The invention provides methods of modulating seed mass and other traits in plants. The methods involve producing transgenic plants comprising a recombinant expression cassette containing an AP2 nucleic acid linked to a plant promoter.

The pattern of flower development is controlled by the floral meristem, a complex tissue whose cells give rise to the different organ systems of the flower. Genetic and molecular studies have defined a network of genes that control floral meristem identity and floral organ development in Arabidopsis, snapdragon, and other plant species (see, e.g., Coen and Carpenter, Plant Cell 5:1175-1181 (1993) and Okamuro et al., Plant Cell 5:1183-1193 (1993)). In Arabidopsis, a floral homeotic gene APETALA2 (AP2) controls three critical aspects of flower ontogeny--the establishment of the floral meristem (Irish and Sussex, Plcant Cell 2:741-753 (1990); Huala and Sussex, Plant Cell 4:901-913 (1992); Bowman et al., Development 119:721-743 (1993); Schultz and Haughn, Development 119:745-765 (1993); Shannon and Meeks-Wagner, Plant Cell 5:639-655 (1993)), the specification of floral organ identity (Komaki et al., Development 104:195-203 (1988)); Bowman et al., Plant Cell 1:37-52 (1989); Kunst et al., Plant Cell 1:1195-1208 (1989)), and the temporal and spatial regulation of floral homeotic gene expression (Bowman et al., Plant Cell 3:749-758 (1991); Drews et al., Cell 65:91-1002 (1991)).
One early function of AP2 during flower development is to promote the establishment of the floral meristem. AP2 performs this function in cooperation with at least three other floral meristem genes, APETALA1 (AP1), LEAFY (LFY), and CAULIFLOWER (CAL) (Irish an Sussex (1990); Bowman, Flowering Newsletter 14:7-19 (1992); Huala and Sussex (1992); Bowman et al., (1993); Schultz and Haughn, (1993); Shannon and Meeks-Wagner, (1993)). A second function of AP2 is to regulate floral organ development. In Arabidopsis, the floral meristem produces four concentric rings or whorls of floral organs--sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. In weak, partial loss-of-function ap2 mutants, sepals are homeotically transformed into leaves, and petals are transformed into pollen-producing stamenoid organs (Bowman et al., Development 112:1-20 (1991)). By contrast, in strong ap2 mutants, sepals are transformed into ovule-bearing carpels, petal development is suppressed, the number of stamens is reduced, and carpel fusion is often defective (Bowman et al., (1991)). Finally, the effects of ap2 on floral organ development are in part a result of a third function of AP2, which is to directly or indirectly regulate the expression of several flower-specific homeotic regulatory genes (Bowman et al., Plant Cell 3:749-758 (1991); Drews et al., Cell 65:91-1002 (1991); Jack et al. Cell 68:683-697 (1992); Mandel et al. Cell 71: 133-143 (1992)).
Clearly, Ap2 plays a critical role in the regulation of Arabidopsis flower development. Yet, little is known about how it carries out its functions at the cellular and molecular levels. A spatial and combinatorial model has been proposed to explain the role of AP2 and other floral homeotic genes in the specification of floral organ identity(see, e.g., Coen and Carpenter, supra). One central premise of this model is that AP2 and a second floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG) are mutually antagonistic genes. That is, AP2 negatively regulates AG gene expression in sepals and petals, and conversely, AG negatively regulates AP2 gene expression in stamens and carpels. In situ hybridization analysis of AG gene expression in wild-type and ap2 mutant flowers has demonstrated that AP2 is indeed a negative regulator of AG expression. However, it is not yet known how AP2 controls AG. Nor is it known how AG influences AP2 gene activity.
The AP2 gene in Arabidopsis has been isolated by T-DNA insertional mutagenesis as described in Jofuku et al. The Plant Cell 6:1211-1225 (1994). AP2 encodes a putative nuclear factor that bears no significant similarity to any known fungal, or animal regulatory protein. Evidence provided there indicates that AP2 gene activity and function are not restricted to developing flowers, suggesting that it may play a broader role in the regulation of Arabidopsis development than originally proposed.
In spite of the recent progress in defining the genetic control of plant development, little progress has been reported in the identification and analysis of genes effecting agronomically important traits such as seed size, protein content, oil content and the like. Characterization of such genes would allow for the genetic engineering of plants with a variety of desirable traits. The present invention addresses these and other needs.

The Regents of the University of California


Methods of converting cannabidiol to Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol or Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol are described. The described methods produce higher yields and higher purity compared to prior art methods.

Recently, public interest in Cannabis as medicine has been growing, based in no small part on the fact that Cannabis has long been considered to have medicinal properties, ranging from treatment of cramps, migraines, convulsions, appetite stimulation and attenuation of nausea and vomiting. In fact, a report issued by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine indicated that the active components of Cannabis appear to be useful in treating pain, nausea, AIDS-related weight loss or "wasting", muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis as well as other problems. Advocates of medical marijuana argue that it is also useful for glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, migraines, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
Marijuana refers to varieties of Cannabis having a high content of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), which is the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana whereas industrial hemp refers to varieties of the Cannabis plant that have a low content of Δ9-THC.
Furthermore, Δ9-THC is only one of a family of about 60 bi- and tri-cyclic compounds named cannabinoids. For example, Δ8-THC is a double bond isomer of Δ9-THC and is a minor constituent of most varieties of Cannabis (Hollister and Gillespie, 1972, Clin Pharmacol Ther 14: 353). The major chemical difference between the two compounds is that Δ9-THC is easily oxidized to cannabinol whereas Δ8-THC does not and is in fact very stable. Δ8-THC, for the most part, produces similar psychometric effects as does Δ9-THC, but is generally considered to be 50% less potent than Δ9-THC and has been shown in some cases to be 3-10 times less potent. Δ8-THC has also been shown to be more (200%) effective an anti-emetic than Δ9-THC and has been used as an anti-emetic in children, based on the belief that the side effects of Δ9-THC and Δ8-THC, such as anxiety and dysphoria, are more prevalent in adults than children (Abrahamov et al, 1995, Life Sciences 56: 2097-2102). On the other hand, CBD has no activity on its own when administered to humans. It is of note that CBD is typically about 2% (0.5-4%) dry weight of hemp chaff, Δ8-THC is approximately 0.2% (0.05-0.5%) dry weight and Δ9-THC is approximately 0.1% (0.05-0.3%).
Gaoni and Mechoulam (1966, Tetrahedron 22: 1481-1488) teach methods of converting CBD to, among other compounds, Δ8-THC and Δ9-THC comprising boiling a solution of CBD (3.0 g) in absolute ethanol (100 ml) containing 0.05% HCl for 18 hours. The solution was then poured into water and extracted with ether. The ether solution was washed with water, dried (Na2SO4) and evaporated. Δ8-THC and Δ9-THC were eluted from the resulting oil and separated by chromatography. In another experiment, CBD (3.14 g) was dissolved in benzene (100 ml) containing 2 mg/ml p-toluenesulphonic acid and boiled for two hours. The reaction mixture was poured into water and the upper layer was separated, washed with 5% NaHCO3, then with water, dried and evaporated. Elution with pentane-ether (95:5) gave an oily material which was subsequently distilled. Percentage yield of Δ8-THC (Δ1(6)-THC) was given as 64% of the crude material in this paper. The crude oil product, which showed only one spot by thin layer chromatography, was purified by vacuum distillation.
Gaoni and Mechoulam (1964, J Amer Chem Soc 86: 1646) also described a method for converting CBD to Δ9-THC comprising boiling a mixture of CBD in ethanol containing 0.05% hydrogen chloride for 2 hours. Percentage yield of Δ9-THC (Δ1-THC) was 2% (Mechoulam et al, 1972, J Amer Chem Soc 94: 6159-6165; Mechoulam and Gaoni, 1965, J Amer Chem Soc 87: 3273). Using boron trifluoride, the yield was 70% (Gaoni and Mechoulam, 1971, J Amer Chem Soc 93: 217-224) although purity was not given.
Clearly, as the cannabinoids are of potential medicinal value, improved methods of converting CBD to Δ9-THC or Δ8-THC are needed.


A heart valve prosthesis includes a valve member having an inflow end, an outflow end, and a generally cylindrical sidewall portion extending between the inflow end and the outflow end. The valve member includes at least one leaflet moveable relative to the sidewall portion to provide for substantially unidirectional flow of fluid through the valve member. A support of a substantially flexible material positioned is around the sidewall portion. A strip of pliant material is provided around valve member intermediate the inflow end and the outflow end of the valve member in a generally overlying relationship with the support. A covering is provided over a radially outer exposed surface of at least the strip.

Numerous types of heart valve prostheses have been developed for replacing defective heart valves in human patients. One common type of heart valve prosthesis includes a natural tissue heart valve mounted within a stent. The stent generally provides strength and rigidity to the heart valve. Typically, the stent is covered with a textile material, such as Dacron™, which provides a substrate to which the heart valve may be secured. While the stent provides desired rigidity and strength, which inhibits the inward deflection of the stent posts, it also decreases the hemodynamics of the valve. This is because the stent substantially increases the sidewall thickness of the prosthesis, which reduces the size of the flow orifice for a prosthesis having a given outer diameter. The exposed textile covering also tends to abrade cusps of the valve.
In order to overcome the disadvantages associated with the stented heart valve prosthesis, there has been an increasing tendency to form natural tissue heart valve prostheses with no stent. These are called stentless valves. Stentless valves exhibit improved hemodynamics and are less resistant to blood flow. In addition, stentless valves, as compared to stented valves, are more resistant to structural failure because the rigidity of a stent can cause damage to the moving cusps. The improved hemodynamic characteristics of stentless valves can also cause beneficial remodeling of the heart muscle. For example, it has been determined that several months after implantation of a stentless valve in the aortic position, there is a noticeable improvement in the size of a left ventricle.


A human oriented object programming system provides an interactive and dynamic modeling system to assist in the incremental building of computer programs which facilitates the development of complex computer programs such as operating systems and large applications with graphic user interfaces (GUIs). A program is modeled as a collection of units called components. A component represents a single compilable language element such as a class or a function. The three major functionality are the database, the compiler and the build mechanism. The database stores the components and properties. The compiler, along with compiling the source code of a property, is responsible for calculating the dependencies associated with a component. The build mechanism uses properties of components along with the compiler generated dependencies to correctly and efficiently sequence the compilation of components during a build process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer aided software engineering (CASE) and, more particularly, to human oriented object programming system (HOOPS) which provides an interactive and dynamic environment for computer program building. The invention allows a programmer to perform fine granularity source code editing in a computer program with an optimizing incremental compiler which is especially useful in developing complex programs, such as operating system (OS) software and large applications having graphic user interfaces (GUIs). The invention is disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment which uses a popular object oriented programming (OOP) language, C++, but the principles are applicable to other computer programming languages both object oriented and procedural and may be used to build programs using both conventional and OOP languages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Object oriented programming (OOP) is the preferred environment for building user-friendly, intelligent computer software. Key elements of OOP are data encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism. These elements may be used to generate a graphical user interface (GUI), typically characterized by a windowing environment having icons, mouse cursors and menus. While these three key elements are common to OOP languages, most OOP languages implement the three key elements differently.
Examples of OOP languages are Smalltalk and C++. Smalltalk is actually more than a language; it might more accurately be characterized as a programming environment. Smalltalk was developed in the Learning Research Group at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the early 1970s. In Smalltalk, a message is sent to an object to evaluate the object itself. Messages perform a task similar to that of function calls in conventional programming languages. The programmer does not need to be concerned with the type of data; rather, the programmer need only be concerned with creating the right order of a message and using the right message. C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at the AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1983 as an extension of C. The key concept of C++ is class, which is a user-defined type. Classes provide object oriented programming features. C++ modules are compatible with C modules and can be linked freely so that existing C libraries may be used with C++ programs.
The complete process of running a computer program involves translation of the source code written by the programmer to machine executable form, referred to as object code, and then execution of the object code. The process of translation is performed by an interpreter or a compiler. In the case of an interpreter, the translation is made at the time the program is run, whereas in the case of a compiler, the translation is made and stored as object code prior to running the program. That is, in the usual compile and execute system, the two phases of translation and execution are separate, the compilation being done only once. In an interpretive system, such as the Smalltalk interpreter, the two phases are performed in sequence. An interpreter is required for Smalltalk since the nature of that programming environment does not permit designation of specific registers or address space until an object is implemented.
A compiler comprises three parts; the lexical analyzer, the syntax analyzer, and the code generator. The input to the lexical analyzer is a sequence of characters representing a high-level language program. The lexical analyzer divides this sequence into a sequence of tokens that are input to the syntax analyzer. The syntax analyzer divides the tokens into instructions and, using a database of grammatical rules, determines whether or not each instruction is grammatically correct. If not, error messages are produced. If correct, the instruction is decomposed into a sequence of basic instructions that are transferred to the code generator to produce a low-level language. The code generator is itself typically divided into three parts; intermediate code generation, code optimization, and code generation. Basically, the code generator accepts the output from the syntax analyzer and generates the machine language code.
To aid in the development of software, incremental compilers have been developed in which the compiler generates code for a statement or a group of statements as received, independent of the code generated later for other statements, in a batch processing operation. The advantage of incremental compiling is that code may be compiled and tested for parts of a program as it is written, rather than requiring the debugging process to be postponed until the entire program has been written. However, even traditional incremental compilers must reprocess a complete module each time.
Optimizing compilers produce highly optimized object code which, in many cases, makes debugging at the source level more difficult than with a non-optimizing compiler. The problem lies in the fact that although a routine will be compiled to give the proper answer, the exact way it computes that answer may be significantly different from that described in the source code. Some things that the optimizing compiler may do include eliminating code or variables known not to affect the final result, moving invariant code out of loops, combining common code, reusing registers allocated to variables when the variable is no longer needed, etc. Thus, mapping from source to object code and vice versa can be difficult given some of these optimizations. Inspecting the values of variables can be difficult since the value of the variable may not always be available at any location within the routine. Modifying the values of variables in optimized code is especially difficult, if not impossible. Unless specifically declared as volatile, the compiler "remembers" values assigned to variables and may use the "known" value later in the code without rereading the variable. A change in that value could, therefore, produce erroneous program results.
While there have been many advances in the art of computer program building, testing and developing, the known software development tools still place a substantial burden on the programmer, often requiring insightful intuition. In addition, traditional batch oriented programming systems provide for very long edit-compile-test cycles which is very disruptive to the creative act of programming.

Engineering system for modeling computer programs


A method of treating cancer is disclosed. The method comprises administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an agent which induces a dissociation of the 26S proteasomal complex into a 20S component and a 19S component to thereby inhibit 26S proteasomal activity, wherein the pharmaceutical agent is devoid of a chemotherapeutic agent.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a method of treating diseases for which inhibiting a proteasome is advantageous by using agents, which specifically target the 19S proteasomal complex.
Proteasomal protein degradation is crucial in maintaining cellular integrity and in regulating key cellular processes including cell cycle, proliferation and cell death. Proteasomal degradation is mediated mainly by two proteasomal complexes; the 26S proteasome, that consists of the 20S catalytic domain and two 19S regulatory particles (RP) and the 20S proteasome in isolation (1, 2). In the well-characterized ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) a protein is targeted for degradation by specific modification by a set of enzymes that conjugates a poly-ubiquitin chain to the protein. The poly-ubiquitinated substrate is then recognized by specific subunits of the 19S RP of the 26S proteasome where it is de-ubiquitinated, unfolded by the ATPases and translocated into the 20S catalytic chamber for degradation. Recently a ubiquitin-independent proteasomal degradation pathway has been described whereby intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) such as p53, c-FOS, BimEL (8-10) and others can be degraded by the 20S proteasome in a process that does not involve active ubiquitin tagging. The 20S proteasome has been also shown to be activated by the REG (11S) family members inducing the degradation of SRC-3, p21 and other proteins. Thus, there are at least two distinct proteasomal protein degradation pathways each regulated by the distinct 26S and 20S proteasomal complexes.
The UPS as a regulator of cell death has been a tempting target for drug development for many pathologies specifically cancer (14-16). Various tumors have been shown to express high levels of proteasomal subunits and higher proteasomal activity (17-19). A number of studies suggests that cancer cells exhibit high sensitivity to proteasomal inhibition (20). Sensitivity to proteasomal inhibition was specifically shown efficient in lymphoid malignancies, particularly multiple myeloma where the proteasomal inhibitor Brotezamide (VELCADE, PS-341) was approved for therapy (21-23). Proteasome inhibitors were also shown efficient in various screens of solid and hematologic tumors (24, 25) and currently there is an increasing number of cancers that are in the process of clinical trials with different proteasomal inhibitors (26). Proteasomal inhibitors such as Brotezamide, MG132, and β-lapachone inhibit the 20S proteasome (27) therefore these drugs inhibit the entire proteasomal activity including the 26S (that is comprised of the 20S and 19S) and the 20S proteasomal complexes.
Hiroshi Y et al [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(1):29-38] teaches that targeting the ATPase subunits of the 19S regulatory complex in the proteasome enhances spindle poison—mediated cell killing in cancer cells.
Other background art includes Byrne A. et al. ECR 2010; 316:258-271 and International Patent Application WO2009117196.


The invention provides a steel plate reinforcing sheet having light weight and thin layer, providing sufficient adhesion and reinforcing effect to a steel plate, and having excellent workability. In the steel plate reinforcing sheet comprising a restricting layer and a resin layer, a curing composition is first prepared by mixing rubber components comprising diene-based rubber and rubber having a vinyl group in its side chain, with a cross-linking agent capable of reacting with these rubber components, and then by kneading the mixture. Thereafter, the curing composition thus prepared is rolled by molding, to form a resin layer. Then, the resin layer thus formed is adhesively bonded to the restricting layer, to produce a steel plate reinforcing sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steel plate reinforcing sheet and, more particularly, to a steel plate reinforcing sheet used to be adhesively bonded to steel plates used in a variety of industrial machines such as transportation machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a steel plate for a shell of an automotive vehicle is manufactured in the form of a thin sheet having a thickness of generally in the range of 0.6 mm to 0.8 mm, for reduction in weight of a vehicle body. As is known, a steel plate reinforcing sheet comprising a restricting layer and a resin layer is adhesively bonded to the inside of the steel plate, to cure the resin layer, for the purpose of reinforcing the steel plate.
Generally, in such a steel plate, the steel plate reinforcing sheet is subjected to electrodeposition coating after the steel plate reinforcing sheet is adhesively bonded to it, so that the resin layer is cured by heating at the time of drying the coating.
This steel plate reinforcing sheet is known that a sheet-like resin layer formed of a thermally curable resin composition is laminated on a restricting layer formed of glass fiber cloth, thin metal sheet, and the like. As the thermally curable resin composition, epoxy resin composition (Cf. JP Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publication No. Hei 8-325349), and rubber-epoxy composition containing styrene-butadiene rubber, epoxy resin, and curing agent thereof (Cf. JP Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publication No. 11-246827) are proposed.
When these steel plate reinforcing sheets have a resin layer formed of epoxy resin composition, the reinforcing effect can be sufficient. However, the epoxy resin is a semisolid resin with low molecular weight, which is therefore highly temperature-sensitive. This property has disadvantages that use of the epoxy resin in a resin layer makes it difficult to peel off the resin layer from exfoliate paper, and also leads to low adhesion of the resin layer to the steel plate. In addition, there are disadvantages related to workability such as overflow of resin during storage and resin dripping during heat-curing.
On the other hand, in the rubber-epoxy composition, it is difficult to stably mix styrene-butadiene rubber with epoxy resin and is likely to produce a bloom of the epoxy resin. This makes the resin layer surface tacky, which induces the disadvantage of reduction in workability and handleability.
The steel plate reinforcing sheet whose resin layer consists of rubber-based material only has good workability but has low strength. In order to achieve satisfactory reinforcing effect, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the resin layer. However, such increase is likely to prevent the weight saving in the structure and cost reduction.


In an open-bit-line type COB structure DRAM, two adjacent rectangular device formation regions included in two different but adjacent rectangular device formation region arrays, respectively, are staggered in a bit line direction along the long side of each rectangular device formation region by one third (2 F) of a pitch (6 F) of the rectangular device formation region in the bit line direction. Two local interconnections connected through local contact holes to source/drain diffused layers formed in opposite end portions of each rectangular device formation region, are provided in parallel to a word line. Bit lines each connected through a bit contact hole to a source/drain diffused layer formed in a center portion of each rectangular device formation region, are located with a pitch of 2 F. A capacitor formed at a level higher than that of the bit line is connected through a capacitor contact hole to an end positioned above a field oxide film, of a corresponding local interconnection. Thus, the cell size of the open-bit-line type COB structure memory cells can be made to 6 F.sup.2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory, and more specifically to a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) composed of open-bit-line type capacitor-over-bit-line (COB) structure memory cells.
2. Description of Related Art
A DRAM composed of one-transistor one-capacitor memory cells has increased its storage capacity by four times every three years (alternation of generations) due to advancement in micro-fabrication technology, device technology and circuit technology. In addition, the memory cell size has been reduced to about 40% of the memory cell of the preceding generation. With the reduction of the memory cell size, it is necessary to correspondingly reduce the size of various elements constituting the memory cell, and actually, the transistor has been reduced in size in accordance with a so called scaling rule. However, in order to ensure a satisfactory S/N ratio and a higher immunity to soft error, the capacitor of each DRAM memory cell is required to have a storage capacitance of not smaller than a certain constant value. Therefore, it is not allowed to reduce the storage capacitance in proportion with the reduction of the memory cell area in a plan view. This is a large problem.
In order to obtain a large storage capacitance even if the capacitor area is reduced in a plan view projected on a principal surface of a semiconductor substrate, a stacked capacitor has been already reduced in practice, in which a storage node electrode constituting a lower plate of the capacitor is constructed in a three-dimensional structure, namely, to have a substantial height, and a side surface of the storage node electrode is effectively utilized. The initially proposed memory cell using the stacked capacitor was so constructed that the capacitor is formed above the transistor and a bit line is formed over the capacitor.
However, this structure has the following two problems: First, if the height of the storage node is elevated to increase a side surface area for the purpose of increasing the storage capacitance, the depth of a contact hole for interconnecting between a bit line and one of a pair of source/drain diffused regions of the associated transistor (bit contact hole) becomes large, with the result that it becomes difficult to form the contact hole. In addition, since a step difference in an insulator film covering the capacitor becomes large, it also becomes difficult to form the bit line. Secondly, the area of the capacitor projected in the plan view, used within the memory cell area, inevitably becomes small by the area of the bit line contact.
In order to overcome the above mentioned problems, T. Ema et al, "3-Dimensional Stacked Capacitor Cell For 16M and 64M DRAMs", 1988 International Electron Devices Meeting Technical Digest, pages 592-595, reported the so called COB structure memory cell in which the capacitor is formed over the bit line. In this report, a T-shaped device formation region is confined on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a bit line is connected through a bit contact hole to one of a pair of source/drain diffused regions, formed in a center bar portion of the T-shaped device formation region, and over the bit line there is formed a capacitor which is connected through a capacitor contact hole to the other of the pair of source/drain diffused regions, positioned at one of opposite ends of the T-shaped device formation region. The memory cell of the structure proposed in this report is disadvantageous in that a junction capacitance in the one source/drain diffused region connected to the bit line becomes large, so that a parasite capacitance of the bit line correspondingly becomes large.
Japanese Patent Application Pre-examination Publication No. JP-A-03-072673 and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202, (the content of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application) proposed to reduce the parasite capacitance of the bit line by providing a local interconnection.
Now, the first prior art semiconductor memory disclosed by JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C and FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C are layout diagrams at different levels, and FIG. 1A illustrates a positional relation between a device formation region, a word line and a local interconnection. FIG. 1B illustrates a positional relation between the local interconnection and a bit line, and FIG. 1C illustrates a positional relation between the bit line and a capacitor storage node (capacitor lower plate). FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line B--B in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C.
A field oxide film 402 is formed in a device isolation region on a principal surface of a P-type silicon substrate 401, so that a number of rectangular device formation regions 403A confined by the field oxide film 402 are formed on the principal surface of the P-type silicon substrate 401. The rectangular device formation regions 403A are arranged to form a plurality of rectangular device formation region arrays extending along a long side of each rectangular device formation region 403A, and two adjacent rectangular device formation regions included in two different but adjacent rectangular device formation region arrays, respectively, are staggered by one half of a pitch of the rectangular device formation region in a direction along the long side of each rectangular device formation region 403A. In each rectangular device formation region 403A, two transistors are formed.
In each rectangular device formation region 403A, a gate oxide film 404 is formed on the principal surface of the P-type silicon substrate 401, and two word lines 405A each acting as a gate electrode are formed on the gate oxide film 404. Each word line 405A extends generally orthgonally to the long side of each rectangular device formation region 403A, while depicting a slight zigzag line. In addition, in each rectangular device formation region 403A, one N-type diffused layer 406A and two N-type diffused layers 406B are formed in self alignment with the word lines 405A and the field oxide film 402.
A local interconnection 409A connected through a local contact hole 408A to a corresponding N-type diffused layer 406B, extends to pass over the word line 405A adjacent to the rectangular device formation region 403A, and then to reach the field oxide film 402. Two local interconnections 409A connected to the two N-type diffused layers 406B, respectively, formed in each one rectangular device formation region 403A, extend in an opposite direction to each other, at a desired angle to the long side of each rectangular device formation region 403A.
A bit line 413A connected to the N-type diffused layer 406A through a bit contact hole 411A (which is filed with a contact plug 412), is formed at a level higher than those of the word lines 405A and the local interconnection 409A, and is located to extend along the rectangular device formation region array 403A. Furthermore, a capacitor storage node 417 (constituting a capacitor lower plate) connected to a corresponding local interconnection 409A through a capacitor contact hole 415 which is positioned for example above the field oxide film 402 and which reaches one end of the corresponding local interconnection 409A, is formed at a level higher than those of the word lines 405A and the bit lines 413A. A surface of the capacitor storage node 417 is coated with a capacitor dielectric film (not shown) and further covered with a cell plate 419 (constituting a capacitor upper plate).
Another prior art memory cell using the local interconnection was disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Pre-examination Publication No. JP-A-04-279055 (an English abstract of which is available from the Japanese Patent Office, and the content of the English abstract of JP-A-04-279055 is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application). This second prior art memory cell will be described with reference to FIG. 3, which is a plan view illustrating a layout pattern of the second prior art memory cell, with the bit line being partially removed out for showing a layout structure under the bit line.
Rectangular device formation regions 403B confined on a principal surface of a semiconductor device are arranged to form a plurality of rectangular device formation region arrays extending along a long side of each rectangular device formation region 403B, and two adjacent rectangular device formation regions included in two different but adjacent rectangular device formation region arrays, respectively, are staggered by one half of a pitch of the rectangular device formation region in a direction along the long side of each rectangular device formation region 403A. In each rectangular device formation region 403A, two transistors are formed. On a gate oxide film formed inn each rectangular device formation region 403A, two word lines 405B each acting as a gate electrode are formed, each of which extends generally orthgonally to the long side of each rectangular device formation region 403B.
Differently from the local interconnection in the first prior art memory cell disclosed in JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202, a local interconnection 409B of this second prior art memory cell is connected through a local contact hole 408B to a diffused layer formed in the rectangular device formation region 403B between the two word lines 405B. The local interconnection 409B extends over the device formation region 403B, in parallel to the word line 405B. A bit line 413B connected through a bit contact hole 411B to a portion of the local interconnection 409B extending over a device isolation region which confines the rectangular device formation regions 403B, is formed in parallel to the device formation region arrays. Opposite end portions 424 of each rectangular device formation region 403B, which do not overlap the bit line 413B, are connected to corresponding capacitors (not shown), respectively.
Here, the cell size of the DRAM memory cell is expressed by F (Feature-size) which is defined as being one half of the pitch of the word line. On the other hand, the DRAM memory cell disclosed in JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202, is of a turned-back bit line type, and the DRAM memory cell disclosed in JP-A-04-279055 is of an open-bit-line type. In the prior art DRAM memory cell disclosed in JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202, by adopting the rectangular device formation regions and the local interconnections, the pitch of the rectangular device formation regions is 8 F in a bit line direction (along the long side of the rectangular device formation regions) and 2 F in a word line direction. Therefore, the cell size of the memory cell of the turned-back bit line type the DRAM memory cell disclosed in JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202 can be reduced to 8 F.sup.2 which is a target value in this type memory cell. However, this value is larger, by 2 F.sup.2, than 6 F.sup.2 which is a target value in the open-bit-line type DRAM memory cell as disclosed in JP-A-04-279055.
The open-bit-line type memory cell is advantageous over the turned-back bit line type memory cell in that the cell size can be reduced in comparison with the turned-back bit line type memory cell. In the open-bit-line type memory cell, the pitch of device formation regions (in each of which two memory cells are formed) is 6 F in the bit line direction. Therefore, if the pitch of the memory cells in the word line direction can be made to 2 F, the memory cell size can be made to 6 F.sup.2. In a cell array composed of conventional open-bit-line type memory cells having the device formation regions located with the bit line direction pitch of 6 F, no stagger exists between two adjacent device formation regions which are included in different but adjacent device formation region arrays, and therefore, the spacing between two word lines passing over two adjacent device formation regions included in the same device formation region array, becomes 3 F, and an empty device formation region exists between these word lines and in parallel to these word lines.
Because of this reason, even if the rectangular device formation regions and the local interconnections as disclosed in JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202 or JP-A-04-279055 are adopted, since it is necessary to take into consideration a spacing (=F) between local interconnections, the pitch of the memory cell in the word line direction becomes 3 F (not 2 F) similarly to the open-bit-line type memory cell having the T-shaped device formation region, with the result that the cell size of the memory cell becomes 9 F.sup.2 which is greatly larger than 6 F.sup.2 which the target value in the open-bit-line type memory cell. Because of the above mentioned circumstance, the DRAM composed of the open-bit-line type memory cells has not adopted the means proposed by JP-A-03-072673 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,202 or JP-A-04-279055, and various efforts and studies are being made to approach the word line direction pitch of the memory cells to 2 F. However, this has not yet been realized.

Dram composed of open-bit-line type capacitor-over-bit-line structure memory cells


Provided are a memory controller that selectively changes a frequency of a memory clock signal, a smart card including the memory controller, and a method of controlling a read operation of a memory. The memory controller includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory interface, and a frequency change controller. The CPU outputs a read command signal in response to a data read request signal and outputs a write command signal in response to a data write request signal. The memory interface outputs a plurality of control signals in response to one of the read command signal and the write command signal, generates a memory clock signal based on a system clock signal, and changes a frequency of the memory clock signal in response to a frequency change control signal. The frequency change controller outputs the frequency change control signal in response to the plurality of control signals and the memory clock signal. The memory controller, the smart card including the memory controller, and the method of controlling a read operation of a memory prevent the memory from outputting erroneous data when the memory is operated at a high frequency.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a memory device, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a read operation of a memory device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
With the development of semiconductor manufacturing technology, a system-on-chip (SOC), in which a plurality of system chips are integrated into a single chip, has been proposed. The SOC typically includes a memory that stores an operating system (OS) program or data that is generated when the OS program is executed.
In general, a memory includes a memory cell array having a matrix structure. The memory receives a row address signal, a column address signal, and a data read control signal or a data write control signal from a memory controller. The memory outputs data of a corresponding memory cell or writes data to a corresponding memory cell in response to the data read control signal or the data write control signal. Furthermore, the memory reads or writes data in synchronization with a memory clock signal received from the memory controller. The memory controller receives a system clock signal and generates the memory clock signal. The system clock signal is used in the memory controller and a system including the memory controller while the memory clock signal is used only in the memory. The system corresponds to an SOC including the memory controller and the memory.
An example of a memory controller that generates a memory clock signal from a system clock signal and provides the memory clock signal to a plurality of memories is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,096, entitled "Controller for a synchronous DRAM that maximizes throughput by allowing memory requests and commands to be issued out of order".
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional memory controller 10 and a memory 20. Referring to FIG. 1, the memory controller 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11 and a memory interface 12 connected to the memory 20. The CPU 11 and the memory 20 are also connected to a data bus 30.
A method of controlling a read operation of the memory 20 with the conventional memory controller 10 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of signals used in the read operation of the memory 20.
In FIG. 2, a row address signal RADD, a column address signal CADD, and a pre-charge control signal PGN are required for the reading of a memory cell of the memory 20. A memory clock signal MCLK is identical to a system clock signal SCLK.
Referring to FIG. 2, a time interval "D1", during which a sense amplifier control signal SEN is enabled, must be longer than a time interval "C" required for an effective data signal to be output from a memory cell. Furthermore, to output the effective data signal from the memory cell, a cell transistor must allow a sufficient cell current to flow. For this purpose, a wordline WL1 connected to a gate of the cell transistor must be sufficiently activated to reach a set voltage level.
As a time interval "E" required for the wordline WL1 to be sufficiently activated to reach the set voltage level increases, the interval "C" increases. Consequently, a time interval required for a bit line sense amplifier to amplify a data signal to evaluate a data value also increases. As a result, the interval "E" has the largest effect on the read operation of the memory 20.
As further shown in FIG. 2, the time interval "E" appears in a time interval "A1", during which the row address signal is shifted, but does not appear in a time interval "A2", during which the row address signal is not shifted. Thus, a read speed of the memory 20 is reduced more during the interval "A1" than the interval "A2". Accordingly, when the memory 20 must operate at a high frequency erroneous data may be output. For example, when the frequency of the memory clock signal MCLK is increased during the interval "A1", an enable interval of a chip select signal CSN becomes shorter. Thus, a time interval "B1" and the time interval "D1" also become shorter. However, the interval "E" is not varied but is uniformly maintained so that the interval "C" becomes longer than the interval "D1". Consequently, the memory 20 outputs erroneous data.
To prevent the memory 20 from outputting erroneous data when operating at a high frequency, a conventional memory interface divides the system clock signal SCLK to generate a memory clock signal MCLK having a frequency lower than the frequency of the system clock signal SCLK, as shown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the enable interval of the chip select signal CSN is longer and the interval "E" required for the wordline WL to be sufficiently activated and the interval "C" required for an effective data signal to be output from the memory cell can be secured. In a system in which the read operation of the memory 20 is frequently executed, however, the performance of the system deteriorates as the frequency of the memory clock signal MCLK decreases.

Memory controller that selectively changes frequency of a memory clock signal, a smart card including the same, and a method of controlling a read operation of a memory


The present application relates to perfume raw materials, perfumes, perfume delivery systems and consumer products comprising such perfume raw materials, perfumes and/or such perfume delivery systems, as well as processes for making and using such perfume raw materials, perfume delivery systems and consumer products. The perfumes disclosed herein expand the perfume communities' options.

Consumer products may comprise one or more perfumes and/or perfume delivery systems that can provide a desired scent to such product and/or a situs that is contacted with such a product and/or mask an undesirable odor. While current perfumes and perfume delivery systems provide desirable odors, consumers continue to seek products that have scents that may be longer lasting and that are tailored to their individual desires—unfortunately consumers become habituated to perfume raw materials (PRMs) and perfumes. As a result, ever increasing amounts of such PRMs and/or perfumes are required to achieve the same effect or the consumer must switch to a different product and/or perfume for a significant period of time to reverse such habituation.
While not being bound by theory, Applicants believe that habituation is a phenomenon that is grounded in the consumer's physiology, in that the body is attempting to avoid having its sense smell from being overwhelmed by any one stimulus after repeated chronic exposure of said stimulus. This defense mechanism is likely a primal, darwanistic defense mechanism. In short, Applicants recognized that the source of habituation problem likely laid in evolution. As a result, Applicants looked to odors that may be associated with danger as Applicants believed that the evolutionary path of those who became habituated to such odors would have been cut short. Surprisingly, Applicants found that certain chemical moieties that are associated with conditions that may be detrimental to or important in sustaining life, are not subject to the habituation phenomenon. Based on this recognition, Applicants identified perfume raw materials, and developed perfumes, perfume delivery systems and consumer products comprising such perfume raw materials, perfumes and/or such perfume delivery systems, as well as processes for making and using such perfume raw materials, perfume delivery systems and consumer products that are not as susceptible to habituation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for operating in a borehole penetrating a formation is disclosed. The method includes disposing in the borehole an assembly comprising a load-bearing and oil-disintegrable tool comprising a polymeric composite; performing a downhole operation; and disintegrating the load-bearing and oil-disintegrable tool with a hydrocarbon fluid. The polymeric composite comprises an oil-disintegrable polymer which is one or more of the following: a polydicyclopentadiene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polysulfone, or a high density polyethylene, the polyurethane being a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-modified polyurethane, a lauryl methacrylate graft polyurethane copolymer, a divinylbenzene crosslinked polyurethane, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

Certain downhole operations involve placement of articles in a downhole environment, where the articles perform their functions, and are then removed. For example, ball/ball seat assemblies are often used to seal off lower zones in a borehole in order to carry out a hydraulic fracturing process (also referred to in the art as "fracking") to break up reservoir rock. After the fracking operation, the balls or ball seats are then removed to allow fluid flow to or from the fractured rock.
To facilitate removal, such articles may be formed of a material that reacts with a circulation fluid so that they need not be physically removed by, for example, a mechanical operation, but may instead corrode or disintegrate upon contacting with the circulation fluid. One challenge for such self-disintegrable tools is that at the end of hydraulic fracturing operations, sand and debris can settle around the balls/ball seats, making it difficult for the circulation fluid to reach these articles. Thus, the balls/ball seats can fail to disintegrate at the desired rate, delaying the start of well production. Accordingly, advances in removable tools and systems are accordingly well received by the industry.

Disintegrable downhole tools and method of use


Procedures performed prior to convolutional interleaving of 8VSB digital television signals restrict the alphabet of symbols in novel methods of generating trellis-coded digital television signals that include more robust symbol coding using a restricted alphabet of symbols selected from a full 8VSB symbol alphabet consisting of −7, −5, −3, −1, +1, +3, +5 and +7 normalized modulation levels superposed on a background modulation level. Certain of these novel procedures generate pseudo-2VSB or P-2VSB robust symbol coding with a restricted alphabet of symbols consisting of −7, −5, +5 and +7 normalized modulation levels superposed on a background modulation level. Others of these novel procedures generate prescribed-coset-pattern-modulation or PCPM robust symbol coding intermixing two restricted alphabets of symbols according to a prescribed pattern. One of the two restricted alphabets of symbols used in PCPM consists of −3, −1, +5 and +7 normalized modulation levels superposed on a background modulation level. The other of the two restricted alphabets of symbols used in PCPM consists of −7, −5, +1 and +3 normalized modulation levels superposed on a background modulation level.

The ⅔ trellis coding used in 8VSB DTV broadcasting already restricts the 8VSB symbol alphabet, which includes normalized modulation levels of −7, −5, −3, −1, +1, +3, +5 and +7. 8VSB without ⅔ trellis coding would have a symbol-error-distance distance of two normalized modulation levels. The ⅔ trellis coding can be exploited to increase the symbol-error-distance in effect, so an error of at least four normalized modulation levels is required to cause an error in decision. A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of at least 14.5 dB is required for the trellis coded 8 VSB DTV signal to exceed the threshold of visibility (TOV) of errors in the received DTV signal.
Certain ways of further restricting the 8VSB symbol alphabet to increase robustness of over-the-air transmission were specifically described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/078,933 titled "ATSC DIGITAL TELEVISION SYSTEM" and filed 19 Feb. 2002 by D. Birru, V. R. Gaddam and M. Ghosh. The 5 Dec. 2002 publication number is 2002-0181581, and the application is assigned to Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V. This Philips application describes hierarchical 8VSB modulation, trellis-coded 4VSB modulation, and pseudo-2VSB (P-2VSB) modulation.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/078,933 teaches that P-2VSB modulation can be generated by choosing the Y2 bit in each two-bit symbol supplied to the ⅔ trellis encoder in an 8VSB DTV transmitter to be the same as the X1 bit. This restricts the 8VSB symbol alphabet to consist of only those symbols corresponding to normalized modulation levels of −7, −5, +5 and +7. In the resulting pseudo-2VSB or P-2VSB modulation a symbol-error-distance of at least ten normalized modulation levels is required to cause an error in decision between the 00 and the 11 two-bit symbols. Presuming the transmitted data to be random, P-2VSB modulation has a higher ratio of average power to peak power than 8VSB modulation. When P-2VSB signal is time-division multiplexed with 8VSB signal, there is a need to cut back on DTV transmitter modulation levels to stay within the bounds of average power permitted to the particular broadcast station. The reduction in power reduces the strength of the 8VSB signal to some degree. The loss of 8VSB signal strength becomes objectionably large as the proportion of P-2VSB signal time-division multiplexed with the 8VSB signal is increased beyond a few percent.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/078,933 teaches that trellis-coded 4VSB modulation can be generated by choosing the Y2 bit in each two-bit symbol supplied to a ⅔ trellis encoder in an 8VSB DTV transmitter to be the same as the Z0 bit generated by the ⅔ trellis encoder. This results in ⅓ trellis encoding that restricts the 8VSB symbol alphabet so as to consist of only those symbols corresponding to normalized modulation levels of −7, −3, +3 and +7. A symbol-error distance of at least four normalized modulation levels is required to cause a simple data slicer to make an error in decision as to the received Z1 information bit. Presuming the transmitted data to be random, the trellis-coded 4VSB modulation has a ratio of average power to peak power that is nominally the same as 8VSB modulation has.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/078,933 describes P-2VSB and trellis-coded 4VSB modulation being generated subsequent to the convolutional interleaving of data segments that follows Reed-Solomon coding. Such procedure undesirably complicates the time-division multiplexing of P-2VSB and trellis-coded 4VSB signal with ordinary 8VSB signal. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/733,645 filed 12 Dec. 2003 by A. L. R. Limberg and titled "ROBUST SIGNAL TRANSMISSIONS IN DIGITAL TELEVISION BROADCASTING" was published 25 Nov. 2004 with publication number 2004-0237024 and issued 27 Mar. 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,685. That published patent application describes P-2VSB being generated subsequent to data randomization, but prior to the convolutional interleaving of data segments that follows Reed-Solomon coding. Such procedure simplifies the time-division multiplexing of P-2VSB with ordinary 8VSB signal, since interleaving can be done on a data-segment-by-data-segment basis. This facilitates assembly of a program originating from more than one source. Switching among several TV cameras is simpler, and so is switching between live TV and recorded TV. Editing recorded TV is simpler.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/955,212 filed 30 Sep. 2004 by A. L. R. Limberg and titled "TIME-DEPENDENT TRELLIS CODING FOR MORE ROBUST DIGITAL TELEVISION SIGNALS" was published 7 Apr. 2005 with publication number 2005-0074074. That publication in its entirety is incorporated herein by reference. That published patent application describes PCMP (prescribed coset pattern modulation) for DTV signals, describing specific types of PCPM as well as describing PCPM generically. In PCMP the 8VSB symbol alphabet is restricted in one of two prescribed ways for each symbol. The Y2 bit in each two-bit symbol supplied to the ⅔ trellis encoder in an 8VSB DTV transmitter is chosen in accordance with a prescribed value to restrict the symbol alphabet. If the prescribed Y2 bit is ONE, the symbol alphabet is restricted to a first coset of −3, −1, +5 and +7 normalized modulation levels. If the prescribed Y2 bit is ZERO, the symbol alphabet is restricted to a second coset of −7, −5, +1 and +3 normalized modulation levels. The pattern of prescribed Y2 bits is chosen so that the ratio of average power to peak power for PCPM is nominally the same as for 8VSB modulation. A symbol-error-distance of at least six normalized modulation levels is required to cause a simple data slicer to make an error in decision as to the received Z2 information bit.
Published patent application No. 2005-0074074 describes PCPM being generated subsequent to data randomization, but prior to the convolutional interleaving of data segments that follows Reed-Solomon coding. This procedure facilitates the time-division multiplexing of PCPM signal with ordinary 8VSB signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,209 titled "METHOD OF ESTIMATING TRELLIS ENCODED SYMBOLS UTILIZING SIMPLIFIED TRELLIS DECODING" issued 19 Jun. 1998 to S. N. Hulyalkar, T. J. Endres, T. A. Schaffer and C. H. Strolle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,209 describes a "smart" data slicer that takes into consideration the Z0 bit predicted by trellis code when making a symbol decision. The symbol-error-distance of 8VSB signal is at least two normalized modulation levels with a simple data slicer. Theoretically, a smart data slicer can double the symbol-error-distance of 8VSB signal to four normalized modulation levels. A smart data slicer can be modified such that in theory a symbol-error-distance of at least twelve normalized modulation levels is required to cause an error in decision as to the received Z1 information bit in a P-2VSB signal. A smart data slicer can be modified such that in theory a symbol-error-distance of at least eight normalized modulation levels is required to cause an error in decision as to the received Z2 information bit in a PCPM signal. A smart data slicer is not particularly advantageous when symbol decoding trellis-coded 4VSB modulation.
The entirety of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/119,662 titled "DIGITAL TELEVISION SIGNALS USING LINEAR BLOCK CODING" filed 2 May 2005 by A. L. R. Limberg is included herein by reference. Application Ser. No. 11/119,662 describes linear block coding of digital data to be transmitted using PCPM. This application, now abandoned, was published 2 Nov. 2006 with publication number 2006-0245505.

Transmissions with reduced code rate in 8VSB digital television


A cable-to-board arrangement configured to nondetachably couple wires of a cable to surface-mounted pads on a circuit board. The cable-to-board arrangement includes a first nonconductive housing and a flexible board having thereon a plurality of conductive traces. The conductive traces have first ends and second ends opposite the first ends with the first ends being electrically coupled to the wires. The first nonconductive housing encapsulates a first portion of the flexible board including the first ends. The cable-to-board arrangement further includes a plurality of conductive legs configured for coupling with the surface-mounted pads on the board. The plurality of conductive legs are electrically coupled to the second ends of the conductive traces. There is also included a second nonconductive housing encapsulating a second portion of the flexible board including the second ends of the conductive traces and a portion of the conductive legs. Further, there is included an RF partition disposed proximate said flexible board for reducing RF emission from the circuit board in the direction toward the first non-conductive housing.

The present invention relates to arrangements for coupling a cable to a circuit board. More particularly, the present invention relates to non-detachable cable-to-board arrangements that offer improved strain relief, reduced thickness, improved RF shielding, and simplified manufacture.
Modem electronic equipments such as computers or consumer/commercial electronics typically include one or more circuit boards on which electronic devices are populated. To furnish power and/or signals to the circuit board, one or more cables having therein one or more wires may be coupled to the circuit board. There are in the current art many techniques for connecting the wires of a cable to the circuit board. One simple technique involves manually separating, aligning, and directly soldering the individual wires of a cable with individual pads on the circuit board. There are, however, many disadvantages with this approach. By way of example, the manual separation, alignment, and soldering of individual wires with individual pads on the circuit board is a laborious and time-consuming, and therefore expensive, process. Further, as the size of the circuit board shrinks, the pads themselves and the distance that separates one pad from its neighbor also shrink, making it difficult to accurately align and solder the individual wires with the miniaturized pads. Still further, the electrical connections formed by this method tend to be unreliable since the soldered joints and the pads themselves are subjected to the mechanical stress that is generated as the cable is flexed and/or pulled during use.
To improve the mechanical strength of the coupling and improve manufacturability, connectors may be interposed between the cable and the circuit board. FIGS. 1A and 1B show a prior art technique for coupling a cable 102 to a circuit board 104 through a cable-side connector 106 and a board-side connector 108. Cable-side connector 106 is typically a plastic connector having therein a plurality of contacts. The contacts in cable-side connector 106 are soldered or crimped onto individual wires of cable 102. Similarly, board-side connector 108 includes a plurality of corresponding contacts, which are electrically coupled with pads of circuit board 104. The contacts of board-side connector 108 are configured to mate with the contacts of cable-side connector 106 when cable-side connector 106 is inserted into board-side connector 108 to form the desired electrical connections.
To relieve stress on the connectors, cable-side connector 106 may be provided with a strain-relief portion which reduces the stress experienced by the connectors when the cable is suddenly flexed during use. Cable-side connector 106 is also shown having a latch 110, which mates with a corresponding depression built into board-side connector 108 when the connectors are coupled. Latch 110 prevents the connectors from being inadvertently pulled apart when cable 102 is inadvertently pulled away from the circuit board during use. On the other hand, the connectors may be separated if latch 110 is appropriately depressed or manipulated prior to pulling the connectors apart.
Although the detachable connector arrangement of FIGS. 1A and 1B represents an improvement over the above-discussed method of simply soldering the wires directly to the pads of the circuit board, there are also disadvantages. By way of example, the detachable arrangement of FIGS. 1A and 1B requires two connectors, which increases cost. The use of a board-side connector 108 also increases the thickness of the cable-to-board arrangement, rendering it difficult to contain the circuit board in thin cases. Further, the mating contacts within cable-side connector 106 and/or board-side connector 108 tend to be deformed, oxidized and/or contaminated with dirt over time, thereby increasing the contact resistance or in many cases, failing to maintain the electrical connections altogether. Additionally, after cable-side connector 106 is mated with board-side connector 108, there is little flexibility in the vertical direction (i.e., in the direction orthogonal to the plane of the circuit board) beyond what the strain relief may offer. The rigidity of this coupling may sometimes causes board-side connector 108 to be detached from circuit board 104 when cable 102 is flexed. This detachment may occur as the contacts of the board-side connector are separated from the pads of the circuit board. More likely, the detachment may occur as the pads themselves are lifted from the surface of the circuit board, which may break the connections between the pads and the conductive traces on the circuit board.
To address the deficiencies associated with the detachable arrangement of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the connectors may of course be made non-detachable. FIGS. 2A/2B illustrate another arrangement for coupling wires of a cable to pads on a circuit board wherein the coupling between the connectors is made non-detachable by the user to increase reliability. With reference to FIGS. 2A/2B, circuit board 104 is again shown connected to board-side connector 108. Cable 102 is coupled to strained relief 200, which is interpose between an opening in case 206 and cable 102 to offer some protection to components within case 206 from mechanical stress when cable 102 is flexed. Wires 204 of cable 102 is coupled to a cable-side connector 106, typically by a soldering or crimping process. With case 206 open, cable-side connector 106 is inserted in board-side connector 108 and tested to ensure that the proper electrical connections are made. Afterward, case 206 is closed, essentially preventing user access to the connectors to render them non-detachable from the user's perspective.
Although the arrangement of FIGS. 2A/2B addresses many of the reliability issues associated with detachable connectors, there are also disadvantages. By way of example, the arrangement of FIGS. 2A/2B requires the use of a board-side connector 108, which unnecessarily increases manufacturing cost. Further, board-side connector 108 and/or cable-side connector 106 are physical apparatus with nontrivial heights. As electronic equipment becomes smaller and the thickness of case 206 decreases, these connectors may not fit properly within case 206. By way of example, the circuit board of PC cards (also known as PCMCIA cards) are encapsulated in shells or cases that may be as thin as 5 mm. In many cases, the use of these connectors causes bulges in the housing of the case or prevents the closing of the case altogether. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that individual wires 204 typically need to have some nontrivial minimum length for handling during the crimping or soldering operation that couples wires 204 onto cable-side connector 106. The wires 204 may then need to be coiled within case 206 prior to closing the case, further exacerbating the case protrusion problem.
Additionally, it is found that prior art arrangements fail to adequately shield the circuitries internal of the case halves (i.e., within the shell), thereby allowing electromagnetic emission to emanate therefrom through gaps or openings in the shell. With reference to FIG. 1, for example, although the board-side connector is present in the shell opening 118 where the board-side connector is disposed, a substantial portion of the board-side connector is formed of a non-metallic material, which provides poor RF shielding. Side 120 of the case where the board-side connector is disposed is also typically the side exposed to the outside world for access to the board-side connector. Thus, poor RF shielding along this side of the case (e.g., side 120 in FIG. 1B) tends to be more detrimental to the overall acceptability of the electronic device from an electromagnetic emission standpoint.
In view of the foregoing, there are desired improved cable-to-board arrangements that offer improved strain relief, reduced thickness, improved RF shielding and ease of manufacture.

Cable-to-board arrangements for enhanced RF shielding


The invention relates to the control of the temperature of recirculated exhaust gas and oil, by means of the placement of a thermostat between an oil/water heat exchanger and a water/exhaust gas exchanger. The thermostat comprises a multifaceted casing (1), in which there is a tubular portion (2) having access to a chamber (7); and, at the bottom of the chamber (7), there is a smaller diameter by-pass passage (11), through which the chamber is linked to a connection duct (12) having access to the output channel (13) that is projected along the tubular projection (14), wherein the thermostatic valve is integrated to the casing (1) by being placed inside the chamber (7), along the tubular portion (2).

The present invention is directed to the application and integration of a thermostat in the recycling system of a vehicular exhaust gas recirculation (EGR system). The object of the present invention is to control the temperature of both exhaust gas and engine oil, by means of the placement of a thermostat between an oil/water heat exchanger and a water/exhaust gas exchanger, based on the most advanced technology principles, and the most modern engineering concepts, in accordance with the required norms and specifications, ensuring the best engine performance in relation to the performance and control of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere.
The gas and oil temperature control, which is achieved by balancing the cooling-liquid flow through the oil/water and exhaust gas/water coolers, also aims to avoid gas condensation, in order to facilitate the gas conduction through the pipes, heat exchanger and EGR valve, while also ensuring good engine lubrication performance and gas recycling performance, as well as the combustion and control of pollutant emissions, respectively.
Good performance of the oil cooler consists of controlling the respective oil temperature through a thermal balance and the oil heat loss and gain, thus ensuring the optimum fluid dynamic characteristics for good lubrication.
Good performance of the exhaust gas cooler consists of controlling the respective gas temperature through a thermal balance and the gas heat loss and gain, thus ensuring the fluid dynamics and thermodynamic characteristics for good combustion and control of pollutant emissions.
Thus, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a thermostat integrated to the oil exchanger set which provides economic and technical gains (i.e., better conditions of mounting capacity, functionality, durability, costs, etc.), and also takes into account the customization, since it allows the elimination of components, such as a cover, flange and sealing ring, which are substituted by the integrated thermostat of the invention.

Integration of a thermostat in the recycling system of the vehicular exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system


Interface disc for a vehicle wheel, comprising:                at least one substantially central attachment element designed to allow the said disc to be attached to a wheel;        a plurality of substantially radial arms connected to the attachment elements and extending radially outwards from a substantially central portion of the said disc as far as a substantially peripheral portion of the said disc;        an energy absorption surface collaborating with the said arms and configured to form a wall between the said substantially central portion of the disc and its substantially peripheral portion;        at least one circumferential reinforcing element collaborating with the said arms and the modulus of which is substantially higher than that of the energy absorption element.

1. Field
The present application relates to tires and in particular to a device to limit the effects caused by a rapid loss of tire pressure.
2. Description of Related Art
Tires of all types are subject to various forms of attack inflicted on them by roads: defects in the road surfacing, the presence of foreign bodies which can sometimes prove to be very aggressive, obstacles of all kinds, etc. This being the case, the risk of a tire becoming punctured during use is present everywhere and under widely varying circumstances. Such punctures may lead to very rapid loss of pressure.
In the case of tires of the passenger vehicle type, this problem has been the subject of numerous technological developments. For example, tire/rim assemblies have been developed (see, in particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,575, U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,993 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,781) which, in the event of a loss of pressure, allow the user to continue his journey at least over a minimal distance. In general, deflation warning devices are provided in vehicles equipped with such assemblies so as to alert the user to a loss of pressure. Tires in which the structure, particularly in the side walls, is strengthened in order to allow them, even in the deflated state, to carry a load substantially equivalent to their nominal load without any appreciable change in performance, at least over a minimal distance, are also known.
However, not all vehicles, and especially not all vehicles of the heavy goods vehicle type, are currently equipped with such assemblies or tires. In order to make the effects of a puncture on tires of a conventional type as little instantaneous as possible, the prior art has proposed solutions which, for example, involve placing inside each tire of the conventional type another tire of suitable dimensions so that when the tire is punctured or loses pressure, the inner tire serves to support the outer tire. Nonetheless, it remains the case that the difference in behavior between the situation in which the initial tire is inflated and the situation in which the tire is supported by an inner tire is very great (it no longer being the outer tire working but the inner tire) and this may prove to be something that the driver of the vehicle finds difficult to adapt to in such situations.
Devices placed inside the tire and which, while not being inflated during normal use, can reduce the loss of pressure in the tire when the latter is punctured are also known. The document published under reference US2002/0121325 describes a device such as this. The device comprises a toroidal tube the dimensions of which are small by comparison with the volume of the tire cavity in order to avoid as far as possible any interactions between the tire and the tube during normal operation (that is to say when the tire is inflated), this tube being provided with at least one opening to place the cavity delimited by the tube in communication with the cavity of the tire in which the tube is positioned. If the tire is punctured, the inflation pressure in the cavity delimited by the tire and the toroidal tube escapes whereas because the said tube has only a small opening, its pressure remains practically unchanged at least for long enough for the driver to get to a repair facility. The action of the pressure in the tube, the dimensions of which are appropriate to those of the tire in which it is placed, presses it against the beads of the tire with the effect of holding the beads against the rim flanges and limiting the loss of pressure in the tube.
However, while it is easy to have the tube pressed firmly against the beads in a tire with an aspect ratio (cross-sectional height/cross-sectional width) of at least 0.80, the same is not true of a tire of the kind known in English as a "low ratio" tire, that is to say in which the aspect ratio is below 0.80, because the tube, as it inflates, of necessity adopts a purely pneumatic equilibrium shape which tends to distance the said tube from the walls of the tire which it is supposed to push away in order to press them against the rim.
Finally, this tube does not make it possible to prevent the tire behavior from changing because there is a lag of some duration between the start of the loss in pressure from the cavity formed between the tire and the tube and the moment at which the tube is itself called upon to act as a support. Finally, when the tire is supported by the inflated inner tube, the geometry of the tire is quite substantially altered by comparison with the geometry that this same tire adopts when it is inflated and not punctured.


A fuel injection system for an engine having a combustion chamber, the fuel injection system in a preferred embodiment having a hydraulic actuator module with a hydraulic actuating fluid for activating a fuel injection piston with fluid in an actuating chamber of an injector defined in part by a large head, amplifying piston connected to the fuel injection piston the actuating fluid communicating with a hydraulic pulse pump driven by the pressure in the combustion chamber, the injector including a sub-module to provide a multi-pulse discharge to fuel and a discharge nozzle having an orifice with a poppet valve having a structure to provide a pulsed, conical, swirling spray of fuel.

This invention relates to general categories of an injection system which have common configurations and structural arrangements, are able to operate using the "self injection" concept, and/or the "common rail" concept, and the "multiple injection per cycle concept", particularly using the concept of "self-induced pulsations".
A general attribute that is characteristic of the embodiment using "self-induced multiple injections", is the ability to be associated with and incorporated into any existing or new injection systems.
This general attribute is enhanced by the modular structure of the preferred implementation which can be flexibly configured for different injection systems, depending on particular applications.


A signal processor such as an ADPCM decoder (28b) receives an input signal. As part of the CCITT Recommendation G.726 algorithm, ADPCM decoder (28b) processes the input signal to provide a linear reconstructed signal s.sub.r (k). When enabled, a noise detector (50) samples the reconstructed signal s.sub.r (k) once for each of a predetermined number of received samples. The noise detector (50) adds the absolute value of the reconstructed signal s.sub.r (k) to a total energy estimate. At the end of the predetermined number of samples, the noise detector (50) compares the total energy estimate to a product of a noise threshold and the predetermined number. If the total energy estimate exceeds this product, then a noise indication is provided. This calculation prevents the need for time-consuming division operation which is difficult for high-performance digital signal processors (70).

The increased density and reduced cost of integrated circuit components has made many previously impractical products commercially viable. One type of product made viable by advances in integrated circuit technology is the digital cordless telephone. A digital cordless telephone handset receives an analog speech signal via a microphone, converts the analog speech signal into a digital speech signal, compresses the digital speech signal, modulates the compressed signal at a radio frequency (RF), and transmits the modulated RF signal through an antenna. The transmitted RF signal is received by a nearby base station where it may be converted to an analog signal (or remain in digital form for digital switching equipment), and ultimately relayed to the destination telephone. When a similar signal is received from the destination telephone, the telephone signal undergoes the same process in reverse. The base station transmits a digital RF signal to the handset which is received via the antenna, demodulated, decompressed, and converted into an analog speech signal which drives a speaker in the handset.
One standard for the operation of a cordless telephone handset is the U.K. Cordless Telephone, Second Generation (CT-2) standard. A CT-2 handset receives an analog voice signal from a microphone. The voice signal is converted to digital pulse code modulation (PCM) format, processed through an adaptive differential pulse code modulation (ADPCM) encoder, and then modulated and transmitted according to the CT-2 Common Air Interface (CAI) protocol to a base station. CT-2 specifies CCITT G.721 ADPCM for the operation of the ADPCM encoder. Transmit and receive signals are sent and received to and from the base station in packets in a ping-pong fashion. CAI specifies that a part of the packet includes signalling information including such things as call setup and termination requests and handshaking information. For signal reception, a packet is received, demodulated, processed through a G.721 ADPCM decoder, converted from digital PCM to analog, and then provided to a speaker.
Both analog and digital functions are necessary in the operation of a digital cordless telephone handset. To perform the conversion from analog to PCM and from PCM to analog, a conventional integrated circuit such as the Motorola MC145554 .mu.-law PCM Codec-Filter or the Motorola MC145557 A-law PCM Codec-Filter may be used. To perform the conversion from PCM to ADPCM and from ADPCM to PCM, a conventional integrated circuit such as the Motorola MC145532 ADPCM Transcoder may be used. Both of these functions may also be combined into a single, mixed signal processing integrated circuit.
In the CT-2 cordless telephone system, the handset establishes a digital link with the base station. The link is normally maintained until the call is completed. In some cases, the link may be lost or broken between the handset and the base station during the call. For example, if the user moves the handset outside of the range of the base station, then the link may be lost. The result is that a high level of white noise is provided to the speaker due to the randomness of the received data until the broken link is detected and the noise is muted. A noise level of about 3 to 6 decibels (dB) below the maximum level may occur. The only method specified by the CAI protocol to detect link loss is to detect the absence of an expected handshake message in the signalling part of the packet. Intervals in the transmission of handshake messages may be as long as several seconds. One way to lessen the detection time is to force periodic communication between the base station and the handset, which results in a reduction in detection time to several hundred milliseconds. Even then, a user may hear a loud noise when the link is broken.

Method and apparatus for noise burst detection in a signal processor


A laminated core manufacturing method for performing rotational lamination by conveying a band-shaped material to be stamped 10 to a die apparatus to successively perform presswork, stamping out and dropping manufactured core pieces 20 into a blanking die 21 and rotating the blanking die 21 by a predetermined angle, in which a positioning mechanism for the blanking die 21, which has rotational lamination guide pins and rotational lamination guide holes 23-30, is disposed inward from both ends in a width direction of the band-shaped material to be stamped 10 and temporary holes 13-16 for the rotational lamination guide pins to be inserted are provided in the band-shaped material to be stamped 10. The structure allows downsizing of the die apparatus.

When manufacturing a laminated core by laminating individual core pieces in a die, to prevent deviation in lamination thickness of the laminated core due to thickness deviations of the respective core pieces, rotational lamination is performed by rotating a blanking die by a predetermined angle for each or a plurality of the core pieces. As a positioning mechanism for the rotatable blanking die, rotational lamination guide pins are generally used.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, rotational lamination guide holes 50 for performing the positioning by fitting with these rotational lamination guide pins (not illustrated) are provided in a blanking die 51. The rotational lamination guide pins and the rotational lamination guide holes 50 constitute the positioning mechanism. These rotational lamination guide holes 50, as illustrated in FIG. 3, are provided at positions not interfering with a band-shaped material to be stamped 52, i.e., at outer positions in a width direction of the band-shaped material to be stamped 52 (reference: Patent Literature 1). Here, numerals 53, 54, and 55 denote a lower die, pilot holes, and a stator outer circumferential die, respectively.

Manufacturing method for laminated core and manufacturing apparatus therefor


The present invention relates to a method for quantifying a therapeutic antibody in a sample of a human individual comprising a step of adding to a test sample which may contain therapeutic antibodies to be quantified a known amount of two or more labeled forms of said therapeutic antibodies.

The analysis of plasma/serum samples generated from in vivo studies of therapeutic proteins, especially of therapeutic antibodies, is of interest in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an upcoming group of therapeutic compounds used to treat various types of diseases. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) constitute a therapeutic class which knows the strongest current rate of development in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology. There are to date more than 50 mAbs marketed in various fields such as oncology, immunology, ophthalmology and cardiology. Monoclonal antibodies have provided important medical results in the treatment of several major diseases including autoimmune, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, cancer and inflammation, clinical trials.
Antibody-based therapy for cancer has become established over the past 15 years and is now one of the most successful and important strategies for treating patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The use of monoclonal antibodies for cancer therapy has achieved considerable success in recent years. Notably, antibody-drug conjugates are powerful new treatment options for lymphomas and solid tumours, and immunomodulatory antibodies have also recently achieved remarkable clinical success. The development of therapeutic antibodies requires a deep understanding of cancer serology, protein-engineering techniques, mechanisms of action and resistance, and the interplay between the immune system and cancer cells.
Among them, anti-TNF antibodies blocking the action of TNF alpha revolutionized therapy of TNF-related diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, lupus, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. By neutralizing TNF activity, anti-TNF antibodies promote mucosal healing and induce long-term remissions in patients. The main anti-TNF antibodies that are currently authorized encompass Infliximab, Etanercept, Adalimumab, Certolizumab and Golimumab.
Given the polypeptide nature of therapeutic mAbs, their high degree of homology with the endogenous human IgGs and the low concentrations at which they are expected in the plasma environment, the determination of concentrations of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in human plasma and human serum-derived samples is difficult. To establish the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of mAbs in human samples, many clinical studies are executed. Samples of these studies are most often analyzed using immunoassays. Although immunoassays are very fast and sensitive, there are also some limitations.
The conventional ELISA approach has been used for over 25 years and has several limitations. The ELISA methods require high quality custom reagents that can take several months to generate and the assay optimization can take an additional number of months. Thus, ELISA has a long assay development time which is a limitation in both the early discovery stage and the development stage of protein-based drugs. Suitable ELISA reagents and assay conditions may not be possible in some cases due to the highly custom binding requirements for each protein therapeutic. Another limitation of ELISA is that reagents may bind non-specifically to plasma/serum proteins and matrix interference is a common phenomenon. Protein quantification by mass spectrometry on the other hand is highly specific and therefore matrix interference is rare compared to ELISA. Mass spectrometry methods of protein quantification, LC-MS/MS in particular, do not require custom reagents and generally yields faster assay development. In addition, mass spectrometry is less subject to matrix interferences and provides generic assay conditions which are highly specific and can be multiplexed and automated. The high specificity of mass spectrometry measures analyte concentration using intrinsic physical chemical properties of the analyte, i.e. mass and fragmentation pattern. The robust format allows ready lab-to-lab transfer, a significant advantage for approved antibody therapies. A general methodology for quantifying proteins by mass spectrometry is trypsin digestion of the intact protein. The resulting peptides are analyzed by mass spectrometry by introducing corresponding stable isotope labeled internal standards at a fixed concentration.
Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for protein analysis and quantitation in very complex matrices like plasma/serum samples. Since peptides resulting from the digestion of the protein of interest and other plasma/serum proteins may have the same or similar nominal mass, the second dimension of MS fragmentation often provides a unique fragment of a peptide of interest.
As it can be readily understood, methods for monitoring serum concentration of therapeutic antibodies shall be highly specific, sensitive, accurate and reproducible, so as to define the appropriate dosing adjustments that should be beneficial to a patient.
The present inventors have now identified that there is a need in the art for therapeutic antibodies quantification methods that would allow an accurate quantification of these antibodies in samples collected from patients subjected to antibody treatments, which quantification methods shall be useful irrespective of the kind of therapeutic antibody that has been administered to those patients and moreover, non-sensitive to the potential presence of other therapeutic antibodies previously administered. Notably, the present inventors have identified that there is a need for all-in-one simple methods allowing to quantify therapeutic antibodies in samples of treated patients, which methods would not require that the medical practitioners select a specific kit or method according to the specific therapeutic antibody that is expected to be contained in the patient samples.

Method for quantifying therapeutic antibodies


An evaluation apparatus and a method for determining a characteristic variable for the location of a boundary surface in a container are described, wherein a multiple echo having at least the order of one is recognized in an echo curve. The characteristic variable for the location of the boundary surface in the container is determined based on the position of the multiple echo and the order of the multiple echo.

A level meter has an evaluation electronics system and a level sensor. The signal processing takes place in the evaluation electronics system. In the level sensors which operate according to the frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) transit time method or pulse transit time methods, signals, for example electromagnetic or acoustic waves, are emitted in the direction of a filling material surface. A level sensor often has an antenna for targeted transmission of the signals. After the signal is transmitted, the sensor records the reflection of the emitted signal as echo signals. Echoes may be caused by the reflections from a filling material, structures in the container interior, and the container itself. Based on the detected echo signals, which are often available as echo curves, the sensor deduces the location or position of a surface or boundary surface of at least one of the filling materials present in the container.
When acoustic or optical waves are used, the signal generated by the level meter, in particular the sensor thereof, generally freely propagates in the direction of the filling material surface to be measured. In instruments which use radar waves for measuring the filling material surface, free propagation in the direction of the medium to be measured as well as propagation inside the interior of a hollow conductor which conducts radar waves from the level meter to the medium are taken into account. In instruments which operate according to the guided microwave principle, the high-frequency signals are conducted along a waveguide toward the medium.
A portion of the arriving signals, in particular a portion of the signal energy, is reflected on the surface of the medium or bulk material to be measured, or in general on the boundary surface to be measured, and after an appropriate transit time returns to the level meter, where it may be detected by the sensor of the level meter. The unreflected signal components, in particular the unreflected component of energy contained in the signal, penetrate(s) into the medium or filling material, and propagate(s) further in the medium in the direction of the container bottom, corresponding to the physical properties of the medium. The container bottom is generally situated opposite from the level meter. The signals which penetrate into the medium are reflected on the container bottom the same way as on a boundary surface, and after passing through the medium once again, and possibly through an overlying atmosphere, return to the level meter where they may be recorded by the sensor of the level meter. The level meter receives the signals reflected at the various locations, and based on these signals determines the distance between the level meter and the filling material, according to various methods.
The book by Peter Devine entitled Radar Level Measurement: the User's Guide, ISBN 0-9538920-0-X, describes the design principle of radar level sensors.
The publication DE 10 2004 052 110 A1 describes a method for measuring a filling level in which, based on at least one property of an echo, such as a change in the transit time, a characteristic variable is determined, on the basis of which the echo is classified.
The publication DE 10 2006 019191 describes a method for determining and monitoring a filling level in a container.
The publication WO 2010/071564 A1 describes reference impedances at known positions on a waveguide in order to reflect a portion of an electromagnetic signal.
The publication US 2008/0060431 describes the determination of a filling level via a bottom reflection if the distance from the bottom is known.
The publication DE 198 24 267 A1 describes a method for recognizing useful echoes and spurious echoes, in which a measure of speed is determined for individual echoes, and the measures of speed for various echoes are compared in order to use the result of the comparison in the echo evaluation.
The publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,867 describes a method for measuring a level of a liquid in a container, in which a spurious signal, in particular a signal reflected on the bottom, is filtered out or otherwise taken into account by the measuring technique.
The publication WO 03/016835 describes a method for evaluating measuring signals by comparing a measurement curve to reference signal data.
The publication WO 2009/037000 describes the tracking of echoes using a tracking method.
The publication EP 2 166 320 A2 describes the use of a reflection of a higher mode for estimating the position of a reflection of a main mode.
However, none of these documents describes efficient measurement of a location of an interface.

Evaluation device and method for determining a characteristic variable for the location of a boundary surface in a container