The invention concerns a method for the detection of an analyte in a sample using analyte-specific conjugates which have at least one heterologous group for an analyte-independent binding to a control zone. The present invention additionally provides new conjugates and reagent kits.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for detecting an analyte in a sample using analyte-specific conjugates which have at least one heterologous group for an analyte-independent binding to a control zone. The present invention additionally provides new conjugates and reagent kits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Analyte-specific reagents such as specific binding partners for the analyte to be determined or/and analyte analogues are used to detect analytes, e.g. substances of diagnostic relevance, in a sample. In heterogeneous detection methods a solid phase is used to bind the analyte such that the analyte can be separated from other components in order to carry out a qualitative or quantitative test. This solid phase binding can be mediated by an additional analyte-specific receptor which is bound to the solid phase before or during the test procedure. In a detection method based on the principle of a sandwich test a specific binding partner for the analyte can be bound to the solid phase and the analyte is detected by means of a free binding partner that is specific for the analyte and carries a labelling group. In a competitive detection method a specific binding partner for the analyte can also be used as the solid phase analyte-specific reagent and the analyte is detected indirectly by binding a free labelled analyte analogue to the solid phase.
Test strips are a special technical embodiment of heterogeneous detection methods which contain a defined analyte detection zone for the quantitative or qualitative detection of the analyte. The free analyte-specific receptor used for the detection preferably carries a direct label i.e. a group which directly generates a signal which enables a visual qualitative evaluation of the test as well as an instrument-based quantitative determination.
In addition to the analyte detection zone, diagnostic test strips also contain a control zone which allows the user to differentiate between a negative test result and an incorrect use or functional defect of the test. This control zone is usually designed such that it enables the free analyte-specific receptor to be immobilized independently of the presence of the analyte in the sample. Hence this control zone in any case becomes coloured when the test functions correctly.
The binding of the free analyte-specific receptor in the control zone can be achieved by various methods. If the free analyte-specific receptor is a specific binding partner for the analyte, then the analyte, an analyte analogue or an epitope of the analyte can be immobilized in the control zone which captures the free analyte binding partner. If the free binding partner is an antibody, an antibody, antigen analogue or an epitope of the antigen that reacts with the antibody can therefore be used for the control zone.
However, this embodiment of the control zone cannot be realised in some cases because the analyte is not available in adequate amounts or/and is not sufficiently characterized in order to prepare analogues or/and epitopes thereof or/and the specific binding partner recognizes regions of the analyte that cannot be transformed into an epitope or which are no longer accessible after immobilization on the test strip.
In such cases a receptor directed against a homologous non-analyte binding region of the binding partner has been previously used in order to capture the free analyte-specific binding partner in the control zone of the test strip. If the binding partner is an antibody, anti-antibodies which recognize the constant region of the detection antibody or other reagents that can specifically bind to immunoglobulins such as protein A or protein G have been used as control receptors.
A signal generating reaction in the control zone is important in order to make a valid interpretation of the result of a heterogeneous detection method in a test strip format since it is only possible in this manner to check the correct function of the test strip. A coloration of only the control region should be interpreted as a negative result of a functional test-whereas an additional coloration of the analyte detection zone represents a positive test result which usually means detection of the presence of an analyte in the tested sample.
However, the binding event which ensures the coloration of the control zone may be impaired for various reasons. For example the capacity of the free analyte binding partner may be substantially exhausted by high analyte concentrations in the sample and thus it cannot or can no longer adequately bind to an analyte or epitope or analogue thereof immobilized in the control zone. The control zone then only colours weakly or not at all (Hook effect).
If other receptors that are independent of the analyte recognition of the binding partner such as antibody-binding substances, especially anti-antibodies, are used as capture reagents in the control region of the test strip, this reduces the risk of a loss of function by the Hook effect. However, this concept of test strip control has other serious disadvantages. Thus in many cases biological materials such as blood, plasma or serum are used as samples. A person skilled in the art knows that these materials contain substances that can bind antibodies which can cause interferences in an immunological test that uses antibodies as specific capture and detection reagents resulting in false-positive or false-negative results. In order to prevent such erroneous measurements, unspecific immunoglobulins of that animal species from which the specific detection antibodies were derived are usually added as components to eliminate interference. The amount of these interference-eliminating antibodies exceeds the amount of analyte-specific antibodies by several fold. They are capable of binding to the capture reagents of the control region of the test strip which are directed against the detection antibody and thus compete with the detection reagent for binding sites. Consequently smaller-amounts of the detection reagent are immobilized, the coloration of the control zone is much weaker or it does not occur at all.

Method for immobilizing conjugates in diagnostic tests


An armrest is provided having sufficient area to support arms at a comfortable position. The armrest is capable of being stowed compactly to provide aisle width sufficient for passengers' walk-through, and also is capable of moved from its stowed position to its used position in a single motion. The armrest is mounted to a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat. The armrest includes an armrest main body and a pivot member supporting the armrest main body at the seat back side of the armrest main body. The armrest main body is pivotally attached to the side portion of the seat back via the pivot member, and the pivot member is skewed toward the vehicle rear at a substantial angle relative to a widthwise horizontal axis of the seat as it extends from a base to a distal end.

The present invention relates to an armrest and a vehicle seat including the same, and is particularly related to a foldable armrest which is moveable between a raised position and a forward lowered position relative to a seat back and a vehicle seat including the same.
An armrest for a seat of a vehicle, for example an automobile, such as a foldable armrest 110 shown in FIG. 7, is known. This armrest 110 can be raised at the side of the seat back 120 when unused in order not to inhibit movement of passengers.
To move between the front and rear seating positions in a station wagon, passengers typically walk through an aisle between adjacent seats. However, when the aisle is narrow, the armrests obstruct the aisle and inhibit passengers' smooth walk-through.
In order to overcome this disadvantage, an armrest providing increased effective vehicle interior space by making an armrest storage compartment compact, is proposed (for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-314277 (page 7 and 8, FIGS. 2-4) (hereinafter, the '277 Patent)). While the armrest of the '277 Patent comfortably supports a passenger's arm in a used position, the armrest storage compartment becomes compact when the armrest is in an unused position, since the armrest can be folded toward the seat back and stowed upright at the side of the seat back. Therefore, the passengers' walk-through space between adjacent seats can be cleared when this type of armrest is used in a vehicle such as a station wagon.
According to the prior art disclosed in the '277 Patent, the armrest storage compartment becomes compact. However, this armrest requires a two-step operation of lowering the armrest to a horizontal position and rotating it before use. A need therefore exists to overcome this disadvantage.

Armrest and vehicle seat including the same


Optical devices in optical network exchange signals at a plurality of wavelengths via a plurality of pathways. Each of the optical devices is associated with a corresponding wavelength and includes multiple optical inputs/outputs (I/Os) to exchange signals at the corresponding wavelength via the plurality of pathways. During maintenance or failure of one of the optical I/Os in an optical device associated with a wavelength, communications are maintained in the optical network by switching communications at a same wavelength to another a different pathway and/or reforming the optical network using other wavelengths. For example, an optical network unit (ONU) may identify an error in a first wavelength associated with a first optical device included in an optical line terminal (OLT) and may forward data using a second wavelength associated with the other optical device included in the OLT.

A passive optical network (PON) is a type of fiber optic access network that may be used to provide a "last mile" connection between a customer premises and a larger network. For example, as described in IEEE 802.3ah, one type of PON has a point-to-multipoint network architecture in which an optical splitter distributes a signal from optical fiber to multiple premises. The PON may include an optical line terminal (OLT) at a central office associated with a service provider and optical network units (ONUs), or optical network terminals (ONTs), associated with customer premises. The data exchanged through the PON may enable the ONUs to provide a service at the customer premises, and the provided service may include, for example, telephone services (such as plain old telephone service (POTS) or voice over IP (VoIP)), data services (such as Ethernet or V.35), video services, and/or telemetry services (such as TTL, ECL, RS530, etc.).


A data capture and mining method which enables identification of characters and words through their visible patterns. Specifically, a data capture and mining method involves searching a scanned image using isomorphic, graphical pattern matching techniques that eliminate both the need to convert imaged writing to electronic format through, e.g., OCR and the subsequent need to convert the electronic text into English.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to word recognition in written documents and more particularly to providing the ability to search imaged documents directly and identify words in their source language.
2. Background Information
Accurate character recognition is crucial in today's document processing environment. For example, in the intelligence community, it is often of great importance to search a voluminous number of documents for specific key words. Many of those documents, however, may be in a foreign or even an obscure language. In an ideal environment, a staff of translators would translate all the documents into English prior to executing a machine based search program for a specific key word or group of words. Providing for the human translation of a foreign language document into English, prior to conducting a computerized search, optimally ensures that the nuances of the foreign language are realized and accurately captured. This approach, however, is limited due to the shortage of foreign language translators in key languages, such as Arabic, or in exotic languages, such as Pashtu.
To overcome these limitations, a conventional automated document searching system, such as the system depicted in FIG. 1, has been employed. The document searching system 100 comprises three basic components, namely an automatic Optical Character Recognition module ("OCR") 104, an automatic translation module 106, and a search engine 108. Together, these components comprise a conventional image recognition system. As illustrated in FIG. 1, one or more documents 102 are provided to the character recognition module 104, from which characters are extracted. These documents 102 may already exist in electronic form. Alternatively, these documents may be in a physical form. In this case, the system 100 provides a scanner to convert the physical document into electronic form.
The automatic character recognition module 104 is used to discern individual characters from a document. Numerous optical character recognition systems are available to provide this function. Furthermore, if a document is written in a foreign language, the character recognition module 104 will employ OCR software packages tailored to specific foreign languages. In other words, specialized OCR software is capable of identifying characters unique to a foreign language.
Once the optical character recognition is complete, the automatic translation system 106 translates the OCR data from its foreign language into a target language such as English. Once the OCR data is completely translated resulting in searchable data information, the search engine 108 is employed to search for a specific term or concept. Search concepts 110, in their English form are, for example, input into the search engine 108. The search engine 108 scans the document's searchable data information to determine whether the document contains characters, words, or phrases that match the input search concept 110. The documents identified as containing a match 112 are flagged and ultimately reviewed further for pertinence.
The difficulty with conventional document searching systems is that errors accumulate throughout the automatic translation process and the character recognition process. Unfortunately, even with the best character recognition techniques, errors occur due to many factors including but not limited to the poor quality of the original document and extraneous document markings. Also, the inconsistencies inherent in handwriting overwhelm most computer-based recognition systems. Additionally, conventional character recognition techniques quite commonly misinterpret one letter for another. For example, the letter "m" is often interpreted to be the letters "rn". Such a misinterpretation by the character recognition process may ultimately result in an untranslatable word when subsequently subjected to an automatic translation system. Moreover, a slight misinterpretation in characters may lead to similar words in the foreign language, with completely different meanings, being interchanged with one another. As such, any small variation in the original document may result in an erroneous interpretation by the automatic translation system.
Furthermore, the machine translation process results in errors when the machine translation fails to recognize words. Although a word may be properly converted into electronic form from its foreign language, often times the meaning of the word will not survive the machine translation process, thus resulting in data loss. This in turn may ultimately result in a highly important document going undetected.

Systems and methods for identifying characters and words in a document


Disclosed is an upright type vacuum cleaner having a dust compression device which automatically compresses dust in a dust collection device during cleaning. The upright type vacuum cleaner includes a main body, a dust collection device provided in the main body and collecting dust, the dust compression device provided within the dust collection device, the size of the dust compression device being selectively changeable according to pressure change therein to compress dust within the dust collection device, a vacuum suction motor provided on the main body and forming vacuum suction pressure, and a flow passage switch device communicating the dust compression device selectively with the vacuum suction motor or the external atmosphere. The dust compression device selectively communicates with the vacuum suction motor or the external atmosphere, and may thus repeatedly compress dust in the dust collection device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upright type vacuum cleaner having a dust compression device, and more particularly, to an upright type vacuum cleaner which automatically compresses dust in a dust collection device during cleaning.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a vacuum cleaner sucks dust and foreign substances scattered on a cleaned surface together with air using suction force generated from a suction motor mounted in a main body, and then filters dust and foreign substances out from air at the inside of the main body.
Vacuum cleaners having the above function may be divided into an upright type vacuum cleaner in which a suction nozzle serving as a suction hole of air is formed integrally with a main body, and a canister type vacuum cleaner in which a suction nozzle communicates with a main body through a connection pipe.
From among the two kinds of vacuum cleaners, an upright type vacuum cleaner, as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2009-0088545, includes a main body in which a vacuum motor generating suction force is installed, a suction nozzle sucking dust and foreign substances from a cleaned surface to the inside of the main body using suction force generated from the vacuum motor, and a handle provided on the upper portion of the main body and gripped by a user so that the suction nozzle moves along the cleaned surface.
That is, when power is applied to the main body and the suction motor is driven, suction force is generated and air including dust and foreign substances on the cleaned surface is introduced into the suction nozzle by such suction force.
Then, the air introduced into the suction nozzle is introduced into the main body of the vacuum cleaner, and the dust and foreign substances are separated from the air within a dust separation device mounted in the main body using the cyclone theory.
The separated dust and foreign substances are collected within a dust collection device of the vacuum cleaner, and the air from which dust and foreign substances are separated is discharged to the outside of the main body through an air discharge unit.
In case of the conventional upright type vacuum cleaner, if it is desired to remove dust and other foreign substances collected in the dust collection device, a user separates the dust collection device from the main body and then sets the dust collection device upside down to remove the dust and foreign substances.
However, in this case, the dust and foreign substances in the dust collection device may be scattered and thus cause user inconvenience.

Upright type vacuum cleaner having dust compression device


The membrane air dryer includes a housing with an air inlet adjacent a first end of the housing, an air outlet adjacent a second end of the housing, a sweep air inlet and a sweep air outlet. A membrane separator has surfaces extending between and connected to the air inlet and the air outlet. A first sweep air passage in the housing extends between the first and second ends of the membrane along and including surfaces of the membrane. The first sweep air passage has an inlet adjacent the air outlet and an outlet adjacent the air inlet and connected to the sweep air outlet. The sweep air inlet and outlet is adjacent the air inlet. A second sweep air passage in the housing extends between the first and second ends of the membrane. The second sweep air passage has an inlet that is connected to the sweep air inlet and is adjacent the air inlet and has an outlet that is adjacent the air outlet and in fluid communication with the inlet of the first sweep air passage. The membrane air dryer may be mounted to extend into the reservoir.

The present invention relates generally to air dryers, and more specifically, to a membrane air dryer with sweep air control for a brake system for vehicles.
Air dryers employing membranes consisting of a permeable membrane capable of blocking the passage of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, but allowing water vapor molecules to pass through, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,719,825 and 5,525,143 amongst many others. In one variation of the technology, the air to be dried passes through the center of the membrane element. The membrane permits the passage of the water vapor to the outside of the membrane, but prevents the passage of the air to the outside of the membrane, thereby drying the air.
To work effectively, the outside of the membrane must be kept dry and at a lower pressure than the inside, creating the partial pressure differential to drive the water vapor out. This is done by providing some fraction of the dry output air as a counter flow sweep air across the outside of the membrane. The sweep air can be provided by sweep air orifice(s) connecting the dry air in the membrane air dryer outlet to the sweep air chamber surrounding the outside of the membrane. The orifices control the volume of sweep air, typically 10-20% of the dryer capacity and create a pressure drop in the sweep air volume. The sweep air and entrapped moisture are expelled to atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,825 shows a control valve at the inlet for the sweep air. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,620 shows a self-adjusting flow metering device for the sweep air. An air dryer including a coalescing and charcoal pre-filters and a membrane filter is also shown by U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,825.
The present disclosure is directed to an air dryer, for example, for locomotives, packaged to fit inside a reservoir with a pre-filter exterior the reservoir. The air dryer is generally cylindrical with a circular mounting flange on one end, which bolts to a similar mounting flange welded to the end of the reservoir. This arrangement solves the problem of finding room for the air dryer between main reservoir #1 and #2 on a locomotive, protects the air dryer and especially the vulnerable membrane element from the very high ambient temperatures (as high as 300° F.) during operation of the locomotive in tunnels; protects the air dryer from environmental hazards, like flying stone ballast; eliminates installation piping, and minimizes weight.
The membrane air dryer includes a housing with an air inlet adjacent a first end of the housing, an air outlet adjacent a second end of the housing, a sweep air inlet and a sweep air outlet. A membrane separator has surfaces extending between and connected to the air inlet and the air outlet. A first sweep air passage in the housing extends between the first and second ends of the membrane along and including surfaces of the membrane. The first sweep air passage has an inlet adjacent the air outlet and an outlet adjacent the air inlet and connected to the sweep air outlet. The sweep air inlet and outlet is adjacent the air inlet. A second sweep air passage in the housing extends between the first and second ends of the membrane. The second sweep air passage has an inlet that is connected to the sweep air inlet and is adjacent the air inlet and has an outlet that is adjacent the air outlet and in fluid communication with the inlet of the first sweep air passage.
The first and second sweep air passages are concentric to each other and the membrane. The sweep air from the outlet of the second sweep air passage passes through the membrane to the inlet of the first sweep air passage. A valve is connected between the air inlet and the sweep air inlet and the sweep air outlet is connected to atmosphere.
The membrane air dryer includes a first tube having an first end including an inlet in fluid communication with the outlet of the first sweep passage and an outlet in fluid communication with the sweep air outlet. The first tube has a second end adjacent the air outlet and includes the outlet of the second sweep air passage. The dryer includes a second tube having a first end in fluid communication with the sweep air inlet and having a second end connected to an interior of the first tube between and fluically isolating the inlet of the first tube and the outlet of the second sweep air passage.
A reservoir having an inlet includes the subject membrane air dryer extending from a reservoir inlet into the interior of the reservoir so that the housing air inlet is the inlet of the reservoir, the housing air outlet and the sweep air inlet are interior the reservoir and the sweep air outlet of the housing is exterior the reservoir. A vehicle brake system including a brake controller and the reservoir with the membrane air dryer therein includes a valve connected between the air inlet and the sweep air inlet, and the brake controller controls the valve.
A combination of a reservoir having an air port and a membrane separator having a housing with a separator member between an air inlet and an air outlet and a sweep air inlet and outlet. The housing extends from the reservoir air port into the interior of the reservoir so that the housing's air inlet and sweep air outlet are exterior the reservoir and the housing's air outlet and the sweep air inlet are interior the reservoir. A valve is connected between the air inlet and the sweep air inlet and the sweep air outlet is connected to atmosphere. A vehicle brake system includes a brake controller and the combined reservoir and membrane separator and the brake controller controls the valve.
These and other aspects of the present method will become apparent from the following detailed description of the method, when considered in conjunction with accompanying drawings.

Membrane air dryer with sweep air control


The invention provides an adenovirus or adenoviral vector characterized by comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding one or more Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) antigens and one or more particular nucleic acid sequences or one or more particular amino acid sequences, or portions thereof, pertaining to, for example, an adenoviral pIX protein, DNA polymerase protein, penton protein, hexon protein, and/or fiber protein, as well as a method of inducing an immune response against RSV in a mammal by administering the adenovirus or adenoviral vector to the mammal.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) RSV is the leading viral cause of lower respiratory illness and hospitalization in young children. The vast majority of children infected with RSV suffer from a mild upper respiratory tract infection; however, a small subset experience severe RSV-induced lower respiratory infection (LRI) and bronchiolitis that often requires hospitalization and can be life-threatening (Collins et al., "Respiratory syncytial virus," In: Fields Virology, Knipe and Howley (eds.), Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, New York (1996), pp. 1313-1351). Since nearly every child eventually is infected with RSV, and significant LRI develops in 20-30% of RSV-infected children, RSV causes more than 130,000 pediatric hospitalizations annually in the United States (Shay et al., JAMA, 282(15): 1440-1446 (1999), and World Health Organization, Initiative for Vaccine Research (IVR), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) at who.int/vaccine_research/diseases/ari/en/index3.html (2007)).
Some risk factors for the development of severe RSV-induced illness have been clearly identified, including premature birth (Navas et al., J. Pediatr., 121(3): 348-54 (1992)), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (Groothuis et al., Pediatrics, 82(2): 199-203 (1988)), congenital heart disease (MacDonald et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 307(7): 397-400 (1982)), and T cell immune deficiency (McIntosh et al., J. Pediatr., 82(4): 578-90 (1973)). However, more than half of the children hospitalized with severe RSV-induced illness do not have an identified risk factor (Boyce et al., J. Pediatr., 137(6): 865-70 (2000)), which means that approximately 1-2% of otherwise healthy children without any identifiable risk factors suffer the potentially life-threatening consequences of RSV-induced illness (Collins et al., supra).
RSV-induced severe illness in children also has been correlated with the development of asthma (see, e.g., Sigurs et al., Pediatrics, 95(4): 500-505 (1995); Welliver et al., Pediatr. Pulmonol., 15(1): 19-27 (1993); Cifuentes et al., Pediatr. Pulmonol., 36(4): 316-321 (2003); Schauer et al., Eur. Respir. 1, 20(5): 1277-1283 (2002); Sigurs et al., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., 161(5): 1501-1507 (2000); and Stein et al., Lancet, 354(9178): 541-545 (1999)). The basis for this association is unknown, but may be due to underlying genetic factors, immune dysfunction, antigen-specific responses, or structural lesions caused by lung remodeling after severe RSV disease.
Although RSV infection is almost universal by age three, reinfection occurs throughout life because natural RSV infection does not provide complete immunity (Hall et al., J. Infect. Dis., 163(4): 693-698 (1991); and Muelenaer et al., J. Infect. Dis., 164(1): 15-21 (1991)). In the elderly, RSV is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. In a retrospective cohort study, RSV was responsible for an annual average of 15 hospitalizations and 17 deaths per 1,000 nursing home residents, whereas influenza accounted for an average of 28 hospitalizations and 15 deaths in the same setting (Garofalo et al., Pediatr. Allergy Immunol., 5(2): 111-117 (1994)). Thus, RSV was isolated as frequently as influenza A in this population and was associated with comparable mortality as influenza A (Ellis et al., J. Am. Geriatr. Soc., 51(6): 761-72003; and Falsey et al., J. Infect. Dis., 172(2): 389-394 (1995)).
Currently there are no FDA-approved vaccines for the prevention of RSV infection or treatment of RSV-induced disease. The only FDA-approved medication for prophylaxis of RSV infection is SYNAGIS™ palivizumab (Medlmmune, Gaithersburg, Md.), which is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed to an epitope in the A antigenic site of the RSV F protein administered to high-risk infants. Although SYNAGIS™ palivizumab represents a significant advance in the prevention of lower respiratory tract acute RSV disease and mitigation of lower respiratory tract infection, it has not been shown to be effective against RSV infection in the upper respiratory tract at permissible doses.
RSV vaccine development has suffered from a legacy of vaccine-enhanced disease in children after natural RSV infection (Kim et al., Am. J. Epidemiol., 89(4): 422-434 (1969); and Kapikian et al., Am. J. Epidemiol., 89(4): 405-421 (1969)). For example, a formalin-inactivated alum-precipitated vaccine candidate (FI-RSV) was administered to RSV-naïve infants in the early 1960s, and although immunogenic, it did not protect the children against natural infection. In addition, vaccinees subsequently infected with RSV had increased hospitalization rates and more severe illness, including two deaths, relative to control children immunized with formalin-inactivated parainfluenza virus (Kapikian et al., supra; Chin et al., Am. J. Epidemiol., 89(4): 449-463 (1969); and Polack et al., J. Exp. Med., 196(6): 859-65 (2002)). Other approaches to RSV immunization have included live attenuated RSV, RSV subunit proteins, and parainfluenza virus chimeras. Live attenuated RSV vaccines have been tested in clinical trials of RSV-naïve infants, but have not been shown to achieve genetic stability of mutations or an optimal balance between attenuation for safety in infants and a protective immune response (Karron et al., J. Infect. Dis., 191(7): 1093-1104 (2005); and Bukreyev et al., J. Virol., 79(15): 9515-9526 (2005)). A live attenuated parainfluenza-RSV chimera vaccine containing the attachment (G) proteins of RSV types A and B has been administered intranasally and is expected to replicate safely in children (Tang et al., J. Virol., 78(20): 11198-11207 (2004); and Schmidt et al., J. Virol., 76(3): 1089-1099 (2002)). However, data from clinical testing is not yet available. Protein subunit vaccines based on RSV G and F proteins have been safely administered to adults and RSV-seropositive children, but are modestly immunogenic (Tristram et al., Vaccine, 12(6): 551-556 (1994)). In this respect, purified subunit vaccines have not induced CD8+ T-cells and have been associated with IL-4 production, thereby raising safety concerns for use in seronegative infants. Adjuvanting subunit protein vaccines with aluminum hydroxide, MPL, or a combination of MPL and QS21 did not prevent the IL-4 response (Murphy et al., Vaccine, 8(5): 497-502 (1990); and Hancock et al., J. Virol., 70(11): 7783-7791 (1996)). Subunit vaccines also have been shown to induce IgE isotype antibody (Welliver et al., J. Clin. Microbiol., 27(2): 295-299 (1989)).
Thus, there remains a need for constructs that can be used in methods to effectively prevent and/or treat RSV infection. The invention provides such constructs and methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Adenoviral vector-based respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine


A thermoelectric heat exchange module includes a first substrate including a heat receptive side and a heat donative side and a series of undulatory pleats. The module may also include a thermoelectric material layer having a ZT value of 1.0 or more disposed on at least one of the heat receptive side and the heat donative side, and an electrical contact may be in electrical communication with the thermoelectric material layer.

A thermoelectric material is a type of material that can directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy or vice versa. Thermoelectric materials can produce a voltage potential in the presence of a temperature gradient across the thermoelectric materials and, alternately, can produce a temperature gradient in response to an applied voltage potential. The magnitudes of the temperature gradient and the voltage may be proportionally related.
Based on these properties, attempts have been made to create thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchangers to include thermoelectric materials in heat exchanger arrangements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,354 ("the '354 patent") issued to Chu et al. on May 6, 2003, describes a thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchanger for facilitating heat removal within a cooling system for an electronic device. However, the heat exchanger described in the '354 patent, like other conventional thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchangers, may suffer from low efficiencies due to the use of bulk thermoelectric materials. Further, the efficiency of the heat exchanger of the '354 patent may be limited by a low surface area to volume configuration of the heat exchange elements.
Methods and systems consistent with certain features of the disclosed specification are directed to solving one or more of the problems set forth above.


A method and communication system are disclosed that use object prioritization and layered image coding in image/video transmission. Objects within an image/video are identified and models are assigned to represent the objects. Priorities are assigned for the objects in accordance with predetermined prioritization rules, then communication channels to communicate data related to the models are assigned so that a higher priority object is assigned to a communication channel having a reliability factor higher than a lower priority object.

The present invention pertains generally to the field of video communications, and in particular, the invention relates to a system and method for using object prioritization and layered image coding in image/video transmission.
Video/image communication applications over very low bitrate channels such as the Internet or the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) are growing in popularity and use. Conventional image communication technology, e.g., JPEG or GIF format, require a large bandwidth because of the size (i.e., amount of data) of the picture. Thus, in the low bitrate channel case, the received resulting image quality is generally not acceptable.
Methods have been used to improve video/image communication and/or to reduce the amount of information required to be transmitted for low bitrate channels. One such method has been used in videophone applications. An image is encoded by three sets of parameters which define its motion, shape and surface color. Since the subject of the visual communication is typically a human, primary focus can be directed to the subject""s head or face.
One known method for object (face) segmentation is to create a dataset describing a parameterized face. This dataset defines a three-dimensional description of a face object. The parameterized face is given as an anatomically-based structure by modeling muscle and skin actuators and force-based deformations. In such parameterized face models, a set of polygons may be used to define a human face. Each of the vertices of the polygons are defined by X, Y and Z coordinates. Each vertex is identified by an index number. A particular polygon is defined by a set of indices surrounding the polygon. A code may also be added to the set of indices to define a color for the particular polygon.
Systems and methods are also known that analyze digital images, recognize a human face and extract facial features. Conventional facial feature detection systems use methods such as facial color tone detection, template matching, edge detection approaches or disparity map methods.
In conventional face model-based video communications, a generic face model is typically either transmitted from the sender to the receiver at the beginning of a communication sequence or pre-stored at the receiver side. During the communication, the generic model is adapted to a particular speaker""s face. Instead of sending entire images from the sender""s side, only parameters that modify the generic face model need to be sent to achieve compression requirements.
Another coding scheme used in image transmission is layered source coding. In this coding scheme, video data information is decomposed into a number of layers, each represents different perceptually relevant components of the video source. The base layer contains the essential information for the source and can be used to generate an output video signal with an acceptable quality. With the enhancement layers, a higher quality video signal can be obtained.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical video system 10 with layered coding and transport prioritization. A layered source encoder 11 encodes input video data. A plurality of channels 12 carry the encoded data. A layered source decoder 13 decodes the encoded data.
There are different ways of implementing layered coding. For example, in temporal domain layered coding, the base layer contains a bit stream with a lower frame rate and the enhancement layers contain incremental information to obtain an output with higher frame rates. In spatial domain layered coding, the base layer codes the sub-sampled version of the original video sequence and the enhancement layers contain additional information for obtaining higher spatial resolution at the decoder.
Generally, a different layer uses a different data stream and has distinctly different tolerances to channel errors. To combat channel errors, layered coding is usually combined with transport prioritization so that the base layer is delivered with a higher degree of error protection. If the base layer is lost, the data contained in the enhancement layers may be useless.
The inventor has realized that there are benefits in using aspects of model-based coding and layered source coding techniques to improve performance, in particular, using prioritization in object coding for image/video transmission.
It is an object of the present invention to address the limitations of the conventional video/image communication systems and model-based coding discussed above.
One aspect of the present invention is directed to prioritizing object identified in an image.
An other aspect of the present invention is directed to masking certain objects based upon the assigned priority and encoding the unmasked objects separately from the masked objects.
One embodiment of the invention relates to a method for a method for coding data in an image/video communication system including the steps of identifying at least two objects with in an image, assigning models to represent the objects and prioritizing the objects in accordance with predetermined prioritization rules. Communication channels are assigned to communicate data related to the models for the two objects so that a higher priority object is assigned to a communication channel having a reliability factor higher than a lower priority object.
These and other embodiments and aspects of the present invention are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.

Video communication system using model-based coding and prioritzation techniques


A moldable material, which either has dipoles or other charged particles therein, or is susceptible to their creation, is introduced into a mold or is passed through a die. The material is then subjected to a polarization medium until either at least some of the dipoles or other charged particles are oriented in the direction of the polarization medium, or until at least some dipoles or other charged particles are created thereby. Thereafter, the material is permitted to cool. Once cooled, the molded material is separated from the mold or die. The effect of polarizing the moldable material is then analyzed by permitting an at least partial relaxation of the dipoles or other charges therein which were polarized or created. This relaxation results in a measurable current which is related to the actual temperature of the material at the time the polarization medium was applied. By repeating this process wherein the only significant variable is the time at which the polarization medium was applied, a cooling profile can be prepared for the moldable material, the mold and/or the die.

A commonly practiced method of forming plastic materials into a desired shape employs the use of a prefabricated mold or die. Examples of typical molding processes include, without limitation, compression molding, transfer molding, injection molding, blow molding, foam molding, casting, plastisol casting, foam casting, thermo-forming, extrusion molding and the like. In these types of molding processes, a moldable material is introduced into, over, under, around or through a mold or die.
Typically, at some time during most molding processes, the material contained within the mold or passing through the die is in the form of a liquid or softened solid. Then, through the use of pressure (positive or negative, depending on the particular molding process), the moldable material is forced to conform to the shape of the mold or die. After the liquid (or softened solid) material conforms to the shape of the mold or die, the material is cooled to a temperature below that which it will not disfigure once removed therefrom. Typically, this is a temperature below the material's temperature of solidification (i.e., crystallization or glassification depending upon the particular material being molded).
In molding processes wherein there is a change in the physical state of the material contained within the mold or die, it is imperative to know when the material is ready to be removed therefrom. For example, if the molded material is removed too early, its shape can be susceptible to disfigurement. On the other hand, if the material is held in the mold too long, this can have adverse affects on the physical properties of the final product, as well as, increase production time which, in turn, decreases production output.
Moreover, in these types of molding processes, it is also imperative to know the time it takes for the moldable material to go from a temperature where it is in the form of a liquid or a softened solid to a temperature where it is in the form of a hardened solid. For example, if the molded material makes this transformation too rapidly, there may not be sufficient time for its molecules to orient in the desired manner. On the other hand, if the molded material makes this transformation too slowly, this can also have adverse affects on the final product's desired physical properties, as well as, increase production time which decreases production output.
As can be seen from the above, in many molding processes, it is essential to monitor the temperature of the material contained within the mold or passing through the die. Typically, heat sensors, such as thermocouples and infrared sensing devices, are used for this purpose. However, notwithstanding the present popularity of employing such heat sensors, there are many problems associated therewith.
For example, in conventional molding applications, thermocouples couples are not in direct contact with the material being molded. Specifically, thermocouples are typically imbedded into a probe having a metallic membrane or sheath which is designed to isolate the thermocouple from the moldable material's surface. Therefore, since thermocouples do not directly contact any part of the material being molded, they cannot be used as a means for accurately identifying the material's temperature in non-isothermal conditions. This phenomena can create a thermal lag effect which, in turn, can result in large errors when comparing the material's monitored temperature to its "actual" temperature at any given point in time during the molding process.
On the other hand, with regards to the implementation of infrared sensing devices, they too are plagued with inherent shortcomings in addition to being very expensive. For example, such infrared devices can only be successfully employed while the material being molded is above 120.degree. C. Therefore, for many commercial polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc.), as soon as the moldable material solidifies, this temperature sensing means is no longer adequate. Moreover, it is also common knowledge that such infrared sensing devices have a limited temperature range.
Another shortcoming of infrared sensing devices is their relative cost. For example, based on other conventional heat sensors used for this purpose, infrared sensing devices are very expensive. This shortcoming is compunded by the fact that if it is desired to sense the temperature at different points in the mold, it is necessary to use additional infrared sensing devices, thereby increasing costs.
Other general shortcomings of conventional heat sensors are that they are typically associated with the mold's or die's inside wall surface. Accordingly, they are designed to only monitor the surface temperature of the material being molded. Therefore, these devices are unable to accurately monitor the material's internal temperature during a molding process. Since a material's internal temperature can differ significantly from its surface temperature, structural defects can result if proper measures are not taken to compensate for this difference.
As seen from the above, conventional sensing devices are either limited or unable to accurately track the material's actual temperature at any given point in time during the molding process. This is due, in part, to inherent features associated with their use (e.g., time lag, heat loss, presence of membranes through which the temperature must be monitored, etc.). Therefore, a margin of error is typically associated with their use.
Notwithstanding these problems, such heat sensing devices are presently the temperature monitoring systems of choice. However, if a means existed which could accurately monitor the temperature of a material throughout the molding process, it could be used to plot a cooling profile for a particular mold or die set-up. This would significantly enhance quality control, as well as, maximize production output and control in molding processes and processes such as, for example, those recited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,649 which are designed to alter the theological properties of a moldable material. Moreover, the advent of such a means would also eliminate the problems associated with the use of conventional heat sensors since they would become obsolete or at the most complementary in the case of infrared for the higher temperature ranges. Accordingly, the industry would graciously welcome such an improvement.

Process for determining the actual temperature of a moldable material contained within a mold or passed through a die


This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods that facilitate querying a content publisher for their goal(s) in employing a content sharing site and providing customized suggestions, such as recommendations, site tools, site dashboards, and site displays to assist in achieving the goal(s). Additionally, the specified goals are employed in conjunction with monitoring publisher interactions with the content sharing site to learn behaviors that that predict a publisher goal.

Content sharing sites allow a wide variety of publishers to publish content for viewing by consumers. Given the diversity of publishers, there can be many goals for publishing content on the content sharing site. For example, some publishers are trying to monetize their content through advertisement revenue, other publishers may want to drive traffic to another site where their product can be purchased, and still other publishers may be trying to become famous (e.g. a musician). However, content sharing sites conventionally provide a common set of displays, features, and tools irrespective of the goals of the publisher.

Querying publisher goal and customizing suggestions to achieve goal


A tool carrier device for adjustable arrangement of tools along a forming path comprises two carrier rails arranged so as to run parallel to one another in the longitudinal direction of the forming path and above the latter, at least one cross member which can be detachably connected to both carrier rails at a plurality of predetermined positions along the forming path in such a way that the cross member is arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the forming path, and at least one tool holder which can be detachably connected to the cross member.

A tool carrier device, in particular for an apparatus for processing flat blanks, for example cardboard articles, and such an apparatus are described below. The blanks produced in a preceding processing step, for example by punching from sheets of paper or cardboard, must be folded, adhesively bonded, etc., in further processing steps in order to produce certain articles such as brochures, presentation folders, etc. The apparatus described serves to carry out such processing steps.
To this end, the apparatus comprises a transport device for transporting the blanks along a forming path. The transport device may comprise, for example, a plurality of transport rollers which are rotatably mounted on both sides in a respective bearing stand and of which at least some can be driven. Furthermore, the apparatus may comprise interchangeable tools for guiding the blanks on the transport device and for carrying out the individual processing steps, the positions of which relative to the transport rollers of the transport device can be adjustable. Such tools may be, for example, hold-downs, folding shoulders, adhesive dispensers, air nozzles, sensors, etc., which fix the blanks against lateral slipping, fold the blanks, apply adhesive, blow in air, record certain measured values, etc.
Depending on the product to be made, different arrangements of various tools along the forming path are required. This means that, during each changeover in production, the type and sequence of the requisite tools has to be reconfigured. In this case, the quality of the products depends essentially on the accuracy of the positioning of the individual tools relative to the transport rollers of the transport device. The tool carrier device described permits accurate positioning of the tools.

Tool carrier device and apparatus for processing flat blanks


A submersible boom that includes: a support system containing a substantially horizontal support member; a boom curtain formed of a flexible fabric material, the boom curtain being suspended from the substantially horizontal member; and means for raising and lowering the substantially horizontal support member between first (with the substantially horizontal support member at least partially above the surface of a body of water) and second (submerged) positions. Use of the boom in accordance with a method of allowing boat traffic ingress into and egress from a region within a body of water is also disclosed.

Floating boom systems that are used for turbidity control, sediment containment, or contaminant containment, whether oil spill booms or debris booms, all have a common problem. If there is a need to provide ingress into and/or egress from a restricted region within a body of water, the floating boom systems lack the physical characteristics to allow partial temporary opening of the boom system to allow for movement of such traffic. By way of example, the need for traffic may come from the movement of sediment handling barges to transport their sediment load from a dredge area within the confines of the boom system to a location outside the boom system; or from the need to allow for frequent boat traffic when the boom system separates a mooring basin from the open body of water. Similar situations can be presented at water-intake structures where the boom system acts to filter water taken into the intake structures, but where the waterfront layout at the structure includes waterside loading/unloading facilities and access to the facilities is required for continued operation of the structure. Thus, a need exists for a boom system that is able to allow partial, temporary opening of the boom for movement of boat traffic.
The present invention is intended to overcome these and other deficiencies in the art.


A liquid discharge head includes a discharge port array having discharge ports for discharging liquid, a liquid chamber for supplying liquid to the discharge port array, and a liquid introduction passage for introducing liquid to the liquid chamber. A vertical cross section of the liquid chamber has an elongated shape. The liquid introduction passage is wider than the liquid chamber in a width direction of the elongated shape. A communicating portion is longer than a width of the liquid chamber and shorter than the liquid chamber, and is projecting from the liquid introduction passage for the liquid chamber. A bottom of the liquid introduction passage is disposed at a lower position than a top of the liquid chamber in the communicating portion, and a distance between the top and the bottom is longer than half of the width of the liquid chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head that ejects liquid, such as ink, and a recording apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known example of a liquid discharge head is an inkjet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head). The recording head is provided with a recording element substrate for ejecting liquid such as ink. Recording is performed such that ink held and stored in an ink tank is supplied to the recording element substrate through an ink supply channel.
In a color printer that uses more than one kind of ink, a recording element substrate to which the more than one kind of ink is supplied is mounted to a recording head. As printers are increasingly dropping in price in recent years, efforts are being made to reduce the areas of, particularly, the high-cost recording element substrates.
As shown in FIG. 12, a recording element substrate H1101 has a plurality of discharge port arrays H1108 (one discharge port group corresponding to one ink supply port is defined as one discharge port array) at predetermined intervals. An increase in cost due to an increase in the area of a recording element substrate is prevented by decreasing the distance between the discharge port arrays (between colors). Ink supply ports H1102 are formed in correspondence with the discharge port arrays H1108, respectively.
A flow of ink until it is supplied to ink supply ports formed in a recording element substrate will be described using an example in which a recording head is integrally provided with an ink tank for holding and storing ink. FIG. 14A shows an external view of an ink-tank integral-type recording head disclosed in U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-0285904, and FIG. 14B shows the internal structure thereof.
As shown in FIG. 14B, an ink-tank integral-type recording head H1000 capable of supplying more than one kind of ink includes a plurality of ink containing portions H2001 to H2003 for holding ink. FIGS. 15A and 15B are sectional views of the recording head H1000, and FIGS. 16A to 16C are diagrams for describing the shape of an ink supply path.
To describe the shape of an ink supply path S01  among ink supply paths S01 to S03 shown in FIG. 16B, FIG. 15A shows a perspective view of a section of an ink tank H1500 cut along the ink supply path S01; FIG. 15B shows an enlarged view of a part XVB of the perspective sectional view. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, ink contained in the ink containing portion H2001 passes through an ink introduction passage H2101 through a filter H1701 and passes through a liquid chamber H2201 to reach the ink supply port H1102. Thus, a plurality of discharge ports is equally supplied with ink from the liquid chambers. As shown in FIG. 16A, "an ink supply path" in this specification indicates a part constituted by "an ink introduction passage" serving as a liquid introduction passage and "a liquid chamber", and the connecting portion between the ink introduction passage and the liquid chamber is referred to as a communicating portion C.
The relationship between the recording element substrate and the ink supply path will be described herein. As described with reference to FIG. 12, the recording element substrate H1101 is provided with the ink supply ports H1102 corresponding to the individual discharge port arrays H1108. FIG. 16B is a diagram showing the ink supply paths S01 to S02 and the recording element substrate H1101 corresponding to the recording head H1000. As shown in FIG. 16B, liquid chambers H2201 to H2203 which are part of the  individual ink supply paths S01 to S03 are arranged parallel in correspondence with the individual ink supply ports H1102. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 16C, the liquid-chamber width W of at least the inner ink supply path S01 is generally set, at about 0.6 to 0.8 mm, in agreement with the width W′ of the ink supply port H1102 (see FIG. 12) because the distances between the individual colors are short.
Meanwhile, it is known that ink in ink supply paths or the like contains gas (dissolved gas) dissolved in the ink and external gas that passes through an ink tank formed from polymer or the like. If these gases are turned into bubbles in liquid chambers, the bubbles sometimes remain in the liquid chambers for a long time until the bubbles pass into the ink introduction passages that are wider in the y-direction than the liquid chambers or are sometimes left in the liquid chambers. This is because bubbles hardly move in the liquid chambers because the liquid-chamber width W is small. Thus, if bubbles remain or are left in the liquid chambers for a long time, they can exert a bad influence on recording.
In this case, the bubbles are generally removed by, for example, joining a member called a cap to the discharge-port formed surface of a recording head, and reducing the pressure inside the cap with a pump or the like to apply a sucking force (suction recovery, U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,757).
As described above, it is possible to reduce bubbles remaining in the liquid chambers by suction recovery; however, conventional recording heads need frequent suction recovery, thus posing the problem of wasting ink every suction recovery, so that it cannot be used for recording.
A possible method for solving the problem is to reduce the frequency of suction recovery by increasing the liquid-chamber width W so as to prevent bubbles from staying in the liquid chambers so that the presence of bubbles in the liquid chambers does not easily exert a bad influence on recording. However, as shown in FIG. 16B, the liquid chambers H2201 to H2203 are arranged parallel in correspondence with the ink supply ports H1102, so that the width W (FIG. 16C) of at least the inner liquid chamber H2201 cannot be increased because of the presence of the other liquid chambers H2202 and H2203 on either side. Another possible method is to increase the liquid-chamber width W by increasing the distance between the ink supply ports H1102. This is, however, not desirable, because this increases the area of the recording element substrate, thus increasing the cost.
Meanwhile, a thorough examination on generation and growth of bubbles in liquid chambers showed that bubbles B exhibit the behavior shown in FIGS. 17A to 17F. That is,  the bubbles B are generated at the ends of the liquid chambers (FIG. 17A), continue to grow while staying at the ends (FIGS. 17B to 17D), quickly move toward the communicating portion C due to vibrations or the like (FIG. 17E), and at the communication part C, the ink flow is substantially blocked (FIG. 17F). Vibrations are generated when the recording head is mounted or the ink tank is mounted.
A possible method for solving such problems is to increase the x-direction length Cx (FIG. 16A) of the communicating portion C so that the ink flow is not blocked at the communicating portion C. However, as shown in FIGS. 16B and 16C, the inner ink supply path S01 cannot sometimes have sufficient Cx because of limitations due to the positional relationship among the ink supply paths S01 to S03.

Liquid discharge head and recording apparatus having the same


An access control apparatus includes a memory and a command executor executing an access process on a command with the command completion time limit. An address of an inaccessible recording area is stored in the memory. Data attempted to be written on the inaccessible recording area is obtained. The data is stored in association with the address in the memory. An automated alternate processor executes the automated alternate process of the inaccessible recording area in a predefined period of time after the process executed by the command executor is completed. A memory updater deletes the address of the inaccessible recording area whose automated alternate process has succeeded and the data attempted to be written in the recording area at the address.

The present application discloses an access control apparatus and an access control method for controlling accesses to each recording area on a disk on a command with a time limit requiring completion of the command in a predefined period of time.
Recently, magnetic disk apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as HDDs) are widely used as data storage incorporated in personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) or connected to the PCs. The use of the HDDs has been expanding in application, not only for PCs, but for various equipment such as video recorders and car navigation systems requiring storage of a large amount of data.
Not all sectors in a recording area of the magnetic disk (hereinafter referred to as an HD) mounted in the HDD are writable or readable. There are defective sectors in the recording area to which data can not written or from which data can not read. Therefore, the HDDs require a process which is called an automated alternate process.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are explanatory illustration of the automated alternate process.
Each sector included in the recording area of the HD is assigned a logical block addressing (LBA) address for identifying the sector as shown in FIG. 1A. In this application, data are written onto each sector in numerical order as LBA 10, 11 and 12. For example, if writing data onto a sector at LBA address 13 fails and the data are not written when retrying the access a predefined number of times, the data attempted to be written in the sector at LBA address 13 are stored in a sector at LBA address 0 as shown in FIG. 1B. Then, information that the data attempted to be written in the sector at LBA address 13 are stored in the sector at LBA address 0 is recorded in an alternate candidate table shown in FIG. 1C provided in a different area of the HD.
Therefore, the data are read from the sector at LBA address 0 instead of the sector at LBA address 13 when a read command to read the data stored in the sector at LBA address 13 is received.
As described above, the process for storing data on the alternate sector instead of the sector on which the data are initially attempted to be written is called an alternate process. An alternate process that is executed automatically in a specific sequence is called the automated alternate process.
However, the automated alternate process takes a long time when an access to a sector is retried and failed. The automated alternate process takes a long time because a magnetic head is moved to the alternate area to store the data and the information on the alternate sector is recorded in the alternate candidate table.
For example, stream commands such as movies and music require real-time processing. These stream commands are issued with a command completion time limit (CCTL). The command completion time limit requires execution of the commands in a period of time specified by the time limit absolutely. If the accesses to multiple sectors are retried during execution of the stream command, a time-out error will occur and the movie or the music may be intermittent.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H11-327808 discloses that the automated alternate process is not executed when the time is running out even though the process is required.
In Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H11-327808, the automated alternate process is not executed. Therefore, data to be stored at the sector are not stored. Thus, the data to be read from the sector does not exist. This leads to deterioration of a data quality such as an image quality of the movie or a sound quality of the music.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-196924 discloses that the automated alternate process is not executed immediately after failing to store the data. The data are stored in an interim buffer and the data are read from the buffer and stored on the alternate sector of the HD when processing time is finished.
However, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-196924 discloses only the write process onto the HD, and mentions no comprehensive process including a read process. Besides, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-196924 does not point out an issue or offer a solution when a write command is reissued and the sector at the LBA address is accessed again before the data stored in the interim buffer are stored on the HD or a read command is issued and the sector at the LBA address is accessed.

Access control apparatus and access control method


There are provided a pixel compensation circuit, an array substrate, and a display apparatus. The pixel compensation circuit comprises an organic light emitting diode (D1), a driving transistor (M1), first to fifth switch elements (M2-M6) and a storage capacitor (C1), wherein an anode of the organic light emitting diode (D1) is connected to a second terminal of the first switch element (M2); a first terminal of the first switch element (M2) is connected to an output terminal of the driving transistor (M1) and a first terminal of the fifth switch element (M6); a control terminal of the driving transistor (M1) is connected to a second terminal of the third switch element (M4), a second terminal of the fifth switch element (M6) and a first terminal of the storage capacitor (C1); and a second terminal of the storage capacitor (C1) is connected to a second terminal of the fourth switch element (M5) and a second terminal of the second switch element (M3). The pixel compensation circuit not only has a function of compensating for the threshold voltage offset, but also has the function of compensating for influence of signal voltage attenuation on current.

Active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display is a display technique applicable to a TV set and a mobile device, and has wide application prospect in power-sensitive portable electronic devices due to its characteristics of low power consumption, low cost and large size.
At present, in the AMOLED display field, in particular the large-size substrate design, a backplane thin film transistor (TFT) has non-uniformity and stability problems in the manufacturing process, which will not only cause threshold voltage offset due to non-uniformity of a driving OLED current, but also have the problem of TFT stability decrease after a long time of turning on bias voltage.
In the prior art, there are many AMOLED compensation circuit designs performed by only considering the problem of threshold voltage offset but neglecting the problem that load on a signal line will be increasing with the trend of the large-size AMOLED, thereby resulting in occurrence of voltage attenuation on the signal line, so as to influence the uniformity of current in the display area.

Pixel compensation circuit, array substrate and display apparatus


A terminal for a piezoelectric device has a first contact portion and a second contact portion which are preferably formed as separate metallic elements. Each contact portion has a protrusion disposed thereon. A lubricant is located between the first contact portion and the second contact portion. The lubricant contains a hydrophilic group tending to form a hydrogen bond with a metal element and a lipophilic group extending in a straight chain from any such hydrogen bond and having a length at least several times that of the hydrophilic group. The lipophilic group has a molecular structure which urges away from the metallic surfaces of the contact portions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a terminal for a piezoelectric device, and more particularly, to a terminal which has a bent contact portion or includes two separately formed, opposed contact portions and is adapted for use as, for example, an input terminal, an output terminal, an internal connecting terminal, or an earth terminal for a piezoelectric device, such as a ladder type filter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A ladder type filter is shown in FIG. 11, by way of example, as a piezoelectric device having known terminals forming the background of this invention, including an output terminal as shown in FIG. 12. The ladder type filter 1 includes a casing 2 formed from a synthetic resin and having a bottom opening closed by a cover 3. The casing 2 contains four piezoelectric resonators 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d, and an input terminal 5a, a relay terminal 5b, an earth terminal 5c, an output terminal 5d and a spring terminal 5e for interconnecting the piezoelectric resonators 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d.
The earth terminal 5c, the output terminal 5d and one contact portion 6b of the relay terminal 5b are each formed as a bent terminal having a U-shaped cross section. Referring more specifically to the output terminal 5d, it has a substantially square base portion 5d1, as shown in FIG. 12. The base portion 5d1 has a straight leg 7d extending outwardly to define an external connector. The output terminal 5d also has a bent portion 5d2 extending parallel to its base portion 5d1 and spaced apart from the base portion 5d1 by a small distance. The base portion 5d1 has on its outer surface a protrusion 8 resiliently disposed against one principal surface of the piezoelectric resonator 4c and the bent portion 5d2 likewise has on its outer surface a protrusion 8 resiliently disposed against one principal surface of the piezoelectric resonator 4d.
Likewise, the earth terminal 5c is formed as a bent terminal having a base portion 5c1, a bent portion 5c2 and two protrusions 8. One contact portion 6b of the relay terminal 5b also has a base portion 6b1, a bent portion 6b2 and two protrusions 8. Moreover, the input terminal 5a has a protrusion 8 resiliently disposed against one principal surface of the piezoelectric resonator 4a and the other contact portion 6c has a protrusion 8 resiliently disposed against the other principal surface of the piezoelectric resonator 4d.
The ladder type filter 1 also has a plurality of sheets 9 formed of a synthetic resin, such as silicone rubber, including one sheet 9 interposed between the base portion 5d1 and the bent portion 5d2 of the output terminal 5d. The resin sheets 9 are provided for protecting the piezoelectric resonators 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d from an external shock by providing a shock absorbing force in a direction extending along a thickness of the sheets 9 and perpendicular to the opposing major surfaces of the base portion 5d1 and the bent portion 5d2 surrounding the sheet 9 as seen in FIG. 12.
However, the sheets 9 may cause problems in the filter 1 shown in FIG. 11. For example, the sheets 9 may be displaced or moved from a desired position between the bent portion and base portion of the terminals, especially if a shock or stress applied to the filter 1 is substantial. Also, although the resin sheets in the known ladder type filter 1 as described above are effective for protecting the piezoelectric resonators from a shock when the filter has been dropped or hit hard, the application of physical stress from an external source or vibration of the piezoelectric resonators per se, is likely to cause a ripple failure in the frequency and group delay characteristics of the filter. More specifically, the sheets 9 create an obstruction to oscillation or vibration between the bent portion and base portion of any terminal, in a direction that is parallel to the major surfaces of the bent portion and base portion which surround the sheets. This obstruction of vibration causes an unbalanced vibration, other than the desired piezoelectric vibration, between the piezoelectric element and the bent portion of the terminal. Consequently, a ripple failure occurs in the frequency and group delay characteristics of the filter and lowers the filter characteristic quality.
As a result of the ripple failure, or the distortion in waveform of frequency characteristics which occurs in a filter band, the group delay and phase characteristics of the filter are deteriorated. Consequently, the use of the ladder type filter in a communication system results in increasing of undesired demodulation distortion and distortion of any sound thereby received, or the appearance of bit errors in a digital communication system which causes problems in data communications.


A method of determining cluster attractors for a plurality of documents comprising at least one term. The method comprises calculating, in respect of each term, a probability distribution indicative of the frequency of occurrence of the, or each, other term that co-occurs with said term in at least one of said documents. Then, the entropy of the respective probability distribution is calculated. Finally, at least one of said probability distributions is selected as a cluster attractor depending on the respective entropy value. The method facilitates very small clusters to be formed enabling more focused retrieval during a document search.

Computer aided document searching typically involves the use of one or more computer programs to analyse a document corpus and then to search through the analysed document corpus. Analysis of a document corpus may involve organising the documents into a plurality of document clusters in order to facilitate the searching process. Typically, this involves the use of one or more computer programs for implementing a clustering algorithm. Searching through a document corpus is typically performed by a computer program commonly known as a search engine.
A feature that has a significant impact on the architectural design of a search engine is the size of the document corpus. Another important consideration is whether the maintenance of the document corpus (adding and deleting documents) is open to all users (an uncontrolled corpus such as the Internet) or whether maintenance is controlled, for example by an administrator, (a controlled corpus such as an Intranet). More generally, a controlled corpus comprises a dataset that is controlled by an administrator or a dataset that it wholly accessible.
Conventional search algorithms return, as a search result, a ranked list of documents which should contain all or a part of the whole set of keywords presented in a user query. Such systems determine document relevancy based on key word frequency occurrence or by making use of references and links between documents. Often many search results are returned and the user cannot easily determine which results are relevant to their needs. Therefore although recall may be high, the large number of documents returned to achieve this results in low precision and a laborious search for the user to find the most relevant documents.
Additionally, a conventional search engine returns a flat ranked list of documents. If the query topic is relatively broad then this list can contain documents belonging to many narrow subtopics.
In order to obtain the best results from conventional search algorithms, which are based on word statistics, a user needs to have statistical knowledge about the document corpus before he forms a query. This knowledge is never known a priori and as such the user rarely forms good queries. With a thematic search, knowledge about cluster descriptions can be provided to the user, enabling them to improve and intelligently refine their queries interactively.
Conventional search engines often use additional information such as links between web pages or references between documents to improve the search result.
The concept of document-clustering-based searching or browsing is known (for example, the Scatter-Gather browsing tool [4]). The main problems with this type of approach are its applicability to real life applications, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the clustering algorithms. Unsupervised clustering algorithms fall into hierarchical or partitional paradigms. In general similarities between all pairs of documents must be determined thus making these approaches un-scalable. Supervised approaches require a training data set which may not always be readily available, can add to the cost of a project and can take a long time to prepare.
A different approach to the problem of thematic-focusing retrieval is considered in [5]. This system uses a set of agents to retrieve from the internet, or filter from a newsgroup, documents relevant to a specific topic. Topics are described manually in text form. Additionally a set of rules is generated manually in a special rule language to describe how to compare a document with a topic, i.e. which words from the topic description should be used and how these words influence the category weights. The resulted document category is determined using calculated category weights and fuzzy logic. The main disadvantage of this approach is that all topic descriptions and rules are defined manually. It is impossible to predict in advance what the given topic descriptions and corresponding rule set, sufficient to retrieve the relevant documents, are, with high precision and recall. Therefore, a large amount of manual work and research is required to generate effective topic descriptions and rules. As such, this approach cannot be considered as scalable.
Automatic topic discovery through the generation of document clusters could be based on such techniques as Probabilistic Latent Semantic Indexing [6]. Probabilistic Latent Semantic Indexing uses a probabilistic model and the parameters of this model are estimated using the Estimation Maximization algorithm. This is seen as a limitation of this approach. For example, the number of clusters must be set in advance reducing its flexibility.
In [7], another example of a search engine based on information-theoretic approaches to discover information about topics presented in the document corpus is outlined. The main idea is to generate a set of so called topic threads and use them to present the topic of every document in the corpus. The topic thread is a sequence of words from a fixed system of word classes. These classes are formed as a result of an analysis of a representative set of randomly selected documents from the document corpus (a training set). Words from different classes differ by probabilities of occurrence in the training set and hence represent topics at different levels of abstraction. A thread is a sequence of these words in which the next word belongs to a more narrow class and neighbouring words from this sequence should occur in the same document with a sufficiently high probability. Every document from the document corpus is assigned one of the possible topic threads. Cross-entropy is then used as a measure to select a topic thread which is most relevant to the topic of the document. This topic thread is stored in the index and is used at the search stage instead of the document itself. The main disadvantage of this approach is that only a relatively small part of information about a document is stored in the index and used during search. Also these thematic threads cannot be used to cluster documents into thematic clusters and hence information about the topic structure of the document corpus is hidden to a user.
It would be desirable to mitigate the problems outlined above.


A tapped-inductor step-down converter and method for clamping same with a clamping capacitor so that MOSFETs can be employed to improve circuit efficiency. The converter includes a tapped-inductor and clamping capacitor uniquely arranged to eliminate resonance between the leakage energy of the leaky inductance and the clamping capacitor. Moreover, such arrangement provides for the recycling or recovering of the leakage energy from a leaky inductance of the tapped-inductor to further improve circuit efficiency.

This invention relates to buck converters, and more particularly to a tapped-inductor step-down converter and method for clamping same.
The ever-present demands for faster and more efficient data processing have prompted a significant development effort in the area of low voltage integrated chips (ICs). Currently, 3.3-V ICs are gradually replacing the standard 5-V ICs due to their better speed, power consumption performance and higher integration densities. However, the 3.3-V IC is only a traditional stage to ICs with ever lower voltages that will not only improve the speed and reduce the power consumption of ICs but also will allow direct, single-cell battery operation. It is expected that next generations of the data processing ICs will require power supply with voltages in the 1-3 V range. At the same time, since more devices are integrated on a single processor chip and the processors operate at higher frequencies, microprocessors need aggressive power management. Future generation processors"" current draw will increase from 13A to 50A-100A and the load range may reach 1:100. On the other hand, as the speed of the ICs increases, they are becoming more dynamic loads to their power supplies. The next generation microprocessors are expected to exhibit current slew rates of 50A/ms. Moreover, the output voltage regulation becomes much tighter from 5% to 2%. All requirements pose very serious design challenges. Voltage regulator modules (VRMs), which feed the microprocessors, have to have high efficiency, fast transient response and high power density.
A conventional synchronized buck converter, such as shown in FIG. 1, is typically used as a VRM to meet these requirements. The conventional synchronized buck converter includes two switches S1 and S2 which are turned on and off in a complementary manner, output capacitor CO1 and load RL1. The voltage gain for the conventional synchronized buck converter of FIG. 1 is given by                     D        =                              V                                      xe2x80x83                                    o                                V                                      xe2x80x83                                    in                                              Eq        .                  xe2x80x83                                  (          1          )
where D is the duty ratio or cycle of switch S1. It has been well established that the conventional buck converter has better efficiency for a duty cycle D of 0.5. For an input voltage Vin of 5V and an output voltage Vo of 2V, the duty cycle D is 0.4, which is good to achieve high efficiency.
Since the future VRM should provide more power to the microprocessor, the power switch has to deal with high current, which decreases efficiency. The higher the input voltage Vin, the lower the input current so as to reduce the conduction loss. If the input voltage Vin to the VRMs increases from 5V to 12V, then the current rating for the buck switch is significantly reduced, which increases efficiency. Therefore, the VRMs would need a 12V or higher input voltage Vin. According to Severns et al., xe2x80x9cModern DC-To-DC Switch Mode Power Converter Circuits,xe2x80x9d TK7868, 1984, pg. 178, the duty cycle D for the conventional synchronized buck converter is as small as 0.15V with 12V input. This will result in poor performances in terms of voltage regulation and transient response.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a conventional tapped-inductor synchronized buck converter and the switching waveforms thereof, respectively. In operation, when switch S11 is turned on and switch S12 is turned off during time the interval T1 to T2, the voltage Vin-Vo is applied to the windings N1 and N2 of the tapped-inductor. The input voltage Vin is from a DC voltage source 2 and the output voltage Vo is across a load RL10. The conventional tapped-inductor synchronized buck converter delivers power to the output. At time T2, switch S11 turns off and switch S12 turns on. The energy stored in winding N1 is transferred to winding N2 and the winding current IN2 flows through switch S12. The voltage gain of the conventional tapped-inductor synchronized buck converter is given by                                           V                                      xe2x80x83                                    o                                V                                      xe2x80x83                                    in                          =                  D                      1            +                                          N1                                  N2                  .                                            *                              (                                  1                  -                  D                                )                                                                        Eq        .                  xe2x80x83                                  (          2          )
From Eq. (2), it can be readily seen that approximately a 0.5 duty cycle (D) can be obtained to achieve high efficiency by properly choosing the turns ratio of the windings N1 and N2 of the tapped-inductor. However, the main problem is that there exists a high voltage spike across switch S11 when switch S11 turns off because the leakage energy of leakage inductance Lk of winding N1 can not be transferred to winding N2. Instead, the leakage energy of leakage inductance Lk charges the output capacitor Cs1 of the switch S1 (not shown) through conducting switch S12, which causes a high voltage stress across switch S11. As a result, the high voltage rating metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) has to be used. The MOSFET has a high on-resistence with a high voltage rating, which significantly increases the power loss and reduces the efficiency.
FIG. 3 illustrates the switching waveforms of the switches S11 and S12, currents IS11 and IS12 and the voltage stress VS11 and VS12 across switches S11 and S12, respectively.
As can be readily seen, there is a continuing need to improve the VRM performance to meet these requirements.
Broadly, the present invention contemplates a tapped-inductor step-down converter and method for clamping same so that low voltage rating MOSFETs can be used to improve the efficiency of the converter. The converter includes a tapped-inductor and a clamping capacitor which are uniquely arranged to recycle the leakage energy from a leaky inductance of the tapped-inductor and to eliminate resonance between the leakage energy of the leaky inductance and the clamping capacitor.

Tapped-inductor step-down converter and method for clamping the tapped-inductor step-down converter


A modular structure for attachment to a rail includes securement members received and supported on either side of the rail. The rail includes a support web and parallel side flanges. The structure is constructed from a molded plastic base unit to which metallic securement members are assembled. The base unit preferably includes a rigid side and a flexible side. The securement members are substantially identical to one another, facilitating manufacturing and assembly, and reducing the number of different parts in the final module. The securement members each include v-shaped slots for engaging the side flanges of the rail. The base unit may be configured as a blank end unit, or may include features for creating terminal blocks, I/O blocks, switches, circuit board supports and the like.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of securement structures for aligning terminal blocks, input/output devices and other electrical components within enclosures and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a self-locking, clip-in structure that can easily and quickly be mounted on a standard support rail, and that can be adapted for use as a terminal block or other device support.
2. Description Of The Related Art
A number of systems have been developed and are currently in use for mounting small components, particularly electrical components, in enclosures. Such systems include various conduit and rail structures useful for channeling wires to and from the components in a neat and orderly manner, facilitating installation and servicing. One popular system of this type is based upon a standard set of flanged rails that can be cut to a desired length and attached via screws to the interior of an enclosure. The rails, commonly referred to as "DIN" rails, have either inwardly or outwardly projecting raised flanges along their length for receiving the components. The components, including a wide array of modular elements such as terminal blocks, input/output modules, dip switches, and so forth, feature corresponding structures designed to interface with the rail flanges to hold the components securely in place during installation and use.
Known component mounting structures include screw-down and screwless styles. Screw-down structures generally clip into place along the DIN rail and may be slid along the rail for positioning. A screw held over one of the rail flanges is then driven into the flange to anchor the component in place. In addition to the cost of the screw and associated holding elements, a disadvantage of these structures is the need to independently secure each component via the screw. This process is not only time consuming, but may result in misalignment on the rail due to twisting of the component under the influence of the screw-down torque. In many applications, therefore, the screwless mounting arrangements are often preferable. These arrangements typically include a component module having a hook-shaped rigid foot that is slipped over a first of the rail flanges, and a deformable leg that is then snapped over the opposite flange to secure the component to the rail. Because the modules are typically made of a moldable plastic material due to its good electrical insulation capabilities, metallic clips and the like are often provided in the rail interface features to bind the component more securely in place on the rail. For removal, the deformable leg may be bent free of the rail flange and the component may be removed by unhooking the rigid foot from the opposite flange.
While such known screwless DIN rail mounting structures provide an attractive solution to the problem of quickly and easily attaching components in desired rail locations, they are not without drawbacks. For example, known arrangements of this type employ differently configured metallic securing elements on either side of the module. These elements must be added to the molded module during an assembly process, such as by heat staking. A first obvious drawback, then, results from the number of separate, different parts in the resulting assembly and the number of operations required to produce the final product. In addition, the metallic features typically include only three to five separate points of contact with the rail flanges. Because the force resisting movement of the component along the rail is generally a function of the number of contact point and the holding force exerted at each point, substantial spring force is often required in the deformable leg to attain the desired holding force, making the structure more difficult to snap into place and to remove from the rail. Moreover, due both to the different interface features and to the substantial spring force in conventional devices, the user must generally attach the module in a prescribed order (i.e., rigid foot first, then the deformable leg).
There is a need, therefore, for an improved arrangement for mounting components along DIN rails. The arrangement should be of a straightforward design that can be easily manufactured and assembled on the rail. In particular, there is a need for a DIN rail mounting structure that provides superior holding force while minimizing the number of different parts in the overall product.