Interleukin-8 (IL-8) and analogs thereof is useful in the treatment of viral infections, caused by human and animal viruses, and cancers caused by oncoviruses.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with antiviral and anticancer activities of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and its use as a therapeutic agent in viral infections caused by human and animal viruses and in cancers caused by oncogene viruses.
b) Description of Prior Art
Many important infectious diseases afflicting mankind are caused by viruses of which some are frequently fatal; among such are rabies, smallpox, poliomyelitis, hepatitis, yellow fever, immune deficiencies and various encephalitic diseases. Others are significant in that they are highly contagious and create acute discomfort such as influenza, measles, mumps and chickenpox, as well as respiratory-gastrointestinal disorders. Others such as rubella and cytomegalovirus can cause congenital abnormalities; finally, there are viruses, known as oncoviruses, that can cause tumors and cancer in humans and animals.
Among viruses, the family of Herpesviridae is of great interest. Herpes viruses are highly disseminated in nature and highly pathogenic for man. For example, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is known to cause infectious mononucleosis in late childhood or adolescence or in young adults. The hallmarks of acute infectious mononucleosis are sore throat, fever, headache, lymphadenopathy, enlarged tonsils and atypical, dividing lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. Other manifestations frequently include mild hepatitis, splenomegaly and cerebritis. EBV is also associated with two forms of cancer: Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In endemic areas of equatorial Africa, BL is the most common childhood malignancy, accounting for approximately 80% of cancers in children. While moderately observed in North American Caucasians, NPC is one of the most common cancers in Southern China with age incidence of 25 to 55 years. EBV, like the cytomegalovirus, is also associated with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, which is a potentially fatal complication of chronic immunosuppression following solid organ or bone marrow transplantation.
Another herpes virus, namely Herpes Simplex type 1 (HSV-1) is implicated as the etiologic agent of gingivostomatitis. Manifestations are fever, sore throat, and ulcerative and vesicular lesions in the mouth. The most severe clinical state caused by HSV is the primary genital herpetic infection. While HSV-1 can cause genital herpetic infection, HSV-2 is the main virus associated with this disease. This HSV infection is accompanied by vesicles, pustules and ulcers causing lesions on genital parts. A urinary retention syndrome may also be encountered. More than 80% of people are seropositive to HSV-1 or HSV-2 and studies have indicated a frequency of recurrence or viral reactivation as high as 60%. Other diseases are also associated with HSV including skin and eye infections, for example, chorioretinitis or keratoconjunctivitis. Approximately 300,000 cases of HSV infections of the eye are diagnosed yearly in the United States of America.
Human Herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) has a marked tropism for cells of the immune system and therefore, HHV-6 infection may result in alteration of the immune response. It is now clear that HHV-6 is the cause of exanthem subitum as a primary infection in children. Recent studies indicate that a significant proportion of organ transplant recipients who are seropositive before transplantation, demonstrate serologic evidence of reactivation subsequent to immunosuppression. Heterophil-negative mononucleosis-like illness and non-A, non-B hepatitis also have been associated with active HHV-6 infection. HHV-6 has often been isolated from patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infections. The fact that HIV and HHV-6 can reside in the same target cell has led to speculation that HHV-6 infection may act as a cofactor in the progression of HIV-seropositive patients to symptomatic AIDS. Recent studies also suggest that a human herpes virus is closely associated with HIV diseases. In fact, Kaposi sarcoma (KS), a neoplasm occurring mainly in HIV-infected person, was found to have an infectious etiology. While the virus has been named KS-associated herpesvirus, its formal classification is likely to be HHV-8.
In all infectious diseases, the efficacy of therapy often depends on host immune response. This is particularly true for herpes viruses; indeed, the ability of all herpes viruses to establish latent infections results in an extremely high incidence of reactivated infection in immunocompromised patients. In renal transplant recipients, 40% to 70% reactivate latent HSV infections, and 80% to 100% reactivate CMV infections. Such viral reactivations have also been observed in HIV-positive patients (AIDS).
Today, the number of therapeutic agents available for the treatment of viral infections remains relatively limited. For example, four major compounds are mainly used in the treatment of herpes virus infections: idoxuridine, vidarabine, acyclovir and ganciclovir. Their efficacy is limited and they cause many side effects. Allergic effects have been reported in 35% of patients treated with idoxuridine which is used only to treat HSV infection of the eye. The most common side effects of vidarabine are gastrointestinal disturbances (15% of patients). The major side effect of acyclovir is the alteration of renal function; and because acyclovir is a nucleoside analog that can be incorporated in both viral and the host cell DNA, normal division of the host cell can be affected. Regarding ganciclovir, the most important side effects are neutropenia and thrombocytopenia that occur in about 40% of AIDS patients.
Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of efficacious therapy for the treatment of viral infections.
The accumulation of leukocytes in diseased tissues is recognized as a hallmark of the inflammatory process. Recruitment of leukocytes at inflammatory sites is triggered by the local production of chemotactic cytokines. Proteins that exhibit such properties have been classified in two subfamilies according to the position of the first two cysteines, which either are separated by one amino acid (CXC proteins) or are adjacent (CC proteins). The members of the two subfamilies differ in their target cell selectivity and the chromosomal location of their genes (review by Baggiolini, et al., Adv. Immunol. 55: 97, 1994). Among the chemotactic cytokines, interleukin-8 (IL-8), which belongs to the CXC family, was originally identified in the culture supernatants of stimulated human blood monocytes. IL-8 is a nonglycosylated protein synthesized as a precursor of 99 amino acids and secreted after cleavage of a sequence of 20 residues. The mature molecule formed has 79 residues and is processed proteolytically at the N-terminus, yielding the predominant form of 72 amino acids with a molecular weight of about 8383. Structure, sequence and biological properties of IL-8 have been reviewed by Baggiolini M. et al. (Adv. Immunol. 55: 97, 1994).
IL-8 is produced by many cells such as keratinocytes, epithelial cells, synoviocytes and hepatocytes, to name a few. Among peripheral blood leukocytes, monocytes and neutrophils rather than lymphocytes were found to be the major cellular sources of IL-8.
IL-8 exerts many biological activities in vitro and in vivo. IL-8 is well known for its chemotactic activity and its ability to cause degranulation of human neutrophils. Shape change, activation of the motile system and a rise in cytosolic free Ca.sup.2+ are rapidly detected in neutrophils treated with IL-8. The release of vitamin B.sub.12 -binding protein from specific granules was also observed. IL-8 also causes degranulation of the azurophil granules and release of elastase and other hydrolases. Such degranulation is accompanied by the upregulation of a variety of adhesion molecules at the cell membrane. Degranulation also results in the enhanced expression of the complement receptor type I (CR1) and III (CR3). IL-8 is also a chemotactic factor for eosinophils and for human lymphocytes, particularly T cells.
The biological effects of IL-8 are mediated through seven transmembrane domain, G-protein-coupled receptors. Two types of IL-8 receptors have been described and are defined as the type A and type B. IL-8 receptor type A has a high affinity for IL-8 and a low affinity for Gro.alpha.(melanoma growth stimulating activity), whereas type B has high affinity for both cytokines. While among peripheral blood leukocytes, neutrophils strongly express both types of IL-8 receptors, monocytes and CD8.sup.+ T lymphocytes expressed IL-8 receptors to a lower level. No detectable level of IL-8 receptors was found on B cells and CD4.sup.+ T lymphocytes.
There is accumulating evidence in support that IL-8 plays an important role in the inflammatory process of many pathologies; indeed, IL-8 has been detected in inflammatory tissues or exudates such as in psoriatic scale extracts, in synovial fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or gout, in pleural fluid from emphysema patients, and in bronchoalveolar lavages from patients with respiratory distress syndrome. Moreover, antiviral properties have recently been ascribed to the chemokines RANTES and MIP-1.alpha. and .beta., belonging to the C--C chemokine subfamily, which were found to induce inhibition of HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV replication in vitro
Furthermore, IL-8 has been recently reported to have an antiviral effect (Mackewicz and Levy, 1992 AIDS Research and Human Retrovirus 8: 1039-1050). It was shown that IL-8 can inhibit HIV replication in CD4+ lymphocytes under specific conditions. In fact, IL-8 was found to affect viral replication of naturally infected CD4+ cells but had no effect on acutely infected cells. There are several putative mechanisms of antiviral activity; some may be highly selective as sould be the blockade of the attachment of a specific virus to its target cell. Indeed, Idoxuridine, Vidarabine, Acyclovir and Gangiclovir which are specifically used in the treatment of Herpes virus infection, have no effect on other viruses such as HIV, and thus constitute examples of drugs with selective antiviral activity.
Accordingly, data presented by Mackowicz and Levy in no way make predictable that IL-8 might show antiviral activity against all viruses. The selectivity for specific viruses of most drugs presently used in the treatment of viral infection strongly supports this statement. Therefore, the report of the antiviral effect of IL-8 on HIV does not allow any conclusion on the general antiviral activity of IL-8. To date, there is no other proven report of antiviral activity of IL-8.
Finally, TALMADGE'S PCT application PCT/US95/12099 published Mar. 28, 1996 under the publication number WO 96/09062 describes polypeptide analogs of IL-8 and claims that the analogs can be used for the treatment of pathological conditions such as viral infection, bacterial infection, fungal infections, yeast infection, parasitic infection among others. However, TALMADGE doe not present any data to prove its claim which is based on extrapolation or mere desire for the polypeptide to do so.
It would be highly desirable to provide an antiviral agent with greater efficacy and which would not present the undesirable side effects of the known antiviral agents.

Interleukin-8 as an antiviral and antitumor agent


A handle device for a motor vehicle door includes a door handle, which is hinged at both ends to an electrically driven movement kinematic system. A first end of the door handle is rotatable outwards via a motor-operated pivot lever. A push rod is hinged to the pivot lever, the other end of which is hinged to a locking lever, which acts on a toggle lever pair. One end of a first toggle lever is mounted on the housing side and one end of a second toggle lever is hinged to a second end of the door handle. The locking lever is designed, in a standby position, to block a movement of the door handle back into a rest position and to permit a movement into an opening position.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a handle device for a motor vehicle door, comprising a door handle hinged at both ends to an electrically driven movement kinematic system, by means of which the door handle can be moved from a retracted rest position into an extended standby position and back, wherein in the standby position, a compressive force acting on the door handle from outside can be transmitted to the motor vehicle door, and the door handle can be moved into an opening position by means of a tensile force. Exemplary embodiments of the invention further relate to a motor vehicle door equipped therewith.
There are a number of extendable handle devices for motor vehicles. By way of example, such handle devices are described in DE 10 2008 036 426 A1 or DE 20 2014 010 524 U1. In most cases, the door handles are tilted outwards along an axis, forming a kind of protruding wing. Or there are exterior door handles in which the door handle appears to extend in parallel but is actually rotated about an axis of rotation.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are directed to a handle device enabling a steady extension movement of the door handle, and, in an extended standby position, is thus able to absorb compressive forces or transmit them to the door and, when extended to an open position, can transmit the resulting tensile force.
According to exemplary embodiments, a first end of the door handle can be rotated outwards via a motor-operated pivot lever, a push rod is hinged to the pivot lever, the other end of which is hinged to a locking lever which acts on the door handle, wherein one end of a first toggle lever is mounted on the housing side and one end of a second toggle lever is hinged to the second end of the door handle, wherein the locking lever is designed, in the standby position, to block a movement of the door handle back into the rest position and to permit a movement into the open position.
This embodiment has the advantage that, with simple structural means, a uniform, parallel-seeming movement of the door handle between the rest position and the extended standby position is possible, wherein, in this position, an externally active pressure force is introduced into the support structure of the handle device at the same time. In addition, when the door handle is pulled, the pulling forces can be used, in addition to a push-button release, to mechanically enable a door lock to be opened, for example via a Bowden cable.
The locking lever can either push the bottom of the door handle directly from bottom to top or push against a toggle lever, which then transfers the pressure force into the door handle.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the first end of the door handle is its front end in the direction of the vehicle. This allows the door handle to rotate about the front hinge point when activated, such that a natural force flow is ensured, as the pulling direction of the door handle is thus approximately perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the vehicle door during the opening movement.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the pivot lever can be rotated about a rotation axis fixed to the housing by means of a cam disc operated by a drive motor. Such a drive, which can be carried out via a toothed cam disc according to a development, is structurally simple and less susceptible to faults.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the locking lever has a locking tab, which can be rotated when moving from the rest position to the standby position, wherein here the locking tab abuts on the first toggle lever in a sliding manner. The rotating range of the locking lever is preferably in the range of from 60° to 120°, particularly preferably approximately 90°.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the locking tab in the standby position is aligned in the direction of the compressive force acting on the hinge point of the door handle. This ensures that the force generated when the door handle is pressed is absorbed as linearly as possible via the locking tab and transferred to its bearing without any torque arising, which could result in a partial recoil of the door handle.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the first toggle lever of the toggle lever pair is designed like a crankshaft and is rotatably mounted at the free ends on the housing, wherein the second toggle lever is hinged to the middle section thereof, the second end of which is hinged to the second end of the door handle. This embodiment enables a structurally compact arrangement.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the hinge points of the push rod on the pivot lever and on the locking lever are selected in such a way that a rotary movement of the pivot lever leads to a synchronous outward movement of the door handle at both ends, i.e., that the distances covered are approximately the same, such that the door handle moves during the movement from the rest position to the standby position in such a way that its outer side remains parallel to the outer skin of the vehicle door. If the lever arms are suitably dimensioned, the impression of a quasi-parallel outward movement of the door handle advantageously arises, in which the outer side of the door handle remains parallel to the outer skin of the vehicle door.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, when the door handle is moved from the standby position to the opening position, a pivot lever-sided hinge point of the door handle remains stationary, wherein the second end of the door handle can be rotated about the hinge point. Thus, the movement of the door handle from the standby position to the opening position is a pivot movement, which is structurally simple and stable and intuitively accommodates the movement of the user when opening the door. It is possible to attach a mechanical door opening component, in particular a Bowden cable, on the outside of the door handle with a maximum lever arm.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention further relate to a motor vehicle door comprising a handle device according to one of the aforementioned embodiments.
Further advantages, features and details arise from the following description, in which at least one exemplary embodiment is described in detail, if necessary with reference to the drawings. Identical, similar and/or functionally identical parts are provided with the same reference numerals.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a handle device 10 is depicted in a perspective view and as a longitudinal section in the rest position. The surrounding support structure, which is fixed to a bodyshell door of a vehicle, is not depicted due to reasons of clarity. In the rest position, a door handle 12 is located in a recess in the door panel of a motor vehicle door in such a way that the outer surface of the door handle 12 is flush with the door panel.
The handle device 10 substantially comprises the door handle 12, which is connected to the kinematic system described further below via a rear hinge point 14 and a front hinge point 16. The designations "rear" and "front" refer to a motor vehicle in which the handle device 10 according to the invention can be installed. The front hinge point 16 is therefore closer to the front of the vehicle than the rear hinge point 14.
The front hinge point 16 of the door handle 12 is mounted in a pivot lever 18, which can be rotated about a pivot axis 20 in the support structure (not shown). By means of a return spring 22, the pivot lever 18 is pushed into the rest position shown in FIG. 1, in which the door handle 12 occupies its lowest position in the figures, which, in the assembled state, is the innermost position (relative to the motor vehicle). The pivot lever 18 is moved by a cam disc drive which consists of a drive motor 24 having a worm gear 26 and a cam disc 28 mounted in the support structure.
In addition, a push rod 32 is hinged to the approximately U-shaped pivot lever 18 in the hinge 33. In the figures, the push rod 32 is designed as a push frame having two parallel arms for reasons of symmetrical force transmission, but a one-sided design as a rod is also possible.
The other end of the push rod 32 is hinged by means of a hinge 35 to a locking lever 34, which in turn is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation 36 in the support structure (not shown). A locking tab 38 is formed on the locking lever 34, which is in sliding connection with a first toggle lever 40 of a toggle lever pair. The first toggle lever 40 is coupled in an articulated manner to a second toggle lever 44 via a toggle hinge 42 and is also connected to the door handle 12 in an articulated manner via the rear hinge point 14.
The locking tab 38 and the first toggle lever 40 have interlocking guides 46 as well as a locking lug 48 in order to enable a controlled force-transmitting, initially sliding movement between these components.
The second toggle lever 44 of the toggle lever pair 40, 44 is designed like a crankshaft and accordingly has a toggle hinge 42 for coupling to the first toggle lever 40. At the free ends, the second toggle lever 44 is rotatably mounted on the housing side via rotation axes 45.
By activating the drive motor 24, the cam disc 28 is rotated counter-clockwise, thereby pressing against the pivot lever (to the left in the drawing plane), whereby the pivot lever 18 rotates clockwise against the force of the return spring 22 and thereby moves a front end 30 of the door handle 12 upwards (in the drawing) or outwards (in the installed state) in an arc around the axis of rotation 20. Simultaneously, the pivot lever 18 pushes the push rod 32 at its hinge 33 to the left in the drawing plane, whereby the locking lever 34 rotates counter-clockwise by approximately 90° about its axis of rotation 36. Here, its locking tab 38 pushes the first toggle lever 40 upwards, whereby a locking lug 48 attached to it ensures that the toggle lever 40 is taken upwards. The upward moving toggle lever 40 pushes the rear end 31 of the door handle 12 upwards (in the drawing plane) or outwards (in the assembled state) via the rear hinge point 14. The other end of the first toggle lever 40 pulls the second toggle lever 44 upwards via the toggle hinge 42, which thereby rotates about its housing-side axis of rotation 45.
In FIG. 3, the handle device 10 is depicted in its final position, the so-called standby position, in which the door handle 12 can be grasped by a user and either pulled or pushed against it. In this standby position, the locking tab 38 extends approximately in a tangential direction with respect to a rotation about the front hinge point 16. This is because if the user exerts a pressure force D (FIG. 3) on the door handle 12, which would be downwards in the drawing plane, the door handle 12 will attempt to rotate counter-clockwise about the fixed hinge point 16, which is prevented, in that the kinematic system consisting of the two toggle levers 40, 44 and the locking tab 38 prevents this, because the locking tab 38 prevents the toggle lever 40 from moving downwards again.
On the other hand, a pulling force Z (FIG. 3) on the door handle 12, which is directed upwards in the drawing plane, is not resisted by the kinematic system, since the locking tab 38 is not fixed to the toggle lever 40 and can lift off from it, such that the door handle 12 can turn outwards about the front hinge point 16. The rotary movement is limited by the geometry of the two toggle levers 40, 44.
FIG. 4 shows the handle device 10 in the open position in perspective from the other side. Here, only one half of the door handle 12 is shown, such that its front hinge point 14 and its rear hinge point 16 can be seen. The standby position (FIG. 3) is depicted with a dashed line and designated B. In the open position, the toggle levers 40, 44 are extended to corresponding stops (not shown), such that a further pulling in the door handle 12 is transmitted as a pulling force into the support structure of the handle device 10 not shown and further into the vehicle door in order to open the vehicle door. In this opening position, the first toggle lever 40 is lifted from the locking tab 38 of the locking lever 34. When the door handle 12 is moved back from the open position to the standby position, the toggle lever 40 re-engages with the locking tab 38 of the locking lever 34 and transmits further acting force into the support structure of the handle device 10 and above into the vehicle door, in order to close the vehicle door.
Preferably, a microswitch (not shown) is applied at a suitable point, e.g., at the second toggle lever 44, which, when the second toggle lever 44 is rotated beyond the standby position shown in FIG. 3, emits a switching signal which can be used in particular to control a door lock. In addition, a connection (not shown) of a mechanical power transmission element, in particular a Bowden cable, can be provided on the door handle 12, via which the tensile force generated when pulling or rotating the door handle 12 about the front hinge point 16 is used for mechanical lock release.
Although the invention has been illustrated and explained in more detail by preferred exemplary embodiments, the invention is not restricted by the disclosed examples, and other variations can be derived from them by the person skilled in the art without leaving the scope of protection of the invention. It is therefore clear that there is a plurality of variation possibilities. It is also clear that embodiments mentioned as examples really only depict examples which are not in any way to be understood as a limitation of the scope of protection, the application possibilities or the configuration of the invention. Rather, the preceding description and the figure description enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in a concrete way, wherein the person skilled in the art, with knowledge of the disclosed invention idea, can make various changes, for example with respect to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without leaving the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.


An auxiliary power supply for a battery power system includes an engine-driven dynamo which provides auxiliary charging and power supply functions for maintaining optimal performance under a variety of conditions.

Storage batteries are commonly used in emergency power systems and power driven transporters because of their portability and relatively small size. However, to serve longer term loading requirements and enlarge battery capacities, an increase in cost and overall weight is inevitably incurred, and in addition, the serviceable life of the battery is decreased by exposure to discharging under heavy load conditions. The subject invention addresses these problems by providing auxiliary charging where needed to stationary or vehicle-carried batteries so as to keep them in adequately charged condition at all times and ready for all eventualities.

Storage battery auxiliary charging system with surveillance functions


A mobile terminal which includes a terminal body, a main printed circuit board (PCB) embedded in the terminal body, and a support member fixed to the main PCB and having a camera and a sub-PCB mounted thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having a camera and, more particularly, to a mobile terminal having a camera and a minimal number of components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in order to meet various demands of consumers, mobile terminals having various supplementary functions in addition to a basic communication function have been developed. For example, some mobile terminals have been provided with a camera for taking pictures, an MP3 player for reproducing music, and/or a Bluetooth device for performing short distance radio communication.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a related art mobile terminal.
The related art mobile terminal includes a display unit 104 having a display 102, and a terminal body 110 which is hingeably connected to the display unit 104 via a hinge connection 106.
The terminal body 110 includes a front cover 112 which is hingeably connected with the display unit 104, a rear cover 114 which is engaged with the front cover 112, a main printed circuit board (PCB) 116 and a sub-PCB 118 which are installed between the front cover 112 and the rear cover 114 and have components such as chips related to various supplementary functions mounted thereon, and a camera 120 which is mounted on the rear cover 114.
The sub-PCB 118 is electrically connected with the main PCB 116 by a connector, and spaced from the main PCB 116 and supported by a support member 130.
The camera 120 is inserted in a camera mounting unit 122 formed in the rear cover 114, and fixed to the rear cover 114 by a camera fixing member 124.
One of the drawbacks of a related art mobile terminal constructed as described above is that two components are required for supporting the sub-PCB 118 and fixing the camera 120 to the rear cover 114 (i.e., the support member 130 and the camera fixing member 124, respectively), which complicates the process of assembling the mobile terminal, and increases the cost of its fabrication.
Further, a related art mobile terminal constructed as described above utilizes space inefficiently.


An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining from an audio signal at least a first part and a second part; encoding the first part of the audio signal with a first encoder for generating a first encoded audio signal; encoding the second part of the audio signal with a second encoder configured to generate a second encoded audio signal comprising for a first section of the second part an indicator to at least part of the first part of the audio signal; and determining the first section of the second part of the audio signal such that the first encoded audio signal and second encoded audio signal is within a defined encoding efficiency parameter.

Audio signals, like speech or music, are encoded for example to enable efficient transmission or storage of the audio signals. A high compression ratio enables the storage of the data with the same storage capacity or transmitting the signal more efficiently through a communication channel, which in turn can provide the service for more simultaneous users. On the other hand, a high compression ratio may lead to perceived degradation of the compressed audio. The target of audio coding is in general thus to maximize the audio quality at a given compression ratio, or to maintain a given audio quality with as good a compression ratio as possible.
Audio encoders and decoders are used to represent audio based signals, such as music and ambient sounds (which in speech coding terms can be called background noise). These types of coders typically do not utilise a speech model for the coding process, rather they use processes for representing all types of audio signals, including speech.
Speech encoders and decoders (codecs) are usually optimised for speech signals, and can operate at either a fixed or variable bit rate.
An audio codec can also be configured to operate with varying bit rates. At lower bit rates, such an audio codec may work with speech signals at a coding rate equivalent to a pure speech codec. At higher bit rates, the audio codec may code any signal including music, background noise and speech, with higher quality and performance.
In some audio codecs the input signal is divided into a limited number of bands. Furthermore some codecs use the correlation between the low and high frequency bands or regions of an audio signal to improve the coding efficiency of the codecs.
As typically the higher frequency bands of the spectrum are generally quite similar to the lower frequency bands some codecs encode only the lower frequency bands and reproduce the upper frequency bands as a scaled lower frequency band copy. Thus by only using a small amount of additional control information considerable savings can be achieved in the total bit rate of the codec.
For example, if we divide a full-band (20-kHz bandwidth) audio signal equally into two frequency regions, it is often the case that the higher band is quite similar to the lower band. Since the higher frequencies are not generally as perceptually sensitive to coding errors (introduced by the compression) as the low-frequency part of the signal, a lower bit rate (and a higher compression ratio) can be used for the high-frequency content than the corresponding low-frequency content. In addition, the high-frequency coding can be at least partially based on the low-frequency coding. This gives rise to so-called bandwidth extension methods, which are commonly employed in modern, low-rate audio coding.
New speech and audio coding for the next generation telecommunication systems are in development or planning and have been currently referred to as EVS (Enhanced Voice Service) codec for EPS (Evolved Packet System) or LTE (Long Term Evolution) telecommunication systems. The EVS codec is envisioned to provide several different levels of quality (including considerations such as bit rate, audio bandwidth, algorithmic delay, number of channels, interoperability with existing standards, etc.). Of particular interest is a low bit rate super-wideband (SWB, 14-kHz bandwidth) coding that is interoperable with the current 3GPP wideband (WB, 7-kHz bandwidth) standard AMR-WB (Adaptive Multi-Rate Wide Band) codecs. Potential operating points are expected to include SWB speech at about 16 kbps implementing interoperability with AMR-WB 12.65 kbps, as well as SWB speech at 12.65 kbps based on a WB core codec possibly operating at about 10-11 kbps. Such bit rate targets indicate a need for a very low bit rate SWB extension of WB speech and audio codecs. This SWB extension should significantly improve the user experience (i.e. provide high quality) while having low complexity and low delay.
It is understood that a low estimate for a required bit rate of the SWB extension will be about 1.0-1.6 kbps. For example, a total bit rate of 12.65 kbps based on a 11 kbps WB core coding suggests that the highest possible bit rate for the SWB part would be 1.65 kbps. However this required extension bit rate may be decreased perhaps as low as 1.0 kbps.
Conventional SWB extension methods based on the technology described by Tammi et al such as "Scalable Superwideband Extension for Wideband Coding," as discussed in ICASSP 2009, Taipei, Taiwan, 2009 operating around 2.0 kbps can spend about 50% or around 1.0 kbps transmitting the subband indices. Thus to reach 1.5 kbps or even 1.0 kbps and still be able to provide a suitable performance is problematic.
One approach to reduce the bits sent transmitting index values is to not transmit an optimal index at all for one or more of the subbands but to use a fixed point (a fixed, predetermined index) for the subband replication step.
The fixed-index solution however although reducing the bits sent is problematic and produces poor quality audio signals because it can produce unwanted periodicity in the highest frequencies which are heard as "chirping" sounds that clearly are not part of the original signal and can be very annoying.


A device and a method are intended for use in a spectroscopic analysis, especially performed with the aid of Raman spectroscopy, of a solid sample, such as a tablet (1). By means of a sample holder (7), the sample (1) is positioned in relation to an excitation beam which, during implementation of the analysis, falls upon a reception surface of the sample (1), the impingement area (S) being smaller than the reception surface of the sample (1). The sample holder (7) is rotated about an axis of rotation (A) parallel to the excitation beam, such that the point of impingement (S) of the excitation beam describes an annular scanning trace (20) on the reception surface of the sample (1). During implementation of the analysis, the radius of the annular scanning trace (20) is varied to enable a fairly large volume of the sample to be analysed.

When analysing medicinal products with the aid of vibration spectrometry, one has resorted primarily to infrared (IR) spectrometry, since IR spectra provide detailed information on the molecular structure. Today's vibration spectrometry is divided into the following three main areas:
1. the middle part of the IR range; PA1 2. the upper part (NIR) of the IR range; and PA1 3. Raman spectrometry.
Obtaining and evaluating Raman spectra was previously, beginning in the year 1928 when the Raman effect was discovered, a fairly time-consuming and difficult procedure. The development of modern CCD units, advanced lasers and not least powerful hardware and software for data processing has, however, resulted in a considerable increase in the number of applications of Raman-based analysis. The advent of the FT technique (Fourier transform) for analysing signals obtained through Raman spectrometry constituted a breakthrough of particular importance. This technique enabled excitation in the NIR range (Near Infrared) resulting in a sufficiently powerful Raman signal without any interfering fluorescence. The FT-Raman technique is today used commercially for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis within a great many different fields, such as the analysis of polymers, hot gases (flames), medicinal products and biomaterial.
Being well-known to those skilled in the art, the Raman effect need not be described in more detail here. However, when an excitation beam (in practice a laser beam) is directed towards a sample (gaseous, liquid or solid) that is to be analysed, part of the incoming excitation beam is scattered in all directions at another wavelength (shorter or longer) from molecules whose polarization is altered when they are caused to vibrate by the field generated by the excitation beam. By intercepting the retransmitted radiation, one obtains a Raman spectrum upon which a quantitative as well as a qualitative chemical analysis can be based. When solid samples are measured, use is normally made of so-called back-scattering geometry, which means that the analysis involves the light that is reflected at an angle of 180.degree. to the direction of incidence of the excitation beam.
When Raman spectrometry is applied to solid samples, one obtains a fairly large depth of penetration into the sample, for instance in the order of 1 mm. Bearing this in mind, one realises the potential of the Raman technique for e.g. the analysis of the ingredients, especially the active substances, of whole tablets.
In the analysis of solid samples, Raman spectrometry does, however, suffer from an inconvenience not encountered in NIR spectrometry, namely that the excitation beam (in practice a laser beam), has to have a very narrow focus. As a result, it is only possible to analyse a relatively small part of the total volume of the sample. If the sample, for instance a tablet, is homogeneous, there are no problems. If, however, the sample is inhomogeneous, as is often the case for tablets, the results of the analysis are not representative of the whole tablet, for instance as regards the concentration of an active substance.
In an illustrative example of Raman analysis of a tablet, the "part volume" of the total volume of the sample actually analysed by the beam may be in the form of a cone converging in the direction of the excitation beam and having a height of approximately 1 mm and a base diameter of approximately 0.4 mm at the impingement surface on the sample. For a typical tablet having a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 4 mm, the conical part volume analysed thus constitutes but a small part of the total volume of the tablet. This problem is not encountered in NIR spectrometry, where the excitation beam can be made to cover the entire irradiated surface of the sample.
This invention has been developed in an effort to solve, or at least substantially reduce, the above-mentioned problems from which suffer the prior-art technique in Raman spectrometry involving solid samples.
By the expression "solid samples" is here meant samples in which the analysed substance in itself is a solid unit, such as a tablet, samples where the substance to be analysed consists of a more or less compacted powder, or some other solid object placed in a sample container.


The improved back printing apparatus for recording a back print on a non-exposed surface of a light-sensitive material to be subjected to wet photographic processing comprises a charging section to be charged with an ink which is heat-fusible but solid at ordinary temperatures and which is not water-soluble; a melting section for melting the ink; and a print head from which the ink melted in the melting section is jetted to record the back print. Using this back printer, one can produce sharp back prints of high quality without causing any adverse effects on the light-sensitive material A and yet good handling properties are assured.

This invention relates to the art of back printing apparatus which are typically used in photographic printers to record back prints on the back side of light-sensitive materials.
The image recorded on photographic films such as negatives and reversals is exposed for printing on light-sensitive materials (photographic papers) by means of photographic printers. Conventional photographic printers have a capability for recording a "back print" consisting of a set of characters such as letters, marks, symbols and figures on the back side (non-exposed surface) of an individual photograph (finished print). The back print comprises various kinds of information on the print, including frame number, film number, dates such as the date of shooting the photographic film and the date of printing the film image onto the light-sensitive material, photo finisher (lab) identification code and other data.
A recently announced new version of photographic standards called "advanced photo system" specifies that a back print should consist of at least two lines each consisting of at least 40 characters or letters. In addition, it is recommended to provide a capability for recording information other than the data listed in the preceding paragraph, such as titles indicating "travel", "graduation ceremony" and "birthday", in accordance with the magnetic information recorded on the film.
In the conventional photographic printers, such back prints are commonly provided by a dot impact printer using an ink ribbon cassette and a serial dot head or an ink jet printer using an ink jet head. However, both types of printers have their own problems as described below.
The dot impact printer records the necessary information on a light-sensitive material by striking (giving impact on) an ink ribbon in contact with the back side of the light-sensitive material by means of a head. Because of this operating theory, either sensitization or desensitization occurs in areas around the printed portion, thus causing a failure to accomplish recording in uniform density. In addition, the need to apply impact for recording causes a problem in that if the head is not adjusted properly, an excessive recording pressure will be applied to form high spots on the surface of the light-sensitive material (print). Another difficulty with the dot impact printer is that bleeding is most likely to occur in the recorded characters or letters and the like, with occasional deterioration in image quality.
The ink jet printer performs noncontact recording and, hence, is free from the problems resulting from the contact and impact recording which occur in the dot impact printer. On the other hand, the ink used with the ink jet printer is typically water-soluble, so the back print will dissolve out if the exposed light-sensitive material is subjected to wet photographic processing. A nonaqueous (not water-soluble) ink which is adapted for wet photographic processing is available but it presents a handling problem since it will easily plug the nozzles on the head.

Back printing apparatus for use with light-sensitive materials


Quaternary ammonium, betaine, or sulfobetaine compositions derived from fatty amines, wherein the fatty amine is made by reducing the amide reaction product of a metathesis-derived C10-C17 monounsaturated acid, octadecene-1,18-dioic acid, or their ester derivatives and a secondary amine, are disclosed. Quaternary ammonium, betaine, or sulfobetaine compositions derived from fatty amidoamines, wherein the amidoamine is made by reacting of a metathesis-derived C10-C17 monounsaturated acid, octadecene-1,18-dioic acid, or their ester derivatives and an aminoalkyl-substituted tertiary amine, are also disclosed. The quaternized compositions are advantageously sulfonated or sulfated. In one aspect, the ester derivative of the C10-C17 monounsaturated acid or octadecene-1,18-dioic acid is a lower alkyl ester. In other aspects, the ester derivative is a modified triglyceride made by self-metathesis of a natural oil or an unsaturated triglyceride made by cross-metathesis of a natural oil with an olefin. The quaternary ammonium, betaine, and sulfobetaine compositions and their sulfonated or sulfated derivatives are valuable for a wide variety of end uses, including cleaners, fabric treatment, hair conditioning, personal care (liquid cleansing products, conditioning bars, oral care products), antimicrobial compositions, agricultural uses, and oil field applications.

"Fatty amines" generally have a nonpolar chain of six or more carbons, typically 6-30 carbons, and at least one polar end group comprising or derived from an amine, for example, a tertiary amine. Fatty amines have value in and of themselves, but they are commonly quaternized using a variety of alkylating agents to give fatty amine quats, betaines, sulfobetaines, or other quaternized derivatives having expanded utility.
Quaternized fatty amines have been used in a wide range of end-use applications, including fabric softening (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,574,179 and 6,004,913), shampoos and hair conditioning (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,977, 6,322,778, and 7,951,762), hard surface cleaners (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,268,324 and 6,821,943), cosmetics (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,919,074 and 7,074,395), oral care (U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,816), antimicrobial handsoaps or cleaners (U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,991 and U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2004/0071653), oilfield applications (U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,422,064 and 7,776,798) and agricultural uses (U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. Nos. 2011/0015071 and 2010/0016163).
Quaternized fatty amines can be made by converting fatty esters or acids with a secondary amine to the amide derivative, followed by reduction of the carbonyl to give a terminal tertiary amine, which is then reacted with a quaternizing agent. In a preferred approach, the reduction step is avoided by reacting a fatty ester with an aminoalkyl-substituted tertiary amine. For instance, N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine (DMAPA) reacts with a fatty methyl ester to give a fatty amidoamine. The amidoamine has a terminal tertiary amine group that is easily quaternized. Common quaternizing agents are dimethyl sulfate, methyl chloride, benzyl chloride, ethylene oxide, and the like.
The fatty acids or esters used to make fatty amines and their derivatives are usually made by hydrolysis or transesterification of triglycerides, which are typically animal or vegetable fats. Consequently, the fatty portion of the acid or ester will typically have 6-22 carbons with a mixture of saturated and internally unsaturated chains. Depending on source, the fatty acid or ester often has a preponderance of C16 to C22 component. For instance, methanolysis of soybean oil provides the saturated methyl esters of palmitic (C16) and stearic (C18) acids and the unsaturated methyl esters of oleic (C18 mono-unsaturated), linoleic (C18 di-unsaturated), and α-linolenic (C18 tri-unsaturated) acids. The unsaturation in these acids has either exclusively or predominantly cis-configuration.
Recent improvements in metathesis catalysts (see J. C. Mol, Green Chem. 4 (2002) 5) provide an opportunity to generate reduced chain length, monounsaturated feedstocks, which are valuable for making detergents and surfactants, from C16 to C22-rich natural oils such as soybean oil or palm oil. Soybean oil and palm oil can be more economical than, for example, coconut oil, which is a traditional starting material for making detergents. As Professor Mol explains, metathesis relies on conversion of olefins into new products by rupture and reformation of carbon-carbon double bonds mediated by transition metal carbene complexes. Self-metathesis of an unsaturated fatty ester can provide an equilibrium mixture of starting material, an internally unsaturated hydrocarbon, and an unsaturated diester. For instance, methyl oleate (methyl cis-9-octadecenoate) is partially converted to 9-octadecene and dimethyl 9-octadecene-1,18-dioate, with both products consisting predominantly of the trans-isomer. Metathesis effectively isomerizes the cis-double bond of methyl oleate to give an equilibrium mixture of cis- and trans-isomers in both the "unconverted" starting material and the metathesis products, with the trans-isomers predominating.
Cross-metathesis of unsaturated fatty esters with olefins generates new olefins and new unsaturated esters that can have reduced chain length and that may be difficult to make otherwise. For instance, cross-metathesis of methyl oleate and 3-hexene provides 3-dodecene and methyl 9-dodecenoate (see also U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,941). Terminal olefins are particularly desirable synthetic targets, and Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. recently described an improved way to prepare them by cross-metathesis of an internal olefin and an α-olefin in the presence of a ruthenium alkylidene catalyst (see U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2010/0145086). A variety of cross-metathesis reactions involving an α-olefin and an unsaturated fatty ester (as the internal olefin source) are described. Thus, for example, reaction of soybean oil with propylene followed by hydrolysis gives, among other things, 1-decene, 2-undecenes, 9-decenoic acid, and 9-undecenoic acid. Despite the availability (from cross-metathesis of natural oils and olefins) of unsaturated fatty esters having reduced chain length and/or predominantly trans-configuration of the unsaturation, fatty amines and their derivatives made from these feedstocks appear to be unknown. Moreover, quaternized fatty amines and their derivatives have not been made from the C18 unsaturated diesters that can be made readily by self-metathesis of a natural oil.
In sum, traditional sources of fatty acids and esters used for making quaternized fatty amines and their derivatives generally have predominantly (or exclusively) cis-isomers and lack relatively short-chain (e.g., C10 or C12) unsaturated fatty portions. Metathesis chemistry provides an opportunity to generate precursors having shorter chains and mostly trans-isomers, which could impart improved performance when the precursors are converted to downstream compositions (e.g., in surfactants). New C18 difunctional quaternized fatty amines and derivatives are also potentially available from oil or C10 unsaturated acid or ester self-metathesis. In addition to an expanded variety of precursors, the unsaturation present in the precursors allows for further functionalization, e.g., by sulfonation or sulfitation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Quaternized fatty amines, amidoamines and their derivatives from natural oil metathesis


A window structure has a door which slides substantially parallel to a wall to open and close a window therein and hides parallel to and behind the wall when the window is opened. Guide pins protrude upward and downward from the door, and elongated slots are formed in guide plates attached to the wall so as to serve as passageways for the guide pins to travel therein and therealong as the door is slidably moved between open and closed positions. A biasing member such as a cantilevered plate spring is provided to keep the window closed with its biasing force once it is closed and to prevent it from closing when the door is in open position.

This invention relates to a window structure, and more particularly to a wall with a window having a door which slides to open and close it.
Doors typically open and close via hinges and stay closed via a latch, a knob or a similar mechanism. Some doors are detachable when open, and remain closed via latches, hooks and tabs which hold the door to the surrounding walls. Doors which open and close via hinges take up space outside the boundaries of the surrounding walls. Moreover, hinged doors are damaged easily because the main portion of the door, when open, is outside the protection of the surrounding walls. Detachable doors, on the other hand, have the disadvantage of being easily lost.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a window structure with a door which does not take up much space outside but resides within the wall when open.
It is another object of the invention to provide a window structure with a door which is protected by a surrounding wall and hence is not damaged easily.
It is still another object of the invention to provide such a window structure with a cost-effective door which can be held open or closed.


Provided is a target instrument including a pole, a prism provided on the pole, and a terminal device provided on the pole, wherein the terminal device comprises an image pickup module, a tilt sensor which detects tilts in two axial directions, and an arithmetic control module, wherein the image pickup module acquires an image which includes a reference object, the tilt sensor detects a tilt angle of a target instrument, and the arithmetic control module calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument from a position of the reference object in the image, calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument based on tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor, acquires a deviation between the two tilt directions, and corrects the tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor to tilt angles in directions parallel to an optical axis of the image pickup module and orthogonal to the optical axis based on the deviation.

The present invention relates to a target instrument which is erected on a measuring point and has a prism as an object to be measured, and to a surveying system which measures the measuring point via the measurement of the prism.
In case of measuring a measuring point, a target instrument having a prism provided on a support pole is used. When the target instrument is erected on the measuring point and the prism is measured by a surveying instrument, the measuring point is measured. Further, in case of using the surveying instrument with a tracking function, the target instrument is sequentially moved to the different measuring points, the prism is tracked by the surveying instrument, and the measuring points are sequentially measured.
In this case, in order to accurately measure a measuring point, the prism must be placed vertically above the measuring point. Usually, the prism is provided on an upper part of the support pole, and a worker installs a lower end of the support pole on the measuring point and vertically supports the support pole. Further, to enable vertically supporting the support pole, an air bubble tube is provided in the target instrument, and the worker confirms whether the support pole, i.e., the target instrument is vertical with the use of the air bubble tube.
In this case, whether the target instrument is supported in a vertical state or stably supported, is dependent upon the worker's skill level or concentration, further there is also a problem which an error becomes considerable in a case where a distance from the lower end of the support pole to the prism increases.


A portable water filtering assembly includes a soft bag which is composed of a first part and a second part. At least one holding member is connected to an inside of at least one of the first and second parts so as to hold a water filtering device. The water filtering device is connected with an inlet tube and an outlet tube. Two pouches are respectively connected with the first and second parts so as to receive the inlet tube and the outlet tube. Each of the first and second parts has an opening in a side thereof and the opening communicates with the pouch corresponding thereto. A door pivotably closes the opening and the inlet and outlet tubes can extend from the openings when in use.

A conventional portable water filtering assembly is shown in FIG. 1 and generally includes a case 1 which is made by stiff material and an electric box 11 is connected on a top of the case 1. A handle is connected to the electric box 11 so that the user can carry the case 1. Two filtering devices 12 are positioned in the case 1 and a door is pivotably connected to the case. An outlet tube extends from a lower end of one of the two filtering devices 12 and can be accessed when the door is opened. However, the case 1 has a fixed shape and made by stiff material so that it occupies space and is not convenient to be stored.
The present invention intends to provide a portable water filtering assembly which includes a soft bag with a plurality of filtering devices received therein. The bag includes a handle for convenience of carry and the inlet tube and the outlet tube can extend from two sides of the bag.


A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) having DRAM cells coupled to wordlines and bitlines. In a self-refresh mode, the cells coupled with the even numbered rows retain main data previously stored therein and the assistant data, which is logically opposite to the main data, is overwritten into the cells coupled with the wordlines of the odd numbered rows. When the DRAM enters the self-refresh mode, a starting refresh address for the self-refresh mode is detected. If the detected starting refresh address does not match with a predetermined correct address set for the self-refresh operation mode, a dummy refresh cycle will be established in an entry-burst self-refresh period. During the dummy refresh cycle, a dummy refresh command is added to increment an internal row address counter that provides row addresses for self-refreshing the cells of the selected wordlines within the cell array.

In dynamic random access memory (DRAM) integrated circuit devices, a DRAM cell array is typically arranged in rows and columns such that a particular DRAM cell is addressed by specifying its row and column within the array. A wordline connects a row of cells to a set of bitline sense amplifiers that detect the data in the cells. In a read operation, a subset of the data in the bitline sense amplifiers is then chosen, or "column-selected" for output. DRAM cells are "dynamic" in the sense that the stored data, typically in the form of charged and discharged storage capacitors, will dissipate after a relatively short period of time. Thus, in order to retain the information, the contents of the DRAM cells must be refreshed. The charged or discharged state of the storage capacitor must be reapplied to an individual memory cell in a repetitive manner. The maximum amount of time allowable between refreshing operations is determined by the charge storage capabilities of the storage capacitors that make up the DRAM cell array. DRAM manufacturers typically specify a refresh time for which data is retained in the DRAM cells.
A refresh operation is similar to a read operation, but no data is output. The sensing of the data in the cells by the bitline sense amplifiers is followed by a restoring operation that results in the data being rewritten to the cells. The data is, thus, "refreshed". The refresh operation is performed by enabling a wordline according to a row address, and enabling a bitline sense amplifier. In addition, the refresh operation may be carried out by operating the bitline sense amplifier without receiving an external refresh address. In this case, a refresh address counter, which is integrated in a DRAM device chip, generates a row address subsequent to receiving an external start address.
It is well known that data stored in memory cells of a DRAM is retained therein by refresh operations. A self-refresh operation is performed automatically in a "standby" mode to retain the data written in the memory cells of the DRAM. In known self-refresh operations, automatic burst refresh operations can be performed at the beginning of self-refresh and at the end of self-refresh operations for shortening a refresh regulation time and for securing a stable refresh of the memory cells. U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,818 granted to You et al. on Dec. 10, 1996 discloses a semiconductor memory device having an automatic burst refresh operation in a self-refresh operation.
A simplified description of prior art self-refresh operation is now discussed with reference to FIG. 1 that shows a self-refresh operation with automatic burst refresh function found in conventional DRAM devices. Referring to FIG. 1, in response to a command signal 111, a self-refresh mode detector 113 provides a self-refresh starting signal 115 at an entry into the self-refresh mode. A burst refresh mode controller 117 provides a burst refresh control signal 119 during a "burst self-refresh" period, in response to the self-refresh starting signal 115 and a clock signal 121 fed from a clock generator 123. A self-refresh mode controller 125 provides a self-refresh control signal 127, in response to the burst refresh control signal 119 and the self-refresh starting signal 115. The clock generator 123 provides the clock signal 121 and a self-refresh row signal 129, in response to the self-refresh control signal 127 and the burst refresh control signal 119. At an exit from the self-refresh mode, in response to the command signal 111, the self-refresh mode detector 113 ceases the self-refresh starting signal 115. Therefore, the self-refresh mode controller 125 ceases the generation of the self-refresh control signal 127. A period during the self-refresh control signal 127 being generated is a "self-refresh" period. Also, the burst refresh mode controller 117 provides the burst refresh control signal 119 during another "burst self-refresh" period. In response to the burst self-refresh control signal 119 and the self-refresh control signal 127, the clock generator 123 provides the self-refresh row signal 129 during the burst refresh period, the self-refresh period and the other burst self-refresh period. The self-refresh row signal 129 is provided to an internal row address counter which in turn provides a refresh row address signal to a row address decoder to refresh cells of the wordlines of sequentially selected rows.
The prior art DRAM device shown in FIG. 1 performs the self-refresh operation based on a one-cell-per-bit manner and the refresh of the DRAM cells has to be performed at a relatively high frequency. Therefore, the one-cell-per-bit self-refresh may still consume power during the self-refresh operation period. It is, thus, desirable to reduce power consumption in the self-refresh operation mode in the DRAM device.

Apparatus and method for self-refreshing dynamic random access memory cells


A computer-implemented method of managing an appearance of electronic documents includes defining a first style sheet, the first style sheet including a style, the style including an attribute and a value associated with the attribute. The defined first style sheet, the attribute and the value may then be stored in a database driven repository at a first identified location. A first linking statement referencing the identified first location may then be generated. The generated first linking statement may then be embedded in a first electronic document such that when the electronic document is rendered, execution of the first linking statement causes the stored first style sheet to be accessed at the identified location and the style included in the first style sheet applied to the first electronic document.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for managing styles and style sheets in electronic documents such as, for example, HTML documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) tags were originally designed to define the appearance of electronic documents. Their function is to denote the formatting of elements within a document, such as headers, paragraphs and tables using tags such as <h1>, <p>, <table>, respectively. However, as the two major browsers (Netscape and Internet Explorer) continued to add new HTML tags and attributes (such as the <font> tag and the color attribute) to the original HTML specification, it has become more and more difficult to create Web sites where the content of HTML documents was clearly separated from the document's presentation layout.
To solve this problem, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)—the non-profit, standard setting consortium responsible for standardizing HTML—created STYLES in addition to HTML 4.0. Beginning with version 4.0, both the Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers began supporting Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS Styles in HTML 4.0 define how HTML elements are displayed, just like the font tag and the color attribute in HTML 3.2. CSS Styles are normally saved in files that are external to the HTML documents whose styles they control. Indeed, external style sheets enable the appearance and layout of all the pages in a Web site that reference the external style sheet to be changed, just by editing a single CSS document. For example, the font or color of all the headings in all of the pages of a Web site may be changed by making a single change to an external style sheet, thereby obviating the need to edit each and every page to effectuate the desired font and heading changes.
Problems arise, however, when data administrators are faced with defining, implementing, enforcing and maintaining CSS style standards for a complex Web site. To avoid hard coding CSS styles into the static or dynamic Web pages, CSS styles sheets are normally saved as external files. This enables the developers to implement stylesheets based on the need. However, precisely because these stylesheets are hard coded, implementing stylistic changes requires a great deal of effort and typically delays the release of new versions. To free the content owners of the need to implement such stylistic changes themselves, the stylesheets may be maintained by developers rather than content owners. However, this decreases the ability of content owners to flexibly and dynamically define the look and feel of their content. Since the content owners have no access to define the style sheets, they often resort to various ad hoc methods to locally hardcode styles into their static Web pages. Over time, this may lead to an inconsistent look and feel throughout the Web
Therefore, the problems encountered during development and maintenance of Web sites or applications include high maintenance, difficulty in understanding how stylistic changes are implemented on the part of content owners, project delays occasioned by the necessity of having to revise the site or application to achieve a consistent look and feel, little or no reuse of style sheets and no reporting feature to ascertain which styles are used in which style sheets and which style sheets are used in which documents.
Tools exist that enable the creation of external style sheets. However, such tools only help in creating external style sheets but do not resolve the above-identified problems. There is a need, therefore, for methods and systems for intelligently managing style sheets, styles and associated attributes to enable content owners themselves to achieve a consistent look and feel to their Web sites and applications, to allow ready re-use of previously defined styles and style sheets, among other functions.

Methods and systems for managing styles electronic documents


Disclosed herein is a high-quality group III-nitride semiconductor thin film and group III-nitride semiconductor light emitting device using the same. To obtain the group III-nitride semiconductor thin film, an AlInN buffer layer is formed on a (1-102)-plane (so called r-plane) sapphire substrate by use of a MOCVD apparatus under atmospheric pressure while controlling a temperature of the substrate within a range from 850 to 950 degrees Celsius, and then, GaN-based compound, such as GaN, AlGaN or the like, is epitaxially grown on the buffer layer at a high temperature. The group III-nitride semiconductor light emitting device is fabricated by using the group III-nitride semiconductor thin film as a base layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a group III-nitride semiconductor thin film, a method for fabricating the same, and a group III-nitride semiconductor light emitting device, and more particularly, to a thin film which can serve as a base layer for the epitaxial growth of GaN-based compounds thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Group III-nitride semiconductors, more particularly, GaN-based compounds, have an ability of widely controlling an energy gap by regulation of a composition ratio thereof. As an example, GaN-based compounds, which have the formula AlxInyGa(1-x-y)N (where 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, x=y=0), act as a direct transition semiconductor, and have an energy gap in a range from 0.7-0.8 eV to 6.2 eV. Accordingly, it can be understood that utilizing GaN-based compounds in the formation of an active layer makes it possible to realize a light emitting device capable of emitting light of all colors in a visible range from red-color light to ultraviolet light.
To apply GaN-based compounds to a light emitting device, there is a necessity of a thin film having a high quality and high luminous efficiency in the viewpoint of the shape or lifespan of products. As known, GaN-based compounds have a hexagonal-wurtzite structure and the low lattice constant of GaN-based compounds shows a great difference with other main semiconductors (group III-V compound semiconductor, group II-VI semiconductor, etc.). The very low lattice constant is difficult to match to the lattice constant of a substrate crystal. Generally, if the lattice constant of a substrate crystal differs from the lattice constant of a crystal to be epitaxially grown on the substrate crystal, the resulting growth layer is easily affected by a compressive bending or tensile bending and tends to disadvantageously accumulate an elastic bending energy therein. Although the elastic energy is within an allowable range if the growth layer is thin, it may generate an electric potential if the thickness of the growth layer exceeds a certain value, thus causing lattice relaxation and resulting in a great amount of electric potential defects in the growth layer. For this reason, selection of a substrate is important in the growth of GaN-based compounds.
Conventionally, a c-plane sapphire substrate has been used as a substrate for growing GaN-based compounds thereon because it has a lattice constant most close to that of GaN. However, the lattice constant of the c-plane sapphire substrate still has a difference up to approximately 15% with that of GaN. Therefore, in order to alleviate the effect of lattice mismatch, a buffer layer has been actually formed between the sapphire substrate and a growth layer. Nowadays, the quality of the buffer layer becomes an important factor of determining the quality of a growth layer on the buffer layer. A variety of buffer layers have been proposed as a result of continuous research and development (Ref. Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Heisei 10-242586 and 9-227298).

Group III-nitride semiconductor thin film, method for fabricating the same, and group III-nitride semiconductor light emitting device


Endless abrasive belt useful for polishing or otherwise abrading surfaces.

Nonwoven three-dimensional fibrous abrasive products have been employed to remove corrosion, surface defects, burrs, and impart desirable surface finishes on various articles of aluminum, brass, copper, steel, wood, and the like. There has been a continuing desire to increase the useful life of nonwoven three-dimensional fibrous endless abrasive belts, and for spliced endless belts, including increasing the life of the splice securing ends of the belt together.

Endless abrasive belt and method of making the same


A water leakage monitoring system including a water leakage position estimator which includes a periodic data acquiring unit for fetching predetermined-period flow rate pressure data stored in a monitoring device, and for fetching a signal related to a flow rate change and pressure changes expecting a water leakage reaction time calculating unit for calculating a pressure reaction time lag between two pressure changes, a pressure propagation velocity estimating unit for estimating a pressure propagation velocity using the pressure reaction time lag and a distance between two pressure gauges located in a water distribution block stored in a pipeline network map data, and a flow rate change position estimating unit for receiving a signal related to the flow rate change, and estimating a flow rate change position using pressure propagation velocity and a flow meter and pressure gauge locating positions of the pipeline network map data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water leakage monitoring system, which estimates leakage positions in water distribution blocks forming a water distribution pipeline network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Water purified by a public water treatment plant is supplied to a large number of customers spread over a large-area district via a water distribution pipeline network. Therefore, the water distribution pipeline network functions as an essential lifeline network to maintain customers' daily life. Thus, the distribution pipeline network has a need to constantly meet water demands for customers based on high reliability. If a breakage occurs in a part of a water distribution pipeline forming each water distribution block, the following problems arise. Namely, this is a factor of causing a disaster such as cave-in and submergence in the road. In addition, water leakage by crack and breakage of the pipeline is a factor of decreasing effective water (efficiency) with respect to the total distributed water. For this reason, it is desired to rapidly detect crack and breakage portions of the pipeline in addition to a decrease of a wall thickness of the pipeline as much as possible.
There is a conventional water leakage detection method generally employed. According to the method, a flow rate to each water distribution block is checked for a long term, and then, leakage is detected from a change of the flow rate. For example, the minimum nighttime flow rate of each water distribution block is measured at a nighttime zone when customers do not almost use water. Thereafter, a flow rate of the same time zone is checked. If there is a tendency for the flow rate to increase, it is determined that water leaks from any distribution pipeline forming the water distribution block.
When it is determined that water leaks, a workman must do the following work by using a water leakage detector. Specifically, the workman moves along a complex distribution pipeline including service pipe of customers in the water distribution block. The workman further detects an inflow sound using the water leakage detector at time zone when the water is not used, and thereby, estimates a water leakage portion of the pipeline.
Therefore, according to the foregoing water leakage detection method, the nighttime minimum inflow rate must be collected for a long period. For this reason, even if water now leaks from a certain portion in the distribution block, it may not be determined that water leaks so long as verification is made for a long time. As a result, a small crack of the water distribution pipeline is gradually made large as time elapses. Finally, the pipeline is broken; as a result, there is a possibility of causing a disaster such as cave-in and submergence in the road.
According to the foregoing conventional water leakage detection method, the following problem further arises. Specifically, even if it is determined that water leaks in a certain distribution block, it is impossible to estimate that water leaks from any distribution pipeline in the distribution block. As a result, a workman moves along the distribution pipelines forming the distribution block, and simultaneously, must strictly collect an inflow sound of the pipeline using the water leakage detector. Thus, this is a factor of increasing a workman's load, and effective water will be lost for a long term.
In recent years, some water leakage detection techniques have been proposed.
According to one conventional water leakage detection technique, an opening/closing lid of a water meter located on a service pipe led to customers from the distribution pipeline is provided with a sound detector. A specific sound detected by the detector from a body of the water meter is used to determine an occurrence of water leakage in the service pipe and to output the determined signal outside. (See FIG. 1 of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-191139)
According to another conventional water leakage detection technique, the service pipe of customers led from the distribution pipeline is provided with a vibration detector and data storage means. The vibration detector measures a vibration level of a pipe caused by water stream flowing through the service pipe. The data storage means stores flow rate measurement data of water flow meter of the customer and the measured data from the vibration detector. Using the foregoing vibration detector and storage means, water leakage is detected from the vibration when water flows. (See FIG. 1 of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-311676)


A recycling extraction cleaner and dryer is provided which includes a unitary body member having a vacuum blower chamber, a plenum chamber and a nozzle head including a drying air discharge, a cleaning fluid discharge and a vacuum intake. A cleaning fluid container is removably mounted on the body to communicate with the cleaning fluid discharge, and a vacuum generator in the vacuum blower chamber creates a vacuum in the plenum chamber which communicates with the vacuum intake. The vacuum generator creates an exhaust air flow in the vacuum blower chamber which is directed to the drying air discharge to provide drying air under pressure to a surface to be cleaned and to increase the pressure differential between the plenum chamber and the surface contacting side of the nozzle head.

Cleaning machines of the type wherein a washing liquid is fed from a receptacle to a surface to be washed and, then, by means of suction, is returned to the original receptacle for further use, preferably after being filtered are known. Often these units include a tank-like receptacle that houses a pump for dispensing the cleaning liquid, a suction fan for returning the liquid, and a filtering means, while also providing the storage facility for the cleaning liquid. The tank-like receptacle is designed to sit on the floor and flexible liquid discharge and liquid return hoses connect the tank-like receptacle with a cleaning head used to apply and retrieve the cleaning liquid from the surface being cleaned.
While devices of the aforementioned type are portable, they are anything but compact and lightweight, particularly when their cleaning fluid tank is full. Furthermore, the presence in such apparatus of a tank that must rest on the floor not only makes use of the apparatus cumbersome, but is restrictive with respect to the places that such a unit can be effectively utilized. For example, long flights of steps having no landing upon which the tank can rest can render the apparatus unusable. Furthermore, because of the cumbersome nature of such units, it is often impractical to utilize the unit for spot cleaning purposes, such as cleaning up a small spill, as opposed to general room cleaning.
As a result, it is desirable to have a cleaning apparatus wherein all of the operative components are mounted upon a common element so that the unit is unencumbered by a separate floor-supported tank. In view of this, floor cleaning devices have been configured to be similar to an upright vacuum cleaner or so-called electric broom, and have all of the operative components for spraying a cleaning fluid onto a floor surface, such as a carpet, and for using suction to collect the dirty cleaning liquid, as well as a means for storing the fluid that is applied and collected mounted upon a common element. However, such devices are often not constructed to enable recycling of the cleaning fluid, and therefore the cleaning capacity of the apparatus is severely limited by the amount of fluid that can be carried. Furthermore, the versatility of such "common element" type cleaning apparatus is severely restricted to floor-type uses because these units are too large and heavy to be used in a manner that is unsupported by contact with the floor surface to be cleaned and because the units are not designed for operation in orientations that would be necessary for cleaning vertical surfaces.
To overcome these disadvantages, relatively small, light-weight, easily portable and versatile cleaning units have been developed which recycle the cleaning fluid employed so that the cleaning capacity of the unit is not limited to the surface area that can be cleaned with a single application of a limited quantity of cleaning fluid carried by the unit. Instead, the fluid which is applied to a surface and then vacuumed back into the unit is recycled and used again. My previous U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,788,738 and 4,930,178 show improved cleaners of this type.
A common feature of all prior cleaners which first apply and then vacuum cleaning fluid from a surface is that the fluid removed from the surface is limited to that which can be entrained in a vacuum stream collated by a suction or vacuum generator mounted on the device. If the surface is formed by a carpet or other fluid absorbent material, a significant amount of the fluid will be absorbed and may remain after the vacuum operation is complete. This leaves an area which remains wet, often for several hours, until normal air drying occurs.


The present disclosure describes an assembly comprising a catheter, an expandable device in a collapsed configuration on the catheter, a first releasable sleeve coaxially covering a proximal portion of the device, and a second releasable sleeve coaxially covering a distal portion of the device, wherein first and second sleeves overlap and are rotatably constrained relative to each other, and wherein the second sleeve is rotatably constrained relative to the catheter. During deployment, rotation of the catheter causes rotation of the second sleeve and the device for angular radial orientation. After deployment, the first sleeve may remain implanted in the patient.

Medical devices are frequently used to treat the anatomy of patients. Such devices can be permanently or semi-permanently implanted in the anatomy to provide treatment to the patient. Frequently, these devices, including stents, grafts, stent-grafts, filters, valves, occluders, markers, mapping devices, therapeutic agent delivery devices, prostheses, pumps, bandages, and other endoluminal and implantable devices, are inserted into the body at an insertion point and delivered to a treatment site using a catheter. Common types of expandable devices include stents and stent-grafts.
Expandable devices such as stents or stent-grafts are used in a variety of places in the human body to repair aneurysms and to support various anatomical lumens, such as blood vessels, respiratory ducts, gastrointestinal ducts, and the like. Expandable devices may have a reduced diameter when in a collapsed configuration, and they may be expanded once located at the treatment site in the patient. Expandable devices can be constrained in the collapsed configuration with a releasable sleeve to facilitate transport to the treatment site.
Although delivery of an expandable device to a treatment site in a patient may be relatively straightforward, angular radial orientation of the device during deployment may be more problematic. For example, with conventional catheter delivery systems, an expandable device is rotated within the body lumen by applying torque at the proximal end of the catheter outside the patient. However, rotation of the catheter may not result in the desired rotational positioning of the medical device, because the torque applied to the catheter may not fully transfer to a rotation of the device.
As such, there is a need for medical device delivery systems, assemblies and methods that facilitate the angular radial orientation of medical devices during deployment at a treatment site.


A method for estimating a boundary for a future location of a moving object includes: receiving location information about two previous locations of the moving object represented by a first and a second elliptical error probabilities (EEPs); representing each of the EEPs as a conic section via an implicit quadratic equation; defining four tangent lines from the implicit quadratic equation, each tangent line being tangent to both of the EEPs; determining two transverse tangent lines from the four tangent lines; forming a cone in a direction from the first EEP to the second EEP from the two transverse tangent lines; and estimating the boundary of the future location of the moving object as a first side of the cone formed by a first transverse tangent line and a second side of the cone formed by a second transverse tangent line, of the two transverse tangent lines.

Typically, position/location estimates include some errors. For example, RF trilateration methods use estimated ranges from multiple receivers to estimate the location of an object. RF triangulation uses the angles at which the RF signals arrive at multiple receivers to estimate the location of the object. However, many obstructions, such as barriers, clouds, landscape objects, and the like can distort the estimated range and angle readings leading to varied qualities of location estimate. Estimation-based locating is often measured in accuracy for a given confidence level. In other words, how frequently an observed interval contains the desired parameter is determined by the confidence level (confidence coefficient). More specifically, if confidence intervals are constructed across many separate data analyses of repeated (and possibly different) experiments, the proportion of such intervals that contain the true value of the parameter will match the confidence level.
A confidence region is a multi-dimensional generalization of a confidence interval, that is, a set of points in an n-dimensional space, which is often represented as an ellipsoid around a point which is an estimated solution to a problem, for example, a set of location estimates. In a two-dimensional space, confidence region is represented as an ellipse. The confidence region is calculated in such a way that if a set of measurements were repeated many times and a confidence region calculated in the same way on each set of measurements, then a certain percentage of the time, on average the confidence region would include the point representing the "true" values of the set of variables being estimated, for example, a set of location estimates. Such an elliptical confidence region is conventionally referred to as an elliptical error probability (EEP).
Current position estimation approaches do not predict a future position of a moving object. Instead, they typically only provide a point estimate of the location along with parameters of an EEP at a particular level of confidence (e.g. 95%).
Moreover, in many situations, it is impractical to directly observe where a moving object is and to where it may be traveling.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for determining the future position boundary of a moving object, which utilizes the already determined two previous location estimates. Each of the two previous location estimates being represented by an elliptical error probability (EEP).

Method for determining future position boundary for a moving object from location estimates


The invention relates to a method and to a device for carrying out the method for drying crockery in a dishwasher with a rinse container closeable by means of a door. By means of two or three successive different method steps, the drying is improved. The method steps include a drainage phase, a drying phase with blower or condenser and an automatic, partial opening of the door.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for drying crockery in a dishwasher with a rinse container closeable by means of a door.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plurality of methods for drying crockery in a dishwasher are known, in which however the drying effect is often insufficient, or in which other disadvantages must be accepted.
Thus DE-OS 19 26 049 describes a method in which, during drying, the vapour is removed from the rinse container. In this case the vapour is evacuated with air from the rinse container, precipitated in a condenser, and the air freed of vapour is returned to the rinse chamber. A blower may also however be provided, which evacuates the air and the vapour from the rinse container. In the former case the vapour is not entirely precipitated in the condenser, and in the latter case, evacuation must be effected over an extremely low period, in order to keep the level of residual moisture in the rinse container low.
As DE 33 45 604 A1 shows, it is also known to open the door to form a slot after a predetermined time in a dishwasher, in order to improve the drying procedure by escape of the residual moisture.
It is known from DE 34 18 304 A1, to mix the evacuated moist air from the rinse chamber with fresh air. By means of a blower with two rotor wheels, a ratio of air mixture is achieved, so that in the air mixture emerging into the room, the conditions do not come below the dewpoint. An improvement in the drying effect is thus achieved by special constructive design, as shown by DE 42 21 182 A1.
Another design of the fresh air channel and of the ventilation opening in a dishwasher is shown in EP 0 374 616 B1, a flow divider chamber with a control valve being provided, in order to reduce the outlay on removal of vapour.

Method and device for drying crockery in a dishwasher


The present invention provides several embodiments of a video carrier signal detection circuit included in an optical transmitter for either disabling an oscillator that provides dithering tones or attenuating the power level of the dither tones. A first detection circuit detects the presence of a video carrier signal by analyzing a known video channel. The power level of a video sync pulse included in the known video channel is then compared to a reference power level. A second detection circuit compares the composite power level of the RF signals in a predetenmined frequency spectrum with a reference power level to determine either the presence of a video carrier signal or an increase in the channel loading. Upon detection of a video carrier signal or an increase in composite power, an enable signal is provided to either the oscillator or an attenuating device depending upon the detection circuit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of one branch of a conventional broadband communications system, such as a two-way hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) network, that carries optical and electrical signals. Such a network may be used in a variety of systems, including, for example, cable television networks, voice delivery networks, and data delivery networks to name but a few. The communications system 100 includes headend equipment 105 for generating forward, or downstream, signals (e.g., voice, audio, video, or data signals) that are transmitted to subscriber equipment 145. Initially, the forward signals are transmitted via optical transmitters (not shown) as optical signals along a first communication medium 110, such as a fiber optic cable. In most networks, the first communication medium 110 is a long haul segment that carries light having a wavelength in the 1550 nanometer (nm) range. The first communication medium 110 carries the forward signal to hubs 115, which include equipment that transmits the optical signals over a second communication medium 120. In most networks, the second communication medium 120 is an optical fiber that is designed for shorter distances, and which carries light having a wavelength in the 1310 nm range.
From the hub 115, the signals are transmitted to an optical node 125 including an optical receiver and a reverse optical transmitter. The optical receiver converts the optical signals to radio frequency (RF), or electrical, signals. The electrical signals are then transmitted along a third communication medium 130, such as coaxial cable, and are amplified and split, as necessary, by one or more distribution amplifiers 135a–c positioned along the communication medium 130. Taps 140 further split the forward signals in order to provide signals to subscriber equipment 145, such as set-top terminals, computers, telephone handsets, modems, televisions, etc. It will be appreciated that only one branch of the network connecting the headend equipment 105 with the plurality of subscriber equipment 145 is shown for simplicity. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that most networks include several different branches connecting the headend equipment 105 with several additional hubs 115, optical nodes 125, amplifiers 135a–c, and subscriber equipment 145.
In a two-way network, the subscriber equipment 145 generates reverse RF signals, which may be generated for a variety of purposes, including video signals, e-mail, web surfing, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, telephony, and administrative signals from the set-top terminal. These reverse RF signals are typically in the form of modulated RF carriers that are transmitted upstream through the reverse path to the headend equipment 105. The reverse electrical signals from various subscribers are combined via the taps 140 and passive electrical combiners (not shown) with other reverse signals from other subscriber equipment 145. The combined reverse electrical signals are amplified by one or more of the distribution amplifiers 135a–c and typically converted to optical signals by the reverse optical transmitter included in the optical node 125 before being provided to the headend equipment 105. It will be appreciated that in the electrical, or RF, portion of the network 100, the forward and reverse electrical signals are carried along the same coaxial cable 130. In contrast, the forward and reverse optical signals on the first and second communications media 110, 120 are usually carried on separate optical fibers.
It is well known in the art that spurious noise exists on the optical link connecting the optical transmitter and the optical receiver. More specifically, spurious noise is generated from the interaction of the laser included in the transmitter with the rest of the optical link. Spurious noise comprises very fast noise beats that rise out of the general noise floor and is typically viewed at the optical receiver output with test equipment, such as a spectrum analyzer. The beats are a product of Rayleigh backscatter in the optical fiber creating brief external cavities. Spurious noise beats tend to cluster at low frequencies, but they may also concentrate at higher frequencies. Spurious noise, therefore, affects both data signals and video signals.
The most effective method of preventing spurious noise is to optically isolate the laser, thereby preventing backscattered photons from impacting the laser. Disadvantageously, however, the cost of an isolator is expensive and sometimes exceeds that of the laser. Optical attenuation can also be used to reduce, but not eliminate, spurious noise, however, at the cost of reduced optical power. A 5 dB optical attenuator at the laser improves spurious performance by about 10dB. Another method to reduce the effect of spurious noise is to modulate the laser to increase its linewidth. Accordingly, the peak intensity of the central mode is reduced, thereby reducing the amplitude of the spurious noise beats. This is typically a more cost effective method.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional optical transmitter including an oscillator for introducing dithering tones, which is a method of reducing spurious noise by continuously modulating the laser. In this example, three dithering tones are introduced in the optical transmitter 200 and generally appear below the RF frequency range that is designated for signal transmission. For example, dithering tones are introduced at, for example, three different frequencies via a 3-tone oscillator 205 typically within the range from 0 MHz to 5 MHz, where the reverse RF frequency range is from 5 MHz to 45 MHz. After filtering via a lowpass filter 210, the three tones are then combined with the main input RF signal. Typically, the composite power of the tones is set to a level that gives the best system performance at low channel loading since the laser is not being modulated as often due to the limited number of services and the infrequent transmission of signals. As a result, in-band intermodulation products are disadvantageously generated as the channel loading increases. Additionally, the composite power of the dithering tones reduces the system dynamic range available to desired signals. As a general rule, the intermodulation products should be at least 40 dB below a digital carrier signal and 57dB below a video carrier signal.
Dithering tones are not recommended, however, when video carrier signals are present because the dithering tones affect the viewing quality and signal processing of the video signals. Additionally, dithering tones affect a high channel loading system, such as a system transmitting all digital channels. What is needed, therefore, is an effective and efficient method and apparatus of mitigating the effects of spurious noise particularly when video signals and signals in a high channel loading system are transmitted.

Laser modulation control to improve system dynamic range