A blood substitute and plasma expander comprising a cross-linked, substantially endotoxin-free hemoglobin solution and process for preparing same. The process comprises fractionating whole blood, separating out a stromal-free, sterile hemoglobin solution, chromatographically separating endotoxins from said hemoglobin solution and crosslinking the resulting endotoxin-free hemoglobin solution.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing a novel semi-synthetic blood substitute and the novel semi-synthetic blood substitute resulting therefrom. The novel semi-synthetic blood substitute is a hemoglobin preparation characterized by its purity, its exceptionally low levels of endotoxin, the absence of non-hemoglobin proteins, and its molecular cross-linking profile. The semi-synthetic blood substitute has no toxic activity when used in a substitute fashion and possesses the property of reversibly binding gaseous ligands such as oxygen and is useful for transporting and supplying oxygen to vital tissues and organs. Additionally, the blood substitute serves as a blood plasma expander for management of disease and for maintaining circulatory integrity. A further aspect of the invention is the preursor or intermediate, the substantially pure, phospholipid-free, endotoxin-free hemoglobin solution in uncross-linked form.
2. Description of Background Materials
Complex multicellular organisms are equipped with specialized tissues which are concerned with the processes of nutrition and excretion. It is the primary function of blood to provide a link between various organs and cells of the body. Blood, red cells, plasma and other components maintain a constant cellular environment by circulating through every tissue and continuously delivering nutrients to the tissues and removing waste products and various tissues which are concerned with the tissue secretions from them. PHYSIOLOGY, Third Edition, Edited by Edward E. Selkurt, Page 223 (1971). Blood is a viscous fluid composed of cells and plasma. More than 99% of the cells are red blood cells. The major function of red blood cells is to transport hemoglobin, which in turn carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and CO.sub.2 from the tissues to the lungs. Normal red blood cells contain approximately 34 grams of hemoglobin per 100 ml of cells. Each gram of hemoglobin is capable of combining with approximately 1.33 ml of oxygen. See Guyton, A. C., BASIC HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY: NORMAL FUNCTION IN MECHANISMS OF DISEASE, Pages 84-85( 1971).
Because of the critical and ongoing need for a therapeutic agent useful as a blood substitute for carrying and supplying oxygen and as a blood plasma expander, intense research efforts have been directed to the development of an adequate blood substitute. The need for a blood substitute exists for replacing blood lost by acute hemorrhage, blood losses occuring during surgical operations, resuscitation procedures after acidental blood loss, and the like. Further, as a plasma expander, a blood substitute serves as a therapeutic to treat volume deficiency shock, as an alleviant in anaphylactic and allergic shock, and for replacing plasma lost after burns and as a result of severe diarrhea.
Hemoglobin in solution has the capability to transport oxygen and, theoretically, could be used as a substitute for red blood cells. Because hemoglobin solutions are oncotically active, these solutions also expand plasma volume, thereby providing a function as a plasma expander as well. Thus the ability to be oncotically active and transport oxygen suggests that hemoglobin solutions would be desirable for a resuscitation fluid where rapid initial treatment of hypovolemia and tissue hypoxia is required. However, in order to function as an adequate resuscitation fluid, hemoglobin solutions must be capable of maintaining tissue oxygenation for specified periods of time.
Hemoglobin present in the blood of mammals has a fundamental property in solution of reversible oxygenation. In its natural form, mammalian hemoglobin is a conjugated, non-crosslinked protein having a molecular weight of approximately 68,000 and structurally comprised of two pairs of sub-units. Each sub-unit contains a heme group and a polypeptide chain, called globin. In mammals, hemoglobin is present in erythrocytes, along with stroma which consists of proteins, phospholipids and cholesterol. See CLINICAL HEMATOLOGY, By Wintrobe, 6 Ed. Pages 138-199, (1967).
The reversible binding of oxygen requires the interaction between four chains of hemoglobin (tetrameric hemaglobin) which results from the ability of the protein to exist as two different quarternary structures (relaxed and tense) that have different oxygen affinities (Perutz, M. F. , Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. 1: 3 (1975)). The two different oxygen affinities permit hemoglobin to on-load oxygen when 1) the oxygen tension is high (approximately 100 mm Hg pO.sub.2) and to off-load oxygen when the oxygen tension is low (approximately 40 mm Hg pO.sub.2) and give rise to a characteristic sigmoidal shape to the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve. It is now known that the tense state of some hemoglobin in red cells is stabilized by the presence of organic phosphates such as 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG), with the tense state of hemoglobin in solution not stabilized due to the absence of 2,3-DPG. Accordingly, hemoglobin in solution has a lower P.sub.50 than hemoglobin in its natural form (Arnone, A., Nature 237: 146 (1972).
Aqueous hemoglobin exists in equilibrium between the tetrameric (MW 68,000) and dimeric (MW 34,000) forms (Bunn, H. F. et al., Trans. Assn. Am. Physicians 81:187 (1968)). The dimers are excreted by the kidney and result in rapid intravascular elimination of hemoglobin solutions, with such solutions having a 2-4 hour plasma half-life. Accordingly, efforts have been directed to overcome the inherent limitations of hemoglobin solutions by molecular modification of the hemoglobin. The purpose of the molecular modification is to stabilize hemoglobin to prevent dimer formation and to maintain the tense conformational state. Bunn et al., supra, demonstrated that cross-linking hemoglobin reduced renal elimination and increased intravascular retention time. Bunn et al. utilized bis (N-maleimidomethyl) ether; however, the resulting hemoglobin solution had a high oxygen affinity, i.e., a P.sub.50 of 3 mm Hg. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate has been demonstrated to have an analogous effect to 2,3-DPG in lowering oxygen affinity, resulting in a P.sub.50 of 26-30 mm Hg (Benesch, R. E., Biochem. 11: 2568 (1972)). However, unlike 2,3-DPG, pyridoxal phosphate does not act as a cross-linking agent, resulting in intravascular retention times similar to that of unmodified hemoglobin (Greenburg, A. G. et al., Surgery 86: 13 (1979)). Thus it was thought that pyridoxylation and cross-linking would be required to produce a blood substitute having low oxygen affinities (P.sub.50 equal to 20-30 mm Hg) and adequate intravascular retention times (half disappearance times of 20 or more hours).
In 1985, the Congress of the United States, Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), issued a report entitled "Blood Policy and Technology." At chapter 6 of this report, alternative sources of blood products were discussed, with the conclusion that the impetus to develop alternative blood sources and substitutes based on economic, safety, and availability considerations was a necessity. According to the report, the ideal red blood cell substitute would have six properties: 1) an oxygen dissociation curve and oxygen-carrying capacity similar to that of intact red blood cells; 2) be non-toxic and non-antigenic; 3) have good flow characteristics; 4) remain in the circulation for a long period of time; 5) have a long shelf life; and 6) be cost effective in comparison to present red blood cell transfusions. The report also concluded that no substitute yet developed fulfills all these criteria.
Four basic approaches have been utilized to develop an adequate blood substitute. In one approach, a class of synthetic compounds called perfluoro chemicals are being developed. In a second approach, synthesized analogues of hemoglobin are being developed. Investigators are also attempting to assemble a red cell by encapsulating hemoglobin in lipid vesicles called liposomes. Finally, purified hemoglobin has been chemically modified to prolong its circulation and enhance its oxygen binding-dissociation properties.
According to the OTA report, supra, to date, none of these approaches has proven satisfactory. The fluorocarbons are removed by the circulatory system as foreign substances, and they become lodged in the liver, spleen, and other tissues. Artificial cells made of membrane encapsulated hemoglobin have not been used for many reasons. The use of microcapsules made from synthetic polymers such as polystyrene, ethylcellulose, and silicone rubber introduces biologically incompatable materials into a living system. The cell walls of the capsules tend to leak, it is difficult to control permeability of the wall, and these capsules are too rigid and too large to pass through the capillary bed.
The use of blood and blood fractions is fraught with disadvantages. For example, the use of whole blood often is accompanied by the risk of transmission of hepatitis-producing virus and AIDS-producing virus which complicate the patient's recovery in the first instance and is fatal in the second. Additionally, the use of whole blood requires blood-typing and cross-matching to avoid immunohematological problems and interdonor incompatibility.
The blood fraction plasma (BFP) which is a physiologically balanced colloidal solution that fulfills many of the requirements of a blood volume expander, cannot be safely used for this purpose. The high incidence and the risk of transmitting homologous serum hepatitis associated with plasma is so great, that its use is no longer warranted.
The blood component hemoglobin possesses osmotic activity and the ability to transport and exchange oxygen, but it has the disadvantage of rapid elimination from circulation by the renal route and through vascular walls, resulting in a very short, and therefore, unsatisfactory half-life.
The literature, both patent and non-patent, is replete with efforts to produce a satisfactory blood substitute from polymerized, cross-linked, stromal free hemoglobin. Bonsen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,200, and Bonsen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,401 disclose polymerized, cross-linked, "stormal-free" hemoglobin and pharmaceutical compositions (and methods for using same) comprising the polymerized, cross-linked, "stromal-free" hemoglobin. The process for producing the polymerized, cross-linked, "stromal-free" hemoglobin of Bonsen et al. comprises lysing red blood cells, filtering through diatomaceous earth to remove stroma, dialyzing to remove residual low molecular weight salts and metabolytes, polymerizing to form water soluble, cross-linked, macromolecular, stromal-free hemoglobin, with a final sterilization by filtering through a filter having a pore size of about 0.20 to 0.45 microns. Included among the cross-linking agents disclosed by Bonsen et al. are dialdehydes such as glyoxal, malonic dialdehyde, succinic dialdehyde, glutaraldehyde, adipaldehyde, 3-methyl glutaraldehyde, propyladipaldehyde, phthalic dialdehyde, terephthaldehyde and malonic dialdehyde.
Bonsen et al. (III, U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,590), extends the disclosure of Bonsen et al. ('200) and Bonsen et al. ('401) with a discussion of physiologically acceptable polymeric plasma substitutes as carriers for the blood substitute. Further, applications for use as an artificial oxygen exchange solution in conventional oxygenators such as cardiac by-pass, extracorporeal circulatory assist devices, and hollow-fiber and sheet type membrane devices for use in assisting the circulation in ill patients, is suggested. Additionally, the polyhemoglobin is suggested as a source of protein and oxygen in the microbiological assay of foods for aerobic bacillus and staphyllococcus to ensure the food is safe for animal and human consumption and as a storing and preserving solution for viable isolated perfused mammalian organs for their eventual transplant into a recipient.
Bonhard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,093 discloses a hemoglobin preparation suitable for intravenous injection comprising a substantially pyrogen-free condensation product of hemoglobin and pyridoxal phosphate. The hemoglobin preparation is claimed to have a retention time in the blood system of from 2 to 9 hours. The product is produced by washing red blood cells with a weakly alkaline solution, hemolyzing, and treating the resulting material with a cation exchange resin. The material is separated from the resin, diluted to a hemoglobin concentration of about 5-9%, adjusted to a pH of about 7 to 9, treated with pyridoxal-5-phosphate and, optionally, treated with a solution of a borohydride and then a dialdehyde to cross-link the hemoglobin molecules. The non-pyrogenic nature of the infusion solution is obtained by, as a minimu, repeated washings with the weakly alkaline solution.
In Bonhard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,248, hemoglobin molecules were coupled to increase their intravascular residence time without significantly diminishing the oxygen transport ability of the molecule. The hemoglobin molecules are coupled to one another and/or to serum proteins and gelatin derivatives using dialdehydes such as aliphatic dialdehydes of 3-8 carbon atoms. Optionally, pyridoxal phosphate may be added subsequently. The coupled hemoglobin molecules are recovered by ammonium sulphate precipitation.
In Simmonds et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,652, there is disclosed a process for preparing a "stromal-free" hemoglobin solution. The Simmonds et al. process is particularly adapted for large scale production of "stromal-free" hemoglobin, with reduced methemoglobin formation. The process comprises washing blood cells to remove non-cellular components, removing leukocytes, typically by filtration through a suitable adsorbent which preferentially retains the leukocytes, lysing the remaining red blood cells ultrasonically or mechanically, precipitation of the hemoglobin by mixture with a polyvalent cation, a polysulphate, and a polyvalent anion, and final purification by filtration and dialysis. The resulting hemoglobin solution is "substantially pure" and "free of stroma" and other lipoprotein cellular constituents and contains less than 5% methemoglobin.
Tye, U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,719, discloses "stromal-free" tetrameric hemoglobin which is cross-linked with certain bis-disalicyl esters and modified with pyridoxyl-5'-phosphate followed by reduction to produce bis-diamide covalently cross-linked, pyridoxyl-5'-phosphate covalently modified, tetrameric hemoglobin. The modified cross-linked "stromal-free" tetrameric hemoglobin is disclosed to be disease-free and capable of transporting oxygen to perfused tissue and remains in the intravascular space. Additionally, the product is suggested to be free from cell surface antigens, making it suitable for transfusion in place of red blood cells.
The modified cross-linked, "stromal-free" tetrameric hemoglobin of Tye is produced by starting with red blood cells of freshly drawn, outdated, or frozen packed cells or whole blood. The blood is drawn in sterile fashion into containers with sufficient anticoagulant activity to prevent clot formation. Hemoglobin from a variety of mammalian sources, such as human, bovine, ovine, or porcine are disclosed to be useful. Any non-heme protein is removed, preferably by zinc precipitation. Hemoglobin is released from the red blood cells by hypotonic lysis followed by ultrafiltration. The filtered hemoglobin is passed through a subsequent filtration step to remove virus particles, protein aggregates, and stromal elements. The typical filter has a nominal pore size of 0.020 microns and an exclusion for globular proteins of 1,000,000 Daltons. Zinc iron is added to precipitate the hemoglobin and the precipitate concentrated by filtration. The non-heme protein is removed in the filtrate. The resulting hemoglobin is then cross-linked using the bis-disalicyl esters and treated with pyridoxyl-5'-phosphate, followed by reduction of the reversible Schiff base covalent bond.
Kothe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,715 discloses a method for producing highly purified hemoglobin solutions free of plasma proteins and residual stromal lipids prepared from human blood or from animal blood in quantities large enough for clinical applications. The disclosed process comprises contacting red blood cells with a washing solution, hemolysing by introduction of the concentrated red blood cells into 2-3 times the volume of water, separating the stroma from the hemoglobin by ultrafiltration, and concentration in a third filtration stage utilizing a second ultrafiltration unit having a permeability of 10,000 to 50,000 Daltons.
However, in spite of the recent advances in the preparation of "stromal-free," cross-linked hemoglobin origin blood substitutes, the need has continued to exist for a blood substitute which is substantially free of endotoxins, phospholipids, and non-hemoglobin proteins, which is capable of 1) transporting adequate amounts of oxygen to tissue under ambient conditions; 2) having an oncotic activity equivalent to that of whole blood; 3) having an adequate intravascular retention time; 4) transfusible to all recipients without cross-matching or sensitivity testing; 5) free from disease agents such as bacteria and virus particles (hepatitis, AIDS, etc.); and 6) storable with minimum amounts of refrigeration.

Ultra pure hemoglobin solutions and blood-substitutes


A pneumatic recoil reduction adapter for use with a barrel and breech of an existing explosives disarmer. The adapter substantially reduces and, indeed, achieves near-total recoil reduction of recoil using venturi-venting rather than damping liquids, spring-damped shot tubes or other unwieldy mechanics. The recoil reduction adapter is formed with a central chamber to seat a cartridge and a plurality of axially extending passages leading outward from the central chamber through a corresponding plurality of radially-spaced venturi nozzles. Upon firing, exhaust gases are vented rearwardly back through the central chamber and outward through the venturi nozzles to offset and thereby reduce recoil forces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to explosives disruptors for remote disruption of explosive devices such as pipe bombs, letter bombs, hand grenades, land mines, etc., and, more particularly, to a new recoil reduction adapter attachable between barrel and breech of a conventional explosives disruptor for venturi-venting of combustion gases in order to substantially eliminate recoil which might otherwise endanger people or equipment in the vicinity of the disrupter.
2. Description of the Background
Emergency service personnel responsible for explosive device disposal are often called upon to render explosive devices safe, such as pipe bombs, letter bombs, hand grenades, land mines, etc. The task of disarming such devices is often accomplished by a robot carrying some form of de-arming device or remote disruption. FIG. 1A is a perspective photo of a robotic disposal unit carrying a forwardly-wielded robotic arm as well as a prior art explosives disruptor 2 for firing a projectile.
Bomb squads typically use a variety of disruptors, which are shotgun-like tubes capable of shooting air, water, shot or slugs at the target. These are used to incapacitate many types of explosives, and are particularly effective in removing the ends of pipe bombs.
By way of example, Cherry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,027 discloses a multi-barrel de-armer that requires a shock tube to fire a small arms cartridge into an explosive device.
Heller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,368 discloses a tripod-mounted, electrically activated de-armer that fires a shotgun shell at an explosive device.
Gilbert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,767 discloses a recoil-absorbing de-armer which fires a projectile from a barrel by means of an explosive charge placed behind the projectile.
The most typical explosives disrupters operate by firing a solid projectile or water at an explosive device so as to disrupt the fuse mechanism of the explosive device, ideally without detonating the explosive device. These explosives disrupters comprise a barrel with attached breech, the barrel containing an explosive (shotgun shell) charge which, when initiated, propels shot towards the target. Although these explosives disrupters are operated by remote control, problems can still arise from the mechanical reaction caused by firing the projectile(s). The barrel can recoil with a momentum sufficient to endanger people or equipment in the vicinity of the disrupter.
Consequently, for any explosives disrupter that fires a shotgun shell at an explosive device, there is a need for improved recoil reduction.
In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,166 to Alexander et al. issued Nov. 11, 2003, shows an explosives disrupter with a flexible, recoil-absorbing system for minimizing the effects of recoil on the accuracy of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,767 to Gilbert issued May 14, 1996 shows a de-arming device with a sleeve surrounding the barrel, so as to define an annular chamber accommodating solid or liquid recoil absorbing material. Radial ports interconnect the barrel and the annular chamber so that when the projectile is fired the annular chamber is pressurized and the recoil absorbing material is expelled rearward from the chamber, so as to counteract recoil.
In both of the foregoing devices the recoil reduction is accomplished with fairly complex equipment and liquids. Due to their level of complexity, these recoil reduction mechanisms are an integral part of the disrupter and cannot be retrofit to an existing disrupter. Moreover, such complex hydraulics, springs, shock absorbers, etc., are expensive, difficult to use, and of such modest effectiveness (50–70% reduction in recoil) that emergency squads that buy them eventually wind up not using them.
It would be far more advantageous to provide a pneumatic recoil reduction adapter that is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, convenient to use, that can be retrofit to any disrupter, and which yields an 80–90% reduction in recoil.
For purposes of illustration, FIG. 1B is a perspective side photo of a prior art disrupter 2 without recoil reduction. The disrupter 2 generally includes a disrupter barrel 10 coupled to a breech portion 30. The disrupter barrel 10 is an elongate rod having a coupling at one end, preferably a screw coupling, for attachment to breech portion 30. Internally, the disrupter barrel is open at the loading end where it attaches to breech portion 30 for insertion of a shot cartridge, and has a smooth bore throughout for ejecting the shot. Barrel 10 may be any commercially available projectile-firing disrupter, such as a PAN (Percussion Actuated Non-electric) disrupter, distributed by Ideal Products, Lexington, Ky. under the trademark PAN DISRUPTER™. Typically, the midsection of disrupter barrel 10 is attached to a support frame or robotic device (as in FIG. 1). The breech portion 30 is a machined component formed with a coupling at one end, such as internal screw-threads, for screw-insertion onto the disrupter barrel 10. There are a variety of commercially-available breeches most often sold in combination with a particular disrupter barrel 10, such as the PAN disrupter identified above (this breech is also shown in the Cherry '027 patent). In operation, the breech 30 is unscrewed from the disrupter barrel 10, and a cartridge such as a standard or modified shotgun shell is inserted into the loading end of the barrel 10. The breech 30 is then screwed back onto disrupter barrel 10. The breech portion 30 includes a firing mechanism for firing the cartridge (not shown), which is typically activated by coupling a pneumatic system (known as a "shock tube" to nipple 37. A blast of air through the shock tube drives the firing mechanism into the cartridge, which is then propelled the entire length of the barrel 10.


A method and system for displaying comments associated with a query. The method includes receiving the query provided by a user, retrieving a set of comment clusters from a comment cluster database, selecting engaging comments from each comment cluster included in the set of comment clusters, aggregating the engaging comments that are obtained from each comment cluster, identifying a plurality of independent comments included in a list of aggregated comments and displaying a list of engaging comments to the user. The system includes an electronic device, a communication interface and a memory. The system also includes a processor to receive the query, retrieve a set of comment clusters, select engaging comments from each comment cluster, aggregate the engaging comments, identify a plurality of independent comments and display a list of engaging comments to the user.

Users are increasingly using Internet for querying various entities. A query is provided as an input, by the users, in various forms. In one example, the users can type the query in a search box provided by a search engine, for example Yahoo! Search engine. Multiple search results for the query are displayed, on a web page, in response to providing the query. The search results are displayed, to the users, in various formats. Examples of the formats include web results, image results, video results, news results and blog results.
The search results also have comments associated with the query that are provided by one or more users. The comments on the query, in one example, include data associated with the query that enables the users to obtain valuable information associated with the query. Further, the comments are provided in an interactive manner that enables the users to understand the query distinctly. However, the comments on the query are usually not displayed on the web page due to spam and abusive content present in the comments.
Conventionally, web feeds from various social networking sites, for example twitter feeds from twitter, are displayed to the user. However, the twitter feeds are personal and, unlike the comments, are not interactive.
In the light of the foregoing discussion there is a need for an efficient method and a system for displaying comments associated with the query.

Method and system for displaying comments associated with a query


A user terminal apparatus is disclosed. A user terminal apparatus according to various exemplary embodiments includes a communication unit which communicates with an external apparatus, an image sensor unit which photographs an image being displayed on the display apparatus at a photographing speed above a frame rate of the display apparatus, and a control unit which controls to identify pattern information based on a placement of a pattern frame included in the image photographed by the image sensor unit, and to receive data related to the display apparatus from the external apparatus based on the identified pattern information.

1. Field
Methods and apparatuses consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to a method for receiving data, and more particularly to a display apparatus for photographing a screen being displayed and receiving data related to the display apparatus, a user terminal apparatus, external apparatus, display method, and data transmitting method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As informatization is accelerating, various technologies for providing large amounts of information quickly and easily are being developed. These technologies mostly relate to data transceiving among electronic devices. However, since there are various types of information and humans' cognitive ability is limited, it is important to come up with a method for efficiently obtaining information that one needs. That is, to a user, rather than how much information is provided, in what method and what kind of information is provided may be more important.
In related art, methods for providing information through words and texts mostly developed by methods for providing images. For example, such methods include outdoor billboards or window systems providing interfaces through icons.
A more developed type of method is a method of incorporating compressed information, for example, the QR Response developed by Denso Wave in Japan in 1994. According to this method, a user may photograph QR codes included in images and transmit the photographed information to a server, and information related to the QR codes may be received from the server. A QR code has a 2 dimensional configuration where up to 7,089 numbers, 4,296 letters, and 1,817 Chinese characters can be recorded utilizing length and width. QR codes have been widely used as important PR/marketing means of companies. As such, QR codes can be used as an efficient method for transmitting large amounts of information to proactive users who want to obtain 2 dimensional information related to images.
Recently, methods for transmitting information through multimedia contents are in the limelight. Multimedia contents are transmitted in formats where users can sense contents through their five senses, enabling efficient information transmission. Today's display apparatuses may transmit various information in almost all areas in video contents formats.
For example, billboards which used to be put up at outdoor walls or rooftops of buildings are, in part, are being replaced by digital signage equipped with electronic display means. Furthermore, video notice signs which use flat display technologies to provide public transportation information such as subways or buses are being provided.
However, such video information provision methods by way of display apparatuses lack advantages of QR codes. That is, they cannot provide means where compressed information is included in videos so that users can obtain 2 dimensional information using such information.
It is possible to interleave QR codes into videos, but the problem is that since images change in such videos, it is difficult for users to capture the QR codes, and further, when QR codes are interleaved, they cover parts of the videos. Therefore, there is need for a technology which enables easily obtaining 2 dimensional information from video information without interrupting viewing the videos.

Display apparatus, user terminal apparatus, external apparatus, display method, data receiving method and data transmitting method


An apparatus and method to decelerate printed product in a stacking process is provided. The printed product may be a product such as printed paper, foil, or plastic. A continuous web of product may be cut into single items, one item at a time, and then the items may be stacked on top of one another. The apparatus may be comprised of a cylinder, which is comprised of a vacuum chamber having perforations and a blowing chamber having perforations. A first slow delivery tape, and first and second fast delivery tapes may also be provided. Each of the delivery tapes may have perforations to allow air to pass through and from or to the cylinder. The first slow delivery tape is wrapped around the cylinder. The first and second fast delivery tapes are wrapped around rollers and may help to create separation between individual cut items and may control moving items. The first slow delivery tape may slow down items to allow stacking of items. The apparatus may also include first and second brushes ratably connected to housing. One or the other brush can push down on individual items to move an item closer towards the cylinder. The apparatus may additionally include a cutting device, which cuts individual items from a continuous web. The slow delivery tapes may also travel over a slow delivery tape vacuum and the second fast delivery tapes may travel over a fast delivery vacuum.

This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus for moving pieces of cut product in a conveyor or printer system.
Various apparatus and method are known for moving products on conveyors and for providing printed items or products, such as printed papers.
The present invention in one embodiment provides an apparatus and method to decelerate printed product in a stacking process. The printed product may be products such as printed paper, foil, or plastic. The finishing stage in web printing processing of materials, like paper, foil, and plastic is cutting and stacking. The equipment in this process are sheeters, rotary cutters, etc. A continuous web of product is usually cut into single items, one item at a time, and then the items need to be stacked on top of one another.
The present invention in one embodiment discloses an apparatus for moving items comprised of a cylinder wherein the cylinder is comprised of a vacuum chamber and a blowing chamber. The items may be pieces of product. Each item or piece of product may be an individually cut piece of paper from a continuous web of paper.
The cylinder may be comprised of a plurality of cylinder perforations, which allow air from the blowing chamber to be blown out of the cylinder perforations. The same cylinder perforations may also allow air to be sucked into the vacuum chamber through the cylinder perforations. Note that the same cylinder perforations may be used to vacuum and to blow air in different times and in different areas.
The apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention may also include a first slow delivery tape which is wrapped around the cylinder, and which can transport items. The apparatus may be further comprised of a plurality of first fast delivery tape rollers and a first fast delivery tape which is wrapped around the plurality of first fast delivery tape rollers. At least a portion of the first fast delivery tape may lie above at least a portion of the first slow delivery tape. A plurality of first slow delivery tapes and a plurality of first fast delivery tapes analogous to the above may be provided.
The apparatus may also include a first brush disc ratably connected to a housing. The first brush disc may include a first brush which can push down a first piece of product to move the first piece of product closer towards blowing vacuum cylinder. A plurality of further brush discs may also be provided. Each brush disc may be connected to a shaft, which may be connected to housing members by bearings.
The apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention may also be comprised of a plurality of second fast delivery tape rollers, and a second fast delivery tape which is wrapped around the plurality of second fast delivery tape rollers. At least a portion of each of the second fast delivery tape can lie below a portion of the first fast delivery tape. At least a portion of the first fast delivery tape and at least a portion of the second fast delivery tape can act together to move items. The apparatus may additionally comprise a cutting device, which cuts pieces of paper from a continuous web of paper. A slow delivery tape vacuum may also be provided in the apparatus of the first embodiment, wherein each the slow delivery tape may move over the slow delivery tape vacuum in order to transport an item. The slow delivery tape may have a plurality of perforations and the slow delivery tape vacuum may have a long opening. The slow delivery tape vacuum may have supporting rollers inside the long vacuum opening, to support the slow delivery tape. The slow delivery tape vacuum may draw air in through the perforations of the slow delivery tape and through the supporting rollers in the slow delivery tape vacuum. A plurality of slow delivery tapes, slow delivery tape vacuums, second fast delivery tapes, and first fast delivery tapes may be provided.
The apparatus of the first embodiment may also be comprised of a fast delivery tape vacuum wherein the first fast delivery tape moves under the fast delivery tape vacuum in order to transport an item. The first fast delivery tape may have a plurality of perforations and the fast delivery tape vacuum may have a plurality of perforations. The fast delivery tape vacuum may draw air in through the perforations in the first fast delivery tape and through the perforations in the fast delivery tape vacuum. The apparatus may be comprised of a plurality of such fast delivery tape vacuums and first fast delivery tapes.
A first item, particularly a first piece of paper cut from a continuous web of paper; may be moved by the apparatus in a first direction by the first and second fast delivery tapes. A front portion of the first piece of paper may be pushed upwards by the blowing air emitted from the blowing vacuum cylinder. A rear portion of the first piece of paper may be pushed downwards by a plurality of first pressing brushes of the corresponding plurality of first pressing brush disc and sucked downwards by the vacuum portion of the blowing vacuum cylinder. The first piece of paper may be further moved in the first direction by a plurality of the slow delivery tape.
The apparatus in a first direction may move a second item, particularly a second piece of paper cut from a continuous web of paper by the first and second fast delivery tapes. A front portion of the second piece of paper may be pushed upwards by blowing air emitted from the blowing vacuum cylinder. A rear portion of the second piece of paper may be pushed downwards by a plurality of second pressing brushes, of the corresponding plurality of first pressing brush discs and sucked downwards by the vacuum portion of the blowing vacuum cylinder. The second piece of paper may be further moved in the first direction by the plurality of slow delivery tapes. The second piece of paper may be stacked on top of the first piece of paper, so that the second piece of paper overlaps the first piece of paper with a constant offset.

Method and apparatus to decelerate printed product in a stacking process


A digital telecommunication station is provided, operative in a telecommunication network to receive at least two different types of signals and divert signals of at least one of these types from the transmission path along which signals of the other types are transmitted.

Different sorts of signals may be transmitted through telecommunication systems. Among these signals are voice signals, facsimile signals, data signals, video signals etc. Furthermore, in today networks, signals may also be classified by their quality, a characteristic that is used to differentiate between different quality of services.
Various types of telecommunication systems are known in the art and in the marketplace for interconnecting telephone communication trunks to a transmission network. One type of such systems is known as Digital Circuit Multiplication Equipment (to be referred to hereinafter as "DCME") systems.
In order to use network available resources as efficiently as possible, many solutions were suggested in the past. One such example is the use of optimal ADPCM algorithm in DCME systems, where this algorithm is adapted for transmission of compressed voiceband data. This solution allows achieving a typical compression rate of 2:1. However, when taking into account that the compression rate of the DSI and the ADPCM algorithms for speech is 6:1, it is understood why even such an improved algorithm presents a bottleneck in these systems. In the recent years, the use of facsimile machines is constantly growing, and since facsimile signals are transmitted via DCME systems when compressed as voiceband data, the overall compression rate that can be achieved for DCME systems approaches 3:1 ratio. When using more advanced encoding algorithms such as LD-CELP and CS-ACELP, higher compression rates may be achieved, as the typical overall compression rates are 8:1 and 16:1, respectively. Nevertheless, in view of the developing traffic load in telecommunication systems, there is constant striving for better utilization of the network resources available, which in turn will allow to reduce communication costs while maintaining required qualities of service.
Therefore, it is understandable why solutions for better utilization of resources both in TDM and non-TDM systems, such as IP systems, are to be found.

Handling different types of telecommunication signals


An electrode structure 15 is received in a joint portion of frames 13, 14. A first gas diffusion layer 19 and a first gas passage forming member 21 are arranged on a first surface of the electrode structure 15. A second gas diffusion layer 20 and a second gas passage forming member 22 are formed on a second surface of the electrode structure 15. A separator 23 is joined with a surface of the frame 13 and a surface of the gas passage forming member 21. A separator 24 is joined with a surface of the frame 14 and a surface of the gas passage forming member 22. A water passage 28 is formed between a flat plate 25 of the gas passage forming member 22 and the separator 24. The water passage 28 has a depth set to a value smaller than depth of a gas passage T2 of the gas passage forming member 22. Generated water is introduced from the gas passage T2 of the gas passage forming member 22 to the water passage 28 through capillary action via communication holes 29. The generated water in the water passage 28 is moved to a downstream side of the water passage 28 by pressure caused by oxidization gas. This prevents corrosion of the cathode side electrode catalyst layer and improves durability of the anode side gas passage forming member. As a result, a fuel cell capable of preventing decrease of power generation is provided.

A typical fuel cell includes a cell stack configured by a number of power generation cells, which are stacked together. A conventional power generation cell will hereafter be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 25. As illustrated in FIG. 23, an electrode structure 15 is mounted in a joint portion between a pair of frames 13, 14. The electrode structure 15 is configured by a solid electrolyte membrane 16, an anode-side electrode catalyst layer 17, and a cathode-side electrode catalyst layer 18. The outer periphery of the solid electrolyte membrane 16 is clamped between the frames 13, 14. The anode-side electrode catalyst layer 17 is stacked on the top surface of the electrolyte membrane 16. The cathode-side electrode catalyst layer 18 is laid on the bottom surface of the electrolyte membrane 16. An anode-side gas diffusion layer 19 is laid on the top surface of the electrode catalyst layer 17. A cathode-side gas diffusion layer 20 is laid on the bottom surface of the electrode catalyst layer 18. An anode-side gas passage forming member 21 is laid on the top surface of the gas diffusion layer 19. A cathode-side gas passage forming member 22 is formed on the bottom surface of the gas diffusion layer 20.
As illustrated in FIG. 24, the gas passage forming member 21 (22) is formed by a metal lath. In the metal lath, a number of hexagonal ring portions 21a (22a) are formed in a serpentine manner. A through hole 21b (22b) is formed in each of the ring portions 21a (22a). Fuel gas (oxidization gas) flows in a gas passage formed by the ring portions 21a (22a) and the through holes 21b (22b). FIG. 25 is an enlarged view showing a portion of the gas passage forming member 21, 22.
With reference to FIG. 23, a fuel gas supply passage M1 and a fuel gas discharging passage M2 are formed in the frames 13, 14. The fuel gas supply passage M1 is a passage through which hydrogen gas as fuel gas is supplied to a gas passage in the anode-side gas passage forming member 21. The fuel gas discharging passage M2 is a passage through which the fuel gas that has passed through the gas passage of the gas passage forming member 21, which is fuel off-gas, is discharged to the exterior. An oxidization gas supply passage and an oxidization gas discharging passage are formed in the frames 13, 14. The oxidization gas supply passage is located at the backside of the sheet as viewed in FIG. 23. The oxidization gas supply passage is a passage through which the air as oxidization gas is supplied to a gas passage in the cathode-side gas passage forming member 22. The oxidization gas discharging passage is located at the front side of the sheet as viewed in FIG. 23. The oxidization gas discharging passage is a passage through which the oxidization gas that has passed through the gas passage of the gas passage forming member 22, which is oxidization off-gas, is discharged to the exterior.
Hydrogen gas is supplied from a non-illustrated hydrogen gas supply source to the gas passage forming member 21 through the fuel gas supply passage M1 along the gas flow direction P indicated by the arrow in FIG. 23. Also, the air is supplied from a non-illustrated air supply source to the gas passage forming member 22. This causes an electrochemical reaction to produce power in the power generation cell.
Patent Document 1 discloses a fuel cell similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 23.
As a conventional fuel cell, a fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 2 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 26, the fuel cell has a separator base plate 73, which is arranged between an air-electrode-side collector 71 and a fuel-electrode-side collector 72. With reference to FIG. 27, the air-electrode-side collector 71 is held in contact with a solid electrolyte membrane 74. The air-electrode-side collector 71 is configured by bottom portions 71a held in contact with an air-electrode-side diffusion layer 75 having a water repellent layer, top portions 71b held in contact with the separator base plate 73, and grid-like openings 71c formed in the bottom portions 71a and the top portions 71b. Oxidization gas is supplied to the air-electrode-side diffusion layer 75 via a gas passage formed in the air-electrode-side collector 71. Water produced in the gas passage through power generation flows downstream from the gas passage.
As another conventional fuel cell, a fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 3 has been proposed. As illustrated in FIG. 28, in the fuel cell, an electrolyte-side gas supply passage 83 is formed between a gas diffusion layer 81 held in contact with an electrode structure 15 and a water drainage layer 82 formed by a porous body. A water drainage passage 85 is formed in a surface 84 of the water drainage layer 82. Specific suction means (not shown) is arranged in the water drainage passage 85. The water drainage passage 85 causes water generated in the gas supply passage 83 through power generation to permeate through slits formed in the water drainage layer 82 and introduces the water to the water drainage passage 85.
A fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 4 has also been proposed as a conventional fuel cell. A water drainage tube having a through hole formed in a side wall, through which generated water permeates, is embedded in a cathode-side catalyst layer. A water drainage pump is connected to the water drainage tube through a line. The water drainage pump depressurizes the interior of the water drainage tube and thus draws the generated water from the cathode-side catalyst layer into the water drainage tube. The water is then directed to the exterior of a membrane-electrode assembly.


An alignment logic circuit transferring segments of data from a first storage device to a second storage device is provided. The alignment logic circuit includes a first and second alignment stages, and an alignment control logic that controls the first and second alignment stages such that the first alignment stage outputs data aligned in a first dimension according to a second configuration, and the second alignment stage outputs data aligned in a second dimension according to the second configuration.. A computer system with a DMA controller with a Memory Write and Invalidate logic circuit is provided. The Memory Write and Invalidate logic circuit generates a Memory Write and Invalidate enable signal when the DMA byte count is greater than or equal to a cacheline size, and the current transfer adders is a multiple of the cacheline size.. A computer system including a host processor, a first bus coupled to the host processor, a second bus, slave circuit coupled to the second bus, and a direct memory access (DMA) controller is also provided. The DMA controller includes a DMA error handling logic, coupled to the host processor, for receiving a retry signal indicative of a retry request of the slave circuit. The DMA error handling logic also receives an error signal indicative of an error on the first bus and a DMA IDLE. The error handling logic aborts a DMA transfer when the error signal and the DMA signal are asserted and the retry signal is deasserted.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer systems architecture. More specifically, the present invention relates to Direct Memory Access (DMA) controllers.
(2) Description of Related Art
DMA controllers are used in computer systems for moving blocks of data from one location to another location, while relieving the host processor of the need to generate a long sequence of addresses to accomplish the transfer of data. Typically, the data transferred is a large block of data which begins at a source address and is moved to a destination beginning at a destination address. The DMA controller is started by an event responsive to which the DMA controller generates addresses of a source location and of a destination location wherein data is transferred.
In many storage devices such as memories, data can be stored on double-word boundaries, each double-word consisting of four bytes of data. In such memories, each read or write cycle, from or to the memory, involves accessing a double-word from either the source or the destination memory. Data, however, may be stored on boundaries other than double-word such as byte or word boundaries. However, a DMA transfer of a block of data between a source storage device and a destination storage device becomes more complicated when the starting address in the source storage device does not align on byte boundaries with the starting address in the destination storage device.
FIG. 1 shows a source storage device 2 storing a block of twelve bytes of data starting at address 000 0201H. This address corresponds to the address of the first byte of data of the block of twelve bytes stored in the source storage device 2. The first byte of data of the block resides at the second byte location of the double word having the address 000 0200H. The block of data from the source storage device is received by the destination storage device 4 which stores this block beginning with the fourth byte of data of the double word having the address 4001 0300H. According to this configuration, a DMA controller would have to read bytes B.sub.1, B.sub.2, and B.sub.3 of the first double word starting at address 000 0200H. Then, bytes B.sub.1, B.sub.2, and B.sub.3 would be written in one cycle to a temporary storage device. The DMA controller would then, in another cycle, write byte B.sub.1 in the destination storage device at address 4001 0303H. A second read operation from the source storage device would retrieve the double word starting at address 000 0204H. Bytes B.sub.4 and B.sub.5 would thus have to be stored in, the temporary storage device together, with bytes B.sub.2 and B.sub.3 aligned in the sequence B.sub.5 B.sub.4 B.sub.3 B.sub.2. However, bytes B.sub.6 and B.sub.7 together with B.sub.5 and B.sub.4 from address 000 0204H would have to be read again from the source storage device in a next cycle because the temporary storage device would be full with the double-word B.sub.5 B.sub.4 B.sub.3 B.sub.2. As one can see, the discrepancy in alignment between the configuration of the block of data stored in the source storage device 2 and the configuration of data to be stored in the destination storage device 4 causes an additional read cycle penalty (i.e., reading from the source storage device the double word including the sequence B.sub.5 B.sub.4 B.sub.3 B.sub.2).
It is desirable to provide a faster and more efficient mechanism for aligning data transferred from a source storage device 2 into a destination storage device 4 on byte, word, and double word boundaries. This is particularly critical in applications requiring transfer of blocks of data at high speed.
DMA controllers can be particularly useful in conjunction with a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) system. Integration of a DMA controller into a PCI system, however, may require compliance with PCI protocols for transfer of data. For example, in a PCI system, according to the revision 7.1 of the PCI Special Interest Group located in Portland, Oreg., local memory to PCI transfers can be performed by means of two PCI write commands: Memory Write (MW), and Memory Write and Invalidate (MWI). The Memory Write (MW) can be used by a computer system in which a DMA controller is integrated to write data to a PCI agent. The Memory Write command is a command compatible with the PCI system architecture which is used to update data in the memory. A Memory Write and Invalidate (MWI) command is semantically similar to the Memory Write command except that it additionally guarantees a minimum transfer of one complete cacheline during the current transaction. According to this command, the master intends to write all bytes within an address cacheline in a single PCI transaction unless the master is interrupted by the target. This command allows a memory performance optimization by invalidating a dirty line in a write-back cache without requiring the actual write-back cycle, thus shortening access time. If the target, i.e., the PCI agent is cacheable memory, the Memory Write and Invalidate (MWI) command improves the system performance. For more information about the PCI systems and the Memory Write and Invalidate command, see The PCI Local Bus Specification, revision 2.1 of the PCI Special Interest Group, located in Portland, Oreg.
In order to use the Memory Write and Memory Write and Invalidate commands on the PCI bus when a DMA transfer between local memory and PCI bus is desired, a DMA channel has to be programmed by the application software. However, there are a number of circumstances which may prevent a DMA controller from actually initiating the MWI command. For example, to satisfy the PCI requirements for MWI, the PCI master such as a DMA controller would have to start a transaction on a cacheline boundary and transfer at least one cacheline of data without interruption. The application software would need to be responsible for compliance with the PCI requirements.
Observance of the PCI requirements by the application software, however, poses significant overhead problems. The software would first have to be fairly complicated, and the system performance would be affected by the use of the respective software design. A hardware mechanism, providing full PCI compliance for a DMA controller transferring data between a local and a PCI bus would be advantageous over software implementation. It is, thus, desirable to provide for a hardware apparatus for implementing MWI and MW transfers of data on a DMA controller for transferring data between a local and a PCI bus.
Additionally, the implementation of a DMA controller in conjunction with a PCI system may be confronted with significant problems when errors on the local bus need to be handled. For example, if a local bus error occurs after a PCI retry is received from a slave circuit, the DMA controller may not be able to terminate the transfer. A retry request, in PCI compliant systems, is typically generated by a slave circuit to a master circuit, such as a DMA controller if the slave is unable to respond to a transaction at a current time. According to PCI revision 2.1, the DMA controller would first need to service the retry request. Otherwise, if the retry is not serviced, the PCI slave could lock up.
An example of the need for a retry in PCI systems would be if the slave is currently locked for exclusive access by another master. The occurrence of a local bus error followed by a PCI retry poses the following problem. In order to avoid transferring data, which might contain errors, from the local bus to the PCI bus, it would be desirable to end the transfer when the error signal from the local bus is received. However, a transfer cannot be terminated until the retry is satisfied. In order to satisfy the retry, the DMA controller needs to prevent the host processor from noticing that an error has occurred. If the DMA controller did not convey the host processor the error message and serviced the retry from the slave which initially generated the retry signal, the host processor would retain ownership over the PCI bus and, thus, the transfer of the block of data programmed to be transferred in a DMA transfer would continue. Continuing the transfer of data after having received an error message would, however, require sophisticated error handling logic circuit. Such error handling logic circuit would be expensive due to the complexity of this circuit.
It is, thus, desirable to provide a DMA error handling logic capable of handling with minimum overhead a local bus error after a PCI retry request. It is also desirable to provide a mechanism capable of servicing a pending retry and aborting the DMA transfer in course, once the retry was serviced, without the need to substantially change the design of the error handling logic.


A motor control system includes a single, multicompartment enclosure mounted on a skid. The enclosure contains a transformer circuit and a motor controller circuit interconnected so that only external connections to a power source and a load are needed. When the circuits are energized, access to high voltage motor control components and to field replaceable fuses and output selection switches is prevented by a double interlocking mechanism which operates in conjunction with energizing and de-energizing the transformer. The transformer of the transformer circuit includes a tertiary winding disposed radially between a primary winding and a secondary winding. The winding filters electrostatically coupled transients. A conventional electrostatic shield is also used so that the transformer is doubly shielded to electrostatic transients. The tertiary winding is connected to one or more capacitors to filter magnetically coupled transients. A current limiting fuse, a load sensing fuse and a primary make/break switch are connected in electrical series to the primary winding. Methods for energizing or operating a motor utilizing the primary switch and the load sensing fuse are also disclosed.

This invention relates generally to a motor control system and it also relates generally to individual components of the system. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the invention relates to a transformer, a unitary housing, and a double interlock mechanism, all of which are suitable for use in an apparatus for operating a three-phase motor to drive a submersible pump. The present invention is also more particularly directed to a system and method for controlling the energization of a transformer's secondary winding circuit to which a three-phase motor is connected.
Submersible pumps are used, for example, in oil wells at remote locations. Three-phase electric motors are typically used to drive these pumps. Such a motor is rated for a nominal line-to-voltage which must be provided within a specified tolerance for the motor to work. This voltage is typically provided from an electric utility through a transformer and motor controller to provide the suitable voltage and control to operate the motor as desired.
Transformers and motor controllers which have been used in the past have been separate products. That is, the transformer has had its own housing and the motor controller has had its own housing. External connections between the two are needed to have the two work together. Although having two separate units might allow more flexibility in choosing components for a particular application, it has the possible shortcomings of increased price for two rather than one unit and of increased costs for shipping and warehousing. Two separate units would also likely require more space at the location where they are to be used. Therefore, there is the need for a unitary power supply package wherein a transformer and motor controller are interconnected and housed in a single compact unit which can be readily transported to remote locations and easily connected to a source of electricity and a load, such as a three-phase electric motor driving a submersible pump.
To facilitate the use of such a unitary power supply package at a remote location, it should be designed so that a human operator on the ground can have access to at least some internal parts should they need to be repaired or checked in the field. Ground-level access should also be provided so that the operator can readily select a desired output suitable for the load to be energized and readily control a master on/off switch of the power supply package. Access to at least high voltage components should, however, be prevented by automatic interlocks which operate when the master switch is "on."
For safety and economy, the transformer within the power supply package should be designed to provide all needed output and operating voltages, and it should also be designed to shield against electrostatically and magnetically coupled transients. Appropriate switching and fusing regardless of the desired output should also be provided.
Such a unitary power supply package should also include a readily transportable housing which accommodates all the other needs mentioned above.
Another feature of the prior transformer and motor controller systems is that the motor controller package includes an air-insulated master power switch, a combined current limiting and load sensing fuse and an electrically operated start-stop contactor switch mechanism connected in series. This places all these components on one side of the transformer.
The disadvantage of the typical master power switch is that it is expensive. It is expensive because it must be constructed to operate safely within its air-insulated environment. Further, the master power switch is typically not used as a complete safety disconnect because it is not constructed to disconnect safely when the motor is energized; rather it is used to isolate the downstream components after the contactor switch mechanism has disconnected the motor. An air-insulated power switch adequate to break the load directly would be even more expensive.
A typical combined current limiting and load sensing fuse used in prior motor controllers is also relatively expensive; therefore, everytime a short-circuit fault or other current overload condition clears the fuse, it must be replaced with a similarly expensive fuse. Another disadvantage of using the fuse in the prior manner is that it cannot be rated for all the transformer outputs which might be available.
In view of these additional disadvantages, there is the need for a system which incorporates a relatively inexpensive, truly emergency safety master power switch which is directly manually operable without the aid of any tools to break a fully loaded circuit. There is also the need for the system to utilize fusing which is relatively inexpensive and which is fully effective to protect the system upstream of a short-circuit fault regardless of a selected transformer output.

Motor control system and components thereof


When, with a piston assuming the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke, a fuel is injected from a nozzle of a fuel injection valve, the injected fuel from the nozzle is guided to reach electrodes of a spark plug by a concave surface defined by a crown portion of a piston. A control unit is provided that controls the fuel injection valve and the spark plug. The control unit is configured to carry out under a given condition controlling the fuel injection valve to start the fuel injection at a time before the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke and finish the fuel injection at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke; and controlling the spark plug to carry out the ignition at a time after the top dead center (TDC).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engines, and more particularly to the engines of a type that has a control system for controlling a fuel injection timing and an ignition timing in accordance with an operation condition of the engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to clarify the task of the invention, two known engines of the above-mentioned type which have been hitherto proposed or put into practical use will be briefly described, which as are shown in Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications (Tokkai) 2001-336467 and 2003-113717.
The former describes one measure in which when a catalytic converter in an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine is not sufficiently heated, the fuel injection is carried out on the compression stroke and at the same time the ignition timing is retarded with respect to a top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke.
The latter describes the other measure in which, during the compression stroke, a fuel injected from each fuel injector is reflected by a top of the piston to be directed toward the electrodes of the spark plug. Actually, the crown portion of the piston is so shaped as to promote such fuel reflection.
As is known in the art, in order to accelerate or promote the activation of the catalytic converter after cold starting of the engine, it is preferable to increase the temperature of the exhaust gas, and in order to reduce HC (hydrocarbons) in the exhaust gas, it is preferable to largely retard the ignition timing. However, if the ignition timing is too retarded, a combustion stability of the engine is deteriorated and thus retarding of the ignition timing has inevitably a limitation. Thus, it is difficult to obtain a stable combustion especially when the engine is not sufficiently warmed up. Actually, the limited ignition timing determined based on the stable combustion is at a relatively advanced side and thus, usually, sufficient retarding of the ignition timing is not practically made.
In the measure disclosed by the publication 2003-113717, the crown portion of the piston is formed with a recess of which bottom surface constitutes a parabolically concave surface. The concave surface is so shaped as to have a focus at electrodes of a spark plug at the time when a fuel is injected from a fuel injection valve. However, in the period before the fuel injection on the compression stroke, the moving speed of the piston is quite high and thus practically, the period for which the focus of the concave bottom surface of the recess of the piston is kept placed at the electrodes of the spark plug is very short. Thus, the combustion stability of the engine is affected severely by the fuel injection period.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engine, which is free of the above-mentioned drawbacks.
As will become apparent from the following description, in accordance with the present invention, the following measures are practically employed to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks.
That is, when the engine is in a predetermined operation condition, such as a condition just after cold starting, the control is so made that the fuel injection starts at a time before the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke and ends at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke, and the ignition of the injected fuel is carried out at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke. Furthermore, the crown portion of the piston is so shaped that when the piston comes to the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke, a fuel injected from the fuel injector can be reflected by the crown portion to be directed toward electrodes of a spark plug.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engine which comprises a cylinder; at least one intake port leading to the cylinder; at least one exhaust port extending from the cylinder; a piston axially movably received in the cylinder to define in the same a combustion chamber that is connectable with the intake and exhaust ports through intake and exhaust valves respectively; a fuel injection valve having a fuel injection nozzle exposed to the combustion chamber; a spark plug having electrodes exposed to the combustion chamber; an arrangement wherein when, with the piston assuming the top dead center on the compression stroke, a fuel is injected from the nozzle of the fuel injection valve, the injected fuel from the nozzle is guided to reach the electrodes of spark plug by a crown portion of the piston; and a control unit that controls the fuel injection valve and the spark plug, the control unit being configured to carry out under a given condition controlling the fuel injection valve to start the fuel injection at a time before the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke and finish the fuel injection at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke; and controlling the spark plug to carry out the ignition at a time after the top dead center (TDC).
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engine, which comprises an arrangement wherein when, with a piston assuming the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke, a fuel is injected from a nozzle of a fuel injection valve, the injected fuel from the nozzle is guided to reach electrodes of a spark plug by a concave surface defined by a crown portion of a piston; and a control unit that controls the fuel injection valve and the spark plug, the control unit being configured to carry out under a given condition controlling the fuel injection valve to start the fuel injection at a time before the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke and finish the fuel injection at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke; and controlling the spark plug to carry out the ignition at a time after the top dead center (TDC).
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engine which comprises a cylinder; at least one intake port leading to the cylinder; at least one exhaust port extending from the cylinder; a piston axially movably received in the cylinder to define in the same a combustion chamber that is connectable with the intake and exhaust ports through intake and exhaust valves respectively; a fuel injection valve having a fuel injection nozzle exposed to the combustion chamber; a spark plug having electrodes exposed to the combustion chamber; and an arrangement wherein when, with the piston assuming the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke, a fuel is injected from the nozzle of the fuel injection valve, the injected fuel from the nozzle is guided to reach the electrodes of spark plug by a crown portion of the piston. The method comprises controlling the fuel injection valve to start the fuel injection at a time before the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke and finish the fuel injection at a time after the top dead center (TDC) on the compression stroke; and controlling the spark plug to carry out the ignition at a time after the top dead center (TDC).

Direct fuel injection spark ignition internal combustion engine


The present invention is directed to self-assembled nanoparticle arrays, methods of making the nanoparticle arrays, and methods of using the nanoparticle arrays in spectroscopic methods for detecting targets of interest. The present invention is also directed to a fabrication method for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates that possess a unique combination of three highly desirable attributes: (a) the SERS substrates can be tuned to match the laser wavelength of operation and maximize the enhancement factor for the particular Raman instrument and analyte in use; (b) the SERS substrates have a highly reproducible enhancement factor over macroscopic sampling areas; and (c) the fabrication method is achieved without resorting to expensive, slow nano-lithography tools.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to self-assembled nanoparticle arrays, methods of making the nanoparticle arrays, and methods of using the nanoparticle arrays in spectroscopic methods for detecting targets of interest.
2. Background
Plasmonic structures are routinely used in Raman spectroscopy to increase the cross-section for the scattering process and augment the signal, particularly when very little sample is available, a technique termed surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) (Brown, R. J. C., et al., J. Raman Spectrosc. 39:1313 (2008); Camden, J. P., et al., Acc. Chem. Res. 41:1653 (2008)). The extreme sensitivity of SERS is achieved through the strong coupling between electromagnetic radiation, plasmon modes of a surface, and electronic states of a molecule, which in turn couple to the vibrational modes of the molecule (J. Gersten and A. Nitzan, J. Chem. Phys. 73:3023 (1980); Schatz, G., et al., in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering—Physics and Applications, Topics Appl. Phys. 103:19 (2006)). The SERS substrate, containing the plasmonic structure and often a binding site for the molecule to be analyzed, needs to be tailored precisely (i.e., at the nanoscale) in order to achieve efficient coupling and provide colossal signal enhancement (Ko, H., et al., Small 4:1576 (2008)). In many cases, it is desirable to design the SERS substrate so that its surface plasmon resonance frequency lies between the frequencies of the incident light (the laser of the Raman spectrometer) and the scattered light (McFarland, A. D., et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 109:11279 (2005); Chu, Y. Z., et al., ACS Nano 4:2804 (2010); Felidj, N., et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 82:3095 (2003)). The surface plasmon resonance frequency may also need to match approximately an electronic transition energy of the molecule or solid being probed to make use of the resonant Raman scattering effect and further increase the enhancement factor (Zhao, J., et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 112:19302 (2008)). Self-assembly techniques (Freeman, R. G., et al., Science 267:1629 (1995); Wang, H., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127:14992 (2005); Wang, H., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 46:9040 (2007); Wei, A., et al., Chem Phys Chem 2:743 (2001); Mu, C., et al., Nanotechnology 21:015604 (2010); Dick, L. A., et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 106:853 (2001); Baumberg, J. J., et al., Nano Lett. 5:2262 (2005)), nano-lithography techniques (Felidj, N., et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 82:3095 (2003); Hatab, N. A., et al., Nano Lett. 7:4952 (2010); Fromm, D. P., et al., J. Chem. Phys. 124:061101 (2006); Ward, D. R., et al., Nano Lett. 7:1396 (2007)), and combinations thereof (Alexander, K. D., et al., J. Raman Spectrosc. 40:2171 (2009); Yan, B., et al., ACS Nano 3:1190 (2009); Stoerzinger, K. A., et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 1:1046 (2010); Lee, S. Y., et al., ACS Nano 4:5763 (2010)) have been employed to fabricate and optimize SERS substrates for the detection of and discrimination between analytes. Each fabrication method for SERS substrates involves a compromise between enhancement factor, cost, active area, reproducibility, and service life.
Nanoparticles show unique optical, magnetic, and electric properties, which are often size or shape dependent and different from the properties of the respective bulk material (R. Shenhar and V. M. Rotello, Acc. Chem. Res. 36:549 (2003); Shipway, A. N., et al., Chem Phys Chem. 1:18 (2000); Nie, Z. H., et al., Nature Nanotechnol. 5:15 (2010); Eychmuller, A., J. Phys. Chem. B 104:6514 (2000); C. N. R. Rao and A. K. Cheetham, J. Mater. Chem. 11:2887 (2001)). As these properties often only emerge when appropriate phenomena of coupling and exchange between the nanoparticles exist, the nanoparticle position distribution generally needs to be controlled through immobilization and assembly of the nanoparticles on a substrate or in a medium. Recently, various polymer/nanoparticle hierarchical structures have been introduced as candidates for use in next generation applications in electronic devices and sensors (Chiu, J. J., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127:5036 (2005); B. H. Sohn and B. H. Seo, Chem. Mater. 13:1752 (2001); Lin, Y., et al., Nature 434:55 (2005)). The use of block copolymers to produce nanoscale templates has gained increasing attention as the block copolymer morphology is determined by the volume fraction of the polymer blocks, and the size and the distance between domains is determined by the overall molecular weight (F. S. Bates and G. H. Fredrickson, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 41:525 (1990)). Thus, block copolymers can be utilized as templates for controlling the spatial location of nanoparticles (S. B. Darling, Prog. Polym. Sci. 32:1152 (2007); Darling, S. B., et al., Adv. Mater. 17:2446 (2005); S. B. Darling, Surf Sci. 601:2555 (2007)). Among the processing techniques available for directing the self-assembly of block copolymer thin films, controlling the rate of solvent evaporation has attracted particular attention as it is simple and generally not sensitive to the substrate. An example is provided by polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymer having cylindrical microdomains of PEO. After solvent annealing, defect-free lateral ordering of vertically oriented PEO cylinders can be achieved over several micrometers (Kim, S. H., et al., Adv. Mater. 16:226 (2004)). Kim et al. have reported a simple route for fabricating a nanopatterned array of inorganic oxide semiconductors using the PS-b-PEO film as a template (Kim, D. H., et al., Nano Lett. 4:1841 (2004)). In the film, the PEO forms hexagonally ordered domains with a 2 nm depression in each of the PEO domains, where semiconductors such as silica and titania were grown by exposure to precursor vapor. Polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) has been used to synthesize nanoparticles by exploiting specific interactions between the P4VP block and metallic precursors (M. Aizawa and J. M. Buriak, Chem. Mater. 19:5090 (2007); Glass, R., et al., Adv. Funct. Mater. 13:569 (2003); Lohmueller, T., et al., Adv. Mater. 20:2297 (2008); Yun, S. H., et al., Langmuir 21:6548 (2005)). Typically, metallic precursor loaded PS-b-P4VP micelles are deposited onto a substrate by spin-coating or dip coating. Subsequent plasma treatment converts the precursors to nanoparticles and eliminates the polymer; the result is a hexagonal array of nanoparticles that matches the micellar monolayer present before plasma treatment. Metal nanoparticles have been widely used as catalysts for the growth of nanowires and nanotubes (Chan, C. K., et al., Nature Nanotechnol. 3:31 (2008); Huang, J. X., et al., Nano Lett. 6:524 (2006); Lee., D. H., et al., Adv. Mater. 20:2480 (2008); Lu., J., et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 110:6655 (2006)), in sensors using surface enhanced Raman scattering (Freeman, R. G., et al., Science 267:1629 (1995); Yan, B., et al., ACS Nano 3:1190 (2009)), and for optoelectronics (Banerjee, P., et al., ACS Nano 4:1019 (2010)). However, as there was no covalent or electrostatic interaction between the plasma generated metal nanoparticles and the substrate, nanoparticle detachment from the substrate leads to the loss of the pattern (Lohmueller, T., et al., Adv. Mater. 20:2297 (2008)).
The present invention provides a fabrication method for nanoparticle arrays with tunable nanoparticles size and tunable separation between adjacent nanoparticles. The method applies to all nanoparticles that can be immobilized on at least one of the polymer blocks. Therefore, nanoparticles with useful electrical, optical, magnetic, chemical and catalytic properties can be used to form the arrays.
The present invention provides a fabrication method for SERS substrates that possess a unique combination of three highly desirable attributes: (a) the SERS substrates can be tuned to match the laser wavelength of operation and maximize the enhancement factor for the particular Raman instrument and analyte in use; (b) the SERS substrates have a highly reproducible enhancement factor over macroscopic sampling areas; and (c) the fabrication method is achieved without resorting to expensive, slow nano-lithography tools. The substrates are made entirely through self-assembly and templating techniques, which are cost-effective and scalable to large areas. These attributes make the fabrication process very appealing for mass production. Similarly, the present invention provides a fabrication method for substrates for other surface enhanced spectroscopic techniques, such as surface enhanced fluorescence, surface enhance (infrared) absorption, surface enhance (Raman) optical activity, and surface enhanced circular dichroism.
The present invention provides a fabrication method for magnetic media substrates for information storage. The magnetic nanoparticles arrays can be produced with densities of at least 2×1011 nanoparticles/cm2 uniformly over large areas. The substrates are made entirely through self-assembly and templating techniques, which are cost-effective and scalable to large areas.

Nanoparticle array with tunable nanoparticle size and separation


An expandable baton having a gripping tube, a center tube and a striking tube that collapse and are retained in the collapsed position by a top cap assembly. The top cap assembly includes at least one spring retainer that engages the inner surface of the striking tube to retain the baton in its retracted position. The amount of holding force created by the spring retainer to hold the baton in its retracted position is adjustable. The top cap assembly includes an adjustment stem having a tapered portion that engages the spring retainer. Movement of the tapered portion of the adjustment stem relative to the spring retainer adjusts the holding force created by the end cap.

Expandable batons have been used for many years by law enforcement officer as a convenient alternative to conventional one-piece batons or night sticks. When in the retracted position, expandable batons can be worn in a holster attached to the equipment belt of a law enforcement officer without interfering with the movement of the officer. Additionally, when retracted, the expandable baton can be somewhat concealed by the officer to reduce his or her threatening appearance when confronted with a delicate situation. When retracted, a top cap retainer prevents the expandable portions of the baton from extending out of the holster and possibly injuring the officer.
Expandable batons typically include an outer gripping tube that acts as the handle for the baton when the baton is in the extended position. One or two telescoping sections nest within the gripping tube such that the retracted length of the expandable baton is approximately ⅓ of its extended length. During use, the baton is sharply swung in an arc such that the inner telescoping sections are flung outward such that the centrifugal force generated during the swinging action overcomes the holding force created by the top cap retainer. Typically, each of the telescoping sections includes an expanded end that interacts with a tapered surface formed on the outer section to frictionally lock the baton in its extended position. When the expandable baton is not being used, the top cap contains a spring retainer which, when compressed within the smallest inner diameter section, allows the baton to be secured in a retracted position. An example of such a baton is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,643.
The spring retainer that forms part of the top cap used with expandable batons is typically a wire spring that provides a predetermined amount of holding force to hold the baton in its retracted position. If the holding force of the spring retainer needs to be increased or decreased, the user must physically distort the wire spring, which can be very difficult to accomplish without the use of tools. The user may wish to increase the holding force of the spring retainer depending upon the type of action the officer sees or the physical size of the officer. As an example, a smaller officer may wish to decrease the spring retainer holding force to allow the officer to more easily extend the baton by swinging the baton in an arc.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a top cap retainer that allows the holding force of the spring retainer to be adjusted easily without the use of any additional tooling.

Expandable baton adjustable top cap assembly


A mobile automotive servicing apparatus is provided with wheel-carrying axle supporting a frame. A pair of ramps are pivotally mounted over the axle, each ramp having a slidably movable ramp extension associated therewith in telescoping relationship. An air compressor is provided on the frame for moving the ramps between horizontal and tilted positions. The frame also supports a compartment for storing tools, supplies and equipment for servicing a vehicle driven onto the ramps when they are tilted and then moved into serving position when the ramps are disposed horizontally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile automotive servicing apparatus which is transportable so as to service vehicles at any convenient location.
2. Prior Art
Mobile vehicle serving systems are generally known. Examples are the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,724,875---Baldwin, et al. and 4,445,665---Craig. The present invention is an improvement over systems of the type disclosed in the aforesaid patents.


An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a cleaning unit configured to remove waste toner on the image bearer; a waste toner container configured to be detachably attached to the image forming apparatus and to store the waste toner removed by the cleaning device; and a support member configured to support the waste toner container. The support member is provided with a guide unit thereon that guides the waste toner container in attachment and detachment directions, the guide unit includes a side guide plate that guides each of sides of the waste toner container in the attachment and detachment directions, a guide plate arranged on entrance side of the side guide plate in the attachment direction of the waste toner container, and the guide plate includes an inclined guide surface that guides the waste toner container onto the support member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having functions of at least two of these devices, that develops a latent image on an image bearer to form a toner image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic image forming apparatuses that transfer a toner image formed on a photoconductor serving as an image bearer onto a recording medium, such as a sheet, have been known. Such an image forming apparatus includes a cleaning device that removes residual toner remaining on the photoconductor after the image is transferred. Furthermore, image forming apparatuses that transfer a toner image formed on a photoconductor to an intermediate transfer member, such as an intermediate transfer belt, as primary transfer, and subsequently transfer the toner image borne on the intermediate transfer belt through the primary transfer onto a recording medium, such as a sheet, as secondary transfer have been known. Such an image forming apparatus includes cleaning devices that remove residual toner remaining on the photoconductor and the intermediate transfer belt after the primary transfer and the secondary transfer are completed.
In some cases, the residual toner removed by the cleaning device may be returned to a developing device and may be reused. However, in many cases, the residual toner is accumulated, as waste toner, by a waste toner collecting device to a waste toner container provided at an appropriate position in a main body of the apparatus. In particular, in the case of color image forming apparatuses, toner collected from the intermediate transfer belt include toner of different colors, so that all of the toner is not returned to and reused by the developing device or the like, but is conveyed to and accumulated in, as waste toner, a waste toner container.
In an image forming apparatus including the waste toner container, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-127989, if the waste toner container is filled with toner, machines need to be stopped in order to replace the waste toner container with new one. It is advantageous if the frequency of replacement of the waste toner container can be reduced. Therefore, there is a need to increase the capacity of the waste toner container and practical implementation has been performed. However, if the size of the waste toner container is increased, an installation space is increased and handling in attaching and detaching the waste toner container may become difficult. Therefore, a guide is arranged on a support member of the waste toner container in an attachment/detachment direction of the waste toner container so that the waste toner container can be attached and detached easily.
However, a larger guide is needed for a larger waste toner container, so that the size of the support member also increases with an increase in the size of the support member.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an image forming apparatus that can cope with the above disadvantages and that enables to easily attach and detach the waste toner container without increasing the size of a positioning member even when the size of the waste toner container is increased.

Image forming apparatus including waste toner container with guide unit


On carrying out connected word recognition in compliance with a regular grammar and in synchronism with successive specification of input feature vectors of an input pattern, one of an n-th word (n) of first through third occurrence (n(1) to n(3)) is selected as the n-th word of selected occurrence in an i-th period in which an n-th input feature vector is specified. The n-th word appears as the first through the third occurrence in transition rules specified by the grammar. In the i-th period, distances are calculated, only for the n-th word of the selected occurrence, between the input feature vector assigned to the i-th period and reference feature vectors for the n-th word. In the i-th period, a recurrence value g(n, i, j) is calculated only for the n-th word of the selected occurrence under a boundary condition T(p, i-1) iteratively in correspondence to the reference feature vectors by using the distances calculated for the n-th word of the selected occurrence before the i-th period, where j represents each feature vector. The recurrence value for the n-th word of nonselected occurrence is estimated by using the recurrence value for the n-th word of the selected occurrence and the boundary conditions T(p, i-1)'s for the n-th word of the selected and the nonselected occurrence. The above-mentioned one of the n-th word of the first through the third occurrence is selected so as to have a minimum value of the T(p, i-1)'s.

This invention relates to a connected word recognition method of automatically recognizing, as an optimum one of word concatenations, an input string of words represented by an input sequence of input pattern feature vectors.
The input string of words is selected from a word set of first through N-th words and substantially continuously uttered in compliance with a regular grammar, or a grammar of regular languages, known in the art. Each concatenation is a string of words selected from the word set and conatenated in compliance with the grammar. The grammar specifies a set of transition rules for the first through the N-th words and a set of final states of the concatenations. The transition rule for an n-th word optionally selected from the word set, defines a combination of the n-th word and a state pair consisting of a start and an end state of the n-th word.
A connected word recognition system for use in carrying out the connected word recognition method, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,796 issued to Hiroaki Sakoe. The connected word recognition system uses a DP (dynamic programming) matching algorithm based on frame synchronization known in the art. That is, the connected word recognition system operable according to a DP algorithm and in compliance with the regular grammar, is put into operation in synchronism with successive specification of the input pattern feature vectors of the input string in the following manner.
In the Sakoe patent, the connected word recognition system comprises a reference pattern memory for memorizing reference pattern feature vectors representative of the first through the N-th words. The reference pattern feature vectors representative of the n-th word are consecutively numbered as first through J-th feature vectors according to utterance of the n-th word.
A control circuit is for generating a basic timing signal successively specifying first through I-th periods assigned to the respective input pattern feature vectors, a word specifying signal specifying, while an i-th period is specified as each of the first through the I-th periods, the first through the N-th words, and a state specifying signal specifying, while the i-th period is specified, the state pairs of the first through the N-th words.
A distance calculating circuit is responsive to the input sequence and is connected to the reference pattern memory and the control circuit for calculating, while the n-th word is specified in the i-th period, a plurality of distances between the input pattern feature vector assigned to the i-th period and the first through the J-th feature vectors.
A minimum finding circuit is connected to the control circuit and the distance calculating circuit for calculating, while the n-th word and each state pair of the n-th word are specified in the i-th period, a recurrence value g(n, i, j) for the n-th word and the each state pair under a boundary condition iteratively in correspondence to the first through the J-th feature vectors by using the distances calculated for the n-th word before the i-th period, where n represents the n-th word, i represents the i-th period, and j represents a j-th feature vector representative of each of the first through the J-th feature vectors.
The minimum finding circuit is for finding, while the i-th period is specified, a minimum T(q, i) of the recurrence values calculated for the words having state pairs including the end state q of the each state pair.
The minimum finding circuit is for deciding that particular word and that particular start state of the particular word for which the minimum is found. The boundary condition is given by T(p, i-1), where p represents the start state of the each state pair.
A start period selecting circuit is connected to the control circuit and the minimum finding circuit for selecting, while the i-th period is specified, a particular period from the first through the (i-1)-th periods with reference to the particular start state and the particular word.
A deciding circuit is connected to the control circuit, the minimum finding circuit, and the start period selecting circuit for deciding the optimum concatenation by referring, after lapse of the I-th period, to the minima found in the first through the I-th periods, respectively, and to those particular words, those particular start states, and those particular start periods which are decided in the first through the I-th periods.
Inasmuch as the connected word recognition system operates in synchronism with successive specification of the input pattern feature vectors of the input string, the connected word recognition system can carry out real-time processing of the input string. It will be assumed that the n-th word appears in a plural number K of the transition rules as the n-th word of first through K-th occurrence. In this case, the transition rules for the n-th word of the first through the K-th occurrence define different start states which are different from each other. It is therefore necessary to independently carry out processing for the n-th word of the first through the K-th occurrence. This results in an increased amount of calculation.

High speed recognition of a string of words connected according to a regular grammar by DP matching