In a printing press, ink fountain keys are disposed to be movable toward and away from an ink fountain roller of an ink fountain to allow them to have a predetermined gap therebetween and hence the amount of ink to be fed to a downstream roller to be determined. The ink fountain roller is rotated while ink is prevented from being fed to the downstream roller. At least one of the ink fountain keys is moved so as to allow the at least one of the fountain keys to change a position thereof relative to the ink fountain roller of the ink fountain with time. With this arrangement, it is possible to improve an ink kneading effect produced by the rotation of the ink fountain roller without the necessity to manually knead ink in the ink fountain by the operator and the necessity to provide any ink kneading device or unit independently of the printing press.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of kneading ink of a printing press and a printing press.
2. Related Art
Among conventional printing presses, some printing presses are structured to have an ink fountain for storage of printing ink (hereinafter simply referred to ink), an ink fountain roller that rotates so as to make ink of the ink fountain adhere to its circumference and feed the ink therefrom to a downstream roller (e.g., an ink transfer roller), and one or more ink fountain keys that are aligned in a first direction parallel to the axis of the ink fountain roller and disposed so as to be moved back and forth in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, thereby keeping a predetermined gap or space (hereinafter referred to gap) between the ink fountain roller and each of the ink fountain keys and hence determining the amount of ink to be fed to the downstream roller.
In the printing press of the above type, for example, ink fed from the ink fountain to the ink fountain roller is fed via a group of rollers comprising a number of rollers, which include ink transfer rollers disposed downstream to the ink fountain roller, to a plate cylinder with printing plates mounted thereon and then transferred from the plate cylinder to a rubber cylinder (a blanket cylinder) as a printing image. Ink which has been transferred as the printing image from the plate cylinder to the rubber cylinder is then transferred to substrates (e.g., printing sheets) that pass between the rubber cylinder and its corresponding impression cylinder, thereby printing the printing image on the substrates. Thus, the substrates with the printing image thereon (prints) are provided. In this printing operation, a predetermined gap is kept between each of the ink fountain keys and the ink fountain roller, thereby allowing a proper amount of ink for adjusting an image quality (image density) of prints to be fed from the ink fountain roller to the ink transfer roller. Thus, a desired image quality for prints can be attained. The image quality of prints to be printed is easy to be influenced by the characteristic change of ink. For example, ink in the ink fountain has its characteristics changed and viscosity generally increased in a case where the ink is left therein for a long time since the last printing operation of the printing press. It is known that the following phenomena may take place in such a case.
That is, in the printing operation, ink is kneaded by the rotation of the ink fountain roller as the printing proceeds and such kneading affects on ink, causing, in general, ink to have a viscosity lower than the viscosity of ink which has been left for a long time since the last printing operation. In more detail, in a case where the printing operation has been initiated with ink left in the ink fountain for a long time, the viscosity of this ink is increased at an initial stage of the printing operation, and therefore this highly viscous ink may likely cause print images to be printed on prints with a decreased ink density. As the printing operation proceeds further, the viscosity of ink is gradually decreased, thereby likely causing printing images to be printed on prints with an increased density. This change in density of ink printed on prints, due to the characteristic change (particularly, viscosity change) of ink between the initial stage and later stages of the operation, may make it easy to cause, for example, so-called broke or prints which cannot be used as products in the initial stage of the printing operation.
In a conventional printing press, prior to starting the printing operation, a given operational mode adapted such as for maintenance, trouble repair or more specifically cleaning of an ink fountain roller is selected so that the ink fountain roller is rotated for a given time (e.g., several ten minutes) with the ink fountain keys being held at a given distance from the ink fountain roller or, for example, being opened to the maximum so as to knead ink in the ink fountain by the rotation of the ink fountain roller, thereby allowing the viscosity of the ink to be the same level as the viscosity of ink attained in the later stages of the printing operation. Thus, the printing operation is started.
In order to further improve an ink kneading effect produced by the rotation of the ink fountain roller, additional ink kneading is sometimes made manually by an operator using a paddle-like tool or the like, or by an ink kneading unit that is provided independently of the printing press. This unit is equipped such as with a rotary stirrer having a circular-cone shape that is disposed to be movable in a direction parallel to the axis of the ink fountain roller relative to the ink fountain, in which the rotary stirrer is rotated in the ink fountain as it is moved in the direction parallel to the axis of the ink fountain roller.
The above conventional kneading operation, which is made additionally for the improvement of the kneading effect by the rotation of the ink fountain roller, increases the operator's workload to manually knead ink in the ink fountain, or wash the stirrer of the kneading unit after the kneading operation. Whether the kneading operation is made manually or automatically, the operator's workload is increased. As a further disadvantage in providing an ink kneading unit, the cost of the printing press is increased due to the additional arrangement of the ink kneading unit.
In consideration of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of kneading ink of a printing press and a printing press that are capable of reducing the operator's workload and holding down the cost of the printing press.

Method of kneading ink of a printing press and printing press


Apparatus and methods for transport optimization for widget content delivery includes obtaining updated content corresponding to a mobile widget having a plurality of informational hierarchical depths, and obtaining user navigation pattern historical data corresponding to the mobile widget, wherein the user navigation pattern historical data corresponds to the plurality of informational hierarchical depths. The aspects also include obtaining a first informational hierarchical depth range for inclusion in a first content update message for delivery to a device, wherein the first informational hierarchical depth range is based on the user navigation pattern historical data. Further, the aspects include generating a content update message with a first portion of the updated content corresponding to the first informational hierarchical depth range. Optionally, the aspects further include reducing a size of the first portion of the updated content in the first content update message, thereby defining a first compressed portion of the updated content.

The described aspects relate to widgets, and more specifically to apparatus and methods relating to transport optimization for widget content delivery in a wireless communication environment.
Wireless networking systems have become a prevalent way to communicate with others worldwide. Wireless communication devices, such as a mobile or cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., operate on such networks, and have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Consumers have become dependent upon these devices, demanding reliable service, expanded areas of coverage, additional services such as web browsing capabilities, and continued reduction in the size and cost of such devices.
Many of the functionalities and end user experiences of wireless communication devices have been developed, with limited success, to mimic the functionalities and end user experiences of a personal computing (PC) environment. For example, mobile web services have seen varying levels of success, even with the deployment of relatively high speed and high capacity services, such as advanced 3G services (1X-EV-DO Rev. A, UMTS HSPA). Much of the problem lies in the fact that the mobile web browsing experience is distinct from the PC experience with which most users are familiar. In particular, many end users find mobile web browsing applications to be hard to use, for example, with regard to entering search information, and difficult to enjoy, for example, as the resulting presentation of content is unpleasant.
Further, web content delivery for desktop widgets is normally accomplished under the assumption that sufficient access layer throughput is available. In contrast, cellular access to such content often results in varying, and occasionally insufficient, throughput for delivery of content.
Therefore, apparatus and methods are desired to improve the experience of an end user in interacting with web services on a wireless communication device.


A semiconductor device, comprising a nitride semiconductor layer, a switching element, and a driving transistor; the switching element comprises: a first portion of a first electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer; a second electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer; and a first control electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer and located between the first portion of the first electrode and the second electrode; the driving transistor comprises: a second portion of the first electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer and connecting the first portions of the adjacent first electrodes to each other; a third electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer and transmitting a signal to the first control electrode; and a second control electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor layer and located between the second portion of the first electrode and the third electrode. Therefore, when the switching element is turned off, it can be kept in an off state even if a drain voltage applied to the switching element is subjected to a variation or the like.

The Group III-V nitride compound semiconductor represented by the gallium nitride (GaN), i.e., the so-called nitride semiconductor has attracted attention. The nitride semiconductor is a compound semiconductor having a general formula represented as InxGayAl1−x−yN (0≤x≤1, 0≤y≤1, x+y≤1) and composed of aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga) and indium (In) as group III elements and nitrogen (N) as a group V element. The nitride semiconductor can form various mixed crystals and can easily form a hetero-junction interface. The hetero junction of the nitride semiconductor has the following characteristics: a high-concentration two-dimensional electron gas layer is generated at the junction interface due to a spontaneous polarization and/or a piezoelectric polarization even under an undoped state. A Field Effect Transistor (FET) employing the high-concentration two-dimensional electron gas layer as carriers has attracted attention as a switching element for high frequency and high power.
A driving transistor is required in the switching element, and it may consider a case where the driving transistor is provided as an independent package and a case where the switching element and the driving transistor are provided as a same package. In the latter case, patent document 1 and the like disclose an example in which a driving transistor is formed of a nitride semiconductor, and a switching transistor and the driving transistor are formed on a same substrate. In the above structure, the semiconductor device can switch at a high speed even in cases where a gate signal is not at a high speed, an output impedance of a gate driving circuit is high, and an influence of a wiring inductance is worried.
In such a semiconductor device, in a case where an excessive current flows through a power line of the semiconductor device, when the connections of wiring, wires, etc. between a source electrode of the switching element and a source electrode of the driving transistor are lengthened, sometimes a parasitic impedance between the source electrode of the switching element and the source electrode of the driving transistor is increased, and the switching element performs a misoperation or oscillation.
The source electrode of the switching element is further connected to a source terminal of the semiconductor device. Here, by causing a connection portion between the source electrode of the driving transistor and the source electrode of the switching element to be as close as possible to a side of the source electrode of the switching element rather than to a side of the source terminal of the semiconductor device, it is possible to divide a power line which allows a main current to flow through the switching element, and a signal line which allows a signal current to flow through an inter-gate-source loop of the switching element. As a result, potential variations in a potential of a source portion of the switching element and a potential of a source portion of the driving transistor can be suppressed, so as to suppress a misoperation or an oscillation of the switching element.

Semiconductor device including a nitride layer


A user worn man overboard beacon that provides multiple indication means to alert a ship to an overboard crew person and to assist in locating the crew person. The beacon device is contained in a housing attached to the clothing of the sailor and is activated upon contact with seawater. A battery powers the multiple indicators contained in the housing, which include a high intensity strobe light to provide a visual indication, an x-band radar patch antenna to transmit a radar signal indication that can be detected by the ship's radar system, and an acoustic transducer to project an acoustic signal indication that can be detected by the ship's sonar system.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beacons, and more specifically to a beacon device that can alert a ship if a crewmember falls overboard and can assist the ship in locating the crewmember.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
On large naval vessels, especially aircraft carriers, with the harried activity that occurs on deck involving multiple crewmembers, sailors run the risk of falling overboard during operations without being noticed. In situations where a person has fallen off a ship at sea, the time elapsing between going overboard and being rescued is inversely proportional to the chance of survival for the overboard sailor. It is therefore critical that the ship be alerted immediately of such an occurrence before a fatality occurs. It is also critical that the ship be alerted through an automated means in the event that the sailor has lost consciousness once overboard.
Currently there is no device that can be worn by U.S. Navy sailors that will significantly enhance the probability that they will be found if they fall overboard. Most life vests contain small water activated lights. Due to the low intensity of the lights, however, they are of limited use during the daytime. In conditions of reduced visibility, the low power of such lights is inadequate at night. Some vests do contain strobe lights which are much more effective, but still not ideal in daytime. The ubiquitous whistle is not likely to be heard over all the other noises on a ship. What is needed is a man overboard beacon device that provides multiple indication means to effectively alert a ship that a crewmember is overboard and to assist the ship in locating the crewmember. This is accomplished through the present invention by incorporating a visual indicator, a radar indicator and an acoustic indicator as alertment and location beacons to alert ships.

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


An ink-jet head control circuit is provided that includes a latch circuit which respectively stores a first data block and a second data block following the first data block, for ink liquid drop discharge, and a data determination unit which calculates a state transition data block based on the stored first and second data blocks. If the first data block is the same as the second data block, the data determination unit outputs a state transition data block having a first value (Low), and if the first data block is different from the second data block, the data determination unit outputs a state transition data block having a second value (High).

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet head control circuit, an ink-jet head module, a data transmission method, and a liquid drop discharge apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An overview of a head unit of an ink-jet liquid drop discharge apparatus and a driving device thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 10.
FIG. 10 schematically shows the structure of a liquid drop discharge apparatus 900 comprising an information processor main body 910 (hereinafter, referred to as a driving device) that is a control subject, and a head unit 950 to be controlled. In FIG. 10, the driving device 910 includes a driving signal generator 915 which generates a driving signal Vout to discharge liquid drops through a plurality of nozzles, and a data storage unit, which converts driving data input from a high-rank unit (not shown) into data having a structure suitable for transmission to the head unit 950 and outputs the converted driving data in series, that is, a latch circuit 911, and a shift register 913. A print timing signal (PTS) for driving is input to the latch circuit 911 from the high-rank unit, and the latch circuit 911 receives driving data input at a rising edge of the print timing signal PTS and stores the input driving data.
A latch signal LAT, which is obtained by delaying the print timing signal PTS for a predetermined amount of time, is supplied to the driving signal generator 915 from the high-rank unit. In addition, a static voltage VH of about 30 V is applied to the driving signal generator 915 and becomes a power source for a driving signal. The driving signal data input from a data bus is digital-to-analog (D/A) converted by the driving signal generator 915 and is output as the driving signal Vout.
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the head unit 950 includes a shift register 951 for inputting data DATA which is driving information for each nozzle, a latch circuit 952 which stores the data DATA of the shift register 951, a selector 953 which selects driving/non-driving, and a nozzle driving unit 954 which has an actuator for driving a nozzle (not shown) communicating with each of a plurality of liquid drop containers. The shift register 951 converts the data DATA that is input serial data, into parallel data. The latch circuit 952 is a data storage unit that stores the parallel data output from the shift register 951 for each nozzle. In addition, the selector 953 is configured so that the driving signal Vout is transmitted from the driving device 910, driving information distributed for each nozzle is applied to a desired nozzle only during driving and is not applied to the desired nozzle during non-driving. In the nozzle driving unit 954, actuators to which the driving signal Vout is applied are driven and liquid drops are discharged through a plurality of nozzles. A logic power source Vcc and a ground line GND are power source lines. A voltage of +5 V or +3.3 V is supplied to the logic power source Vcc.
An object substrate on which liquid drops are discharged using the aforementioned ink-jet liquid drop discharge apparatus has become larger. As the object substrate becomes larger, a distance that a head unit and a table on which a substrate is installed make a relative motion, that is, a main scanning distance becomes longer. The head unit and the driving device are connected through a flexible flat cable (FFC), for example. As the main scanning distance becomes longer, a signal path, such as an FFC, also becomes longer. If the signal path becomes longer, the ratio of the influence of noise from the outside becomes larger. Due to the influence of noise, the liquid drop discharge apparatus cannot perform a normal discharge operation. Further, for improvement of productivity, the number of head units or the number of nozzles tends to be increased. Thus, the data transmitted to the head unit increases. As such, the power consumption of the driving device or the head unit increases. For example, since the object substrate is large in a liquid drop discharge apparatus for industrial use, the influence of noise and the increase in power consumption cannot be ignored. The influence of noise and the increase in power consumption become larger when the main scanning distance is long and liquid drops are uniformly and consecutively discharged on the object substrate (so-called, the application of liquid drops to the entire surface of a region).
The present invention has been made to address the above problem in the prior art. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an ink-jet head control circuit, an ink-jet head module, a data transmission method, and a liquid drop discharge apparatus to reduce the influence of noise and to have low power consumption.

Ink-jet head control circuit, ink-jet head module, data transmission method, and liquid drop discharge apparatus


A shake correcting device is capable of preventing a correcting optical device from hitting against a component part in the vicinity thereof to generate noise upon outputs from an H bridge driver for driving the correcting optical device being enabled. The device includes an angular velocity sensor that detects shaking of an image pickup apparatus, a position sensor that detects the current position of a shift lens movably disposed for optically correcting the shaking of the apparatus, an H bridge driver that drives the lens according to a drive target value, and an integrator that generates a target correction value based on the output from the angular velocity sensor. The drive target value is calculated based on the target correction value and output data from the position sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shake correcting device incorporated in cameras or video cameras, a shake correcting method for apparatuses, such as cameras or video cameras, and a control program for implementing the shake correcting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an optical shake correcting device has been proposed as a shake correcting device incorporated in image pickup apparatuses, such as cameras or video cameras. The optical shake correcting device performs shake correction by moving at least one of taking lenses in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis thereof and thereby changing the optical axis. FIG. 9 shows an example of the arrangement of the optical shake correcting device (disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-66260).
In FIG. 9, reference numeral 101 designates an angular velocity sensor that is comprised of a vibration gyro, and detects a shake of an image pickup apparatus, 102 a bypass filter that eliminates a drift and other undesired components of the output from the angular velocity sensor 101, 103 an amplifier that amplifies an angular velocity signal indicative of the detected angular velocity, and 120 a microcomputer that controls the overall operation of the image pickup apparatus, including autofocus (AF) control, zoom control, automatic exposure (AE) control, mechanical part control, and power supply control.
Reference numeral 104 designates an A/D converter incorporated in the microcomputer 120. The angular velocity signal is converted to a digital signal by the A/D converter 104 to provide angular velocity data. The angular velocity data is subjected to predetermined signal processing through a high-pass filter (HPF) 105 and a phase compensation filter 106, and an integrator 108 at the next stage generates a shake correction signal. The output from the integrator 108 is used as a target drive value for a shift lens 119, and converted into a PWM signal by a pulse width modulator (PWM) 117, followed by being outputted as a PWM output from the microcomputer 120.
Reference numeral 901 designates a low-pass filter (LPF) that converts the PWM output into a direct current corresponding to a correction amount, i.e. the target drive value. Reference numeral 114 designates a position sensor that detects the current position of the shift lens 119, and 905 an amplifier that amplifies the output from the position sensor 114. An adder 902 calculates the difference between the target drive value, i.e. the output from the LPF 901 and a value corresponding to the current position of the shift lens 119, i.e. the amplified output from the position sensor 114. The output from the adder 902 is supplied to a driver 904 that is implemented by an operational amplifier, and the driver 904 passes an electric current through a coil (not shown) that drives the shift lens 119, to thereby move the shift lens 119 such that a desired optical axis correction angle can be obtained. Shake correction is achieved through these operations.
Further, in FIG. 9, symbol Vp designates a power supply for driving the shift lens 119. The electric power of the power supply Vp is supplied to the driver 904. On the other hand, symbol Vc designates a control power supply, and the electric power of the control power supply Vc is used for driving component parts other than the driver 904. Reference numerals 804 and 805 designate switches operated for supplying power from the respective power supplies Vp and Vc to their associated component parts. For example, in a reproduction mode in which the video camera as the image pickup apparatus does not need an anti-shake function, the switches 804 and 805 are kept off by a power supply controller 803 that operates according to commands from the microcomputer 120, whereby the drive current is interrupted for saving energy.
Now, there are problems in turning on and off the power of the shake correcting device. More specifically, if the drive current suddenly starts flowing upon turning-on of the power, a lens retainer frame that retains the shift lens 119 hits against an inner end of a lens barrel, thereby causing large impact noise. On the other hand, when the power is turned off, the retaining force is cancelled and the shift lens 119 drops due to its own weight so that the lens retainer frame hits against an opposite inner end of the lens barrel, thereby also generating impact noise. The impact noise thus generated degrades the quality of the image pickup apparatus.
To overcome the problem that occurs when the power is turned on, the proposed shake correcting device is configured such that a DC potential to be obtained by smoothing the PWM output from the microcomputer 120 becomes equal to the reference voltage of each of the sections or component parts of the device, and the switches 804 and 805 are controlled to be turned on in the same timing, to thereby suppress generation of impact noise due to hitting of the lens retainer frame against the inner end of the lens barrel. On the other hand, to overcome the problem that occurs when the power is turned off, just before the switches 804 and 805 are turned off, the shift lens 119 is caused to slowly move to a point close to the inner end of the lens barrel, and then the switches 804 and 805 are turned off to thereby suppress generation of impact noise to the minimum, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-66260.
In the conventional correcting device constructed as above, however, since the shift lens 119 is driven by a drive coil which is driven by the operational amplifier, the circuit has a large internal loss, leading to increased power consumption.
To overcome this inconvenience of increased power consumption, a control method has been proposed e.g. in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (Kokai) No. H08-136962 and No. H11-308521, in which an H bridge circuit is used to drive the drive coil directly by the PWM output.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a conventional optical shake correcting device based on the PWM drive control method using a H bridge circuit. In FIG. 10, component parts and elements corresponding to those shown in FIG. 9 are designated by identical reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 116 designates an A/D converter incorporated in the microcomputer 120. The A/D converter 116 converts the amplified output from the position sensor 114 into a digital signal. Reference numeral 111 designates an adder that calculates the difference between a value corresponding to the current position of the shift lens 119 and the target drive value for the shift lens 119. The output from the adder 111 provides an actual correction amount. Reference numeral 112 designates a low-pass filter (LPF) for reducing drive noise generated by an H bridge driver 113. The output from the LFP 112 is subjected to pulse width modulation (PWM) by the PWM section 117, followed by being delivered as the PWM output from the microcomputer 120. The shift lens 119 is driven by this PWM output via the H bridge driver 113.
The use of the PWM drive control method makes it possible to avoid internal loss, thereby improving energy conversion efficiency and hence reducing power consumption in contrast with the shake correcting device shown in FIG. 9.
Further, the use of the PWM drive control method makes it possible to turn off the drive current without using the power switches 804 and 805 appearing in FIG. 9, so that the peripheral arrangement associated with the power supply can be simplified. This point will be further described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B. FIG. 11A shows the arrangement of the input and output terminals of the H bridge driver 113 and elements associated therewith, and FIG. 11B shows the logic of the input and output terminals.
When the PWM drive control method is employed, outputs 1 and 2 from the H bridge driver 113 exhibit output values shown in FIG. 11B, according to the PWM waveform inputted to an input terminal 113a, and depending on the outputs 1 and 2, an electric current flows through a drive coil 113c to drive the shift lens 119.
An enable terminal 113b appearing in FIG. 11A, when its logic level is set to an L level, as shown in FIG. 11B, in the reproduction mode which does not need shake correction, brings the outputs 1 and 2 into a disabled (Hi-Z: high impedance) state to thereby make the state of power consumption equivalent to a power-off state. Therefore, through the execution of PWM drive, it is possible to turn off the drive current without using the power switches 804 and 805 in FIG. 9.
The above-described conventional shake correcting device based on the PWM drive control method using the H bridge circuit provides the advantageous effects of reduced power consumption and simplified construction as described above. However, it still suffers from the problem of impact noise generated by hitting of the shift lens 119 against the inner end of the lens barrel.
More specifically, when the PWM drive control method is employed, the controller is disposed in the microcomputer 120 as shown in FIG. 10, of such that the microcomputer 120 controls whether to enable the outputs from the H bridge driver 113. The power supply system is controlled such that power-system electric power (voltage of not lower than 5V) is supplied to the H bridge driver 113 alone, and control-system electric power (voltage e.g. of 3V) is supplied to the other component parts. When the shake correction is started immediately after the turning-on of the power of the image pickup apparatus or from a state e.g. in the reproduction mode, which does not need shake correction, the outputs from the H bridge driver 113 are switched from the disabled state to the enabled state, as described above, whereby the drive current is supplied to the drive coil 113c.
However, the outputs from the H bridge driver 113 are enabled when the shift lens 119 is in the vicinity of the inner end of the lens barrel, so that while the output from the position sensor 114 assumes a value corresponding to a point close to the inner end of the lens barrel, the target drive value corresponds to a point close to the center position of the shift lens 119. For this reason, the PWM output to be applied to the H bridge driver 113 as the correction amount, which corresponds to the difference between the two values is such as will cause a sudden motion of the shift lens 119. Consequently, when the outputs from the H bridge driver 113 are enabled, a large electric current suddenly flows through the drive coil 113c of the shift lens 119. As a result, the shift lens 119 is caused to hit against the inner end of the lens barrel, which generates large impact noise.

Shake correcting device, shake correcting method and control program for implementing the method


In an elevator operation control device, a plurality of operation control profiles for prescribing values regarding operation of an elevator, for example, a speed of a car are registered in an operation control device body. The operation control device body collects values such as the activation frequency of the car and the like as information on a condition of use of the elevator. The operation control device body also selects one of the operation control profiles in accordance with the information on the condition of use, and controls the operation of the elevator based on the selected operation control profile.

In a control device for a conventional elevator system, one of two operational profiles, namely, an operational profile with a reduced moving time between floors and an operational profile with an increased moving time between floors is selected in accordance with an average registration time (see, for example Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: JP 3029883 B

Elevator operation control device for selecting an operation control profile


An input unit indicates a departure point and a destination point on map information. A calculation unit extracts a plurality of routes each connected from the departure point to the destination point from the map information, and calculates a guidance demand degree of arbitrary points along each of the plurality of routes. A guidance demand degree is an evaluation value of the point based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width. A route selection unit selects one route from the plurality of routes based on the guidance demand degree of each route. A guidance generation unit generates guidance information of the point decided to guide based on the guidance demand degree along the one route. A presentation unit presents the guidance information to a user.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application PH 2001-022166, filed on Jan. 30, 2001; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a route guidance generation apparatus and a method for generating route guidance for a pedestrian based on map information.
As a route guidance system of prior art, car navigation systems are widely used. Recently, by minituarization of GPS (Global Positioning System), a route guidance system using a portable terminal for a pedestrian is also used. In these systems, the present location of the pedestrian is measured using GPS or cellular phone, and a point and a route of the pedestrian are drawn on a map neighboring the pedestrian""s present location in order to execute the route guidance. Furthermore, an Internet service for route guidance for a cellular phone is used. In this case, the route guidance is presented by a sentence on a small-sized display of the cellular phone instead of the map.
In these route guidance systems, calculation of route is based on a method of Dijkstra well known as an algorithm to solve the shortest route. In this method, a route of minimum cost is calculated according to some evaluation standard. For example, the route of minimum cost of evaluation equation is calculated based on the evaluation standard in which a route length is short and a route width is wide (A wide road or a major street, for example). It is important that the route used for the guidance is short if possible and for the pedestrian not to lose his way. In the above-mentioned evaluation standard, xe2x80x9cthe route width is widexe2x80x9d represents a feature for the pedestrian not to lose his way.
However, even if a shape of junction point and a route width are complicated on the route, if the route includes sufficient landmarks, the pedestrian should not lose his way. Conversely, even if the route is simple, if a suitable landmark does not exist at a point of course change on the route such as an intersection, the pedestrian often loses his way. In short, in the route including necessary information for guidance at a point to be guided, it is initially important that the short route is calculated if possible. However, the route calculation in the prior system is insufficient for this aspect.
In a car navigation system including a portable terminal for the pedestrian, a predetermined base map is displayed in order along the route. In recent car navigation systems, navigation is often executed using speech synthesis. When a pedestrian reaches a junction point to change his way, these systems present the direction. Otherwise, the remaining distance to the next point to change his way is presented at a predetermined time or distance. This system is also insufficient from the aspect not to lose his way. The system is desirably controlled so that a detailed guidance is often presented at a point to be guided and a rough guidance is presented or not presented at a point not to be guided.
In another route guidance system, a method for displaying a simplified map or a guidance sentence is utilized. Especially, in a system automatically generating guidance, a size of the simplified map is changed based on type of a client""s terminal, or a text of the guidance is displayed for a terminal having a screen too small to display the map image. In this way, the route guidance is executed with a merit of automatic generation.
In case of generating a simplified map of small size, many landmarks cannot be drawn. In order for the pedestrian to understand, the route guidance had better be simple. From above-mentioned two aspects, it is necessary that information such as the route and the landmark appear in the guidance lessen if possible. From the original purpose of the route guidance, it is necessary for a suitable route guidance system to generate the route guidance satisfying minimum information not to get lost. However, the route guidance of the prior art is generated by uniform processing without evaluating which point is easy for the pedestrian to lose his way by what degree.
Ordinarily, it is important for the route guidance system to guide a route of the shortest distance without the pedestrian""s uneasiness to lose his way if possible. However, the route guidance system of the prior art makes much of the shortest distance route and makes light of the most important point not to get lost. Accordingly, the calculated route is not always the best route. Furthermore, in the generated guidance, the important aspect where a place easy to lose his way is, i.e., where a place to be sufficiently guided is, is not taken into consideration. Only a standardized guidance is generated.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a route guidance generation apparatus and method for effectively generating the route guidance along one route in order for the pedestrian not to lose his way.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a route guidance generation apparatus, comprising: an input unit configured to indicate a departure point and a destination point on map information; a calculation unit configured to extract a plurality of routes each connected from the departure point to the destination point from the map information, and to calculate a guidance demand degree of arbitrary points along each of the plurality of routes, the guidance demand degree being on evaluation value of the point based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width; a route selection unit configured to select one route from the plurality of routes based on the guidance demand degree of each route; a guidance generation unit configured to generate guidance information of the point decided to guide based on the guidance demand degree along the one route; and a presentation unit configured to present the guidance information to a user.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a route guidance generation method, comprising: indicating a departure point and a destination point on map information; extracting a plurality of routes each connected from the departure point to the destination point from the map information; calculating a guidance demand degree of arbitrary points along each of the plurality of routes, the guidance demand degree being an evaluation value of the point based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width; selecting one route from the plurality of routes based on the guidance demand degree of each route; generating guidance information of the point decided to guide based on the guidance demand degree along the one route; and presenting the guidance information to a user.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a computer program product, comprising: a computer readable program code embodied in said product for causing a computer to generate guidance information, said computer readable program code having: a first program code to indicate a departure point and a destination point on map information; a second program code to extract a plurality of routes each connected from the departure point to the destination point from the map information; a third program code to calculate guidance demand degree of arbitrary points along each of the plurality of routes, the guidance demand degree being an evaluation value of the point based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width; a fourth program code to select one route from the plurality of routes based on the guidance demand degree of each route; a fifth program code to generate guidance information of the point decided to guide based on the guidance demand degree along the one route; and a sixth program code to present the guidance information to a user.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a server apparatus, comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive a route guidance request transmitted from a client terminal, the route guidance request including a departure point and a destination; a calculation unit configured to extract a plurality of routes each connected from the departure point to the destination point from map information, and to calculate a guidance demand degree of arbitrary points along each of the plurality of routes, the guidance demand degree being an evaluation value of the point based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width; a route selection unit configured to select one route from the plurality of routes based on the guidance demand degree of each route; a guidance generation unit configured to generate guidance information of the point decided to guide based on the guidance demand degree along the one route; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the guidance information to the client""s terminal.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an apparatus for supporting editing map information used for generation of guidance information to guide a route from a departure point to a destination point comprising: an extraction unit configured to extract at least one point of which a guidance demand degree is above a threshold as an investigation needed point from a plurality of points each having a guidance demand degree calculated based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width on the map information, and to extract investigation contents of the investigation needed point by referring to the map information neighboring the investigation needed point; and an output unit configured to output a list including the investigation needed point and the investigation contents.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for supporting editing of map information used for generation of guidance information to guide a route from a departure point to a destination point, comprising; extracting at least one point of which a guidance demand degree is above a threshold as an investigation needed point from a plurality of points each having a guidance demand degree calculated based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width on the map information: extracting investigation contents of the investigation needed point by referring to the map information neighboring the investigation needed point; and outputting a list including the investigation needed point and the investigation contents.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a computer program product, comprising: a computer readable program code embodied in said product for causing a computer to support editing of map information used for generation of guidance information to guide a route from a departure point to a destination point, said computer readable program code having: a first program code to extract at least one point of which a guidance demand degree is above a threshold as an investigation needed point from a plurality of points each having a guidance demand degree calculated based on a linearity of route, a complexity of route junction, and a change of route width on the map information; a second program code to extract investigation contents of the investigation needed point by referring to the map information neighboring the investigation needed point; and a third program code to output a list including the investigation needed point and the investigation contents.

Route guidance generation apparatus and method


A keyboard for lowering the power consumption for key code transmission and enhancing the reliability in code transmission. When key codes corresponding to an operated key in the laid out keys are transmitted to a signal processing unit, a status code indicating whether a function key (Shift, Control or Alt key) has been operated is also transmitted at the same time, transmitting no key-on repeat code that is obtained when one key is operated continuously as with a conventional keyboard.

The present invention relates to a keyboard and, more particularly, to a keyboard for reducing the power consumption thereof when transmitting key codes therefrom and, at the same time, enhancing the reliability in the key code transmission.
Generally, a keyboard is used as connected to a signal processing unit such as a personal computer by cable and has a key matrix with many keys laid out, an input/output circuit for performing input/output operations with the key matrix, a controller for controlling the entire operation of the keyboard, a clock signal generator for forming a clock signal for obtaining a scan signal, a display device for indicating a key-operated state and so on, an interface circuit for providing interface between the keyboard and the signal processor, and a built-in power supply.
FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an example of the constitution of a known keyboard.
Referring to FIG. 4, a keyboard 40 comprises a key matrix 41 with many keys laid out, an input/output (I/O) circuit 42 for receiving data associated with key operations from the key matrix 41, a controller (CPU) 43 for controlling the entire operation of the keyboard 40, an interface (I/F) circuit 44 for providing interface between the keyboard 40 and the signal processor (not shown) such as a personal computer, a clock signal generator 45 for forming a clock signal for obtaining a signal for scanning the key matrix 41, a ROM 46 for storing a program for operating the controller 43, a RAM 47 for use in the data processing by the controller 43, a display device (IND)48 for indicating a key-operated state and so on, a cable 49 for connecting the interface circuit 44 to the signal processor, and a built-in power supply 50.
In the above-mentioned prior-art constitution, the controller 43 performs various operations as follows. First, the controller 43 generates a scan signal for sequentially scanning horizontally and vertically the keys arranged on the keyboard. Second, the controller 43 receives switch data corresponding to an operated key when the keys have been scanned. Third, the controller 43 converts the received switch data to a key code (or a keyboard code) to be transmitted to the signal processor. Fourth, the controller 43 transmits the switch code to the signal processor via the interface circuit 44 and the cable 49. Fifth, the controller 43 transmits required display data to the display device 48. Sixth, the controller 43 executes required signal processing in response to command data supplied from the signal processor via the cable 49.
The keyboard 40 having the above-mentioned constitution operates as follows in general.
When any of the keys arranged on the key matrix 41 are operated, the controller 43 sequentially receives the switch data corresponding to the operated keys via the input/output circuit 42. Then, the controller 43, based on the operating program stored in the ROM 46, converts the switch data to key codes by use of the RAM 47 and transmits sequentially the obtained key codes to the signal processor via the interface circuit 44 and the cable 49. If, during or immediately before or after this transmission, some command data is supplied from the signal processor to the controller 43, the controller 43 performs a control operation corresponding to that command data.
FIG. 5 shows a timing chart describing the transmission timing of codes to be transmitted from the keyboard 40 when the Shift key and one operation key are operated simultaneously.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the keyboard 40 of FIG. 4, if one of the operation keys, for example key "A", is operated continuously (between time t.sub.1 and time t.sub.3) with the Shift key, one of the function keys, operated (between time to and time t.sub.4), a shift-on code indicating a key-on operation of the Shift key is transmitted at time t.sub.0, a key-on code A indicating a key-on operation of the key "A" is transmitted at time t.sub.1, key-on repeat codes A of the operation key "A" are sequentially transmitted at times t.sub.2(1), t.sub.2(2), . . . , t.sub.2(N), a key-off code A indicating a key-off operation of the operation key "A" is transmitted at time t.sub.3, and a shift-off code indicating a key-off operation of the Shift key is transmitted at time t.sub.4.
The above-mentioned operation holds true with other function keys such as Control and Alt keys.
In the known keyboard 40, if one of the operation keys, the key "AA" for example, is operated continuously (key on), the key-on repeat codes A are sequentially transmitted at short time intervals while the operation key "A" is being operated after the key-on code A is transmitted at the start of the key operation, and the key-off code A is transmitted at the end of the key operation as shown in FIG. 5, thereby terminating the transmission of a series of data for the operation of the operation key "A".
Also, in the known keyboard 40, if the Shift key, one of the function keys, is held operated (key on) at the time of the continuous operation of the operation key "A" for example, a shift-on code is transmitted at starting the operation of the Shift key as shown in FIG. 5 and a shift-off code is transmitted at the end of the Shift key operation, in addition to the above-mentioned data transmission.
As described, in the known keyboard 40, when an operation key is operated continuously, key-on repeat codes are transmitted, so that the power consumed for this transmission amounts to a degree that is not negligible. Especially, when the keyboard is driven by its built-in power supply, the power consumption by the transmission of key-on repeat codes shortens the service life of the power supply.
Further, in the known keyboard 40, if a function key such as the Shift key is operated immediately before an operation key is operated, the timing of transmitting the shift-on code at starting Shift key operation differs from the timing of transmitting the key-on code and the key-off code generated by the operation of the operation key, making it possible to fail the transmission of the shift-on code.
Still further, in the known keyboard 40, wireless transmission such as optical transmission is affected by noise and so on more than cable transmission, thereby lowering the reliability in code transmission.


A method of an estimator of an inner control loop controlling a three-to-single-phase converter connected to an AC power grid via a transformer includes obtaining a value of a voltage reference uRef produced by the inner control loop for the converter, obtaining a value of a secondary side current produced by the converter and measured between the converter and the transformer, obtaining a value of a primary side current produced by the converter and measured between the grid and the transformer, and obtaining a value of a primary side voltage measured between the grid and the transformer. The method also includes estimating a control current iCtrl component of the primary or secondary side current iMeas which results from the voltage reference, based on the obtained values of the voltage reference, the secondary side current, the primary side current and the primary side voltage, and feeding the estimated control current iCtrl* to the inner control loop.

For railway alternating current (AC) systems, with frequencies like 16.7 Hz, 25 Hz or 50 Hz, static frequency converters (SFC) are used as power supply solution. The active power (P) cannot be stored and has to be continuously controlled and fully transferred through the SFC. Active power control can be achieved by controlling the converter active current flow. Additionally, the voltage (U), reactive power (Q) and frequency (f) of both sides of the converter can be controlled individually.
Usually this controlling is achieved by applying state of the art control methods on both the three-phase (public grid) side and the single-phase (railway grid) side. Based on the known concept of the dq coordinates, a set of outer control loops set appropriate current references that the measured currents is controlled to follow. It is then the task of the inner control loop to decide what is the appropriate amplitude and phase of the converter voltage at the fundamental frequency in order to achieve this current. The actions of the inner control loop can be based on measurements taken either from the secondary side (towards the converter) of the transformer or from the primary side (towards the grid) of the transformer positioned on either side of the converter, between the converter and the three-phase or single-phase grid. Subsequently, the modulator (converter dynamics) synthesizes a converter voltage pulse sequence that has the required characteristics at the fundamental frequency.
In reality, however, the converter voltages actually appearing at the terminals of the converter can never be perfectly matching their theoretical values as set by the references, due to diversities in the switching on or off times of the semiconductor switches in the converter, time resolution issues, etc. This can result in an undesired direct current (DC) flowing through the transformer windings which eventually drives the transformer into saturation, and the protection functions then trip the system.

Model based current control of a three-to-single-phase power converter


The present application relates to use of compounds of formula I for treating or preventing a fibrosis.

Fibrosis is characterized by excessive accumulation of collagen in the extracellular matrix of the involved tissue. It is a long-standing and challenging clinical problem for which no effective treatment is currently available. The production of collagen is a highly regulated physiological process, the disturbance of which may lead to the development of tissue fibrosis. The formation of fibrous tissue is part of the normal beneficial process of healing after injury. In some cases, however, an abnormal accumulation of fibrous material can severely interfere with the normal function of the affected tissue or even cause the complete loss of function of the affected organ. Integrins are heterodimeric transmembrane proteins through which cells attach and communicate with extracellular matrices and other cells. αv integrins are key receptors involved in mediating cell migration and angiogenesis, and have been shown to be involved in a number of diseases and conditions, including fibrosis.
A variety of compounds have been identified as anti-fibrosis agents via different mechanisms of action, including the suppression of collagen expression. For example, pantethine (D-bis-(N-pantothenyl-β-aminoethyl)-disulfide) has been reported to be effective for the inhibition of hepatic fibrosis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,266). Also, a hydrazine derivative, benzoic hydrazide, has been shown to be a powerful antifibrotic agent (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,374,660 and 5,571,846). In addition, angiotensin inhibitors are used in combination with nitric oxide stimulators to inhibit the progression of fibrosis (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,645,839 and 6,139,847). Further, A1 adenosine receptor antagonists and/or P2x purinoceptor antagonists are described for treating or preventing fibrosis and sclerosis (U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,445). More recently, somatostatin agonists, hepatocyte growth factors (HGFs), chymase inhibitors, and antagonists of IL-13 have been reported to effectively inhibit fibrosis (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,268,342, 6,303,126, 6,500,835, and 6,664,227).
Thus, there continues to be a need for compounds, compositions, and methods for treating fibrosis, that are safe, effective, and conveniently administered. The present application addresses the need.

Tetrahydronaphthyridinyl propionic acid derivatives and uses thereof


A memory cell that has both a DRAM cell and a non-volatile memory cell. The non-volatile memory cell might include a flash memory or an NROM cell. The memory cell is comprised of a vertical floating body transistor with dual gates, one on either side of a vertical pillar of a substrate. One gate is a polysilicon gate and gate insulator that is adjacent to the floating body of the transistor and acts as a DRAM cell. The non-volatile memory cell is constructed on the other side of the pillar with a floating gate or NROM structure. The DRAM and non-volatile cells are linked by a drain region coupling the two cells to a memory array bitline. The bottom of trenches on either side of the pillar have source regions that are linked to respective source lines of the memory array.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory. If memory devices are to continue meeting consumer needs, improvements in speed, cost, and size need to continue.
DRAM devices are typically used as the main data memory for computers due to its relatively low cost and high speeds for reading and writing. However, when power is removed, DRAM loses its data. DRAM cells must also be refreshed periodically to keep the data intact.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems. Flash memory devices can retain data even after power has been removed and flash memory cells do not require time-consuming refresh operations. Flash memory, however, is substantially more expensive than DRAM and is slow for both read and write operations.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a memory device having the benefits of both non-volatile memory and DRAM devices.

In-service reconfigurable DRAM and flash memory device


Methods and systems for dynamically splitting content are disclosed. In some embodiments, content may be received that includes one or more elements to be animated. It may be determined that a size of at least one element of the one or more elements to be animated exceeds a threshold. The at least one element having the size that exceeds the threshold may be split into a plurality of sub-elements. A transform of at least one of the sub-elements may be modified.

Certain electronic documents may be animated by including within it software code that alters the appearance and structure of the document over time. As an example, a single HTML document (e.g., a webpage) may include HTML elements, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) elements, JavaScript code and/or embedded assets such as images, videos, and/or audio content. The HTML and CSS portions of the document form a document structure that determines how the document is displayed or rendered by a web browser or the like. Meanwhile, the JavaScript code may be executed by the web browser to manipulate the HTML and CSS elements as well as their properties and/or attributes, thus altering the structure of the document and the manner in which the document is rendered. By altering the structure of the document over time, JavaScript effectively animates the document.
Some animations or multimedia presentations may include one or more actors (e.g., images or other content to be animated) performing various tasks, movements, or transitions on a stage (e.g., a screen or display). For example, a relatively simple animation may include a transition that hides or shows an object in a computer window. Meanwhile, a more complex animation may include a set of two or more actors (e.g., images of human characters), each actor having a set of elements (e.g., head, arms, body, legs, etc.) that may be displayed in a coordinated or choreographed manner to give the viewer the impression that the actors are moving (e.g., walking, jumping, etc.) across the screen.
Some browsers (e.g., browsers for mobile devices, such as cellular phones or tablet devices, etc.) use graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration to speed up animations. Often in mobile environments, central processing units (CPUs) and other resources are even more constrained than in a desktop environment. For smoother animations, the browser may take snapshot images of elements that are being animated and send them, as texture bitmaps, to the GPU for faster compositing. Some browsers and/or GPUs and/or other component, however, impose limits (e.g., 1024 pixels in the width and/or height dimension) on the dimensions of the snapshot images that are sent to the GPU. When one of those limits is exceeded, the browser may resort to rendering the display list for that element N times, where N is the number of tiles used to represent the element, thereby creating a bottleneck in the animation. The result of these limitations is that, during an animation that moves the element across the screen, the screen is updated with a distracting, checkerboard-type update as a viewer sees pieces of the old scene and pieces of the new scene at the same time as the display is updated piece by piece.
An example of the above-noted limitations can be seen in FIGS. 1A-1B, 2A-2C, and 3. An example screen size is shown in FIG. 1A as 200×100 pixels and an example maximum size of a GPU texture is shown in FIG. 1B as 200×200 pixels.
A 600×200 pixel actor is shown in FIG. 2A as SCENE-A. One example scenario in which an actor may be larger than the screen is a panning scenario. FIG. 2B illustrates an overlay of the maximum GPU texture size of FIG. 1B on top of the 600×200 pixel actor of FIG. 2A. Note that the actor exceeds the maximum size of the GPU texture. As shown in FIG. 2C, the browser animating the scene tiles the actor to half the maximum size, 100×100 pixels. Thus, the actor is tiled into 12 separate tiles. The actor is completely re-rendered into each of the tiles (at different offsets to show a different part of the actor) meaning that the actor in this example must be rendered 12 separate times. The additional renderings are typically performed in software and become a bottleneck for the animation. The effects of that bottleneck are shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates a sequence of five images showing a scene transition from a smiley face to the scene SC. The smiley face may be one actor and the image representing the scene may also be an actor. When the actor is initially displayed at the start of the animation, it is displayed in pieces (tiles) as the browser finishes rendering each tile asynchronously. The rendering of each tile and the updating of the screen by the GPU occur independently/asynchronously. So as the GPU continually updates the screen with each step of the animation, the browser sends tiles to the GPU as they finish rendering. The result is an undesired checkerboard update effect on the screen/display (as shown in FIG. 3), because all of the tiles finish rendering at different times.


Recombinant subunit vaccines against bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) are provided, as well as methods of vaccination and methods of recombinantly producing the subunit antigens or nucleotide sequences employed in the vaccines.

Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) is an economically significant pathogen of cattle. BHV-1, which is also known as infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, causes severe respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, vulvovaginitis, abortions, encephalitis, and generalized systemic infections. If an animal recovers from a primary infection, the virus remains in the host in a latent state. Reactivation of the virus can be provoked by certain endogenous or exogenous physical modifications in the animal, or experimentally by treatment of the animal with glucocorticoids like dexamethasone.
In an effort to control BHV-1 infections, killed virus and attenuated live-virus vaccines have been developed. While these vaccines appear to induce some level of protection in cattle, the level of immunity is well below that necessary to afford complete or near-complete protection. For example, the vaccines do not always prevent the establishment of a latent infection by a virulent field strain of BHV-1. Furthermore, the safety of the live-virus vaccines has been questioned. It has been shown recently that two live BHV-1 vaccine strains can be reactivated by the use of dexamethasone, indicating that at Least some BHV-1 vaccines can themselves establish a latent infection. See, e.g., Gerber et al. (1978) Am. J. Vet. Res. 39:753-760; Jericho et al. (1983) Can. J. Com. Med. 47:133-139; Pastoret et al. (1980) Infect. Immun. 29:483-488. Subunit vaccines, i.e. vaccines including select proteins separated from the whole virus, afford a method for overcoming the problems inherent in the use of live and attenuated virus vaccines.
Several polypeptides of BHV-1 have now been studied. Misra et al. (1981) J. Virol. 40:367-378, reports on the partial characterization of a number of BHV-1 polypeptides and their immunoprecipitation with antiserum. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1984) Virology 135:466-479 and van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1985) Virology 144:216-227 are directed to monoclonal antibodies developed against BHV-1 glycoproteins, and the ability of the monoclonal antibodies to neutralize virus and participate in antibody-dependent complement-mediated lysis in vitro. See also Collins et al. (1984) J. Viriol. 52:403-409; Okazaki et al. (1986) Virology 150:260-264. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1985) Virology 144:204-215 is directed to the purification of BHV-1 glycoproteins by immunoadsorbent chromatography and the production of antiserum in rabbits. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1986) J. Clin. Microbiol. 23:274-282 is directed to in vitro immunoreactivity of purified BHV-1 glycoproteins and bovine antiserum. Okazaki et al. (1987) Arch. Virol. 92:17-26 pertains to in vitro studies of the reactivities of monoclonal antibodies against BHV-1 glycoproteins with infected cells. Babiuk et al. (1987) Virology 159:57-66 relates to the purification of gI, gIII and gIV from virus infected cell lysates. This reference also discloses that gI of BHV-1 corresponds to gB of herpes simplex virus (HSV); gIII corresponds to gC; and gIV corresponds to gD. Purified gI, gIII and gIV have been shown to induce high levels of neutralizing antibody in cattle and participate in antibody dependent cell cytotoxicity of BHV-1 cells. The purified glycoproteins were also shown to protect cattle from disease. Babiuk et al. (1987) Virology 159:57-66. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1990) Vaccine 8:358-368 confirmed the protectivity of gI, gIII and gIV and studied the epitope specificity of the immune response to the glycoprotein vaccines. Hughes et al. (1988) Arch. Virol. 103:47-60 identified three neutralizing antigenic domains on gIV.
None of the above art, however, discloses the recombinant production of BHV-1 glycoproteins for use in recombinant vaccines. Mayfield et al. (1983) J. Virol. 47:259-264 discloses the cloning of a BHV-1 strain and a restriction map. Fitzpatrick et al. (1989) Virology 173:46-57, describe the nucleotide sequence of gIII. Pachl et al. (1987) J. Virol. 61:315-325 describe the recombinant expression of a glycoprotein from the human pathogen HSV-1. There was no demonstration, however, that the recombinant polypeptide from the human virus was, in fact, protective in a human host. See also PCT Pub. No. WO88/02634; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,661,349; 4,642,333.
Fitzpatrick et al. (1988) J. Virol. 62:4239-4248 describe the expression of gI and gIII in murine LMTK- cells. The transfected cells were shown to stimulate the production of neutralizing antibodies in mice. Fitzpatrick et al. (1990) describe the expression of deleted, truncated and hybrid forms of gI and gIII in murine LMTK-cells and epitope mapping of the same. Tikoo et al. (1990) J. Virol. 64:5132-5142 disclose the mapping, cloning and sequencing of BHV-1 gIV, as well as the expression of gIV in bovine cells. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (1989) J. Virol. 63:2159-2168 disclose the expression of gI and gIII in a vaccinia virus vector. The recombinant vectors elicited a neutralizing antibody response in cattle immunized with the same. van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. (January 1991) J. Virol. 65:263-271 describe the expression of gIV by recombinant baculovirus. This disclosure was based in part on the present invention. Cattle immunized with recombinant gIV raised neutralizing antibodies thereto.

Vaccines comprising nucleotide sequences encoding bovine herpesvirus type 1 g1, g111 and gIV


A traffic detection and signal system for pathways within an industrial work environment and method therefor includes at least one sensor positioned to detect objects approaching a pathway intersection and at least one visual indicator electronically linked to the at least one sensor to visually indicate that an object is approaching. The system further includes a controller electronically coupled to the at least one sensor and visual indicator to receive a signal that an object is approaching a pathway intersection and transmit a signal to energize the at least one visual indicator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to traffic detecting and signaling and, more particularly, to a traffic detection and signal system and method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within an industrial work environment, it is known that man and machine are often in close proximity to each other. Further, within an industrial work environment such as warehouses, plants, factories, lumber yards and shipping/loading docks, there exist a series of pathways having intersections and/or blind corners through which large objects such as machinery, forklifts, and loaders travel during operation.
Given the vision-obscured pathway intersections within industrial work environments, extreme caution should be taken by both persons and operators of large objects when traveling through such intersections, for the likelihood of severe damage to both person and large object may be great where another large object or person is approaching the same intersection from a different direction. Accordingly, when the operator of a large object is approaching one of these intersections, it is common to invoke an audible signal to warn any person or machine approaching the same intersection of its ensuing presence. However, the operator may not always practice this customary signaling. Further, the audible level of the surrounding workplace environment might be at such a high level that the customary audible signal may not be readily received by surrounding operators or persons.
Therefore, it is desirable to a system and method to detect when an object is approaching an intersection and provides a visual display to persons and operators of large objects operators adjacent the same intersection of an object's approach. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a system and method that meets this desire.

Traffic detection and signal system and method therefor


Recombinant microorganisms, plants, and plant cells are disclosed that have been engineered to express novel recombinant genes encoding steviol biosynthetic enzymes and UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs). Such microorganisms, plants, or plant cells can produce steviol or steviol glycosides, e.g., rubusoside or Rebaudioside A, which can be used as natural sweeteners in food products and dietary supplements.

Sweeteners are well known as ingredients used most commonly in the food, beverage, or confectionary industries. The sweetener can either be incorporated into a final food product during production or for stand-alone use, when appropriately diluted, as a tabletop sweetener or an at-home replacement for sugars in baking. Sweeteners include natural sweeteners such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, and honey and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine and sucralose. Stevia extract is a natural sweetener that can be isolated and extracted from a perennial shrub, Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia is commonly grown in South America and Asia for commercial production of stevia extract. Stevia extract, purified to various degrees, is used commercially as a high intensity sweetener in foods and in blends or alone as a tabletop sweetener.
Extracts of the Stevia plant contain rebaudiosides and other steviol glycosides that contribute to the sweet flavor, although the amount of each glycoside often varies among different production batches. Existing commercial products are predominantly rebaudioside A with lesser amounts of other glycosides such as rebaudioside C, D, and F. Stevia extracts may also contain contaminants such as plant-derived compounds that contribute to off-flavors. These off-flavors can be more or less problematic depending on the food system or application of choice. Potential contaminants include pigments, lipids, proteins, phenolics, saccharides, spathulenol and other sesquiterpenes, labdane diterpenes, monoterpenes, decanoic acid, 8,11,14-eicosatrienoic acid, 2-methyloctadecane, pentacosane, octacosane, tetracosane, octadecanol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, α- and β-amyrin, lupeol, β-amryin acetate, pentacyclic triterpene, centauredin, quercitin, epi-alpha-cadinol, carophyllenes and derivatives, beta-pinene, beta-sitosterol, and gibberellin.

Production of steviol glycosides in microorganisms


A method and system for degimbalization of sensor outputs is provided. Data output from an embedded GPS inertial navigation system (EGI), which is mounted within a gimbaled system on a vehicle, is processed to provide degimballed navigation data. Generally, motion of the EGI is due to the vehicle motion and the gimbal motion. To provide navigation information relating solely to the vehicle, effects of the gimbal motion within the EGI outputs can be removed.

Precision imaging systems, such as RADARs (radio detection and ranging), LIDARs (light detection and ranging), etc., are generally mounted on gimbals so that the detection device will remain suspended in a plane regardless of any motion of a vehicle on which the device sits. This allows the detection device to produce high resolution imagery that is not distorted due to the vehicle movements or accelerations.
In addition, the detection device usually requires accurate velocity data of the detection device for image stabilization purposes. Thus, such radar or lidar systems will have inertial sensors like gyroscopes and accelerometers mounted within the imaging system's gimbal assembly and next to the detection device of the imaging system to provide vehicle position and velocity data in the gimbal frame of reference. While this solves the need of the imaging system for accurate attitude data (e.g., position of aircraft or vehicle relative to a frame of reference—the horizon or direction of motion), velocity and position data at the detection device, this data does not reflect the actual vehicle attitude, velocity, or position since the inertial sensors are mounted on the gimbal. As a result, the vehicle typically has another set of accelerometers and gyroscopes that provide attitude, velocity and position data of the vehicle.
Of course, two sets of inertial sensors increases costs and complexity for imaging systems. It would be desirable to eliminate the need for a separate set of inertial sensors that provide vehicle attitude, angular rate data, velocity and position, and to acquire this data from the sensors mounted on the gimbal assembly.

Method and system for degimbalization of vehicle navigation data


An electrical generator that uses a high frequency oscillator in a tuned circuit, set to resonate with the transmitter coil of a full-length high frequency transformer unit, to generate electromagnetic energy, to transform this energy to electrical energy and to collect this energy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is an electrical generator that uses a high frequency oscillator in a tuned circuit, set to resonate with the transmitter coil of a full-length high frequency transformer unit, to generate electromagnetic energy, to transform this energy to electrical energy and to collect this energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
If an oscillator circuit is properly connected to a tuned antenna so that it resonates, a current will flow between the aerial and the ground, and this produces the high frequency electromagnetic air waves and ground waves of our radios and other electronic equipment.
An oscillator of the same type used in electromagnetic wave transmission equipment is used to generate the electromagnetic energy used in this patent. These electromagnetic transmitters are well developed and are used world wide, and broadcast at frequencies that extend from the longest radio waves to the very short ones. Certain radios send their signals great distances, some even traveling around the world.
Although these high frequency electromagnetic energy waves are all around us, this energy has long been considered impossible to collect on a large scale due to the induction characteristics of the electromagnetic wave as it passes a metallic object. As the wave goes by a wire tuned to resonate at the frequency of the wave, it induces an electrical charge in the wire, but to use this charge, we need another wire to close the circuit and let the charge flow. If we use another wire alongside the first wire and connected to it, the wave induces a charge in it exactly like in the first wire and no current will circulate in the two wires.
This problem of collecting the energy of the wave was solved by the invention of the half-length electromagnetic transformer, but the half-length electromagnetic transformer applies only to the means of collecting the atmospheric energy. The invention of the full-length electromagnetic transformer of this invention, however, allows us to combine the generation of the electromagnetic wave and the electrical converter into one compact unit.


Systems and methods for monitoring transaction data in a point-of-sale (POS) system. An inline component is connected between a POS terminal and a printer. The inline component monitors communications between the POS terminal and the printer as well as communications sent to or from other devices connected with the POS terminal. As the data in the communications are monitored, portions of the data are extracted and sent to a remote processing server. The remote processing returns information which could comprise a variety of information, such as: fraud deterrent data, store promotions, customer messages, and the like to the inline component. The inline component sends this information to the printer for presentation to the user. The information is typically sent to the printer without interfering with the transaction being performed by the POS terminal. Commands included in the information can be implemented by the inline component.

1. The Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for monitoring transaction data. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for filtering transaction data or inserting data, without interfering with the computer applications or transactions performed by the point-of-sale systems.
2. The Relevant Technology
Point-of-sale (POS) systems are widely used in the world today to perform various types of transactions including financial transactions. A typical POS system includes a POS terminal that is connected with a printer. The POS terminal is also connected with various devices, such as a card reader, that may be used to collect data from a user or customer. Once the data is collected (such as by swiping the card in the card reader), the applications including the payment system of the POS terminal attempt to authorize the transaction using the collected data. Once the transaction is authorized and completed, a printer is typically used to provide a receipt of the transaction to the user. Thus, the POS terminal is often used as a payment mechanism and one of the primary purposes of the POS terminal is to enable an entity to authorize credit, debit, and check transactions. Once authorized, the POS system can then finalize the transaction.
Often, a POS terminal is integrated with other systems. For example, the POS terminal may be connected to a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or the Internet. Over the LAN, for instance, the POS terminal may have access to several databases that can be used in various stages of the transactions performed by the POS terminal. These databases may include a price look up (PLU) database, a transaction log database, management information, and the like. Some of the information in these databases may be accessed and used during the course of a particular transaction.
For example, the POS terminal may be connected to a bar code reader. After scanning the bar code from a product, the POS terminal may access the PLU database to determine the price associated with the scanned bar code. In this manner, the bar code reading application as well as other applications on the POS terminal can be used to facilitate the price look up operation as well as other aspects of the transaction including the financial aspects.
Because a POS terminal interacts with various devices, databases, networks, and other systems, upgrading the POS terminal or one of the devices or databases can present several difficulties. One of the primary concerns when upgrading a POS terminal is ensuring that compatibility remains between the POS terminal and the other devices, databases, etc., used in the POS system. Incompatibility can result in downtime that is costly in terms of both time and money.
As a result, upgrading a POS terminal or a printer in a POS system often requires substantial testing of the POS terminal in order to insure compatibility with other components of the POS system. Several question and answer sessions may be required, in fact, in order to fully implement the various changes included in the upgrade. In addition, there is the additional cost of training employees to use the new POS terminal and associated applications.
Further, some entities may be hesitant to upgrade their POS terminal in view of the fact that the applications operating on their POS terminal are no longer supported by the manufacturer. As a result, there is no guarantee that the upgrade can be successful without compromising existing data or without causing compatibility issues that are difficult to resolve.

Devices and methods for monitoring transaction data from point-of-sale devices


Traditional graph cuts provides a powerful method for producing semi-automatic image/volume segmentation, but often exceed available computer power. Multi-level methods for coarsening images/volumes are disclosed that allow for faster processing and creation of graph cuts segmentation without sacrificing quality of image. The disclosed graph cuts methods can be used at interactive speeds.

This invention relates to systems and methods for processing digital images. More specifically it relates to a method of image segmentation based on graph cuts that is useful for separating an object of interest in an image from the background of that object in the image. Object segmentation by finding their precise boundaries in images is well known. Different segmentation methods, including graph cuts, are well known. The graph cuts segmentation method has proven to be highly accurate in object segmentation. Applications that can strongly benefit from methods that can reliably segment out objects in images by finding their precise boundaries are in the field of medical imaging and medical diagnosis. Unsegmented images may present the viewer with overwhelming quantities of information that would make it difficult to focus on relevant parts of these images. Precise segmentation of images of organs from their background will make a potential diagnosis more reliable and easier to achieve and allows for precise volume measurements of objects such as tumors.
Graph cuts is an effective method of image segmentation that is described publicly in Y. Boykov and M.-P. Jolly, "Interactive organ segmentation using graph cuts:" in Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, Pittsburgh, Pa., October 2000, pp. 276-286. Another description can be found in Y. Boykov and M.-P. Jolly "Interactive graph cuts for optimal boundary & region segmentation of objects in N-D images," in International Conference on Computer Vision, vol. 1, July 2001, pp. 105-112. The method of GRAPH CUT segmentation inputs two groups of "seeds" which are obtained either interactively or automatically into a multi-dimensional (2D or higher) image comprised of pixels or voxels, indicating that some voxels are "object" and others are "background". The algorithm then proceeds to label the remaining (i.e., unlabeled) voxels as either object or background. This output is obtained by treating the volume as a graph where each voxel in a volume is associated with a node and a lattice-based neighborhood structure is imposed. By weighting the edges in the graph in accordance with intensity differences (or a model of the object boundary), the smallest cut is found between the known object/background seeds using the max-flow/min-cut algorithm developed in Y. Boykov and V. Kolmogorov, "An experimental comparison of min-cut/max-flow algorithms for energy minimization in vision, IEEE transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 1124-1137, September 2004.
Although the algorithm has proven effective at volume segmentation, and has continued to find application in recent work such as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/313,102, filed Dec. 20, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference, the speed and memory consumption required for evaluating large volumes continues to be problematic. One approach for overcoming this problem is to diminish the demand for computing resources in determining the graph cuts by down-sampling the to be segmented volume. This may include a method to produce coarse-level volumes that the graph cuts segmentation algorithm could be applied to. Although such an approach overcomes the speed/memory consumption problem by operating on effectively a smaller volume, it was up till the present invention unclear how to translate the coarsened solution to the original resolution volume such that the solution so obtained has a comparable quality as if the graph cuts algorithm were applied directly to full-resolution volume.
Accordingly, new and improved methods and systems are required that will create more rapid graph cuts on coarsened and thus smaller volumes with the same quality as a full-resolution volume graph cuts of an image.

Fast graph cuts: a weak shape assumption provides a fast exact method for graph cuts segmentation


An electrical machine such as a switched reluctance motor includes a stator including a stator body, a plurality of poles each having an energizing coil, and a rotor. Portions of the coils are retained in channels between adjacent poles and by a wedge tied at each end to projections extending from the stator body. The manner of retaining the wedge avoids disturbance of the flux linkage in the stator poles and allows improved locating and retaining of the coils in the channels between stator poles.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for retaining a winding on the stator of an electrical machine and in particular a reluctance machine.
2. Description of Related Art
Switched reluctance machines are well known. Such machines comprise a generally cylindrical stator and, rotatably mounted therein, a rotor. The stator includes a plurality of inwardly directed poles extending the axial length of the stator. Typically, each pole has an energizing coil, the coils being connected in some predetermined pattern to form the stator winding. Adjacent poles define an axially extending slot or channel in which the coil side is retained. The rotor comprises a plurality of radially outwardly projecting poles. When used as a machine, the stator is excited by passing a current through the winding in sequence as the rotor rotates relative to the stator.
A problem that has arisen with known arrangements is that of holding the winding securely in place. If the winding is loose, then it may foul the rotor and cause damage. If the winding is able to vibrate, then it may, over a period of time, abrade the insulation surrounding it and give rise to an insulation failure. The larger the machine, the more difficult it is to secure the windings, since they are heavier and the electromagnetic forces acting on them are greater. If the coils are not firmly held in place against the side of the pole and against the base of the slots formed between the poles, the thermal transfer between the coil and the stator is poor and the ability of the winding to dissipate heat is impaired. This can restrict the output from the machine. In the larger sizes of machines, the copper conductors are of substantial cross section and are not easily forced into place. Any small variations in the coils can make it difficult to insert them fully into the slots and ensure that they are firmly held in place.
In some forms of electrical machine, the slots between the poles of the stator are open, making access straightforward. However, the fact that the slots are open also means that the coils have to be secured in place. It is known to insert slot covers across the mouth of the slot but, unless notches are provided in the sides of the adjacent poles, it is difficult to prevent the slot covers from slipping out into the bore of the stator and fouling the rotor. While notches are sometimes acceptable in small machines, their presence in larger machines causes a disturbance in the flux path which can lead to excessive losses. In addition, because the notches are necessarily small, the dimensions of the slot cover must be carefully controlled to ensure the covers fit correctly.
A further known approach to securing the winding in place is to impregnate the winding with suitable electrically insulating and thermally conducting thermosetting or otherwise curable material, and to locate accurately the winding while the material sets. The preferred method is vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI). This approach is complex and time-consuming and is not suitable for mass production.
A further known approach has been to provide a floating ring of insulating material such as TUFNOL brand synthetic resin-bonded fabric around the exterior of the stator and to hold the coils in place using loops extending between the floating ring and portions of each coil extending beyond each axial end of the stator. Once again this approach is very laborious and time-consuming, and difficult to mechanize.
A further problem is encountered when initially inserting the coils into the slots in the stator. One method of inserting the coils is to rotate the stator until a pole to be wound is at the bottom and then to mount a pre-wound coil over the pole, tapping it into place. Once one coil is mounted, the stator is rotated until the next pole is at the bottom. Tapping of a subsequently fitted coil onto the next pole, however, tends to loosen or even dislodge other coils already in place. Further problems arise when pressure is applied to one axial end of the coil at a time, in which case, as a result of the natural resilience of the coil, the other axial end of the coil will have a tendency to spring out of position.

Stator for an electrical machine including retainer for stator coils