In an ink jet recording head of an excellent discharge ability and a producing method therefor, a lateral wall of an ink supply aperture is covered with a minimum necessary ink-resistant protective film. The ink supply aperture is formed by etching an exposed portion of the substrate, coating the etched portion of the substrate, and alternately repeating the etching and the coating until the etched portion becomes connected with a liquid flow path, and, for a depth a of a recessed portion and for a distance b of adjacent projecting portions, when the depth a is in a range of 1 μm or less and the distance b is in a range of 5 μm or less, a and b satisfy a relation b/a≧1.7.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and a producing method therefor, and more particularly to a surface shape of an ink supply aperture.
2. Related Background Art
The ink jet recording method is rapidly becoming popular in recent years, owing to its advantages of negligibly low noise when recording, an ability for achieving a high-speed recording and an ability of fixing a recording on so-called plain paper without any particular process.
Among ink jet recording heads, a head in which an ink droplet is discharged perpendicularly to a substrate bearing an ink discharge energy generating element is called a "side shooter recording head", and the present invention relates to an ink supply in such a side shooter recording head.
There will now be explained a general structure of such a side shooter recording head.
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a common side shooter ink jet recording head, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along an ink path of the recording head shown in FIG. 7.
The side shooter ink jet recording head shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is prepared by forming, by a film forming technology on a silicon substrate, a discharge energy generating portion, a common ink chamber, an ink path, a discharge port 25, etc. to be explained later. In a silicon substrate having such components (device substrate 27), there is formed a penetrating ink supply aperture 29 of an elongated shape. On both sides of the ink supply aperture 29, plural electrothermal converting members 30 are formed at a predetermined pitch in two rows with a mutually displaced relationship by a half pitch, along a conveying direction of a recording material, namely along a longitudinal direction of the ink supply aperture 29, thereby respectively constituting discharge energy generating portions. The device substrate 27 is provided, in addition to such electrothermal converting members 30, with electrode terminals 31 for electrical connection of the electrothermal converting members 30 with a main body of the apparatus and electric wirings (not shown), by a film forming technology. On the device substrate 27, there is formed an orifice plate 33 provided with a common ink chamber 32 communicating with the ink supply aperture 29, plural discharge nozzles 25 respectively opposed to the electrothermal converting members 30, and ink paths 34 communicating with the common ink chamber 32 and the respective discharge nozzles 25. A partition wall 35 is formed between adjacent ink paths 34.
A liquid supplied from the ink supply aperture 29 to each ink path 34 causes, in response to a drive signal applied to the electrothermal converting member 30 corresponding to the ink path 34, boiling by heat generation in the electrothermal converting member 30, and is discharged from the discharge nozzle 25 by a pressure of a thus generated bubble.
In such side shooter recording head, an ink supply for the ink droplet discharge is achieved by forming a penetrating aperture in the substrate (device substrate) bearing an electrothermal converting element serving as a discharge energy generating element.
For forming an ink supply aperture in the device substrate of such ink jet recording head, there has been proposed a method utilizing drilling, laser or sand blasting, or a method of utilizing anisotropic etching as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-11479.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-53979 proposes a method of etching a portion exposed on a first surface of the substrate, then coating an etched portion of the substrate and repeating these steps alternately until a fluid channel is formed through the substrate. Such a method is called a Bosch process.
However, an ink supply aperture formation by drilling, laser or sand blasting involves a difficulty that a dimensional precision of the ink supply aperture is difficult to obtain.
Also in case of an ink supply aperture formation by an anisotropic etching, the ink supply apertures will have a trapezoidal cross section (cf. FIG. 8) in case of a silicon substrate of <100> orientation. Therefore, in case of producing a chip for an ink jet recording head with a silicon substrate of such crystalline orientation, it is difficult to reduce the size of such chip whereby a cost reduction becomes very difficult. On the other hand, an ink supply aperture perpendicular to the substrate surface can be obtained in case of a silicon substrate of <110> orientation. However, because such <110> substrate shows a smaller ON-resistance in a semiconductor circuit prepared thereon, a chip size reduction is limited in comparison with a case with the <100> silicon substrate.
Also, an ink supply aperture formation by a Bosch process can provide a substantially vertical ink supply aperture, having a highly precise aperture width and a high aspect ratio. However, repetition of etching steps and deposition steps results in an undulating shape, called scallop pattern, similar to that observed on a scallop shell and as shown in FIG. 1. A depth a of the scallop pattern shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to an amount of side etch in an etching step. Also, a distance b between adjacent projecting points of the scallop pattern corresponds to an etch amount in the etching step, and the amounts a and b are both influenced by an aperture rate of the pattern on the wafer surface, a pattern size and an etching condition.
On the other hand, when an ink supply aperture is formed by a dry etching in a silicon substrate, a silicon crystal face exposed on a lateral wall of the ink supply aperture is not necessarily a (111) plane showing a low etching rate for an alkaline solution. Consequently, in case an alkaline ink is employed in an ink jet recording head having such ink supply aperture, silicon dissolves into the ink. It is therefore necessary to cover the surface with a film resistant to the alkaline ink. However, in case the scallop pattern formed on the etched lateral wall of the ink supply aperture shows significant projections and recesses, it becomes difficult to obtain a sufficient coverage for example on a projecting point of such scallop pattern, as indicated by a circle in FIG. 2. A thicker coating can achieve a sufficient coverage even on such point, but a precise aperture width becomes difficult to obtain in the ink supply aperture. A fluctuation in the width of the ink supply aperture results in a fluctuation in a distance from an end of the ink supply aperture to the electrothermal converting element (heater). Thus, a flow resistance may fluctuate among the nozzles, and an anticipated refill frequency (repeating rate per unit time of a liquid refilling in the liquid flow path after a liquid discharge from the discharge port) may become unattainable.

Ink jet recording head and producing method therefor


Methods and systems are provided for preparing a heat resistance accelerator (HRA) slurry. Also provided are methods and systems for introducing a HRA slurry to an aqueous dispersion of calcined gypsum in a discharge apparatus downstream of a stucco mixer in which the dispersion was prepared. These methods and systems are useful in the production of various gypsum products such as board including wallboard and ceiling tiles.

Set gypsum, which comprises calcium sulfate dihydrate, is a well-known material that is included commonly in many types of products, such as gypsum boards employed in typical drywall construction of interior walls and ceilings of buildings. Typically, such gypsum-containing board is prepared by forming a mixture of calcined gypsum, that is, calcium sulfate hemihydrate and/or calcium sulfate anhydrite, and water, as well as other components, as desired. The mixture typically is cast into a pre-determined shape on the surface of a conveyor or in a tray. As it travels along the conveyor, the calcined gypsum reacts with water to form a matrix of crystalline hydrated gypsum or calcium sulfate dihydrate. The desired hydration of the calcined gypsum is what enables the formation of an interlocking matrix of set gypsum crystals, thereby imparting strength to the gypsum structure in the gypsum-containing product. Mild heating can be used to drive off unreacted water to yield a dry product. Gypsum mixers and methods of producing gypsum products are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos: 1,767,791; 2,253,059; 2,346,999; 4,183,908, 5,683,635; 5,714,032; and 6,494,609.
Accelerator materials are commonly used in the production of gypsum products to enhance the efficiency of hydration and to control set time. Accelerators are described, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos: 3,573,947; 3,947,285; 4,054,461; and 6,409,825. Some accelerators include finely ground dry calcium sulfate dihydrate, commonly referred to as "gypsum seeds." The gypsum seeds enhance nucleation of the set gypsum crystals, thereby increasing the crystallization rate thereof. Traditionally, accelerators have been added to the same mixer chamber as that used to combine water with calcined gypsum. While addition of accelerator to the mixer has the advantage of mixing the accelerator well and evenly throughout the water and calcined gypsum mixture, the accelerator can also cause the gypsum to begin setting prematurely. This premature setting causes the mixer to clog, can cause damage to the mixer, limits efficiency, and necessitates more frequent mixer cleaning. Mixer cleaning requires shutting down a board line with a serious detriment to productivity. Although additives including retarders have been used in the mixer to combat premature setting, such additives contribute additional costs and considerations.
Conventional gypsum seed accelerator materials progressively lose their effectiveness upon aging, even under normal conditions. In this respect, some efficiency of the accelerator is lost even as it is ground, and the gypsum seeds dramatically lose potency over time during handling or storage. The loss of acceleration efficiency of conventional accelerator materials is exacerbated when the accelerator is exposed to heat and/or moisture. To combat the loss of efficiency of the gypsum seeds over time, particularly under conditions of heat, it is customary to coat the calcium sulfate dihydrate accelerator material with any of a number of known coating agents, such as, for example, sugars, including sucrose, dextrose and the like, starch, boric acid, or long chained fatty carboxylic acids including salts thereof. Conventional heat resistant accelerator materials are both ground and provided in dry form inasmuch as accelerator loses efficiency upon contact with moisture, for example, because the accelerator particles undesirably agglomerate and/or because the coating agents often are soluble in water.
New materials and methods are needed to overcome the deficiencies of heat resistant accelerator that still preserve the benefits of using such an accelerator.

Methods of and systems for preparing a heat resistant accelerant slurry and adding the accelerant slurry to a post-mixer aqueous dispersion of calcined gypsum


The invention relates to a process for upgrading hydrocarbonaceous feedstreams by hydroprocessing using bulk bimetallic catalysts. More particularly, the invention relates to a catalytic hydrotreating process for the removal of sulfur and nitrogen from a hydrocarbon feed such as a fuel or a lubricating oil feed. The catalyst is a bulk catalyst containing a Group VIII metal and a Group VIB metal.

Increasing regulatory and operational pressure has resulted in the need for hydrocarbons that have low sulfur levels and nitrogen levels. Hydroprocessing, which involves treating a hydrocarbon with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst, is a conventional method for heteroatom (e.g., sulfur and nitrogen) removal.
Conventional hydroprocessing (i.e., known to those skilled in the art of hydrocarbon upgrading) catalysts generally contain a Group VIB metal with one or more Group VIII metals on a refractory support. Hydrotreating catalysts that are particularly suitable for hydrodesulfurization, as well as hydrodenitrogenation, generally contain molybdenum or tungsten on alumina promoted with a metal such as cobalt, nickel, iron, or a combination thereof. Cobalt promoted molybdenum on alumina catalysts are most widely used when the limiting specifications are hydrodesulfurization, while nickel promoted molybdenum on alumina catalysts are the most widely used for hydrodenitrogenation, partial aromatic saturation, as well as hydrodesulfurization.
One example of the use of a supported bimetallic hydroprocessing catalysts is disclosed in GB 820536, which describes a process for the manufacture of mechanically strong supported catalyst particles comprising combinations of cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, vanadium or tungsten. The patent discloses a nickel tungsten supported catalyst obtained by extruding a wet cake comprising 83 wt. % support material and 17 wt. % of metals compounds followed by calcination at 566° C. Similarly, Russian patent publication RU 2114696 describes a nickel tungsten bimetallic supported catalyst made by mixing basic nickel carbonate, tungstic acid and more than 40 wt. % of a carrier material comprising a special carrier of dry alumina gel and aluminum hydroxide, extruding the mixture, drying and calcining at 350 to 450° C. In addition to supported catalysts, hydroprocessing using bulk bimetallic catalysts (also referred to as "unsupported" catalysts) is also known. However, their hydroprocessing performance is generally inferior to the bulk trimetallic catalysts comprising two instead of only one group VIB metals.
For example, PCT patent application WO 00/41810 discloses bulk bi- and tri-metallic hydroprocessing catalysts. Where the trimetallic bulk catalysts have a significantly higher catalytic activity than a bimetallic bulk catalyst prepared in a similar way in a comparison where the feed contained sulfur but no nitrogen. PCT patent application WO 99/03578 is similar in that a bulk trimetallic catalyst exhibits greater hydroprocessing effectiveness over a bulk bimetallic catalyst. Another example of a bulk trimetallic catalyst out-performing a similarly-prepared bimetallic catalyst is disclosed in PCT patent application WO 00/41811.
Recently, bimetallic bulk catalysts of reduced crystallinity have been described PCT patent application WO 2004/073859. The catalysts, bulk metal oxide catalysts comprising one or more metals of group VIII and one or more metals of group VIb in their oxide or sulphide form and a refractory oxide, are prepared by controlled precipitation of metal compounds, refractory oxide material and alkali compound (preferably ammonia) in a protic liquid, forming an ammonium complex of the metal and refractory oxide materials which is subsequently heated. Similarly, PCT patent application WO 2005/005582 describes the use of a bimetallic Group VIb/GROUP VIII catalyst to prepare lubricating base oil. The bulk catalysts are made by reacting one solid compound comprising the group VIII metal and one solute compound comprising the group VIB metal in the presence of the refractory metal after addition of ammonium solution. The catalyst is amorphous as described by X-ray diffraction ("XRD") analysis.
There is, therefore, still a need for bulk bimetallic hydroprocessing catalysts that are at least as effective for hydrocarbon hydroprocessing as bulk trimetallic catalysts.

Hydroprocessing using bulk bimetallic catalysts

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company


An information apparatus includes an apparatus information obtaining unit that obtains apparatus information from a plurality of apparatuses connected via a network to the information apparatus, an apparatus selection unit that selects a target apparatus from the plurality of apparatuses based on the obtained apparatus information, and a process result obtaining unit that sends a request to the target apparatus to request the target apparatus to perform a process corresponding to the request, and obtains a result of the performed process from the target apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure relates to an information apparatus and an information processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exists a system where networked apparatuses (e.g., image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals and laser printers) collaborate with each other to provide various functions. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-095171, for example, discloses a system where one of apparatuses in the system functions as a host apparatus, the remaining apparatuses function as client apparatuses, and the host apparatus centrally manages address book data shared by the apparatuses.
However, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-095171 merely discloses that the host apparatus centrally manages address book data including frequently-used addresses or destinations, and does not disclose how the host apparatus is selected. Here, when the performance of the host apparatus is low or the host apparatus is frequently used, the host apparatus cannot respond quickly to requests from client apparatuses and cannot provide a central management function effectively. Also, due to the load of the central management function, the processing speed of the entire host apparatus may be reduced.

Information apparatus and information processing system


The present invention discloses a general protocol for a service control point (SCP) in a network system. The network system comprises at least one first type network element (SCP) and at least one second type network element (SSP) for transmitting messages to the first type network elements (SCP), respectively using a specific protocol. The first type network elements (SCP) are able to process the received protocol-specific messages and to transmit messages to said second type network elements by using service logic programs (SLP). In addition, the system comprises a definition means (1) for defining protocol definitions related to one message into a general protocol definition for the message, and for providing general protocol definitions for all possible transmitted messages for each of the first type network elements (SCP). Each of the first type network elements (SCP) in the system comprises a conversion means (2) for converting the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in the respective first type network element (SCP), and a selection means (3) for selecting converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the respective first type network element out of the general message set, and for providing the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to the service logic programs (SLP) for processing the received message, and for transmitting the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.

In an intelligent network system, Service Control Point (SCP) network elements provide a platform for executing Service Logic Programs (SLP) to implement value-added services in the intelligent network system. Other network elements in the intelligent network system, so called Service Switching Point (SSP) network elements are linked for call processing purposes to the SCP network elements.
In particular, the SCP network elements handle messages, i.e. operation instructions, which are communicated from the SSP network elements. However, the SSP network elements use different signaling protocols such as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) protocols for transmitting/receiving the messages towards/from the SCP network elements. Therefore, the SCP network elements must be able to process the different signaling protocols. For example, these protocols can be the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP) with various manufacturer specific extensions or versions such as fixed network extensions and mobile network extensions, the Mobile Application Protocol (MAP) and the Customized Application Protocol for Mobile Networks (CAMEL). Hence, the SCP network elements must be able to handle phone calls in mobile networks and in fixed networks.
In processing the messages, the SCP network elements use the service logic programs which, for example, can be programmed by means of a Service Logic Execution Language (SLEL) used in Hewlett Packard SCP implementation.
Every new protocol or protocol version is imported to the SCP network elements as a new message set. Message sets are made by converting protocol definitions such as ASN.1 definitions of the protocols using a Message Set Compiler (MSC) or an other ASN.1 compiler. Different message sets are created for the different protocols or protocol versions, respectively. The different message sets are separated by message set name and version number. The message set name and version number are also used in service logic program code in order to indicate which service logic program belongs to which message set. The service logic programs use this information to select the appropriate encoding and decoding routines for the message sets.
FIG. 9 shows the conventional architecture in an SCP network element, in which service logic programs registered to different protocols X and Y communicate with lower protocol layers such as Transaction Capabilities Application Parts (TCAP), etc.
Thus, if a service logic program is registered to a message set named INAP which message set is not installed in the respective SCP network element, it is not possible to compile the service logic program in the SCP network element.
Furthermore, if the number or version of protocols processed in the SCP network elements changes, the service logic programs registered to the protocols are immediately affected. Or if an old protocol is removed from the SCP network elements, the code of the service logic programs registered to this protocol has to be modified and recompiled.
Since the amount of services in the SCP network elements is very high, changes or modifications to the service logic programs require a lot of work.

General protocol for service control point


A rehabilitation feedback system is used during rehabilitation of one or more body appendages of a user. The system includes four finger tracking elements and a thumb tracking element supported for movement relative to one another so as to allow a user to performs a gripping motion when the elements are coupled to the fingers and thumb of a user. A biasing member provides a resistance force acting to urge each tracking element towards a starting position thereof. A visual barrier is adapted to hide the hand of the user at a first side of the visual barrier from direct visual sight by the user at a second side of the visual barrier. A sensor at the first side of the visual barrier detects movements of the tracking elements and communicates with an indicator element detectable by the user from a second side of the visual barrier.

The term "sensorimotor function" refers to the ability of a human to gather sensorial information (tactile, proprioceptive) and use such information to generate motor commands for the skeletal muscles, voluntary and involuntary. The sensorimotor function uses the nervous system to feed sensorial information from the periphery (tactile info, joint angles through proprioception) to the brain via sensory neurons, process it in the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) and send motor commands to the skeletal muscles, via motor neurons, to move the bones about their joints. The proper functionality of the sensory cells, nerves and muscles is essential to performing any kind of physical activity (walking, working, activities of daily living).
Conditions like stroke or bodily injury cause damage to one or more of the elements involved in the sensorimotor function performance. This damage manifests itself as functional impairments ranging from slight losses of precision and power, to total inability to move a limb or part thereof, combined with no sensorial (tactile, proprioceptive) information.
At the other end of the spectrum, healthy individuals may want to train their sensorimotor function to increase their performance above the average. Typical cases include, but are not limited to workers assembling miniature electronic devices such as smartphones, neurosurgeons for whom eye-hand coordination is critical, fighter jet pilots training their precise manual control of the aircraft in flight, otherwise healthy elderly population.
There currently exist two types of devices designed for this field: passive (gloves, braces, exo-skeletal structures) and active (electronic muscle stimulators, robotic devices, exo-skeletal or endo-skeletal structures).
Passive devices—such as spring-loaded gloves and exo-skeletal frames—limit the limb range of motion or facilitate movements around joints by compensating for spasticity. Spasticity is a condition characterized by a strong, involuntary contraction of one muscle or muscle group, blocking the antagonist (counter-acting) muscle or muscle group and making voluntary movements around the joint painful and/or very difficult/impossible. These devices are designed to partially compensate for the underperformance of one or more components of the sensorimotor system.
A typical example is the Therapeutic Glove (U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,103 A) which describes a glove made of rigid segments joined at the finger joints level and having a system of springs on the outer side that extend the hand of the person wearing it, thus compensating for the tendency of the impaired hand to close in a deformed, spastic fist.
Active devices, such as robotic systems or electronic muscle stimulators, work by moving the limb on behalf of the patient through external electrical stimulation of the muscles, or by actively aiding or resisting, to various extents, the movement through external actuators.
Their function can be controlled via software, via patient voice control or by direct interfacing with the patient's nervous system through skin contacts.
Such devices are either custom-made, as part of clinical or academic research programs, or commercially available. In both cases they are very complex and prohibitively expensive ($100,000+). They must be operated by qualified personnel in a tightly controlled environment (clinical or academic), and are usually out of reach for the vast majority of potential users.
There currently exists no proven method to provide affordable and effective rehabilitation to stroke survivors. The existing passive methods assist range of motion (alleviate a symptom) without improving the core problem of impaired sensorimotor functionality of the hand. The existing active devices, while interacting with the patient's sensorimotor system, are not designed for mass-market applications, impossible to use on a large scale (either privately in-home or at community-level) and prohibitively expensive.

System and method for providing indirect movement feedback during sensorimotor function rehabilitation and enhancement


Disclosed are devices, apparatuses, systems, computer readable media, and methods for improving the security of circuitry designs using HDL code. In one aspect a method is disclosed. the method includes receiving a hardware design language (HDL) representation of a circuit; inserting flow tracking into the HDL representation, wherein the flow tracking adds one or more security labels that are tracked throughout the circuit; and generating an enhanced HDL representation of the circuit, wherein the enhanced HDL representation comprises the HDL representation and the flow tracking, wherein the enhanced representation including the one or more security labels that are tracked throughout the circuit enables a security determination a model for tracking timing-based information flows through HDL code is disclosed. The disclosed technology is used to verify security properties on a variety of equipment including crypto cores, bus architectures, caches and arithmetic modules.

In electronics, a hardware description language (HDL) is a specialized computer language used to describe the structure and behavior of electronic circuits, and most commonly, digital logic circuits. HDLs form an integral part of electronic design automation (EDA) systems, especially for complex circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits, microprocessors, and programmable logic devices.

Techniques for improving security of circuitry designs based on a hardware description language

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


Disclosed is a pressure gauge including a body forming an inlet, an outlet, and a shunt hole. A pressure meter is provided to the shunt hole. An inlet duct in connection with an inflation device is provided to the inlet. A check valve is arranged in the inlet duct. An outlet duct is connected to the outlet and is prepared with an inflation mouth for coupling with an intake nozzle of an object to be inflated. When an inflation device is operated to charge air into an object for inflation through the inlet duct, the body, and the outlet duct, a pressure measuring process can be performed concurrently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure gauge capable of measuring pressure and charging air concurrently.
2. Prior Arts
A pressure gauge for measuring tire pressure is so far equipped with an intake nozzle at the gauge casing so that the intake nozzle can be sleeve-jointed with an air-charge inlet of tire such that air is forced to enter the gauge casing for measuring the inside pressure value after an valve of the air-charge inlet has been opened by the intake nozzle. However, in the case of an over-high or insufficient tire pressure, the pressure gauge must be unloaded for discharging or recharging air, and the pressure gauge is reloaded for measuring pressure again. Before a premium condition is found, this action may have to be repeated several times that would inevitably trouble a user more or less.


Methods and apparatus for translating a physical address to a logical address for use with a processor which includes an on-chip memory management unit. The apparatus includes an address capture circuit which is responsive to information on the processor bus during table searches by the memory management unit for determining logical addresses. A table address is subtracted from a table access address to provide a portion of the logical address during each level of the table search. The logical address portions are combined to provide the complete logical address. The logical address is stored in a map RAM and is accessed when the physical address is requested by the memory management unit. The logical address and corresponding data and status fields are simultaneously provided to an analyzer unit. The apparatus utilizes a pipeline structure for high speed operation.

Emulation systems are utilized by hardware and software engineers to assist in the development of microprocessor based systems. Emulation systems typically include a processor-specific board, a cable for connection to a target system and various analysis units. The functional, timing and electrical signal characteristics of the emulator should match those of the microprocessor which will eventually control the target system. The tasks facilitated by an emulator include software debug, hardware debug, and hardware and software integration. These tasks can be implemented using emulator features such as program loading and execution, run/stop controls, memory display and modification, global and local symbols display, internal resource display and modification, analysis, program stepping, resource mapping, memory characterization, breakpoint generation and clock source selection. An important function of emulation systems is analysis of processor operation. Typically, the emulator is connected to the processor bus and analyzes operation by monitoring each processor bus cycle in which the processor communicates with memory and other devices.
Virtual memory systems were developed in response to large computer programs and multitasking computer systems. As programs became larger, the memory that is directly accessible by the processor could no longer contain the entire program and its data. In multitaskinq systems, several programs may be active at once, with the CPU being time shared between programs. Virtual memory systems permit execution of large programs and multitasking in a physical memory of practical size.
Virtual memory systems manage physical memory by allocating a large virtual, or logical, address space to physical memory as needed. Portions of the logical address space may be transferred to a mass storage device, such as a disk, and are activated in physical memory when needed. The CPU executes programs in the logical address space. A memory management unit cooperates with the operating system to translate logical addresses requested by the execution unit of the CPU into physical addresses. When a logical address is not located in the physical address space, a portion of the logical address space must be activated in main memory. Both logical addresses and physical addresses are grouped into pages which may contain a selected number of bytes. Data is transferred between physical memory and a mass storage device in pages. In other virtual memory systems, the entire logical address space is contained in physical memory, and a mass storage device is not required.
The relation between logical addresses and physical addresses in a virtual memory system is controlled by a memory management unit. The translation between logical addresses and physical addresses is specified by a table structure. A logical address requested by the execution unit is translated by the memory management unit into a physical address which is then used to access a location in physical memory.
In order to improve the operating speed of microprocessors, memory management units have been placed on the same chip, or integrated circuit, with the unit which executes programs in the logical address space. This configuration minimizes the time from the generation of the logical address to generation of the corresponding physical address. An example of such a processor is the MC68030 manufactured and sold by Motorola, Inc. The MC68030 microprocessor utilizes a demand paged memory management unit in which logical address to physical address translations are determined only as they are requested by the executing program.
In order for an emulation system to analyze the execution of a program, it is necessary for the state analyzer portion of the emulation system to know the logical addresses being accessed. The logical addresses can be related to the absolute and symbolic values of the original source code written by the user. However, when the microprocessor contains an on-chip memory management unit, only the physical addresses are available at the pins of the processor chip. The physical addresses do not provide the state analyzer with the information necessary to analyze program execution. Thus, it has been difficult to monitor and analyze the operation of microprocessors having on-chip memory management units.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide improved systems for analyzing the operation of microprocessors.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for translating physical addresses provided by a memory management unit to logical addresses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for determining logical addresses by monitoring table searches used by a processor for translating logical addresses to physical addresses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for translating physical addresses provided by a memory management unit associated with a processor to logical addresses in real time during execution of a program by the processor.

Physical address to logical address translator for memory management units


An apparatus and method for forming a fusible coating or structure comprising a combustor that is operative to combust a fuel and contain the resulting flame to produce combustion products; means for cooling the combustion products to produce a hot carrier gas stream; and means for introducing fusible material into the hot carrier gas stream.

This invention relates to the formation of fusible coatings or structures (e.g., polymer or polymer composite coatings, or reinforced polymer coatings, as well as polymer, or reinforced polymer structures) via a thermal spray process. In particular, the invention relates to formation of these coatings or structures using a flameless thermal spray process.
Polymer thermal spray systems have been used for depositing thermoplastic, thermoset and radiation-curable materials onto substrates for several decades. Generally, a flame or plasma is projected from a tube and a stream of the polymer (or other fusible powder) is introduced into the projected flame or plasma. In the flame or plasma, the polymer particles are heated and melted, and when they impinge on the surface, they "splat" (flatten) and fuse together to form a more or less continuous coating.
A commercial thermal spray system that uses a gas flame that is available from Xiom, Inc. (Babylon, N.Y.) is the XIOM 5000 Scorpion and the XIOM 1000. Similar units are or have been available from Alamo Supply Company, LTD (Houston, Tex.), model number ASC PG-550, Plastic Flamecoat Systems, Inc (Big Springs, Tex.), Applied Polymer Systems (Boynton Beach, Fla.), and Sulzer Metco, Winterthur, AG, Switzerland.
One major difficulty is the flame or plasma itself. Many polymers degrade in a flame, even when exposed to it for a very short time. In addition, the flame impinging on the target surface can degrade that surface as well. The degradation resulting from oxidation and/or breaking of polymer bonds causes reduction in the physical properties of polymers, as well as the potential inclusion of defects in polymer coatings that are deleterious to their performance or appearance, e.g., burned particles, carbon inclusions, yellowing and discoloration, pinhole defects. As such it is important that thermal methods used to melt, deposit and process polymers as coatings and/or structures do not subject the polymers to harsh oxidation, radical or reactive ion environments that cause charring, or to high temperatures that break or weaken polymer bonds. Thus, the application of polymers for many applications should use the minimum amount of heat during the process in order to preserve the physical properties of the polymers being applied.
The degradation processes related to the use of flames are related to the nature of flames. Flames induce combustion which is a highly exothermic self-sustaining oxidation reaction that in turn produces high temperature flames. The temperature of a flame is primarily dependent on the type of fuel involved in the combustion process and typically ranges from about 1,400 degrees Centigrade (° C.) for a candle to more than 3,000° C. for an oxyacetylene torch. The high temperature of the flame tears apart the vaporized fuel molecules, forming various combustion products and free radicals which react with each other and with the oxidizer involved in the reaction. The high energy of the flame also excites the electrons in some of the transient reaction intermediates such as CH and C2, which results in the emission of visible light as these substances release their excess energy.
The visible part of a flame is extremely rich with chemical reactions and intermediate species, mostly radicals. For example, it has been reported that combustion of natural gas can be modeled using 53 species and 325 elementary reactions. As the temperature decreases beyond the visible part of a flame, most of the highly reactive radicals and ions recombine into less reactive combustion products with stable atomic structures such as CO, CO2, H2O, etc., (for a hydrocarbon based combustion).
During a combustion based polymer thermal spray process, it is desirable to avoid exposure of polymer surfaces to the visible, i.e., highly reactive, part of a flame. The visible part of a flame contains excited species of O, NO, OH, and NH ions. These free radicals can attract hydrogen from polymer surfaces causing surface oxidation and generation of polar oxygenated groups. The oxidation proceeds by a free radical mechanism accompanied by chain scission. Chain scission occurs during free radical propagation yielding polar and mobile scission products. For example, it has been found that hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, and amide groups are typically found on flame-treated polyethylene. It has been reported that a flame contact period of only 0.01-0.1 second is sufficient to oxidize, i.e., damage, polymer surface to a depth of about 40-90 Angstroms (A).
For the reasons described above, flame treatment is often used commercially to make polyolefines, polyacetales, and poly(ether terephthalate) printable and bondable by introducing polar oxygenated groups into the thin surface layer. However, during a combustion based polymer thermal spray process, coating unit building blocks are individual powder particles. If the surface of each polymer particle is exposed to an open flame and oxidized, the resulting coating will have an abundance of highly distractive free radicals and mobile scission products distributed throughout the entire coating volume. Such coatings can have significantly shortened service life due to reduced mechanical and barrier properties and an accelerated degradation kinetic. The negative effect of the visible flame on thermally sprayed polymer can be significantly minimized by utilizing thermal energy of lower temperature hot gas occurring downstream and beyond the visible flame zone.
One solution to these aforementioned problems is the use of a flameless system wherein a stream of gas is heated electrically, and the polymer and other particles are introduced into the hot gas stream. This greatly reduces burning and degradation of the coating particles and the substrate. A commercial system using this method is disclosed in PCT patent application publication WO/2008/127227, and is commercially available as the Resodyn PTS 1000 system (Resodyn Corporation, Butte, Mont.). Systems to date have used resistive heaters powered by electricity. These systems are less energy efficient than combustible fuel systems, but they avoid exposing the sprayable material to a reactive flame, or plasma, thereby yielding superior results.
For all of its advantages, the use of an electrically resistive heater to transfer heat and melt the polymer or other fusible particles has limitations. In that higher power is required in order to increase the spray output rate, such devices utilize robust sources of electricity and relatively thick copper power cables to avoid undue losses. As a result, while flameless sprayers may achieve. improved results, such sprayers are heavier and less portable than their traditional flame- and plasma-based counterparts.
What is needed is a portable, easy to wield system that can spray large quantities of melted, or partially melted, fusible polymer powder particles and/or other materials onto a substrate, which poses reduced risk degradation of such materials while achieving the necessary heat required for melting and fusing the polymer powders and other materials onto a substrate.
The background art is characterized by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,801,020; 3,958,758; 4,416,421; 4,694,990; 5,236,327; 5,285,967; 5,503,872; 5,932,293 and 7,216,814; by U.S. Patent Applications No. US2006/166153 and US2009/095823; and by International Patent Application No. PCT/US2007/009021; the disclosures of which patents and patent applications are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Flameless thermal spray system using flame heat source


A motion-vector-setting section (31) sets a first motion vector in units of pixel in a target image. An exposure-time-ratio-setting section (32) sets in units of image an exposure time ratio that is a ratio between a time interval of the target image and a period of exposure time. A motion-blur-amount-setting section (33) sets a motion blur amount in units of pixel based on the exposure time ratio and the first motion vector. Based on the motion amount, a processing-region-setting section (36) sets processing regions as well as a processing-coefficient-setting section (37) sets processing coefficients. A pixel-value-generating section (38) generates pixel values that correspond to the target pixel from pixel values in the processing region and the processing coefficients. A motion-blur-adding section (41) adds a motion blur to an image containing the pixel value generated based on an input second motion vector and the first motion vector. An image-moving section (42) moves the motion-blur-added image along a counter vector of the second motion vector. Any more real arbitrary viewpoint image can be generated.

Conventionally, an event in a real world has been converted into data by using a sensor. The data acquired by using the sensor is information that is obtained by projecting information of the real world (e.g., light) onto a space and time having a lower number of dimensions than the real world. Accordingly, the information obtained by projection has distortion that occurs through projection. For example, in the case of imaging, by using a video camera, a moving object in front of a background at rest and converting it into data as an image signal, information of the real world is sampled and converted into data, so that an image which is displayed on the basis of the image signal encounters a motion blur that the moving object blurs as distortion that occurs through projection.
To solve this problem, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-250119 (Corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/830,858, Corresponding EP Patent Application Publication No. EP1164545), for example, by detecting a profile of an image object that corresponds to an object in a foreground contained in an input image, the image object that corresponds to the object in the foreground is coarsely extracted to detect a motion vector of the image object corresponding to the object in the foreground that is coarsely extracted, so that the detected motion vector and its position information may be used to mitigate a motion blur.
Further, an arbitrary viewpoint image has been conventionally generated from any items of data obtained by using sensors. In this generation of arbitrary viewpoint image, a motion vector at a viewpoint position is detected and an entire screen is moved by a motion amount in a direction opposite to a motion direction of the motion vector, so that an image display is enabled with the viewpoint position being fixed. For example, if an image pickup operation is performed with a direction of an image pickup apparatus being fixed when a picked-up image is displayed based on an image signal obtained by the image pickup apparatus, an image in which a moving subject is moved on a screen occurs. Herein, if a viewpoint position is set on the moving subject to generate an image, a motion vector of the moving subject is detected and an entire screen is moved by a motion amount in a direction opposite to a motion direction of the motion vector, thereby enabling an image in which the moving subject is displayed at a fixed position on a screen to be obtained.

Image processing device, image processing method, and image processing program


A new cultivar of Chamaecyparis named ‘Versent’ that is characterized by its foliage with growing tips that are blue-green in color with the spring foliage that is silvery blue in color and its narrow and its dwarf, compact, and mounded plant habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chamaecyparis thyoides and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Versent'. 'Versent' represents a new evergreen coniferous shrub grown for landscape use.
The Inventor discovered the new cultivar in 2009 as a naturally occurring branch mutation of Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Top Point' (not patented) in a container block at his nursery in Sprundel, The Netherlands.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood stem cuttings by the Inventor in Sprundel, The Netherlands in 2009. Asexual propagation by softwood cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A display apparatus comprises a user input unit; an image processor operating in one of a first image processing mode performing a first image processing operation and at least one second image processing operation on an input image signal, and a second image processing mode not performing at least one second image processing operation on the input image signal. A controller controls the image processor to operate in one of the first image processing mode and the second image processing mode, according to a manipulation of the user input unit. Accordingly, a display apparatus performs in an image processing mode in which an image processing time is reduced, according to a user's selection.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus and a control method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a display apparatus for processing images according to modes, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, display apparatuses perform several image processing operations on image signals to process the image signals. Typical image processing operations include an analog-to-digital converting (ADC) operation, a scaling operation, an interlaced to progressive converting (IPC) operation, and a picture quality enhancing operation.
Here, the ADC operation converts analog image signals into digital image signals which can be processed by respective components in a display apparatus. The scaling operation converts resolutions of image signals in correspondence to a resolution of a display unit. The IPC operation converts interlaced scanning signals into sequential scanning signals. The picture quality enhancing operation performs filtering, outline correction, noise removal, and so on, on image signals in order to improve the picture quality of images which are displayed on a display unit.
As such, since many image processing operations must be performed to process an image signal, a predetermined time delay occurs.
Meanwhile, in the case of recent display apparatuses which are used in connection to an apparatus with a game function, such as a Sony PlayStation® or Microsoft Xbox®, for example, time delays caused by the above-described phenomena are more problematic.
That is, when a user controls operations suitable to various games while watching a screen of a display apparatus in real time, a manipulation of the user is not directly reflected on an image of the screen due to such a time delay. As a result, the user cannot properly use the game function, thus suffering inconvenience.
Accordingly, there is required a method of reducing an image signal processing time by changing image processing modes according to a user's selection, when an image on a screen should be directly changed according to a manipulation of a user input unit with minimal time delay, like when a game function is executed.

Display apparatus and control method thereof


A control apparatus includes an arithmetic unit for generating a brain wave pattern based on a brain wave signal obtained from a driver's head, for comparing the generated brain wave pattern with a plurality of brain wave patterns pre-stored in a control processing unit, when there is a match between the generated brain wave pattern and one of the plurality of brain wave patterns pre-stored in the control processing unit, for identifying an operation description associated with the one of the plurality of brain wave patterns, and for reading corresponding control data so as to generate and deliver a corresponding control signal that causes a vehicle-mounted apparatus to carry out an operation specified by the associated operation description to the vehicle-mounted apparatus based on the control data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling an apparatus to be controlled by using a brain wave signal.
2. Description of Related Art
Such control apparatuses include a navigation apparatus for guiding a moving object, such as a vehicle or ship, so that the moving object can travel by way of an optimum route. A prior art navigation apparatus using a brain wave signal has been proposed. For example, there has been provided a prior art navigation apparatus equipped with a dangerous operation notification function, which can expect the occurrence of a danger before the driver carries out a dangerous operation of a vehicle and which can inform the user that a danger will occur, thereby improving the driving safety.
The prior art navigation apparatus, which determines the current position of the vehicle based on a GPS signal by using a GPS antenna unit and which reads map information stored in a CD-ROM by using a CD access unit based on this current position and displays the map information on a display unit thereof, grasps information about roads to which the vehicle will be able to be headed in advance by using a road detecting unit after the CD access unit has acquired the map information about a map of an area with center at the current position acquired by the GPS antenna unit. A safety evaluating unit estimates what the user will do from the user's brain wave acquired by a brain wave detecting unit and further estimates a road along which the user will drive the vehicle so as to evaluate the safety of the road. As a result, when the safety evaluating unit evaluates that the driver's predicted action is dangerous, a notification unit notifies the danger of the action to the driver (for example, refer to Japanese patent application publication (TOKKAIHEI) No. 7-182595 (see paragraph numbers "0007", "0008", and "0009")).
Although the prior art navigation apparatus can notify the safety of the road along which the driver will drive the vehicle to the driver by estimating the driver's future action by using a detected brain wave signal, the prior art navigation apparatus cannot positively control the navigation apparatus itself and a vehicle-mounted apparatus by using the detected brain wave signal. In addition, the prior art navigation apparatus does not implement a security function of notifying a theft of the vehicle to users by using a brain wave signal.

Control apparatus using brain wave signal


A system and method for determining the time to change the oil of an automobile engine including a power source unit for converting power into necessary power and supplies power at the startup time. A degradation detection unit is installed in an engine oil chamber and is formed using carbon nanotubes as a sensor capable of detecting degradation of the engine oil. A small signal amplification unit amplifies the signals detected from the oil conditions and amplifies the minute signal output from the degradation detection unit. The oil-condition determination unit compares value, corresponding to the degraded state of the engine oil, with a set reference value, to determine the time to change the engine oil. The display unit displaying the oil-condition in text form as information about the time to change oil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for determining the time to change automobile engine oil and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for determining the time to change automobile engine oil, which measure variation in permittivity or electric conductivity of engine oil using a sensor having carbon nanotubes and determine and indicate the time to change the engine oil.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, engine oil, which is loaded in an automobile, performs a lubricating function of maintaining the smooth reciprocating motion of a piston, which is performed in response to an explosion in an engine, a sealing function of preventing pressure from leaking, a cleaning function of adsorbing particles in the cylinder and preventing the inner wall of a cylinder from being damaged, and a cooling function of conducting heat away from the cylinder and the piston.
When the engine oil, having the above-described functions, is used for a long time, the amount of injected oil decreases due to combustion by the explosions, and the viscosity, total acid number, and amount of sludge contained in the engine oil vary due to degradation.
Accordingly, the engine oil must be changed periodically. In the case where the time to change engine oil is missed or the operation of an automobile continues without changing the oil, the durability of lubricated parts in an engine requiring lubrication is lowered, the lifespan is reduced, the payment of excessive repair cost are incurred, and the excessive consumption of fuel, attributable to decreased engine output, and environmental problems, attributable to the increase of exhaust gas, also result.
Accordingly, periodical checks must be performed on the engine oil, and the change time must be determined according to the condition of the engine oil. For these purposes, a driver determines the time to change the engine oil based on the driven distance indicated on an integrated meter in a cluster mounted on an instrument panel, or determines the time to change the engine oil by observing a dipstick, which is provided in an engine compartment, with the naked eye, measuring the amount of engine oil, and viscosity and color thereof, and determining the extent of the degradation of the engine oil.
As described above, the conventional method of determining the time to change engine oil is disadvantageous in that it is inconvenient for a driver to personally calculate the driven distance and to personally check the extent of the degradation of the engine oil.
Furthermore, the extent of the degradation of the engine oil is determined through the driver's subjective observation and is thus inaccurate. Accordingly, a disadvantage occurs in that waste and environmental pollution result from unnecessary engine oil changes, and the wear of respective lubricated parts within an engine results from excessively late changes, so that the durability thereof is lowered.
Furthermore, a disadvantage occurs in that the extent of the degradation of the engine oil varies according to the driver's driving habits, so that the actual change time differs from that recommended in a maintenance guide book, therefore it is difficult to determine the change time.
In order to solve the above-described disadvantages incurred by determining the time to change the engine oil by using the naked eye to observe variation in viscosity and color, a technology has been proposed in Korean Pat. Appl. No. 1997-54022, that, when the change times of respective consumable supplies for an automobile are set based on a driving distance and then an accumulated driving distance reaches the set driving distance, alarms at the driver of the time to change the consumable supplies, such as engine oil, brake oil, an air filter, and brake disks.
Furthermore, Korean Pat. Appl. No. 1996-63422 proposed a technology that passes near infrared rays through oil and determines the time to change the oil based on the level of the received rays.
However, in the former case, the time to change the respective consumable supplies provided in an automobile is based on an accumulated driving distance, so that, for the respective consumable supplies, and particularly for engine oil, considerable difference in the extent of the degradation thereof occurs due to variation in drivers' driving habits, unnecessary idling, or other reasons. Accordingly, the former case is disadvantageous in that it is inaccurate, so that the engine oil is not changed at the proper time, therefore economic waste is incurred and the durability of the engine is lowered.
Furthermore, the latter case is disadvantageous in that the time to change the oil cannot be detected if a near infrared ray radiating or receiving element is damaged, normal determination of the change time cannot be performed in the state in which the amount of oil is low, the change time cannot be accurately detected because the degree of transparency of oil is different for each manufacturing company, which thereby decreases the reliability of detection.
Furthermore, since the degradation of engine oil occurs due to variation according to numerous physical and chemical aspects, the method of determining the time to change the engine oil simply by measuring variation in viscosity or color is limited.
Meanwhile, recently, as the fact that the extent of degradation of engine oil is closely related to variation in permittivity and electric conductivity, which are electric characteristics of the engine oil, become known, research into methods of detecting the condition of engine oil by measuring the electrical characteristics of the engine oil is being conducted.
Meanwhile, although a method of using output voltage, Alternating Current (AC) impedance, and viscosity is employed by foreign companies, the commercialization of resulting products has been delayed because the method seems to have some problems.
Meanwhile, measuring variation in electric conductivity or permittivity, which is caused by various physical and chemical variations in engine oil, is advantageous in that it allows information about variation in engine oil to be easily acquired.
However, until now, measuring apparatuses using electric conductivity or permittivity have a cylinder or parallel plate form that is voluminous, therefore are disadvantageous because they are not compact and mass-produced.

Carbon nanotube sensor and apparatus and method for detecting change time of engine oil for automobile using the same


An apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil thermally decomposes the synthetic resin by heating it in a heating vessel, thereby producing oil. The apparatus includes the heating vessel and a heating furnace. The synthetic resin fed into the heating vessel is stirred. At least the lower part of the heating vessel is disposed in the heating furnace. By providing a radiating fin on the outer surface of the upper part of the heating vessel disposed outside the heating furnace or providing a heat-insulation on the outer surface of the upper part of the heating vessel disposed in the heating furnace, the temperature rise in the upper part of the heating vessel is limited.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for converting mainly waste synthetic resin into oil by heating the synthetic resin in a heating vessel.
By heating thermoplastic synthetic rein to be liquified, then gasifying the liquid synthetic resin to gas, then cooling the gaseous synthetic resin, the thermoplastic synthetic resin can be converted into oil. To carry out this process, apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil by heating the resin have been developed.
For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 17879/ 1986, an apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil having a heating vessel on a screw conveyor is disclosed.
In the apparatus having a heating vessel, waste synthetic resin is successively fed into the vessel by the screw conveyor. The heating vessel is heated by a heater. The heating vessel is adapted to heat the waste synthetic resin fed thereinto, thereby melting and gasifying the resin. The gaseous synthetic resin is transferred into a condenser. In the condenser, the gasious synthetic resin is cooled and thereby converted into liquid oil.
In the apparatus having a screw conveyor, a heater is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the screw conveyor. The outer circumferential surface is heated by the heater. Waste synthetic resin is transferred by the heated screw conveyor and melted and gasified during the transfer. The gas is transferred through a gas pipe into a condenser. In the condenser, the gas is cooled and liquified to become oil.
Further, apparatus for converting waste synthetic resin into oil is disclosed in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 22776/1976 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 1949/1977. This apparatus is provided with a melting tank in which the synthetic resin is melted and a reaction tank in which the synthetic resin is gasified. No. 48086/1985, an apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil is disclosed in which a heating vessel used for heating and thermally decomposing the synthetic resin is uniformly heated. In this apparatus, the heating vessel is disposed in a heating furnace. The space between the heating furnace and the heating vessel is filled with a heat transmission medium so as to uniformly heat the heating vessel. As the heat transmission medium, sand, potassium, nitrate, sodium nitrate or the like is used. In this apparatus, the heating vessel is heated through the heat transmission medium and therefore it can be uniformly heated.
An apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil using a heating furnace is advantageous in that the produced oil can be used as a fuel for melting and gasifying the synthetic resin. Accordingly, this apparatus is advantageous in that no extra fuel is consumed. The amount of the oil consumed in melting and gasifying the waste synthetic resin is about 10% to 20% of the oil produced from the waste synthetic resin.
However, the method of coverting synthetic resin comprising heating the heating vessel by a heating furnace is disadvantageous in that the amount of residuary substances not converted into oil and left in the heating vessel is large, and that the amount of gaseous components is large with a low yield of oil.
It is very important for such an apparatus to reduce the amount of residuary substances left in the heating vessel and to increase the yield of oil. It is laborious to take out a large amount of residuary substances and it is also laborious and expensive to dispose of them. Further, since the yield of oil is small, the waste synthetic resin cannot be effectively recycled.
In an apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil in which the heating vessel is heated by a heating furnace, a large amount of residuary substances are left in the heating vessel and the yield of oil is low because it is difficult to control the temperature distribution in the heating vessel to the optimum condition.
In an apparatus in which the heating vessel is disposed in the heating furnace, when the heating vessel is heated by a burner, the synthetic resin in the vessel is melted and gasified in the following manner.
1. The synthetic resin fed into the heating vessel settles at the bottom of the vessel.
2. The heating vessel is heated from the bottom thereof by a burner.
3. The heated synthetic resin is melted at the bottom of the heating vessel. Therefore, molten synthetic resin settles at the bottom of the heating vessel.
4. The molten synthetic resin is further heated and gasified. The upper part of the heating vessel is full of gaseous synthetic resin.
5. The molten synthetic resin settles at the bottom of the heating vessel. Therefore, the temperature rise in the bottom part of the heating vessel is limited by the evaporation heat. Usually, the temperature of the molten synthetic resin is about 350.degree. C. to 450.degree. C.
6. The upper part of the heating vessel full of gas is heated to a high temperature. This is because the upper part cannot be maintained at a fixed temperature owing to the presence of molten synthetic resin.
7. The gas in the heating vessel is heated by the heating vessel heated to a high temperature.
8. The gas heated to a high temperature produces carbon and the carbon is deposited on the inner surface of the heating vessel. Further, the gas is thermally decomposed to produce a large amount of low distillate gas components.
Accordingly, an apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil in which the heating vessel is heated by a heating furnace is disadvantageous in that a large amount of residuary substances is left in the vessel and the yield of oil is low. In an apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil in which the space between the heating vessel and the heating furnace is filled with heat transmission medium, the heating vessel can be uniformly heated. However, since the heating vessel is heated through the heat transmission medium by the heat in the furnace, the thermal efficiency as a whole is low and a large amount of oil is consumed as fuel. Further, such an apparatus is disadvantageous in that although the heat transmission medium is required to be sufficiently circulated by convection so as to uniformly heat the vessel through the heat transmission medium, such convection of the heat transmission medium is hard to achieve.

Apparatus for converting synthetic resin into oil


During assembly of an improved phaser, a rotor bias spring is captured by a spring retainer that is fitted or formed into the cover, allowing the spring to be installed in a pre-load position and forming a sub-assembly that is then attached to the remaining components. Grounded and active spring tangs are captured in separate slots in the spring retainer. A pocket within the rotor receives the active tang of the bias spring. The pocket has a tapered bottom ramp that lifts the active tang from the slot wall in the retainer and positions the active tang within the pocket in a retarding direction. Lifting the active tang of the bias spring prevents friction between the spring and the retainer slot wall as would occur as the rotor moves in a retarded direction. In advancing, spring rotation stops when the active tang contacts the end of the retainer slot.

Camshaft phasers for varying the timing of combustion valves in an internal combustion engine transmit crankshaft torque to the engine camshaft, allowing varied timing of the camshaft relative to the crankshaft position. Traditionally, intake phasers have authority to only advance this timing from their locked position. When insufficient oil pressure is available for controlled phasing, cam torque and the available oil pressure are used to drive the rotor to the fully retarded position where a lock pin in the rotor aligns with a seat in the stator. As engine speed decreases, oil pressure drops below the retraction pressure for the lock pin and the pin's bias spring urges the pin to move into engagement with its seat, preventing undesired phase angle changes until sufficient oil pressure is again available.
Phasers requiring an intermediate lock pin position between full rotor advance and full rotor retard cannot rely on the contract between the rotor and stator to realign the lock pin to its seat. Therefore, when oil pressure is low, some form of assistance is needed to advance the rotor away from full retard to align the lock pin to the seat at the intermediate rotor position. If the assistance were torque from a simple spring-arm system, the bias spring would cause the phaser to advance the rotor through the entire range of rotor authority and past the point where the lock pin aligns with its seat when resistive torque through the phaser system from the camshaft was less than the applied spring torque.
What is needed in the art is an improved bias system for a modern phaser having a rotor lock position intermediate in the rotor range of authority wherein the rotor is biased toward the lock position from all retard positions but is not biased toward the lock position from any advance position.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved phaser bias system.

Cam phaser having pre-loaded spring for biasing the rotor through only a portion of its range of authority


An enzyme is altered by introducing an additional hydrophobic group to enhance the hydrophobic environment in the enzyme so as to interfere with entrance of a water molecule. In this connection, the site of introduction and kind of hydrophobic group to be introduced are selected on the basis of comprehensive analysis of amino acid sequence, three-dimensional structure, reaction mechanism or the like of the target enzyme. Using this method, an amino acid residue of neopullulanase derived from Bacillus stearothermophilus was replaced by another amino acid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of altering an enzyme, in particular, to a method of altering an enzyme to enhance its transfer reaction, and to a novel neopullulanase altered using said method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional methods used to enhance enzymatic transfer reactions are to change the external environment for enzyme reaction, for example, an enzyme reaction is carried out, not in an aqueous solution, but in an organic solvent. The reaction mechanism of a hydrolysis reaction and a transfer reaction are the same, in principle, in terms of an organic chemical reaction; a reaction is called hydrolysis when the acceptor is a water molecule, whereas it is called a transfer reaction when the acceptor is a compound other than water. Many transferases have catalytic activities for both hydrolytic and transfer reactions. Thus, the transfer reaction of such transferases can be enhanced by carrying out the enzyme reaction in an organic solvent so as to suppress the hydrolytic reaction.
In contrast, in order to enhance the transfer reaction an aqueous solution, it is necessary to alter an enzyme itself to increase its indigenous transfer activity. Genetic engineering and protein engineering are basic technologies to alter an enzymes itself to improve its characteristics for industrial use (e.g., stability, substrate specificity and reaction specificity). An example of the use of these technologies to improve the stability of a protein is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 224489/1985 in which additional cysteine residues are introduced into a native protein; these are linked via a disulfide bond, which increased the stability of the protein. In this connection, a method has been developed to determine a site to introduce the disulfide bonding using computer modeling (U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,871). Moreover, several other techniques to improve stability of proteins have been disclosed. Further, an example of altering the substrate specificity of an enzyme was given by some members of the present invention, in which they proposed alteration of the substrate specificity using protein engineering to obtain a novel dairy lactic acid bacterium protease having a substrate decomposing activity entirely different from that of the corresponding wild-type enzyme (Japanese Patent Application No. 190119/1992; Laid-Open No. 153945/1994). A novel protease having a specific activity higher than a corresponding natural-type enzyme was also disclosed in this Patent Application. Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 20291/1992, some members of the present invention disclosed a neopullulanase in which its substrate specificity was altered by protein engineering technology.
It is known that the neopullulanase, used in the present invention, derived from Bacillus stearothermophilus, acts on polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, such as starch and pullulan, hydrolyzes the alpha-1,4- and alpha-1,6- glucosidic bonds, and forms alpha-1,4- and alpha-1,6- glucosidic bonds by sugar transfer reactions (J. Biol. Chem., 267, 18447-18452, 1992).
Of the conventional methods to enhance enzymatic transfer reactions, the method in which the enzyme reaction proceeds in an organic solvent cannot be applied to the food industry because of the toxicity of the organic solvent. Increased manufacturing costs by the use of an organic solvent is another problem.
On the other hand, of the conventional methods mentioned above, the method of altering the enzyme itself using protein engineering technology solves the problems of the toxicity and cost. However, although means for altering the stability and substrate specificity of natural-type enzymes are known as described above, concrete means for altering reaction specificities so as to enhance transfer reactions are not known. This is because problems remain unsolved with regard to the structural stability of enzyme themselves or enzyme-substrate complexes, and the mechanisms of enzymatic reactions and relevant factors thereof must be better understood. Furthermore, it seems not only extremely inefficient, but actually impossible to alter enzymes so as to control their reactivity using a trial-and-error substitution method based mainly on information about amino acid sequences, since function and physicochemical characteristics of enzymes are closely related to their three-dimensional structures.

Method of altering enzymes and a novel neopullulanase


A method and apparatus for printing an image onto a photosensitive media. The apparatus includes an optical system having a light source for producing an exposure light; an imaging active matrix liquid crystal display through which the exposure light passes; a lens for focusing the exposure light passing through the active matrix liquid crystal display onto a photosensitive media; and a correction active matrix LCD is position between the imaging active matrix LCD and the light source for correcting non-uniformity in the optical exposure system.

It is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,935,820 and 5,050,001 to utilize a single crystal display to produce a color image on a photographic material. The LCD uses digital information obtained from scanning the negative or from any other source. The problem associated with the implementation of an LCD array for printing onto a photographic material is that light uniformity across the LCD varies across the device. In addition, uniformity of the LCD device can vary over time and temperature. The '820 patent suggests that corrections in luminations may be carried out by individual adjustment of the pixels of the LCD. A disadvantage of such an approach is that the dynamic range of the digital data of the LCD is reduced. An additional problem is that lower quality prints are produced due to the limited dynamic range of a single LCD.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for digital printing onto photographic media which corrects for light non-uniformity of the exposure light. This, is accomplished by providing a second LCD in line with the imaging AMLCD and utilizing a calibration procedure for determining corrective values used to correct the non-uniformity.

Method and apparatus for correcting light non-uniformity in an LCD photographic printer


The present invention relates, in general, to a tilt steering apparatus for a vehicle, and more specifically, to a tilt steering apparatus for a vehicle, capable of adjusting the angle of a steering column by engaging a movable gear with a fixed gear or disengaging the movable gear from the fixed gear, using a lock slider that does a rectilinear motion by an operation lever. If the lock slider is separated from the operation lever, even when the operation lever rotates, the lock slider does a rectilinear motion only. Hence, the lock slider and the movable gear can always make the line contact with each other. Through this line contact, the supporting rigidity and the abrasion resistance of components can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a tilt steering apparatus for a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tilt steering apparatus for a vehicle, capable of adjusting the angle of a steering column by engaging a movable gear with a fixed gear or disengaging the movable gear from the fixed gear, using a lock slider that does a rectilinear motion by an operation lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tilt steering (also called 'tilt handle'), as the name implies, indicates an inclined steering wheel. In other words, the angle of a steering column can be adjusted according to the physical figure (physique) or driving posture of a driver.
Although the height of the steering wheel is adjusted by manually disengaging a movable gear from a fixed gear using a lever attached to the steering column, an electric steering is also available.
FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a tilt apparatus in a steering column according to a related art, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the tilt apparatus in FIG. 1.
In particular, the tilt apparatus for the steering column shown in these drawings was disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1999-198821. Referring to the drawings, there is an lower bracket 31 that is attached to the lower portion of the steering column 11 so as to adjust the same, and a fixed gear 31a is formed on the lower portion of the lower bracket 31.
A movable gear 32 is also attached to the lower portion of the lower bracket 31 in such a manner that the movable gear is tooth-locked to the fixed gear 31a and one side thereof is hinged 26, being pivotably movable. A bottom surface 32b of the movable gear is curved.
In addition, a lock slider 33 is attached to the lower portion of the movable gear 32, being combined with an operation lever 34 as one body. The lock slider 33 slides along the bottom surface 32a of the movable gear, to engage/disengage the movable gear 32 to/from the fixed gear 31a.
FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates an operational state of the related art tilt apparatus for the steering column.
As depicted in FIG. 3, if the operation lever 34 pivots on the hinge 34a, the lock slider 33, which is combined with the operation lever 34 as one body, correspondingly does the rectilinear motion, while rotating at the same time, along the bottom surface 32b of the movable gear. In this way, the movable gear 32 is either locked to the fixed gear 31a or disengaged from the fixed gear 31a, thereby adjusting the steering column 11.
However, since the lock slider and the operation lever are combined with each other, the assembling work associated with these two components with complicated structures is often difficult. Also, if someone wants to change one of them, he has to change both of them, spending unnecessary cost.
Moreover, the lock slider requires more space to do the rotational motion. Taking apart the unnecessary space required, the lock slider can hurt the driver while rotating.
Another defect of the related art tilt steering apparatus is that although the operation lever is in a position for locking the movable gear, if the operation lever 34 rotates more or less than it is supposed to in the locking position because of a minor error in the manufacture of components, or if the operation lever 34 rotates, the lock slider 33 combined with the operation lever 34 correspondingly rotates and at the same time does the vertical rectilinear motion. As a result, the bottom surface 32b of the movable gear and the lock slider 33 make a point contact, not a line contact, and thus the supporting rigidity and the abrasion resistance of both components are deteriorated.


The present disclosure provides isolated monoclonal antibodies, particularly human monoclonal antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof, that specifically bind to integrin α5β1 with high affinity. Nucleic acid molecules encoding the antibodies of the disclosure, expression vectors, host cells and methods for expressing the antibodies of the disclosure are also provided. Immunoconjugates, bispecific molecules and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the antibodies or antigen binding portions thereof are also provided. The disclosure also provides methods for treating various cancers using the anti-α5β1 antibodies or antigen binding portions thereof described herein.

Integrin α5β1 is a heterodimeric cell surface protein that binds fibronectin and is involved in cell attachment and angiogenesis. This heterodimer is made up of an α5 subunit and a β1 subunit. Integrin α5β1 is referred to as the "classic fibronectin receptor" that plays key roles in matrix adhesion, migration, proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Although several integrins bind to fibronectin (FN), α5β1 is selective for FN as it requires both peptide sequences on the ninth (PHSRN) and tenth (RODS) type III repeats of FN for ligand recognition and optimal interaction. (Danen et al. J. Biol. Chem. 270(37):21612-21618 (1995); Redick et al. J. Cell Biol. 149(2):521-527 (2000); Takagi et al. EMBO J. 22:4607-4615 (2003)). Integrin-mediated cell adhesion to FN can trigger calcium fluxes, activate tyrosine and serine/threonine protein kinases and inositol lipid metabolism, and regulate the activity of the Rho family of small GTPases that controls the actin cytoskeleton and cell cycle progression.
Expression of α5β1 is observed in most embryonic tissues, but the level diminishes after birth in a manner consistent with terminal cell differentiation (Muschler & Horwitz Development 113(1):327-337 (1991)). In wild type adult mice, expression is mainly in the vasculature and connective tissue, although low levels of the receptor are widely distributed. Expression of both α5β1 and FN are significantly and coordinately enhanced on blood vessels of human tumors and in growth factor and cytokine stimulated tissues. Angiogenic cytokines such as bFGF, VEGF, IL-8, TOE-beta, and TNF-α upregulate α5β1 expression on endothelial cells in-vitro and in-vivo, whereas these molecules are minimally expressed on normal human vessels and tissues (Kim et al. Am. J. Path. 156(4):1345-62 (2000); Enaida et al. Fukushima J. Med. Sci. 44(1):43-52 (1998); Klein et al. Mol. Biol. Cell 4(10):973-982 (1993)).
High levels of α5β1 expression are not limited to the vasculature, as tumor cells are also frequently observed to express α5β1 in many types of cancer. Tumor hypoxia has been associated with increased tumor α5β1 expression (Mousa et al. J. Cell. Biochem. 74:135-143 (1999)). Integrins are thought to be important for tumor intravasation into newly formed capillaries and extravasation to distant sites, leading to tumor spreading and metastatic disease. Altogether, the expression pattern of α5β1 is consistent with multiple roles in promoting cancer, by mediating both stromal and tumor cell activities. Various clinical studies have associated α5β1 upregulation on tumor cells with progression of human melanoma, oral squamous cell carcinoma, and B-cell leukemias (Jin & Varner, Br. J. Cancer 90:561-565 (2004); Danen et al. Histopathology 24(3):249-256 (1994); Shinohara et al., Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 111(1):75-88 (1999)).

Alpha 5-beta 1 antibodies and their uses


A Te precursor containing Te, a 15-group compound (for example, N) and/or a 14-group compound (for example, Si), a method of preparing the Te precursor, a Te-containing chalcogenide thin layer including the Te precursor, a method of preparing the thin layer; and a phase-change memory device. The Te precursor may be deposited at lower temperatures for forming a Te-containing chalcogenide thin layer doped with a 15-group compound (for example, N) and/or a 14-group compound (for example, Si). For example, the Te precursor may employ plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) at lower deposition temperatures. The GST phase-change layer doped with a 15-group compound (for example, N) and/or a 14-group compound (for example, Si) formed by employing the Te precursor may have a decreased reset current, and thus when a memory device including the same is employed, its integration may be possible, and operation with higher capacity and/or higher speed may be possible.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a precursor, for example, a Te precursor, for lower temperature deposition, a thin layer, for example, a Te-containing chalcogenide thin layer, prepared by employing the precursor; and a method of preparing the thin layer, and for example, to a precursor for lower temperature deposition containing Te, a 15-group compound and/or a 14-group compound; a chalcogenide thin layer doped with a 15-group compound and/or a 14-group compound and prepared at lower temperature by employing the precursor, and a method of preparing the thin layer. Also, example embodiments of the present invention relate to a phase-change memory device including a phase-change layer formed by employing the precursor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A phase-change material is a material that may have a crystalline state or an amorphous state, depending on temperature. The crystalline state has lower resistance than the amorphous state and has an ordered regular atomic arrangement. The crystalline state and the amorphous state may be reversible. That is, the crystalline state may be changed to the amorphous state and the amorphous state may be changed back into the crystalline state. A phase-change random access memory device (PRAM) is a memory device applying the characteristics that a phase-change material has reversible states and distinguishable resistances.
The general form of a PRAM may include a phase-change layer electrically connected to a source or a drain area of a transistor through a contact plug. Operation as a memory may be performed by employing the difference in resistance due to the change of crystal structure in the phase-change layer. FIG. 1 shows the general form of PRAM according to the conventional art. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, the general structure of a conventional PRAM is described.
Referring to FIG. 1, on the transistor substrate 10, a first impurity area 11a and a second impurity area 11b may be formed, and a gate insulating layer 12 and a gate electrode layer 13 may be formed in contact with the two impurity areas. The first impurity area 11a may be referred to a source and the second impurity area 11b may be referred to a drain.
On the first impurity area 11a, the gate electrode layer 13 and on the second impurity area 11b, the insulating layer 15 may be formed, and a contact plug 14 may be formed in contact with the second impurity area 11b, penetrating the insulating layer 15. On the contact plug 14, a lower electrode 16 may be formed, and on the lower electrode 16, the phase-change layer 17 and the upper electrode 18 may be formed.
A technique of storing data in the PRAM having the structure described above may be as follows. Joule heat is generated at the contact area of the lower electrode 16 and the phase-change layer 17 by the electric current applied through the second impurity area 11b and the lower electrode 16. Data is stored by changing the crystal structure of the phase-change layer 17 with the Joule heat. That is, the crystal structure of the phase-change layer 17 is changed into a crystalline state or an amorphous state by changing an applied electric current. Accordingly, the previous data stored can be distinguished since the resistance is changed in response to the change between the crystalline state and the amorphous state.
Various types of phase-change material that can be applied to memory devices are known, and a representative example thereof is GST (GeSbTe) based alloy. Transistor memory devices including various types of chalcogenide material layers are known.
It may be beneficial to decrease a consumed electric current value in order to improve the performance of a memory device. For a PRAM that includes a GST layer, a phase-change material being used frequently, the reset current value, e.g., the current value for transition from crystalline state to amorphous state is high.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing heating temperatures for the Reset/Set Programming of a memory device that uses GST (Ge2Sb2Te5) in a phase-change layer.
Referring to FIG. 2, it may be seen that crystallization can be achieved by keeping the temperature lower than the melting point for a period of time, for set programming for GST, e.g., changing the amorphous state into the crystalline state. It may be seen that temperature should be elevated to almost the melting point (Tm) and then cooled, for reset programming, e.g., changing the crystalline state into the amorphous state. The current needed to elevate the temperature to the melting point (Tm) is relatively high. As a result, there may be a limit in realizing higher integrated memory devices.

Precursor, thin layer prepared including the precursor, method of preparing the thin layer and phase-change memory device


The invention relates to a system for the combined shadow-free illumination of a pre-definable area and for referencing three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates, and to an active or passive referencing system, each in particular for referencing surgical or medical instruments. The system is characterized in that at least two cameras and the light source (operation lamp) are held together such that the optical signals detected by the cameras, for referencing three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates in the area illuminated by the light source, can be evaluated. Since the field of view of the light source, in its conventional use, is not obscured or only negligibly obscured, this field of view can simultaneously be used for optical navigation by the cameras held together with the light source. In accordance with the invention, the cameras are automatically aligned optimally for optical navigation.

Referencing systems in the sense of this application are known for example from DE 196 39 615 C2, the content of the disclosure of which is explicitly incorporated by way of reference in the present application. Such systems, also known as navigation systems, provide the connection between the surgeon carrying out the treatment, i.e. the patient anatomy as the surgeon sees it during treatment, and diagnostic data obtained for example from computer tomography and represented visually by an image output via a computational unit. For detecting three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates, a plurality of markers with known dimensions are used, such as are for example described in DE 196 39 615 C2, line 2. A radiation source, in particular an infrared radiation source, illuminates the area in which three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates are to be detected, and the radiation reflected by the markers is detected with the aid of at least two cameras, each from a different angle of view. Alternatively, the objects to be referenced can also actively emit radiation, in particular infrared radiation, to which end radiation sources, for example LEDs, are attached to the objects, the radiation from which is detected as described above. The camera signals are evaluated with the aid of a subordinated computational unit and by means of known algorithms.
It is necessary for referencing for there to always be at least two cameras monitoring the area in which three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates are to be detected, from different angles of view, without the relevant field of view of the cameras being obscured. Here, it is desirable for the at least two cameras to be adjustable in the simplest way possible, in accordance with the respective circumstances.
To this end, DE 196 39 615 C2 discloses two cameras held by a common frame which have to be positioned laterally above the setting to be detected, for example the operating table. In certain situations, this can be difficult. In an operating theater, the suitable position for the cameras of the referencing system depends in particular on the positions at which the operating staff are standing around the operating table, and on where apparatus which could obscure the field of view of the cameras is positioned. It must be taken into account here that different operations may require different apparatus and positions. Suitably positioning and aligning the cameras is thus comparatively difficult.
In other referencing systems, the cameras are therefore either suspended from the ceiling of the operating theater or attached at other suitable points in the operating theater, for example to the computer itself or in the corners of the room. It can nonetheless easily transpire that the field of view of one or more may be obscured at the same time, making accurate referencing impossible. Positioning the cameras at a comparatively long distance from the relevant area in which three-dimensional spatial co-ordinates are to be detected also has the disadvantage that a comparatively large amount of zero order information is detected by the cameras, which can compromise the referencing accuracy, or at least unnecessarily increases the computational demands involved.

Operation lamp with camera system for 3D referencing

Abstract: The cameras can be rigidly or flexibly connected to the light source. The position and/or orientation of the cameras can be adjustable.