The image reader comprises n(integer of 2 or more) pieces of line sensors arranged in parallel disposed at an equal pitch and shifted at a 1/n pitch in a sensor arranging direction (main scanning direction) with respect to other line sensors, first compensating unit for compensating spatial positions of the line sensors, second compensating unit for compensating a train of signals of each of the line sensors so that a predetermined moving average of a target pixel of the signal train in one line sensor among the line sensors is, in a signal train of another line sensor among them, coincident with a predetermined moving average of a target pixel corresponding to the target pixel in the one line sensor, and interleaving unit for interleaving the signals which have been compensated by the second compensating unit. The image reader is capable of increasing a resolution while simply keeping an area of light receiving elements of a sensor to some extent at a low cost.

The present invention relates to a technical field of an image reader, for photoelectrically reading an image photographed on a film, etc., utilized in a digital photo printer or the like for obtaining a print (a photograph) on which this image is reproduced.
What has hitherto been a dominant exposure used for printing on a photosensitive material (photographic printing paper) an image photographed on a photographic film such as a negative film and a reversal film, etc. (which are simply referred to as a film), is a so-called direct exposure (an analog exposure) in which the image on the film is projected upon the photosensitive material, and the surface of the photosensitive material is exposed to the light.
By contrast, there has been utilized in recent years a printing apparatus using a digital exposure, i.e., a digital photo printer for photoelectrically reading an image recorded on a film, converting the read image into digital signals, thereafter converting the digital signals into image data for recording by executing a variety of image processes thereon, recording the (latent) image by scan-exposing a photosensitive material to recording light beams modulated corresponding to the image data, and obtaining a (finished) print.
The digital photo printer is capable of determining an exposure condition when in printing through image data processing with the image as a digital image data and therefore capable of obtaining a high grade print, which could not acquired by the conventional direct exposure, by preferably compensating a washed-out highlight and a dull shadow of the image which are caused due to the back-light and the flash photography, etc., executing a sharpness (sharpening) process and compensating a color or density failure. The digital photo printer is also capable of synthesizing a plurality of images and dividing the image and further synthesizing characters and so on by the image data processing, and capable of outputting the prints freely edited and processed according to applications.
Besides, the digital photo printer is capable of supplying a computer, etc. with the image data and storing a recording medium such as a floppy disk, etc. with the image data as well as outputting the images as a print (a photograph), and hence the image data can be utilized for a variety of applications excluding the photographs.
This type of digital photo printer is basically constructed of an image input device having a scanner (an image reader) and an image processor, and an image output device having a printer (an image reader) and a processor (a developing unit).
The scanner, with reading light beams emitted from a light source being incident upon a film, obtains projection light beams bearing an image photographed on the film, forms the image of the projection light beams on an image sensor such as CCD sensor, etc. through an image forming lens, then effects a photoelectric conversion thereof, thus reads the image, executes various image processes thereon according to the necessity, and thereafter transmits image data (image data signals) of the film to the image processor.
The image processor sets an image processing condition based on the image data read by the scanner, executes an image process corresponding to the set condition on the image data, and transmits output image data (an exposure condition) for recording the image.
The printer, if classified as a device utilizing, e.g., a light beam scan exposure, modulates the light beams in accordance with the image data transmitted from the image processor, deflects the light beams in a main scan direction, then carries a photosensitive material in a sub-scan direction orthogonal to the main scan direction, forms a latent image by exposing (printing) the photosensitive material to the light beams bearing the image, subsequently executes a development process, etc. corresponding to the photosensitive material with the aid of the processor, and obtains a print (a photograph) on which the image photographed on the film is reproduced.
The image reader using the image sensor such as the CCD described above, however, exhibits a low resolution, and it has been therefore desired that the resolution be enhanced. What is contrived in contrast is, for instance, a method by which the pixels are shifted in vertical and lateral directions utilizing the piezoelectric effect by use of an area sensor such as an area CCD sensor, thereby quadrupling the resolution. This method of shifting the pixels of the area sensor, however, presents a problem in which the operation thereof becomes troublesome, and the cost increases.
It is a primary object of the present invention, which was devised to obviate the problems inherent in the prior art, to provide an image reader capable of increasing a resolution while simply keeping an area of light receiving elements of a sensor to some extent at a low cost.
To accomplish the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image reader comprises n pieces of line sensors arranged in parallel in such a way that, with xe2x80x9cnxe2x80x9d being an integer of 2 or more, the n pieces of line sensors disposed at an equal pitch are shifted at a 1/n pitch in a sensor arranging direction with respect to other line sensors, first compensating means for compensating spatial positions of the n pieces of line sensors, second compensating means for compensating a train of signals of each of the n pieces of line sensors so that a predetermined moving average of a target pixel of the signal train in one line sensor is, in a signal train of another line sensor among the n pieces of line sensors, coincident with a predetermined moving average of a target pixel corresponding to the target pixel in the one line sensor, and interleaving means for interleaving the n trains of signals which have been compensated by the second compensating means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an image reader comprises two line sensors arranged in parallel in such a way that a first line sensor of the two line sensors disposed at an equal pitch is shifted at half a pitch in a sensor arranging direction with respect to another line sensor, first compensating means for compensating spatial positions of the two line sensors, second compensating means for compensating a train of signals of each of the two line sensors so that a predetermined moving average of a target pixel of the signal train in the first line sensor of the two line sensors is, in a signal train of a second line sensor, coincident with a predetermined moving average of a target pixel corresponding to the target pixel in the one line sensor, and interleaving means for interleaving the two trains of signals which have been compensated by the second compensating means.
It is preferable that the two line sensors include the same optical filter on-sensor front surfaces.
When the moving average of the target pixel in the first line sensor is made, in the signal train of the second line sensor, coincident with the moving average of the target pixel corresponding to the target pixel in the first line sensor, the moving average with a smaller signal value is a basis to be made coincident with.
It is also preferable that the two line sensors transfer pixel signals in direction opposite to each other.
It is further preferable that four line sensors are structured such that in respective channels for three colors of R, G and B, the two line sensors are provided with respect to only the G-channel, a line sensor is provided with respect to each of R- and B-channels.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A one-dimensional array is allocated in an in-memory cache for each column in a set of tabular data. The data type of each one-dimensional array is set to be the same as the data type of the corresponding column in the tabular data. Once the one-dimensional arrays have been allocated in memory, a portion of the data from each column in the tabular data is stored in a corresponding one-dimensional array. The tabular data stored in the one-dimensional arrays in the cache may then be utilized to generate an on-screen display of a portion of the tabular data.

Traditional software mechanisms for caching tabular data in memory typically store the tabular data in a two-dimensional array. In particular, a collection of two-dimensional arrays is frequently utilized to store a portion of the rows and columns of the tabular data in memory. In such an implementation, a page might contain one or more two-dimensional arrays. A page cache is utilized to store a collection of pages. This process is commonly referred to as tabular page caching.
Tabular page caching suffers from a number of serious drawbacks, especially when utilized in conjunction with tabular data that has millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of rows. For instance, traditional tabular page caching implementations require the conversion of all columns in a cached two-dimensional array into a common data type prior to storage in the cache since data of different types cannot be stored in a single two-dimensional array. The data stored in the cache must also be converted back to its original data type when the data is retrieved from the cache. The data type conversion of all of the columns in a very large tabular data set in this manner might significantly impact performance. Performance might also be degraded in previous implementations when columns are re-ordered by a user.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.


A prop for supporting the arm of a deceased person in a casket of the type having a bed supported by longitudinally-extending angle irons having an angle iron edge portion extending upwardly above the bed, the prop being preferably of foam plastic such as polystyrene and having concave arm-supporting surfaces at one end and on one edge, the member being supported on the angle iron by means of a groove-like depressed area and slot in a side surface which receives the angle iron edge portion. Other mounting of the member is also available to provide support at various heights.

The body of a deceased reposes in a casket as if in bed. The body rests on a bed-like structure and the arms are generally folded over the abdomen. A prop of some type is usually placed between the upper arm and the bed of the casket. Without such prop, the upper arms tend to rest on the bed and the hands and forearms do not remain in the desired position. This is particularly true when the deceased is obese.
Props that have been used in the past include soft drink cans and bottles, or whatever is at hand. Occasionally, one of the mourners discovers this type of prop, sometimes because the prop slips out of place. Such discovery does not create a good impression, to say the least.
The art has had a long need for a prop that will stay in place, that provides a plurality of heights of support, that is easily positioned at the desired height, is inexpensive, and is not apt to disturb a mourner if seen by such person. It is also desirable for the prop to be lightweight.
A prop according to the present invention meets all of these requirements, as will be readily understood from the following specification and the appended drawings.
Casket beds are relatively thin and are supported on a frame that includes at each side a longitudinally-extending angle iron, a portion of which extends upwardly above the upper surface of the bed. A prop according to a preferred form of the invention comprises a multisurfaced, elongated member, preferably of plastic foam such as polystyrene. In a first side surface of the prop is a transversely-extending, depressed, groove-like area extending the entire width of that surface. A similarly extending slot communicates with the depressed area and extends toward one end of the member. The depressed area and slot are dimensioned to fit over the upwardly-extending portion of the angle iron, with the angle iron portion which lies above the bed extending into the slot. The prop, so positioned, then extends a substantial distance above the bed and can be positioned anywhere along the angle iron to provide the best arm support.
In a preferred embodiment, the prop has a plurality of these depressed area and slot arrangements, so positioned as to provide a selection of heights of support when mounted as just described. The prop preferably has a concavity on one end surface and on one edge surface to receive an arm. The end opposite the concave end surface is preferably flat, as is the side surface opposite the concave edge surface. These flat surfaces can be rested on the bed or on the upper edge of the angle iron in other use positions.


The invention provides a composition comprising: a) a benefit agent (preferably perfume) delivery particle comprising a poly-xyloglucan or poly-galactomannan with a ratio of beta-1,4 to 1,6 linkages of 1:1 to 3:1, or a mixture thereof as a delivery aid, b) a mannanase, preferably in combination with one or more of lipase, protease and amylase. Preferably the delivery particle is a core-shell encapsulate.

The present invention will be described with particular reference to perfume although the technology is believed applicable to other benefit agents used in fabric treatment processes.
In laundry applications deposition of a perfume is used, for example, during fabric treatment processes such as fabric washing and conditioning. Methods of deposition are diverse and include deposition during the wash or rinse stages of the laundry process or direct deposition before or after the wash, such as by spraying or rubbing or by use of impregnated sheets during tumble drying or water additives during steam ironing. The perfume is often incorporated into a carrier or delivery system. Carrier systems for perfumes are typically based on encapsulation or entrapment of the perfume within a matrix. After deposition onto a surface, a problem exists in that longevity of adherence to that surface of the perfume, in a surfactant containing environment, is inherently poor. A perfume which has been deposited onto a fabric may be washed off again during a main wash, or the perfume may be leached from its carrier into the wash. Protection of the perfume is, therefore, required before and after it has been deposited onto a surface. Much the same problems are encountered with other benefit agents, which are, like perfume typically relatively expensive and present in laundry compositions at relatively low levels.
WO 07/62833 relates to compositions which comprise core-shell encapsulated perfume particles decorated with a polysaccharide which is substantive to cellulose. Preferred polysaccharides disclosed therein are locust bean gum, tamarind xyloglucan, guar gum or mixtures thereof. Thus it is known to have particles comprising a benefit agent (perfume) which use cellulose-substantive polysaccharide as a delivery aid to assist the particles in binding to a specific substrate. The compositions may also contain one or more enzymes. Suitable enzymes disclosed in the reference include, amongst others, those known as cellulase.
The term cellulase refers to a class of enzymes which show a range of possible reactions on a variety of substrates. One problem with cellulose-substantive polysaccharides is that they have a structure which is generally similar to cellulose, and as such, are subject to attack by "cellulase".
Other enzymes which attack polysaccharides are known, for example mannanases are used in combination with other enzymes as an effective medium against soil from certain food products (such as ice cream, tomato sauce or salad dressing) that contain guar gum. Guar gum is a food additive that is obtained from the seed of the guar tree and is used in numerous products as ballast or as a gelling agent. Guar gum is also found in some hair styling products and make-up products. As noted above, guar gum is substantive to cellulose. Mannanases have been identified in several Bacillus organisms. For example, Talbot et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol., vol. 56, No. 11, pp. 3505-3510 (1990) describes a β-mannanase derived from Bacillus stearothermophilus in dimer form having a MW of 162 kDa and an optimum pH of 5.5-7.5. Mendoza et al., World J. Micobio. Biotech., vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 551-555 (1994) describes a β-mannanase derived from Bacillus subtilisis having a MW of 38 kDa, an optimum activity at pH 5.0/55° C. and a pI of 4.8. J0304706 discloses a β-mannanase derived from Bacillus sp. having a MW of 37 +/−3 kDa measured by gel filtration, an optimum pH of 8-10 and a pI of 5.3-5.4. J63056289 describes the production of an alkaline, thermostable β-mannanase, which hydrolyses β-1,4-D-mannopyranoside bonds of e.g. mannans and produces manno:oligo:saccharides. J63036774 relates to a Bacillus microorganism FERM P-8856 which produces β-mannanase and β-mannosidase, at an alkaline pH. A purified mannanase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and its method of preparation useful in the bleaching of pulp and paper, is disclosed in WO97/11164. WO91/18974 describes an hemicellulase such as a glucanase, xylanase or mannanase, active at extreme pH and temperature and the production thereof. WO94/25576 describes an enzyme exhibiting a mannanase activity derived from Aspergillus aculeatus CBS 101.43, that might be used for various purposes for which degradation or modification of plant or algae cell wall material is desired. WO93/24622 discloses a mannanase isolated from Trichoderrna reesei for bleaching lignocellulosic pulps.

Fabric treatment compositions comprising target benefit agents


Methods and apparatuses are provided for aligning read data in a stacked semiconductor device. An example apparatus includes a stacked semiconductor device comprising stacked first and second die. The stacked semiconductor device includes a first path having a first align (first die) and second align (second die) circuits for providing read data from the second die and a second path having a first replica align (first die) and second replica align (second die) circuits. During a timing align operation, a first control circuit sets the first align and replica align circuits to a first delay value based on a propagation delay of a clock signal through the second replica align circuit. After setting of the first delay value, a second control circuit sets the second align and replica align circuits to a second delay value based on a difference in propagation delays through the first and second replica align circuits.

High data reliability, high speed of memory access, lower power consumption and reduced chip size are features that are demanded from semiconductor memory. In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) memory devices have been introduced. Some 3D memory devices are formed by stacking a plurality of memory core dies (or dice) vertically and interconnecting the dies using through-silicon (or through-substrate) vias (TSVs). Benefits of the 3D memory devices include shorter interconnects which reduce circuit delays and power consumption, a large number of vertical vias between layers which allow wide bandwidth buses between functional blocks in different layers, and a considerably smaller footprint. Thus, the 3D memory devices contribute to higher memory access speed, lower power consumption and chip size reduction. Example 3D memory devices include Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). However, in 3D memory devices, operation timing is sometimes different in each of the stacked core dies (chips) due to process variations, voltage variations, etc. Because conductive paths are shared among core chips in 3D memory devices, these variations may cause timing issues related to data transfer, such as two core chips transmitting data contemporaneously over the same conductive path.

Methods and apparatuses for aligning read data in a stacked semiconductor device


A branched valve includes a main flow passage and a branch flow passage provided in a main body, a weir provided between the main and branch flow passages, and a valve disc which can contact with and come off from the weir and which selectively connects and disconnects the main and branch flow passages, wherein a branch flow entrance wall of the branch flow passage integrated with the weir has either a flat surface or a convex surface. The outer wall of the branch flow exit of the main flow passage may rise vertically from the outer wall of the main flow passage, and the side wall of the weir is located approximately on the center line of the main flow passage. The branch flow passage may be provided so that the center line thereof is located higher than the center line of the main flow passage. The valve disc may be a diaphragm.

A conventional branched valve has been described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication (Tokkaisho) No. 151676/87. The branched valve 1 includes a main body 2 provided with a main flow passage 3 and a branch flow passage 4, a weir 5 provided between a branch flow exit 3A of the main flow passage 3 and a branch flow entrance 4A of the branch flow passage 4, and a diaphragm 6 (valve disc) which selectively connects and disconnects the main flow passage 3 and the branch flow passage 4. A branch flow entrance wall 4B of the branch flow entrance 4A which is integrated with the weir 5 has a recessed surface.
However, the conventional branched valve 1 has a disadvantage in that the flux of the branch flow is not sufficient. In the conventional branched valve 1, the branch flow of the fluid which flows into the branch flow passage 4 from the main flow passage 3 is easily peeled off from the branch flow entrance wall 4B just after getting over the weir 5, and makes a turbulent flow. The turbulent flow causes the pressure loss which then causes a large amount of the flux loss.
Further, the conventional branched valve 1 has another disadvantage in that the size is not compact, though the branched valve 1 which is to be connected within i.e. a circulation system of super pure water is desired to has a compact size with sufficient flux of the branch flow. In the conventional branched valve 1, the outer wall of the main flow passage 3 projects largely from the valve center (handle center) to make the width W of the branched valve 1 large, and the lower part of a socket of the branch flow passage 4 projects downward to make the height L of the branched valve 1 large.


An apparatus and method for synthesizing a combinatorial library comprising a plurality of chemical compounds such that the chemical composition of each compound is easily tracked. The library compounds are synthesized on solid-phase supports, which are spatially arranged in frames during synthesis according to a predetermined protocol, such that each solid-phase support passes through a series of unique spatial 2D or 3D addresses by which the chemical composition of each compound may be determined at any point during synthesis. Solid-phase supports include hollow tubular-shaped lanterns and gears.

Citation or identification of any reference in section 2 or any section of this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.
A combinatorial library is a collection of multiple species of chemical compounds comprised of smaller subunits or monomers. Combinatorial libraries come in a variety of sizes, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand species of chemical compounds. There are also a variety of library types, including oligomeric and polymeric libraries comprised of compounds such as peptides, carbohydrates, oligonucleotides, and small organic molecules, etc. Such libraries have a variety of uses, such as identifying and organic molecules, etc. Such libraries have a variety of uses, such as identifying and characterizing ligands capable of binding an acceptor molecule or mediating a biological activity of interest.
The library compounds may comprise any type of molecule of any type of subunits or monomers, including polymers wherein the monomers are chemically connected by any sort of chemical bond such as covalent, ionic, coordination, chelation bonding, etc., which those skilled in the art will recognize can be synthesized on a solid-phase support. The term polymer as used herein includes those compounds conventionally called heteropolymers, i.e., arbitrarily large molecules composed of varying monomers, wherein the monomers are linked by means of a repeating chemical bond or structure. The polymers of the invention of this types are composed of subunits or monomers that can include any bi-functional organic or herteronuclear molecule including, but not limited to amino acids, amino hydroxyls, amino isocyanates, diamines, hydroxycarboxylic acids, oxycarbonylcarboxylic acids, aminoaldehydes, nitroamines, thioalkyls, and haloalkyls. In the disclosure of the present invention, the terms "monomer," "subunits" and "building blocks" will be used interchangeably to mean any type of chemical building block of molecule that may be formed upon a solid-phase support.
Various techniques for synthesizing libraries of compounds on solid-phase supports are known in the art. Solid-phase supports are typically polymeric objects with surfaces that are functionalized to bind with subunits or monomers to form the compounds of the library. Synthesis of one library typically involves a large number of solid-phase supports. Solid-phase supports known in the art include, among others, polystyrene resin beads, cotton threads, and membrane sheets of polytetrafluoroethylene ("PTFE").
To make a combinatorial library, solid-phase supports are reacted with a one or more subunits of the compounds and with one or more numbers of reagents in a carefully controlled, predetermined sequence of chemical reactions. In other words, the library subunits are "grown" on the solid-phase supports. The larger the library, the greater the number of reactions required, complicating the task of keeping track of the chemical composition of the multiple species of compounds that make up the library. Thus, it is important to have methods and apparatuses which facilitate the efficient production of large numbers of chemical compounds, yet allow convenient tracking of the compounds over a number of reaction steps necessary to make the compounds.
One method of making combinatorial libraries is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,240 to Lam et al. ("Lam '240 patent"), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. More specifically, the Lam '240 patent discloses a split and mix method of synthesizing combinatorial libraries of bio-oligomers on resin beads, in certain embodiments of which the library contains all possible combinations of monomer subunits of which the bio-oligomers are composed. Although there may be several resin beads containing the same species of bio-oligomer, each resin bead contains only one species of bio-oligomer.
Another example of a method of making combinatorial libraries on divisible solid-phase supports is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,696 to Lebl ("Lebl '696 patent"), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the method disclosed in the Lebl '696, each of a set of predetermined species of test compounds is present on a predetermined number of solid-phase supports—preferably on only one—and each solid-phase support has only a single species of test compound.
The use of radio-frequency identification ("RFID") chips to record the steps of library synthesis is also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,741,462, 5,770,455, and 5,751,629, as well as WO 98/15826.
A method and apparatus for synthesis of a combinatorial library using a 3-D array of reaction zones is provided in Glaxo's WO 99/32219 ("Glaxo Application"). This application discloses stackable frames having a plurality of holes. Membranes, which act as the solid supports, are trapped between stacked frames, and these membranes are exposed at the frame holes. In an alternative embodiment, solid support beads are placed on flow-through sieves that allow flow-through of reagents around the support beads. Reagents are pumped in from the top and vacated at the bottom or, alternatively, pumped in from the bottom and vacated at the top. The apparatus disclosed allows reagents to be delivered to groups of supports in the X-Z planes or in the Y-Z planes during synthesis steps.
The Glaxo Application also employs a 3-D (X-Y-Z) array of supports. However, instead of using a containment apparatus having true wells in which solid supports are stacked, the Glaxo method employs stackable 2-D (X-Y) frames. The Glaxo Application discloses two distinct embodiments of stackable frame structures. One embodiment sandwiches a membrane between stacked frames, the frames having a plurality of holes. The membranes are solid-phase supports which are held between the frames. The frame holes expose the membranes. The membranes also have holes to allow reagents to pass through the layers of membranes and contact other membranes in the vertical "column" of the array. Another embodiment has sieves in place of the membranes, and free solid supports are placed on each sieve between the frames. The sieves allow reagents to flow vertically from top to the bottom of the stacked 3-D array contacting a vertical column of solid-phase supports resting on sieves.
A major disadvantage with Glaxo's apparatus and method, however, is that after the synthesis is completed, the solid supports, whether as the membrane or the solid-phase support beads suspended on the sieve, are not easily freed from the stacked array while retaining their spatial identities. The frames must be taken apart one by one to gain access to the supports and to provide some means to retain the identities of each support. This requires a burdensome additional step that makes the apparatuses disclosed less attractive for commercial production of libraries.
While methods exist in the art that can be used to produce a library of compounds, there is still a need for methods and apparatuses effective for commercial use to build a large library of compounds quickly and with a minimum of cost. Thus, there is still a need for alternative methods of synthesis that use 2-D or 3-D arrays of solid-phase support as part of the synthesis process for the purpose of commercially making large libraries of compounds efficiently.
Moreover, there is still a need for apparatuses and methods for efficiently synthesizing extremely large libraries, e.g., greater than 100,000 compounds, using 2-D or 3-D arrays as tools in the synthesis.

Apparatus and method for synthesizing combinatorial libraries


A system for taking fluoroscopic images of large animals having a rotatable plate with a plurality of detectors disposed on the rotatable plate, wherein the plurality of detectors are arranged as spokes extending radially outwardly from a central rotational point on the rotatable plate with collimators disposed on the side edges of the spokes. A drive assembly rotates the rotatable plate about an axis extending through the central rotational point at a speed such that the duration of successive image frames corresponds to the time taken for each spoke of detectors to move to the position of an adjacent spoke of detectors.

Fluoroscopy is the practice of taking real time "live" X-ray images. This is done by capturing and displaying X-ray images at a high or low frame rate (e.g.: typically 2-30 frames per second). In operation, the fluoroscope uses an X-ray generator which sends an X-ray beam towards a detector array. The state of the art in fluoroscopy has until recently been based on the use of image intensifiers and, more recently, flat panel detectors. The use of either image intensifiers or flat-panel X-ray detectors employs projection radiography where the entire surface of the detector is illuminated by either a constant or pulsed beam of X-rays. Special X-ray tubes and generators are used in fluoroscopy to produce long X-ray exposures at relatively low X-ray exposure dosage (as compared with static radiography). As described herein, an X-ray generator encompasses any device that generates X-rays, for example X-ray tubes in particular.
Unfortunately, a common problem with conventional fluoroscopy is "X-ray scatter" in which the X-rays deflect off of the object being imaged. This has the result of introducing off-axis radiation scattered into the detector producing a fogging effect that degrades image quality. Traditional solutions to X-ray scatter include using anti-scatter grids. Unfortunately, as the object being scanned gets larger, the problem of the images becoming foggy increases as well (due to additional X-ray scatter within the larger object). This problem is particularly acute in large animal veterinary fluoroscopy.
As will be shown, the present system provides a novel mechanical solution to the current problem of X-ray scattering, thereby enabling an operator to obtain clear image scans of large animals.

Scanning digital fluoroscope comprising multiple radiographic image detectors arranged as spokes extending radially outwardly from a central rotational point on a rotational plate


A pivotal device for a playpen includes a connecting member which pivotally connects two siderails of the playpen. Each of the siderails has a spring received therein which has a protrusion extending through the siderail and the connecting member and a pushing end being accessed via a hole of the connecting member. An operation plate mounted to the connecting member with a slidable member biasedly disposed therebetween. The operation plate has flexible plate and a head with a tapered surface extends laterally from the flexible plate, the slidable member having one end thereof slidably located below the head so that when the slidable member is shifted, the head is pushed to push the pushing ends of the springs to withdraw the protrusions from the connecting member to allow the siderails to be pivoted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pivotal device and, more particularly, to an improved pivotal device for a playpen and having a locking mechanism disposed thereto so as to prevent it from being unintentionally activated.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a conventional playpen is designed for children to play therein and usually has a pivotal device disposed between two siderails of the playpen so that the playpen is able to be folded so as to occupy less space while not in use. Although the pivotal devices of some of conventional playpens have a common feature of being easily operated to fold or to extend the playpens, they lack a locking feature such that the pivotal device could be unintentionally actuated by children and the playpen could collapse suddenly, and the children in the playpen could be hurt. A latest related pivotal device for a playpen known to Applicant is Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,634, entitled as "Pivotal Device for a Playpen". Applicant wants to design a pivotal device used on playpen and which has a reliable two-step operation locking function.
The present invention intends to provide an improved pivotal device for connecting two siderails of a playpen and the pivotal device has a locking mechanism disposed thereto which effectively mitigates and/or obviates the above-mentioned problems.


The invention relates to adenoviral vectors. More particularly, this invention relates to recombinant high capacity adenoviral vectors which can be employed in the treatment of hemophilia A, as well as methods and process for their creation and use.

Hemophilia A is an X-linked, recessive bleeding disorder caused by deficiency of clotting Factor VIII ("FVII"). In the United States alone there are approximately 20,000 patients with hemophilia A. The clinical presentation for hemophilia A is characterized by episodes of spontaneous and prolonged bleeding. Currently, hemophilia A is treated with protein replacement therapy using either plasma-derived or recombinant FVIII. Although FVIII replacement markedly improved the life expectancy of patients suffering from hemophilia, they are still at risk for severe bleeding episodes and chronic joint damage, since prophylactic treatment is restricted by the short half-life, the limited availability and the high cost of purified FVIII, which can approach $100,000/patient/year. In addition, the use of plasma-derived factors obtained from contaminated blood sources increases the risk of viral transmission. Gene therapy offers the promise of a new method of treating hemophilia A, since the therapeutic window is relatively broad and levels slightly above 1% of normal physiological levels are therapeutic (see, Kay M A, High K. Gene therapy for the hemophilias [comment]. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1999; 96:9973-9975). If successful, gene therapy could provide constant FVIII synthesis which may lead to a cure for this disease. Different viral and non-viral gene therapy methods have been evaluated for the treatment of patients suffering from hemophilia A (see, e.g., Chuah M K, Collen D, VandenDriessche T. Gene therapy for hemophilia: hopes and hurdles. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 1998; 28:153-171 and Chuah M K, Collen D, VandenDriessche T. Gene therapy for hemophilia. J Gene Med. 2001; 3:3-20). Adenoviral (Ad) vectors are the most efficient vectors for hepatic gene delivery (Ibid.). The adenoviral vector genome remains episomal, implying that the risk of neoplastic transformation due to insertional mutagenesis is low. However, early-generation adenoviral vectors still contain most viral genes. Their expression contributes to inflammatory responses, toxicity and short-term transgene expression (see, e.g. Yang Y, Su Q, Wilson J M. Role of viral antigens in destructive cellular immune responses to adenovirus vector-transduced cells in mouse lungs. J Virol. 1996, 70:7209-7212; Fang B, Wang H, Gordon G, Bellinger D A, Read M S, Brinkhous K M, Woo S L, Eisensmith R C. Lack of persistence of E1-recombinant adenoviral vectors containing a temperature-sensitive E2A mutation in immunocompetent mice and hemophilia B dogs. Gene Ther. 1996, 3:217-222; Schiedner G, Morral N, Parks R J, Wu Y, Koopmans S C, Langston C, Graham F L, Beaudet A L, Kochanek S. Genomic DNA transfer with a high-capacity adenovirus vector results in improved in vivo gene expression and decreased toxicity [published erratum appears in Nat Genet 1998 March; 18(3):298]. Nat Genet. 1998, 18:180-183; Yang Y, Ertl H C, Wilson J M. MHC class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes to viral antigens destroy hepatocytes in mice infected with E1-deleted recombinant adenoviruses. Immunity. 1994, 1:433-442; Yang Y, Li Q, Ertl H C, Wilson J M. Cellular and humoral immune responses to viral antigens create barriers to lung-directed gene therapy with recombinant adenoviruses. J Virol. 1995, 69:2004-2015; and Yang Y, Jooss K U, Su Q, Ertl H C, Wilson J M. Immune responses to viral antigens versus transgene product in the elimination of recombinant adenovirus-infected hepatocytes in vivo. Gene Ther. 1996; 3:137-144). Studies in the art have shown that injection of early-generation adenoviral vectors encoding canine or human FVIII resulted in efficient liver transduction and in therapeutic levels of FVIII in hemophilic mice, dogs or rhesus macaques (see, e.g., Connelly S, Smith T A, Dhir G, Gardner J M, Mehaffey M G, Zaret K S, McClelland A, Kaleko M. In vivo gene delivery and expression of physiological levels of functional human factor VIII in mice. Hum Gene Ther. 1995, 6:185-193; Connelly S, Gardner J M, McClelland A, Kaleko M. High-level tissue-specific expression of functional human factor VIII in mice. Hum Gene Ther. 1996, 7:183-195; Connelly S, Mount J, Mauser A, Gardner J M, Kaleko M, McClelland A, Lothrop C D, Jr. Complete short-term correction of canine hemophilia A by in vivo gene therapy. Blood. 1996, 88:3846-3853; Connelly S, Andrews J L, Gallo A M, Kayda D B, Qian J, Hoyer L, Kadan M J, Gorziglia M I, Trapnell B C, McClelland A, Kaleko M. Sustained phenotypic correction of murine hemophilia A by in vivo gene therapy. Blood. 1998, 91:3273-3281; and Gallo-Penn A M, Shirley P S, Andrews J L, Tinlin S, Webster S, Cameron C, Hough C, Notley C, Lillicrap D, Kaleko M, Connelly S. Systemic delivery of an adenoviral vector encoding canine factor VIII results in short-term phenotypic correction, inhibitor development, and biphasic liver toxicity in hemophilia A dogs. Blood. 2001; 97:107-113). However, FVIII levels declined to baseline, possibly due to vector toxicity related to residual adenoviral gene expression. In the dog model, induction of antibody immune responses against FVIII was associated with only transient correction of the bleeding diathesis (see, Gallo-Penn, et al. supra). Inflammatory responses and vector toxicity further diminished the therapeutic efficacy (Ibid.). To overcome the limitations of early-generation adenoviral vectors, novel adenoviral vectors have been developed, designated as high-capacity (HC), helper-dependent (HD) or "gutless" adenoviral vectors, which are devoid of all adenoviral genes. These HC-Ad vectors retain only the necessary cis-acting elements that are required for generating infectious vector particles during vector production and typically depends on the use of an E1-complementation cell line and a packaging-defective helper virus that provides the necessary viral functions in trans (see, Kochanek S. High-capacity adenoviral vectors for gene transfer and somatic gene therapy. Hum Gene Ther. 1999, 10:2451-2459 and Parks R J, Chen L, Anton M, Sankar U, Rudnicki M A, Graham F L. A helper-dependent adenovirus vector system: removal of helper virus by Cre-mediated excision of the viral packaging signal. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1996, 93:13565-13570). However, notwithstanding the improvements of these HC-Ad vectors, the therapeutic application of said vectors still causes toxicity to the host. This toxicity is mainly due to the need for the use of a high amount of infectious units of recombinant vector and results in the activation of the innate immune system, in liver toxicity and may contribute to the induction of a humoral immune response. Thus, there is a need to apply lower vector doses to reduce undesirable side effects.

High capacity recombinant adenoviral vector for treatment of hemophilia A

Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie VZW


A rock breaking machine and to a method of lubricating a tool of a rock breaking machine. The lubricating system comprises at least one lubricant channel (23) into which lubricant is fed by a lubricating device (24). Lubricant is supplied to the bearing members (19) of the tool (6, 13) of the rock breaking machine. The lubricating device comprises a lubricant container (25) and a transfer device (26). The transfer device (26) controls the feed of lubricant into the lubricant channel. The lubricant container (25) is integrated into the body (17, 18) of the rock breaking machine.

The invention relates to a rock breaking machine comprising: a body; a percussion device for generating impact pulses in a tool that is connectable to the rock breaking machine, bearing members for supporting the tool onto the rock breaking machine and a lubricating system for lubricating the bearing members. The lubricating system comprises at least one lubricant channel, and at least one lubricating device for feeding lubricant along the lubricant channel to the bearing members of the tool. The lubricating device comprises at least one lubricant container and a transfer device for feeding lubricant, the lubricant container being arranged in the body of the rock breaking machine.
The invention further relates to a method of lubricating a tool of a rock breaking machine.
Rock breaking machines, such as impact hammers and rock drilling machines, comprise a tool which is provided with impact pulses by a percussion device of the rock breaking machine. Due to the influence of the impact pulses, the tool breaks the material being operated on and penetrates into it. The tool is bearing-mounted in the body of the rock breaking machine so that it can move in the longitudinal direction during the operation of the rock breaking machine. Furthermore, in rock drilling machines the tool is typically rotated about its longitudinal axis during drilling. The tool of the rock breaking machine and its bearings are subjected to heavy stress during use. Thus it is known to provide a rock breaking machine with a lubricating device for feeding lubricant to the tool's bearing means. The lubricating device comprises a lubricant container and a lubricant pump, which are typically arranged on the outer surface of the rock breaking machine, for example in a protective case surrounding the rock breaking machine. In that case, the lubricating device is prone to impacts and impurities during use. A further problem that has been noted is that it is difficult to feed lubricant from a remote lubricant container into the bearing members. In cold conditions, in particular, lubrication may be insufficient since the lubricant is cold and stiff in the lubricant container arranged on the outer surface of the rock breaking machine.

Rock breaking machine and lubricating method


Disclosed is a photopolymerizable composition containing a polymerizable compound having an addition-polymerizable unsaturated bond, an organic dye, and an organoboron compound represented by the following general formula (I), wherein at least one kind of the organoboron compound is included and the proportion thereof is one mole or more per mole of the organic dyeB⊖R)4X⊕.  General formula (I)

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photopolymerizable composition for use in a monochrome or polychrome (multicolor) recording material and recording process which can utilize a light source falling within an ultraviolet to infrared region. More specifically, the present invention relates to a photopolymerizable composition exhibiting improved sensitivity, storability, fixability by light, decolorization of organic dyes, etc., and to a recording material and a recording process using the photopolymerizable composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, dry-type image-recording processes, which do not use a liquid developing solution or the like and do not produce waste, have been studied. Among these processes, a process using a composition that hardens by light is drawing attention.
According to this process, when a recording material is exposed to light, a composition, hardenable by the action of light and contained in an exposed portion of the recording material, is hardened and thus a latent image is formed. Meanwhile, a component, which is to be involved in a coloration or decolorization reaction when heated and is contained in an unexposed portion of the recording material, moves within the recording material so that a color image is formed. When a recording material according to the above-described process is used, a visible image is formed by irradiating the recording material with light through an image original so that the portion exposed to light is hardened and a latent image is formed and thereafter heating the recording material so that a component, which is to be involved in a coloration or decolorization reaction and is contained in an unhardened portion (i.e., unexposed portion), moves.
According to this process, it is possible to realize a perfectly dry system that produces no waste.
Specifically, there are several kinds of recording materials as the recording materials to be used according to the above-described process. This process is useful for recording color images in particular, although this process is a characteristic one also as a recording process for black-and-white images. Known as a specific recording material is, for example, the two-component, photo- and heat-sensitive, color-forming recording material disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 52-89915. This is a heat-sensitive, color-forming recording material which uses, for example, an electron-accepting compound and an electron-donating, colorless dye as the two components and contains a photo-hardenable composition either inside or outside microcapsules or both inside and outside microcapsules.
However, in this recording material, even if the photo-hardenable composition inside microcapsules is fully hardened, the coloration in the hardened portions cannot be sufficiently inhibited. Because of this, non-image portions are colored and contrast tends to decrease.
Known as a recording material whose non-image portions are free from coloration is, for example, the recording material which is disclosed in JP-A No. 61-123838 and produced by laminating a layer containing a composition consisting of a vinyl monomer having an acidic group and a photopolymerization initiator, an isolating layer, and a layer comprised of an electron-donating, colorless dye.
This recording material is associated with the problem that the density of developed color itself is relatively low, although non-image portions, i.e., the portions hardened by a photopolymerization reaction, are free from coloration because the thermal diffusion of the acidic group does not occur in the non-image portions.
JP-A No. 60-119552 discloses a recording material which provides a negative-type image by a similar process. In this recording material, a photopolymerizable composition, which comprises of a monomer or prepolymer designed to bleach a dye and a photopolymerization initiator, and a dye, which is to be bleached by a monomer or prepolymer, are isolated from each other. This recording material is also associated with the problem that the density of developed color itself is relatively low, although non-image portions are free from coloration as in the case of the recording material described above.
In view of the problems described above, the present applicant has proposed the recording material described in JP-A No. 3-87828 and the recording material described in JP-A No. 4-211252 as recording materials capable of decreasing the coloration in non-image portions and providing a high image density. The former recording material is characterized in that one of the two components in the two-component, photo- and heat-sensitive, color-forming recording material is enclosed in microcapsules while the other component is present as a hardenable compound of the photopolymerizable composition or is present together with the photopolymerizable composition outside the microcapsules. The latter recording material is a photo- and heat-sensitive recording material having a layer containing microcapsules enclosing an electron-donating, colorless dye and a photo-hardenable composition comprising of an electron-accepting compound, a polymerizable vinyl monomer, and a photopolymerization initiator outside the microcapsules.
Recording of color images in the photo- and heat-sensitive recording materials described above can be achieved by using a recording material comprising a support having laminated thereon plural recording layers each of which is sensitive to a different wavelength and forms a different color.
An example of multicolor photo- and heat-sensitive recording materials is the photo- and heat-sensitive recording material previously proposed by the present applicant. More specifically, examples thereof include a multicolor photo- and heat-sensitive recording material comprising plural recording layers each of which is sensitive to a different wavelength and forms a different color. That is, the multicolor photo- and heat-sensitive recording material is produced by laminating a first recording layer which is sensitive to the light having a central wavelength of λ1 and develops (forms) a color, an intermediate layer which absorbs the light having a central wavelength of λ1, a second recording layer which is sensitive to the light having a central wavelength of λ2 and develops a color different from the color of the first recording layer, . . . , an intermediate layer which absorbs the light having a central wavelength of λi−1, and an i th recording layer which is sensitive to the light having a central wavelength of λi and develops a color different from the colors of the first, second, . . . , and (i−1) th recording layers, in that order in the direction of the support from the light source for exposure, wherein i is equal to or greater than 2 and the central wavelengths have the relationship of λ1<λ2< . . . λi. For example, i may be 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. Further, the i th recording layer is formed on the support. this construction of the multicolor photo- and heat-sensitive recording material may be used in the present invention.
These recording materials can be used in various applications, but, when these recording materials are used, a light source that enables the image recording was limited to UV light or shortwave visible light and the use of a small-sized, inexpensive infrared laser or blue to red light was impossible.
In order to enable more rapid and finer image formation, a dye or the like, whose absorption wavelength falls within the ultraviolet to infrared region of the irradiation light, needs to be introduced into the recording layer when the small-sized, inexpensive infrared laser or blue to red light is used. However, if a dye or the like, particularly a dye or the like whose absorption wavelength falls within a visible light region, is used, the background is colored and the images to be obtained necessarily have a low contrast and poor quality. On the other hand, the use of a dye or the like whose absorption wavelength falls within a near-infrared region diminishes the coloration of the background. But in this case, the problem is that the laser required is expensive.
Meanwhile, examples of pressure-sensitive, color-forming recording materials include the photo- and pressure-sensitive, recording materials disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,209, U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,846, and others. In these recording materials, a colorant precursor as an image former is enclosed in microcapsules and, after image-wise exposure, the microcapsules in the portions that have not undergone photo-hardening are broken by the application of a uniform pressure. As a result, the colorant precursor released from the microcapsules reacts with the developing agent present outside the microcapsules and thus visualization is performed. Examples of these multicolor recording materials include the recording materials described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,842,976 and 4,576,891.
However, also in these recording materials, like the photo- and heat-sensitive recording materials described above, almost all compositions to be photo-hardened have sensitivity only to shortwave light, and a light source that enables the image recording was limited to UV light or shortwave visible light. Therefore, the use of a small-sized, inexpensive infrared laser or blue to red light was impossible.
Another problem was that, in order to enable more rapid and finer image formation, it was inevitable that the background was colored and the images obtained had a low contrast and poor quality.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Photopolymerizable composition and recording material and recording process using the same


A voltage-frequency conversion apparatus which has a variable current source for charging a capacitor; a current amount adjustment unit that adjusts a current amount of the variable current source for charging the capacitor to be corresponding to a differential voltage between a first voltage and a second voltage; a comparator that compares in level a charging voltage produced at one end of the capacitor and a reference voltage; a discharge unit that discharges the charging voltage of the capacitor according to the comparison result of the comparator when the charging voltage exceeds the reference voltage; and a reference voltage fluctuation unit that makes the reference voltage fluctuate. A frequency signal is generated from the comparator corresponding to the differential voltage between the first voltage and the second voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage-frequency conversion apparatus and a method of generating a reference voltage of the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus, which are suitable for detecting the remaining voltage of electricity charged in a secondary battery, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
==Configuration of Conventional Voltage-Frequency Conversion Apparatus==
<Overall Configuration>
With reference to FIG. 3, an example configuration of a conventional voltage-frequency conversion apparatus is described. FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing the example configuration of the conventional voltage-frequency conversion apparatus.
A voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 has an error amplifier 102, a variable current source 104, a reference voltage source 106, a comparator 108, a capacitor 110, a switch element 112 and a control logic circuit 114.
The error amplifier 102 is applied with a voltage VIN(+) and a voltage VIN(−) and generates an output voltage corresponding to a differential voltage (an error) between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−). In other words, the greater the difference between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) is, the larger the output voltage generated by the error amplifier 102 becomes.
A current amount generated by the variable current source 104 is controlled according to the output voltage of the error amplifier 102. In other words, the larger the output voltage of the error amplifier 102 is, the larger the current generated by the variable current source 104 becomes. The variable current source 104 and the capacitor 110 are serially connected between a power source VDD and ground, and the capacitor 110 is charged with the current generated by the variable current source 104. In other words, the larger the current generated by the variable current source 104 is, the faster the capacitor 110 is charged and, on the other hand, the smaller the current generated by the variable current source 104 is, the slower the capacitor 110 is charged.
The comparator 108 compares a charging voltage occurring at one end of the capacitor 110 on the non-grounded side and a constant reference voltage VREF generated by the reference voltage source 106. In FIG. 3, the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 is applied to a plus (non-inverting input) terminal of the comparator 108 and the reference voltage VREF is applied to a minus (inverting input) terminal of the comparator 108. Therefore, the comparator 108 outputs a low level if the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 is smaller than the reference voltage VREF and outputs a high level if the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 exceeds the reference voltage VREF. In other words, the comparator 108 outputs a frequency signal corresponding to the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−).
The switch element 112 is connected in parallel with the capacitor 110. A bipolar transistor, a MOSFET, etc. can be employed as the switch element 112.
The control logic circuit 114 is connected to the output of the comparator 108 and controls the turning on/off of the switch element 112. In other words, the control logic circuit 114 renders the switch element 112 on for a certain period after the output of the comparator becomes a high level. In this period, the capacitor 110 is discharged through the switch element 112.
==Operation of Conventional Voltage-Frequency Conversion Apparatus==
With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the operation of the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 is described. FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing a relationship between the charging voltage appearing at one end of the capacitor 110 and a frequency signal output from the comparator 108. A rate (gradient) of increase in the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 varies depending on the amount of the current supplied from the variable current source 104. In other words, as the current supplied from the variable current source 104 becomes smaller, the gradient of increase in the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 changes from a dashed line to a solid line to a dot-and-dash line in the direction of becoming more gradual. Frequency signals A, B, C are signals generated respectively corresponding to the charging voltages indicated by the dashed line, the solid line and the dot-and-dash line.
If the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) equals VA, the variable current source 104 generates a current IA and the capacitor 110 is supplied with the current IA and charged as shown by the dashed line. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 is smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 is at a low level. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 exceeds the reference voltage VREF subsequently, the output of the comparator 108 becomes a high level. The control logic circuit 114 renders the switch element 112 on for a certain period after the output of the comparator 108 becomes the high level. In other words, a discharge path is formed for the capacitor 110. Therefore, the capacitor 110 immediately discharges via the switch element 112, as shown by the dashed line. The certain period in which the control logic circuit 114 renders the switch element 112 on is a time period required for completing the discharge of the capacitor 110 and is decided in consideration of the capacity of the capacitor 110, etc. and preset in the control logic circuit 114. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 becomes smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 becomes the low level again. Thus, the comparator 108 outputs the frequency signal A in response to the charging voltage indicated by the dashed line.
If the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) equals VB (<VA), the variable current source 104 generates a current IB (<IA) and the capacitor 110 is supplied with the current IB and charged as shown by the solid line. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 is smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 is at the low level. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 exceeds the reference voltage VREF subsequently, the output of the comparator 108 becomes the high level. The control logic circuit 114 renders the switch element 112 on for a certain period after the output of the comparator 108 becomes the high level. Therefore, the capacitor 110 immediately discharges via the switch element 112, as shown by the solid line. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 becomes smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 becomes the low level again. Thus, the comparator 108 outputs the frequency signal B in response to the charging voltage indicated by the solid line.
If the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) equals VC (<VB), the variable current source 104 generates a current IC (<IB) and the capacitor 110 is supplied with the current IC and charged as shown by the dot-and-dash line. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 is smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 is at a low level. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 exceeds the reference voltage VREF subsequently, the output of the comparator 108 becomes the high level. The control logic circuit 114 renders the switch element 112 on for a certain period after the output of the comparator 108 becomes the high level. Therefore, the capacitor 110 immediately discharges via the switch element 112, as shown by the dot-and-dash line. If the charging voltage of the capacitor 110 becomes smaller than the reference voltage VREF, the output of the comparator 108 becomes the low level again. Thus, the comparator 108 outputs the frequency signal C in response to the charging voltage indicated by the dot-and-dash line.
As described above, the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 converts the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) to a frequency signal corresponding to the differential voltage.
==Example Application of Voltage VIN(+) and Voltage VIN(−)==
The voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 can be employed as an apparatus for determining the remaining voltage of electricity charged in a secondary battery for example.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a battery pack incorporating a secondary battery. In FIG. 4, a battery pack 200 incorporates a secondary battery 201, a sensing resistor 202, a microcomputer 203 (or a logic integrated circuit), etc. The secondary battery 201 and the sensing resistor 202 are serially connected between a plus terminal and a minus terminal to be electrically connected to an electronic device using the secondary battery 201 as a power source. When the secondary battery 201 is charged or discharged, the sensing resistor 202 produces the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) at both its ends. For example, if the battery pack 200 is mounted in an electronic device, the secondary battery 201 discharges to supply power to the electronic device and a discharging current flows in an a direction (upwards on the page) through the sensing resistor 202. In other words, when the secondary battery 201 discharges, the voltage VIN(+) becomes lower than the voltage VIN(−). The smaller the discharging amount of the second battery 201 is, the greater the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) becomes. On the other hand, if the battery pack 200 is mounted on a charger (not shown), the secondary battery 201 is charged and a charging current flows in a b-direction (downwards on the page) through the sensing resistor 202. In other words, when the secondary battery 201 is charged, the voltage VIN(+) becomes higher than the voltage VIN(−). The larger the charging amount of the second battery 201 is, the greater the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) becomes.
The voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) are supplied to the microcomputer 203 as voltage information which is the basis for determining the remaining voltage of electricity when the secondary battery 201 discharges or the charging voltage when the secondary battery 201 is charged. The microcomputer 203 incorporates the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100. Hence, the microcomputer 203 can obtain a frequency signal corresponding to the levels of the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) as well as the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−). The microcomputer 203 performs appropriate program processing on the obtained frequency signal, thereby obtaining the remaining voltage of electricity and the usable time for the remaining voltage of electricity when the secondary battery 201 is mounted on an electronic device, and the charging voltage while being charged (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-107428).
FIG. 5 is a graph showing an input-output characteristic of a voltage-frequency conversion apparatus. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis shows a differential voltage [V] between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) input into the error amplifier 102 and the vertical axis shows the frequency [Hz] of the frequency signal output from the comparator 108. The differential voltage [V] between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−) and the frequency signal ideally has proportionality as shown by the solid line.
By the way, the microcomputer 203 (or a logic integrated circuit) executes calculation operation in synchronization with its own or external clock signal. In the case of FIG. 4, the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 is incorporated in the microcomputer 203 to operate, as described above. Therefore, if a predetermined relationship exists between the frequency of the frequency signal output by the comparator 108 in the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 and the frequency of the clock signal used by the microcomputer 203, the former frequency signal receives interference (digital noises) from the latter clock signal. The predetermined relationship is, for example, that the frequency of the former frequency signal is an integral multiple of the frequency of the latter clock signal. This can happen because the frequency of the frequency signal is a unique constant frequency depending on a charging voltage of the capacitor 110. If the former frequency signal is subject to interference from the latter clock signal, the frequency of the frequency signal output by the comparator 108 becomes constant without responding to the change in the differential voltage between the voltage VIN(+) and the voltage VIN(−). In other words, if being subject to interference from the clock signal, the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 has a dead zone where the change in the frequency signal is constrained. As a result, the problem occurs that the actual input-output characteristic of the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 deviates from the real input-output characteristic indicated by the solid line to one indicated by a dot-and-dash line.
The problem of interference between the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 and the clock signal occurs not only in the case that the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 is incorporated in the microcomputer 203, the logic integrated circuit, etc., but for example, even if the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 and a circuit using the clock signal having a predetermined frequency such as an integrated circuit or a discreet circuit are provided separately, the interference problem may occur in a design environment where the clock signal is a disturbance factor for the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100.
If the voltage-frequency conversion apparatus 100 has the input-output characteristic as shown by the dot-and-dash line of FIG. 5, the microcomputer 203 obtains a remaining voltage of electricity greater than a real remaining voltage of electricity as the remaining voltage of the secondary battery 201, for example, where the battery pack 200 is mounted in an electronic device. In this case, if the microcomputer 203 displays the remaining voltage of the secondary battery 201 on a display of the electronic device, the remaining voltage of the secondary battery 201 may suddenly become zero when the display status is suggesting that the remaining voltage of the secondary battery 201 is sufficient, resulting in a shutdown of the electronic device, which gives a user so much trouble.


A thread cutting device for a sewing machine of chain sewing includes a fixing plate, a combine plate on the fixing plate, a slide guider movably combined with the combine plate by a swing arm located between the fixing plate and the combine plate. A main knife is fixed on a front end of combine plate, and a movable knife is fixed on the slide guider to be moved moved back and forth by the slide guider so that the movable knife may hook and retract threads for the main knife to cut off when the swing arm is swung by an air pressure cylinder having its piston rod connected with an second end of the swing arm, while a first end of the swing arm is connected with the slide guider.

This invention relates to a thread cutting device for a sewing machine of chain sewing, particularly to one having an extending distance of a movable knife shortened to make sure thread hooking and cutting process, and able to adjust an error of the extending distance of the movable knife if it should occur.
A variety of sewing machines are in use in textile industry, and the sewing machine of chain sewing is widely utilized, with a thread cutting device added on the table of the sewing machine for automatically hooking and cutting threads when sewing operation is finished for enhancing working efficiency.
A conventional thread cutting device for the sewing machine of chain sewing shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 includes a clamping device 10, a swing arm 20, a slide guider 30 and a fixing plate 40.
The clamping device includes a movable knife 101, a main knife 102, an upper lamp 103, and a lower clamp 104 combined together. The main knife 102, the upper and the lower clamp 103 and 104 are fixed on a front end of the fixing plate 40 after combined together, with the movable knife 101 protruding through the clamp device 10 and fixed on a front end of the slide guider 30. The swing arm 20 is fixed at a point in an intermediate portion with the table of the sewing machine to function as a fulcrum, having a long slot 202 in an outer end for a slide pin 301 of the slide guider 3 to fit and move therein. The slide guider 30 is fitted in a limit opening 401 of the fixing plate 40, and the swing arm 20 has its inner end connected with a transmitting unit of the sewing machine so that the swing arm may be swung to force the slide guider moved back and forth. Further, the fixing plate 40 has a hole 402 respectively in four corners for screws to fix the whole cutting device on the table of the sewing machine.
Next, referring to FIG. 18, in operation of the sewing machine, a weaving thread or warp 50 moves up and down with the needle to insert in a surface of a cloth being sewn, forming circles 501, and a woof 601 insertted through the hook maker 60 may protrude in the circles 501 by movement of the hook maker 60, and then both the warp 50 and the woof 601 are pulled by the cloth for a certain length, and forcing them 50 and 60 twist together to form a stitch on the rear side of the cloth, completing sewing operation.
In cutting the threads or the warp 50 and the woof 601 on completion of sewing, the movable knife 101 is extended forward by the swing arm 20, with a front hook 105 of the movable knife 101 inserting through and expanding the warp 50 as shown in FIG. 19. Next, the movable knife 101 continues to extend forward and passes through the circles 501 to reach an outermost point and stop there as shown in FIG. 20. Then the movable knife 101 begins to be retracted back, with the front hook 105 and the rear hook 106 of the movable knife 101 respectively hooking the woof 601 and the warp 50 and retracting them to reach an innermost point as shown in FIG. 21. Then the warp 50 hooked is cut off by the main knife knife 102, and the woof 601 is cut off and clamped between the upper and the lower clamp 103 and 104 as shown in FIG. 22. Thus, thread cutting operation is completed, and the thread cutting device is ready for the next sewing operation.
However, the conventional thread cutting device has been found to have disadvantages as follows.
1. The hook maker 60 moves for a certain angle with the up and down movement of the needle, and if the needle moves up and down 3000 times per minute, the hook maker 60 also moves the same times. And the thread cutting device has to be installed enough far from the hook maker so as to avoid moving scope of the hook maker to protect the cutting device from damaged by collision with the hook maker. Thus, the moving distance of the movable knife 101 has to be lengthened for smoothly hooking and cutting the threads so that its extending-out distance may easily cause malfunction of thread hooking and cutting, with the threads to be anew inserted through the eye of the needle and thus causing troubles to a worker. PA1 2. The thread cutting device is located comparatively far from the hook maker and the needle, the threads protrude out too long after they are cut, retracted by the movable knife, impairing outer appearance of a finished product. PA1 3. The fixing plate is fixed on the table of a sewing machine with screws engaging holes in four corners, so the screws have to be loosened and removed if the whole thread cutting device should be adjusted in location so as to keep cutting process smooth after a period of use. So it needs a troublesome work to adjust its location.
The above conventional thread cutting device for a sewing machine of chain sewing is disclosed in a U.S. patent Ser. No. 548199 by the same inventor of this new application.

Thread cutting device for a sewing machine of chain sewing

No. 10, Alley 6, Lane 148, Kai Yuan Road


A liquid slug reduction and charge compensator device for use in air conditioning and heat pump systems includes a housing having a cavity. The housing includes an inlet port providing an entry path into the cavity and an outlet port providing an exit path from the cavity. The housing further includes a liquid line port providing a refrigerant pathway into and out of the cavity. The liquid slug reduction and charge compensator device further includes a flash tube extending through the cavity and providing a passageway through the cavity such that a hot gas refrigerant that enters the cavity through the inlet port causes a liquid refrigerant that enters the flash tube to evaporate.

Compressors used in air conditioning systems and heat pump systems are designed to compress vapor refrigerant. However, a liquid refrigerant may accumulate in the air conditioning and heat pump systems during long idle periods and as a result of rapid change in operating conditions. Because of the incompressibility of liquids, it is desirable to prevent a liquid refrigerant from reaching a compressor. In some cases, an accumulator may be used in the refrigerant path to the compressor (i.e., in a suction line to the compressor) to prevent a refrigerant from reaching the compressor in a liquid form. However, the slow transfer of the refrigerant from the accumulator to the compressor may be an undesirably long process. Thus, a solution that efficiently reduces the risk of damage to a compressor from liquid slug may be desirable.

Compressor protection against liquid slug


The present invention relates to a method of operating a winch, in which a rope which is wound onto a driven reel is supplied to at least one capstan head and wound around said capstan head, with a capstan drive rotating the capstan head and producing a rope advance due to the rope friction existing between rope and capstan head. Moreover, the present invention relates to a corresponding device. As an improvement of the method and the device, the invention suggests a reel drive which is adjusted separately next to the capstan drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of operating a winch, in which a rope which is wound onto a driven reel is supplied to at least one capstan head and is wound around said capstan head, with a capstan drive rotating the capstan head and producing a rope advance due to the rope friction existing between rope and capstan head. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a corresponding winch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Winches of this type are, for instance, used in piste maintaining devices as climbing aids for climbing steep pistes. The rope is wound around the capstan head or capstan heads once or several times and is hauled in by the reel drum. The vehicle is advanced by rotating the capstan head due to the static friction produced by the rope being wound around the capstan heads.
In a winch which is known in practice, the reel and the capstan head are each provided with a hydraulic motor which is driven by a joint hydraulic pump. This ensures that, when the capstan head is driven, the rope is continuously received from the reel and the necessary winding around the capstan head is simultaneously maintained. In practice, however, problems have arisen from the reel winding. The rope is very tightly wound onto the reel, and it may happen that the rope gets pinched between two windings of a lower rope layer when being wound up. Moreover, there is the risk that the rope will not properly travel in the axial direction of the reel, but is wound in an untidy manner as a bulging portion onto a reel section.
It is the object of the present invention to improve the generic method, as well as the winch associated therewith, in such a manner that the rope can be wound without any problems onto the reel and that an effective rope advance for a good drive is made possible by the winch at the same time, the winch being operable in a manner which is as simple and reliable as possible.
This object is achieved according to the invention with a generic method which is characterized in that the reel drive is adjusted separately next to the capstan drive.
As a consequence, the reel drive can be better optimized to the function of winding and unwinding the rope, so that the rope can be received on a reel without any problem. Apart from this, the capstan drive can be optimized in accordance with the required tractive power or advance power of the vehicle. The reel drive ensures an adequate rope tension for maintaining the winding around the capstan head as is required for the advance movement.
Surprisingly enough, it has been found in practice that a tidy winding onto the reel is possible thanks to this sectionwise separation of the drives. Moreover, this improves efficiency, since power losses between capstan head and reel are minimized thanks to the separate adjustment and thanks to a possible improved adaptation of the members.
While it has so far been assumed throughout the prior art that the drives of reel and capstan head must be intregrally formed and adjusted to achieve an optimum cooperation of the two elements, the present invention shows an approach in which use is made of separate adjustments or controls and an improved cooperation of the elements is nevertheless possible.
In an especially advantageous manner the reel can be driven in accordance with the necessary tensile force of the rope between reel and capstan head. This results in the achievement of an optimum tractive force between capstan head and reel. The tractive force can be adapted such that there is enough static friction for the advance movement on the capstan head and enough traction for an orderly winding of the rope onto the reel. The tensile force, however, can be kept below a critical range which, if exceeded, would result in problems with the winding. The tensile force, for instance, may be at about 700 N, which is a suitable value for winches of piste maintaining devices.
The displacement volume of a hydraulic pump which is connected to a hydraulic motor driving the reel can be adjusted in a specific manner in response to the load condition of the hydraulic motor. As a result, the drive of the reel can very well be optimized for an optimum tensile force of the rope between reel and capstan head. When the force of the rope increases excessively, the displacement volume can be reduced, so that the tensile force will no longer increase. In the case of a slack rope the displacement volume can be increased, so that the rope is wound up rapidly and up to an optimum tension. The load condition of the hydraulic motor respectively results from the resistance transmitted by the reel drum to the motor. With the aid of the hydraulic pump the drive of the hydraulic motor can be adjusted or controlled in an optimum manner by a corresponding adjustment.
Preferably, the load pressure can be kept substantially constant under different load conditions in a hydraulic line which is provided between a hydraulic motor driving the reel and the hydraulic pump driving the motor. The drive power can very well be controlled by this measure. At the same time, this measure prevents the occurrence of excessive torques on the reel. The drive power can very well be varied in the hydraulic pump just by adjusting the displacement volume.
In a variant of the invention, the control circuit of the reel drive can be activated separately. This is especially of advantage when the system is started, since the adjustment or control need only be activated upon start of the rope operation. Prior to this activation a low standby pressure could, for instance, be set in the reel system. It is only upon the winch operation proper that a control operation with the necessary operative pressure for ensuring the necessary minimum torques can be started by activating the reel drive.
A motor of the reel drive might be operated as a resistance-producing pump when the rope is being pulled from the reel. When the rope is being pulled, this ensures a sufficient counter-force which will slightly tighten the rope and supply the sane to the capstan head.
In a special embodiment, the capstan drive can be controlled independently of the reel drive according to the necessary rope advance. As a result, the desired drive force or drive speed of the capstan drive can be controlled separately, so that the reel drive need not be taken into account. Hence, it adjusts automatically. As a consequence, upon operation of the winch drive, the advance movement can be concentrated on.
It is possible to change the displacement volume of a hydraulic pump with the aid of and under separate control of the load pressure produced by the hydraulic pump, with the latter being connected to the hydraulic motor driving the capstan head. Hence, the load pressure can be used for controlling the pump. The load pressure can then be varied accordingly in a branch line and can be made use of in a correspondingly controlling manner for adjusting the said pump.
A reel brake and a capstan head brake can especially advantageously be released at the same time when the winch drive is started. Hence, reel and capstan head are locked in the inoperative state by the brakes and they are only released upon start of the winch drive, with the corresponding torques starting the rope advance and the rope winding action at the same time. When the winch drive is stopped, both brakes, for instance, can lock again, so that the rope will remain taught between capstan head and reel in an optimum manner for the next use.
In a variant of the invention, the brakes can be operated in response to an operative pressure in a hydraulic line of the reel drive. The brakes can only be released optionally if an operative pressure in the reel drive has been exceeded, so that the reel will only be released if enough torques are already present at the reel drive for maintaining the rope tension. The operative pressure serves as a regulating means for a sufficient torque. On the other hand, the reel brake or also the capstan head brake will lock again when an operative pressure is not reached, so that the rope is kept in its taught state.
Possibly, the brakes can only be released after a torque has been applied to the reel. As a consequence, the reel drum is released and a suitable torque for the winding action and for the rope tension is alreadly available at the time of release.
When rope and reel are replaced, a reel brake may be released in a special manner by actuating means which are separated from the drive. Therefore, even if the drive or the vehicle is at a standstill, the reel can be released from the outside for changing the rope.
In a preferred embodiment the capstan drive may be blocked during change of the rope. This ensures that the rope advance is at a standstill when the rope is being replaced.
The above-described generic method can, for instance, be realized by a generic winch which comprises a reel which is driven by a reel drive and onto which the rope can be wound and from which the rope can be unwound, with the rope being adapted to be supplied from the reel to at least one capstan head and being adapted to be wound around said head, and a capstan drive rotating the capstan head and advancing the rope because of rope friction with the capstan head.
The above-mentioned object arises in such a generic winch.

Method of operating a winch, and associated device


Powdery calcium carbonate and a powdery dihydrate of calcium monohydrogenohosphate are weighed to get a Ca/P ratio of 1.45 to 1.67. The powdery mixture thus prepared is then added pure water at a temperature of 30.degree. C. or higher to obtain an aqueous slurry having a concentration of about 10% by weight. Thereafter, the aqueous slurry is subjected to a rotational attrition by using a ball mill to conduct a mechanochemical reaction of the calcium carbonate with the dihydrate of calcium monohydrogenphosphate. The slurry is then dried completely at 80.degree. C., followed by pulverization to yield a dry powder of calcium phosphate hydrate. The dry powder is calcinated at a temperature ranging from 720.degree. to 1,150.degree. C. for 1-10 hours or more to give calcium phosphate powder, which is molded in a desired shape and is sintered at a certain temperature to obtain a sintered body of calcium phosphate. The calcium phosphate and the sintered body thereof, thus prepared, have an assured biological safety in that the calcium phosphate is free from hemolysis, antigenicity and cytotoxicity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing calcium phosphate which is utilized as a raw material for bioceramics such as bone supplement material, an artificial tooth root, an artificial joint, bone pin, a percutaneous terminal and artificial an bone, etc. Particularly the present invention relates to a method of preparing calcium phosphate which is biologically safe and free from hemolysis, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently research and developments have been flourishing with respect to bioactive calcium phosphate which is used for bone supplement material, an artificial tooth root, etc.
There have been known such conventional methods of preparing calcium phosphate, such as a dry synthesis wherein a powdery raw material is subjected to a solid phase reaction under an elevated temperature, and a wet synthesis wherein raw material solutions and/or a raw material slurry are reacted. Any of these methods, however, has hardly been able to provide a product of high purity. Furthermore, the production of high-purity calcium phosphate by said conventional methods has resulted not only in complicated processes but also high costs.
As a method to overcome the above stated problems, a method of preparing .beta.-tricalcium phosphate (referred to as .beta.-TCP hereafter) powder through a so-called wet attrition synthesis utilizing a mechanochemical reaction, has been disclosed in e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556, which is a method capable of producing high-purity calcium phosphate in a simple and economical way.
Some of the embodiments of the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556 have disclosed two cases of preparation of .beta.-TCP in which prepared .beta.-TCP has an atomic ratio of calcium atom relative to a phosphorus atom (referred to as Ca/P atomic ratio hereafter) of 1.5 or 1.67, respectively. Also there have been descriptions that said methods can provide powdery .beta.-TCP having a large specific surface area.
However, in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556 the biological safety of thus synthesized .beta.-TCP and hydroxylapatite (HAP) has not been examined sufficiently. Namely U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556 as mentioned above describes that by adjusting the Ca/P atomic ratio to 1.5 of the raw materials and a calcination temperature to 750.degree. C. the calcium phosphate can be produced in an economical and industrially practicable way. But there is also a description that the calcination time depends on an X-ray diffraction strength of dried powder of .beta.-TCP hydrate of pre-calcination. Also there is stated that the crystallinity of powder of dried .beta.-TCP of post-calcination changes depending on the calcination time. More specifically, in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556 there is disclosed that when dry powder of .beta.-TCP hydrate is calcinated at a temperature of 750.degree. C. or more, the diffraction strength will be increased. Furthermore, it is generally known that, when the calcination temperature is 1,150.degree. C. or more, a transition from .beta.-TCP to .alpha.-TCP may occur resulting in a change of crystallinity of the obtained .beta.-TCP.
As stated above, there are instances where high purity powdery calcium phosphate having a desired crystallinity cannot be produced by the mechanochemical method in accordance with said U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556. The purity of the powder depends on the calcination time and temperature. Furthermore the powdery calcium phosphate thus obtained is apt to contain non-reacted matter like Ca(OH).sub.2 etc., which will cause hemolysis. Consequently, the produced calcium phosphate powder may show a hemolytic property occasionally.
Calcium phosphate type ceramics have been known to have not only hemolysis but also an antigenicity.
Still further, ceramics such as TCP and HAP, etc., have been known to show a cytotoxicity. An intensity of the cytotoxicity is confirmed to be different depending on, for instance, a kind of preparation method (e.g., dry or wet method) and calcination temperature.
As described above, calcium phosphate prepared in accordance with said U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,556 may cause hemolysis, antigenicity and cytotoxicity, which have drawbacks in the view point of biological safety. Thus it is not preferable to use such calcium phosphate as a biomaterial.

Director-General of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


Mirror (1) of a laser printhead has an octagonal outer configuration. During normal use the mirror is rotated at high speed, which drives ambient air which causes noise. To control the noise a shroud (11) surrounds the mirror and confines the air except at an opening in the shroud to permit a laser beam to reach the mirror and be reflected out. A rib extends over the mirror and near the area of the opening, positioned to reduce sounds created by the assembly.

Rotatable mirrors are commonly used in laser printers. The mirrors are a series of flat mirror surfaces combined to form a regular polygon. Each of the flat surfaces, as it rotates, directs a laser beam reflected from the surface to sweep across a photoconductor. This is widely practiced.
This invention is directed to reducing the noise caused by the air driven by the corners of the polygon. Such noise has a strong pure tone (single frequency) component. This invention employs a partially surrounding wall and a second wall, the second wall being located to cancel noise. Such cancellation of noise is believed to occur by the second wall causing air currents which are out of phase with those caused by the mirror.
It is known to add walls which result in noise reduction. In a commercial printer which is prior art to this invention, a rib was added near to and over a cooling fan for a power supply. The rib extended over generally one-half of the fan and was positioned on the side opposite power supply toward which the fan drove air. Other judicious positioning of sound reducing walls are known to be widely used, although the exact form and location may in each case be the result of trial and error.

Sound reduced rotatable polygon assembly


This application discloses a fault tolerant computation method and device for a quantum Clifford circuit with reduced resource requirement. The method includes decomposing a quantum Clifford circuit into s logic Clifford circuits and preparing auxiliary quantum states corresponding to the s logic Clifford circuits. For each logic Clifford circuit, the method further includes teleporting an input quantum state corresponding to the logic Clifford circuit to an auxiliary qubit, processing a quantum state obtained after the teleportation by the logic Clifford circuit to obtain a corresponding output quantum state; measuring a corresponding error symptom based on the input quantum state and the auxiliary quantum state; and performing error correction on the output quantum state according to the error symptom to obtain an error-corrected output quantum state.

Since qubits are extremely susceptible decoherence induced by noise, with current technologies, it is still not practical to directly implement large-scale quantum computation (QC) by physical qubits. With the development of the quantum error correction (QEC) code technology and fault tolerant quantum computation (FTQC) technology, it becomes possible in principle to implement QC of arbitrary precisions by qubits in presence of noise.
At present, the most popular FTQC scheme involves surface codes. In addition, there are still some other FTQC schemes, for example, a scheme based on a cascade code of a single logic qubit, a scheme based on a C4/C6 code for quantum error detection and post-selection, and a scheme based on a high-code-rate large-block qubit error correction code.
High-quality physical qubits and physical quantum gates are highly expensive, and enormous engineering costs are required to implement each high-quality qubit or quantum gate in experiments. Current FTQC schemes are usually resource-intensive in that total numbers of physical qubits and physical quantum gates needed for these schemes are excessively large.

Fault tolerant computation method and apparatus for quantum Clifford circuit, device, and chip

Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited