An optical data storage and retrieval system that includes a phase change storage medium and dual energy sources. The phase change material may store information by undergoing a transformation from one structural state to another structural state through application of energy. The system is equipped with two energy sources, neither of which alone provides sufficient energy to effect the transformation. The combination of both energy sources, however, provides sufficient energy to induce the transformation needed to record information. The energy from either source may be optical, thermal, electromagnetic, mechanical or magnetic energy.

The continuing expansion of the range of applications for computers, information technology, and entertainment has created a growing need for faster and more efficient storage and retrieval systems for processing information and data. Of paramount importance to these systems are recording media that are capable of storing as much information as possible while still permitting the quick recording, reading, and erasing of information. Optical recording media offer the most promise for future information storage needs. They currently allow for reading, writing, and erasing of information through all-optical means.
In order for an optical recording medium to be successful, it must be possible to read, write, and erase information quickly and with high fidelity over an extended number of storage and retrieval cycles. This performance capability requires an optical recording medium that can reproducibly and reversibly undergo a physical or chemical transformation in the presence of light. Phase change materials are currently emerging as the leading rewritable optical recording medium. They function by reversibly transforming between two physical states under the influence of a modulated light beam. In the most common phase change materials, the transformation occurs between an amorphous phase and a crystalline or partially crystalline phase. Under typical operating conditions, the amorphous phase corresponds to the recorded state and the crystalline or partially crystalline phase corresponds to the erased state. The process of writing or recording typically involves exposing a portion of the phase change material to a laser beam with sufficient energy to heat the portion of material above its melting point. Subsequent removal of the laser leads to rapid quenching and formation of an amorphous state characterized by structural randomness and disorder. The amorphous state is structurally distinct from the surrounding portions of the phase change material and provides a region of contrast that can be distinguished by a property such as reflectivity. The amorphous regions created by the write beam are frequently referred to as amorphous marks and may be viewed as corresponding to regions of stored information on the recording medium. By applying the write beam to selected portions of the recording medium, a pattern of amorphous marks among crystalline or partially crystalline spaces may be formed that corresponds to the particular information that one wishes to store. Properties such as the length, width, and spacing between amorphous marks may be used to encode information.
The process of reading requires identification of the pattern of amorphous marks and crystalline spaces present on the phase change material. This process entails detecting the contrast between the amorphous marks and the surrounding portions of the phase change material. Detection involves recognizing a difference in at least one property of the amorphous marks relative to the surrounding portions of the material. Differences in state are detected by differences in properties such as electrical resistivity, optical reflectivity or optical transmissivity. Detection of optical properties by an optical read beam is preferred because it permits construction of all-optical storage and retrieval systems. When a laser is used as the read beam, its power is set sufficiently low to avoid changing the physical state of the phase change material. The read beam power, for example, must be low enough to prevent melting and inadvertent formation of unintended amorphous marks or the formation of crystalline regions within amorphous marks.
The process of erasing requires removal of amorphous marks and typically involves transforming the recorded amorphous phase of the phase change material into a crystalline or partially crystalline phase. The transformation can be accomplished optically, for example, by an erase beam provided by a laser that has enough power to heat the amorphous phase above its crystallization temperature, but below its melting temperature. Heating of the amorphous marks with an erase beam to a temperature between the crystallization and melting temperatures provides enough energy to promote the atomic motion necessary for structural reorganization to a crystalline or partially crystalline phase without creating a high mobility or melt state that is susceptible to reforming an amorphous phase upon removal of the erase beam. The crystalline or partially crystalline erased regions may be understood as corresponding to unrecorded regions of the phase change material and are distinguishable from amorphous marks by at least one physical property such as electrical resistivity, optical reflectivity, or optical transmissivity. In an all-optical system, use of a read beam to spatially probe a property such as optical reflectivity or optical transmissivity permits the recognition and distinguishing of the recorded and unrecorded portions of the phase change material. Erasure is not the only process for removing an existing pattern of amorphous marks. Alternatively, an existing pattern can simply be directly overwritten by a new pattern representing new information.
Several chalcogenide-based materials have been demonstrated to function effectively as phase change materials. These materials are capable of existing in the amorphous, crystalline and partially crystalline states at room temperature and are readily transformable between the amorphous phase and the crystalline or partially crystalline phase. Representative phase change materials include alloys containing one or more of the elements Ge, Te, Sb, Se, S, Bi, In, Ga, Ag, Si, and As.
CD technology was the first widely used optical recording technology and is currently being replaced with newer high data density DVD technology. Although the currently available optical phase change materials provide excellent read, write and erase characteristics, further improvements are possible and desirable for future information storage needs. One area of possible improvement is information storage density. The currently available optical phase change materials may provide much higher information storage densities than many conventional magnetic memory media, but are currently limited. The storage density, for example, may be limited by the wavelength of light used to record or write information to a phase change material. The longer the wavelength of light, the larger the size of the recorded amorphous mark and the lower the information storage density. The wavelength of light used in current phase change materials is controlled largely by the availability of semiconductor diode lasers with sufficient power to effect the necessary structural transformations between the recorded and unrecorded states. The most suitable lasers currently available operate in the red-near infrared portion of the visible spectrum. The writing of CDs, for example, may be done with lasers that operate at about 780 nm or 830 nm. This wavelength of light provides recorded marks on a length scale of about 1 micron. More recent DVDs, in contrast, use 650 nm light and contain recorded marks on a length scale of about 0.5 micron. By decreasing the wavelength of light, it becomes possible to further decrease the size of recorded amorphous marks and increase the information storage density.
Achieving shorter write beam wavelengths requires the development of both economical compact short wavelength lasers and new phase change materials capable of functioning at shorter wavelengths. Recent developments in the field of semiconductor lasers indicate that compact lasers based on GaN that operate in the blue region of the visible spectrum may be useful in reading data from high density optical media. Unfortunately, high power blue lasers are not currently economically feasible for use in mass produced products. Additionally, present day phase change materials have lower contrast than is preferred to adequately differentiate between the initialized and written or written and erased states at such shorter wavelengths. Consequently, it is desirable to develop new phase change materials and optical storage and retrieval systems that can fully realize the much higher information storage densities potentially available from blue laser sources.
Another method of increasing the density is to decrease the spot size of present light sources. In any recording technology, the physical dimension of the minimal mark size ultimately governs the storage density. Thus in current generation DVD products, the minimal mark of about 400 nm diameter can achieve about 4.7 GB per side of a 12 cm diameter disk, representing about 2.7 Gbits/in for binary recording. In multi-level (ML) recording, a range of mark sizes are produced between 400 nm diameter and a minimum mark of about 150 nm. This results in an increase of about 2× in the storage capacity over binary recording. The capacity is not greater than this in ML recording because each mark must still be resolved by the optics, meaning that marks of any size must be spaced sufficiently apart. In practice, they are spaced on a constant "data cell" dimension of about 400 nm, i.e., equal to the minimal mark size in binary recording.
In the DVD products and the ML enhancement, the resolution is governed by diffraction limited optics using 650 nm wavelength light, and an objective lens having 0.6 numerical aperture (NA). Strictly speaking, with these optical parameters, the Gaussian input beam can be focused to a full width at half maximum of about 540 nm (=λ/2NA). Controlling the power and temporal character of the applied Gaussian beam profile can result in significantly smaller marks than what can be resolved by the optics. But the spacing of the ML marks and the minimal mark size in binary recording must both substantially conform to the resolution limit of the optics. Clearly the 400 nm dimension is pushing this limit.
Recent activity to push the optical storage density even higher is based on at least three different strategies: (1) pushing standard "far-field" optics; (2) developing "standard near-field" optics; and (3) developing aperture optics, which is also a near-field concept. To push standard "far-field" optics, the light's wavelength and the lens's NA are critical components to greater resolution. Reducing the wavelength to about 400 nm, and increasing the NA to 0.85, results in a 2.3× improvement in resolution for a storage capacity of about 25 GB per side of 12 cm diameter disk (˜14 Gbits/in2). In developing "standard near-field" optics the NA's are pushed beyond 1.0 using a solid immersion lens (sil) to approach a capacity of about 35 GB using the blue laser light. Here, evanescent coupling between the sil and the active phase change layer requires very short distances between the lens and the media of less than 100 nm. In one novel approach, the near field optic is incorporated into the disk itself, thereby eliminating the need for such fine control of the optics.
Finally in developing aperture optics, the mark dimension is not governed by optical principles of lenses, but by apertures. Here, in "Super-RENS" technology, the disk contains one low melting temperature layer such as Sb that acts as a controllable aperture. By use of the Gaussian profile laser beam, small apertures can be obtained with resolution limits of less than 100 nm using 635 nm wavelength light. (See J. Tominaga et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 2078 (1998)). Tominaga et al., have recently proposed to achieve greater read back signal strength by further enhancing the optical coupling using surface plasmons. In their work, geometric constraints do not allow surface plasmons (SP) on the metallic Sb layer because momentum is not conserved. Instead, they propose to use marks recorded in the GeSbTe phase change layer itself to act as a grating in which to generate the SP's. The SP's then localize preferentially around smaller marks, thereby amplifying their effective coupling cross section. It is not clear how effective using the marks themselves will actually be to generate the grating. This requires a change in sign of the real part of the dielectric function between the two relevant components (i.e., between crystalline and amorphous states of the GeSbTe compound). The optical constants used in their analysis correspond to the hexagonal and amorphous states. They did not use the crystalline state of the GeSbTe material that is relevant in the phase change applications, namely the fcc state. The real part of the dielectric function is positive for both the fcc and amorphous states, making generation of SP's unlikely.
A separate developmental front has proceeded with surface plasmons themselves that ultimately may play a role in optical memory applications. Recently Ebbesen et al. showed that normally incident light can transmit (up to 10% level) through a flat optically thick metal film that is perforated with many small holes, even though their diameters are roughly a factor of 10 less than the light's wavelength (see T. W. Ebbesen et al., "Extraordinary optical transmission through sub-wavelength hole arrays", Nature 391, 667 (1998) and H. F. Ghaemi et al, "Surface plasmons enhance optical transmission through subwavelength holes", Phys. Rev. B 58, 6779 (1998)). These diameters are significantly smaller than the cut-off dimension that would allow propagation. Usually, light incident normally to a metal surface cannot couple with surface plasmons, which are longitudinal waves along the surface where the electric field and propagation vectors are parallel, because light propagates as transverse waves whose electric and propagation vectors are perpendicular. Another way to say this is that coupling does not occur because energy and momentum are not simultaneously conserved. By scattering off the holes in a grating however, the light's momentum can gain some component parallel to the metal surface through the grating "momentum".
Once it became clear the importance of the grating momentum in coupling with SP's, it was realized that the scattering sites do not need to be holes through the metal film. In fact, any periodic (i.e. diffraction-like) grating can stimulate surface plasmons. Indeed, the NEC group has shown how a 2-D array of pits can be used to enhance the transmission of light through a single hole. See D. E. Grupp et al., "Beyond the Bethe Limit: Tunable Enhanced Light Transmission Through a Single Subwavelength Aperture", Adv. Mater. 11, 860 (1999); Thio et al., "Strongly Enhanced Optical Transmission Through Subwavelength Holes in Metal Films", Physica B, 279, 90 (2000); and Thio et al., "Enhanced Light Transmission through a Single Sub-Wavelength Aperture", Optics Lett. 26, 1972 (2001). They also indicate that a circular concentric pattern is optimal for transmission through a single hole.
Clearly proper application of this surface plasmon could be effective to increase the optical data storage density on phase change optical recording media. What is needed is an effective plasmon lens that can channel sufficient quantities optical energy through a sub-wavelength apertures to produce sub-wavelength spots on optical recording media.

Optical data storage and retrieval systems utilizing dual energy sources


The present invention relates to a method for predicting a drug-drug interaction and a drug-food interaction by using structural information of a drug and, more particularly, to a method for predicting the mechanism of action and activity of a drug interaction through interaction prediction results expressed by a standardized sentence. When using a method for predicting a drug interaction according to the present invention, a drug interaction can be predicted quickly and accurately, and in particular, activity information of an unknown compound can also be predicted by expressing a prediction result by means of a sentence, and thus the method is very useful for developing a drug exhibiting desired activity without causing adverse effects.

Drug interaction refers to a change in drug efficacy when two or more drugs are administered together. Drug interaction includes an interaction of a drug with constituents in food.
Drug interactions are important because they can cause serious adverse drug effects (ADEs). Drug interactions have been reported to be associated with up to 30% of all drug side effects (Tatonetti et al., J. Am. Med. Inf. Assoc. 19:79-85, 2012; Pirmohamed, M. & Orme, M., Chapman & Hall, London, 1998).
Drug interactions are very important in the pharmaceutical industry because they are known to be the main cause of failure of clinical drug trials. 33 drugs withdrawn from the market since 1990 due to toxicity problems were analyzed with regard to the respective reasons and the result showed that 8 cases (24%) were withdrawn due to drug interactions (Shah R R et al., Drug Saf. 27: 145-72, 2004). Guidelines updated by the US FDA in 2012 recommend that inhibition studies on seven types of cytochrome P450 (CYP), including two new types in addition to the existing five types of cytochrome P450 (CYP), be conducted.
However, evaluation of all drug-drug interactions under various conditions is limited due to issues of time and cost. In order to solve this, a methodology for predicting drug interactions has been developed, but there has been no methodology for applying various kinds of interactions to drugs and food ingredients.
Accordingly, as a result of intense efforts to develop a methodology for predicting a drug interaction using only structural information of a drug, the present inventors could reveal the mechanism of adverse drug interactions, the mechanism of action of which is unknown, and could suggest drug combinations that can reduce side effects caused by drug interactions. In addition, the present inventors found that the interaction between a food ingredient and a drug can be predicted using only structural information of the drug, and the activity of the food ingredient can be predicted using a prediction result expressed in the form of a sentence describing an interaction, and completed the present invention based on this finding.

Method for predicting drug-drug or drug-food interaction by using structural information of drug

KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A magnetoinductive flowmeter includes a measuring tube containing an electrode that is provided with an electroconductive diamond coating, as a result of which the galvanic contact between the electrode and the medium that flows through the measuring tube is indirect, i.e. via the electroconductive diamond coating. This produces an electrode that offers mechanical strength and is conducive to interference-free measuring signals. A method for producing the flowmeter is also disclosed.

Magnetoinductive flowmeters are well-known from prior art, described, for example, in "K. B. Bonfig, Technische Durchflussmessung (industrial flow measurements), 3rd edition, Vulkan-Verlag, Essen, 2002, pp. 123-167". The underlying concept of a magnetoinductive flow-measuring device goes all the way back to Faraday who in 1832 proposed using the principle of electrodynamic induction for flow-rate measurements.
According to Faraday's law of induction, a flowing medium that contains charge carriers and travels through a magnetic field will produce an electric field intensity perpendicular to the direction of flow and perpendicular to the magnetic field. A magnetoinductive flowmeter utilizes Faraday's law of induction in that by means of a magnetic-field system containing at least one magnet with typically two field coils a magnetic field is generated and positioned over the cross-sectional area of the measuring tube, which magnetic field includes a magnetic-field component that extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of flow. Within the magnetic field, each volume element of the flowing medium, containing a certain number of charge carriers, contributes the field intensity created in that volume element to the measuring voltage that can be collected via the electrodes.
One salient characteristic of magnetoinductive flowmeters is the proportionality between the measured voltage and the velocity of the flowing medium through the cross section of the measuring tube, i.e. between the measured voltage and the volume flow. Apart from the electrodes serving to collect the voltage being measured, additional electrodes may be provided, such as zero-flow detection electrodes as well as grounding electrodes especially also in the form of grounding sleeves.
Metal electrodes that are in direct contact with the flowing medium form an electrochemical boundary layer, capable of producing electrochemical direct-current voltages whose order of magnitude may be several 100 mV. These electrochemical direct-current voltages can change quite rapidly, for instance as a function of variations in the local flow rate of the medium at the electrodes due to turbulences, of operating-pressure fluctuations, of the pH value of the medium, of the composition of the medium especially while chemical reactions are still going on in the medium, of solid particles carried by or particles suspended in the medium and interfering with the boundary layer on the electrodes, or of solid particles in contact with or indeed impinging on the electrodes. All these factors lead to statistical fluctuations of the electrochemical direct current at the electrodes with amplitudes ranging from a few μV to several 10 mV. These statistical voltage fluctuations are also referred to as random noise.
This random-noise voltage is superimposed on the flow-proportional signal voltage whose signal intensity is typically 0.1 to 1 mV/(m/s), i.e. 0.1 to 1 mV for a flow velocity of one meter per second. It follows that the amplitude of the random-noise voltage may be of the same magnitude as the flow-proportional signal voltage or even well above that. The result may be substantial noise interference with consequently irregular, strongly fluctuating flow-rate readings of the magnetoinductive flowmeter.
That problem has been addressed in the prior art by applying on the surface areas of the electrodes that come in contact with the medium a porous coating consisting of a nonconducting, electrically inert material, for instance a porous ceramic layer. The electrically conductive medium penetrates into these pores, creating a voltaic connection between the medium and the metal of the electrodes and their associated transducer. This has a number of beneficial effects:
The medium that makes contact with the metal of the electrodes is replaced very slowly. This significantly minimizes sudden, measurement-disrupting spikes of the direct-current voltage at the electrodes as a result of an electrochemically heterogeneous medium. Moreover, solid particles carried by the medium are no longer able to penetrate into the electrochemical boundary layer that is now largely protected by the ceramic coating. Solid particles carried by the medium therefore cause significantly less interference than would be the case without that porous ceramic layer.
To be sure, this type of porous ceramic layer has drawbacks of its own. For example, abrasion or physical impact can damage the ceramic layer whenever the medium carries along hard solids. Then, too, the chemical resistance of the ceramic material used is not always adequate. The same is true for the thermal-shock resistance of these ceramic materials. Finally, electrically insulating oils or fats carried by the medium can penetrate into the pores of the ceramic, interrupting the galvanic connection between the medium and the metal electrode.

Magnetoinductive flowmeter having an electrode with an electroconductive diamond coating


A fastener tape for use in the manufacture of reclosable plastic bags is provided. The fastener tape comprises an intermediate layer and a reclosable fastener profile thereon. The intermediate layer includes three layers of co-extruded plastic, with not more than 4% EVA as the outer two layers and HDPE as the middle layer. The intermediate layer is folded so as to bring portions of the intermediate layer into an opposing relationship. These opposing portions are then sealed together by a pair of seal bars. By carefully controlling the sealing temperature, a consistent peel seal is created between the opposing portions of the intermediate layer without the need for an adhesive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reclosable plastic bags. This invention more particularly pertains to a fastener tape having reclosable fasteners thereon and adapted to be mounted in an opening of a reclosable bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reclosable plastic bags having interlocking pressure-sealable profile fasteners are well known and have a variety of useful applications, such as the storage of household goods. The recent increase in consumer demand for reclosable bags has been coupled with a demand for higher quality profile fasteners in these bags. To meet these demands, manufacturers must develop cost effective and reliable methods of producing reclosable bags that are suitable for a consumer's particular purpose.
Consumers prefer reclosable bags in which the reclosable opening is across the top of the bag. Until recently, however, most reclosable plastic bags were manufactured with the reclosable opening located along a vertical side of the bag, rather than across the top of the bag. Simply, it was easier for manufacturers using conventional equipment and processes to attach fasteners along the side of the bag than it was to attach fasteners across the top of the bag. Recent advances in manufacturing equipment and materials have allowed some manufacturers to produce reclosable bags with the reclosable openers across the top of the bag. For example, such equipment is available from AMI/Rec-Pro, Inc. in Atlanta, Ga., USA.
Typically, most commercially available reclosable plastic bags are formed of thermoplastic, such as polyethylene. An opening in the plastic bag is equipped with a plastic profile fastener which allows the plastic bag to be opened and resealed when accessing the contents of the plastic bag. These profiles include a male profile and a female profile configured to interlock and form a continuous closure when aligned and pressed together. Interlocked male and female profiles are commonly referred to, in the singular sense, as a profile fastener, zipper profile, or merely as a profile.
There is one type of extrusion process used to extrude materials for use at the top of a bag that is known as a flange zipper process. In such a process, the profile is extruded to form flanged portions, extending from the profile fastener. However, there are problems in sealing extruded, flanged profile directly to the walls of the plastic bag (referred to as the bag walls) due to the thickness of the flanged portions. Specifically, extruded, flanged profile has a limitation as to how thin the flanges can be integrally extruded. The extrusion process results in a flanged area having a thickness significantly greater than if a similar type profile was separately manufactured and attached to a separately manufactured intermediate layer.
As an alternative to attaching flange zipper profiles directly to the bag walls, the profile may only be attached to an intermediate layer of film. The intermediate layer with the attached profile is then attached to the bag walls. The combination of the profile and the intermediate layer is commonly referred to as "fastener tape." The fastener tape and bag walls are suitably interconnected by generally knows means, such as heat sealing, wherein the intermediate layer is sealed to the walls of the base material. The use of an intermediate layer permits the use of profiles that are made of a different material than the plastic bag walls. These different materials may be thermally incompatible. It is desirable to produce an intermediate layer in the thinnest manner possible in order to minimize the amount of heat necessary to attach the intermediate layer to the plastic bag. The intermediate layer is more effectively attached to a plastic bag with a minimal amount of heat, when the intermediate layer is in its thinnest form.
Excess heat in the manufacture of reclosable plastic bags promulgates defects. For example, if the intermediate layer or the profile comes into contact with excessive heat, the seal between the walls of the plastic bag and the intermediate layer may become damaged or the profile may become deformed. Such damage may be identified by an inoperable profile, wrinkles or creases in the walls of the plastic bag, or curls at the edges of the bag near the profile. Heat sealing is even more difficult when the walls of the bag are something other than polyethylene, for example polypropylene.
When manufacturing reclosable plastic bags with fastener tape, it is often desirable to include a peel seal between opposing portions of the intermediate layer. Such a peel seal assures that the integrity of the bag will be maintained until it is initially opened by the consumer by providing a hermetic seal.
In practice, however, it is has proven problematic to cost-effectively and consistently manufacture fastener tape with a peel seal. Typically in prior art fastener tapes, portions of the intermediate layer are coated with an adhesive. The intermediate layer is then folded so as to bring the adhesive bearing portions into an opposing relationship, after which the adhesive bearing portions are sealed together to form a peel seal. This method, however, is extremely complex and requires exacting control to ensure that the process is kept within acceptable parameters. Additionally, the adhesive tends to hold the ends of the fastener tape together, making the bag difficult to open. Further, it is often difficult to apply the adhesive and the adhesive can be very expensive.
In response to the realized inadequacies of known fastener tapes, it became clear that there is a need for a new type of fastener tape which facilitates the implementation of a peel seal.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Fastener tape, method of and apparatus for making fastener tape, method of using fastener tape, and reclosable bag utilizing fastener tape


The invention is applicable to a characteristic adjustment method for an inductor formed by laminating a plurality of coils and electrically connecting these coils by a through hole, and is aimed at providing a method which can easily adjust the characteristic of the inductor with a simple configuration. The method comprises determining a part of the coil in an outermost layer as an adjustment area, and not forming the through hole below the adjustment area, and removing at least a part of the adjustment area after the coil in the outermost layer is formed.

A semiconductor integrated circuit using a conventional inductor includes, for example, the one shown in the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Technical Report of IEICE, Vol. 93, No. 416, pp. 43 to 48 (1993). Since a spiral inductor shown in the paper can be formed on the same substrate together with a gallium arsenic high electron mobility transistor (GaAs HEMT), a low-noise preamplifier and the like built into a matching circuit having the spiral inductor have been realized.
[Non-patent document 1] The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Technical Report of IEICE, Vol. 93, No. 416.
The inductor characteristic changes due to reasons such as the shape thereof and a difference in the process. For example, there may be a problem such that when the inductor is used in a signal transfer circuit, the inductor characteristic is shifted from an optimum value in a target frequency, thereby causing a decrease in receiver sensitivity. Such a problem becomes noticeable when the frequency is high. The inductor characteristic can be brought close to the optimum value to some extent by adjusting an applied bias, but there is a limitation.
In electronic equipment for which miniaturization is required, particularly, in mobile communication equipment such as a mobile phone and a car phone, miniaturization is also required for the parts used therein. Moreover, as the operation frequency increases, the circuit becomes more complicated, and hence, narrow deviation is required for the parts used therein. Actually, however, there is a deviation in the individual parts, and a circuit constituted by mounting these parts may not function. Accordingly, a method in which variable type parts are used for a part of parts group constituting the circuit, and the variable type parts are finely adjusted so as to make the circuit function has been employed. As one method, there is a case in which a variable inductor is used.
In a variable inductor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-162331, a plurality of looped conductors having an open end is provided in the vicinity of a spiral conductor, and an opening or short-circuiting switch is provided respectively to the open ends. It is explained therein that as a result, the inductance of the inductor decreases.
On the other hand, in the inductor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 9-153411, a first conductor pattern formed of two spiral conductor patterns and a first magnetic film covering the first conductor pattern are formed on one surface of an insulating substrate, and a second conductor pattern formed of two spiral conductor patterns and at least a second conductor pattern of a second magnetic film covering the second conductor pattern are formed on the other surface of the insulating substrate, and the conductor patterns on the opposite surfaces are connected to each other to form one coil, and by cutting the magnetic film, the inductance value is changed and adjusted.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-162331
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 9-153411
In the above described conventional art, however, the circuit configuration including the coil becomes complicated.

Characteristic adjustment method for inductor and variable inductor


Radiation noise is reduced, and any operation error is prevented by suppressing noise propagation between an input/output circuit and an internal circuit while preventing or minimizing an increase in the number of steps of semiconductor element design. A semiconductor device having an input/output circuit region and an internal circuit region includes an internal circuit power supply cell which is arranged in the input/output circuit region and supplies a power to the internal circuit region, an internal circuit ground cell which is arranged in the input/output circuit region and supplies ground to the internal circuit region, and noise control cells which are arranged to sandwich the internal circuit power supply cell and the internal circuit ground cell in the input/output circuit region and formed by electrically connecting a p-type semiconductor substrate to ground independently of the input/output circuit region and the internal circuit region.

A semiconductor device represented by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) normally has an internal circuit region and an input/output circuit region arranged around it. A circuit having a desired function such as signal processing is formed in the internal circuit region. This circuit is formed by arranging a plurality of cells using a plurality of semiconductor elements such as MOS transistors (Metal Oxide Semiconductor transistors) and connecting them by wiring.
The input/output circuit region transmits signals between the internal circuit region and a device outside the semiconductor device or supplies a power and reference potential (to be referred to as ground hereinafter) necessary for the ground in the internal circuit region and input/output circuit region to operate. The signals and power supply/ground in the input/output circuit region and the internal circuit region are connected by wiring.
Like the internal circuit region, the input/output circuit region is also formed by arranging a plurality of cells for input/output circuits, in which a plurality of semiconductor elements such as transistors are arranged. The semiconductor device and an external device are connected through pads or semiconductor packages in the input/output cells. Power supply/ground wiring to supply a power supply/ground to the semiconductor elements in the internal circuit region and input/output circuit region is present in the semiconductor device independently of the signal wiring. To stabilize the potential immediately under the channel of a MOS transistor, the power supply/ground wiring connects the semiconductor substrate to the power supply wiring in a p-type MOS (to be referred to as a PMOS hereinafter) or connects the semiconductor substrate to the ground wiring in an n-type MOS (to be referred to as an NMOS hereinafter).
In the above-described structure, a noise current which is generated in the power supply/ground wiring in the semiconductor device when it operates poses a problem. A noise current generated by the operation of a circuit flows through the power supply/ground wiring and is injected from the connection portion between the semiconductor substrate and the power supply/ground wiring to the semiconductor substrate. As a result, the potential immediately under the channel of the MOS transistor varies and causes an operation error.
A technique is conventionally known in which a guard ring absorbs noise to prevent any operation error caused by noise propagation in the semiconductor substrate or any operation error or breakdown by latch-up.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2002-246553, 2001-102525, and 1-103859, a guard ring surrounds the internal circuit serving as a noise source to prevent power supply/ground noise from propagating to another circuit through the semiconductor substrate and causing an operation error.
In Japanese Patent No. 3403981 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-127249, a thyristor or diode structure is intentionally inserted in a guard ring structure to increase the electrostatic destruction preventing effect.
Another problem of noise is radiation noise which is generated when the noise current of the power supply/ground in the internal circuit region propagates to the input/output circuit region through the power supply/ground wiring, and the power supply/ground noise of the internal circuit is superimposed on a signal of an input/output circuit, which is to be output to the outside. Conventionally, placing focus on the fact that the internal circuit and the power supply/ground of the input/output circuits are connected by wiring, the internal circuit and the power supply/ground of the input/output circuits are disconnected to avoid noise propagation from the internal circuit to the input/output circuits.
In the above-described prior arts, noise propagation through some internal circuits, some internal circuit wiring, and the semiconductor substrate or noise propagation through the wiring from the internal circuit to the input/output circuits is prevented. However, there is no measure against noise propagation through the semiconductor substrate between the internal circuit and the input/output circuits at all. Hence, the prior arts cannot prevent an operation error caused by propagation of noise, represented by SSN (Simultaneous Switching Noise) of the input/output circuits, which is generated by the input/output circuit operation to the internal circuit through the semiconductor substrate, or an increase in radiation noise caused by noise propagation from the internal circuit to the input/output circuits through the semiconductor substrate.


In an apparatus for synthesizing a singing voice of a song, a storage section stores template data in correspondence to various expressions applicable to music notes. The template data includes first and second template data differently defining a temporal variation of a characteristic parameter for applying the corresponding expression to an attack note and a non-attack note, respectively. An input section inputs voice information representing a sequence of vocal elements and specifying expressions in correspondence to the respective vocal elements. A synthesizing section synthesizes the singing voice from the sequence of the vocal elements based on the inputted voice information. When the vocal element is of an attack note, the first template data is applied to the vocal element. Otherwise, when the vocal element is of a non-attack note, the second template data is applied to the vocal element.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a singing voice synthesizing apparatus and, more particularly, to a singing voice synthesizing apparatus for synthesizing naturally sounding singing tones applied with suitable expression.
2. Related Art
Technologies are known in which a variety of parameters obtained by analyzing actually uttered voices are prepared and these parameters are combined to synthesize singing voices. One of these technologies is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-268659 (refer to patent document 1).
Patent document 1 discloses the following technology. First, a database is prepared in which the parameters characterizing the formants of vocal elements are stored, and another database is also prepared in which template data for imparting time-sequential changes to these parameters are stored.
Also prepared beforehand are music score data having a vocal element track for specifying the vocal elements of lyrics in a time-sequential manner, a musical note track for specifying a song starting point and musical note transition points, a pitch track for specifying pitches of the vocal elements, a dynamics track for specifying a vocal intensity at each specified time, and an opening track for specifying a lip opening degree at each specified time.
In performance, the parameters are read from the tracks in the stored data and the above-mentioned template data are applied to these parameters to obtain the final parameters having minute changes for each time, thereby executing vocal synthesis of singing voice on the basis of these final parameters.
The types of the parameters and the templates to be prepared for the vocal synthesis are diverse. The preparation of these various types of parameters and templates allows the sophisticated synthesis of the singing voice which are diversified and resemble to natural human vocalization.
Patent document 1 is Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-268659.
One type of the templates is desirably prepared for the synthesis of singing voices which are diverse and close to human vocalization, that is a template associated with expressions such as accent and portamento, for example. Variation pattern of formant and pitch of each vocal element depends on whether the expression is applied to the singing voice or not as well as the types of expression. Therefore, the synthesis of singing voices which are more diverse might be realized by preparing templates corresponding to different expressions and applying a template specified by a user to a desired part of the song.
However, the above-mentioned realization of the vocal synthesis with different expressions involves problems to be solved. For example, for the singing with an expression of the same type, the variation pattern of the formant and pitch of the vocal element depends on whether or not the music notes to which the expression is applied is preceded by contiguous musical notes. Thus, no proper and natural way of singing may be reproduced, unless different template data are applied selectably to one case where the music note to which the expression is applied is preceded by contiguous musical notes and another case where the music note is not preceded by contiguous musical notes.
It may be possible to prepare two different template data for one case where the music note to which the expression is applied is preceded by contiguous musical notes and another case where the music note is not preceded by contiguous musical notes, by analyzing each of the voices of attack and non-attack notes actually sung under these conditions. It should be noted that there do not exist so far such different templates for attack note and non-attack note. Even if such templates are created, however, this requires users who create song data to undertake a time and labor consuming task of making allocation of the two different template data to each vocal element on a case-by-case basis in order to impart the suitable and adequate expression to each vocal element.

Singing voice synthesizing apparatus with selective use of templates for attack and non-attack notes


An injection molding system having a shooting pot assembly is disclosed. In one embodiment, the shooting pot assembly is in fluid communication with a mold and has an actuation direction that is substantially perpendicular to an injection axis of material injected into a mold cavity. In another embodiment, a shooting pot actuation system is a mounted on a side of a hot runner. In certain embodiments, the shooting pot actuation system includes a linear actuator operatively coupled with the shooting pot assembly to actuate the shooting pot assembly.

Injection molding of plastics is a common technique used for manufacturing items ranging from plastic bottles to medical devices. To facilitate high-volume manufacturing, many injection molding machines incorporate a plurality of separate nozzles for delivering material to a plurality of molding cavities. In order to control the volume of material delivered to each mold cavity, and the pressure at which the material is injected, injection molding machines sometimes include shooting pots connected to either an individual or several molding cavities. In operation, a shooting pot receives a predetermined charge of material from a refill circuit and subsequently injects the material into an injection circuit at a predetermined pressure to fill the mold cavity(ies).


There is provided by this invention an improved rf power control device for plasma applications for optimization of the feedback control voltage in the presence of harmonic and non-harmonic spurious frequencies. In this system, an oscillator and mixer, similar to those normally used in radio receiver applications are placed at the sampled output of the solid state rf signal source used for plasma ignition. The sampled output is mixed to a low frequency and filtered to remove the spurious frequencies that is created in the non-linear plasma. In this way, the feedback power control essentially ignores the spurious frequencies. In this application, the oscillator and mixer do not interfere with other desirable system characteristics and effectively isolate the feedback control voltage from changes in plasma spurious content. This allows rf power to be delivered to the plasma with greater accuracy than would otherwise be possible with conventional power control device and methods.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to plasma processing applications utilizing RF power and more particularly to RF power generators used in plasma processing applications having circuitry to improve power delivery characteristics.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, RF power generators used in plasma applications have relied on relatively simple diode peak detectors operating from the output of a directional coupler to monitor the power delivered to the plasma However, this method becomes unreliable in the presence of plasma induced spurious frequencies because the diode detectors cannot differentiate between the voltage of the generator output frequency and that of the plasma induced spurious frequencies. Synchronous detection methods have been used to eliminate the effect of spurious frequencies, however the cost and complexity of such a design is generally not acceptable for plasma generator applications. Other power detectors relying on thermal response have also been used. Bandpass filters of various types have been used to eliminate spurious frequencies. However, insertion losses in these filters are difficult to control, particularly when the offending frequency is very close to the generator output frequency.
FIG. 1 shows a typical VHF power generator 10 of the prior art. A rf frequency source 12 supplies power to an amplifier 14 which is fed to a directional coupler 16. The directional coupler 16 is connected to diode detectors 18 and 20. In some designs filters (not shown) are used between the directional coupler 16 and the detectors 18 and 20 to remove spurious frequencies. However, design of these filters is very difficult when the spurious frequencies are very close to the generator output frequency. For example, if the spurious frequency has an amplitude that is higher than the generator output and this signal is close in phase to the output frequency of the generator that is being fed back to monitor the power delivered, the peak diode detectors cannot distinguish between the true feedback signal and the signal of the spurious frequency. Therefore, the detected signals connected to the feedback power control circuitry 22 would be in error. A matching network 24 is connected between the generator 10 and plasma chamber 26 in a typical system application. A second generator 30 coupled through matching network 32 may supply power to the chamber at a different operating frequency.
It would be desirable if there were provided an RF generator that had improved power control stability by isolating the feedback control voltage from the plasma induced spurious frequencies.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved RF power control method that is easily implemented to replace more expensive and complex designs currently used in the prior art.
It is a further object of this invention to replace the complex narrowband filters as used in prior art with a relatively simple low pass filter to remove the spurious signals.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a means for using methods other than voltage detection of the generator output for monitoring its power.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a means for improved matching network tuning in the presence of spurious frequencies.

RF power control device for RF plasma applications


Plant material has bacteriophage has been attached, wherein the bacteriophage retains infectivity. The plant material includes fruits, vegetables, leaves, stems, flowers, roots, tubers, seedlings and seeds. Plant diseases and animal diseases can be treated. A separate composition comprises a carrier selected from (i) a filament, (ii) a planar material, and (iii) particles and/or beads, and bacteriophage covalently attached thereto, wherein the bacteriophage retains infectivity, useful in treatment or prevention of bacterial infection in a deep wound.

It is now generally accepted that microbial/bacterial contamination or infection is a major factor influencing normal biological/physiological functions (such as healing or growth) and the rate of decomposition in many biological systems and processes. In wound healing, preventing wound infection is a vital aspect of wound care and recovery. Since all wounds are susceptible to infection, wound care best practise endeavours to take this into account. Typically wounds are cleaned to remove foreign debris that may harbour bacteria, and where tissues have suffered severe trauma, tissue repair is frequently assisted through suturing. In major surgical procedures such as hip replacement this involves repair of several tissue layers, followed by a sterile wound dressing of a type generally available. Typically a sterile wound dressing is applied to the skin surface to aid cleanliness and prevent infection.
Despite these precautions infection can become established through ingress of material during injury or inadvertently during various medical/surgical procedures. Furthermore problems of wound infection are not confined to deep wounds. Infection can transform relatively minor lesions into chronic wounds that increasingly pose major health care problems, particularly for the elderly, diabetic or infirm.
Over and above wound cleansing, various approaches have been adopted in an attempt to prevent the establishment of deep seated wound infections. Typically, antibiotics have been used systemically and locally or strong disinfecting chemicals have been used (in dental reconstruction for example) in an attempt to rid deep wounds of infectious bacteria. Unfortunately even the application of strong antimicrobial chemicals is frequently unsuccessful in preventing infection becoming established or recurring. In large part this may be due to the inability of the disinfecting agent to completely eradicate all problem bacteria. Additionally, as is well known, many bacteria are now resistant to antibiotics and their effectiveness becomes diluted over time.
There is therefore a need for more effective means to counteract bacterial infection and contamination. One approach has involved utilising bacteriophages (viruses that attack and destroy bacteria) and various groups have reported their successful application. Central problems associated with application of bacteriophages as a means of counteracting infection have been deriving an appropriate means of delivery whilst ensuring bacteriophages remain stable and viable long enough to exert their powerful antimicrobial effects.
Administration in liquid is not realistic or practical in many situations. The need is for a means of delivery that is generally suitable for application of bacteriophages as bactericidal agents and that has utility in many situations including wound care. Since bacteriophages are susceptible to degradation and desiccation, this should ideally also confer enhanced viability and stability.
Many conventional dressings employ a material which is designed to absorb excess fluid from within the wound; as such fluids are frequently rich in nutrients and are capable of supporting abundant bacterial growth. Since a surgical opening or the skin surface is rarely absolutely free of bacteria, the dressing or bandage material soon supports a growing bacterial population. Not only can the bacteria cause serious infection, but they may also release harmful toxins which lead to significant problems in terms of wound management. One solution is to routinely change the wound dressing or bandage, in order to prevent bacterial build-up, but this is not always desirable and/or practicable.
An alternative approach is to treat the dressing with an agent which is designed to limit microbial growth. However, many such agents can leach out of the dressing once in contact with wound exudates, so limiting the effectiveness of the dressing and indeed can be problematic with the active agent causing irritation or damage to surrounding tissue.
There is therefore a desire to provide antimicrobial dressings in which the antibacterial agent is not readily released from the dressing, or where the release of the agent would not be deleterious to the subject being treated.
WO 03/093462 discloses a method for immobilising viruses, such as bacteriophage, to a substrate, such that the viruses still retain infectivity.
It is amongst the objects of the present invention to provide a means to introduce bacteriophage into contaminated areas and environments so that the stability of bacteriophages is enhanced and their antimicrobial activity retained. This includes infected wounds, ranging from surface lesions to deep wound environments.
Separately, bacterial infections of plants can result in reduced germination, growth and/or yields. It is desirous to treat or prevent those infections, but approaches to doing so currently risk adversely affecting another factor influencing plant growth.
Another object of the invention is to address plant bacterial infections and provide plant material treated according to the invention and uses thereof.


A structured fluid composition comprising:                (a) a low refractive index liquid;        (b) particles including light absorbing charged particles such as pigments, non-light absorbing uncharged particles such as teflon, silica, alumina and combinations thereof; and        (c) at least one additive selected from the group consisting of a dispersant, a charging agent, a surfactant, a flocculating agent, a polymer, and combination thereof;for use in a TIR electronic display.

In electrophoresis an ionically-charged particle moves through a medium due to the influence of an applied electric field. The concept of electrophoresis can be combined with the principles of 'Total Internal Reflectance' (TIR) to create addressable displays. A suspension of particles can be used to controllably frustrate TIR and switch the state of pixels in such displays in a cotrolled manner. For example, an electromagnetic field can be applied to move charged particles in the suspension through an electrophoretic medium toward or away from an evanescent wave region to frustrate TIR at selected pixel portions of the region. In order for the electronic display to be useful the display should have quick response times. Further it is desirable that there is good contrast between the dispersed particles and the white background and that the electrophoretically active suspension remains stable.
It is known that repeated switching of a display which utilizes electrophoretically-mobile particles can result in a non-uniform distribution or movement of the particles, gradually causing the formation of particle clusters which deteriorates the quality of images produced by the display over time. An example is found in Dalisa, A., "Electrophoretic Display Technology," IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 24, 827–834, 1977; and Mürau et al, "The understanding and elimination of some suspension instabilities in an electrophoretic display," J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 49, No. 9, September 1978, pp. 4820–4829. It has been shown that such undesirable clustering can be reduced by encapsulating groups of suspended particles in separate micro-fluidic regions. See for example Nakamura et al, "Development of Electrophoretic Display Using Microencapsulated Suspension," Society for Information Display Symposium Proceedings, 1014–1017, 1998 and Drzaic et al, "A Printed and Rollable Bistable Electronic Display," Society for Information Display Symposium Proceedings, 1131–1134, 1998.
In summary it is desirable for an electronic display to have long term stability, quick response time and high contrast between the background and image being displayed. The invention has discovered that certain compositions have a combination of physical properties which overcome these obstacles in particular on electrophoresis.

Structured fluid compositions for electrophoretically frustrated total internal reflection displays

Abstract: The inventive composition improves the long-term stability, response time and visible appearance of image displays which electrophoretically frustrate total internal reflection (TIR).


A collapsible bicycle comprises a frame, a front and rear wheels rotatably attached thereto, and a drivetrain for transmitting torque to the rear wheel, with the frame including a movable structure on which the rear wheel is attached. The frame carries a pair of lower stay elements on a lower portion thereof and a fork member on an upper portion thereof with the prongs of the fork member defining a pair of upper stay elements. The front ends of the lower stay elements are adjoined with respective pivot rings attached to a bottom bracket of the frame so as to enable the rotation of the movable structure thereabout, while the male and female elements of a quick-release type connector are provided on the shank portion of the fork member and an upper portion of a seat tube of the frame to enable the fixing of the movable structure thereto. The frame is further provided with an arcuate down tube adapted for the positioning thereunder of the rear wheel and movable structure when the bicycle is in a compacted form. This being accomplished by first disconnecting the fork member from the frame and then rotating the movable structure about the bottom bracket until the rim of the rear wheel is in proximity with the down tube.

The present invention relates to bicycles and more more particularly to a bicycle having a collapsible structure that can be compacted when not in use to facilitate storage.
Bicycles having collapsible structures, as exemplified in FIG. 1, are known in which relatively small diameter wheels 1 and a laterally foldable frame 2 are employed. Compacting the bicycle requires folding of the frame about a pair of pivots 201, 202 as shown in FIG. 2, the retraction of a telescoping handle bar stem 3 and the folding down of a pivoted seat post 4. Other collapsible bicycles similarly utilize a laterally foldable frame and/or a multiplicity of steps to attain the desired end.
Whereas, the collapsible bicycle of the present invention has a frame having a downwardly foldable structure that can be quickly compacted without interference from other members of the bicycle, as is common in more conventional collapsible bicycles, and which still provides sufficient rigidity for safe and durable service.

Suite 1, 11F, 95-8 Chang Ping Road Sec. 1


The present invention is directed to providing an ability to re-host, or port, an object oriented graphical user interface implementation from a native window-based platform, or environment, to another window-based platform, or environment. Exemplary embodiments abstract any notifications (e.g., events, state changes or "interests") which occur in the native environment as behavioral specifications. These behavioral specifications, (i.e., traits or protocols) can be used as part of a conformance negotiation to determine, during the execution lifetime of the graphical user interface, whether a particular client side object will conform with the behavioral specifications which have been abstracted from server side events associated with a different object. Where the conformance negotiation proves successful, abstract notifications can flow between particular instances of objects to model the state of the system, rather than using native implementations of events. During the execution lifetime, other objects can dynamically establish relationships with object classes containing abstracted notifications for the purpose of receiving the abstracted notifications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network-based graphical user interfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for enhancing the portability and maintainability of an object oriented interface among multiple platforms such that the interface can, for example, be used with a client/server environment that integrates any of a variety of different hardware and/or software platforms.
2. State of the Art
Known graphical user interfaces provide application developers with an application program interface (API) that includes a collection of objects, such as scroll bars, push buttons, text entry fields and so forth. An object oriented graphical user interface (GUI) typically includes a hierarchical collection of these objects in a "toolkit".
The behavior of a graphical user interface within a system is defined by interactions between the objects in the client of a client/server environment and the window-based system server. A paradigm used to represent defined interactions between the objects is often referred to as a "model-view-controller" (MVC) paradigm of object interaction. The model-view-controller paradigm formally defines the manner by which changes in state occur within at least part of the system (e.g., a timer of the system), and how those changes are to be communicated to, or reflected in, other parts of the system that have established an interest in observing such state changes (such as a displayed clock). The controller can be considered a set of rules which define how state changes implemented in response to a model will affect a view. Using the model-view-controller paradigm, the toolkit can be considered a hierarchical collection of models, views and controllers that implement the graphical user interface.
FIG. 1A illustrates an abstract representation of interaction among a model 102, a view 104 and a controller 106, wherein the model can be considered stored data, and the controller can be considered the rules by which the model and the view interact. Arrows 108 in FIG. 1A depict the most general model-view-controller paradigm wherein state changes can flow in both directions.
Referring to FIG. 1B those skilled in the art will appreciate that the distinctions between the model, the view and the controller often overlap in implementation even though the model, the view and the controller are conceptually distinct. For example, a scroll bar object 112 of an object oriented graphical user interface can represent both a controller as well as a view. The scroll bar of FIG. 1B is a view when, for example, it graphically represents the percentage of a text file 114 which has been, or is being, displayed in a text view 116 (i.e., anywhere from zero percent to 100 percent). The scroll bar responds to a series of control events generated by a mouse to display the current location of the scroll bar on a monitor. As referenced herein, an "event" represents information of a state change which is particular to implementation on one window-based platform and generic in concept across window-based platforms between which portability is desired.
In this example, the scroll bar 112 can also be a controller which is used to initiate, or control, the updating of a display of text from the text file 114 in response to movements of the mouse. That is, by "clicking" on the scroll bar and moving its image 112 vertically, the scroll bar serves as a controller which generates a stream of notifications that are sent to and used by the view 116 to continuously redraw the scroll bar as it is moved up and down the display, thereby changing the presentation of the scroll bar, and thus the contents of file 114 which are displayed. In the FIG. 1B example, the model (i.e., the text file 114) defines how user activation of the mouse will affect a displayed view of the scroll bar and thus the text file.
In a typical window-based system, such as the UNIX based X-Window System.TM. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, state changes within the system are communicated to graphical user interface clients via "events", in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the model-view-controller paradigm. When a window-based system is associated with an object oriented graphical user interface toolkit, the toolkit maps state changes in the window-based system, reported via window system events, onto an object oriented model-view-controller. The window-based system event results in a method invocation on an object of the graphical user interface to notify it of the state change.
The definition of the relationships between models, views, and controllers is established by implementation-specific definitions of object "classes". Although the relationships between particular instances of models, views and controllers can be dynamically specified during the lifetime of an application, these relationships are not alterable at the time of execution of a client-side application except through assignment between instances of particular implementations of the models and views. This is the case, for example, where object oriented systems are implemented in programming languages such as C++.
Because the interactions between objects are defined by a model-view-controller developed as a platform specific implementation for use with a specific window-based environment, the toolkit cannot be readily ported from one window-based platform to another. That is, an "event" found in a native window-based platform for which a toolkit was implemented can differ significantly in implementation from another window-based platform to which the toolkit is to be ported. Further, native implementations are simply not designed with portability to other environments as a goal, such that platform dependencies are not typically localized or abstracted within the native platform. An "event" defined for one platform is usually different in implementation with respect to other platforms in terms of the information which is provided (i.e., different semantics), as well as the format with which any such information is provided (i.e., different syntax). The amount of computer code which must be revised to use a toolkit defined for one window-based platform with another window-based platform is therefore excessive and impractical. As such, significant problems exist in porting an object oriented graphical user interface from a native window-based platform to another window-based platform (e.g., such as porting from the NeXTSTEP environment of NeXT Computer Company onto another window-based platform such as the X-Window Systems.TM.).
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop a method by which platform dependencies can be localized and abstracted for use with an object oriented graphical user interface, wherein object interactions are defined with respect to an abstract model-view-controller. For example, it would be desirable to abstract the events received from a window-based system so that the primary portions of code used to represent a toolkit of an object oriented graphical user interface can remain unchanged, and therefore be easily ported to any of a variety of window-based platforms.

Method and apparatus for enhancing the portability of an object oriented interface among multiple platforms


A system (10) and method manages battery (13) power in a wheel module (11) for indicating when air pressure in a tire falls below a recommended value. Tire air pressure is sensed with a pressure sensor (16). Tire air temperature is sensed with a temperature sensor (18). A determination is made whether the air pressure is increasing or decreasing with respect to time. Based upon whether a ratio of the air pressure and the air temperature is increasing, decreasing or remaining constant with respect to time, tire motion is inferred without directly sensing acceleration or movement of the tire. Power management circuitry (14) controls battery power to enable sensing of air pressure and air temperature at measurement intervals that are longer in time when the tire is not in motion.

Modern vehicular and automotive systems are increasingly using sensors to determine whether there is adequate air pressure in tires. Direct tire pressure monitoring using in-tire pressure sensors with a radio frequency (RF) data link are used to measure tire pressure. Presently used systems need a battery power source with a life requirement of many years. Power from the battery is consumed during pressure measurement, during RF transmission and from the overall standby current of the sensor module. In order to reduce the power demand, two general operational modes have been defined depending upon whether the vehicle is in motion or is parked. As a result, a mechanism to detect wheel movement is provided. The mechanism to detect wheel movement is typically implemented either with an electro-mechanical device that is sensitive to the angular acceleration of the wheel or with a micro electromechanical sensing (MEMS) accelerometer. For example, a motion switch is implemented within the tire and relies on the angular acceleration of the wheel pressing a mechanical mass against a contact. Problems to date with such devices have been associated with the fact that with repeated impacts and vibration the electrical connection loses reliability. Some are also subject to factures of the housing and the sensor adds to the cost of the tire. Additionally, an electro-mechanical switch requires power to operate as the switch will draw current when it is conductive.
Some motion switches may have a mass that is ferrous and therefore can be activated to a closed position using a strong magnet placed against the wheel. This allows the pressure sensor to transmit more frequently as a diagnostic. However, the level of diagnostic capability using a magnet is limited and any additional diagnostic functionality, such as a low sensitivity low frequency (LF) detector, adds to the system's battery load.
An indirect method of motion detection transmits a signal to a wheel module from the vehicle chassis telling the wheel module when the vehicle is in motion. This method is indirect because the wheel module within the tire itself does not measure vehicle speed in any way. The signal can be either an RF or an LF signal but the RF implementation typically uses more power and is more costly. In the LF indirect system, an LF oscillator, a driver and a transmit coil are located inside a wheel well. On the wheel module there is a sensitive amplifier to detect the signal picked up in a small receive coil. Alignment of transmit and receive coils is sensitive in order to get the maximum angle of wheel rotation where the signal is maximized. Also, the cost associated with a LF detection indirect system is high because of the additional circuitry on the chassis side for each wheel location, but information on each individual wheel may be obtained.

Apparatus and method for power management in a tire pressure monitoring system


A dispenser for sheet materials is disclosed. The dispenser includes a housing and a front cover. The dispenser includes a first internal door configured to secure a first roll of sheet material in a dispensing position and a second internal door configured to secure a second roll of sheet material in a dispensing position. The first and second doors include first and second nozzles for dispensing sheet material. The dispenser is a centrally unwinding dispenser.

Washrooms in commercial and residential buildings typically include products such as toilet tissue and paper towels. Such products are typically formed in rolls and are housed by a dispenser and dispensed as needed by the user. Indeed, there are a number of dispensers capable of housing one or more rolls of material. Bathroom tissue dispensers, for example, generally include a case, in which one or more rolls of bathroom tissue are installed and dispensed through an opening. The opening is generally located along the bottom of the dispenser and the bathroom tissue can be unwound through the opening. In order to unwind the tissue, the free end of the tissue, which corresponds to the outer layer of the roll is pulled. This is known as peripheral unwinding of the paper. One of the issues concerning peripheral unwinding is that the user may withdraw a large amount of toilet tissue contributing to waste.
Other dispensers are known that allow for sheet-by-sheet unwinding of the paper from the center of the roll. Such centrally unwinding dispensers that distribute product on a sheet-by-sheet basis can reduce the amount of paper withdrawn from the dispenser, thereby eliminating product waste. However, centrally unwinding dispensers can suffer from roll collapse. For example, as sheet material is removed from the center of the roll, the roll can lose rigidity, which can cause the roll to collapse. In the case of toilet tissue, the cover must be opened several times a day in order to provide replacement rolls. Such frequent opening of the cover can also increase the risk for roll collapse.
Additionally, centrally unwinding dispensers may become jammed with product when a length of sheet material is stretched from the center of the roll. For example, many centrally unwinding dispensers include a dispensing nozzle located in the cover. Accordingly, each time the dispenser cover is opened a large length of sheet material is stretched from the roll to the front of the cover, which can lead to jamming when the cover is placed back in a closed position.
In view of the above, a need exists for a dispenser having an improved design that is functional and can be achieved at a reduced cost.


A long wavelength transmitter OEIC includes a transverse direction current injection type semiconductor laser and a high electron mobility transistor which are integrated on a semi-insulating substrate. The semiconductor laser includes at least an AlGaInAs lower cladding layer, a quantum well active layer and a high resistivity AlGaInAs upper cladding layer successively grown on the semi-insulating substrate, disordered regions formed in the quantum well active layer by diffusions of p type and n type dopants, and an active region sandwiched by the disordered regions. The transistor includes an operating layer and a carrier supplying layer both including AlGaInAs series material and formed on the high resistivity AlGaInAs upper cladding layer. This transistor uses the upper cladding layer as a leakage current preventing layer. This structure can be formed by only one epitaxial growth, resulting in low cost. In addition, since the above layers are successively grown on a flat substrate, photolithography processes for forming a gate of HEMT are performed on a flat surface, so that a fine gate pattern can be formed with high precision. As a result, a transmitter OEIC performing high speed modulation are produced.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a prior art long wavelength transmitter OEIC described in pages 190 and 191 of Second Optoelectronics Conference (OEC' 88) Technical Digest. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 designates a semi-insulating InP substrate. A semiconductor laser 17 and a field effect transistor 18 (hereinafter referred to as FET) for driving the semiconductor laser 17 are integrated on the substrate 1. An n type InGaAsP layer 14 to which an n side electrode 9 of the semiconductor laser is attached is disposed on the concave part of the InP substrate 1 which is formed by etching.
An n type InP cladding layer 2' is disposed on the n type InGaAsP layer 14. An InGaAsP active layer 3' is disposed on the ridge part of the cladding layer 2'. A p type InP cladding layer 4' is disposed on the active layer 3'. A current blocking layer 15 is disposed on the cladding layer 2' burying the ridge part. A contact layer 16 is disposed on the current blocking layer 15. A p side electrode 8 of the semiconductor laser is disposed on the contact layer 16 and an n side electrode 9 is disposed on a region of the n type InGaAsP layer 14 where the laminated-layers of the laser are not present. An undoped GaAs buffer layer 13 is disposed on a convex part of the substrate 1. An n type GaAs operating layer 5' is disposed on the buffer layer 13. A gate electrode 12 of the FET is disposed on the bottom of a recess groove formed on the operating layer 5'. A source electrode 10 and a drain electrode 11 are disposed on opposite sides of the recess groove.
Description is given of the operation hereinafter.
The n side electrode 9 of semiconductor laser 17 is connected with the source electrode 10 of FET 18 by wiring. The operations of the semiconductor laser 17 and the FET 18 are the same as those of the independent elements. More specifically, the driving current of semiconductor laser 17 is subjected to a modulation such as an interruption by a voltage applied to the gate 12 of FET 18 and the light output of semiconductor laser 17 is modulated correspondingly, thereby resulting in operation as a transmitter OEIC.
A method for manufacturing the transmitter OEIC of FIG. 3 is illustrated in FIGS. 4(a) to 4(i).
A portion of InP substrate 1 shown in FIG. 4(a) is etched away as shown in FIG. 4(b) to form a lower stage part on which the semiconductor laser 18 is to be produced. That is, in order to arrange the p side electrode 8 of semiconductor laser and the source/drain electrodes 10 and 11 of FET approximately on the same plane, the surface of substrate 1 on which the semiconductor laser comprising thick layers is to be formed is formed in a different plane from the surface on which the FET is to be formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(c), an n type InGaAsP layer 14 on which an electrode of the semiconductor laser is to be produced, an n type InP cladding layer 2', an InGaAsP active layer 3' and a p type InP cladding layer 4' are grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or the like (first crystal growth). Then, unnecessary portions of cladding layer 2', active layer 3' and cladding layer 4' other than portions to be an active region of semiconductor laser are removed by photolithographic techniques and etching, resulting in a stripe-shaped mesa shown in FIG. 4(d). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4(e), a current blocking layer 15 and a contact layer 16 are grown by LPE (second crystal growth). Then, as shown in FIG. 4(f), unnecessary portions of the contact layer 16 and the current blocking layer 15 are removed by etching. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(g), a buffer layer 13 and a GaAs operating layer 5' of the FET are successively grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) (third crystal growth). Then, as shown in FIG. 4(h), the recess portion of FET is formed by etching. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4(i), p side and n side electrodes 8 and 9 of semiconductor laser and the source, drain and gate electrodes 10, 11, 12 of FET are formed, thereby completing a transmitter OEIC.
As described above, three crystal growth steps are required for manufacturing the prior art long wavelength transmitter OEIC. More specifically, the first crystal growth step is for growing layers of the semiconductor laser, i.e., the n type InGaAsP layer 14, the n type InP cladding layer 2', the InGaAsP active layer 3' and the p type InP cladding layer 4', the second crystal growth step is for growing the current blocking layer 15 and the contact layer 16 after etching those layers 14, 2', 3' and 4' to form a ridge, and the third crystal growth step is for growing layers of the FET, i.e., the undoped GaAs buffer layer 13 and the n type GaAs operating layer 5'. So many crystal growth processes complicate the manufacturing process, resulting in a poor production yield and a high cost. Furthermore, in the manufacturing process, a step difference in the substrate 1 that is approximately equal to the entire thickness of the laser, i.e., 5 microns or more, inevitably arises. Such a step difference induces nonuniformity of in the photoresist films used in the photolithography process and, therefore, it is difficult to form a fine pattern FET. As a result, a high performance OEIC, for example, a high speed OEIC cannot be produced.

Long wavelength transmitter opto-electronic integrated circuit


A resin composition including: a magnetic fluid that includes magnetic particles, a dispersant, and a dispersion medium; and a resin or precursor thereof that includes, in a molecule thereof, at least one partial structure selected from the group consisting of a diene skeleton, a silicone skeleton, a urethane skeleton, a 4- to 7-membered ring lactone skeleton, an alkyl group having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms and an alkylene group having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms, a production method thereof, a resin composition molded body obtained by using the resin composition, and a production method thereof.

In recent years, magnetic fluid has attracted attention as a magnetic material that is free of hysteresis and is usable in magnetic cores, rectifiers, electric current sensors, and the like. Magnetic fluid is a magnetic material that exhibits superparamagnetism imparted by dispersing a magnetic powder, such as ferrite particles or magnetite particles, having a particle diameter within a range of from 3 nm to 50 nm, in a dispersion medium such as isoparaffin or water. In order to exhibit superparamagnetism, the magnetic particles are required to have a particle diameter of a nanometer order. Further, in order to uniformly disperse such magnetic particles having a particle diameter of a nanometer order in a dispersion medium, covering of at least a part of the surface of the magnetic particles with a dispersant selected from surfactants or the like is generally performed.
By adding a magnetic fluid having fluidity to a curable resin composition, a molded body utilizing the characteristics of the magnetic fluid is obtained, and application of such a molded body in various fields of application, where magnetic properties are required, can be expected.
For example, in trying to obtain a resin composition through mixing a magnetic fluid and a resin material, for the purpose of using the resulting resin composition for a magnetic core, a rectifier, or an electric current sensor, the magnetic particles may aggregate at the time of removing the dispersion medium included in the magnetic fluid. When an aggregate of magnetic particles is formed, there are cases in which the resin composition including the magnetic particles has magnetic hysteresis or the aggregate causes phase separation. Therefore, by only mixing a magnetic fluid and a resin material, there are cases in which a resin composition that is provided for practical use for forming a molded body cannot be obtained.
As a means to eliminate this disadvantage, the applicant of the present application has proposed a magnetic powder composition that includes a resin material and a magnetic powder obtained by removing a dispersion medium from a magnetic fluid containing magnetic particles, a dispersant, and the dispersion medium, a magnetic powder composition molded body which is a cured body of the magnetic powder composition, and production methods thereof (see, for example, International Publication No. 2015/008842).

Resin composition, method for producing resin composition, resin composition molded body, and method for producing resin composition molded body


When an output voltage output from a buffer approaches a ground voltage, a MOS transistor turns off, so that clamp for a gate of the MOS transistor is released.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a clamp circuit for input to an output stage and, more particularly, to a semiconductor integrated circuit device configured as a driver which outputs control signals for performing drive-control of electric/electronic apparatuses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device including an operational amplifier and constructed as a driver for performing drive-control of various electric/electronic apparatuses, there is provided an over-current protection circuit for preventing over-currents in an output stage of the operational amplifier. In the prior art, there has been suggested a differential amplifier circuit which includes a clamp circuit as the over-current protection circuit to restrict the current flowing through transistors constituting a buffer section as the output stage (see JP-A 11-46120 (1999)). In this differential amplifier circuit, the upper and lower limits of the output voltage of the amplifier section are restricted by the clamp circuit constituted by diodes.
Also, in the prior art, there has been suggested an operational amplifier which includes a differential amplifier stage, a level shift stage and an output stage and is provided with a voltage clamp circuit in the output stage (see JP-A 2001-53558). This operational amplifier is provided with a clamp circuit constructed by diode-connected MOS transistors in the level shift stage for shifting the levels of the output voltages from the differential amplifier stage and outputting them to the output stage. By providing this clamp circuit in the level shift stage, the amplitudes of the output voltages to the output stage are restricted.
However, when clamp circuits are provided for control electrodes of respective transistors in the output stage formed as a final stage constituted by transistors having opposite polarities, as in the prior art, the voltages to the control electrodes of the respective transistors are restricted; therefore, ON resistance of the transistors are increased. Namely, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the output stage is constituted by a P-channel MOS transistor Tp which is fed with a direct current voltage VDD at its source and an N-channel MOS transistor Tn grounded at its source, and clamp circuits 10a, 10b are connected to the gates of the MOS transistors Tp, Tn.
Here, if there appears a voltage close to the voltage VDD or the ground voltage at the connection node, which is the output, of the drains of the MOS transistors Tp, Tn, the gate voltages of the MOS transistors Tp, Tn are restricted by the clamp circuits 10a, 10b. Accordingly, the ON resistance of the MOS transistors Tp, Tn is increased, which narrows the dynamic range of the voltage output from the connection node of the drains of the MOS transistors Tp, Tn.


A housing of a Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable transceiver module includes a metallic casing and a plurality of elastic grounding assemblies. The metallic casing has a lower casing, a plurality of partitions and an upper casing. The lower casing is connected to the upper casing. The partitions are provided between the lower casing and the upper casing at intervals, thereby separating the interior of the metallic casing into a plurality of accommodating spaces. The accommodating spaces each receives a connector of a transceiver module, thereby forming a plurality of ports. Thus, the connectors of the transceiver modules share the common housing, thereby reducing the occupied space on the circuit board and increasing the number of the transceiver modules arranged on the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a housing, and in particular to a housing of a Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable transceiver module.
2. Description of Related Art
The conventional transceiver module can be used to provide a two-way data transmission between an electrical interface and an optical network. The transceiver module receives optical encoded signals, converts them into optical signals and transmits these optical signals to the optical network. The transceiver module also receives optical encoded signals, converts them into electrical signals, and transmits these electrical signals to the electrical interface.
Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (referred to as "QSFP" hereinafter) transceiver module has four independent full duplex channels. The object of such a transceiver module is to replace a single-channel SFP with a high-density optical module. The transceiver module connector can be connected to a metallic casing that is mounted on a circuit board. The metallic casing is capable of eliminating the accumulation of electrostatic charges, shielding electromagnetic interference, and protecting the connector.
However, in the conventional QSFP transceiver module, the metallic casing and the connector are both designed to have only one port. As a result, if a plurality of ports is needed, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of metallic casings and connectors on the circuit board, which occupies more space on the circuit board and thus reduces the number of transceiver modules arranged on the circuit board.
Consequently, because of the above limitation resulting from the technical design of prior art, the inventor strives via real world experience and academic research to develop the present invention, which can effectively improve the limitations described above.

Housing of quad small form-factor pluggable transceiver module


A meat packing facility has several scales for weighing meat. All of the scales are connected to a central station which serves to display, monitor, store and process weight data from the scales. The central station comprises a personal computer, a monitor and a keyboard which are mounted on a rack. Hardware associated with the scales generates protocols for the latter. The protocol for each scale includes the respective weight data in digital form as well as identifying data for the scale. The protocols are sent to the central station where the identifying data are used to link weight data to a particular scale.

The invention relates generally to a facility for manipulating commodities.
More particularly, the invention relates to a facility having an arrangement for determining the weights of commodities. If necessary or expedient, the facility may be provided with a pricing device which can transfer weight data to commodities ready for shipment and/or with a central processor which can perform bookkeeping functions. The pricing unit may include a printer for printing price labels.
As a rule, facilities such as plants have a plurality of scales for weighing arriving goods and parts as well as the finished goods and parts produced therefrom. Each scale is provided with an indicator which can be read by an operator. The operator can thus read the weight data obtained by the scale and either retain or forward the data. The weight data can be retained by making a note thereof. Forwarding of the weight data can be accomplished by typing the data into a computer or a central processor. A pricing device in the form of a printer of price labels can be associated with the computer or the central processor. In the event that the weight data are entered in a central processor, these data can also be retained in the processor for bookkeeping purposes.
The scales require a large number of personnel and, in addition, can give rise to many errors because there is no assurance that all of the weighing procedures will be detected. In order to detect all of the weighing procedures, it has accordingly been proposed to directly connect all of the scales with the central processor. However, the installation remains very large and expensive since each scale retains its own indicator and must be individually calibrated.

Weighing arrangement for a meat packing facility

CSB-System Software-Entwicklung & Unternehmensberatung GmbH


A method and system for processing raw address data using a computer device coupled to a database are provided. The method includes receiving, at the network interface device, a first network message containing financial transaction data from a first one of a plurality of multiprotocol label switching networks, determining a destination of the financial transaction data from the network message, transmitting the financial transaction data to a second one of the plurality of multiprotocol label switching networks using a second network containing the financial transaction data, where at least one of the first one and the second one of the plurality of multiprotocol label switching networks is a satellite-based network.

The field of the invention relates generally to methods and systems for network communications and, more particularly, to methods and systems for routing communications through parallel networks using network performance metrics.
Known payment card interchange networks rely primarily on terrestrial network segments to pass data between network endpoints. For example, a known network may include copper wire lines, fiber optic lines, microwave relays, and the like. Such physical infrastructures are susceptible to installation delays and network failures, especially in areas or regions where such physical infrastructure is lacking. Accordingly, systems and methods are desired which enable terrestrial networks to be extended quickly and to be made more reliable via a non-terrestrial-based backup network and intelligent routing.

Systems and methods for a network-to-network interface