A digital subscriber line management system is provided. It comprises a device for calculating a set of values specifying a virtual noise mask. The device includes a receiver for receiving or otherwise obtaining a set of measurements of noise levels experienced at a digital subscriber line transceiver at each of a plurality of frequencies at different times, and a processor for calculating, in respect of each frequency, a combined value based on a plurality of measurements taken at different times, and for generating the set of values specifying a virtual noise mask in dependence upon the combined values.

DSL systems which operate at very high bandwidths tend to do so by employing higher frequency portions of the spectrum which becomes more feasible as the length of each line shortens (as fiber is pushed further towards the edges of the access network—e.g. Fiber to the Cabinet (FttC) and Fiber to the Drop Point (FttDP). Unfortunately, at these much higher frequencies cross talk from neighboring lines operating at the same high frequencies becomes more of a problem.
The latest version of ADSL (e.g. as specified in the ITU standard G992.3) provides for low power modes when a line is not transmitting or receiving data and it is expected that such low power modes will be introduced into the VDSL standard at some point before too long. A particular problem of cross noise when a system has low power modes is that the level of cross talk noise will vary significantly when a neighboring line is in a low power mode, compared to when it is in a high power mode and actively transmitting and/or receiving data.
When a DSL line synchronizes up (i.e. a connection is set up across the line between the two DSL transceivers at each end of the line—this process is also known as resynching and retraining) a measurement of the noise is taken and is used to set certain parameters which are then used throughout the connection until a new connection is established (i.e. until the line re-synchs). The most important parameter which is set is the target signal to noise ratio margin (target SNM), which in turn causes the line to synchronize at a particular rate for the given noise detected at each carrier frequency. Once a connection has synchronized at a particular line rate, it will endeavor to maintain that line rate for the duration of the connection. If the noise experienced by the line becomes too great to sustain the line rate at which the line synchronized, the connection will fail and the DSL transceivers will lose synchronization with each other. At this point the line will automatically resynch—quite possibly at a lower line rate if the noise which caused the resynch is still present while the line is resynching.
As noted above, the use of low power modes can cause the noise environment of a DSL line to change dramatically over time. For example, if a first line runs adjacent to second line (e.g. in a bundle of lines running together towards and indeed to a common network-side DSL transceiver (e.g. in a Digital Subscriber Line Access Module (DSLAM)) and if the first line synchronizes at a time when the second line is operating in a low power mode it may experience a relatively mild or noiseless noise environment (compared to what it would have been if the second line were operating in a high power mode) and may consequently synchronize at a fairly high line rate for a given SNM. If at a subsequent time the second line then "wakes up" and goes into a high power mode, the affect on the noise environment of the first line may be such that it can no longer sustain the line rate at which it originally synched and so cause the first line to drop out.
To address the above prospective problem it has been proposed to use a feature called "virtual noise". As specified in for example ITU's standards G.992.3 (ADSL 2) and G993.2 (VDSL2) the virtual noise is represented as a set of break points and is either sent from one transceiver to another or read by a transceiver from a local Management Information Base (MIB) at the time of setting up a connection. Generally, the connection comprises two transceivers or modems, referred to hereinafter as a Transceiver Unit-User-side (TU-U) and a Transceiver Unit-Network-side (TU-N), and a twisted copper pair between them.
[Note on terminology: in G992.3 the modems are referred to as an ATU-R (standing for ADSL Transceiver Unit-Remote (i.e. at the user's end)) and an ATU-C (for ADSL Transceiver unit-Central office (at the Central Office or Exchange side), whilst in G993.2 (VDSL 2) they are referred to as a VTU-R and a VTU-O (for VDSL Transceiver Unit-central Office). In the present specification they shall be referred to as a Transceiver Unit-User-side (TU-U) and a Transceiver Unit-Network-side (TU-N) but these correspond to the ATU-R and ATU-C of G992.3 and the VTU-R and VTU-O of G993.2 respectively.]
The range of frequencies at which the TU's may communicate over the connection is generally specified by a standard which is applicable to a certain geographical region as well as being governed by the capabilities of the TU's and the standard to which they are operating (e.g. G992.3 or G993.2, etc.). Within this range there are allocated one or more upstream bands and one or more downstream bands. In each upstream band the TU-U (e.g. ATU-R, VTU-R) will transmit signals and the TU-N (e.g. ATU-C, VTU-O) will receive signals. Correspondingly in each downstream band the TU-N (e.g. ATU-C, VTU-O) will transmit signals and the TU-U will receive signals.
During synchronization a series of test signals are transmitted by both transceivers and there is also a quiet line phase when no signals are transmitted by either TU. During this time each TU measures/estimates the noise detected on its respective receive bands (e.g. the TU-U measures noise on the downstream bands while the TU-N measures noise on the upstream bands) for each tone/sub-carrier frequency in the respective band and then reports an indication of this detected/measured noise estimation to the other TU. Each TU then tries (in a rate adaptive system) to determine an overall data rate (which it is reasonable to suppose is sustainable for the duration of the connection) and a bit allocation for each bin/tone/sub-carrier frequency (which allocation may change to take into account variations in the channel or the noise etc. over the duration of the connection) based at least partially on this information. If a virtual noise scheme is being used, the appropriate virtual noise specified for the respective band in question is additionally taken into account when determining a bit allocation for each bin/tone/sub-carrier frequency.
Although the standards specify details of how the virtual noise should be expressed (e.g. as a set of break points with virtual noise for tones/bins not corresponding to a break point being obtained by linear interpolation between the values of break points on either side of the respective bin/tone), no methodology for setting the virtual noise in the first place is provided in the standards since this is a matter which can be determined on a vendor by vendor basis and does not therefore need to form part of the standards.
US 2010/0254442 describes a method of selecting a virtual noise mask for use in training a pair of cooperating DSL modems. The noise mask is selected from one of a set of predetermined templates each of which has a similar pattern or profile across the range of frequencies (used by the modems) but a differing magnitude. (The pattern or profile itself seems to be based on a Power Spectral Density (PSD) mask specified by a band plan or a standard or something similar specified by a National or Regional authority.) The exact template to select is determined based on a series of measurements of the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) over a period of time and may be based on an average of such measurements or an average plus some standard deviation or on some rolling aggregation of all such measurements (e.g. of the (VALUEnew=alpha times VALUEold+beta times MEASUREMENT) where alpha plus beta equals one and MEASUREMENT is the most current SNR measurement). It is not described what happens on the very first occasion that a device, but the teaching seems to be that thereafter a number of measurements will have been taken (including several measurements taken during the showtime of the connection) such that for all subsequent synchronizations a virtual noise template will be selected for use in the synchronization process. The patent teaches away from using quiet line noise measurements taken during a synchronization or training phase since it appears to be believed that this may not capture the noise as well as SNR measurements taken during showtime of a connection. There is no teaching that unless a minimum number of quiet line noise measurements are taken for a line per unit of time, no virtual noise mask is generated for the line. Rather the teaching is that a virtual noise mask is always selected without any dependency upon the number of times that a connection resynchronizes per unit of time.
Furthermore, US 2010/0254442 does not teach a method of selecting which tones to use as break points in the virtual noise mask. As mentioned above, the patent teaches merely selecting from one of a finite number of virtual noise templates which it would seem all use the same predetermined tones for the break points with merely different magnitudes of the break points to generate similarly shaped but differently scaled versions of the common template. Thus there is no suggestion of analyzing the detected noise over the full range of available tones and selecting certain of those tones to use as the break points based on that analysis.

Digital subscriber line management using virtual noise calculation

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY


A liquid crystal lens includes a liquid crystal layer and at least two driving electrode plates. The liquid crystal layer is arranged between the driving electrode plates. Each of the driving electrode plates includes a transparent substrate, a circuit layer, an insulating layer, an electrode layer, at least a conducting pillar and an alignment layer. The transparent substrate has a surface, and the circuit layer is atop the surface. The conducting pillar is arranged in the insulating layer and connected to the electrode layer and the circuit layer. The alignment layer contacts the liquid layer. The electrode layer is interposed between the alignment layer and the insulating layer. The electrode layer in at least one of the driving electrode plates includes at least two ring-shaped electrodes.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lens and a lens module; in particular, to a liquid crystal lens and a liquid crystal lens module.
2. Description of Related Art
The liquid crystal lens is a lens which can change its focal length. The liquid crystal lens includes a liquid crystal layer, a pair of alignment layers, and a pair of electrode layers. The alignment layers position on the different sides of the liquid crystal layer respectively. The alignment layers can arrange the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer in a predetermined way. The electrode layers are positioned on the different sides of the alignment layers respectively.
While the liquid crystal lens is in use, the voltage signal is applied to the electrode layers, so as to generate an electric field between electrode layers positioned on two sides of the liquid crystal layer. The electric field can control the rotation of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer. Thus, the rotated liquid crystal molecules can generate the effect similar to the optical lens. While light passes through the liquid crystal lens, light is affected by the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules.

Liquid crystal lens and liquid crystal lens module


In a network-access management system, addresses of pages which at least one client terminal has accessed in the past are stored in a history table in association with user ID information. When a connection request from the client terminal is detected, display data according to the access frequency and type of the addresses stored in the history table and the performance of the client terminal is created, anchors for the addresses (or object images having an anchoring function) are pasted into the display data, and the display data thus created is sent to the client terminal. The client terminal displays the display data. When a user select the anchors, the client terminal is connected to the information associated to the anchor through the network-access management system and the network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network-access management system and method applied to an information transmitting/receiving server which intervenes between a network like the WWW or the like and a client terminal operated by a user, and a computer program product including a server-executable computer program recorded on a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
1. Explanation of WWW
Of late, a kind of network service such as referring to or creating WWW pages on the Internet has become popular, due to which application software and books, etc. teaching how to crate WWW pages have been widely distributed.
WWW is the acronym of the World Wide Web which is a worldwide information network using the Internet.
A WWW page is a unit of information which is a constituent of a Web document stored in a given WWW server on the WWW. A WWW page is a structured document described in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) or recently in XML (Extensible Markup Language) into which HTML and SGML has been integrated. Image data formatted in GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) or according to JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) can be pasted on a WWW page to be transmitted
Recently, a more dynamically expressed WWW page, formed by accessing a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) loaded in a WWW server or by employing an applet described in a programming language Java (Sun Microsystems), and a WWW page described in VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) for drawing a 3-D graphic on the WWW in real time, have also appeared.
A WWW browser receives data for permitting such WWW pages to be displayed on a client terminal from a Web site, interprets the data and displays the data on the screen of a computer which is executing the WWW browser.
A WWW page or a structured document described in HTML or SGML can contain two-dimensional information such as a text, a drawing, a moving picture, sounds, etc. A WWW page or a structure document described in VRML can integrally contain three-dimensional information.
Owing to VRML, a client user can view three-dimensionally displayed objects from various angles, and can also have an experience such as walking a real-world city displayed as a map in which the objects are laid out arbitrarily.
In general, a method for displaying such a map or a method for displaying information sent from the WWW is known as a cyberspace or a virtual real space.
Due to the above-described function, a client user can view or listen to the information laid open worldwide on a home page, simply by operating his/her terminal, and can also send a page created by himself/herself to all parts of the world.
In normal cases, a structured document, an image, an audio, etc., which are data for enabling the display of the aforementioned page, are stored in a WWW server on the WWW in the state wherein the data has been classified according to user ID information (information such as user accounts, HTTP/IP addresses, etc.) used to operate individual client terminals.
The users who operate client terminals include private individuals, governments, companies and other organizations, etc.
Each user can create hierarchically structured pages by employing a language for creating structured documents.
Of hierarchically structured pages, the particular page which is located in the highest level in the hierarchy is defined as the xe2x80x9chome page.xe2x80x9d
Each user, who has made hierarchically structured pages, can create links by describing, on the home page, URLs for some pages. One page as the link destination can have a link to another page.
URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) are addresses for identifying individual pages on the Internet. URLs are expressed like xe2x80x9chttp://www.xxx.co.jp/index.htmlxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9chttp://www.xxx.co.jp/index.wrlxe2x80x9d, for example, and designate the corresponding pages of HTML and VRML documents.
Normally a link on a page is displayed in the form known as xe2x80x9canchor.xe2x80x9d
An anchor on a page displayed by the WWW browser is a symbol (an image or the like which indirectly expresses the address and contents of the link destination page) which represents the link destination page.
In the case of structured documents, they can have mutually related anchors.
For example, a HTML document can have a link to a VRML document, while the VRML document can have a link to the HTML document.
When a user who uses the WWW browser clicks with a mouse on the symbol which indicates the desired link destination, the WWW browser displays the link destination page (that is, the user jumps to the link destination). The user can jump not only to a page in a lower level in the hierarchy but also to a page in a higher level in the hierarchy, as well as to a page on another web site.
On the page currently displayed by the WWW browser, when the user clicks on the symbol which indicates another page, the WWW browser displays the indicated page. On the page as displayed, when the user clicks on the symbol which indicates another page, the WWW browser displays the page as indicated. In this manner, the WWW browser can display subsequent pages from one to another.
At that time, the WWW browser accesses the WWW server specified by the URL corresponding to a clicked symbol, normally via a provider and the Internet, and downloads the target data from a Web site stored in the WWW server to either a memory or storage device of the computer which is executing the WWW browser.
After completing data download or simultaneously with data download, the WWW browser displays the data as a page on the display of the computer.
Currently, Netscape Navigator from Netscape Communications Corporation, Internet Explorer from Microsoft Corporation, etc. are available as WWW browsers and are now being used widely.
2. Explanation of VRML
In order to display a VRML document, the corresponding VRML viewer needs to be prepared. A dedicated browser different from the WWW browsers such as Netscape Navigator, etc., or a VRML plug-in module or helper application of the WWW browsers offers such a VRML viewer.
As explained previously, VRML is a language used to define a three-dimensional space and object on the WWW.
By manipulating human-type avatars belonging to an object class, the users can walk the VRML virtual space (a walk-through) or can make communications with each other in the manner known as a chat, for example.
By setting a camera to a scene in the virtual space, the point of view can be determined through the camera.
VRML was born in 1994, specification VRML 1.0 was formalized in 1995, and the latest specification is VRML 2.0.
There is a considerable difference between those two specifications. With VRML 1.0, a time stopped three-dimensional scene with no sounds can only be created.
With VRML 2.0, however, a scene such as one in which a placed object starts moving suddenly or a color change occurs upon clicking can be created. Using VRML 2.0, a dynamic world with a music can be realized.
Furthermore, in the actual VRML viewer, the avatars and the camera are moved generally by indicating their positions directly with a mouse click or by operating buttons for their forward and backward movements and rotations with a mouse click.
3. Explanation of Bookmark
In addition to a referring method, like xe2x80x9cInternet surfingxe2x80x9d, of changing a displayed page from one to another in order that a user can refer to the desired page, a method of such a type as typing an URL directly in a location designation area on the GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen displayed by the WWW browsers or the VRML viewer is available in the case where the URL of the page to be displayed is known beforehand.
However, some users may refer to pages for stock price information and news every day.
When a user needs to thus refer to a fixed certain page every time, it would be inconvenient and inefficient for him/her to type an URL consisting of several-ten characters every time.
In consideration of the above, in order to facilitate page display, the WWW browsers, etc. generally have a xe2x80x9cbookmarkxe2x80x9d function.
The bookmark function is that of pre-registering any favorite web site or and page to be accessed frequently in client terminals which are connected via the WWW browsers and the VRML viewer, etc.
A user can utilize this function by the procedures of pre-registering the URLs of to-be-displayed pages as bookmark data items, displaying a list of pages pre-registered bookmarks and selecting the desired page from the list with a mouse click or the like.
By virtue of the use of the above function, the user is released from the inconvenience of typing the URL, and can display and refer to the desired page without a loss of time due to any typing error.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical bookmark display screen 3000 displayed by a certain WWW browser.
As shown in the illustration, the bookmarks can be hierarchically managed, and a collection of bookmarks 3111 can be managed with being filed in a single folder 3110. By so doing, the bookmarks 3111 can be put in order, with the bookmarks being classified according to category, thus enabling the user to find the desired one of the bookmarks 3111 even in the case where the number of bookmarks 3111 is large.
Referring to the bookmark display screen 3000 illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, a xe2x80x9cBOOKMARKxe2x80x9d folder 3100 is located as the top-level file, and a xe2x80x9cWWW SEARCH ENGINExe2x80x9d folder 3110 located below it contains yellow pages xe2x80x9cgooxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cYahoo! JAPANxe2x80x9d registered as the bookmarks 3111. As illustrated in FIG. 1, those bookmarks 3111 are displayed as a list upon clicking on the xe2x80x9cWWW SEARCH ENGINExe2x80x9d folder 3110 with a mouse.
FIG. 1 also illustrates other bookmarks 3111, such as xe2x80x9cIBM Patent Server Home Pagexe2x80x9d, which are not contained in the folder 3110.
As titles for identifying the bookmarks 3111 like xe2x80x9cgooxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cYahoo! JAPANxe2x80x9d mentioned above, the titles set by the persons who made the pages corresponding to those bookmarks are used as they are.
A user, who operates the WWW browsers and the VRML viewer, can select and display the desired page with ease by double-clicking a mouse at the line showing one bookmark 3111 such as xe2x80x9cgooxe2x80x9d, or by clicking the mouse at the line showing another bookmark 3111 on a pop-up window (not illustrated) which displays bookmarks 3111 other than those displayed on the bookmark display screen 3000.
When the user displays the desired page for the first time by typing its URL in the location designation area on the screen displayed by the WWW browsers or the VRML viewer, or when the user discovers the desired page via the aforementioned Internet surfing or the like, the user can add the bookmark 3111 of the desired page by selecting xe2x80x9caddition of bookmarksxe2x80x9d with a mouse click or the like while the desired page is being opened.
At that time, information including the URL and title of the page is registered automatically as a bookmark 3111, and the title of the page is used as is as the title of the registered bookmark 3111.
The user can add a new bookmark 3111 to the desired folder 3110 also during the display of the bookmark display screen 3000 illustrated in FIG. 1, by typing an URL, a title, etc. with an operation for adding new bookmarks 3111.
The user can edit information pertaining to the bookmarks 3111 on a bookmark editing screen (not illustrated) which is displayed by selecting, with the mouse, the property of the target bookmark 3111 on the bookmark display screen 3000 illustrated in FIG. 1.
The user can also delete or remove the target bookmark 3111 itself (including removal from one folder to another folder) on the bookmark display screen 3000 illustrated in FIG. 1, by operating the mouse or the like.
4. Explanation of Electronic Mail
Individuals or companies or other organizations frequently send and receive electronic mails (e-mails) via network like the aforementioned Internet.
The e-mails are transferred between e-mail servers installed on the network. A user (an individual or the like) sends an e-mail to another person or receives an e-mail directed to himself/herself via an e-mail server.
In the case of an Internet e-mail, the e-mail address is provided normally in a format such as email@example.com or the like.
The e-mails include not only Internet e-mails but also e-mails exchanged between personal computers or between computers installed in other organizations and companies. Those e-mails are exchanged through gateways, etc.
Various application tools (called xe2x80x9cmailersxe2x80x9d) for sending and receiving such e-mails, for example, an application tool put on sale as a set with the WWW browsers, a mail-dedicated application tool, are available at present.
As regards the basic function of sending and receiving e-mails, however, the mailers do not differ from each other depending on their developers.
Having established a connection with the network, users activate the mailers to receive the e-mails directed to themselves.
In receiving the e-mails, the users can classify those e-mails into different folders in accordance with the senders of the e-mails and the contents of the subjects of the e-mails.
In sending the e-mails, the users can easily designate the mail addresses pre-stored in their respective xe2x80x9caddress booksxe2x80x9d, as the destinations of the e-mails, by performing a mouse click or the like. Thus, the users can designate the e-mail addresses with ease and need not type them each time they send the e-mails.
Needless to say, the users have to type the e-mail addresses when sending the e-mails to destinations to which the users have sent no e-mails before. However, if the users register the e-mail addresses at that time, they can easily designate the e-mail addresses when sending the e-mails to the aforementioned destinations next time as mentioned above, and need not type the e-mail addresses.
Moreover, the e-mail addresses stored in the address books are storable in a plurality of folders, as in the case of the bookmarks of the WWW browsers, etc.
Consequently, a hierarchical management such as that performed utilizing the bookmarks is also possible. For example, the mail addresses of friends and company associated mail addresses can be managed with being distinguished from each other. In an e-mail management within a company, the mail addresses can be classified according to department or branch office.
In order to permit an ordinary user to access a resource on the network such as the Internet for the purpose of referring to the WWW pages or sending/receiving an e-mail, the client terminal (computer) operated by the user needs to be connected via a public line or the like to a server called a provider which constantly has points of connections to the Internet.
By so doing, the user can access the resource on the network such as the Internet through the server of the provider, and can transfer a page and an e-mail to his/her own computer.
5. Drawbacks
Due to the bookmark function of the conventional WWW browsers and VRML viewer, users can cause the WWW browsers and the VRML viewer to display the desired page by selecting the bookmark of the desired page with a mouse or the like, without having to input a long URL every time in association with the page.
However, once the bookmark of the page has been registered, the conventional WWW browsers and VRML viewer never change the bookmark location or the structure of the bookmark unless the users operate t hem on purpose.
For example, the bookmark for a frequently accessed (used) page may be located on the inconspicuous lowermost part of the bookmark display screen, or the page may located at such a low level in hierarchy that the users cannot reach the page without opening many folders one after another.
Furthermore, the conventional WWW browsers and VRML viewer do not automatically classify pages according to whether the pages have been accessed in the past or to what genre the pages belong, which results in troublesome selecting operations having to be performed by the users to select the bookmark for the desired page among a number of bookmarks.
The address books of the mailers which deal with e-mails entail the same drawbacks as the above-described drawbacks of the conventional WWW browsers and VRML viewer.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a network-access management system, method and a computer program product including a computer readable program recorded on a computer usable medium, for unitarily managing the addresses of pages accessed by the WWW browsers and the VRML viewer, as well as the e-mail addresses of e-mails received and sent by the mailers, and for creating display data showing the aforementioned addresses, in order to eliminate the above-described drawbacks.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a network-access management system and method for automatically laying out images corresponding to the addresses or updating the display data, in accordance with the frequency of client terminal""s accesses to the pages or the frequency of e-mail transmissions and receptions, etc.
According to one aspect of the present invention having the aforementioned objects, there is provided a network-access management system, which connects at least one client terminal and a network having information resources, and which performs information transmissions between the at least one client terminal and the network, the system comprising:
first storage means for storing addresses of information pieces which the at least one client terminal has accessed in the past;
analyzing means for analyzing attributes of the addresses stored in the first storage means;
creating means for creating display data which reflects a result of the analysis performed by the analyzing means; and
sending means for sending the display data created by the creating means to the at least one client terminal.
With the above-described structure, the network-access management system can create display data reflecting the attributes, for example, the frequency of accesses which the user of the at least one client terminal has gained with respect to the addresses in the past, and can provide the at least one client terminal with the created display data.
The aforementioned attributes of the addresses include at least one of the types of the addresses such as e-mail addresses or URLs, the types of information such as e-mails or WWW pages to which the addresses have been assigned, and the frequency of accesses to the addresses. With this structure, the display data is arranged or modified based on the types of address, the types of the information or the frequency of access to the addresses. For example, the network-access management system can arrange the addresses, which the client-user accessed, on the display data based on the frequency or the type. Therefore, the user can understand the access status at a glance.
The aforementioned display data is map data representing a map in which anchors for the addresses stored in the first storage means are laid out. With this structure, the anchors for the address to which the user accessed, are arranged and displayed like a map. Therefore, the user can select and access information resources easily. Namely, an effective or a user oriented user interface can be obtained.
The network-access management system may further comprise: second storage means for storing display data sent in the past to the client terminal, and means for changing the display data stored in the second storage means to the display data created by the creating means.
According to the above structure, the network-access management system stores the display data. Thus, the client terminals need not to store the display data. Further, even if the user uses aplurality of client terminals, the display data is transmitted to each of the client terminals.
Therefore, the memory capacities of the client terminals can be saved, and most recently updated display data can be presented to the user.
The network-access management system may further comprise: second storage means for storing display data sent in the past to the at least one client terminal; checking means for checking the display data stored in said second storage means with the display data created by said creating means, thereby determining a change in the display data stored in said second storage means; and means for reflecting the change determined by said checking means in the display data created by said creating means. With this structure, the created display data is further modified or arranged based on the determined change. Therefore, the display data can incorporate, for example, the history of changes such as updates of the information, open and close of the information resources, and changes of the addresses. Thus, the user can understand the statuses of the addresses to which the user accessed.
The network-access management system may further comprise: third storage means for storing, in association with the addresses, images which serve as anchors for the addresses; and means for reading out the images stored in the third storage means, based on the addresses stored in the first storage means, and for pasting the readout images into the display data created by the creating means. With this structure, the anchors are displayed as the images with which the address are associated. Therefore, the user can catch the addresses such as an e-mail address and a URL at a glance.
The images are preferably ones for characterizing the information pieces stored in said addresses.
The network-access management system may further comprise: accessing means for periodically accessing the addresses stored in the first storage means; first determining means for determining statuses of the information pieces stored in locations specified by the addresses which the accessing means has accessed; and first altering means for altering the display data in accordance with a result of the determination performed by the first determining means.
With the above-described structure, the network-access management system can provide the at least one client terminal with the display data in accordance with the statuses of the information pieces stored in the locations specified by the addresses which the at least one client terminal has requested to access.
Therefore, the user can see the updated statuses of the information resources corresponding to the addresses.
The images are preferably ones for characterizing the contents of the statuses.
The network-access management system may further comprise: accessing means for periodically accessing the addresses stored in the first storage means; second determining means for determining statuses of the network when permits the accessing means to access the addresses; and second altering means for altering the display data in accordance with a result of the determination performed by the second determining means.
With the above-described structure, the network-access management system can provide the at least one client terminal with the display data in accordance with the statuses of the network having the information pieces stored at the addresses which the at least one client terminal has requested to access. Therefore, the user can understand the statuses, such as traffics, of the network through which the user accessed the information, when the user connects the client terminals to the access management system.
The images are preferably ones for characterizing the information pieces.
The network-access management system may further comprise: sixth storage means for storing information on at least a display performance of the at least one client terminal; and third altering means for altering the display data, based on at least the display performance stored in the sixth storage means, when the display data is sent to the at least one client terminal. With the above-described structure, the network-access management system can provide the at least one client terminal with the display data in accordance with the performance of the at least one client terminal. Therefore, the client terminal with any capability can display the display data. The user can select any desired client terminal from a number of candidates of the client terminal.
The network may be WWW, and said display data may be structured document data described in VRML. According to this structure, the history of connection to WWW can be displayed visually and three-dimensionally. Therefore, the user can easily understand the history.
According to another aspect of the present invention having the aforementioned objects, there is provided a network-access management method for dealing with information transmissions between at least one client terminal and a network having information resources the method comprising:
a storing step of storing addresses of information pieces which the at least one client terminal has accessed in the past;
an analyzing step of analyzing attributes of the stored addresses;
a creating step of creating display data to be displayed on the at least one client terminal, in accordance with a result of the analysis; and
a sending step of sending the created display data to the at least one client terminal.
By employing the above-described method, the network-access management system can create display data reflecting, for example, the frequency of accesses which the user of the at least one client terminal has gained with respect to the addresses in the past, and can provide the at least one client terminal with the created display data.
According to another aspect of the present invention having the aforementioned objects, there is provided a computer program product which is applied to a network-access management method for information transmissions between at least one client terminal and a network having resources of information pieces to which addresses have been assigned, the computer program product including a computer readable program recorded on a computer usable medium, for creating display data to be sent to the at least one client terminal, the computer readable program executing:
a storing step of storing the addresses of the information pieces which the at least one client terminal has accessed in the past;
an analyzing step of analyzing attributes of the stored addresses;
a creating step of creating the display data to be displayed on the at least one client terminal, in accordance with a result of the analysis; and
a sending step of sending the created display data to the at least one client terminal.
The above-described computer program product enables the network-access management system to have the function of making the at least one client terminal display the display data reflecting, for example, the frequency of accesses which the user of the at least one client terminal has gained with respect to the addresses in the past.
Further, the computer program may be embedded in the in a carrier wave which transfers the program and data through a network.

Network-access management system and method applied to network and computer program product including computer program recorded on storage medium for creating display data


The invention provides a wireless sensing control network system and method for controlling an electronic device. The wireless sensing control system is a three-layer system which comprises a main controlling node, converting nodes and terminal nodes. Particularly, the wireless sensing control network system of the invention provides: (1) channel-management and changing method; (2) auto-configuration method; (3) terminal node configuration method; (4) terminal node pairing method; (5) network control method and (6) technology for distinguishing between correct signal and error signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wireless sensing control network system, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a wireless sensing control network system and an operating method thereof to make use of three-layer system wireless controlling structure, channel-management and changing method, technology for distinguishing between correct signal and error signal to improve the stability of the system and provide the system with auto-configuration, which is easily set up by a user himself.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With promoting technology, the wireless communication controlling technique is constantly brought forth the new from old theories, from the infrared technique in the past to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technique, etc. The convenience brought out by the wireless communication technique makes wireless electronic goods become more and more popular.
Nowadays, with the craze of the wireless, the interconnection network between electronic apparatuses by means of wired or single-to-single electronic apparatus has been substituted by wireless network sensing and control system. However, there is no wireless network sensing control system with simple structure, easily set up and controlled, which meets the requirement for household DIY products; there is no easy channel-management mechanism to avoid the disturbance of other wireless electronic apparatuses; there is no mechanism for distinguishing between correct and error signals. That is to say, the wireless network sensing control system needs setting up by professionals, and some problems may happen afterward such as disturbance or unstable control.

Wireless sensing control network system and operating method thereof

Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology Armaments Bureau, Ministry of National Defense


To provide an optical scanner for typical use with laser beam printers that is capable of effective correction of aberrational characteristics and which also produces a constant beam spot size, a semiconductor laser array 1 having a plurality of light-emitting portions issues a plurality of beams, which are reflected and deflected by reflecting surfaces of rotating polygonal mirror 5 and pass through imaging lens 6 to form a plurality of beam spots on the surface to be scanned 7. Both the entrance and exit surfaces of imaging lens 6 are such that the curvatures in the sub- and main scanning directions are independent of each other, with the curvature in the sub-scanning direction varying continuously in the main scanning direction over the effective area of imaging lens 6.

The present invention relates to an optical scanner for use with laser beam printers and the like.
Imaging lenses for use with optical scanners are required to have two aberrational characteristics. First, they should have a specified negative distortion to achieve scanning at uniform speed; second, they should have a small enough curvature of the field to provide a flat image plane such that the beam spot size is close to a diffraction limited value.
The imaging lens used with conventional optical scanners is composed of one or more elements. If the aberrational characteristics are paramount, an increased number of lens elements are used and a single lens is used if the cost is important. To provide further improved aberrational characteristics, the use of aspheric surfaces on the imaging lens is a recent approach as typically shown in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 50908/1992. The imaging lens taught in this reference is characterized in that both the entrance and exit faces have their curvatures in a sub-scanning direction varied continuously over the effective lens area along a main scanning direction. In regard of the entrance face which is symmetric with respect to the optical axis, the curvatures in the main and sub-scanning directions are dependent on each other.
To achieve high-speed scanning, Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 100742/1976 proposed that a semiconductor laser array having a plurality of independently modulative light-emitting portions be used as a light source so that more than one scanning line could be produced simultaneously by one scanning cycle.
However, an optical scanner using such a semiconductor laser array had the problem that the beams applied formed unevenly spaced scanning lines.
With a view to solving this problem, Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 158251/1979 proposed that the plurality of light-emitting portions in the semiconductor laser array be arranged at an angle with the main scanning direction such that the variation in the spacing between scanning lines could be reduced.
Another approach was proposed by Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 161566/1981, which ensured a constant spacing between scanning lines by locating a cylindrical lens away from the surface to be scanned by a distance substantially equal to the focal length of the lens.
The spacing between scanning lines can also be made constant by providing an ultrasonic optical deflector between a light source and a rotating polygonal mirror as taught in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 21031/1985; this approach is based on the correction of the curvature of scanning lines by adjusting the Bragg diffraction angle.
According to yet another proposal made by Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 54211/1990, the lateral magnification of optics ranging from the light-emitting portions to the surface to be scanned is adjusted to be no more than 2 in absolute value such that the spacing between scanning lines that are produced simultaneously is sufficiently reduced to minimize the variation in that spacing.
These proposals, however, have had their own problems. Speaking of the imaging leans taught in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 50908/1992, the optical magnification in the sub-scanning direction varies within the effective scanning region, so the diameter in the sub-scanning direction of a beam spot that is formed on the surface to be scanned becomes uneven within the effective scanning region. If an optical scanner incorporating such an imaging lens is used with a laser beam printer, the print density obtained is so uneven that one cannot produce satisfactory print quality.
Referring to the optical scanner that employs a semiconductor laser array as a light source to achieve simultaneous production of more than one scanning line by a single scanning cycle, the approach taught in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 158251/1979 has the disadvantage that the variations in the spacing between scanning lines cannot be completely corrected. In addition, if the number of beams is increased, there occurs a corresponding increase in the amount of variation in the spacing between scanning lines. Therefore, the number of beams cannot be increased to such a value that the advantage of performing high-speed scanning with a plurality of beams is exhibited to the fullest extent.
The approach proposed in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 161566/1981 requires not only a plurality of semi-conductor lasers but also as many mirrors and cylindrical lenses as the beams to be produced. This adds greatly to the cost of the overall system and increases the complexity and size of the optics, thereby making the system far from being practically feasible.
The ultrasonic optical deflector taught in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 21031/1985 is not only expensive, complicated and bulky but also requires a complicated drive circuit.
In the proposal made by Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 54211/1990, the lateral magnification is as low as 2 or less, so most of the optical output of the semiconductor laser is lost by "vignetting" and only a small part of the output reaches the surface to be scanned, with the result that the optics can achieve a very low efficiency in optical output. Hence, the optical output of the semi-conductor laser is insufficient for practical purposes. What is more, the variation in the spacing between scanning lines is not completely corrected but merely reduced in proportion to the decrease in the lateral magnification and the problem at issue cannot be completely solved.


Novel thioglycerol derivatives, processes for their manufacture, and optical materials made from such compounds. The thioglycerol derivatives have high concentrations of sulfur relative to compounds conventionally used for optical materials, and thus exhibit high refractive indices without sacrificing processability.

The present invention is directed to thioglycerol derivatives and their preparation, the derivatives having utility in optical materials such as lenses.
Plastic lenses for use in eyeglasses and cameras have become widespread in view of their lightweight, durability, dyeability and workability as compared to conventional glass lenses. Resin compositions suitable for the manufacture of optical lenses must possess certain characteristics, including a high refractive index, high surface accuracy, low dispersion properties and good heat resistance, impact resistance and scratch resistance. Diethylene glycol bis(allylcarbonate (DAC) and polycarbonates have conventionally been used for plastic lenses. Lenses made of DAC, however, have lower refractive indices than lenses made of glass of a corresponding overall thickness, and therefore do not perform as well in this regard.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,733 and 5,191,055 disclose polyurethane lenses made of a polymer between a xylylene diisocyanate compound and a polythiol compound having a higher refractive index than lenses made from DAC. However, such lenses generally suffer from poor heat resistance, hindering the ability to use high temperatures during heat treatment processing steps.
It therefore would be desirable to develop compositions for use in making optical materials that do not suffer from the various drawbacks mentioned above, and that have good machinability and processability.

Thioglycerol derivatives and their use in polysulfide compositions for optical material


The specification discloses a question answer matching method, system and computer storage medium. The method comprises: transforming the user query and one of one or more suggested answers corresponding to the user query by using a pre-trained word vector to obtain vector representations of the user query and the one of one or more suggested answers corresponding to the user query; performing a convolutional operation on the vector representations of the user query and the one of one or more suggested answers, respectively, to extract features; and mapping convolution results of the vector representations of the user query and the vector expression of the one of one or more suggested answers into a sample annotating space, to obtain a matching result of the user query.

In a smart transaction scenario, the demand for question and answer is high. Namely, a user inputs a query (e.g., an input request string of the user) and expects to obtain a concise answer to meet the demand for obtaining information. In the process of solving this problem, one important intermediate step is how to determine whether a short answer (e.g., the form of a single sentence) matches the query of the user.
Existing conventional methods are mainly based on artificial rules and features, e.g., Named Entity Recognition (NER), Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (e.g., TF-IDF), and template matching. These methods have the following drawbacks:
1) a lot of manual work is required to observe samples and then design rules and features;
2) inconsistent capabilities of expressing different features, and insufficient generalization capabilities for mass data; and
3) the overall effect of the model is limited by the accuracy of a model for feature extraction at an earlier stage, e.g., the NER model.

Question and answer matching method, system and storage medium


A laminating apparatus having a thickness-detecting function is provided. Before the laminating operation is done, the thickness of the article to be laminated is detected by a thickness detecting mechanism of the laminating apparatus. According to the detected thickness, the temperature or the rotating speed of the heating roller of the laminating apparatus is dynamically adjusted.

Conventionally, a valuable sheet-like document such as a paper sheet or a photograph is usually covered with a protective film for protection because such a sheet-like document is readily suffered from damage or breakage.
A process for laminating a sheet-like document between two pieces of plastic films by using a laminating apparatus will be described as follows. First of all, an article of a sheet-like document intervening between two plastic films is fed into the laminating apparatus by a pair of heating rollers. Then, the article is simultaneously heated and pressed by the heating rollers and thus the plastic films are softened. Afterwards, the sheet-like document is bonded with the softened plastic films to form a laminate structure.
The conventional laminating apparatus, however, lacks a thickness detecting mechanism. Regardless of the thickness of the article to be laminated, the working temperature and the rotating speed of the heating rollers are maintained constant. In a case that the sheet-like document is too thick or too thin, the laminating operation is readily suffered from failure. Generally, as the thickness of the sheet-like document is increased, an increased working temperature or a decreased rotating speed is required to soften the plastic films. If the working temperature of the heating rollers is insufficient or the rotating speed of the heating rollers is too fast, the plastic films are not completely softened and thus the sheet-like document fails to be bonded with the plastic films to form a laminate structure. On the other hand, as the thickness of the sheet-like document is reduced, a decreased working temperature or an increased rotating speed is required to soften the plastic films. If the working temperature of the heating rollers is too high or the rotating speed of the heating rollers is too slow, the plastic films are over-softened and thus readily adhered to the heating rollers. Under this circumstance, a so-called jamming phenomenon is resulted.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a laminating apparatus having a thickness detecting mechanism for detecting the thickness of the article to be laminated so as to dynamically adjust the working temperature or the rotating speed of the heating rollers of the laminating apparatus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


This invention provides methods by which biologically derived DNA sequences in a mixed sample or in an arrayed single sequence clone can be determined and classified without sequencing. The methods make use of information on the presence of carefully chosen target subsequences, typically of length from 4 to 8 base pairs, and preferably the length between target subsequences in a sample DNA sequence together with DNA sequence databases containing lists of sequences likely to be present in the sample to determine a sample sequence. The preferred method uses restriction endonucleases to recognize target subsequences and cut the sample sequence. Then carefully chosen recognition moieties are ligated to the cut fragments, the fragments amplified, and the experimental observation made. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the preferred method of amplification. Several alternative embodiments are described which capable of increased discrimination and which use TypeIIS restriction endonucleases, various capture moieties, or samples of specially synthesized cDNA. Another embodiment of the invention uses information on the presence or absence of carefully chosen target subsequences in a single sequence clone together with DNA sequence databases to determine the clone sequence. Computer implemented methods are provided to analyze the experimental results and to determine the sample sequences in question and to carefully choose target subsequences in order that experiments yield a maximum amount of information.

Over the past ten years, as biological and genomic research have revolutionized our understanding of the molecular basis of life, it has become increasingly clear that the temporal and spatial expression of genes is responsible for all life's processes, processes occurring in both health and in disease. Science has progressed from an understanding of how single genetic defects cause the traditionally recognized hereditary disorders, such as the thalassemias, to a realization of the importance of the interaction of multiple genetic defects along with environmental factors in the etiology of the majority of more complex disorders, such as cancer. In the case of cancer, current scientific evidence demonstrates the key causative roles of altered expression of and multiple defects in several pivotal genes. Other complex diseases have similar etiology. Thus the more complete and reliable a correlation that can be established between gene expression and health or disease states, the better diseases can be recognized, diagnosed and treated.
This important correlation is established by the quantitative determination and classification of DNA expression in tissue samples, and such a method which is rapid and economical would be of considerable value. Genomic DNA ("gDNA") sequences are those naturally occurring DNA sequences constituting the genome of a cell. The state of gene, or gDNA, expression at any time is represented by the composition of total cellular messenger RNA ("mRNA"), which is synthesized by the regulated transcription of gDNA. Complementary DNA ("cDNA") sequences are synthesized by reverse transcription from mRNA. cDNA from total cellular mRNA also represents, albeit approximately, gDNA expression in a cell at a given time. Consequently, rapid and economical detection of all the DNA sequences in particular cDNA or gDNA samples is desired, particularly so if such detection was rapid, precise, and quantitative.
Heretofore, gene specific DNA analysis techniques have not been directed to the determination or classification of substantially all genes in a DNA sample representing total cellular mRNA and have required some degree of sequencing. Generally, existing cDNA, and also gDNA, analysis techniques have been directed to the determination and analysis of one or two known or unknown genetic sequences at one time. These techniques have used probes synthesized to specifically recognize by hybridization only one particular DNA sequence or gene. (See, e.g., Watson et al., 1992, Recombinant DNA, chap 7, W. H. Freeman, New York.) Further, adaptation of these methods to the problem of recognizing all sequences in a sample would be cumbersome and uneconomical.
One existing method for finding and sequencing unknown genes starts from an arrayed cDNA library. From a particular tissue or specimen, mRNA is isolated and cloned into an appropriate vector, which is then plated in a manner so that the progeny of individual vectors bearing the clone of one cDNA sequence can be separately identified. A replica of such a plate is then probed, often with a labeled DNA oligomer selected to hybridize with the cDNA representing the gene of interest. Thereby, those colonies bearing the cDNA of interest are found and isolated, the cDNA harvested and subject to sequencing. Sequencing can then be done by the Sanger dideoxy chain termination method (Sanger et al., 1977, "DNA sequencing with chain terminating inhibitors", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74(12):5463-5467) applied to inserts so isolated.
The DNA oligomer probes for the unknown gene used for colony selection are synthesized to hybridize, preferably, only with the cDNA for the gene of interest. One manner of achieving this specificity is to start with the protein product of the gene of interest. If a partial sequence of 5 to 10-mer peptide fragment from an active region of this protein can be determined, corresponding 15 to 30-mer degenerate oligonucleotides can be synthesized which code for this peptide. This collection of degenerate oligonucleotides will typically be sufficient to uniquely identify the corresponding gene. Similarly, any information leading to 15 to 30 long nucleotide subsequences can be used to create a single gene probe.
Another existing method, which searches for a known gene in a cDNA or gDNA prepared from a tissue sample, also uses single gene or single sequence probes which are complementary to unique subsequences of the already known gene sequences. For example, the expression of a particular oncogene in sample can be determined by probing tissue derived cDNA with a probe derived from a subsequence of the oncogene's expressed sequence tag. Similarly the presence of a rare or difficult to culture pathogen, such as the TB bacillus or the HIV, can be determined by probing gDNA with a hybridization probe specific to a gene of the pathogen. The heterozygous presence of a mutant allele in a phenotypically normal individual, or its homozygous presence in a fetus, can be determined by probing with an allele specific probe complementary only to the mutant allele (See, e.g., Guo et al., 1994, Nucleic Acid Research, 22:5456-65).
All existing methods using single gene probes, of which the preceding examples are typical, if applied to determine all genes expressed in a given tissue sample, would require many thousands to tens of thousands of individual probes. It is estimated a single human cell typically expresses approximately to 15,000 to 15,000 genes simultaneously and that the most complex tissue, e.g., the brain, can express up to half the human genome (Liang et al., 1992, "Differential Display of Eukaryotic Messenger RNA by Means of the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Science, 257:967-971). Such an application requiring such a number of probes is clearly too cumbersome to be economic or, even, practical.
Another class of existing methods, known as sequencing by hybridization ("SBH"), in contrast, use combinatorial probes which are not gene specific (Drmanac et al., 1993, Science 260:1649-52; U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,231, Apr. 13, 1993, to Drmanac et al). An exemplary implementation of SBH to determine an unknown gene requires that a single cDNA clone be probed with all DNA oligomers of a given length, say, for example, all 6-mers. Such a set of all oligomers of a given length synthesized without any selection is called a combinatorial probe library. From knowledge of all hybridization results for a combinatorial library, say all the 4096 6-mer probe results, a partial DNA sequence for the cDNA clone can be reconstructed by algorithmic manipulations. Complete sequences are not determinable because, at least, repeated subsequences cannot be fully determined. SBH adapted to the classification of known genes is called oligomer sequence signatures ("OSS") (Lennon et al., 1991, Trends In Genetics 7(10):314-317). This technique classifies a single clone based on the pattern of probe hits against an entire combinatorial library, or a significant sub-library. It requires that the tissue sample library be arrayed into clones, each clone comprising only one pure sequence from the library. It cannot be applied to mixtures.
These exemplary existing methods are all directed to finding one sequence in an array of clones each expressing a single sequence from a tissue sample. They are not directed to rapid, economical, quantitative, and precise characterization of all the DNA sequences in a mixture of sequences, such as a particular total cellular cDNA or gDNA sample. Their adaptation to such a task would be prohibitive. Determination by sequencing the DNA of a clone, much less an entire sample of thousands of sequences, is not rapid or inexpensive enough for economical and useful diagnostics. Existing probe-based techniques of gene determination or classification, whether the genes are known or unknown, require many thousands of probes, each specific to one possible gene to be observed, or at least thousands or even tens of thousands of probes in a combinatorial library. Further, all of these methods require the sample be arrayed into clones each expressing a single gene of the sample.
In contrast to the prior exemplary existing gene determination and classification techniques, another existing technique, known as differential display, attempts to fingerprint a mixture of expressed genes, as is found in a pooled cDNA library. This fingerprint, however, seeks merely to establish whether two samples are the same or different. No attempt is made to determine the quantitative, or even qualitative, expression of particular, determined genes (Liang et al., 1995, Current Opinions in Immunology 7:274-280; Liang et al., 1992, Science 257:967-71; Welsh et al., 1992, Nucleic Acid Res. 20:4965-70; McClelland et al., 1993, Exs 67:103-15; Lisitsyn, 1993, Science 259:946-50). Differential display uses the polymerase chain reaction ("PCR") to amplify DNA subsequences of various lengths, which are defined by being between the hybridization sites of arbitrarily selected primers. Ideally, the pattern of lengths observed is characteristic of the tissue from which the library was prepared. Typically, one primer used in differential display is oligo(dT) and the other is one or more arbitrary oligonucleotides designed to hybridize within a few hundred base pairs of the poly-dA tail of a cDNA in the library. Thereby, on electrophoretic separation, the amplified fragments of lengths up to a few hundred base pairs should generate bands characteristic and distinctive of the sample. Changes in tissue gene expression may be observed as changes in one or more bands.
Although characteristic banding patterns develop, no attempt is made to link these patterns to the expression of particular genes. The second arbitrary primer cannot be traced to a particular gene. First, the PCR process is less than ideally specific. One to a few base pair ("bp") mismatches ("bubbles") are permitted by the lower stringency annealing step typically used and are tolerated well enough so that a new chain can be initiated by the Taq polymerase, often used in PCR reactions. Second, the location of a single subsequence or its absence is insufficient information to distinguish all expressed genes. Third, length information from the arbitrary primer to the poly-dA tail is generally not found to be characteristic of a sequence due to variations in the processing of the 3' untranslated regions of genes, the variation in the poly-adenylation process and variability in priming to the repetitive sequence at a precise point. Thus, even the bands that are produced often are smeared by the non-specific background sequences present. Also known PCR biases to high G+C content and short sequences further limit the specificity of this method. Thus this technique is generally limited to "fingerprinting" samples for a similarity or dissimilarity determination and is precluded from use in quantitative determination of the differential expression of identifiable genes.
Existing methods for gene or DNA sequence classification or determination are in need of improvement in their ability to perform rapid and economical as well as quantitative and specific determination of the components of a cDNA mixture prepared from a tissue sample. The preceding background review identifies the deficiencies of several exemplary existing methods.

Apparatus for identifying, classifying, or quantifying DNA sequences in a sample without sequencing


An interference type optical head and an optical disk device that can easily adjust an optical path length difference of a couple of lights, ensure higher signal amplification effect, and are suitable for reduction in size are provided in order to improve a regeneration signal quality with amplification of signal in the case where reflectivity of each layer must be lowered and relative noise for the signal increases because read speed is high in a multilayer optical disk. In view of essentially improving an S/N ratio of the regeneration signal in high-speed rotation of a multilayer disk, a plurality of interference phases are generated and an optical system for differential calculation has been reduced in size with an angular selective polarization conversion element in the optical disk device for amplifying the signal with interference of the light not radiated to the disk with the reflected light from the disk. Moreover, adjustment of reflection mirror angle of the reference light is no longer required by using a corner cube prism as the reference light reflection mirror and highly accurate signal detection can also be realized with a simplified structure.

An optical disk as an optical recording medium has almost reached the limit in its resolution of an optical system as a product of Blue-Ray system utilizing a blue-color laser diode and an objective lens corresponding to high NA and is thought to be required to introduce in near future a multilayer structure of recording layer of an optical disk. In such a multilayer optical disk, it is required to detect almost identical light power from each layer and therefore reflectivity of the irradiation light of a particular layer cannot help thinking of being lowered. However, the optical disk is further required to attain high-speed dubbing of video contents in combination with improvement in recording capacity. In addition, since high transfer rate of data is also still improved, it may be assumed, if the present situation is continued, that it will become impossible to acquire sufficient S/N ratio of the reproduction signal. Accordingly, realization of high S/N ratio of a detection signal is essentially required to simultaneously conduct realization in further improvement in multilayer structure and high-speed operation in future.
A technology for high S/N ratio of regeneration signal of an optical disk is disclosed, for example, in the patent document 1 (JP-A No. 1993-342678) and the patent document 2 (JP-A No. 1994-223433) or the like. These patent documents relate to a high S/N ratio of regeneration signal of a magneto-optical disk, aiming at increasing a light power of the light not irradiating an optical disk in order to amplify amplitude of a very weak signal, by branching the light from a laser diode before radiation to an optical disk for multiplexing with a reflected light from the optical click. In differential detection between a transmitted light and a reflected light of a polarization beam splitter that has been used in the related art for signal detection of the magneto-optical disk, detection is substantially conducted through amplification of an orthogonally polarized element with incident polarization with interference of an original incident polarization element and a polarized element orthogonally crossing the incident polarization direction generated with polarization rotation due to the magneto-optical disk. Accordingly, a signal can be amplified by increasing the original incident polarization element, but an incident light intensity of optical disk must be controlled to intensity lower than a certain predetermined level in order to prevent that data is erased or overwritten. Meanwhile, in the related art explained above, a light to be interfered with a signal light is previously separated therefrom, and this signal is interfered with the signal light without condensation to the disk in view of intensifying the light to be interfered for signal amplification without relationship with light intensity at the front surface of disk. Therefore, in the principle, the more intensified light intensity is, the more the S/N ratio can be increased in comparison with noise of an amplifier for voltage conversion of a photo-electric current from an optical detector and shot noise of the optical detector.
In the patent document 1 (JP-A No. 1993-3426778), a couple of lights are interfered with each other to detect interference intensity. In this case, an optical path length of non-reflected light of disk to be interfered is set variably, aiming at acquisition of interference signal amplitude. In the patent document 2 (JP-A No. 1994-223433), differential detection is also conducted in addition to detection of interference intensity. Therefore, high S/N ratio is obtained by cancelling intensity element of each light not making contribution to signal and also cancelling noise element of these lights. In this case, a non-polarizing beam splitter is used for differential detection.


The present invention provides a method of laser processing of materials, specifically laser induced ablation processes for laser removal of material particularly important in medical and dental applications in which the laser removal of material should be done in such a way as to not damage any of the surrounding soft or hard biomaterial. The ablation process is achieved by impulsive heat deposition (IHD) by direct and specific excitation of short lived vibrations or phonons of the material in such a way as to not generate highly reactive and damaging ions through multiphoton absorption. The heat deposition and ensuing ablation process under prescribed time and wavelength conditions for laser irradiation is achieved faster than heat transfer to surrounding tissue by either acoustic or thermal expansion or thermal diffusion that otherwise would lead to excess heat related damage. The result is that all the deposited laser energy is optimally channelled into the ablation process in which the inertially confined stresses from both photomechanical expansion forces and thermally driven phase transitions and associated volume changes constructively interfere to drive the most efficient ablation process possible with minimal damage to surrounding areas by either ionizing radiation or heat effects. By choosing a specific range of wavelengths, spatial and temporal shaping of infrared laser pulses, the energy can be optimally deposited in a manner that further increases the efficiency of the ablation process with respect to minimizing collateral damage.

The ideal surgical tool would be as non-invasive as possible, by making the smallest cuts and removing the least amount of material possible. Since the invention of the laser, people have envisioned the use of laser based scalpels that are capable of removing or cutting away tissue with sub-micron accuracy. However, the problem to date with methods of laser surgery has been the deleterious collateral damage to surrounding tissue, which has limited the widespread use of lasers as a replacement for mechanical surgical tools.
Material ablation requires that the energy delivered by a laser to a material results in the irradiated volume of the material gaining sufficient translational energy to cause it to be removed. A number of mechanisms have been utilized, including "phase explosion" [1,2] and photomechanical spallation [1,3,4]. In the case of photomechanical spallation, the energy deposited must not exceed the vaporization threshold, and must be deposited quickly enough that shockwaves due to sudden thermal expansion lead to mechanical breakdown and ejection of the material. However, photomechanical spallation is notoriously inefficient, and it has been found that " . . . for most tissues, material removal using IR laser pulses cannot be achieved via a laser-induced spallation mechanism." [1]
In the case of "phase explosion", enough energy must be deposited to superheat the irradiated volume above the vaporization temperature of the material, leading to homogeneous nucleation and ejection of the material. The faster the heat is delivered to the material the faster the ablation process and the less amount of energy is lost by heat transfer to the surrounding material. Thus the degree of collateral damage depends strongly on the laser pulse width [1,5]. For long laser pulses (defined here as greater than 10 ns), there is significant heat transfer to the surrounding material. In the case of biological materials, the temperature gets so hot that the material actually burns. This latter process not only damages the surrounding tissue but actually blocks healing.
This dramatic effect is shown in FIG. 1, in which long pulses from conventional lasers are compared to short pulse ablation mechanisms in cutting bone as will be discussed below. Water cooling in combination with long laser pulses can help prevent the charring effect by excluding oxygen that is required for combustion. However, the material must still get hot enough to ablate in the irradiate volume and the excess heat which accumulates in the surrounding material leads to the tissue damage is the same. Excess heating of this magnitude still severely harms the adjacent tissue and thus has prevented the general use of conventional long pulse lasers in medical surgery.
It should be further noted that the time scale for heat deposition depends on both the time it takes for the absorbed laser energy (photons) to be converted to heat and the pulse duration of the incident light. The rate of lattice heating is a convolution of these two effects. The longer it takes the incident laser energy to be converted to heat the more time thermal diffusion and thermal expansion have to transfer energy to surrounding material and increase collateral damage. In the case of short laser pulses, it is possible to deposit the laser energy much faster than the ablation process, but realization of this is complicated by other deleterious effects as discussed below.
The threshold for ablation depends strongly on the energy deposited per unit volume. For a given amount of laser energy, the smaller the amount of material absorbing the light, the higher the temperature of the lattice rises in the irradiated zone, and the less total heat is available for transport to adjacent material to cause heat induced damage. In other words, the smaller the optical penetration depth, the less energy is required to achieve a particular temperature for ablation and the less total heat transferred to the material. The objective in minimizing collateral damage in laser cutting is to maximize the energy absorbed per unit volume or mass to increase the ablation efficiency.
To ensure a short absorption depth, excimer (UV) lasers can be used because all materials strongly absorb light in the UV to VUV wavelength range (here defined as micron to sub-micron absorption depths). However, this wavelength range leads to radiation damage by UV photochemistry and ionization of the material. This photochemistry is undesired in many applications and is a particularly serious problem in most medical and dental applications where ionizing effects and collateral photochemistry must be avoided in order to promote healing.
The alternative to the use of UV lasers is to use femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. With short enough pulses, it is possible to achieve high enough peak powers to drive multiphoton absorption processes that lead to strong absorption within the laser focal volume, even at wavelengths where the material is nominally transparent. However, the peak power must be raised to a level that leads to the ionization of the material's constituent atoms or molecules. The liberated electrons absorb light at all wavelengths and rapidly convert this energy to heat through a process referred to as avalanche ionization [6,7]. At high enough densities, the electrons and parent ions form a plasma that can further increase the absorptivity and further localize the heat deposition. In this short pulse limit, there is also rapid heat deposition. However, this process creates highly reactive intermediates. For solid state materials such as metals, this ionization process has no consequence as the ions are quickly discharged. In the case of biological materials, the presence of ions creates the same effect as highly ionizing x-ray radiation. Even in the absence of excessive heating in this short pulse limit of femtosecond durations, the effect of ion formation leads to damage that blocks healing and is unacceptable for most medical applications.
This problem has been identified by control studies of live animals in which it was found that even though femtosecond laser pulses cut without excess heating, the healing process was not invoked. There was sufficient damage to adjacent cells to kill them but not enough to trigger normal healing mechanisms. A signalling protein had to be used to induce healing as disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/704,905 filed Aug. 3, 2005 entitled "Hybrid ultrafast laser surgery-growth factor stimulation for ultraprecision surgery with healing". Note the effect of ionizing radiation from multiphoton absorption may also be significant in other non-biological materials. In the case of sensitive materials such as semiconductors, insulators, catalysts, etc., the ion induced chemistry will also lead to highly undesirable changes in material properties, such as the creation of surface states/defects. This effect again is most undesirable in any kind of medical or dental application. In the case of dental applications, the formation of highly reactive ions will have the potential for forming organic mercuric compounds from ablation of amalgam fillings that are incredibly toxic.
Another alternative is to tune the laser wavelength to maximize the energy localization into short lived excited states, such as vibrational transitions in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelength range. Strongly absorbing vibrational modes, with micron to sub-micron absorption depths, can be found in biological and most other materials. By targeting these short-lived excited states thermal energy can be quickly transferred to a small irradiated volume, without the deleterious effects of ion generation and photochemistry. However care must be taken in the choice of both pulse duration and energy in order to achieve efficient, collateral damage free ablation.

Laser selective cutting by impulsive heat deposition in the IR wavelength range for direct-drive ablation


A batch mixer for mixing concrete materials into a mixed concrete includes a mixing drum having a plurality of paddles fixed to the drum for rotation with the mixing drum about the longitudinal axis of the mixing drum. The paddles include mixing paddles oriented to urge the concrete materials away from the outlet opening at the second end of the drum when the mixing drum is rotated in the mixing direction, and at least one shearing paddle which is oriented at less than 25 degrees from the longitudinal direction of the mixing drum. The shearing paddles has a main body portion interrupted by shearing apertures through which concrete material are directed and an inner edge which is discontinuous and interrupted by longitudinally spaced teeth.

Concrete is commonly mixed in batches in a drum batch mixer, including tilting and non-tilting drum mixers.
One typical configuration of a non-tilting reversing drum mixer includes a horizontally oriented cylindrical drum having an inlet opening at a first end for charging the mixer with concrete materials to be mixed, an outlet opening at an opposing second end for discharging mixed concrete from the drum, and a plurality of mixing paddles supported in the drum to extend generally radially inwardly from the cylindrical wall of the drum for mixing concrete as the drum is rotated. The mixing paddles are oriented to urge the concrete materials towards the inlet opening when the mixing drum is rotated in a first mixing direction and to urge the concrete materials towards the outlet opening when the mixing drum is rotated in a second discharging direction.
Alternatively, in some instances of non-tilting drum mixers, the inlet opening and discharge opening may be located at the same end of the drum. In this instance the mixing paddles are oriented to urge the concrete materials away from the discharge opening when the mixing drum is rotated in a first mixing direction and to urge the concrete materials towards the outlet opening when the mixing drum is rotated in a second discharging direction.
A known desirable feature of reversing drum mixers is that the mixing paddles are substantially self-cleaning after each batch of concrete being mixed because the mixing paddles are typically specifically designed with smooth surfaces terminating at smooth continuous inner free edges while being oriented at a relative steep inclination of approximately 35-45 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the drum. This paddle configuration ensures that the concrete materials readily slide off of the paddles during mixing and discharging.
In tilting drum mixers, the drum axis is typically oriented near horizontal for mixing with paddles oriented to urge material away from the discharge opening at the discharge end of the drum to retain the concrete materials in the drum while mixing. The drum is then tilted so that the drum axis is oriented at a downward inclination towards the discharge opening for discharging. It remains desirable for the mixing paddles to have smooth surfaces to avoid excess accumulation of concrete materials thereon when discharging.
Occasionally when mixing high slump concrete using typical mixing paddles as described above, pockets of unmixed material remain in the concrete materials being mixed. These pockets of unmixed material are difficult to break up due to the high fluidity of the mixture and due to the design of the paddles which are intended to be substantially self-cleaning with smooth edges, smooth surfaces, and sharp inclinations relative to the longitudinal axis of the mixer as noted above with regard to reversing drum mixers for example.

Shearing paddles in a drum mixer for high slump concrete


A method and system are described to remove solvent vapors emanating from a source in a work place. The air stream is passed through a fogging chamber in which a plurality of ultrasonic foggers are used to create a supersaturated condition in the form of vapor and droplets of a scrubbing liquid such as water. The supersaturated condition is accompanied with a large amount of turbulence and mixing flows throughout the chamber to reduce the ability of solvent vapors from bypassing contact with the scrubbing liquid. The scrubbing liquid droplets and vapor are then condensed out in a cooling condenser and collected to leave a scrubbed air stream from which a substantial amount of the solvent vapors is removed. The scrubbed cooled air stream may then be recirculated for reuse in the work place. Several embodiments are shown and described including a scrubbing system in which several fogging chambers and condensers are used in tandem for an enhanced removal of solvent vapor from the air stream.

Humidification of air by use of ultrasonic devices operating within an air handler are well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. B1 4,042,016, 4,118,945 and 4,564,375. Typically, these types of systems generate a fog using an ultrasonic device for breaking up a stream of air and water into fine droplets. These droplets preferably evaporate before the air carrying them along reaches filters or other downstream devices, such as cooling coils and the like. The distribution of the fog is normally selected to minimize the amount of air that can bypass mixing with the fog. In some air handlers, the water droplets still reach downstream devices, thereby wetting these with some further humidification arising from the evaporation from the wetted devices. In such case, it is still necessary to provide drainage for water dripping down from the wetted devices. Generally, however, wetting is preferably avoided for bacterial growth prevention and unnecessary loss of water.
In the ultrasonic humidification of the air in or before an air handler, the humidification of the air inside the air handler often achieves levels substantially higher than those within the building areas that are intended to be humidified, so that the humidification level inside the building achieves a desired level. Although saturation levels can occur inside the air handler, saturation preferably is avoided, primarily to prevent condensation on cool metal surfaces and prevent the creation of stagnant pools of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,939 describes a process of recovering aerosol solids by introducing a liquid such as water as a stable fog or mist so as to cause an agglomeration of the solid particles with water. Agglomeration is enhanced by use of various techniques such as sonic or electrostatic forces. The moisture-laden particles are then condensed out of the air stream by cooling the stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,298 describes an apparatus for removing air polluting contaminants and condensable vapors from exhaust gas. This involves a spray chamber for generating water in a finely-divided form, a demister for separating water droplets and a condensing tube structure to condense water vapor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,099 describes an apparatus for removing contaminants from a polluted gas stream using an ultrasonic generator which forms a fog in a first zone. An electric field and sound waves are used to cause a three-dimensional oscillatory motion of the vibrating fog droplets. These droplets then are given increased contact time and area to remove contaminants from the polluted gas stream. In a second zone, fm modulated ultrasonic waves are generated to cause an agglomeration of fog droplets and thus removal of solid particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,496 describes a system for purifying air of organic pollutants by first humidifying the air and mixing this with an aerosol containing pollutants in a mixing chamber. The mixture is subjected to aerosol removal to produce purified air. Other wet scrubber-type contaminants removers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,704,570 and 3,755,990.
Many of these prior art wet scrubbers require enormous quantities of water to achieve a level of effectiveness. Typically, air washers require spray densities of 1 to 5 gallons per minute per square foot of crossectional area per bank, see the 1988 ASHRAE Equipment handbook on air washers. This, in turn, imposes a greater burden on the disposal or processing of the waste water produced by these wet scrubbers.
Removal from air streams of contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOC) is typically accomplished with activated carbon bed filtration systems. These are expensive and complex to use because the activated carbon bed immediately begins to lose effectiveness and needs to be replaced on a regular basis. In a well-maintained, actively-used carbon system, the carbon bed may need to be replaced on a weekly basis. The used carbon bed can be reactivated; however, after repeated activation cycles, the carbon tends to crack and degenerate leading to a loss of a useful, expensive carbon bed and a slip of unabsorbed VOC's.


Clutch control systems for a power take-off system of a vehicle, such as those employing all-wheel and four-wheel drive systems. The control system calculates the temperature of the clutch system, based on one or more vehicle operational parameters. If the clutch system reaches a pre-determined temperature limit, the control system selectively stops the operation of the clutch system until the clutch temperature drops below the pre-determined temperature limit. The control system includes an electronic control unit, e.g., a computer or microprocessor, that calculates and/or processes one or more vehicle operational parameters, including, but not limited to: (1) clutch input and output speeds; (2) slip across the clutch; (3) clutch torque; (4) current clutch power; (5) accumulated clutch power; (6) temperature delta (i.e., change) of the clutch; and (7) clutch temperature.

The recent introduction of four-wheel and all-wheel drive motor vehicles, including those employing torque-on-demand systems (e.g., BorgWarner Automotive, Inc.'s TOD™ system), has greatly aided in the safety and drivability of these vehicles under sub-optimal road conditions. Some of these types of vehicles also employ a power take-off (PTO) system that is associated with the vehicle's main engine system in order to provide a separate power source to run auxiliary machinery, whether integrated and/or independent, such as mixers, compacters, winches, balers, and the like.
Conventional PTO systems typically include some type of clutch system. Conventional PTO clutch systems typically include an input member, an output member, a clutch pack (e.g., a set of multiple plates or discs), and a control system for selectively engaging the input and output members.
A description of various four wheel drive and torque-on-demand systems can be found with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,194 to McGinn et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,002 to Showalter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,328 to Showalter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,738 to Joslin et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,999 to Showalter et al., the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Because most engine systems used in these types of vehicles can generate far more torque than conventional PTO systems can accept, operators of these vehicles have been keenly aware of the potential damage that can be done to PTO systems by the torque output of the engine system. The most likely cause of damage would occur if the clutch slipped in response to the high torque input level, causing the clutch pack to rapidly overheat, which could then potentially damage the clutch plates. This would then necessitate the time-consuming and costly repair and/or replacement of a portion of, or the entire clutch pack.
Accordingly, it has been suggested that in order to protect the clutch pack, the clutch system temperature must be monitored and the clutch system turned or disabled off before the critical temperature is reached. This can be accomplished by using a temperature sensor to directly measure the temperature of the clutch system.
For example, a temperature sensor can be installed in the clutch assembly to measure the actual temperature of the clutch system. When the measured temperature exceeds the critical temperature, the vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU) would turn off the clutch system until it cools down to an acceptable temperature.
Advantages of such a system would be accurate measurement of clutch system temperature independent of ambient temperature and lube flow and it would allow the ECU to compensate for variations in current due to temperature. Disadvantages of such a system would be the additional cost of sensors and wiring, and if the sensors or wiring failed, the ECU could not protect the clutch system from thermal damage.
Other approaches to solving the above-mentioned problem have also been attempted. Some of these approaches can be found with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,653 to Horikoshi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,450 to Makita; U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,883 to Churchill et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,751 to Ehrenhardt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,044 to Ehrenhardt et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,591 to Yamaguchi, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Unfortunately, the afore-mentioned approaches do not address the issue of calculating the clutch system temperature without the use of expensive and unreliable temperature sensor systems, but rather focus on other techniques for protecting the clutches of the various PTO-equipped systems.
Therefore, there exists a need for a control system for easily, inexpensively, and reliably calculating the clutch system temperature of a PTO-equipped system so as to be able to selectively and temporarily stop the operation of the clutch system before the clutch system reaches a pre-determined temperature limit, especially for four wheel drive vehicles and more especially for those four wheel drive vehicles employing TOD systems.


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to collapsible hood for a heating and cooling system that includes a plurality of panels configured to couple to a housing of the heating and cooling system, wherein the plurality of panels is configured to be translated between a collapsed position and an open position, wherein the plurality of panels is substantially flush against the housing in the collapsed position to configure the heating and cooling system for transportation, and wherein the plurality of panels are configured to extend from the housing to protect openings in an air intake of the housing and to allow passage of air through the air intake in the open position.

The present disclosure relates generally to environmental control systems, and more particularly, to a collapsible vent hood for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit.
Environmental control systems are utilized in residential, commercial, and industrial environments to control environmental properties, such as temperature and humidity, for occupants of the respective environments. The environmental control system may control the environmental properties through control of an airflow delivered to the environment. In some cases, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems include a hood that is configured to block water and other contaminants from gaining entry into an air intake of a unit. For instance, an outdoor unit of an HVAC system may draw air into the unit, which ultimately passes over coils of a heat exchanger to exchange thermal energy with a working fluid flowing through the coils of the heat exchanger. Existing hoods are generally shipped separately from a housing of the unit, which increases transportation costs. In some cases, transporting an existing unit involves removal of the hood, which is time-consuming and expensive.