An anticancer agent containing platinum preparation, humic substances, water and sodium chloride.

Antineoplastic agents that incorporate platinum complexes attract specialists' attention featuring strong anti-tumor action, which causes violation of the mechanism of malignant cells gene action.
Platinum preparations have a wide range of antineoplastic administration. Cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (DDP), being the most thoroughly investigated agent of this anti-tumor group of agents, is active against tumors of various origins: spontaneous and inoculated ones, as well as those induced by viruses and chemical carcinogens. The DDP major drawback is connected with its high toxicity, which causes malfunction of kidneys, red marrow and the digestive tract.
A certain antineoplastic agent (A, RU 2086261) is known to contain a platinum complex in the form of cis-diaminodichloro-trans-dihydroxyplatinum (IV) (oxoplatinum) at a rate of 10-25% and sodium bicarbonate and sodium alginete—at respective rates of 25-55% and 40-60%. This agent has been designed for oral administration in pills with the total weight of 0.35-0.60 g each. The therapeutic dose of the agent in question has 20 to 150 mg of platinum content. The medicine is active in treatment of a relatively wide range of malignant diseases and can be characterized by inhibition of metastases growth and zero nephrotoxic properties.
Sodium bicarbonate, a component of the medicinal preparation, acts as a loosening agent with respect to the pill. When it gets into the gastric juice acid medium, the juice undergoes neutralization and carbon dioxide evolves. Gastric juice neutralization prevents substitution of oxoplatinum hydroxyl groups for chloro ligands to be accompanied with tetrachloride generation. Resulting in sodium chloride generation, interaction between hydrochloric acid sodium bicarbonate contributes to stabilization of chlorine ions in cis-diaminodichloro-trans-dihydroxyplatinum (IV).
Selection of sodium alginete as a filling agent is connected with its high binding properties and with the fact that alginic acid generated due to its interaction with hydrochloric acid has good compatibility with living tissues.
Thus, oxoplatinum acts as the only effective antineoplastic substance in the agent under consideration, which accounts for the necessity of relatively high dosage concerning its administration and increases the probability of complications associated with the toxicity of platinum preparations.
In the course of research investigation of various platinum complexes on animals and clinical trials of DDP and some of its analogues a variety of biological features characteristic of platinum complexes were discovered: anti-tumor activity and respective side effects. It has been shown that insignificant changes in the molecular structure of the complex are capable of causing drastic changes in the above features with respect to bioactivity, including anti-tumor activity. Existing relationship between the complex structure and its anti-tumor activity encourages the search for new platinum-containing agents featuring both high activity and low toxicity.

Abstract: Potassium tetrachloroplatinate is used as a platinum compound and lignohumic acid ammonium salts are used as humic substances taken in the following ratio of components per 1 ml of solution:

Abstract: lignohumic acid ammonium salts0.18-0.22mgpotassium tetrachloroplatinate0.020-0.040mgsodium chloride isotonic solution0.97-0.99mldistilled waterup to 1.0ml


A first piston (65) that presses friction plates (69a, 69c) is fitted in a second piston (66) in such a manner as to be movable together with the second piston and relatively movable with respect to the second piston. An A-chamber (61) and a B-chamber (62) each configured to move a respective one of the first piston (65) and the second piston (66) by a stroke toward a side close to the friction plates, a return spring (161) biasing the second piston (66) on a side away from the friction plates, and a stopper member (160) configured to prevent a stroke of the second piston (66) toward the side close to the friction plates from becoming greater than a given value (W) are provided. Engagement responsiveness of a L-R brake (60) does not deteriorate even when a clearance (V) in the friction plates (69a, 69c) increases.

An automatic transmission mountable on a vehicle is equipped with a plurality of frictional engagement elements such as a clutch element and a brake element, and configured to selectively engage one or more of the frictional engagement elements depending on an engine operating state to thereby change a driving force transmission path of a speed change mechanism comprising planetary gear sets, to automatically perform a speed change operation to establish a given speed stage.
A brake element described in the following Patent Literature 1, comprises a first piston configured to press friction plates, and a second piston configured to press the first piston toward a side close to the friction plates, wherein the first piston and the second piston are arranged in series along a stroke direction thereof, in this order from the side of the friction plates. The brake element further comprises a return spring acting on the first piston to bias the first and second pistons toward a side away from the friction plates. When the brake element is in a disengaged state, both of the first and second pistons are moved toward the side away from the friction plates, and set at their respective initial positions.
Thus, when a possibility arises that the brake element is engaged, the second piston can be preliminarily moved by a stroke toward the side close to the friction plates to thereby move the first piston by a stroke toward the side close to the friction plates, so that it becomes possible to preliminarily narrow a clearance in the friction plates (The resulting position of the first piston and the resulting position of the second piston will hereinafter be referred to respectively as "standby position of the first piston" and "standby position of the second piston").
Then, when it becomes necessary to engage the brake element, the first piston can be moved from the standby position by a stroke toward the side close to the friction plates, so that it becomes possible to establish effective pressing of the friction plates by the first piston within a short period of time, because the clearance is preliminarily narrowed (The resulting position of the first piston will hereinafter be referred to as "pressing established position"). This makes it possible to engage the brake element with good responsiveness, i.e., engage the brake element accurately at an adequate timing, to thereby suppress a speed-change shock or the like due to a deviation in engagement timing of the brake element.
Meanwhile, in the brake element described in the Patent Literature 1,, the return spring acts on the first piston. Thus, every time the brake element is disengaged, each of the first and second pistons is returned to a position most away from the friction plates, in a stroke range thereof. More specifically, the initial position of the first piston is a position most away from the friction plates, in a stroke range thereof, and the initial position of the second piston is also a position most away from the friction plates, in a stroke range thereof, so that a relative positional relationship between the first and second pistons at their initial positions never changes. Further, the second piston is moved by a stroke toward the side close to the friction plates, until this movement is restricted by a wall surface of a transmission casing, a stopper member or the like, so that the standby position of the second piston is structurally determined That is, the standby position of the first piston whose initial position relative to the initial position of the second piston never changes is also structurally determined, so that the standby position of the first piston never changes.
Thus, for example, in a situation where the friction plates have a relatively large clearance due to an individual difference between brake elements, or in a situation where the friction plates are worn away due to aging to cause an increase in the clearance, a distance between the standby position and the pressing established position of the first piston increases. This results in an increase in time necessary for the first piston to establish effective pressing of the friction plates, causing deterioration in responsiveness regarding engagement of the brake element and thus deterioration in accuracy of engagement timing of the brake element.

Brake element for transmission and control system therefor


Disclosed is a wheel drum and hub assembly remover and rotatable work stand which comprises a mobil base, an upper portion that is movably positioned with regard to the base, and means on said upper portion for engaging the lugs of a wheel drum assembly, whereby a wheel drum and hub assembly can be easily removed and taken to a remote location for servicing in shop or field, and with which all servicing can be accomplished without removal of the hub and drum assembly from the inventive device.

Large motor vehicles, including tractor-trailers, buses, and trucks, all have wheel assemblies that require maintenance on occasion. In particular, the ball bearings contained in the assemblies often have to be removed and replaced because of excessive wear. Sometimes the ball bearings fuse to the hub housings, therefore the entire assembly has to be removed in order to remove the ball bearings, creating additional problems.
The assemblies, particularly the outer housings, are generally made of cast iron or steel, are heavy, and difficult to remove, often requiring heavy lifting by the person removing them. Often, two or more people are required to assist in the removal of the assemblies for transport to remote locations where maintenance can be performed.

Heavy duty device for use in removing and servicing wheel drum and hub assemblies


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a first conductive structure on a substrate, forming an insulation layer on a sidewall of the first conductive structure, forming a second conductive structure a distance apart from the first conductive structure with the insulation layer therebetween, first removing a portion of the insulation layer by performing a first dry cleaning operation, second removing a reactant product used in the first dry cleaning operation or a first byproduct generated as a result of the first dry cleaning operation by performing a first purge operation, and third removing at least a portion of the remaining insulation layer by performing a second dry cleaning operation to form an air gap between the first and second conductive structures.

1. Field
Some example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including an air gap formed between conductive layers thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a relatively high integration semiconductor device is manufactured, a parasitic capacitance component is generated between adjacent layers thereof, thereby degrading the performance and reliability of the semiconductor device.
To reduce the parasitic capacitance component, a dielectric material having a low dielectric constant may be interposed between the adjacent layers. In this case, a space between the adjacent layers may be kept as an air gap to effectively further reduce the parasitic capacitance between the adjacent layers.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A drive IC, a display device and a loading method enable signals of different differential formats to be loaded without resulting in circuit redundancy. A drive IC includes an input section, a holding section, a selection section, and an output section. The input section includes a first input circuit and a second input circuit. When data of RSDS format is loaded, a selection section selects for output to the output section data held in a holding section that temporarily stores data output from the input section. When mini-LVDS format data is loaded, the selection section selects the data output from the input section for output to the output section. When the mini-LVDS data is loaded, a switch switches the output destination of the output section, such that data is rearranged in the desired sequence and externally output.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a display device, and a signal loading method.
Description of the Related Art
ICs are generally provided with an interface to load input signals. Such ICs include, for example, drive ICs employed to display an image on a display panel such as a liquid crystal display. Drive ICs have a function of receiving, from a timing controller semiconductor device, a data signal and a control signal for displaying an image on a display panel, for outputting to a signal line of the display panel.
As an example of a drive IC, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2012-44256 describes a semiconductor circuit that is capable of loading, according to signal input format, signals input using different formats, a single-ended input format and a different differential input format.
JP-A No. 2002-311912 describes a liquid crystal display device in which flip flops are disposed in a multi-stage bifurcated style layout, with the operating cycle of the flip flops disposed in each respective stage of the multi-stage halving at each stage from an input stage to an output stage.
JP-A No. H02-44828 describes a technology in which data is latched at the rising edge and falling edge of a clock signal, and two types of data, latched either at a timing of the rise or a timing of the fall of the clock signal (two types of data latched at the rising edge and the falling edge of the clock signal), are output at the same time.
In general, input methods for data (information) input to a drive IC from a timing controller semiconductor device mainly employ differential input formats. For example, reduced Swing Differential Signaling (RSDS) and mini-Low Voltage Differential Signaling (mini-LVDS) are examples of differential input method standards.
Recently, greater speed, as well as compatibility with mini-LVDS interfaces that are faster than RSDS interfaces, are being demanded of IC interfaces.
JP-A Nos. 2012-44256, 2002-311912, and H02-44828 make no reference to loading signals of different differential input formats. The technology described in JP-A No. 2012-44256 is capable of accommodating two formats, a single input format and a differential input format, but is unable to accommodate different differential input formats (such as RSDS and mini-LVDS). Generally, conventional drive ICs do not include functionality for inputs of different differential input formats.
There is consequently a need to redesign drive ICs for each type of signal output from a timing controller, incurring a lengthy development process and redesign costs. An existing solution involves providing a drive IC with circuits corresponding to both of the different differential input signal formats and using a select signal, for example, to select one or other of the circuits for use. However, such a solution leads to the unused circuit becoming redundant.

Semiconductor device, display device, and signal loading method


A power converter includes at least a first phase including a high-side MOSFET transistor (HSA) and a low-side (LS) MOSFET transistor (LSA) driving a first output inductor. The first phase further includes an active gate drive assist circuit including first MOSFET switch (first switch) and second MOSFET switch (second switch) positioned in series between a source of HSA and a drain of LSA. A capacitor (CS) is between the source of HSA and drain of LSA. A bootstrap capacitor (CA) having a reference terminal is connected to a node between the first switch and the second switch.

Some non-isolated buck power conversion topologies have been developed to enable higher power conversion ratios which include bootstrap capacitors that provide the per-cycle charge needed to turn ON the high-side (HS) MOSFET of the half-bridge power switches. An example is termed a "switch-capacitor buck" topology, where the conventional common connection node between the source of the HS MOSFET and the drain of the low-side (LS) MOSFET, sometimes termed the "switch" node or "phase" node, no longer exists rendering the conventional bootstrap capacitor-based method of enhancing the performance of the HS MOSFET not possible. One known solution to this challenge is to add a voltage source which provides a voltage level that dynamically varies with operating conditions for charging the HS of the bootstrap capacitor.

Switched reference MOSFET drive assist circuit


In a switched operational amplifier including a differential input stage and at least a second output stage, the compensation capacitor commonly required to couple the output node of the second stage with the respective output node of the input differential stage of the amplifier is associated with a switching circuit. The switching circuit is controlled by the same control phase that enables/disables the amplifier for interrupting the connection between the compensation capacitor (CC) and the output node of the differential input stage during a phase in which the amplifier is disabled for reducing the switch-on time. Notably the differential input stage of the operational amplifier remains always active and only the second output stage is switched on and off.

Switched-capacitor circuits are widely used for signal processing because of their low distortion and simple integration. Filters of many types may be realized with switched-capacitor circuits. In battery operated integrated circuits, for example, in general when operating at low voltage supply and at low power consumption, there exists the need for the circuits to function at particularly low voltages, such as down to about 1.5 V. Under these conditions it is difficult to efficiently drive the switches, which are commonly provided by field effect (FET) transistors, usually MOSFETs. Indeed, when the power supply is lowered down to levels comparable to those of the threshold voltage of the devices, the classical switched-capacitor structures as shown in FIG. 1, for example, may lose their efficiency rapidly.
To ensure correct functioning of the input switch S1, whose overdrive voltage depends upon the input signal, the operating voltage swing of the circuit should be limited. One proposed solution to this problem that would ensure that the switches, and in particular the input switch S1 see a high conductance under any input signal condition, is based on realizing the switches with low voltage threshold devices. Alternatively, dedicated clock voltage multiplier circuits could be integrated in the device (voltage boosters), with which the switches may then be overdriven. This second approach, while overcoming the problem of having to diversify the manufacturing process to realize low threshold devices, requires the integration of dedicated voltage boosters.
An alternative approach is based on the use of a switching structure called the "Switched Op-Amp" represented by an operational amplifier, as is disclosed in the article: "Switched-Opamp, an approach to Realize Full CMOS Switched-Capacitor Circuits at Very Low Power Supply Voltages" by Jan Crols and Michel Steyaert, Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 25, No. 8, August 1994, pages 936-942. According to this approach, the proposed solution for ensuring a high conductance to the switches under any signal condition, and in particular to the input switch S1, rests upon substituting the MOSFET that is conventionally used as the input switch with a switched op-amp driven ON and OFF through a dedicated switch. The other switches of the switched-capacitor structure may be also realized with single n-channel or p-channel transistors, without necessarily resorting to CMOS structures. FIG. 7 of the above cited article shows the complete topology of a switched op-amp used as a switch to realize a switched-capacitor circuit. The circuit of FIG. 7 of the above mentioned article is herein reproduced as FIG. 2.
The switched op-amp circuit substantially includes two amplifying stages with a compensation capacitor CM according to a classical Miller compensation scheme. Unfortunately, this known amplifier presents a problem concerning the switching time. Being that the circuit is primarily destined for switched-capacitor circuits, where switched op-amps replace those simple switches that may provide critical elements in low voltage supply applications, the output node of the op-amp is driven to the supply voltage during a switching phase to thereby avoid the use of a critical switch along the signal path. Of course, its switching speed represents a fundamental limiting performance parameter.
In the illustrated circuit of FIG. 2, the switching time is strongly limited by the Miller capacitor CM. In fact, during a first switching phase Ph1 when the switched op-amp is OFF, the output node Vop is coupled to a very low reference voltage (or to ground) and therefore so is the plate of the compensation capacitor CM. The potential of the other plate of the capacitor CM also shifts because the first stage of the amplifier is OFF. This situation is reflected in an increased switch-on time because of the charge recovering time on the compensation capacitor CM.

High speed switched op-amp for low supply voltage applications


A plurality of tristate circuits (TSG1, TSG2, TSG3) each include an input circuit (NAND1, NOR1; NAND2, NOR2; NAN3, NOR3) for receiving first and second control signals (.phi.goe1*, in1; .phi.goe2*, in2; .phi.goe3*, in3) and a tristate output circuit (Q1p, Q1n; Q2p, Q2n; Q3n). The input circuits further receiving a test signal (TEST*). The tristate circuits each include a tristate output (OT1; OT2; OT3) which connects the output circuit to a signal line (SL). The signal line is connected with a test output circuit (Ru, Q4p, Q4n, Rd). The tristate output circuits each include a MOSFET (Q1p; Q2p; Q3p) for selectively connecting the tristate output (OT1; OT2; OT3) with a power supply terminal (Vdd) and a MOSFET (Q1n; Q2n; Q3N) for connecting the tristate output with a ground voltage level (Vss). In one test mode, a test signal is applied (i) which causes the MOSFETs (Q1p; Q2p; Q3p) to cut off forcibly cutting the current path between the power supply terminal (Vdd) and the signal line (SL) and (ii) causes the test output circuit pull-up transistor (Q4p) to close connecting a pull up resistance (Ru) between the power supply voltage level (Vdd) and the signal line (SL). In this mode, the voltage level of the signal line is set to a logic 1 or a logic 0. In this manner, the operation is equivalent to a selector for forcing the signal line to the voltage level of a logic 1 or a logic 0.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit including a tristate output circuit such as a tristate gate, and moreover to diagnosis technique for such circuit, namely to a technology which is effective, for example, when applied to a gate array type semiconductor integrated circuits and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) type microcomputer.
As a diagnosis technology for a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a microcomputer which is further increasing the scale of logic circuits, a scan bus system has been proposed. In this case, a test data input/output mode are provided for a semiconductor integrated circuit, in addition to the ordinary operation mode in order to enable effective diagnosis of many logic gates through external terminals and thereby a structure for easily inputting and outputting test data to internal registers is previously provided for the semiconductor integrated circuit. For instance, the scan bus is structured by adding the function as the shift register to each flip-flop within the semiconductor integrated circuit or the scan bus which inputs or outputs data to or from the predetermined group of the flip-flops by assigning the addresses to the flip-flops. In such scan bus structures, the test of complicated sequential circuits is concluded to the test for the combined circuit. Here, a fault in which the predetermined node is fixed to logic 0 or logic 1 is assumed, and a test pattern which enables detection of assumed faults of all nodes with the predetermined fault detecting rate is given to the semiconductor integrated circuit and a fault may be found by comparing the output pattern at this time with an expected value pattern.
As an example, the scan bus system has been described in the "NIKKEI ELECTRONICS" (P.308 to P.311, No. 400, issued on Jul. 28, 1986, NIKKEI McGraw-Hill).

Semiconductor integrated tri-state circuitry with test means


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip and a first material including molecules that are configured to absorb thermal energy by reversibly changing a spatial molecular structure of the molecules.

Semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing semiconductor devices constantly have to be improved. Semiconductor devices may heat up during their operation for many different reasons. For example, high energetic short time pulses may increase the temperature of a semiconductor device. It may be desirable to reduce the impact of heat in semiconductor devices during operation. In particular, it may be desirable to avoid damage of the semiconductor devices that may be caused by increased temperatures occurring in the semiconductor devices.

Semiconductor device including a material to absorb thermal energy


Methods and apparatus are described relating to a system-on-a-chip which includes a plurality of synchronous modules, each synchronous module having an associated clock domain characterized by a data rate, the data rates comprising a plurality of different data rates. The system-on-a-chip also includes a plurality of clock domain converters. Each clock domain converter is coupled to a corresponding one of the synchronous modules, and is operable to convert data between the clock domain of the corresponding synchronous module and an asynchronous domain characterized by transmission of data according to an asynchronous handshake protocol. An asynchronous crossbar is coupled to the plurality of clock domain converters, and is operable in the asynchronous domain to implement a first-in-first-out (FIFO) channel between any two of the clock domain converters, thereby facilitating communication between any two of the synchronous modules.

The present invention relates to asynchronous digital circuit design and in particular to asynchronous circuitry for interconnecting a variety of system resources in the context of a system-on-a-chip.
A so called "system-on-a-chip" (SOC) is typically designed with a number of modules, each of which has its own clock. For example, such a system might include a memory controller, an I/O interface (e.g., PCI or HyperTransport), internal peripherals (e.g., SRAM or computing logic), computing resources (e.g., one or more CPUs), and some kind of interconnect for allowing the modules to interact with each other. In a typical SOC, the memory controller might operate at 300 MHz, the I/O interface at 400 MHz, the internal peripherals at 600 MHz, and each of the CPUs at 1.1 GHz. This makes it very difficult to implement an efficient interconnect solution.
Conventional approaches to this problem involve the use of a high speed synchronous bus in which transmissions to and from the various system modules on the bus are synchronized. That is, such a bus typically employs a clock signal the value of which is constrained by specific ratios with the clock signals being synchronized. Not only is this synchronization difficult to achieve, as soon as the performance of any of the modules (which are typically associated with different vendors) changes, i.e., clock speed increases, the ratios of the synchronization solution no longer apply, and a completely new solution must be implemented.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide an interconnect solution for implementing SOCs which allows various system modules having independent clock domains to communicate effectively and efficiently. It is also desirable that any such interconnect solution be flexible with regard to changes in individual system module performance.


Prediction methods that anticipate the outcome of a detailed optimization step are used in lieu of or in conjunction with actual optimization to improve response time and reduce required computational resources for optimization problems having a hierarchical structure. Decomposition of the optimization problem into sub-problems and sub-sub-problems is, itself, an optimization process which is iteratively performed while preferably guided by prediction of the quality of solutions to the problems into which the xe2x80x9cmasterxe2x80x9d optimization problem may be decomposed. Prediction also reduces the requirements for computational resources and allows more decompositions to be examined within the available time in order to arrive at a more nearly optimal decomposition as well as a more nearly optimal solution. Prediction is selectively used when it is determined that such a benefit is probable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to optimization of industrial processes such as manufacturing, shipping and the like and, more particularly, to prediction of the outcome of detailed optimization processes or sub-problems contained therein characterized by a hierarchical problem sub-structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Industrial processes require the utilization of equipment, space, time and other economically valuable resources to achieve their objectives. For example, a manufacturing process may require large and expensive machinery and facilities to manufacture and store a commodity (e.g. paper) in bulk which must be further processed (e.g. cut into desired roll widths and diameters and, often, wound on cores of specified dimensions) to satisfy the specifications of a customer order. Similarly, transportation of a commodity from one or more manufacturing sites to locations required by customers may entail management of a fleet of vehicles covering several different modes of transport which represents a substantial capital and economic expense. These and other industrial and manufacturing processes and services (e.g. utilities. power generation and the like) must be performed at near optimal efficiency if maximum return on investment and profitability is to be obtained.
In a typical optimization problem, there is an objective function which characterizes the quality or xe2x80x9cgoodnessxe2x80x9d of a particular solution (e.g. the qualitative or quantitative degree to which a particular solution meets the objective). There will also be zero or more constraints which must be satisfied for a particular solution to be deemed valid or feasible. The goal of optimization is to identify a feasible solution to a given problem for which the quality of the solution according to the objective function is maximal (or minimal depending on how the objective function is defined). That is, the goal of optimization is to identify the best solution consistent with meeting a set of constraints.
One method that guarantees that an optimal solution will be generated is to exhaustively consider every possible feasible solution using state-space search techniques such as depth-first or breadth-first search. These method will work if 1) there is a well-defined method that guarantees that all feasible solutions can be generated in a finite number of computing steps, and 2) there are sufficient computational resources (time and storage) to allow for this approach. In general, while developing a well-defined methodology is generally not difficult to achieve, provision of sufficient computational resources makes exhaustive search impractical for all but the most simple optimization problems.
In practice, the solving of optimization problems usually includes an attempt to make use of more efficient methods such as linear programming, integer programming, dynamic programming, greedy algorithm heuristics, hill-climbing (also known as means-end analysis) or other heuristic search techniques. Some search methods may also incorporate some degree of randomization in cases where alternative methods tend towards locally optimal but globally sub-optimal solutions. Examples of such techniques are genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. However, there is no guarantee that such techniques will not also suffer from a tendency towards returning locally optimal (but globally sub-optimal) solutions for some problem domains or problem instances within a given domain.
There are also many other limitations to these approaches. For example, a problem can be posed as a linear program only if its constraints and objectives are linear functions. In many difficult problems, the objective function may be highly nonlinear or discontinuous. Some nonlinear optimization problems can be approximated by linear programs if one or more nonlinear components of the problem formulation are left out, or by introducing additional decision variables and constraints to approximate nonlinearities as piece-wise linear functions. Nonlinear objectives may be treated as sub-problems and explored using other aforementioned search techniques.
In summary, practical approaches to complex optimization problems may not guarantee solutions, may require deviation from the preferred characterization of the problem and/or may behave unpredictably. The tendency toward these behaviors increases with the complexity of the optimization problem.
For example, the paper making industry presents some particularly complex problems. When a commercial grade of paper (e.g. other than specialty papers which are sometimes made manually in individual sheets by traditional processes) is initially made, a large, high-capacity machine is used to produce large-width reels, often twenty feet wide or more, the width of which cannot readily be altered. This machine will be capable of producing paper of that width in a number of grades (e.g. newsprint, bond, etc.), weights, finishes and the like from many different compositions of materials (e.g. wood or cloth fiber and mixtures thereof) but only one set of such specifications can be accommodated at any given time.
Therefore, it is advantageous for the manufacturer to fulfill orders with shared product specifications together as part of a batch process in order to avoid the time and material costs associated with altering the specification of the product currently being manufactured. The production of goods having differing specifications must be scheduled including setup time and the time for making transitional product (e.g. having a mixture of constituent compositions between intended compositions) and the risks of other contingencies when specifications are to be changed.
Of course, setups can be readily minimized by combining together all available orders of a common product specification into one batch, but this may not be consistent with satisfying all orders (which may include other product specifications) in a timely fashion. Many other issues pertaining to manufacturing efficiency, profitability, quality and customer satisfaction may influence how manufacturing processes are scheduled.
The paper produced will be formed in a wide continuous sheet of approximately the same width of the web. Some lack of uniformity will occur over a small width at the edges of the wide sheet and the remainder of the width over which the paper quality is uniform is referred to as the xe2x80x9cmaximum decklexe2x80x9d or, simply xe2x80x9cdecklexe2x80x9d, of the machine. This sheet is wound onto a reel and transported to another large machine where it is unrolled, slit into desired widths and again wound onto rolls of desired dimensions which will be specified in the order.
Product specification is not the only criteria by which orders are to be grouped together. In complex manufacturing environments, there are multiple production stages. The manufacturing process employed at one stage may significantly impact the production efficiency at another stage. For example, in the context of paper manufacturing, the widths into which the paper must be cut to conform to orders may involve substantial waste when the total width of all rolls cut from the original reel are less than the total width of the reel itself. Thus, it is not the individual roll widths that determine the relative amount of waste but the combination of widths for particular grades of paper over a plurality of orders, some of which may be only anticipated, along with the ordered or anticipated quantities required for each width.
Further complications may arise since the paper slitting apparatus may not simultaneously accommodate different core sizes or more than a particular number of slitting mechanisms. The production of combinations of narrow rolls which might be expected to more closely match the maximum deckle will increase the number of rolls made from a reel of paper in a given amount of time and may cause bottlenecks in further roll wrapping operations, roll handling operations, and the like. Therefore it can be seen that these constraints on optimization as well as the optimization process, itself, involves many manipulations for allocation of orders to particular machines (assuming two or more machines having differing maximum deckle are available) and run formation and sequencing (RFS) in which the combination of roll widths/sizes to be slit from a sequence of reels is determined.
From the foregoing, it can be readily appreciated that the scheduling of the machinery for manufacture of reels of paper of particular specifications and the scheduling of slitting machinery together with the possibility of maintaining inventory (which is also subject to optimization) presents a highly complex and discontinuous optimization problem. The optimization problem cannot be readily expressed for the general case (e.g. for a realistic set of groups of actual and anticipated orders of variable number and quantity) and potentially presents the problem of returning local rather than global solutions.
Unfortunately, it is often the case that the sub-problems generated by various decompositions are complex optimization problems in their own right and are computationally expensive to solve. Even if a method is known for deriving an optimal solution, the problem instance may be so large as to require impractical levels of computational resources. In these situations, a fast predictor or estimator of the objective value is useful in order to avoid the cost of complete simulation, search, or optimization.
To solve efficiently, many problems can be decomposed into smaller sub-problems. The sub-problems may have the same or different structure. The process of solving the larger xe2x80x9cmasterxe2x80x9d problem becomes one of a) identifying an appropriate partitioning of the master problem into multiple sub-problems, and b) solving each of the sub-problems. In the foregoing discussion, the scheduling of the fulfillment of multiple orders for various products represents the xe2x80x9cMaster problemxe2x80x9d. The partitioning problem is to form and sequence batches of a particular product, determine which orders should be fulfilled as part of each batch. Solving each batch involves scheduling the downstream operations implied by the batch.
In this case, identifying an efficient of slicing the reels produced during this batch implies forming rolls that serve to fulfill the requirements of each order in the batch. The formation of batches may need to be altered if the existing batches lead to downstream inefficiencies. In general, the xe2x80x9cgoodnessxe2x80x9d of the partitioning derived in step (a) may be dependent upon the quality of the sub-problem solutions found in step (b). Thus one must iterate between the master problem and the sub-problems many times until some level of convergence is obtained. That is, each sub-problem is solved or optimized so as to maximize some objective function specific to the particular sub-problem formulation. The solutions to sub-problems are combined to generate an overall solution to the high level optimization problem and the objective value of the sub-problems may be similarly combined to determine the overall objective value of the higher-level optimization problem. This approach is preferred when the sub-problems can be solved in a highly efficient manner. As the sub-problems become more difficult, iteration rapidly become untenable due to finite computational resources.
The inventors have identified the problems of finding an optimal set of sub-problems wherein the measure of correctness of the objective function for these respective sub-problems is, in and of itself, an optimization problem without necessarily requiring solution to the sub-problems and the computational overhead involved in finding optimal solutions for sub-problems which lead to an optimal or near optimal solution for other than the most rudimentary formulations of sub-problems to be a major obstacle to the efficient solution of realistic complex optimization problems. However, no methodology for avoiding the process of solving individual sub-problems or developing an optimal set of such sub-problems in an efficient manner is currently available.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a predictive optimizer to enable optimization of the manner in which a complex optimization problem is decomposed for determination of candidate solutions in such a manner as to employ predictor methods that anticipate the outcome of solution-generating optimization methods as a partial or complete substitute for such solution-generating methods.
It is another object of the invention to provide determination of a solution or a plurality of candidate solutions for a complex optimization problem in reduced time and at reduced computational cost and in which the complex optimization problem is decomposed in a variety of ways.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an increased number of candidate solutions to a complex optimization problem corresponding to a plurality of decompositions and including optimization of the decomposition within the time and computational cost suitable for a scheduling system in an industrial or manufacturing environment.
In order to accomplish these and other objects of the invention, a computer implemented optimization method is provided comprising the steps of decomposing an optimization problem into a first plurality of sub-problems, predicting an evaluation of a solution to a sub-problem, evaluating a composed solution of the optimization problem based on an evaluation of a solution or a predicted evaluation for each sub-problem, and repeating the process using a different decomposition to form a second plurality of sub-problems wherein at least one of the sub-problems of the second plurality of sub-problems differs from sub-problems of the first plurality of sub-problems, preferably in a manner dependent on the predicted quality of optimization of a particular sub-problem.

Optimization prediction for industrial processes

International Business Machines Corporation


Boron based catalysts and processes for preparing the catalysts are provided. The catalysts are suitable for the alkoxylation of alcohols using alkylene epoxides.

Alcohol alkoxylate containing materials have been used in a wide variety of industrial applications, for example as nonionic surfactants. They are typically prepared by the reaction of an alcohol with an alkylene epoxide such as ethylene oxide (i.e. oxirane) or propylene oxide (i.e. 2-methyoxirane) in the presence of one or more catalysts. Fluorinated alkylalkoxylates which are prepared by the reaction of an alcohol incorporating a fluorinated alkyl group with an alkylene epoxide are an important class of materials. Fluorinated alkylalkoxylates are especially useful in several industrial applications, including use as nonionic surfactants in the manufacture of PVC films, electrochemical cells, and various photographic coatings.
Known catalyst systems and processes for the alkoxylation of fluorinated alcohols include using Lewis acids such as boron trifluoride or silicon tetrafluoride, alone in combination with metal hydrides, fluorides, alkyls or alkoxides. Such acidic materials also catalyze side reactions such as dimerization of alkylene epoxides to form dioxanes during the alkylalkoxylation. For this reason many processes use strongly basic catalysts to alkoxylate alcohols. However, some alcohols are not stable to strong base. For instance, in the presence of strong base some hydrofluorocarbons are prone to elimination of HF and the formation of fluorinated olefins. Halohydrins, XCR2CR2OH, are well known to form epoxides in the presence of base and are used for this purpose synthetically to convert olefins to epoxides.
Halling and Huang in U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,116 disclose a process for the preparation of fluoralkylalkoxylates in which a commercial mixture of perfluoroalkylethanols having the general structure RfCH2CH2OH are alkoxylated in the presence of a catalyst system comprising an iodine source and alkali metal borohydride such as NaBH4, an expensive material that presents safety concerns due to flammability.


A portable wall board system is provided for enclosing a playing area such as a roller hockey rink. The wall board system includes panels and supports having corresponding keys and keyways that interlock to form a continuous inner wall for the playing surface. The system further includes doors that interlock with the supports at desired locations. The supports are hollow in order to receive a ballast material such as water. The invention also provides a method for enclosing a playing area using the above elements.

The recent popularity of in-line roller skates has spawned many new sports, including roller hockey. Roller hockey is particularly popular because it can be played in both warm and cold climates and thus has a wider potential geographic appeal than ice hockey. Roller hockey can be played on any flat, relatively smooth surface such as a parking lot or other paved surface. The game is enhanced if an enclosure similar to ice hockey rink boards encloses the rink.
One method of enclosing a roller hockey rink is to use conventional ice hockey rink boards, known as dasher boards. Conventional dasher boards, however, have the disadvantage of being costly to obtain as well as time-consuming and difficult to install. Furthermore, the materials used in the construction of conventional dasher boards, typically wood and steel, are too heavy to make them conveniently portable. Portability has become increasingly important over the past few years with the advent of roller hockey tournaments that travel from site to site. At the conclusion of such a tournament, which typically lasts a day or a weekend, organizers pack up the tournament equipment, including the rink board system, load it onto a truck and head to a new location to conduct a similar tournament.
One known form of portable rink board system uses an inflatable wall which encloses the rink. While having the advantage of being portable when deflated, this type of system is expensive and requires the use of electric inflating machines to assemble the system. Furthermore, the system is vulnerable to inadvertent leaks and punctures, necessitating special care and maintenance. Also, the inflated walls of the system do not adequately mimic the hardness of the walls of a conventional hockey rink. This affects the flight of pucks or balls that deflect from the walls during regular play.
Another form of portable rink board system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D349,738. This system incorporates vinyl-wrapped foam barriers that are placed around the rink. This type of system, however, does not accurately reproduce the shape or response of ice hockey dasher boards, and therefore sacrifices performance for affordability and portability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wall board system for roller hockey rinks which is quick and easy to assemble, relatively inexpensive to produce and which accurately reproduces the shape and deflection response of conventional ice hockey dasher boards.

Portable wall board system and method for using same


An adjustment mechanism for use with a driven clutch of continuously variable transmission has an adjustor ring that receives a first end of a spring. A follower plate be carried by one of the pulley halves has a surface to interact with the other pulley half. The follower plate receives the adjustor ring. A holding element, a set screw in a preferred embodiment, retains the adjustor ring in a position relative to the follower plate. The mechanism allows rotation of the adjustor ring relative to the follower plate to adjust the spring force.

Various relatively small motorized vehicles, such as snowmobiles and golf carts, use a V-belt type continuously variable transmission. Variable transmissions include a drive pulley or clutch and a driven pulley or clutch. Each pulley is composed of a fixed sheave or pulley half that is fixed in the axial direction, and a movable sheave or pulley half, which is movable in the axial direction. A V-belt joins the drive pulley and the driven pulley.
These variable transmissions are equipped with a speed or revolution per minute (RPM) responsive mechanism associated with the drive pulley and a torque responsive mechanism associated with the driven pulley. Therefore, the drive pulley and the driven pulley continuously vary the shift ratio in relation to the drive speed and the driven torque.
When the torque load upon the driven shaft is increased with the increase in the load upon the drive track, as when the vehicle runs uphill, the torque responsive mechanism transmits an axial force matching that increase from the driven pulley to the drive pulley so that a satisfactory shift ratio can always be attained.
The torque responsive mechanism can include inclined cam surfaces which are opposed to one another and positioned between a helix, sometimes referred to as a spring cap, which is fixed to the movable sheave-half or pulley-half, and a fixed sheave half or pulley half. Those opposed inclined cam surfaces move in the axial direction relative to each other by the torque loaded upon the driven shaft, while the pulley halves are sliding and turning relative to each other. The movable sheave is moved relative to the fixed sheave by the relative movement caused by the cooperating cam surfaces. The effective diameter of the driven pulley is increased by moving the two pulley halves closer together.
A spring interposed between the fixed sheave and the spring cap provides a preload conditional thereby creating a maximum diameter. The spring is both in compression and in torsion. In order to adjust the preload, the driven pulley needs to be taken apart and the connection points of the springs adjusted.


The present invention relates to a compound body comprising cemented carbide and steel with a carbon content corresponding to a carbon equivalent Ceq=wt-% C+0.3(wt-% Si+wt-% P) of from about 0.1 to about 0.85 wt-%. The body is particularly useful for earth moving tools e.g. dredge cutter heads.

The present invention relates to cemented carbide components which are cast into low carbon steel. The components are especially suitable for roller cone bits, impact rock crusher arm/impellers, point attack tools, dredging teeth and sliding wear parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,459 discloses a composite body with cemented carbide and a matrix of graphitic cast iron-base alloy with a carbon content of 2.5-6%. U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,020 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,546 claim that the steel matrix should have a carbon content between 1.5 and 2.5%. U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,318 discloses a powder metallurgical method to obtain composite material bodies during solid state sintering and bonding the metal compact to said compact. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,713 describes a composite of white iron alloys and cemented carbide-granules. The melting point is 1480-1525° C. WO 03/049889 describes consolidated hard materials, method of manufacture and applications. The consolidation takes place below the liquidus temperature of the binder metal using rapid omnidirectional compaction (ROC) or hot isostatic pressing (HIP).
The ductile cast iron used in the prior art has generally a low hardness of about 38 HRC and low alloy steel casting has a hardness of between 40 and 53 HRC. Thus the matrix of a low alloy steel will have about twice the strength of a comparable cast iron product according to prior art.
From the above cited prior art it is evident that cemented carbide is preferably cast into an iron alloy with relatively high carbon content to form a body which body is subsequently cast into an iron alloy with lower carbon content, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,020 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,546.


In embodiments, devices, computer-readable media, and methods for personal health device transcoding may be described. A transcoding module may serve as an interface between a manager device implementing an IEEE 11073-20601 (“IEEE 11073”) standard and a personal health device that does not implement the standard. The transcoding module may be configured to interact with one or more models of an IEEE 11073 stack implemented by the manager device. The transcoding device may be configured to redirect requests from the models and emulate responses from the personal health device such that the personal health device appears, to the manager device, to implement the IEEE 11073 standard. The transcoding module may perform the emulation asynchronously, through transcoding of communications with the personal health device, or may synchronously generate responses on behalf of the personal health device. Other embodiments may be described.

Devices that communicate with each other, such as over a network, may often make use of interfaces or protocols that may define or describe types and/or formats of data that may be exchanged between the devices. One such set of interfaces may be defined by the IEEE 10703-20601 standard ("IEEE 11073"), which is a standard for personal health devices. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, for example, weighing scales, blood pressure measurement devices, glucose meters, heart rate monitors, etc. These devices may be employed in non-intensive care conditions, such as at a patient's home or while exercising. The standard describes a stack of protocols as well as roles taken by sensor and collector devices.
A personal health device, such as a sensor device, may take an agent role in IEEE 11073. A manager device may perform data collection activities in IEEE 11073. In various implementations, IEEE 11073 may put larger processing burden on manager devices, allowing agents typically to possess more limited processing power and/or lesser power requirements. Managers, by contrast may be executed in relatively more powerful apparatuses. These apparatuses may include various devices such as, but not limited to, mobile devices, cell phones, desktop computer, laptops computers, and/or servers.
However, there are many personal health devices in the market that do not follow IEEE 11073. There may be various reasons for this, including that some kinds of personal health devices simply cannot afford to fully implement an IEEE 11073 agent role. For example, some personal health devices may be expected to have a very long battery life or to be very simple in nature. This may lead to devices that have ultra-low power requirements, minuscule processing power, and/or severe restrictions on data transmission and reception.
In the other hand, IEEE 11073 may be increasingly important in the personal health devices market as larger numbers of compliant devices and managers are used. It may therefore be desirable to facilitate connection of non-IEEE 11073-compliant personal health devices to IEEE 11073 managers.

Transcoding of communication with personal health devices


A screwless terminal block and insulation displacement connector device includes a housing and slide slidably engaged in the housing, the device operable to receive a lead wire having lead wire conductors and an insulation layer, and to further receive a conductive connector. Movement of the slide to a closed position with a lead wire inserted in the device causes the lead wire to contact sharp connector edges, which, with continued downward force, cut the insulation layer. Continued downward force, to full closure of the device, forces lead wire conductors into compressed multiple electrical contact with the connector.

The terminal block is multi-purposed. A common purpose is to provide connecting points for a user of the parent device to make wire path connections from the power source to the controller and then on to any remote application of the power. Another purpose is to provide such possibilities of branching in the factory assembly of self-contained electrically powered and controlled units.
At the printed circuit board (PCB), probes from special connectors (one for each lead wire), penetrate through holes in the PCB and are soldered in the well-known (wave soldering) manner, at the opposite side of the PCB.
Prior art terminal block typically employ connectors which have screws and clamping washers. When making a connection, it is necessary to strip the insulation from the lead wire conductors, then if working with wires 20 AWG and above, bend the conductors into a hook, unscrew the terminating screw, feed the lead wire conductors into the space where it will be clamped, adjust the conductors to fit snugly around the body of the screw, tighten the screw until good retaining contact is made. When working with smaller insulated lead wires, the prior art terminal blocks typically employ a screw to press a metal edge into the stripped conductors of the lead wire. Some use only a screw.
Operators tend to overstrip insulation from wires so that there is sufficient exposed wire to make a screw-type connection to a terminal block. Exposed wires are subject to corrosion, especially in humid climates, coastal regions which have salt air and in environments where there is moisture.
Another drawback of terminal blocks with screw-type connectors is that in geographic regions that have wide temperature variations, such as in the northeastern United States, the temperature variations cause expansion and contraction of terminal blocks so that the screws become loose over time, destroying the connection to the lead wires.
Terminal blocks currently available feature terminals rigidly supported in the terminal block, which provides little allowance for movement of the terminal probe relative to the terminal block. The rigidity provides the advantage that the pitch between the terminal probes is accurate and immediately fits the (PCB) holes, and is usually UL recognized. A major disadvantage of this design is that the rigidity makes a condition where any vibration, such as from power screwdrivers, or any other maltreatment can damage the solder connections. Even if just one connection is damaged, the whole assembly of the PCB is destroyed. The design is also costly to manufacture.
Terminal blocks having screw type terminals to permit field connections to a PCB are subject to abusive forces directed at the relatively delicate construction of a PCB. The existence of power impact screwdrivers immediately allows the possibility of applying the wrong size tool to the job. Field operators may be apt to use whatever tool is at their disposal, and if that tool is a 12 volt cordless impact wrench, it is going to apply its impacts to the terminal screws, with damaging results. The following is a non-exhaustive list of negative results that may be expected from such treatment. The screw threads will be stripped. Many terminals only have formed and threaded internal threads, with not enough material to withstand impact type screw driving. The small Phillips recess is not strong enough to withstand the impacts and soon wears into a smooth cone. The impact wrench's violent seating causes the driving bit to jump out of the recess and damage the PCB. The impact wrench's violent bit jumping will break the important terminal block shields separating the terminal positions. The vibration causes the solder joints between the terminals and the PCB to fracture and lose reliable connection. The vibration causes the solder joints PCB conductor traces to lift from the substrate. Any accidental knock which hits the terminal block will break the solder joints and the block.

Terminal blocks for printed circuit boards


A dynamic heat flow meter is provided which introduces a measured air flow into the system adjacent the test sample (e.g., insulation product), for which thermal properties are to be measured. The heat flow meter then measures thermal properties (e.g., thermal conductivity and/or heat capacity) of the test sample taking into account air flow through and/or adjacent the test sample.

The instant application relates to a heat flow meter, and method, for testing thermal properties of materials including thermal conductivity and/or heat capacity.
Thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity, are important physical properties of solids. Heat flows through a solid that has a temperature gradient across its volume. The thermal conductivity of a specimen can be measured directly by measuring the heat flux resulting from a know temperature gradient across a known thickness.
A one-dimensional form of the Fourier heat flow relation is sometimes used to calculate thermal conductivity under steady-state conditions: k=Q (ΔX/ΔT), where "k" is thermal conductivity, "Q" is a heat flow per a unit surface area (heat flux), and ΔT is a temperature difference over the thickness ΔX.
Prior Art FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional static heat flow meter for measuring the thermal conductivity of a test sample (e.g., piece of insulation such as fiberglass). The test sample or specimen is located between two flat plates, and the plates are maintained at known, but different, temperatures. As heat flows through the test sample from the hot side to the cold side, a heat flux transducer (not shown) measures the amount of heat transferred. Thermocouple(s) or other temperature measuring device(s) measure the temperatures of each of the two plates (i.e., of the so-called hot and cold plates). These values are then plugged into the above-listed equation, so that the thermal conductivity of the test sample or specimen can be calculated based on the measured values. Such measurements are often done in accordance with standard testing methods such ASTM C 518, which is incorporated herein by reference. It is in such a manner that insulation products such as fiberglass batts are assigned so-called "R-values"—based on their steady state or static measured thermal properties per ASTM C 518 (e.g., R11 fiberglass insulation batt, etc.).
Unfortunately, the standard testing device of FIG. 1 discussed above determines thermal properties of the test sample via steady state or static testing, where there is no air flow (i.e., there is zero air movement introduced into the testing equipment during the testing). Thus, measurements from such devices can be deceiving as will be explained below.
When insulation (e.g., fiberglass insulation batt, fiberglass loose-fill, cellulose loose-fill, combination/laminate of fiberglass and foam insulation, or the like) is provided in a vertical wall cavity of a home (e.g., between two-by-four studs as is known in the art), it has been found that air flow (e.g., due to wind or the like in the environment surrounding or adjacent to the home) through the wall can have an affect on insulation properties. Contributions to total building heating or cooling load include the change in enthalpy of air moving through an insulation (e.g., fiberglass) and the heat flux through the insulation due to the imposed thermal gradient. The two effects are not independent since the air movement affects the temperature distribution in the insulation. One may experience an example of air flow in an exterior wall of a home by feeling a cool draft in the winter when one puts his or her hand adjacent an electrical outlet. Such air flows in or through walls can reduce the thermal performance of insulation, since insulation such as fiberglass is not an air barrier as it does not stop air flow.
Heretofore, there has been no efficient way to measure the effect of air flow on insulation products. In particular, there has been no way to quantify how much air flow reduces the thermal performance of certain insulation products. Unfortunately, the conventional heat flow meter shown in FIG. 1 and discussed above does not take air flow into account when measuring thermal properties of the test sample.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need in the art for a heat flow meter, and method, for measuring thermal properties of a product (e.g., insulation product) in a manner which takes into account dynamic air flow.


A recirculating delay line that includes an optical delay circuit generates repetitions of an input signal waveform that is of limited time duration.

Advanced radar systems have significantly larger bandwidths and operate over a wide RF range, e.g., up to about 100 GHz in some applications. These advanced radar systems will need to generate ultra fast repetitive intrapulse frequency modulated waveforms.
A known technique of generating ultra fast repetitive intrapulse frequency modulated waveforms is to actually generate the basic waveform for each time it is repeated. However, errors can be introduced each time the basic waveform is generated and thus the repeating waveforms might contain excessive noise and not be identical.
There is accordingly a need for a repetitive waveform generator that generates substantially identical repeating waveforms.

Repetitive waveform generator recirculating delay line


The invention relates to a cervical vertebra plate (10) for osteosynthesis, having two receiving openings for the screw heads (18) of bone screws (16) in order to secure the cervical vertebra plate to two cervical vertebrae. The receiving openings have grooves (22) in the distal region on the periphery thereof and the depth of the grooves increases from a proximal to a distal end. The invention also relates to a bone screw (18) comprising a screw head (16) and a screw shank. The screw head comprises grooves (34) on the outer periphery thereof and the depth of the grooves varies along the length thereof.

The invention concerns a cervical vertebra plate for osteosynthesis, having at least two receiving openings for the screw heads of bone screws to secure the cervical vertebra plate to two cervical vertebrae, wherein the receiving openings have a fluting, in particular a longitudinal fluting, in the distal region about the periphery thereof. The invention also concerns a bone screw, in particular, for a cervical vertebra plate of this type, comprising a screw head and a threaded screw shank, wherein the outer periphery of the screw head has a fluting, in particular, a longitudinal fluting.
Bone plates are known per se, e.g. from DE 199 50 270 A1. Bone plates of this type are e.g. secured to vertebrae to orient and stabilize them. Towards this end, the individual bone plates are connected via rods, wherein the rods are mounted, in particular clamped, to the bone plates.
Bone screws are used to secure the bone plates to vertebrae. The screws penetrate through the bone plates and are screwed into the vertebra. The bone plate is usually held via the screw head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,601 also discloses a bone screw which is supported with its fluted conical screw head in a receiving opening of a plate. The plate is secured to the bone via these screws.
It is the underlying purpose of both of these bone plates to optimally adopt the forces acting on the bone such that they are either transferred to a neighboring bone or bone part or to correction or fixation rods. Towards this end, the screw head must in any case be optimally supported in the receiving opening of the bone plate to prevent play between the screw head and receiving opening. Securing to prevent inadvertent unscrewing is effected by the fluting provided on the inner periphery of the receiving opening and/or the outer periphery of the screw head.
It is the underlying purpose of the present invention to introduce a system which provides a safer, tight connection, i.e. optimum support of the outer peripheral surface of the screw head on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving opening of the bone plate.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention with a cervical vertebra plate of the above-mentioned type in that the depth of the fluting increases from a proximal to a distal end.


The present invention provides a microphone assembly having shielding function for a motor vehicle, comprising: a microphone circuit board having a microphone, which is supplied by a differential audio bus such that the ground potential of the microphone is floating; a cover which is located outside the microphone circuit board; a foamy part which is located between the cover and the microphone circuit board; and a shielding film which is suitable for shielding the microphone against electrostatic discharge, wherein the shielding film is located between the cover and the foamy part and covers the outer surface of the foamy part, and wherein the shielding film is electrically conductive and grounded to a vehicle chassis ground potential. In this situation, the shielding film can collect electrostatic charges and guide them to the chassis ground of the vehicle, so that electronic components on the microphone circuit board under the shielding film, especially the microphones having the floating ground, can be shielded from electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage. As a result, the ESD robust performance of the microphone assembly is significantly improved.

One or more microphones are typically mounted inside the cabin of vehicle to pick up passengers' voice signals to enable various intelligent applications such as hands-free telephone, voice recognition, and/or emergency calls. Prior arts have provided microphone assemblies that integrate microphones (e.g., MEMS microphones) into existing interior control modules of vehicle (e.g., instrument panels, central console, overhead console, etc.). The microphone integrated are in communication with a plurality of electronic devices arranged on the interior control modules.
Typically, a microphone communicates with a transceiver in differential signal, such as by means of an A2B audio bus. In this case, the transceiver responds to the electrical difference between two signals received from the microphone. Since there is no ground line in the differential signal bus, the ground of the microphone is floating, rather than electrically connecting to the vehicle chassis ground. Moreover, in order to ensure the acoustic performance, a microphone needs to be arranged as close as possible to the outer cover (less than 5 mm apart). This arrangement causes that the microphone typically becomes a weak point of electrostatic discharge (ESD). In motor vehicles, the accumulation and release of electrostatic charge due to electrostatic on human body, friction, induction, and etc. are unavoidable. Once subjected to electrostatic discharge, the ungrounded microphone may be affected. For example, the signal quality may be temporarily affected, or even the microphone may be permanently damaged. In current design of microphone assemblies for vehicles, ESD robustness is typically only a few kV, being below the automotive ESD standard of at least 15 kV.
Hence, the present invention intends to improve the ESD robustness of a microphone assembly for a motor vehicle.

Microphone assembly having shielding function for motor vehicle


In a method for manufacturing a flexible-type luminescent device, a flexible body is supplied from a flexible body supplying section to a luminescent material pattern forming section. Then, a luminescent material pattern is formed on the flexible body in the luminescent material pattern forming section. Finally, the flexible body is fed from the luminescent material pattern forming section to a flexible body receiving section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a luminescent device such as a flexible-type organic electroluminescent device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electroluminescent devices are divided into organic electroluminescent devices using organic material as light-emitting layers and inorganic electroluminescent devices using inorganic material as light-emitting layers.
An organic electroluminescent device is a light emitting device which makes use of a principle that when an electric field is applied to a charge combination of holes from an anode and electrons from a cathode, the holes and the electrons are injected into an organic electroluminescent layer and are recombined with each other to generate energy which excites molecules in the organic electroluminescent layer. When the molecules are returned from an excited state to a ground state, light is emitted from the organic electroluminescent layer. Such an organic electroluminescent device has been developed ever since C. W. Tang et al. published "Organic Electroluminescent Diodes", Applied Physics Lett. 51(12), pp. 913-915, Sep. 21, 1987.
A first prior art organic electroluminescent device is constructed by a transparent insulating substrate, a striped transparent lower electrodes (anodes) made of indium tin oxide (ITO), for example, formed on the transparent insulating substrate, a light emitting layer formed on the lower electrodes, and striped upper electrodes (cathodes) formed on the light emitting layer. As occasion demands, a hole-injecting and-transporting layer is interposed between the lower electrodes and the light emitting layer, and an electron-injecting and-transporting layer is interposed between the light emitting layer and the upper electrodes, thereby to enhance the injection efficiency of carriers such as holes and electrons into the light emitting layer. As a result, light emitted from the light emitting layer is emitted from the bottom side of the device (see: the above-mentioned document).
A second prior art organic electroluminescent device is constructed by an insulating substrate, striped lower electrodes (anodes) formed on the insulating substrate, a light emitting layer formed on the lower electrodes, and striped transparent upper electrodes (cathodes) on the light emitting layer. Also in this case, a hole-injecting and-transporting layer can be interposed between the lower electrodes and the light emitting layer, and an electron-injecting and-transporting layer can be interposed between the light emitting layer and the upper electrodes. As a result, light emitted from the light emitting layer is emitted from the upper side of the device (see: D. R. Baigent et al., "Conjugated Polymer Light-emitting Diodes on Silicon Substrates", Applied Physics Lett. 65(21), pp. 2636-2638, Nov. 21, 1994).
The light emitting layer, the hole-injecting and-transporting layer and the electron-injecting and-transporting layer are made of organic materials. Therefore, an organic electroluminescent layer is constructed by a single organic structure or a stacked organic structure formed by a light emitting layer, a hole-injecting and-transporting layer and an electron-injecting and-transporting layer.
The above-mentioned organic electroluminescent layer is formed by a vacuum evaporation method or an ink jet method.
In the vacuum evaporation method, a shadow mask having fine holes is placed on a substrate having lower electrodes, and then, organic material is evaporated thereon. Then, the shadow mask is removed to leave an organic material pattern on the substrate (see: S. Miyata, "Organic EL Element and its Industrial Frontier", pp. 172-173, November, 1998). This vacuum evaporation method is suitable for organic material having a low molecular weight.
In the ink jet method, organic material immersed into solvent is ejected from nozzles on a substrate having lower electrodes, and then, the solvent is removed to leave an organic material pattern on the substrate (see: S. Miyata, "Organic EL Element and its Industrial Frontier", pp. 185-186, November 1998). This ink jet method is suitable for organic material having a high molecular weight as well as organic material having a low molecular weight.
The above-described organic electroluminescent device having a solid type substrate such as a glass substrate is applied to display units of a personal computer, a television set and the like; however, organic electroluminescent devices having a flexible substrate have recently been developed (see: JP-A-8-96954). Such organic electroluminescent devices have an advantage in that the devices can be adhered to curved faces and have an excellent substitute for paper.
However, no methods and apparatuses for manufactucturing such flexible-type organic electroluminescent devices have ever been disclosed.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing flexible-type luminescent device


An open, seal-less intraocular lens is disclosed herein. An example intraocular lens may include an annular substrate including an oil electrode disposed in or on an inner sidewall of the annular substrate to electrostatically manipulate a volume of electrowetting oil, an optical window coupled to the substrate, where a side of the optical window adjacent to the inner sidewall and the inner sidewall of the annular substrate define a region for constraining the volume of electrowetting oil, and a saline electrode coupled to the annular substrate, the saline electrode positionable within an aqueous humor of an eye upon implantation

Implantable optical devices may be constrained in size by conventional surgical techniques. For example, eye incisions may desirably be limited to mm length incisions, 2 to 5 mm for example. The small incisions, however, may preclude or limit the implantation of bulky ophthalmic devices, or at least cause the physician to limit their recommendation. As such, implantation of intraocular devices that include multiple components and electronics may be limited due to their bulkier size over conventional intraocular devices. While fabrication techniques may allow some reduction in size of such intraocular devices, the manipulation of the devices during implantation, such as folding and/or rolling, may promote undesirable failure mechanisms. As such, it may be desirable to provide an intraocular device that includes multiple components and electronics having reduced volume and that can withstand surgical manipulation.


A method for automatically establishing multi-participant interactions and/or conference calls between users of mobile devices, according to which an interaction establishing application is installed on the mobile device of each participating user and receives for each user, phone numbers of other users defined as his friends and a list of predetermined triggers as conditions for initiating an interaction between users. The application constantly monitors the location of each user's mobile device and upon detecting that one or more of the triggers are met, the application automatically initiates one or more interactions between users that comply with the triggers that are met.

Most of the interactions between users of cellular phones are made via a user-to user call, where there are only two parties. However, in many cases, users should interact with two or more users at the same time, usually in the form of a conference call, which is a widespread communication platform. However, establishing a conference call requires that several steps will be performed by one of the participants (usually the initiator of the call):
At the first step, the initiator should search one of the other participants (the first one) in his phone's contact list.
At the second step, he should dial to the first one, and wait until he answers the call.
At the third step, he asks him to wait on the line and repeats the preceding steps for all participants. Only then, all of them can talk with each other.
This is a cumbersome process, since it is carried out manually. In addition, one or more of the participants may be busy and cannot accept the call. This requires skipping him, moving to the next participant, and returning back to him at a later stage.
This task becomes even more difficult when the initiator is not free to perform all the required steps manually, such as while driving.
It is therefore desired to provide a system and method that will be able to automatically establish interactions and conference calls between users of mobile phones, without the need for dialing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method that automatically establishes interactions and conference calls between users of mobile phones, without dialing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method that automatically establishes interactions and conference calls between users of mobile phones, in response to predetermined relations between the locations of each participant.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Method for automatically establishing location-based conference calls


In an integrated circuit receiving multiple serial data streams in parallel, a local clock is generated from each data stream and is synchronized with the data stream. Sometimes a data stream may have no transitions making it difficult to keep the clock synchronized with its data. A clock channel is provided, which always has edges. A circuit is provided for each data stream which measures the time elapsed since the data stream had an edge. After a certain period, the phase of the local clock is nudged towards that of the clock channel. Thereafter, the longer there are no edges on the data stream the more frequently nudges towards the phase of the clock channel are made.

FIG. 1 shows a differential driver 1 that takes a differential input on conductors 2 and 3 and converts that input into a serial data stream on an output conductor 4.
It is known to use the differential driver 1 of FIG. 1 as an input stage to a digital system. It is also known to generate a clock signal for the digital system from the data stream on the output 4 of the differential driver 1.
FIG. 2 shows a single data stream and an associated clock signal. The clock signal shown in FIG. 2 samples the data on both the rising and falling clock edges and the clock transitions are closely aligned with the mid-point of data transitions. Such alignment is preferable as the data is given the maximum time both before and after the clock transition in which to be stable. This gives the best chance of the set-up and hold times of subsequent circuits not being violated.
One method of achieving such clock alignment uses the circuit of FIG. 3. A phase locked loop (PLL) 5 is shown with an input 7 receiving a reference clock signal at the required frequency. The PLL generates a number of clock outputs 8 (8 in the example of FIG. 3) each at a difference phase (spaced apart by 45 degrees in the example of FIG. 3). The clock signal can be placed close to the mid-point of the data transitions by selecting the most appropriate clock signal from the output 8 of the PLL 7.
Another method of determining the optimum clock signal is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a phase wheel with 8 phase signals indicated, representing the eight phases of the PLL output 8. Those phase signals are plotted at 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270 and 315 degrees respectively. The phase of a data stream relative to a reference signal (for example, relative to the reference clock input) can be plotted on the phase wheel. Once the phase of the data stream is "plotted" on the wheel, the outputs 8 of the PLL that are located either side of the data stream can be identified.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a circuit for generating the appropriate clock signal. The output of the differential driver 1 is passed to a phase detector 9 that determines the phase of the data (for example, with reference to the generated clock signal). The output of the phase detector 9 is passed to a phase interpolator 10 along with the eight clock signals from the PLL 7. A clock signal is generated by identifying the two phase signals from the PLL 5 between which the phase of the data stream falls and using the phase interpolator to generate a clock signal with a phase between those two clock signals. In the example of FIG. 5, the output of phase interpolator 10 is fed back to an input of the phase detector 9. The phase detector 9 is thus used to determine the difference in the phase at the output of the phase interpolator and the phase of the data stream in the data channel. A typical phase interpolator may generate the most appropriate clock phase between those phase inputs from 16 possibilities. Thus the phase wheel can be divided into 16×8 (i.e. 128) clock phases.
The purpose of generating a local clock signal for each data channel is to ensure that each clock signal is optimised for that channel. This is particularly significant when the relative delays in the channels are not constant. Such a system is used, for example, when it is not acceptable to simply select a single clock and to use that for all data channels.
Thus in a system where each data channel is likely to have a different phase, the generation of a local clock for each data channel is advantageous. This requires the phase of the data for each channel to be identified. The more frequently the data signal of any given channel changes (i.e. has edges), the more accurately the relative phase of the data in that channel can be determined. The inventors have noted, however, that if the data signal is static (i.e. there are no data transitions for a significant period of time) then it is not possible to determine the phase of that data channel. One option for handling such a situation is to retain the previous phase value until another data transition occurs. However, this suffers from the disadvantage that actual phase of the data in the channel can become significantly different to the phase value of the local clock.


A method for manufacturing a color filter substrate, comprising: preparing a mask plate for black matrix, and providing light hole filling patterns (16), correspondingly for sub-pixels of specific colors, on the mask plate for black matrix; preparing a mask plate (18) for color filter, and providing light through holes (17) of the same size, for sub-pixels of different colors, on the prepared mask plate for color filter, a position of a light through hole (17) corresponding to a position of a light hole filling pattern (16); manufacturing a color filter substrate by using the mask plate for black matrix and the mask plate for color filter.

In the recent years, the liquid crystal displays (for example, TFT-LCD) are more and more widely applied in the outdoor portable products, such as mobile phones, PDA, tablet computer. Ordinary liquid crystal displays however, when used outdoor in the daylight, have poor contrast, causing poor readability for the screens. Whereas the transflective liquid crystal display can, by improving the reflection ratio of the panel, increase the contrast of the display device when displaying outdoor, and accordingly good readability can also be obtained when the display is used outdoor.
A pixel of a transflective liquid crystal display has a transmissive part and a reflective part, and the configuration thereof is illustrated in FIG. 1. In order to improve optical reflection efficiency, it's generally to prepare light through hole in the color filter portion corresponding to the reflecting region. In prior art, as illustrated in FIG. 2, light through holes 14 are always provided in the red, green, blue color filters, in such a way that when the reflected light 19 is emitted from each of the light through holes 14, the reflected light 19 pass through the color filter only once (as illustrated in FIG. 1). If the light through hole for each sub-pixel is set to be identical in size, the processes for preparing the red, green, blue color filters can use a same mask plate, and of course such processes are simple, but the chrominance for the presented white light will shift toward the blue color, thus causing color deviation for the display.
In order to prevent the display from suffering color deviation, it's possible to regulate the ratio among the red, green, blue light components in the emergent light by regulating the sizes of the light through holes on the mask plates for the red, green, blue color filters. In general, the sizes of the light through holes on the mask plates for the red, green, blue color filters are set to be different from each other, which can ensure the display effect of the display and avoid color deviation. However, in such a case, setting the light through holes of different size for the red, green, blue sub-pixels requires three mask plates, that is, the red, green, blue mask plates, and therefore the manufacturing costs for the color filter substrate are increased.

Method for manufacturing color filter substrate, color filter substrate and transflective liquid crystal display device


Disclosed are substituted benzimidazole compounds of formula (I):

Protein kinases play a critical role in mediating signaling events leading to cellular responses such as activation, growth and differentiation, in response to extracellular signals. Protein kinases transmit their signal by phosphorylating specific residues in a target protein. Protein kinases that specifically phosphorylate tyrosine residues are referred to as protein tyrosine kinases. Protein tyrosine kinases can be divided into two general groups: receptor such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (S. Iwashita and M. Kobayashi, 1992, Cellular Signalling, 4, 123–132) and cytosolic non-receptor (C. Chan et al., 1994, Ann. Rev. Immunol., 12, 555–592).
Interleukin-2-inducible T cell kinase (Itk), also referred to as T cell-specific kinase (Tsk) and expressed mainly in T-lymphocytes (EMT), is a member of the Tec family of protein tyrosine kinases that also includes Txk, Tec, Btk, and Bmx. Tec family members are characterized by the presence of a pleckstrin-homology domain (PH), a proline rich Tec homology domain (TH) and Src homology SH3, SH2 and SH1 kinase domains positioned from the N-terminus to the C-terminus respectively (S. Gibson et al., 1993, Blood, 82,1561–1572; J. D. Siliciano et al., 1992, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 89, 11194–11198; N. Yamada et al., 1993 Biochem. and Biophys Res. Comm., 192, 231–240).
Itk is expressed in T cells, mast cells and natural killer cells. It is activated in T cells upon stimulation of the T cell receptor (TCR), and in mast cells upon activation of the high affinity IgE receptor. Following receptor stimulation in T cells, Lck, a src tyrosine kinase family member, phosphorylates Y511 in the kinase domain activation loop of Itk (S. D. Heyeck et al., 1997, J. Biol. Chem, 272, 25401–25408). Activated Itk, together with Zap-70 is required for phosphorylation and activation of PLC-γ (S. C. Bunnell et al., 2000, J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2219–2230). PLC-γ catalyzes the formation of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and diacylglycerol, leading to calcium mobilization and PKC activation, respectively. These events activate numerous downstream pathways and lead ultimately to degranulation (mast cells) and cytokine gene expression (T cells) (Y. Kawakami et al., 1999, J. Leukocyte Biol., 65, 286–290).
The role of Itk in T cell activation has been confirmed in Itk knockout mice. CD4+T cells from Itk knockout mice have a diminished proliferative response in a mixed lymphocyte reaction or upon Con A or anti-CD3 stimulation. (X. C. Liao and D. R. Littman, 1995, Immunity, 3, 757–769). Also, T cells from Itk knockout mice produced little IL-2 upon TCR stimulation resulting in reduced proliferation of these cells. In another study, Itk deficient CD4+ T cells produced reduced levels of cytokines including IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 upon stimulation of the TCR, even after priming with inducing conditions. (D. J. Fowell, 1999, Immunity, 11, 399–409).
The role of Itk in PLC-γ activation and in calcium mobilization was also confirmed in the T cells of these knockout mice, which had severely impaired IP3 generation and no extracellular calcium influx upon TCR stimulation (K. Liu et al., 1998, J. Exp. Med. 187, 1721–1727). The studies described above support a key role for Itk in activation of T cells and mast cells. Thus an inhibitor of Itk would be of therapeutic benefit in diseases mediated by inappropriate activation of these cells.
It has been well established that T cells play an important role in regulating the immune response (Powrie and Coffman, 1993, Immunology Today, 14, 270–274). Indeed, activation of T cells is often the initiating event in immunological disorders. Following activation of the TCR, there is an influx of calcium that is required for T cell activation. Upon activation, T cells produce cytokines, including IL-2, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 13 leading to T cell proliferation, differentiation, and effector function. Clinical studies with inhibitors of IL-2 have shown that interference with T cell activation and proliferation effectively suppresses immune response in vivo (Waldmann, 1993, Immunology Today, 14, 264–270). Accordingly, agents that inhibit T lymphocyte activation and subsequent cytokine production, are therapeutically useful for selectively suppressing the immune response in a patient in need of such immunosuppression.
Mast cells play a critical roll in asthma and allergic disorders by releasing pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines. Antigen-mediated aggregation of FcεRI, the high-affinity receptor for IgE results in activation of mast cells (D. B. Corry et al., 1999, Nature, 402, B18–23). This triggers a series of signaling events resulting in the release of mediators, including histamine, proteases, leukotrienes and cytokines (J. R. Gordon et al., 1990, Immunology Today, 11, 458–464.) These mediators cause increased vascular permeability, mucus production, bronchoconstriction, tissue degradation and inflammation thus playing key roles in the etiology and symptoms of asthma and allergic disorders.
Recent published data using Itk knockout mice suggests that in the absence of Itk function, increased numbers of memory T cells are generated (A. T. Miller et al., 2002 The Journal of Immunology, 168, 2163–2172). One strategy to improve vaccination methods is to increase the number of memory T cells generated (S. M. Kaech et al., Nature Reviews Immunology, 2, 251–262).
All documents cited in this application are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Abstract: wherein R1, R2, R3, R4 and Xa are defined herein. The compounds of the invention inhibit Itk kinase and are therefore useful for treating diseases and pathological conditions involving inflammation, immunological disorders and allergic disorders. Also disclosed are processes for preparing these compounds and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.