An apparatus includes a transmitter and a receiver device, which includes a receiver section and a processing module. The transmitter transmits a high carrier frequency signal. The receiver section includes first and second antennas that have an antenna radiation relationship for receiving the high carrier frequency signal. A receiver module of the receiver section determines first and second signal properties of the received high carrier frequency signal. The processing module determines a position of the receiver device with respect to the transmitter based on the first and second signal properties and maps the position to a coordinate system.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wireless systems and more particularly to determining position within a wireless system and/or tracking motion within the wireless system.
2. Description of Related Art
Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire lined communications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices. Such communication systems range from national and/or international cellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-home wireless networks to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. Each type of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards. For instance, radio frequency (RF) wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards including, but not limited to, RFID, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variations thereof. As another example, infrared (IR) communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards including, but not limited to, IrDA (Infrared Data Association).
Depending on the type of RF wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, RFID reader, RFID tag, et cetera communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connection between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
For each RF wireless communication device to participate in wireless communications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiver and transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g., a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communication networks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifier receives inbound RF signals via the antenna and amplifies then. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signals with one or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal into baseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The filtering stage filters the baseband signals or the IF signals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce filtered signals. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signals in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard.
As is also known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordance with a particular wireless communication standard. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.
In most RF applications, radio transceivers are implemented on one or more integrated circuits (ICs), which are inter-coupled via traces on a printed circuit board (PCB). The radio transceivers operate within licensed or unlicensed frequency spectrums. For example, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers communicate data within the unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum of 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz. While the ISM frequency spectrum is unlicensed there are restrictions on power, modulation techniques, and antenna gain.
In a particular application, millimeter wave (MMW) communications are used in public safety applications to detect a metal object on a moving person. This can be accomplished because millimeter wave signals penetrate clothing, plastics, and fabrics, but are reflected by metal objects. The responses of the MMW signals are captured and processed utilizing a statistical model to detect the metal object.
In radar applications, RF signals are used to detect the relative distance of an object. In general, when the receiver and transmitter are in the same location, the received power declines as the fourth power of the range, which can be use to determine the distance to an object. The transmission of the RF signals may be polarized to reduce interferences and/or to better detect certain objects. For instance, circular polarization is used to minimize the interference caused by rain; linear polarization for better detection of metal surfaces; and random polarization for better detecting fractal surfaces. Alternatively, the radar signals may be FM modulated to improve distance detect.
In IR communication systems, an IR device includes a transmitter, a light emitting diode, a receiver, and a silicon photo diode. In operation, the transmitter modulates a signal, which drives the LED to emit infrared radiation which is focused by a lens into a narrow beam. The receiver, via the silicon photo diode, receives the narrow beam infrared radiation and converts it into an electric signal.
IR communications are used in video games to detect the direction in which a game controller is pointed. As an example, an IR sensor is placed near the game display, where the IR sensor detects the IR signal transmitted by the game controller. If the game controller is too far away, too close, or angled away from the IR sensor, the IR communication will fail.
Further advances in video gaming include three accelerometers in the game controller to detect motion by way of acceleration. The motion data is transmitted to the game console via a Bluetooth wireless link. The Bluetooth wireless link may also transmit the IR direction data to the game console and/or convey other data between the game controller and the game console.
While the above video gaming technologies allow video gaming to include motion sensing, it does so with limitations. As mentioned, the IR communication has a limited area in which a player can be for the IR communication to work properly. Further, the accelerometer only measures acceleration such that true one-to-one detection of motion is not achieved. Thus, the gaming motion is limited to a handful of directions (e.g., horizontal, vertical, and a few diagonal directions).
Therefore, a need exists for improved motion tracking and positioning determination for video gaming and other applications.

Apparatus for position detection using multiple antennas


A system has a first electrode, a second electrode, a photosensitive member located between the first and second electrodes, a recording member located between the first and second electrodes, and an optical shutter. In this system, light having information to be recorded is applied to the photosensitive member. The light information is recorded on the recording member. An exposure amount of the light with respect to the photosensitive member is set by setting a time during which the optical shutter remains open. A drive voltage of a predetermined variation manner is applied between the first and second electrodes during the recording of the light information on the recording member.

This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recording image information.
New technologies have been developed in the field of recording information. One known example of such new technologies generates a charge latent image in a charge storage recording medium on the basis of an input optical image by use of a photoelectric transducer device including a photoconductive member.

Method and apparatus for recording optical information by using a photoelectric transducer


This invention relates to the expression of improved polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences encoding for eukaryotic enzymes, particularly oxidase enzymes. The enzymes are advantagoeusly produced in conventional or facile expression systems. Various methods for directed evolution of polynucleotide sequences can be used to obtain the improved sequences. The improved characteristics of the polypeptides or proteins generated in this manner include improved expression, enhanced activity toward one or more substrates, and increased thermal stability. In a particular embodiment, the invention relates to improved expression of the galactose oxidase gene and galactose oxidase enzymes. GAO mutants that are highly active and/or thermostable are disclosed.

An "oxidation enzyme" is an enzyme that catalyzes one or more oxidation reactions, typically by adding, inserting, contributing or transferring oxygen from a source or donor to a substrate. Such enzymes are also called oxidoreductases or redox enzymes, and encompasses oxygenases, hydrogenases or reductases, oxidases and peroxidases. One such enzyme is galactose oxidase. This invention relates to the selection and production of polynucleotides that encode polypeptides or proteins with biological activity as oxidation enzymes, and in particular galactose oxidase enzymes. These enzymes are produced in facile expression systems such as robust prokaryotic cells (e.g. bacteria) and eukaryotic systems (e.g. fungi and yeast).


Methods for setting contact height in an electrical connector are disclosed. Each of a plurality of electrical contacts may be seated in a connector housing such that each contact has a respective initial height relative to the housing. At least one of the contacts is pressed on such that, after the pressing, each of the contacts has approximately the same height relative to the connector housing. The pressing may bend the at least one contact at least until it has set. Before the pressing, the initial contact heights have a first tolerance. After the pressing the pressed contact heights have a second tolerance that is smaller than the first tolerance. The pressing operation bends the contacts to a point that exceeds the yielding limit of the contact material, and may deform the contacts such that the several contacts have about the same contact height relative to the connector housing.

Land grid array ("LGA") connectors and connectors utilizing ball grid arrays ("BGA") for attachment to printed circuit boards are known. For LGA-LGA and LGA-BGA connectors, there are two opposing interfaces and the contact positions on each interface must be tightly controlled. Adjusting one interface may affect the other.
A typical approach for tightly controlling contact position on both sides of the connector is to tightly control the tolerances of the components and the assembly. This approach is straightforward but expensive because one typically must severely limit manufacturing tolerances and impose the associated added costs.
It would be desirable, therefore, if methods were available for manufacturing such connectors without the need for so tightly controlling tolerances, such as, for example, on BGA tail length, LGA contact height, and the associated plastic housing.


The present invention relates to novel compounds of formula (I) and their pharmaceutical compositions. In addition, the present invention relates to therapeutic methods for the treatment and/or prevention of Aβ-related pathologies such as Downs syndrome, β-amyloid angiopathy such as but not limited to cerebral amyloid angiopathy or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, disorders associated with cognitive impairment such as but not limited to MCI (“mild cognitive impairment”), Alzheimer Disease, memory loss, attention deficit symptoms associated with Alzheimer disease, neurodegeneration associated with diseases such as Alzheimer disease or dementia including dementia of mixed vascular and degenerative origin, pre-senile dementia, senile dementia and dementia associated with Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy or cortical basal degeneration.

Several groups have identified and isolated aspartate proteinases that have β-secretase activity (Hussain et al., 1999; Lin et. al, 2000; Yan et. al, 1999; Sinha et. al., 1999 and Vassar et. al., 1999). β-secretase is also known in the literature as Asp2 (Yan et. al, 1999), Beta site APP Cleaving Enzyme (BACE) (Vassar et. al., 1999) or memapsin-2 (Lin et al., 2000). BACE was identified using a number of experimental approaches such as EST database analysis (Hussain et al. 1999); expression cloning (Vassar et al. 1999); identification of human homologs from public databases of predicted C. elegans proteins (Yan et al. 1999) and finally utilizing an inhibitor to purify the protein from human brain (Sinha et al. 1999). Thus, five groups employing three different experimental approaches led to the identification of the same enzyme, making a strong case that BACE is a β-secretase. Mention is also made of the patent literature: WO96/40885, EP871720, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,942,400 and 5,744,346, EP855444, U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,689, WO99/64587, WO99/31236, EP1037977, WO00/17369, WO01/23533, WO0047618, WO00/58479, WO00/69262, WO01/00663, WO01/00665 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,268.
BACE was found to be a pepsin-like aspartic proteinase, the mature enzyme consisting of the N-terminal catalytic domain, a transmembrane domain, and a small cytoplasmic domain. BACE has an optimum activity at pH 4.0-5.0 (Vassar et al, 1999) and is inhibited weakly by standard pepsin inhibitors such as pepstatin. It has been shown that the catalytic domain minus the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain has activity against substrate peptides (Lin et al, 2000). BACE is a membrane bound type 1 protein that is synthesized as a partially active proenzyme, and is abundantly expressed in brain tissue. It is thought to represent the major β-secretase activity, and is considered to be the rate-limiting step in the production of amyloid-β-protein (Aβ). It is thus of special interest in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, and in the development of drugs as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Aβ or amyloid-β-protein is the major constituent of the brain plaques which are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (De Strooper et al, 1999). Aβ is a 39-42 residue peptide formed by the specific cleavage of a class 1 transmembrane protein called APP, or amyloid precursor protein. Cleavage of APP by BACE generates the extracellular soluble APPβ fragment and the membrane bound CTFβ (C99) fragment that is subsequently is cleaved by γ-secretase to generate Aβ peptide.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is estimated to afflict more than 20 million people worldwide and is believed to be the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive dementia in which massive deposits of aggregated protein breakdown products—amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accumulate in the brain. The amyloid plaques are thought to be responsible for the mental decline seen in Alzheimer's patients.
The likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with age, and as the aging population of the developed world increases, this disease becomes a greater and greater problem. In addition to this, there is a familial link to Alzheimer's disease and consequently any individuals possessing the double mutation of APP known as the Swedish mutation (in which the mutated APP forms a considerably improved substrate for BACE) have a much higher risk of developing AD, and also of developing the disease at an early age (see also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,245,964 and 5,877,399 pertaining to transgenic rodents comprising APP-Swedish). Consequently, there is also a strong need for developing a compound that can be used in a prophylactic fashion for these individuals.
The gene encoding APP is found on chromosome 21, which is also the chromosome found as an extra copy in Down's syndrome. Down's syndrome patients tend to develop Alzheimer's disease at an early age, with almost all those over 40 years of age showing Alzheimer's-type pathology (Oyama et al., 1994). This is thought to be due to the extra copy of the APP gene found in these patients, which leads to overexpression of APP and therefore to increased levels of Aβ causing the high prevalence of Alzheimer's disease seen in this population. Thus, inhibitors of BACE could be useful in reducing Alzheimer's-type pathology in Down's syndrome patients.
Drugs that reduce or block BACE activity should therefore reduce Aβ levels and levels of fragments of Aβ in the brain, or elsewhere where Aβ or fragments thereof deposit, and thus slow the formation of amyloid plaques and the progression of AD or other maladies involving deposition of Aβ or fragments thereof (Yankner, 1996; De Strooper and Konig, 1999). BACE is therefore an important candidate for the development of drugs as a treatment and/or prophylaxis of Aβ-related pathologies such as Downs syndrome, β-amyloid angiopathy such as but not limited to cerebral amyloid angiopathy or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, disorders associated with cognitive impairment such as but not limited to MCI ("mild cognitive impairment"), Alzheimer Disease, memory loss, attention deficit symptoms associated with Alzheimer disease, neurodegeneration associated with diseases such as Alzheimer disease or dementia including dementia of mixed vascular and degenerative origin, pre-senile dementia, senile dementia and dementia associated with Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy or cortical basal degeneration.
It would therefore be useful to inhibit the deposition of Aβ and portions thereof by inhibiting BACE through inhibitors such as the compounds provided herein.
The therapeutic potential of inhibiting the deposition of Aβ has motivated many groups to isolate and characterize secretase enzymes and to identify their potential inhibitors (see, e.g., WO01/23533 A2, EP0855444, WO00/17369, WO00/58479, WO00/47618, WO00/77030, WO01/00665, WO01/00663, WO01/29563, WO02/25276, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,942,400, 6,245,884, 6,221,667, 6,211,235, WO02/02505, WO02/02506, WO02/02512, WO02/02518, WO02/02520, WO02/14264, WO05/058311, WO05/097767, WO06/041404, WO06/041405, WO06/0065204, WO06/0065277, US2006287294, WO06/138265, US20050282826, US20050282825, US20060281729, WO06/138217, WO06/138230, WO06/138264, WO06/138265, WO06/138266, WO06/099379, WO06/076284, US20070004786, US20070004730, WO07/011,833, WO07/011,810, US20070099875, US20070099898, WO07/058,601, WO07/058,581, WO07/058,580, WO07/058,583, WO07/058,582, WO07/058,602, WO07/073,284, WO07/049,532, WO07/038,271, WO07/016,012, WO07/005,366, WO07/005,404 and WO06/0009653.

Substituted isoindoles for the treatment and/or prevention of Aβ- related pathologies


The head assembly of a floor burnisher is suspended by a main lift assembly and a fine adjustment assembly. The main lift moves the head assembly between a raised position in which the pad assembly is raised and tilted for access, and a lowered position in which the pad driver is suspended slightly above the floor, ready for use. The fine adjustment assembly permits the operator to control very accurately and conveniently the final operating pressure of the pad when the burnisher is turned on.

High speed floor burnishers typically include a circular polishing element (pad or brush) mounted beneath a shroud or cover and forming a pad driver assembly. The pad driver is mounted beneath an electric motor energized by batteries or conventional wall outlet so that the motor may drive the pad directly. The combination of motor, shroud and pad are sometimes referred to as the head assembly.
In the case of larger machines, the motor is driven by a number of large storage batteries. In order to provide mobility, the batteries are carried on a chassis and enclosed within a housing; and the head assembly is mounted in front of the housing for movement between a raised position for maintenance, transport or storage, and a lowered position, in which the pad driver is located just above the floor with the bottom surface of the pad generally parallel to the floor. When the motor is turned on, rotation of the pad creates a suction effect, and the head assembly is drawn down to the floor to exert a downward pressure on the floor by the rotating pad, thus polishing the floor.
The head assembly, primarily because it includes a fairly large electric motor, may have considerable weight, and mounting the head assembly cantilevered in front of the machine has been found to present problems. For example, it is desirable that the operator be able to move the head assembly between the transport position and the use or ready (lowered) position manually so that costly additional actuators or power mechanisms need not be included.
Another problem sometimes present in burnishing machines of this type is that it is difficult to adjust the pressure which the pad is creating on the floor being burnished. Electrical systems have been developed for measuring the pad pressure on the floor, and a display of that pressure may be presented at a console in front of the operator. Typically, a needle indicates that the operating pressure is within design range which may be graphically indicated by a green band. Pressure measuring systems are commercially available. It has been a problem, however, to adjust the operating pressure so that it is within the desired operating range during operation of the machine.

Adjustable head assembly for floor burnisher


Methods and apparatuses for automated design of parallel drive standard cells are disclosed. The capacitive load to be driven by a particular output of a standard cell is determined. The driving capacity of the output is also determined. Based on the capacitive load to be driven and the driving capacity, a number of standard cells to be used is determined. The multiple standard cells are coupled in parallel having the respective outputs coupled to the capacitive load to be driven. In one embodiment, the standard cells coupled is parallel are placed such that the connection between the respective outputs and the load are substantially equal.

This invention relates generally to the field of design automation of integrated circuits, and more specifically to the field of performance optimization of digital integrated circuits.
In the field of integrated circuit design, computers are used to automate the design process. Current integrated circuit designs have become so complex that the design process cannot be completed without the aid of computers executing design automation software. Typically, during most of the design process, the integrated circuit design exists only in the form of electronic data, stored in the memory of a computer or some other storage medium.
Integrated circuit design includes several steps. The designer creates the design by specifying the function of the design, typically by composing existing or new electronic components (or cells) having various functions. While some components (or cells) are custom designed specifically for a particular chip, most components are standard and are designed in advance and kept in one or more libraries. The designer creates the desired function by interconnecting, with nets, selected cells. Logic synthesis software aids the designer by performing some of the laborious and repetitive tasks of selection, interconnection and optimization of selected cells from the cell library. The resulting design is represented as a net list that defines the collection of cells and interconnections between the cells.
In a subsequent part of the design process, called the physical design, a set of photographic masks are created for use in manufacturing of a chip. To this end, the cells are placed on the chip area and the interconnections between the cells are routed. Physical design automation software automatically places the cells and routes the connections. Larger cells (or blocks) are usually placed at the periphery of the chip. Most of the cells are small standard cells which have a rectangular shape and a uniform height. These standard cells are typically placed in rows of the same uniform height.
Placer software is used to physically place the cells in the chip layout. For the interconnections between the cells, a number of metal layers, usually between 2 and 7, are available. Routing software is used to construct the interconnection with a variety of rectilinear metal shapes. The physical design ends with the generation of photographic masks describing the layers of the integrated circuit design.
One measure of the performance of a chip is determined by the time required to propagate the signals from register to register. Clock signal control the storing of data into these registers. The number of levels of cells that the signals propagate through and the delay of each of these cells and their interconnections determine the speed of propagation of signals. The number of levels of cells can be reduced during logic synthesis.
Capacitive, resistive and inductive effects cause a delay of the interconnections. For example, as capacitance and resistance increase with the length of an interconnection, the placement of the cells influences the performance of the chip. The capacitance that a cell needs to drive is the sum of the capacitance of the net and the capacitance of the inputs of the other cells connected to that net. If a cell drives a larger capacitance, the delay increases. Using larger transistors, this larger capacitance can be driven with the same delay. That is, the larger transistors can drive larger loads (with the same delay). However, such larger transistors cause the input capacitances of these cells to be larger, thereby slowing down the previous stage in the net list.
A variety of techniques are used for performance optimization in the design of digital integrated circuits. Because the length of the nets is important for the performance, there are placement methods that attempt to optimize the performance, generally referred to as timing driven placement schemes. One such scheme is disclosed is U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,551, entitled xe2x80x9cTiming Driven Placement,xe2x80x9d issued Jun. 8, 1993 in which an attempt is made to place the cells on the chip in such a manner that the nets that limit the performance of the chip to the greatest extent remain as short as possible.
Other methods for optimizing the performance of a chip design are based on the sizing of the transistors. One such method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,967, entitled xe2x80x9cMinimization of Circuit Delay and Power Through Transistor Sizing,xe2x80x9d issued Mar. 9, 1999. Such methods assume that each transistor can be given an accurate individual size. These methods generally use numerical continuous multiple variable optimization algorithms. While this can lead to very accurate optimization, the wide variety of possible transistor sizes requires many custom cell designs, which can make the design very costly. Most libraries contain few versions (typically 3 or 4) of the same cell, each with different transistor sizes, potentially in parallel within an individual cell. Hence sizing algorithms have been developed that select the best drive strength from the limited available standard drive strengths. An example of one such sizing algorithm is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,805, entitled xe2x80x9cLogic Synthesis Having Two-Dimensional Sizing Progression for Selecting Gates from Cell Libraries,xe2x80x9d issued May 27, 1997.
Other methods for performance optimization are based on the insertion of amplifying standard cells, or buffers. These buffers can drive a large load while presenting a small load at their input. Buffers do not effect the logic function. An example of a buffering algorithm is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,170, entitled xe2x80x9cSimplified Buffer Manipulation Using Standard Repowering Function,xe2x80x9d issued Aug. 29, 1998. Buffering is area efficient in the sense that little cell area is required to drive a large load. Compared to transistor sizing though, an extra stage of logic is added, and sizing cannot entirely eliminate the intrinsic delay of this stage.
Another set of methods for performance optimization in digital IC design is based on duplicating standard cells with multiple fanouts. The capacitance of all the pins of the output net is then distributed among the original cell and the duplicate cells, each of the cells driving a disjunct subset of the fanouts. This technique is known as xe2x80x9ccloning.xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,435, entitled xe2x80x9cAutomated Circuit Design System and Method for Reducing Critical Path Delay Times,xe2x80x9d issued Mar. 7, 1999, describes, among other things, one such cloning method.
However, cloning has several limitations including potential difficulty finding an acceptable balance when partitioning fanouts; cloning cannot be used to drive single fanouts with large capacitances (such as primary outputs); cloning cannot be used to drive large capacitances due to long wires; cloning cannot be used for standard cells with bidirectional pins; and cloning cannot easily be used for multi-source nets.
Therefore, what is needed is a scheme for automatically generating circuit designs capable of driving large loads in such a manner as to avoid one or more of the problems or limitations in the art described above.
Methods and apparatuses for automated design of parallel drive standard cells are disclosed. A standard cell having insufficient drive strength to drive a load is identified. The standard cell is duplicated one or more times to provide a set of multiple standard cells having sufficient combined drive strength to drive the load. The set of standard cells are coupled in parallel to drive the load. In one embodiment, the set of standard cells are aligned vertically or horizontally on the integrated circuit to provide a stacked set of standard cells.

Automated design of parallel drive standard cells


The present invention, generally speaking, provides a firewall that achieves maximum network security and maximum user convenience. The firewall employs "envoys" that exhibit the security robustness of prior-art proxies and the transparency and ease-of-use of prior-art packet filters, combining the best of both worlds. No traffic can pass through the firewall unless the firewall has established an envoy for that traffic. Both connection-oriented (e.g., TCP) and connectionless (e.g., UDP-based) services may be handled using envoys. Establishment of an envoy may be subjected to a myriad of tests to "qualify" the user, the requested communication, or both. Therefore, a high level of security may be achieved. The usual added burden of prior-art proxy systems is avoided in such a way as to achieve fall transparency-the user can use standard applications and need not even know of the existence of the firewall. To achieve full transparency, the firewall is configured as two or more sets of virtual hosts. The firewall is, therefore, "multi-homed," each home being independently configurable. One set of hosts responds to addresses on a first network interface of the firewall. Another set of hosts responds to addresses on a second network interface of the firewall. In one aspect, programmable transparency is achieved by establishing DNS mappings between remote hosts to be accessed through one of the network interfaces and respective virtual hosts on that interface. In another aspect, automatic transparency may be achieved using code for dynamically mapping remote hosts to virtual hosts in accordance with a technique referred to herein as dynamic DNS, or DDNS.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer network security and more particularly to firewalls, i.e., a combination of computer hardware and software that selectively allows "acceptable" computer transmissions to pass through it and disallows other non-acceptable computer transmissions.
2. State of the Art
In the space of just a few years, the Internet--because it provides access to information, and the ability to publish information, in revolutionary ways--has emerged from relative obscurity to international prominence. Whereas in general an internet is a network of networks, the Internet is a global collection of interconnected local, mid-level, and wide-area networks that use the Internet Protocol (IP) as the network layer protocol. Whereas the Internet embraces many local- and wide-area networks, a given local- or wide-area network may or may not form part of the Internet. For purposes of the present specification, a "wide-area network" (WAN) is a network that links at least two LANs over a wide geographical area via one or more dedicated connections. The public switched telephone network is an example of a wide-area network. A "local-area network" (LAN) is a network that takes advantage of the proximity of computers to typically offer relatively efficient, higher speed communications than wide-area networks.
In addition, a network may use the same underlying technologies as the Internet. Such a network is referred to herein as an "Intranet," an internal network based on Internet standards. Because the Internet has become the most pervasive and successful open networking standard, basing internal networks on the same standard is very attractive economically. Corporate Intranets have become a strong driving force in the marketplace of network products and services.
The present invention is directed primarily toward the connection of an Intranet to the Internet and the connection of intranets to other intranets, and any network connection where security is an issue.
As the Internet and its underlying technologies have become increasingly familiar, attention has become focused on Internet security and computer network security in general. With unprecedented access to information has also come unprecedented opportunities to gain unauthorized access to data, change data, destroy data, make unauthorized use of computer resources, interfere with the intended use of computer resources, etc. As experience has shown, the frontier of cyberspace has its share of scofflaws, resulting in increased efforts to protect the data, resources, and reputations of those embracing intranets and the Internet.
Firewalls are intended to shield data and resources from the potential ravages of computer network intruders. In essence, a firewall functions as a mechanism which monitors and controls the flow of data between two networks. All communications, e.g., data packets, which flow between the networks in either direction must pass through the firewall; otherwise, security is circumvented. The firewall selectively permits the communications to pass from one network to the other, to provide bidirectional security.
Ideally, a firewall would be able to prevent any and all security breaches and attacks. Although absolute security is indeed a goal to be sought after, due to many variables (e.g., physical intrusion into the physical plant) it may be difficult to achieve. However, in many instances, it is of equal if not greater importance to be alerted to an attack so that measures may be taken to thwart the attack or render it harmless, and to avoid future attacks of the same kind. Hence a firewall, in addition to security, should provide timely information that enables attacks to be detected.
Firewalls have typically relied on some combination of two techniques affording network protection: packet filtering and proxy services.
Packet filtering is the action a firewall takes to selectively control the flow of data to and from a network. Packet filters allow or block packets, usually while routing them from one network to another (often from the Internet to an internal network, and vice versa). To accomplish packet filtering, a network administrator establishes a set of rules that specify what types of packets (e.g., those to or from a particular IP address or port) are to be allowed to pass and what types are to be blocked. Packet filtering may occur in a router, in a bridge, or on an individual host computer.
Packet filters are typically configured in a "default permit stance"; i.e., that which is not expressly prohibited is permitted. In order for a packet filter to prohibit potentially harmful traffic, it must know what the constituent packets of that traffic look like. However, it is virtually impossible to catalogue all the various types of potentially harmful packets and to distinguish them from benign packet traffic. The filtering function required to do so is too complex. Hence, while most packet filters may be effective in dealing with the most common types of network security threats, this methodology presents many chinks that an experienced hacker may exploit. The level of security afforded by packet filtering, therefore, leaves much to be desired.
Recently, a further network security technique termed "stateful inspection" has emerged. Stateful inspection performs packet filtering not on the basis of a single packet, but on the basis of some historical window of packets on the same port. Although stateful inspection may enhance the level of security achievable using packet filtering, it is as yet relatively unproven. Furthermore, although an historical window of packets may enable the filter to more accurately identify harmful packets, the filter must still know what it is looking for. Building a filter with sufficient intelligence to deal with the almost infinite variety of possible packets and packet sequences is liable to prove an exceedingly difficult task.
The other principal methodology used in present-day firewalls is proxies. In order to describe prior-art proxy-based firewalls, some further definitions are required. A "node" is an entity that participates in network communications. A subnetwork is a portion of a network, or a physically independent network, that may share network addresses with other portions of the network. An intermediate system is a node that is connected to more than one subnetwork and that has the role of forwarding data from one subnetwork to the other (i.e., a "router").
A proxy is a program, running on an intermediate system, that deals with servers (e.g., Web servers, FTP servers, etc.) on behalf of clients. Clients, e.g. computer applications which are attempting to communicate with a network that is protected by a firewall, send requests for connections to proxy-based intermediate systems. Proxy-based intermediate systems relay approved client requests to target servers and relay answers back to clients.
Proxies require either custom software (i.e., proxy-aware applications) or custom user procedures in order to establish a connection. Using custom software for proxying presents several problems. Appropriate custom client software is often available only for certain platforms, and the software available for a particular platform may not be the software that users prefer. Furthermore, using custom client software, users must perform extra manual configuration to direct the software to contact the proxy on the intermediate system. With the custom procedure approach, the user tells the client to connect to the proxy and then tells the proxy which host to connect to. Typically, the user will first enter the name of a firewall that the user wishes to connect through. The firewall will then prompt the user for the name of the remote host the user wishes to connect to. Although this procedure is relatively simple in the case of a connection that traverses only a single firewall, as network systems grow in complexity, a connection may traverse several firewalls. Establishing a proxied connection in such a situation starts to become a confusing maze, and a significant burden to the user, since the user must know the route the connection is to take.
Furthermore, since proxies must typically prompt the user or the client software for a destination using a specific protocol, they are protocol-specific. Separate proxies are therefore required for each protocol that is to be used.
Another problematic aspect of conventional firewall arrangements, from a security perspective, is the common practice of combining a firewall with other packages on the same computing system. The firewall package itself may be a combination of applications. For example, one well-known firewall is a combination Web server and firewall. In other cases, unrelated services may be hosted on the same computing platform used for the firewall. Such services may include e-mail, Web servers, databases, etc. The provision of applications in addition to the firewall on a computing system provides a path through which a hacker can potentially get around the security provided by the firewall. Combining other applications on the same machine as a firewall also has the result of allowing a greater number of users access to the machine. The likelihood then increases that a user will, deliberately or inadvertently, cause a security breach.
There remains a need for a firewall that achieves both maximum security and maximum user convenience, such that the steps required to establish a connection are transparent to the user. The present invention addresses this need.

Firewall providing enhanced network security and user transparency


A magnetic recording medium, and method of manufacturing the same, is provided with excellent recording performance by employing a granular magnetic layer having a specified composition. A magnetic recording medium according to the present invention comprises a nonmagnetic underlayer, a granular magnetic layer, a protective film, and a liquid lubrication layer sequentially laminated on a nonmagnetic substrate. The granular magnetic layer consists of ferromagnetic crystal grains containing cobalt and nonmagnetic grain boundary region surrounding the ferromagnetic crystal grains. The ferromagnetic crystal grains contain platinum in the range of 15 at % to 17 at %.

The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium mounted on a variety of magnetic recording devices such as an external memory device of a computer. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a medium.
Remarkable technology development of magnetic recording devices in recent years is pushing for magnetic recording media with higher coercive force and lower noises. For addressing such demands, various proposals have been made concerning compositions and structure of a magnetic layer and materials of a nonmagnetic underlayer.
Recently, a magnetic layer has been proposed having a structure in which ferromagnetic crystal grains are surrounded by nonmagnetic and nonmetallic substance, such as an oxide. Such a magnetic layer is generally called "a granular magnetic layer". The granular magnetic layer is considered that interaction between the ferromagnetic crystal grains is decreased because the individual ferromagnetic crystal grain is physically separated by the nonmagnetic and nonmetallic grain boundary phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,473 discloses that a magnetic recording medium having a granular magnetic layer exhibits high coercive force and low noises. The granular magnetic layer in this reference was formed by RF sputtering using a target of an alloy of CoPt system incorporating an oxide such as SiO2. The reference, U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,473, also discloses the diameter of the crystal grains constituting the granular magnetic layer, the distance between the crystal grains, and macroscopic composition of the granular magnetic layer. The granular magnetic layer as disclosed does not need substrate heating for controlling crystal structure. Consequently, the granular magnetic layer has advantages of superior productivity and possibility of forming on an inexpensive nonmagnetic substrate made of plastic, for example.
In order to obtain a magnetic recording medium with excellent recording performances using the granular magnetic layer, it is necessary to increase coercive force and anisotropic magnetic field, and also necessary to suppress interaction between the crystal grains in the magnetic layer by enhancing magnetic isolation of each crystal grain. Thus, when a granular magnetic layer is deposited using a target containing an oxide such as SiO2 and a ferromagnetic alloy such as cobalt alloy, the oxide and the ferromagnetic alloy composing the target are desired to be well separated to one another in the deposited magnetic film. Consequently, the target and its material must be appropriately selected so that the ferromagnetic crystal grains made of the ferromagnetic alloy and the grain boundary region made of the oxide are well separated after deposition by sputtering.
Various sputtering methods that are conducted in an argon gas atmosphere are known among generally employed deposition techniques. In most sputtering methods, the impact of the argon ions in plasma at the collision with the target readily causes decomposition of the oxide such as SiO2. The silicon atoms liberated by decomposition of SiO2 readily diffuse into the ferromagnetic alloy such as cobalt base alloy and are liable to cause degradation of magnetic characteristics. Thus, the composition of the actually deposited magnetic layer is often different from the composition of the target supplied for sputtering. If the same target is used, but the sputtering is conducted under a different condition, then the composition of the deposited magnetic layer possibly changes.
As described above, even if a suitable target is selected, the target can not necessarily achieve its full ability when the target is deposited as a magnetic layer. In order to adequately control the granular magnetic layer, it is essential to control the composition of the magnetic layer resulted by deposition process. Nevertheless, such a guideline has not elucidated yet.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a magnetic recording medium with excellent magnetic and magnetic conversion characteristics by using a granular magnetic layer having a specified composition, and a method for manufacturing such a medium.

Magnetic recording medium and method for manufacturing the same

Fuji Electric Device Technology Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus for evaluating the functionality and sensitivity of an infrared sensor to infrared radiation. The method and apparatus are adapted for testing an infrared sensor having a diaphragm containing a heating element and a transducer that generates an output responsive to temperature. The method entails placing the infrared sensor in a controlled environment, and then exposing the diaphragm of the sensor to different levels of thermal radiation so as to obtain outputs of the transducer at different output levels. In the absence of exposure of the diaphragm to thermal radiation, flowing current through the heating element at different input levels so that the output of the transducer returns to the different output levels obtained using thermal radiation, the input difference between the input levels can be computed and used to assess the functionality and the sensitivity of the sensor.

The present invention generally relates to thermopile-based thermal sensors. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing self-testing of an infrared sensor.
A thermopile comprises a series of connected thermocouples, each made up of dissimilar electrically-resistive materials such as semiconductors and metals, and converts thermal energy into an electric voltage by a mechanism known as the Seebeck effect. The general structure and operational aspects of thermopiles are well known and therefore will not be discussed in any detail here.
Thermopiles have been employed in infrared sensors, a notable example being commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,389 to Chavan et al., which discloses a thermopile transducer and signal processing circuitry combined on a single semiconductor substrate so that the transducer output signal (measured in volts) is sampled in close proximity by the processing circuit. The sensor comprises a frame surrounding a diaphragm on which the transducer is fabricated. The frame is formed of a semiconductor material that is not heavily doped, and signal processing circuitry is fabricated on the frame and electrically interconnected with the transducer so as to minimize signal noise. In particular, the close proximity between the transducer and the signal processing circuitry minimizes capacitive and inductive coupling to off-chip sources of electric and magnetic fields that would be potential sources of extraneous signals. Fabrication of the sensor structure does not require high dopant concentrations or thermal treatments that are incompatible with standard CMOS devices, such that the signal processing circuitry can make use of CMOS and BiCMOS technology. The sensor also does not require the use of materials and process steps that are not conducive to mass production processes made possible with CMOS and micromachining technology.
An optional feature of the sensor disclosed by Chavan et al. is the incorporation of a heating element that surrounds a central heat-absorption zone of the sensor diaphragm. For convenience, the heating element can be formed of polysilicon or another material deposited in the fabrication of the sensor or signal conditioning circuitry, the latter of which can be used to send current to the heating element to raise the temperature of the central heat-absorption zone of the diaphragm. This capability can be used as a self-test mechanism to determine if the transducer is functioning properly after packaging and installation in the field. By switching two different currents into the heating element, a change in transducer output voltage can be obtained that is proportional to the difference in the currents, or equivalently the generated heat in the diaphragm.
It would be desirable if a method were available for performing a wafer-level test on a thermopile-based infrared sensor of the type taught by Chavan et al., by which the sensor performance can be evaluated to identify sensors outside acceptable performance ranges. It would be particularly desirable if such a wafer-level test were suitable for high-volume testing of mass-produced sensors.

Method and apparatus for testing an infrared sensor


The present invention provides a structure that makes high-frequency transmission possible in an optical module and in the optical transmission apparatus using the module. The invention has means that excludes, from the service band of the optical module, frequency of the standing waves occurring at connection between the first high-frequency signal line substrate and second high-frequency signal line substrate in the optical module.

The present invention relates to an optical module that accommodates therein a photosemiconductor device for use in optical communication, and to an optical transmission apparatus using the optical module.
Optical transmission apparatus uses a semiconductor laser and/or photodiodes to transmit/receive light.
Laser modules containing a semiconductor laser device are briefly described below.
In optical transmission apparatus, the light emitted from a semiconductor laser device needs to be efficiently introduced into and coupled to a fiber. The semiconductor laser device is mounted in a hermetically sealed condition in a package made primarily of a metal. For example, the container described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-74395 has a frame body formed of any of a metal, an insulator, or a compound material thereof, a first bottom plate fixed to the frame body, and a second metallic bottom plate fixed to the first bottom plate.
In a known configuration for implementing signal transmission at a rate exceeding 10 Gbits/s, as in the related example disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-40257, the signal to be modulated is transmitted to the interior of a package by using a high-frequency connector provided at the input section of the package in order to receive this signal from the exterior of the package, and the connector is connected to a semiconductor laser device via the transmission line and bonding wire of the substrate formed inside the package.
For internal connection of the package, a cooling element (e.g., a Peltier element) is used to ensure constant characteristics of the semiconductor laser device. More specifically, the configuration using the packaging substrate side of the semiconductor laser device as a cooling plane, and the frame side of the package as a heat-dissipation plane, is used to cool the semiconductor laser device. For this reason, the route from the high-frequency connector (heat sink) on the wall surface of the package to the packaging substrate side (cooler) of the semiconductor laser device needs to be thermally separated. As shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-79989 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-87852, a configuration is known that uses wire bonding (or the like) to connect the packaging substrate of a cooling element and the substrate mounted on the inner wall of the package.
Laser modules have been described above. It is also known, however, that even in the photodiode module containing a photodiode, the packaging substrate to be connected to a high-frequency connector, and the packaging substrate with a photodiode device mounted thereon are connected using wire bonding. Additionally, it is known that the packaging substrate to be connected to a high-frequency connector, and the packaging substrate with a photodiode device mounted thereon are fixed to a package housing by using independent conductors.
In recent years, there are increasingly growing needs for even-higher-frequency applications exceeding 40 GHz. Accordingly, the improvement of high-frequency connectors for optical module input and output signals of wider frequency bands is being accelerated. At the same time, however, the problem is occurring that depending on the mounting status of the optical module in the package, 40 Gbits/s signal transmission is impeded.
Hermetic sealing packages for accommodating semiconductor laser devices typically use a metal conductor excellent in heat-sinking performance and/or in hermetic sealing weldability, such as iron-nickel-cobalt (Fe—Ni—Co), iron-nickel (Fe—Ni), or copper-tungsten (CuW). Also, these packages usually measure about 5 to 10 mm in height in order to allow for mounting in an optical transmission apparatus. The housing of such a size has come to be seen that wire-bonded sections and other discontinuous sections of a low electric-field containment level suffer resonance in a cavity due to the electric field.

Optical module and optical transmission apparatus


The activated oligomer compounds described herein are capable of forming bio-reversible covalent bonds with plasma proteins, in particular with human serum albumin. The plasma protein-oligomer complexes of the present invention exhibit enhanced cellular entry and significantly enhanced serum half-life.

Recent reports in the literature describe the use of serum albumin for improved drug delivery by binding the drug to the protein through covalent linkages. Using albumin-based drug delivery, antiproliferative drugs, such as doxorubicin or methotrexate, have been shown to exhibit improved pharmacokinetic properties and antitumor activity. (See Stehle, G.; Wunder, A.; Sinn, H.; Schrenk, H. H.; Schutt, S.; Frei, E.; Hartung, G.; Maier-Borst, W.; Heene, D. L. (1997) Pharmacokinetics of methotrexate-albumin conjugates in tumor-bearing rats. Anti-Cancer Drugs, 8, 835-844; Stehle, G.; Wunder, A.; Schrenk, H. H.; Hartung, G.; Heene, D. L.; Sinn, H. (1999) Methotrexate-albumin conjugate causes tumor growth delay in Dunning R332 HI prostate cancer-bearing rats. Anti-Cancer Drugs, 10, 405-411; Mansour, A. M., Drevs, J. et al. (2003) A New Approach for the Treatment of Malignant Melanoma: Enhanced Antitumor Efficacy of an Albumin-binding Doxorubicin Prodrug That Is Cleaved by Matrix Metalloproteinase 2. Cancer Research 63, 4062-4066).

Oligomers comprising activated disulfides which bind to plasma proteins and their use for delivery to cells


Signal traces are patterned on a top surface of a substrate. A ground trace is patterned on the top surface of the substrate for at least one pair of the signal traces. A die paddle is patterned on the top surface of the substrate, and the die paddle is connected directly with the ground trace.

Transmit modules, also known more generally as front-end modules, in wireless communication systems such as GSM/CDMA or mixed-mode handsets or WLAN transceivers, support various frequency bands and/or various modulation schemes. This results in multiple ports, referred to herein as radio frequency (RF) ports, through which signals pass to integrated circuits in the RF portion of the wireless communication system.
The continuing miniaturization of electronic components in wireless communication systems can result in RF ports that are located in close proximity to one another. RF ports located in close proximity to one another can result in poor signal isolation, which can result in, for example, cross talk and electrical noise that affect signal integrity.


A method may include: determining a total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of a water source; correlating the TDS concentration to an ion concentration; and selecting at least one friction reducing polymer for a hydraulic fracturing operation based at least in part on the ion concentration.

Hydrocarbon-producing wells are often stimulated by hydraulic fracturing operations, wherein proppants may be used to hold open or "prop" open fractures created during high-pressure pumping. Once the pumping-induced pressure is removed, proppants may prop open fractures in the rock formation and thus preclude the fracture from closing. As a result, the amount of formation surface area exposed to the well bore may be increased, enhancing hydrocarbon recovery rates.
An important component of hydraulic fracturing fluids is a friction reducing polymer. Pumping rates for hydraulic fracturing operations may regularly exceed 50 barrels per minute (8 m3/min) or more, which may cause turbulence in conduits such as wellbore tubing, liners, and casings. Turbulent flow of hydraulic fracturing fluid decreases the pressure of the fluid as it flows through conduits leading to high horsepower requirements to maintain pressure and flow rates. Some common friction reducing polymers may include long chain water soluble polymers which may aid in moderating turbulence by reducing eddy currents within a conduit.
A friction reducing polymer may be selected for a particular hydraulic fracturing fluid based at least in part on quality and properties of water available to create the hydraulic fracturing fluid at a well site. Oftentimes water is available from drilled water wells, surface water such as lakes and ponds, or seawater. Water from these and other sources may contain dissolved solids such as salts and metals as well as other chemical species. The friction reducing polymer may be significantly affected by the concentration of dissolved solids. In general, a relatively higher dissolved solids concentration may cause adverse effects with hydration and stability of a given friction reducing polymer as compared to a relatively lower dissolved solids concentration. The effects may be exacerbated at relatively higher concentrations of dissolved solids to the point where the friction reducing polymer is no longer performing to reduce turbulence within the hydraulic fracturing fluid. In extreme instances, the friction reducing polymer may phase-separate from the bulk aqueous phase to form fish-eye nodules of un-hydrated polymer.
There may be a wide variety of friction reducing polymers that may be included in hydraulic fracturing fluids for a particular use. Some friction reducing polymers may be designed to be operable in fluids that contain relatively higher total dissolved solids content example. These severe duty friction reducing polymers may be more expensive than friction reducing polymers that are not designed to be operable in relatively higher total dissolved solids fluids. The chosen friction reducing polymer for making a fracturing fluid may be a function of total dissolved solids level of the base aqueous fluid and of the price of the friction reducing polymer.
An operator or oilfield service company may design the hydraulic fracturing fluid based at least in part on tests performed on the water at the well site. The water may be tested at least once before the hydraulic fracturing fluid is designed. A friction reducing polymer may then be selected that would have the necessary performance with the properties of the water as tested. However, there exist challenges when the water quality changes between fracturing stages or during a particular fracturing stage. For example, if the total dissolved solids increases to a point where the selected friction reducing polymer is ineffective, the hydraulic fracturing system may not be able to deliver the fracturing fluid to the formation at a rate and pressure to keep extending existing fractures and creating new fractures. The pressure exerted by the fracturing fluid may fall below the closing pressure of the formation and the hydraulic fracturing operation may cease. Alternatively, if the total dissolved solids decreases, the selected friction reducing polymer may not be the most cost effective friction reducing polymer to use thereby unnecessarily increasing the cost of the hydraulic fracturing operation.


A wire saw apparatus which is less susceptible to loosening of the wire and to breakage thereof, includes a wire supply spool, a cutting head having a plurality of main rollers around which a wire from the wire supply spool is wrapped, a wire take-up spool for taking-up the wire from the cutting head, and a plurality of guide rollers for guiding the wire which are arranged between the wire supply spool and the cutting head and between the cutting head and the wire take-up spool, wherein each of the guide rollers has a peripheral groove having a square-shaped section with a width of 2-20 times the diameter of the wire, and the number of turns of the wire which is wrapped around each guide roller in the groove having a square-shaped section is not less than 1 and not more than 5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire saw apparatus for sawing or cutting an article to be processed, hereinafter referred to a work simply, e.g., a brittle material such as a semiconductor material, a magnetic material, quartz, ceramic or the like, into a plurality of slices.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, in order to manufacture a large number of wafer-like pieces by cutting a work having a large diameter, a wire saw apparatus has been used. An example thereof is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this Figure, the wire saw apparatus 1 comprises a wire supply spool 3 for supplying a cutting wire 2, a cutting head 5 for cutting a work 4 by using the cutting wire 2, and a wire take-up spool 6 for taking-up the cutting wire 2. In the wire saw apparatus 1, a plurality of guide rollers 7, 7, . . . for guiding the cutting wire 2 and for giving a predetermined tension to the cutting wire 2 are arranged between the wire supply spool 3 and the cutting head 5 and between the cutting head 5 and the wire take-up spool 6. The cutting head 5 comprises three main rollers 5a, 5b, and 5c. In the wire saw apparatus 1, the work 4 is sawed or cut by pushing the work 4 against a plurality of lines of cutting wire 2 which is wrapped around the main rollers 5a, 5b, and 5c of the cutting head 5 in a spiral configuration, and by supplying an abrasive slurry containing abrasive grains into between the work 4 and the lines of cutting wire 2, while complex action of the cutting wire 2 which comprises back and forth action in the direction of the lines and feeding action, is taken.
In such a conventional wire saw apparatus, the wrapping angle of portions of the cutting wire 2, which is wrapped around a guide roller 7 and are in contact with the guide rollers 7, is only about 180.degree. at the most. Because of such a small wrapping angle of the cutting wire 2, the wire 2 is apt to become loose while cutting the work 4. As a result, a stress concentration is apt to occur in a portion of the wire 2, so that a breakage of the wire 2 occurs. When such a breakage of the wire occurs, work for stretching the cutting wire 2 again is required. There is a problem that such work for re-stretching of the wire is laborious and requires a long time.
Each guide roller 7 has a groove 9 having a V-shaped section, which may be hereinafter simply referred to a V-shaped groove, on the peripheral surface thereof, as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, the cutting wire 2 in the groove 9 is seated on the bottom of the groove 9 when some tension is applied to the wire 2. However, when the cutting wire 2 comes loose, the wire 2 rolls and moves in the V-shaped groove 9, so that partial wear is produced on the wall surface of the groove. When such partial wear is produced, replacement of the guide roller 7 is required. Because the replacement work includes work for stretching the cutting wire 2 again and the like, there is a problem that the work is laborious and requires a long time. Some known wire saw apparatuses adopt guide rollers 7a or 7b each of which has one or more spare peripheral grooves 9a with a V-shaped section, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Such a type of wire saw apparatus having such guide rollers 7a or 7b with spare peripheral grooves 9a , has the disadvantages of requiring higher manufacturing costs and of being large-sized.


A trunk caddie is provided as a block of resilient yet firm material adapted to rest on the bed of a car trunk. The block has at least one arcuate depression therein that slopes across the width of the block, so that a golf bag cradled in the depression will have its heel in contact with the bed and its mouth elevated therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to transport means for holding an article that is composed of several parts which is to be moved from one location to another without substantial removal of those individual parts from their related position. More specifically, it relates to a caddie for holding and containing a golf club bag when that bag is being transported, e.g., from the home of a golfer to the golf course.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are, of course, many devices outstanding for holding a golf bag filled with its assorted clubs in an upright position between uses of the bag. Thus, there are racks employing springs that hold the golf bag in a substantially vertical position until it is ready to be used, whereupon the springs are opened to permit egress of the bag. However, to the best of the present inventor's knowledge, such devices have not been used to hold the bag in an inclined position during transport thereof, wherein the bag is not maintained in a substantially upright position. Other devices are readily available, e.g., straps whereby a golf bag is held in upright position on a golf cart as the golfers and cart move about the holes of the golf course. However, once again, the bags are so maintained in a substantially vertical position.
It will be apparent that when golf bags are to be transported in an automobile, such as from the golfer's home to the course, it is undesirable if not impossible for the bags to be stored in an upright position within the vehicle, itself. Generally there is insufficient head room to accommodate such vertical storage. As a consequence, golf bags are often simply put in the trunk or bed of a car, whereupon the bags assume a substantially horizontal position whereby, upon sudden stopping or starting of the vehicle, the clubs loosely maintained within the bag, will shift in their position and often either be partially or wholly ejected from the bag. At a minimum, the clubs will be extended so that all or part of their shafts are without the protection afforded by the bag, and such clubs are subject to injury even in the normal driving process.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a trunk caddie which will maintain a bag of golf clubs in a secure position within an automobile while the clubs are being transported.
It is a further object of my invention to provide such a caddie which will be inexpensive to make and install, and which will enable the golf bag to be transported at an angle to the horizontal in which the heel of the bag is down, and the mouth of the bag elevated. In such a position, even if clubs within the bag do shift due to the maneuvers of driving an automobile, the clubs within the bag will not be ejected therefrom due to the force of gravity that tends to keep them in the bag.


An electrophotographic photoconductor containing an aromatic polycarbonate binder resin and silicone microspheres provides improved wear resistance, increased useful life of the photoconductive drum, a high quality image over the life of the photoconductor, and improved coating uniformity.

In organic photoconductor formulations, the wear performance of the photoconductor is a key factor in determining the useful life of the print cartridge. Photoconductor wear comes from many sources in an electrophotographic engine, including photoconductor contact with the cleaner blade, charge roll, and other spacers or seals that may be a part of the print engine. Wear in the transport layer may cause an overall reduction in thickness of the coating, or it may cause a localized defect in the coating at a specific point of contact with another engine component (e.g., a groove cut in the transport coating at the edge of the charge roll). If the coating becomes thinner, its capacitance will increase and several electrophotographic processes can be affected. For example, the transfer of toner from the photoconductor to the paper may degrade, or if the coating wears away completely, toner may develop to the worn spot and create a print defect. Excessive current also may flow in that spot, and components such as the charge roll may fail prematurely from the high current flow. At that point, either the photoconductor or the entire print cartridge must be replaced to obtain original print quality.
The print performance of the photoconductor can change over its useable life as a result of several factors. One of these factors is the discharge voltage effected by the laser print head. The discharge voltage can become higher or lower over the life of the photoconductor, depending upon the materials used in the formulation of the photoconductor. In discharge area development, the discharge voltage decreases (lower negative voltage) and the print becomes darker. In charge area development, the charge voltage increases (higher positive voltage) and the print becomes darker. This is particularly noticeable when the print is in the form of graphics, illustrations, and pictures which require different shades of blacks or greys. The darkening of the print results in loss of the resolution between the different greyscales, and thus print quality is lost.
The wear performance of the photoconductor depends on the mechanical properties of the charge transport layer. The charge transport layer is formulated from two major components: a polymeric binder resin and a charge transport material. The binder resin is chosen to impart the physical durability necessary for an acceptable useful life under the service conditions encountered in copiers and printers. Typically, the polymeric binder resin is doped with the charge transport material, which often acts as a plasticizer, thereby compromising the mechanical properties of the binder.
Aromatic polycarbonates are one class of resins which can be used as binders in the charge transport layer. Two examples of polycarbonate resins that may be used are bisphenol-Z polycarbonate and bisphenol-A polycarbonate. The doped bisphenol-Z polycarbonates are inherently more wear resistant than the doped bisphenol-A polycarbonates. It is nevertheless desirable to use a, bisphenol-A polycarbonate as a binder resin because it is readily commercially available and relatively inexpensive. Until the present invention, however, no one has been able to provide a charge transport formulation which is suitably resistant to surface scratching and wear during the copy or print process and which retains good mechanical and electrical properties as compared with similar charge transport formulations without any wear-improving additive. Further, no one has been able to provide such a charge transport formulation which uses a relatively inexpensive binder resin such as bisphenol-A polycarbonate.
A number of different approaches have been taken to reduce wear in OPC charge transport formulations. One approach is to coat a third layer, typically called an overcoat layer, on top of the charge generation and charge transport layers. The overcoat is typically a very thin (1-2 microns) polymeric layer which contains little or no charge transport dopant and which possesses improved mechanical properties relative to the charge transport layer. There are, however, several drawbacks to using the overcoating approach to improve wear. First, an additional step in the organic photoconductor coating process adds significant cost to the finished photoconductor. Also, it is difficult to coat an additional layer on top of the charge transport layer without partially dissolving it; this difficulty can be overcome by the proper choice of solvents for the overcoating material, or by utilizing a different coating method (e.g., spray coating) for the overcoat. Nevertheless, an additional coating step (and possibly additional coating equipment) still will add to the expense of the finished organic photoconductor. Finally, it is difficult to add an insulative coating to the photoconductor surface without changing its fundamental electrostatic performance. Typically, addition of an overcoat layer causes a loss of residual voltage and/or an overall reduction in sensitivity. The addition of an overcoat also may change the performance of the photoconductive drum, either electrically or mechanically, at extreme environmental conditions (i.e., high or low ranges of temperature or humidity).
Another approach to reducing charge transport layer wear is to add materials directly to the transport formulation that will modify the mechanical properties of the coating. This provides the advantage of not requiring an additional step in the drum coating process. A number of different materials have been used in this manner, including fluoropolymer particles, inorganic oxides, and various types of silicone oils. The potential disadvantage to this method is that the fundamental properties of the charge transport layer may be changed by the presence of the additive. Similar to the overcoating layers, whatever method is used to improve wear properties should have little or no effect on the electrostatic properties of the photoconductive drum. A change affecting the hardness of the formulation may also affect the attraction of toner to the drum, or may lead to incomplete cleaning of the drum (fused-on-toner). If either the electrical or mechanical properties of the drum are changed, it will likely be manifested in print quality changes that can be directly related to the presence of the additive.

Photoconductor containing silicone microspheres


Disclosed are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for displaying widgets. In some aspects, criteria for ranking widgets may be dynamically evaluated based on conditions associated with each widget. In some aspects, the conditions may consider a time or location of an event a social network user is scheduled to attend, and a relation to that time and location to a current time and/or current user location. Evaluation of the conditions may contribute to the determination of weights for each of the respective widgets, with the ranking based on the weights. Widgets with the highest rank may be invoked, and selectively displayed on an electronic display. Multiple possible parameter values for the displayed widgets may also be dynamically ranked and selected values applied when invoking the widget.

Social networking is becoming essential to many as a form of communication. As social networking is adapted by a larger and larger portion of the world's population, the number of operations that can be accomplished via a social network application are also expanding. While this large number of social networking operations provides increasing value to social networking users, as the number of operations becomes larger, it also becomes harder for a user to identify those operations most relevant to them. Therefore, improved methods for identifying social network operations relevant to a user are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Context sensitive presentation of content


A method of making lead-acid cell-to-cell or battery-to-battery connections is disclosed which utilizes a non-conductive capture mold, made, for example, from polypropylene polymers, which capture mold has a base having holes allowing the capture mold to be placed over adjacent terminal posts of like polarity and upstanding walls having a height equal to that of the terminal posts, the capture mold serving to retain the lead alloy connector in place while the cell or battery connection is made, as by induction heating or the like.

A wide variety of applications require an array of cells electrically connected together to provide a battery system having the requisite electrical performance characteristics. Such applications, sometimes termed industrial battery applications, include stationary battery applications in which the cells and batteries, typically lead-acid cells and batteries, provide stand-by power in the event of a power failure. For this type of application, such cells and the resulting batteries are maintained at a full state-of-charge and in a ready-to-use condition, typically by floating at a constant preset voltage. Stationary batteries are used for stand-by or operational power in a wide variety of applications, including, by way of illustration, telecommunications, utilities, for emergency lighting in commercial buildings, as stand-by power for cable television systems, and in uninterruptible power supplies for computer back-up power and the like.
Other industrial battery applications in which lead-acid cells and batteries may be used involve a variety of motive power applications in which an array of cells or batteries provides the motive power for vehicles ranging from Class 1 to Class 3 trucks, various automated guided vehicles, mining vehicles, and also railroad locomotives.
The electrical performance requirements dictate that the array of cells which must be electrically connected together be tailored to the specific application. Thus, for example, the number of cells involved may vary from 6 or 12 up to over 100 or more. Such cells can be electrically connected in series, in parallel, or in both, depending upon the particular requirements of the application.
Fundamental to the process of using lead-acid cells for such industrial battery applications is the necessity of making efficient cell-to-cell electrical connections, i.e., connecting the terminals of adjacent cells. Typically, a pre-cast lead connector is manually placed over the terminal posts in adjacent cells which are to be electrically connected. Some form of a mold is then manually placed in position, and then the connection is made by fusion with a gas torch or by other means, such as by induction heating or the like. The molds are then manually removed and an insulating plastic shroud is placed over the connectors for aesthetic and safety reasons.
As may be appreciated, this method of making the cell-to-cell connection is extremely labor intensive and is not amenable to continuous or even semi-continuous processing. Moreover, extreme care must be taken to at least minimize molten lead leaks, run-downs and the like while the connection is being made. More particularly, fusion to provide the satisfactory post-to-connector electrical connection requires the parts being fused to have their respective surfaces be adequately molten so that appropriate fusion takes place; yet, current methods, as far as can be ascertained, make it difficult to maintain the molten lead in place and to avoid molten lead leaking down onto the cells.
There thus exists the need for a more efficient method of making the required cell-to-cell electrical connections. Given the relatively large number of such connections which are required, tailored to the particular application, the need is clear and is substantial.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a more effective and efficient method for making the cell-to-cell connections for lead-acid cells and batteries.
Another object of this invention provides a method for making such cell-to-cell connections which is more amenable to automation.
Yet another object of this invention lies in the provision of a method which minimizes the likelihood of leaks and the like resulting from effecting the necessary post-to-connector operation.
A still further object of this invention in a more preferred embodiment is to provide a method which avoids the need for separately providing an insulating plastic shroud.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent as the following description proceeds.

Method of making lead-acid cell-to-cell connections and the resulting battery


Exemplary embodiments provide a computer implemented method and computer program product for efficient usage of screen real estate, and an electronic device configured to execute the computer program product, by controlling the display of GUI objects on a display screen of an electronic device. This controlled display further comprises identifying a user-selected part of an original GUI object that is associated with an application program, in response to detection of a predefined user interaction with the original GUI object. A new representative GUI object is then created and displayed on screen, and this new object comprises a visual representation of the selected part of the first GUI object. This second GUI object automatically replaces the first GUI object on the display screen. Subsequent user interactions with the second GUI object are mapped to instructions to the application program.

In recent times the number of software applications that are readily available to a user of an electronic device has vastly increased. High speed internet connections allow users to download and install new applications in a matter of seconds, leading to the typical user having many applications installed on a single electronic device. Here the term electronic device may include personal and laptop computers, tablet computers, notebook computers, mobile telephones, PDA's, e-book readers and the like.
Furthermore, the steady improvement of inter alia processing power and memory capacity on such electronic devices has led to these devices being able to run many applications simultaneously without encountering significant performance issues. Thus, users of such devices regularly have many applications running in parallel.
Each application typically presents the user with a user interface, often in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI), to allow the user to interact with the application. The GUI is displayed on the screen of the device and the user may interact with it via one or more input devices, such as a mouse, keyboard or touchpad. In some cases the screen itself doubles as an input device, with such a screen being known as a touchscreen.
Often a GUI for a given application will include one or more GUI windows that are displayed to the user on the screen of the electronic device. These GUI windows display information or 'content' to the user, such as the text and images of a typical web page in the case of an internet browser or a text document in the case of a word processing application. A GUI window may also include one or more controls that allow the user to control and interact with the application that the GUI window belongs to. Examples of controls include buttons, menus, text entry fields, checkboxes, radio buttons and lists.
In the case where many applications having at least one GUI window are running on an electronic device, it readily becomes apparent that these GUI windows have competing requirements for allocation of screen real estate on the screen of the device. Typically, each application will benefit from having as much screen real estate allocated to it as possible.
Various methods of arranging GUI windows on an electronic device to facilitate screen real estate sharing are known. These known methods are based around positioning and/or resizing one or more GUI windows such that a number of GUI windows can be positioned on the screen of the electronic device in a way that shares screen real estate between them.
One way in which screen real estate may be shared between running applications is to 'tile' the GUI windows, such that each GUI window is allotted a portion of the screen within which to display its content to the user. In this approach GUI windows typically border one another, but do not overlap. This type of arrangement allows the user to view many GUI windows simultaneously but often forces a GUI window to shrink to a size at which the content it is displaying is cropped and/or difficult for the user to read and interact with effectively.
Typically the position and size of each GUI window in a tiling system is automatically chosen by the electronic device itself, which may result in a GUI window arrangement that is counterintuitive or that does not suit the current needs of the user. The user may then be required to manually alter the tiling arrangement to better suit their needs, requiring additional time and effort on their part.
Another way in which screen real estate may be shared between running applications is to 'stack' their GUI windows. In this approach GUI windows are allowed to overlap and thus at least partially obscure one another, with the user having the ability to move and/or resize each GUI window relative to the others and taking account of the physical extents of the screen, according to their current viewing preference. In the extreme case the user may choose to 'maximise' one GUI window such that it occupies substantially all of the screen of the electronic device, at the expense of being able to view and interact with all of the other GUI windows. The user may also choose to 'minimize' a GUI window, such that it is not displayed anywhere on the screen, in order to gain screen real estate for allocation to another GUI window.
In order to make effective use of either the 'stacking' or 'tiling' approach the user is required to invest time and thought into arranging their current GUI windows. Typically GUI windows are rearranged via input from a human input device, which may be slow due to the number of steps involved. For example, the user may need to manually resize a GUI window via a series of mouse clicks, reposition the GUI window relative to the physical extents of the display device via a mouse 'click and drag' operation, and then scroll around in the GUI window to ensure the content they wish to view is displayed as fully as possible.
In many cases, when a GUI window of an application is resized the application redraws the content in the GUI window based on assumptions about how best to display its content in the newly sized GUI window. This may involve clipping the content, so that the user must scroll around inside the GUI window to view different portions of the total content, or resizing the content, which may decrease its readability or cause the user to have to be inordinately precise with a human input device in order to interact correctly with the application.
Thus, known GUI window arrangement methods suffer the drawback of a relatively complex sequence of steps being required for the user to view and interact with the content of each GUI window, as well as making the content less readable to the user and making the application more difficult to control and interact with.
Of course, the amount of available screen real estate may be increased by providing one or more additional displays for the electronic device to use. However, in many cases this is undesirable or even unfeasible due to the increased cost and complexity associated with providing additional displays, as well as the reduction in portability that this causes.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to address the aforementioned problem.

Efficient usage of screen real estate on an electronic device

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A flexible labeling system applied to spines of various bound documents such as books without imprinted or embossed titles on their back bindings, wire coil bound documents, plastic comb bound documents, photo albums which are too thin to readily hold identification labels, and brochures of various kinds that have no identification means that can be seen when they are standing side-by-side on shelves. The flexible labeling system permits users to easily and conveniently provide labeling for these types of documents. The flexible labeling system is comprised of a flexible plastic member incorporating two living hinges, adhesive strips attached thereto, and a centrally located stiffener to which standard adhesive labels may be applied. Alternatively, there is provided a flexible labeling system for use with plastic comb bound documents made of a one-piece plastic member which hookingly engages the plastic comb binding. There is also provided a flexible labeling system for use with wire coil bound documents made of a one-piece plastic member which hookingly engages the coils of a wire coil bound document.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is for a flexible labeling system, and more particularly, pertains to a labeling system which identifies magazines, photo albums, file folders, wire coil bound documents, plastic comb bound documents and other narrow documents which have a spine that is too small for recognizable print.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art labeling systems provided a labeling means in which an adhesive pocket for labels is applied directly to the spine of ring binders and other such thick documents. There are also labeling systems which are secured to the front and open sides of a file, album or document. Clearly what is needed is a labeling system for the spines of narrow documents which is easily readable when resting upright on a shelf and also which flexes when the document is opened to prevent damage to the document and the label.