. The waste materials include household and industrial waste, as well as, chemical waste containing noxious matter and dioxines and furanes containing hazardous substances. The heating system is substantially corrosion free and hazardous gases are transformed into gases with a lower level of hazardous matter by directing the heating gas of the low temperature carbonization device and into a heat exchanger of a secondary incineration device with the heat exchanger being maintained at 1200.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,503, issued to Bitler et al discloses a plasma arc furnace which pyrolyzes lead-contaminated soil and battery casing. The combustible gas along with volatilizes lead are transferred to and used a primary fuel in a conventional smelting furnace. The volatilized lead is thus transferred to the recovery and environmental equipment associated with smelting furnaces. The soil is converted into a non-toxic vitrified slag and may be crushed for use as roadway aggregate.


The disclosed method may include (1) establishing a communication session between a plurality of network nodes to enable the plurality of network nodes to exchange route updates with one another, and then during the communication session, (2) detecting, at one of the network nodes, at least one route update to send to another one of the network nodes, (3) compressing, at the network node, the route update to reduce an amount of data included in the route update, and then upon compressing the route update, (4) sending the compressed route update to the other network node to enable the other network node to forward traffic along a path whose route is advertised in the compressed route update. Various other methods, systems, and apparatuses are also disclosed.

Route updates often involve a lot of data transfer. For example, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) convergence may involve the transfer of various route-update messages that include redundant and/or repetitious data. Additionally or alternatively, these route-update messages may be transferred in connection with a long series of superfluous markers.
As a result, traditional route-update messages may lead to a variety of problems. For example, traditional route-update messages may cause heavy network traffic that necessitates the consumption of a lot of resources and/or processing power among network devices. Additionally or alternatively, growing volume of traditional route-update messages may cause control traffic Input/Output (I/O) bottlenecks within network devices. The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for methods, systems, and apparatuses for reducing the size of route updates.

Method, system, and apparatus for reducing the size of route updates


Embodiments of a system, apparatus, and method of platform security are describe. In some embodiments, a system comprises a manageability engine to detect if a software agent of the platform is removed and a software agent enclave, wherein the software agent enclave and manageability engine each include a specific session key to be used for communications between the software agent enclave and the manageability engine.

In enterprise environments, a platform owner typically installs several agent software programs on a platform to help enforce security and manageability policies on the platform when it is running. These agents are responsible for tasks such as running IP scans, port scanning, keeping anti-virus software running/updated, keeping critical remote manageability software running/updated, etc.
Malicious or accidental removal of these agents could make the system vulnerable to network attacks, or it could render critical management functions non-operational. If the agent software is removed in an unauthorized manner the platform owner must be notified of removal so an appropriate defense action could be taken which could range from restarting the agent, other recovery steps or even shutting down the system based on the level of perceived threat.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for enforcing security on a platform


A pure bacterial culture, designated herein as M91-3, has been isolated which rapidly degrades certain s-triazines, particularly halogenated s-triazines. The M91-3 degrades s-triazines, particularly atrazine, beyond the point of ring cleavage, leading to complete mineralization of the atrazine. The ability of M91-3 to completely degrade atrazine appears to be unique among bacteria. The M91-3 is capable of degrading s-triazine in solution and in presence of soil or sediment. The invention also relates to a method for degrading s-triazines, particularly atrazine.

s-Triazines compounds are a family of herbicides which encompass symmetrical triazines, including, for example, atrazine, simazine and cyanazine. Atrazine is an extensively used herbicide for broadleaf weed control among corn and sorghum crops. Approximately 48-50 million acres of farmland under corn production are treated with atrazine annually. The widespread use of atrazine has created environmental concern particularly as a result of the frequent detection of atrazine in surface water, rain water, tile drainage, and ground water, frequently at concentrations exceeding the maximum contaminant level of 3 .mu.g 1.sup.-1 set by the EPA. Atrazine has been classified as a moderately persistent herbicide, with field dissipation rates ranging from 0.006 to 0.01 d.sup.-1 with half-lives ranging up to many months in soils. Indeed, residues of the s-triazines and their derivatives have been detected in soils years after application. s-Triazines are now targeted for removal or remediation at sites exceeding maximum contaminant levels.
One method proposed for remediating sites containing s-triazines involves large-scale excavation of the contaminated soil followed by thin spreading of the contaminated soil on fallow agricultural land. This method relies upon a combination of indigenous soil microbial populations to eventually degrade the herbicides thereby reducing herbicide levels in the contaminated soil. Unfortunately, the presence of the herbicide renders the field unsuitable for subsequently planting numerous crops. Moreover, contaminated soils often contain mixtures of pesticides or herbicides, which severly limits the use of the field for a wide variety of subsequent crops. Also, thin-spreading of these contaminated soil can injure crops during subsequent growing seasons. Furthermore, compounds may be present in the contaminated soil which are not licensed for agricultural application and thin-spreading may not, therefore, be a suitable remediation method.
Alternatively, remediation of contaminated sites often involves excavation and incineration of large quantities of soil, which is extremely costly and consumes a large portion of the limited funds available for remediation.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive, rapid method for degrading s-triazine.


An article of footwear is provided that includes a sizing apparatus to allow the shoe size to be adjustable by the wearer. The article of footwear in the form of a shoe includes a sole, an upper extending from the sole, and a sizing apparatus located within the upper, in which a sizing member is attached to the upper at the rear end of the shoe. The sizing apparatus may include a composite inner core, a detachment feature, and a dual selective fastening system. The inner core may be substantially enclosed in a lining. The sizing apparatus enables a user to adjust the effective length of the shoe to at least three effective lengths. A method of adjusting the size of the article of footwear is provided to make the shoe at least three effective lengths.

The present invention generally relates to footwear, in particular, to athletic shoes that include an adjustable sizing system.
Consumers purchase shoes and other footwear for use in athletic activities such as running, cross training, soccer, football, baseball, tennis, walking, and the like. In recent years, sports directed to children have been very popular. In order for these children to compete effectively and to reduce immediate and future podiatric problems, it is essential that they wear shoes that are sized properly.
As children grow, consumers purchase numerous pairs of athletic shoes of increasing sizes to maintain the pace of the child""s growth. In general, the feet of children grow quickly during the younger years and decelerate as the children reach maturity. Many parents have purchased shoes for their children only to be dismayed that the child has grown out of the shoes before the shoes have been barely worn. This problem is magnified for certain shoes made for specific seasonal sports where the wearable season is short. To avoid the cost of replacing shoes on a frequent basis, some parents might purchase shoes in larger sizes in an effort to preempt the growth of the feet. Alternatively or additionally, some parents may have their children wear the shoes even when the child has slightly outgrown them. Neither of these practices are desired because the shoes will not likely fit properly for the wearer. Improper or poorly fitting footwear may effect the athletic performance of the child or could aggravate medical problems associated with the foot.
In general, most children""s feet grow approximately one full shoe size in a year, or one-half shoe size about every four months to six months. Consequently, the shoes need to be purchased frequently to accommodate the growing child. The feet of children may grow about one-third inch or more in length within a year. For families on limited budgets, the additional costs may create problems or cause the parents to forego the athletic activity. Some parents may forego purchasing new shoes and keep the poor-fitting shoes on the children. Unfortunately, this unintended problem may lead to effecting the proper growth and development of the feet of the children or could for cause future medical problems. Thus, it is advantageous to extend the life of footwear to reduce the number of frequent purchases. Also it is advantageous to provide footwear that fits properly for the wearer for as long as possible.
The American standard sizing system has various size designations such as 6, 6xc2xd, and 7. Other standard world-wide footwear sizing systems such as the English, European, and metric use similar type sizing arrangements. Under the American standard designation system, 6 and 6xc2xd, and 6xc2xd and 7 are considered to be adjacent sizes in the sizing system. These adjacent sizes are also considered to have half-size length differentials while 6 and 7 would be considered as having a full size length differential. The size ranges and designation vary between women, men, girl, boy, and infant footwear. In general, footwear manufacturers provide the shoes in most sizes for each half size length differentials to accommodate the consumer""s demand for shoes that properly conform to the feet of the wearer. This is a special consideration when supplying shoes to children. Manufacturing shoes for each half size can be expensive causing manufacturers to incur additional tooling and setup costs. The additional cost increases through the entire production, distribution, and retail supply channels. In addition, the intermediate sized shoes may increase inventory and carrying costs of the distributor and thus, may also increase the cost to the ultimate consumer who uses the shoes. Thus it is advantageous to reduce the number of differing sized shoes in a product line to reduce the cost of shoes, for the consumer and the manufacturer, if it could be accomplished without sacrificing the consumer""s demand for properly fitting shoes.
One solution has been proposed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/640,371 filed Aug. 17, 2000 to Bradley Long, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,874 which is herein fully incorporated by reference. In an embodiment, the Long application discloses a single adjustable sizing member for an athletic shoe in which the sizing member is attached to the upper at the rear end of the athletic shoe. While the sizing member of Long is effective, improvements can be provided to benefit the wearer of a shoe. In addition, foot movements of which occur in some sports can be addressed to improve enhanced athletic performance.
Heretofore, shoe sizing systems have not adequately, if at all, addressed the demands and biomechanical considerations of the sports as they relate for the performance of athletes. This problem is magnified for growing children commonly who use shoes in the cleated athletic shoe category, such as soccer shoes. Motions prevalent in the sport of soccer, such as side-to-side cutting motions and kicking motions for a ball, may create foot instability leading to fatigue, injury, and inefficiency of footwork action.
By way of example, the foot may experience relatively high impact forces during foot planting movements for ball kicking and/or changing directions. This is a special consideration on artificial surfaces. While artificial surface help make the competition fast paced, artificial surface are generally harder than grass surfaces. Because the artificial surfaces do not absorb impact like grass surfaces, playing on artificial surfaces increases the risk injuries to the lower extremities of the child""s body. Past sizing systems for shoes are not adequately, if at all, designed for the dynamics of running and changing direction on such turf conditions to alleviate the risks of injury.
The significant interaction of forces on the shoe may cause the heel portion of the upper to flex or rollover in a medial-to-lateral motion or lateral-to-medial motion, depending on the foot strike action. This rollover motion undesirably makes the foot lose mating contact with the upper, particularly in the heel and heel tendon. Consequently, the shoe may lose some traction, and the athlete may be left in an awkward position following the planting movement, which can adversely affect the passing and shooting performance of the soccer athlete. Furthermore, making contact on a firmly planted ankle with ill-fitting shoes may forcibly cause joint and ligament damage in the foot resulting in an increase likelihood of a sprain. Additionally or alternatively, past sizing systems have not addressed fit of the shoe for cutting or side-to-side motions for these types of foot movement. These side-to-side motions can interact to apply oblique forces to various portions of the foot, which can lead to injury, fatigue, and footwork inefficiency. Hence, an article of footwear with a sizing system for use in the sport of soccer and other similar sports that maximizes performance was needed.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention pertains to an article of footwear that includes a sizing system to permit the shoe size to be selectively adjustable by the wearer. In an aspect, sizing system permits shoe size adjustment and enhances fit and biomechanical performance of wearer.
In one aspect of the present invention, an article of footwear in the form of a shoe includes a sole, an upper extending from the sole, and a sizing apparatus. The upper has front and rear portions, and a foot opening at the rear portion. The foot opening is positioned to receive a foot of a wearer when the shoe is worn. A sizing apparatus provides the ability to extend the useful life of an athletic shoe for a particular wearer an athletic shoe beyond a conventional intermediate sized shoe and a full shoe size. Further, the sizing apparatus improves the fit of the shoe to prevent heel rollover and compensate for side-to-side foot action.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a sizing apparatus is positionable within a heel portion for engaging a foot of a user. The sizing apparatus includes a first removable member and a second removable member in which the first removable member and second removable member are adapted to be in vertical superimposition with respect to each other and to a heel section of the upper. The first removable member is adapted to be attached to a portion of the heel portion of the upper, and the second removable member is adapted to be substantially pivotally attached to the first removable member. In this manner, selective size adjustment is provided to the wearer. Furthermore, the shoe has selective adjustment for different fit characteristics for the sport of use to improve athletic performance.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an article of footwear includes a sizing apparatus with a first sizing member and a second sizing member. At least one of the sizing members is provided with a composite inner core composed of resilient materials with different resilient properties. The composite inner core may be substantially enclosed between a front cover and a rear cover of at least one of the sizing members. In this manner, the force acting on the heel can be diminished and rollover can be substantially reduced.
According to another aspect of the invention, an articulated sizing system is configured for engaging a foot of a user within a heel portion of an upper. The sizing system includes a first sizing element and a second sizing element coupleable together to adjust a first effective length of the upper, and a second sizing element or the first sizing element configurable to adjust a second effective length of the upper, and the first sizing element or the second sizing element are removably attached to the upper so as to configure the sizing system to adjust a third effective length of the upper.
These and other aspect, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description thereof, presented in connection with the following drawings, which are included by way of example, and not by way of limitation with regard to the claimed invention in which like reference numerals identifying the elements throughout.

Athletic shoe with an adjustable sizing system


The invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of chiral 2-(4-aminophenyl) morpholines of the formula

The invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of chiral 2-(4-aminophenyl) morpholines of the formula

wherein R1 is hydrogen an amino protecting group.
The chiral 2-(4-aminophenyl) morpholines of the formula I are key intermediates for the preparation of compounds that have a good affinity to the trace amine associated receptors (TAARs), especially for TAAR1 as for instance outlined in PCT Publications WO 2012/016879 and WO 2012/126922.
The invention therefore further relates to the use of the process of the present invention in a process for the preparation (i) of compounds of the formula

wherein:                R2 is aryl or heteroaryl, wherein the aromatic rings are
optionally substituted by one or two substituents, selected from C1-7-alkyl, halogen, CF3, OCF3, OCH2CF3, C1-7-alkoxy or cyano;
or a pharmaceutically suitable acid addition salts thereof; or,
and (ii) for the preparation of compounds of the formula

wherein:                R2 is aryl or heteroaryl, wherein the aromatic rings are
optionally substituted by one or two substituents, selected from C1-7-alkyl, halogen, CF3, OCF3, OCH2CF3, C1-7-alkoxy or cyano;
or pharmaceutically suitable acid addition salts thereof.
The object of the present invention was to find a process which is able to be performed on technical scale.

Process for the preparation of chiral 2-aryl morpholines

Abstract: The chiral 2-(4-aminophenyl) morpholines of the formula I are key intermediates for the preparation of compounds that have a good affinity to the trace amine associated receptors (TAARs).