The invention relates to a wireless local loop system comprising base stations and an access network node which connects the cordless terminal equipments (T) to the exchange of the fixed network. The air interface between the cordless terminal equipment and the base station is mainly in accordance with the GSM mobile system. In addition to the base station, the terminal equipment (T) also measures the field strength and quality of the radio channel. There are at least two measurement periods during a multiframe of a traffic channel (TCH), and the terminal equipment transmits the measurement results of the first measurement period on a single burst in a time slot of a slow associated control channel (SACCH) and the measurement results of the second measurement period in a single burst in a time slot of an IDLE FRAME. There are at least two transmissions of control information during the multiframe, and the base station transmits the first control information in a single burst in a time slot of the SACCH and the second control information in a single burst in a time slot of the IDLE frame. In this manner the measurement period can be made shorter than the frequency of the Rayleigh fading.

The invention relates to a wireless local loop system comprising base stations and an access network node which connects the cordless terminal equipments to the exchange of the fixed network. The system especially comprises an air interface between the cordless terminal equipment and the base station, the interface being mainly in accordance with the GSM mobile system, wherein a multiframe of a traffic channel TCH consists of 26 TDMA frames, at least one of which is a frame of a slow associated control channel (SACCH) in the time slot of which the terminal equipment (T) transmits measurement information to the base station and the base station (BS) transmits control information to the terminal equipment, and one frame is an IDLE frame.
When a telephone network is being built, the installation of the subscriber lines between the exchange and the subscriber equipments is not only considerably expensive but also requires a great deal of time. Usually the network of subscriber lines is formed in such a way that twin cables beginning in several subscriber equipments are supplied to a distribution frame, and cables originating in several crossbar switches are combined in another distribution frame the cable of which is supplied to the exchange. The signalling interface between the exchange and the subscriber lines is standardized, and it is either an interface of two-wire analogous subscriber lines, a multiplexer interface according to Recommendation V2 of the CCITT, or a message-based multiplexer interface according to Recommendation V5.1 of the ETSI. Altering fixed subscriber lines is troublesome, and maintenance costs especially in areas where the subscriber lines are overhead lines can be considerable. A solution to these problems is replacing the fixed lines between the exchange and the subscriber equipments with radio lines. The solution is known as a wireless local loop (WLL) system.
The principle of the WLL system is shown in FIG. 1. A wireless stationary terminal equipment T comprises a radio unit 4 provided with an antenna, and a telephone adapter that connects a standard subscriber equipment 5 to the terminal equipment. The subscriber equipment may be a normal telephone set, a telefax terminal, or a modem. It is attached to the terminal equipment by inserting a standard plug in the adapter connection of the terminal equipment. The user utilizes the subscriber equipment 5 in the same way as in a conventional fixed network, even though the subscriber line connection consists of a radio line between the terminal equipment T and the base station BS 2 or 3. The base station may serve several subscriber equipments. The base station is connected to a special access network node 1, which in turn is connected to a standard exchange. Several base stations may be connected to one access network node 1.
The WLL system may be built by using components of an existing mobile phone system. The mobile system may be for example an analogous NMT system or a digital GSM system. In such a case, the signalling of the WLL system is in accordance with the system concerned, the base stations are standard base stations of this system, and the radio unit of the terminal equipment is similar to the radio unit of the mobile station or the terminal equipment may be a mobile station in a mobile system. An important component in the WLL system is the access network node that connects the subscribers to the standard local exchange. The access network node converts the WLL network signalling, for example NMT or GSM signalling, into signalling suitable for the fixed network (e.g. PSTN), and correspondingly it adapts the signalling of the fixed network to the WLL network interface.
The network node is connected to the local exchange with an open V2- or V5.1-type multiplexer interface that utilizes a 2 Mbit/s PCM system. If the local exchange only supports the two-wire interface, the network node is connected to the exchange by converting the V2 signalling into an analogous two-wire subscriber loop interface by means of a multiplexer. The signalling between the network node and the base stations connected thereto is the signalling of an adapted mobile network, but it is modified in such a way that the functions, such as cell handover and roaming, typical of the cellular network are prevented. Therefore, the subscriber must remain within the coverage area of the base station assigned to it. The routing of an incoming call and an outgoing call is based on the subscriber database of the network node. The operation of the network node corresponds to the operation of a concentrator: a call is forwarded from a subscriber interface to the exchange, and the analysis of the numbers, calculation and other functions are performed in the exchange.
According to what is described above, a WLL network may be based on a known GSM system. The GSM is a digital cellular system based on time division multiple access. The channels of the system will be described below.
Logic channels are divided into traffic channels TCH that transmit speech and data, and into control channels that forward signalling and synchronization data. Traffic channels include a full rate traffic channel TCH/F and a half rate traffic channel TCH/H. The full rate traffic channel is always allocated together with a slow associated control channel SACCH. Therefore one carrier wave can be used to form eight TACH/F channels when all the time slots of the TDMA frame are allocated to traffic channels.
The TCH/F+SACCH/TF multiframe shown in FIG. 2 comprises 26 successive frames, in which the TCH/F cycle of 26 time slots comprises 24 time slots in which the TCH/F burst is transmitted, one time slot in which the SACCH burst is transmitted, and one time slot, IDLE, in which no transmission occurs. According to the figure, the SACCH burst is transmitted in the time slot of frame 12, and no transmission occurs in the time slot of frame 25 IDLE.
A mobile station utilizes the SACCH for forwarding different measurement results to the base station. The base station transmits commands related to power control and timing advance to the mobile station on the control channel. Further, the base station transmits general network information, so-called system.sub.-- infos 5 and 6. This information contains a list of frequencies of neighbouring cells to be monitored, the base station identity code BSIC, the BCCH frequency data, parameters relating to interference control of the radio line, etc. The information is also transmitted on the broadcast control channel (BCCH). The SACCH message contains a so-called Layer 1 Header wherein the timing advance and power control commands are transmitted in the downlink direction, and acknowledgment of the aforementioned commands is forwarded in the uplink direction.
The mobile station and the base station must measure the power of the signal they have received, and the mobile station must also measure the power of the BCCH carrier of the neighbouring base stations. The quality of the received signal is also measured by calculating the bit error ratio. The mobile station must report the results of the measurement to its own base station. It reports them on the aforementioned SACCH. According to the GSM recommendation, the measurement results must be reported at least once a second. This means that the cycle of measurement and reporting contains four multiframes, 480 ms in time, during which the measurements are performed, and another four multiframes, 480 ms in time, during which the measurement results are transmitted. If the SACCH is only utilized for reporting, the mobile station can report the measurement results twice a second. The measurement and reporting cycle contains four multiframes, wherefore the results are transmitted every 480 ms. The mobile station manages to perform the decoding of the BCCH signal of the neighbouring cells only during the time slot of the last, i.e. idle, frame in the multiframe (FIG. 2).
The base station uses the measurement results for controlling both the power of its own transmitter and the power of the mobile station, for providing the mobile station with the timing advance, and for handover purposes. The purpose of power control both in the uplink and downlink direction is, firstly, to improve the efficiency of the frequency spectrum by decreasing the power of the transmitters as much as possible during the connection while maintaining a good connection quality, and secondly, to increase the battery life of the mobile station.
In a mobile system, obstacles over the radio path result in the arrival of several reflected signals at the receiver, causing thus changes in the amplitude. This phenomenon is known as Rayleigh fading, since the amplitude of the sum of several signals with a random distribution of phases is Rayleigh-distributed. Due to the Rayleigh fading, an additional margin is required at the level of the transmission since the power control of the transmitter cannot follow rapid changes in the signal level.
The additional power that is required for compensating for the Rayleigh fading and that is added to the transmissions of both the mobile station and the base station is problematic, since the interference increases disturbance in the reception of the other users, thus decreasing the network capacity. The additional transmit power also decreases the battery life of the mobile station. The aforementioned problems concern both the GSM system and the WLL system based thereon.

Radio system for cordless subscriber line interface


An image forming device is disclosed which collects sounds in the vicinity of the image forming device, and then determines the characteristics of the collected sounds. The image forming device will then select an operation mode based upon the characteristics of the collected sounds, and will generate notification sounds and operate in accordance with the selected operation mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device such as a copying machine, a digital multi-functional device, a printer, and the like.
2. Background Information
Image forming devices such as copying machines, digital multi-functional devices, printers, and the like are now widely used in offices. When these types of image forming devices perform tasks such as copying original documents and printing data received by facsimile, noises will be generated thereby such as the sound of the transfer drum rotating and the sound of paper being transported, printed and discharged.
Because of that, it will be difficult to hear another person's voice over the telephone or during a face-to-face conversation if, for example, these conversations occur in the vicinity of an image forming device performing these types of operations.
In response to this problem, image forming devices that, for example, are able to somewhat prevent this noise from being generated, or that have high soundproofing capabilities so that noise generated during copying and printing will not leak out of the device, have recently been developed (see, for example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. H06-194885).
However, it is difficult to completely prevent the aforementioned noise from being generated, and also difficult to completely prevent this noise from leaking out of the image forming device. In addition, the cost of the image forming device will increase if a configuration that improves the soundproofing capabilities thereof or suppresses the generation of noise therein is adopted.
In addition, sounds generated by the image forming device not only include the noise generated during printing, but also include, for example, notification sounds that inform a user that the operation keys displayed on the operation panel of the image forming device have been pressed, a notification sound that indicates receipt of facsimile by the image forming device, a notification sound that indicates that printing is completed, a notification sound that warns a user of the existence of a problem such as a lack of paper, and the like. Because these sounds are not very loud, there is almost no difficulty for a person to speak to someone over the telephone or in person while in the vicinity of the image forming device. However, there are times in which these notification sounds will be drowned out by the background noise of the office because they are not loud enough. Thus, when background noise is being generated in the office, there will be times when, for example, the user will not be able to recognize that an operation key has been pushed, will not notice that data has been received by facsimile, or will not notice that the device has run out of paper.

Image forming device operatively configurable in accordance with aural conditions in the vicinity thereof


A receiver and channelizer for processing a wideband signal is disclosed. The channelizer consists of a receiver for receiving a wideband signal. The received wideband signal is processed by a subsampled DFT-channelizer to extract a selected number of regularly spaced channels from a plurality of channels within the received wideband signal. These extracted regularly spaced channels are then output for further processing by a receiver.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wideband channelization techniques, and more particularly, to a method for using subsampled discrete fourier transform filter banks to channelize wideband signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Radio receivers requiring simultaneous reception of multiple radio channels require the extraction of a number of radio channels from a wideband signal. Such receivers may include macro base stations, micro base stations, pico base stations and others. These types of receivers typically operate according to a frequency reuse plan that effectively restricts each base station to a regularly spaced subset of all available channels.
In one prior art implementation, individual radio channels are extracted from a wideband signal utilizing a DFT (discrete fourier transform) filter bank. The problem with existing DFT-channelizers is that they extract every channel from the wideband radio signal. This requires a great deal of arithmetic operations by the channelizer and increases the cost/complexity of the receiver. Since each base station is only utilizing a regularly spaced subset of all available channels. Accordingly, a more efficient, less complex method for extracting radio channels from a wideband signal is desired.

Wideband channelization using subsampled discrete fourier transforms


A shopping cart tray includes a trapezoidal bottom plate, a front plate, a rear plate, and right and left side plates. The trapezoidal bottom plate is configured to fit in a loading space of a shopping cart. The front plate extends from a front side of the trapezoidal bottom plate. The rear plate extends from a rear side of the trapezoidal bottom plate. The right side plate extends from a right side of the trapezoidal bottom plate. The left side plate extends from a left side of the trapezoidal bottom plate. The shopping cart tray fits into the shopping cart and maximize a usage of the loading space. The dimension of the trapezoidal bottom plate is slightly smaller than a dimension of the loading space of the shopping cart.

The present invention relates to a shopping cart tray. More particularly, this invention relates to a shopping cart tray, which maximize the usage of space of a shopping cart tray.
As the concerns of environment grow in the community, some plastic wastes from shopping have become a big problem. Therefore, many innovations have been suggested for a while already.
Accordingly, a need for a shopping cart tray has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.


Removing a gun or other weapon from a holster may inevitably require police backup to secure officer safety. One example device may include a weapon securing holster and a wireless presence detection antenna which receives wireless proximity data from a weapon drawn from the holster. Other features may include a sensor which detects a presence of the weapon and a processor which processes sensor data generated by the at least one sensor and radio frequency signals identifying a proximity of the weapon to the wireless presence detection antenna.

Conventionally, peace or "police" officers are exposed to violent threats more than any other segment of the domestic population. Many times the situations escalate to a "use of force" before an officer has time to call for backup (i.e., another squad car, another officer, etc.). Sometimes the act of manually picking up a radio or other communication device and calling for backup escalates a situation. Also, the process requires at least one hand and an estimated number of seconds to perform such an act. An automated system that can silently report the location of an officer and inform dispatch (backup) when he or she performs such dangerous activities, including but not limited to releasing the retention on the pepper spray, baton, and/or firearm holster, draws his or her weapon, fires his or her weapon, or falls to the ground in the line of duty, etc., could save an officer's life. Furthermore, such a configuration should call for backup if the weapon leaves the officer's immediate surroundings, and the officer should also be able to use verbal prompts, gestures, etc. to trigger for backup as well.

Automated firearm security measures to contact assistance


The process described requires the formation of floating-gate non-volatile memory cells entirely similar in structure to those produced by known processes. The process comprises an annealing treatment at relatively low temperature (430.degree. C.) to repair damage due to plasma treatments. To obtain threshold voltage values for the cells close to the theoretical values, especially for cells with particularly extended interconnections, the cells are subjected to ultraviolet radiation before the annealing treatment, in order to neutralize any electrical charges present in the floating-gate electrodes of the cells.

It is known that in certain manufacturing processes, treatments of silicon wafers, in which electronic devices are formed, generate electrical potentials on the wafer which may damage the active dielectrics of the electronic components being manufactured. In particular, the thin layers of silicon dioxide which form the gate dielectrics of MOS field-effect transistors and the gate dielectrics of cells of programmable non-volatile memories, for example, EPROM, EEPROM and "flash" memories, may be damaged. This may result in the production of electronic components whose electrical characteristics are degraded with respect to those theoretically obtainable. The treatments most responsible for this damage are those which require the use of plasmas for dry etching or for certain operations of chemical deposition from the vapor phase (plasma enhanced CVD).
To repair such damage, a known method of using high-temperature annealing treatments has been used. However, it is not always possible to use sufficiently high temperatures to ensure the restoration of the properties of the dielectrics. Indeed, in practically all processes, it is necessary to form on the substrate at least one layer of material which sets a maximum limit to the temperatures which can be used in the subsequent operations. A case in point is that of the layers of aluminum required to form interconnecting paths on one or more levels; these impose a temperature limit of approximately 450.degree. C.
It is also known that certain annealing treatments are sufficiently effective, even at relatively low temperatures. For example, certain defects of the dielectrics of MOS devices at the interface with the substrate can be largely eliminated by heating to 400.degree.-450.degree. C. in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere. The defects in question are those caused by silicon atoms which have a free bond at the interface with the dielectric and therefore tend to trap electrons. This causes a change in the theoretical electrical characteristics of the devices, for example, an increase in the threshold voltage of MOS transistors with respect to the design value. With the aforesaid treatment, within the stated temperature range the hydrogen reacts with the silicon atoms with a free bond to saturate the states at the interface between dielectric and silicon and impede the trapping of electrons.
It has been found that this annealing treatment, although effective in MOS transistors, enabling threshold voltage values very close to the theoretical values to be obtained does not have the same effect on floating-gate non-volatile memory cells, although these are structurally and functionally similar to MOS transistors, particularly in cells whose control gate electrodes are connected to particularly long connecting paths. Indeed, if the threshold voltage of a memory cell is measured after the annealing treatment described above and after an appropriate erasure treatment by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which has the purpose of rebalancing any excess charges in the floating-gate electrode caused by the manufacturing process, values higher than those expected according to the design parameters are found. These results have been documented, for example, in the article by H. Fang et al., in International Electronic Device Meeting, 1994, page 467.
Therefore, what is needed is an improvement to the manufacturing process of a floating-gate non-volatile memory with memory cells to avoid the aforementioned prior art problems so that the memory cells may have threshold voltage values equal, or at least very close, to the theoretical values.

Process for the repair of floating-gate non-volatile memories damaged by plasma treatment


Provided is a process for preparing quinolonecarboxylate derivatives under a mild condition in high yield, so as to be favorably applied to a large-scale mass production thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing quinolonecarboxylate derivatives, which are useful as an intermediate for the preparation of quinolone anti-bacterial agents.
2. Description of the Related Art
Quinolonecarboxylate derivatives are useful as an intermediate for the preparation of various quinolone anti-bacterial agents, including sparfloxacin, gemifloxacin, trovafloxacin, ciprofloxacin, temafloxacin, fleroxacin, and levofloxacin.
Conventional processes for preparing quinolonecarboxylate derivatives includes a quinoline-ring forming step (i.e., cyclization step), which is performed in the presence of a base such as potassium carbonate or sodium hydride (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,886; J. Med. Chem., 1989, 32,1313–1318; WO 00/50428; U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,751; JP Publication No. 89/100165; U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,000; J. Med. Chem., 1986, 29, 2363–2369; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,253).
Potassium carbonate is commercially available in form of granules. However, when granular potassium carbonate is used in a reaction for cyclizing a quinoline-ring, the reaction cannot be completed and the yield is very low, about 20˜30%. Therefore, in order to complete the reaction, granular forms of potassium carbonate need to be reduced to powder, which requires an additional process, excess amounts of potassium carbonate (about 3–5 eq.), and/or equipment for grinding the granules in a reactor. Further, when a reaction is performed in high temperature using potassium carbonate, carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is produced, which makes the process dangerous. Accordingly, potassium carbonate has difficulties to be applied to an industrial-scale mass production.
Meanwhile, sodium hydride is very sensitive to water, which makes the reaction violent and dangerous (e.g., a possibility of explosion). Further, the yield thereof shows very high variation, about from 50 to 90%, so that it is also difficult to be applied to an industrial-scale mass production.

Processes for preparing quinolonecarboxylate derivatives


Disclosed is a sonobuoy that houses at least one unmanned vehicle that may be launched from the sonobuoy. The sonobuoy may include a canister, a parachute, an unmanned vehicle, and a launch mechanism. The parachute may be disposed within an interior cavity of the canister proximate to a first end of the canister. The unmanned vehicle may be disposed within the interior cavity of the canister proximate to a second end of the canister. The launch mechanism may be disposed within the interior cavity of the canister and operatively coupled to the unmanned vehicle. The launch mechanism may be configured to launch the unmanned vehicle from the canister. The sonobuoy may further include a launch deployment mechanism that may be configured to orient the canister with respect to a surface after the sonobuoy impacts the surface in order to facilitate the launch of the unmanned vehicle.

Sonobuoys are relatively small buoys (i.e., floating devices) typically equipped with expendable sonar systems that are dropped or ejected from aircraft or ships for the purpose of conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research. Typically, sonobuoys are stored, transported, and launched from an aircraft manually, pyrotechnically, pneumatically or by gravity. In some configurations, sonobuoys are launched using a sonobuoy launching container (hereinafter "SLC").
Over time, offensive and defensive capabilities of adversarial countries have increased. Often, Anti Access/Area Denial (hereinafter "A2/AD") weapon systems are deployed, where A2/AD weapon systems are devices or strategies used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land, sea, or air. A2/AD situations typically require staging military resources, where operations often require high value electronic warfare platforms to be scrambled in advance of primary mission resources. Electronic warfare platforms typically require coordinated and close proximity ventures to protect the primary resources of an operation, which makes mission planning challenging and puts high value resources at risk. For example, even though unmanned vehicle technology has been developed to conduct electronic warfare operations, high value assets are typically utilized to deliver the unmanned vehicles to a target area so that the unmanned vehicles may conduct electronic warfare to protect incoming vehicles from adversary A2/AD weapon systems.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a sonobuoy that is configured to house one or more unmanned vehicles (e.g., ground, aerial, underwater, etc.) as a payload so that the sonobuoys, and ultimately their payload (i.e., unmanned vehicles), may be staged in advance, in both time and location, of an operation. Furthermore, it would be desirable for these sonobuoys to be capable of resting on or below a surface (e.g., land or water), and be available to remotely launch unmanned vehicles at a time of need so that the unmanned vehicles may conduct electronic warfare. This would allow staged sonobuoys to launch one or more unmanned vehicles that are capable of traveling ahead of the primary resources of a mission and provide required functionality, either autonomously or via remote control, for conducting electronic warfare against A2/AD weapon systems.


In a hardness tester according to the present invention, an indentor is urged by an indentor spring and moves against the indentor spring when pressed against an object part of a living body. The indentor is inserted in a sleeve which is urged by a sub spring weaker than the indentor spring and moves against the sub spring when pressed against the part of the living body. A converter converts an amount of movement of the indentor into an electrical signal. A trigger generates a trigger signal when the sleeve has moved by a predetermined amount. A control unit carries out a process when receiving the trigger signal, the process including steps of: receiving the digital signal from the converter; displaying the amount of movement of the indentor on a display; storing the amount in a memory unit; calculating a difference in hardness of the part of the living body between a relaxed condition and a strained condition; and displaying the difference on the display.

One such conventional hardness tester, which was proposed by the inventor of the present invention, is disclosed in the Publication of the Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3,028,586. The configuration and operation of the hardness tester is as follows.
Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the hardness tester includes a first unit 53 and a second unit 56. The first unit 53 has a main leg 52, which is urged downward by a compression spring 51 and moves upward against the compression spring 51 when pressed against an object part of a living body (e.g. a living tissue), and a display unit 62, which digitally displays an amount of displacement of the main leg 52. The second unit 56 has a pair of side legs 55, 55 provided on both sides of the main leg 52. The side legs 55, 55 are urged downward by tension springs 54, 54 weaker than the compression spring 51 and move upward against the tension springs 54, 54 when pressed against the object part. The second unit 56 further includes a retaining mechanism 50 for retaining the amount of displacement displayed by the display unit 62 at the moment the side legs 55, 55 have moved by a predetermined amount.
In the retaining mechanism 50, a module plate 41 with a rubber plate 42 fixed on its back is mounted on the top of the main leg 52, and is guided by a pair of guide rails 63 to slide vertically. A slider 58 which slides vertically on a pair of guide poles 57, 57 is mounted on the top of the pair of side legs 55, 55. A notched step part 43 having a reversed-U shape is formed in the slider 58 in opposition to the rubber plate 42. The notched step part 43 has a notch 44 formed at the center of the slider 58 and a pair of steps 45 formed on both sides of the notch 44 at the back of the slider 58, where each step 45 has a sloped face 59 at its lower end. A stopper pin 48 having a serrated face 46 at its front end and a cross pin 47 in its body, is urged by a compression spring 49 toward the rubber plate 42 so that the front end is posed in the notch 44 of the notched step part 43 and the cross pin 47 contacts with the step 45 at both sides.
In the above-described hardness tester, when the main leg 52 and the two side legs 55, 55 are pressed against the object part, the legs move upward against the springs. Here, the movement of the slider 58 is larger than that of the module plate 41 since the tension springs 54, 54 for the side legs 55, 55 are weaker than the compression spring 51 for the main leg 52.
When the slider 58 ascends to a preset height, the cross pin 47 of the stopper pin 48 is displaced off the steps 45 of the notched step part 43. At this moment, the stopper pin 48 is activated by the compression spring 49 to plunge forward, as shown in FIG. 10, so that the pin 48 presses the rubber plate 42 at the back of the module plate 41 with its front end. Thus, the module plate 41 is held under compression against a scale 60.
In the above state, the module plate 41 is securely fixed at the position since the serrated face 46 provided at the front end of the stopper pin 48 embeds itself into the rubber plate 42. The hardness of the object part in contact with the main leg 52 is digitally displayed by the display unit 62. In this state, the stopper pin 48 is pressed against the rubber plate 42 not only by the compression spring 49 but also by the tension springs 54, 54 since the cross pin 47 is pressed forward by the sloped faces 59 of the lower front ends of the steps 45 activated by the tension springs 54, 54.
When the knob 64 at the back of the casing is pulled against the compression spring 49, the serrated face 46 at the front end of the stopper pin 48 releases the rubber plate 42, so that the main leg 52 is activated by the compression spring 51 to return to its original position automatically and the digital display of the display unit 62 is also reset.
The above-described hardness tester of the Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3,028,586, however, is accompanied by some problems as follow.
(1) Since the cross pin 47 of the stopper pin 48 is pressed against the slider 58 by the compression spring 49 (as shown in FIG. 10), the slider 58 encounters frictional resistance during the ascent so that the stress in the compression spring 51 for the main leg 52 is larger than theoretically estimated. Thus, the hardness of the object part cannot be measured accurately.
(2) After the hardness tester has been in use for a long time, the effective grip by the serrated face 46 on the surface of the rubber plate 42 by the stopper pin 48 becomes more difficult due to frequent abrasion. In this case, the main leg 52 is pushed back by the compression spring 51 even when the module plate 41 is clamped between the scale 60 and the stopper pin 48.
(3) The pressure mechanism for stopping the module plate 41 utilizes the stress of the compression spring 49. This requires such a large number of parts that errors may easily occur in assembling, which lowers the reliability of the measurement by the hardness tester. Furthermore, the hardness tester including many parts is not easy to operate.
(4) The main leg 52 and the side legs 55, 55 are each separated by a considerably large distance. Therefore, when the hardness of an uneven part of a living body or a part with a small radius of curvature is measured, a measurement error is inevitable.
Publication No. S51-84684 of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application discloses another hardness tester including a cylindrical guard ring which is located by sliding onto the side of an indenting rod provided in the center of the lower part of the hardness tester. The configuration of this hardness tester, however, is very complicated since it utilizes a strain gauge, hall element, photoelectric element, or differential transformer to build up a system for detecting the displacement of the indenting rod electrically.
In addition, any of the conventional hardness testers has only one detection rod (penetrator, indentor, feeler, etc.). Therefore, during a measurement using the conventional hardness tester, the rod may easily tilt, resulting in an incorrect measurement result.
In measuring the hardness of a part of a living body, particularly, the measurement result easily changes even by a small displacement of the measurement point or by a small tilt of the detection rod. Therefore, when a hardness tester with a single detection rod is used to measure the hardness of an object point, it is necessary to measure the hardness of a plurality of points around the object point and take the average of the hardness at the points to obtain a reliable measurement result.


Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) targeting one or more specific epitopes of aspartyl (asparaginyl) β-hydroxylase (ASPH), including humanized, bi-specific and other chimeric MAb variants, and fragments thereof (collectively ASPH epitope-specific MAbs, or simply ASPH MAbs), are disclosed. Methods of production, purification, and use of the ASPH epitope-specific MAbs, and compositions comprising them, as agents in therapeutic and diagnostic applications to interact with target molecules in cell-free samples, cell- and tissue-based assays, animal models, and in a subject are also disclosed. Other aspects of the invention relate to use of the molecules disclosed herein to diagnose, ameliorate, or treat cell proliferation disorders and related diseases.

Aspartyl(asparaginyl)-β-hydroxylase (ASPH) is an iron-dependent dioxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of β carbons of aspartic acid and asparagine residues in calcium binding Epidermal Growth Factor (cbEGF)-like domains of a variety of proteins, including Notch and Notch ligand homologs (Dinchuk, Focht et al. 2002) extracellular matrix proteins, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. ASPH was first observed to be involved in the hydroxylation of a specific aspartic acid residue in the blood coagulation cascade proteins (Drakenberg, Fernlund et al. 1983) where the hydroxylated residue is underlined in the consensus sequence CX[D/N]X4[Y/F]XC. The role of hydroxylated residue is presently unknown, but the sole known crystal structure with a beta-hydroxylated asparagine (PDB ID 5JZZ: McDonough, M. A., Pfeffer, I., and Munzel (2016) Aspartyl/Asparaginyl beta-hydroxylase (AspH)oxygenase and TPR domains in complex with manganese, N-oxalylglycine and cyclic peptide substrate mimic of factor X. DOI: 10.2210/pdb5JZZ/pdb).
ASPH is generally classified as a peptide-aspartate beta-dioxygenase (EC 220.127.116.11), a member of the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylases superfamily, which catalyzes the following chemical reaction, facilitated by iron as a cofactor.peptide-L-aspartate+2-oxoglutarate+O2peptide-3-hydroxy-L-aspartate+succinate+CO2  (Reaction 1)
ASPH is not normally expressed in adult cells (Lavaissiere, Jia et al. 1996), but is expressed during invasion of the uterine wall by trophoblasts during development of the placenta (Gundogan, Elwood et al. 2007). ASPH is overexpressed in a variety of tumors, including hepatocellular, cholangiocarcinoma, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma multiform, osteosarcoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer (Yang, Song et al. 2010), and enhances signaling in the Notch pathway (Cantarini, de la Monte et al. 2006).
FIG. 1 sets forth an illustration showing the Activation of Notch Signaling Pathway by ASPH. FIGS. 2 and 3 set forth illustrations showing the Locations of Epitopes of Interest on ASPH.
Known and computationally predicted ASPH substrates are illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. Prediction of ASPH substrates is based upon the protein possessing A) a cbEGF domain and B) the consensus sequence CX[D/N]X4[Y/F]XC. Of particular interest are nearly all of the Notch signaling proteins, not only including the receptors Notch1-4, but many of the known ligands such as Jagged1&2 and D∥1&4, but also known Notch pathway modulator human homologues of Crumbs from Drosophila. ASPH is known to hydroxylate lipid receptor proteins, including Lrp1. Lrp1 is known to have an interaction with Wnt5a of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway (El Asmar, Terrand et al. 2016). ASPH substrate Gas6 is the ligand of the Tyro3, Axel and Mer (TAM) kinases, which have been implicated in cancer (Wu, Ma et al. 2018). Known ASPH substrates including the fibrillins are involved in the release of TGF-beta, which is implicated in cancer (Furler, Nixon et al. 2018). In addition to cancer, ASPH hydroxylated substrates are found in nearly all of the blood coagulation proteins involved in thrombosis (see panel C in FIG. 4), and many of the proteins involved in lipid uptake including LDLR, VLDLR and Lrp1 (see panel B in FIG. 4) and cholesterol homeostasis. Thus, ASPH expression is expected to have a cascade of effects, but may have particular value in the treatment of cancer, as well as thrombosis and lipid/cholesterol associated cardiovascular diseases.
ASPH is known to contain multiple phosphorylation sites (Tong, Gao et al. 2013), including T748. Phosphorylation of ASPH is known to alter the expression and function of ASPH (Borgas, Gao et al. 2015), and plays a potential role in migration and tissue invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (Borgas, Gao et al. 2015). Antibodies selective for ASPH phosphorylation state should be useful in the diagnosis of cancer and distinguishing normally expressed ASPH from tumor expressed ASPH.
Previously designed antibodies to ASPH did not result in direct suppression of tumor cell proliferation (Yeung, Finney et al. 2007). Despite the high affinity of these antibodies, the targeted epitope did not sufficiently disrupt catalytic activity of ASPH. Consequently, while the antibodies were internalized into the cancer cells expressing ASPH, there was no direct antibody activity leading to cellular senescence or cytotoxicity. To address this issue, radioisotopes have been conjugated to previously described high affinity ASPH antibodies, leading to modest activity (Revskaya, Jiang et al. 2017). Other previous anti-ASPH strategies include small molecule inhibitors of ASPH (Aihara, Huang et al. 2014), a dendritic cell approach (Noda, Shimoda et al. 2012), and a vaccine approach (Iwagami, Casulli et al. 2017).
This application describes the epitope selection for phospho-selective ASPH antibodies, as well as antibodies for ASPH catalytic activity inhibition, including epitopes on both the catalytic and non-catalytic domains, demonstration of high affinity for ASPH, strong IHC staining of cancerous but not normal tissue, and direct activity against cancer cells.

Monoclonal antibodies targeting epitopes of ASPH


In one aspect, the invention is a far-field power extraction circuit which includes an integrated antenna and impedance matching portion and a rectifier portion. The antenna and impedance matching portion includes an antenna configured to be responsive to a propagating electromagnetic signal and which provides a resonant response at a resonant frequency. In response to the electromagnetic signal, the antenna provides an electromagnetic output signal at an antenna port. The antenna and impedance matching portion is configured to match an antenna impedance with a remainder of the far-field power extraction circuit including the rectifier portion of the power extraction circuit coupled to the antenna and impedance matching portion. The rectifier is configured to rectify the electromagnetic output signal provided by the antenna to produce a direct current (DC) voltage at an output of the rectifier.

Devising efficient methods for extracting direct current (DC) power from electromagnetic radiation has become an important necessity for a number of applications involving self-powered devices, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and bionic implants. The operating range of such self-powered devices has been severely limited by the failure of existing power extraction techniques to successfully extract power from radio frequency (RF) signals having relatively low power levels. The problem of extracting DC power from electromagnetic radiation has two basic parts: collecting the incident radiated power, and then converting the collected power to DC signals which are usable by the self-powered devices.
Converting RF energy from RF signals at different frequencies to DC power is a relatively difficult problem particularly when the RF signals have relatively low power levels. Fundamentally, this problem arises because frequency conversion is generally a nonlinear operation, (i.e., it is necessary to operate in the non-linear region of a non-linear device). Practical systems, however, operate at relatively low RF power levels which results in operation in the linear region of non-linear devices. In addition, nonlinear devices normally used for rectification have exponential nonlinearities with relatively large "dead zones" near the origin, i.e., nonlinear devices can be non-responsive in response to signals having voltage and current levels which are close to zero. Severe constraints can also be imposed when it is desirable to provide a self-powered device which is relatively inexpensive and environmentally robust. Such cost and environmental limitations preclude the use of exotic devices and structures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

RF power extracting circuit and related techniques


Power train for a motor vehicle, having an engine with a driven shaft which has a crankshaft axle which is located longitudinally to the direction of travel and which is connected to a starting unit, a preliminary gear stage with an input shaft and an output shaft, the input shaft of the preliminary gear stage being connected to the starting unit and the output shaft of the preliminary gear stage having a lateral offset to the crankshaft axle, a variator which is preferably made as a disk variator with two adjustable disk sets for the continuous transmission of torque, and for which the input-side disk set is connected to the output shaft of the preliminary gear stage, while the output-side disk set is located laterally offset, a subsequent gear stage which has an input shaft and an output shaft and which is located on the same side of the variator as the preliminary gear stage, the input shaft of the subsequent gear stage being connected to the output-side disk set of the variator, and a first differential with a lateral driven shaft which is located transversely to the direction of travel and between the engine and the starting unit, and forms a first drive axle, the first differential being connected to the output shaft of the subsequent gear stage.

DE 10238664 A1 discloses a drive assembly with a starting element which is connected on the input side to the driven side of a vehicle, which forms a crankshaft axle and is connected on the output side to a speed changing gear. The output shaft of the speed changing gear is located on the same side as the input shaft and runs essentially parallel to it. By way of a subsequent gear stage a lateral offset is achieved so that the output shaft has a greater distance to the crankshaft axle than the input shaft. A front axle differential whose driven shaft runs between the engine and starting element is connected to the output shaft of the subsequent gear stage.
The disadvantage is that a gear for continuously variable transmission of torque in a variator design cannot be connected to this drive assembly, since, for design reasons, a very large amount of installation space is lost in this way. Furthermore, it is not possible to provide this drive assembly with a variator and at the same time to implement a center arrangement on the longitudinal axis of Another disadvantage is that no means are included which allow the rpm on the input shaft of the speed change gear to be changed such that it can be operated as efficiently and carefully as possible.
DE 10212790 A1 shows a speed change gear with an engine on whose driven side, which forms a crankshaft axle, two starting elements are connected. The first starting element establishes a connection to a constant transmission ratio stage which contains two transmission ratios. The second starting element establishes a connection to a third starting element by way of a shaft which runs in a hollow shaft. The third starting element is connected on the output side to a preliminary gear stage whose output shaft has a lateral offset. The output shaft of the preliminary gear stage leads to an input-side disk set of the variator. An output-side disk set of the variator is connected to an optional clutch. On the output shaft of the clutch there are three gears, two of them being the initially described gears of the constant transmission ratio stage. The third gear is connected to the third starting element and is used to reverse the direction of driving. A front axle differential whose driven shafts run between the engine and the first starting element is connected to the output shaft of the gear which is the last one viewed from the clutch.
The disadvantage is that the variator for reasons of design has a lateral offset which leads to the illustrated speed change gear not being able to be placed in the middle on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, as a result of which the leg room in the passenger compartment is greatly limited. Furthermore, this arrangement leads to a large amount of installation space being required. Another disadvantage is that it is not possible to adapt the rpm which has been changed on the input side by the preliminary gear stage of the variator on the output shaft of the variator again such that the potential of the variator can be fully used, with simultaneous gentle operation.
The object of this invention is therefore to make available a power train which with a variator ensures continuously variable transmission of torque and takes up little installation space in doing so, and implements simple rpm matching to vehicles with different engines and weight.


A transmission cable installation device is provided, which includes a protective sheath surrounding at least one transmission cable and having at least one longitudinal recess. A rigid element is inserted in one of said at least one recess. Also provided are a protective sheath and a profiled support suitable for being inserted in a recess in the protective sheath.

In order to cable terminal portions in buildings, such as apartment blocks or offices or houses, and in order to serve such buildings with additional cables such as optical fiber cables, telephone cables, electric cables, and TV cables, telecommunications network operators make use, wherever possible, of existing tubular infrastructure, comprising various cable ducts already present in buildings.
Such cable ducts are present in most rooms in buildings and they are used mainly for telephone cabling, electric cabling, or cabling for cable TV. The paths they follow vary considerably as a function of the type of building.
Reusing such cable ducts avoids laying additional cables where they are visible, where such a solution often requires the collective approval of a condominium, which is often difficult to obtain. The use of cable ducts also guarantees that the installation will be long-lasting, since cables are protected against impacts and other alteration work of wall surfaces.
It is therefore advantageous to reuse existing cable ducts as often as possible, even if they are already occupied, with this also being beneficial in terms of how quickly cables can be laid, and thus of cost.
Nevertheless, this is not always possible, either because the existing cable duct does not have enough room, or because the building does not have any such cable ducts (as in old buildings, for example).
While a cable is being laid in a cable duct, cable installation requires traction to be applied to the cable. Traction on the cable may be combined with applying thrust to the cable in order to limit traction forces.
In general, the cables used nowadays for cabling networks in buildings are generally flexible or even very flexible. That constitutes an advantage when a cable is being laid where it is visible, for example, a cable can then be fitted more closely around corners of walls, door frames, baseboards, . . . , but that reduces the effectiveness with which a cable can be passed along a duct.
The optical cables that are presently available on the market have very low force limits. For example, a cable having a diameter of 3 millimeters (mm) can withstand a force of 15 decanewtons (daN) to 20 daN, and a 4 mm cable can withstand about 40 daN.
Those force limits are such that an agent installing the cable and pulling it by hand can rapidly reach and exceed those limits, thereby damaging or even breaking the fiber under certain conditions of cable bending.
Pulling a cable along a duct that is readily occupied by other cables increases those risks.
It is not possible to envisage creating intermediate assistance points along a duct since that would require walls to be pierced, giving rise to delays and extra costs.
The installer must therefore take special precautions when installing such cables. These precautions are not compatible with economic imperatives of passing a cable in a minimum amount of time.


A heat-dissipating fan with a plurality of upward rotor blades is provided. The heat-dissipating fan includes a housing, an impeller having a hub and a plurality of rotor blades disposed around the hub, and a base disposed inside the housing for supporting the impeller thereon. The rotor blades have at least one inclined edge with a first inclined angle relative to the horizontal line perpendicular to the axis of the heat-dissipating fan, respectively.

In a normal electronic product such as a computer, electronic devices will generate a lot of heat during operation. If the electronic devices are continuously operated at high temperature, they are easily damaged. Thus, to prevent such a damage, a heat-dissipating fan is normally disposed in the electronic product to dissipate heat to the surrounding.
Please refer to FIG. 1 which shows a conventional axial-flow fan for the computer. The conventional axial-flow fan mainly includes a housing 10, a motor 11 and an impeller 12 with a plurality of rotor blades 121. The housing 10 includes a base 14 for supporting the motor 11 and has a plurality of ribs 13 at the air outlet side of the axial-flow fan. When the motor 11 drives the impeller 12 to rotate, the blades 121 will discharge the airflow from the air outlet side of the axial-flow fan. However, according to the commonly used design, the lower edge of each rotor blade 121 is shaped in a horizontal form and the flow rate of airflow is the fastest at the end of the rotor blade. More airflow will flow in or out especially near the end edge of rotor blades. Thus, as the airflow contact the ribs 13, it will cause the mixed airflow and generate a lot of noise. It is caused by that the distance H between the lower edge of the rotor blade 121 (in a horizontal form) and the rib 13 is relatively small such that it will generate a lot of noise in a very short time as the airflow passes therethrough, thereby worsening the sound.
Thus, it is desirable to reduce the noise of the axial-flow fan generated while rotating.


Disclosed are processes for producing Arginine by fermentation in which sugars obtained by enzymatic starch hydrolysis from inexpensive starch containing agro-wastes, such as Cassava bagasse and Jackfruit seed powder, are fermented in the presence of microorganisms to produce a fermentated liquor containing Arginine, and recovering Arginine from the liquor. The process can economically be scaled up for the production of Arginine from unrefined sugar sources as it produced Arginine in higher yields, when compared to more expensive synthetic carbon sources, like dextrose or sucrose.

The present invention relates to a bioprocess for producing L-arginine by fermentation. The embodiments include reducing sugars obtained by enzymatic starch hydrolysis from inexpensive starch containing agro-wastes, such as Cassava bagasse and Jackfruit seed powder, both of which are abundant in Asian and African countries. The process can economically be scaled up for the production of arginine from unrefined sugar sources by replacing expensive synthetic carbon sources like dextrose or sucrose.
The growing market demand for amino acids made academia and industrialists develop new methods to produce amino acids efficiently and cost effectively. This technological race facilitated the manufacture of amino acids mainly by four methods—extraction from protein hydrolysates, chemical synthesis, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. From the economic standpoint, fermentation is found to be industrially feasible and is widely used except in a few cases where high production yield has not been achieved. The economy of this method mainly depends on the cost of the carbon source, fermentation yield, purification yield and productivity in the overall process. Growth in market value for amino acids produced by coryneform bacteria led to significant developments in bioprocess and downstream processing technology. This led to the efforts to increase productivity and decrease production costs. (Thomas Hermann, "Industrial production of amino acids by coryneform bacteria," Journal of Biotechnology 104 155-172 (2003)). Hence, any natural process that has an impact on the yield of L-arginine is in demand for utilization in industrial practice.
L-Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid, so called, depending on the developmental stage and health status of the individual. Arginine stimulates the immune system by increasing the output of T-cells, helps in vasodilatation, in maintaining muscular health, removing ammonia from body and the release of hormones. L-Arginine has been manufactured conventionally by three methods: (i) extractions from protein hydrolysates; (ii) chemical synthesis; and (iii) enzymatic hydrolysis (Takishi Utagawa, "Production of Arginine by fermentation," J. Nutr. 134:2854S-2857S (2004)). Later it was discovered that L-Arginine can be produced in small amounts by hydrocarbon assimilating wild strains of Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,222,258 and 3,440,141) and its mutant strains produced even higher amounts from carbohydrates (British Patent No. 1,278,917).
Among regulatory mutants of various micro organisms, Corynebacterium glutamicum showed higher production of L-arginine (Hajime Yoshida, Kazumi Araki and Kiyoshi Nakayama, "Arginine Production by Arginine Analog-resistant Mutants of Microorganisms," Agric. Biol. Chem., 45 (4), 959-963 (1981). Some of the most typical arginine producing mutants are of the genus Corynebacterium resistant to 2-thiazolealanine (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,723,249 and 3,878,044) and canavanine (U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,250; UK Patent No. 1,351,518). Mutants of the genus Bacillus (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,734,829 and 4,086,137, 4,430,430) and Escherichia (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,430,430, 6,897,048) also are also found to produce Arginine in substantial amounts.
The production of L-Arginine in a fair amount by microbial fermentation was first reported by Kisumi et al, "Production of L-Arginine by Arginine Hydroxamate-Resistant Mutants of Bacillus subtilis," Appl. Microbiol. 22, 987 (1971). Oxygen supply is known to have an important influence on aerobic amino acids production by microorganisms (Takishi Utagawa, "Production of Arginine by fermentation," J. Nutr. 134:2854S-2857S (2004)). Growth under anaerobic condition often leads to formation of toxic by-products such as acetic acid and ethanol, which in turn strongly inhibit L-arginine production (J. Gong, J. Ding, H. Huang, Q. Chen, Kinetic study and modeling on L-arginine fermentation. Chin. J. Biotech. 9 (1) 9-18 (1993).)
Cassava (Manihot esculents) bagasse has been used for the production of L-(+)-lactic acid by Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus delbrueckii. (Rojan P. John, K. Madhavan Nampoothiri and Ashok Pandey, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vol 34, p 263-272 (2006); Rojan P. John, K. Madhavan Nampoothiri and Ashok Pandey, "Solid state fermentation for L-lactic acid production from agro wastes using Lactobacillus delbrueckii," Process Biochemistry, Vol. 41 p:759-763 (2006). It was also used in production of giberellic acid (A. Tomasini l, C. Fajardo and J. Barrios-Gonza'lez, "Gibberellic acid production using different solid-state fermentation systems," Vol 13. p 203-206 (1997)) and citric acid by SSF (Flavera Camargo Prado, Luciana Porto de Souza Vandenberghe and Carlos Ricardo Soccol, "Relation between Citric Acid Production by Solid-State Fermentation from Cassava Bagasse and Respiration of Aspergillus niger LPB Semi-Pilot Scale," Brazilian archives of Biology and Technology, Vol. 48, Special n.: pp. 29-36 (2005)). Recently, Ubaid et al reported the use for gamma linolenic acid production (Syed Ubaid et al., "Enrichment of γ-linolenic acid in the lipd extracted from Mucor zychae MTCC5420," Food Research International, Volume 42, issue 4, May 2009, Pages 449-453).
Similarly, Jack fruit seed powder has been used in the production of pigments (Sumathy Babitha, Carlos R. Soccol and Ashok Pandey, "Jackfruit Seed—A Novel Substrate for the Production of Monascus Pigments through Solid-State Fermentation," Food Technol. Biotechnol, 44 (4) 465-471 (2006)) and in production of Poly hydroxybutyrate (Ramadas NV, Soccol CR, Pandey A Appl Biochem Biotechnol, "A Statistical Approach for Optimization of Polyhydroxybutyrate Production by Bacillus sphaericus NCIM 5149 under Submerged Fermentation Using Central Composite Design" Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. (2009)).
Some of the disadvantages of the existing fermentation process of Arginine include, for example, the lack of wild type cultures capable of arginine production unlike in the case of glutamate, where wild C. glutamicum is capable of producing large amounts. It also has been difficult to produce auxotrophic mutants capable of arginine production, and there is a need for genetic engineering for strain improvement suited to arginine production. In addition, the production costs of producing arginine are relatively high due to the use of pure glucose as the sole carbon source. Hence, inexpensive alternatives to enhance the yield using the available strains are in desirable.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


In this invention, a back end portion of a preceding sheet bar and a front end of a succeeding sheet bar are cut in a transfer line at an entrance side of a finish rolling mill so that at least both side edge regions of these sheet bars are contacted with each other at a butted contact state thereof and a gap is formed between both end portions and then portions to be joined int he preceding and succeeding sheet bars are locally heated and pushed to join them while gradually enlarging a joining area, whereby the required time is largely reduced as compared with the conventional technique and also it is attempted to miniaturize the heating apparatus and shorten the length of the apparatus.

In the hot rolling of the steel sheet bar, since steel sheet bars inclusive of slabs taken out from a heating furnace hitherto been rolled individually, there were various troubles encountered later at a finish rolling step:
a) poor biting of front end of the sheet bar; PA1 b) reduction of back end of the sheet bar; PA1 c) running trouble of front end of the sheet bar on a run-out table; and PA1 d) poor size in front and back ends of the sheet bar. PA1 i) A great amount of power is required in the heating; PA1 ii) The heating time required for obtaining a given joining temperature is long; and PA1 iii) When the heating is carried out at a state that the operation of the heating equipment is stopped, a long loop is required, while when the heating is carried out during the running of the sheet bar, it si required to take a long running distance and hence the equipment length becomes long. PA1 iv) The joining operation is complicated.
As a countermeasure on the above problems, there is proposed a continuous rolling method wherein a back end portion of a preceding sheet bar is successively joined with a front end portion of a succeeding sheet bar at an entry-side transfer line of a hot finish rolling mill and then subjected to finish rolling, and also there are various methods of joining the sheet bars.
For example, Japanese Patent laid open No. 60-244401 discloses an induction heating pressure welding method using a so-called solenoid type coil S (see FIG. 8), and also Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-159285 discloses an electric heating pressure welding method using an electrode roll.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-144203 discloses a joining wherein the front end portion of the succeeding sheet bar is butted to the back end portion of the preceding sheet bar and at least side edge regions in widthwise direction at the butted portion are preliminary joined and rolled at a reduction of not less than 20%.
However, in the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent laid open No. 60-244401 and Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-159285, the full back end face of the preceding sheet bar and the full front end face of the succeeding sheet bar are joining faces and the heating is carried out over a whole area of such joining faces, so that there are caused the following problems:
Furthermore, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent laid open No. 61-144203 has problems that a long time is required for obtaining sufficient joining strength, and the problem of the item iii) is still restrained, and also

Method of joining steel sheet bars in hot rolling and a continuous hot rolling method


A porous ceramic material for a slidable member or unit such as a valve unit of a combination faucet. The porous ceramic material comprises a ceramic sintered body which is formed with pores dispersedly located therein. The pores are defined respectively by surface layers forming part of the ceramic sintered body. Each surface layer contains silicon in a content higher than that in other part of the ceramic sintered body. The porous ceramic material is prepared, for example, first by mixing ceramic powder and hollow particles each of which contains silicon so as to obtain a mixture; then by forming the mixture into a predetermined shape to obtain a formed body; and finally by sintering the formed body at a temperature higher than a melting point of each hollow particle to thus obtain the sintered body formed with pores and containing silicon.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in a porous ceramic material and a method of producing the porous ceramic material, and a valve unit including a slidable member formed of the porous ceramic material, in which the porous ceramic material is high in durability under thermal shock and thermal stress while maintaining a high sliding characteristics even upon a long time use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto a variety of methods have been proposed and put into practical use in order to improve a sliding characteristics of a slidable member, for example, of a valve of a combination faucet (for hot water and cool water) or of a mechanical seal ring. One of the methods is to form the slidable member of a material which is prepared by impregnating a porous ceramic material having a three-dimensional network structure, with lubricating oil. Another one is to select the smoothness of the sliding surface of a slidable member formed of a porous ceramic material, to fall below a predetermined value as disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 6-58434. A further one is to select the surface roughness of the sliding surface of a slidable member formed of a porous ceramic material, to fall within a predetermined range as disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 6-32646. According to the above methods, the sliding characteristics of the slidable member can be improved under the action of the lubricating oil to be exuded to a sliding surface, or under the action of pores located at and open to the sliding surface. In general, such a porous ceramic material is produced as follows: First, resin particles formed of a synthetic resin such as epoxy resin, phenolic resin or acrylic resin are mixed in ceramic powder to prepare a mixture. The mixture is then formed into a predetermined shape by using a metallic mold cress or the like thereby to form a formed body in which resin particles are dispersed. Finally, the formed body is sintered to form the porous ceramic material. During this sintering, the resin particles in the formed body is burnt or decomposed to be extinguished so that pores are formed in the ceramic material.
However, such a porous ceramic material has a tendency to be not always high in thermal shock resistance as compared with a ceramic material formed with no pores even though it is improved in sliding characteristics.

Porous ceramic material and producing method of same, and valve unit


A method for forming an integrated circuit (280) comprises accessing (282) a library of primitive cells and edge codes in the formation of an integrated circuit layout. At least one edge code of at least one previously placed primitive cell (284) of the integrated circuit layout is used. A primitive cell is selected (286) from the library that is compatible with the at least one previously placed primitive cell and the selected primitive cell is placed into the integrated circuit layout adjacent the at least one previously placed primitive cell. The integrated circuit is manufactured (290) using the integrated circuit layout.

The present disclosures relate to integrated circuit manufacturing, and more particularly, to a primitive cell method for front end physical design for integrated circuit manufacturing.
Problems exist in the current designing and building of electronic systems in integrated circuits. These problems include, but are not limited to, (1)complex front-end design rules, (2) complexity and inaccuracy of translating written design rules into Design Rule Check (DRC) code, (3) difficulty or impossibility to achieve one hundred percent (100%) coverage with DRC Quality Assurance (QA) cells, (4) an inability of layout designers to comprehend written rules, wherein a corresponding layout is performed by trial-and-error, and layout checking is performed with (imperfect) DRC decks that correspond to machine readable code of the design rules, (5) an inaccuracy of front-end device models with respect to silicon due to small layout variations, (6) transistor variability on chip due to randomness in physical design, (7) 65 nm and beyond process requires post-layout extraction to comprehend non-local effects (stressors, etc.) on front-end device models, and (8) irregular front-end layout practices complicate the generation of derived layers (e.g., stressor films), and create unexpected flaws such as slivers/gaps.
With current layout design proposals, variations in layout style increase variability in device electrical behavior. Neighboring structures within the layout have an increasing effect on electrical behavior and complicates modeling. Current methods to comprehend these effects require the use of very complex post-layout extraction to back annotate models for simulation. Even with the post layout extraction, the ability of the models to accurately represent the electrical behavior of all devices is poor. Furthermore, design rules are increasing in complexity so rapidly that existing paradigms cannot continue to handle them.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for overcoming the problems in the art as discussed above.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Skilled artisans will also appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

Primitive cell method for front end physical design


An image forming apparatus includes at least two radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, an interrogator activating the RFID tags and sequentially receives tag information from the RFID tags according to the priority orders of the RFID tags, and a controller controlling the operation of the interrogator. Tag information of a plurality of RFID tags can be received by a single reader (interrogator). In other words, radio communication can be achieved without a plurality of readers, thereby reducing the material costs.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of present invention relate to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus that includes a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and in which tag information of the plurality of RFID tags can be processed using a single reader interrogator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus, such as, for example, a laser printer, photocopier, or facsimile printer, it may be desirable to obtain or process identification data or operational data regarding the apparatus.
Accordingly, an image forming apparatus may be equipped with a radio communication system that can read and write information regarding the image forming apparatus. A radio communication system may include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a reader capable of communicating with the RFID tag via radio waves, and a controller controlling the RFID tag and the reader.
Since information can be transmitted in an image forming apparatus through radio communication without using connection terminals, etc., the structure of an image forming apparatus can be simplified, in comparison, for example, to an apparatus in which information is transmitted through wires.
However, currently available communication techniques using radio frequency identification typically enable only one-to-one communication between a reader and an RFID tag. This creates a disadvantage in an image forming apparatus that uses a plurality of RFID tags, since a plurality of readers, equal to the number of RFIDs, are required, thereby increasing the material costs and the design complexity.


Responsive to receipt at an originating switching node of an incoming call, a location request (send routing) message is sent to the home location register for the called mobile station. A routing request (provide roaming) message is then sent from the home location register to the switching node identified by the home location register as currently serving the called mobile station. The serving switching node then sends a routing number request message to the base station controller currently serving the called mobile station. The base station controller then assigns an appropriate one of its routing numbers, and responds back to the originating switching node via the home location register and the visited switching node with the assigned routing number. The assigned routing number is then used to establish a trunk connection between the originating switching node and the base station controller for purposes of effectuating call delivery. Alternatively, the serving switching node makes the selection of the base station controller assigned routing number.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cellular telephone networks and, in particular, to the terminating call routing process performed within a cellular telephone network.
2. Description of Related Art
Operation of a cellular telephone network to handle an incoming call dialed to a cellular subscriber mobile station is well known. Responsive to receipt at an originating (or gateway) switching node of the incoming call dialed to a mobile station, a location request (send routing) message is sent to the home location register for the dialed mobile station. The home location register then identifies a switching node currently serving the dialed mobile station. A routing request (provide roaming) message is then sent from the home location register to the serving (or visited) switching node to prepare for delivery of the call. The serving switching node determines to some degree the location of the called mobile station (based perhaps on information resulting from a recent registration or paging attempt), assigns an appropriate routing number (for example, a temporary location directory number or a roaming number) for that location, and responds to the home location register with the routing number. The assigned routing number is then forwarded to the originating switching node where it is used to establish a trunk call connection between the originating switching node and the serving switching node to deliver the incoming call to the dialed mobile station. Delivery of the call to the mobile station is then accomplished by establishing a trunk connection with a base station controller connected to a base station currently serving the mobile station. A radio frequency communications link is then established between the base station and the mobile station.

Migration of routing number selection to the base station controller of a cellular telephone network


A system for measuring light in a tube is provided. The system includes a tube, a light collecting probe configured to absorb light within the tube, a data acquisition system for determining a level of light associated with light absorbed by the light collecting probe, and a motion system for moving the light collecting probe within the tube.

Ultraviolet light (e.g., ultraviolet light using microwave lamps, ultraviolet light using LEDs, etc.) is often used in connection with curing of coatings applied to optical fibers during the manufacturing and processing of such optical fibers. Exemplary conventional systems for such curing operations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,638.
In certain applications, ultraviolet light may be applied to process/cure a coating on an optical fiber in a tube or the like. It may be desirable to identify critical process parameters (e.g. light intensity at the optical fiber, light uniformity at the optical fiber, etc) in connection with such applications. Improved systems and methods for identifying such parameters would be desirable.

Light measuring probes, light measuring systems, and related methods


An apparatus includes a sample stage, a cantilever mount, a cantilever-force detector, a cantilever feedback system, and a sample stage feedback system. The sample stage is configured for holding a sample. The cantilever mount is configured for mechanically fixing a mechanical cantilever having a scanning tip. The cantilever-force detector is configured to produce an electrical cantilever-force error signal. The cantilever feedback system is configured to electromechanically drive the mechanical cantilever in a manner responsive to the cantilever-force error signal. The sample stage feedback system is configured to electromechanically displace the sample stage in a manner responsive to the cantilever-force error signal. The cantilever feedback system and the sample stage feedback system are connected to receive the cantilever-force error signal in parallel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to atomic force microscopes and methods of operating atomic force microscopes.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution device for producing scanned images of the surfaces of samples. One type of AFM has a flexible cantilever with a narrow tip, a deflection detector, a sample stage, and cantilever and sample stage feedback/drive systems. The AFM produces an image by mechanically scanning the cantilever's tip over a surface of a sample. During scanning, the deflection detector measures the amount of cantilever bending. The amount of bending is related to the vertical force that the sample exerts on the cantilever's tip, i.e., the sample-cantilever force. During the scanning, the feedback/drive systems produce movements for restoring this sample-cantilever force to an initial state. The AFM produces a topographical image of the sample's surface by recording the tip displacement needed to keep the sample-cantilever force at a preselected setpoint value during scanning.
In some AFMs, the feedback system has an active electronic cantilever controller and a active electronic sample stage controller in a nested configuration. In the nested configuration, the cantilever controller responds to an error signal from the deflection detector. The error signal is substantially proportional to the difference between the force exerted by the sample on the tip and a preselected setpoint value. Thus, the error signal is roughly proportional to the amount of bending of the cantilever. In response to the error voltage, the cantilever controller generates an about proportional voltage to drive a piezoelectric device to produce a restoring displacement of the cantilever. In the nested feedback system, the sample stage controller receives the drive voltage produced by the cantilever controller. In response to the drive voltage, the sample stage controller generates a voltage to drive another piezoelectric device to produce a restoring displacement of the sample stage. Together, the restoring displacements of the cantilever and sample stage restore the force exerted by the sample's surface on the tip to the preselected setpoint value.
Many AFMs produce an image of a sample surface in which the resolution vertical to the sample's surface is very high, e.g., better than 1 nanometer (nm) or even better than 0.1 nm. To obtain such high resolutions, setups for AFMs typically have to limit environmental vibratory noise. One source of such noise is low-frequency oscillations of the floor in the room where the AFM is set up, i.e., building noise. Usually, a setup for an AFM includes mechanical isolation to damp building noise and an acoustic box to eliminate acoustical noise. In many cases, environmental noise limits the upper scanning speed and/or the depth resolution obtainable with an AFM.


An in situ inter-dielectric process is disclosed for forming multilevel metal structures. The process includes the steps of:. (1) forming an SOG layer on an uneven semiconductor surface, PA1 (2) treating a surface of the SOG layer with a plasma in a PECVD chamber, and PA1 (3) forming a PECVD oxide layer on the treated surface in the same PECVD chamber.. The operating parameters for performing the in situ treatment are as follows:. ______________________________________ Gas: N.sub.2 O or C.sub.2 F.sub.6 Pressure: 4-6 Torr Temperature: 300-400.degree. C. Power: 200-400 Watts Gap: 300-800 mil Flow: 500-1500 sccm Time: 5-15 sec ______________________________________. Thus, the treatment can be performed in the same PECVD chamber used to form a PECVD oxide layer on the treated SOG layer.. Furthermore, the SOG layer surface may be oxidized to produce an organic deficient SiO.sub.x layer at the surface of the SOG layer prior to performing the treatment step (2).

FIGS. 1 and 2A-F illustrate a prior art inter-metal dielectric process for forming multilevel metal structures on an semiconductor IC 10. Such multilevel metal structures may be used, for instance to interconnect several commonly connected devices incorporated in the semiconductor IC 10 such as sources and/or drains of MOS devices. In FIG. 1, first metal I regions 18, 19 of a MOS device 310 are formed, in a conventional manner to be described below. Illustratively, the MOS device 310 is formed in a P-well region 312 of an N-type silicon substrate. N+-type source and drain regions 314 and 316 are formed in the P-well 312. Field oxide (FOX) regions 315, 317 which are relatively thick oxide regions separate the device 310 from adjacent devices formed on the substrate. The gate 318 is made from polysilicon. The gate 318 is separated from the P-well surface by the thin gate oxide 319 and is enclosed by the dielectric 320 which also may be oxide. The device 310 is covered by a pre-metal dielectric layer 330. The layer 330 is illustratively a dual stack of TEOS (Tetraethylorthosilicate) based USG/BPSG (undoped silicon glass/borophosphosilicate glass) with a thickness of 3000-5000 Angstroms. The layer 330 is formed by liquid phase chemical vapor deposition in a vertical furnace.
The metal I regions 18, 19 are formed by etching the dielectric layer 330 to form the openings 340. The etching involves two steps, a BHF wet etch followed by anisotropic dry etch, in which steps the dielectric 330 is 40% and 60% etched, respectively. After the contact openings 340 are first formed, a reflow etch step is used to round the tops of the contact openings. Typically, the contact aspect ratio (depth/width) is about 1.8. Then, the metal contact regions 18, 19 are formed in the openings 340 according to a so-called metal (I) process. A variety of processes have been suggested in the prior art for the metal (I) process, such as, the conventional W(tungsten)-CVD plug process, or an Al-based metallization process.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the metal I regions 18, 19 are separated by portions 22 of the semiconductor IC surface 20. The metal I regions 18, 19 which project from the semiconductor IC surface 20, therefore cause the surface of the semiconductor IC 10 to be uneven or non-planar. Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the semiconductor IC 10 is placed in a PECVD chamber and a PECVD oxide 24 (referred to as an inter-metal dielectric I or IMD I layer) is formed on the metal I regions 18, 19 and portions 22 of the semiconductor surface 20. As shown, the IMD I layer, by virtue of being formed by a PECVD process, conforms to the uneven semiconductor surface of the IC 10. The surface of the semiconductor IC 10, therefore, is still uneven. To even-off or planarize the surface of the semiconductor IC 10, one or more SOG layers 26 are formed on the IMD I layer 24, as shown in FIG. 2C. An SOG layer is illustratively formed from an organic material such as siloxane. The chemical composition of the SOG layer 26 is SiO(CH).sub.x. The level of organic content effects the ability of the SOG material to fill gaps in the IC surface to make it planar; generally, higher organic content provides for better gap-filling/planarization. As shown, the uppermost SOG layer surface 26 tends to be more even or planar than the semiconductor IC surface on which the SOG layer 26 was formed. Optionally, the SOG layer(s) 26 may be etched back somewhat to improve the planarity. Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, in a PECVD chamber, a second PECVD IMD II layer 28 is formed on the SOG layer(s) 26. As shown in FIG. 2E, after forming the IMD II layer 28, the IMD I 24/SOG 26/IMD II 28 sandwiched layers are patterned using a photolithographic process to form vias 30 (passages that extend perpendicularly to the view depicted in FIG. 2D). The vias 30, 31 are formed in the vicinity of the metal I regions 18, 19, respectively. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2F, the vias are filled with metal II regions 32, 33. The metal II regions 32 interconnect each metal I region 18 and the metal II regions 33 interconnect each metal I region 19.
A problem with the above inter-dielectric process relates to the use of the SOG layer(s) 26. See C. K. Wang, L. M. Liu, H. C. Cheng, H. C. Huang & M. S. Lin, A Study of Plasma Treatments on Siloxane SOG, VMIC CONF., 1994 ISMIC-103/94/101, June 7-8, p. 101-108; M. Matsura, Y. Ii, K. Shibata, Y. Hayashide & H. Kotani, An Advanced Interlayer Dielectric System with Partially Converted Organic SOG by Using Plasma Treatment, VMIC CONF., 1993 ISMIC-102/93/0113, June 8-9, p.113-15; and S. Itoh, Y. Homma, E. Sasaki, S. Uchimura & H. Morishima, Application of Surface Reformed Thick Spin-on-Glass to MOS Device Planarization, J. ELECTROCHEM. SOC., vol. 137, no. 4, April 1990, p. 1212-18. In forming the vias in the IMD I 24/SOG 26/IMD II 28 sandwiched layers, a photoresist layer is applied to the surface of the IMD II layer 28 and exposed through a mask to pattern the photoresist layer. The unexposed portions of the photoresist are removed and an etchant is introduced to etch vias through the portions of the IMD I 24/SOG 26/IMD II 28 sandwiched layers not protected by exposed photoresist. The exposed photoresist is then removed. When the exposed photoresist is removed, a portion of the SOG layer on the sidewalls of the vias is exposed to O.sub.2 plasma. At such time, alkyl can decompose in the SOG producing moisture. The moisture, in turn, can cause an outgassing effect that can poison the via. The SOG layer can furthermore retrogress or shrink thereby introducing high shear stresses to the surface between the SOG layer 26 and the IMD II layer 28. This can result in cracking of the IMD I 24/SOG 26/IMD II 28 sandwiched layers.
Prior art remedies to this problem are directed to treating the SOG layer to degas/dehydrate/reduce the organic content of the SOG layer prior to adding the IMD II layer. For instance, according to some prior art processes, after forming the SOG layer(s) but before forming the IMD II layer, the semiconductor surface 20 is placed in a furnace and cured at 400.degree.-600.degree. C. S. Ito, Y. Homma, E. Sasaki, S. Uchimura & H. Morishima, Application of Surface Reformed Thick Spin-on-Glass to MOS Device Planarization, J. ELECTROCHEM. SOC., vol. 137, no. 4, April 1990, p. 1212-18 compares the curing of SOG layers in O.sub.2 and N.sub.2. M. Matsuura, Y. Ii, K. Shibata, Y. Hayashide & H. Kotani, An Advanced Interlayer Dielectric System with Partially Converted Organic SOG by Using Plasma Treatment, VMIC CONF., 1993 ISMIC-102/93/0113 teaches to treat the SOG layer(s) with O.sub.2 plasma at 400.degree. C. for 15 seconds to decompose the alkyl of the organic SOG and then to treat the SOG layer with N.sub.2 plasma at 400.degree. C. for one minute. However, the treatment with O.sub.2 plasma can result in high moisture absorption. C. K. Wang, L. M. Liu, H. C. Cheng, H. C. Huang & M. S. Lin, A Study of Plasma Treatments on Siloxane SOG, VMIC CONF., 1994 ISMIC-103/94/101, June 7-8, p. 101-108 teaches to treat the SOG layer(s) with N.sub.2 O or Ar plasma. However, as shown in FIG. 6 of this reference, severe cracks tend to occur using this process.
In each of these processes, the semiconductor IC must be treated ex-situ, i.e., in a different chamber from that used to form the SOG or IMD II layers. Stated another way, to treat the SOG layer according to the prior art, the semiconductor IC must be removed from a first chamber, placed in a second specialized chamber for treatment and then removed for placement in the PECVD chamber. As acknowledged by the prior art, this can cause cracks in the treated SOG layer when the SOG layer is exposed to the ambient environment (i.e., ambient temperature, pressure, etc.) as is required for moving the semiconductor to the PECVD chamber for forming the IIMD II layer. Second, none of the prior art references addresses the issue of delamination which occurs because of poor adhesion between the treated SOG layer and the IMD II layer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

In-situ pre-PECVD oxide deposition process for treating SOG


In the cold drawing of steel tubing, an excellent lubrication which permits drawing the tubing while retaining its original metallic luster can be achieved by first contacting the surfaces of the tubing, both exterior and interior, with a colloidal titanium containing aqueous composition, drying the tubing, and then applying to the surface of the tubing a liquid lubricating composition comprising (i) from 40 to 95% of a first component selected from the group consisting of olefin/oil or olefin/fat compounds which contain from 23 to 30% of sulfur and olefin/higher ester compounds which contain from 23 to 30% sulfur, including mixtures of two or more chemical species meeting this description; and (ii) from 5 to 50% of a second component selected from the group consisting of oil soluble polymer compounds, fats and oils, synthetic oils, mineral oils, higher fatty acids, and the amine salts of higher fatty acids.

A pretreatment widely employed prior to the cold drawing of carbon steel tubing consists of the formation of a phosphate conversion film on the surface of the steel tubing followed by the formation of a lubricating film on the phosphate conversion film through the application of, inter alia, a metal soap solution. A problem associated with this technique is that a portion of the phosphate and metal soap adheres as scale on the surface of the steel tubing after the cold-drawing operation, and this serves to diminish the steel tubing's metallic luster.
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid Open [Kokai or Unexamined] Number 63-215797 [215,797/88], drawn steel tubing with an excellent metallic luster is obtained after a facile pretreatment by avoiding the use of a phosphate conversion treatment and metal soaps. Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Number 63-238921 [238,921/88] provides for the production of steel wire with an excellent metallic luster, although this art is not principally intended for the manufacture of steel tubing. However, further improvement is still desired with regard to such factors as the cross section reduction ratio and seizure resistance of tubing during cold drawing.

Method for lubricating steel tubing prior to cold drawing


The present invention relates to a water-soluble pouch comprising a laundry detergent composition comprising reactive dye.

Laundry detergent manufacturers have attempted to meet the consumer need to rejuvenate coloured fabrics and provide good fabric-cleaning performance during the laundering process. Current fabric treatment compositions that comprise fabric-substantive dyes do not adequately clean the fabric during the laundering process, and the consumer still needs to use additional conventional laundry detergent compositions (i.e. that do not comprise fabric-substantive dyes) in order to adequately clean the fabric. However, this combination is costly and not efficient as two separate laundering processes need to be undertaken. Furthermore, previous attempts by the detergent manufacturers to provide a detergent composition that provides a good colour-rejuvenation profile have focused on dyes that are used to dye fabrics during textile mill processes, and to incorporate these dyes into laundry detergent compositions. However, these dyes are not as fabric substantive during the laundering process when relatively low temperatures (from 5° C. to 60° C.) typical of domestic laundering processes are used compared to the textile mill process when relatively higher temperatures (90° C. to 95° C.) typical of textile mill processing conditions are used. Simply incorporating these dyes into conventional laundry detergent compositions leads to inefficient colour rejuvenation profile.
Furthermore, over multiple wash cycles, the colour of fabrics laundered with conventional laundry detergent compositions deteriorates to an undesirable degree. There continues to be a need to provide a laundry detergent composition that provides good colour care, colour rejuvenation and a good cleaning performance.
The Inventors have found that the handling of detergent products comprising reactive dyes can be difficult, with unwanted transfer of reactive dye from the product to various surfaces that the consumer does not want to become coloured. In addition, the Inventors have found that it is difficult to incorporate some liquid ingredients, such as liquid non-ionic detersive surfactant, into the composition that comprises a reactive dye, and still achieve good cleaning and dye rejuvenation performance.

Water-soluble pouch comprising a detergent composition