An electronic device with a camera function, an electronic device, a photographing control method, a photographing control program, and a processor is provided with a preventive function to block inappropriate photographing such as spy shots. A photographing reporting section (54, 54A, 54B) issues a reporting information for photographing. An information detecting section (58, 58A, 58B) detects this reporting information and a judging section (image output judging section 60) judges, by using the reporting information detected at the information detecting section, whether or not the photographing is permitted, whether or not an image is stored, and whether or not the image is altered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device such as mobile phones with a camera and digital cameras, and relates to an electronic device, a photographing control method, a photographing control program, and a processor, which avoid attempts to disable preventive functions to block inappropriate photographing such as spy shots by emitting a shutter sound or the like at the time of photographing.
As digital cameras become commonplace, various electronic devices such as a mobile phone with a camera and an information-processing device with a camera function are becoming popular. Since a mobile phone with a camera has a phone function and a camera function, its usability of these two functions in a single body as well as its multiplier capabilities such as storing, editing, and transmitting/receiving of shot images, phone conversation, photographing and processing of the shot images enhance its convenience. In such a mobile phone with a camera, in view of privacy protection, for example, a shutter sound is emitted as a notifying sound at the time of still image capturing (beginning of photographing) in order to inform people around of the photographing action. Such a function of preventing spy shots by a notifying sound serves as an impetus for malicious people to refrain from committing stealthy acts, by informing people around of the photographing action.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile phone with a camera has a basic structure shown in FIG. 1, for example. FIG. 1 shows an overview of a camera function section in a mobile phone with a camera. In this mobile phone 2, an image formed through a lens 4 is detected at a camera sensor 6. The image as an analog signal is converted into a digital signal via an analog-digital converter (ADC: Analog Digital Converter) 8, and then added to a processor 10. This image is displayed on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 14, an image display unit through this processor 10 via a bus 12. In this kind of mobile phones, capturing of the image on the finder is prepared by pressing halfway down a shutter button disposed on the main unit of the mobile phone, and a photographing operation completes by pressing the shutter button all the way down. A shot image is saved in a RAM (Random Access Memory) 16 in synchronization with the shutter operation. At this time, when the shutter button is pressed all the way down, a shutter sound information read from a FLASH (flash memory) 18 is converted into a shutter sound signal by the processor 10 and outputted, and then added to an amplifier (SPK-AMP: Speaker-Amplifier) 20. The shutter sound signal amplified by the amplifier 20 is emitted from a speaker 22 as a shutter sound. This shutter sound becomes a notice of the shutter operation to the person who takes pictures or to the subject of photographing.
In this mobile phone 2, the photographing operation is described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows the photographing operation. In the camera operation mode and in the finder mode (step S1), an image representing the subject formed through the lens 4 is displayed on the LCD 14. At this time, it is judged whether or not the camera operation mode is finished (step S2), and for example, by switching to the phone call mode, the camera operation mode is finished. If the camera operation mode is maintained, it is judged whether or not the operation switches to the capture mode (step S3). With this situation, pressing the shutter button halfway down switches to the capture mode (step S4) and it is judged whether or not the photographing is performed (step S5). That is, by moving the shutter button from the state of halfway down to the state of all the way down, the photographing operation is completed and the image displayed on the LCD 14 is captured as a still image. Then a shutter sound indicating the shutter operation is emitted (step S6), and the image data captured by the photographing is saved in the RAM 16 (step S7), then the operation returns to the finder mode (step S1).
In such a mobile phone 2, the shutter sound emitted at the time of still image capturing is sounded out without condition, and even if the people around notice the photographing action, it is only after the picture was taken, and the picture has been saved irrespective of the intentions of photographing action. On top of that, the shutter sound is configured to emit from the speaker 22 built in the main unit of the mobile phone so that there is a possibility that malicious users may block the output of shutter sound through easy modifications of the mobile phone 2 such as cutting a wiring 24 on the input side of the speaker 22.
In this way, there is a risk that malicious users may disable the function to prevent spy shots easily by abusing the portability and convenience of conventional electronic devices having a camera function, and take an antisocial behavior such as stealthy photographing actions. In addition, there is a problem as well that the images are easily erasable so that no evidence of the spy shots is left.
In regard to such functions to prevent spy shots, for example, a camera with a mute device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H 07(1995)-175105 enables photographing without considering the subject or the people around by silencing operational sound of the camera, so that it has a risk of being ill-used for spy shots.
Furthermore, in a device for preventing stealthy photographing disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10(1998)-31265, in order to prevent a photographing function by a remote control from being abused, a warning sound is outputted at the time of photographing regardless of the intentions of a person who takes a picture. But even with this device for preventing stealthy photographing, if a connecting wire between a warning sound generating part and a speaker is cut, generation of warning sound may be blocked, so that there is a risk that the function to prevent stealthy photographing may be disabled.
Moreover, in a portable terminal disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-290818, taking a picture is inhibited when the main unit is slanted at an unnatural angle. Stealthy photos are not always taken at an unnatural angle so that judging stealthy photographing actions by the photographing angle has a risk of hindering a normal photographing.

Electronic device, photographing control method, photographing control program, and processor


The present invention pertains to the discovery that short chain aliphatic fatty acids, such as potassium sorbate, can be used in liquid-additive grinding compositions in the amount of at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, and most preferably at least 30%, to mill carbonate materials into smaller particle size. The carbonate material can optionally be combined with another inorganic material in the grinding operation, such as limestone, lime, dolomites, talc, titanium dioxide, alumina, and kaolin, ceramics, and cement clinker. The use of the particularly described grinding additive composition are food-grade or food-contact approved, and are believed by the present inventors to resist the humectant behavior of the resultant ground particles which could in herently otherwise decrease efficiency of the particulate grinding process.

As calcium carbonate, alternatively referred to herein as limestone (CaCO3), is useful as a filler in food, pharmaceutical, and heath care products (e.g., toothpaste), it is known to employ various grinding additives for enhancing the efficiency of the grinding process through which the carbonate material is ground into smaller particle sizes. Such efficiency enhancement is understood to occur when the energy required for grinding the material to a certain particle size is reduced.
It is known to grind inorganic solids such as cement and limestone using glycerol compounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,785 of Moorer et al. disclosed the use of polyglycerols as additives for the manufacture of hydraulic cement.
As another example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,922,811 and 8,979,998 of Jardine et al. (owned by the common assignee hereof) disclosed the use of crude glycerin (an alternative name for glycerol), as obtained from biomass sources (such as biodiesel fuel production) in combination with conventional cement additives for grinding cement clinker and/or limestone particles.
WO 2014/019827 of Lopez-Gonzalez et al. (SIKA AG) disclosed the use of food-grade grinding aids for improved grinding of calcium carbonate and hydrated lime. The grinding aid composition taught by Lopez-Gonzalez comprised one or more polyhydric alcohols used in the grinding aid composition in an amount of from about 10%-95% by weight (and most preferably 20%-40% by weight), one or more carboxylic acids in the amount of from about 0.1%-10% by weight (and most preferably 1%-2% by weight), or a mixture of the polyhydric alcohol and carboxylic acid.
However, the present inventors believe that a novel method and grinding composition is required for food-grade, anti-humectant grinding of carbonate (limestone) and lime. The prior art approaches which involve large amounts of glycerol or other polyols could detrimentally affect the resultant finely ground material by introducing moisture-absorbing behavior. This humectant property could decrease bulk material flow/transport and reduce the efficiency of the grinding process.
Hence, a novel method and grinding aid composition for comminuting limestone and lime is sorely needed.


Insulin sensitivity increasing substances (ISIS), including but not limited to D-chiro-inositol, thiazolidinedione and derivatives, and biguanides, are useful in the treatment of hair loss and other disorders of the pilosebaceous apparatus (hirsutism, acne, etc.) associated with conditions of excess insulin and/or insulin resistance. The treatment comprises administering to a mammal, such as a human, at least one ISIS either alone or in combination with at least one agent, such as an androgen receptor blocker (ARB) and/or a steroid enzyme inhibitor or inducer (STI). Additionally, an activity enhancing agent may be included for topical administration.

Hair loss and other disorders of the mammalian pilosebaceous apparatus (hair/oil gland) remain a great source of distress and concern today for many afflicted patients. There have been suggestions in the literature that severe male pattern baldness (occurring before the age of thirty) is the male phenotype of the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a common endocrine abnormality in women that leads to infertility and obesity (although some PCOS patients are lean). Another feature of PCOS is profound insulin resistance which occurs in both obese and lean patients. This excess insulin in PCOS is believed to drive excess androgen production which results in hyperandrogenism in some PCOS patients. It has been assumed that it is the hyperandrogenism that causes the diffuse hair loss and hirsutism noted in a subset of these women.
Male pattern baldness, also called andro(chrono)genetic alopecia, has long been recognized as the result of androgens acting over time on genetically susceptible hair follicles. However, it is becoming evident that mechanisms other than those which implicate androgen activity are involved in hair loss disorders. In fact, many female hair loss sufferers do not have elevated male hormones, and local or systemic treatment with androgen receptor blocking agents or steroid enzyme inhibitors does not restore hair growth. Nor are these agents overwhelmingly successful in treating balding males, suggesting that some other mechanism is contributing to the balding process.
Since the physiological mechanisms contributing to hair loss and other disorders of the pilosebaceous apparatus in mammals, such as humans, are only partially understood, there is an unmet need in the art for compositions and methods useful in the treatment of hair loss and other disorders of the pilosebaceous apparatus.

Methods and compositions for the treatment of alopecia and other disorders of the pilosebaceous apparatus

Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Inc.


A method for estimating a location of a mobile station includes transmitting a position request signal, including at least departure time information or an identifier of the mobile station, to an AP by synchronizing with the AP, receiving first position information, including at least a calculated first location of the mobile station or a calculated first distance between the mobile station and the AP and departure time information of a position response signal, from the AP, calculating a ToA of a signal between the mobile station and the AP based on the departure time information of the position response signal, calculating at least a second distance between the mobile station and the AP or a second location of the mobile station using the ToA, and determining a final location of the mobile station based on the first position information and at least the second distance or the second location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for estimating a location of a mobile station in a wireless local area network.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In a wired LAN environment, detection of collision can be obtained from a potential variation of a transmitting medium. Yet, in a wireless LAN environment, it is difficult to detect collision on a transmitting medium (e.g., air, etc.). Hence, a multiple access scheme for a wireless transmission by avoiding collision in advance is called CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) that is a medium access control scheme used by CSMA/CA wireless LAN. The collision avoidance means the algorithm including the steps of if a circuit is vacant before transmitting data of its own, creating random numbers and then waiting by the corresponding value. A transmission is initiated only if a transmission medium is determined as not in use after a randomized standby time.
By MAC algorithm generally used by wireless LAN, a signal for acknowledgment is transmitted to prepare for a collision despite an absence of a data transmission. If it is confirmed that the acknowledgement signal has been transmitted without collision, data is then sent. In IEEE 802.11 standard, a procedure called ACK or CTS/RTS is used. In doing so, an operating principle of CSMA/CA is explained as follows.
First of all, a transmitting end sends an RTS (request to send) signal to a receiving end. In response to the RTS signal, the receiving end sends a CTS (clear to send) signal to the transmitting end. The transmitting end sends data to the receiving end. Finally, the receiving end sends an ACK signal to the transmitting end in response to the data reception.
The collision avoidance scheme in IEEE 802.11 standard is schematically described as follows.
IFS (Inter Frame Space)
First of all, although it is confirmed that a channel is in an idle state, collision is avoided by delaying a transmission. The transmission is not performed right after the channel in the idle state has been found. Instead, it is necessary to wait by prescribed duration called IFS. This is because a remote station may have begun a transmission despite that a detected channel looks as if staying in the idle state. In this case, if the transmission is performed without waiting, a collision may occur. Hence, it is necessary to wait during the IFS. Moreover, in CSMA/CA, IFS may be used to regulate a priority of a station or frame. In IEEE 802.11 standard, such an IFS as DIFS (Distributed IFS), PIFS (PCF IFS), SIFS (Short IFS), EIFS (Extended IFS) and the like is used.
A mobile station, which operates using the CSMA/CA scheme, performs a following procedure to transmit data. First of all, a mobile station A senses a carrier to check whether a mobile station B is transceiving data (i.e., whether the mobile station B is transmitting electric waves). If the mobile station A is aware that the mobile station is transceiving the data, the mobile station A waits until DIFS becomes vacant. In the vacant state, the mobile station A waits for randomly determined duration. If the vacant state continues, the mobile station A starts a transmission.
Contention Window
A contention window is a predetermined time divided into time slots. A station ready for a transmission selects a random number and then waits for the selected random number. In this interval, the station detects a channel after each time slot. In doing so, if the station detects that a channel is already in use, the station just stops a timer instead of restarting the corresponding process. Thereafter, if it is detected that the channel is in an idle state, the station activates the timer again. Therefore, a station having waited for the longest time has a priority.
However, in the current IEEE 802.11 standard mentioned in the above description, a detailed method of measuring a location of a mobile station in Wireless LAN has not been proposed. Thus, the demand for a detailed method for a WLAN using mobile station to estimate position information rises and the present invention intends to propose the corresponding method.

Apparatus and method for estimating a location of a mobile station in a wireless local area network


A ribbon cable connector for attachment to an end of a ribbon cable comprises a plurality of contact element receptacles adapted to receive a plurality of contact elements. A pair of adjacent contact element receptacles is separated from one another.

In a ribbon cable, several conductors run parallel to one another in a joint insulating casing. Ribbon cables are often used for the transmission of signals. In this case, they are also attached to ribbon cable connectors. In ribbon cable connectors, an undesired transmission of signals between contact element receptacles can occur through the flow of current.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ribbon cable connector, connector assembly and use of a connector


New version packet data devices support a backwards-compatible signal format. New version devices operate within a first frequency band while old version devices operate within a second frequency band. The first frequency band differs from but overlaps with the second frequency band. The new version devices may operate on a first carrier frequency (within the first frequency band) while old version devices may operate at a second carrier frequency (within the second frequency band). The new version devices and/or the old version devices may also support carrier-less modulations. Preamble, header, and trailer portions of a new version signal include a plurality of spectral copies of a baseband modulated signal. One or more of these spectral copies of the baseband modulated signal is/are indistinguishable from corresponding components of an old version signal. The payload of the new version signal may be formed in the same manner or may be formed in have a wider bandwidth, higher data rate format.

Packet data networks, their structure, and their operation are generally known. Examples of packet data networks include Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), and the Internet, among others. Packet data networks may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless networks. Particular examples of networks include wired Ethernet LANs (IEEE 802.3 networks), wireless LANs (IEEE 802.11 networks), and Home Networks (HomePNA networks), among others. Each of these networks services data communications between groups of intercoupled network clients. As network client data exchange demands have increased, operating capabilities of these networks have also increased. For example, wired Ethernet LANs first serviced data communications at relatively low data throughput rates, e.g., 10 MBPS but now service data communications at relatively higher data rates, e.g., 100 MBPS, 1 GBPS, and higher. HomePNA networks have also evolved to support greater data rates with each HomePNA Specification revision.
The HomePNA Specification sets forth operations that, when implemented, allow a plurality of network devices to communicate with one another via premises telephone wiring, e.g., unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring. A currently existing version of the HomePNA Specification is known as the HomePNA 2.0 Specification. The HomePNA 2.0 Specification specifies a frequency band of 4-10 MHz, a carrier frequency of 7 MHz, preamble/header/trailer 1 symbol rates of 2 MBaud, payload symbol rates of 2 and 4 MBaud, and constellations of between 2 and 8 bits/symbol. In a typical HomePNA network installation, a plurality of network devices, e.g., computers, share the premises telephone wiring with telephones and other devices that access the telephone network via the telephone wiring.
With HomePNA networks as well as other networks, each network device is usually compliant with one particular version of a corresponding operating standard, e.g., the HomePNA 2.0 Specification. In most installations, it is desirable for devices that support differing versions of the operating standard to share a common physical media. For example, in a HomePNA network, it is desirable for some network devices that support an old version of the HomePNA Specification to share the UTP wiring with other network devices that support a new version of the HomePNA Specification. However, inherent incompatibility typically exists between network devices supporting old versions of the standard as compared to network devices supporting new versions of the standard. With some operating standards, such as the HomePNA Specification, newer versions require operation in a wider frequency band. Thus, when a corresponding network is upgraded, all network devices are typically modified so that they all support the new version of the standard. In this fashion, all network devices will support the higher data rates of the new version. Unfortunately, upgrading from an old version of the standard to a new version of the standard requires the purchase of additional hardware and/or software that may be significantly expensive.
Thus, there is a need in the art for devices that support a new version of an operating standard but that are backwards compatible with devices that support old versions of the operating standard. With this backwards compatibility operation, the higher rates of the new version of the standard must also be supported between new version devices. Further, these devices must embody a methodology that simplifies bandwidth compatibility between old version devices and new version devices.

Carrier based backwards compatible data networking transmitter, receiver, and signal format


A compact, stable, and optically efficient two dimensional spatial light modulator-based electro-optical control system for large (>1000 elements) phase-based phased array antennas uses two externally phase-locked lasers to generate respective pluralities of first and second light beams that are respectively mutually orthogonally polarized. Respective ones of the first and second light beams are combined to pass along collinear and coincident paths to form a plurality of combined light beams. The frequency difference between the first and second light beams which form the constituent beams in each combined beam cause an interference pattern that, upon heterodyne detection of the optical signal and conversion to an electrical antenna drive signal, provides control of the carrier frequency for driving the antenna. A phase delay is introduced via electrical control of an array of birefringent-mode nematic liquid crystal pixels that selectively phase delay one of the constituent light beams having a predetermined linear polarization in each combined light beam, while the other constituent beam is not phase delayed and is used as a reference for microwave/millimeter wave signal generation via interferometric detection through a photodiode. Further, a frequency shift unit coupled to the laser assembly enable an intermediate frequency offset to be selectively introduced, such as during receive cycles of the radar, such that electrical output signals generated by the optical signal processing system exhibit a desired intermediate frequency.

This invention relates generally to signal processing systems and more particularly to beamforming controls for phased array antenna systems.
Phased array antenna systems employ a plurality of individual antennas or subarrays of antennas that are separately excited to cumulatively produce a transmitted electromagnetic wave that is highly directional. The radiated energy from each of the individual antenna elements or subarrays is of a different phase, respectively, so that an equiphase beam front, or the cumulative wave front of electromagnetic energy radiating from all of the antenna elements in the array, travels in a selected direction. The differences in phase or timing among the antenna activating signals determines the direction in which the cumulative beam from all of the individual antenna elements is transmitted. Analysis of the phases of return beams of electromagnetic energy detected by the individual antennas in the array similarly allows determination of the direction from which a return beam arrives.
Beamforming, or the adjustment of the relative phase of the actuating signals for the individual antennas (or subarrays of antennas), has been accomplished by electronically shifting the phase of actuating signals or by introducing a time delay in actuating signals for selected antenna elements to sequentially excite the antenna elements to generate the desired direction of beam transmission from the antenna. Opto-electronic processing of beamforming signals for phased array antennas provides superior performance over conventional electronic-only processing by reason of, for example, increased bandwidth, compactness, and high performance signal control. Examples of such opto-electronic systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,239 of N. Riza entitled "Reversible Time Delay Beamforming Optical Architecture for Phased-Array Antennas", issued May 26, 1992, and in the following copending applications: Ser. No. 07/826,501, filed Jan. 27, 1992 and entitled "Time-Multiplexed Phased-Array Antenna Beam Switching System"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,339 filed Mar. 5, 1992 and entitled "Phased-Array Antenna Controller"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,487, filed Mar. 5, 1992 and entitled "A Compact Wide Tunable Bandwidth Phased Array Antenna Controller"; Ser. No. 07,900,877, filed Jun. 18, 1992 and entitled "Optical Time Delay Units for Phased Array Antennas"; and Ser. No. 07/955,165, filed Oct. 1, 1992 and entitled "Optical Controller With Independent Two-Dimensional Scanning", all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and are incorporated herein by reference.
Ideally, a phased array antenna control system should have the ability to generate electromagnetic signals in the microwave to millimeter wavelength range, and should be light, compact, relatively immune to undesirable electromagnetic radiation, and straightforward to fabricate, operate, and maintain. Such a system also desirably has a wide antenna tunable bandwidth, and inertialess, motion-free high resolution beam scanning ability with application-dependent slow-to-fast scanning speeds.
It is additionally advantageous to have an analog beamforming control system that enables a large number of phase shift combinations to be generated and which thus provides enhanced transmit and receive beamforming capabilities. Such an analog system is in contrast to digital phase control from electronic phase shifters; the digital nature of such phase shifters limits the device to a fixed number of possible phase actuation signals. This limited number of possible actuation signals in turn limits the phase resolution achievable with the microwave devices, thus limiting the angular resolution of the scanned antenna beam. Further, in conventional electronically controlled phased array antennas, the digital microwave phase shifters are also typically used for correcting phase errors that result due to other microwave devices in the system. Because of the digital nature of the phase shifters, these phase errors can only be partially cancelled.
An optical control system can also use heterodyne detection between respective phase-shifted light beams in an optical signal pair to generate a scanning interference phase pattern. One example of such a system, using a liquid crystal pixel array for generating phase delays in one light beam of an optical signal pair, is disclosed in copending, commonly assigned, application of N. A. Riza entitled Phased-Array Antenna Controller, Ser. No. 07/847,155, cited above. Another method of generating a scanning pattern based on interference between light beam pairs is described in the article authored by N. Riza entitled "An Acoustooptic Phased Array Antenna Beamformer with Independent Phase and Carrier Control Using Single Sideband Signals", appearing in IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 4, No. 2, February 1992.
Modulation of the optical signal can also be used to generate the desired electromagnetic transmission frequency, such as by direct modulation of the light source, typically a laser, at the desired frequency. At the high frequencies desired for optimum radar performance, however, such direct modulation techniques on the laser are seriously limited due to transients and harmonics in the laser output energy. Generation of optical interference patterns with two distinct laser beams, with subsequent heterodyne detection of the temporally-varying interference pattern, can be used to generate the desired carrier frequency of the electromagnetic signal transmitted from the antenna, as described in the article by G. Simmons and K. Purchase, "Optical Generation, Distribution, and Control of Microwaves Using Laser Heterodyne", IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 38, No. 5, May 1990, pp 667-669. This article notes that phase shifting of a microwave modulation superposed on an optical carrier is not straightforward to implement in a practical fashion, especially when thousands of channels may be involved, each requiring five or more bits of phase shift control. Simmons and Purchase suggest use of a semiconductor superlattice waveguide disposed in the path of one of the lasers or the use of deformable mirror devices, but neither of these devices have been readily fabricated in large scale high performance arrays suitable for radar applications. In particular, sub-micron motion accuracy is required for the deformable mirror devices to implement 0-2.pi. phase shift control at the optical wavelength. Such high performance motion accuracy is extremely difficult to achieve, and devices or arrays of this nature have so far not been built. Further, the deformable mirror devices do not provide a substantially inertialess optical phase modulation system.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an opto-electronic signal processor that can generate carrier independent high quality (e.g., 6-8 bit) analog phase-based phased array antenna beam control.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a phase-based antenna controller that is relatively compact, lightweight and has an inertialess beam scanning structure and that can readily be connected to remote antenna sites via fiber optics.
Another object of this invention is to provide a phase-based antenna controller that has a wide (i.e., in a range from DC to several hundred GHz) tunable antenna bandwidth with stable phase-control and an independent, analog, phase-error calibration capability for all the elements in the array.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical beam processing technique that has low optical losses, low inter-channel crosstalk, and that is readily fabricated for use with a relatively large (e.g., >1000) number of phased array antenna elements.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a optical controller for a phased array antenna having the ability to rapidly switch between a desired carrier frequency for transmission and a desired intermediate frequency for processing return radar signals.


The present invention provides for a BGA solder ball interconnection to an outer conductive layer of a laminated circuit assembly having an underlying circuit layer. The invention includes a raised BGA solder ball pad substantially co-planar with the outer conductive layer, the raised pad having a raised face and a plurality of vertical conductive walls and a BGA solder ball having an average diameter of greater than the width of the raised face, the BGA solder ball being adhered to the raised face and to a substantial portion of the vertical conductive walls.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of integrated circuit packaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of integrated circuits, extremely fine circuits are photolithographically placed onto a chip, also called a die. The circuits on the chip terminate at conductive terminals on the face of the chip, which must be electrically connected to power and to other chips. For protection of the chip and ease of handling, the chips are bonded to a substrate and placed in a package having electrical connections ultimately leading to a conventional printed circuit board. One attractive means of connecting the conductive terminals on a chip is the technique where the terminals on the face of the chip are distributed over the face of the chip in a pattern of "C4" connections. These terminals are typically connected to a circuit substrate by conductive paste or solder.
In some integrated circuit packaging, the chip is mounted to the underside of a circuit substrate with its C4 connections facing the circuit substrate. Also, in some integrated circuit packaging applications, there are at least two integrated circuit chips having very high communication bandwidth or bitrate between them. For example, a high speed processor often requires a very high communication bandwidth with an associated memory chip. A cost-effective, high bandwidth interconnection between two (or more) devices can be made by stacking chips with the C4 patterns facing each other and electrically interconnecting them vertically using very short connections between the chips. This approach ensures a consistent, very short length interconnect between the chips which can enable extremely wide, high speed, low skew busses between the two chips.
Where two chips are stacked facing each other, an interposer, for example, an intermediate circuit layer, between the devices is usually necessary to efficiently distribute power to the devices and facilitate high yield assembly and test. Ideally, the interposer should be no thicker than required to adequately distribute power to the devices since the thickness of the interposer increases the interconnect length of the busses between the devices and effectively degrades the electrical performance of the interconnect. An advantageous interposer is fabricated as a lamination having a two metal layer (2ML) bumped circuit layer with overlaying outer conductive layers bonded to the 2ML circuit layer with an intervening layer of insulating adhesive.
Attachment of the chip on the underside of the interposer can pose a clearance difficulty. A typical BGA solder ball array may use solder balls in the range of 400 to 800 microns in diameter, more typically 400 to 600 microns. For example, the C4 connections of the chip on the lower side of the interposer may be attached with solder balls or paste that may have a thickness of approximately 100 microns and the chip itself may have a thickness in the range of approximately 350 microns. If it is desired to have an approximately 200 micron clearance between the chip and the bottom substrate of the package, it would be difficult or impossible to achieve the necessary clearance using a typical BGA solder ball array having solder balls in the range of 400 to 600 microns in diameter connected to the bottom of a circuit substrate, without thinning the inactive face of the chip.
To alleviate this clearance problem, taller, multi-component solder columns in large ceramic BGA (CBGA) package applications could be used. Taller columns are required in some applications to ensure the board level reliability due to the large mismatch between thermal expansion of the CBGA and the board on which it is mounted, which creates stress between the solder column and the connection pad at the point of connection. The stress on the interconnect is reduced as the height of these solder columns is increased. Although solder columns could be used to provide the necessary clearance for a chip mounted on the underside of the package as described above, this would add cost to the package and additionally may not be compatible with desired board-level assembly processes.

Ball grid array package construction with raised solder ball pads

International Business Machines Corporation


A silver halide emulsion is disclosed, comprising at least a dispersion medium and silver halide grains, wherein at least 30% of the entire projected area of the silver halide grains is occupied by tabular grains having {100} faces as major faces, an aspect ratio (diameter/thickness) of from 1.5 to 30 and a Br content of from 30 to 70 mol %, and the coefficient of variation of the halogen composition distribution among the silver halide grains is 10% or less. Further disclosed is a method for producing the silver halide emulsion.

In recent years, photographic materials are sought having various capabilities, improvement of sensitivity, storability and printing durability.
On the other hand, the need for simple and rapid development processing is also recently increasing, and low replenishment of the processing solution is a need of high priority. To cope with these requirements, use of a silver halide grain having a high solubility and a high silver chloride content is advantageous. For reducing the wastes, the image density is preferably increased with a small amount of silver. And, as well known in the art, a tabular grain is suitable for this in view of sensitivity, granularity, sharpness and color sensitization efficiency.
With respect to the tabular grain having a high silver chloride content, examples of the tabular grain having a {111} face on the major faces are described, for example, in JP-B-64-8326 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"), JP-B-64-8325, JP-B-64-8324, JP-A-1-250943 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-B-3-14328, JP-B-4-81782, JP-B-5-40298, JP-B-5-39459, JP-B-5-12696, JP-A-63-213836, JP-A-63-218938, JP-A-63-281149 and JP-A-62-218959.
However, when a large amount of sensitizing dyes are adsorbed to AgX grains, a grain having a {100} face usually exhibits better color sensitization property. Accordingly, development of the tabular grain having {100} faces as major faces is demanded. The {100} tabular grain having major faces in the right angled parallelogram shape is described in JP-A-51-88017, JP-B-64-8323, European Patent 0,534,395A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,632, 5,264,337 and 5,320,938, JP-A-5-313273, JP-A-6-59360 and WO94/22051.
In order to increase the solubility and improve the processability, use of a silver halide grain having a high silver chloride content is advantageous, however, the silver chloride has an intrinsic wavelength region shorter in the wavelength than silver bromide and therefore, absorption of blue light and ultraviolet light is small and the grain is liable to be low sensitive. In the case of using the grain in a photographic light-sensitive material for medical X ray, needless to say about an UV emission screen and a regular system phosphor screen, a so-called ortho-system phosphor screen emits light in the blue and ultraviolet regions and therefore, the emulsion is naturally limited in the silver chloride content. Further, in the case of using the grain in a color light-sensitive material, the emulsion for use in a blue-sensitive layer is naturally limited in the silver chloride content.
In order to improve the processability without causing any reduction in the sensitivity to blue light, a mixed crystal of silver chloride and silver bromide is effective, however, formation of the mixed crystal is liable to invite broadening of the halogen composition distribution among silver halide grains and when the emulsion is dissolved, the aging stability may be worsened or softening may be caused.
The above-described publications of conventional technique describe a {100} tabular grain having a Br content in the vicinity of 50 mol %, however, they are quite unsatisfactory with respect to the {100} tabular grain having a narrow halogen composition distribution among grains and a Br content in the vicinity of 50 mol %.

Silver halide emulsion and silver halide photographic light-sensitive material using the same


Brake hydraulic pressure is appropriately prevented from becoming lower than a reference brake pressure for holding control. When a physical amount correlating with the rotational speed of an electric motor has become higher than or equal to a predetermined value, an HSA start reference pressure setting unit sets an HSA start reference pressure to a value higher than a reference brake pressure, and if the HSA start reference pressure at a time when a driver required fluid pressure has become lower than the HSA start reference pressure is higher than the reference brake pressure, an HSA required fluid pressure setting unit sets an HSA required fluid pressure at a time when the driver required fluid pressure has become lower than the HSA start reference pressure to a value higher than the reference brake pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake hydraulic pressure control system for vehicle capable of holding a stop state of the vehicle by controlling the displacement amount of a piston by an electric motor when the vehicle is stopped.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Patent Literature 1 (JP 2005-88787 A) discloses a brake hydraulic pressure control system for vehicle that controls the brake hydraulic pressure of the vehicle by controlling an actuator provided with an electric motor. This brake hydraulic pressure control system for vehicle holds a brake hydraulic pressure by maintaining the rotational position of the rotation shaft of the electric motor.

Brake hydraulic pressure control system for vehicle


A method and apparatus for stacking cartons for transport. The apparatus includes a plurality of straddles that engage with stacked cartons. Each straddle attaches to a top edge of a wall on an upper stacked carton and a bottom portion that extends from the top portion to a wall on a lower stacked carton. A cover fits over the upper stacked carton and contacts the straddles in a manner where the bottom portion engages with the upper and lower stacked cartons to prevent the cartons from slipping during transport. In another embodiment straps engage with handles on the side of the carton.

This invention relates a method and apparatus for stacking cartons and more particularly, to straddles that connect to a carton for holding one carton stacked on another carton during movement on a conveyor and/or while being stacked onto a pallet.
Cartons commonly used in the produce industry to hold fruits and vegetables are of a two-piece variety designed to facilitate hand packing. One piece is a box without a top. This piece is for packing a given quantity of the produce by a packer. The second piece of the carton is a box without a bottom whose dimensions are slightly larger than the first piece, and which is designed to be slipped over the packed first piece. Typically, the cartons are available in two standard sizes; one that holds 4/5 of a bushel and a second, half carton size that holds 2/5 of a bushel. The half carton is usually considered a "gift pack" promoted by organizations making fund drives--churches, schools, Boy Scouts, etc.
In conveying the half cartons, the same amount of space is required as for the full carton (4/5 bushel). Thus, only half the volume of produce is being transported. The same holds true for stacking the product manually or on an automatic palletizer; the smaller carton requires twice the number of cartons to form a pallet or unit load for shipment, and running the smaller cartons can easily reduce production 50%. To move the same volume of produce can require extra packinghouse operating hours, since produce is a perishable commodity and time is of essence in a packinghouse operation. Therefore, a packing operation that utilizes the straddle technique to "piggyback" cartons being conveyed to a shipping area can increase volume. In the case of stacking cases on a pallet (by hand or automatic palletizing), a 100% increase in production is realized.

Method and apparatus for stacking cartons


Techniques associated with a wearable device structure with enhanced motion detection by a motion sensor are described, including a band configured to be worn, a nodule coupled to the band, the nodule including a structure configured to enhance detection of movement of an adjacent skin surface, the structure having an articulator configured to rotate in a plurality of planes, and a sensor coupled to the structure and configured to detect rotational motion.

Conventional techniques for a wearable device with enhanced detection by motion sensor are limited in a number of ways. Conventional implementations of motion sensors, such as accelerometers, are not well-suited for accurately detecting and measuring movement having a small linear acceleration, as may occur by displacement of a skin surface in response to a pulse in a blood vessel. In particular, accelerometers typically have a threshold sensitivity and have a difficult time measuring translations that result in accelerations close to that threshold sensitivity.
Also, conventional wearable devices are not well-suited for coupling motion sensors to particular parts of the body to detect and measure such small movements. Thus, what is needed is a solution for wearable device with enhanced detection by motion sensor without the limitations of conventional techniques.

Wearable device structure with enhanced motion detection by motion sensor


The substrate for devices 10 comprises an insulating substrate 12 of an insulating material, conducting layers 14 formed on the insulating substrate 12 and opposed to each other at a certain distance, and a dielectric film 16 formed on that portion of the insulating substrate 12 between the conducting layers 14. The substrate 10 incorporates a capacitance constituted by the opposed electric layers 14 and the dielectric film 16. A piezoelectric oscillator 20 is connected to the left and right conducting layers 14b, 14c of the substrate for devices 10. A cap 22 is connected to a boundary part of the substrate 10 through epoxy resin 24. The substrate for devices 10 with a built-in capacitance can reduce fabrication costs of a piezoelectric oscillation device and a surface acoustic wave device.

The present invention relates to a piezoelectric oscillator device and a surface acoustic wave device.
The demand for smaller sizes and lower prices of electronic apparatuses has been becoming stronger recently. Electronic parts used in such electronic apparatuses are required to be smaller-sized and less expensive.
For example, to form an oscillation circuit with a piezoelectric oscillator, such as a quartz oscillator, which provides reference clock frequencies for electronic apparatuses, an amplifier, a condenser and a feedback resistor must be included in addition to the piezoelectric oscillator. These parts are separately formed and connected to each other to form the oscillation circuit.
Recently the amplifier and the feedback resistor for the oscillation circuit has been built in a microcomputer chip, and the piezoelectric oscillator and the condenser, which cannot be accommodated in the chip, are integrated with each other and connected to the chip as a single external part.
A piezoelectric oscillation device including a piezoelectric oscillator and a condenser integrated with each other as shown in FIG. 12 is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Tokkaisho 59-178011(1984)).
The piezoelectric oscillation device of FIG. 12 comprises a lower electrode 51 of a paste of Ag, Ag.multidot.Pd or others formed on an alumina substrate 50, a dielectric film 52 of SiO.sub.2 or others formed on the lower electrodes 51, and an upper electrode 53 of a paste of Ag, Age.multidot.Pd or others formed on the dielectric film 52. A piezoelectric oscillator 55 is connected to the upper electrode 53 through a bump 54 of a paste of Ag, Ag.multidot.Pd or others.
To form the lower electrode 51, the dielectric film 52 and the upper electrode 53, the conventional piezoelectric oscillation device of FIG. 12 requires the step of applying and annealing the paste for formation of each layer. In addition, the single layer dielectric film 52 is not sufficient to provide the required characteristics because of a number of voids and holes, and the dielectric film must have at least two layers. Although not shown in FIG. 12, to mount the piezoelectric oscillation device on the surface of a circuit substrate, it is necessary to also form a connection electrode on the underside of the alumina substrate 50.
To form the conventional piezoelectric oscillation device, the application and annealing step is conducted once for the formation of the lower electrode 51, and repeated twice for the formation of the dielectric film 52, once for the formation of the dielectric film 52 and once for the formation of the connection electrode. Thus, this step must be conducted five times. This has added to fabrication costs and has been a barrier to lower product prices.
It is proposed to provide a interdigital electrode on the surface of a dielectric substrate to form a condenser. To obtain the required capacitance, the dielectric substrate must be formed of a dielectric material having a high dielectric constant. Dielectric materials having high dielectric constants do not have sufficient strength, which is necessary technical consideration, for example, adhering the dielectric substrate to a substrate having a sufficient strength. This has added to fabrication costs and has been a barrier to lower part prices.

Piezoelectric oscillation device and surface acoustic wave device


A height adjustable device is received in the inner tube which is retractably inserted in an outer tube, and includes a base which is fixed in the inner tube and two stop plates are pivotably connected of the base. Two respective first ends of the two stop plates extend through apertures defined through the inner tube and are in contact with two respective insides of the outer tube so as to position the inner tube. A member is movably connected to the base and includes a driving portion for pivoting two respective second ends of the two stop plates. A cable is connected between the movable member and a pivotable member fixed to the inner tube. The pivotable member is pivoted to pull the cable and the two stop plates are pivoted inward so that the inner tube can be freely moved in the outer tube.

A conventional height adjustable device for overbed table is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,234 and 4,715,295, and generally includes a hydraulic cylinder received in the retractable tube assembly so as to adjust the height of the inner tube relative to the outer tube. Nevertheless, when adjusting the table by using the hydraulic cylinder, the user has to unlock the cylinder by one hand and press the table by the other hand. This is difficult for a shorter user who needs to stand up at toes and to try to bend his or her arm to press the table downward. Besides, the hydraulic cylinder potentially has a problem of leakage and the maintenance cost is high for an overbed table.
The present invention intends to provide a height adjustable device that is easily to be operated by operating a lever which drives a cable to pull the device in the inner tube so as to unlock the device and the inner tube can be freely moved in the outer tube.

Height adjustable device for a retractable tube assembly


A power steering apparatus includes a steering shaft 10 including an input shaft 11, an intermediate shaft 13 connected through a first torsion bar 12 to the input shaft, and an output shaft 15 connected through a second torsion bar 14 to the intermediate shaft; a hollow motor 30 to provide a rotational force to the intermediate shaft; and a control device 60 including a microcomputer, and including an output shaft rotation angle presuming section 63 to presume an output shaft rotation angle θg based on signals of an input shaft rotation angle θh and an intermediate shaft rotation angle θm, a torsion spring constant g1 and g2 of the first and second torsion bars; and a motor drive control section 69 to control the hollow motor based on the output shaft rotation angle.

There is known, for example, a conventional power steering apparatus which is described in a patent document 1, and which is configured to perform an automatic steering.
An outline is explained below. This power steering apparatus is a hydraulic power steering apparatus of a rack and pinion type. This power steering apparatus includes an input shaft connected to a steering wheel; an output shaft connected through a torsion bar to the input shaft to be rotated relative to the input shaft; a rotary valve provided to an outer circumference portion of a lower end side of the input shaft between the input shaft and the output shaft; and a hollow motor provided to outer circumference portion of an upper end side of the input shaft. This power steering apparatus can perform a steering assist control and an automatic drive control based on output signals such as a vehicle speed sensor, and detection results of a torque sensor constituted by a first resolver provided to the outer circumference of the input shaft, and arranged to sense a rotation angle of the input shaft, and a second resolver provided to the outer circumference of the output shaft, and arranged to sense a rotation angle of the output shaft.


The present invention provides an integrated engine generator Rankine cycle power system which increases the efficiency of the use of its power output. The system comprises a closed Rankine cycle power generating unit through which working fluid flows and an engine generator, the closed Rankine cycle power generating unit including a waste heat boiler for vaporizing said working fluid by means of exhaust gases discharged from the engine generator, an expander in which the vaporized working fluid expands and performs work to drive a shaft for producing mechanical power, or an electric generator coupled thereto and adapted to produce electrical power, from both the engine generator and the expander, and an external lubrication system in fluid communication with the expander wherein one or more closed Rankine cycle power generating unit components are operationally connected to the electric generator.

Many combined cycle power plants using a gas turbine and steam turbine operating on the gases exiting the gas turbine have been used lately. The capacity of such combined cycle power plants is usually about 100-200 MW.
The possibility of employing both a diesel engine and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power unit to increase thermal efficiency in a combined cycle power plant configuration has been suggested. The use of both a diesel engine and an ORC power unit in a combined cycle power plant presents power plant designers with difficulties in terms of integrating the two different, simultaneously operating thermodynamic cycles. Firstly, a diesel engine is an internal combustion engine, while an ORC power unit is an external combustion engine. These two thermodynamic cycles therefore require different regimes of operation. That is, a diesel engine can be designed to operate at certain, fixed rotational speeds or within a given range depending on the use. The efficiency of an ORC power unit, on the other hand, is dependent on the rotational speed of the turbine and operates more efficiently at an optimal rotational speed. Secondly, diesel engines which are adapted for standby and peaking applications are able to start operating when cold and generate a maximum amount of power in only a few seconds. However, an ORC power unit cannot generate power prior to an initial start-up period of approximately 20-25 minutes during which hot vapors for driving the turbine need to be generated. Also, the turbine of a low-capacity ORC power unit is lubricated by means of the working fluid condensate, and a start-up period is needed to properly lubricate the turbine.
Another difference between diesel engines and an ORC power unit is that a diesel engine has a significantly greater number of components that need to be controlled and maintained than that of an ORC power unit. With respect to a diesel engine, at least the following components need to be controlled: the fuel injector, the governor for regulating the amount and pressure of fuel to be injected, the camshaft to provide the proper timing of fuel injection, and turbocharging systems for boosting power, improving combustion efficiency, and reducing emissions. J. Anderson in "Clean Diesel Generators—The Future is Here," Power Topic #301, Cummins Power Generation describes that the control strategies of a diesel engine are aimed to optimize the combustion process while producing the least amount of both NOx and particulates per unit of power output, these strategies including the use of electronic engine controls, such as electronic sensors and microprocessor-based controls, and electronic injection systems. In an ORC power unit, an optimal power output can be achieved by controlling substantially only the fuel burner that produces and supplies to the vaporizer a given amount combustion gases from the fuel supplied to the fuel burner, when the power plant is not a combined cycle, and the rotational speed of the turbine.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,590,384 and 6,526,754, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference, disclose a combined cycle power plant by which hot exhaust gases of a diesel engine are used to vaporize organic working fluid of an ORC power unit. While such plants can produce approximately 10-20% additional power with respect to a conventional diesel engine, it would be desirable to further increase the power output of the plant. U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,328, the disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference, on the other hand, discloses a combined cycle power plant wherein the hot exhaust gases of the diesel engine are used to produce vaporized working fluid of ORC power unit and wherein in addition, the ORC power unit can produce 100% of power produced once the diesel engine stops operation. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/849,502, the disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference, which claims priority to Israel Patent Application 158989, and which is a Continuation-in-Part patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/152,356, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,328, mentioned above, discloses an ORC power unit operating from the exhaust heat gases of a high temperature fuel cell system such as a molten carbonate fuel cell system.
As described above, the control of each of a diesel engine and an ORC power unit is different, and at times, may be contradictory; for example, a diesel engine may be controlled to achieve a fast start-up, while such a control is not feasible for an ORC power unit. Prior art combined cycle power plants comprising both a diesel engine and an ORC power unit have employed a separate control system for each of the thermodynamic cycles due to their lack of control compatibility. When the combined cycle power plant has a capacity greater than, e.g. about 5 MW, a power plant employing two separate control systems, interconnections between the engine generator(s) and an ORC power unit, and expensive exhaust interconnections from the diesel engines may be cost effective due to the use of heat recovery cycles. However, the cost effectiveness of such a capacity combined cycle power plant employing two separate control systems for the start-up, synchronization, and continuous control of both the diesel engine and ORC power unit is lacking.
There is therefore a need for a single control system for a combined cycle power system by which hot exhaust gases of an engine generator are used to vaporize the organic working fluid of an ORC power unit.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated engine generator Rankine cycle power system, especially one having a capacity of less than about 5 MW, of an increased efficiency of the use of the power output.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an integrated engine generator Rankine cycle power system having a single control system.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Integrated engine generator rankine cycle power system


A method is disclosed for the regulation of lignin composition in plant tissue. Plants are transformed with a gene encoding an active F5H gene. The expression of the F5H gene results in increased levels of syringyl monomer providing a lignin composition more easily degraded with chemicals and enzymes.

The present method relates to the field of molecular biology and the regulation of protein synthesis through the introduction of foreign genes into plant genomes. More specifically, the method relates to the modification of plant lignin composition in a plant cell by the introduction of a foreign plant gene encoding an active ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H) enzyme. Plant transformants harboring the F5H gene demonstrate increased levels of syringyl monomer residues in their lignin, a trait that is thought to render the polymer more susceptible to delignification.
Lignin is one of the major products of the general phenylpropanoid pathway, and is one of the most abundant organic molecules in the biosphere (Crawford, (1981) Lignin Biodegradation and Transformation, New York: John Wiley and Sons). In nature, lignification provides rigidity to wood and is in large part responsible for the structural integrity of plant tracheary elements. Lignin is well suited to these capacities because of its physical characteristics and its resistance to biochemical degradation. Unfortunately, this same resistance to degradation has a significant impact on the utilization of lignocellulosic plant material (Whetten et al., Forest Ecol. Management 43, 301, (1991)).
The monomeric composition of lignin has significant effects on its chemical degradation during industrial pulping (Chiang et al., Tappi, 71, 173, (1988). The guaiacyl lignins (derived from ferulic acid) characteristic of softwoods such as pine, require substantially more alkali and longer incubations during pulping in comparison to the guaiacyl-syringyl lignins (derived from ferulic acid and sinapic acid) found in hardwoods such as oak. The reasons for the differences between these two lignin types has been explored by measuring the degradation of model compounds such as guaiacylglycerol-xcex2-guaiacyl ether, syringylglycerol-xcex2-guaiacyl ether, and syringylglycerol-xcex2-(4-methylsyringyl) ether (Kondo et al., Holzforschung, 41, 83, (1987)) under conditions that mimic those used in the pulping process. In these experiments, the mono- and especially di-syringyl compounds were cleaved three to fifteen times faster than their corresponding diguaiacyl homologues. These model studies are in agreement with studies comparing the pulping of Douglas fir and sweetgum wood where the major differences in the rate of pulping occurred above 150xc2x0 C. where arylglycerol-xcex2-aryl ether linkages were cleaved (Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 309, (1990)).
Another factor affecting chemical degradation of the two lignin forms may be the condensation of lignin-derived guaiacyl and syringyl residues to form diphenylmethane units. The presence of syringyl residues in hardwood lignins leads to the formation of syringyl-containing diphenylmethane derivatives that remain soluble during pulping, while the diphenylmethane units produced during softwood pulping are alkali-insoluble and thus remain associated with the cellulosic products (Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 147, (1990); Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 309, (1990)). Further, it is thought that the abundance of 5-5xe2x80x2-diaryl crosslinks that can occur between guaiacyl residues contributes to resistance to chemical degradation. This linkage is resistant to alkali cleavage and is much less common in lignin that is rich in syringyl residues because of the presence of the 5-O-methyl group in syringyl residues. The incorporation of syringyl residues results in what is known as xe2x80x9cnon-condensed ligninxe2x80x9d, a material that is significantly easier to pulp than condensed lignin.
Similarly, lignin-composition and content in grasses is a major factor in determining the digestibility of lignocellulosic materials that are fed to livestock (Jung, H. G. and Deetz, D. A. (1993) Cell wall lignification and degradability in Forage Cell Wall Structure and Digestibility (H. G. Jung, D. R. Buxton, R. D. Hatfield, and J. Ralph eds.), ASA/CSSA/SSSA Press, Madison, Wis.). The incorporation of the lignin polymer into the plant cell wall prevents microbial enzymes from having access to the cell wall polysaccharides that make up the wall. As a result, these polysaccharides cannot be degraded and much of the valuable carbohydrates contained within animal feedstocks pass through the animals undigested. Thus, an increase in the dry matter of grasses over the growing season is counteracted by a decrease in digestibility caused principally by increased cell wall lignification. From these examples, it is clear that the modification of lignin monomer composition would be economically advantageous.
The problem to be overcome, therefore, is to develop a method for the creation of plants with increased levels of syringyl residues in their lignin to facilitate its chemical degradation. Modification of the enzyme pathway responsible for the production of lignin monomers provides one possible route to solving this problem.
The mechanism(s) by which plants control lignin monomer composition has been the subject of much speculation. As mentioned earlier, gymnosperms do not synthesize appreciable amounts of syringyl lignin. In angiosperms, syringyl lignin deposition is developmentally regulated: primary xylem contains guaiacyl lignin, while the lignin of secondary xylem and sclerenchyma is guaiacyl-syringyl lignin (Venverloo, Holzforschung 25, 18 (1971); Chapple et al., Plant Cell 4, 1413, (1992)). No plants have been found to contain purely syringyl lignin. It is still not clear how this specificity is controlled; however, at least five possible enzmatic control sites exist, namely caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase (OMT), F5H, (hydroxy)cinnamoyl-CoA ligase (4CL), (hydroxy)cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR), and (hydroxy)cinnamoyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD). For example, the substrate specificities of OMT (Shimada et al., Phytochemistry, 22, 2657, (1972); Shimada et al., Phytochemistry, 12, 2873, (1973); Gowri et al., Plant Physiol., 97, 7, (1991); Bugos et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 17, 1203, (1992)) and CAD (Sarni et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 139, 259, (1984); Goffner et al., Planta., 188, 48, (1992); O""Malley et al., Plant Physiol., 98, 1364, (1992)) are correlated with the differences in lignin monomer composition seen in gymnosperms and angiosperms, and the expression of 4CL isozymes (Grand et al., Physiol. Veg. 17, 433, (1979); Grand et al., Planta., 158, 225, (1983)) has been suggested to be related to the tissue specificity of lignin monomer composition seen in angiosperms.
Although there are at least five possible enzyme targets that could be exploited, only OMT and CAD have been investigated in recent attempts to manipulate lignin monomer composition in transgenic plants (Dwivedi et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 26, 61, (1994); Halpin et al., Plant J. 6, 339, (1994); Ni et al., Transgen. Res. 3, 120 (1994); Atanassova et al., Plant J. 8, 465, (1995); Doorsselaere et al., Plant J. 8, 855, (1995)). Most of these studies have focused on sense and antisense suppression of OMT expression. This approach has met with variable results, probably owing to the degree of OMT suppression achieved in the various studies. The most dramatic effects were seen by using homologous OMT constructs to suppress OMT expression in tobacco (Atanassova et al., supra) and poplar (Doorsselaere et al., supra). Both of these studies found that as a result of transgene expression, there was a decrease in the content of syringyl lignin and a concomitant appearance of 5-hydroxyguaiacyl residues. As a result of these studies, Doorsselaere et al., (WO 9305160) disclose a method for the regulation of lignin biosynthesis through the genomic incorporation of an OMT gene in either the sense or anti-sense orientation. In contrast, Dixon et al. (WO 9423044) demonstrate the reduction of lignin content in plants transformed with an OMT gene, rather than a change in lignin monomer composition. Similar research has focused on the suppression of CAD expression. The conversion of coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde to their corresponding alcohols in transgenic tobacco plants has been modified with the incorporation of an A. cordata CAD gene in anti-sense orientation (Hibino et al., Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 59, 929, (1995)). A similar effort aimed at antisense inhibition of CAD expression generated a lignin with increased aldehyde content, but only a modest change in lignin monomer composition (Halpin et al., supra). This research has resulted in the disclosure of methods for the reduction of CAD activity using sense and anti-sense expression of a cloned CAD gene to effect inhibition of endogenous CAD expression in tobacco [Boudet et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,514) and Walter et al., (WO 9324638); Bridges et al., (CA 2005597)]. None of these strategies increased the syringyl content of lignin, a trait that is correlated with improved digestibility and chemical degradability of lignocellulosic material (Chiang et al., supra; Chiang and Funaoka, Holzforschung 44, 309 (1990); Jung et al., supra).
Although F5H is also a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of syringyl lignin monomers it has not been exploited to date in efforts to engineer lignin quality. In fact, since the time of its discovery over 30 years ago (Higuchi et al., Can. J. Biochem. Physiol., 41, 613, (1963)) there has been only one demonstration of the activity of F5H published (Grand, C., FEBS Lett. 169, 7, (1984)). Grand demonstrated that F5H from poplar was a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase (P450) as analyzed by the classical criteria of dependence on NADPH and light-reversible inhibition by carbon monoxide. Grand further demonstrated that F5H is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell. The lack of attention given to F5H in recent years may be attributed in general to the difficulties associated with dealing with membrane-bound enzymes, and specifically to the lability of F5H when treated with the detergents necessary for solubilization (Grand, supra). The most recent discovery surrounding the F5H gene has been made by Chapple et al., (supra) who reported a mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana L. Heynh named fah1 that is deficient in the accumulation of sinapic acid-derived metabolites, including the guaiacyl-syringyl lignin typical of angiosperms. This locus, termed FAH1, encodes F5H. The cloning of the gene encoding F5H would provide the opportunity to test the hypothesis that F5H is a useful target for the engineering of lignin monomer composition.
In spite of sparse information about F5H in the published literature, Applicant has been successful in the isolation, cloning, and sequencing of the F5H gene. Applicant has also demonstrated that the stable integration of the F5H gene into the plant genome, where the expression of the F5H gene is under the control of a promoter other than the gene""s endogenous promoter, leads to an altered regulation of lignin biosynthesis.
The present invention provides isolated nucleic-acid fragments comprising the nucleotide sequences which correspond to SEQ ID NO.:1 and SEQ ID NO.:3 encoding an active plant F5H enzyme wherein the enzyme has the amino acid sequence encoded by the mature functional protein which corresponds to SEQ ID NO.:2 and wherein the amino acid sequence encompasses amino acid substitutions, additions and deletions that do not alter the function of the F5H enzyme.
The invention further provides a chimeric gene causing altered guaiacyl:syringyl lignin monomer ratios in a transformed plant, the gene comprising a nucleic acid fragment encoding an active plant F5H enzyme operably linked in either sense or antisense orientation to suitable regulatory sequences. The nucleic acid fragments are those described above.
Also provided is a method of altering the activity of F5H in a plant by means of transforming plant cells in a whole plant with a chimeric gene causing altered guaiacyl:syringyl lignin monomer ratios in a transformed plant cell, wherein the gene is expressed; growing said plants under conditions that permit seed development; and screening the plants derived from these transformed seeds for those that express an active F5H gene or fragment thereof.
A method is provided of altering the activity of F5H enzyme in a plant by (i) transforming a cell, tissue or organ from a suitable host plant with the chimeric gene described above wherein the chimeric gene is expressed; (ii) selecting transformed cells, cell callus, somatic embryos, or seeds which contain the chimeric gene; (iii) regenerating whole plants from the transformed cells, cell callus, somatic embryos, or seeds selected in step (ii); (iv) selecting whole plants regenerated in step (iii) which have a phenotype characterized by (1) an ability of the whole plant to accumulate compounds derived from sinapic acid or (2) an altered syringyl lignin monomer content relative to an untransformed host plant.
The invention additionally provides a method of altering the composition of lignin in a plant by means of stably incorporating into the genome of the host plant by transformation a chimeric gene causing altered guaiacyl:syringyl lignin monomer ratios in a transformed plant; expressing the incorporated gene such that F5H is expressed and wherein guaiacyl:syringyl lignin monomer ratios are altered from those ratios of the untransformed host plant.

Method for regulation of plant lignin composition


A holding device for encased capacitors used for electric drive engineering. The inventive holding device comprises integrateable and separable lower and top holding parts. Axially protruded retaining clamps are arranged on the top holding part around each encased capacitor. The lower holding part comprises an opening for the respective capacitor and each opening is surrounded with a sealing lip. The retaining clamps are pressed against the capacitors by the internal surface of the lower holding part. Sections protruded from the respective openings of the lower holding part are embodied in the form of the capacitor sections freely extending directly to a cold air flow of a device. The sealing lip is sealingly placed on the external wall of each encased capacitor in such a way that the penetration of solid or liquid materials inside the lower holding part is prohibited, thereby preventing a high IP protection degree.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a holding device for electrolytic capacitors to enable a mechanically and electrically improved and more reliable assembly in a device. The capacitors are described; however the protection of claim 1 extends to the holder as such, even without capacitors. Provision is made for air-cooled frequency converters and servos as devices. They are used in electrical drive engineering.
To lengthen the durability of electrolytic capacitors and to be able to use the electrolytic capacitors as highly as possible, it is necessary to keep the core temperature of the electrolytic capacitors as low as possible. For high-protective air-cooled devices (IP54 and above), it lends itself to mount these electrolytic capacitors in the air flow of the cooling body. For this purpose, the following functions must be fulfilled at the same time.                Tightness between air cooling circuit (IP54 and above) and electronic compartment (IP20).        Mechanical fastening of the electrolytic capacitors so that the electric connections of the electrolytic capacitors are not damaged, even in response to vibrations.        Accommodation and equalization of very high can tolerances of electrolytic capacitors.        Optimization of the heat transfer between the interior of the electrolytic capacitors and the passed can surface.        Prepositioning of the electrolytic capacitor connections on the printed circuit board or on the busbar. At the same time, an inverse-polarity protection is to be possible.        Maintaining a predetermined screw direction (from the top) during assembly of the electrolytic capacitor component into the frequency converter or servo.
2. State of the Art
Various solutions already exist for the fastening and the protection of capacitors in this application. EP-A 1 132 930 (Vacon Qy) describes one of these solutions. This solution, however, only serves for the protection and the fastening of the capacitors, without fulfilling demands on a direct cooling of the capacitor housing can in the air flow and a mechanical support of each of the capacitors in the proximity of the center of gravity, because the capacitors are only encased with a closed jacket without additional support. They are installed and wedged into an intermediate housing, see column 5, lines 20 to 30 and column 6, paragraph [027] therein.
Heat dissipation must occur thereby via an additional air and insulation material section. The air gap between encased capacitor and protective cover must potentially still be filled with a very expensive heat conducting paste, so as to be able to dissipate the temperatures created in the capacitor at all. In addition, an outer diameter as well as a length even of "equally large" encased capacitors is subject to very high tolerances, thus making it possible for the air gap for the heat transfer to become very large.
Under the influence of vibrations, as they can arise in response to various applications, a mechanical stabilization of the capacitor is impossible. Due to the large mass and the one-sided attachment of this capacitor type via the connector sockets on the electronic board, the contact surfaces and the support material are highly stressed, which can lead to contact problems or to the breaking of conductor tracks. Furthermore, this solution of the state of the art requires an independent protective can for each capacitor length.

Holding device for encased high-protective capacitors


An infrared radiator has a twin tube with an inner bridge that separates two housings which run along the longitudinal direction of the tube. A first heating spiral arranged in a first one of the housings is provided with an external electrical current supply and has a first end connected to a connection wire or a second heating spiral arranged in the second housing. A bore is formed in the inner bridge adjacent a second end of the first heating spiral and through which a connection body can extend from one housing into the other housing. The first heating spiral is thereby electrically connected to the connection wire or the second heating spiral. At least the first heating spiral is mounted under pull tension in the housing. Furthermore, for simplifying the mounting of the heating spiral of the infrared radiator, the bore is formed by boring through the jacket of the twin tube and the inner bridge. The connection body is then inserted into the through bore and the inner bridge, and is electrically connected to the first heating spiral and to the connection wire or to the second heating spiral. The bore is then closed off.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a twin-tube infrared radiator with an inner bridge that separates two housings which run in a longitudinal direction along the tube. The invention further concerns a process for manufacturing the infrared radiator.
2. Description of the Related Art
An infrared radiator is described in German utility model application DE-U1 9,113,002, in which the lamp tube is shaped as twin tubes made of quartz glass and separated by an intermediate bridge. The twin tubes extend over a length of two equal radiator sections. Each of the housings of the twin tube consists of two housing halves. A heating spiral is arranged in each one of the four housing halves.
The heating spirals of each radiator section are arranged in a series by pairs. Each heating spiral is provided with a connection wire for the electrical current supply at its first end. The electrical connections for each heating spiral pair are guided out of the twin tubes at each of the front sides of the twin tubes by means of a vacuum-sealed area crimped between two welded molybdenum sheets.
The heating spirals of each of the heating spiral pairs are interconnected via an M-shaped bent molybdenum wire. The molybdenum wire grips an end of the heating spiral and is guided back by means of a first U-shaped bend within the housing, parallel to the heating spiral up to the first end. The inner bridge is bored out or milled out over a length of some centimeters in the area of the first end of the twin tube. Between the upper edge of the crimped area and the floor of the bridge bore is a cut a few centimeters wide. The molybdenum wire extends through this cut over a second U-shaped bend into the other housing where it is connected to the second heating spiral. Viewed in both housings, the molybdenum wire is M-shaped, and a level plane runs into the inner bridge. The molybdenum wire is coated with a quartz glass capillary tube in the area of the heating spiral to avoid short circuits. The heating spirals are held centered over a length within the housing by regularly distributed gap holders.
The manufacture of the known infrared radiator is very time consuming and requires great skill. Special asymmetric gap holders are necessary so that the heating spiral is always arranged centrally within the housing, despite the molybdenum wire that runs back parallel to the heating spiral.
The heating spiral is guided with great force into the twin tube in the known infrared radiators, while the gap holders press onto the inner walls of each housing. Therefore, a strong mechanical tension is applied to the heating spiral. After a few months, it is no longer tension-free. Thus, it runs the risk of creasing during operation. Therefore, the length of the heated zone is modified. This leads to breakdowns in the known infrared radiators.
During heating of the tungsten heating spiral while in operation, the material of the spiral recrystallizes. This changes the spiral measurements. In the known infrared radiators, it is therefore necessary to recrystallize the heating spiral before mounting. However, this makes the heating spiral rough, making installation in the twin tubes even more difficult. Furthermore, the recrystallization of the heating spiral requires a lot of time and great cost.
A twin tube radiator is also known from German utility model DE-U1 9,115,621, wherein both heating spirals are interconnected via a molybdenum handle, and wherein the molybdenum handle grips each front side end of the heating spiral. For facilitating the mounting of the molybdenum handle, it is proposed to remove the inner bridge of the twin tube by milling or boring a slit into the front side. The molybdenum handle is laid into the slit formed in this manner and then the front side of the twin tube is crimped. The known process permits the processing of the twin tube and the mounting of the molybdenum handle from the open side. The molybdenum handle is easily contorted to facilitate its insertion from the open front side. This leads, however, to position modifications of the heating spirals during the insertion of the radiator.
A further short-wave infrared radiator in the form of a twin tube is described in German utility model DE-U1 8,913,683, in which an infrared radiator of double length is created by welding together two individual radiators at their ends, whereby the individual radiators are connected independently of each other and are separated by a separator wall. The connection of the heating spirals takes place in each individual radiator by means of the handle mounted in the same way as the molybdenum handle in DE-U1 9,115,621.

Infrared radiator and its manufacturing process

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A combined compressor pressure sensor and excess pressure relief valve (12) uses a formed disk (22) that snaps down and back up at a pair of predetermined pressures. The disk (22), when it snaps down, opens a plug (34) to in turn allow excess pressure from the compressor (10) to escape. When up, the plug (34) remains sealed, the outside vents (42) remain blocked, and compressor gas flow only through the center of the plug (34) and disk (22) to a sensing chamber (46).

Automotive air conditioning compressors typically include a pressure sensor that reads the refrigerant pressure within the compressor shell. A conventional pressure sensor would include a housing with a pressurizable volume located below a sensor element. In addition, many compressors use a passively acting pressure relief valve to vent excessive refrigerant pressure from the compressor shell. These may be frangible, one time use valves, although spring loaded, resealing valves are generally desired. Conventional, spring loaded high pressure relief valves suffer from the drawback that they tend to open and close at substantially the same pressure, and may oscillate between open and closed positions, rather than staying open long enough to smoothly and continuously vent from a higher to an incrementally lower pressure before closing. The use of separate pressure sensors and relief valves, besides the obvious cost, also creates two potential leak paths out of the compressor shell.

Compressor with combined pressure sensor and high pressure relief valve assembly


An information carrier in which an IC element formed integrally with a coil is mounted and which has an extended communication range and a method of manufacturing the same and a structure of the IC element appropriately suited for this sort of information carrier and a method of manufacturing the same. In the IC element, a conductor constituting the coil 3 is implemented in a multilayer structure including a metal-sputtered layer or alternatively a metal-evaporated layer 6 and a metal-plated layer 7. In the method of manufacturing the IC element, a precision electroforming method is employed as a means for forming the metal-plated layer 7. The information carrier is implemented in such a structure in which the IC element 1 is disposed at a center portion in a planar direction of a substrate 21. In a method of manufacturing the information carrier, strip material or materials 41 to 45 a given one of which has mounted thereon desired parts inclusive of the IC elements are manufactured, whereon desired information carriers 20a, . . . , 20h are formed by punching the strip material(s).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to AN IC element formed integrally with a coil on a chip, a method of manufacturing the IC element, an information carrier incorporating the IC element and a method of manufacturing the information carrier.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, such a contactless type information carrier has been known which includes an IC element mounted internally of a substrate having a predetermined shape and an antenna coil electrically connected to the terminals of the IC element for effectuating in a noncontacting or contactless manner reception of electric power from a reader/writer and a signal transmission/reception with the reader/writer through the medium of the electromagnetic wave. As the information carriers of this species, there may be mentioned those referred to as the card-like information carriers, the coin-like information carriers, the button-like information carriers and the like named after the external appearance.
As the information carriers of the types mentioned above, the information carrier having an antenna coil patterned on a substrate or the information carrier having an antenna coil composed of a coil carried on a substrate has heretofore been employed. However, in recent years, there has been proposed an information carrier in which the IC element formed integrally with the antenna coil is mounted on the substrate and which features the capability of being manufactured inexpensively without need for the protection processing of the interconnection points between the antenna coil and the IC element and the moisture-proof treatment and additionally the excellent durability owing to insusceptibility to breakage of coil conductor regardless of stresses induced upon bending, torsion or the like of the substrate.
As a method of forming the antenna coil on the information carrier, a sputtering method is adopted. Thus, the electric conductor of the antenna coil formed integrally with the IC element is implemented in the form of an aluminum-sputtered film.
In this conjunction, it is however noted that when the antenna coil is formed integrally on the IC element, not only the winding diameter and the conductor width of the coil become smaller when compared with the case where the antenna coil composed of the winding is carried on the substrate, but also the number of turns of the coil is naturally limited, making it difficult to increase the range or distance for communication with the reader/writer or rendering it even impossible to ensure the communication range.
The present invention has been made with a view to disposing of the deficiencies of the hitherto known techniques such as mentioned above and hence it is contemplated with the present invention as a technical object to provide an information carrier incorporating an IC element formed integrally with an antenna coil and capable of ensuring an extended communication range or distance and a method of manufacturing the information carrier as well as a structure of the IC element formed integrally with the antenna coil and advantageously suited for employment in the information carrier of this sort and a method of manufacturing the IC element.

Method of manufacturing an IC coil mounted in an information carrier


A target stand system having at least two stand assemblies is provided. Each stand assembly comprises a post member configured at one end for insertion into a support surface and a support member connected to the post member by an attachment portion such that a gap is formed between the post member and the support member. The gap has a width sufficient to support a target. The stand assemblies are spaced apart a distance to support a target.

Targets are used by sports enthusiasts for many purposes including competitive matches, pre-hunting scope sighting and general recreational purposes. Targets can be used for many implements, including for example firearms, archery equipment, crossbows and slingshots.
Targets are often printed on heavy paper stock or cardboard. Alternatively, targets can be made of other materials, including for example plastic and foam board.
The targets are typically mounted in, and supported by, a target stand. A target stand can be a permanent structure or a portable structure. It would be advantageous to provide an improved target stand.


Transmitter for distributing data signals, characterised in that it is provided with receiving means for collecting one or several data signals, a control unit (5) and a transmitting unit (3) connected thereto for transmitting an above-mentioned data signal via a network to one or several addressable receivers (6) from a series of pre-selected users, after the above-mentioned control unit (5) has received a starting signal to this end.

In particular, the present invention concerns a transmitter for distributing data signals, whereby this transmitter is provided with receiving means for collecting one or several data signals, a control unit and a transmitting unit connected thereto for transmitting an above-mentioned data signal via a network to one or several addressable receivers from a series of pre-selected users, after the above-mentioned control unit has received a starting signal to that end.
An advantage of such a transmitter according to the invention is that it makes it possible to directly transmit a data signal to one or several pre-determined, either or not mobile receivers of users when a certain event either or not occurs.

Sending device to propagate information signals and method applied thereby