Techniques and tools for rating computer products are described. For example, software ratings are based on subjective evaluations to determine computer system requirements for a positive user experience, while a computer running a capability tool rates a computer system's (or hardware component's) ability to run software. A capability rating for hardware is determined by comparing a set of features and performance results with capability rating requirements. In another aspect, a capability rating is communicated using a standardized presentation. In another aspect, capability rating level requirements are proposed (e.g., by a ratings board) and then finalized. A capability rating level is determined for computer products (e.g., by a testing organization) based on the finalized requirements and analysis of the products (e.g., by a computer running a capability tool). In another aspect, a software system comprises an inventory module, a performance testing module, and an inventory and performance evaluator module.

Matching system requirements of software with the specifications of the computer system on which it will be used is essential to ensure proper functioning of the software on the system. This is especially true for applications that place significant demands on the computer system, such as computer games and computer-assisted drafting tools. Purchasing software for use on a computer system currently requires an understanding of the system requirements of the software and technical details of the computer system. Unfortunately, the average consumer is often unable to match software requirements to system specifications due to the level of technical knowledge required.
A significant portion of software places great demands on the computing resources of even the newest computer systems. Furthermore, users of resource-intensive applications upgrade their PCs more frequently than those who do not. Therefore, the ability of consumers to match software requirements with system specifications is important to PC manufacturers, component manufacturers, software manufacturers, and hardware and software retailers.
The entertainment software market provides an example of the effects of software requirements/system specifications matching problems facing PC hardware and software manufacturers today. Games created for console platforms (e.g., Sony Playstation® 2, Nintendo® GameCube, or Microsoft® Xbox) tend to have more consistent sales volumes than games created for general-purpose personal computers in part because, with a better guarantee of matching software requirements with system specifications, customers are more willing to buy console titles. Keeping the PC ecosystem vibrant for both games and other performance demanding applications requires a system that enables consumers to purchase such applications with the same surety provided by the game console platforms.
Previous attempts to categorize computer systems were based only on a list of required components for a system. In the 1990s, the Multimedia PC Marketing Council introduced the Multimedia PC (MPC) specifications to provide PC specification guidelines for consumers wishing to run multimedia applications. For example, to achieve the Level 1 MPC specification, a computer system was required to have a processor, RAM, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive, sound card, and video display with certain characteristics.
Previous attempts to categorize software include Microsoft's "Designed for Windows 95" logo program. Software vendors were granted permission to use Microsoft's "Designed for Windows 95" logo if the vendors met certain software design requirements set by Microsoft. The design requirements ensured that software carrying the logo would work effectively and reliably in a Microsoft Windows 95 operating system environment.
Whatever the benefits of previous techniques, however, they do not have the advantages of the techniques and tools presented below.

Hardware/software capability rating system


A corrugated blade is utilized to form corrugated patterns in ends of a severed bone. The corrugated patterns enable the severed bone sections to be coupled in a mated fashion, thereby providing increased contact area between the bone sections and enhanced stability to promote healing. Further, the corrugated patterns may be offset when coupling the severed bone sections together in order to adjust the bone length and/or orientation to correct a deformity. The corrugated blade may be configured in various fashions (e.g., left or right curve, curved upward or downward, arcuate, etc.) to facilitate manipulation of severed sections into a desired position or orientation. The corrugated blade may be attached to an osteotome handle for manual use, or may be adapted to engage a power tool or saw to sever the bone. Moreover, the corrugated blades may be utilized for other anatomical structures (e.g., veins, arteries, soft tissue, bowels, etc.) to provide a mated fit between severed sections and promote healing as described above. The corrugated blade may further be configured in the form of a bone staple and inserted into bone sections to enhance the connection between those sections. The staple includes perforations to permit the staple to remain within the bone, and various openings to permit the bone to grow through the holes to reinforce the connection.

1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to medical devices for severing bones and other anatomical structures (e.g., veins, arteries, soft tissue, bowels, etc.). In particular, the present invention pertains to medical devices that sever bones and other anatomical structures in a manner that facilitates correction of deformities and promotes healing.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, bone deformities of patients may be corrected by various surgical procedures. These procedures may include severing a bone and subsequently manipulating the severed bone sections into a specific alignment, or cutting and/or removing particular sections of the bone. In order to sever or otherwise alter bone structure, the related art provides various medical instruments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,496 (Keller) discloses a surgical chisel having a rigid shank and a thin elongated blade fixed at the shank front end. The shank and blade are displaceably guided in slideways of a chisel guide to provide the blade with buckling resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,002 (Ray) discloses a bone impactor having a handle and a smooth shank. The shank tip includes a working surface that forms a symmetrical cylindrical concavity that may be fitted against a bone excrescence. The handle of the bone impactor is struck to compress the excrescence into the bone to relieve pressure on a nerve. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,744 (Ray) further discloses the bone impactor working surface to include a linear knurl.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,150,675 (Comparetto), 4,349,058 (Comparetto) and 4,728,330 (Comparetto) disclose an osteotome including an arcuate blade portion and a planar cutting blade integrally secured thereto. The arcuate blade portion is axially elongated relative to the planar blade to permit the arcuate blade portion to remain in an initially cut bone section while the osteotome is rotated to perform a second cut. The two cuttings serve to remove a section of bone, thereby facilitating precise alignment of bone sections after repositioning to correct an original bone deformity. A blunt instrument is brought down upon the head end of the osteotome to sever the bone. The planar cutting blade may alternatively have a jagged or sinusoidal (e.g., French, curve type) configuration.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,952,214 (Comparetto) and 5,035,698 (Comparetto) disclose an arcuate osteotomy blade having a shaft disposed parallel to its cutting edge to enhance blade strength and control of the cut. The shaft is gripped by a linearly reciprocating saw, while blade teeth are formed along a leading edge parallel to the blade curvature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,133 (Comparetto) discloses a bone cutter including a curved blade and an adjustable radial arm for making arcuate cuts with the use of a reciprocating saber or jig saw. The blade includes a curved body and double blade edges to effect left and right curved cuts in bone, and preferably includes saw teeth on only one of the blade edges. The curved body enhances blade strength by resisting flexure and buckling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,364 (Comparetto) discloses an apparatus for performing arcuate osteotomies wherein a wedge-shaped correction is filed rather than sawed from the bone. A combined saw and file has a curved blade with teeth along a longitudinal edge for making an arcuate cut in a direction perpendicular to the edge, and file teeth on one or both of the curved surfaces for filing out the correction. The blade is engaged by a motor drive that reciprocates the blade to saw and file the bone.
The related art suffers from several disadvantages. In particular, the Keller chisel produces relatively flat severed bone surfaces from a cut, thereby requiring significant stabilization techniques (e.g., screws, pins, wires, etc.) to maintain the severed bone sections in position to correct a deformity. Further, the flat surfaces limit the surface area of contacting bone sections and, therefore, restrict the bone healing potential. The Ray devices are specifically configured to compress, rather than cut, a bone excrescence. As such, the Ray devices have limited applicability and cannot be utilized for severing and repositioning bones to correct deformities.
The Comparetto osteotome does facilitate severing and repositioning of bone to correct deformities, but is driven manually and typically requires extensive effort on the part of a surgeon to sever a bone. Further, the arcuate blade portion of the osteotome produces severed bone surfaces that are flat and smooth, thereby limiting the surface areas of the severed bone sections and restricting the bone healing potential. Although the osteotome planar blade may include a jagged configuration, this portion occupies a relatively minute section of the osteotome and only marginally increases the surface area of the severed bone sections and healing potential. Moreover, in order to correct bone deformities with the Comparetto osteotome, several cuts are formed in the bone to remove a bone section, while the severed sections are manipulated into a position to correct the deformity. This process necessitates accurate determinations with respect to the angle of the cuts and dimensions of the removed bone section, thereby complicating the procedure and increasing the risk of error and injury to a patient.
The Comparetto blades may be utilized to similarly correct bone deformities by requiring several cuts to be formed in the bone to remove a bone section. However, this complicates the procedure and increases the risk of error and injury to a patient as described above. Further, the blades produce severed bone surfaces that are flat and smooth, thereby limiting the surface areas of the severed bone sections and restricting healing potential as described above. Although the Comparetto file provides for a single cut to correct a deformity, the severed bone surfaces are flat and smooth, while the file width and corresponding correction must be carefully determined. Thus, the file limits the severed bone surface area and healing potential, and further complicates the procedure while increasing the risk of error and injury to a patient. In addition, the aforementioned related art does not provide manners or instruments for performing similar corrective procedures on other anatomical structures (e.g., veins, arteries, soft tissue, bowels, etc.).
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to sever bones or other anatomical structures (e.g., veins, arteries, soft tissue, bowels, etc.) via a corrugated blade to facilitate repositioning of the severed sections in a mated fashion to enhance stability and promote healing.
It is another object of the present invention to produce various corrugated patterns in severed bone sections to facilitate repositioning of the bone sections in various manners to correct bone deformities.
Yet another object of the present invention is to increase surface area in severed bone sections or other anatomical structures to promote healing of the structure when the severed sections are reunited.
Still another object of the present invention is to enhance stability in severed bone sections, thereby reducing the amount of fixation devices required to maintain the bone sections in a desired position to correct a deformity.
A further object of the present invention is to adapt a corrugated blade for use with a power saw to sever bones or other anatomical structures in a manner that facilitates repositioning of the bones in a mated fashion.
The aforesaid objects are achieved individually and/or in combination, and it is not intended that the present invention be construed as requiring two or more of the objects to be combined unless expressly required by the claims attached hereto.
According to the present invention, a corrugated blade is utilized to form corrugated patterns in ends of a severed bone. The corrugated patterns enable the severed bone sections to be coupled in a mated fashion, thereby providing increased contact area between the bone sections and enhanced stability to promote healing. Further, the corrugated patterns may be offset when coupling the severed bone sections together in order to adjust the bone length and/or orientation to correct a deformity.
The corrugated blade may have varying dimensions to accommodate different sized bones, and may be configured in various fashions (e.g., left or right curve, curved upward or downward, arcuate, etc.) to facilitate manipulation of severed sections into a desired position or orientation. The corrugated blade may be attached to an osteotome handle for manual use, or may be adapted to engage a power tool or saw to sever the bone. Further, the corrugated blades may be utilized for other anatomical structures (e.g., veins, arteries, soft tissue, bowels, etc.) to provide a mated fit between severed sections and promote healing as described above.
The corrugated blade may further be configured in the form of a bone staple. The staple is inserted into bone sections to enhance the connection between those sections. The staple includes perforations to permit the staple to remain within the bone, and various openings to permit the bone to grow through the holes to reinforce the connection.
The corrugated blades of the present invention provides several advantages and may be utilized for various surgical procedures. In particular, the corrugated blades are preferably implemented by razor sharp micro thin surgical blades (e.g., generally less than one millimeter) to sever bone or other anatomical structures, and increase the healing area of the severed bones by at least eight percent. The corrugated blades provide ease of use and simplistic action (e.g., one anatomical plane), while providing a stable osteotomy, thereby reducing or eliminating use of fixation devices (e.g., screws, plates, rods, staples, etc.). In fact, only a single Kirschner wire or single screw fixation is typically required. The corrugated blades may be utilized in a doctor""s office, hospital or other medical facility and may be attached to an osteotome handle for hand held operation via a mallet (e.g., when no power is available), or adapted for use with power reciprocating saws (e.g., Zimmer/Hall, Stryker or other conventional models).
The corrugated blades sever bone without burning or producing bone chips or residue, thereby eliminating the need to flush the bone. The corrugated blades may be utilized wherever oscillating or sagital saws or osteotomies are employed. Procedures for which the corrugated blades may be utilized include: arthrodesis of bones and joints in humans and animals; bone fracture repairs in humans and animals; soft tissue repair in tendons, ligaments, joint capsules and muscles in humans and animals; surgical anastamosis (e.g., uniting) of arteries and veins in humans and animals; and fixation of fractures and arthodesis in humans and animals via the staple.

Corrugated osteotome blade and method of severing bones and other anatomical structures


The present invention relates, in general, to a method for the high level expression of the outer membrane protein meningococcal group B porin proteins and fusion proteins thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of expressing the outer membrane protein meningococcal group B porin proteins in E. coli wherein the meningococcal group B porin proteins and fusion proteins thereof comprise more than 2% of the total protein expressed in E. coli. The invention also relates to a method of purification and refolding of the meningococcal group B porin proteins and fusion proteins thereof and to their use in vaccines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of recombinant genetics, protein expression, and vaccines. The present invention relates, in particular, to a method of expressing in a recombinant host an outer membrane group B porin protein from Neisseria meningitidis. The invention also relates to a method of purification and refolding of the recombinant protein.
2. Background Information
The outer membranes of Neisseria species much like other Gram negative bacteria are semi-permeable membranes which allow free flow access and escape of small molecular weight substances to and from the periplasmic space of these bacteria but retard molecules of larger size (Heasley, F. A., et al., "Reconstitution and characterization of the N. gonorrhoeae outer membrane permeability barrier," in Genetics and Immunobiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Danielsson and Normark, eds., University of Umea, Umea, pp. 12-15 (1980); Douglas, J. T., et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 12: 305-309 (1981)). One of the mechanisms whereby this is accomplished is the inclusion within these membranes of proteins which have been collectively named porins. These proteins are made up of three identical polypeptide chains (Jones, R. B., et al., Infect. Immun. 30: 773-780 (1980); McDade, Jr. and Johnston, J. Bacteriol. 141: 1183-1191 (1980)) and in their native trimer conformation, form water filled, voltage-dependent channels within the outer membrane of the bacteria or other membranes to which they have been introduced (Lynch, E. C., et al., Biophys. J. 41: 62 (1983); Lynch, E. C., et al., Biophys. J. 45: 104-107 (1984); Young, J. D. E., et al.; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80: 3831-3835 (1983); Mauro, A., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 1071-1075 (1988); Young, J. D., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 150-154 (1986)). Because of the relative abundance of these proteins within the outer membrane, these protein antigens have also been used to subgroup both Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis into several serotypes for epidemiological purposes (Frasch, C. E., et al., Rev. Infect. Dis. 7: 504-510 (1985); Knapp, J. S., et al., "Overview of epidemiological and clinical applications of auxotype/serovar classification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae," The Pathogenic Neisseriae, Schoolnik, G. K., ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, pp. 6-12 (1985)). To date, many of these proteins from both gonococci and meningococci have been purified (Heckels, J. E., J. Gen. Microbiol. 99: 333-341 (1977); James and Heckels, J. Immunol. Meth. 42: 223-228 (1981); Judd, R. C., Anal. Biochem. 173: 307-316 (1988); Blake and Gotschlich, Infect. Immun. 36: 277-283 (1982); Wetzler, L. M., et al., J. Exp. Med. 168: 1883-1897 (1988)), and cloned and sequenced (Gotschlich, E. C., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 8135-8139 (1987); McGuinness, B., et al., J. Exp. Med. 171: 1871-1882 (1990); Carbonetti and Sparling, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 9084-9088 (1987); Feavers, I. M., et al., Infect. Immun. 60: 3620-3629 (1992); Murakami, K., et al., Infect. Immun. 57: 2318-2323 (1989); Wolff and Stern, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 83: 179-186 (1991); Ward, M. J., et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 73: 283-289 (1992)).
The porin proteins were initially co-isolated with lipopolysaccharides. Consequently, the porin proteins have been termed "endotoxin-associated proteins" (Bjornson et al., Infect. Immun. 56: 1602-1607 (1988)). Studies on the wild type porins have reported that full assembly and oligomerization are not achieved unless LPS from the corresponding bacterial strain is present in the protein environment (Holzenburg et al., Biochemistry 28: 4187-4193 (1989); Sen and Nikaido, J. Biol. Chem. 266: 11295-11300 (1991)).
The meningococcal porins have been subdivided into three major classifications which in antedated nomenclature were known as Class 1, 2, and 3 (Frasch, C. E., et al., Rev. Infect. Dis. 7: 504-510 (1985)). Each meningococcus examined has contained one of the alleles for either a Class 2 porin gene or a Class 3 porin gene but not both (Feavers, I. M., et al., Infect. Immun. 60: 3620-3629 (1992)); Murakami, K., et al., Infect. Immun. 57: 2318-2323 (1989)). The presence or absence of the Class 1 gene appears to be optional. Likewise, all probed gonococci contain only one porin gene with similarities to either the Class 2 or Class 3 allele (Gotschlich, E. C., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 8135-8139 (1987); Carbonetti and Sparling, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 9084-9088 (1987)). N. gonorrhoeae appear to completely lack the Class 1 allele. The data from the genes that have been thus far sequenced would suggest that all neisserial porin proteins have at least 70% homology with each other with some variations on a basic theme (Feavers, I. M., et al., Infect. Immun. 60: 3620-3629 (1992)). It has been suggested that much of the variation seen between these neisserial porin proteins is due to the immunological pressures brought about by the invasion of these pathogenic organisms into their natural host, man. However, very little is known about how the changes in the porin protein sequence effect the functional activity of these proteins.
It has been previously reported that isolated gonococcal porins of the Class 2 allelic type behave electrophysically somewhat differently than isolated gonococcal porins of the Class 3 type in lipid bilayer studies both in regards to their ion selectivity and voltage-dependence (Lynch, E. C., et al., Biophys. J. 41: 62 (1983); Lynch, E. C., et al., Biophys. J. 45: 104-107 (1984)). Furthermore, the ability of the different porins to enter these lipid bilayers from intact living bacteria seems to correlate not only with the porin type but also with the neisserial species from which they were donated (Lynch, E. C., et al., Biophys. J. 45: 104-107 (1984)). It would seem that at least some of these functional attributes could be related to different areas within the protein sequence of the porin. One such functional area, previously identified within all gonococcal Class 2-like proteins, is the site of chymotrypsin cleavage. Upon chymotrypsin digestion, this class of porins lack the ability to respond to a voltage potential and close. Gonococcal Class 3-like porins as well as meningococcal porins lack this sequence and are thus not subject to chymotrypsin cleavage but nonetheless respond by closing to an applied voltage potential (Greco, F., "The formation of channels in lipid bilayers by gonococcal major outer membrane protein," thesis, The Rockefeller University, New York (1981); Greco, F., et al., Fed. Proc. 39: 1813 (1980)).
The major impediment for such studies has been the ability to easily manipulate the porin genes by modern molecular techniques and obtain sufficient purified protein to carry out the biophysical characterizations of these altered porin proteins. It was early recognized that cloned neisserial porin genes, when expressed in Escherichia coil, were lethal to the host E. coli (Carbonetti and Sparling, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 9084-9088 (1987); Carbonetti, N. H., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 6841-6845 (1988); Barlow, A. K., et al., Infect. Immun. 55: 2734-2740 (1987)). Thus, many of these genes were cloned and sequenced as pieces of the whole gene or placed into low copy number plasmids under tight expression control (Carbonetti, N. H., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 6841-6845 (1988)). Under these conditions, even when the entire porin gene was expressed, very little protein accumulated that could be further purified and processed for characterization.
Another tack to this problem which has met with a modicum of success has been to clone the porin genes into a low copy, tightly controlled expression plasmid, introduce modifications to the porin gene, and then reintroduce the modified sequence back into Neisseria (Carbonetti, N. H., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 6841-6845 (1988)). However, this has also been fraught with problems due to the elaborate restriction endonuclease system present in Neisseria, especially gonococci (Davies, J. K., Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2: S78-S82 (1989)).
The present invention is directed to an approach to overcome these difficulties. The DNA sequence of the mature porin proteins, e.g. class 2 and class 3 as well as fusions thereof, may be amplified using the chromosome of the meningococcal bacteria as a template for the PCR reaction. The amplified porin sequences were ligated and cloned into an expression vector containing the T7 promoter. E. coli strain BL21 lysogenic for the DE3 lambda phage (Studier and Moffatt, J. Mol. Biol. 189: 113-130 (1986)), modified to elite the ompA gene, was selected as one expression host for the pET-17b plasmid containing the porin gene. Upon induction, large amounts of the meningococcal porin proteins accumulated within the E. coli without any obvious lethal effects to the host bacterium. The expressed meningococcal porin proteins were extracted and processed through standard procedures and finally purified by molecular sieve chromatography and ion exchange chromatography. As judged by the protein profile from the molecular sieve chromatography, the recombinant meningococcal porins eluted from the column as trimers. To be certain that no PCR artifacts had been introduced into the meningococcal porin genes to allow for such high expression, the inserted PorB gene sequence was determined. Inhibition ELISA assays were used to give further evidence that the expressed recombinant porin proteins had renatured into their natural antigenic and trimer conformation.

Method for the high level expression, purification and refolding of the outer membrane group B porin proteins from Neisseria meningitidis


An arrangement is provided for configuring a headless device. A self-initiated configuration mechanism within a headless device issues a configuration request to a configuration service mechanism across network, requesting a configuration specification corresponding to the headless device. The configuration service mechanism returns the requested configuration specification to the self-initiated configuration mechanism. Upon receiving the configuration specification, the self-initiated configuration mechanism configures the headless device according to the configuration specification.

Aspects of the present invention relate to appliances and computers. Other aspects of the present invention relate to headless devices.
The use of a computer to perform a specific function is becoming more commonplace. Such a role of a computer is similar to the conventional role of an appliance. The boundary between an appliance and a computer is gradually blurring. The term "device" is now often used to refer to an appliance or a computer that performs a well-defined and specific function (as opposed to a generic function). In many ways, utilizing the concept of appliance can simplify a device and make it more manageable and more reliable.
More and more computers are being deployed headless. That is, they are manufactured and put in use without peripherals such as monitors, video cards, keyboards, mousses, floppy drives, and CD-ROM. Many headless computers have no means to input/output (I/O) and some have merely a network interface card. The lack of I/O capabilities causes some difficulty in configuring headless devices. For example, it is often inconvenient to even set up an initial configuration of an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a headless computer.
Currently, to configure a headless computer, it may require that the headless computer support some form of I/O, so that it can be connected to appropriate peripherals, through which configuration can be performed. Through such means, headless devices may be configured one at a time via the I/O peripherals. Such peripherals include a floppy drive, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a serial port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) and others. A configuration process carried out via such peripherals is often tedious, inefficient, and difficult. In addition, current configuration processes force a headless device to support I/O peripherals that may be used only once for initial configuration and then not needed during the service life of the headless device.

Configuration of headless devices using configuration service


A virtual logical unit that stores learning metadata is allocated in a first storage server having a first plurality of clusters, wherein the learning metadata indicates a type of storage device in which selected data of the first plurality of clusters of the first storage server are stored. A copy services command is received to copy the selected data from the first storage server to a second storage server having a second plurality of clusters. The virtual logical unit that stores the learning metadata is copied, from the first storage server to the second storage server, via the copy services command. Selected logical units corresponding to the selected data are copied from the first storage server to the second storage server, and the learning metadata is used to place the selected data in the type of storage device indicated by the learning metadata.

1. Field
The disclosure relates to a method, a system, and a computer program product for transferring learning metadata between storage servers having clusters, via copy services operations on a shared virtual logical unit that stores the learning metadata.
2. Background
In certain storage system environments, a plurality of storage servers may be coupled to each other, wherein one or more of the storage servers may include a plurality of storage clusters. Learning mechanisms may be employed to gather information about data that is stored in such storage system environments. However, information gathered by such learning mechanisms may be lost during failure of storage clusters and during servicing of storage clusters. In certain systems, a cross cluster e-mail of information about data may be used to retain certain information gathered by learning mechanisms. In certain situations, such e-mails may impact other vital mail services. Other mechanisms, such as storing the gathered information in global data may impact global data read/write which may be a critical service in certain storage system environments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transferring learning metadata between storage servers having clusters via copy services operations on a shared virtual logical unit that stores the learning metadata

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention discloses a beam cap incorporated into a patio extrusion assembly and which includes an elongated body exhibiting, in cross section, a width extending middle portion terminating at opposite ends in engaging tabs. The body is affixed to an exposed profile associated with a component of the extrusion assembly. Additional features include the middle portion exhibiting an arcuate configuration, with the engaging tabs further including a first pair of inner tabs each exhibiting an outwardly angled detent deflected and reseated in a resistive snap-fit fashion with aligning end channels associated with the exposed profile. The engaging tabs further include a second pair of outer tabs within which the end channels seat. Other features include the beam cap exhibiting a specified shape and size and being constructed of an extruded aluminum or least one of vinyl or PVC.

The prior art is documented with examples of extruded and other types of plastics in use with framing members. One example is that depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,036 to Siudzinski et al. and which discloses the incorporation of sections of extruded rigid plastic material incorporated into an improved patio door assembly and forming a rectangular main frame and associated swinging door panel frames. The frames include a pair of vertical jamb members, a top head member and a bottom sill member connected by welded mitered corners and in use prevent warping or sagging.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,748,194, to Carless, teaches a closure frame corner joint incorporated into a building closure assembly such as a patio door butt joint. U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,360 to Reckson teaches an extruded building device exhibiting spline groove configured for reception of either a flat or round spline for retention of fiberglass or other type of screen material within the spline groove, such as further incorporated into a screen door and patio screen sections.


The optimum predictive image is selected as follows for the entire area of an image sequence comprising a luminance signal expressing each pixel value, and a transmittance signal expressing the transparency of each pixel value, and described by the transmittance signal of the target image to be coded as the area to be coded. The target image to be coded is predicted from at least one template typical of the image sequence, thereby generating a first predictive image. The target image to be coded is also predicted from the image displayed chronologically before the target image, thereby generating a second predictive image. It is then determined whether the first or the second predictive image has the least difference to the target image to be coded, and the predictive image with the least difference is selected as the optimum predictive image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for predictive coding, storage, and transfer of digital images, and to an apparatus for signal decoding and image synthesizing, and relates particularly to a method and apparatus for predictive coding, storage, and transfer of digital images obtained by synthesizing plural object-based image layers, and to an apparatus for signal decoding and resynthesizing said object-based images.
2. Description of the Prior Art
J. Wang and E. Adelson have proposed a method for decomposing moving images into object-based layers (a different layer for each object in the image) for coding as a means of efficiently transmitting and recording moving images. Their method is described in "Layered Representation of Image Sequence Coding," J. Wang and E. Adelson, Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Acoustic Speech Signal Processing, 1993, pp. V221-V224; and in "Layered Representation for Motion Analysis," J. Wang and E. Adelson, Proc. Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 361-366, 1993.
This method is described below, assuming a motion picture containing fish, seaweed, and background. After each of the three elements composing this motion picture is separately recorded as a chromakey image, the elements can be synthesized into a single composite image, or a sequence of plural image frames bracketing a particular image can be analyzed and separated into the three component parts. The method proposed by Wang et al., analyzes the motion picture sequence to extract the fish, seaweed, and background, and separate each of these objects to a discrete layer. Each layer is then separately compression coded. The coded data is then multiplexed by a multiplexer, adding information identifying the vertical relationship between the layers (i.e., which layer overlays which layer), for storage or transmission. When it is also necessary to identify the relative transparency of the pixels or shapes in each frame layer, a transmittance signal is also coded and transmitted or stored with the object layers.
Plural decoders are similarly required on the reproduction side. The multiplexed data is first demultiplexed into the separate layers, and the data in the separate layers is then simultaneously decoded by the respective-decoders. The objects in the reproduced layers are then overlaid by the image synthesizer based on the vertical layer relationship data to generate the reproduction (synthesized) image then displayed on the display apparatus.
To improve the compression efficiency, an image representative of each layer (e.g., the fish, seaweed, or background scene) is determined and used as a reference image for that layer. Note that the template for each layer is selected to be most representative of the object sequence in that layer. These templates may be selected manually or automatically, and Wang et al., also describe a method for automatically generating these templates.
The defined templates are compression coded first, and each object in the layer is coded by predictive approximation based on the displacement or deformation of the generated template. By separating the motion picture into component objects, those objects can be more accurately approximated without being influenced by other nearby objects. Objects at a sufficient distance from the camera can also be treated as still objects, making it possible to describe the deformation and displacement (change and movement) in such objects with few parameters. More specifically, an affine transformation is used to approximate a single object using six parameters, thereby requiring few bits and achieving an extremely high compression rate.
The method approximating objects using templates as described above, however, results in increased error when there is a large change in object shape or luminance, and degrades the compression coding efficiency. In addition to approximation using templates, it is therefore necessary to predict such changes using the images displayed chronologically before and after the image to be coded, and to adaptively select the optimum predictive image.
Discrete predictive coding of each object also commonly results in a mismatch between the contours of the coded object and the predictive object. Contour mismatches increase the difference value, and prevent the efficient coding of the contour luminance and color difference signals.
Furthermore, the reproduction side must have three decoders to decode the objects in three layers as described above. As a result, the number of reproducible layers is limited by the number of decoders available to the reproduction side. A frame memory with sufficient capacity to store the decoder output is also needed to synthesize the reproduced objects in each layer, and the number of frame memory units is proportional to the number of layers. As the number of image layers increases, the overall size and cost of the decoder increase greatly.
Synthesis of the output image according to the vertical relationship data of the layers also prevents selective display of the layers, and prevents a selected layer from being moved from the coded position to a position behind or in front of another layer. More specifically, interactivity is impaired.

Object-based digital image predictive coding transfer method and apparatus, and decoding apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A polymeric material composition with improved weatherability and resistance to discoloration, comprising 100 parts by weight of a polymer material and 0.001-10 parts by weight of a triazine compound represented by the following formula (I):

The present invention relates to a polymeric material composition having improved properties in terms of weatherability and resistance to discoloration by virtue of a specific triaryltriazine compound incorporated in the composition. The triaryltriazine compound has at least one aryl group which is a 2-hydroxyphenyl group having, at the 4-position thereof, an alkyl group substituted by a (meth)acryloyloxy group.
Polymer materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene resin, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, and polyester; organic pigments; and organic dyes may not endure prolonged use, due to deterioration caused by light and resultant discoloration or lowering of mechanical strength.
Conventionally, in order to prevent deterioration of such organic materials and to control the wavelength of light penetrating the materials, a variety of UV-absorbers have been used. Examples of such UV-absorbers include benzophenone, benzotriazole, 2,4,6-triaryltriazine, and cyanoacrylate compounds.
These UV-absorbers exhibit various UV absorption spectra attributed to the structures thereof. Also, the compatibility and volatility of the UV-absorbers differ depending on the material. Therefore, an appropriate UV-absorber is chosen in accordance with the intended use of the polymer material. Particularly, a thin film-like material employed as a protective layer must contain a large amount of UV-absorber in order to enhance the UV-shielding effect of the layer. Therefore, there is demand for an UV-absorber having excellent compatibility with a substrate layer, low volatility, and high absorption coefficient.
A 2,4,6-triaryltriazine UV-absorber exhibits a high absorption coefficient and excellent heat resistance. However, when the UV-absorber is incorporated into a polymer material, the UV-absorber may impart color to a resin of the material during processing, which is detrimental to practical use.
Japanese Patent Publication (kokoku) No. 42-25303 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 4-117410 disclose that, when a (meth)acryloyl-group-containing UV-absorber is incorporated into a skeleton of a polymer material through polymerization, or when the UV-absorber is oligomerized to thereby form a high-molecular-weight UV-absorber, the UV-absorber thus obtained exhibits persistent UV-absorbing effect in the polymer material. During the polymerization or oligomerization, the UV-absorber is copolymerized with a compound having an ethylenic unsaturated bond, and thus (meth)acryloyl groups present in the polymer material are lost. For this reason, it has never been expected that discoloration of polymer materials could be prevented if an UV-absorber is added into a polymer material without loss of (meth)acryloyl groups.
In view of the foregoing, the present inventors have performed extensive studies, and have found that a triazine compound represented by the following formula (I) having a substituent at a specific position thereof and having a (meth)acryloyl group exhibits UV-absorbing effects; and that a polymeric material composition containing the triazine compound exhibits excellent weatherability and excellent heat resistance without inducing discoloration of the organic material. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of these findings.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a polymeric material composition comprising 100 parts by weight of a polymer material and 0.001-10 parts by weight of a triazine compound represented by the following formula (I):
(wherein A represents ring A; X and Y each independently represents ring A or ring B; R1 represents a C1-C25 alkyl group substituted by a (meth)acryloyloxy group, wherein the alkyl group may further be substituted by a hydroxyl group, a C1-C8 alkoxy group, or a C1-C8 acyloxy group, or the alkyl group may contain, as an insertion, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a carbonyl group, an ester group, an amido group, or an imino group; R2 represents a hydrogen atom; R3, R4, R5 and R6 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C1-C12 alkenyl group, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, a C1-C12 alkoxycarbonyl group, or an arylalkyl group, wherein the alkyl group, the alkoxy group, the alkoxycarbonyl group, and the arylalkyl group may be substituted by a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, a sulfonic acid group, a glycidyloxy group, a cyano group, an isocyanate group, or a (meth)acryloyl group, or, the alkyl group, the alkoxy group, the alkoxycarbonyl group, and the arylalkyl group may contain, as an insertion, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a carbonyl group, an ester group, an amido group, or an imino group; and the substitution and the insertion may occur in combination, and R3 represents a hydrogen atom in the case of R3 being in the 5-position.) The present invention will next be described in more detail.
Examples of the alkyl group which is to be substituted by a (meth)acryloyloxy group to form a (meth)acryloyloxy group-substituted alkyl group R1 include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, sec-pentyl, tert-pentyl, hexyl, isohexyl, heptyl, octyl, isooctyl, sec-octyl, tert-octyl, and 2-ethylhexyl. Examples of the alkyl group having a substituent include 2-acetoxypropyl, 2-hydroxypropyl, and 2-butoxymethylethyl. Examples of constituent chains of the alkyl group, in which an oxygen atom or another atom is inserted, include polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene.
More specifically, examples of the group represented by R1 include (meth)acryloyloxyalkyl groups such as acryloyloxyethyl, methacryloyloxyethyl, 2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyl, 2-(2-methacryloyloxyethyloxy)ethyl, and 2-hydroxy-3-(2-methacryloyloxyethyloxy)propyl.
Examples of the alkyl groups represented by R3, R4, R5, or R6 in formula (I) include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, isobutyl, amyl, tert-amyl, octyl, tert-octyl, decyl, undecyl, and dodecyl. Examples of the arylalkyl group include 1-methyl-1-phenylethyl, benzyl, and 2-phenylethyl.
Examples of the C1-C12 alkenyl groups represented by R3, R4, R5, or R6 include linear or branched propenyl, butenyl, pentenyl, hexenyl, heptenyl, and octenyl. In such an alkenyl group, an unsaturated bond may be present at any position.
Examples of the C1-C12 alkoxy groups and the C1-C12 alkoxycarbonyl groups represented by R3, R4, R5, or R6 include derivatives of alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, isobutyl, amyl, tert-amyl, octyl, tert-octyl, decyl, undecyl, and dodecyl. Examples of the arylalkyl group include a cumyl group and a phenylmethylene group. Examples of the halogen atom include a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, and a bromine atom.
Examples of the triazine compounds represented by formula (I), which are used in the present invention, include the following No. 1 to No. 6 compounds.
The method for synthesizing the triazine compounds of formula (I), which are used in the present invention, is not particularly limited, and the compounds may be synthesized by means of any customary method.
For example, any of the compounds may be synthesized by means of the following synthesis method: a method in which 2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4,6-diaryl-s-triazine is reacted with glycidyl methacrylate, to thereby yield 2-(2-hydroxy-4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyloxy)phenyl)-4, 6-diaryl-s-triazine; a method in which 2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4,6-diaryl-s-triazine is reacted with alkylene oxide to yield 2-(2-hydroxy-4-(2-hydroxyalkoxy)phenyl)-4,6-diaryl-s-triazine, followed by reaction with (meth)acrylic acid, to thereby yield 2-(2-hydroxy-4-(2-(meth)acryloyloxyalkoxy)phenyl)-4,6-aryl-s-triazine; or a method in which benzamidine hydrochloride is reacted with phenyl resorcylate to yield 2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4,6-diphenyl-s-triazine, followed by reaction with alkylene oxide and then with (meth)acrylic acid, to thereby yield 2-(2-hydroxy-4-(2-(meth)acryloyloxyalkoxy)phenyl)-4,6-diphenyl-s-triazine.
Examples of the polymer material used in the present invention include thermoplastic resins, thermosetting resins, and elastomers.
Examples of thermoplastic resins include xcex1-olefin polymers such as high-density, low-density, or linear low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene-1, and poly-3-methylpentene; polyolefins and copolymers thereof such as ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers and ethylene/propylene copolymers; halogen-containing resins such as polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, chlorinated polyethylene, chlorinated polypropylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, rubber chloride, vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl chloride/ethylene copolymers, vinyl chloride/vinylidene chloride copolymers, vinyl chloride/vinylidene chloride/vinyl acetate terpolymers, vinyl chloride/acrylate copolymers, vinyl chloride/maleate copolymers, and vinyl chloride/cyclohexylmaleimide copolymers; petroleum resins; coumarone resins; polystyrene; polyvinyl acetate; acrylic resins; copolymers of styrene and/or xcex1-methylstyrene and other monomers (such as maleic anhydride, phenylmaleimide, methyl methacrylate, butadiene, and acrylonitrile), such as AS resins, ABS resins, MBS resins, and heat-resistant ABS resins; polymethyl methacrylate; polyvinyl alcohol; polyvinyl formal; polyvinyl butyral; linear polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polytetramethylene terephthalate; polyphenylene oxide; polyamides such as polycaprolactam and polyhexamethylene adipamide; polycarbonate; branched polycarbonate; polyacetal; polyphenylene sulfide; polyurethane; cellulose resins; and blends thereof.
Examples of thermosetting resins include phenolic resins, urea resins, melamine resins, epoxy resins, and unsaturated polyester resins.
Examples of elastomers include isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer rubber, and styrene/butadiene copolymer rubber.
Of the above-described polymer materials, hetero-atom-containing polymer materials are particularly preferred because such polymer materials are highly compatible with triazine compounds of formula (I). Examples of the hetero-atom-containing polymer materials include polycarbonate; branched polycarbonate; linear polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polytetramethylene terephthalate; polyamides such as polycaprolactam and polyhexamethylene adipamide; polyphenylene oxide; polyphenylene sulfide; poly(meth)acrylates such as polymethyl (meth)acrylate and polybutyl (meth)acrylate. Of these polymer materials, polymer materials containing a hetero-atom or an aromatic group in the main chain thereof are particularly preferred. Examples of such polymer materials include polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyphenylene oxide.
These polymer materials may be used singly or in combination of two or more species. For example, these polymer materials may be used as composite materials such as polycarbonate/ABS and polycarbonate/polyester; or may be used as laminate films. Such a laminate film comprises a first polycarbonate film and a second polycarbonate film or poly(meth)acrylate film containing the specific triazine compound of formula (I) used in the present invention.
The polymeric material composition of the present invention comprises a polymer material and a triazine compound represented by formula (I). In the composition, the amount of the triazine compound is 0.001-10 parts by weight on the basis of 100 parts by weight of the polymer material, preferably 0.005-10 parts by weight. When the amount of the triazine compound falls within the above range, weatherability and resistance to discoloration of the polymeric material composition are improved.
The method for application of the triazine compound of the present invention to the polymer material is not particularly limited. When the triazine compound is added to the polymer material, the compound may assume the form of powder, aqueous dispersion such as emulsion and suspension, or solution of organic solvent. However, when the triazine compound is added to the polymer material during polymerization, or when the compound is added to the material under the conditions such that reaction of a (meth)acryloyl group occurs at a processing temperature, the resultant polymeric material composition considerably colors during processing, which is detrimental to practical use.
The polymeric material composition of the present invention may be used in combination with additives that are used for general purposes, such as antioxidants and stabilizers, if necessary.
Examples of particularly preferred additives include antioxidants such as phenolic antioxidants, sulfur-containing antioxidants, and phosphite antioxidants; and hindered amine light stabilizers. Of these, hindered amine light stabilizers such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine compounds are more preferable because such a light stabilizer and the triazine compound of the present invention exhibit synergistic effects.
Examples of phenolic antioxidants include 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol, 2,6-diphenyl-4-octadecyloxyphenol, stearyl(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, distearyl (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) phosphonate, thiodiethyleneglycol bis[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate], 1,6-hexamethylene bis [3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate], 1,6-hexamethylene bis[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate amide], 4,4xe2x80x2-thiobis(6-tert-butyl-m-cresol), 2,2xe2x80x2-methylenebis(4-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol), 2,2xe2x80x2-methylenebis(4-ethyl-6-tert-butylphenol), bis[3,3-bis(4-hydroxy-3-tert-butylphenyl)butyric acid]glycol ester, 4,4xe2x80x2-butylidenebis(6-tert-butyl-m-cresol), 2,2xe2x80x2-ethylidenebis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenol), 2,2xe2x80x2-ethylidenebis(4-sec-butyl-6-tert-butylphenol), 1,1,3-tris(2-methyl-4-hydroxy-5-tert-butylphenyl)butane, bis[2-tert-butyl-4-methyl-6-(2-hydroxy-3-tert-butyl-5-methylbenzyl)phenyl]terephthalate, 1,3,5-tris(2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-tert-butylbenzyl) isocyanurate, 1,3,5-tris(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) isocyanurate, 1,3,5-tris(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-tris[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionyloxyethyl]isocyanurate, tetrakis[methylene-3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate]methane, 2-tert-butyl-4-methyl-6-(2-acryloyloxy-3-tert-butyl-5-methylbenzyl)phenol, 3,9-bis[1,1-dimethyl-2-{(3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)propionyloxy}ethyl]-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]undecane, and triethyleneglycol bis[(3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)propionate].
Examples of sulfur-containing antioxidants include dialkyl thiodipropionates such as dilauryl thiodipropionate, dimyristyl thiodipropionate, and distearyl thiodipropionate; and xcex2-alkylmercaptopropionate esters of polyols such as pentaerythritol tetra(xcex2-dodecylmercaptopropionate).
Examples of the phosphite antioxidant include trisnonylphenyl phosphite, tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite, tris[2-tert-butyl-4-(3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenylthio)-5-methylphenyl]phosphite, tridecyl phosphite, octyldiphenyl phosphite, di(decyl)monophenyl phosphite, di(tridecyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, di(stearyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, di(nonylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, bis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, bis(2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl)pentaerythritol diphosphite, tetra(tridecyl)bisphenol A diphosphite, tetra(tridecyl) isopropylidenediphenol diphosphite, tetra(tridecyl)-4,4xe2x80x2-n-butylidenebis(2-tert-butyl-5-methylphenol) diphosphite, hexa(tridecyl)-1,1,3-tris(2-methyl-4-hydroxy-5-tert-butylphenyl)butane triphosphite, 2,2xe2x80x2-methylenebis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2-ethylhexyl phosphite, 2,2xe2x80x2-methylenebis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)octadecyl phosphite, 2,2xe2x80x2-ethylidenebis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl) fluorophosphite, tetrakis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)biphenylene diphosphonite, 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphorphenanthrene-10-oxide, tris(2-[(2,4,8,10-tetrakis-tert-butyldibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepin-6-yl)oxy]ethyl)amine, and a phosphite of 2-ethyl-2-butylpropyleneglycol and 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol.
Examples of hindered amine light stabilizers include 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl benzoate, N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)dodecylsuccinimide, 1-[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionyloxyethyl]-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) cebacate, bis(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl) cebacate, bis(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl)-2-butyl-2-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) malonate, N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)hexamethylenediamine, tetra(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)butane tetracarboxylate, tetra(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl)butane tetracarboxylate, bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) di(tridecyl)butane tetracarboxylate, bis(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl) di(tridecyl)butane tetracarboxylate, 3,9-bis[1,1-dimethyl-2-{tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyloxycarbonyloxy)-butylcarbonyloxy}ethyl]-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]undecane, 3,9-bis[1,1-dimethyl-2-{tris(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyloxycarbonyloxy)butylcarbonyloxy}ethyl]-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]undecane, 1,5,8,12-tetrakis[4,6-bis{N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)butylamino}-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]-1,5,8,12-tetraazadodecane, a condensation product of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,2,6, 6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinol/dimethyl succinate, a condensation product of 2-tert-octylamino-4,6-dichloro-s-triazine/N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)hexamethylenediamine, a condensation product of N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)-hexamethylenediamine/dibromoethane, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl-1-oxime, bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl-1-oxime) cebacate, and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl-N-oxime benzoate.
Other additives may be incorporated in the polymeric material composition of the present invention, if necessary. Examples of the additives include heavy metal deactivating compounds, nucleating agents, metallic soap, organotin compounds, plasticizers, epoxy compounds, foaming agents, antistatic agents, fire retardants, lubricants, and processing aids.
Applications of the polymeric material compositions are not particularly limited. However, the compositions are particularly suitable for forming a thin-film-like material. Examples of the thin-film-like material include synthetic resin films, sheets, paints, and fibers that are used for nonwoven or woven fabrics.

Abstract: (wherein A represents ring A; X and Y each independently represents ring A or ring B; R1 represents a C1-C25 alkyl group substituted by a (meth)acryloyloxy group, wherein the alkyl group may further be substituted by a hydroxyl group, a C1-C8 alkoxy group, or a C1-C8 acyloxy group, or the alkyl group my contain, as an insertion, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a carbonyl group, an ester group, an amido group, or an imino group; R2 represents a hydrogen atom; R3, R4, R5 and R6 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C1-C12 alkenyl group, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, a C1-C12 alkoxycarbonyl group, or an arylalkyl group, wherein the alkyl group, the alkoxy group, the alkoxycarbonyl group, and the arylalkyl group may be substituted by a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, a sulfonic acid group, a glycidyloxy group, a cyano group, an isocyanate group, or a (meth)acryloyl group, or, the alkyl group, the alkoxy group, the alkoxycarbonyl group, and the arylalkyl group may contain, as an insertion, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a carbonyl group, an ester group, an amido group, or an imino group; and the substitution and the insertion may occur in combination, and R3 represents a hydrogen atom in the case of R3 being in the 5-position.)


A beverage preparation machine is disclosed that includes a base and at least one module. The base conditions and delivers a fluid to the at least one module that houses an ingredient to be mixed with the fluid. The base is controlled by a control unit that is configured to control the flow and the pressure of the liquid delivered to the module, during the preparation of a beverage, according to a command selected from a plurality of commands suitable for different types of ingredients and/or for different preparation processes of a given ingredient.

Certain beverage preparation machines use capsules containing ingredients to be extracted or to be dissolved and/or ingredients that are stored and dosed automatically in the machine or else are added at the time of preparation of the drink. Some beverage machines possess filling means that include a pump for liquid, usually water, which pumps the liquid from a source of water that is cold or indeed heated through heating means, e.g. a thermoblock or the like.
Especially in the field of tea and coffee preparation, machines have been widely developed in which a capsule containing beverage ingredients is inserted in a brewing device. The brewing device is tightly closed about the capsule, water is injected at the first face of the capsule, the beverage is produced in the closed volume of the capsule and a brewed beverage can be drained from a second face of the capsule and collected into a receptacle such as a cup or glass.
Typically, beverage preparation machines have a body arranged to circulate a fluid to a connection arrangement having a capsule piercer for connecting a removable support or holder of an ingredient capsule and pierce such capsule during the connection. Liquid is circulated via the connection arrangement into the pierced capsule to form the beverage by mixing the liquid with the ingredient in the capsule. Examples of such beverage machines are disclosed in WO2005/016093 and EP 1 868 473. These two references also disclose the use of different removable supports or holder for use with the same machine body for preparing different kind of beverages.
Typically, fluid systems of beverage preparation machines embed a piston pump. These fluid systems are designed and optimized for delivering a fixed flow of liquid into the capsule under a given pressure. The couple flow/pressure is specifically chosen to fit the type of beverages the machine is arranged to prepare. By design, the characteristics and the performances of the piston pump are well-known and adapted only to this restricted domain: for instance, for preparing beverages with a high flow of liquid injected at a low-pressure.
Typically, a fluid system of a conventional low-pressure machine, for example a coffee machine, is arranged to deliver between 350 and 600 ml/min of water under a pressure comprised between 0 and 5 bars. A fluid system of a high-pressure espresso coffee machine is arranged to deliver between 150 and 300 ml/min of water under a pressure comprised between 15 and 25 bars.
FIG. 1 shows schematically on a graph a typical curve 300 representing the flow/pressure domain covered by a piston pump in a beverage machine, X-axis representing the pressure of the liquid, Y-axis the flow of the liquid. It appears clearly that the curve 300 is non-linear and that very limited couples of pressure/flow are actually achievable.
As a consequence, while a piston pump performs reasonably well in traditional mono-system beverage machines, i.e. machines adapted to prepare beverages with similar flow/pressure requirements, it is not adapted to multi-system beverage machines adapted to prepare different beverages with different flow/pressure requirements.


A heating system, a method of operating a heating system and a controller for a heating system are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the controller includes: (1) a system interface configured to receive thermostat calls from a thermostat, the thermostat calls including a heat pump thermostat call and an electrical heating elements thermostat call and (2) a processor coupled to the system interface and configured to select a starting heat load for the heating system based on the thermostat calls and a selected target discharge air temperature for the heating system.

The heating system of a climate control system may include a plurality of electrically resistive heating elements and a heat pump. The electrically resistive heating elements produce heat in response to the passage of electric current therethrough. An air blower is used to circulate air between the heating system and an enclosure. Typically, a demand for heat signal from an indoor thermostat or the like activates the heating elements and the air blower to move across the heating elements and carry the heat by convection to the enclosure to satisfy the demand for heat.
Since operation of the heat pump is usually more energy efficient, the heating elements are typically used as a backup. As such, only the heat pump may be used to satisfy an initial demand for heat (i.e., the first stage heat demand). If the indoor temperature falls below a predetermined threshold temperature, which is less than the temperature corresponding to the first stage demand, a second stage demand for heat is indicated. In response to the second stage demand, the electric heating elements may be activated.
The electric heating elements may also be used as the primary source of heat for an enclosure when the heat pump is not able to function efficiently. For example, when the outside air temperature drops below a minimum temperature (e.g., 10 degrees Fahrenheit) the heat pump may not be operable due to a low ambient temperature condition. Regardless of whether the electrical heating elements or the heat pump are initially activated to respond to a heat demand from a thermostat, time is required for the heating elements and the coil of the heat pump to heat-up after activation. As such, at startup, cold bursts of air may be blown into the enclosure that is being heated.

Heating system controller, a heating system and a method of operating a heating system


A towing head is provided including three primary members. The first member is stationary and includes a channel which receives the tow pin or towing fitting of an aircraft. The second member pivotally attaches to the first member and itself includes a channel which communicates with the channel of the first member. The third member rotatably attaches to the second member and includes a handle for which to place the towing head in either a locked, partially locked, or unlocked position. In the unlocked position, the second member is moved away from interfering with the channel of the first member so that the tow pin or fitting may be freely inserted or removed from within the channel of the first member. In the locked position, the second member is moved to a position so that it interferes with the channel of the first member and prevents the tow pin from being removed from the towing head. The second member may be moved to a partially locked position prior to engaging the tow pin with the towing head which enables an operator to release the towing head once the tow pin engages the towing head because the towing head, while in the partially locked position, can secure the tow pin without locking.

In recent years, the increased volume of air traffic in most airports has required airport ground personnel to more efficiently handle the increased traffic. One common ground activity which occurs at every airport is the movement of parked aircraft to different locations around the airport airfield by ground vehicles. For example, once an aircraft has landed and is parked, the aircraft may later need to be moved to another location. In this circumstance, ground equipment is used to move the aircraft in lieu of the aircraft moving under its own power. One critical step in the movement of aircraft by ground vehicles is the connection of the ground vehicle to the aircraft. A number of prior art devices exist which are intended to be used to couple a ground vehicle to an aircraft such as by a tow bar assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,098 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,418 to Kalmanson each disclose a towing head characterized by a connecting structure including a rotatable cam that is selectively positionable into a locked or unlocked position by camming engagement of the rotatable cam with the tow pin of the aircraft. The rotation of the cam to the locked position causes the tow pin of the aircraft to be securely clamped between the connecting structure that may take the form of one or more hook members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,936 to Adams, et al. discloses a tow bar coupling head which may be attached to the tow pin of an aircraft. The structure of this device includes a solid metal body portion with a transverse slot formed on its underside and within which the tow pin of the aircraft is received. A dead bolt slide lock retains the aircraft pin in place within the slot. A removable locking pin extending vertically through the body portion prevents accidental withdrawal of the dead bolt slide lock by use of a spring member to bias the slide lock in a closed position.
German Patent No. 3,705,740A1 discloses a tow bar assembly for connection to an aircraft in order to tow the same. The structure of this device incorporates two outer plates and a third plate positioned between the outer two plates. A sheer pin connects the two outer plates and is located in a cylindrical sleeve through the third plate. A rotatable handle member pivotally connected to the main body portion of the tow bar assembly is used to positively engage the tow pin of the aircraft.
The foregoing inventions are suitable for their intended purposes. However, each of the foregoing references require undue manual intervention in creating an initial connection between the aircraft and the tow bar assembly. This manual intervention first requires a holding step in that the tow bar assembly must first be held in alignment with the tow pin on the wheel assembly of the aircraft, and then requires a separate locking step to positively connect the tow bar assembly to the tow pin. For example, in the Kalmanson references, the tow bar assembly must first be held in alignment with the tow pin and then, while the tow bar assembly is held in a steady aligned position, the lever-type cam handle must be rotated in the desired direction in order to positively engage the towing head assembly with the tow pin. In both Adams, et al., and the German patent, two separate steps are required in the initial connection by first aligning the tow bar assembly and then rotating or pushing the handle member in a desired direction. Because of the weight and bulk of many tow bar assemblies, the mere manipulation of a handle while having to simultaneously hold the tow bar assembly in the aligned position can make it difficult to achieve a quick and secure connection.
In addition to the above-mentioned shortcomings, many of the prior art devices are structurally complex, difficult to maintain, and may be expensive to purchase.


An example method may include decoding, at a UE, a downlink data transmission and determining, over each of multiple streams including a single stream and two dual streams, whether to transmit an acknowledge (ACK) or a negative acknowledge (NACK) message to a base station based on a result of the decoding. Further, the example method may include calculating a signal noise ratio (SNR) value for adjusting each of the multiple streams based on the determining. Further still, the example method may include mapping the calculated SNR value of the single stream to a first channel quality indicator (CQI) value. Moreover, the example method may include mapping the calculated SNR value of the two dual streams to a second CQI value. In addition, the example method may include transmitting the first CQI value and the second CQI value to the base station.

The described aspects relate generally to wireless communication systems. More particularly, the described aspects relate to techniques for outer loop management in a multiple output (MO) system.
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSDPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks.
For MO systems that include a single stream and other multiple streams, a same processing scheme to process the single stream and the multiple streams may be inefficient. For example, due to the varying granularity between the channel quality indicator (CQI) for the single stream and the multiple streams, changes in channel conditions may not be readily reflected in the CQI Improvements in MO systems that include a single stream and other multiple streams are required.

Techniques for outer loop management in a multiple output system


A two-plane type crankshaft is provided. The weight of crank webs for the respective cylinders is divided between left and right half webs and balance ratios kL and kR of the half webs for the respective cylinders are set so as to be (kL−0.25)·(0.25−kR)≅DR/DL to form a track of a vector of a primary inertial couple into a substantial circle. A primary balancer offsets the primary inertia couple.

A so-called one-plane 180° type engine, that is, an engine with crankshaft arrangement in which crank pins of first and fourth cylinders are arranged in a same phase while crank pins of second and third cylinders are arranged with a 180° phase difference has been widely used as an engine for a vehicle conventionally.
JP-A-57-69137 and JP-A-9-250597 propose an engine for a vehicle in which a balancer (referred to as a primary balancer) for constant velocity is provided for a crankshaft whose arrangement of each crank pin is, respectively, 0° for a first cylinder, 90° for a second cylinder, 270° for a third cylinder and 180° for a fourth cylinder (referred to as a two-plane 90° type).
In a vehicle such as a motorbike provided with an engine using the above-mentioned two-plane 90° type crankshaft, a driver can feel driving torque from the engine more strongly than in the case of an engine using the former-mentioned one-plane 180° type crankshaft, from a point of view of S/N (SN ratio) of the driving torque, amplitude of vibrations, frequency and such. Thus, acceleration feeling, and thereby, a driving sense are improved. Therefore, it is strongly desired to put the two-plane 90° type engine for a vehicle into practice.
An engine in JP-A-57-69137 is provided on the premise that the total weight added to a crank web is set by adding ½ of the weight Wrec of a reciprocating portion to the weight Wrot of a rotating portion (refer to a formula (12) in the left column of Page 3). That is to say, Wrec/2 (additional weight, unbalance weight) is added other than the weight Wrot balanced with the weight Wrot of the rotating portion such as a large end portion of a connecting rod. Further, it can be seen that calculation is performed on the assumption that the weight of a crank web of each of the cylinders concentrates at the center of the cylinder, since the distance from the center of a crankshaft to the center of each of the first and fourth cylinders is set at 2a, while the distance to the center of each of the second and third cylinders is set at 2b (refer to FIG. 1).
The crank web of each of the cylinders is actually divided between the left and the right with respect to the center of the cylinder. Accordingly, in order to assume that the sum of the halves of the crank web concentrates at the center of the cylinder, the additional weight of each of the half crank webs should be ¼ of the weight of the reciprocating portion. The engine in JP-A-57-69137 is provided on the premise that the additional weight of a whole crank web for each cylinder is ½ of the weight Wrec of the reciprocating portion, namely, the additional weight of a half crank web is ¼ of the weight of the reciprocating portion.
In an actual engine design, however, it is often difficult to set the additional weight of a half crank web at ¼ of Wrec since interference with other gears, bearings and the like in the vicinity of the crankshaft should be prevented. To achieve the same effect, enlargement of the rotational radius can also be considered. In this case, however, the crankshaft becomes large.
In the engine proposed in JP-A-9-250597, it is assumed, similar to the engine proposed in JP-A-57-69137, that the additional weight added to a crank web is ½ of the weight Wrec of the reciprocating portion (in Paragraph 0022), and that the weight of a crank web for each cylinder concentrates at the center of the cylinder (in Paragraph 0018). Accordingly, the additional weight of each half crank web is assumed to be ¼ of the weight of the reciprocating portion as a premise. On the basis of this premise, in JP-A-9-250597, an isotropic balancer rotating at a constant velocity in an isotropic direction with respect to the crankshaft is provided, in addition to a reverse balancer rotating at a constant velocity in a reverse direction with respect to the crankshaft, and a part of the weight Wrec/2 added to the crankshaft is divided for the isotropic balancer so that the addition weight of the crankshaft is made ½ of Wrec or less. In this case, however, a balancer rotating in the isotropic direction and a balancer rotating in the reverse direction cause unavoidable increase in size of the engine.

In-line four cylinder engine for vehicle and vehicle provided with the engine


The invention refers to a method and a device for the phenotypic detection of carbapenemases and carbapenemase producers by adding a substrate of general formula A-(L)-M1-(X)—Z, where M1 is a carbapenem backbone, A or Z is a quencher, the other one of the two, Z or A, is a fluorophore, L is an optional linker, X is an optional leaving group for linking Z to the carbapenem backbone, and Z is an optional leaving group, to a sample suspected of containing such carbapenemase producers and/or carbapenenmases. The invention further refers to a method for the phenotypic detection of resistant bacteria, in particular 3MRGN or 4MRGN, by releasing the enzymes of a bacterial culture into a lysate during lysis and then subjecting the lysate, as the sample to be analyzed, to an aforementioned method in order to phenotypically detect the presence of resistance-conferring carbapenemases.

Multi-resistant gram-negative rod bacteria (MRGN), such as Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas sp. or Enterobacteriaceae (e.g. Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli), have become increasingly common pathogens for nosocomial infections in recent years and are now of greater clinical importance in many places than multi-resistant gram-positive bacteria (MRSA, MRSE). MRGN is transmitted by direct contact with infected persons or by transmission via the nursing staff. In addition, the pronounced environmental persistence of the MRGN is problematic. These bacteria can also remain on inanimate surfaces and spread through contaminated objects.
Among the preferred antibacterial compounds that can be used as therapeutic substances are β-lactam antibiotics, which have a common chemical feature: a β-lactam ring as the central structure, i.e. the structural element
which may be substituted in different positions of the ring or condensed with other rings or ring systems which may in turn be substituted or unsubstituted. Examples of such β-lactam antibiotics are penicillins, cephalosporins, penams, carbapenems, carbapenams and monocyclic β-lactams.
The antibacterial effect of numerous β-lactam antibiotics is based on the fact that they interfere with the synthesis of the bacterial cell wall by inhibiting the murein synthesis and thus the cross-linking of the bacterial cell wall. The β-lactam ring opens in the cytosol of the exposed bacterium and in its opened form irreversibly binds to the bacterial enzyme D-alanine transpeptidase required for cross-linking the peptidoglycans. The enzyme is mainly required in bacteria that divide because the rigid cell wall has to be opened and partially synthesised again. Due to the irreversible binding to the D-alanine transpeptidase, no cell wall can be synthesised and the bacterium loses its most important protective envelope. In addition, the constant build-up and degradation of the defective cell wall leads to toxic degradation products and the infected bacterium eventually dies.
MRGN, but also gram-positive pathogens like multi-resistant Staphylococcus bacteria (e.g. MRSA and MRSE) are able to form resistance-conferring enzymes like β-lactamase and/or carbapenemase. These enzymes hydrolytically cleave the β-lactam ring of the antibiotic, whereupon no more binding to the proteins of the last steps of the biosynthesis of the peptidoglycan in the bacterial cell wall is possible and the antibiotic effectiveness is lost. When the concentration of β-lactam antibiotic is increased, the cleaving enzyme is also increasingly produced by MRGN.
After carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae and clinically important nonfermenters had been proven a few years ago mainly in Southeast Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, problems with carbapenem resistance are now increasing in Germany as well. Infections by such pathogens as imported pathogens are increasingly being observed. In Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem resistance is often caused by the formation of a carbapenemase. Carbapenemases are particularly potent β-lactam ring-cleaving enzymes which, in addition to penicillins and cephalosporins, can also hydrolyse carbapenems to varying degrees and thus inactivate them.
The MRGN definition of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute (KRINKO) is based on phenotypic resistance to lead substances from the four most important antibiotic groups used in severe infections with gram-negative rod pathogens (MRGN): Acylaminopenicillins, 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and quinolones. Pathogens are referred to as 3MRGN if they are resistant to three of the antibiotic groups mentioned above. Pathogens are classified as 4MRGN if they are resistant to all four antibiotic groups regardless of the pathogen type.
Antibiotics used as standard therapeutics are therefore completely or largely ineffective in 3MRGN or 4MRGN infections. It is therefore necessary to detect infections with multi-resistant pathogens very quickly in order to be able to initiate the correct therapy with one of the few remaining reserve antibiotics as early as possible. Another important reason for the need for rapid methods to detect germs that form β-lactam ring cleaving enzymes (such as β-lactamase or carbapenemase) is that special hygienic measures must be taken early to prevent the spread of such problem germs. Conventional detection methods, however, are sometimes very time-consuming and labour-intensive and are not able to provide reliable results for all enzymes that cleave the β-lactam ring.
This applies in particular to conventional, microbiological-cultural methods in which suspicious samples for the identification of germs are first grown (cultivated) on classical culture media, such as solid agar plates, and phenotypically differentiated. Such microbiological-cultural methods are usually only able to deliver a result after approx. 48 hours (in the case of a negative finding, i.e, without or with no relevant growth) or only after approx. 48 to 72 hours (in the case of relevant evidence). These long processing times are, however, intolerable, especially when it comes to the examination of clinical samples from, for example, highly immunocompromised people, infants or patients in intensive care, since there are potentially no more therapy options available and often every minute counts.
For some time now, chromogenic culture media have been available under the brand names "CHROMagar Orientation" (Becton Dickinson) and "CPS ID2" (bioMerieux), The addition of special chromogens releases compounds of different colours according to the enzyme activity of the germ (e.g. formation of brown, blue or pink colonies), However, such media have been specially developed for urine diagnostics and are primarily used for the preliminary and rapid identification of the most important pathogens in urinary tract infections. However, the use of chromogenic culture media alone to identify Enterobacteriaceae and other gram-negative rods is not sufficient. A classification of germs into groups is possible, but an exact identification of species is not possible.
In addition to bacterial identification on classical or chromogenic culture media, new, more powerful and faster mass spectrometric methods (e.g. using a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer) are available. The bacteria can be identified after approx. 24 hours incubation. An (antibiotic sensitivity test) is then carried out to select suitable antibiotics for the therapy. This will take another 24 hours. If the suspicion of an ESBL (extended spectrum β-lactamase) or carbapenemase positive pathogen is confirmed, additional confirmatory tests are mandatory, e.g. by means of a PCR detection procedure (PCR: polymerase chain reaction) to determine genotypic resistance and/or by means of additional standardized determinations of the minimum antibiotic inhibitor concentrations (agar diffusion test, epsilometer test). Despite the progressive automation of sensitivity testing procedures, treatment for MRGN can in any case begin after approximately 48 hours at the earliest.
Molecular genetic detection systems are also available for the rapid and direct detection of carbapenemases in sample material or as culture confirmation tests. These systems are commercially available under the brand names "Xpert Carba-R" (Cepheid GmbH) or "eazyplex SuperBug complete" (Amplex BioSystems GmbH) as corresponding kits. However, the large genetic variability and flexibility of the genes expressing β-lactamase makes genotypic detection difficult. By a mutation within the genes expressing β-lactamase bacteria with altered genes are able to produce extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). As a result, there is no uniform target sequence for the detection of all ESBL and/or carbapenemase genes and molecular genetic detection methods therefore allow only a limited number of known ESBL-associated genes and gene variants to be detected.
With the rapid test "RAPIDEC CARBA NP" marketed by bioMérieux under the brand name "RAPIDEC CARBA NP", a further biochemical detection method has recently been launched on the market which detects the presence of carbapenemase-forming bacteria on the basis of a change in the pH value in the growth medium. This change in pH is caused by the cleavage of a β-lactam ring and is intended to enable rapid carbapenemase detection, but the fact that the change in pH is a very unspecific indicator is critical from the outset. Bacteria also excrete acids during the metabolism of nutrients, which can influence the result. In addition, incubators are often fumigated with carbon dioxide, which dissolves in aqueous media in part with the formation of carbonic acid. In addition, the pH value of buffer systems in which the test is performed is often temperature-dependent and can therefore also influence the test result. In all this, it is to be feared that this test will not provide clear and reliable results, especially for complex clinical sample materials.
There is therefore a need for means and methods which can quickly and specifically detect the activity of ESBL and/or carbapenemase enzymes in clinically relevant samples, independent of the exact identity of the ESBL and/or carbapenemase producing pathogen.

Method and device for the detection of carbapenemases and carbapenemase producers

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


A lighted switch illuminator which solves a problem of a conventional device in that it was difficult to reduce its thickness and size because the electroluminescent (EL) layer functioning as an illuminator is adhered to a separate film click board. An EL layer is directly formed on a film click board by stacking its layers (consisting of a transparent electrode layer, a light emitting layer, a dielectric layer, a rear electrode layer and an insulation layer) in order excluding hollow convex portions of the film click board. Upper contacts and lower contacts are formed on the film click board and a printed board, respectively, such that they face each other. Depressing a key button pushes the corresponding hollow convex portion so that the upper contact and the corresponding lower contact are brought into conduction, in which case a good clicking feeling is obtained because the EL layer is not formed on the back of the hollow convex portions. Since the film click board is an integral part of the electroluminescent light, the thickness of the illuminator can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighted switch illuminator used for operating electronic devices such as portable telephones, and its fabrication method.
2. Description of Related Art
A portable telephone employs lighted switches as a dial and functional switches. They are composed of key buttons illuminated by a backlight for facilitating manipulation on if a rather dark road at night or the like.
These electric devices including portable telephones have been made thinner and smaller with their increasing functions. In particular, thin-type portable telephones have been appearing, in which the thickness of their batteries occupy 70-80% of their total thickness. It is considered to be difficult to further reduce their thickness with maintaining the capacity of the batteries.
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a conventional portable telephone. In this figure, the reference numeral 1 designates a front case, and 2 designates a rear case. These cases 1 and 2 constitute a main body case incorporating electronic devices such as a printed board on which ICs or LSIs are mounted. The reference numeral 3 designates a liquid crystal display (LCD) mounted on the front case 1, and 4 designates key buttons consisting of dial keys, function keys and the like disposed on the front case 1. The key buttons 4 are illuminated by backlight emitted from an illuminator not shown in this figure to facilitate their manipulation in a dark place. The reference numeral 5 designate a flip with its end rotatably fixed to the front case 1. Although its open state is shown in FIG. 23, it covers the key buttons when closed to protect them and prevent their misoperation. The reference numeral 6 designates a microphone mounted on the flip 5, 7 designates a speaker, and 8 designates a transmitting and receiving antenna.
FIGS. 24 and 25 are cross-sectional view of a portion of a lighted switch including one of the key buttons 4. The key button 4 is composed of a transparent material with numerals and marks printed on its face and with a protrusion 4a on its back. It is supported by an elastic material between the front case 1 and a printed board described below in such a manner that it can move in a vertical direction. The reference numeral 9 designates a film click board composed of a translucent plastics sheet, and 10 designates a hollow convex portion disposed such that it faces the back of the key button 4. The hollow convex portion 10 has a dome-like shape drawn out by pressing the film click board 9. The reference numeral 11 designates an electroluminescent (called EL for short below) light functioning as a light emitting source, which is composed of a base film 12, a transparent electrode layer 13, a light emitting layer 14, a dielectric layer 15, a rear electrode layer 16 and an insulation layer 17, which are successively stacked-on the back of the film click board 9. The reference numeral 18 designates a double-sided adhesive tape for bonding the back of the film click board 9 and the face of the EL light 11; 19 designates a switch electrode sheet, on which a switch circuit corresponding to a plurality of key buttons are printed; 20 designates upper contacts consisting of carbon ink printed on the back of the switch electrode sheet 19; 21 designates a printed board including electronic components constituting a transmitter and receiver, radio circuits or the like mounted or printed thereon; 22 designates a spacer interposed between the printed board 21 and the switch electrode sheet 19; and 23 designates a lower contact provided on the printed board 21 such that it faces the upper contact 20.
Next, the operation of the conventional lighted switch illuminator will be described.
With depressing the key button 4 in the state as shown in FIG. 24, the protrusion 4a of the key button 4 presses the hollow convex portion 10 of the film click board 9 and changes its form. When the hollow convex portion 10 changes its form beyond a certain level, it inverts its shape to protrude to the opposite side, thereby depressing the EL light 11 and the switch electrode sheet 19, and making the upper contact 20 and lower contact 23 contact to establish conduction. This state is shown in FIG. 25. When the upper contact 20 and lower contact 23 are connected, a switch circuit printed on the switch electrode sheet 19 generates a control signal so that a CPU governing the functions of the portable telephone, for example, detects that one of the key buttons 4 has been depressed, and carries out corresponding display on the liquid crystal display 3.
The switch has a lighted switch structure, in which the light emitted from the light source EL light 11 illuminates the back of the key button 4.
More specifically, the EL light 11, composed of the base film 12, transparent electrode layer 13, light emitting layer 14, dielectric layer 15, rear electrode layer 16 and insulation layer 17 which are stacked in this order, emits light when electric field excitation and collision of electrons to the light emitting layer 14 are induced by applying an ac voltage between the transparent electrode layer 13 and the rear electrode layer 16.
The operation feeling of the key button will be explained with reference to FIGS. 26-28.
FIGS. 26-28 are characteristic diagrams whose vertical axis represents the load and horizontal axis represents the stroke when manipulating the key button 4. In these diagrams, P1 and P1' each designate a load immediately before the film click board 9 is inverted while it is depressed by the key button 4 and changing its form, S1 designates a stroke of the key button 4 at that time, P2 and P2' each designate a load at the instant when the film click board 9 is inverted and the upper contact 20 contacts the lower contact 23, and S2 designates the stroke at that instant.
One of the factors determining the operation feeling of the key button is a clicking feeling, which is considered to be improved with an increase of a click ratio (P1-P2)/P1, and a decrease of the difference S2-S1.
The conventional lighted switch as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 cannot cause the upper contact 20 to contact the lower contact 23 unless the EL light 11 and the switch electrode sheet 19 are warped as well as the film click board 9. In other words, it has the characteristic as shown in FIG. 28 obtained by superimposing the characteristic curve of the film click board 9 as shown in FIG. 26 over the characteristic curve of the EL light 11 and the switch electrode sheet 19 as shown in FIG. 27.
Accordingly, the original click ratio (P1-P2)/P1 of the film click board 9 is reduced to (P1'-P2')/P1' owing to the EL light 11 and switch electrode sheet 19, and hence a good clicking feeling cannot be achieved in the conventional lighted switch as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.
As described above, the conventional lighted switch is assembled by bonding the separate film click board 9 and the EL light 11 of the illuminator functioning as the light source by using the double-sided adhesive tape 18. As a result, its thickness h remains large as indicated in FIG. 24, which poses a problem in that the external dimensions of the lighted switch and the electronic equipment using it cannot be made thinner and smaller.

Lighted switch illuminator and its fabrication method


The present application relates to the field of display technologies, and in particular, to display substrate devices. One of the described display substrates comprises: a flexible substrate; a pinhole array configured to transmit light on the flexible substrate; at least one curved electrode responsive to bending of the flexible substrate around the pinhole array on the flexible substrate; and a plurality of detecting lines; wherein the at least one curved electrode comprises a plurality of curved sub-electrodes connected in series; and at least one of the plurality of curved sub-electrodes is coupled to one of the plurality of detecting lines.

At present, flexible display panels have attracted attention due to their deformable and bendable characteristics. Organic light-emitting display (OLED) has attracted attention for self-luminous, wide viewing angle and high luminous efficiency properties. The short response time, high definition and high contrast of OLEDs has made them the first choice for flexible display panels.

Flexible displays with curved electrodes, display devices and control methods thereof