The inventive subject matter relates to methods for treating oral cancers, comprising administration of a composition comprising therapeutically effective amounts of supercritical extracts of rosemary, turmeric, oregano and ginger; and therapeutically effective amounts of hydroalcoholic extracts of holy basil, ginger, turmeric, Scutellaria baicalensis, rosemary, green tea, huzhang, Chinese goldthread, and barberry. The inventive subject matter further relates to methods for modulating gene expression of genes selected from the group consisting of interleukin-1α, interleukin-1β, heme oxygenase 1, aldo-keto reductase family 1, member C2, colony stimulating factor 3, leukemia inhibitory factor, heat shock 70 kDa protein, and combinations thereof, by administration of an effective amount of said compositions.

1. Field of the Inventive Subject Matter
The inventive subject matter relates to novel methods for treating oral cancers, comprising administration of a composition comprising therapeutically effective amounts of supercritical extracts of rosemary, turmeric, oregano and ginger; and therapeutically effective amounts of hydroalcoholic extracts of holy basil, ginger, turmeric, Scutellaria baicalensis, rosemary, green tea, huzhang, Chinese goldthread, and barberry. The inventive subject matter further relates to methods for modulating expression of LTB4 by administration of an effective amount of said compositions.
2. Background
Oral cancers. 30,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 30,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only half will be alive in 5 years. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades. The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cervical cancer, Hodgkin's disease, cancer of the brain, liver, testes, kidney, or skin cancer (malignant melanoma). If you expand the definition of oral cancers to include cancer of the larynx, for which the risk factors are the same, the numbers of diagnosed cases grow to 41,000 individuals, and 12,500 deaths per year in the US alone. Worldwide the problem is much greater, with over 350,000 to 400,000 new cases being found each year.
The death rate associated with this cancer is particularly high due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development. Often it is only discovered when the cancer has metastasized to another location, most likely the lymph nodes of the neck. Prognosis at this stage of discovery is significantly worse than when it is caught in a localized area. Besides the metastasis, at these later stages, the primary tumor has had time to invade deep into local structures. Oral cancer is particularly dangerous because it has a high risk of producing second, primary tumors. This means that patients who survive a first encounter with the disease, have up to a 20 times higher risk of developing a second cancer. This heightened risk factor can last for 5 to 10 years after the first occurrence. There are several types of oral cancers, but 90% are squamous cell carcinomas.
Understanding the causative factors of cancer will contribute to prevention of the disease. Age is frequently named as a risk factor for oral cancer, as most of the time it occurs in those over the age of 40. The age of diagnosed patients may indicate a time component in the biochemical or biophysical processes of aging cells that allows malignant transformation, or perhaps, immune system competence diminishes with age.
However, it is likely that the accumulative damage from other factors, such as tobacco use, are the real culprits. It may take several decades of smoking for instance, to precipitate the development of a cancer. Having said that, tobacco use in all its forms is number one on the list of risk factors. At least 75% of those diagnosed are tobacco users. When you combine tobacco with heavy use of alcohol, your risk is significantly increased, as the two act synergistically. Those who both smoke and drink, have a 15 times greater risk of developing oral cancer than others.
Tobacco and alcohol are essentially chemical factors, but they can also be considered lifestyle factors, since we have some control over them. Besides these, there are physical factors such as exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This is a causative agent in cancers of the lip, as well as other skin cancers. Cancer of the lip is one oral cancer whose numbers have declined in the last few decades. This is likely due to the increased awareness of the damaging effects of prolonged exposure to sunlight, and the use of sunscreens for protection. Another physical factor is exposure to x-rays. Radiographs regularly taken during examinations, and at the dental office, are safe, but remember that radiation exposure is accumulative over a lifetime. It has been implicated in several head and neck cancers.
Biological factors include viruses and fungi, which have been found in association with oral cancers. The human papilloma virus, particularly HPV16 and 18, have been implicated in some oral cancers. HPV is a common, sexually transmitted virus, which infects about 40 million Americans. There are about 80 strains of HPV, most thought to be harmless. But 1% of those infected, have the HPV16 strain which is a causative agent in cervical cancer, and now is linked to oral cancer as well. There are other risk factors which have been associated with oral cancers, but have not yet been definitively shown to participate in their development. These include lichen planus, an inflammatory disease of the oral soft tissues.
There are studies which indicate a diet low in fruits and vegetables could be a risk factor, and that conversely, one high in these foods may have a protective value against many types of cancer.
After a definitive diagnosis has been made and the cancer has been staged, treatment may begin. Treatment of oral cancers is ideally a multidisciplinary approach involving the efforts of surgeons, radiation oncologists, chemotherapy oncologists, dental practitioners, nutritionists, and rehabilitation and restorative specialists. The actual curative treatment modalities are usually surgery and radiation, with chemotherapy added to decrease the possibility of metastasis, to sensitize the malignant cells to radiation, or for those patients who have confirmed distant metastasis of the disease.
Based on 1991 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, the overall incidence and mortality rates for oral and pharyngeal cancer combined are 10.4 per 100,000 population and 2.9 per 100,000 population, respectively. The annual incidence of 15.7 per 100,000 for males far exceeds the rate of 6.0 per 100,000 for females. (1)
Mortality rates show similar differentials: 4.5 per 100,000 per year for males, 1.7 per 100,000 per year for females. This gender difference is also evident in the lifetime risks of developing oral cancer: 1.5% for males and 0.7% for females (based on 1989-91 incidence rates).
5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase Inhibitors. The 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway is one of at least four lipoxygenase pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism. The 5-lipoxygenase pathway consists of enzymes that regulate a series of biochemical reactions that result in the transformation of arachidonic acid to leukotriene A4, which can then be further metabolized to leukotriene B4 or to leukotriene C4. Activation of the 5-LO pathway leads to the biosynthesis of proinflammatory leukotriene lipid mediators, while inhibition of the 5-LO pathway may have anti-inflammatory effects.
Some compounds which inhibit 5-lipoxygenase have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,653,311, 6,455,541, 6,399,105, 6,121,323, 5,342,838, 5,298,514, 5,145,861, 5,130,483, 4,933,329, and 4,731,382. Drugs such as MK-886 (3-(1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-tert-butyl-thio-5-isopropylindol-2-yl)-2,2-dimethyl propanoic acid), L-656,224 ((7-chloro-2-[4-methoxypentyl]methyl)-3-methyl-5-propyl-4-benzofuranol), pentacyclic triterpene acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, PF-5901, Zileuton, and tepoxalin are intended to selectively inhibit 5-lipoxygenase. However, these drugs appear to have long term side effects. There is thus a continuing need for 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors which avoid side effects associated with current compositions.
Cyclooxygenase and Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors. Cyclooxygenase is an enzyme-protein complex with a variety of biochemical actions. There are at least three primary COX isoenzymes, COX-1, COX-2, and COX-3. COX-1 is a constitutive enzyme, produced at a reasonably consistent level at all times. It plays an important role in, for example, gastrointestinal protection, kidney function, and the aggregation of blood platelets. COX-2 production is not constant; it varies depending on signals from various biochemical catalysts. For example, in the case of arthritis inflammation and pain, COX-2 responds to tissue damage by oxidizing arachidonic acid, creating prostaglandins which in turn produce local inflammation. COX-3 has been identified relatively recently (Chandrasekharan, et al., PNAS U.S.A., 99(21):13926-31 (2002)). In humans, COX-3 mRNA is expressed most abundantly in the cerebral cortex and heart tissues. COX-3 activity is selectively inhibited by analgesic/antipyretic drugs. It has been suggested that inhibition of COX-3 could represent a mechanism by which these drugs decrease pain and possibly fever.
Prostaglandins play a major role in the inflammatory process and the inhibition of prostaglandin production, especially production of PGG2, PGH2, and PGE2, has been a common target of anti-inflammatory drug discovery. However, common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (hereinafter referred to as "NSAIDs") that are active in reducing the prostaglandin-induced pain and swelling associated with the inflammation process are also active in affecting other prostaglandin-regulated processes not associated with the inflammation process.
NSAIDs have been found to prevent the production of prostaglandins by inhibiting enzymes in the human arachidonic acid/prostaglandin pathway, including the cyclooxygenase enzymes. Traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, work by inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2. Thus, non-specific NSAIDs can have a damaging effect on the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and liver; blocking COX-1 can make the stomach lining more vulnerable, and reduced thromboxane production thins the blood, making gastrointestinal hemorrhage more likely, and may cause inadequate regulation of cellular immune functions and the secretion of various cytokines. The use of high doses of most common NSAIDs can produce severe side effects, including life threatening ulcers, that limit their therapeutic potential.
COX-2 is associated with inflammation and provides a viable target of inhibition which more effectively reduces inflammation and produces fewer and less drastic side effects. Thus, researchers have been motivated to develop selective COX-2 inhibitors to reduce inflammation and relieve pain without the gastrointestinal damage brought on by inhibiting COX-1. In addition, the current scientific understanding in the art suggests that COX-2 inhibition may serve an important function in promoting normal cell growth in the colon, pancreas, breast tissue, and other organ systems.
Some compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,738, 5,344,991, 5,393,790, 5,434,178, 5,474,995, 5,510,368 and WO documents WO96/06840, WO96/03388, WO96/03387, WO96/25405, WO95/15316, WO94/15932, WO94/27980, WO95/00501, WO94/13635, WO94/20480, and WO94/26731.
Drugs such as valdecoxib, celecoxib, and rofecoxib are intended to selectively inhibit COX-2 with minimal effect on COX-1. However, despite the emphasis on COX-2 inhibition, even these drugs appear to have serious long term side effects, such as the breakdown in digestive protective mucus and prevention of normal healing processes. There is thus a continuing need for more specific and non-specific COX-2 inhibitors which avoid side effects associated with COX-1 inhibition.
LTB4. Leukotriene (LT) biosynthesis occurs mainly in granulocytes, monocytes/macrophages and mast cells and an orchestrated interplay between several key enzymes is crucial for efficient formation of leukotrienes, which are proinflammatory mediators released mainly from myeloid cells. 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes. As shown in FIG. 1, on cell stimulation elevated Ca2+ levels and activated signal transduction cascades activate 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and lead to the release of arachidonic acid (AA) from phospholipids by phospholipase A2 (PLA2). AA is metabolized by 5-LO to the unstable intermediate LTA4, that can be converted to LTB4 by LTA4 hydrolase, or conjugated with glutathione to LTC4 by LTC4 synthase, depending on the enzymes present.
The biological actions of LTs are mediated by specific receptors. LTs are potent biological mediators in the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases and host defense reactions. LTB4 is a potent chemotactic and chemokinetic mediator stimulating the immigration and activation of granulocytes, leading to adherence of granulocytes to vessel walls, degranulation, release of superoxide and lysosomal enzymes, and augments phagocytosis of neutrophils and macrophages. It exerts its effects via binding to the BLT1 and BLT2 receptors. In addition, LTB4 binds and activates the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, a transcription factor that mediates anti-inflammatory actions. In lymphocytes, LTB4 stimulates the secretion of IgE, IgG and IgM and the expression of low-affinity receptors for IgE, and has been connected to increased interleukin production, transcription, and neutrophil-dependent hyperalgesia. These properties suggest a significant role for LTB4 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma.
Natural COX-2 Inhibitors. Several herbs have been found to inhibit the COX-2 enzyme. For example, holy basil has been found to possess significant anti-inflammatory properties and is capable of blocking both the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways of arachidonate metabolism. Ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, two of the recognized phytonutrients of holy basil, have been found to have a significant COX-2 inhibitory effect.
Similarly, shogaols and gingerols, pungent components of ginger, have been found to inhibit cyclooxygenase. Eugenol, another active constituent of several medical herbs, has also been found to be a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor and to possess potent anti-inflammatory and/or anti-rheumatic properties.
Scutellaria baicalensis also has been found to inhibit the COX-2 enzyme. According to the USDA database, green tea contains six constituents having cyclooxygenase-inhibitor activity. According to the Napralert database, green tea contains fifty one constituents having anti-inflammatory activity. The polyphenols in green tea were found to cause a marked reduction in COX-2. Flavan-3-ol derivatives (+)-catechin, also present in green tea, have been reported to be COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors. In addition, salicylic acid, another constituent of green tea, also has been found to be a COX-2 inhibitor.
Berberine, found in barberry and Chinese goldthread, has also been found to inhibit COX-2 without inhibiting COX-1 activity.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,416, Applicants disclosed the inventive compositions and their use for reducing inflammation.
The contents of U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,416 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Surprisingly, as discussed in greater detail below, it has been determined that the inventive compositions are useful for treating oral cancers as well.
Use of COX-2 Inhibitors for Treating Cancer. It has been postulated that COX-2 inhibitors may be useful for treating cancer. Yet only a very few patents actually disclose the use of COX-2 inhibitors for treating any cancers. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,823 to Talley, et al., (Pyrazol-1-yl)benzene sulfonamides are disclosed as inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2, and for use in the treatment of inflammation, arthritis, and pain, and as being useful for preventing colon cancer. However, their use for actually treating colon cancer or for treating or preventing other neoplasias is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,469,040 to Seibert, et al., discloses a method of using a specific, disclosed class of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor derivatives in preventing and treating epithelial cell neoplasia in a subject.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,540 to Kindness, et al., discloses a combination of the proprietary HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin and the proprietary COX-2 inhibitor rofecoxib for the treatment of cancer, especially oral cancers, and a method of treatment of cancer, especially oral cancers, by administering that combination.
Table 1 depicts data on the inhibitory effects of administration of Zileuton and Celecoxib on the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma on DMBA-induced oral carcinogenesis and the levels of LTB4 and PGE2 in the hamster cheek pouch model.
TABLE 1Visible tumorsVolumeGroupTreatmentn% (n)(mm3)Papilloma, % (n)SCC, % (n)ANegative control15————BPositive control2684.689.2 ± 76.2 53.876.9 (2.96 ± 2.12) (0.96 ± 1.02) (1.68 ± 1.43) C3% Zileuton2458.339.9 ± 48.0†37.545.8‡(1.08 ± 1.4)‡(0.56 ± 0.66) (0.56 ± 0.66)*D6% Zileuton28 4.6422.9 ± 31.4†32.132.1†(0.68 ± 1.20)*(0.41 ± 0.58)‡(0.45 ± 0.72)†E3% Celecoxib2661.542.2 ± 41.2†69.257.6 (1.25 ± 1.41) (0.68 ± 0.47)‡(0.88 ± 0.88)‡F6% Celecoxib24 54.2‡33.3 ± 32.5†29.250.0†(1.04 ± 0.70‡ (0.31 ± 0.47)*(0.72 ± 0.76)*G3% Zileuton +2544.021.4 ± 31.5†48.036.0*3% Celecoxib(0.86 ± 0.70)*(0.52 ± 0.58) (0.44 ± 0.65)†All P values were based on comparison with group Bχ2. test was used for analysis of the incidence of lesions. ANOVA test was used for analysis of the number of lesions. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for analysis of the tumor volume. Fifteen samples from each group were analyzed for LTB4 and PGE2. All P values were based on comparison with group B with Student's t test.*P < 0.01.†P < 0.001.‡P < 0.05.
Based on the limited body of art suggesting the use of COX-2 inhibitors for treating any cancer, and the need for effective treatments for oral cancers in particular, it is apparent that there is a great and immediate need for new compositions for treating oral cancers. This need is met by the inventive methods and compositions, which treat oral cancers without significant side effects.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for treating oral cancers with herbal compositions

Board of Regents of the University of Texas System


A method for producing a roll film provided with a coat layer comprising the steps of: (i) producing a roll film; (ii) applying a first embossing treatment along a longitudinal direction of the roll film on a part of a lateral direction of the roll film; (iii) applying a coat layer on the roll film; (iv) applying a second embossing treatment along a longitudinal direction of the roll film on a part of a lateral direction of the roll film; (v) heat treating the roll film at a temperature of 50 to 150° C. for a duration of 1 to 30 days while the roll film is rolled in a roll.

Various types of displays such as a liquid crystal TV, a plasma display (PDP) and an organic EL display in addition to a CRT have been developed, and the size thereof has been made larger. In accordance with a larger image plane and a higher image quality, it is usual to paste up an optical film provided with such as an antireflection layer on the front surface of a display to improve the visual recognition. Further, such a display comprising a large image plane is liable to be damaged due to direct hand touch or object contact. Therefore, an antireflection film provided with a hard coat layer, in which a hard coat layer is generally formed on a support and such as an antireflection layer is formed thereon, has been utilized to prevent abrasion.
As an antireflection film, a wide film having a width of not less than 1 m and further not less than 1.4 m has been required particularly due to a larger image plane. However, in the case of such a wide film to realize a large size as described above, color unevenness and periodical unevenness may be generated with respect to such as antireflection ability, tinting degree, phase difference ability and visible angle enlargement ability, and optical film provided with higher uniformity has been required without a difference between the outside and inside of a optical film roll, a difference between the center and side edge portions in the width direction, and a difference by lots. Further, film without deformation of a roll is required with respect to handling in the production process.
Heretofore, in the case of handling long rolled plastic film, known is a method, in which such as winding cinch and creasing during storage of a wound roll are prevented by providing a portion thicker than the film plane, which is called as a knurling or an embossing, on the both side portions of film (for example, refer to patent literatures 1 and 2).
On the other hand, various optical film having various types of functional thin layers on a long rolled plastic film substrate have been known, and to perform a thermal treatment, called as curing or aging, is known to improve strength of the thin film or to obtain a certain strength in a short period after forming a functional thin layer on said substrate (for example, refer to patent literatures 3 and 4). In these disclosed methods, it is described that optical film having a high surface hardness can be prepared by a thermal treatment, as a rolled form after having been coated and dried, at 40-150° C. for from 30 minutes to a few weeks.
However, in these conventional technologies, it is difficult to prepare optical film having a high uniformity without generation of color unevenness by applying these technologies to production of optical film particularly having a wide width, and strongly demanded has been a production method of high uniform optical film without generation of roll deformation and color unevenness as well as provided with a small difference by lots and a small difference between the outside and center of a roll.
Further, a thermal treatment in a wound and rolled state may be provided with respect to a substrate of rolled film having a coated layer. For example, there is a method to improve physical properties of a coated layer or film itself by a thermal treatment of a re-wound rolled film after such as a hard coat layer and an antireflection layer have been provided on a substrate of rolled film. However, it has been proved that there is a problem of significant increase of curl by a thermal treatment of a film substrate having a coated layer in a wound state as a roll form.
[Patent literature 1] JP-A No. 2002-211803 (Hereinafter, JP-A refers to Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection.)
[Patent literature 2] Japanese Patent No. 3226190
[Patent literature 3] JP-A No. 2001-91705
[Patent literature 4] JP-A No. 2002-6104

Production method of rolled optical film having coating layer, rolled optical film, polarizing plate and liquid crystal display


Disclosed is a method for providing a service to MS (Mobile Station) according to a service quality in a service system including MS, BTS (Base Transceiver System) that can communicate with the MS, and a profile server for storing service quality profile information for the MS. The profile server comprises storing identification information indicating a user of the MS along with service quality profiles for the services that can be provided to the MS; and upon receipt of an MS information request from the BTS scheduled to service the MS, providing service quality profiles for the MS to the BTS, and providing a service required by the MS according to a service quality profile for the service.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for managing profiles in a mobile communication system, and more particularly to a method for managing profiles according to a type of service provided in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, billing performed in the communication system is different according to call duration time, time zone of the call duration time, area providing service within the time zone of the call duration time, telephone number of an originator, quantity of data providing service, type of service and so forth. Information on such services must be stored to perform correct billing to each subscriber to whom such services are rendered. Thus, description will be made below regarding how billing information is stored in the mobile communication system, as one example.
FIG. 1 shows a network construction for a general mobile communication system, in which various systems for storing charging information are connected with each other.
A plurality of base transceiver systems (BTSs) BTS-a to BTS-n or 10-a to 10-n perform communication with at least one mobile station (MS) located within their own areas through wireless channels. For instance, the BTS-a communicates with the mobile station 1. Further, the base transceiver systems are connected to a base station controller (BSC) 20. The BSC 20 is connected to any one network 60 selected from an Internet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a public switched data network (PSDN) by means of a gateway (GW) 30 or a mobile switching center (MSC). In addition, information on subscribers or service profiles for subscribers is generally stored at a profile server 40. In the mobile communication system such as CDMA2000 1x, the profile server can be implemented as an authentication authorization and accounting (AAA) server or MSC. In the mobile communication system such as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO or CDMA2000 1xEV-D, the profile server can be implemented as all access network (AN) AAA server or the AAA server, or be incorporated into the MSC, or be implemented as another independent equipment. Also, an accounting server 50 for managing information on subscribers or information on billing related to services provided to subscribers can be to implemented as any one of the foregoing equipments. In FIG. 1, the profile server 40 and the accounting server 50 are configured to be connected with each other by means of the GW 30. However, when the accounting server 50 is used as the AN AAA server or the AAA server in reality, the profile server 40 may be either incorporated into the accounting server 50 or indirectly connected to the accounting server 50 by means of another piece of equipment. That is, when the BTSs 10-a to 10-n or BSC 20 are/is connected to the profile server 40, the profile server 40 is connected to the accounting server 50 through the GW 30, so that the accounting server 50 can get information on quality of service (QoS) stored at the profile server 40.
Even if not described herein, an IP network may be employed to connect either between the BTSs and the BSC or between the BSC and the GW. This IP network may be constructed to allow the operation performed by any one of the BTS, BSC, GW and so forth, to be done by another piece of equipment. Therefore, in the IP network, other operation and resulting information transmission as described below have only to be performed.
To this end, a subscriber profile managed by the profile server 40 may be represented as Table 1 as follows:
TABLE 1User namePasswordUser information
As can seen from Table 1, the subscriber profile is comprised of a user (or subscriber) name or identifier, a password allocated to each user and additional user information. There are two approaches for storing the subscriber profile as represented in Table 1, one for inputting it directly at the profile server 40 and the other for inputting it through another piece of equipment such as an mobile station at a remote location. In the subscriber profile as given in Table 1, both the subscriber name and the password for authenticating the subscriber name are inputted to obtain access to data for the subscriber profile, and then the subscriber profile can be either stored or updated.
A procedure performing authentication by means of the subscriber profile will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. First, when the MS 1 sets up a call, the MS 1 causes user login data stored in advance to be formed into data for transmitting through a wireless channel and then transmits the formed data to the corresponding BTS-a. The user login data include the user name and password. The BTS-a transmits the received user login data to the MSC or GW 30 through the BSC 20.
Hereinafter, description will be made on the assumption that the login data are received at the GW 30. When the GW 30 receives the login data containing the user name and password as mentioned above, the GW 30 creates an access request message (MSG) containing the received data and then transmits the generated access request MSG to the profile server 40. Then, the profile server 40 checks whether or not the user is authenticated on the basis on the transmitted data. As a result of checking, if authentication is acceptable or successful, the profile server 40 creates an access response MSG and then transmits the generated access response MSG to the GW 30 again. In this case, the GW 30 and profile server 40 generally make use of a protocol called DIAMETER or RADIUS. Both the access request MSG and the access response MSG are based on RADIUS.
On completing the authentication, a type of service demanded from the MS 1 is provided. Then, when call disconnection is demanded from the MS 1, a procedure for performing a logout and for transmitting billing information to the accounting server 50 is carried out. Hereinafter, this procedure will be described in detail. When provision of demanded service is completed, the MS 1 transmits a disconnection message for a logout to the BTS-a. As a result, the BTS-a transmits the disconnection message to the BSC 20. When the BSC 20 receives the disconnection message, the BSC 20 originates the disconnection message containing a connection time when the service is provided and then transmits the originated disconnection message to the GW 30. The GW 30 performs a procedure for a logout from the profile server 40 with respect to the MS 1, and simultaneously transmits a billing or charging message to the accounting server 50. Here, the billing message transmitted to the accounting server 50 includes information both on the connection the and on the number of packets. This billing message is generally collected when the call is disconnected.
That is to say, in general, billing is performed on the basis of a time when a subscriber makes use of provided services and of the number of packets which the subscriber transmits and receives for the time. Therefore, the accounting server 50 has a billing database provided with an identifier field for identifying a subscriber and with a subscriber billing information field for storing basic billing information on the subscriber.
Meanwhile, as it is possible to provide a data service in the mobile communication system, subscribers expect assurance of a higher quality with respect to the data service. In other words. QoS (quality of service) is differently demanded according to a provided service type or a subscriber type. For this reason, mobile communication systems have undergone much development to satisfy the demand. In this manner, when there are provided differentiated services according to QoS, the aforementioned conventional approaches encounter difficulty in performing billing according to QoS.

Method for providing service based on service quality and an accounting method in a mobile communication system


An improved paintball feed mechanism for a paintball loader is disclosed, including a drive shaft and a motor for actuating the drive shaft. At least on rigid projection is provided connected to the drive shaft by an elastic member. The elastic member is formed so that it will bend when the rigid projection encounters a jammed or stationary paintball in the paintball loader, thus preventing paintball breakage.

A popular game has developed over the years uses compressed gas guns known as paintball markers. Players use the paintball markers to shoot paintballs. These paintballs are generally spherical capsules formed from gelatin and filled with paint (food coloring, dye, etc.). During play of the game, the players on each team advance towards each other. A player is eliminated from the game when the player is hit by a paintball fired from an opposing player's marker. When the paintball hits a player, a "splat" of paint is left on the player.
Typically, an existing paintball loader or hopper (referred to herein as "loader") includes a housing which is placed on a paintball gun. The loader is shaped to hold a large quantity of paintballs. The loader has an outlet or outfeed tube through which the paintballs are fed to be fired by the paintball marker. The outlet tube leads to an inlet tube located on the upper portion of the gun. Several paintball loaders are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,213,110, 6,502,567, and 6,792,933, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
There are two main classes of paintball loaders, each having feed mechanisms for mixing or moving paintballs. The first class includes "gravity feed" or "agitating" loaders, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,100, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference. Such loaders generally include a housing that holds a plurality of paintballs. An agitator, for mixing, stirring, or otherwise moving the paintballs is positioned within the housing to increase feed rates and prevent paintball jams, i.e., where paintballs become stuck exiting through the loader outfeed tube. The agitators can take various forms, including paddle wheels, shaped members, arms, paddles, wires, fins, and vibrating members. Generally, the agitators are connected to a drive shaft and rotated or otherwise actuated by a motor. The agitators are normally formed from hard plastic or metal. Some known gravity feed loaders are sold under the brand names EMPIRE RELOAD HOPPER II, and HALO TSA.
The second main class of paintball loader includes "active feed" or "force feed" paintball loaders. These loaders force paintballs out of the outfeed tube, allowing for increased feeding rates. In an active feed paintball loader, the force feed mechanisms can take the form of drive cones, fins, paddles, arms, conveyors, carriers, or any other arrangements whereby paintball can be forced into or through the outfeed tube of the loader. Active feed paintball loaders generally use sensors to monitor a stack of paintballs ("paintball stack") as the paintballs are forced from the outfeed tube. In some active feed loaders, the sensors are adapted to send signals to a motor for rotating the force feed mechanism. Advanced active feed loaders, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,110, include electronic circuitry and microprocessors to control and/or monitor the operation of the loaders. Some known force feed paintball loaders are sold under the brand names HALO B, and EMPIRE RELOADER B.
A significant problem with paintball loaders is the tendency to develop paintball jams, which result in "ball chop" or breakages. Because active paintball loaders force paintballs from the loader into a paintball marker, if a paintball become jammed, the forces on the paintballs may be enough to rupture the jammed or immobile paintball. Several solutions have been attempted to curb breakages. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,701,907 and 5,954,042, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, utilize spring-loaded feeders (a drive cone and a paddle wheel respectively). In those arrangements, if a paintball jam occurs, the agitators will not rupture the jammed paintball as the spring is wound. The entire agitators are spring-loaded, while the individual fins of the disclosed drive cone, and the paddle arms, are rigid.
Other solutions include the use a flexible impeller having a hub and arms completely formed from a flexible materials, such as shown in U.S. Published patent application Ser. No. 10/650,075. In that arrangement, the arms continually flex against the paintballs in the loader. Because the entire length of the arms is completely flexible, all of the energy from the motor is not transferred to the paintballs. The flexible impellers constantly bend as they encounter paintballs, which can potentially result in misfeeds or gaps in a paintball stack as the flexible impellers pass by paintballs. In addition, as the feed rates of high end paintball loaders and paintball markers increases, the flexible impellers may flex around and pass paintballs in a paintball stack that are not jammed. In practice, the flexible impellers may lose their flexibility and fail to keep any tension on the paintballs. They flexible impellers may also lose their shape, so that instead of pushing paintballs toward the outfeed tube, the flexible impellers push them into the sidewalls of the loader. When they flexible impellers flex downward and upward, they may end up pushing paintballs up into the air and "popcorning" them out of the drive system. With flexible impellers, an action that is constantly pushing the paintballs at the right point and in the direction required for proper feeding.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved paintball fee mechansim that will not break paintballs, having projections that include a rigid portion and an elastic portion.


A label is supplied from a label supplier to a rotating suction drum. The supplied label is absorbed on the suction drum and conveyed to a label sticking station. During conveyance of the label, passage time of the label at a predetermined point is measured, and a first shifting amount of the label relative to a label conveying direction is calculated. A standby position of the work in the label conveying direction is altered based on the first shifting amount. Further, during conveyance of the label, its location relative to a perpendicular direction to the label conveying direction is detected, and a second shifting amount of the label relative to the perpendicular direction is calculated. A standby position of the work in the perpendicular direction is altered based on the second shifting amount. The position of the work is adjusted to the label so that the label is stuck on the work with great accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a label sticking method and a label sticking apparatus for sticking a label on a workpiece with great accuracy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to enjoy ease of photography when a camera is not carried, a lens-fitted film unit (its trade name is "Quick Snap Hi" and so forth) is provided by an assignee of the present application. As to the lens-fitted film unit, a unit body in which an unexposed photographic film and an exposure mechanism are beforehand built in is covered with a box-like case, for example, a paper case.
This box-like case has a complicated shape so that its material cost, its punching cost and so forth are expensive. Further, such a box-like case has shortcomings that an attachment process to the unit body is complex, and that it is troublesome to detach it at the time of recycling. In view of the foregoing, the assignee of the present application suggests an invention that an outer peripheral surface of the unit body is wrapped with a strip-like label instead of the box-like case. This invention is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/683,758 filed on Jul. 17, 1996 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-33996).
By the way, on a front face of the unit body, a protrusion for protecting a taking lens and a shutter mechanism is formed. On the other hand, an opening through which the protrusion projects is formed in the above-mentioned label. It is necessary to accurately adjust positions regarding the protrusion of the unit body and the opening of the label. However, there are variations in label punching positions of a label tape. Accordingly, when a label sticking operation is performed by using, for example, a robot hand provided with an absorption head, the position of the label absorbed on an absorption face of the absorption head is not fixed. Therefore, there arises a problem in that it is difficult to stick the label accurately. If the position of each label is accurately measured every absorption of the label and the robot hand is precisely controlled, it is possible to stick the label with great accuracy. However, in this case, there arises a problem in that it is difficult to perform the label sticking operation at high speed.

Method and apparatus for sticking a label


Methods, systems, and apparatuses for improved content delivery are described herein. During delivery of content to one or more user devices of a content distribution network (CDN), a content session may be created for each user device. During each content session, each user device may send one or more upstream communications, such as heartbeat signals and bitrate requests, to the CDN. A monitoring module of the CDN may aggregate the upstream communications into session data. The monitoring module may use the session data to determine an impairment associated with content delivery to the one or more user devices.

The quality of content delivered through a content distribution network may be affected by various network-related constraints. At times when content is being requested by a large number of user devices, some user devices may be forced to frequently adjust the quality level of content due to processing errors, deployment schemes, and other network-related constraints. These and other considerations are addressed by the present description.


A system and a method for input tool invocation and a proxy device enable an installable operating system to perform input operation by invoking the input tool of a local operating system, such as a soft keyboard of the local operating system, an input method of the local operating system, or a soft keyboard and an input method of the local operating system. Even an operating system not installed with input tools can perform input operation by invoking an input tool of a local operating system, thereby avoiding repeated installations of input tools for different operating systems, and resolving the issue of large resource usage caused by repetitive installations of input tools.

Along with constant development of operating systems, the operating systems have become an indispensable software environment for predominant smart terminals, and also integrating of operating systems is increasingly stepping into the field of smart terminal operating systems, that is, a plurality of operating systems may exist concurrently on one smart terminal. For the operating systems integrated in the smart terminal, the respective operating systems themselves are separate, so soft keyboards and input methods have to be installed separately for the respective operating systems, and in order to make an input, the respective soft keyboards and input methods have to be selected and started for the different operating systems to make the input.
The following problems exist when a plurality of operating systems are installed in a smart terminal:
1. If there is no corresponding soft keyboard and input method installed in an operating system, then an input operation can not be performed in the course of running the operating system.
2. In order to ensure availability of each operating system, a soft keyboard and an input method have to be installed for each operating system, thus having a considerable space of the terminal occupied by the repeatedly installed soft keyboards and word bases of the input methods.

System and method for input tool invocation and proxy device


An optical amplifier system and controller and a method for automatically controlling the usable signal power of an optical amplifier are provided. The method differentiates between the total optical power that includes the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), and the useful amplified optical signal power at the output of the amplifier. The optical amplifier system comprises an optical amplifier, a first and a second photodetector operable to measure the power of the input and output signals of the optical amplifier and an amplification controller with a control input. The amplification controller is operable to compensate for the ASE power when operating in automatic signal power control mode.

For many applications, for example in optical pre-amplifiers, it is desirable to operate an optical amplifier in a mode of operation such that either the output optical power of the amplifier or the gain of the optical amplifier is maintained at a constant level. These modes of operation are referred to as constant output power mode and constant gain mode respectively.
The total optical output power of an amplifier consists of both amplified signal power and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) power. Existing amplifiers rely on automatic power control (APC) to maintain the total optical power of the amplifier at a constant level. Therefore, existing APC implementations are unable to determine the usable optical signal power and optical network engineers are forced to allow additional margins in their optical power-budget design or operate the amplifier in automatic gain control (AGC) where an ASE correction is easier to implement.

Method and apparatus for amplified spontaneous emission corrected automatic signal power control of an optical amplifier


A composition and method for insect repellent is provided. The composition in one form has on a weight percentage basis 10-20% 2,6-dimethyl-7-octen-2-ol; 0.1-5% 2,6-octadienal, 3,7-dimethyl-; 1-10% benzyl benzoate; 0.01-2% citral; 1-10% hexamethylindanopyran; 10-40% lavender oil; 20-50% Lemon Oil Argentina; 5-15% Lime Oil Distilled Mexican; 0.01-3% limonene; 5-15% rosemary oil; and optionally 0.1-10% an insect repellent active ingredient selected from the group consisting of N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate and picaridin. The composition has insect repellent properties.

Insects provide valuable functions including but not limited to pollination of plants, being a food source and other positive roles. However, some insects have undesirable effects which include but are not limited to carrying and transferring diseases as well as being nuisances, e.g., insects that bite. For example, ticks and mosquitos carry diseases that affect animals and humans.
Mosquitoes are responsible for most human illnesses with an average 500 million cases resulting in three million deaths annually. Ninety percent of these cases occur in Africa alone with 2.5 billion at risk globally. Women are particularly at risk due to the increased attractiveness to predatory mosquitoes due to the increased alkalinity of their skin.
Further, mosquito borne diseases are one of the most deadly threats to the human population. The strategies for the prevention of mosquito vectored disease must be discovered as risk of these diseases will incrementally increase as natural occurrence of mosquito habitat spreads due to global warming. Presently there is a global population of approximately 10 million species of insects. Of those it has been determined that 10,000 of those actively feed on blood and the amount of those that feed on humans would number around 100. The insects that prey on humans are required to deploy an array of sensitive chemoreceptor networks that work in specific coordination to locate prey.
Currently today the best strategies that exist for mosquito protection for humans is N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate (trade name IR3535) and picaridin. Although these chemicals are effective, they lack serious limitations that the following invention seeks to solve. DEET, ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate, and picaridin are effective in that they stimulate a key receptor of the mosquito's chemosensory array to illicit a repellent response. This primary receptor is called the Or47a and Or83b DEET-like receptor. Affecting this receptor by use of DEET, ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate, or picaridin proves to be its own limitation in which it which it only affects this receptor. This strategy only serves to create single method in which to repel mosquitoes or predatory insects. The mosquito can still relay on other chemosensory receptors to locate prey which makes the DEET receptor ineffective.
It has been universally recognized that the use of botanical extracts to repel mosquitoes have met with limitations due to the toxic effects of some of the chemicals that they contain at certain levels. The toxic effects of most mosquito repelling fragrances or oils have limited effectiveness due to the other toxic chemicals present in them. The following is a list of examples of popular mosquito repelling fragrances/oils and their toxic effects; anise (Pimpinella anisum) carcinogenic due to methyl eugenol, basil (Ocimum sp) carcinogenic due to methyl eugenol, bergamot (Citrus bergamia) phototoxic skin irritant due to d-limonene, cajeput (Melaleuca alternifolia) phototoxic skin irritant due to methyl eugenol, citronella (Cymbopogon nardus) skin irritant due to methyl eugenol and citral, citrus oil (Citrus sp) phototoxic skin irritant due to bergapten and d-limonene, clove (Syzygium aromaticum) skin irritant due to methyl eugenol, lemon bush (Lippia javanica) skin irritant due to citral, geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) skin irritant due to citral, ginger (Zinziber sp) skin irritant due to citral, huon (Langarostrobus franklins) skin irritant due to methyl eugenol, lemongrass (Cympogon cintratus) skin irritant due to citral, lime (Citrus aurantifolia) phototoxic skin irritant due to d-limonene, litsea (Litsea cubebia) skin irritant due to citral, marigold (Tagates minuta) phototoxic, wormseed (Chenopodium ambrosiodes) liver toxicity, mint (Mentha piperata) skin irritant due to trans-2-hexanol, nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) skin irritant due to methyl eugenol, palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini) carcinogenic due to methyl farnesol, pennyroyal (Menthyl pulegium) toxic, pine (Pinus sylvestris) phototoxic, rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) skin irritant due to methyl eugenol, rue (Ruta chalepensis) phototoxic due to psoralene, thyme (Thymus vulgaris) skin irritant due to trans-2-hexanol, violet (Viola odorata) skin irritant due to trans-2-hexanol.
Fragrant oils such as citronella, rosemary, and eucalyptus have been used for to repel insects for thousands of years. These fragrant oils are comprised on VOC (volatile organic compounds) produced by flowers and fruit. These oils are collected as extracts from their respective sources and are technically described as an accord. An accord is a suite of chemicals that are grouped together to create a specific odor. These accords may be duplicated to by perfumers to create specific fragrances and are comprised of a top, middle and base note. The volatility of these components are highest with the top note, somewhat volatile with the middle note and least volatile with the base note.
In the case of citronella, an oil found in many botanical sources and known for its repellent activity was determined to be comprised of several mixtures of oils. It was discovered that the accord that makes up the fragrance is comprised of sub-oils that have repellent factors and other sub oils that are not repellent.
For instance citronella is of 18-20% geraniol, limonene 9-11%, methylisoeugenol 7-11%, citronellol 6-8%, and citronellal 5-15%. It is interesting to point out that only the geraniol, limonene, and citronella oils have mosquito repellent properties while the remaining oils in the accord are for other purposes such as defense or attractants.
This is also the same for eucalyptus oil that is comprised of 60-80% cineole oil with the remaining 40-20% being trace oils. The remaining trace oils are alpha-pinene 9%, beta-pinene 1.5%, alpha phellandrene 1.5%, delta limonene 12%, 1,8 cineole 70%, camphor 0.1%, and sabinene, 0.3%.
Research conducted shows that fragrant accords in most insect (e.g., mosquito) repelling oils are only partially responsible for repelling insects with the remainder of the fragrant oils utilized as an attractant for pollinating insects or acting to signal health characteristics such as defense pheromones to nearby plants of similar species.
For instance, the fragrant aroma of the common tomato plant is an excellent example. The leaves' cellular structures are comprised of glandular trichomes that contain crystals and oils in their bulbous sections. These structures contain oils that are responsible for several biological functions including plant defense. The tomato leaf chemical constituents are tomatine, (Z)-3-hexenal, (E)-2-hexenal, eugenol, 1,8 cineole, caryophyllene, b-phellandrene, humulene, linalool. Each chemical of the tomato has either a specific function or synergistic function. As with the case of the fragrance of tomato, through research it was determined that tomatine is an anti-membrane defense chemical that is used to prevent biofilm formation of attacking snails, bacteria, or fungi. (Z)-hexenal is involved with wound healing as it possesses anti-microbial capability by inhibiting JA signaling of invading bacteria and fungi. (E)-2-hexenal, although similar to (Z)-3-hexenal, acts as an attractant for beneficial predatory insects. The chemical b-phellandrene is a chemical attractant known for luring caterpillar predatory mites to the site of injury. This leaves the chemicals eugenol, 1,8 cineole, caryophyllene, humulene, and linalool as the sole chemicals of the tomato fragrant accord responsible for repelling insects.
Another key drawback with the use of natural botanical extracts of plants with known mosquito repelling properties is that is that some of the chemical constituents that make up the accord are actual chemical attractants for mosquitoes. This can be clearly seen in the chemical accord of the well-known mosquito repelling extract, cedar oil that contain cedrol, isolongifolene, and dehydroneolingifolene. It is well recognized that the replication cycle of mosquito borne disease is one of the largest biological threats to mankind. All of the viruses that affect man share a unique but similar cycle. A good example would be the malaria infection cycle. The cycle begins with a malaria infected mosquito biting and infecting a human host. The malaria parasite then grows and waits in the human host for the next mosquito to bite the host. The parasite then travels from the host to the mosquito where it now becomes infected as well. The cycle repeats with the malaria parasite traveling between the two human and mosquito hosts. It is important discuss that the malaria parasite has evolved to emit a chemical signal that "messages" the mosquito to come and pick up the parasite. While nearing maturity inside the human host, the parasite will begin to emit chemical signatures that attract the mosquitoes to the infected human host.


A device for treating fluorine-containing water includes a fluorine treating unit treating the fluorine-containing water in which calcium carbonate packed towers are arranged in series in a plurality of stages; a fluorine passing unit passing the fluorine-containing water through the fluorine treating unit; an extracting unit extracting treated water from the fluorine treating unit; and a recovery unit recovering calcium fluoride from the calcium carbonate packed towers.

A large amount of an etching agent which contains hydrogen fluoride or hydrogen fluoride and ammonium fluoride as main ingredients has been used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a related process thereof, or a surface treatment process of various materials including metal materials, single crystal materials, optical materials, and the like. An etching agent which contains hydrogen fluoride as a main ingredient or an etching agent which contains hydrogen fluoride and ammonium fluoride (buffered hydrofluoric acid) as main ingredients contains high levels of fluorine as HF. Therefore, when these etching agents flow into a waste water system, waste water thereof become to contain fluorine at a high concentration. As materials treated with etching agents are washed with a large amount of cleaning water during etching process and after the process, a large amount of waste water containing low levels of fluorine is discharged from the washing process.
According to a conventional method, waste water containing high levels of fluorine and waste water containing low levels of fluorine are mixed and treated. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for treating fluorine-containing waste water wherein the waste water is fed to and passed through a reaction tower packed with granular calcium carbonate.
The method described in Patent Document 1, treatment is performed by a merry-go-round method, in which a plurality of towers packed with calcium carbonate are arranged in series. First, raw water is sequentially passed from a first tower (tower in a first stage) to the following tower(s) to remove and recover fluorine. When the fluorine concentration of the raw water flowing into the first tower and the fluorine concentration of the treated water flowed out from the first tower become almost the same, feeding raw water to the first tower is stopped, the calcium fluoride is recovered from the first tower, and the first tower is packed with fresh calcium carbonate. Then, raw water is fed to and passed through the second tower, and flows sequentially to the following tower(s) for the first tower.
Patent Document 1 describes that granular calcium carbonate packed in each calcium carbonate packed tower has a diameter of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm, and specifically granular calcium carbonate having a diameter of 0.25 mm is used in Examples thereof.
Patent Document 2 discloses a method for removing fluorine from fluorine-containing raw water including a process of feeding the raw water to a reaction tower packed with granular calcium carbonate to remove the fluorine, wherein acid or alkali is added to the raw water based on an α-value calculated from measured values of fluorine concentration and acid concentration in the raw water.

Device for treating fluorine-containing water


Stirring device for machines for the manufacture of ice-cream, of the type with a whipping cylinder (1) with a horizontal axis, provided with a device for extraction of the ice-cream at one head side. The stirrer consists of two stirring blades (7) of helical shape which are arranged diametrically opposite one another and extend over the entire length of the whipping cylinder at a slight distance from the internal wall of same. The stirring blades (7) are supported on a hub (8) which is integral with the operating shaft (9), while there is provided between the two stirring blades (7) a plurality of scraping vanes (11) which are capable of interacting with the internal wall of the whipping cylinder.

In known devices, the peripheral rotating stirrer generally consists of a pair of stirring/scraping blades of helical shape which are fixed diametrically opposite one another on an operating shaft. The helical blades, in addition to stirring the mass of ice-cream in the whipping cylinder, have the function of scraping from the internal wall of the whipping cylinder the layer of mixture which comes to adhere to the wall. This layer of mixture in fact limits the thermal conduction between the mixture and the wall of the whipping chamber which is in a heat-exchange relationship with the associated refrigeration devices and, if not removed, has a particle size which is too large since it grows without undergoing the mechanical action of mixing. Known stirring devices have, however, considerable disadvantages. From the constructional point of view, for the purpose of guaranteeing both the scraping action and the rotation of the stirrer in a perfectly centered position in the cylinder, the arrangement of the helical blades on the stirrer is subject to the strictest tolerances, adherence to which often requires costly rectification treatments. The whole is made considerably more difficult by the great length of the stirrer itself, as a result of which the manufacture of the stirring device is complex and expensive. From the functional point of view, the helical scraping and stirring blades are subject to considerable wear which compromises their functionality, necessitating laborious and complex maintenance interventions. The rubbing of the stirrer against the whipping cylinder moreover causes the undesirable production of metal dust which contaminates the mixture.

Ice-cream stirring device with stirring blades and scraping vanes


Techniques related to viewing a private image are described herein. The techniques may include a public device including a processor and a public display to display a display image. The techniques may also include an input receiver to receive input at the public device, and a privacy controller to alter the display image from the public display when the display image is private. Techniques may further include a transmitter to transmit the display image to a private device when the display image is private.

Computing devices can include displays used to visually display documents, videos, images, and other types of data. Mechanisms for viewing images on personal computing devices may not always be a private experience as a person may view an image on a personal device without the primary user granting permission. For example, an additional person could look over the shoulder of the user, the user may be using a personal device in a crowded space and expose what the user is viewing to other people.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 1; numbers in the 200 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 2; and so on.


A printed antenna (10) disposed on a substrate (90) includes a feeding portion (12), an antenna body (16), a first grounded portion (20), a second grounded portion (30), and a matching portion (14). The feeding portion feeds electromagnetic signals. The antenna body electronically connected to the feeding portion transmits and receives electromagnetic signals, and includes a first radiation portion (162), a pair of second radiation portions (164), and a pair of third radiation portions (166). The first radiation portion, the second radiation portions, and the third radiation portions co-form, a “D” shape with an indentation in a straight side of the “D” shape which extends into a middle of the “D” shape. The first grounded portion and the second grounded portion are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the feeding portion. The matching portion is disposed on one side of the feeding portion, and located adjacent to the first grounded portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to antennas, and particularly to a printed antenna used in wireless communication devices.
2. Description of Related Art
WiMAX is defined as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access by the WiMAX Forum, formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the IEEE 802.16 standard, officially known as Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN). The Forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and digital subscriber line (DSL)". WiMAX is approved to be operated at 3.5 GHz.
In a wireless communication device, the antenna is a necessary element for radiating and receiving radio frequency signals, and thereby reducing the size of the antenna is one solution for reducing the size of the wireless communication device. A conventional improved biconical antenna can increase the bandwidth, but has a larger size. Therefore, what is needed is a WiMAX antenna with a smaller size, better bandwidth, and better performance.


A power module for driving a motor includes: a positive bus input voltage terminal; a phase terminal for each motor phase; an inverter including a half bridge for each motor phase, each half bridge including a high-side power switch electrically coupled between the positive bus input voltage terminal and respective phase terminal, and a low-side power switch electrically coupled between the respective phase terminal and ground; a first driver circuit for driving a gate terminal of each power switch; a protection switch electrically coupled in series between the positive bus input voltage terminal and each high-side power switch, and having a greater short-circuit withstand time and a lower short-circuit current level compared to each inverter power switch; and a second driver circuit for turning on the protection switch during normal operation and turning off the protection switch in response to a detected short circuit condition.

Intelligent Power Modules (IPMs) are highly integrated, compact power modules designed to drive motors in applications ranging from home appliances, fans, and pumps to general purpose drives. IPMs include an inverter having a half bridge for each motor phase. Each half bridge typically includes a high-side IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) electrically coupled between a positive bus input voltage terminal and the respective phase terminal, and a low-side IGBT electrically coupled between the respective phase terminal and ground. The IGBTs included in an IPM must meet specific requirements regarding short circuit withstand time (SCWT) where SCWT is the time interval between the instant when the device drive rises to 50% of its peak value and the instant when it falls to 50% of its peak value. In other words, SCWT is the time an IGBT can withstand short circuiting under specified conditions.
Motors are capable of absorbing very high current levels for relatively long periods (milliseconds to seconds depending on motor size and type). However, IGBTs have short-circuit withstand times in the order of microseconds. The short-circuit withstand time of an IGBT is related to its transconductance or gain and the thermal capacity of the IGBT die. Higher gain leads to higher short-circuit current levels within the IGBT whereas lower gain result in lower short-circuit levels. Higher gain, however, results in lower on-state conduction losses. Accordingly, a trade-off must be made between low on-state losses and short-circuit withstand time. As such, the performance of IGBTs such as Vce(sat) and switching speed is limited.
Thus, there is a need for a power module with robust short-circuit withstand time but without sacrificing IGBT performance.


In the image data processing of the digital copying machine (M), number of blocks Bn of image data in auxiliary scanning direction is set to the number of expanders (30, 31) Dn times a natural number N (N.times.Dn). This configuration makes it possible to utilize the (30, 31) expanders efficiently regardless of whether the image is to be rotated by 90.degree. or not when expanding compressed image data and printing the image. Thus such a situation that the expanders (30, 31) are forced to suspend the expanding operation does not occur, making it possible to start printing earlier and improve the printing speed. In the image reader 1 of the digital copying machine (M), when dividing image data corresponding to original document into a plurality of blocks and compressing the image data in the unit of block, length of the original document in the auxiliary scanning direction is estimated from width of the original document (size in principal scanning direction). Then by setting the partition of divided blocks based on the estimated document length, the image data can be compressed without waiting for the end of image data input for each block, not doing over the compression process even when the end of the original document is detected, thereby maximizing the image data compressing speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital copying machine, an image reading device used in the digital copying machine to take in the image of an original document, compress the image data and store it in an image memory, and an image processing method used in these devices. More particularly, it relates to improvements in techniques of compressing and expanding image data used in the digital copying machine, and to improvements in image data compressing device or transferred document reading/compressing device used in a digital copying machine, a facsimile or the like which is provided with an automatic document feeding device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a digital copying machine, a facsimile or the like, in general, image data (image information) obtained by reading an original document (picture) with an image reading device is temporarily stored in an image memory, and a duplicate image of the original document is printed by using the image data stored in the image memory. Therefore, such a digital copying machine or a facsimile has an advantage that, once an original document has been read, the image data stored in the image memory can be used thereafter to print a plurality of duplicate copies of the original document, edit the image data and print it out, or transmit the original document via facsimile a plurality of times.
Such a digital copying machine or a facsimile generally handles a fairly great amount of data. Thus in order to reduce the requirement for the image memory capacity of storing image data, or to increase the speed of processing image data, the image data obtained by reading original document is compressed by means of a compressor before storing it in the image memory. Then, when the duplicate image is to be printed or transmitted via facsimile based on the image data, the compressed image data stored in the image memory is expanded into the original image data.
In such a digital copying machine or a facsimile of the prior art, compression and expansion of the image data have been carried out separately for every sheet of original document.
Copying of one sheet of original document in a digital copying machine, for example, is carried out in the following procedure.
(1) One sheet of the original document is read and image data corresponding to the original document is stored in an input image memory. PA1 (2) Image data for one sheet of the original document stored in the input image memory is compressed and stored in a compressed image memory. PA1 (3) Image data for one sheet of the original document stored in the compressed image memory is expanded and stored in an output image memory. PA1 (4) A duplicate image of the original document is printed out based on the expanded image data stored in the output image memory.
With the conventional image data processing method (compression and expansion techniques) described above, however, the image data is expanded after compression of the image data for one sheet of original document has been completed. This leads to a problem that longer time is required to process the image data, resulting in a delay in starting to print the image. To counter this problem, such a digital copying machine provided with an image memory has been proposed that image data obtained by reading an original document is divided into a plurality of blocks each having a specified number of lines, with the blocks of data being compressed separately, and the compressed blocks are expanded successively by starting with the block which has been compressed first, thereby enabling it to start printing earlier. In this case, when compression of the first image data block is completed, for example, the first block can be expanded at the same time as the second block is compressed. Therefore, except for the initial and final stages of processing the image data, compression and expansion of image data can be performed simultaneously resulting in reduced time required for processing the image data.
In order to increase the copying speed further, such a digital copying machine has also be proposed that starts printing of image data during expansion of compressed image data.
When printing of image data is to be started before expansion of the image data is completed, timing of starting to print must be set carefully so that the progress of printing does not outrun the progress of expansion. In case the printing speed is slower than the expanding speed, progress of printing does not outrun the progress of expansion even when printing is started immediately after starting the expansion of the image data. However, because the printing speed is generally faster than the expanding speed, timing of starting to print must be set by predicting the time when expansion will be completed, so that the progress of printing does not outrun the progress of expansion. Thus in case all blocks are expanded at the same speed (e.g. lowest speed), different expanders do not complete expanding operations at the same time when the size and/or number of blocks assigned to the expanders are different. In this case, some of the expanders are forced to suspend the expanding operation, resulting in decreased efficiency of using the plurality of expanders. Also in case image data is divided along the principal scanning (horizontal) direction into a plurality of blocks and printing is started while the image data is being expanded, start time of printing is determined by the block which would take the longest time to expand. This causes the start of printing to be later than in the case where expanding operations for all blocks end at the same time.
In case the image data is divided along the auxiliary scanning (vertical) direction into five blocks and also divided along the principal scanning (horizontal) direction into two blocks thereby to compress the blocks while using first and second expanders in expanding the blocks, expanding the left side block of the compressed image data with the first expander and expanding the right side block with the second expander naturally results in higher expanding speed than in the case where only one expander is used. Also in case the image data is expanded at a uniform expanding speed (e.g. at the lowest expanding speed), both expanders complete expansion at the same time because the right and left blocks have the same sizes.
However, in case the image data divided along the auxiliary scanning direction into five blocks and also divided along the principal scanning direction into two blocks is rotated by 90.degree. during expansion as shown in FIG. 8, the expanded image data which is sent to the output image memory is converted to image data which is divided into two blocks in the auxiliary scanning direction and divided into five blocks in the principal scanning direction. Consequently, number of blocks in each row (band) becomes five when viewed in the order of output (order of printing), while the first expander and the second expander expand different numbers of blocks with regard to the expansion of each row (e.g. the first expander expands three blocks and the second expander expands two blocks). Therefore, the expanders cannot complete expanding operations at the same time. This results in lower efficiency of expander operation because one expander remains in operation while the other expander is not in operation. Also when the image data is rotated by 90.degree., direction of expansion is different from the direction of printing and therefore printing of a row cannot be started unless expansion of the row is completed. Therefore, when expanding the image data of each row in this case, end time of expansion for the row becomes later than that in such a case as two expanders complete the expanding operations at the same time, resulting in corresponding delay in the start of printing.
The conventional image reading apparatus of such a digital copying machine or facsimile usually starts compression of image data after completing the process of reading one sheet of original document and storing the image data of the one sheet of original document in the input image memory. This results in such a problem that longer time is taken from the start of reading the original document to the end of compressing the image data.
To counter such problems, such an image reading device for digital copying machine or facsimile has recently been proposed that starts compression of image data without waiting the reading of image data to be completed and thereby reduces the time taken in data processing as a whole. In this case, it is necessary that the length of the ordinal document in the auxiliary scanning direction is known beforehand and the length to be continuously compressed must be set according to the length of the ordinal document. Thus compression speed varies depending on the type of image (text, photograph, etc.) although the speed of reading the input image is nearly constant. As a result, when the predicted highest compression speed is faster than the speed of taking in the input image, compression overruns the input thereby causing the data processing to stop at the instant, unless the length of image data to be compressed continuously is set and proper time to start compression is determined according to the length. That is, when the length of the original document to be scanned is not known, the length of image data to be compressed continuously cannot be determined, and therefore compression of the image data cannot be started until reading of the original document is completed.
However, it is very difficult to determine the length of the original document before reading. Such a method may be employed as a sensor for detecting the length of the original document is installed on a paper feeder tray of an automatic document feeder. With this configuration, however, when original document sheets of different sizes are placed on the paper feed tray at the same time, length of the original document to be read cannot be detected.
Also in case compression of image data is started by setting the length of the original document to be continuously compressed before the length of the original document is established, when the original image is shorter than the length to be continuously compressed, other image data than that on the input image memory is mistakenly compressed. Thus such a problem arises as compression must be done over again when the end of original document is detected, by interrupting the compression and setting the length to be continuously compressed once again.
To counter such a problem, a method of compressing image data by dividing it into blocks of specified length has been proposed, where the length of image data to be continuously compressed is set to a specified value and accordingly compression is carried out when input of image of that length is recognized.
With this method, however, compression cannot be started until the input of image data in blocks of the specified length is completed. Thus although compression can be started before the input of image data of one sheet of original document is completed, compression cannot be started until the input of image data of one block length is completed, in the unit of block.

Digital copying machine, image reading device used in said digital copying machine, and image processing method used in these devices


In a gear shift lock device for an automatic transmission, a lock cover (13) is provided to prevent the rotational movement of a select plate (10) while a shift lock is working. The lock cover (13) is provided to prevent the rotational movement of the select plate (10) by placing it between the select plate (10) and the slide plate (5a). With this structure, when the downward force of a detent pin (5) is transmitted to the select plate (10) at the time of pushing a button (3) of a shift knob, no prying force occurs on the lock cover (13) to prevent any malfunctions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a gear shift lock device for a vehicular automatic transmission in which a gear shift action is rendered inoperative while a parking brake pedal is not applied.
2. Description of Prior Art
In a gear shift lock device for a vehicular automatic transmission, a gear shift action is usually rendered inoperative when not applying a parking brake pedal as shown in FIG. 12. A detent pin J1 of a gear shift lever engages with a detent cam J3 which is provided on a detent plate J2 so as to provide a plurality of ranges including a parking range in combination with an operation of the gear shift lever.
The gear shift lock device has a select plate J4 having an engagement member J5, and is provided rotationally between a lock position in which the engagement member J5 lodges the detent pin J1 to lock, the gear shift lever in the parking range, and an unlock position in which the engagement member J5 is dislodged from the detent pin J1.
When the engagement member J5 is engaged with the detent pin J1, the select plate J4 is adapted to engage with a lock pin J7 which is connected to an end of a shift lock cable J6 so as to move in association with a parking brake pedal. When the parking brake pedal is applied, the lock pin J7 is dislodged from the select plate J4 to allow the plate J4 a rotational movement so as to operate the gear shift lever from the parking range to other ranges.
Since the detent pin J1 is adapted to move downward with pushing operation of a button which is attached to a knob of the gear shift lever, pushing the button makes the detent pin J1 move downward to impart the rotational movement to the select plate J4 as shown by an arrow (A) in FIG. 12 when the parking brake pedal is not applied (i.e., a gear shift lock is working).
The rotational movement of the select plate J4, exerts against the lock pin J7 to cause a prying force against a cylinder guide J8 which encloses the lock pin J7.
The prying force, thus generated, would be one of the causes to invite a mulfunction with the pushing operation of the button in the prior gear shift lock device.
Therefore, the present invention has made with the above drawbacks in mind, it is a main object of the invention to provide a gear shift lock device for a vehicular automatic transmission which is capable of preventing the prying force from occurring on a lock pin so as to maintain a good function even when a rotational force is transmitted to the select plate by pushing a button while a gear shift lock is working.

Gear shift lock device for a vehicular automatic transmission


The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for internetwork communication between fixed host and mobile host data processing devices. A home network includes at least one mobility support border router (MSBR) coupled between the home network and a OSPF backbone network. A new area network also includes at least one MSBR coupled between the new area and the OSPF backbone network. A third network, referred to as an "other area" network includes an MSBR coupled between the other area network and the OSPF backbone. A mobile host (MH) data processing device may move between the three networks and continue to communicate with all other fixed and mobile data processing devices coupled to the networks. In one embodiment, a first data processing (DP) device coupled to the home network may send a data packet to a MH data processing device which is normally associated with the home network, but has moved to, for example, the new area network. The data packet is sent by the first DP device to a mobility support router (MSR) located closest to the first DP device. The MSR initiates a local search to determine if the MH is currently coupled to the home area network, and if so, the MSR sends the data packet to the MH in the home area. If the MH is not coupled to the home area network, the MSBR acknowledges that the MH is out of the area and checks an internal tunnel route table for the last area (network) the MH was located in. The MSBR then send the data packet to an MSBR coupled to the new area in which the MH is now disposed, and the new area MSBR forwards the data packet to a new area MSR. The new area MSR then forwards the data packet to the MH. Any movement of the MH within the new area is detected by the new area MSBR, such that any messages sent from a new area DP device to the MH are simply forwarded to the closest MSR in the new area network and need not be sent to the MSBR of the home area, thereby optimizing routing. Additional features and methods are provided to permit the MH to move between all interconnected networks while maximizing routing efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of Internet working protocols (IP), and more particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile networking system which permits the tracking and location of mobile hosts (MH) utilizing an Internet protocol.
2. Art Background
Historically, computers coupled to a network were located at fixed positions on the network and not easily moved to new locations. The relocation of a fixed host computer required shutting the host system down and physically moving the system to another location on the network. The relocated host computer was then rebooted and reconfigured for its new network location. The advent of portable computers with the power of traditional desktop workstations has made it possible to easily relocate the host portables from one network to another. However, the ease of movement of the portable machine across networks has resulted in problems in tracking and locating the mobile machine over the networks. For example, if a user of a portable laptop workstation carries his machine from a network in Palo Alto, Calif. to Bangkok, Thailand, the network in Bangkok must be made aware that the mobile host is now coupled to its network, and the Palo Alto network must also be programmed to send any messages ("IP packets") intended for the mobile host to the Bangkok network.
A number of proposals have been made to add mobile IP nodes to existing fixed node IP networks (See for example, John Ioannidis, Dan Duchamp, Gerald Q. Maguire, Jr., "IP-based Protocols For Mobile Internetworking", Proceedings of the SIGCOMM'91 Conference: Communication Architectures & Protocols, pp. 235-245, ACM, September 1991 (herein referred to as the "Columbia" scheme); Fumio Teraoka, Yasuhiko Yokote, Mario Tokoro, "A Network Architecture Providing Host Migration Transparency", Proceedings of the SIGCOMM'91 Conference: Communication Architectures and Protocols, pp. 209-220, ACM, September 1991 (herein referred to as "Teraoka"); C. Perkins, Yakov Rekhter, "Use Of IP Loose Source Routing For Mobile Hosts", Draft RFC (herein referred to as "Perkins").
The "Columbia" scheme is based on IP-in-IP encapsulation concept ("tunneling") which avoids the problems related to IP options (See for example, Teraoka and Perkins). The Columbia scheme works efficiently for small campus environments and intra-campus mobility. However, as will be described, Columbia reverts to highly sub-optimal routes in case of inter-campus mobility. The present invention discloses methods by which the Columbia scheme can be extended to provide more optimal routes in case of inter-campus mobility, which is redefined herein to mean "wide-area" mobility.
The present invention is inspired by hierarchical fixed node routing, as defined in OSPF. (See for example, J. Moy, "OSPF Version 2", Internet RFC 1248, July, 1991.) One difference between the present invention and hierarchical schemes employed for fixed-node routing (such as OSPF) is that mobility route update information is not flooded on unnecessary routes. Rather, in accordance with the present invention, mobility route update information is back-propagated on active communication paths. This serves to minimize the load on the network due to control information. A two-level tunneling scheme is employed by the present invention to deliver IP packets to the wide-area mobile host. By envisioning special mobility support functionality in routing entities at the boundaries of the hierarchy, much more efficient routes are achieved to wide-area mobile nodes.
In the Columbia scheme, special routers, termed Mobility Support Routers (MSRs) manage the tracking of mobile nodes and provide for the delivery of IP packets to these mobile nodes. Mobile nodes reside on special IP "subnets", such that data packets intended for that subnet end up being routed through an MSR. (MSRs advertise themselves to the networks as being directly attached to this special "subnet"). When an MSR receives a packet for a mobile node whose location it does not know, it multicasts out a WHO.sub.-- HAS request to all MSRs in its campus. (The term "campus" is not well defined from a routing perspective in the Columbia scheme. By default, it is the set of MSRs that cooperate in a certain manner.) A mobile node is always attached directly through one of the MSRs in the network. When this MSR receives the WHO.sub.-- HAS request, it responds with an I.sub.-- HAVE packet, stating in effect that it is serving that MH. The requesting MSR, upon learning of the present location of the MH, encapsulates IP packets intended for the MH within IP packets intended for the responding MSR. This MSR then decapsulates the packets and directly delivers them to the MH, since it is directly attached to the MH, in case the MH is still within its Home campus network.
Moreover, in the Columbia scheme, in case of inter-campus mobility (called a POPUP scenario), a specially designated MSR in the MH's Home Area serves to capture packets intended for that MH. All packets intended for that MH from other campuses and even from the campus where the MH is presently in, are routed through the designated MSR. It has been found that this aspect of the Columbia scheme can lead to highly sub-optimal routes. Assume for example that a Stationary Host (SH device) desires to send IP data packets to an MH which has roamed to a subnet one subnetwork ("hop") away from this SH, and the MH's Home campus is across the country. Packets intended for this MH will be sent to the MH's Home campus network and tunneled back across the country to the campus where the MH is located. This process results in two cross-country packet traversals, where the ideal route is just one hop in length and does not require using a wide-area link.
As will be described, the present invention provides a method for intra-domain tunneling in a mobile IP scheme which is more efficient than the Columbia or other prior systems.

Scalable and efficient intra-domain tunneling mobile-IP scheme


A system and method for forming synthetic/artificial grass or turf products in which a series of tufts of artificial/synthetic grass filaments or yarns are formed in a backing material with various graphic pattern effects being formed therewith. The system generally will include a pair of needle bars each having at least one row of needles mounted along a tufting zone and reciprocated through the backing to a desired penetration depth, and will present a desired set or group of yarns to a series of gauge parts mounted at differing elevations. A first or upstream one of the needle bars will be shifted to an off-gauge position to move the needles thereof into positions so as to not be engaged by their associated gauge parts. The yarns fed to these needles further can be controlled to substantially pull back or otherwise prevent tufts of such yarns from being formed in the backing.

Carpets and other tufted products having script designs, varying pile heights, tip shearing effects, and other pattern effects have become increasingly popular as advancements in tufting machinery and/or systems have enabled improvements in the appearance of such graphic designs in such tufted articles. In addition, artificial or synthetic grass or turf products also have grown in popularity and demand, especially for use in indoor stadiums and in areas where grass fields are difficult to maintain due to weather conditions. Such synthetic turf products more recently have been formed as tufted products using synthetic turf yarns or filaments that simulate blades of grass tufted into a backing material, and with a fill material, such as ground up tires, sand, and/or other particulate matter, generally being applied between the tufts of the synthetic grass filaments to help support the tufts and provide cushioning.
The resultant synthetic turf or grass fabric further importantly must meet desired standards for cushioning, support, and other performance factors, as well as the amount of fill material used, especially where it is installed in sanctioned athletic fields, such as for professional, college, and high school sports facilities. For example, FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, has very specific standards for the amount of cushioning and support, as well as for ball bounce and the amount of fill that can be used in sanctioned synthetic turf soccer fields. There consequently is a continuing need to try to improve the cushioning, support and playability of synthetic turf fields, and to reduce the amount of fill or particulate matter needed to support the synthetic turf or grass filaments, which particulate matter often can get in players' eyes, etc., as it is disturbed during play, to improve the players' comfort and help reduce injuries as much as possible, and to reduce potential environmental concerns from such materials. It is also desirable to form such turf products with an appearance that simulates the look and feel of natural grass.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a system and method for forming tufted products, including carpets and artificial/synthetic grass or sports turf products that address the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.

Tufted fabric with pile height differential


In an input pen for transmitting to a tablet 19 information of variation in writing pressure as well as information of designated positions, a joint 10 is mounted on the rear end of a shaft a writing tip 12. A movable magnetic core 9 is attached to the joint 10. A push rod 13 is passed in the pen body in such a manner that longitudinal position of the push rod is controllable, with a resilient member 11 interposed between the push rod 13 and the joint 10. Longitudinal position of the push rod 13 is adjusted in order to control the load upon mounting of the resilient member 11. It is thus possible to control the load upon mounting of the resilient member 11 biasing the writing tip 12 forward by adjusting the position of the push rod 13, whereby the resilient member 11 can be mounted constantly under a predetermined load independently of variation in dimensions of components. A reliable detection of writing pressure applied to the writing tip 12 by operator's hand is therefore made possible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input pen for transmitting information of designated positions as well as information of variations in writing pressure applied to a writing tip to a tablet in the field of, e.g., computer graphics.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In order to draw lines depending on the writing pressure applied to the writing tip of an input pen, in other words, to draw a thick line when a strong writing force is applied to the input pen, and a thin line when a weak writing force is applied to the input pen, pressure sensors have hitherto been arranged over the entire coordinate input area of the tablet, or alternatively a force sensor has been provided within the input pen to detect the writing pressure applied to the input pen.
However, distributing the pressure sensors over the entire coordinate input zone resulted in a complicated structure and in a difficulty in achieving exact detection of the writing pressure over the entire zone. On the contrary, disposing the pressure sensor within the input pen inevitably necessitated a cable for supplying information of writing pressure and resulted in a poor maneuverability during the input operation.
In the case of an input pen of this type, a coil for use in transmitting the information of designated positions to the tablet is composed of a wire wound directly around a magnetic core or a wire wound around a cylindrical bobbin. Inconveniently, the input pen employing such a coil often gave birth to an inadvertent contact of the wire when the coil is inserted in the bore of the pen body, and had a poor workability in inserting the coil and a possibility of breaking or severing of the wire.
The conventional input pen further involved drawbacks in that the diameter of a writing tip member and an outer barrel is enlarged and that the tip member and an inner barrel must be individually secured to the outer barrel because it is impossible to screw the inner barrel into the tip member due to intervention of the wire, thus resulting in a complicated structure as well as in complication in assembling work. Additionally, when the inner barrel is inserted into the outer barrel, the wire may possibly be damaged or even severd since the wire is forcibly clamped between a collar of the inner barrel and the bore of the outer barrel.
In the conventional input pen, a side button was fixedly mounted on the outer barrel so that a press section of the side button can be used for operating a switch on a substrate to transmit switching information to the tablet. In the case of fixedly mounting the side button on the outer barrel, however, there arose a problem of insecure switching operation due to displacement of the side button press section from its intended position confronting the switch, which is caused by a variance in relative mounting position of the outer barrel and the inner barrel.
In the conventional input pen, a base was mounted on the pen body by means of bent metal fittings disposed on the base. Thus, the mounting position of the base relative the pen body was uncertain. This resulted in an offset of the relative position between the switch disposed on the base and the side button located on the pen body, giving rise to uncertain switching operation. In addition, the bending of the metallic components was troublesome and laborious, and hence caused an increase in production costs.