Disclosed is a magnetic disk apparatus including a magnetic reproducing head portion, and a magnetic recording head including an upper magnetic core having a end portion and a rear portion. As a resist for a frame which is used for forming the rear portion, a negative resist or an electron beam resist is used, whereby the frame is formed without any adverse effect of halation from a coil insulating film. That is, it is possible to manufacture a magnetic recording head in which the rear portion of an upper magnetic core is not emerged at the face opposed to a medium, and hence to obtain a magnetic disk apparatus exhibiting an areal recording density of 5 Gbit/in2 or more by mounting a magnetic recording/reproducing head including such a magnetic recording head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic recording/reproducing head used for a magnetic disk apparatus, and a magnetic disk apparatus or recording/reproducing apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic disk apparatus, data are written or read on or from a recording medium or magnetic disk by a magnetic head. To increase a recording capacity per unit area of a magnetic disk, an areal recording density is required to be enhanced. The areal recording density can be enhanced by increasing a track density and a linear recording density. To increase the track density of the above two factors for enhancing the areal recording density, the track width of the magnetic head is required to be made fine and precise. As the track width becomes narrower, a reproducing output becomes smaller, and therefore, to attain a narrower track width, a reproducing head is required to be changed from a MR (Magneto-resistive) head having been extensively available at present to a GMR (Giant Magneto-resistive) head.
To form a magnetic core, including a track portion, of a recording head, a process using dry etching such as ion milling or a process using frame plating has been widely used.
A process of forming an upper magnetic core by using dry etching such as ion milling is performed by forming a magnetic film made from permalloy or the like by sputtering; forming a resist pattern on the magnetic film by photo-lithography; and selectively removing the magnetic film by dry etching such as ion milling by use of the resist pattern as a mask.
On the other hand, the process of forming an upper magnetic core by frame plating is performed by forming an undercoat for plating on a substrate; forming a resist frame on the substrate by photo-lithography; plating the substrate, on which the frame has been formed, with a magnetic material such as permalloy to form a magnetic film; masking a region surrounded with the frame with a resist by photo-lithography; and removing an unnecessary portion of the magnetic film by wet etching.
To increase the recording density of a magnetic disk apparatus, as described above, the track width of a magnetic head is required to be made fine and precise. On the other hand, to avoid magnetic saturation at a track portion located at the end of an upper magnetic core of a magnetic head, the thickness of the upper magnetic core is required to be made as large as being in a range of 2 xcexcm to several xcexcm. The upper magnetic core having such a large thickness, however, cannot be accurately formed by the process using dry etching such as ion milling. This is because a variation in dimension of a resist pattern formed by photo-lithography is added to a variation in dimension of a magnetic film caused upon dry etching of the magnetic film using the resist pattern as a mask. On the contrary, the above magnetic core having the large thickness can be accurately formed by the process using frame plating. This is because a variation in dimension of a resist frame becomes a variation in dimension of the magnetic film for forming the upper magnetic core as it is. Accordingly the process using frame plating is superior in dimensional accuracy to the process using dry etching such as ion milling.
Since the thickness of a resist used as a resist frame must be larger than a plating thickness, it is required to be significantly larger than a film thickness used for fabrication of a semiconductor device, that is, about 1 xcexcm, more concretely, in a range of at least 2-3 xcexcm to 10 xcexcm. In a mirror projection aligner or a stepper as an exposure system, the resolution (R) of the resist pattern is expressed by
R=k1xc2x7xcex/NA
where k1 is a constant, NA is the numerical aperture of a lens, and xcex is a wavelength of exposure light. Also the depth of focus (DOF) of the above exposure system is expressed by
DOF=k2xc2x7xcex/NA2
where k2is a constant.
As is apparent from these equations, to increase the resolution, the wavelength of exposure light may be shortened and the numerical aperture of the lens be increased; however, in this case, the depth of focus becomes shallower. Consequently, to make fine the resist pattern, it is required to make thin the thickness of the resist as well as shorten the wavelength of exposure light and increase the numerical aperture of the lens. Alternatively, to obtain a necessary depth of focus with the resolution fixed, it is required to shorten the wavelength of exposure light and reduce the numerical aperture of the lens. In the case of using a widely available high pressure mercury lamp as a light source, if exposure is performed using g-line (wavelength: 436 nm), resolution up to 2.0 xcexcm can be attained for the resist having a thickness of 8 xcexcm; and if exposure is performed using i-line (wavelength: 365 nm), resolution up to 1.3 xcexcm can be attained for the resist having the thickness of 8 xcexcm. In the case of using i-line for exposure, resolution up to 0.5 xcexcm can be attained by thinning the resist to 1 xcexcm or less. The resist having a thickness of 1 xcexcm or less, however, is too thin to be used for a resist frame, and therefore, such a resist cannot be used for formation of a magnetic core.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-296328 discloses a method of defining a track width of a recording head by forming a resist layer having a thickness ranging from 0.7 to 0.8 xcexcm on a SiO2 (silicon dioxide) film, forming a notch structure by selectively etching the SiO2 film using the resist layer as a mask, and forming a magnetic film in the notch structure. The method disclosed in this document, however, is poor in dimensional accuracy because etching is performed using the resist pattern as a mask. That is to say, a variation in dimension of the resist pattern is added to a variation in dimension of the notch structure formed by etching. Another problem of this method is that a magnetic pole end of an upper magnetic pole layer is emerged at the face, opposed to a medium, of a magnetic core, and accordingly a magnetic flux leaked from the magnetic pole end of the upper magnetic pole layer may write or erase signals, to thereby enlarge an effective track width.
To solve the above problem, it may be considered to form the upper magnetic pole layer by frame plating in such a manner as to prevent the magnetic pole end of the upper magnetic pole layer from being emerged at the face, opposed to a medium, of the magnetic core; however, in this case, there arises a problem that it is difficult to accurately form a frame for plating because of halation from a coil insulating film as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1. shows that a positive-type photo-resist layer 3 is exposed by reflected light from a insulating film 2 on a predetermined substrate 10. In FIG. 1, numeral 1 designates a conductive coil. This reflection light causes the above-said halation of the positive-type resist layer.
To cope with such an inconvenience, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-20227 discloses a method of forming a frame for a rear portion of a magnetic core using a negative resist.
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-20227, however, since a end portion of the magnetic core is formed after formation of a stepped portion of the coil insulating film, the thickness of the resist becomes large at the stepped portion of the coil insulating film, and thereby it is difficult to form the resist pattern of about 1.5 xcexcm. Also when the track width is made as narrow as about 1.5 xcexcm, magnetic saturation occurs at the narrow portion, to cause a problem that it is difficult for a magnetic field to be emerged to the face, opposed to a medium, of the magnetic core. Further, to enhance the data transfer speed of a magnetic disk apparatus, it is required to improve characteristics of a recording head at a high frequency, and to meet such a requirement, it is necessary to most suitably select a material used for the upper magnetic core, more concretely, such that the magnetic domain is directed in the track width direction and the resistivity is increased to reduce an eddy current loss. On the other hand, to avoid occurrence of magnetic saturation at the end portion of the magnetic core as described above, it is required to use a material having a high magnetic saturation density. Eventually, it is difficult to select a material capable of satisfying these requirements.
For this reason, conventionally, there have been not manufactured yet a recording/reproduction separation type thin film magnetic head having a narrow track width of 1.5 xcexcm or less or capable of keeping up with data transfer at a high speed, and a magnetic disk apparatus including such a thin film magnetic head and exhibiting an areal recording density of 5 Gbit/in2 or more.
An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic disk apparatus exhibiting an areal recording density of 5 Gbit/in2 or more by using a recording/reproduction separation type thin film magnetic head having a narrow track width of 1 xcexcm or less or capable of keeping up with data transfer at a high speed.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus exhibiting an areal recording density of 5 Gbit/in2 or more, on which a magnetic recording/reproducing head portion is mounted, said magnetic recording/reproducing head comprising: a reproducing head portion using a giant magneto-resistive film; and a thin film magnetic recording head including an upper magnetic core having a end portion and a rear portion, wherein the front end of a connection area in which said end portion is connected to said rear portion is located between the face, opposed to a medium, of said upper magnetic core and a position, defining a gap depth, of said upper magnetic core.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, furthermore, there is provided a magnetic disk apparatus exhibiting an areal recording density of 5 Gbit/in2 or more, including a reproducing head portion configured as a GMR head; and a thin film magnetic recording head having an upper magnetic core 21 including a end portion and a rear portion; wherein the upper magnetic core is specified such that the track width is 1.5 xcexcm or less; the end portion projects from the rear portion toward the face opposed to a medium; and the front end of a connection area in which the end portion is connected to the rear portion is located between the face opposed to the medium and a position defining a gap depth.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a magnetic disk apparatus exhibiting a transfer speed of 50 MHz or more, including a reproducing head configured as a MR head or a GMR head; and a thin film magnetic recording head having an upper magnetic core including a end portion and a rear portion; wherein the upper magnetic core is specified such that the front end of a connection area in which the end portion is connected to the rear portion is located between the face opposed to the medium and a position defining a gap depth.
In the above thin film magnetic recording head, the rear portion of the upper magnetic core may be formed by frame plating and a frame used for frame plating may be formed of a negative resist or an electron beam resist.
The end portion of the upper magnetic core may be formed of a magnetic film having a saturation magnetic induction flux density (Bs) of 1.5 T or more. The saturation magnetic induction flux density of the rear portion may be different from that of the end portion.
The upper magnetic core is preferably produced by forming the end portion, covering the end portion with a non-magnetic protective film, and removing the non-magnetic protective film from above until the upper magnetic core is exposed, to magnetically connect the end portion to the rear portion. The removal of the non-magnetic protective film may be performed by polishing or etch-back using dry etching.
The above etch-back using dry etching may be performed by using one or more kinds of gases selected from a group of CF4, C4H8, CHF3, BCl3, Cl2, SiCl4, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe.

Thin film magnetic head and magnetic disk apparatus including the same


An intervertebral disc prosthesis has two cover plates and a prosthesis core which is connected to one of the cover plates by of connection profiles on one of the cover plates which are undercut in a complementary manner and include at least one pair of profile sections which are symmetrical with respect to the AP (anterior-posterior) direction of the prosthesis in its implanted position and are arranged at an angle to one another.

A known type of intervertebral disc prosthesis (WO 01/01893) has two metal cover plates and a polyethylene prosthesis core which forms a pair of slide surfaces with one of the two cover plates and is fixed on the other cover plate. For this fixing, the cover plate is provided with edge ridges whose undercut connection profile cooperates with a complementary connection profile on the underside of the prosthesis core. On the right and left lateral edges of the cover plate and of the prosthesis core, such connection profiles are provided parallel to one another. In addition, there is one such profile running in a straight line on the dorsal edge of the cover plate and of the prosthesis core. There is no such profile on the ventral edge, with the result that the prosthesis core can be pushed into the connection profiles of the cover plate from the ventral direction. The prosthesis core is secured in the assembled position by a pair of locking elements provided on the ventral edge. Although the connection profiles are produced almost free of play, an important concern in prosthesis production is to ensure that, even in the case of production tolerances, it is possible to rule out any movement of the prosthesis core relative to the cover plate holding it. In particular, rotation movements of the prosthesis core relative to the cover plate holding it must be ruled out. The invention has recognized that this can be improved not only by precision production but also by a special arrangement of the connection profiles.


Multiple micro-encapsulations of a high concentration oleophilic substance using heat to set the primary particle renders the composition suitable for the production of free-flowing powders or beadlets. Microencapsulation involves forming an emulsion out of the oleophilic substance and a polymer, and then use heat setting and/or cross-linking the polymer encapsulates the oleophilic composition. This process is then repeated with a second polymer or third polymer, and with or without cross-linked via the same or different mechanism to further protect the oleophilic substance.

Oleophilic substances, and in particular fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K, have had limited incorporation into dry materials because of their oil-like nature. Accordingly, oleophilic substances have tended to be macroencapsulated and delivered as units of coated oil. Unfortunately, however, such delivery drastically restricts the applications for which these oleophilic substances are suitable. For example, current commercial techniques can only produce concentrations of vitamin E which range up to 50% by weight.
The present invention overcomes the limitations inherent in the prior art encapsulation techniques and allows for production of high potency vitamins in a free flowing powder form. Such a form allows for delivery into multiple vitamin tablets or foods, such as cereal, and provides the advantages of reducing tablet size or the bulk required for subsequent delivery. Of particular interest is high potency Vitamin E in which Vitamin E forms greater than about 50% by weight of a dry powder or beadlet.
The prior art, as represented by Lim, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,419, issued Jun. 21, 1983, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, describes the formation of an emulsion consisting of a continuous phase aqueous solution of an alkali metal alginate, and optionally, a water-soluble alcohol-insoluble filler such as a polysaccharide, and a dispersed phase of an oleophilic substance. The emulsion thus produced is then formed into droplets which are emersed into an alcoholic solution of multi-valent cations, to produce a water-insoluble shape-retaining alginate matrix filled with precipitated polysaccharide and enclosing plural oil droplets.
The Lim, et al. approach differs markedly from that of the subject invention in which an oleophilic substance is incorporated into a primary polymer containing solution, and then solidified under mixing conditions to encapsulate the fat-soluble substance and form an encapsulated fat-soluble composition. Through the use of mixing conditions in forming the primary particle, far greater concentrations of oleophilic substances relative to those achieved by Lim, et al. can be realized. As stated by Lim, et al., the amount of oil may range from between 1% up to nearly 30%. However, at the higher end of this range, the stability of the Lim, et al. oil-in-water emulsion is decreased and the quality of the Lim, et al. microcapsule is reduced. Additionally, the Lim, et al. droplets need to be removed from the alcoholic solution and washed, or otherwise treated, to remove any residual alcohol, thus requiring extra production steps.
Another markedly different approach employed for encapsulating vitamin or mineral nutrients, such as thiamine, is described by Hall, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,778, issued Jan. 8, 1980, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. Hall, et al. describes encapsulation by fluidizing the nutrient in a gaseous stream and contacting the nutrient with finely atomized droplets of a coating solution. Nowhere, however, is the application of the Hall, et al. suggested for use with oleophilic substances.
As described below, the concentration of the oleophilic substance in the subject invention typically ranges from about 30% to about 90% based on the dry weight percentage of the final encapsulated oleophilic composition. These percentages are far superior to those described by Lim, et al., and form a major breakthrough over the current state of the art which only allows percentages of vitamin E to reach about 50%. Thus, the subject invention fulfills a long-felt need in the art for a high potency encapsulated oleophilic composition.

Encapsulation of oleophilic substances and compositions produced thereby


A solid propellant gas generator contains a bed of agglomerated or beaded hydrated gelatin. The gelatin/water bed is oriented such that at least substantially filtered combustion products are humidified by the water vapor as the filtered combustion products pass over the bed. Relative thereto, a method of improving the release and inflation of an airbag of a vehicle occupant protection system is also described. Humidification of at least substantially filtered combustion products results in a reduced pressure requirement to open and inflate a stored airbag in fluid communication with the gas generator.

The present invention relates generally to gas inflators for automotive passenger restraint systems, and more specifically, to an inflator having an improved restraint performance, a reduction in toxic gases, and an improved airbag release.
The composition of the gas stream emanating from an automobile airbag inflator is subject to strict requirements to avoid toxicity concerns. Generally, gas generators containing solid propellants produce unacceptable byproducts that must be removed from the gas stream prior to exiting the gas generator. Due to the high combustion temperatures of solid propellants, many of the unacceptable byproducts are in the form of liquids or gases. Liquids and gases are difficult to remove unless cooled to form filterable solids upon contact with the relatively cooler surfaces of the gas generator.
The conventional approach to solving the aforesaid problem has been to direct the hot propellant gases directly into a coolant/filter mass and rapidly cool the gases down in a single step to the point where the undesirable solid liquid byproducts are removed. However, a problem is presented by this approach in that rapid cooling of the gases may stabilize the gas combustion equilibrium in a manner that leads to unacceptably high levels of undesired gases.
For example, in airbag inflators, low levels of NO (nitrogen monoxide) and CO (carbon monoxide) in the effluent gases are mandated. When a stoichiometric propellant containing N, C and O is burned, the quantity of NO and CO produced is a function of the propellant combustion temperature. More CO and NO is formed at higher temperatures. If, as in a conventional system, the combustion gases are quenched in a single step to a temperature at which the gas reaction rates are reduced to essentially zero, incomplete combustion often results. Accordingly, correspondingly unacceptable high CO and NO levels may result given the combustion temperature equilibrium condition of these gaseous species.
As a solution to the problems described, multistage cooling filters have been designed. However, inefficient heat transfer and filter clogging are concerns still driving improvements in filter design.
Yet another problem involves the release of the airbag once the gas exits the inflator and begins to fill the airbag. The airbag must be timely released to ensure adequate occupant protection. At times, the airbag may not fully inflate resulting in less than optimum protection of the occupant. Therefore, an inflator incorporating a module opening aid would be an improvement in the art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A wireless communication system and an authentication method thereof are provided. The wireless communication system includes a User Equipment (UE), an Evolved Node B (eNodeB), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), and a Mobility Management Entity (MME). Before the UE enters an Attachment Procedure, the MME is configured to acquire an Authentication Vector from the HSS in advance, and transmit, based on the Authentication Vector, a first Authentication Vector corresponding to the UE to the UE and a second Authentication Vector corresponding to the eNodeB to the eNodeB in advance. The eNodeB is configured to transmit a UE identifier to the UE. The UE is configured to complete an Authentication procedure with the eNodeB according to the UE identifier and the Authentication Vector.

In recent years, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has been widely viewed as the basic architecture of the next generation of wireless communication systems. Under this architecture and in consideration of the security and capability, an authentication procedure must be accomplished between a User Equipment (UE), an Evolved Node B (eNodeB), a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) during an attachment procedure performed by the UE. Therefore, it is conceivable that signaling exchanges generated between the UE, the eNodeB, the MME and the HSS during the authentication procedure will necessarily consume much time and many resources.
Accordingly, an urgent need exists in the art to provide a solution to simplify the signaling exchanges needed for the authentication procedure during the attachment procedure performed by a UE under the basic architecture of the LTE technology of 3GPP.

Wireless communication system and authentication method thereof


The invention relates to a disc clamp for mounting an information storage disc to a rotating hub of a spindle motor assembly, and a disc drive spindle hub assembly comprising said disc clamp. The disc clamp comprises an annular body portion, an inner centering portion defining a central aperture, and an annular outer peripheral clamping portion. The inner centering portion having a series of centering tabs disposed about an inner circumference of the body portion. Each centering tab includes a first tab portion extending substantially perpendicular to the body portion of the clamp, and a second tab end portion extending in an angle from the first tab portion. The centering tabs contacting an inner circumferential surface and being in a snap-fit engagement with the hub The outer peripheral portion contacting the information storage disc when the disc and the clamp are installed on the top portion of the hub.

Disc drives are data storage devices that store digital data in magnetic form on a rotating information storage disc. Modern disc drives include one or more rigid discs that are coated with a magnetizable medium and mounted on the hub of a spindle motor for rotation at a constant high speed. For being able to reliably reading and writing information on the disc by means of a read/write head it is critical that the information storage disc is well fixed and centered on the hub of the spindle motor.
Spindle motor assemblies often utilize a rotating spindle hub journaled to a non-rotatable spindle shaft. A disc clamp is typically secured to the rotating spindle hub to exert a downward axial force on the mounted information storage disc in order to securely fasten the disc on the hub. Typically, the disc clamp is basically an annular leaf spring that is sized such that its outer rim exerts the downward force through a series of equally spaced screws positioned around the central portion of the clamp and torqued through holes in a central portion of the clamp into the spindle hub. The spaced radial positioning of the screws is beneficial for exerting a distributed clamping force on the disc on the spindle assembly because the force is exerted at the periphery of the clamp in closer proximity to the mounted information storage disc. However, the screw is a discrete source of the clamping force, thus the distribution of the downward force around the periphery of the clamp, against the adjacent disc is exerted in a non-uniform manner. Non-uniform clamping force can generally cause variations in the load force applied and, as a result, can cause the information storage disc to be physically distorted. Distortion of the disc can lead to generation of unacceptable operational errors during recording and reproduction of data on the information storage disc. Further, the use of screws is relative costly.
In a second type of spindle motor assembly the spindle shaft and spindle hub portion both rotate about a bearing sleeve. Here, a single screw can be used to secure the disc clamp to the rotating spindle shaft because the shaft rotates with the screw, as opposed to the non-rotatable shaft where a plurality of screws must be positioned in the hub about the shaft. However, in order to develop a clamping force with a single screw similar to the force developed by the plurality of screws surrounding the non-rotatable shaft, it is necessary to apply a much higher torque to the single screw. This relatively high torque requirement can lead to a number of problems including over-stressing the spindle shaft bearing, stripping threads, and the generation of particles during the torqueing process. These high-torque related problems can damage the bearing and lead to failure of the spindle motor.
Some screw-less disc clamps have been developed in attempts to overcome these shortcomings, but without completely satisfactory results. Such screw-less disc clamps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,567,238 B1, 6,417,988 B1, and 6,282,054 B1. Other screw-less solutions are known form U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2001/0036038 A1 or 2002/0071206 A1. Often, such screw-less clamps are complicated, and difficult and expensive to manufacture and to mount on the spindle hub.

Disc clamp with snap fit for a disc drive


A stores ejection system for retaining a store on the underside of an aircraft and forcibly jettisoning the store away from the aircraft. The ejection system includes an ejector mechanism for releasably holding and jettisoning the store away from the aircraft and a storage device for storing pressurized gas at an operating pressure selected for actuating the ejector mechanism to release the store and forcibly jettison the store. The system further includes a dump valve movable between a closed position in which the storage device is isolated from the ejector mechanism, and an open position in which the pressurized gas is free to flow from the storage device to the ejector mechanism for pneumatic actuation of the ejector mechanism to release and jettison the store. The system includes a thermal control mechanism operable to heat the pressurized gas within the storage device upon operatively detecting a drop in pressure within the storage device to increase the pressure of the gas to the predetermined operating pressure.

Modern aircraft are designed to carry, release, and deliver on target a wide variety of weapons including bombs, missiles, rockets and other stores which are hung on the underside of the aircraft by an ejector rack. Typical racks are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,043,525 and 4,347,777, which are incorporated herein by reference. The aircraft typically include a release mechanism for releasing the store and an ejector ram for forcibly ejecting the store away from the aircraft.
One type of ejection system uses pyrotechnic cartridges which generate high pressure gas for actuating the release mechanism and actuating the ejector ram to forcibly eject the store away from the aircraft. While pyrotechnic cartridges provide a low weight system, these systems also have certain undesirable characteristics including high maintenance costs. When the cartridges are fired the chemical burning of the explosive charge results in a large amount of residue, containing moisture and corrosives, being deposited within the system. If the ejection system is not properly disassembled and cleaned after a certain number of firings, the system will quickly become corroded and unreliable. Furthermore, storage and handling of the pyrotechnic cartridges poses a possible safety risk for maintenance personnel.
Another type of ejection system is a cold gas ejection system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,312, which is incorporated herein by reference. The release mechanism and ejector ram are actuated pneumatically by air received from an on-board compressor system. The compressor system provides an initial charge for an ejection system accumulator and means for recharging the accumulator in flight to account for pressure drop due to temperature changes.
While the cold gas ejection system provides operational benefits by eliminating the build-up of residue and corrosive materials produced by pyrotechnic cartridges, certain aircraft may not have the additional volume required for the on-board compressor. In addition, the compressor system adds weight to the aircraft.


Methods and compositions for modulating T helper (Th) cell development and function using modulators of IL-21, e.g., human IL-21, activity or level.

T helper (Th) subsets are distinguished by their ability to produce distinct cytokine patterns and promote specific immune responses. Th1 cells produce IFNγ and promote cell-mediated immunity directed towards intracellular pathogens. In contrast, Th2 cells produce the cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, activate mast cells and eosinophils and direct B cells against extracellular pathogens. Dysregulation of Th responses can result in immunopathology in that aberrant Th1 responses can be responsible for organ-specific autoimmunity, and exaggerated Th2 responses have been associated with allergic diseases.
The specific cytokines produced by polarized Th cells are the primary effectors that promote differentiation of precursor Th cells (Thp), but these cytokines also cross-regulate the other subset's functional activity. For example IL-4 is reported to be a potent factor in promoting the differentiation of Thp cells to Th2 effectors. In addition, IL-4 antagonizes production of IFNγ. IL-10, another cytokine produced by Th2 cells, has also been described to inhibit Th1 development and IFNγ-induced macrophage function. Conversely, the IFNγ produced by Th1 cells amplifies Th1 development and inhibits the expansion of Th2 cells. The ability of these cytokines to promote development of specific Th cell subsets, while simultaneously inhibiting the alternate developmental fate, results in a progressively polarized response.

The President and Fellows of Harvard College


A process of producing a ring-opening metathesis polymer characterized in that a treatment to decrease the amount of oxygen and/or peroxide in at least one kind of polymerization starting material is performed prior to the ring-opening metathesis polymerization reaction of a cyclic olefin performed in the presence of a ruthenium carbene complex (catalyst). Treatments to decrease the amount of oxygen and/or peroxide include applying an adsorbent to a polymerization starting material to remove oxygen and/or peroxide by adsorption, applying an antioxidant to a polymerization starting material to decompose oxygen or peroxide, and the like.

Conventionally, redistribution of an ethylenic double bond (metathesis reaction) using a carbene complex represented by the following formula 4:
wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Os and Ru, X1 and X2 are each independently selected from anionic ligands, L1 and L2 are each independently selected from neutral electron donors, and R23 is selected from a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group and a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, is widely known (e.g., JP-A-11-510807). While a ruthenium carbene complex of the following formula 5:
wherein X1, X2, L1, L2 and R23 are as defined above, which is a complex of the formula 4 wherein M is Ru (ruthenium), is generally said to be stable, it is associated with a problem in that it is deactivated with oxygen or peroxide. The present inventors studied various aspects of a ring-opening metathesis polymerization reaction of a cyclic olefin using a ruthenium carbene complex as a catalyst, and found that the deactivation of the ruthenium carbene complex with oxygen or peroxide decreased the efficiency of the polymerization reaction.
In view of the above-mentioned situation, the problem to be solved by the invention is to provide a ring-opening metathesis polymer of a cyclic olefin with higher catalyst efficiency by the use of a ruthenium carbene complex as a catalyst.

Process for producing ring-opening metathesis polymer


The present application relates to a liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal cell, a liquid crystal film, and methods of preparing the same. As an exemplary liquid crystal composition, according to the present application can provide a liquid crystal layer aligned without a special alignment layer. According to the liquid crystal composition, all of the liquid crystal cell, in which the liquid crystal layer is maintained in a non-polymerized state, and the liquid crystal film prepared by polymerizing the liquid crystal layer can be provided.

A liquid crystal compound means an organic compound having optical anisotropy and crystalline property in the molecular orientation. The liquid crystal compound is filled in a panel of a display device, and the like and rearranged by supply of voltage, whereby it may be used to control quantity of light penetrating through the panel. Also, the liquid crystal compound is polymerized in an aligned state and thereby may be used for an optical film, and the like such as a retardation film. In such a case, an alignment layer may be used in order to impart an order to the liquid crystal compound and in order for the liquid crystal compound to response regularly.
Generally, an alignment layer is formed by applying an aligning agent such as polyimide or polyvinyl alcohol on a substrate, and orientation is imparted by rubbing the alignment layer in a predetermined direction. Later, a polymerized liquid crystal compound is applied and aligned thereon to prepare a liquid crystal layer. However, since the rubbed alignment layer has insufficient adhesive strength to the liquid crystal layer, a problem in which the liquid crystal layer is peeled or contracted in a severe environment, such as a high-temperature or high-humidity environment, may occur. Further, a rubbing method may have problems in which static electricity or scratch is easily generated due to friction during a rubbing process, and fine dust can be generated problem from a rubbing fabric, and the like.
A non-contacting alignment method is known for solving the problems of rubbing method, and Patent document 1 discloses a light alignment method using light irradiation. However, such a method is cumbersome because a process for forming a special alignment layer should be performed.    [Patent document 1] KR Patent No. 10-2012-0008425


Disclosed herein are methods and systems for sending an email along with a scanned document from a multi-function device. The method includes retrieving at least one email file from at least one of an external storage device and a file location, wherein a user creates the at least one email file at a computing device; automatically filling an email content, and one or more recipients from the at least one email file in an email job; displaying, via a user interface, the email job includes the auto-filled email content including an email subject and an email body, and the one or more recipients; scanning, at least one document; automatically attaching the at least one scanned document to the email job; and sending the email job including the email content along with the at least one scanned document to the one or more recipients directly through the multi-function device.

Typically, a user uses a computing device for sending or receiving emails using an email client such as MS Outlook, etc. Sometimes, the user requires to attach a document which is to be scanned. In such cases, the user uses a multi-function device to scan the document and a scanned document is generated upon scanning. The user can send the created email and the scanned document via two ways.
One way is that the user sends the created email to recipients through the computing device and sends the scanned document attached in another email using an email app in the multi-function device. In such scenarios, the recipients receive two separate emails, i.e., one email with required content and other with the scanned document. This is not always relevant and easy to follow up or manage at both ends, i.e., the recipients and the sender end. Also, it is inconvenient to track two different emails for one subject, both—for the recipients and the sender. And it unnecessary increases the mailbox side at the recipients' end. Moreover, when the user sends the scanned document through the multi-function device, the user does not have an option to edit/work on a detailed mail body at the multi-function device itself or if it is available, it is not that easy to work on the multi-function device because of a small user interface.
The second way is that user sends back the scanned document to his email and accesses the scanned document through this computing device. The user downloads the scanned document from his email on his computing device. The user attaches the downloaded scanned document in the created email and sends the email with the attached scanned document to the one or more recipients. This way, the recipients receive one email including, both—the attached scanned document and the email content. In such cases, the user suffers as he has to do to and fro between the multi-function device and the computing device. Hence, in light of the above limitations, there arises a need for improvised methods and systems.

Methods and systems for sending an email along with a scanned document from a multi-function device


A composition of crystalline TGF-.beta.2 is described. The tertiary structure of the protein homodimer determined by X-ray crystallography to 2.1 angstrom resolution is shown. This structure provides data useful in the rational design of drugs to mimic the physiologic properties of proteins of the TGF-.beta. family.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to crystalline TGF-.beta.2, which can be used as a starting material in any of the methods of use for TGF-.beta.2 outlined in the patents set forth below, but is particularly useful for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of the TGF-.beta.2 polypeptide.
The three dimensional structure of TGF-.beta.2 provides information which has a number of uses; principally related to the development of pharmaceutical compositions which mimic the action of TGF-.beta.2 or other members of the TGF-.beta. family of proteins.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-.beta.) belongs to a family of growth factors that structurally related, which consists of at least five isoforms, TGF-.beta.1 through TGF-.beta.5, and activins and inhibins. These growth factors are involved in regulation of growth and function of many different cell types. TGF-.beta.s have been shown to stimulate proliferation of certain cells, such as osteoblasts and normal rat kidney fibroblasts grown on soft agar. However, TGF-.beta.s inhibit the proliferation of most cell types, such as lymphocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and epithelial cells (1-4). In addition to its regulatory roles in cell proliferation, TGF-.beta.s are also known to regulate a variety of cellular processes, such as the production of extracellular matrix, chemotaxis, differentiation and morphogenesis. Due to the wide regulatory role of proteins of the TGF-.beta. family, there are a number of ongoing clinical studies involving the use of TGF-.beta.s, for example, to suppress inflammation, promote healing of soft tissue wounds, repair damaged bone and cartilage and to control tumor growth (5).
Despite the general multifunctional regulatory role of TGF-.beta.s, the mechanism by which TGF-.beta.s regulate cellular processes is unknown. Recently, significant advances have been made in understanding the roles of the three known types of TGF-.beta. receptors in signal transduction. A possibility has been raised that TGF-.beta. type II receptor may function as a serine/threonine kinase, based on homology of its amino acid sequence to other such kinase proteins, as a mechanism of signal transduction (6).
TGF-.beta.s are first expressed in cells as a precursor, which is then thought to be activated through proteolytic cleavage. The mature TGF-.beta. has 112 amino acids and forms a functional active homodimer of about 25 kilodaltons molecular weight. The amino acid sequences of TGF-.beta. are highly conserved among the human, bovine, porcine, simian, chicken and murine proteins. The high degree of structural conservation among the different species is consistent with the importance of TGF-.beta. in regulation of cellular functions.
One route to understanding the function of proteins is to take a structural point of view. Specifically, one determines the 3-D structure of a protein and inquires as to how the structure relates to function. In the case of TGF-.beta., the protein is actually one of a large family of similar proteins. It is also known that different forms of TGF-.beta. display slightly different affinities to their receptors and this differential binding onto the receptors is regulated according to tissue type, cell type which in turn regulates the cell proliferation. Thus it is critical to understand the structural differences between different forms of TGF-.beta.s in order to reveal their differences in biological function.
The following U.S. Patents, disclosing material relating to either compositions or methods of use for TGF-.beta. or TGF-.beta.2, have issued. All are hereby incorporated by reference.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. issued subject matter ______________________________________ 4,434,094 2/28/84 partially purified TGF-.beta. 4,627,982 12/9/86 OFE, partially pure OIF 4,760,131 7/26/88 Collagen/heparin gel containing platelet releasates for wound healing 4,774,228 9/27/88 TGF-.beta.2 for promoting connective tissue deposition 4,774,322 9/27/88 pure TGF-.beta. 4,806,523 2/21/89 TGF-.beta. for immune modulation 4,816,442 3/2/89 TGF-.beta.2 inhibition of tumor growth 4,810,691 3/7/89 TGF-.beta.2 for promoting cell proliferation 4,843,063 6/27/89 TGF-.beta. for local/systemic bone repair 4,950,483 8/21/90 Collagen/heparain sponge con- taining a synergistic combination of TGF-.beta. and FGF 4,971,952 11/20/90 Method for treating inflammation 5,008,240 4/16/91 Method for treating inflammation 5,024,84 11/16/91 Collagen wound healing matrices and process for their production ______________________________________

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services


In one embodiment, a method or software development tools are provided which allow customised information systems, for example, accounts receivable or stock control software, to be designed, implemented and maintained in less time than is generally presently required, while still providing a customised information system which conforms to the requirements of an industry, individual or an organisation. The invention also provides a customised information system in which the existing development steps of Analysis, Design, and Coding are transformed into a single Definition step.

Many organisations use computer systems (hereafter referred to as "Information Systems") to record, process and retrieve information. Examples of the kinds of information stored in information systems could include accounts receivable, accounts payable, stock levels, and the like. There are two basic types of information systems available to these organisations. These types can be thought of as "packaged" and "customised".
Packaged types refers to information systems (software) that can be bought, set-up and used immediately. Packaged types work in a manner that is general enough that they can be used by a wide range of organisations without being customised to suit specific organisational requirements.
Customised types refers to information systems (software) that are designed, developed and maintained specifically for an organisation, industry or application, generally to fulfil specific and/or unique requirements within that organisation, industry or application.
For many organisations, industries or applications, custom designed software works or performs better than packaged software. Packaged software is designed to be general, to allow it to be used successfully in a range of organisations, industries or applications. To achieve this, packaged software has to be, so to speak, "A jack of all trades, a master of none". Whilst packaged software will perform many of the fictions that are required, it will usually not perform all, and it will not perform some functions in the best way for the particular use that the packaged software is put.
Organisations, industries or applications which use packaged software often expend time and effort preparing information to be entered into the packaged software (or packaged information system), and manipulating information output by the packaged software, so that the packaged software may be used effectively. Even with this extra ongoing manual effort, some functions may not be managed by the information system at all. Packaged software is presently almost always faster and cheaper to implement than customised software (or customised information systems), which is the primary reason for the existence of packaged software.
Custom designed software (or custom designed information systems) is specifically designed for an industry or an organisation, so the extra manual work required by packaged software is typically not required with a customised information system. A customised information system will generally be developed to do whatever the industry or organization wants, and contain all functionality required, with very little, if any, manual work required in preparing information to be input, or manipulating information that has been output from the customised software to make it useful.
However, customised information systems generally take a relatively long time to implement and maintain, and require highly skilled and specialised personnel to implement and maintain the customised information systems, and therefore are often very expensive and time consuming to implement and maintain.
The extra time and cost to implement a customised information system is often justified by the decreased manual work required by a customised information system, when compared to a packaged information system. For some industries or organisations, there may be no packaged system suitable for them to use, in which case customised systems are the only option.
Although customised information systems can fit an industry or organisation's requirements exactly, because of the time taken to develop and maintain a customised information system, customised information systems usually do not fit what is required today—they generally fit what was required a few months or a few years ago. By the time the customised information system has been fully implemented or modified to fit the current needs of an industry or organisation, those needs are often no longer the current needs—the requirements have changed.
For this reason, although customised information systems will fit an industry or an organisation better than packaged information systems, they do not fit perfectly, and are usually expensive. This time delay in developing a customised information system, and the high expense of customised information systems, means that many organisations simply cannot afford a customised information system, and thus use a packaged information system, with the inherent disadvantages involved in using a packaged information system, or do not use a computerised information system at all.
Presently, when developing a customised information system, there is a standard method that is followed. The various steps within the method may vary, but generally they include the following steps:                1. Analysis (Work out what the information system needs to do)        2. Design (Work out how the information system should do it)        3. Coding (Make the information system do it)        4. Testing (Test that the results of the Coding step fit the results of the Design step and the results of the Analysis step, and that the industry or organisation for which the information system is being developed is satisfied that the information system will fulfil requirements)        5. Implementation (Render the information system up and running and able to be used by the industry or organisation, including loading any data required)
Most of these steps require not only intensive work, but also require thorough documentation of the results of that work. There is a danger that the analysis results of the first step will be misunderstood, displaced or corrupted when designing the information system, or that the design will be misunderstood, displaced or corrupted when coding or testing the information system. Thorough documentation is required to prevent these mistakes from occurring. Therefore, the presently known method not only requires the time taken to carry out each step of the method, but also requires time to be taken simply to ensure that the results of one step are carried successfully through to the next step.
For larger or complex customised information systems, the information system will often be broken into components, and then into sub-components, and the five step method will be carried out for each subcomponent. The results of the method for the previous component or sub-component are then built on when developing the next component or subcomponent. This is useful to ensure that the information system being developed or maintained conforms to requirements, but consumes time and increases the cost of the information system.
An information system consists of one or more databases, which in turn consist of a number of classes (in some systems called tables or files) which are related to each other. Each class contains instances which share the same possible list of attributes, but may contain different values against each of those attributes. Instances within classes can be related to instances within other classes. Classes within presently known systems tend to be related in a hierarchical manner. That is, some classes are clearly subservient to some other classes. This structure is illustrated in FIG. 1 (prior art).
The relationships between these classes are defined (duplicated or replicated) in every program that needs to derive data that is related to other data. That is, if a program needs to find all instances in class A (10) that are related to a given instance(s) in class B (12), that program must understand how the data in class A (10) is related to the data in class B (12). This makes programs longer and more difficult to write and to maintain, and means that it takes a relatively long time to implement and to maintain the programs, and requires highly skilled and specialised personnel to do so. This also means that programs must be changed when the relationships between classes changes. Programs that require this understanding include programs that validate data, that derive data, and that are used for searching or "drilling". As illustrated in FIG. 1, class A (10) is also directly related to class C (14). Class D (16), class E (18), class F (20) and class G (22) are each related to class A (10) via class B (12).
For example, if a program needed to retrieve the values of the attribute "Amount" from the class "Invoice", it could look like the following:    Variable=0    SELECT Invoice Class WHERE CustomerAttribute="00001"    FOR Each InvoiceInstance Selected            GET Each InvoiceInstance        Variable+=InvoiceInstance.Amount
Most programs require recursion or looping—that is, repeating a series of instructions a number of times. This makes writing and maintaining these programs more difficult, more time consuming, more costly, and requires a high level of knowledge and skill. Most programs also require branching—the ability to choose which series of instructions within the program should be followed.
For example, if a program needed to retrieve the values of either the attribute "Amount" or the attribute "DiscountAmount", depending on whether the customer received a discount or not, from the class "Invoice", it could look like the following:    Variable=0    GET CustomerInstance FROM Customer Class FOR Customer "00001"    SELECT Invoice Class WHERE Customer Attribute="00001"    FOR Each InvoiceInstance Selected            GET Each InvoiceInstance        IF CustomerInstance.DiscountFlag='Y' THEN                    Variable+=InvoiceInstance.DiscountAmount                        ELSE                    Variable+=InvoiceInstance.Amount
Programs are written to perform complicated validation, and to perform derivation Validation refers to ensuring that the data is correct. Derivation refers to calculating new data from other data. If programs are poorly written, the data will not be validated correctly, and derived data may not be calculated correctly. Programs should also be written to take into account that an update in one class may require updates in other classes, which may require updates in other classes, etc. Any failure for the programs to take this into account can result in the data that is stored within the system being inaccurate.
For example, if a program needed to validate that a particular customer was entitled to purchase a given product, it could look like the following. This example could be of a wholesaler which sells any quantity of any products to a retailer, but only sells a limited range of products to private individuals:    GET CustomerInstance FROM Customer Class FOR Customer "00001"    IF CustomerInstance.Type='Private' THEN            GET ProductInstance FROM Product Class FOR SaleInstance.Product        IF ProductInstance.CustomerType NE 'Private' THEN                    Error
As a further example, if a program needed to update a customer's balance whenever a new sale occurred, and whenever a payment was received, it could look like the following:    GET CustomerInstance FROM Customer Class FOR    SaleInstance.CustomerNumber    CustomerInstance.Balance+=SaleInstanceAmount    PUT CustomerInstance ON Customer Class FOR SaleInstance.CustomerNumber    GET CustomerInstance FROM Customer Class FOR    ReceivedInstance.CustomerNumber    CustomerInstance.Balance−=ReceivedInstanceAmount    PUT CustomerInstance ON Customer Class FOR    Received Instance.CustomerNumber
This identifies a need for an unproved method of and new computer software for designing, developing and/or maintaining customised information systems which overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems inherent in the prior art as discussed previously.
This also identifies a need to provide a means for classes within an information system not to be required to be solely related in a hierarchical manner. That is, although classes can be clearly subservient to some other classes, classes do not necessarily have to be related in a hierarchical manner as in the prior art. There is a need for classes to be able to be related in a more flexible manner.
Definitions
Access to an information system is provided by terminals which are capable of requesting and receiving information from local or remote information sources. A terminal may be any type of computer or computerised device, a personal computer (PC), a mobile or cellular phone, a mobile data terminal, a portable computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a thin client, or any other similar type of electronic device. The capability of the terminal to request and/or receive information can be provided by an application program which may or may not be part of the information system, hardware or other such entity. A terminal may be provided with associated devices, for example an information storage device such as a hard disk drive.
An information source may be a server or any other type of terminal (for example, a PC computer) coupled to an information storage device (for example, a hard disk drive). The exchange of information (i.e., the request and/or receipt of information) between the terminal and the information source, or other terminal(s), is facilitated by a communication channel. The communication channel may be physically realised via a metallic cable (for example, a telephone line), semiconducting cable, an electromagnetic signal (for example, a radio frequency (RF) signal), an optical fibre cable, a microwave link, a satellite link or any other such medium or combination thereof connected to a network infrastructure.
The terms 'data' and 'information' are used within this document to assist in describing the scope of the present invention. For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention, the terms are taken to be interpreted as:
Data—The separate components which make up information. Individually, the components are not generally useful; an industry or organisation cannot use the data to determine the best action to take. As an analogy, data could be thought of as the bricks, mortar, wood and nails of a house. Separately, they are of no use; but when they are put together to form a house, they perform a useful purpose. An example of data might be a customer number, an amount of money, and a date. There is generally no useful action that can be taken with these the separate pieces of data.
Information—Data that has been put together in such a way as to be useful. To continue the analogy, a house can be thought of as bricks, mortar, wood and nails that have been put together in such a way as to be useful. An example of information might be a customer number, with a related amount of money due, with a related date due that is three months in the past. This is the same data used in the previous definition of data, but because the data has been put together in the right way, an organisation can now take appropriate action based on selected criteria. The appropriate action could be, for example, to refer a debt to a debt collector, or just call a customer and speak with them about a debt.
Generic object oriented terminology is used in this specification, but not exclusively. The following definitions are used to clarify terms in this specification.                Instance—Could also be called a record within a file, or a row within a table. An instance is a see, distinct item, stored among items of a similar type, within the system. For example, all orders are likely to be stored within the same class. Each separate order is an instance within that class.        Class—Could also be called a file or a table. All information of a particular type is stored in a particular class. For example, all orders are likely to be stored within one class, and all customer information is likely to be stored within another class.        Attribute—Could also be called fields on a file, or columns on a table. Every separate piece of data is stored as an attribute. For example, an order class is likely to contain the following attributes: Order number, customer number, date, amount, delivery instructions, and so on. A customer class is likely to contain the following attributes: Customer number, name, address, phone number, fax number, credit limit, and so on.        Relationship Category—Refers to how data can be related to other data. Many different relationship types can fit within the one relationship category. Basically, data can be related to other data by being Not Equal (NE), Greater Than (GT), Greater than or Equal (GE), Equal (EQ), Less than or Equal (LE) or Less Than (LT) the other data. Relationship category is one of the two phrases used within this specification to describe the relationships between data. Relationship Type is the other phrase.        Relationship Type—Further defines, or narrows down, how data can be related to other data. Every relationship type fits within a relationship category. There are two basic reasons for there being multiple relationship types within one relationship category. 1. The first is that it is possible to define that a piece of data is related to one specific other piece of data, by defining that it is the first or last piece of other data to which it is related. For example, the relationship type <==(Less than or Equal Equal) belongs to relationship category LE, but refers to the one piece of other data that is less than or equal to the data, and is most equal. If there are multiple pieces of other data, the piece most equal to the data will be chosen. 2. Relationship types can be written in multiple ways, eg <# is equivalent to < and #<, yet they all belong to the same relationship category.        Program—Any series of instructions telling a computer what to do, and what order to do it in. Generally called a Method in Object Oriented terminology. Could also be called an applet, subroutine, module, script, batch, or function. There are other possible names also, not included here.

Developing and maintaining customised computer information systems


The present invention relates to an optical fiber having a configuration which enables utilization of nonlinear phenomena in the near-infrared region. The optical fiber is directed to a holey fiber having a core region extending along a predetermined axis and a cladding region with plural holes arranged along the core region. The plural holes are arranged to constitute plural layers about the core region in the cross-section orthogonal to the predetermined axis. The three holes constituting the first layer (the innermost layer) closest to the core region correspond to three vertexes from among the six vertexes of a regular hexagon and are placed such that the arrangement of the three holes has three-fold rotational symmetry. The optical fiber enables utilization of nonlinear phenomena in the near-infrared region, by properly adjusting the hole diameter d and the pitch L between adjacent holes from among the holes constituting a single layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a so-called holey fiber comprising a solid core region and a cladding region in which plural holes extending along the core region are provided.
2. Related Background Art
A so-called holey fiber comprises a solid core region extending along a longitudinal direction of the fiber and a cladding region in which plural holes, extending along the core region while surrounding the core region, are provided. FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the cross-sectional configuration of a conventional holey fiber 10. There is illustrated, in FIG. 1, the arrangement of the plural holes 13 in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the holey fiber 10. In FIG. 1, circles illustrated by a solid line in the cladding region 12 represent holes 13. On the other hand, circles illustrated by a dot line do not represent holes, but represent regions or positions (the same applies to FIGS. 2 and 3 which will be described later).
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the holey fiber 10 comprises a solid core region 11 existing at the center portion of the fiber 10 and extending along the longitudinal direction of the fiber 10 (the direction perpendicular to the paper face) and a cladding region 12 surrounding the core region 11. In the cladding region 12, there are provided plural holes 13 having a round-shaped cross-section and extending along the longitudinal direction of the fiber 10. The portion of the cladding region 12 other than the holes 13 and the core region 11 are comprised of silica glass and may occasionally contain secondary constituents or dopants to be added. In the cross-section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the plural holes 13 in the cladding region 22 are arranged so as to constitute plural layers (four layers in FIG. 1) about the core region 11. More specifically, the holes 13 constituting the respective layers are arranged so as to have six-fold rotational symmetry about the core region 11.
The six holes 13 constituting the first layer (the innermost layer) closest to the core region 11 are provided at six vertexes of a regular hexagon. The twelve holes 13 constituting the second layer (the second layer from the core region 11) are placed at the six vertexes of a regular hexagon and the middle points of the respective sides of the regular hexagon. The eighteen holes 13 constituting the third layer (the third layer from the core region 11) are placed at the six vertexes of a regular hexagon and the points trisecting the respective sides of the regular hexagon. The twenty-four holes 13 constituting the fourth layer (the forth layer from the core region 21) are placed at the six vertexes of a regular hexagon and the points quadrisect the respective sides of the regular hexagon. The regular hexagons of the respective layers have the same center position and the same orientation. The pitch L between adjacent holes 13 from among the holes 13 constituting the respective layers (the distance between the center positions of adjacent holes 13) is uniform. Further, the diameters d of the total of sixty holes 13 are generally uniform.
By properly designing the pitch L of the arranged holes 13, the diameter d and the like, the holey fiber 10 having the aforementioned configuration enables a greater absolute chromatic-dispersion value than those of standard optical fibers having an entirely-solid configuration and enables larger nonlinearity than those of conventional highly-nonlinear fibers. Further, it is possible to reduce the bending loss. Therefore, researches and developments have been conducted about holey fibers utilizing the characteristics as stated above.
For example, in a holey fiber described in Document 1 (K. P. Hansen, et al., "Fully Dispersion Controlled Triangular-Core Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Fiber", 0FC2003, PD2), a apart of the holes in the first layer closest to the core region are omitted. This holey fiber enables substantially zero chromatic dispersion, a small absolute dispersion slope and large nonlinearity, near a wavelength of 1.55 μm which is generally used as a signal light wavelength region in optical communication. By employing the holey fiber described in Document 1, it is possible to develop a nonlinear optical phenomenon, with a high efficiency, near a wavelength of 1.55 μm, whereby it is to be expected to realize various types of applications.


A display panel and a display panel manufacturing method are provided. The display panel includes a thin film package layer; the thin film package layer includes at least one first inorganic layer, at least one first organic layer and at least one second inorganic layer. The first inorganic layer includes an inorganic material absorbing light of an ultraviolet wavelength band. Progressive decrease of a refractive index of the first inorganic layer prevents light emitted out of the OLEDs from sustaining total reflection in each contacting surface between layers and effectively increases stability and light performance of the display panel.

The present invention relates to display panel manufacturing fields, especially to a display panel and a display panel manufacturing method.
In flexible display fields, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have an overwhelming advantage. However, tendency of organic materials to be susceptible to water and oxygen erosion restricts the development of OLEDs.
Therefore, packaging OLED devices to be isolated from the external environment is critical to the stability of the OLED device. For flexible devices, the current popular packaging technology solution is encapsulating OLED devices through laminated organic/inorganic thin films.
In the prior art, when light enters the organic buffer layer from the inorganic barrier layer or enters the air from the inorganic barrier layer, it is affected by the total reflection and luminous efficiency is therefore reduced.
Therefore, there is a need for a display panel to solve the above problems.

Display panel and display panel manufacturing method

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


The composition and process of the present invention involves the use of a material at high pressure to dissolve, break up and move waste material, especially hydrocarbon based waste material, also known as fluidization. The composition is a dispersion fluid made from a dilute mixture of soy flour, lignin flour, citrus pectin, and sodium silicate. Additional components which may be added include sodium phosphate, soda ash, and a surfactant, non-ionic TRITON X100. The dispersion fluid is sprayed with high pressure, as needed, into the mass of material to be removed and then pumped out with the suction from a commercially available vacuum truck. A settling tank enables recirculation of the dispersion fluid to enable a recirculating process stream and to reduce the net amount of dispersion fluid utilized with a given amount of sludge to be removed.

The past few decades have fostered the development of the environmental industry dedicated to minimizing the harm to the environment resulting from ordinary industrial activities. Both public and industry are increasingly aware of the harm caused by not taking steps to mitigate the effects of waste left in the environment. Simply not disposing of the waste environmentally and by the use of containment is extremely expensive.
In the case of the oil industry, waste build-up in tanks, settling ponds, and containment cellars cannot be simply left in tact, as if discarded. Not only would those structures represent a significant lost investment by virtue of the loss of their use, but corrosion and decay of those structures will eventually, even though slowly, produce the same effects as if the waste material had been discarded initially. The costs of site remediation is tremendous and will eventually, due to its magnitude of cost, end up as a social cost borne by the taxpayers.
Due to the production and use of hydrocarbon fuels in many countries a significant proportion of the waste problems are associated with hydrocarbon fuels. Since hydrocarbon constituents, especially the heavier components, may fall out of solution, significant buildup problems occur. These types of problems are particularly severe where the process conditions are such that the lighter less-viscous components are in a position to differentially leave the solution, or where the heavier components such as waxes are allowed to settle and become stuck together.
The nature and conditions under which hydrocarbons can collect and self-adhere are many and varied. Further complications are caused by other materials present in the environment where the hydrocarbon is collected. For example, in a refinery a hydrocarbon stream may be exposed to heavy metals which may accumulate along with the hydrocarbon. In oil fields, oil spillage about a well may collect with drilling mud in concrete cellars surrounding the well head. As can be seen, the presence of other materials can hamper disposal of the hydrocarbon waste for a number of reasons. Structurally the other materials can combine with the adhesive effect of the hydrocarbon to form a hard solid. Where the other materials predominate, the hydrocarbon can require bulk processing of a relatively larger mass of material to remove the same amount of hydrocarbon. In cases where other, relatively inert but structurally enhancing material is present, a hydrocarbon contaminated with heavy metals can inhibit the remediation process due to the hazards involved in physically separating the contaminated hydrocarbon even before the step of decontaminating the hydrocarbon takes place.
Another hurdle involves the physical mutation of the hydrocarbon mass into a form which is transportable. A highly viscous wax is not transportable with ordinary small diameter four or five inch lines using standard available vacuum trucks, most of which are usually capable of creating a vacuum of about twenty seven to twenty eight inches of water column. Where masses of hydrocarbon waste cannot be suctioned, personnel are usually required to manually separate the hydrocarbon material.
Having to place personnel in intimate physical contact with the hydrocarbon material can bring its own associated set of problems. Where the mass is relatively free of volatile components, significant amounts of physical exertion is required to break up the mass requiring expensive labor costs and downtime for equipment, tanks, etc.
In instances where the mass is laden with volatiles or hazardous materials, the procedures, personnel safety and protective equipment can significantly slow the removal process. Factors slowing the process include the daily decontamination of the personnel and equipment, the limitations of movement which the personnel are subject to with the heavy, bulky, cumbersome equipment, and the reduced exertion possible with the cumbersome equipment.
Further, the contaminated hydrocarbon mixture must be further disposed of, even after the personnel has collected it. In the case where it is contaminated, the high cost of processing may outweigh the high cost of hazardous waste disposal. The result is the utilization of valuable disposal space, a finite and costly resource. One of the main elements of cost of the decontamination process is the physical separation of the contaminated species from the non-contaminated species, to enable concentrated processing of the contaminated material in the most concentrated form possible.
If the initial transport of the hazardous material were coupled with the first step of separating the hazardous from the non-hazardous material, the eventual cost of de-contamination could be lessened, especially if the initial separation were not accompanied by a loss of concentration.
One of the further problems in removing contaminated hydrocarbons is related to the use of solvents to dissolve and make less viscous the hydrocarbon portion of the material, in order to facilitate the movement of the material, as through pipes and conduits by pumping. However, hydrocarbon solvents in order to actively dissolve the contaminated hydrocarbon must be of low molecular weight and therefore volatile. Working with volatile hydrocarbons represents an increase in the hazards rather than a decrease in the hazards. Moreover, the result, even if the solvent dissolution works, is a volume of hazardous material including a volume of water which may be from about three to five times the volume of the original contaminated mass. Further, the hazardous material rather than being more concentrated to facilitate further treatment is now more dilute. Thus an additional step must be performed to remove the solvent from both the hazardous material and the non-hazardous materials if any are present.
The removal of the solvent must be done in a way which will yield the return of the non-contaminated solvent. Such treatment usually involves a distillation tower. However, the introduction of a contaminated solid into a distillation tower will yield a bottoms product which is similarly difficult to remove, which will in effect begin the waste removal problem over again.
What is therefore needed is a method to cause hardened waxy waste to become sufficiently broken-up and non-viscous to enable its transport with ordinary pumping and vacuum apparatus, and which will not add significantly to the overall volume of the material to be removed. The method should not add to the steps necessary to de-contaminate the material to be removed to the extent necessary to eliminate or minimize the necessity for hazardous waste disposal space. The method, process and chemicals used should not add to the hazardous or cumbersome nature of the cleanup and removal operation.

Waste oil removal composition and method


A vehicle obstruction avoidance system particularly for reversing a vehicle towards obstructions not visible in the wing mirrors. A radar head is mounted on the rear bumper, the head including a scanner and sensor. The total range of interest is only a few meters and provides very little time for processing echoes from all range cells in the range. The invention provides a system in which only one range cell is processed with each pulse transmission and the range cell is stepped on for the next pulse.

This invention relates to vehicle obstruction detection systems and particularly, but not exclusively, to such detection systems for use on vehicles in car parks and other areas of restricted space and random `obstructions`.
When reversing a vehicle into a confined space or up to a stationary object such as another vehicle, wall, lamp-post etc, it is frequently difficult, from the position of the driver's seat, to estimate the clearance distance between the rear of the vehicle and adjacent objects. Such objects may be damaged by, or be a hazard to, the vehicle.
Radar systems for detecting the presence and range of objects are of course well known. Similarly, light based systems using lasers for the same purpose--"lidar"--are known. In such systems the range is commonly determined by means of a series of "range gates" which open for a predetermined short time commencing at some predetermined time after the transmission of the radar pulse. The delay between transmit pulse and gate opening is staggered so that the range gates cover successive periods in the range of interest, and thus cover the actual range of interest. A complete picture in the direction of transmission can thus be obtained from the various returns of a single pulse from different range cells. Such a system may be satisfactory in most radar situations, eg. where the target is a tank, aircraft or other military entity at some distance, but presents difficulty when the circumstances are of a much more localised or domestic nature and particularly when the `target` range is only several meters at maximum and more commonly only tens of centimeters.
In such circumstances the pulse transit time is likely to be of the order of a nanosecond or less and each range cell perhaps 15 centimeters. Processing circuitry which could cope with successive signal samples at intervals of a nanosecond would at best be very expensive and at worst be impracticable. Anologue-digital converters in particular are generally not able to operate at this speed.
In another context it is known to use radar to determine the height of clouds, to assist in the landing and take-off of aircraft for example. A similar principle is involved in that radar pulses are transmitted vertically upward and range gates are timed to receive signals from successive range cells. In this case however, the maximum range could be in the region of 3000 meters with range cells of perhaps 20 meters. The assessment of a single range cell per pulse (or per multiplicity of pulses) has been proposed but there is clearly no pressure on the speed of the processing electronics in view of the great distances and substantial transit times involved.


A flat key for or a lock which is coded mechanically as well as electronically, includes a flat basic shaped part (11) consisting of metal, with a shank section (9) and a bow section (13). A circuit chip (23), fitted with structural parts (25) of an electronic circuit, is in a recess (21) in the bow section, formed by an integral bottom (19) of the basic shaped part (11) and sealed by a casting compound (29). Housing shells (15, 17) surrounding the bow section (13) are on facing flat sides of the bow section (13). The housing shell (15) lying over the recess (21) is bonded to the bow section (13). The other housing shell (17) bears a U-shaped rib (43) by which it engages behind the bonded housing shell (15).

The invention concerns a flat, key comprising a flat basic shaped part, typically consisting of metal and integrally comprising a bow section and a shank section with mechanical lock-control members. A circuit chip having structural elements of an electronic circuit is disposed in a recess of the bow section, and two housing shells, e.g., shaped parts of a synthetic material, are disposed on facing flat sides of the bow section and substantially completely surround the bow section.
It is known that an electronic circuit which, by inductive transmission means, for example, transmits code information to a control circuit assigned to a lock for additional locking control, may be integrated in the bow of a key which locks the lock tumblers mechanically. Thus, locking reliability of the lock may be enhanced. See German Patent Document DE-A-3,517,858.
German Patent Document DE-C-3,507,871 discloses a flat key whose flat basic shaped part, consisting of metal, forms a shank section and a bow section in one piece. In known fashion, the shank section includes mechanical lock-control members for controlling the tumblers of the lock, e.g., notches or depressions, and the bow section is substantially completely surrounded by two housing shells made as shaped parts of synthetic material disposed on facing flat sides of the bow section. The key comprises an electronic circuit whose structural elements are arranged on a circuit chip accommodated in a recess of the bow section of the basic shaped part, with the housing shells covering the recess.


A carburetor control system for a carburetor including a first cam and a second cam. The carburetor includes a choke valve assembly and a throttle valve assembly. The first cam is connected to the choke valve assembly. The second cam is connected to the throttle valve assembly. The second cam includes a first section and a second section. When the first cam is moved to a choke position the first section can be contacted by the first cam to latch the second cam in a start position. When the throttle valve assembly is moved to a wide open throttle position the second section can contact the first cam to hold the first cam in the choke position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to a carburetor for an internal combustion engine.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,480 discloses a control mechanism for a carburetor having levers connected to a throttle valve and a choke valve which engage each other. U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,929 discloses an automatic starting arrangement for a carburetor with interacting levers connected to a choke flap and a throttle flap. When the engine is cold it requires a certain amount of enrichment in the air/fuel mixture to operate. It is commonly known to use air flow choking devices or secondary enrichment circuits to provide the required enrichment during cold start. In automotive applications air choking devices were commonly used. In the beginning of the century manually activated systems were used, then thermostatic elements were implemented.
In the field of small two-stroke engines, manual choke devices are widely known. The problem found with this manually activated choke devices is the large number of users that misuse the systems that find themselves flooding the engine. Many attempts have been made to ensure the ease of use of this feature. Some of these attempts require step-by-step actions not followed by many users.
The present invention pertains to a carburetion system similar to those used in portable two-stroke internal combustion engines. The problem to overcome was allowing the enrichment system of the carburetor to operate either in idle or wide open throttle while providing simplicity of operation and low manufacturing cost. The object of the invention, allows the operator to reset the system by releasing the throttle actuator. Prior art systems provide air/fuel mixture enrichment requiring multiple step-by-step sequence of an operator""s input. Many times these prior art systems failed to operate properly due to different operator""s habits like starting the unit at idle, starting the unit at WOT, not following complicated sequence of steps, not being able to identify proper actuators"" positioning, not being able to recognize a xe2x80x9cpopxe2x80x9d signal, etc. Some prior art throttle-choke linkage system, throttle-choke latching is used to produce fast idle while the enrichment system or choke is activated. Such a system requires a trained operator who is able to learn steps not commonly used by typical users of this equipment. Less than 25% of the population of users starts the engine while at idle position, while the remaining population of users starts the engine at WOT. If not recognized or trained, over 75% of the aforementioned population of users will unintentionally deactivate the system by depressing the throttle actuator to WOT position and the engine will not start.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a carburetor control system for a carburetor comprising a first cam and a second cam. The carburetor comprises a choke valve assembly and a throttle valve assembly. The first cam is connected to the choke valve assembly. The second cam is connected to the throttle valve assembly. The second cam comprises a first section and a second section. When the first cam is moved to a choke position the first section can be contacted by the first cam to latch the second cam in a start position. When the throttle valve assembly is moved to a wide open throttle position the second section can contact the first cam to hold the first cam in the choke position.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a power tool is provided comprising an internal combustion engine which includes a carburetor comprising a choke valve, a first control member connected to the choke valve, a throttle valve, and a second control member connected to the throttle valve. The second control member has two spaced apart contact areas. The first. control member is movable relative to the second control member and, when the first control member and the choke valve are at a choke position, the two spaced apart contact areas can make respective separate contact with the first control member in at least two different positions of the throttle valve.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a carburetor is provided comprising a housing; a choke valve connected to the housing; a manually actuatable control connected to the choke valve; a first automatic control member connected to the choke valve; a throttle valve connected to the housing; and a second automatic control member connected to the throttle valve. When a user manually moves the manually actuatable control to move the choke valve to a choke position, the first automatic control can contact the second automatic control member to move the throttle valve to a first open position. When the user subsequently moves the throttle valve to a wide open throttle position, the second automatic control member contacts the first automatic control member to provide the choke valve at the choke position.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a carburetor control system is provided for a carburetor. The carburetor comprises a choke valve, a throttle valve, and a throttle control connected to the throttle valve. A positioning linkage is provided between the choke valve and the throttle valve. When a user moves the choke valve to a choke position the linkage retains the choke valve at the choke position. When the user subsequently moves the throttle control to move the throttle valve to a wide open throttle position, before the throttle valve is released to an idle position, the linkage also locates the choke valve at the choke position.
In accordance with one method of the present invention, a method of setting a carburetor for starting of an internal combustion engine is provided comprising steps of moving a choke valve to a choke position; automatically moving a throttle valve to a partially open position as the choke valve is moved to the choke position; when the throttle valve is moved to the partially open position, latching a first member connected to the choke valve to a second member connected to the throttle valve, wherein the first and second members hold the choke valve in the choke position and the throttle valve in the partially open position; and optionally subsequently moving the throttle valve to a wide open throttle position wherein the second member holds the first member and the choke valve in the choke position, wherein the choke valve can be held at the choke position by the second member when the throttle valve is at either the partially open position or the wide open throttle position.

Carburetor control system having two cam members connected to choke valve and throttle valve


An electronic read circuit for a radiation detector comprises: a comparator receiving a threshold potential and the potential from an integration node, said node being able to store electrical charges that are generated by a photosensitive element; a counter connected to the output of the comparator; and a counter-charge injection circuit comprising: a capacitor that stores counter-charges, a transfer transistor that can be turned on in order to transfer counter-charges from a terminal of the capacitor to the integration node whenever the comparator toggles, the transfer of the counter-charges bringing about a variation of potential at said terminal of the capacitor, and a regulation circuit for controlling the transfer transistor, said circuit comprising means for turning on the transfer transistor when the potential of the terminal of the capacitor is between two predetermined potentials that are independent of the transfer transistor.

An array radiation detector comprises an array of pixels and an electronic circuit forming a read means. Each pixel comprises a photosensitive element that generates electrical charges in proportion to the received quantity of photons. These electrical charges, which are also called photocharges, are processed by the read means in order to provide a piece of information that is representative of the quantity of photons that is received by each photosensitive element. The use of CMOS technology has allowed the read means to be integrated at each pixel. Thus, the electrical charges can be converted into digital signals actually inside the pixels in order to facilitate transfer of the result of the detection to the outside of the array. A common solution for producing the read means is to use a circuit that operates by integrating the electrical charges. This integration circuit comprises an integration capacitance receiving the charges from the photosensitive element, a threshold comparator, a counter and a counter-charge injection circuit. During an exposure phase, the arrival of electrical charges on the integration capacitance brings about a decrease in the voltage at the terminals thereof. During a phase of reading the electrical charges, the threshold comparator toggles a certain number of times, as long as the voltage at the terminals at the integration capacitance is below a threshold voltage. Each toggling of the comparator increments the counter by one unit and prompts the injection circuit to inject a packet of counter-charges, the quantity—Q0 of which is calibrated. The minus sign is used arbitrarily in order to indicate that the injected counter-charges have a polarity that is opposite that of the charges received from the photosensitive element. The counter is thus incremented by the number of charge packets that is necessary in order to bring back a voltage that is higher than the threshold voltage at the terminals of the integration capacitance. In practice, counter-charges are generally injected as photocharges are collected, with a counter determining the number of times the comparator toggles, in order to estimate the total quantity of charges that is injected. The reading then corresponds to the reading of the content of the counters. The number of incrementations of the counter provides a numerical value that is representative of the quantity of photons that is received by the photosensitive element.
The counter-charge injection circuit is a critical element in the integration circuit. This is because the precision of the measurement rests on the calibration of the quantity—Q0 of counter-charges. Firstly, the quantity—Q0 of counter-charges must be relatively small since it corresponds to the pace of the quantification of the charges; secondly, this quantity must be identical for each packet of counter-charges since it quantifies the charges received by the integration capacitance.
In counter-charge injection circuits today, however, the quantity of charges that is injected whenever the comparator toggles can fluctuate. The reason is that these circuits have field-effect transistors, the channels of which are affected by random noise that is referred to as its "Random Telegraph Signal". The random nature of this noise has an influence on the quantity of counter-charges that is injected: some injections are affected by this noise, but others are not. Therefore, when wishing to estimate the total charge injected by a certain number of injections, the injections that have or have not been affected are not known.
By way of example, a counter-charge injection circuit frequently comprises two field-effect transistors (FET) connected in series and a capacitor connected between the connection point for the transistors and a fixed voltage, for example ground. A first transistor allows the capacitor to be charged to a first voltage value, referred to as charging voltage, which is controlled by the gate voltage for this transistor. The second transistor allows the capacitor to be discharged to a second voltage value, referred to as discharge voltage, which is controlled by the gate voltage of this transistor. The quantity—Q0 of counter-charges that are injected from the capacitor to the integration capacitance of the integration circuit is based on the value of the capacitance of the capacitor and on the difference between the charging and discharge voltages. However, the charging and discharge voltages cannot be deduced directly from the gate voltages of the transistors. The charging and discharge voltages correspond to the internal potentials of the transistors, which are not known precisely on account of the rts noise caused by the entrapment of charges in the channel of each transistor. This rts noise is all the more significant because the components have small dimensions in order to generate relatively small quantities—Q0 of counter-charges. In practice, this rts noise modifies the value of the quantity—Q0 by a few percent. This modification has direct repercussions on the evaluation of the quantity of photons that is received, and therefore the quality of the image obtained. Such an error is generally unacceptable in detectors, particularly in the field of medical imaging.

Radiation detector comprising a circuit for injecting a calibrated quantity of counter-charges

Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives