Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and a device for transmitting data. The method includes: a user equipment receives downlink data sent from a base station through downlink resources of a special subframe; the user equipment determines its corresponding guard period level, the guard period level corresponds to a round-trip time of the user equipment and indicates a length of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in a guard period corresponding to the user equipment in the special subframe; the user equipment determines, according to its corresponding guard period level, a position of uplink resources corresponding to the user equipment in guard period resources of the special subframe; and the user equipment sends uplink data to the base station through the uplink resources corresponding to the user equipment in the guard period resources of the special subframe.

In a time division duplexing TDD (Time Division Duplexing) wireless communication system of a long term evolution LTE (Long Term Evolution)/an enhanced long term evolution LTE-A (LTE Advanced), each radio frame includes 10 subframes, and the subframe can be a downlink subframe, an uplink subframe or a special subframe depending on service usage of the subframe. Among them, the special subframe consists of three special time slots, i.e., a downlink pilot time slot DwPTS (Downlink Pilot Time Slot), a guard period GP (Guard Period), and an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS (Uplink Pilot Time Slot).
The DwPTS of a frame structure in an LTE TDD system can be configured with 3 to 12 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols in length, used for downlink transmission. The UpPTS can be configured with 1 to 2 OFDM symbols in length, used for uplink transmission. The GP is a guard interval between the uplink transmission and the downlink transmission, mainly consisting of a "round-trip time RTT (Round-trip Time)" and a "device transceiver conversion time delay". The device transceiver conversion time delay generally does not exceed a length of one OFDM symbol, and an RTT corresponding to a coverage radius of a cell mainly affects a GP length.
In the prior art, the GP length should be greater than or equal to a sum of a maximum RTT of the cell and the device transceiver conversion time delay, so that normal handover between downlink and uplink signals can be performed by a user at the edge of the cell. The GP resources occupy a lot of system resources, and a cell with a larger radius needs to configure with a larger GP. A user equipment (UE, User Equipment) close to a base station, upon receiving downlink data of the base station, sends uplink data only after waiting for a period of time in vain due to a small RTT thereof, and therefore, the system resources cannot be effectively utilized.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The versatility of a power feeding device is improved. A power storage system includes a power storage device and a power feeding device. The power storage device includes data for identifying the power storage device. The power storage device includes a power storage unit, a switch that controls whether power from the power feeding device is supplied to the power storage unit, and a control circuit having a function of controlling a conduction state of the switch in accordance with a control signal input from the power feeding device. The power feeding device includes a signal generation circuit having a function of identifying the power storage device by the data input from the power storage device, generating the control signal corresponding to the identified power storage device, and outputting the generated control signal to the power storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object (a product including a machine, a manufacture, and a composition of matter) and a method (a process including a simple method and a production method). Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a power storage system, a power storage device, a semiconductor device, a display device, a light-emitting device, or another electrical device or a manufacturing method thereof. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a power storage system, a power storage device, a semiconductor device, a display device, a light-emitting device, or another electrical device which includes an oxide semiconductor, or a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a variety of electrical devices, such as portable terminals (typified by mobile phones and smartphones), electric power tools, and electric vehicles, are equipped with power storage devices.
A power storage device includes a secondary battery, such as a lithium ion battery, which can be repeatedly used by accumulation of electricity by charging.
In an electrical device equipped with such a power storage device, the power storage device can be charged by a power feeding device connected to the electrical device, for example (e.g., Patent Document 1).
Moreover, in an electrical device equipped with such a power storage device, power is supplied from a power feeding device wirelessly, so that the power storage device can be charged even without being physically connected to the power feeding device (e.g., Patent Document 2). Patent Document 2 discloses, as examples of such a power feeding method, an electromagnetic induction method and a magnetic field resonance method.
In the case of using the power feeding methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a power storage device can be charged by a power feeding device that matches the specifications of the power storage device.

Power storage system and power storage device storing data for the identifying power storage device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A dryer adapted for use in an asphalt plant. The dryer includes a drum having an inner wall and a flight having a proximal end connecting the flight to the inner wall of the drum and a distal end that is spaced apart from the proximal end. A first profile extends from the proximal end to the distal end of the flight and defines a flight shape. A notch is formed in the distal end of the flight, which notch includes a notch shape that is defined by a second profile. The second profile has a length L, a center point, and a portion that substantially approximates a conic section.

With initial reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional rotary dryer used in an asphalt plant generally comprises an inclined elongate cylinder or drum 10 through which is forced a draft of heated air and/or combustion gases from a burner. The material 12 to be dried (i.e., aggregate material) is introduced at an inlet end of the rotating drum 10 and is then carried through the drum in contact with the heated air draft. The interior of the dryer is provided with flights 14, which are fin-like structures that are peripherally mounted to an inner wall 16 of the drum. These flights 14 circulate the aggregate material 12 and increase the amount of time that the aggregate material remains exposed to the heated air and/or combustion gases inside the drum 10, which improves the efficiency of the dryer by increasing the heat transfer between the heated air and the aggregate material.
As the drum 10 rotates in direction "D" (shown in FIG. 2), the flights 14 scoop and carry portions of the aggregate material 12 upwards around the periphery of the drum. Aggregate material 10 then falls or "showers" from the flights downwards through the drum and the heated air draft. This showering creates a curtain or veil 18 of aggregate material 10 anywhere across the width of the dryer, including from the uphill side 20 of the drum 10 (i.e., the side where the flights are traveling upwardly within the drum as the drum rotates) to the downhill side 22 of the drum (i.e., the side where the flights are traveling downwardly within the drum as the drum rotates).
Showering of aggregate material is critical to maximizing the efficiency of heat transfer from the heated air draft to the aggregate material for drying that aggregate material effectively. The density or thickness of the veil of aggregate material may vary across the width of the drum based on a number of factors, including the type and particle size of aggregate material being processed, the volume of aggregate material within the drum, and the speed of rotation of the drum, etc. Ideally, the curtain will span the width of the interior of the drum, including particularly the center of the drum, where the highest energy content of the heated air is typically located.
Attempts have been made to improve the distribution of aggregate material within the drum by modifying the number and arrangement of flights within the drum. Additionally, certain design changes have been made to the shape of the individual flights themselves in order to vary their performance. For example, with reference to FIGS. 3-5 and U.S. Pat. No. 9,835,374, flight 24 is provided with a V-shaped notch 26 that is formed by a pair of intersecting straight lines 28 formed in the flight that intersect at a sharp point 30. The purpose of this V-shaped notch 26 was to increase the distribution of aggregate material across the width of the drum. However, through experimentation, it was found that under certain circumstances the V-shaped notch 26 resulted in a relatively thin veil of aggregate material on the uphill side of the drum and a comparatively thicker veil of aggregate material on downhill side of the drum. Additionally, it has been found that abrupt changes in the overall shape profile of the flight 24, such as those between straight sections 32 (shown in FIG. 5) can lead to uneven showering of aggregate material across the width of the drum.
What is needed, therefore, is a rotary dryer design having flights that produce a consistent and well-distributed veil of aggregate material throughout the drum for a range of operating conditions, including for various aggregate material mixes, processing volumes, and processing rates.
Notes on Construction
The use of the terms "a", "an", "the" and similar terms in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising", "having", "including" and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. The terms "substantially", "generally" and other words of degree are relative modifiers intended to indicate permissible variation from the characteristic so modified. The use of such terms in describing a physical or functional characteristic of the invention is not intended to limit such characteristic to the absolute value which the term modifies, but rather to provide an approximation of the value of such physical or functional characteristic.
Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as "connected" and "interconnected", refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both moveable and rigid attachments or relationships, unless specified herein or clearly indicated by context. The term "operatively connected" is such an attachment, coupling or connection that allows the pertinent structures to operate as intended by virtue of that relationship.
The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (e.g., "such as" and "preferably") herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and the preferred embodiment thereof, and not to place a limitation on the scope of the invention. Nothing in the specification should be construed as indicating any element as essential to the practice of the invention unless so stated with specificity.


In a decoding apparatus in a portable Internet terminal, a channel encoded symbol received from a transmitter is decoded by one of a chase-combining scheme and a code-combining scheme selected based on an ID value of the subpacket indicating a start position of the symbol. In this case, the chase-combining scheme is partly used for the encoded symbol of the information bit. With such a mode, decoding can be performed at a low code rate.

Error controlling algorithms may be largely classified into two types: an automatic repeat request (ARQ) method and a forward error correction (FEC) method.
The ARQ is accomplished by a data link protocol of an OSI model and the FEC is accomplished by a physical layer. In the ARQ, the terminal has an error-detecting function for detecting errors in a message to request a retransmission when a transmission line is a half-duplex or a full-duplex line. In the FEC, the terminal has an error-correcting function for detecting errors in a message to correct the errors without requesting a retransmission. The ARQ has been widely used in data communication networks since it has a more simple structure and a higher reliability of data than the FEC. However, as the bit error rate of the channel is increased, the throughput of information is rapidly decreased in the ARQ. Meanwhile, in the FEC, the throughput of information is preserved at a predetermined level regardless of the bit error rate of the channel, but high reliability cannot be easily achieved.
In order to compensate for these drawbacks, a hybrid ARQ scheme (hereinafter, called HARQ) combining the ARQ and the FEC has been introduced. The HARQ scheme can have throughput of information similar to that of the FEC and reliability similar to that of the ARQ. In the HARQ, error-detecting and retransmission are requested after predetermined error-correction has been attempted by the FEC. Accordingly, since the conventional ARQ and FEC are combined, the HARQ may have a higher reliability and a lower error rate than the ARQ or FEC.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A method, system, and computer program product for enterprise applications. Embodiments commence by accessing a first database table having columns pertaining to one or more cost items of a first project and accessing a second database table having columns pertaining to cost items of a second project. A user interface aids definition of user-defined inter-project attributes, wherein the user-defined inter-project attributes relate a database table column of the first project to a database table column of the second project. The user-defined inter-project attributes are used in preparing display information pertaining to at least two projects such that in response to a single action being performed under control of a client system, the prepared display information is sent to a display unit. In some cases, the prepared display information comprises a summary of values, and in some cases, an alert icon is displayed based on a summary value exceeding a threshold.

Managing even a single complex project is a challenge for any project manager. The task of managing a portfolio of projects for project executives is even more challenging—it is essential for project managers to be able to understand and assess the state of their projects at any point in time. Project portfolio managers want an easy way to relate a set of characteristics or attributes of one project in the portfolio to a set of characteristics or attributes of another project in the portfolio. Unfortunately legacy techniques rely on manual data manipulations and/or manual post processing to relate a set of characteristics or attributes of one project to a set of characteristics or attributes of another project. The extent of manual manipulation needed for the project manager to understand and assess the state of a portfolio of projects is too arduous for the project manager to use. In some legacy situations, the tasks related to manual data manipulations and/or manual post processing to present project conditions summaries is so arduous that many characteristics of individual projects and many more attributes of relationships between projects never get analyzed by the project portfolio manager.
What is needed is a technique or techniques that allow a project manager to easily and flexibly create and view summaries of a project portfolio. What is needed is a way to identify characteristics between multiple projects, and to relate them to each other using user-defined attributes to define the characteristics of the summarizations. Further, what is needed is a way to repeatedly view summaries of a project portfolio using only a single click or other user-interface action.
None of the aforementioned legacy approaches achieve the capabilities of the herein-disclosed techniques for summarizing data across multiple projects using user-defined attributes. Therefore, there is a need for improvements.

Summarizing tabular data across multiple projects using user-defined attributes


Embodiments of the present invention provide for enumerating codecs on a link. A controller asserts a synchronization signal, and drives one or more control lines associated with selected codecs to a first state. The enumeration period is defined by a predefined number of clock periods after de-assertion of the synchronization signal. During the enumeration period, the controller drives the control lines of codecs that are supported to a second state. If the control line for a codec is not pulled to the second state during the enumeration period, that codec will act disabled, ignoring all inputs, and will not participate in any link activity, until the next reset, where it will again look for an assertion of its control line.

A codec (coder/decoder) is an integrated circuit or other electronic circuitry combining the circuits needed to convert digital signals into analog signals and to convert analog signals into digital signals. Audio codecs are used in computers, for example, on modem (modulator/demodulator) and sound cards to convert digital signals that can be read and stored by the computer into analog signals that can be transmitted over telephone wires or output to speakers for sound. Codecs on these devices also convert incoming signals from telephone wires or input sound signals, into a digital format that can be read, understood, and stored by the computer.
Enumeration of codecs is described by the Audio Codec '97 Specification, version 2.3 ("AC '97 Specification"), published by Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. The AC '97 Specification defines a high-quality audio architecture and advanced the migration toward a completely digital audio system, while maintaining support for analog audio sources and analog interconnect for backwards compatibility. A controller and one or more codecs, connected by a digital serial link, processes audio and modem signals (e.g., perform digital/analog conversions (DAC) and analog/digital conversions (ADC)).
As defined by the AC'97 Link specification, a codec attached to a link must be assigned an address using pins on the codec. This "hard" or "hard-wired" enumeration leads to many ease of use and configuration issues, as the methods for making sure that all codecs on the link are unique require platform design predetermination.

Method and apparatus for enumerating devices on a link


This invention relates to a drive switching mechanism for use in an image input apparatus. While a pivotable gear is set on the side of a document feeder, a displacement restricting mechanism of the drive switching mechanism restricts a displacement of the pivotable gear toward an image scanner. With this arrangement, even if the pivotable gear is caused to move toward the image scanner while set on the side of the document feeder, a stopper of the displacement restricting mechanism restricts such movement to maintain an engaged state of the pivotable gear with a drive gear of the document feeder. Accordingly, a driving force of a motor rotatable in the opposite direction (forward and backward) can securely be transmitted to the drive gear of the document feeder via a non-pivotable gear and the pivotable gear. The same operation and effect as on the side of the document feeder is obtainable on the side of the image scanner.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a drive switching mechanism for use in an image input apparatus capable of selectively performing feed/read operation in which an image of an original document is read by feeding the document and scan/read operation in which an image of an original document is read by relatively scanning the document set in a stationary state by switchingly transmitting a driving force of a motor rotatable in forward and backward directions.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, there have been provided image input apparatuses capable of reading an image of an original document placed on a flat document platen and an image of an original document fed by an automatic document feeder. The image input apparatus is operated such that an image scanner reads the image of the document set in a stationary state on the document platen while moving relative to the document when the document is set on the document platen. On the other hand, when the image is to be read by the automatic document feeder, the image input apparatus is operated such that the image scanner is moved to a predetermined position for image scanning and pauses thereat, and then the automatic document feeder feeds the original documents successively to the image scanner for reading the image of the original documents successively.
Hereinafter, for sake of easier explanation, the operation in which an image of an original document is read by moving the image scanner relative to the original document set in a stationary state is referred to as "scan/read" operation, while the operation in which an image of an original document is read by feeding the original document while setting the image scanner at the scan position is referred to as "feed/read" operation.
Generally, the scan/read operation and the feed/read operation are not performed simultaneously. In performing the scan/read operation, driving of the automatic document feeder is suspended. Conversely, in performing the feed/read operation, driving of the image scanner is suspended since the image scanner halts at the predetermined scan position. Accordingly, a single motor can be utilized as a common drive source for the image scanner and the document feeder. In view of the above, a drive switching mechanism 4' of prior art shown in FIG. 8 is incorporated in the image input apparatus to selectively transmit a driving force of a motor to the image scanner and to the automatic document feeder.
Referring to FIG. 8, the drive switching mechanism 4' is adapted for selectively transmitting a driving force of a motor M to a drive gear 21 provided in an image scanner 2 and to a drive gear 37 provided in an automatic document feeder 3 to transmit the driving force to the designated one.
The drive switching mechanism 4' has a link plate 42 pivotally movable between the image scanner 2 and the automatic document feeder 3 about an axis 41 which is located near the motor M. A non-pivotable rear 43 rotatably mounted on the link plate 42 via a shaft (or axis) 41 provided on the link plate 42. The non-pivotable gear 43 is constructed to receive a driving force of the motor M via a drive transmission mechanism 44.
A pivotable gear 46, which is rotatably mounted on the link plate 42 via a shaft (or axis) 45, is in an engaged state with the non-pivotable 43. The pivotable gear 46 is set to be pivotally movable together with the link plate 42 between the image scanner 2 and the automatic document feeder 3 in correspondence to a pivotal movement of the link plate 42 that follows the rotational direction of the motor M.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the link plate 42 is set on the side of the image scanner 2, the pivotable gear 46 is meshed with the drive gear 21 of the image scanner 2. Consequently, the driving force of the motor M is transmitted to the drive gear 21 via the drive transmission mechanism 44, the non-pivotable gear 43, and the pivotable gear 46. Then, the driving force transmitted to the drive gear 21 is transmitted to the image scanner 2 via a gear 22 that is meshed with the drive gear 21 to perform a scan/read operation.
Note that the motor is rotatable in two directions, forward and backward directions. Throughout the description, the force to rotate the motor M in the forward direction is denoted by the arrow of (+D), while the force to rotate the motor M in the backward direction is denoted by the arrow of (-D). When the motor is rotated in (+D) direction, the pivotable gear 46 receives a driving force to move the pivotable gear 46 (and the link plate 42) toward the image scanner 2. Thus, an engaging state of the pivotable gear 46 with the drive gear 21 is maintained.
On the contrary, when the rotating direction is reversed to (-D), the pivotable gear 46 receives a driving force to move the pivotable gear 46 (and the link plate 42) toward the automatic document feeder 3. Accordingly, the pivotable gear 46 tries to move away from the image scanner 2. To restrict such movement of the pivotable gear 46 (and the link plate 42), there is provided a displacement restricting mechanism 47' for restricting a displacement of the pivotable gear 46 toward the document feeder 3.
The displacement restricting mechanism 47' has a stopper 471 pivotally movable about a pivot member 471a provided at one end thereof, a spring 472 for urging the stopper 471 toward a restrict position (shown by solid line in FIG. 8), and a solenoid 473 for pivotally moving the stopper 471 between the restrict position and a release position (shown by dashed line in FIG. 8). According to this arrangement, when it is required to move the pivotable gear 46 between the image scanner 2 and the automatic document feeder 3, the solenoid 473 is turned to an ON-state to set the stopper 471 to the release position, i. e., to release the stopper 471 from an engaged state with the link plate 42. After the pivotable gear 46 is moved on the side of the image scanner 2 or on the side of the automatic document feeder 3, the solenoid 473 is turned to an OFF-state to return the stopper 471 to the restrict position.
As shown in FIG. 8, after the pivotable gear 46 is moved on the side of the image scanner 2 and engaged with the drive gear 21, the stopper 471 is returned to the restrict position. Accordingly, even if the rotational direction of the motor M is switched to (-D) direction, and a driving force to move the pivotable gear 46 toward the automatic document feeder 3 is acted upon the pivotable gear 46 (and the link plate 42), a projection 421 formed on the opposite end of the link plate 42 is abutted against a lead end (contact portion) of the stopper 471 to restrict the movement (displacement) of the pivotable gear 46 toward the document feeder 3. Thus, the driving forces represented by (+D) and (-D) are selectively transmitted to the image scanner 2.
Referring to the automatic document feeder 3, it is commonly the case that a pair of separation rollers 35 and 35 are provided in the automatic document feeder 3, as shown in FIG. 9. The automatic document feeder 3 is designed to receive the driving force acting in (-D) direction from the motor M. Upon receiving this force, the separation rollers 35 and 35 are rotated in the direction of arrow in FIG. 9 to feed original documents. Since there is no need of feeding the original documents in the direction opposite to the document feed direction, there was no need of transmitting the driving force (+D) to the automatic document feeder 3. Accordingly, the conventional drive switching mechanism 4' had no motivation to provide a restricting mechanism of restricting a displacement of the pivotable gear 46 toward the image scanner 2 when the pivotable gear 46 is set on the side of the document feeder 3 and the driving force (+D) is transmitted to the document feeder 3.
However, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case where original documents are to be successively fed from the uppermost stacked one, it is required to provide a sub roller 36 on the upstream side of the separation rollers 35 and 35 with respect to the document feed direction. The sub roller 36 is designed to pivotally move upward and downward in the following manner. The sub roller 36 needs to be located on the upper position (phantom line in FIG. 9) so as not to interfere insertion of original documents before feeding of the uppermost original document is initiated. In feeding the original documents, on the contrary, the sub roller 36 needs to be lowered to come into contact with the uppermost original document to forward the original document toward the separation rollers 35 and 35. Since the arrangement of pivotally moving the sub roller 36 is similar to the arrangement of pivotally moving the link plate 42, the description thereof is omitted herein.
If the drive transmission mechanism in the document feeder 3 were designed to receive the driving force of (+D) as well as (-D), the sub roller 36 could have been pivotally moved up and down with a simplified construction because it could receive driving forces acting in the opposite direction. However, as mentioned above, the conventional drive switching mechanism 4' had no motivation of transmitting a driving force of (+D) to the document feeder 3, and hence a displacement restricting mechanism was not provided on the side of the document feeder 3. Accordingly, in the prior art technology, a complicated construction to pivotally move the sub roller 36 up and down has been required, which reflects on production cost of the drive switching mechanism.

Drive switching mechanism for use in image input apparatus


A graphical user interface (GUI) includes a graph with vectors and nodes for visualizing a computer grid, the nodes representing computers running grid managers and the vectors representing relations between pairs of grid managers, each of the relations defining a first grid manager to be superior to a second grid manager and a vector points from a node representing the first grid manager to a node representing the second grid manager. The GUI also includes, for each node, an expandable structure showing computer grid applications running on a computer represented by the node, and an event handler configured to receive a request to view management services running on a computer and to generate a display showing the management services running on the computer.

In today's data centers, the clusters of servers in a client-server network that run business applications often do a poor job of managing unpredictable workloads. One server may sit idle, while another is constrained. This leads to a "Catch-22" where companies, needing to avoid network bottlenecks and safeguard connectivity with customers, business partners and employees, often plan for the highest spikes in workload demand, then watch as those surplus servers operate well under capacity most of the time.
In grid computing, all of the disparate computers and systems in an organization or among organizations become one large, integrated computing system. That single integrated system can then handle problems and processes too large and intensive for any single computer to easily handle in an efficient manner.
More specifically, grid computing is a form of distributed system wherein computing resources are shared across networks. Grid computing enables the selection, aggregation, and sharing of information resources resident in multiple administrative domains and across geographic areas. These information resources are shared, for example, based upon their availability, capability, and cost, as well as a user's quality of service (QoS) requirements. Grid computing can mean reduced cost of ownership, aggregated and improved efficiency of computing, data, and storage resources, and enablement of virtual organizations for applications and data sharing.


Detergent portions containing at least one detersive formulation wholly or partly contained in a dimensionally stable hollow body having an enclosure that wholly or partly surrounds the detersive formulation, the enclosure being formed of an uncompressed material that can disintegrate under laundering, cleaning, or washing conditions and that gives the hollow body dimensional stability, and optionally, the dimensionally stable hollow body having one or more means forming one or more compartments therein.

The present invention relates to detergent portions which are present within dimensionally stable hollow bodies comprising at least one compartment. The invention also relates to processes for producing such compartmented hollow bodies comprising detergent portions. The invention further relates to laundering, cleaning, and washing methods in which the detergent formulations are dosed in dimensionally stable hollow bodies having one or more separate compartments.
In the prior art it is extensively described how detergents have to date been made available to the consumer customarily in the form of spray-dried or granulated solid products or as liquid product. In accordance with the consumer's desire for easy dosing possibilities, the two conventional variants mentioned have been joined on the market by products in preportioned form, which are established and are likewise extensively described in the prior art. Descriptions can be found of detergents in the form of compressed shaped bodies, i.e., tablets, blocks, briquettes, rings, and the like, and also of pouch-packaged portions of solid and/or liquid detergents.
In the case of the single-dose amounts of detergents which are sold packaged in pouches, water-soluble film pouches are prevalent. They remove the need for the consumer to tear open the packaging. This enables an individual portion, sized for one washing or cleaning operation, to be dosed easily by inserting the pouch directly into the washing machine or dishwasher, especially into its rinse-in compartment, or by casting the pouch into a defined amount of water, in a bucket, bowl or basin, for example. The pouch surrounding the detergent portion dissolves without residue on reaching a certain temperature. Detergents packaged in water-soluble film pouches are also described in large number in the prior art. For instance, the earlier patent application DE 198 31 703 discloses a portioned detergent formulation in a pouch made of water-soluble film, in particular in a pouch made of (optionally acetalized) polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL), in which at least 70% by weight of the particles of the detergent formulation have sizes >800 μm. Pouches of this kind are indeed very consumer-friendly and facilitative of dosing but are not in all cases the appropriate form for dosing detergent formulations, especially when solid and liquid detersive formulations are to be dosed alongside one another. Furthermore, such pouches do not allow the incorporation of detergent formulations present in unstable or highly volatile phases into the detergent portion.
The document DE-A 20 65 153 describes shaped surfactant bodies which comprise a plurality of components and are composed of an outer shell of sodium silicate with laundry detergent components enclosed therein. The silicate shell is produced by compression molding in two hemispheres which, after they have been filled with the amount of laundry detergent components sufficient for one wash, are placed together and joined to form the shaped body. The process is extremely impractical and does not lead to utilizable laundry detergent portions.
The document DE-A 20 07 413 describes detergent shapes comprising a core of one or more laundry detergent components and a shell of compression-molded envelope material composed predominantly of sodium metalilicate. The compression of the envelope material to form half-shells and the filling and welding of the half-shells to form the finished shape require a complex technology, and many of the shapes fragment before they reach the laundering operation.
The documents DE-A 198 34 181, DE-A 198 34 180 and DE-A 198 34 172 describe detergent/limescale remover formulations comprising a tablet which is produced by compression molding, is composed of two identical halves, and comprises one or more detergent components, and a core which is provided where appropriate with an additional envelope and comprises a further detergent component. Aside from the fact that in this case too the only possible production process is complex and involves a number of stages, only a solid core can be incorporated into the tablet envelope unless premature dissolution of the tablet from the inside is to be initiated.
The invention was based on the object of providing detergent formulations in which readily volatile detersive components can be formulated alongside less volatile detersive components or in which mechanically unstable components can be incorporated without detriment to their integrity—during compression to form shaped bodies, for example. The invention was additionally based on the object of separating detergent components physically from one another while still formulating them in the same detergent portion, with the aim of minimizing any exchange of substances or any mutual impairment, which under certain circumstances might be connected with losses in activity. This would also have the advantage that the storage stability of the detergent formulations could be considerably increased and also that the concentration of active substance could be lowered in individual cases, since in the prior art, in connection with the calculation of these concentrations, it has always been necessary to provide an overdose owing to an expected loss of activity on the part of some components.
Surprisingly it has now been found that detergent portions can be filled into dimensionally stable hollow bodies having one or more separate compartments, so making it possible to provide dose amounts of the respective compositions which have considerable performance advantages as compared with compact shaped bodies or pouch-packaged formulations.

Hollow body with a compartment, containing a portion of a washing, cleaning or rinsing agent


A combination liquid container and pet drinking bowl in which the bowl is formed of a plastic sheet secured to the container. The sheet may be flexed into two distinct positions. In a first stored position, the sheet is form-retaining and lies against a portion of the container. In a second operative position, the sheet provides a form-retaining bowl extending longitudinally from the container and may be filled with liquid from said container.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to watering devices for dogs or other pets. More particularly, this invention relates to a device which incorporates a water container or reservoir having a pet drinking bowl or trough attached to the container and moveable between one inoperative or stored position encompassing at least a portion of the container and a second operative position extending from the container and defining a trough or reservoir into which water from the container may flow, and from which the dog or other pet may drink.
In its stored or inoperative position, the device may be easily carried by the pet owner who can then readily move the bowl and the container between their operative and inoperative positions.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of patents have been granted on the concept of combining a pet drinking bowl with a water container, which allows the pet owner to transfer water from the container into the bowl when the dog or other pet needs to drink from the bowl. The products disclosed in some of these patents are available for purchase by the pet owner, and in some instances incorporate a pivot connection between the bowl and the container. This permits the bowl and container to be moved between a folded inoperative position for carrying the bowl to an unfolded operative position wherein water from the container may be transferred into the bowl. Such pivotal movement is typically effected by the use of a pivot pin connecting one end of a longitudinally extending preformed bowl having a generally semi-circular cross-section to an end portion of a generally cylindrical water container. Such end portion may contain a valve so that water may flow into the container when the bowl is in its operative position with its longitudinal axis extending away from the longitudinal axis of the container. In its inoperative or folded position, the inner bowl surface is complementary to and overlies a generally semi-cylindrical portion of the container.

Portable water container and drinking bowl for pets


The invention provides a method of enhancing wound healing, comprising administering an inhibitor of eosinophil influx into a wound site sufficient to result in healing of the wound.

Wound healing is a process critical to the survival of the species after injury. Twenty years ago, it was shown that eosinophils are components of the inflammatory infiltrate in rat incisional cutaneous wounds (Bassett et al., 1977, Br. J. Exp. Pathol., 58: 581-605); however the importance of the presence of eosinophils remains unclear. Eosinophils have been implicated in the regulation of collagen metabolism (Hibbs et al., 1982, Biochem. J., 207: 621-624) and have been shown to elaborate transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-.alpha.) (Elovic et al., 1990, Am. J. Pathol., 137: 1425-1434; Wong et al., 1990, J. Exp. Med., 172: 673-81) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-.beta.1; Wong et al., Blood, 1991, 78: 2702-2707), two multifunctional cytokines of importance in wound healing (Schreiber et al., 1986, Science, 232: 1250-1253; Pierce et al., 1989, J. Cell Biol., 109: 429-440; Quaglino et al., 1990, Lab. Invest., 63: 307-319). In a hamster model, eosinophils have been demonstrated to infiltrate prominently into open skin wounds, where they represent a cellular source of TGF-.alpha. and TGF-.beta.1 at both mRNA and protein levels (Wong et al., 1993, Am. J. Path., 143: 130-142), and the expression of TGF-.beta.1 and TGF-.alpha. by eosinophils in oral wounds has been characterized in some detail (Yang et al, 1996, Am. J. Physiol., 270: G191-G202).
Eosinophils are a distinct lineage of granulocytes which originate from the bone marrow, circulate in the blood and emigrate into peripheral tissues (Spry, 1988, Eosinophils, ed. C. Spry, Oxford University Press, New York). Although eosinophils normally comprise only .about.3% of circulating leukocytes in humans, large numbers of mature eosinophils are especially abundant near the mucosal surfaces of gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts (Spry and Tai, 1976, Clin. Exp. Immunol., 24: 423-434). In addition, greatly increased numbers of eosinophils appear in the blood and tissues associated with immune responses or disease processes such as helminthic parasitic infections, allergic diseases, and other pathological states with less well-defined causes (Weller, 1991, N. Engl. J. Med., 324: 1110-1118).

Method of enhancing wound healing with anti-IL-5 antibody


A halftone screening method includes a method of moire suppression, in which the input image is first screened in a trial screening module. The input image is then subtracted from the trial screened image to produce an error image which contains both the trial screen pattern and the moire pattern introduced by the trial screening process. The error image is filtered in a lowpass filter to remove the trial screen pattern, leaving only the moire pattern, which is then subtracted from the input image to produce a compensated image. Finally, the compensated image is then screened in a final screening module. The moire image component of the compensated image tends to cancel the moire pattern introduced by the final screening module so as to suppress moire patterns in the final screened image. In two alternate embodiments, filter refinements are provided to reduce grayscale distortions and improve moire suppression in the extreme light and shadow regions of the image.

Halftone screening is a process by which shades of gray can be represented in images formed with a bi-level marking system, such as black ink on white paper. As is the case in most printing systems, whether color or black and white, the absence or presence of the ink on the paper is used to represent the printed image. In order to represent halftones (shades between the presence or absence of the printed ink), the original image is screened to produce a pattern, made up of variable size dots, which appear to the human eye as a halftone image. Thus to prepare a photograph for printing, it is necessary to perform the process of halftone screening. which converts the continuous gray shades of the original into dots of varying size and shape.
Originally, photomechanical screening systems used physical photographic screens. In computer based screening systems, images are typically stored in a memory by representing tone values for each pixel of the original image. For a black and white image, the stored pixels represent the grayscale value corresponding to each pixel. For a color image, each color plane is stored as an array of pixels each representing the tone value for each pixel of the image in each respective color plane. For example, if each of the pixels of a black and white image is represented by an 8 bit digital word, then the tone value for a given image pixel is one of 256 values between the black level and the white level, with 0 corresponding to white and all ones (or 255), corresponding to black.
Digital screening devices and digital raster scan printing devices simulate the generation of a halftone cell to produce a screened image. The most common form of digital screening is to generate a repeating spot function corresponding to the halftone cell, and compare each pixel of the grayscale image with a corresponding pixel in the repeating spot function. The period and angle of the repeating spot function correspond to that of the resulting grid of dots, while the shape of the surface defined by a single repeating halftone cell spot function determines the shape of the resulting dots for each shade of gray.
There are also many screening methods that make use of a screen pattern cell, which can be a one dimensional strip. a band, or any two dimensional area, such as a square, that contains a section of the final screen spanning more than one halftone cell. The screening method will repeatedly generate the screen pattern cell, resulting in a final screen of the desired ruling and angle. The critical step in halftone screening is the generation of the screen pattern cell which will be repeated to form the final screen covering the entire input image area. Examples of prior art techniques include rational tangent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,194 to Holladay), rational supercell (European patent document 0 427 380 A.sub.2, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,435), irrational tangent (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,499,489 to Gall et al, and 4,350,996 to Rosenfeld). In addition, three alternative screening techniques described in three patents by the inventor of the present invention, namely U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,310, U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,181, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,406, may each be used to generate a suitable screen pattern cell.
Digital halftone screening consists of first generating a spot function or screen pattern cell. The spot function is usually stored as a fairly small pattern that repeats itself or is repeatedly generated by programming, At any point where the original image is greater than the spot function, the output is marked. At any point where the image is not greater than the spot function, the output is not marked. In other words, if the value of the image pixel is greater than corresponding value of the spot function, a mark is generated by the marking engine, whereas if the value of the image pixel is less or equal to the spot function value, then no mark is generated by the marking engine, or vice versa. In this way, the final screened image, composed of dots, is produced. In color printing, there are four separate steps of halftone screening, one each for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks.
Much prior art work has been devoted to producing screens which will produce good results and avoid artifacts in the final image. One such artifact to be avoided is the moire pattern. There are a number of sources of moire in the halftoning process. One source of moire is the moire between the screen girds used for the different ink planes in a color image. To counteract the tendency for moire patterns to result, color screens are angled at 0 (yellow), 15 (cyan), 75 (magenta) and 45 degrees (black). If these angles are adhered to precisely, as well as the screen ruling being precisely identical for all four planes, then optimum results (minimum moire) are achieved. Screening at these angles in photomechanical screening systems is achieved by rotating the photographic screen carriers. In digital screening devices and digital raster scan imaging devices, however, there is some difficulty in exactly reproducing irrational numbers, such as the tangent of 15 degrees or the tangent of 75 degrees. (Rational numbers can be represented as the ratio of two integers; irrational numbers are endless non-repeating decimals). Both rational tangent, and irrational tangent digital screening systems are known.
In general, the use of a repeating spot function, or screen pattern cell, for screening does work, and is used for the overwhelming majority of printing today. Aside from simplicity of implementation, the great strength of a repeating spot function, is its ability to render areas of constant or smoothly varying gray value. Many attempts to improve various aspects of the halftoning process (including error diffusion and so-called "stochastic" techniques) abandon the precise repetition of identically shaped dots, thereby introducing a grainy appearance.
Nonetheless, the quest for the highest quality image continues. Traditional halftoning techniques suffer from one persistent problem, that of unwanted moire patterns caused by the interference between patterns in the original grayscale image and the generated spot function, which could be called subject moire. (A different source of artifacts in digital raster scan screening systems is screener induced moire, which results from the interaction between the screen and the finite resolution of the output image forming device). Screener induced moire artifacts are more pronounced when using fine screen rulings, low output resolutions, or a combination of both. As a result, it is typical to use a 3500 dot per inch (dpi) output resolution to minimize screener induced moire artifacts and obtain a quality image.

Method and apparatus for suppressing moire patterns


A coupling receives a steeply tapered end of a propellor shaft and is secured thereto with a lock nut held in place with a set screw. A housing taper is steeper than known locking tapers to facilitate housing removal. The housing is internally threaded to receive an extractor element which, after lock nut removal, is screwed into the housing for abutment with the end of the propellor shaft with continued advancement of the extractor element resulting in housing separation from the shaft.

The present invention pertains generally to a coupling for linking a propellor shaft end to a boat transmission.
A problem exists in the repair or replacement of boat propellor in small inboard boats such as those used in competitive water skiing. Currently such shafts are coupled to the boat transmission by using a locking tapered end segment and various locking nut and cotter pin arrangements. The disassembly of coupling and shaft would not be a problem were it not for the coupling itself being somewhat inaccessible in view of its location immediately above the lowermost portion of the hull and between exhaust pipes from each bank of the engine. Accordingly propellor shaft couplings take considerable time for detachment from the shaft end as the couplings must be hammered off a tapered shaft segment after removal of the locking nut element locking the shaft end to the coupling. The removal of the propellor shaft from an inboard boat constitutes a significant part of the cost of repairing or replacing of a damaged propellor shaft.


A conduit connector assembly for attachments on a loader includes a mounting plate with at least one coupler section mounted on the plate and secured rigidly to a forward end of one of the lift arms of a loader. The coupler section or sections are connected with conduits to power or electrical signal sources on the loader. The coupler section or sections on the lift arm are connectable to mating coupler sections attached to conduits from an attachment that requires power and/or control signals for operation. The coupler sections are supported to one side of the lines of vision that an operator in an operator's cab of the loader needs for watching the attachment.

The present disclosure relates to a conduit coupler or connector mounted on a moving structure, such as the lift arms on a loader, wherein the couplers for power or signal lines leading to power equipment attached to the lift arms are housed within a main structural member, such as one of the lift arms, and the conduit couplers are permanently placed in a position where they do not block or impair the operator view of the powered attachment, and where they are protected from damage. Typical conduit couplers are for hydraulic pressure lines or hoses, electrical control signals and electrical power for compact loader attachments.
Power attachments that require power to operate, such as hydraulic fluid under pressure, are commonly used on loaders, and in order to couple the hydraulic conduits or lines for the attachment to the hydraulic system of the loader, known quick couplers are generally utilized. The attachments are removable between uses, so connecting and disconnecting the two mating sections of power quick couplers is necessary. The positioning of the power carrying lines and the quick couplers can interfere with viewing the attachment by the loader operator. The hydraulic line and electrical couplers that have been utilized in the past for loader attachments have been generally positioned between the lift arms.
Power attachments that require remote hydraulic power include those which use hydraulic motors, such as power augers, rotary brush cutters, mower, and the like, or require the use of hydraulic actuators, including tree spades, grapples, various compactors, and the like. Mounting the coupler components or sections (half of a male/female pair) that are carried on the power vehicle or loader in a fixed location simplifies connecting and disconnecting, and ensures that the couplers are properly located to aid in reducing visual obstructions.

Integral power or electrical conduit coupler


An opto-electronically controlled waveguide includes a waveguide; a finline mounted in the waveguide; a photovoltaic switch operably electrically cected to the finline; and a light source for generating an optical signal for modulating the photovoltaic switch. Modulation of the photovoltaic switch by intensity modulating the optical signal allows modulation of the insertion loss of the waveguide without the need for a DC bias.

The present invention generally relates to the field of radio frequency (RF) waveguides, and more particularly to a waveguide in which is mounted a finline and a photovoltaic switch for modulating the impedance of the waveguide.
In the past, modulation of insertion losses of waveguides has been achieved by transitioning from a finline to microstrip using PiN diodes, followed by a transition back to finline. This configuration requires a DC bias to the PiN diodes. However, this approach has a limited bandwidth and is relatively difficult to manufacture. Therefore, a need exists for a way to modulate the insertion loss of a waveguide structure that does not require multiple transitions and the need for applying a DC bias to a transition element.

Opto-electronically controlled RF waveguide

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


The invention relates to compounds of formula I:

Until recently, theories regarding the pathophysiology of migraine have been dominated since 1938 by the work of Graham and Wolff. Arch. Neurol. Psychiatry, 39:737-63, 1938. They proposed that the cause of migraine headache was vasodilatation of extracranial vessels. This view was supported by knowledge that ergot alkaloids and sumatriptan, a hydrophilic 5-HT1 agonist which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, induce contraction of cephalic vascular smooth muscle and are effective in the treatment of migraine. Humphrey, et al., Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 600:587-600, 1990. Recent work by Moskowitz has shown, however, that the occurrence of migraine headaches is independent of changes in vessel diameter. Cephalalgia, 12:5-7, 1992.
Moskowitz has proposed that currently unknown triggers for pain stimulate trigeminal ganglia that innervate vasculature within the cephalic tissue, giving rise to release of vasoactive neuropeptides from axons on the vasculature. These released neuropeptides then activate a series of events, a consequence of which is pain. This neurogenic inflammation is blocked by sumatriptan and ergot alkaloids by mechanisms involving 5-HT receptors, believed to be closely related to the 5-HT1D subtype, located on the trigeminovascular fibers. Neurology, 43(suppl. 3):S16-S20 1993. Sumatriptan, in fact, has high affinity for the 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors, Ki=10.3 nM and 5.1 nM, respectively, which activity may be indicative of vasoconstrictive activity. Sumatriptan and similar compounds previously advanced for the treatment of migraine had tended to be selected on the basis of this vasoconstrictive activity under the premises of the prior art models for migraine.
Serotonin (5-HT) exhibits diverse physiological activity mediated by at least seven receptor classes, the most heterogeneous of which appears to be 5-HT1. A human gene which expresses one of these 5-HT1 receptor subtypes, named 5-HT1F, was isolated by Kao and coworkers. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90:408-412, 1993. This 5-HT1F receptor exhibits a pharmacological profile distinct from any serotonergic receptor yet described. It was found that sumatriptan, in addition to the above mentioned strong affinities for the 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors, also has affinity for this receptor subtype, with a Ki of about 23 nM. This suggests a possible role of the 5-HT1F receptor in migraine.
Various 5-HT1F receptor agonists have subsequently been developed which have shown relative selectivity for the 5-HT1F receptor subclass and it has been shown that such selectivity generally reduces the vasoconstrictive activity characteristic of other compounds advanced as potential agents for the treatment of migraine and associated disorders.
Included among these 5-HT1F receptor agonists are compounds disclosed in the following:                U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,708,187 and 5,814,653, describing a family of 6-substituted-3-amino(alkyl)-tetrahydrocarbazoles and 7-substituted-4-amino(alkyl)cyclohepta[7,6b]Indoles;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,196, U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,252, U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,197, and WO 96/29075, describing various families of 5-substituted piperidin-3-yl-indoles and 5-substituted 1,2,3,6 tetrahydropyridin-3-yl-indoles;        WO 97/13512 describing a family of 5-substituted 3-aminoethylindoles;        WO 98/46570 describing a family of 5-substituted indoles, pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyridines, benzofurans, and benzothiophenes, having the 3-position substituted with octahydroindolizinyl, octahydro-2H-quinolizinyl, decahydropyrido[1,2-a]azepinyl, 1,2,3,5,8,8a-hexahydroindolizinyl, 1,3,4,6,9,9a-hexahydro-2H-quinolizinyl, or 1,4,6,7,8,9,10,10a-octahydropyrido[1,2-a]azepinyl;        WO 98/20875 and WO 99/25348 describing two families of 5-substituted piperidin-3-yl-azaindoles and 5-substituted 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl-azaindoles;        WO 00/00487 describing a family of 5-substituted (piperidin-3-yl or 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl)indoles, azaindoles, benzofurans, and benzothiophenes;        WO 98/08502 describing a family of 8-substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-dibenzofuranamines and 9-substituted-2-aminocyclohepta[b]benzofurans;        WO 98/55115 describing a family of 3-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-carbazole-6-carboxamides and 4-amino-10H-cyclohepta[7,6-b]indole-7-carboxamides;        WO 98/15545 describing a select family of 3,5-disubstituted indoles and benzofurans;        WO 00/00490 describing a family of 5-allyl-substituted (piperidin-3-yl or 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl)indoles, azaindoles, benzofurans, and benzothiophenes;        WO 00/47559 describing a family of 4-(3-substituted-benzoyl)piperidines;        WO 00/50426 describing a family of 3,5-disubstituted azabenzofurans; and        WO 00/34266 describing a family of 3-heteroaryl-5-[2-(aryl or heteroaryl)-2-oxoethyl]indoles.
Continued research has now surprisingly yielded a new and unexpected class of novel selective 5-HT1F agonists having distinct chemical and receptor binding properties, which inhibit peptide extravasation, while avoiding significant vasoconstrictive activity, and are therefore useful for the treatment of migraine and other 5-HT1F receptor associated disorders. Furthermore, the compounds of the present invention may provide improved solubility, which facilitates suitability in preferred formulations, such as sublingual, buccal, and/or nasal formulations.

Abstract: or pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof, where; R1 is C1-C6 alkyl, substituted C1-C6 alkyl, C3-C7 cycloalkyl, substituted C3-C7 cycloalkyl, C3-C7 cycloalkyl-C1-C3 alkyl, substituted C3-C7 cycloalkyl-C1-C3 alkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, heterocycle, or substituted heterocycle;        R2 is hydrogen, C1-C3 alkyl, C3-C6 cycloalkyl-C1-C3 alkyl, or a group of formula II;

Abstract: R3 is hydrogen or C1-C3 alkyl;        R4 is hydrogen, halo, or C1-C3 alkyl;        R5 is hydrogen or C1-C3 alkyl;        R6 is hydrogen or C1-C6 alkyl; and        n is an integer from 1 to 6 inclusively.

Abstract: The compounds of the present invention are useful for activating 5-HT1F receptors, inhibiting neuronal protein extravasation, and for the treatment or prevention of migraine in a mammal. The present invention also relates to a process for the synthesis of intermediates in the synthesis of compounds of Formula I.


A data storage device includes a memory die. The memory die includes parity circuitry and a memory having a three-dimensional (3D) memory configuration. The memory includes a first block, a second block, and a third block. A method includes generating parity information based on first data associated with a first word line of the first block and further based on second data associated with a second word line of the second block. The parity information is generated by the parity circuitry. The method further includes writing the parity information to a third word line of the third block.

Non-volatile data storage devices have enabled increased portability of data and software applications. For example, multi-level cell (MLC) storage elements of a flash memory device may each store multiple bits of data, enhancing data storage density as compared to single-level cell (SLC) flash memory devices. As another example, a memory with a three-dimensional (3D) memory configuration may include multiple layers of storage elements, thus increasing data storage density compared to a two-dimensional (2D) (or "planar") memory device. Consequently, memory devices enable users to store and access a large amount of data.
As data storage density increases, error rates of stored data may also increase (e.g., due to noise and other factors). A data storage device may encode and decode data using an error correcting code (ECC) technique. The ECC technique may enable error correction. In some cases, data stored at the data storage device may include a large number of errors (e.g., due to noise or other factors). In this case, an error rate of data may exceed an error correction capability associated with the particular ECC scheme used by the data storage device, which may result in data loss.
Some data storage devices generate parity information using multiple pages of data, such as by performing an exclusive-OR (XOR) operation between the multiple pages of data. In this case, if one of the multiple pages cannot be decoded due to a large number of errors, the other pages and the parity information may be XORed to recover the page. Such a technique may involve multiple sense operations as well as XOR computations, which may increase latency at the data storage device.

Data storage device with in-memory parity circuitry


The present invention relates to a micro-organism, Penicillium funiculosum, to enzyme mixtures obtained from it and nucleic acid sequences thereto.

Enzymes have been used for a long time for a variety of different industrial applications. Examples are known in the baking industry, in the wine and fruit juices industry (where enzymes are used to breakdown pectins and β-glucans), in the textile industry (where cellulases are used to obtain soft and smooth cellulosic fabrics) and also, which is not the least application, for animal feed. In this case the enzymes improve the digestibility of vegetable sources.
This last use enables the livestock to digest feed more efficiently. The value of a feed can be measured by the FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio), a nutritive ratio of the amount of feed consumed relative to the weight gain of the animal. A decrease in FCR, for a feed indicates the animal gains proportionately more weight for a given quantity of feed; i.e. the animal is able to utilize the feed more efficiently.
Poor digestibility of the feed components (starch, fat, protein/amino acids) is a noted feature of cereal-based feeds and, for example, particularly those containing a high barley or wheat content. In these cases it may be necessary to formulate the feed to contain higher levels of energy from other sources and other supplements such as amino acids. These enzymes increase the Apparent Metabolizable Energy value of the cereals incorporated into the Feed.
Another approach to resolve this problem has been to add enzyme supplements, cellulases, endo-1,3(4)-β-glucanases (β-glucanases), endo-1,4-β-xylanases (xylanases) etc., or mixtures of enzyme activities, to these cereal-based feeds. Enzyme supplements may have a specific use to hydrolyze the β-glucans, or to hydrolyze the arabinoxylans, found in the cereals (typically barley and wheat). The addition of enzymes has different goals. One advantage which clearly proves the efficacy of feed enzyme supplements is the reduction in viscosity of materials in the gut of the animals which receive cereal-based feed containing the appropriate enzyme supplement. The higher viscosity is due, in part, to β-glucans and arabinoxylans found in barley and wheat. The lower viscosity, resulting from enzyme action, permits an easier absorption of nutritional components in the animal's gut. The other advantage is the release of nutrients entrapped by the cell walls of the cereals decreasing the requirement for other costly feed supplements. Overall the result is a significant reduction in the cost of the feed with a similar or beneficial effect as measured by the FCR.
Enzymes preparations originating from a range of different micro-organisms have been described to improve feed digestibility.
If we consider prior art related to the use of enzymes in the animal feed we can mention the European Patent No 0.699.762 which describes use of a phytase issued from Schwanniomyces occidentalis. This phytase is a phytase obtained from genetically modified organism obtained by including cloned gene that we would like to avoid in the present invention.
If we consider the WO 95/26398 patent application, again a modified cellulase is obtained by inclusion of foreign DNA sequence in an host cell which modifies the nature of the original strain which is chosen in the following list of micro-organisms: Bacillus, Streptomyces, Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Aspergillus. In the present invention our main aim was to avoid foreign gene inclusion in the micro-organism which is the producer of the enzyme.
In the WO 96/05739 patent application, a mixture of enzymes (xylanase, protease and, optionally, β-glucanase) is obtained from different micro-organisms. The authors give example (page 5) of enzymes mixture with a ratio of xylanase activity to β-glucanase activity of the order of 1:5. It has been found that when a xylanase is included in a cereal-based diet at or around its optimum dosage level, the co-presence of enzymes possessing β-glucanase activity increase the FCR of the feed which is of course disadvantageous. Consequently the authors advise against the presence of β-glucanase, they recommend a maximum ratio of xylanase activity to β-glucanase activity of 1:0-0.25.
In some cases, in order to ensure all the enzyme activities relevant to the feed application are present, preparations are made up from preparations from more than one micro-organism. In a number of cases the enzyme preparations have been obtained from microorganisms subjected to genetic modification using recombinant DNA techniques.
We have discovered and developed a new micro-organism belonging to the class of Penicillium funiculosum, that contains new enzymes and a mixture of enzyme activities which can be used successfully to increase mainly the digestibility of cereal-based animal feeds.


A process for sensing and analyzing electrical activity of the human heart includes the use of a set of electrodes for a first lead system and an ECG monitor design for use with a second lead system that is different from the first lead system. Output signals from the first lead system electrodes are connected to first, second and third channel inputs for the ECG monitor. The input signals to the ECG monitor are linearly transformed to output first, second and third ECG channels which are consistent with standard output for the first lead system. In linearly transforming the inputted signals to the ECG monitor, differences between the first lead system electrodes and the ECG monitor are manipulated either before the output signals from the first lead system electrodes are fed to the channel inputs for the ECG monitor, or after the ECG monitor has formed channels. Specifically disclosed herein is the transformation of signals between 1) a standard bedside system I lead system, 2) a standard EASI lead system, 3) a standard bedside system II lead system, and 4) a Dower EASI lead system.

This invention relates to electrophysiology, and to instrumentation and methods for sensing and analyzing activity of the human heart. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for sensing and analyzing electrical activity of the human heart utilizing one lead system with a three-channel ECG monitor designed for use with a second lead system that is different from the first.
Over the last several decades, a variety of diagnostic procedures have been developed for sensing and analyzing activity of the human heart. These include electrocardiography, vectorcardiography and polarcardiography, all of which depend upon related instrumentation used to produce records derived from voltages produced by the heart on the surface of the human body.
The records so produced are graphical in character and require interpretation and analysis to relate the resulting information to the heart condition of the patient or other subject. Historically, such records have been produced directly as visible graphic recordings from wired connections extending from the subject to the recording device. With advances in computer technology, it has become possible to produce such records in the form of digitally stored information for later replication or retrieval and analysis. Likewise, with advances in communication technology, remote (wireless) sensing has become possible.
(a) Electrocardiography
The production of a conventional 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) involves the placement of 10 lead electrodes (one of which is a ground or reference electrode) at selected points on the surface of a subject""s body. Each electrode acts in combination with one or more other electrodes to detect voltages produced by depolarization and repolarization of individual heart muscle cells. The detected voltages are combined and processed to produce 12 tracings of time varying voltages. The tracings so produced are as follows:
where, in the standard, most widely used system for making short term electrocardiographic recordings of supine subjects, the potentials indicated above, and their associated electrode positions, are:
vL potential of an electrode on the left arm;
vR potential of an electrode on the right arm;
vF potential of an electrode on the left leg;
v1 potential of an electrode on the front chest, right of sternum in the 4th rib interspace;
v2 potential of an electrode on the front chest, left of sternum in the 4th rib interspace;
v4 potential of an electrode at the left mid-clavicular line in the 5th rib interspace;
v3 potential of an electrode midway between the v2 and v4 electrodes;
v6 potential of an electrode at the left mid-axillary line in the 5th rib interspace;
v5 potential of an electrode midway between the v4 and v6 electrodes;
vG (not indicated above) is a ground or reference potential with respect to which potentials vL, vR, vF, and v1 through v6 are measured. Typically, though not necessarily, the ground or reference electrode is positioned on the right leg.
Correct interpretation of an ECG requires a great deal of experience since it involves familiarity with a wide range of patterns in the tracings of the various leads. Any ECG which uses an unconventional system of leads necessarily detracts from the body of experience that has been developed, in the interpretations of conventional ECGs, and may therefore be considered generally undesirable. The tracings generated would be understandable only by a relative few who were familiar with the unconventional system.
Nevertheless, other lead systems have evolved from improvements in instrumentation that have permitted extension of electrocardiography to ambulatory, and even vigorously exercising subjectsxe2x80x94and to recordings made over hours, or even days. For example, in stress testing the electrodes are moved from the arms to the trunk, although the same number of electrodes (10) are used. The tracings I, II, III, aVR, aVL and aVF are altered by this modification.
Although a 12-lead ECG is considered to be a cost effective heart test, it is to be noted that the relatively large number of electrodes required play an important role in determining costsxe2x80x94not only in terms of the direct cost of the electrodes themselves, but also terms of the time required to properly position and fix each electrode to a subject""s body.
(b) Vectorcardiography
The pattern of potential differences on a body surface resulting from electrical activity of the heart can be mathematically approximated by replacing the heart with a dipole equivalent cardiac generator. The magnitude and orientation of this dipole are represented by the heart vector which is continually changing throughout the cycle of the heart beat. The XYZ coordinates of the heart give rise to time varying xyz signals, which may be written out as xyz tracings. Orthogonal leads to give these tracings were developed by Ernest Frank (see An Accurate, Clinically Practical System For Spatial Vectorcardiography, Circulation 13: 737, May 1956). Frank experimentally determined the image surface for one individual, and from this proposed a system using seven electrodes on the body, plus a grounding electrode. The conventional letter designations for such electrodes, and their respective positions were:
E at the front midline;
M at the back midline;
I at the right mid-axillary line;
A at the left mid-axillary line;
C at a 45xc2x0 angle between the front midline and the left mid-axillary line;
F on the left leg;
H on the back of the neck.
The first five electrodes (E, M, I, A and C) were all located at the same transverse levelxe2x80x94approximately at the fourth of the fifth rib interspace. A linear combining network of resistors attached to these electrodes gave suitably scaled x, y and z voltage signals as outputs.
Unfortunately, xyz tracings are not as easy to interpret as 12 lead ECGs. However, Frank intended his system for a different purpose: vectorcardiography.
Vectorcardiography abandons the horizontal time coordinate of the ECG in favor of plots or tracings of the orientation and magnitude of the heart vector on each of three planes: a frontal (xy) plane plotting an x-axis (right arm to left arm) against a y-axis (head to foot); a transverse (xz) plane plotting the x-axis against a z-axis (front to back), and a sagittal plane plotting the y-axis against the z-axis.
Although it has long formed a basis for teaching electrocardiography, vectorcardiography has never become widely used. The technique was demanding and the system of electrode placement was different from that required for the ECG. Extra work was required, and it would still be necessary to record a 12-lead ECG separately with a different placement of electrodes.
An alternative to the Frank lead system that required only four active electrodes (R(right arm), A, F, E), and that used a resistor network based on Frank""s image surface data was proposed in 1958 by G. E. Dower and J. A. Osborne (see A Clinical Comparison of Three VCG Lead Systems Using Resistance-Combining Networks, Am Heart J 55: 523, 1958). However, the xyz signals produced were sometimes different from those of Frank""s lead system, and the RAFE system was not adopted.
(c) Polarcardiography
An alternative representation of the heart vector, known as polarcardiography, has been exploited since the early 1960""s (see G. E. Dower, Polarcardiography, Springfield, III, Thomas, 1971). It has certain inherent advantages in defining abnormalities, and forms the basis of a successful program for automated analysis. Based on xyz signals, polarcardiography employs the Frank lead system. In order to render it competitive with the established 12-lead ECG, the lead vector concept has been employed to derive a resistor network that would linearly transform the xyz signals into analogs of the 12-lead ECG signals (see G. E Dower, A Lead Synthesizer for the Frank Lead System to Stimulate the Standard 12-Lead Electrocardiogram, J. Electrocardiol 1: 101, 1968, G. E. Dower, H. B. Machado, J. A. Osborne, On Deriving the Electrocardiogram From Vectorcardiographic Leads, Clin Cardiol 3: 97, 1980; and G. E. Dower, The ECGD: A Derivation of the ECG from VCG leads (editorial), J. Electrocardiol 17: 189, 1984). The ECG thus derived is commonly referred to as the ECGD. Because the ECGD can be acceptable to an interpreting physician, it is not necessary for the technician to apply the electrodes required for a conventional ECG. Further, associated computer facilities can make vectorcardiograms and other useful displays available from the xyz recordings. Nevertheless, the number of electrodes called for by the Frank lead system are required. In addition, the effort required by the technician recording the xyz signals is about the same as for a conventional ECG.
(d) Conventional Three-Channel ECG Monitor and Lead System
More recently, conventional three-channel ECG monitors have been utilized with a four or five wire cable that transmits input from four or five electrodes placed at selected points on the surface of a subject""s body. Each electrode acts in combination with one or more other electrodes to detect voltages produced by depolarization and repolarization of individual heart muscle cells. The detected voltages are combined and processed to produce three tracings of time varying voltages. Notably, the three-channel ECG monitor does not act simply as a three-channel amplifier but, rather does some signal manipulation to enable staff to visualize the amplified and displayed or recorded ECG in a conventional manner. More particularly, the three channels of a conventional three-channel ECG bedside monitor do the following:
Channel 1, which is connected as the difference between the left arm electrode voltage and the right arm electrode voltage (Vleft armxe2x88x92Vright arm) is simply amplified and presented as conventional ECG lead I.
Channel 2, which is connected as the difference between the left leg electrode voltage and the right arm electrode voltage (Vleft legxe2x88x92Vright arm) is likewise amplified and presented as conventional ECG lead II.
Channel 3, however, is created as the difference between the voltage of an exploring electrode, typically placed on the chest, and the voltage of the xe2x80x9cWilson Central Terminalxe2x80x9d, a construct intended to represent the voltage at the center of the heart. The Wilson Central Terminal is calculated as the average of the voltages of the electrodes attached to the left arm, right arm and left leg. Hence, Vchannel3=Vchestxe2x88x92(Vleft arm+Vright arm+Vleft leg)/3.
If a fifth wire is provided the cable, the electrode is typically attached to the right leg and serves as a ground.
(e) The Dower EASI Lead System
An improved method and apparatus for sensing and analyzing activity of the human heart, and which requires a reduced number of electrodes to produce accurate simulations of conventional twelve-lead electrocardiograms and vectorcardiograms, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,370 (the contents of which are incorporated herein).
The 4 electrode positions that are fundamental in the use of the Dower lead system consist of electrode position E of the Frank lead system, electrode position A of the Frank lead system, an electrode position S over the upper end of the sternum (manubrium sterni), and electrode position I of the Frank lead system. (Such E, A, S and I electrodes are from time-to-time collectively referred to herein as the xe2x80x9cEASIxe2x80x9d electrodes.) 12-lead electrocardiographic signals and xyz vectorcardiographic signals can be derived by measuring and, with suitable signal processing means, combining and scaling the voltages present between first, second and third selected pairs of the EASI electrodes.
Sometimes it is desirable to be able to utilize one lead system with an ECG monitor designed for use with a second lead system. For example, it may be desirable at times to utilize a conventional three-channel ECG monitor together with the leads from an EASI lead system or, conversely, utilize a monitor and telemetry system designed for use with EASI leads with conventional leads designed for use with a conventional three-channel monitor. In such cases it is desirable to translate data input from one lead system so that it may be processed through the monitor and telemetry system designed for another lead system. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention provides a novel apparatus for measuring and processing voltages produced by a human heart as sensed between selected points on the surface of a subject""s body, and a related process for sensing and analyzing electrical activity of the human heart utilizing a first lead system, with an ECG monitor designed for use with a second lead system. Broadly, the process includes the steps of (1) providing a set of electrodes for a first lead system, 2) providing an ECG monitor designed for use with a second lead system that is different from the first lead system, 3) connecting output signals from the first lead system electrodes to channel inputs for the ECG monitor, and 4) transforming the inputted signals to the ECG monitor to output at least one channel signal which is consistent with standard output for the first lead system. The transforming step typically involves a linear transformation of the inputted signals to the ECG monitor to output the at least one channel signal. Such linear transformation includes manipulating differences between the first lead system electrodes and the ECG monitor either before the output signals from the first lead system electrodes are fed to the channel inputs for the ECG monitor, or after the ECG monitor has formed channels.
More particularly, the present invention is well suited for use with a first lead system having at least four electrodes attachable to the subject""s body at predefined locations, and a three-channel ECG monitor which is designed for use with a second lead system that is different from the first lead system. Examples of lead systems to which the process of the present invention may apply include 1) a standard bedside lead system I, 2) a standard EASI lead system, 3) a standard bedside lead system II, and 4) a Dower EASI lead system.
By way of example, the first lead system may comprise an EASI lead system, and the second lead system may comprise a standard bedside lead system I that includes a conventional three-channel ECG monitor. The first electrode (Elec1) is the E electrode, the second electrode (Elec2) is the S electrode, the third electrode (Elec3) is the A electrode, and the fourth electrode (Elec4) is the I electrode of the EASI lead system. In this case, the first electrode (Elec1) and the second electrode (Elec2) are connected to a first channel (Chan1) of the ECG monitor. The third electrode (Elec3) and the second electrode (Elec2) are connected to a second channel (Chan2) of the ECG monitor. Finally, the fourth electrode (Elec4) is connected to the third channel (Chan3) of the ECG monitor and its input is modified by one-third of the summed input from the first three electrodes (Elec1+Elec2+Elec3).
Similarly, and by way of yet another example, the first lead system may comprise a standard bedside system I lead system that provides input for a conventional three-channel ECG monitor, and the second lead system may comprise a standard EASI lead system. Here, the first electrode (Elec1) is a left arm (LA) electrode, the second electrode (Elec2) is a right arm (RA) electrode, the third electrode (Elec3) is a left leg (LL) electrode, and the fourth electrode is an exploring electrode (typically placed on the chest) of the conventional cable for the conventional three-channel ECG monitor. In such case the first electrode (Elec1) and the second electrode (Elec2) are connected to a first channel (Chan1) of the ECG monitor. The third electrode (Elec3) and the second electrode (Elec2) are connected to a second channel (Chan2) of the ECG monitor. The third electrode (Elec3) and the fourth electrode (Elec4) are then connected to the third channel (Chan3) of the ECG monitor to achieve the desired result.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Process for sensing and analyzing electrical activity of the human heart utilizing one lead system with an egg monitor designed for use with another lead system


A solar power system includes at least one alternating-current module and a communication apparatus. Each alternating-current module includes a solar panel and an alternating-current inverter. The communication apparatus connects to the alternating-current module and controls stand-alone power-generating operations on the alternating-current module. The communication includes a module connector and a control circuit. The module connector is configured for connecting with the alternating-current module. The alternating-current module can be parallel-connected on a household power grid selectively. The communication apparatus can transmit a stand-alone power-generating command to the alternating-current module. The alternating-current inverter may cancel an anti-islanding protection procedure thereon according to the stand-alone power-generating command.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a solar power system. More to particularly, the present disclosure relates to a solar power system capable of operating independently outside an electricity grid and a communication apparatus of the solar power system.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the oil crisis happened from time to time, people put efforts into searching alternative energy sources, in order to find out sustainable and low-pollution renewable energy sources. Common renewable energy sources include solar power, biomass (bio-fuels), geothermal, wind power, tides, ocean temperature difference power generation . . . , and so on. However, people still hope for finding out a renewable energy source. Among them, utilizing the solar power to generate electricity is regarded as one of the widely discussed renewable energy implementations.
Currently, the traditional fixed solar power system can support three operating modes including On-grid, Off-grid and Hybrid modes. A solar power system may include a plurality of solar power alternating-current (AC) modules. In a traditional solar power system, a large system (such as a fixed solar power generator set within a power plant, or a solar power generator set implemented on a residential roof) is regarded as one basic unit for power generating. With the development of photovoltaic technology, the basic unit for power generating in current system can be changed into a small AC module, which is suitable for household applications in general. However, the smaller AC module in general needs to be operated under the On-grid mode.
In other words, the solar power systems existed in present applications are mainly divided into two groups, which are the fixed system without mobility and the AC module incapable of operating outside the local public electricity grid. Therefore, the solar power equipment with mobility and usability is highly demanded in present applications.

Solar power system and communication apparatus


When a powdered extract of Kampo medicine is encapsulated as such in hard capsules, the pharmaceutical effects of the Kampo medicine cannot be fully achieved, since the dissolution of the content of the hard capsules requires a long period of time. Therefore, the present invention aims at providing Kampo medicine hard capsules having good dissolution properties.. The present invention provides a process for producing Kampo medicine hard capsules which comprises compacting Kampo medicine extract powder, mixing magnesium stearate with the compacted Kampo medicine extract powder and filing the mixture into gelatin hard capsules.. It is preferable that the weight ratio of the magnesium stearate to the Kampo medicine powdered extract ranges from 0.5/100 to 3/100. Furthermore, it is preferable that said Kampo medicine is selected from Oren-gedoku-to, Sho-saiko-to, Ninjin-to, San'o-shashin-to, Mao-bushi-saishin-to, Anchu-san, Keishi-bukuryo-gan, Byakko-ka-ninjin-to, Shakuyaku-kanzo-to and Sairei-to.

Kampo medicines are herbal medicines which originated from Chinese medicine and have been developed in Japan, and crude drugs (galenicals) have been applied to such Kampo medicines from ancient times. Recipes for these crude drugs based on experiences over a long time are described in a number of Chinese classical literatures such as Shang Han Lun and Jin Kui Yao Lue.
However, in the case of Kampo medicine prepared by cutting and decocting crude drugs to thereby extract active ingredients in accordance with these recipes, the preparation of Kampo medicine takes a long time and much labor each time on use. In addition, thus obtained decoctions have characteristic uncomfortable drug odors and tastes and, therefore, cannot be easily taken.
Therefore, in these days, Kampo medicine extract preparations are commonly used in the fields of nonproprietary drugs and ethical drugs and largely contribute to clinical pharmacy, although it is preferable to take the medicines in the form of the above-mentioned decoctions. This is because that these Kampo medicine extract preparations require no procedure for extracting active ingredients and can be easily stored and carried.
These Kampo medicine extract preparations are usually produced by the following method; a crude drug is cut into pieces and extracted with water or an alcohol; the obtained extract solution is concentrated, if required, and then dried to thereby give a powdered extract of the Kampo medicine; and the powdered extract is blended with appropriate fillers (for example, lactose, corn starch, crystalline cellulose) and formulated into a desired dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, powders, fine granules and granules.
Capsules are advantageous in that the content of an active ingredient in each capsule can be accurately controlled and that they can be easily formulated and conveniently carried. It is further advantageous to encapsulate Kampo medicine in hard capsules since the uncomfortable taste, odor and color of a principal agent can be masked and thus a product excellent in appearance can be obtained.
However, when a powdered extract of a Kampo medicine is encapsulated in hard capsules, the pharmaceutical effects of the Kampo medicine cannot be fully achieved, since the dissolution of the content of hard capsules requires a long period of time.
Under these circumstances, it has been required to develop Kampo medicine hard capsules having good dissolution properties.

Process for producing kampo medicine hard capsules