This invention provides processes for preparation of 3-alkyl indoles of Formula 1: wherein A1, A2 and A3 are independently selected from the group consisting of: H, X, OR1, CN, CONR22 and C02R3; R1 is C1-C6 alkyl; R2 is H or C1-C6 alkyl; R3 is C1-C6 alkyl; LG is a leaving group; X is a halogen; and n is 1, 2 or 3.

Vilazodone (2) is marketed in the United States as Viibryd™ and is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,241 discloses compounds that are useful as intermediates in the preparation of Vilazodone. Examples of compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,241 include piperidine and piperazine derivatives of the following Formula:
wherein Ind, Q, Z and R1 are defined therein. These compounds and their physiologically acceptable salts are active on the central nervous system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,237 discloses that indole derivatives of the following Formula:
wherein Ind, Q and Ar are as defined therein, and their salts, are active on the central nervous system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,475 discloses a process for the preparation of a compound of the following Formula:
or a salt thereof in a Friedel-Crafts acylation catalyzed by a Lewis acid metal halide.
Heinrich, T., et al. in J. Med. Chem. 2004, 47, 4684-4692 disclose synthesis and structure-activity relationships in a class of indolebutylpiperazines as dual 5-HT1A receptor agonists and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Further disclosed is that systematic structural modifications of indolealkylphenylpiperazines led to improved selectivity and affinity within this class of 5-HT1A receptor agonists. Introduction of electron-withdrawing groups in position 5 on the indole raises serotonin transporter affinity, and the cyano group proved to be the best substituent here. 5-Fluoro and 5-cyano substituted indoles show comparable results in in vitro and in vivo tests, and bioisosterism between these substituents was supported by calculation of the molecular electrostatic potentials and dipole moments. Compounds showing promising in vitro data were further examined in ex vivo (p-chloroamphetamine assay) and in vivo (ultrasonic vocalization) tests. Optimization of the arylpiperazine moiety indicated that the 5-benzofuranyl-2-carboxamide was best suited to increase 5-HT transporter and 5-HT1A receptor affinity and to suppress D2 receptor binding. 5-{4-[4-(5-Cyano-3-indolyl)butyl]-1-piperazinyl}benzofuran-2-carboxamide 29 (vilazodone, EMD 68843) was identified as a highly selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist [GTPγS, ED50=1.1 nM] with subnanomolar 5-HT1A affinity [IC50=0.2 nM] and as a subnanomolar 5-HT reuptake inhibitor [RUI=0.5 nM] showing a great selectivity to other GPCRs (e.g., D2, IC50=666 nM).
Heinrich, T., et al. in ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 199-203 disclose allosteric IGF-1R inhibitors. Further disclosed is that targeting allosteric protein sites is a promising approach to interfere selectively with cellular signaling cascades. The authors discovered a novel class of allosteric insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitors. 3-Cyano-1H-indole-7-carboxylic acid {1-[4-(5-cyano-1H-indol-3-yl)butyl]piperidin-4-yl}amide (10) was found with nanomolar biochemical, micromolar, cellular IGF-1R activity and no relevant interference with cellular insulin receptor signaling up to 30 μM. The allosteric binding site was characterized by X-ray crystallographic studies, and the structural information was used to explain the unique mode of action of this new class of inhibitors.
Bottcher, H., et al. in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 1988, 8, 749-752 disclose synthesis of 3-[4-(1,2,3,6-Tetrahydro-4-phenyl-1-pyridyl)butyl]-5-indolecarboxylic Acid, an Antihypertensive Agent with a Novel Mode of Action. Further disclosed is that the racemic drug chlormezanone is resolved into the enantiomers by HPLC on cellulose triacetate and a silica gel-bound phenylalanine polymer. By preparative column chromatography on cellulose triacetate, both enantiomers were obtained on gram scale. Their racemization rate was determined as a function of the pH value. Furthermore, on cellulose triacetate and on particular polyamides, structure analogues of chlormezanone were separated into enantiomers, some of them completely.
Wenkert, E., et al. in J. Org. Chem. 1986, 51, 2343-2351 disclose a synthesis of prenylated indoles. Further disclosed is that interaction of magnesium indolates and allyl oxides in the presence of bis(triphenylphosphine)nickel dichloride results in indole β-allylation, except in cases involving highly substituted indoles and allyl alcohols. This method permits the β-prenylation of indole and α-prenylation of ketones (by way of their magnesium enaminates). Base-induced interaction of ethynyldimethylcarbinyl chloride and indole under a variety of conditions yields β(β,β-dimethylvinyl)quinolone as well as variously dehydroprenylated indoles. α-Lithiation of N-(benzenesulfonyl) indole followed by treatment with prenyl bromide or β,β-dimethyl acrylyl chloride produces α-prenyl or α-oxoprenylindole derivatives, the sodium amalgam reduction of the former of which yields α-prenylindole, prenylindole and β-oxoprenylindole, the latter also being the product of the reaction of magnesium indolate and the acid chloride. Lithium aluminum hydride reduction of 1-(benzenesulfonyl)-3-oxoprenylindole affords an alcohol, whose base hydrolysis produces β-dehydroprenylindole, a compound whose dimerization has led previously to naturally occurring yuehchukene.
CN102267932 provides a process for preparation of a compound of the following formula:
wherein R is C1-C4 alkyl, Ph, p-Me Ph, or C1-C4 alkyl Ph. The invention further relates to the application of the compound above as key intermediate for preparing Vilazodone or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt.
CN102267985 discloses a preparation method for Vilazodone and hydrochloride thereof. The method comprises the following steps: reacting the following compound:
with a compound of formula:
in a solvent under action of alkaline substances and collecting Vilazodone as described in the following formula:
from resultants; reacting the obtained Vilazodone with hydrochloric acid in a solvent for salt formation so as to prepare Vilazodone hydrochloride as described in the following formula:

CN102690224 discloses a new method for preparing 3-(4-chlorobutyl)-1H-5-cyanoindole as a Vilazodone intermediate, comprising the following steps: step (1), a compound of the following formula:
is reacted with a compound of formula:
in the presence of an acylation catalyst in an organic solvent to form a compound of formula:
step (2), the compound above formed in step (1) is subjected to carbonyl reduction reaction in the presence of a reducing catalyst in the organic solvent.
CN102659660 relates to a preparation method and application of 3-(4-chlorobutyl)-5-cyano-1H-indole. The preparation method comprises the following steps: after dissolving 3-(4-chlorobutyryl)-5-cyano-1H-indole in a solvent, adding trifluoroacetic acid, adding sodium borohydride in batches, and treating the reaction liquid to obtain the 3-(4-chlorobutyl)-5-cyano-1H-indole.
CN102617558 provides a preparation method of Vilazodone, which comprises the following steps: reacting 5-cyanoindole, which is used as the initial raw material, with substituted phenylsulfonyl chloride under alkaline conditions, carrying out Friedel-Crafts reaction under the catalytic action of Lewis acid, reducing the product, and carrying out substitution reaction with 5-(1-piperazino)-benzofuryl-2-formamide to obtain the Vilazodone. The invention also provides three intermediate compounds related to the vilazodone preparation method.
CN102875440 discloses a preparation method of 3-(4-chlorobutyl)-5-cyanoindole which is shown as the following formula:
The preparation method comprises the steps as follows: carrying out following carbonyl reduction reaction on the following compound:
and a hydroboron reducing agent in the solvent under the catalyzing of Lewis acid to obtain the product, wherein Lewis acid is one or more of aluminium trichloride, magnesium chloride, zinc chloride and ferric chloride; and the hydroboron reducing agent is one or more of sodium borohydride, potassium borohydride, lithium borohydride and borane.
CN102875538 relates to a method for preparing 5-(4-[4-(5-cyan-3-indolyl)-butyl]-1-piperazinyl)benzofuran-2-formamide (Vilazodone) or hydrochloride thereof. The method comprises the following steps of: performing reaction between a compound of the following formula:
and a compound of the following formula:
in a solvent under the action of alkaline matter, and separating and purifying products to obtain Vilazodone; and salifying the Vilazodone and hydrochloric acid in the solvent to prepare Vilazodone hydrochloride. The invention also relates to a method for preparing the indole compound above.
CN102796037 relates to the field of chemical synthesis of medicines, particularly a 3-(4-(4-substituted-piperazino)-1-butyryl)indolyl-5-formonitrile and a preparation method thereof, and application of the compound for preparing an intermediate 3-(4-piperazino-1-yl-butyl)indolyl-5-formonitrile for synthesizing Vilazodone.
CN103058912 relates to a preparation method of 3-(4-chlorobutyl)indole-5-formonitrile. CN103058912 further teaches (4-chlorobutyl)indole-5-formonitrile is an important intermediate for synthesis of vilazodone hydrochloride. 5-Cyanoindole and 4-chlorobutyryl chloride as raw materials undergo a Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction and then the product is reduced by sodium borohydride/trifluoroacetic acid into 3-(4-chlorobutyl)indole-5-formonitrile.
Hu, B., et al. in Org. Process Res. Dev. 2012, 16, 1552-1557 disclose a scale-up synthesis of antidepressant drug Vilazodone. A scale-up synthesis of antidepressant drug vilazodone was accomplished in five steps. Friedel-Crafts acylation of 1-tosyl-1H-indole-5-carbonitrile with 4-chlorobutyryl chloride, selective deoxygenation in NaBH4/CF3COOH system coupled with ethyl 5-(piperazin-1-yl)-benzofuran-2-carboxylate hydrochloride, one-step deprotection and esterolysis, and the final ammonolysis led to the target molecule vilazodone in 52.4% overall yield and 99.7% purity.

Processes for the preparation of 3-alkyl indoles


Suspension arm 2 with an air guide 1, wherein the suspension arm 2 has in the installation position a downwardly open cross-sectional profile with a base surface 7 and at least two side webs 8 projecting from the base surface 7, and wherein the air guide 1 has a reinforcement element 3 to be arranged on the side webs 8 and an air guiding element 4 composed of a plastic material, and a method for producing an air guide 1 for a suspension arm 2.

The present invention relates to a method for producing an air guide for a suspension arm, and a suspension arm with an air guide.
Such air guides are arranged in vehicle construction on suspension arms, also referred to as transverse control arms or simply control arms or wishbones, to achieve a better flow around the lower floor in the area of the wheel suspension. The wheel suspension connects the wheel to the body and guides it while allowing certain degrees of freedom. Suspension arms can be produced from formed (steel) sheets or from (reformed) extruded profiles, for example, from an extruded aluminum profile.
It would be desirable and advantageous to obviate prior art shortcomings and to provide an improved method for producing an air guide for a suspension arm and an improved suspension arm with an air guide which enables an increase in stiffness of the suspension arm while adding only little additional weight.

Method for producing an air guide for a suspension arm and suspension arm with an air guide


An article of footwear including an upper having a sleeve and a support cage that is free floating relative to the sleeve so that the footwear can accommodate a plurality of foot shapes regardless of whether the foot shapes remain static or dynamically change during a gait cycle within the footwear. The sleeve can be included in a midfoot section extending from a medial side of the footwear, across the top of a wearer's forefoot, to a lateral side of the footwear. A toe section including a breathable material can be joined with and forward of the midfoot section. The support cage can be constructed from a laminate including at least two layers, such as a structural exterior layer, an intermediate elastic layer and/or a reinforcement interior layer, optionally all fused together, to provide the cage with multiple functional attributes, such as structural stability, elasticity and/or reinforcement.

The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to a footwear construction including a support cage and a sleeve.
Footwear comes in many sizes and shapes to fit the many sizes and shapes of different wearers' feet. While theoretically there may be an "average" foot shape, in reality, there is not one because every foot has a unique shape. Footwear manufacturers usually address this as best they can by having a variety of different sizes and widths of certain footwear models, with the hope of coming close to fitting the feet of most potential purchasers. Many such footwear, however, are constructed with multiple overlays or panels that are stitched together. These overlays, and the resultant footwear, are frequently difficult to shape to the large variety of compound curves and contours of certain feet, let alone many differently shaped feet.
Another challenge to making well-fitting footwear is due to the fact that every foot, of every shape and size, changes its shape during a wearer's stride. For example, a foot can be elongated and narrow, or "stretched out", right before heel strike during a normal gait. Upon heel strike, the arch of the foot may "contract" slightly to shorten the length of the foot slightly. When the foot starts to roll forward on the ball of the foot, the forefoot typically widens, and then narrows again during toe off. During this movement, the foot of the wearer changes in shape. If a shoe is inelastic, then the changing shape of the foot will not match the unitary shape of the interior of the footwear throughout the gait cycle. This can cause irritation, discomfort and in some cases can detrimentally alter the wearer's gait.
Some footwear manufacturers have attempted to address the above issues by utilizing a very pliable, elastic material to construct the upper of the footwear. Certain manufacturers have produced an upper constructed simply with a knitted sock of varying textures, closed it with laces, and attached it to an outsole. Although this construction is flexible and conformable to a variety of foot sizes and shapes, because the sock readily deforms, it might not provide satisfactory stability or structural support to the wearer's foot.
Thus, there remains room for improvement in the area of producing footwear that fits multiple foot shapes and dynamically conforms to a wearer's moving foot.


A process and article of manufacture for ordering items. Descriptive item information is provided to a consumer on a mass media storage device. The consumer reviews the item information and selects items for purchase. During a check out process a textual order form and bar code, both including order information, are generated. The bar code is applied to the order form and both are transmitted to a vendor via mail, facsimile; upon receipt the vendor reads the bar code to enter the order information. Alternatively, the order information is electronically transmitted to the vendor, in which case it is not necessary to generate the bar code containing the order information.

Now that computers and their associated components such as compact disk readers, printers and Internet connections have become ubiquitous, consumers are afforded several new and different options for purchasing goods and services. Internet shopping, through so-called "e-businesses," allows a consumer to shop from the comfort of her living room. The consumer simply logs on to the e-business site through an Internet connection, browses the virtual store, makes selections and loads them into a virtual shopping cart. When the consumer is finished he/she proceeds to the virtual checkout counter. The cost of the goods and services are tallied, applicable tax, shipping and handling charges are added to the purchase, and the consumer pays for the transaction by providing a credit card number. Once the seller authorizes the charge card purchase, the consumer is so advised and the transaction is completed.
There are at least two difficulties associated with an e-business purchase. First, the rate at which the entire shopping experience occurs is directly related to the speed of the consumer's Internet connection. Today, 56 kilobyte (kB) modems operating over the standard telephone line are the most common route to the Internet. Faster connections such as XDSL and cable modems offer faster data rates, but they are employed by only a minority of the e-commerce consumers. The transmission data rate is the system bottleneck as it directly affects the speed at which the consumer can proceed through the transaction. Because of this data bottleneck, e-business sites selling products or services that require the display of extensive information to the consumer during the purchasing process are likely to create frustrated buyers. For example, the sell of clothing items likely requires the consumer to process through hundreds of styles and colors before a selection can be made. A slow data transfer rate (where slow is defined as the rate that causes the consumer to lose interest and terminate the purchase process before completing the transaction) dooms the transaction. Even the fastest data rates may not be fast enough for the busy consumer shopping at a well-stocked Internet-site store.
There is also the well-known problem of credit card fraud associated with Internet transactions. Most consumers are now accustomed to and have accepted the need to provide a credit card number when placing a telephone order. But there is still considerable hesitancy when the computer prompts the consumer to enter a credit card number, after which the number will travel through the unbridled Internet. Surveys have shown that at least 50% of consumers prefer either to send their order through the mail or fax it to the vendor, thus avoiding sending their credit card number over the Internet.

Method and apparatus for creating a bar code


In a mascara brush comprising a plurality of bristles held between two twisted wire segments, wherein the bristles have varying lengths created by trimming, provision is made for the brush to incorporate a first outer face of a predefined geometry created in a first trimming process after twisting, wherein this outer face is formed by the tips of a first number of longer bristles, wherein a portion of the bristles is trimmed by a second trimming process, so that a plurality of bristles of a shorter length is created, the tips of which form a second envelope of a predefined geometry, wherein the tips of the shorter bristles each lie on an orthogonal line relative to these twisted wire segments extending at a distance to the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a mascara brush comprising a plurality of bristles held between two twisted wire segments, wherein the bristles have varying lengths created by trimming.
2. Background Art
Mascara brushes of this type must have good transfer properties, on one hand, to transfer the mascara fluid from a reservoir container onto the user's eyelashes, and advantageous application properties must exist on the other hand, to evenly distribute the transferred mascara fluid on the eyelashes, and lastly, the application process must go hand in hand with a separation of the lashes to prevent them from sticking together;
To achieve these goals, numerous solutions are known, wherein a targeted selection of the bristle material, bristle thickness and bristle length prior to the twisting of the wire segments is described on one hand, and various techniques for trimming the twisted brush on the other hand.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,902 it is known to use as the wire a plastically deformable wire and completely cut off the bristles in predefined angular sectors or shorten them to a uniform radial length.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,583, a production technique is known, wherein the bristles are initially fixed temporarily between the wire segments by means of a partial twisting, after which they are trimmed and ultimately fixed permanently by further twisting. This is an expensive production technique and does not permit a high production speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,558 B1 describes a manufacturing process for a mascara brush whereby a brush is created that has bristles of different lengths in different sectors. This method of production is also extraordinarily expensive and not suitable for an economic mass production.
WO 96/311 describes a mascara brush that incorporates, relative to its longitudinal axis, sectors with bristles in varying densities, which is attained in such a way that the compartment box from which the bristles are taken during the twisting is stocked with bristles in varying densities.
From DE 37 35 963 D2 it is known to trim the finished brush in such a way that comb zones are attained to improve the combing effect.
From EP 1 129 641 A2 it is known to process bristles of different materials with varying densities, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the brush.
EP 0 832 580 A1 describes a mascara brush, wherein in a first trimming process, a crowned, cigar-like basic shape is created and then, in a second trimming process, cutouts that extend in the longitudinal direction.
From EP 1 000 566 A2, a mascara brush is known, the outer face of which is essentially trimmed square in cross section.


The invention relates to a HF power supply device including an oscillator (11) outputting a HF signal, an amplifier (12) amplifying the output of the oscillator for supplying a HF output to a load, and a DC power supply (13) to supply a DC power voltage to the amplifier (11). The power supply device further includes a loss calculator (18) calculating a loss in the amplifier (11), a first controller (19) controlling the output of the power supply (13) and a second controller (20) controlling the output of the oscillator (11) or amplifier (12). When the calculated loss by the calculator (18) exceeds a predetermined loss set value, the first controller (19) lowers the output power voltage of the power supply (13) to make the calculated loss equal to the loss set value. When the calculated loss is no greater than the loss set value, the first controller (19) maintains the output power voltage at an appropriate DC voltage set value, while the second controller (20) controls the output of the oscillator (11) or amplifier (12) so that the HF output to the load from the amplifier (13) approaches a HF output set value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-frequency power supply device which supplies high-frequency power to a load, and more particularly relates to a high-frequency power supply device which is suitable for use as a power supply in plasma generating apparatus, laser oscillators and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 22, high-frequency power supply devices which are used as power supplies in plasma generating apparatus, laser oscillators and the like are basically constructed from an oscillator to output a high-frequency signal of a specified frequency, an amplifier which amplifies the output of the oscillator, a direct-current power supply 3 which supplies a direct-current power voltage Vdc to the amplifier 2, a high-frequency output detector 4 which detects the high-frequency output that is output by the amplifier 2, and a controller 5 which controls the high-frequency output that is detected by the high-frequency output detector 4 so that this output is maintained at a high-frequency output set value Pfset. The output of the amplifier 2 is supplied to a load 6.
The oscillator 1 is constructed from an oscillator which generates a high-frequency signal that has a specified frequency, and an amplifier which amplifies the output of this oscillator (if necessary). The amplifier 2 is constructed from a power amplifier 2a.
The controller 5 inputs the high-frequency output set value Pfset and the high-frequency output Pfdet that is detected by the high-frequency output detector 4, and controls the output voltage Vdc of the direct-current power supply 3, the output of the oscillator 1 and the gain of the amplifier 2 so that the high-frequency output Pfout that is supplied to the load 6 from the amplifier 2 is maintained at a value that is equal to the high-frequency output set value Pfset.
In such a high-frequency power supply device, when the matching of the output impedance of the high-frequency power supply device and the load impedance is lost as a result of fluctuations in the load, an excessively large reflected power flows into the amplifier 102 from the side of the load 6, so that there is a danger of damage. Conventionally, therefore, a method has been used (as indicated for example in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-76045 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-244754) in which a protective set value with a magnitude which is such that there is no danger of damage to the amplifier is set for the reflected power, and control that limits the high-frequency output (forward power or effective power) that is supplied to the load from the high-frequency power supply device is performed so that the reflected power from the load does not exceed the protective set value, thus protecting the amplifier from the reflected power.
Furthermore, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-233294 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-35699, high-frequency power supply devices are described in which the loss generated in the amplifier is determined, and the output of the amplifier is controlled so that this loss is maintained at a value that is equal to or less than a loss set value set in the vicinity of the maximum value of the range in which there is no damage to the amplifier.
However, in conventional methods for protecting the amplifier from the reflected power in a high-frequency power supply device, in cases where the loss generated in the amplifier by the reflected power increases so that there is a danger of damage to the amplifier, protection of the amplifier is accomplished by lowering the output of the amplifier. As a result, the following problem arises: namely, when control that protects the amplifier is performed, the power supply output (forward power or effective power) is limited to a value that is considerably lower than the set value.
Especially in cases where the impedance of the load that is connected between the output terminals of the high-frequency power supply device varies, even if the magnitude of the reflection coefficient is the same, the maximum high-frequency output (i.e., the maximum value of the forward power or effective power that is output from the high-frequency power supply device) varies if the phase angle of the reflection coefficient varies. Accordingly, the following problem arises: namely, the maximum high-frequency output is conspicuously reduced with respect to the load impedance at which the phase angle of the reflection coefficient shows a specified value.
Furthermore, if an attempt is made to increase the maximum high-frequency output of the high-frequency power supply device with respect to a load at which the phase angle of the reflection coefficient shows a specified value, the loss generated in the amplifier is increased, so that there is a danger that the amplifier will be damaged by the heat generated by this loss. In concrete terms, the junction temperature of the semiconductor amplifier elements installed in the amplifier exceeds the permissible value, so that there is a danger that these semiconductor amplifier elements will be damaged. As a result, it is substantially impossible to increase the maximum high-frequency output of the high-frequency power supply device with respect to a load at which the phase angle of the reflection coefficient shows a specified value.


A multi-color inkjet ink set includes a first ink composition including a first colorant and a heterocyclic amine compound, and a second ink composition include a second colorant having an, in which the acid moiety of the second colorant within the second ink composition reacts with the heterocyclic amine compound within the first ink composition to form a precipitate to prevent the second colorant from moving on a printing medium.

1. Field of the Invention
This present general inventive concept relates to multi-color inkjet ink compositions, and more particularly, to multi-color inkjet ink sets including a first ink composition comprising a first colorant and a heterocyclic amine compound and a second ink composition comprising a second colorant having an acid moiety to prevent color bleeding at an interface between ink compositions having different colors.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet recording apparatus displays an image on a printing medium by ejecting ink droplets through a nozzle. An inkjet ink should have an excellent drying property on the printing medium, it should not cause image bleeding, it should result in a uniform image regardless of a type of the printing medium, it should not cause color bleeding at an interface between different colors when used to print multiple colors, and it should have excellent durability (water resistance, light resistance, and rubbing resistance).
There have been various attempts to provide a multi-color inkjet ink set that satisfies such requirements, particularly that prevent color bleeding.
A method of adding diethylene glycol monobutyl ether to an ink as a penetrant (U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,675), a method of adding an ester or an amide diol to an ink (U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,372), a method of adding diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and Surfynol 465 to an ink (U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,056), and a method of adding glycol monobutyl ether and a water soluble emulsion to an ink (U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,502) were suggested in order to reduce a drying time of an ink and color bleeding by enhancing a speed within which the ink is penetrated to a printing medium.
In addition, a method of using an anionic ink and a cationic ink (U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,023), a method of using an ink set that forms a gel by a reaction of a gel former and a gel initiator (U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,540), a method of adding a reactive species to an ink that forms a polymer on contacting a paper (U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,302), and a method of adding a multivalent metal salt to an acid colorant (U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,383) were suggested in order to prevent color bleeding through a reaction between inks or between an ink and a printing medium.
For a multi-color inkjet ink set including an ink composition having an acid colorant and an ink composition having a multivalent metal salt among the above conventional methods, a stability of the ink set may be lowered over a long period of time, thereby forming a precipitate, and nozzle clogging at a cartridge and erosion of a head material may occur.

Multi-color inkjet ink set to prevent color bleeding


A computer-implemented method for the design of a power supply is disclosed. Multiple lists of power supply design variables are provided. The method includes simulating a first power supply design in response to power supply design variables selected from these multiple lists of variables. The method then calculates a score of the first power supply design and determines whether the score is better than the score of any power supply design included in a set of power supply designs. If so, the method replaces a power supply design having a worst score from the set of power supply designs with the first power supply design.

Many electrical devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), laptops, etc. are powered by a source of relatively low-voltage DC power. Because power is generally delivered through a wall outlet as high-voltage AC power, a device, typically referred to as a power supply or power converter is required to transform the high-voltage AC power to low-voltage DC power. The low-voltage DC power may be provided by the power supply directly to the device or it may be used to charge a rechargeable battery that, in turn, provides energy to the device, but which requires charging once stored energy is drained. Typically, the battery is charged with a battery charger that includes a power supply that meets constant current and constant voltage requirements required by the battery. In operation, a power supply may use a controller to regulate output power delivered to an electrical device, such as a battery, that may be generally referred to as a load. More specifically, the controller may be coupled to a sensor that provides feedback information of the output of the power supply in order to regulate power delivered to the load. The controller regulates power to the load by controlling a power switch to turn on and off in response to the feedback information from the sensor to transfer energy pulses to the output from a source of input power such as a power line.
One of the items often included in power supplies is a transformer. A voltage is usually applied to the transformer from one part of the power supply circuit (often referred to as the primary side) and the transformer transfers energy from that part of the power supply circuitry to another part of the power supply circuitry (often referred to as the secondary side). The transformer provides the galvanic isolation and also shifts the voltage level between the primary side and secondary side of the power supply. More specifically, galvanic isolation occurs when DC current is unable to flow between the primary and secondary sides of the power supply.
The design and construction of power supplies as well as the transformers that are used in the power supplies can be a very complicated and complex task due to many factors and variables. The complexity is further increased if the power supply is to include multiple outputs. For example, the design and construction of power supplies is often done through experimentation, on a trial and error basis in order for the power supply designer to realize a power supply design having the desired specifications with regard to electrical performance and cost.

Method and apparatus for design of a power supply


Method for measuring potency of a substance, the method including; administering the substance to a mammal; subjecting the mammal to a stimulus; and monitoring a pinna reflex response of the mammal.

The present invention relates to an assay method, for example, using the pinna reflex, and is more particularly directed to an assay method for determining the potency of a substance, for example, botulinum toxin type A.
Botulinum toxin, for example, botulinum toxin type A, has been used in the treatment of a number of neuromuscular disorders and conditions involving muscular spasm, such as strabismus, blepharospasm, spasmodic torticollis (cervical dystonia), oromandibular dystonia, spasmodic dysphonia (laryngeal dystonia) and the like. The toxin binds rapidly and strongly to presynaptic cholinergic nerve terminals and inhibits the exocytosis of acetylcholine. This results in local paralysis thereby relaxing the muscle afflicted by spasm.
For one example of treating neuromuscular disorders, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,005, which suggests treating curvature of the juvenile spine, i.e., scoliosis, with an acetylcholine release inhibitor, preferably botulinum toxin A. For the treatment of strabismus with botulinum toxin type A, see Elston, J. S., et al., British Journal of Ophthalmology, 1985, 69, 718–724 and 891–896. For the treatment of blepharospasm with botulinum toxin type A, see Adenis, J. P., et al., J. Fr. Ophthalmol., 1990, 13 (5) at pages 259–264. For treating spasmodic and oromandibular dystonia torticollis, see Jankovic et al., Neurology, 1987, 37, 616–623. Spasmodic dysphonia has also been treated with botulinum toxin type A. See Blitzer et al., Ann. Otol. Rhino. Laryngol, 1985, 94, 591–594. Lingual dystonia was treated with botulinum toxin type A according to Brin et al., Adv. Neurol. (1987) 50, 599–608. Cohen et al., Neurology (1987) 37 (Suppl. 1), 123–4, discloses the treatment of writer's cramp with botulinum toxin type A.
Botulinum toxin is a generic term embracing the family of toxins produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. To date seven immunologically distinct neurotoxins serotype have been identified. These have been given the designations A, B, C1, D, E, F and G. For further information concerning the properties of the various botulinum toxins see, Jankovic and Brin, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 324, No. 17, 1990, pp. 1186–1194, and see, the review by Charles L. Hatheway in Chapter 1 of the book entitled Botulinum Neurotoxin and Tetanus Toxin, L. L. Simpson, Ed., published by Academic Press Inc. of San Diego, Calif., 1989.
Botulinum toxin is obtained commercially by growing cultures of C. botulinum in a fermenter and then harvesting and purifying the fermented mixture in accordance with known techniques. Botulinum toxin type A, the toxin type generally utilized in treating neuromuscular conditions, is currently available commercially from several sources including from Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif., under the trade name BOTOX7, and from Porton Products Ltd. UK, under the trade name DYSPORT7.
The active component of the botulinum toxin type A in therapeutic preparations is complexed to the non-toxic component haemagglutinin, and is present in extremely small amounts. The specific activities of different formulations vary because retention of biological potency during the formulation freeze-drying process is not reproducible. This results in different ratios of active to inactive toxin and makes it impossible to express the unit activity of this compound in terms of mass (Hambleton, J Neurol 1992, 239:16–20; Schantz and Johnson, Microbiol Rev 1992, 56:80–99).
At present the biological potency of therapeutic preparations of type A botulinum toxin is expressed in terms of mouse LD50 units. Contrary to general belief, the mouse unit is not a standardized unit. It is well documented that the assay to determine the potency of botulinum toxin type A in mouse LD50 units is prone to significant inter-laboratory variability (Schantz and Kautter, J Ass of Anal Chem 1978, 61:96–99). One study designed to standardize a Botulinum type A toxin assay involved 11 different laboratories (Sesardic et al, Pharacol Toxico 1996, 78:283–288). In this study there was found to be up to a 10-fold difference in results. This variability in mouse LD50 is not unique to assays involving botulinum toxin. In fact, because of the variability of this assay, a number of regulatory agencies have abandoned requiring the routine use of LD50 for toxicity testing for a number of chemicals, solvents, cosmetics and drugs (Pearce et al, Toxicol App Pharm 1994, 128:69–77).
The expanding medical importance of botulinum toxins has increased the need for, and placed a premium on, the precise analysis of biological activity contained in preparations of botulinum toxin type A for both clinical use and laboratory investigation.
It would be advantageous to provide a more precise measurement of toxin activity based on a non-lethal exposure of botulinum toxin type A to rats.
The pinna reflex is a part of the overall acoustic startle response that occurs in certain mammals, including the rat. The characteristic feature of the acoustic startle response in mammals is a pattern of generalized muscular contractions with short latencies. Reflex action starts in the face and neck and spreads down the body, producing a transitory crouch-like gesture. The prominent motor component of the startle response is a flexor contraction.
Response probability and magnitude of the reflex rises with an increase in stimulus intensity. In addition to the response of the body muscles, the whole body startle, several muscles of the head are also involved in the startle reaction. Additionally, a flexion of the pinna occurs in some mammals including rats. This is called the Preyer reflex. Pinna motor reactions caused by intense acoustic stimulation are described as an essential component of the startle reaction with response similar to the whole-body startle. However, this movement of the ears may be a separate reflex.


A sulfur-containing organosilicon compound having a hydrolyzable silyl group, sulfide group and amide group is shelf stable and useful as a rubber compounding ingredient. When compounded in a rubber composition, the organosilicon compound is effective for significantly reducing the hysteresis loss and improving the abrasion resistance of the rubber composition.

Sulfur-containing organosilicon compounds are useful as an essential component of silica-filled rubber compositions for the manufacture of tires. Silica-filled tires have improved performance in the automotive application, especially abrasion resistance, low rolling resistance and wet grip. Such tire performance improvements are closely related to fuel consumption savings, with great efforts being currently devoted to this end.
For fuel consumption savings, it is essential to increase the silica filling factor of rubber compositions. While silica-filled rubber compositions are effective for providing tires with reduced rolling resistance and improved wet grip, they suffer from working problems including a high green viscosity and necessary multi-stage milling. When inorganic fillers such as silica are merely compounded in rubber, the resulting rubber compositions are substantially low in breaking strength and abrasion resistance on account of short filler dispersion. Then sulfur-containing organosilicon compounds are essential for improving the dispersion of inorganic filler in rubber and chemically bonding the filler to the rubber matrix.
Of the sulfur-containing organosilicon compounds, those compounds having alkoxysilyl and polysulfide groups in the molecule, for example, bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide and bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)disulfide are known effective.
Besides the above organosilicon compounds having a polysulfide group, a product obtained from transesterification reaction of a sulfide-containing organosilicon compound with an alkyl alcohol amine is known to contribute to substantial improvements in fuel consumption and abrasion resistance as disclosed in Patent Documents 12 and 13. The sulfur-containing organosilicon compounds described in these patent documents, however, are poor in shelf stability and awkward to handle.

Sulfur-containing organosilicon compound, making method, rubber compounding ingredient, and rubber composition


The normal control of an electrically-activated hydraulic valve armature is overridden to automatically and periodically open the armature for flushing out debris that has accumulated between the armature and a seat that the armature is designed to engage. The valve develops fluid pressure for maintaining engagement of a motor vehicle transmission clutch, and when excessive slippage of the clutch is detected, the armature is forced into engagement with the seat until the slippage is reduced or a predetermined period of time has elapsed, after which the armature is temporarily positioned away from the seat to provide full flow of hydraulic fluid across the seat to flush out debris that prevents the armature from engaging the seat. During Neutral operation of the transmission, the armature is continuously positioned away from the seat, and during low torque conditions the armature is temporarily positioned away from the seat.

In motor vehicle transmissions having hydraulically-engaged clutches (or other friction devices), it is desirable to regulate the clutch pressure to a value that is sufficient to prevent clutch slippage without being unnecessarily high. This can be achieved with a hydraulic circuit including a hydraulic pressure regulator valve and an electrically-operated boost valve that supplies a bias or boost pressure to the regulator valve. The relationship between the boost pressure and the clutch pressure can be established by a way of a look-up table, for example, and once the desired clutch pressure is known, the transmission controller can use the look-up table to determine the corresponding boost pressure. In a typical mechanization, the boost valve receives input hydraulic fluid which is either directed to the pressure regulator valve or exhausted to a fluid reservoir. The exhaust of fluid flow within the valve is determined by the position of an armature with respect to a seat, and a solenoid coil surrounding the armature is variably activated to position the armature.
It has been found that very fine debris normally present in filtered hydraulic transmission fluid can accumulate in the boost valve and prevent proper valve operation. In particular, the debris can accumulate between the armature and the valve seat under conditions where the armature is positioned very close the seat. The accumulation of debris then prevents the armature from engaging the seat when conditions so require, causing the produced boost pressure, and therefore the clutch pressure, to deviate from the desired value. Depending on the design of the valve, the erroneous clutch pressure can result in clutch slippage and other harmful consequences. Accordingly, what is needed is a way of preventing erroneous operation of the boost valve due to accumulation of debris without noticeably affecting the operation of the transmission.

Method of automatically flushing debris from an electrically-operated hydraulic valve


An integrated circuit, or microelectromechanical structure is defined onto a contour surface by utilizing a flexible mask upon which photolithographic patterns are first defined using conventional planar photolithographic techniques. The contour surface is provided with a thin film uniformly distributed on the surface and then the flexible mask is aligned with the contour substrate. Alignments are made through multiple stages of yaw alignment, translation alignment and rotational alignment. Once the mask is aligned with contour substrate it is then subjected while rotating to developing field, such as uniform illumination of ultraviolet light shining on the side of the contour substrate as it is rotated in the illumination field. The developed photoresist layer disposed on the surface of the contour substrate is thus developed and the underlying film etched according to the patterned mask in a manner similar to a conventional planar photolithography. Multiple layers are thus disposed masked and etched to result in complex multilayered integrated circuit and/or microelectromechanical devices disposed on the contour surface of a macromechanical component or structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The field relates to fabrication techniques and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and in particular to a methodology for fabricating MEMS systems on contour surfaces, such as cylinders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Micron-sized mechanical structures cofabricated with electrical circuitry using conventional integrated circuit (IC) methodologies are called microelectromechanical systems or MEMS. In the past decade MEMS pressure sensors and accelerometers have realized commercial success due to the competitiveness in performance and cost in comparison to their conventional counterparts. Recently, a strong interest has risen in interfacing MEMS systems with macromechanical structures. The proposed application for integrating MEMS sensor networks into macromechanical parts include surface flow monitoring and control, condition based maintenance, environmental monitoring, process control, robotics and automation.
The possibility of controlling macromechanical components using MEMS actuators was demonstrated in 1994 by Ho et al., Control of Macro Machine by Micro Actuators, Bulletin of 47.sup.th Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society, Atlanta, Ga. (November 1994). In a wind tunnel experiment demonstrated by Ho, drag reduction was achieved by using MEMS actuators to reduce shear stress within the boundary layer of a flat plate. The University of Utah and Sarcos Research Corporation are currently developing packaging methods for MEMS pressure and vibration sensors combined with integrated circuits for underwater operation. The integrated sensor networks are to be implemented on a 1/8 scale version of a submarine fin. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is also packaging MEMS sensors with radiofrequency transponders into truck tires for pressure sensing and revolution counting. To reduce payload weight, the satellite industry is also in need of a technology to incorporate integrated circuits with spacecraft mechanical structures.
Since IC process technology allows fabrication only on flat substrates, the MEMS structures must also reside on a flat chip. Thus, integration of these chips onto macromechanical components, which often have curved surfaces, becomes an issue which must be addressed. Typically, the bulk components are machined to accommodate the MEMS chips. The chips are then connected electronically by gold wires to complete the system. Other methods include for example fitting a completely hermetically sealed sensor and circuit system onto the machined parts. Thus the packaging of chips or systems onto mechanical components often change the contour of the bulk parts and this in turn requires precision machining.
A possible solution for packaging IC/MEMS devices onto macromechanical parts is to first fabricate the MEMS devices on a flexible skin, and then glue these skins onto mechanical parts. Obviously, these skins can be used to incorporate IC/MEMS devices onto conformal substrates without the need of developing a new technology. In fact, MEMS shear stress sensors have been built on lift-off polyimide films to alleviate the problem of machining the bulk parts. But MEMS and/or integrated circuits on flexible substrates are subject to some important limitations. One limitation is that the alignment of these skins to a desired orientation on the macromechanical component is in general a problem, which prevents low cost mass manufacturing. Another disadvantage is that this technique allows only the integration of surface micromachined devices onto the macrosubstrates, and does not allow the potential to bulk-micromachine a contour macrosubstrate. Also potentially interfering stresses caused by the glue and glue nonuniformity arise when attaching of these flexible skins onto a macromechanical substrate.
The patterning of simple, one-layer, micron-sized structures on cylinders has been performed by Ogura et al., "A Concentric Build-Up to Fabricate Practical Wobble Motors," IEEE 1994, 0-7803-1833-1/94 and Jacobsen, et al., "Fabrication of Micro-Structures Using Non-Planar Lithography," MEMS1993. Jacobsen patterned a 500 mm diameter rod with E-beam resulting in 10 micron line width resolution. Ogura did not disclose his patterning technique, but the rod was 1.0 mm in diameter with 30 micron line width resolution. Neither Jacobsen or Ogura disclose the procedure for aligning patterns of different layers of structures, which is critical for many integrated circuits and MEMS devices, such as is the case when fabricating transistors and the majority of existing MEMS devices.
A computer controllable laser system has been used to add silicon and deposit metals on the contour surfaces. Bloomstein and Ehrlich have developed a technique that deposit metals at approximately the rate of 2.times.10.sup.4 pixels per second with 1 micron resolution. See for example Bloomstein et al., "Laser-Chemical Three-Dimensional Writing for Microelectromechanics and Application to Standard-Cell Microfluidics," J. Vac. Sci. Technology, B 10(6) Nov./Dec. 1992. Metal thicknesses greater than 10 micron are obtainable and line widths as small 0.2 microns are possible.
Revise, Inc. is currently marketing an apparatus based on Bloomstein and Ehrlich's work under the trademark, SiliconEditor, which can deposit and etch serially different metals, semiconductors and dielectric materials through laser deposition techniques. The materials include aluminum, platinum, tungsten, silicon, molybdenum, gold and copper. The SiliconEditor also accepts data from computer aided design software to control stage motions and laser operation. The methodology is similar to that described by Jacobsen and is similarly expensive and slow, which ill adapts it to mass fabrication.
Therefore, what is needed is a methodology that will allow the multilayered fabrication of complex IC/MEMS devices directly onto nonsilicon contour substrates. Specifically, what is needed is a methodology for using thin film deposition, photolithography, and alignment of the mask layers for nonsilicon cylindrical substrates for the purposes of multilayer structures.

Method for aligning and forming microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) contour surfaces

The Regents of the University of California


A unit that includes a winch, a standard for the winch, a platform and a ramp and which can be disassembled for storage and easily and quickly set up to move a device, such as a scooter or a wheelchair or the like, onto another vehicle, such as a van or a car or the like.

Vehicles, such as automobiles, are generally designed in structure to carry objects and people inside the vehicle structure. Objects can be carried in either the passenger compartment or in the baggage section or trunk of the automobile. Additionally, automobiles frequently carry objects externally to the trunk or passenger compartment areas, such as objects which are either too large or are not appropriately structured for being carried in the passenger compartment or trunk.
Numerous type vehicle attachments for the roof top, side, front or rear end both permanently and semi-permanently affixed to the vehicle have been proposed. The structure, alignment and positioning of these carriers have generally been dictated by the exact type of object that the carrier is designed to accommodate. For example, roof top carriers have been designed and structured to carry relatively light objects, such as luggage, boxes and the like which can be fitted easily on the roof top. Carriers structured for the use on the rear of the vehicle are used for many purposes, such as, for example, bicycles, small vehicles, light motorcycles, and similarly irregularly structured objects which do not lend themselves readily to being carried on a vehicle roof or other areas because of their cumbersome shape or weight characteristics.
The transportation of wheelchairs when not in use presents a difficult problem because of their bulky weight and unusual shape. Typically, in order to transport a wheelchair by way of an automobile, it must be ordinarily loaded into the back seat area of the vehicle which is tedious, awkward and time consuming. Additionally, the wheelchair consumes considerable space that could otherwise be used for additional occupants of the automobile. Additionally, there is considerable risk of damage to the upholstery of the interior of the vehicle.
In considering and reviewing the array of all the carriers structured for use on the rear of any vehicle such as automobiles, generally all require that the object to be borne on the carrying platform be physically lifted by an individual's own efforts up and onto the platform itself. Thus, if a person of minimal or limited strength must lift an object which is cumbersome or of substantial weight, it may either be impossible or most difficult to lift the object onto the carrying platform. Indeed, the lifting of any object of any substantial weight or awkward construction by any person may involve a risk of physical injury which may be perilous. Furthermore, most existent carrier devices for the rear end of a vehicle are not readily and completely storable into a compact, unobtrusive device when not it use.
In light of the foregoing state of the art of external vehicle carriers, there is a need for a carrier which is strongly constructed and which will facilitate the lifting of the object onto the carrier; and which carrier can be easily retracted into an unobtrusive and compact storage position when not in use, and thence be readily transformed from this storage position for actual use.


A football throwing system for propelling a football down field to be caught and receiving the football when the football is thrown back includes at least one receiver assembly being positioned on a support surface. The receiver assembly receives footballs. A housing is positioned on the support surface. The housing is coupled to the at least one receiver assembly to receive the footballs from the at least one receiver assembly. A pair of conveyor drives is positioned in the housing. Each of the conveyor drives is orientated along a height of the housing. Each of the conveyor drives engages one of the footballs in the housing and lifts the football towards a top end of the housing. A plurality of wheel assemblies is mounted to the housing. The wheel assemblies receive one of the footballs from the conveyor drives and propel the football down field to be caught.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to football throwing machines and more particularly pertains to a new football throwing machine for propelling a football down field to be caught and also for receiving the football when the football is thrown back.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of football throwing machines is known in the prior art. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a system that has certain improved features that allow for a person to practice receiving a football propelled down field as well as practice throwing a football at a target. Additionally, the system should receive the football thrown by the person and recycle the football into the system to be propelled down field again.


A locking bar may include one or more of the following: at least two tube sections which are telescopically arranged in the longitudinal direction of the locking bar; at least two connection elements which are arranged at respective ends of the locking bar and are configured for being received into a holding element; at least one spring element; and a first bar part and a second bar part that are arranged in a manner in which they are rotatable to one another over an angle about their common longitudinal axis, the first bar part including a first tube section of the at least two tube sections and the second bar part including a second tube section of the at least two tube sections, where the spring element is configured such that it applies a torsion force respectively acting on the first and second bar parts.

locking bars or locking beams are counted as belonging to the state of the art and offered for example by WISTRA GmbH Cargo Control in Selmsdorf under the product description WIS locking bars COMBI-BEAM1811. They typically comprise two bar parts which are arranged in a telescopic manner in the longitudinal direction of the bar and which at their free ends each comprise a connection element which is designed for being received in a holding element. A spring element is arranged between the bar parts and ensures that a force which acts in the direction of the holding element and which arranges the locking bar between the holding elements without play is produced between the connection elements and the holding elements. The holding elements are typically formed in so-called lashing rails which permit the attachment of the locking bars to a multitude of locations in the vehicle.
The arrangement of the connection elements in the holding elements is such that a positive fit between the connection element and the holding element is formed in the direction of loading, which is to say transversely to the locking bar. In order to prevent the connection elements from exiting from the holding elements, a non-positive fit between these components is provided, such a non-positive fit being produced by a spring element which is effective between the bar parts.
However, one disadvantage of existing embodiments is the fact that the clamping force which is necessary for the reliable seating of the connection elements within the holding elements must be overcome when the locking bar is to be inserted, removed or displaced between two holding elements in the loading space. On insertion, the operator must firstly insert the locking bar with a connection element into a holding element and then whilst overcoming the spring force push the bar together to such an extent that the connection element can be arranged on the other side in front of the holding element, into which holding element it then gets after letting go of the locking bar on account of the spring force. Hereby, often very significant forces are to be overcome, so that both hands are necessary, which can be difficult, particularly if the locking bar is to be inserted at a poorly accessible, for example high positions in the loading space.
Against this background, it is the object of certain aspects of the present disclosure to improve a locking bar to such an extent that it is simpler to insert, release and to displace.

Locking bar for arrangement in one load space of a vehicle


A vehicle wheel rim for use on a motor vehicle, having a wheel rim well (1, 29), having an inner wheel rim flange (7, 30) and having an outer wheel rim flange, wherein the wheel rim well (1, 29) is delimited at its axial end regions by in each case one of the wheel rim flanges (7, 30), wherein the wheel rim flanges (7, 30) are formed by a radially encircling wall, said walls extending in each case at a predefinable angle (5, 27) with respect to the wheel rim well (1, 29).

Nowadays, motor vehicles generally make contact with the ground via vehicle wheels. These wheels consist of a wheel rim and of a tire mounted on the wheel rim.
In general, the motive power of the vehicle is transmitted to the ground exclusively via the wheels. The wheels and the tires and hence also the wheel rims are therefore subjected to large forces.
In order to achieve secure seating of the tire on the wheel rim, wheel rims have a wheel rim flange on the inner flank oriented toward the vehicle and a wheel rim flank on the outer flank oriented away from the vehicle, said wheel rim flanges being intended to prevent the tire from slipping sideways off the wheel rim.
In the prior art, configurations of both the outer wheel rim flange and of the inner wheel rim flange which project outward in a radial direction in order to prevent the tire from slipping off sideways are disclosed. DE 195 33 612 A1 discloses this design.
However, the disadvantage here is that radial deflection of the tire is not effectively prevented by this known design, this being attributable to the radial stiffness of the wheel.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


In a mobile communication terminal having a camera rotatively connected thereto, an apparatus and a method for controlling an image is provided. A photographic image generated by the camera can be reoriented so that the image appears inversed as a result of sensing a rotational position of the camera relative to the terminal. A position sensing unit detects a rotational position of a camera; a control unit compares the detected position to a default position and reorients the photographic image if the detected position does not correspond to the default position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for controlling a photographic image according to the rotation of a camera in a mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a mobile communication terminal according to the related art, in which a camera is installed on a hinge.
As shown therein, a related art terminal to which a camera is mounted includes: a main body 10, a first and second folding parts 10 and 11, respectively, a hinge portion 21 that rotatably connects the first and second folding parts 10 and 11, and a camera 35 installed in the hinge portion 21. On the inner surface of the first folding part 10, a plurality of terminal manipulation devices 13, shown here as buttons of a keypad, is installed. On the inner surface of the second folding part, a display screen 23 for displaying images and information is installed.
The hinge portion 21 includes first and second hinge parts 17 and 27, respectively, for coupling the first and second folding parts 10 and 11. The camera 35 is disposed adjacent to the first hinge part 17 along the outer edges of the terminal for ease of manual rotation of the camera. The camera 35 includes a module 36 for photographing a subject and a collar 38 for rotating the camera 35 so as to be able to photograph the subject.
When a still or dynamic image is photographed by the camera 35, a user holds and rotates the collar 38 in order to direct the camera module 36 onto the subject. The user then properly manipulates a one or more the terminal manipulation devices 13 to photograph the subject and reproduce the image on the display screen 23.
The terminal according to the related art generally has an internal default setting such that subjects photographed with the integrated camera appear properly oriented (i.e., right-side up) when the subjects are situated opposite to the display screen 23 (i.e., facing the back of the first folding part 11). However, when the camera is rotated such that the camera 35 is generally directed in the same direction as the display screen 23, the reproduced image created by the camera is inversely reproduced on the display screen 23 with respect to orientation. In other words, the image is inverted so that it appears upside-down. Alternatively, the image may appear upside-down if the camera is oriented in the opposite direction. Consequently, a correcting apparatus is required to allow for proper image reproduction.
As so far described, in the related art, when an image of a subject photographed by a camera mounted to a terminal is inversely displayed on a display unit according to a position of the camera, the user must either rotate the terminal or manipulate specific buttons to correct the orientation of the image. Therefore, an improved solution is needed to correctly display an inverted image reproduced by a rotating camera of a mobile communication terminal.

Image control apparatus and method for mobile communication terminal


A system for gathering data for purposes of analyzing a network. The data is gathered based on values that are passed from node-to-node within processing devices, such as servers, in a network. The values are generated from characteristics obtained from measuring device performance and resource utilization. Values are passed peer-to-peer and successively combined with values at each receiving system so that, ultimately, a value is obtained that reflects the operation of a group of devices. A correlation matrix is maintained to indicate discrepancies in value meanings from different devices. The correlation matrix is used to more accurately combine values to achieve meaningful composite values.

Digital computer networks, such as the Internet, are now used extensively in many aspects of commerce, education, research and entertainment. Because of the need to handle high volumes of traffic, many Internet sites are designed using several groups of server computers. An example of a site network system is shown in FIG. 1A.
In FIG. 1A, network system 10 includes four major tiers. These are communications tier 12, web tier 14, application tier 16 and database tier 18. Each tier represents an interface between a group of server computers or other processing, storage or communication systems. Each interface handles communication between two groups of server computers. Note that the tiers are significant in that they represent the communication protocols, routing, traffic control and other features relating to transfer of information between the groups of server computers. As is known in the art, software and hardware is used to perform the communication function represented by each tier.
Server computers are illustrated by boxes such as 20. Database 22 and Internet 24 are represented symbolically and can contain any number of servers, processing systems or other devices. A server in a group typically communicates with one or more computers in adjacent groups as defined and controlled by the tier between the groups. For example, a request for information (e.g., records from a database) is received from the Internet and is directed to server computer 26 in the Web-Com Servers group. The communication takes place in communications tier 12.
Server computer 26 may require processing by multiple computers in the Application Servers group such as computers 20, 28 and 30. Such a request for processing is transferred over web tier 14. Next, the requested computers in the Application Servers group may invoke computers 32, 34, 36 and 38 in the Database Servers group via application tier 16. Finally, the invoked computers make requests of database 22 via database tier 18. The returned records are propagated back through the tiers and servers to Internet 24 to fulfill the request for information.
Of particular concern in today's large and complex network systems is monitoring the performance of, and optimizing, the system. One way that prior art approaches monitor system performance is to use a process at certain points in the network to report data back to a central location such as console 40. In FIG. 1A, the request for database records can be monitored by having a process at server 26 log the time and nature of the request. A process at server 20 then logs the time at which a request from server 26 is received. Similarly, server 32 (or whichever server receives the database request from server 20) logs its participation in the transaction. This "chain" of logged transactions is illustrated by bold arrows in FIG. 1A.
In this manner, the prior art monitoring system can determine how long it takes for a request for a record to propagate through the network. The transaction can also be tracked in the other direction to determine how long it takes to fulfill the request. The nature of such data logging is complex since a server in one tier, or group, may ask multiple other servers for assistance, or processing. Also, different servers can be asked at different points in time. The speed at which requests, processing and transactions occur can cause large amounts of data to be logged very rapidly. At some later time, the data is transferred to console 40. Console 40 acts to resolve the data and produce meaningful results about system performance that can be analyzed by a human administrator.
A problem with the prior art approach is that the logging processes are segregated and do little, if any, communication with each other. This means that complex dependencies among processes, servers, etc., are not accurately analyzed. The logging processes tend to create high overhead in the host servers in which they execute. One approach uses the console to poll the processes. Frequent polling of many processes also creates excessive overhead. Optimization and performance improvement based on the prior art approach is hampered by the use of disparate platforms and the lack of more encompassing analysis. Having to dump data to the console at intervals, and then have the data resolved, ultimately means that monitoring is not performed in real time.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system that improves upon one or more shortcomings in the prior art.

Aggregate system resource analysis including correlation matrix and metric-based analysis


A contact lens incorporating one or more dynamic stabilization zones fabricated from a material that is readily deformable under eyelid pressure during blinking allows for the control over rotation of the contact lens on the eye. As the material deforms, the angle of contact between the eyelid and the one or more dynamic stabilization zones changes as does the rotational force acting on the contact lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stabilization zones for contact lenses requiring rotational stability, such as toric contact lenses, and more particularly to contact lenses requiring rotational stability and incorporating one or more dynamic stabilization zones that have varying physical properties.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Myopia or nearsightedness is an optical or refractive defect of the eye wherein rays of light from an image focus to a point before they reach the retina. Myopia generally occurs because the eyeball or globe is too long or the dome of the cornea is too steep. A minus powered spherical lens may be utilized to correct myopia. Hyperopia or farsightedness is an optical or refractive defect of the eye wherein rays of light from an image focus to a point after they reach or behind the retina. Hyperopia generally occurs because the eyeball or globe is too short or the dome of the cornea is too flat. A plus powered spherical lens may be utilized to correct hyperopia. Astigmatism is an optical or refractive defect in which an individual's vision is blurred due to the inability of the eye to focus a point object into a focused image on the retina. Unlike myopia and/or hyperopia, astigmatism has nothing do to with globe size or cornea steepness, but rather it is caused by an abnormal curvature of the cornea. A perfect cornea is spherical whereas in an individual with astigmatism, the cornea is not spherical. In other words, the cornea is actually more curved or steeper in one direction than another, thereby causing an image to be stretched out rather than focused to a point. A cylindrical lens rather than a spherical lens may be utilized to resolve astigmatism.
A toric lens is an optical element having two different powers in two orientations that are perpendicular to one another. Essentially, a toric lens has one power, spherical, for correcting myopia or hyperopia and one power, cylinder, for correcting astigmatism built into a single lens. These powers are created with curvatures at different angles which are preferably maintained relative to the eye. Toric lenses may be utilized in eyeglasses, intraocular lenses and contact lenses. The toric lenses used in eyeglasses and intraocular lenses are held fixed relative to the eye thereby always providing optimal vision correction. However, toric contact lenses may tend to rotate on the eye thereby temporarily providing sub-optimal vision correction. Accordingly, toric contact lenses also include a mechanism to keep the contact lens relatively stable on the eye when the wearer blinks or looks around.
It is known that correction of certain optical defects may be accomplished by imparting non-rotationally symmetric corrective characteristics to one or more surfaces of a contact lens such as cylindrical, bifocal, multifocal, wavefront corrective characteristics or decentration of the optical zone. It is also known that certain cosmetic features such as print patterns, markings, and the like are required to be placed in a specific orientation relative to the wearer's eye. The use of contact lenses is problematic in that each contact lens of the pair must be maintained at a specific orientation while on the eye to be effective. When the contact lens is first placed on-eye, it must automatically position, or auto-position, itself and then maintain that position over time. However, once the contact lens is positioned, it tends to rotate on the eye due to the force exerted on the contact lens by the eyelids during blinking as well as eyelid and tear film movement.
Maintenance of the on-eye orientation of a contact lens typically is accomplished by altering the mechanical characteristics of the contact lens. For example, prism stabilization, including decentering of the contact lens' front surface relative to the back surface, thickening of the inferior contact lens periphery, forming depressions or elevations on the contact lens' surface, and truncating the contact lens edge, are all methods that have been utilized.
Additionally, static stabilization has been used in which the contact lens is stabilized by the use of thick and thin zones, or areas in which the thickness of the contact lens' periphery is increased or reduced, as the case may be. Typically, the thick and thin zones are located in the contact lens' periphery with symmetry about the vertical and/or horizontal axes. For example, each of two thick zones may be positioned on either side of the optic zone and centered along the 0-180 degree axis of the contact lens. In another example, a single thick zone positioned at the bottom of the contact lens providing a similar weight effect, like that of prism stabilization, but also incorporating a region of increasing thickness from top to bottom in order to utilize upper eyelid forces to stabilize the contact lens may be designed.
The challenge with static stabilization zones is a tradeoff between contact lens stability and comfort, plus the physical limitations associated with increased thickness. With a static stabilization zone, the slope of the stabilization zone is fixed in the contact lens. Changes to the design to improve rotational speed, such as increasing the surface slope of the stabilization zone, also increases contact lens thickness and may adversely impact comfort. Additionally, the contact lens design has to accomplish two things; namely, to rotate to the proper orientation on insertion, and to maintain that orientation through the wear period. A static design requires tradeoffs in performance between these two modes.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to design a contact lens with dynamic stabilization zones that auto-position the contact lens quickly and hold and/or maintain the desired position for optimal visual acuity regardless of eye movement, blinking and tears.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic stabilization zones for contact lenses


The optical fiber comprises: (a) a core having a refractive index profile and a centerline; and (b) a cladding layer surrounding and directly adjacent the core; wherein core includes updoping material and is doped with F in at least one region of the core, such that either: (a) the average longitudinal acoustic wave velocity within the core is within 0.05% of the longitudinal acoustic wave velocity within the cladding; or (b) the longitudinal acoustic wave velocity at one region of the core is different from the longitudinal velocity at another region of the core by at least 0.2%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high SBS threshold optical fibers.
2. Technical Background
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is a dominant nonlinear penalty in many optical transmission systems. In many systems, it is desirable to transmit large amount of optical power through optical fibers, while maintaining high signal to noise ratio (SNR). However, as the optical signal power launched into an optical fiber increases, the launch power may exceed a certain threshold power (SBS threshold) and part of the optical signal power will then be reflected due to SBS as a backward propagating signal. Thus, due to SBS, a large amount of the signal power can be lost due to reflection back toward the transmitter. In addition, the scattering process increases the noise level at the signal wavelength. The combination of decrease in signal power and increase in the noise both lower the SNR and lead to performance degradation.
At finite temperatures, thermal excitations in glasses occur similarly to that of phonons in crystals, and the interaction of these vibrational modes with low intensity signal light produces spontaneous Brillouin scattering. An intense optical field generates pressure or (acoustic) sound waves through electrostriction due to the beating of intense incident and spontaneous reflected light, giving rise to pressure or acoustic waves. The change in pressure causes material density to change, thereby resulting in refractive index fluctuations. The net result is that an intense electrical field component of the optical wave generates pressure or sound (acoustic) waves which cause material density fluctuations. The acoustic wave changes the refractive index and enhances the reflected light amplitude through Bragg diffraction. Above the SBS threshold level of an optical fiber, the number of stimulated photons is very high, resulting in a strong reflected field which limits the optical power that is transmitted, and which reduces the SNR.

High SBS threshold optical fiber with fluorine dopant


Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that executes transactions on a processor that supports transactional memory. The system starts by executing the transaction on the processor. During execution of the transactions, the system places stores in a store buffer. In addition, the system sets a stores_encountered indicator when a first store is placed in the store buffer during the transaction. Upon completing the transaction, the system determines if the stores_encountered indicator is set. If so, the system signals a cache to commit the stores placed in the store buffer during the transaction to the cache and then resumes execution of program code following the transaction when the stores have been committed. Otherwise, the system resumes execution of program code following the transaction without signaling the cache.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to mechanisms that facilitate transactional memory in computer systems. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to techniques for improving commit latency for transactional memory.
2. Related Art
Some computer systems provide a special mode of execution for critical sections of program code. Generally, a critical section is a special section of the program code that is to be protected against interference from other threads or processors in the computer system. For example, while executing a critical section, the computer system may prevent another thread or processor from accessing cache lines that have been accessed by instructions in the critical section. Depending on the computer system, critical sections can range from single instructions to long, complex sequences of instructions.
In some systems, when executing a critical section, cache lines (or cache structures) accessed by instructions within the critical section are locked to protect the cache lines from interfering access by other threads or processors. Unfortunately, locking cache lines can cause system performance to degrade because other threads or processors that need access to the cache lines must stall, waiting until the execution of the critical section has completed and they can gain access.
To avoid stalling the other threads or processors, computer system designers have proposed executing the critical section as a transaction (i.e., "transactional execution"). When executing a transaction, a processor executes a critical section for a thread, but prevents the results from affecting the architectural state of the system until the entire critical section successfully completes. For example, some systems buffer transactional stores in a store buffer and load-mark and store-mark the cache lines loaded and stored by the transaction. When the transaction successfully completes, the processor atomically commits the results of the transaction for the thread to the architectural state of the system.
In systems that support transactional execution, other threads or processors are permitted limited access to the marked cache lines as the transaction is executing. However, if another thread or processor attempts to perform an interfering access to a marked cache line, the transaction may fail or the system may force the other thread or processor to stall until the transaction is completed.
In an exemplary system, when atomically committing the results of the transaction to the architectural state, the processor signals the L2 cache to lock the store-marked cache lines. The processor then individually commits each buffered store operation to the architectural state of the system (i.e., stores the transactional results in the corresponding cache line in the L2 cache), removes the store-mark from the cache line, and the L2 cache unlocks the cache line. When all the buffered stores have been committed, the processor resumes non-transactional execution for the thread. Committing the transactional results in this way preserves the memory atomicity of the transaction.
Unfortunately, if there were no stores buffered during the transaction, the processor signaling the L2 cache, and the L2 cache searching for the (non-existent) store-marks on cache lines can unnecessarily consume memory system bus bandwidth and cause delay.
Hence, what is needed is a system that does not suffer from the above-described problem.

Method and apparatus for improving transactional memory commit latency


A resilient flexible abrasive article includes a continuous backing layer including a support layer coated with foam, the continuous backing layer having opposed major surfaces, at least one of the major surfaces including a three dimensional surface topography including raised and recessed regions, and wherein the raised and recess regions are at least partially coated with abrasive particles, thereby defining an abrasive surface.

The present invention relates generally to abrasive articles and, more particularly, to a flexible resilient abrasive article having an uneven abrasive surface.
Sheet-like abrasives, such as conventional sandpaper, are commonly used in a variety of sanding operations including hand sanding of wooden surfaces. In hand sanding, the user holds the abrasive article directly in his or her hand, or attaches it to a sanding tool, such as a sanding block, and moves the abrasive article across the work surface. Sanding by hand can, of course, be an arduous task. Conventional sandpaper is typically produced by affixing abrasive mineral to a relatively thin, generally non-extensible, non-resilient, non-porous backing (e.g., paper, film etc.).
Resilient sheet-like abrasive articles are also known in the patented prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,113 (Minick et al.), for example, discloses a flexible abrasive product comprising a flexible sheet-like reinforcing layer comprising a multiplicity of separated resilient bodies connected to each other in a generally planar array in a pattern that provides open spaces between adjacent connected bodies, each body having a first surface and an opposite second surface, and abrasive particles to cause at least the first surface to be an abrasive surface.
It would be desirable to provide a flexible resilient abrasive article that is durable, produces a more uniform scratch pattern, is easy and comfortable to use, has improved cut, and produces finer scratches than a sheet of sandpaper having a comparable grit size.


A lock ring for securing a threaded stud to a first member, the ring having a first surface defining the ring on the side facing a first axis of symmetry of the ring, and in which a toothed impression is formed when it is forced onto a toothed portion of the threaded stud; and a conical second surface defining the ring on the opposite side to the first axis, and which is forced inside the first member.

Connecting a first and second member releasably using threaded studs is known.
The first member may for example be an aluminium or magnesium housing, and the second member a helicopter lubricating oil tank casing.
Threaded studs are known which substantially comprise:                a first thread which screws onto a first nut screw on the housing;        a second thread onto which screws a lock member such as a nut; and        a non-threaded portion between the first and second thread and which fits loosely through a seat in the casing.
The nut is screwed to connect, and unscrewed to disconnect, the housing and the casing.
When screwing and unscrewing the nut, friction between the nut thread and the second thread may also result in undesired rotation of the stud with respect to the housing.
To prevent this from happening, toothed cadmium-plated steel lock washers are employed.
More specifically, the toothed washer is housed inside a seat on the housing, and comprises a first and opposite second toothed surface.
The radially inner first surface of the washer engages teeth on the stud, which are housed inside the seat, are interposed axially between the first thread and the intermediate portion of the stud, and comprise a number of teeth coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the stud.
Because the toothed lock washer is made of steel, i.e. harder material than the aluminium or magnesium the housing is made of, the radially outer second surface of the washer forms teeth on the inner surface of the seat on the housing.
The stud is thus prevented from rotating with respect to the housing by the friction produced between the second surface of the washer and the seat on the housing, and between the first surface of the washer and the stud teeth.
The second surface of the toothed washer cutting into the seat on the housing may produce microcracks.
A need is felt within the industry to minimize the risk of microcracks forming on the housing.
Contact between two dissimilar materials, such as the steel of the toothed washer and the aluminium/magnesium of the housing seat, may also initiate corrosion phenomena.
A need is felt within the industry to minimize the risk of initiating corrosion phenomena.
Finally, to remove the stud, e.g. in the event of damage, the toothed washer must also be removed.
This calls for the use of a production milling machine or, if the stud is also assembled, a special cutter fitted to a hand-drill.
A need is felt within the industry for a simple, low-cost way of removing studs with no need for complex tools.


A linguistic coding system and keyboard therefor for the use of people unable to use their own voices is described. The coding system and associated keyboard are based on the sentence rather than the word, phoneme or letter. The keyboard is coupled to a computer which stores a plurality of plural word messages or sentences in the memory thereof for selective retrieval by the keyboard. The sentences retrieved from the keyboard are fed to a voice synthesizer which converts them through a loud speaker to audible spoken messages The keyboard utilizes polysemic symbols on the respective keys and by designating a selected one of the keys and its associated polysemic symbols a primary message theme key, selected recorded plural messages in the computer memory may be retrieved by actuating a combination of the designated primary message theme key and other keys to vary the context of the polysemic symbols. Thus a plurality of sentences associated with a central theme may be selectively generated as a function of each polysemic symbol in combination with other symbols which modify the theme of the message or sentence.

The present invention relates to a linguistic coding system and keyboard therefor for use by people unable to use their own voices to create either synthetic speech or synthetic printed messages. More specifically, the present invention is related to a synthetic speech or printing device based on the sentence or message rather than the word, phoneme or letter.
Heretofore synthetic speech or typing devices have coding systems based on words, phonemes or letters which are implemented with keyboards with indicia thereon related to the word, phoneme or letter. These systems are very complicated to use because they require an extraordinarily large number of symbols or indicia in order to have the capability to generate entire sentences or plural sentence messages. This extraordinarily large number of keys and symbols makes it difficult to memorize the necessary relationships to generate a sentence and in addition requires an extremely large number of key actuations for a given sentence or message. Thus, not only is it difficult to teach an operator how to use one of these prior devices it takes entirely too long to generate sentences or other plural word messages making these prior art machines unsatisfactory for general use.

System for method for producing synthetic plural word messages