The present invention is a linearly actuated rotating handrail system for escalators and moving walkways. The system includes a worm band or a handrail, having a first friction device on one side, a dragging device formed by a second friction device and coupled to the first friction device to drag the worm band in the displacement direction. The pressure device includes a first layer of kinematic support, formed by a crank, an articulated shaft, a driving connection rod, shafts and driven cranks. There is a second layer formed by traction rollers. The application of pressure to the worm band or handrail and its balanced distribution over the different pressure rollers is carried out by slides actuated by a distributor, tightened by an elastic system. The elastic system transmits the tension by a beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention, as expressed in the heading of this specification, relates to a linearly actuated rotating handrail system for escalators and moving walkways, contributing several advantages and innovative characteristics to the function for which it is destined, which will be described later in detail.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Conventional passenger transport systems, such as escalators or moving walkways, include a handrail actuation mechanism which normally consists of a chain driven by the main actuation shaft. There are toothed wheels, which move the shaft where two wheels covered with elastic and deformable material are solidly joined. The two wheels move by friction between said elastic and deformable material cover and the inner surface of the flexible band that comprises the handrail.
This handrail needs, in turn, a pressure element or elements to avoid the loss of contact between the flexible band or handrail and the wheel covered by elastic and deformable material. The elements may be rollers, a belt with the consequent mechanism joined to an elastic element, a spring or other elements. This assembly provides the necessary pressure to move the handrail of the escalator or moving walkway by friction.
The wear of the aforementioned rubber-covered handrail actuation wheel influences the speed of the handrail itself on being dependent on the diameter thereof; i.e. the tangential speed of said wheel is the speed of the handrail.
In summary, the actuation of the handrail in a conventional escalator or moving walkway is driven by the shaft. The toothed wheels, being actuated by the step chain or conveyor plates, are solidly joined and in turn actuate, by means of a chain, another shaft whereto wheels that move each of the flexible bands that comprise the handrail are solidly joined.
In order to ensure an optimal contact between the handrail and the handrail actuation wheel, the radius of this actuation wheel must have a considerable size. In such a case, the height of the escalator or moving walkway, and therefore the depth of the pit, is increased.
Other handrail actuation systems are linear. In linear actuation systems, the driving force is transmitted by means of a chain and pressure rollers. The chain transmits the movement directly or indirectly to the handrail while the pressure rollers guarantee an adequate contact between the traction system and the tractioned elements.
However, the applicant is unaware of the existence of any linearly actuated rotating handrail system for escalators and moving walkways that presents technical, structural and configuration characteristics similar to that presented herein. The objective of the present invention is to offer an advantageously improved and alternative system to those previously disclosed which represent the current state of the art.

Linearly actuated rotating handrail system for escalators and moving walkways

Thyssenkrupp Elevator Innovation Center, S.A.


An improved 25 mm linked cartridge IM ammunition storage system, using existing ammunition cans, that simplifies the design of the storage system, and utilizes standoffs to separate the base of each cartridge from the ends of the ammunition can—thereby allowing the cartridges base IM venting system to vent properly, avoiding pressure build-up, and reducing the risk of explosion or detonation of the propellant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to an improved storage system for belts of 25 mm insensitive munition (IM) cartridges using existing ammunition cans, and, more particularly, to such a storage system that enhances the IM feature and is simplified.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, 25 mm linked cartridges are stored in ammunition cans, such as the U.S. Army's PA125 ammunition cans, which hold thirty such linked cartridges arranged in two belts of 15 cartridges each, each belt is held in a retaining plate spaced away from each end of the ammunition can by a thin foam pad, with one retaining plate holding its cartridges vertically within the ammunition can and the other retaining plate holding its cartridges in an opposed, i.e. inverted, position within the ammunition can. There is a separator assembly located between the retaining plates, this separator assembly has a lower set of cavities, each of which rests on the shoulders of one of the two sets of cartridges, so as to fit snuggly, i.e. tightly, hold the middle tapered section of each cartridge therein; whereby, in conjunction with the cavities in the retaining plate, each cartridge is held in place between these two locations. There is also an upper set of cavities within the separator assembly that loosely surrounds the tip of each cartridge. The current retaining plates are generally rectangular, in the form of the internal configuration of standard ammunition cans, and contain a series of cylindrical cavities to support the 25 mm cartridges in a close arrangement. Two sets of linked belts of 25 mm cartridges, when held by the combined retaining plate and the separator assembly forms a composite interlocked assembly which fits snuggly into the ammunition can, thereby minimizing potential movement of the cartridges when the ammunition can is jostled during handling and minimizing the overall size of the ammunition can itself, i.e. for logistic purposes. Obviously, this current system utilizes a number of separate parts, i.e. two foam pads, two retaining plates and one separator assembly—which makes it more complicated, more costly, and more difficult to use on the battlefield.
As stated above, there are a set of thin, ¼ inch, foam backings which separate the base of each retaining plate from the respective top and bottom ends of the ammunition can. The base of each of the 25 mm linked cartridges extends through its respective retaining plate and resting on this ¼ inch foam backing. This arrangement provides that the ¼ inch foam backing will fill any gap between each retaining plate and the respective top or bottom of the ammunition can by which it is positioned; thereby, tending to further minimize any jostling effects.
Newer munitions are designed to minimize any violent (explosive) response when subjected to unintended stimuli during transportation and storage, such munitions are generally known as insensitive munitions or simply as, IM. Generally, such IM type cartridges are provided with means to vent themselves such that when unintentionally subjected to heat or kinetic energy for an accidental fire or the result of enemy action. Such venting avoids pressure build-up if the propellant is ignited and the propellant will then tend to burn rather than explode. In the case of new IM cartridges, such pressure relief can be accomplished by safety devices which will automatically vent any pressure build-up when the temperature approaches the auto-ignition temperature of the propellant within the cartridge. Such venting of the propellant is generally accomplished through the base of the cartridge—considering the location of the propellant adjacent thereto. Unfortunately, any current 25 mm linked cartridges stored as detailed above, i.e. tightly contained in ammunition cans with each cartridge directly resting on a ¼ foam backing pad, will not be able to be vented through its base due to the foam pad.
There is clearly a need in the art for a storage system with a new retaining plate/separator assembly configuration for storing 25 mm linked cartridges in existing ammunition containers that does not impede effective venting from the base of the IM cartridge during an unforeseen heat/kinetic energy event and for a storage system which is simpler and therefore less costly and easier to use by the soldier under battlefield conditions

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


An apparatus for utilizing solar energy with solar cells, which are arranged on a supporting structure and are connected electrically to one another and have an external connection for discharging the electrical energy. Several solar cells are parts of a frameless solar cell element, in which the solar cells are enclosed next to one another between film strips or panels. At least one side of the laminate, which faces the sunlight, is flat and transparent. The solar cell laminate lies on a supporting structure, which comprises two covering layers and a supporting foam layer therebetween, the support being formed with a recessed circumferential edge. The laminate lies on the edge, flush with the upper side of the supporting structure. The support body is constructed in undulating fashion between two parallel sections of edge, in order to support the solar cell laminate on the higher sections and to provide, with the lower sections, ducts for conducting coolant as well as for accommodating electrical conductors.

The invention relates to an apparatus for utilizing the energy of the sun, and more particularly to an arrangement of solar cells on a supporting structure.
It is an object of the invention to provide a particularly appropriate refinement of the arrangement of solar cells on a supporting structure, which is to be highly permanent and extremely light and which preferably can be integrated into the upper deck of a water vessel. The arrangement of the solar cells to obtain energy should be accomplished in as simple a manner as possible, in order to keep the price of the arrangement within acceptable limits. The arrangement should be accomplished with few components, which have little tendency to break down. As a further main objective, the arrangement of solar cells should be of as low a weight as possible, so that the arrangement can be used universally beyond the particular application set forth herein.

Schottel Werft Joseph Becker GmbH & Co. KG


The present invention introduces a speakerbar which mounts above or below a flat screen TV and reproduces the surround sound experience normally associated with speakers placed in five to seven separate locations around the room.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to audio speakers and, more particularly, to a speakerbar for use with a multichannel sound source.
II. Description of Related Art
The rapid emergence of shallow depth flat screen televisions has caused speaker manufacturers to rethink the ideal cosmetic shape of speakers to be used for home theater systems. Such home theater systems are intended to deliver three, five or even seven individual channels of sound with a like number of speakers per channel. Unfortunately, the use of separate speakers for each channel results not only in room clutter, but also difficulties in actually wiring the speakers to the multichannel sound source.
A new speaker design, however, has gained popularity recently, particularly when used with flat screen televisions. The industry term to describe these new speakers is "speakerbar". Speakerbars typically include an elongated housing which fits below or above the television. Typically, the speakerbars have a width of two to four feet, are shallow in depth and short in height to both minimize visual intrusion and complement the flat screen television's shallow depth.
In order to accommodate the built-in internal or external multichannel sound source (receiver or amplifier), these previously known speakerbars have included at least one speaker for each channel of the multichannel sound source. Corresponding inputs on or in the speakerbar housing are provided to electrically connect the multichannel source to its associated speaker. Each individual speaker within or on the housing requires a minimum enclosure volume for a given bass extension. For example: to extend down to 100 Hz, the target high frequency cut-off for a subwoofer would require a housing three times as large as for three similar speakers compared to a housing for a single similar speaker.
The previously known speakerbars, however, suffer from several disadvantages: First, since the speakerbar itself is relatively small, only relatively small speakers may be used. Small speakers, especially those below 5¼″ diameter (or 4″×6″), have difficulty extending to 100 Hz (the maximum target crossover to a subwoofer), and reproducing a target of at least 100 decibels of output in the 100 Hz to 250 Hz (lower midrange) spectrum. Secondly, since each lower midrange speaker in the bar needs a minimum air volume to reach 100 Hz (or preferably even lower), there simply is not enough total air volume in the bar. To match properly with a subwoofer, each 5¼″ or 4×6″ speaker requires a minimum bar housing of approximately 18″. The result is that technology used in the previously known speakerbars causes them to fall short of the combination of low frequency response of at least 100 Hz and output of at least 100 decibels when more than two channels are included in the bar. A further disadvantage of the previously known speakerbars is a maximum limitation of five channels, probably due to limitations in the number of speakers which will fit in an acceptably sized enclosure. These five channels include the front left, front center and front right speakers, and left and right rear wall surround speakers. However, in today's technology, the number of sound channels has increased to seven channels by adding left and right side wall surround speakers. Furthermore, an attempt to accommodate seven channel sound by simply adding additional speakers to the speakerbar results in a further reduction of volume allowed for each speaker which further limits the bass response of the speakerbar. The only option with existing technology to reach down to 100 Hz and play at 100 decibels output is to increase cabinet size to unacceptable proportions for most of the population.
Conventionally, separate speakers for the left and right channel have a recommended separation of approximately two-thirds the seating distance from the television screen. If a listener sits the typical ten feet or greater distance from the screen, this would require that the left and right speakers be positioned seven or more feet apart from each other to create the proper soundstage. The previously known speakerbars, however, typically have a width of only two to four feet thus greatly diminishing the preferred width of the soundstage. Furthermore, the general consensus is that the speakerbar should not be wider that the television from an aesthetic standpoint.

Abstract: This particular invention effectively increases the perceived stereo separation of the left and right front speakers, and creates the perception of two and even four surround speakers typically placed in the rear of the listening area. In addition, it introduces new technology to achieve multichannel bass extension beyond the normal limitations due to the minimal internal volume of a multichannel speakerbar.


An evacuation controller, an evacuation control system, and a mobile communication terminal. The evacuation controller includes: a local control unit capable of storing or acquiring evacuation path information to or from a cloud via a mobile communication terminal, wherein the evacuation path information is configured at least based on a layout of a building and a location of a danger occurred in the building. According to the evacuation controller and the evacuation control system, exchange of evacuation path information between the local control unit and a remote provider service system is realized through exchange between the mobile communication terminal and the cloud; or by configuring evacuation path information directly in the local control unit, the local control unit can clearly and timely learn about the local evacuation path information and can evacuate people based on the local evacuation path information.

A building evacuation system is an important part of ensuring the building security. Therefore, in actual application, after plan and design of building construction, its emergency evacuation passages and exits have been completed, an evacuation path most reasonable for the current situation should also be planned after considering impact of sudden emergencies such as fire and earthquake on the building. At present, evacuation path information and solution in the event of an emergency are usually compiled by a corresponding provider in a workshop, and then the computer is brought to the target building and connected to a local control module via a data line to input the evacuation path information. This process is extremely time-consuming and labor-consuming when the workshop is very distant from the target building or the target building is of a large size. Moreover, damage caused by the emergency will increase rapidly as its duration increases. In addition, location change and range expansion of the emergency will lead to changes in the evacuation path. Therefore, dynamic output of the evacuation path information is also extremely important.

Egress controller, egress control system and mobile communication terminal


An antenna element includes: an antenna plate; an antenna probe formed monolithically with the antenna plate and extending in a vertical direction from the antenna plate; a ground plate disposed in parallel to the antenna plate at a distance; and a dielectric spacer disposed between the antenna plate and the ground plate, wherein the antenna probe is bent from an edge of the antenna plate toward a center thereof.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an antenna device receiving an SDARS signal sent from an SDARS satellite, and more particularly, to an antenna element and an antenna module used for the antenna device.
2. Related Art
Recently, as known in the technical field, various antennas are mounted on vehicles such as an automobile. For example, an antenna for SDARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) is used as such an antenna.
The SDARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) is a digital broadcasting service using a satellite (hereinafter, referred to as "SDARS satellite") in the United States. That is, in the United States, a digital radio receiver receiving a satellite wave or a terrestrial wave from the SDARS satellite to provide digital radio broadcasting has been developed and put in practical use. Currently, in the United States, two broadcasting stations of XM and Sirius have provided radio programs more than total 250 channels throughout the whole country. The digital radio receiver is generally mounted in a mobile object such as an automobile, receives the electric wave in the frequency band of about 2-3 GHz, and provides the radio broadcasting. That is, the digital radio receiver is a radio receiver capable of providing the mobile broadcasting. Since the frequency of the reception electric wave is about 2.3 GHz, the reception wavelength (resonance wavelength) λ at that time is about 128.3 mm. The terrestrial wave is formed in the manner that the satellite wave is received by an earth station, the frequency of the received satellite wave is slightly shifted, and the wave is re-sent in a linearly-polarized wave. That is, the satellite wave is a circular-polarized wave, but the terrestrial wave is the linearly-polarized wave.
The antenna device for XM satellite radio receives the circular-polarized electric wave from two geostationary satellites, and receives the electric wave by using terrestrial linear-polarized equipments in a blind zone. Meanwhile, the antenna device for Sirius satellite radio receives the circular-polarized electric wave from three orbiting satellites (synchro type), and receives the electric wave by the use of the terrestrial linear-polarized equipments in the blind zone.
Since the electric wave in the frequency band of about 2.3 GHz is used in such digital radio broadcasting, an antenna device receiving the electric wave is required to be installed outdoors. Accordingly, in order to mount the digital radio receiver in the mobile object such as the automobile, the antenna device is required to be mounted on the roof of the mobile object.
As the SDARS antenna, a planar antenna such as a patch antenna and a metal-plate loop antenna is used.
As the metal-plate loop antenna, there was well known a planar antenna in which distances from one another among an upper case, a planar antenna element, and a ground plate are kept and fixed accurately at predetermined distances (e.g., see Patent Document 1). The planar antenna disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an upper case, a planar antenna element (metal-plate loop antenna) disposed on the back surface of the upper case at a predetermined distance, a ground plate disposed at a predetermined distance from the planar antenna element, an electrical conductor disposed between the planar antenna element and the ground plate, a circuit board attached to a lower surface of the ground plate, and electronic parts mounted on the circuit board. The electronic parts include a low noise amplifier (LNA). In the planar antenna element disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a space between the planar antenna element and the ground plate, and an electromagnetic coupling type in which power is supplied to the planar antenna using the probe formed of the electrical conductor is employed.
Meanwhile, as the patch antenna, there was proposed "PATCH ANTENNA INCLUDING INTEGRAL PROBE" in which a conductive patch and a probe are physically coupled tightly (e.g., see Patent Document 2). In the patch antenna disclosed in Patent Document 2, a conductive patch includes an integral probe. The probe has a substantially rectangular shape and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the conductive patch. The probe is produced as a part of the conductive patch by using any available metal processing work in addition to punching, piercing, perforating, shearing, and shaping. In the exemplary embodiment, the probe is shaped by punching the conductive patch connected thereto. In order to perform the punching work, the probe is left as an integral part of the conductive patch connected thereto. In the patch antenna disclosed in Patent Document 2, the probe is shaped by punching the conductive patch so as to be bent from the center of the conductive patch toward the outside thereof. A dielectric spacer is provided between the conductive patch and a conductive substrate having a ground surface on a main surface, and the probe extends through the dielectric spacer. In Patent Document 2, the conductive patch is just mounted on the dielectric spacer, but the conductive patch is not fixed to the spacer.
A GPS receiving antenna suitable to be installed outside the vehicle is known (e.g., Patent Document 3). The antenna device disclosed in Patent Document 3 includes an antenna case formed by attaching a top cover and a bottom plate to each other, an antenna module which is housed in the top cover and receives a GPS signal, and a packing member which is disposed in the joint portion between the top cover and the bottom plate to seal the antenna module. The antenna module includes an antenna element for receiving a GPS signal sent from a GPS satellite, a circuit board on which a processing circuit for performing various signal processes such as amplification in signal for the GPS signal received by the antenna element is formed, and a shield case for shielding the processing circuit. The antenna element and the circuit board are attached to each other by a double-sided adhesive tape or the like.    Patent Document 1; JP-A-2001-24428    Patent Document 2: JP-A-7-106844    Patent Document 3: JP-A-2005-109687
In the above-described the metal-plate loop antenna disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is an air gap between the planar antenna element and the ground plate. For the reason, the metal-plate loop antenna disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not have an effect to shorten wavelength in case using a dielectric, thereby increasing size.
In the patch antenna disclosed in Patent Document 2, the probe is shaped by punching the conductive patch so that the probe is bent from the center of the conductive patch to the outside (toward the edge of the conductive patch) thereof. For the reason, the width between the bent portion (base of the probe) and the edge (side) of the conductive patch becomes smaller. As a result, when the probe is bent, the bent portion may be deformed. Further, in the patch antenna disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the conductive patch and the dielectric spacer are not fixed, there is a problem in that assembly is difficult.
In Patent Document 3, the antenna element is disclosed, but any detail configuration thereof is not disclosed.

Antenna device, antenna element and antenna module


In a semiconductor device, such as a diode and thyristor, having at least one pn junction between a pair of main surfaces, a first main electrode formed on the surface of one of the main surfaces and a second main electrode formed on the surface of the other one of the main surfaces, a semiconductor lattice defect is formed such that its lattice defect density increases gradually in the direction from the first main electrode to the second main electrode. Since the distribution of the carrier density in the conduction state can be flattened, the reverse recovery charge can be reduced substantially without causing the ON-state voltage to increase.

The present invention relates to a power semiconductor device such as a diode and thyristor.
In such a system which handles a large power as a power converter or inverter, a high breakdown voltage, large current capacity semiconductor devices are used. As a high breakdown voltage semiconductor device, there are such devices as a diode, thyristor, GTO thyristor, reverse conducting thyristor and the like which has a laminated structure of a plurality of p-type and n-type semiconductors.
In these semiconductor devices, it is desirable for both characteristics of ON-state voltage V.sub.T applied across both sides of a semiconductor device in conduction state, and of reverse recovery charge Q.sub.r which is a total charge which flows in the reverse direction at the time of switching from the conduction state to the blocking state to be substantially small. Lifetime of carriers within the device is one of the major factors that determine these two characteristics described above. The longer the lifetime the lower the ON-state voltage V.sub.T becomes while the shorter the lifetime the smaller the reverse recovery charge Q.sub.r becomes, thereby, these two characteristics are in a trade-off relationship from each other.
As means for controlling the lifetime, there are known methods such as diffusion of heavy metals such as gold, platinum or the like, and irradiation of radiation rays. In the case where lifetime in a device is shortened by irradiation of .gamma. rays or electron beam, its lifetime in the depth direction of the device is uniformly shortened. Thereby, although its reverse recovery charge can be reduced, an increase in its ON-state voltage cannot be avoided. As means for improving these characteristics in semiconductor devices by locally controlling the lifetime, there are disclosed prior art in JP-A-57-39577 and JP-A-60-198778.
The prior art of JP-A-57-39577 discloses a method of irradiating protons from the main surface of a thyristor to form lattice defect in a region in which a depletion layer expands in the vicinity of pn junction on the anode side to which a reverse voltage is applied at the time of turn-off operation such that lifetime in the device is locally shortened. Further, the prior art of JP-A-60-198778 discloses a method of locally shortening lifetime in one of two regions which form pn junction to which a reverse voltage is applied at the time of turn off switching, and in particular, in an area of the one of two regions having a smaller impurity concentration in the vicinity of the junction where a depletion layer expands.
Both of these prior arts are directed to reducing reverse recovery charge Q.sub.r while suppressing an increase of ON-state voltage V.sub.T to a small value by rapidly reducing carriers in the region where a depletion layer will expand at the turn off switching operation so as to be able to form the depletion layer rapidly.
FIG. 5 shows a result of calculation of a distribution of carrier density in conduction state made by the present authors in a case where lifetime in the vicinity of pn junction on the anode side is locally shortened according to the prior art of JP-A-57-39577. By way of example, in the drawing of FIG. 5, a position at 0 .mu.m is a surface of n-emitter layer on the cathode side, and a position at 1520 .mu.m is a surface of p-emitter layer on the anode side (the same applies to FIG. 6). Further, a distribution of impurity concentration used in the calculation is shown in FIG. 2, which will be explained later (the same applies to FIG. 6). In this case, since a carrier density in a region in the vicinity of pn junction on the anode side where its lifetime is locally shortened is lowered, thereby, since a resistance component in inverse proportion to the carrier density increases, ON-state voltage V.sub.T will increase consequently.
Further, FIG. 6 shows a result of calculation of a distribution of carrier density in conduction state made by the present authors in a case where lifetime in an n-base region is shortened according to JP-A-60-198778. In this case, since a carrier density in conduction state in the p-emitter layer is high, reverse recovery charge Q.sub.r is not reduced effectively.


A semiconductor device includes an insulating substrate; a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix on the insulating substrate; first thin film transistors for individually driving the pixel electrodes; and driving circuits composed of second thin film transistors formed on the insulating substrate. In this semiconductor device, each of the first and second thin film transistors has a bottom-gate structure comprising a gate electrode patterned on the insulating substrate; a gate insulating film covering the gate electrode; and a semiconducting thin film having a channel region and a source/drain region, which is formed on the gate insulating film. Each of the second thin film transistors has a lightly doped region at least between a drain side highly doped region and the channel region. The lightly doped region mitigates an electric field concentration at a drain edge and hence suppresses harmful charges generated both in an interlayer insulating film and in the gate insulating film which are respectively brought in contact with upper and lower sides of the semiconducting thin film.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including an insulating substrate, a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix on the insulating substrate, switching elements for individually driving the pixel electrodes, and driving circuits formed on the insulating substrate for operating the switching elements, and particularly to a structure of a bottom-gate type thin film transistor constituting each of the switching elements and the driving circuits.
Semiconductor devices each having integrated thin film transistors and the like are particularly suitable for driving substrates of active matrix type electro-optical devices, and therefore, they are being extensively developed at present. A thin film transistor has a semiconducting thin film as an active layer, which is made from amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon. The polycrystalline silicon transistor is superior in electric characteristics such as a carrier mobility to the amorphous silicon transistor, and it can be used for a peripheral driving circuit as well as for a switching element. In this regard, studies are being actively conducted on the polycrystalline transistors. On the other hand, when used for an active matrix display which is one example of the active matrix type electro-optical devices, the semiconductor device must adopt an inexpensive large-sized insulating substrate. From this viewpoint, there is a strong demand to develop a low temperature process capable of forming thin film transistors at a temperature in a range of 600.degree. C. or less, preferably, 400.degree. C. or less. Laser annealing or ion doping becomes important for the low temperature process. Moreover, from the standpoint of the structure, the thin film transistor is classified into a bottom-gate type (reversely staggered type) and a top-gate type. The bottom-gate type is superior to the top-gate type in terms of compatibility with the low temperature process, which has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. Hei 4-186735 and Hei 6-350089.
In summary, the bottom-gate type polycrystalline silicon thin film transistor is regarded hopeful in that it can be formed by the low temperature process and it can constitute a peripheral driving circuit. One example of the thin film transistors of this type will be described with reference to FIG. 8. As shown in this figure, a bottom-gate type thin film transistor 100 includes a gate electrode 102 made from a metal film patterned on an insulating substrate 101 made from glass or the like, an gate insulating film 103 covering the gate electrode 102, and a semiconducting thin film 104 formed on the gate insulating film 103. The semiconducting thin film 104 is made from, for example, polycrystalline silicon. A channel region 105 and a highly doped region 106 for forming a drain D and a source S are formed in the semiconducting thin film 104. A first interlayer insulating film 107 serving as a stopper is formed on the channel region 105, and a second interlayer insulating film 108 is formed thereon. The first interlayer insulating film 107 and the second interlayer insulating film 108 may be replaced with a single layer structure. In each case, such an interlayer insulating film, disposed opposite to the gate insulating film 103, is called "back gate insulating film". The second interlayer insulating film 108 has contact holes, through which interconnection electrodes 109 are connected to the source S and the drain D of the thin film transistor 100.
In the structure of the bottom-gate type thin film transistor 100 shown in FIG. 8, the gate electrode 102 is formed on the insulating substrate 101 side and the gate insulating film 103 and the semiconducting thin film 104 are formed on the gate electrode 102, and the interconnection electrodes 109 are formed in such a manner as to be connected to the semiconducting thin film 104. In the case where a semiconductor device having the integrated thin film transistors 100 is applied to a large-sized active matrix display, it is important uses an insulating substrate made from inexpensive glass, and accordingly, it must be fabricated in accordance with a low temperature process performed at a temperature of 400.degree. C. or less. In this case, however, there arises a problem that the film density is coarsened with respect to the interlayer insulating films 107, 108, the gate insulting film 103, and the semiconducting thin film 104 because each film is formed at a low temperature. As a result, the local level density of each film is increased, and thereby charges flowing in the channel region 105 of the thin film transistor 100 in a driving state are injected in an interface between the semiconducting thin film 104 and the insulating film or in the insulating film. In other words, hot carriers are injected into the back gate insulating film and the gate insulating film formed from the interlayer insulating film by impact ionization occurring at the drain edge in a high electric field condition. It is possible that the stationary charges thus injected shift a threshold voltage of the thin film transistor 100, to cause an operation of the transistor even not in the on-state, leading to a malfunction of the peripheral driving circuit.
The problem to be solved will be further described in brief with reference to FIG. 9. The gate insulating film 103, and the interlayer insulating films 107 and 108 located near the back gate contain impurities and migratory ions. This is due to formation of the source S and the drain D by ion doping which is adopted for achieving the low temperature process. Specifically, the ion doping is performed such that an ionized source gas is injected in the semiconducting thin film 104 acceleratedly in the presence of an electric field without mass-separation. As a result, the ion shower contains other impurities than the kinds of targets, and thereby migratory ions and the like are injected in the interlayer insulating films 107 and 108. In the case where a high electric field is applied between the source S and the drain D in such a state, the migratory ions migrate from the drain edge to the source edge. With an N-channel type thin film transistor, the polarity of a portion near the drain edge is changed from N.sup.+ into P.sup.+ by migration of the migratory ions, to cause current limiting, thereby making it difficult to obtain a sufficient driving current. In particular, when used for a peripheral driving circuit, the thin film transistor having the above configuration arises a problem in degradation of high speed operation. As described above, in the case of the bottom-gate type thin film transistor prepared by the low temperature process, each of the gate insulating film and the interlayer insulating film respectively formed on upper and lower sides of the semiconducting thin film made from polycrystalline silicon or the like must be constituted of a deposition film formed by CVD or the like, tending to be increased in interfacial level density and impurity concentration. Consequently, charges are easily injected in the insulating film by impact ionization under a high electric field applied between the drain and source, and migratory ions acting as undesirable impurities in the insulating film degrade transistor characteristics.

Semiconductor device for driving a substrate of an electro-optical device


An anti-freeze faucet includes a housing engaged into a receptacle, a check valve device engaged into the housing, a cap mounted on the housing and having an opening communicating with the check valve device, a casing attached to the cap and having a space communicating with the opening of the cap and having one or more outlet orifices, a non-circular follower is slidably engaged in a non-circular chamber of the casing for guiding the follower to move up and down along the casing, a plug is attached to the follower for blocking and opening the cap, and a shank is engaged in the casing and has a threaded segment engaged with the follower for moving the follower along the casing and for moving the plug to engage with the cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anti-freeze faucet, and more particularly to an anti-freeze faucet including an improved structure for easily and quickly actuating or operating the anti-freeze faucet to open or release or to block the water flowing through the anti-freeze faucet and for increasing the working life of the anti-freeze faucet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical anti-freeze faucets are normally used and worked in the frigid or freezing environment for preventing the water from being frozen and expanded within the faucet and for preventing the faucet from being broken or damaged by the frozen and expanded water, and normally comprise a valve mechanism formed or provided in the faucet for selectively and automatically releasing the water.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,393 to Mirlisena, Sr., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,613,290 to Wu disclose two of the typical anti-freeze faucets each also comprising a valve structure or mechanism formed or provided in the faucet mechanism for selectively and automatically releasing the water and for preventing the faucet from being broken or damaged by the frozen and expanded water.
However, the water tight seal between the parts or elements may be loosen and may become failure after use, such that a water leaking problem may normally be generated after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,975,720 to Conway discloses another typical faucet facility or assembly also comprising a valve structure or mechanism formed or provided in the faucet for selectively and automatically releasing the water and for preventing the faucet from being broken or damaged by the frozen and expanded water during the winter season.
However, the water tight seal structure or mechanism between the parts or elements may be loosen and may become failure after use, such that a water leaking problem may normally be generated after use.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional anti-freeze faucets.


A new and distinct variety of apple tree, ‘McLaughlin Gala,’ originating as a limb mutation of the Malus domestica variety of ‘Kidds D-8’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,637). This new variety is unique from its parent because it develops and finishes fruit color to a 100% clear yellow with no red striping or blush. The new variety matures 4 to 6 days before its parent.

A new and distinct variety of Gala apple tree originating as a limb mutation of 'Kidds D-8' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,637) hereinafter referred to as the 'McLaughlin Gala'. This new sport is unique from the parent because the skin of the fruit is a clear yellow color, with no red coloration. The new variety ripens 4 to 6 days ahead of the parent.


A recording apparatus of moving image data generates first moving image data and second moving image data having less number of pixels than the first moving image data, outputs the generated moving image data by using a plurality of output channels which conform with a predetermined format, determines the number of the second moving image data to be generated on the basis of an output state of the moving image data which is output by using the output channels in the case where the first moving image data is output in accordance with the predetermined format, and generates the second moving image data of the determined number in parallel with the outputting of the first moving image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus of a moving image and, more particularly, to a recording apparatus, a recording method, and a recording system for recording a moving image and a moving image for editing that moving image data (hereinafter, referred to as "editing moving image").
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional arts, in the case of per generating an editing such as division, combination, and the like of a moving image, a method whereby an editing moving image having a smaller picture screen size than that of a moving image to be subjected to editing is prepared, an editing point is determined by using the editing moving image, and thereafter, the editing subject moving image is edited on the basis of the editing point (for example, refer to the Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-61041). The editing moving image is also called "proxy".
In the case of generating the proxy, after such processings that an original moving image which is the editing subject is temporarily decoded, a picture screen size is reduced, and the like were executed, a compression and encoding processing is executed again. Therefore, it takes many hours to generate the proxy.
Further, although a method whereby the moving image is simultaneously recorded into a plurality of recording mediums and the recording mediums are edited by different editing systems is also considered, even in such a case, it is still necessary to generate the proxy in each editing system and a long time and much troublesomeness are also required.

Recording apparatus, recording method, and recording system


A software installation and recovery system provides an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions that initializes the low-level parameters of the client device, initializes the persistent storage system, loads a bootstrap loader from the persistent store into program memory, and passes execution to the bootstrap loader. A second stage boot loader locates the operating system in the persistent store, loads the operating system into program memory, and passes execution to the operating system which then performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from the persistent store, and begins execution of the applications. The persistent store contains at least two partitions for each of the following: the second stage boot loader; the operating system kernel; and the application software. A partition table resides in the boot sector that records an indication for duplicated partitions in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup. The invention verifies that each level of software was loaded off of the primary partition. If a load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then a successful indication is recorded for that level, otherwise, the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication is recorded for that level. Finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the maintenance and installation of software in a computer environment. More particularly, the invention relates to the installation of software and recovering from installation errors in a computer environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A classic tension exists in the design of automated data processing systems between pure client-server based systems, such as computer mainframe systems or the World Wide Web, and pure distributed systems, such as Networks of Workstations (NOWS) that are used to solve complex computer problems, such as modeling atomic blasts or breaking cryptographic keys.
Client-server systems are popular because they rely on a clean division of responsibility between the server and the client. The server is often costly and specially managed, since it performs computations or stores data for a large number of clients. Each client is inexpensive, having only the local resources needed to interact with the user of the system. A network of reasonable performance is assumed to connect the server and the client. The economic model of these systems is that of centralized management and control driving down the incremental cost of deploying client systems.
However, this model has significant costs that must be considered. For instance, the incremental cost of adding a new client system may be quite high. Additional network capacity must be available, sufficient computing resources must be available to support that client, including storage, memory and computing cycles, and additional operational overhead is needed for each client because of these additional resources. As the central servers become larger and more complex they become much less reliable. Finally, a system failure of the server results in all clients losing service.
Distributed systems are popular because the resources of the system are distributed to each client, which enables more complex functionality within the client. Access to programs or data is faster since they are located with the client, reducing load on the network itself. The system is more reliable, since the failure of a node affects only it. Many computing tasks are easily broken down into portions that can be independently calculated, and these portions are cheaply distributed among the systems involved. This also reduces network bandwidth requirements and limits the impact of a failed node.
On the other hand, a distributed system is more complex to administer, and it may be more difficult to diagnose and solve hardware or software failures.
Television viewing may be modeled as a client-server system, but one where the server-to-client network path is for all intents and purposes of infinite speed, and where the client-to-server path is incoherent and unmanaged. This is a natural artifact of the broadcast nature of television. The cost of adding another viewer is zero, and the service delivered is the same as that delivered to all other viewers.
There have been, and continue to be, many efforts to deliver television programming over computer networks, such as the Internet, or even over a local cable television plant operating as a network. The point-to-point nature of computer networks makes these efforts unwieldy and expensive, since additional resources are required for each additional viewer. Fully interactive television systems, where the viewer totally controls video streaming bandwidth through a client settop device, have proven even more uneconomical because dedication of server resources to each client quickly limits the size of the system that can be profitably built and managed.
However, television viewers show a high degree of interest in choice and control over television viewing.
The nature of client systems requires that software updates to a client device be performed remotely. The problem that develops is that, once a software update is downloaded to a client device, the device must somehow faultlessly install the software update. If any errors occur from either the software download or installation, the client device must be able to recover from the error and possibly revert back to the previous software version. The installation itself must also be performed in a way that it does not disturb the viewer""s use of the device.
It would be advantageous to provide a software installation and recovery system that allows a client system to seamlessly install software updates. It would further be advantageous to provide a software installation and recovery system that elegantly recovers from any errors that occur during the software download or installation stages.
The invention provides a software installation and recovery system. The system installs software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware. In addition, the invention provides a system that elegantly recovers from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software.
A client device, typified in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/126,071, owned by the Applicant, provides functionality typically associated with central video servers, such as storage of a large amount of video content, ability to choose and play this content on demand, and full xe2x80x9cVCR-likexe2x80x9d control of the delivery of the content, as typified in application Ser. No. 09/054,604, owned by the applicant.
Using standard, currently existing techniques, ranging from private data channels in digital television signals, through modulation of data onto the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) of an analog television signal, to direct connection with the server using a modem, software updates from servers are transmitted to the client devices.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions that initializes the low-level parameters of the client device, initializes the persistent storage system, and loads a bootstrap loader from the persistent store into program memory. Execution is then passed to the bootstrap loader.
A second stage boot loader locates the operating system in the persistent store, loads the operating system into program memory, and passes execution to the operating system. The operating system then performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from the persistent store, and begins execution of the applications.
A boot sector located in the persistent store contains sufficient information for the initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of the persistent store, and to locate the second stage boot loader.
The persistent store contains at least two partitions for each of the following: the second stage boot loader; the operating system kernel; and the application software.
A partition table resides in the boot sector that records an indication for duplicated partitions in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup.
On boot, the bootstrap loader reads the boot sector, scans the partition table, locates the primary partition for the second stage boot loader, and attempts to load the program into program memory. If the load of the primary partition of the second stage boot loader fails, the bootstrap loader attempts to load the second stage boot loader located in the backup partition into program memory. The boot loader then passes control to the newly loaded program, along with an indication of which partition the program was loaded from.
The second stage boot loader reads the partition table, locates the primary operating system kernel, and attempts to load the program into program memory. If the kernel cannot be loaded, the backup kernel is located and loaded instead and control is passed to the operating system along with an indication of the source partition, along with the passed source partition from above.
The operating system locates the primary partition containing the application software and attempts to load the initial application. If the load fails, then the operating system locates the backup partition and loads the initial application. The application software is then started and an indication of the source partition is passed to the initial application, along with the source partition information from the previous loads.
When a new software image is installed, the new image is first copied into the appropriate backup partition and an indication is made in the database that a software installation is underway. The primary and backup partition indications in the partition table are then swapped, and the system rebooted.
The invention verifies that the level of software was loaded off of the primary partition. If the load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then a successful indication is recorded for that level. If the primary load was unsuccessful, then the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication is recorded for that level.
Finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in combination with the accompanying drawings, illustrating, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Software installation and recovery system


The present invention relates to the treatment of breast cancer which is estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and/or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2) and/or progesterone receptor positive (PR) and/or facilitates chromatin transcription positive (FACT+) with a curaxin, including curaxin 137. The present invention also pertains to a method of identifying a subject who has a breast cancer tumor and is likely to respond to treatment with a curaxin.

Breast cancer is a major medical concern and one of the most prevalent forms of cancer, particularly in woman. Breast cancer has the second highest mortality rate of cancers and about 15% of cancer-related deaths in women are due to breast cancer (SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2005, NCI, Ries, L. A. G., et al., (eds) (2008)). It has been estimated that about 13% of women born in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime (SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2005, NCI, Ries, L. A. G., et al., (eds) (2008)).
Treatment of breast cancer, as well as other cancers, can be based on the characteristics of the cancer, which in some instances involves molecular analysis of the tumor. Treatment options for breast cancer patients include surgery (e.g. lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, full mastectomy), radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also used as an alternative or additional therapy. Further, hormone therapy or endocrine therapy is used in certain cases. All of these treatment options are marred by unwelcome side effects and/or reduced efficacy, if not carefully selected for the particular tumor.
Therefore, there remains a need for methods that are useful for treating cancer and related diseases, including on a personalized basis.

Curaxins for use in treating carcinogen-induced cancer


An interference identification device according to the present invention includes a feature calculation unit that calculates, using an electromagnetic wave received during a sample data analysis length, at least one type of feature of the electromagnetic wave, an interference identification unit that identifies a cluster to which the at least one type of feature belongs, among a plurality of clusters, each of the plurality of clusters having a region defined in a cluster space in which one type of feature corresponds to one dimension, and a sample data analysis length update unit that updates the sample data analysis length based on a distance, in the cluster space, between the at least one type of feature and the cluster.

With rapid development of wireless communication in recent years, shortage on the number of available frequencies is becoming a serious problem. Therefore, introduction of a new communication system may suffer from unavailability of dedicated frequencies. If no such dedicated frequencies are available, a communication system may be constructed using the industry science medical (ISM) band. Due to being a frequency band reserved for industrial, scientific, and medical devices for general purposes, the ISM band may be used by various kinds of devices. Accordingly, a communication system constructed using the ISM band may suffer from interference with wireless transmission caused by an interference signal, which may then cause a communication error. In the ISM band, various kinds of devices may act as a source of an interference signal, i.e., an interference source. An interference signal has characteristics specific to the communication protocol of each device and/or other factors. Thus, to identify the cause of a communication error, technologies for extracting a feature of an interference signal have been suggested.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a device that samples an electromagnetic wave at fixed intervals, calculates a feature, such as amplitude probability distribution, from a waveform sample, which is a result of sampling, stores the feature, calculates a similarity between multiple features stored, and thus classifies waveform samples into clusters based on the similarity.

Interference identification device and interference identification method


An apparatus for obtaining energy from a polychromatic radiant energy source has a light concentrator for concentrating and redirecting incident radiant energy, having an optical axis, and a spectral separator disposed along the optical axis, apart from the light concentrator and in the path of concentrated, redirected radiant energy. The spectral separator has a first planar surface treated to reflect a first spectral band of light toward a first focal region and to transmit a second spectral band and a second planar surface spaced apart from the first planar surface and oblique with respect to the first planar surface. The second planar surface is treated to reflect the second spectral band back through the first planar surface and toward a second focal region spaced apart from the first focal region. First and second light receivers are disposed nearest each respective focal region for receiving the first and second spectral bands.

Efficient collection and concentration of radiant energy is useful in a number of applications and is of particular value for devices that convert solar energy to electrical energy. Concentrator solar cells make it possible to obtain a significant amount of the sun's energy and concentrate that energy as heat or for generation of direct current from a photovoltaic receiver.
Large-scale light concentrators for obtaining solar energy typically include a set of opposed, curved mirrors with a Cassegrain arrangement as an optical system for concentrating light onto a receiver that is positioned at a focal point. As just a few examples employing the Cassegrain model, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,438 entitled "Sunlight Collecting System" to Nakamura and U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,958 entitled "High Flux Solar Energy Transformation" to Winston et al. both describe large-scale solar energy systems using sets of opposed primary and secondary mirrors. As a more recent development for providing more compact collection apparatus, planar concentrators have been introduced, such as that described in the article entitled "Planar Concentrators Near the Etendue Limit" by Roland Winston and Jeffrey M. Gordon in Optics Letters, Vol. 30 no. 19, pp. 2617-2619. Planar concentrators similarly employ primary and secondary curved mirrors with a Cassegrain arrangement, separated by a dielectric optical material, for providing high light flux concentration.
FIG. 1A shows the basic Cassegrain arrangement for light collection. A photovoltaic apparatus 10 with an optical axis O has a parabolic primary mirror 12 and a secondary mirror 14 located near the focal point of primary mirror 12. A receiver 16 is then placed at the focal point of this optical system, at the vertex of primary mirror 12. A recognized problem with this architecture, a problem inherent to the Cassegrain model, is that secondary mirror 14 presents an obstruction to on-axis light, so that a portion of the light, nominally as much as about 10%, does not reach primary mirror 12, reducing the overall light-gathering capability of photovoltaic apparatus 10. This obscuration can be especially large if the concentrator is cylindrical instead of rotationally symmetric. Placement of receiver 16 at the vertex of primary mirror 12, in the path of the obstruction presented by secondary mirror 14, helps somewhat to mitigate losses caused by the obstruction. However, with a cylindrical optical configuration, little or none of this obstruction loss is gained back by making dimensional adjustments, since the size of the obstruction scales upwards proportionally with any increased size in primary mirror 12 diameter. This means that enlarging the diameter of the larger mirror does not appreciably change the inherent loss caused by the obstruction from the smaller mirror.
Some types of solar energy systems operate by converting light energy to heat. In various types of flat plate collectors and solar concentrators, concentrated sunlight heats a fluid traveling through the solar cell to high temperatures for power generation. An alternative type of solar conversion mechanism, more adaptable for use in thin panels and more compact devices, uses photovoltaic (PV) materials to convert sunlight directly into electrical energy. Photovoltaic materials may be formed from various types of silicon and other semiconductor materials and are manufactured using semiconductor fabrication techniques and provided by a number of manufacturers, such as Emcore Photovoltaics, Albuquerque, N.M., for example. While silicon is less expensive, higher performance photovoltaic materials are alloys made from elements such as aluminum, gallium, and indium, along with elements such as nitrogen and arsenic.
As is well known, sunlight is highly polychromatic, containing broadly distributed spectral content, ranging from ultraviolet (UV), through visible, and infrared (IR) wavelengths, each wavelength having an associated energy level, typically expressed in terms of electron-volts (eV). Not surprisingly, due to differing band-gap characteristics between semi-conductor materials, the response of any one particular photovoltaic material depends upon the incident wavelength. Photons having an energy level below the band gap of a material slip through. For example, red light photons (nominally around 1.9 eV) are not absorbed by high band-gap semiconductors. Meanwhile, photons having an energy level higher than the band gap for a material are absorbed. For example, excess energy from violet light photons (nominally around 3 eV) is wasted as heat in a low band-gap semiconductor.
One strategy for obtaining higher efficiencies from photovoltaic materials is to form a stacked photovoltaic cell, also sometimes termed a multifunction photovoltaic device. These devices are formed by stacking multiple photovoltaic cells on top of each other. With such a design, each successive photovoltaic cell in the stack, with respect to the incident light source, has a lower band-gap energy. In a simple stacked photovoltaic device, for example, an upper photovoltaic cell, consisting of gallium arsenide (GaAs), captures the higher energy of blue light. A second cell, of gallium antimonide (GaSb), converts the lower energy infrared light into electricity. One example of a stacked photovoltaic device is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,835,888 entitled "Stacked Photovoltaic Device" to Sano et al.
While stacked photovoltaics can provide some measure of improvement in overall efficiency, these multilayered devices can be costly to fabricate. There can also be restrictions on the types of materials that can be stacked together atop each other, making it difficult for such an approach to prove economical for a broad range of applications. Another approach is to separate the light according to wavelength into two or more spectral portions, and to concentrate each portion onto an appropriate photovoltaic receiver device, with two or more photovoltaic receivers arranged side by side. With this approach, photovoltaic device fabrication is simpler and less costly, and a wider variety of semiconductors can be considered for use. This type of solution requires supporting optics for both separating light into suitable spectral components and concentrating each spectral component onto its corresponding photovoltaic surface.
One proposed solution for simultaneously separating and concentrating light at sufficient intensity is described in a paper entitled "New Cassegrainian PV Module using Dichroic Secondary and Multijunction Solar Cells" presented at an International Conference on Solar Concentration for the Generation of Electricity or Hydrogen in May, 2005 by L. Fraas, J. Avery, H. Huang, and E. Shifman. In the module described in this article and schematically represented in FIG. 1B, curved primary mirror 12 collects light and directs this light toward a dichroic hyperbolic secondary mirror 14, near the focal plane of the primary mirror. IR light is concentrated at a first photovoltaic receiver 16 near the focal point of the primary mirror. The secondary mirror redirects near-visible light to a second photovoltaic receiver 18 positioned near the vertex of the primary mirror. In this way, each photovoltaic receiver 16 and 18 obtains the light energy for which it is optimized, increasing the overall efficiency of the solar cell system.
While the approach shown in the Fraas paper advantageously provides spectral separation and concentrates light using the same set of optical components, there are some significant limitations to the solution that it presents. A first problem relates to the overall losses due to obstruction of the aperture, as were noted earlier. As another problem, the apparatus described by Fraas et al. has a limited field of view of the sky because it has a high concentration in each axis due to its rotational symmetry. Yet another drawback relates to the wide bandwidths of visible light provided to a single photovoltaic receiver. With many types of photovoltaic materials commonly used for visible light, an appreciable amount of the light energy would still be wasted using such an approach, possibly resulting in excessive heat.
Dichroic surfaces, such as are used for the hyperbolic mirror in the solution proposed in the Fraas paper, provide spectral separation of light using interference effects obtained from coatings formed from multiple overlaid layers having different indices of refraction and other characteristics. In operation, dichroic coatings reflect and transmit light as a function of incident angle and wavelength. As the incident angle varies, the wavelength of light that is transmitted or reflected by a dichroic surface also changes. Where a dichroic coating is used with incident light at angles beyond about +/−20 degrees from normal, undesirable spectral effects can occur, so that spectral separation of light, due to variations in the angles of incidence, is compromised at such higher angles.
There have been a number of light collector solutions employing dichroic surfaces for spectral splitting. For example, in an article entitled "Spectral Beam Splitting Technology for Increased Conversion Efficiency in Solar Concentrating Systems: A Review", available online at www.sciencedirect.com, authors A. G. Imenes, and D. R. Mills provide a survey of solar collection systems, including some using dichroic surfaces. For example, the description of a tower reflector (FIG. 24 in the Imenes and Mills article) shows one proposed solution that employs a curved dichroic beamsplitter as part of the optics collection system. High incident angles of some portion of the light on this surface could render such a solution as less than satisfactory with respect to light efficiency. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,013 entitled "Hybrid Solar Energy Generating System" to Soule describes the use of a dichroic surface as a selective heat mirror. However, as noted in the Imenes article cited above, the approach shown in the Soule '013 patent exhibits substantial optical losses. Some of these losses relate to the high incident angles of light directed to the selective heat mirror that is used.
There are inherent problems with dichroic surface shape and placement for light focused from a parabolic mirror. A flat dichroic surface positioned near the focal region of a parabolic reflector would exhibit poor separation performance for many designs, constraining the dimensions of a light collection system. A properly curved dichroic surface, such as a hyperbolic surface, can be positioned at or near the focal region, but obstructs some portion of the available light, as noted earlier.
FIG. 1C shows a simplified version of a conventional solution that has been proposed in numerous embodiments for spectral separation in a radiant energy collection apparatus using a flat dichroic beamsplitter 20. Incident light is concentrated by a lens 22 and directed to beamsplitter 20, oriented at 45 degrees, which reflects one portion of the spectral band to first photovoltaic receiver 16 and transmits another portion of the spectral band to second photovoltaic receiver 18. This general type of solution is described as a "lateral optical system" in a paper entitled "50% Efficient Solar Cell Architectures and Designs" by Barnett et al. presented at 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy-Conversion. FIGS. 19, 23, and 24 in the Inenes et al. article cited earlier show some of the alternative configurations based on this general solution.
The lateral optical type of system exhibits good optical transmission levels but has relatively low efficiency. This is at least partly due to a significant amount of spectral contamination resulting from the relatively high incident angles of light on the dichroic surface of beamsplitter 20. Dichroic coatings reflect and transmit light as a function of incident angle and wavelength. As the incident angle varies, the wavelength of light that is transmitted or reflected also changes. Thus, the spectral content of the light reflected from beamsplitter 20 varies over the surface of receivers 16 and 18, reducing the efficiency of energy conversion.
Against obstacles such as poor dichroic surface response, conventional approaches have provided only a limited number of solutions for achieving, at the same time, both good spectral separation and efficient light flux concentration of each spectral component. The Cassegrain model of FIGS. 1A and 1B can be optimized, but always presents an obstruction near the focal point of the primary mirror, and is thus inherently disadvantaged. Solutions that employ dichroic separation perform best where incident light angles on the dichroic surface are low with respect to normal; however, as exemplified in FIG. 1C, many proposed designs do not appear to give enough consideration to these spectral separation characteristics, resulting in poor separation or misdirected light and reduced efficiency.
Thus, it is recognized that there is a need for a photovoltaic cell that provides improved spectral separation and light concentration, that can be easily scaled for use in a thin panel design, that can be readily manufactured, and that offers increased efficiency over conventional photovoltaic solutions.


To provide a message sending function which reflects “taste” in a destination agent designated by a user and a policy of the market in which agents operate. When multicasting a message to agents, a message monitor executes the steps of: receiving preferential destination information designated by a user along with the message; determining to which agents the message is to be sent, by referring to the preferential destination information; and sending the message to the agents determined as destinations. This preferential destination information designated by a user is the information representing a user's “taste” which is represented, for instance, by an agent name and a priority (or weight). It is also possible that the destination determining step comprises a step of referring to a messaging policy data defining priorities of agents to which the message can be sent. By doing so, it becomes possible to reflect a policy of a market's sponsor on message sending. Moreover, it is also possible to transform it so that a message destination is determined by referring only to a messaging policy data rather than preferential destination information designated by a user.

As regards online shopping on WWW (World Wide Web), several successful examples have been reported in the fields including travel, books, CDs (Compact Disks) and employment information, which is expected to increasingly develop in future. This form of online shopping is shifting from merely exhibiting merchandise as in the conventional HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) files or DB (DataBase) and CGI (Common Gateway Interface) to retrieving multiple sites as a single unit and to learning users' taste to find appropriate goods, etc. An agent technology is well suited to address these new online shopping approaches. For instance, an information retrieval agent for each user and an information providing agent for each company which opens a shop can be generated to interact to enable information retrieval and sale of merchandise. While these agents may be moving agents, they act together on one site (agent server) at least temporarily.
To exchange messages between agents in such a way so that they can interact, there must be common rules for interaction between them. Accordingly, if a type database defining the rules for interaction between agents is established on an agent server (see IBM TDB Vol. 40 No. 12, pp. 29 December, 1997, for instance) and an agent which outputs a message in compliance with the rules is generated, interaction is possible on the agent server with other agents which are also in compliance with the rules.
Attempts are being made to standardize interaction between agents, such as KQML (Knowledge Query Manipulation Language) and ACL (Agent Communication Language). While a set of messages which can be used by agents is predefined in either of them, differences are found in the types of provided methods and the ways of formulation. In KQML, in addition to primitive messages such as "questions" and "answers," a series of messages called "facilitator messages" are provided to have a mediator search an agent for the other party. In ACL, only primitive messages are provided, but the way to formulate constraints among messages is more strict and formulation by using an operator to represent a psychological state of an agent is attempted.
To describe a little about this facilitator message in KQML, an agent which wants to have a message delivered preregisters itself to a special agent, called a "facilitator" which mediates a message from another agent. Since this facilitator sends a message to all the registered agents, it does not have a feature to change its destination according to the state at the time.
As above, the above-mentioned facilitator does not provide a message sending feature reflecting a user's taste each time. While there is also a method to send a message by explicitly specifying multiple agents, it has drawbacks including being troublesome for a user and overloading the system when many messages are specified. Accordingly, it is better to limit the number of messages to be sent according to the computer's ability. In addition, there must be a way to reflect a policy of the market in which agents operate. For instance, if an owner of a shop agent has paid more than usual for opening the shop, additional privileges may be provided, such as the service of surely sending messages to the shop. The conventional technologies do not provide these features.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a message sending feature which reflects "taste" in a destination agent designated by a user.
In addition, another object is to provide a message sending feature which reflects a policy of the market in which the agents operate.
In addition, a further object is to enable the system's load to be controlled by controlling the number of messages to be sent.
Still further objects are to provide an agent technology of high usability and to provide a technology which allows diversification of services by market sponsors.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for generating photo-realistic characters wherein one or more pictures of an individual are decomposed into a plurality of parameterized facial parts. The facial parts are stored in memory. To create animated frames, the individual facial parts are recalled from memory in a defined manner and overlaid onto a base face to form a whole face, which, in turn, may be overlaid onto a background image to form an animated frame.

In a modern technological era characterized by complex computer interfaces and by sophisticated video and communications devices, techniques which promote consumer interest in high-tech equipment have become increasingly prevalent. The computer industry, with an eye toward drawing consumers into the mainstream of its technological innovations, regularly seeks new methods by which consumers can interface with devices that exhibit more user-friendly or humanlike qualities. In addition to increasing the appeal of technology to the average, non-technical consumer, such methods raise the potential for generating a host of new and useful computer and video applications.
In recent years, the prospect of using animated, talking faces in various high-tech operations has become particularly enticing. Animated techniques can be used for a diverse array of applications. The addition of talking faces to computer-user interfaces, for instance, can enhance the computer's user-friendliness, promote user familiarity with computers, and increase computer entertainment value. Generating animated agents in computer-user interfaces would be useful, among other applications, for performing such tasks as reading E-mail, making announcements, or guiding a user through an application. The use of lifelike, synthesized characters would also be valuable in any application where avatars (visual representations of persons) are used. Such applications could include virtual meeting rooms, multi-user video games, lectures, seminars, security or access devices, scenarios requiring human instructions, and a host of other operations.
Industry practitioners are also considering model-based coding for video telephony over low data-rate connections. This application would entail generating synthesized faces or characters at the receiver station, whereby the form and structure of the images are governed by parameters originating at the transmitting station.
Regardless of the particular application, the synthesis of human faces ideally involves the use of lifelike, natural-looking ("photo-realistic") characters. Using photo-realistic characters has many benefits. They have a greater entertainment value over that of simple animated characters. Furthermore, using photo-realistic characters as part of a human interface adds a realistic element to a computer. Consumers otherwise intimidated by computer technology might feel more comfortable using a computer which has a humanlike interface. As another illustration, the use of a photo-realistic character to give an office presentation can create a more favorable impression on the presentation's attendees than if simple animated characters were used--with simple animation, the characters cannot concurrently speak while eliciting realistic facial and mouth movements typical of a person making speech. Photo-realistic characters can convey meaningful and realistic facial expressions. Simple animation, in contrast, is cartoon-like and unimpressive, particularly in an arena such as a corporate meeting.
Photo-realistic characters can also be used as an icon in a virtual reality application. Such characters can further be used over such media as the Internet, wherein the bandwidth of the media is otherwise too small to accommodate high-frequency video signals. Using photo-realistic techniques, human characters with realistic movements can be transmitted over the Internet in lieu of video.
Practitioners have made numerous efforts to synthesize photo-realistic characters. One problem common to most of these methods is their inability to make characters appear sufficiently humanlike. The remaining methods that can, at least in theory, generate more realistic-looking characters require prohibitively large computer memory allocations and processing times to accomplish this goal. The utility of such methods is consequently restricted to high-capacity media.
Thus, an important but previously unrealized goal of practitioners is to disclose a technique for generating photo-realistic faces which requires a minimal amount of computation for the synthesis of animated sequences. Naturally, the least computation would be required in the case where all parts and their corresponding bitmaps are produced in advance and stored in a library. The synthesis of a face would then involve merely overlaying the parts. Modern graphics processors have become so powerful, however, that warping pictures to generate animated shapes may be performed In real-time. In this event, only the control points need be stored in the library, which substantially reduces the memory required for storing the model.
The approaches employed by practitioners generally fall into four categories: (1) three-dimensional ("3-D") modeling techniques; (2) warping and morphing techniques; (3) interpolation between views; and (4) flip-book techniques. These approaches are described below.

Method for generating photo-realistic animated characters


A drier has a cooler block for drying internal cooling gas circulated in an electric machine, and the temperature of the cooler block is controlled by a thermoelectric device having Peltier effect and keep a constant temperature being near freezing point and not below the freezing point of dew drop contained in the gas.

The present invention relates to a drier for a cooling gas circulated in a rotating electric machine, and especially relates to a drier for drying cooling gas fed out from an electric rotating machine through a pipe line, dehumidifying the cooling gas so as to dry it by cooling it outside of the rotating electric machine, and returning the dried cooling gas to the rotating electric machine through another pipe line.
In a conventional drier using an external cooling type gas drying method, the dew point of the cooling gas provided in the rotating electric machine is kept below a surface temperature of an internal gas cooler installed in the rotating electric machine.
In an external cooling type gas drying equipment for a rotating electric machine, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application 2-85676 (1995), a gas refrigerator for circulating the coolant and in which a shell-tube cooler is separated from a refrigerating unit is generally provided.
In the conventional system described above, in order to keep the dew point of the cooling gas provided in the rotating electric machine under a surface temperature of an internal gas cooler installed in the rotating electric machine, the condenser in the external cooling type gas drying equipment is cooled below the needed temperature. In this manner, dew drops in the shell-tube cooler are frozen and the circulation of the cooling gas for the electric rotating machine is obstructed so that dehumidifying and drying of the cooling gas are reduced. Therefore, the temperature of the coolant is controlled so as not to be below the freezing point of the coolant.
However, in a gas-refrigerator in which the shell-tube cooler is separated from the refrigerating unit, the response of temperature control to the fluctuation of the load is not very good, and the setting range of the temperature control becomes wide. Therefore, the temperature of the shell-tube cooler is set near 10.degree. C., and there arises a problem in that it becomes impossible to make the dew point of the cooling gas in the rotating electric machine fully low.

Drier for drying internal cooling gas of electric machine

Hitachi Engineering & Services Co., Ltd.


A process for the determination of H. pylori in a fecal specimen which comprises; (a) collecting a smear of a fecal specimen on a substrate; (b) immersing at least the portion of the substrate carrying the smear in a sample diluent so as to disperse the fecal specimen in the diluent; (c) contacting the fecal specimen in the diluent with a first polyclonal antibody for H. pylori antigen to form a complex of the antibody and the antigen; (d) separating the specimen and the complex; (e) exposing the complex to a second polyclonal antibody for the antigen and a portion of the antibody reacting with the complex, one of said first and second antibody being bound to a solid carrier and the other being labelled with a detection agent; and (f) determining the amount of the labelled antibody and in turn determining the presence of H. pylori antigen in the fecal specimen.

This invention relates to a method for detecting Helicobacter pylori in fecal specimens.
H. pylori is a bacterium that is found in the upper gastrointestinal tract of humans which has been implicated in gastroduodenal diseases such as peptic ulcers, gastritis and other maladies. The bacterium was originally classified as a Campylobacter and then reclassified as a Helicobacter based on more detailed information regarding its ultrastructure and fatty acid composition.
A number of different techniques, both invasive and noninvasive, have been used to detect H. pylori. The invasive techniques involve gastric biopsies and cultures. The noninvasive techniques include a urea breath test, in which the patient is given C-13 or C-14 labeled urea with a beverage, and the detection of H. pylori antibody in sera using antigens in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Examples of the latter techniques are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,156 to Aleonohammad and European Patent Application 0 329 570 to Blaser.
Several major antigens have been identified and used in immunoassays in the detection of H. pylori antibodies. However, these assays have not exhibited the specificity and sensitivity that are desired in serodiagnosis. Newell, D. G., et al. Serodian. Immunother. Infec. Dis., 3:1-6 (1989). One problem with of these immunoassays is cross-reactivity. Studies of the dominant antigens in H. pylori, in particular, the putative flagellar protein, which has a molecular weight of 60 Da, have shown that some of these antigen are not specific to H. pylori and also found in other bacteria such as C. jeuni and C. coli. A second problem that has been encountered in designing immunoassays for H. pylori is strain variation. Substantial differences in the antigens has been observed in different strains of H. pylori. These problems preclude designing an assay around the use of a single antigen. They also rule out the use of monoclonal antibodies. One approach that has been taken to improving the specificity and selectivity of antibody immunoassays for H. pylori has been to use a mixture of antigens from different H. pylori strains which mixture is enriched with certain antigen fragments. One ELISA which detects H. pylori antibodies in a blood sera is commercially available from Meridian Diagnostics. This assay uses a bacterial whole cell lysate as the antigen.
There are certain disadvantages to using an ELISA which employs antigens to detect the presence of H. pylori antibodies. In particular, the antibody titer in human sera remains high for a prolonged time (in some cases as much as six months) after the infection has been treated. Consequently, a positive test using this ELISA does not necessarily mean that the patient is currently infected and requires treatment for H. pylori infection. When confronted with a positive ELISA, treating physicians often order a gastric biopsy to confirm the presence of the bacteria before initiating antibiotic therapy. Therefor, the antigen-based ELISA does not eliminate the need for the invasive procedure. By contrast, if an immunoassay could be designed for detecting H. pylori antigen instead of the antibody, the need to obtain gastric biopsies to confirm infection could be reduced significantly because the antigen generally can not be detected in a patient within days of its treatment. Thus, there is a need for an ELISA which detects H. pylori antigen and, more particularly, there is a need for an ELISA for detecting H. pylori directly from fecal specimens.
While ELISA's for detecting microorganisms such as C. difficile and adenovirus in fecal specimens are known, in studies of patients with gastric biopsies which are positive for H. pylori, the bacteria ordinarily can not be cultured and isolated from the fecal specimens. This and the problems of cross reactivity and strain variation raised serious doubts that an ELISA could be designed that would be specific for H. pylori and sensitive enough to reliably detect H. pylori antigen directly from a fecal specimen.

Immunoassay for H. pylori in fecal specimens


A method of fabricating silicon (Si) and silicon germanium (SiGe) fins is described. The method includes forming at least two Si fins on a buried oxide (BOX) layer disposed on a substrate, at least one Si fin being formed in a first region and at least one Si fin being formed in a second region, the at least one Si fin in the second region being thinner than the at least one Si fin in the first region. The method also includes depositing an oxide mask over the first region, epitaxially growing an SiGe layer on the at least one Si fin in the second region, and performing a thermal annealing process to drive Ge from the SiGe layer into the at least one Si fin in the second region to form at least one SiGe fin in the second region.

The present invention relates to a fin field effect transistor (finFET), and more specifically, to the integrated formation of silicon (Si) and silicon germanium (SiGe) fins.
As integrated circuits continue to scale downward in size, the fin field effect transistor (finFET) is used increasingly with advanced technology nodes (e.g., the 22 nanometer (nm) node and beyond). In a finFET, the channel is formed by a semiconductor fin, and a gate electrode is located on at least two sides of the fin. Due to the advantageous feature of full depletion in a finFET (current between source and drain flows only through fins), the increased number of sides on which the gate electrode controls the channel of the finFET enhances the controllability of the channel in a finFET compared to a planar MOSFET. The improved control of the channel allows smaller device dimensions with less short channel effects as well as larger electrical current that can be switched at high speeds. In finFET devices, the conducting channel is wrapped by a Si or SiGe fin. The thickness of the fin (in the direction from source to drain) determines the channel length of the device. A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device includes an Si fin in the n-channel FET (nFET) region and a SiGe fin in the p-channel FET (pFET) region. Thus, the Si and SiGe fins must be integrated on the same wafer. Currently, a silicon well is formed to define the pFET region, and advanced patterning techniques are used to pattern the SiGe fin.

Integrated formation of Si and SiGe fins


An anchor comprising a core including first and second ends and a cylindrical portion between said ends, the first end including means for engaging with a body to be anchored, and the second end terminating in a portion which is enlarged gradually. A sleeve engages telescopically around the cylindrical portion and has an end adjacent the second end of the core. Expanders which normally form an annulus when positioned together are provided, the annulus engaging slidably with the cylindrical portion. Each of the expanders has an engaging end which abuts on and engages with the end of the sleeve. Means is provided on the expanders for at least provisionally binding them around the core.

The present invention relates to an anchor having expanders for engaging an undercut portion of a hole in concrete or the like.
European Patent Publication No. 0,416,183 A1 dated 13 March 1991 (K. K. MIYANAGA) exemplifies, particularly in FIG. 6, an anchor having an expansion sleeve 202 expanded around a conical surface 109 of a bolt 203. Because the expanded sleeve 202 is plastically deformed into an undercut portion of a hole in, for example, concrete, it is not possible to remove the bolt 203 from concrete for replacement when the bolt is corroded or damaged.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an anchor which may be removed from a hole after it is embedded in the hole.

Expansion anchor for engagement in a hole


A support, which may be a ceiling support, is designed to receive an operation microscope, and particularly may support a medical operation microscope. This support has a support column, movable around a rotation axis, with a first carrier arm and a second carrier arm which, with respect to the first carrier arm, can be moved around a first pivot axis and a second pivot axis. A cable connection is provided for producing a restoring force for the second carrier arm, and couples the second carrier arm to a counterweight for producing a restoring force around the second pivot axis. The counterweight is arranged in the region of the support column, to minimize inertial action accompanying a movement of the support around the rotation axis. A freewheel rotary joint is provided in the cable connection to suppress a feedback to the counterweight of a movement of the second carrier arm around the first pivot axis.

The invention relates to a support, in particular a support to receive a medical device, for example an operation microscope, with a first carrier arm and a second carrier arm, the second carrier arm being mounted on a first shaft and a second shaft for pivoting with respect to the first carrier arm, and coupling means are provided which couple the second carrier arm to a means for the production of a restoring force around at least one of the shafts.