A breathing mask comprises: a frame; a forehead support frame connected to the frame pivotally to allow the forehead support frame to shift toward or away from the forehead of a patient; and an adjusting member connected to the frame rotatably and having an adjusting slope. The forehead support frame has a joining part in contact with the adjusting slope so that the forehead support frame is driven to rotate pivotally through the rotation of the adjusting member. Through the matching between the adjusting slope and the joining part, the breathing mask converts the rotation of the adjusting member to the shifting of the forehead support frame; and through rotating the adjusting member, the height of the forehead support frame relative to the forehead of the patient can be adjusted. In use, the forehead support frame can be shifted by rotating the adjusting member with a single hand.

At present, obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is mainly treated by applying continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However, utilizing CPAP, usually the patient has to wear a breathing mask for a long time (e.g., overnight). Therefore, the wearing comfortability has great influence on the experience of the patient. If the patient feels the comfortability is unsatisfactory when wearing the breathing mask, the patient may reject the treatment or adjust the position of the breathing mask frequently. Especially during the night time, the patient may touch the breathing mask unconsciously. Such an action may result in gas leakage from the breathing mask and thereby affects the treatment result.
Most existing breathing masks are equipped with a forehead support frame. The forehead support frame abuts against the forehead of the patient, so that a sense of pressure exerted by the breathing mask on the face can be mitigated utilizing the supporting force provided by the forehead. However, the height of forehead may be different among different patients, depending on race, age, and individual person. The foreheads 100 plotted in a solid line and a dotted line in FIG. 1 show the difference in forehead height respectively. Therefore, the breathing mask should be supported at an appropriate height on the forehead to ensure an optimal wearing sense and provide a comfortable wearing experience to the patient.
At present, the height of the forehead support frame in relation to forehead is adjusted utilizing a screw-drive principle; specifically, a forehead support pad on the forehead support frame is driven to extend or retract by means of rotation movement of a knob, so as to adapt to specific forehead height. However, such an adjusting mechanism involves a large number of parts and components, and is difficult to implement; in addition, such an adjusting mechanism involves high requirements for the manufacturing process, and results in a high manufacture cost.


A germicidal air purifier for trapping and destroying airborne microorganisms is disclosed. The air purifier includes an ultraviolet radiation source and a juxtaposed filter medium. A one of the ultraviolet radiation source and the filter medium is fixed and the other is displaceable so that at least an upstream side of the filter medium is systematically exposed to germicidal levels of radiation. In a first preferred embodiment, a fixed ultraviolet lamp irradiates a cylindrical air filter which is rotated on its longitudinal axis in close proximity to the lamp so that the upstream side of the filter is systematically irradiated. In a second preferred embodiment, a radiant lamp fixture is moved reciprocally across an upstream side of a planar filter to systematically irradiate the filter. In a third preferred embodiment, a radiant lamp fixture is rotated about an axis which is orthogonal to its longitudinal midpoint so that a circular area of a planar filter is irradiated. The advantage is that microorganisms trapped on the filters are exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and the air purifier is consistently effective at destroying a significant percentage of airborne microorganisms suspended in air passed through the filter.

The airborne transmission of disease organisms, especially respiratory disease organisms has long been recognized as a serious problem in health care. With a growing population of immune deficient individuals due to the contraction of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other debilitating conditions which weaken the immune system, the control of airborne disease transmission has become increasingly important and difficult. Air purification is perceived to be the only practical method of controlling airborne disease transmission. The increasing incidence of contraction of tuberculosis, pneumonia and other airborne disease in modern health institutions indicates, however, that known air purification systems are inadequate in controlling the spread of airborne microorganisms.
Air purification by means of filtration and irradiation are widely practiced. Traditional air treatment systems are commonly arranged in an order of filtration, irradiation and humidification. Irradiation is placed after filtration because the ultraviolet lamps used for that purpose readily attract dust which can accumulate on a surface of the lamp and interfere with their germicidal effect by absorbing and/or reflecting radiant energy. Irradiation is placed before humidification because ultraviolet radiation is most effective in a relatively dry atmosphere which promotes oxidation.
The germicidal effects of light rays of short wavelength has been recognized for more than half a century. A diverse array of methods and apparatus have been invented for irradiating fluids, and air in particular, in order to control the spread of microorganisms by destroying those microorganisms suspended in the fluid. The ultraviolet radiation for it's germicidal effect:
______________________________________ 2,070,307 - Nicholls 3,757,496 - Sievers 2,248,618 - Fischer 4,017,736 - Ross 2,279,810 - Arnott 4,694,179 - Lew et al. 2,628,083 - Rense 4,750,917 - Fujii 3,518,046 - Circirello 4,806,768 - Keutenedjian 3,576,593 - Circirello ______________________________________
Ultraviolet radiation has been proven to be more effective and economically feasible than any other approach to reducing the density of airborne microorganisms in an enclosed space. Two principle methods of utilizing ultraviolet radiation to destroy airborne microorganisms include air duct irradiation and the direct irradiation of the upper air in living or working areas. Although several studies have demonstrated convincingly that ultraviolet radiation can effectively reduce the density of airborne microorganisms, in practice wide variations in effectiveness have been documented.
Traditionally, air purification systems have relied on exposure of airborne microorganisms to ultraviolet radiation by passing air over or around one or more ultraviolet lamps. All of the patent references listed above relate to some variation on this method. The method has two principle shortcomings. First, exposure time depends almost exclusively on the rate of air flow around the lamps. Second, it is well known that ultraviolet radiation is readily adsorbed by most surfaces. As a result, accumulations of dust and particulates on radiant lamps adversely affects their germicidal effectiveness. Since the operation of radiant lamps generates an electrostatic field, they readily attract and accumulate particulate matter when placed directly in a flow of air, especially if the flow of air is unfiltered or poorly filtered. These factors may account in part for the variable results experienced to date with the use of ultraviolet irradiation in controlling the density of airborne microorganisms.
Although most microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses, are readily destroyed by sufficient exposure to ultraviolet radiation, the duration of exposure required to destroy a microorganism depends on a number of variable factors including humidity, the particle density in the air being treated and distance of a microorganism from a source of radiation.
Several important factors have been largely ignored in prior art disclosures for purifying air by destroying airborne microorganisms using ultraviolet radiation. It is well known that the strength of radiation decreases inversely with the square of the distance from a radiation source. Ultraviolet radiation is therefore most effective at close range. Relatively long exposure times may be required to destroy certain microorganisms, especially in humid environments. Host importantly, in order to ensure adequate radiation exposure microorganisms are preferably trapped on a filter surface before or during exposure, thus ensuring radiation levels and exposure times which are adequate to effect their destruction. Finally, radiation lamps must be protected from accumulating airborne particulate matter which can reflect and/or absorb radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,179 entitled Symbiotic Filter-Sterilizer which issued Sep. 15, 1987 to Lew et al. teaches a cylindrical filter structure which surrounds, or is surrounded by, one or more ultraviolet lamps. The ultraviolet lamps are in turn encased in clear plastic tubes to protect the lamp(s) from fluids to be filtered. Although this invention appears to espouse some of the principles outlined above, it suffers from several shortcomings. First, the recommended filter is a porous filter through which most microorganisms pass unimpeded. Radiation exposure time is therefore random and dependent on the rate of fluid flow. Second, the transparent tubes which protect the lamps are exposed directly to fluids passed through the porous filter. The tubes therefore collect fine particulates which are resistant to ultraviolet radiation and absorb or reflect the radiation so that the effectiveness of the irradiation of the filter degrades with time. Third, the relationship between the fibers of the porous filter and the ultraviolet lamp is static. The fibers of the porous filter exposed to direct radiation therefore shade the areas of the filter not directly exposed. These "shaded" areas can provide pockets where microorganisms survive under the right conditions.
The prior art therefore suffers from several disadvantages which can be improved upon.


An exciting light filter through which exciting light which is adapted to radiate fluorescence from a living tissue is transmitted, is provided in an illumination light path defined between a light source which emits the illumination light and an object to be observed, in a fluorescence endoscope. A fluorescence filter which permits fluorescence which is radiated from the living tissue due to the illumination by the exciting light and whose wavelength is longer than that of the exciting light to pass therethrough but does not permit the exciting light to pass through the fluorescence filter, is provided in an observation light path defined between the object and a viewing portion in which an image of the object is viewed. There is a difference of 20 nm to 40 nm between the longest wavelength of the wavelength band of which more than 10% are transmitted through the exciting light filter and the shortest wavelength of the wavelength band of which more than 10% are transmitted through the fluorescence filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluorescence endoscope which is used for directly visually observing a living tissue, using fluorescence which is radiated from the living tissue when visual light is impinged upon the living tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in a fluorescence endoscope, an exciting light filter is provided in an illumination light path defined between a light source (lamp) and an object to be examined. Exciting light, adapted to radiate fluorescence from the living tissue, can be transmitted through the endoscope. A fluorescence observing filter (fluorescence filter) is provided in the illumination light path. The fluorescence observing filter permits fluorescence radiated from the living tissue, in response to the exciting light and having a wavelength longer than that of the exciting light, to pass therethrough and does not permit the exciting light to pass through the fluorescence filter.
The wavelength band of the exciting light which excites the living tissue to radiate fluorescence therefrom is approximately 420 nm to 480 nm and the optimal wave length band for the radiation of fluorescence is approximately 450 nm to 475 nm.
On the other hand, the wavelength band of the fluorescence radiated from the living tissue is approximately 480 nm to 600 nm and the peak value of the intensity thereof is obtained at 480 nm to 520 nm, adjacent to the wavelength band of the exciting light.
Since the intensity of the fluorescence produced by the exciting light is extremely small in comparison with the exciting light, even a small amount of exciting light which reaches the observing portion makes it difficult to observe the fluorescence. To this end, the exciting light filter and the fluorescence filter must be produced so that the wavelength band which can pass through the exciting light filter and the wavelength band which can pass through the fluorescence filter do not overlap.
However, since the wavelength bands of the exciting light and the fluorescence are adjacent as mentioned above and they exhibit the peak values of the intensity within limited ranges, if the exciting light transmission range of the exciting light filter is located away from the fluorescence transmission range of the fluorescence filter, the amount of light transmitted through the filter is reduced, so that the intensity of the fluorescence to be observed is weakened, thus resulting in a diagnosis error.
In theory, it is ideal that the exciting light filter and the fluorescence filter are prepared so that the longest wavelength of the light transmitted through the exciting light filter is identical or almost identical to the shortest wavelength of the light transmitted through the fluorescence filter.
The longest wavelength or the shortest wavelength transmitted through the filter refers to the wavelength at which the transmittance of the filter is zero, and hence it is extremely difficult to optically measure the longest wavelength or shortest wavelength. This is the reason that it is very difficult to produce the filter with reference to the longest wavelength that can pass through the exciting light filter or the shortest wavelength that can pass through the fluorescence filter.

Fluorescence endoscope having an exciting light filter and a fluorescence filter


The present invention relates to a wireless access system which supports multiple carriers, and disclosed is a method for coordinating the performance of the multiple carriers and an apparatus for supporting same. The method for coordinating the performance of the multiple carriers according to the present invention broadly consists of two steps. For example, the method comprises the steps of coordinating the basic performance of the multiple carriers in mobile user equipment and coordinating the extended performance of the multiple carriers in the mobile user equipment.

Hereinafter, a carrier will be briefly described.
A user may perform a modulation operation with respect to the amplitude, frequency and/or phase of a sine wave and a periodic pulse wave. A sine wave or a pulse wave for carrying information is called a carrier.
Examples of a carrier modulation scheme include a Single-Carrier Modulation (SCM) scheme and a Multicarrier Modulation (MCM) scheme. Among others, the SCM scheme is to perform modulation with respect to all information carried on one carrier.
The MCM scheme refers to a technology of dividing an overall bandwidth channel of one carrier into several sub-channels each having a small bandwidth and transmitting a plurality of narrowband sub-carriers through the sub-channels.
In the MCM scheme, each of the sub-channels is approximated so as to have a flat channel due to the small bandwidth. A user can compensate for distortion of a channel using a simple equalizer. In addition, the MCM scheme is implemented at a high speed using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and is more advantageous in high-speed data transmission than the SCM scheme.
As capability of a base station and/or a terminal have been developed, a frequency bandwidth provided or used by the base station and/or the terminal has expanded and throughput of data processed by the terminal has been increased. Accordingly, in the embodiments of the present invention, a multicarrier system supporting a wideband by aggregating one or more carriers is disclosed, unlike the above-described MOM scheme.
For example, in order to increase transmit capacity of radio data, a bandwidth of 200 KHz to 1.25 MHz has been used in second-generation radio communication and a bandwidth of 5 MHz to 10 MHz has been used in third-generation radio communication. A bandwidth is increased to 20 MHz in a 3GPP LTE system or an IEEE 802.16m system as a fourth-generation wireless access system which has been currently developed.
A method of increasing a bandwidth in order to increase transmit capacity of radio data is inevitable. However, in this case, since a large bandwidth is supported even when the level of a desired service is low, power consumption is very high. In addition, a current system may not be reused in order to support such requirements.
In order to solve such problems, a multicarrier transmission method of simultaneously transmitting and receiving data using several bandwidths has been researched. A multicarrier system may use multiple carriers which are contiguously located on a frequency axis or multiple carriers which are separated on a frequency axis.

Method and apparatus for coordinating performance of multiple carriers


The subject matter herein relates to database management systems and, more particularly, to decoupled logical and physical data storage within a database management system. Various embodiments provide systems, methods, and software that separate physical storage from logical storage of data. These embodiments include a mapping of logical storage to physical storage to allow data to be moved within the physical storage to increase database responsiveness.

Database performance is critical to many organizations. Slow database response time can reduce worker productivity and slow operation of software systems that access and manipulate data in databases.
Database administrators monitor database performance and modify and update database configurations to improve performance. This may include updating indexes and database statistics used by query optimization processes. Database administrators may also defragment data stored on storage devices to provide continuous blocks of data to reduce disk seek time. These efforts may improve database performance, but database latency still exists.
To further improve database performance, database administrators have manually moved data estimated to be used most frequently to faster storage devices. However, the frequency at which data is accessed changes over time. Thus, performance gains from such efforts are commonly short lived and must be manually repeated to maintain the improved performance.

Decoupled logical and physical data storage within a database management system


A method includes, at a network interface controller receiving packets from a network connection for a set of multiple coupled processors, distributing received packets to each of a first set of the processors. In response to determining the change in network traffic, operation of the network interface controller is altered to distribute packets to a second set of the processors.

Networks enable computers and other devices to communicate. For example, networks can carry data representing video, audio, e-mail, and so forth. Typically, data sent across a network is divided into smaller messages known as packets. By analogy, a packet is much like an envelope you drop in a mailbox. A packet typically includes "payload" and a "header". The packet's "payload" is analogous to the letter inside the envelope. The packet's "header" is much like the information written on the envelope itself. The header can include information to help network devices handle the packet appropriately. For example, the header can include an address that identifies the packet's destination.
A series of related packets can form a connection. A connection is often identified by a combination of different portions of a packet known as a tuple. For example, a tuple is commonly formed by a combination of source and destination information of a packet header.
A variety of networking protocols maintain state information for a connection. For example, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) stores state data for a connection in a Transmission Control Block (TCB). A TCB includes state data such as the last received byte, the last successfully transmitted byte, and so forth. Typically, connection state data is accessed and, potentially, updated for each packet in a connection. In a multi-processor system, this can create contention issues between processors handling packets for the same connection. That is, for example, different processors handling data for the same connection may each attempt to access a connection's state data at the same time, creating requirements for data locking and introducing delay as the processors wait for access to the connection state data.
Contention between the processors, however, can be reduced by mapping respective connections to the respective processors. For example, a network interface controller (NIC) may perform a hash on a tuple of a received packet and use the hash to determine a processor to handle a given packet. Directing packets in a flow to the same processor can help pin down state information. This can enable the processor to retain the state data for a connection in local processor memory (e.g., cache memory) and reduce contention between processors trying to access the same connection state data.

Altering operation of a network interface controller based on network traffic


A chemically bonded olefin block copolymer consists essentially of chemically bonded polypropylene and poly(ethylene-co-propylene). The block copolymer is obtained by a process of (1) introducing a Ziegler polymerization catalyst based on titanium and propylene to a first polymerization zone (a) and polymerizing the propylene in the polymerization zone (a) for a period of 0.01 to 0.130 seconds and withdrawing an effluent stream of polypropylene, catalyst, solvent and unreacted propylene therefrom; (2) introducing the effluent stream to a second polymerization zone (b) together with ethylene dissolved in a solvent and carrying out a polymerization reaction in the second polymerization zone (b) for a period of 0.01 to 0.130 seconds; and (3) recovering the block copolymer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polypropylene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) or a polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene), and a production process thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to a polypropylene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) or a polyethylene-b-poly (ethylene-co-propylene), that has a superior impact strength and is useful as a compatiblizer for a crystalline polyolefin and an amorphous polyolefin, and a production process of the block copolymer. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a polyolefin material, wherein a polymer in which a polypropylene or a polyethylene and poly(ethylene-co-propylene) are repeated and polypropylene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) or a polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) are blended in either a polyethylene or a poly(ethylene-co-propylene) or in their mixture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polyolefins such as polypropylenes and polyethylenes are massively produceed and consumed since they are inexpensive and excellent in processability and various physical properties such as mechanical strength, heat resistance, chemical resistance and electrical insulation. However, for example, polypropylene is poor in impact strength while it is relatively excellent in stiffness; this disadvantage is improved by blending an amorphous poly(ethylene-co-propylene) that is excellent in impact strength. In the conventional block type copolymers, the matrix comprising polypropylene and the domain comprising poly(ethylene-co-propylene) are separated, which causes lowering the physical properties. These problems have been desired to be improved. It is expected that a block copolymer in which a polypropylene and a poly(ethylene-co-propylene) are chemically bonded might overcome these problems and provide a material having more excellent characteristics.
Conventionally, so-called block type copolymers have been known as one type of a polypropylenes that are composed of a polypropylene and poly(ethylene-co-propylene). The conventional block type copolymer is produced by a two-step process comprising, for example, the synthesis of a polypropylene for 30 minutes to several hours in a first polymerization vessel, followed by the synthesis of a poly(ethylene-co-propylene) for also 30 minutes to several hours in a second polymerization vessel. Considering the period of time for forming one polymer chain, chemical bonds between the polypropylene and the poly(ethylene-co-propylene) are not formed in so-called block type copolymers. They exist in a micro-blend state; a true block copolymer as defined in polymer chemistry is not formed, thus satisfactory characteristics as targeted have not always resulted.

Olefin block copolymer and production process thereof

Research Development Corporation of Japan


A process is described for the modification of the outermost atomic layer of a substrate, such as a carbon layer having hydrogen atoms bonded at the surface, in a plasma chamber to covalently bond carbon-flourine groups such as CF.sub.3 groups to carbon atoms in the surface. After establishing a plasma process in which both etching and deposition are ocurring, a fluorinated gas is injected into the chamber to allow CF.sub.3 groups to bond to the surface. The process does not apply of a layer with a defined thickness, but rather conditions the surface for desired properties of high affinity for lubricants and low affinity for contaminants. The invention is particularly useful for heads and disks for use in magnetic recording.

Magnetic disks are data memories with a very large capacity. Millions of characters (bytes) can be stored on a magnetic disk about 95 mm in size.
In addition to high storage density, the disks must also have exact mechanical and tribological characteristics. In some applications, the disks move at a speed of approx. 5400 rotations per minute. This means that the outer edge of the disk is subjected to a speed of up to 100 km/h, in which the write/read head is only a few ten thousandths of a millimeter from the surface of the disk.
Only the greatest precision in manufacture and statistical process controls can achieve these quality requirements.
Since hard disk drives with low overhung magnetic heads have been manufactured, these hard disks have been equipped with a lubricant to prevent friction, abrasion and damage (tribological effects). The lubricant, generally a linear or branched perfluorinated polyether, is first applied to the disk, in order to ensure even surface distribution. Such an arrangement is known through DE- AS-28 39 378 and EP-A-0 123 707, for example.
Other systems are based on a selective vapour pressure reservoir, in which an additional vapourisable lubricant is introduced into the drive in order to achieve condensation from the vapour phase onto the critical areas.
If a magnetic head is now applied to a disk lubricated in this way and the drive started, the head is "contaminated" by the lubricants (lube) on the outer layer of the disk through molecular transfer from the disk to the head, which thus receives a layer of lubricant.
Within such an arrangement of magnetic head and disk to the hard disk interface, the air streaming past also comes across two fluorinated surfaces. Due to the autophobic character of the lube layer, the energy transferred in a chance contact between the head and the disk is reduced to a minimum.
The lubrication of the magnetic head too has the additional advantage in that the lubricant works as a chemical surface protector, as the affinity of organic materials, potential deposits and condensed products are greatly reduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,738 describes a recording medium consisting of a substrate, a thin film for picking up corresponding data, a protective layer on the magnetic layer as well as a layer of lubricant arranged on this protective layer. Through oxidative surface polymerisation in the plasma, this represents a manufactured product in which main molecule chains are chemically linked to the protective layer. In this way, impurities such as ho water or organic bonds getting between the disk and the lubricant can be avoided. This process has the disadvantage that on the surface of the substrate an additional discrete layer is created, which represents an additional interface and which can very easily contaminate the magnetic head. Wetting of the magnetic head with the lubricant does not take place.
In newer hard disk drives, the distance between head and disk is even smaller, in order that a higher storage density can be achieved. Naturally, even greater demands are made of the tribological characteristics of the interface between magnetic disk and head. To improve the surface hardness, a carbon layer which resembles diamond (carbon overcoat) is applied to the substrate surface, to which the lubricant is applied as a final layer. In this way, abrasion can be reduced and a smooth layer is achieved on the magnetic disk.
An additional "desired" lubrication of the magnetic head was not previously necessary, as the lube was applied automatically through the operation of the hard disk drive. It has been found that deliberate pre-lubrication of the magnetic head increases a problem already known to exist, known as stiction.
Whether the critical surface of the magnetic head is wetted first by the lube or by contamination depends, amongst other things, on the adsorption ratios. Generally, in such competitive processes, one is dealing with exclusion processes, i.e. should the pick up of contaminant droplets (e.g. oils) predominate, then the wetting with lube is all the more unlikely, because the surface has then changed its affinity more strongly towards picking up oils. The process tips in one direction or the other. This is also called autocatalytic affinity.
Should oil droplets be taken up, then they will accumulate on the back edge of the magnetic head through the flow of air. When the head has stopped moving on the disk, then this will be drawn by capillary attraction along the underside of the magnetic head in the gap between the head and the disk, and will thus stick the magnetic head onto the disk (glass disk effect). If the head does not move for a sufficiently long length of time and the sticking effect is correspondingly strong, this phenomenon can lead to the magnetic head being torn from its holder and to irreparable damage being caused to the magnetic disk.
Due to the increasing optimization of the interface towards greater storage density and smaller write/read distances, it now appears that a limit has been reached, in that the lube in the course of the initial use of a disk drive is no longer being transferred quickly enough from the disk to the head. Recent analytical observations on the part of the applicants have shown that dependent on selected write/read distances, also under conditions of several weeks of running, no traces of lube and almost no closed layers exist on the heads. On the other hand, in the first hours of running all types of contaminants such as plasticizers, outgassing products of adhesives and elastomers etc. were measured, which could be damaging for the operation of the drive and lead to failures due to stiction.
As no lube layer can be introduced directly onto the read head due to stiction problems described above, and on the other hand as a lack of protective layer leads to pick up of contaminants and thus to renewed stiction, the necessity exists of developing a process which allows a layer of lubrication to be applied to the carbon overcoat of the magnetic head without simultaneously having to accept the disadvantages of stiction effects. In addition, no further layer should have to be brought onto the magnetic head, as this would be soft in comparison to the hard carbon overcoat layer and thus could again occasion further contamination.

Process of surface modification of magnetic heads by a reactive gas with CF.sub.3 groups

International Business Machines Corporation


A connection part between a panel and a support includes a body provided with an elongated segment that extends through an orifice made in the support. It incorporates an over-injected part made of a soft and compressible material on the body. The over-injected part has an absorption ring that envelopes a segment of the body and is in contact with a neck of retainer joined to the panel, thereby absorbing the lateral compressions resulting from positional misalignments due to manufacturing errors and expansions of the support and the panel.

The connection parts normally used to join a panel to the vehicle body are located on the vehicle body ready to receive a carriage or retainer element of the panel that is inserted by sliding until the retainer is coupled with the connection parts.
The different temperatures to which the panel and the vehicle body are subjected and their various materials result in expansions of these elements that deteriorate the attachment of the panel and the body, even damaging the panel. This situation can also be worsened by the fact that the initial adjustment between parts has been forced because of the dimensional deviations of the coupled elements from their nominal dimensions.
In order to solve this drawback a number of developments are proposed such as those discussed in EP 0 939 234, which describes a connection between a support and a panel that comprises a connection part that locks in the vehicle body and a cartridge associated to the panel provided with a bushing in which the upper overhanging segment of the connection part is coupled. The bushing is centred and connected to the cartridge body by a number of elastically deformable spiral ribs, so that the positional misalignments that may exist between the upper part of the connection part and the retention ring within fabrication tolerances may be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the ribs. Similarly, the ribs will absorb the variations resulting from the expansion of the panel or the vehicle body.
Another possible solution considered in EP 0 937 898 discloses in that the connection part incorporates an upper crown with the aforementioned spiral elastic ribs, which will absorb the dimensional variations when coupled to the retainer element of the panel. This solution can also be seen in ES 2 163 221.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,768 discusses a connection unit between a vehicle body support and a panel. The panel is provided with a retainer associated in which a connection part is coupled. The connection part is previously attached to the body by anchoring elements on its lower elongated segment and is provided with a number of discs that enter by lateral sliding in corresponding recesses defined in the support. This connection part incorporates a circular elastic gasket that rests on the inner face of the vehicle body to prevent leaks through the orifice made in said body through which the elongated lower segment of the connection part passes.
The use of this elastic gasket is also considered in EP 0 964 170.

Connection part between a panel and a support


The memory device has: a plurality of banks, each of which has a memory cell array having a plurality of page areas that are selected by row addresses respectively, and each of which is selected by a bank address; a row controller that controls activation of the page areas within each of the banks in response to a first operation code; and a group of data input/output terminals. A memory unit area within each of the activated page areas is accessed based on the column address. The row controller generates bank activation signals for the plurality of banks in response to multi-bank information data and a supplied bank address that are supplied along with the first command, and generates the row address of each of the plurality of banks in response to the supplied bank address and a supplied row address. The plurality of banks activate the page areas in response to the bank activation signals and the row addresses generated by the row address calculator.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a memory device for recording two-dimensionally arrayed data including digital image data, a memory controller of the memory device, and a memory system. Particularly, the present invention relates to a memory device, memory controller and memory system for increasing an effective bandwidth indicating the number of data items that can be processed per unit time.
2. Prior Art
The market size of the memory devices for recording two-dimensionally arrayed data, like digital image data, has been gradually increasing along with the popularization of video distribution through digital broadcasting or the Internet. Digital image data is a group of data obtained by constituting gradation information of pixels using a plurality of bits (e.g., 256 gradation levels of 8 bits). For example, one frame of image data for high-definition broadcasting is constituted by 1920×1040 pixels. Each frame of this image data is arranged in an address space within image memory in accordance with a predetermined mapping method.
Such memory mapping is defined so that the most efficient access can be made, on the basis of the configuration and operation of synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) that is presently popular. For example, SDRAM has a plurality of banks, and each bank has a plurality of word lines and bit lines, a plurality of memory cells that are at the intersections of the word lines and bit lines, and sense amplifiers corresponding to the bit lines. The plurality of banks can independently execute active operation. The active operation performed in the SDRAM is a series of operations for selecting a word line and activating the corresponding sense amplifier on the basis of a row address. Further, read operation performed in the SDRAM is a series of operations for outputting a bit-line potential as read data to an input/output terminal on the basis of a column address, the bit-line potential being amplified by the sense amplifier, while write operation is a series of operations for inputting selected write data, which is inputted from the input/output memory, to a bit line that is selected based on the column address.
An address space within a memory of the SDRAM is constituted by a plurality of page areas each of which can be selected by a bank address and a row address, and each of the page areas has a group of bits or a group of bytes that can be selected by a column address. The group of bytes (or the group of bits) that are selected by the column address are inputted/outputted via a plurality of input/output terminals.
According to a generally known mapping method, a pixel of digital image data is associated with each byte (or bits) of the group of bytes (or the group of bits) that can be selected by the column address within a page area. Moreover, according to this mapping method, each of the banks of the SDRAM can independently execute the active operation and the read or write operation, thus the plurality of page areas associated with an arrangement of pixels of the digital image data are arranged so that page areas that are vertically and horizontally adjacent to each other on the image correspond to different bank addresses respectively. For example, if the SDRAM is constituted by four banks, the page areas corresponding to bank addresses BA=0, 1 are alternately arranged in the odd-numbered rows, while the page areas corresponding to bank addresses BA=2, 3 are alternately arranged in the even-numbered rows. By arranging the page areas in this manner, when reading or writing one frame of image data, different banks can execute the active operation and the read or write operation alternately and temporally overlapped, and a bandwidth, which is the number of processable pixels per a unit time, can be increased remarkably.
Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe that the access efficiency is improved by allowing simultaneous access to a plurality of rows in a semiconductor memory for storing image data.
Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes a memory device that is provided with a sub-array selection circuit for performing control to activate, simultaneously, a sub-array allocated to an input row address and a sub-array allocated to a row address right above the input row address, in order to solve the increased reading time and power consumption since the data in every other row need to be read when using the DRAM in image expansion processing. However, Patent Document 3 is designed to enhance the efficiency of horizontal accesses that are made continuously in a row direction of the image, and thus does not describe the rectangular access.
Moreover, Patent Document 4 describes a data processing system in which a bus controller issues an address active command, in response to an access instruction sent from a data processing section, to a storage area different from a storage area accessed in a burst mode, and thereby setting of an access address is made possible. Specifically, while the memory controller activates and accesses one bank, an active command is issued to other bank to perform active operation before hand on this bank, whereby acceleration of read/write operation can be realized.
Also, Patent Document 5 discloses an image processing device having: an image memory; and a control unit for continuously generating a column address while accessing an arbitrary bank, to continuously access an arbitrary address within the same page, and row-activating a bank to be subsequently accessed in advance and thereby immediately accessing the bank to be newly accessed even if accessed bank is switched to another bank. Specifically, there is described that the memory controller has an address order prediction circuit to predict a bank to be subsequently accessed and issue an active command to the memory.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-312885
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H08-180675
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. h09-231746
[Patent Document 4] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-132577
[Patent Document 5] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-105367

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Memory device, memory controller and memory system


A developing device includes a developing sleeve having a plurality of grooves, and a magnetic field generating portion configured to be disposed on an inner side of the developing sleeve and including at least a drawing-up pole and a cut pole. The magnetic field generating portion is configured to form. a Fr attenuation area and a Fθ reverse area between a peak of a magnetic flux density of the drawing-up pole and a peak of a magnetic flux density of the cut pole. Fr attenuates toward the cut pole side from the drawing-up pole side in the Fr attenuation area and Fθ is oriented towards an opposite direction to a direction of rotation of the developing sleeve in the Fθ reverse area. A pitch interval of the plurality of grooves is shorter than a length of the Fθ reverse area in the direction of rotation of the developing sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to a developing device which develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, such as a photoconductive drum, by using a developer including a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine, which is an electro-photographic type or an electrostatic recording type, and a multi-purpose peripheral which has a plurality of functions of these apparatuses, visualization (developing) is performed by adhering the developer to an electrostatic latent image which is formed on the image carrier, such as a photoconductive drum. In the developing device which is used in such developing, in the related art, a technology of using a two-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as a developer) which is made of a toner having non-magnetic particles and a carrier having magnetic particles, is known.
In such a developing device, the developer is carried on an outer surface of a developing sleeve which has a magnet disposed on an inner side, and the developer is conveyed by rotation of the developing sleeve. The amount (thickness of a layer) of the developer is regulated by a regulating blade which is disposed in the vicinity of the developing sleeve, and the developer is conveyed to a developing area which opposes the photoconductive drum. Then, the electrostatic latent image which is formed on the photoconductive drum is developed by the toner in the developer.
As the developing sleeve which carries and conveys the developer in this manner, for example, JP-A-5-40399 discloses a developing sleeve which has a plurality of grooves on an outer surface thereof. In this configuration, it is possible to capture the developer with the plurality of grooves provided on the outer surface, and to convey the developer with high efficiency.
Meanwhile, in general, a magnet which is disposed on an inner side of the developing sleeve includes a drawing-up pole which draws up and carries the developer in a developing container by the developing sleeve, and a cut pole which is disposed to be adjacent to the drawing-up pole and to be in the vicinity of the regulating blade. The developer which is drawn up by the drawing-up pole is conveyed to the cut pole by the rotation of the developing sleeve, and the thickness of the layer is regulated by the regulating blade. However, at this time, a shear (compression) is applied from the drawing-up pole to the vicinity of the cut pole in the vicinity of the developing sleeve. When the developer receives the compression over a long period of time, there is a possibility that the developer deteriorates, the toner is not uniformly placed with respect to the electrostatic latent image, a uniform transfer is not performed, roughness, such as graininess, is generated on the image, and image density deteriorates. In addition, as the toner is excessively pressed against the developing sleeve, there is a possibility that an uneven density is generated by a hard sticking of the toner with the developing sleeve.
Here, as described in JP-A-11-24407, a configuration in which a drawing-up magnetic pole is provided in the vicinity of the regulating blade and regulation of thickness of the layer of the developer on the developing sleeve is performed by this magnetic pole, is suggested. As the developer is drawn up and the thickness of the layer is regulated by the one magnetic pole, it is possible to reduce the above-described compression of the developer, and to suppress deterioration of the developer.
However, similar to the above-described JP-A-11-24407, when the developer is drawn up and the thickness of the layer is regulated by the one magnetic pole, a magnetic force becomes weak due to a magnet in the vicinity of the developing sleeve. For this reason, there is a possibility that the amount of the developer upstream of the regulating blade becomes unstable, for example, the amount of the developer extremely becomes small. Accordingly, there is a case where the amount of the developer which is carried by the developing sleeve becomes unstable (coating defect of the developer is generated), and uneven image density caused by the coating defect is generated.


The present invention relates to a method for reproducing a set of documents and the characters and fonts in each document, which includes, storing each document in a print file; creating an index file for each of the documents, containing a location of the document in the print file; creating a resource file containing directions on how to print the characters and fonts in the print file; requesting one or more documents for reprinting; combining the print file associated with each document for reprinting and the corresponding resource file to produce an output file; and reprinting one or more documents from the output file so that each character and font in each document can be reproduced.

To satisfy the changing needs and expectations of system users and keep pace with technological developments, sophisticated document system libraries are designed to be routinely restructured and remodified. Such modifications allow for, among other things, changes in document format and the generation of new characters and logos.
While prior art document system libraries have adapted well to change in system requirements, they have, nonetheless, caused difficulties for system users in situations where it is desired to access and reprint previously stored documents. Namely, a system which has been modified and remodified several times, is unable to reprint a previously generated document having printing formats, characters and logos which are now unfamiliar to it. Because of litigation, or otherwise, there is often a need to provide such duplicative documents with the same information as the original, and in the same format as the original printing. Moreover, companies are often requested to produce such documents years after their original printing. As an example, for companies that send out mass billings, a customer account inquiry or the need for billing records often calls for an exact duplicate of a previously submitted billing invoice. In some cases, the request for such a bill may come three or even five years after the printing of the original invoice.
Consequently, the need exists for a method of reprinting documents in the same format as the original printing from a file independent from the document system library.

Document storage and reproduction method


Described herein is a method and system for determining a short-circuit current of a solar device before the solar device is tested in a solar simulator. A solar device includes a substrate layer, a front contact layer, a window/emitter layer, an absorber layer and a back contact. A thickness of the window/emitter layer and an absorption wavelength of the absorber layer are determined. The window/emitter layer thickness and absorber layer absorption wavelength are used with a fitting parameter that corresponds to transmission properties of the substrate and first contact layers in order to determine the solar device's short-circuit current.

PV devices convert sunlight into electricity via a physical process called "photovoltaic effect." Specifically, sunlight is composed of photons, or "packets" of energy. The photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to different wavelengths of light Upon striking a PV device, a photon may be reflected, absorbed, or pass right through the device. When a photon is absorbed, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of a semiconductor within the PV device. With its newfound energy, the electron is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom. By leaving this position, the electron causes a hole to form. Electrons and holes thus formed are collected each by one of two separate electrodes. The PV device can then be used to power an external electrical device using the two electrodes.
Different parameters can be used to evaluate a PV device's efficiency. Among these parameters is the device's short-circuit conductance GSC. The GSC is used to evaluate the amount of electrical loss caused by the device's shunt resistance. The greater the GSC, the more shunted the device and the less power that the device can produce.
As will be explained later, the GSC of a PV device is related to the device's short-circuit current ISC, which is the current through the device when the voltage through the device is zero. Thus, knowing the ISC of a PV device, its GSC can easily be determined.
Traditionally, a simulator is used to determine the ISC of a PV device. This usually occurs after the device has been manufactured and during a simulation stage. However, due to limitations in simulators, the determined ISC and thus the GSC of a PV device are not always accurate. Therefore, methods and systems are desired for more accurately determining the ISC and GSC of a PV device.

System and method for estimating the short circuit current of a solar device


Disclosed is a dry, semi-tight optical fiber unit that includes one or more optical fibers positioned within a buffer tube. A protective coating is provided upon the surface of the optical fibers, and an anti-adhesive coating is substantially bonded to the protective coating. One or more of these optical fiber units may be included in an optical cable. Also disclosed is a method for efficiently producing such an optical fiber unit.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,184, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses an exemplary optical fiber module that includes a plurality of optical fibers surrounded by a flexible tube, which is referred to as a protective skin. The gaps between the optical fibers in the flexible tube are generally occupied by a hydrophobic gel. The gel not only forms a moisture barrier but also prevents damage to the optical fiber and its protective coating (e.g., upon gaining access to the optical fiber).
One drawback of using grease or other gel-like material is that, during the installation of such optical modules, the grease or gel-like material tends to emerge from the optical cables, necessitating additional cleaning operations. Moreover, it is unpleasant for personnel to come into contact with grease or other gel-like material during optical cable installations.
European Patent Application No. EP 0,296,836 (and its counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,519, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety) relate to an optical fiber cable that includes an inner sheath containing at least one optical fiber member, and an outer sheath surrounding the inner sheath. An intermediate sheath may be provided between the inner and outer sheaths. The inner sheath completely surrounds and is in tightly packed, direct contact with the optical fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,268, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a tight-buffered optical waveguide that includes a solid lubricant, which purportedly improves strippability.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2002/0168520, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, relates to an optical fiber whose core is surrounded by a cladding, which in turn is surrounded by one or more layers of coating material.
There is a need, however, for an improved, semi-tight (or loose) optical fiber unit that is free of conventional water-blocking greases or grease-like gels.


A board game apparatus including a game board divided into a plurality of playing spaces connecting a starting space with a destination point. The players roll a die and move along the playing spaces accordingly. Upon landing on a playing space, the player has the choice to either answer an objective question or a subjective question in order to continue moving toward the destination point or pass. If the player incorrectly answers a question, he or she must move backward along the path between the starting point and the destination point. The objective cards each include a question and a correct answer, while the subjective cards include a question and two possible answers. The correct answer to a subjective question can be determined either by selecting a pre-determined answer printed on the card based on a poll of the general public or other selected group, or by polling the players.

This invention relates to games, and more particularly to a board-type game.
The board game apparatus of the present invention includes a game board having a plurality of playing spaces defining a course of travel extending between a starting space and at least one destination point. Each of the playing spaces includes one of a plurality of colored indicia. The board game apparatus further includes a set of objective question cards and a set of subjective question cards. The objective question cards each include an objective question and two possible answers. The correct answer to the objective question is printed on the card.
The subjective question cards each include a subjective question and two possible answers. Since the question on the subjective question card does not have a definite correct answer, the answer can be determined in one of many ways. In a first option, the correct answer is pre-printed on the subjective question card, and is determined by polling a sample of the general public or other group. In a second option, the correct answer is determined by polling the game players and identifying the most popular answer.
When playing the game, the current player rolls a die and moves a corresponding number of playing spaces along the game board. Upon landing on one of the playing spaces, the current player is asked a question from one of the question cards corresponding to the indicia on the playing space. After hearing the question, the current player can either decline to answer the question and remain on the playing space while losing his or her turn or choose to answer the question. If the current player correctly answers the question, he or she receives another turn and rolls the die to move along the gameboard. If the current player incorrectly answers the question, he or she moves backward three playing spaces and loses his or her turn. The current player can only advance along the gameboard by correctly answering a question.
Upon reaching either of the destination points, the current player must answer a question from the question card corresponding to the indicia on the destination point. The first of the players to correctly answer a question during his or her turn while on one the destination points is deemed the winner.
The objective question cards and the subjective question cards can each contain questions from a variety of distinct categories, such that the subject matter of the questions can be varied. Since each of the objective and subjective question cards includes only two answers to select from, the board game of the present invention does not require either a de novo answer or a stressful decision in comparing a large number of possible answers.
Other features and advantages of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon inspecting the following drawings and description thereof.

Board game apparatus and method involving answering objective and subjective questions


Disclosed herein is a toothbrush apparatus including a tooth brush frame having a handle and a head frame, a head assembly and a retainer. The head frame has an interior opening with a gear rack. The head assembly includes a base having a plurality of openings and a bristle structure within each of the openings. The base is sized and shaped to slide within the head frame and the longitudinal edges of the base define rails. The head assembly includes a plurality of gears for compatible engagement with the gear rack. The bristle structures include static and dynamic bristles. The static bristles remain stationary, while the dynamic bristles are connected to the gears and rotate with the gears. The retainer has an interior guide for accepting the rails for sliding connection. The head assembly including the retainer are force fit within the head frame with the gears engaging the gear rack.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dental apparatus, particularly a periodontal dental apparatus and more particularly to a toothbrush apparatus which has a movable head.
2. Previous Art
On a daily basis, there is no more important action one can take to preserve one's teeth than brushing. Tooth brushing cleans the teeth and prevents the build of plaque and similar tooth decaying material. Tooth brushing has been known for a very long time and there has been a variety of devices to assist one in doing a thorough job of cleaning teeth by brushing.
Earlier in this century, mechanical improvements to tooth brushes were emphasized. For example, Domingue, U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,244 discloses a tooth brush having "rotary cleaning elements" (bristles). Reichmann, U.S. Pat. No. 1,090,126 and Steiner U.S. Pat. No. 2,175,975 also discloses tooth brushes having rotating cleaning elements. Each of these devices is designed to improve the tooth brush's ability to clean the teeth and remove foreign matter such as plaque and the like.
Dadian, U.S. Pat. No. 2,169,581, discloses an additional mechanical improvement to a tooth brush. Dadian discloses a tooth brush having a pivotable head.
More recent tooth brush apparatus improvements have focused on increased cleaning ability by automatic means. For example, Crawford et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,795 discloses a periodontal cleaning device having a plurality of rotating heads and gears powered by automatic means. Hegemann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,630 and Brockman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,264 similarly disclose automatic periodontal cleaning devices which use an automatic method for rotating the cleaning element for improving tooth cleaning.
While the automatic periodontal cleaning devices have proven effective at cleaning, they tend to be somewhat bulky and therefore difficult to carry while traveling and the like. Additionally, some of the automatic periodontal devices require some training before they can be used effectively. Also, these automatic devices are many times more expensive than a simple tooth brush.
What is needed is simple toothbrush apparatus that has the effectiveness of the automatic periodontal devices and the cost and convenience of the simpler mechanical devices.


An agricultural wheel tire has a tire tread having first and second lateral edges defining the width of the tire tread, and two sets of lugs. Each lug of the first set extends from a center of the tread width and terminates at the first lateral edge of the tire tread. Each lug of the second set extends from the center of the tread width and terminates at the second lateral edge of the tire tread. The first and second sets of lugs extend in an alternating manner in a circumferential direction of the tire tread so that corresponding side and end surfaces of adjacent first and second lugs and corresponding surfaces of the tire tread form substantially spherical-shaped depressed portions of the tire tread. The spherical-shaped depressed portions are arranged in the circumferential direction of the tire tread so that when the wheel tire is driven on soft soil, the spherical-shaped depressed portions engage and are buried in the soft soil and the soft soil is gathered inward of the spherical-shaped depressed portions and gradually hardened so that soft soil located between and surrounding the adjacent first and second lugs increases in hardness to thereby prevent the wheel tire from sinking into the soft soil so that the wheel tire has sufficient driving force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tires for use on wheels of farm working machines and, more particularly, to a tire having a tread integrally formed with a plurality of lugs.
2. Background Information
A tire for farm working machines, which generally need a great tractive force, has a tread formed with a plurality of lugs. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-6-57487, for example, presents a farm working machine wheel having a plurality of lugs formed obliquely on the tread. Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-7-30401 presents a farm working machine wheel with a plurality of lugs protruded outward from lateral edges of a tire.
FIGS. 10A and 10B hereof illustrate the wheel disclosed in HEI-6-57487.
A farm working machine wheel 200 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B consists of a tire 201 and a rim 206 supporting the tire 201. The tire 201 has a tread 205 on which long lugs 202 and short lugs 203 are circumferentially disposed in an alternating manner, slanting at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the wheel rotation axis.
The tread 205 of the tire 201 has a convexly curved shape as shown in FIG. 10B. The long lugs 202 and the short lugs 203 slant with respect to the wheel rotation axis line. When the farm working machine wheel 200 travels on farm land having a soft upper layer, the soft soil is likely to be expelled in arrow directions. The wheel 200 thus sinks down, reaching hard soil in a lower layer, and obtaining a driving force. If the sinking amount of the wheel 200 is large, a lower body portion of the farm working machine mounted with the wheel 200 contacts the ground, having difficulty in smooth traveling.
FIGS. 11A and 11B hereof illustrate the wheel disclosed in HEI-7-30401.
A farm working machine wheel 210 shown in FIGS. 101A and 11B has a plurality of lugs 213 formed on a tubular portion 212 of a tire 211. Each of the lugs 213 consists of a circumferential lug 214 extending circumferentially about the tire 211 and an axial lug 215 extending from the circumferential lug 214 in parallel with the rotation axis of the tire 211. Specifically, the axial lug 215 protrudes outward from a lateral edge of the tubular portion 212. Reference numeral 217 denotes a core material of the tire 211.
The tubular portion 212 of the tire 211 of the farm working machine wheel 210 has a small width, causing the wheel 210 to be likely to sink in the soil. The farm working machine has difficulty in smooth traveling, as described with FIGS. 10A and 10B.
It is thus desired to improve a farm working machine wheel to prevent sinking of the wheel and to improve the traveling performance of the farm working machine on soft land or cultivated land.


Disclosed is a macrocyclic kinase inhibitor, wherein the compound, or a stereoisomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is as shown in formula I. Experiments show that the new compound as shown in formula I disclosed in the present invention exhibits an excellent TRK inhibitory activity, has a significant inhibitory effect on TRKA-mutant cell growth, and exhibits an excellent inhibitory effect on in vivo tumor growth, thus providing a new choice for the clinical treatment of diseases associated with abnormal TRK activity.

The tropomyosin receptor kinase (Trk) family is a class of receptor tyrosine kinases, and includes three members: TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC. After being activated by neurotrophic factors, Trk affects the survival and differentiation of neurons and significantly affects the function of neurons through various signaling pathways.
It has been reported that inhibitors of the Trk/neurotrophic factor pathway are effective in many animal pain models (Zahn, P. K. et al. J. Pain, 2004 (5): 157-163; Shelton, D L. et al Pain, 2005 (116): 8-16). In addition, the neurotrophic factors secreted by tumor cells and tumor infiltrating macrophages directly stimulate TrkA on peripheral pain fibers. It has been reported that the activation of the TrkB pathway can regulate several types of pain, including inflammatory pain (Matayoshi, S. et al. J. Physiol, 2005 (569): 685-695), neuropathic pain (Thompson, S. W. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1999 (96): 7714-7718) and surgical pain (Li, C. Q. et al. Molecular Pain, 2008 (28): 1-11).
It has been reported that overexpression, activation, amplification and/or mutation of Trk are associated with a variety of cancers, including neurocytoma (Brodeur, G M et al. Nat. Rev. Cancer, 2003 (3): 203-216), melanoma (Truzzi, F. et al. Dermato-Endocrinology, 2008 (1): 32-36), breast cancer (Jin, W. et al Carcinogenesis, 2010 (11): 1939-1947) and gastric cancer (Du, J. et. al. World J. Gastroenterology, 2003 (7): 1431-1434) etc. In preclinical models, non-selective small molecule inhibitors of TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC effectively inhibited tumor growth and terminated tumor metastasis (Pierottia, M. A. et al. Cancer Letters, 2006 (232): 90-98; Eric Adriaenssens, E. et al. Cancer Res, 2008 (68): 346-351).
It has also been reported that non-selective small molecule inhibitors of TrkA, TrkB and TrkC are effective in preclinical models of inflammatory diseases including asthma (Freund, M. V. et al. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2008 (117): 52-76), inflammatory bowel disease (Mola, F. F. et al. Gut, 2000 (46): 670-678) and specific dermatitis (Dou, Y. C. Arch Derma Res., 2006 (298): 31-37), etc.
It is also reported that the Trk/neurotrophic factor pathway is involved in neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (Sohrabji, F. et al. Neuroendocrinology, 2006 (27): 404-414).
Therefore, there is a need to further develop small molecule inhibitors of Trk for the treatment of pain, cancer, inflammation, neurological retirement diseases and the like.


An exemplary circuit board (21) includes an indention portion at a side of the circuit board, and a plug slot (251). The indention portion includes a bottom wall (211) and a side wall (212), and the side wall located between the bottom wall and an end of the circuit board at the side of the circuit board. The plug slot is attached at the bottom wall and is adjacent the side wall. Spacing between the side wall and the plug slot at the bottom wall is less than spacing between the side wall and the plug slot at the end of the circuit board.

A common electrical device such as a personal computer generally includes a plurality of electrical parts which are connected to each other by connectors. In many electrical assemblies used in such electrical devices, two circuit boards are connected to each other by an elongate electrical connector.
Part of a conventional electrical assembly 1 is illustrated in FIG. 5. The electrical assembly 1 includes a main circuit board 10, a connector 11, and a flexible printed circuit 12. The main circuit board 10 electrically is connected to the flexible printed circuit 12 by the connector 11.
Referring to FIG. 6, this shows the flexible printed circuit 12 disconnected from the main circuit board 10. The main circuit board 10 includes two sub-circuit boards (not labeled) welded together. An indention portion (not labeled) is formed at the center of an end of the main circuit board 10. The connector 11 includes a plug slot 111 and a plug body 112. The plug slot 111 is attached to the indention portion of the main circuit board 10. Each sub-circuit board of the main circuit board 10 includes two L-shaped parts 100 generally at two opposite sides of the indention portion respectively. Each L-shaped part 100 includes a bottom wall 102 and a side wall 103 perpendicular to each other.
The connector 11 includes the plug slot 111 and the plug body 112, with the plug body 112 being attached to the flexible printed circuit 12. The plug slot 111 has a plurality of indentations 115 formed at an interface thereof, and a plurality of electrical contacts fixed in the indentations 115 respectively. Two fixing boles 114 are defined in two opposite ends of the plug slot 111 respectively. Two symmetrically opposite wedges 113 are attached at two opposite ends of the plug body 112 respectively, corresponding to the fixing boles 114 of the plug slot 111. A plurality of pins 121 is arranged in a row on each of top and bottom sides of the plug body 112. The pins 121 are arranged to correspond to the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. The main circuit board 10 includes a plurality of input and/or output circuits (not visible) formed at either or both sides of the sub-circuit boards thereof. The input and/or output circuits are electrically connected to the electrical contacts of the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111.
In assembly of the electrical assembly 1, firstly, the plug body 112 attached to the flexible printed circuit 12 is aligned with the plug slot 111 attached to the main circuit board 10. Secondly, the pins 121 of the plug body 112 are inserted into the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. Simultaneously, the wedges 113 are pushed outward by the ends of the plug slot 111. Thirdly, once the pins 121 are fully received in the indentations 115, the wedges 113 resiliently snap into the fixing holes 114 respectively and fix the plug body 112 and the plug slot 111 together. In this position, the pins 121 are in electrical contact with the circuits of the main circuit board 10. Thus, the main circuit board 10 and the flexible printed circuit 12 are mechanically and electrically connected together.
There are a number of difficulties that may be experienced in the above-described assembly process. First, the distance spanned by the two wedges 113 is only slightly less than the distance between the two pairs of side walls 103 at opposite sides of the indention portion of the main circuit board 10. Therefore it can be difficult to bring the plug body 112 close to the plug slot 111 in alignment with the plug slot 111. Second, for similar reasons, the wedges 113 are liable to scrape the side walls 103 when the pins 121 of the plug body 112 are inserted into the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. Third, the wedges 113 may not be fully or properly received in the fixing holes 114. When this happens, the electrical connection between any one or more of the pins 121 of the plug body 112 in the corresponding indentations 115 may be faulty or unreliable or even lost altogether.
Accordingly, what is needed is an electrical assembly configured to overcome the above-described problems.

Circuit board and electrical assembly using the same


In a lockup device, a drive plate has a frictional coupling portion adjacent to a friction surface, and can provide torque to a turbine. The piston is a disk-like member arranged between a front cover and the turbine, has a pressing portion arranged on a side of the frictional coupling portion remote from a friction surface, and is axially movable according to a change in hydraulic pressure. The piston coupling mechanism unrotatably and axially movably couples the piston to the front cover. A seal mechanism seals a portion radially inside the piston at its axially opposite sides. The damper mechanism is arranged in a space axially between the front cover and the turbine, and is located radially between a drive plate and a seal mechanism. The piston coupling mechanism is arranged radially inside the seal mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a lockup device of a hydraulic torque transmission device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lockup device having a multi-face clutch, in which a piston presses a friction plate to a friction surface of a front cover.
2. Background Information
A torque converter is a device for transmitting a torque of an engine to a transmission side via an internal working fluid, and primarily includes a front cover receiving torque from an engine, an impeller fixed to a transmission-side portion of a front cover to form a fluid chamber, a turbine opposed to an engine-side portion of the impeller for providing torque to a transmission side, and a stator arranged between radially inner portions of the impeller and the turbine for rectifying the working fluid flowing from the turbine toward the impeller.
The lockup device is a device arranged in a space between the turbine and the front cover for mechanically coupling the front cover and the turbine together, and thereby directly transmitting the torque from the front cover to the turbine. The lockup device includes a disk-like piston, which can be pressed to a friction surface of the front cover for coupling, and an elastic coupling mechanism for transmitting the torque between the piston and the turbine.
A lockup device which includes two friction surfaces for increasing a torque transmission capacity has already been proposed. For example, this lockup device includes a clutch mechanism having a frictional coupling portion opposed to a friction surface of a front cover, a piston for pressing the frictional coupling portion to the front cover, and an elastic coupling mechanism elastically coupling the turbine and the clutch mechanism fixed to the turbine together in the rotating direction (e.g., see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-112651).
More specifically, the clutch mechanism includes a friction plate having a frictional coupling portion adjacent to the friction surface of the front cover, and a piston which has a pressing portion adjacent to the frictional coupling portion, and can be axially moved by a hydraulic pressure. The piston is coupled to the front cover via return plates formed of plate springs. Owing to this coupling, the piston rotates together with the front cover, and is moved away the front cover by an elastic force of the return plates when the clutch is released. The elastic coupling mechanism includes a plurality of springs each having circumferential ends supported by the friction plate, and a driven plate supporting the circumferential ends of the springs fixed to the turbine.
The prior art, in which the mechanism coupling the front cover to the piston is formed with return springs that are made of plate springs, requires members such as rivets or bolts for fixing the opposite ends of each return spring. This increase the number of required parts, and complicates the structure so that the weight of the structure increases. Furthermore, the number of manufacturing steps increases.
In addition, the piston coupling mechanism is arranged in a radially middle portion of an axial space between the front cover and the turbine. Therefore, sufficient space cannot be ensured for the spring members of the damper mechanism. Consequently, it is impossible to increase the sizes of the spring members, and thus impossible to increase the vibration absorbing properties without difficulty.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved lockup device having a piston for pressing a frictional coupling portion of a friction plate to a front cover, and particularly to simplify a mechanism for coupling the piston to the front cover. In addition, it is also apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need for an improved lockup device having a piston for pressing a frictional coupling portion of a friction plate to a front cover, and particularly to ensure a space for a spring member of a damper mechanism. This invention addresses these needs in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

Lockup device for hydraulic torque transmission device


Medical imaging camera head devices and methods are provided using light captured by an endoscope system or other medical scope or borescope. Afocal light from the scope is manipulated and split. The resulting first and second beams are passed through focusing optics to a single sensor. To take better advantage of the available number image sensor pixels, the beam may pass through lens elements (or prisms) to generate an anamorphic aspect ratio prior to being split, increasing the resolution of the image in one dimension. The afocal anamorphic beam is then split, and both images are focused on the image sensor. The anamorphism is compensated for in image processing, permitting higher resolution in one dimension along the image sensor. The manipulation of the beams prior to being split (and in some cases after or while being split) can take several forms, each offering distinct advantages over existing systems.

Dual image acquisition can be a useful feature in the field of endoscopy. Two video streams of the same scene are captured, but each of the captured image streams has different associated characteristics such as a variation in light spectrum, depth of field, or light intensity. In prior dual image systems, images have generally been collected, split in image space, and then focused onto two independent detectors. Such a configuration allows for more versatility than a single image acquisition system, but is generally more expensive and complex, requiring at least two sensors and associated electronics and mounting assemblies.
Some prior art systems do capture multiple images from a single chip, however they generally contain a beamsplitter in the image space of the camera. Such designs have significant limitations due to lack of flexibility in positioning desired optical elements such as filters, lenses, and other elements in the optical paths after the beam is split. Further, the cost of a dual image system may be higher due to the duplication of certain optical components used in focusing and detecting the image light of the dual channels.
What is needed are devices and methods to enable an endoscopic camera to acquire dual images in a cost-effective manner. What is further needed are devices allowing the use of varied existing endoscopes for dual imaging applications, and allowing the detection of the varied characteristics in the dual images.

Medical imaging device with differing versions of an image on common image sensor


The present invention provides novel antibodies. In particular, the present invention provides fusion antibodies comprising antibody heavy and light chain fusions. The present invention further provides multivalent antibodies comprising multiple fusion antibody chains. The present invention further provides methods of generating splice resistant antibody genes.

The pharmaceutical biotechnology industry is based on the production of recombinant proteins in mammalian cells. These proteins are essential to the therapeutic treatment of many diseases and conditions. In particular, antibodies are of increasing importance in human therapy, assay procedures and diagnostic methods. However, methods of identifying antibodies and production of antibodies is often expensive, particularly where monoclonal antibodies are required. Hybridoma technology has traditionally been employed to produce monoclonal antibodies, but these methods are time-consuming and result in isolation and production of limited numbers of specific antibodies. Additionally, relatively small amounts of antibody are produced; consequently, hybridoma methods have not been developed for a large number of antibodies. This is unfortunate as the potential repertoire of immunoglobulins produced in an immunized animal is quite high, on the order of >1010, yet hybridoma technology is too complicated and time consuming to adequately screen and develop large number of useful antibodies. What is needed are methods of generating antibodies with increased activity, thus reducing the quantity of protein that has to be prepared.


A circuit, system, and method for increasing the speed of a bus by reducing the capacitive loading effect of transistors coupled to the bus are provided. The transistors, which are sub-micrometer channel length CMOS transistors, make up a tranceiver comprised of a transmitter and a reciever. The transistors that make up the transciever are coupled to the bus through a pair of Schottky diodes in series. The diode pair is coupled to isolate the bus from the junction capacitance of the transistors. The bus is a multi-segment transmission line with a characteristic impedance. The opposite ends of the transmission line are terminated with the characteristic impedance of the transmission line. The voltage swing of the bus is limited to approximately 1 volt. The pair of Schottky diodes isolate the signal bus line from the capacitive loading effects of the transistor drivers used to drive the voltages on the transmitting end of the bus, especially when the bus is being pulled to a logic high level. This results in minimal loading of the bus line and allows for a faster transmission rate. Speed is also increased by having only approximately a 1 volt swing of the bus line between logic high and logic low voltage states. All devices for this circuit can be fabricated using a standard metal-oxide-semiconductor fabrication process.

Digital computers and the like often include a plurality of very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits which are interconnected for binary communications by a bus or a transmission line. Transmitters and receivers interface the VLSI components of such systems to the transmission lines. The transmission lines may have their opposite ends terminated at their characteristic impedance. This results in the power internally dissipated by the driver being proportional to the nominal voltage swing of the binary signal it applies to the transmission line.
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology digital circuits are attractive for use in digital computers because of lower power consumption and hence lower cooling requirements, and lower construction cost. However, CMOS chips are inferior to emitter-coupled logic (ECL) components in both intra-chip and inter-chip operation speeds. The aforementioned advantages of ECL chips are mainly due to a lower voltage swing between logic low and logic high levels, and fewer transmission line effects resulting from impedance matching. The rail-to-rail voltage swing of standard CMOS circuits tends to cause the transmitters of such circuits to dissipate excessive amounts of power internally whenever the transmitters are working into low impedance loads such as terminated transmission lines.
The trend to faster CMOS technologies allows the design of very fast on-chip logic gates. This high performance often ends, however, at the die pads where typical modern digital CMOS devices drive their output pads with a simple CMOS inverter. The inverter, which swings the output pad from ground to rail voltage, is large in order to drive its capacitive output load quickly. The large output inverter is itself driven by a string of scaled inverters, typically three stages, to scale the internal on-chip gate signals to a drive level capable of quickly switching the large external capacitance.
This approach was very successful for the 3-4 micrometer channel-length CMOS generations, because the rise time of the final output inverter was limited to a 5-10-nanosecond transition time. Since this transition time was relatively slow, the traces on a typical printed circuit board could be successfully modeled as lumped capacitive loads. However, the disparity between on-chip processing speeds and inter-chip communication speed becomes increasingly troublesome as CMOS technology scales into the sub-micrometer channel length region. This is because modern CMOS technology, with sub-micrometer channel lengths, results in output switching times in the sub-nanosecond range. Printed circuit traces can no longer be treated as purely capacitive loads when driven by sub-nanosecond rise-time signals. The large junction capacitance associated with CMOS circuits thus limits the speed of the bus by loading down the bus line. Prior art designers have approached this problem by explicitly slowing the turn-on of output transistors. While this slows the rise time of the signal and allows the load to be treated as purely capacitive, it also slows the arrival of the output signal at its destination.
Designers of prior art circuits also attempted to solve this signaling problem with the use of terminated transmission lines as an interconnection technique. Terminated transmission lines have many advantages over driving capacitive loads. However, sizing the final output driver stage sufficiently large to allow driving a terminated transmission line is problematic because it requires large and slow predriver stages which dissipate large amounts of power. Designers of prior art circuits reduce this power dissipation problem by utilizing a low voltage logic swing transmitter and receiver. However, there remains a need to reduce capacitive loading effects of the transistor drivers used to drive the voltages on the transmitting end of the bus in order to increase the data transfer speed of data buses used with CMOS chips.

High speed CMOS bus transmitter and receiver


A diesel oxidation catalyst is disposed upstream of a diesel particulate filter (a DPF) disposed in an exhaust passage of a diesel engine. An electronic control unit (an ECU) operates a temperature increasing circuit, which performs post-injection, to eliminate particulate matters accumulated in the DPF. The ECU includes a first correcting circuit and a second correcting circuit. The first correcting circuit corrects a manipulated variable of the temperature increasing circuit based on a result of comparison between a target temperature and a temperature of the DPF estimated based on information related to an area upstream of the DPF. The second correcting circuit corrects the manipulated variable of the temperature increasing circuit based on a result of comparison between the target temperature and the temperature of the DPF estimated based on information related to an area downstream of the DPF.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exhaust gas purification system of an internal combustion engine having a particulate filter in an exhaust passage. Specifically, the present invention relates to an exhaust gas purification system capable of efficiently regenerating a particulate filter by increasing temperature of the particulate filter.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, an exhaust gas purification system for inhibiting discharge of toxic components by treating exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine by using a catalyst or a filter has been emphasized as one of measures for protecting the environment. For instance, an exhaust gas purification system, which has a diesel particulate filter (a DPF, hereafter) in an exhaust pipe and collects particulate matters discharged from a diesel engine with the DPF, is known. The DPF is regenerated by regularly combusting and eliminating the particulate matters accumulated in the DPF. Thus, the DPF can be used continuously.
The regeneration of the DPF is performed by increasing temperature of the DPF above a certain temperature (for instance, 600° C.) at which the particulate matters can be combusted, when the quantity of the particulate matters accumulated in the DPF (a particulate matter accumulation quantity, hereafter) reaches a predetermined value. The particulate matter accumulation quantity is calculated based on a pressure difference across the DPF, for instance. At that time, temperature increasing means performs post-injection, retardation of fuel injection timing, restriction of intake air or the like. The post-injection is an additional injection of a small amount of the fuel performed after a main injection, which is performed to operate the engine. However, these temperature increasing methods can deteriorate fuel consumption.
If the temperature of the DPF (DPF temperature T, hereafter) is low during the regeneration of the DPF, combustion speed of the particulate matters will be decreased as shown by a solid line "a" in FIG. 21. Accordingly, the regeneration of the DPF takes a long time and an amount of the fuel consumption is increased as shown by a broken line "b" in FIG. 21. If the DPF temperature T is high during the regeneration of the DPF, the combustion speed of the particulate matters is increased as shown by the solid line "a" in FIG. 21. In this case, the regeneration of the DPF is finished in a short time and the deterioration of the fuel consumption due to the regeneration of the DPF can be reduced as shown by the broken line "b" in FIG. 21. However, if the DPF temperature T is increased excessively, the DPF will be damaged or an oxidation catalyst supported on the DPF will be degraded because of the excessive temperature increase. An area "Ad" in FIG. 21 shows an area where the DPF can be damaged or the oxidation catalyst supported on the DPF can be degraded. Therefore, in order to inhibit the deterioration of the fuel consumption and to regenerate the DPF safely, the DPF temperature T has to be maintained in an appropriate range. Therefore, normally, temperature of the exhaust gas upstream or downstream of the DPF is sensed and the temperature increasing means is operated so that the sensed temperature approaches target temperature.
In a conventional technology disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H11-101122, an oxidation catalyst (a diesel oxidation catalyst: a DOC, hereafter) is serially disposed upstream of the DPF, and temperature of the exhaust gas upstream of the DPF and downstream of the DOC is sensed as the DPF temperature. If the DPF temperature (the temperature of the exhaust gas upstream of the DPF) shown by a thin line "b" in FIG. 22 exceeds a predetermined value (for instance, 500° C.) at a time point "tA", temperature increasing operation is stopped. Then, if the DPF temperature shown by the thin line "b" becomes lower than the predetermined temperature (for instance, 500° C.) at a time point "tB", the temperature increasing operation is started again. An "ON" state of a line "T-UP" in FIG. 22 represents a state in which the temperature increasing operation is performed by the temperature increasing means, and an "OFF" state of the line T-UP represents a state in which the temperature increasing operation is not performed.
However, the above technology performs an operation for merely switching the temperature increasing means, which performs the post-injection or the like, between the operated state and the stopped state. In this case, there is a possibility that the post-injection deteriorates the fuel consumption but the DPF is not substantially regenerated if the post-injection is performed but the DPF temperature decreases to low temperature (450° C. or under, for instance) because of a disturbance such as a change in an operating state of the engine. It is because the combustion speed of the particulate matters accumulated in the DPF is slow when the DPF temperature is low. In the above technology, it takes a long time to increase the DPF temperature to the proximity of the target temperature again in the case where the DPF temperature deviates from the target temperature largely during the regeneration of the DPF. As a result, the fuel consumption is deteriorated.
The DPF temperature is determined by a balance between heat generation through an oxidizing reaction of hydrocarbon due to a function of the oxidation catalyst, and heat radiation into the exhaust gas or a surrounding area. Therefore, in the case where a large amount of the exhaust gas passes through the DPF or in the case where the hydrocarbon is not supplied during deceleration and the like, the quantity of the radiated heat will exceed the quantity of the heat generated through the oxidizing reaction of the hydrocarbon, and the DPF temperature will decrease. If the DPF temperature once decreases, it takes a long time to achieve the target temperature TT even if the temperature increasing operation is started again.
If the temperature increasing operation is stopped at the time point tA in FIG. 22, low-temperature exhaust gas flows into the DOC and the heat generation through the oxidizing reaction of the hydrocarbon is stopped. Accordingly, the temperature of the DOC disposed upstream of the DPF decreases rapidly as shown by a broken line "a" in FIG. 22. The DPF has a greater heat capacity than the DOC. Therefore, the change in the actual temperature of the DPF shown by a heavy line "c" in FIG. 22 is delayed compared to the change in the DOC temperature shown by the broken line "a" in FIG. 22. Therefore, the sensed temperature does not decrease quickly as shown by the thin line "b", and the DOC temperature further decreases as shown by the broken line "a" before the sensed temperature shown by the thin line "b" decreases. Even if the temperature increasing operation is resumed because of the decrease in the sensed temperature shown by the thin line "b" at the time point tB in FIG. 22, the low-temperature exhaust gas passing through the DOC flows into the DPF. Therefore, the decrease in the actual temperature of the DPF shown by the heavy line "c" does not stop immediately. The actual temperature of the DPF starts increasing after the DOC temperature shown by the broken line "a" becomes high as a result of the resumption of the temperature increasing operation.
If a state in which the DPF temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature (for instance, 450° C. or under) continues during the regeneration of the DPF, the regeneration of the DPF will be extended and the fuel consumption will be deteriorated. In order to avoid such a situation, the DPF temperature should be preferably increased quickly to the target temperature TT (500° C., for instance) and maintained near the target temperature TT in the regeneration of the DPF.

Exhaust gas purification system of internal combustion engine