The present disclosure relates to molecules which function as selective modulators (i.e., inhibitors and agonists) of the Ras-homologous (Rho) family of small GTPases and, in particular, CDC42 GTPase, and their use to treat bacterial infection including systemic infection from sources such as Staphylococcus aureus.

In the US, S. aureus is the most common etiologic agent in systemic infection and in biofilm-mediated infection of implanted devices. Treatment is complicated by the steady emergence of antibiotic resistance and by increases in elderly, immunocompromised populations, prevalence in the use of surgically implanted devices, and by the ability of both resistant and susceptible strains to persist asymptomatically months to years after the withdrawal of antimicrobial therapy. Severe infection is associated with high rates of mortality (11-43%) and with chronic, debilitating morbidities that include infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and recurrent lung infection. The current cost-of-care is estimated at $10 billion annually for treatment of infection by methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) alone.
Strategies for improving treatment options have included the creation of new antibiotics and the development of adjunctive therapeutics.

Efficacy in treating bacterial infections


An internal combustion engine system includes a reciprocating compressor for pressurizing a fluid medium and having a compressor cylinder for accommodating a compressor piston. The compressor cylinder has a main cylinder volume and a secondary adjustable volume in fluid communication with the main cylinder volume so as to provide a variable geometrical compression ratio.

For many years, the demands on internal combustion engines have been steadily increasing and engines are continuously developed to meet the various demands from the market. By way of example, reduction of exhaust gases, increasing engine efficiency, i.e. reduced fuel consumption, and lower noise level from the engines are some of the criteria that have become more important aspects when designing and selecting a suitable internal combustion engine (ICE) system and its engine component. Furthermore, in the field of heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, there are a number of prevailing environmental regulations that set specific requirements on the vehicles, e.g. restrictions relating to maximum allowable amount of exhaust gas pollution.
In order to meet at least some of the above-mentioned demands, various engine concepts have been developed throughout the years where conventional combustion cylinders have been combined with e.g. a pre-compression stage and/or an expansion stage.
One type of ICE system that has the potential to meet prevailing and future environmental regulations is a hydrogen ICE system in which the combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces water as its only product. In such hydrogen ICE system, there is generally a compressor for pressurizing the air before entering the combustion cylinder so as to provide an appropriate mixture of hydrogen and air in the combustion cylinder when performing and completing the combustion reaction. However, compressors may frequently also be used in other types of ICE systems, such as more conventional diesel-type ICE systems.
It would be desirable to further improve the operation of the compressor in an ICE system.


A paper-feeding device, during a paper leading edge detection interval that includes an expected point in time of arrival of a paper leading edge at a paper sensor installation location, and during a paper trailing edge detection interval that includes an expected point in time of passage of a paper trailing edge, allows the signal level of a paper detection signal that is outputted to a main body section to fluctuate on the basis of an actual output value of a paper sensor, and during a transition interval from the paper leading edge detection interval to the paper trailing edge detection interval, locks the paper detection signal that is outputted to the main body section, to the signal level at the end of the paper leading edge detection interval.

An image forming apparatus for printing and outputting paper is provided with a paper-feeding device for supplying the paper to the image forming apparatus main body. In some cases, a paper-feeding device of such description is an optional device detachably attached to the image forming apparatus, while in other cases it is provided as standard equipment to the image forming apparatus.
A paper-feeding device for supplying paper to an image forming apparatus main body includes, for example, a paper feed conveyance path that connects to the paper feed conveyance path of the image forming apparatus main body. Paper accommodated in a paper accommodation body of the paper-feeding device is sent out from the paper accommodation body by a paper feed roller or the like onto the paper feed conveyance path; and, while being guided along the paper feed conveyance path, is supplied to the paper feed conveyance path of the image forming apparatus main body.
The paper feed conveyance path of the paper-feeding device is typically equipped with paper sensors for detecting the state of conveyance of the paper along the paper feed conveyance path. For example, paper sensors may be disposed at locations along the paper feed conveyance path, and the motor or clutch for driving various rollers such as the paper feed roller is controlled based on output values from the paper sensors. Output values from the paper sensors can also be utilized to detect paper jams along the paper feed conveyance path, and to perform other such operations.
For example, in a conventional paper-feeding device, a signal that directly reflects fluctuation of the output value of a paper sensor is outputted to the controller of the image forming apparatus main body. The controller of the image forming apparatus main body then detects the state of conveyance of the paper or performs other such operations on the basis of the signal that directly reflects the fluctuation of the output value of the paper sensor.
In this instance, as long as the paper sensor is operating normally, once the leading edge of the paper reaches the paper sensor installation location on the paper feed conveyance path, the output value of the paper sensor changes to a value showing that paper is present, and during the interval that the paper is passing by the paper sensor installation location, the paper sensor continues to output the same value. Thereafter, once the trailing edge of the paper has passed the paper sensor installation location, the output value of the paper sensor changes to a value showing that paper is not present at the paper sensor installation location.
However, when a paper sensor temporarily experiences abnormal operation while the paper is conveyed, in some instances there may be a temporary change in values outputted by the paper sensor. For example, a value showing that paper is not present may be outputted in spite of the fact that paper is currently passing the paper sensor installation location; conversely, a value showing that paper is present may be outputted in spite of the fact that paper is not currently passing the paper sensor installation location. At such times, when a signal directly reflecting fluctuation of the output value of the paper sensor is outputted to the controller of the image forming apparatus main body, a detection error arises during detection of the state of conveyance of the paper.

Paper-feeding device and image forming apparatus


According to various aspects and embodiments, a support structure for packaging an electronic device is provided. In one example, a packaged electronic device includes a substrate, at least one electronic device disposed on the substrate, an encapsulation structure disposed on the substrate and having a wall that forms a perimeter around the at least one electronic device, and at least one support structure formed from a photosensitive polymer and disposed adjacent the wall of the encapsulation structure. The at least one support structure has a configuration that provides at least one of increased adhesion and mechanical strength to the encapsulation structure.

Polymer materials are useful in a wide variety of technical applications, such as wafer-level packaging (WLP), semiconductor device fabrication, and microfluidic systems. For instance, polymer materials are capable of being layered and patterned to create three-dimensional (3D) microstructures for WLP applications or can be integrated into device structures. These structures can be fabricated using one or more manufacturing methods developed for semiconductor fabrication, such as polymer film coating, photosensitive film patterning, wafer-to-wafer bonding, etc. These methods may be scaled to produce structures having features with sizes in the micron to mm size scale. One example of a 3D transferable structure is discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/440,233, filed Feb. 23, 2017 (hereinafter "the '233 application"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Certain polymers are light-sensitive, such as those used in the '233 application, meaning that the material may be exposed to light to effect curing. It has been found that one problem with these types of materials is that they shrink during the polymerization or cure process. This shrinkage may detrimentally impact the mechanical functionality of the structure. Furthermore, as die sizes become smaller and smaller, there is less surface area available for the polymer material to adhere to an underlying substrate.

Packaging structures with improved adhesion and strength


A method for producing aromatic hydrocarbons by bringing a feedstock derived from a fraction containing a light cycle oil produced in a fluid catalytic cracking into contact with a catalyst containing a crystalline aluminosilicate, wherein the proportion of the naphthene content within the feedstock is adjusted so as to be greater than the proportion of the naphthene content in the fraction containing the light cycle oil, and the contact between the feedstock and the catalyst is performed under a pressure within a range from 0.1 MPaG to 1.0 MPaG.

In recent years, techniques have been sought that enable the efficient production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 8 carbon number (such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, which are hereinafter jointly referred to as the "BTX fraction"), which can be used as high-octane gasoline base stocks or petrochemical feedstocks and offer significant added value, from feedstocks containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as light cycle oil (hereinafter also referred to as LCO), which is a cracked light oil produced in a fluid catalytic cracking (hereinafter also referred to as FCC) that has conventionally been used as a diesel oil or heating oil fraction.
Examples of known methods for producing a BTX fraction from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons include the methods listed below.
(1) Methods of hydrocracking hydrocarbons containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a single stage (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
(2) Methods of subjecting hydrocarbons containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to a hydrotreatment in a preliminary stage and then hydrocracking in a subsequent stage (see Patent Documents 3 to 5).
(3) A method of converting hydrocarbons containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons directly into a BTX fraction using a zeolite catalyst (see Patent Document 6).
(4) Methods of converting a mixture of hydrocarbons containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and light hydrocarbons of 2 to 8 carbon number into a BTX fraction using a zeolite catalyst (see Patent Documents 7 and 8).
However, the methods of (1) and (2) require the addition of high-pressure molecular hydrogen, and the high level of hydrogen consumption is also a problem. Further, under the hydrogenation conditions employed, an unnecessary LPG fraction tends to also be produced in a large amount during production of the target BTX fraction, and not only is energy required to separate this LPG fraction, but the feedstock efficiency also deteriorates.
The method of (3) was not entirely satisfactory in terms of conversion of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
The methods of (4) have been designed to improve the thermal balance by combining a production technique for BTX that employs light hydrocarbons as a feedstock and a production technique for BTX that employs hydrocarbons containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as a feedstock, but have not been designed to improve the yield of BTX from the polycyclic aromatic fraction.

Method for producing aromatic hydrocarbons


Methods that can offload data operations to a storage system are provided. One method includes performing, by a processor, a set of non-storage operations at a storage system for data stored in a set of storage devices on the storage system to generate a set of results, in which the storage system is separate from a client device that owns the data, and transmitting the result(s) to the client device that owns the data. Apparatus, systems, and computer program products that can include, perform, and/or implement the methods are also disclosed herein.

Data workload operations in conventional storage networks and/or systems often include transmitting the data that is the target of a set of data operations from one or more storage devices on a storage system to a computing device (e.g., a client computing device), the computing device performing the data operation(s), and the data being transmitted back to the storage system for storage therein. When the size of the data that is the target of a set of data operations is large, the bandwidth between the storage system and the computing device may be reduced, which can increase the amount of time it takes to perform the set of data operations.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for offloading data operations to a storage system

International Business Machines Corporation


The trigger operated pumping mechanism for a fluid dispensing device comprises a body and the pumping mechanism comprises a cylinder in the body of the dispensing device, a piston received in the cylinder and having a piston rod extending outwardly therefrom to an outer end and a trigger movably mounted to the body and having a front side and a back side. A first coupling structure is provided on the outer end of the piston rod for coupling to the trigger. A second coupling structure is provided on the back side of the trigger for releasably coupling to the first coupling structure on the piston rod in a snap-fitting manner and a spring is provided outside of the cylinder for biasing the trigger away from the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trigger operated dispensing device, e.g. a trigger sprayer, for mounting on a storage container. The trigger sprayer includes a pumping mechanism having a trigger, a piston and a pumping chamber for pumping a desired amount of liquid out of the storage container and wherein the trigger is releasably coupled to the piston.
The pumping mechanism operates in two working strokes: a fluid intake stroke and a fluid ejection stroke. The fluid intake stroke sucks liquid out of the container into the pumping chamber. The fluid ejection stroke discharges the fluid from the pumping chamber through a nozzle assembly of the trigger sprayer into the atmosphere. The fluid ejection stroke is carried out by the operator squeezing the trigger and the fluid intake stroke is carried out by a biasing mechanism, such as a spring or spring assembly, of the pumping mechanism.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a trigger-piston connection wherein the trigger and the piston are detachably and movably connected to each other.
2. Description Of The Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97-1.99
Heretofore, various trigger sprayers have been proposed.
Three examples of previously proposed trigger sprayers having a trigger-piston connection are disclosed in the following patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 3,061,202 Tyler 4,606,480 Gazulla 4,624,413 Corsette ______________________________________
The Tyler U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,202 discloses a V-shaped notch or crotch at the outer end of a spring biased piston received in a cylinder in a trigger sprayer. A rounded edge of a cross web in a trigger is received in the notch and moves between the sides of the notch as the trigger is squeezed.
The Gazulla U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,480 discloses a trigger sprayer which uses a vertical pumping system and wherein a trigger is provided with a laterally (horizontally) extending cylindrical shaft which is pressed into a concave molding having an arc greater than a half circle. As the trigger is squeezed, two arms, disposed forkwise and each having a curved end surface, engage and push upwardly a tubular piston.
The Corsette U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,413 discloses a trigger sprayer wherein a piston has an outwardly open central bore which is undercut for snap fitting engagement with a piston rod 30 having a head configured for snap fitting engagement with the undercut of the bore. The piston rod is integrally connected through a web or hinge with a trigger hingedly connected to the body of the trigger sprayer. The web or hinge will bend as the trigger is squeezed.


A foam material element for sound-damping cavities, particularly for light metal extruded profiles used in rail car construction. The foam material element has a foam material sandwich with at least two layers, namely a resilient layer and at least one heavy layer disposed on the resilient layer. The resilient layer is formed of soft foam polyurethane and the heavy layer is formed of a flocculated foam polyurethane compound. Prior to being inserted in a cavity to be sound-proofed, the foam material element is compressed and weld-sealed in an air-tight film. The element is inserted through an opening of the cavity in its compressed condition. After insertion and placement of the foam material element, the film is opened and, as a result of its exposure to air, the foam material element expands to such a degree that at least one heavy layer, biassed by the resilient layer, comes into contact with the walls substantially over a broad surface area.

Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to foam material elements and, specifically, to a foam material element for sound-damping cavities. More particularly the element is provided for sound-proofing extruded profiles of metal or plastics material. The element is compressed prior to being inserted into a cavity, weld-sealed in an air-tight film so that it can be inserted through an opening into the cavity. After being inserted, the sealing film is opened and the foam material element expands in air so that it comes into contact with at least two walls of the cavity.
Increasing demands are placed on more lightweight structures of rail vehicles, for both ecological and economic reasons. As a result, more and more lightweight materials are being used in the construction of rail vehicles. Hollow-chambered extruded profiles of light metal, in particular of aluminum materials, are well suited for car box structures. The drawback in using such extruded profiles is the noise they allow to develop. Aluminum extruded profiles have practically zero sound damping, that is flexural waves excited in the corresponding car box structure decay only very slowly and they propagate throughout the complete structure practically without obstruction. This results in a drumming noise (rumbling, roaring) in the car box structure. In addition, two-shell components, such as the above-mentioned extruded profiles, are subject to breakdowns in the sound damping. This phenomenon is termed coincidental breakdown. In two-shell extruded profiles with a land thickness of 2 to 5 mm and a land spacing of typically 20 to 70 mm these breakdowns lie in the audible range and thus have a negative effect on the sound damping behavior.
The drumming behavior of extruded profiles has been fought in the art by applying heavy films of bitumen or plastics to the outer wall of the extruded profiles cavities by spraying, wrapping or bonding.
It has become known in automotive engineering to eliminate air noise such as whistling and the like in cavities by the use of foam material elements in the vicinity of axle bearings. Those elements comprise soft foam material bonded to a carton material. Prior to being inserted in the cavity to be sound deadened the foam material element is available in a compressed condition and is weld-sealed in an air-tight film. In this compressed condition the foam material element can be easily inserted into the cavity through an access opening. Following insertion in the cavity air ingress is made possible by opening the film (for example by tearing or puncturing it open) so that the foam material element expands into a shape that comes into contact with at least two of the cavity walls. That prior art foam material element is suitable only for damping airborne noise, but not for damping material-borne noise, i.e. for anti-drumming.

Foam material element for sound-damping cavities


A saw support assembly includes a base member defining a receiving channel. The receiving channel of the base member is configured to receive a leg of a saw therein to secure the base member to the leg of the saw. An arm member is pivotably coupled to the base member. The arm member is configured to pivot towards or away from the base member. The arm member is configured to extend from the base member to support the leg of the saw to which the base member is secured. A branch member extends between the base member and the arm member. The branch member defines a first end connected with the base member and a second end connected with the support arm. The branch member is configured to limit a degree to which the arm member can pivot away from the base member.

Generally, saws such as table saws are marketed and sold with legs of fixed height. Often, saws such as table saws are positioned on top of a first table or platform that is adjacent to a second table or platform designed to receive cut material passed through the saw. The result is that a saw such as a table saw is often poorly vertically aligned with an adjacent table. Therefore, when a cut material having passed through the saw is advanced off of the support platform of the saw the cut material will not smoothly slide onto the adjacent table or platform because of the lack of vertical alignment between the support platform of the saw and the adjacent table or platform.


A dry composition comprising a nucleotide linked to a fluorescent dye is provided. A method of making a dry composition comprising the step of drying a solution comprising a nucleotide linked to a fluorescent dye is provided. A method is provided for performing a reaction on a nucleic acid substrate comprising: (a) providing a vessel containing a dried composition comprising a nucleotide linked to a fluorescent dye, and (b) adding to the vessel an aqueous solution and the nucleic acid substrate. A kit is provided for determining the sequence of a nucleic acid, the kit comprising a dry composition comprising a nucleotide linked to a fluorescent dye.

DNA sequencing is of increasing importance in biological research, biotechnology, medical diagnostics, forensics, and other fields. Most sequencing is done by the dideoxy chain termination method (Sanger et al., 1977; Slatko et al., 1991). Sequencing reactions generally involve the dispensing of several liquid aliquots: a DNA polymerase, four deoxynucleotides, four chain terminators, and sometimes buffer or other components.
Sequencing today generally uses fluorescently labeled dideoxynucleotide terminators. The four fluorescently labeled dideoxynucleotides can be used in a single reaction mixture, and spectrally resolved with electrophoresis in a single lane. See Bergot et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,860. The fluorescent labels constitute a greater chemical alteration of the nucleotides than do the radioactive labels. The fluorescent labels are complex groups that potentially can be damaged during drying. Recently, improved fluorescent labels have been introduced that are energy transfer dyes. See Lee et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,800,996; 5,863,727; 5,945,526; and 6,335,440. In energy transfer dyes, a donor dye absorbs incoming radiation and transfers the excitation energy to an acceptor dye that is linked to the donor dye. The acceptor dye then emits radiation at a wavelength of lower energy than the wavelength of peak absorption for the donor dye. Energy transfer dyes offer improved fluorescence yield and better spectral resolution of the four dyes needed in a sequencing reaction. However, they are larger and more complicated molecules than standard dyes, and thus could be more sensitive to damage by desiccation or other environmental stress.
There is a need for methods of DNA sequencing, and other methods of nucleic acid analysis involving nucleic acid labeling, that use dried fluorescent reagents. There is also a need for methods in which the polymerase and all reagents, including four labeled chain terminators, are dried in a single well to eliminate the need to transfer solutions between wells.

Method for drying dye-terminator sequencing reagents


There are provided an ink refill container configured to appropriately refill an ink tank with ink and an ink refill system including such an ink refill container. An ink refill container 63 includes a container main body 64 provided to include an ink chamber 76; an ink outlet forming portion 66 provided at an edge of the container main body to include an ink outlet 65 configured to allow ink to flow out from the ink chamber; a valve 74 provided in the ink outlet forming portion and configured to seal the ink outlet in an openable and closable manner; and a positioning structure configured to abut on part of the ink tank and position the valve relative to the ink tank when the valve is opened. The positioning structure has a positioning surface 84 that is located on an opposite side to a container main body side where the container main body is located, across the valve and that is extended in a direction intersecting with a center axis 85 of the ink outlet.

An ink tank configured to accumulate ink therein is generally connected with a recording device that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a medium, in such a state that ink is suppliable from the ink tank. In this recording device, when the ink tank has only a small remaining amount of ink, the ink tank is externally refilled with ink by using an ink refill container (as described in, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Ink refill container and ink refill system


A fire protection containment unit for protection of an intermediate bulk container (IBC) having an internal flame and drain barrier disposed above a basin portion of the containment unit. The barrier includes pans having an impact surface that is angled to drain toward a central grid of the barrier to direct escaped liquid from the IBC into the basin portion of the containment unit. The basin portion includes a base surface on an incline to define a pooling region of the containment unit to collect escaped liquid from the IBC. The containment unit includes containment walls which define various configurations of the containment unit including an open configuration, partially open configuration, a completely contained configuration and a packaged configuration.

Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) make up a category of large packaging that is characterized by the contents of the packaging and the size or capacity of the packaging. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), IBCs are designed with a capacity ranging from 450 Liters [119 gal.] to three thousand Liters (3,000 L) [793 gal.] for containing liquids, pastes or solids that can include powders or granules. More generally, the size of the "intermediate" Bulk Container falls between two types of packaging: i) drum or sack packaging and ii) bulk portable tanks. Drums/sack packaging has an upper size/capacity limit of less than 450 Liters [119 gal.] and/or a weight of 400 kg. [882 lbs.] or less. Bulk portable tanks include road tank vehicles, rail tank cars/wagons or tank ships.
There are many industrial applications that use IBCs for transporting and storing combustible and flammable liquids. Typical field applications using such IBCs can be found in the chemical industry, mineral and petrochemical, rubber processing, textile industry, and food industry. The IBCs for transporting and storing combustible and flammable liquids can be constructed from metal, rigid plastics or composite materials.
There are known and commercially available fire protection containment units for IBCs used in the storage and transport of flammable liquids. An IBC containment unit is a storage cabinet or trough for storing the liquid filled IBC in the field of a manufacturing, process area, small storage or similar environment. Additionally, the containment unit provides a sump or basin for collecting the IBC liquid in the event of a damage or leak to the IBC. The containment unit captures the combustible or flammable liquid within the basin to limit the size of any potential fire or prevent its formation. Moreover, the sump area is sized to collect firefighting or extinguishing agent (water or foam solution) that may be dispensed into the containment unit to address any fire associated with the escaped liquid from the IBC.
An exemplary containment unit, with an IBC stored therein, is shown in European Patent No. EP 2,859,919. Known containment units structurally include a fluid-tight prismatic basin portion that is supported above the ground by an arrangement of support legs. The basin portion includes a planar base disposed parallel to the ground with four surrounding containment walls arranged to define the internal pooling region or volume of the basin portion for capturing and collecting liquid from the IBC. The IBC sits on an internal rack arrangement that is mounted over the basin portion. Separating the IBC from the basin portion is a flame and drain barrier constructed from a stainless-steel mesh filter mat that sits over the basin portion. Liquid leaking from the IBC hits the drain barrier and flows through to the basin portion for collection in the pooling region. In the event of a fire involving the IBC, the basin portion and barrier serve to separate any escaped liquid from the IBC and fire source. The containment unit also includes a containment portion defined by three or more containment walls mounted atop the basin portion that surround and protect the IBC. Some known containment units include a single horizontally pivoted door or splash guard to access the containment area for loading and unloading the IBC. The splash guard has a low height profile compared to the remaining walls of the containment portion.
In order to support the weight and volume of the IBC and its contents, known containment units are constructed from a combination of stainless steel and galvanized steel sheets and frames. Moreover to provide a sufficient internal volume for storage of the IBC and escaped liquid, the known rectangular prismatic containment units measure a little over two meters (2 m.) [7 ft.] high, about 1.5 meters [5 ft.] wide and about 1.8 m. meters (6 ft.) deep. The containment unit alone can weigh close to 450 kg. [1000 lbs.]. An exemplary commercially available containment unit from Minimax Mobile Services GmbH & Co. KG of Bad Urach, Germany is shown in their Product Brochure, PB01BWe: Fire Protection Trough for IBCs—BWCon 1.400 (July 2020). This steel containment unit can store an IBC containing up to 1,000 liters (265 gal.) of flammable liquid and weighing up to 1300 kg. (2900 lbs.). The basin portion of the containment unit includes a pooling region or sump area that is sized for collecting any escaped liquid from the IBC in addition to 400 liters (105 gal.) of extinguishing fluid. Accordingly, for this known IBC unit, the sump area defines an internal volume capacity of 1,400 liters (370 gal.). The escaped liquid and/or extinguishing agent can be removed from the basin area during maintenance operations. Although this known containment unit is effective in separating and shielding escaped liquid from the IBC, there remains a need for containment units that can improve drainage of the escaped liquid into the containment basin and collection of the liquid in the basin portion of the containment unit.
Given the weight, size and construction of the IBCs and the containment units themselves, the IBC and containment unit are handled and moved using forklifts and/or pallet trucks. For example, full IBCs are front loaded into the containment unit using a forklift; and in order to move a containment unit to a desired site, the unit must be empty and moved with a forklift or pallet truck. Accordingly, there is a continued need for IBC containment units that can be handled, moved and loaded while maintaining stability of the containment unit for safe use and dispensing of liquid from the IBC.

Fire protection containment unit for intermediate bulk containers

Minimax Viking Research & Development GmbH


An image processing apparatus, for example, a multi-camera monitoring system is provided for processing images with the intention of protecting the individuals' privacies in accordance with the type of customers in a store which is equipped with the multi-camera monitoring system, and for deleting or modifying individuals' privacy information to protect the individuals' privacies while permitting the identity of a person to be determined among a plurality of cameras. The image processing apparatus processes an image captured by an imager device to output the resulting image. A processor detects a person from an image, and an image database stores feature information on the person. The processor extracts features from the detected person and the database, processes the extracted feature amount in the stored feature information, and generates an output image based on the processed features.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and system for processing images captured by monitoring cameras, and a recording medium for programs therefore, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and system for processing part or entirety of images for protecting individuals' privacies, and a recording medium for storing programs therefore.
In a multi-camera monitoring system represented by monitoring of suspicious persons and person flow measurements in stores, monitor images are typically sent to a centralized management center through a network for monitoring by guards in real time and for recording and storage of the images on a video tape and a hard disk recorder (hereinafter called the "HDR"). The guards rely on such monitor images to monitor a store for a suspicious person who stays at the same location in the store for a long time, or suspicious persons who stay at a plurality of locations in the store for a long time, and rush a guard on patrol to an area under monitoring, if necessary, to ensure the security in the area under monitoring. However, if these monitor images leak out of an enterprise, the enterprise has the risk of lower creditability and reparation problem, so that individuals' privacies associated with the right of portrait must be protected in such monitor images as well.
For addressing the foregoing problem, JP-A-2004-62560 entitled "Face Matching Apparatus and Face Matching Method" (OMRON Corporation) proposes means for protecting person's privacy by matching previously registered face images with face images in inputted monitor images to tessellate face areas within the monitor images if no match is found.
Also, JP-A-2003-242486 entitled "Personal Attribute Estimating Apparatus" (Softpia Japan Foundation) proposes means for estimating attributes such as sex, age and the like of persons, the faces of which appear in an inputted monitor image. This means matches features in faces of persons manually classified and registered beforehand according to the attributes with the features of face images within an inputted monitored image to detect face areas in the inputted image, and estimate the attributes of the face images such as sex and age.

Image processing apparatus, image processing system and recording medium for programs therefor


A receptacle comprises a shell made of metal and a cage formed of one or more metal plates. The shell is attachable to a case made of metal. The cage is mountable on a board arranged in the case. The cage receives an internal module under a mated state where the receptacle is mated with a plug. The cage has a cage rear plate and is provided with a terminal made of metal and a contact portion made of metal. The terminal extends downward from the cage rear plate. The contact portion is nearer to the cage rear plate than to the front end of the cage in a front-rear direction. When the cage is mounted on the board and the shell is attached to the case, the shell covers the cage, the terminal is fixed to the board, and the contact portion is pressed against the shell.

This invention relates to a receptacle of a connector assembly that comprises an internal module.
For example, this type of receptacle is disclosed in JP2018-092051A (Patent Document 1) and JP2019-032432A (Patent Document 2), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to FIG. 31, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector assembly 90 comprising a connector (receptacle) 91 and a mating connector (plug) 92. The receptacle 91 comprises a receptacle (shell) 912 made of metal, a cage 914 made of metal and an internal module 918 such as a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module. The shell 912 is attached to a case 94 made of metal. The cage 914 is mounted on a board 93 arranged in the case 94 and is connected to the shell 912. The internal module 918 is accommodated in the cage 914. Thus, the connector assembly 90 comprises the internal module 918 accommodated in the receptacle 91. This structure might cause damage of the internal module 918 because of heat radiated into the cage 914.
Referring to FIG. 32, Patent Document 2 discloses a connector device (connector assembly) 95 comprising a receptacle connector (receptacle) 96 and a plug connector (plug) 97. The receptacle 96 comprises a receptacle (shell) 962 made of metal and a cage 964 made of metal. The cage 964 is mounted on a board 98 arranged in a case 99 made of metal. The shell 962 has three arms 963, only one of which is illustrated in FIG. 32. The shell 962 is positioned so that the arms 963 enclose and press the cage 964, and is then attached to the case 99. The plug 97 comprises an internal module 978 such as an SFP module. Thus, the connector assembly 95 comprises the internal module 978 accommodated in the plug 97.
With the structure of Patent Document 2, an electronic device such as a photoelectric converter of the internal module 978 is located outside the cage 964 and outside the case 99 even under a mated state where the receptacle 96 and the plug 97 are mated with each other. This structure intends to prevent damage of the internal module 978 which might be caused because of heat radiated into the cage 964.
However, the thus-produced connector assemblies 95 of Patent Document 2 include not only a good product in which heat transferred to the internal module 978 is reduced but also another product in which heat is easily transferred to the internal module 978. In other words, heat-transfer properties vary depending on products.

JAPAN AVIATION ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, LIMITED


A road crossing tool to assist in, and enable, a one-person installation of fiber optic cable which must be connected to a utility pole first, before being connected to a house on the opposite side of the road. Since fiber optic cable is not readily spliced in the field, as compared to copper wire cable which is readily spliceable, the fiber cable is supplied pre-connectorized with fixed lengths. This causes slack, or un-necessary cable length, which must be stored at the building/house site rather than atop the utility pole. This tool permits the installer to have good visibility of the roadway after making the cable connection to the utility pole and prior to hoisting the cable to its intended elevated height over the roadway before making the cable connection to the house and storing the slack at the house. This eliminates the need for a two person installation which would otherwise be required.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool that facilitates installation of a line from a utility pole located adjacent a traveled roadway to a building located on the opposite side of the roadway and, more particularly, relates to enabling one-person installation of optical fiber telecommunication cable from a utility pole on one side of a traveled roadway to a building located across that roadway.
2. Description of Prior Art
The installation of telephone cable from high telephone poles to a similarly high connection point on homes, businesses and other facilities is a physical challenge. The installer-technician needs to make the appropriate connection while braving the elements atop a telephone pole, or while supported within an elevated installation bucket. Location of the building to which the other end of the wire shall be connected can add to the challenge. Moreover, telephone companies prefer to dispatch only one installer-technician per job, rather than two in the interests of cost-effectiveness, if at all possible.
In the past, where copper wire line may have been the standard communication wire, that copper cable could be cut to exact length to run from its connection point at the building to its connection point at the telephone pole, without slack. In that scenario, using only a single installer, the connection to the building may be made first and the connection to the telephone pole is made second, regardless of whether or not a road crossing is required. The reason for this particular sequence is because the telephone pole is almost always located immediately adjacent the roadway. This sequence takes into account good road traffic visibility from the telephone pole's location.
For example, if the connection to the building is made first, even if roadway traffic is not visible from the building because of blocking foliage or because of a large setback from the roadway, only one installer technician needs to be deployed to the copper wire installation. This is because of the location of the telephone pole next to the roadway. After connection to the building, the installer-technician can carry the loose end of the copper wire across the street to the location of the telephone pole, and stay on the ground with the wire on the roadway surface allowing cars to drive over it without causing damage to the wire. From the side of the roadway next to the telephone pole, the installer has a good view of traffic in both directions. The technician can climb the pole (or use an automated elevator-bucket) and when the traffic is clear can pull the wire up quickly to the standard eighteen foot height, and make the installation to the telephone pole without unused cable excess while traffic flows underneath the wire. In this instance, only one installer technician is needed per installation, regardless of whether the building to be connected is on the same side of the street or the opposite side of the street as the telephone pole, because of road visibility from the telephone pole location.
However, with optical fiber telephone cable, the situation is quite different because the reverse installation sequence must be used. Fiber cable comes with pre-attached, factory-installed, connectors on cable of standard lengths, such as 100 ft. or 150 ft. lengths. Fiber cable cannot easily be cut and readily be spliced to exact lengths in the field, as copper cable can. If, for example, the total span from utility pole to building connection point is 110 feet, the installer needs to use the 150 foot standard optical cable, causing a 40 foot unavoidable cable slack. The slack must be stored at the building, not on the telephone pole, according to current protocol. Therefore, the telephone pole connection must be made first, which makes the installation at the building almost impossible unless there is a second person present standing at the roadway to signal the installer at the building when roadway traffic is clear. When the clear signal is given by the second person, the installer can pull up the cable to appropriate height on the building and make the installation and form the slack cable into a loop for storage at the building location.
Approximately fifty percent of the homes in a neighborhood are located on the side of the street opposite from the location of the telephone pole. The requirement of two people per fiber optic cable installation versus one person for copper installation is a cost problem, even for fifty percent of the installations. What is needed is a mechanical assistant to enable fiber optic cable installations by only one human installer, regardless of which side of the street the telephone pole is located relative to the house or building being connected. The present invention offers such a welcome solution to this problem of the prior art.

Road crossing assistant for installing optical fiber telephone cable


This invention relates to compounds of the formula (I):

This invention relates to benzimidazolone carboxylic acid derivatives. These compounds have selective 5-HT4 receptor agonistic activity. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition, method of treatment and use, comprising the above derivatives for the treatment of disease conditions mediated by 5-HT4 receptor activity; in particular 5-HT4 receptor agonistic activity.
In general, 5-HT4 receptor agonists are found to be useful for the treatment of a variety of diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastrointestinal disease, gastric motility disorder, non-ulcer dyspepsia, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, dyspepsia, esophagitis, gastroesophageral disease, nausea, central nervous system disease, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive disorder, emesis, migraine, neurological disease, pain, cardiovascular disorders, cardiac failure, heart arrhythmia, diabetes and apnea syndrome (See TiPs, 1992, 13, 141; Ford A. P. D. W. et al., Med. Res. Rev., 1993, 13, 633; Gullikson G. W. et al., Drug Dev. Res., 1992, 26, 405; Richard M. Eglen et al, TiPS, 1995, 16, 391; Bockaert J. Et al., CNS Drugs, 1, 6; Romanelli M. N. et al., Arzheim Forsch./Drug Res., 1993, 43, 913; Kaumann A. et al., Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's. 1991, 344, 150; and Romanelli M. N. et al., Arzheim Forsch./Drug Res., 1993, 43, 913).
WO94/00449 discloses benzimidazolone compounds as 5-HT4 agonists or antagonists and/or 5-HT3 antagonists. Especially, compounds represented by the following formula is disclosed as Example 10:

There is a need to provide new 5-HT4 agonists that are good drug candidates. In particular, preferred compounds should bind potently to the 5-HT4 receptor whilst showing little affinity for other receptors and show functional activity as agonists. They should be well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, be metabolically stable and possess favorable pharmacokinetic properties. When targeted against receptors in the central nervous system they should cross the blood brain barrier freely and when targeted selectively against receptors in the peripheral nervous system they should not cross the blood brain barrier. They should be non-toxic and demonstrate few side-effects. Furthermore, the ideal drug candidate will exist in a physical form that is stable, non-hygroscopic and easily formulated.

Benzimidazolone carboxylic acid derivatives

Abstract: wherein R1, R2, R3, A and m are each as described herein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, and compositions containing such compounds and the use of such compounds in the treatment of a condition mediated by 5-HT4 receptor activity such as, but not limited to, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastrointestinal disease, gastric motility disorder, non-ulcer dyspepsia, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, dyspepsia, esophagitis, gastroesophageral disease, nausea, central nervous system disease, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive disorder, emesis, migraine, neurological disease, pain, cardiovascular disorders such as cardiac failure and heart arrhythmia, diabetes and apnea syndrome.


A method an apparatus for performing automatic frequency compensation (or control) is disclosed. A method and apparatus for performing automatic frequency compensation (or control) is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes a radio receiver receiving a radio signal and detecting a preamble in the radio signal. The method further includes freezing an automatic frequency compensation (AFC) loop responsive to detecting the preamble. A clock source of the AFC loop may be switched from a first clock signal to a second clock signal. The method further includes subsequently unfreezing the AFC loop.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to radio receivers, and more particularly, to automatic frequency compensation in radio receivers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic frequency compensation (AFC; sometimes referred to as automatic frequency control) is a technique used in radio communications system to minimize the difference between the frequency of an oscillator and a desired frequency. In radio receivers, AFC may be used to control the frequency of a local oscillator such that it is as close as possible to the desired radio frequency such that the received signal frequency is in the center of a frequency response of a channel filter. In one embodiment of a basic AFC loop, a local oscillator may be implemented using a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). A difference between the receiver center frequency and the incoming signal frequency may be sensed and converted into a control voltage. This control voltage may then be provided to the local oscillator in order to adjust the frequency. In general, the AFC loop may operate as a closed-loop feedback system.
In digital radio communications systems, a known data sequence referred to as a preamble may be transmitted to the receiver. The preamble may be periodically transmitted (e.g., with each frame of data). The preamble may be used for synchronization of the incoming data. In addition, some digital communications systems may be utilized to settle the AFC loop. Incoming data may be sampled, for example, every two symbols, with a difference computed between the samples in order to determine an offset, which can then be used to set the control voltage provided to the VCO.

Automatic frequency compensation method and apparatus


A service station for use in servicing one or more inkjet print cartridges includes a service station sled assembly detachably attached to a service station chassis. The service station according to the invention can be used with either a facsimile machine that uses thermal inkjet printing, or with a thermal inkjet printer. In one embodiment, a mechanism for detaching the sled assembly is easily activated by a lever extending from the service station chassis. The invention enables a user to easily detach the sled assembly from and attach the sled assembly to the remainder of the service station, thereby allowing the user to easily replace the sled assembly without necessity to replace the remainder of the service station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to inkjet printing and, in particular, to a method and structure for wiping and capping the printhead of an inkjet print cartridge.
2. Related Art
In inkjet printing, one or more print cartridges (pens) are inserted in a movable print carriage. Each print cartridge includes a reservoir that holds ink. The ink passes from the reservoir through a multiplicity of nozzles to be ejected from a print cartridge printhead onto a print medium. The print carriage is moved laterally back and forth, and the print medium is advanced past the print carriage to enable printing of a desired image or images on the print medium.
Inkjet print cartridge nozzles commonly become plugged with ink blobs or particulate, or otherwise contaminated with internal bubbles that prevent the nozzles from operating properly, resulting in lower print quality. Consequently, printers and facsimile machines that use inkjet printing typically include a service station that provides for spitting, wiping, capping and priming of each printhead in order to keep the nozzles clean and functioning.
During capping, a cap must be properly aligned with the corresponding printhead. Typically, for inkjet print cartridges, cap alignment must be maintained within a fraction of a millimeter of a nominal value. However, tolerances associated with the assembly and operation of an inkjet printing assembly can combine to result in a variation of cap alignment that is too large. Such tolerances may result from, for instance, positioning of the print cartridge in the corresponding stall of the print carriage, attachment of the print carriage to a print carriage movement mechanism (such as a rod) attached to a printer chassis, assembly of the various components of the service station, and attachment of the service station to the printer chassis.
If the cap is misaligned, the cap can contact one or more of the nozzles and absorb ink from the nozzles through capillary action, dirtying the service station with ink and necessitating priming of the nozzles before printing again. Additionally, improper alignment can cause the cap to inadequately seal the area around the nozzles. As a result, air can enter the area around the printhead, causing the ink to dry out and clog the nozzles. Contaminants may also enter the area around the printhead, eventually causing the nozzles to become clogged.
During wiping, interference between the wiper and the print cartridge must be controlled within a specified dimensional tolerance to achieve the proper wiping force. Typically, for inkjet print cartridges, wiper interference must be maintained within a fraction of a millimeter of a nominal value. If the wiper interference is too small, then the wiping force will be too small and the printhead won't be adequately wiped, resulting in poor print quality and shortened print cartridge life. If the wiper interference is too large, debris will be pushed in to the nozzles, clogging one or more nozzles so that ink cannot be ejected from the nozzle or nozzles ("missing dots"), and/or degrading the print quality by partially clogging nozzles or becoming embedded in the ink.
Frequently, the cap and the wiper are mounted on a movable service station sled. For a variety of reasons, there may be a problem with the functionality of the cap, wiper or some other part of the service station sled. For example, because of the frequent contact between the wiper and the print cartridge, the wiper may wear out. Therefore, it is desirable that the service station sled can be replaced without the necessity of replacing the remainder of the service station.
Additionally, printers must include structure for performing various functions, e.g., moving the print carriage, advancing the print medium through a printing path. It is obviously desirable to make the structure for performing these functions as simple, efficient and inexpensive as possible. In particular, it is desirable to use particular components of the printer to perform more than one function, thereby enabling the printer to be made smaller (or, equivalently, perform more functions for the same size), simpler to manufacture and less expensive to manufacture.

Removable service station sled for inkjet printer


A verbena cultivar particularly distinguished by its red-colored flowers with vigorous and free-branching multiple secondary lateral branches, low and outwardly spreading growth habit, and tolerance to powdery mildew is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of verbena, botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Lan Reda07'. The new cultivar originated in 2004 in Gilroy, Calif. from an hybridization of female parent 'Lan Redtwo' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,842), with red flowers, and male proprietary line '1579-2' (unpatented), having a purple flower color with an eye.
The seeds produced by the pollination were sown in June 2004. A single plant selection was chosen for further evaluation and for asexual propagation in September 2004.
The new cultivar was created in 2004 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. and Andijk, The Netherlands over a two-year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif., Andijk, The Netherlands and Hillscheid, Germany. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar have been applied for in Switzerland on Oct. 30, 2006.


A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) includes a voltage controlled current source (VCCS), a negative resistance circuit (NRC), a first transformer, a second transformer, a first transistor and a second transistor. A current terminal of the VCCS receives a control voltage. First terminals of first and second current paths in the NRC are coupled to a current terminal of the VCCS. Primary sides of the first and the second transformers are respectively coupled to second terminals of the first and the second current paths. Secondary sides of the first and the second transformers are first and second output terminals of the VCO, respectively. First terminals of the first and the second transistor are respectively coupled to the secondary sides of the first and the second transformers. Control terminals of the first and the second transformers are respectively coupled to the primary sides of the first and the second transformers.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an oscillator, and more particularly, to a wide bandwidth voltage controlled oscillator using a negative resistance technique.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, due to the development of the wireless communication, the manufacturing technology of integrated circuit (IC) has a violent variation within a short time, especially for the circuit of the transmitter applied in radio frequency (RF). With rapid progress in semiconductor manufacturing technology, the current application of IC at Giga Hertz becomes wider and wider, and even progresses to higher operation frequency. Accordingly, the design of the circuit of the transmitter is more difficult and has more challenges. A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) plays an important role in the front end RF circuit. The VCO is mainly used in the frequency synthesizer to provide a stable and variable reference frequency in RF system.
In IC design, an LC-VCO is designed generally with the configuration of negative resistance, and the frequency of the LC-VCO is changed with a variable capacitor. The oscillation frequency fOSC of the LC configuration thereof is determined according to the equation fOSC=1/(2π√{square root over (LC)}). From this equation, only the inductance L and the capacitance C can be changed to tune the oscillation frequency fOSC. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional VCO 100 using a negative resistance circuit (NRC). Transistors Mn1 and Mn2 form the NRC. In FIG. 1, CV represents a variable capacitor, C0 represents an invariable capacitor, and CP represents a parasitic capacitor. By using the mutual resonance of the inductor and the capacitor, the inductor and the varactor can serve as the oscillation frequency of the circuit. The oscillation frequency fOSC thereof is determined according to the equation
      f    OSC    =            1              2                π                                      L            ×                          (                                                C                  0                                +                                  C                  P                                +                                  C                  V                                            )                                            .
Conventionally, the chip inductor adopted in the high frequency IC is a helical inductor realized in metal layers. Because the inductance of the inductor L is hard to be changed, the conventional VCO 100 includes a capacitance device related to voltage characteristic—the variable capacitor CV. By adjusting the variable capacitor CV, the oscillation frequency fOSC is changed, and all kinds of required frequency specifications are synthesized. Besides the variable capacitor CV, the equivalent capacitor of the conventional VCO 100 includes the practical parasitic capacitor CP and the invariable capacitor C0. Accordingly, the entire tuning range is determined by the proportion of the capacitance of the variable capacitor CV relative to all of the equivalent capacitance in the VCO 100. Unfortunately, for some capacitance, if the VCO is desired to operate at high frequency, the equivalent resonance capacitor requires being relatively reduced. Because the practical parasitic capacitor CP is generally inevitable, and it is required to reduce the total equivalent capacitance, the proportion of the capacitance of the variable capacitor CV relative to all of the equivalent capacitance is reduced. Accordingly, the variable range (i.e. the tuning range) of the oscillation frequency fOSC is limited. In other words, in order to maximize the tuning range, the variable range of the capacitance of the variable capacitor CV requires being increase. However, it may reduce the oscillation frequency fOSC because the total equivalent capacitance become larger. Therefore, these issues are traded off between the oscillation frequency fOSC and the tuning range. In the design of high frequency circuit, it is affected considerably.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Devices which internally control and regulate voltage of a super-capacitor cell or stack thereof during charge-discharge cycles, methods for controlling and regulating voltage of a super-capacitor cell or stack thereof with these devices and methods for production of the devices are provided.

Super-capacitors have advantages in electrical applications where a large amount of power is conducted for a relatively short time and where a high number of charge/discharge cycles and longer lifetime is required. Typical applications cover a range from milliamp currents or milliwatts of power for up to a few minutes to high current at power up to several hundred kilowatts for shorter periods. However, Equivalent Series Resistance, heat transfer and diffusivity must be controlled to prevent detrimental effects to cell life. Further, stability must be adequately handled.
Among the earliest uses for super-capacitors were motor startup in cold conditions for large engines in tanks and submarines. Super-capacitors are currently employed in electronic equipment including memory backup, energy storage, higher power demand for a long time operation, instantaneous power, for applications that requires relatively high current units or peak currents ranging up to several hundreds of amperes.
Additional special applications include fixed electric double-layer capacitors for use in electronic equipment, electric double-layer capacitors for power applications, and electric double-layer capacitors for use in hybrid electric vehicles, railway applications and rolling stock equipment.
Super-capacitors buffer the battery, handling short current peaks, reducing cycling and extending battery life. Super-capacitor/battery combinations in electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are well investigated. A 20 to 60% fuel reduction in electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles has been described by recovering brake energy.
Toyota's Yaris Hybrid-R concept car uses a super-capacitor to provide bursts of power. PSA Peugeot Citroën has started using super-capacitors as part of its stop-start fuel-saving system, which permits faster initial acceleration. A triple hybrid forklift truck uses fuel cells and batteries as its primary energy storage and super-capacitors to buffer power peaks by storing braking energy. They provide the fork lift with peak power over 30 kW. The triple-hybrid system offers over 50% energy savings compared with diesel or fuel-cell systems. Maxwell Technologies, an American super-capacitor manufacturer, disclosed that more than 20,000 hybrid buses use the devices to increase acceleration, particularly in China. In 2014 China began using trams powered with super-capacitors that are recharged in 30 seconds by a device positioned between the rails.
However, while super-capacitors charge much faster than batteries and exhibit stable electrical properties, a broader temperature range, and a longer lifetime, their weight, volume and especially cost mitigate these advantages. Further, the lower specific energy density of super-capacitors makes them unsuitable for use as a stand-alone energy source for long distance transport. For long distance driving the advantage decreases rapidly. It is thus necessary to devise combinations of devices with high specific energy density with ancillary devices that can discharge at a much higher power density. Such combinations of devices must necessarily have a restricted volume and mass in order to provide economic feasibility.
Super-capacitor cells can be connected in series to form a super-capacitor stack to reach a suitable arbitrary potential needed for the relevant application. However, differences between the individual capacitors in a stack of serially connected single capacitors can lead to imbalanced cell voltages. The single cells of the stack develop undesired variability on repeated recharging due to the cumulative effect of minor differences in leak voltage in the single cells. Single capacitors in the stack thereby fail due to overcharging leading to reduced life and performance.
The problem may be solved by connecting an external electrical circuit to each cell in the stack. However, such solutions are currently cumbersome and costly and involve individual connection procedures for each cell in the stack.
For example, a super-capacitor stack is normally protected by an external electronic circuit connected to each cell ranging from passive to active circuits such as a resistor, Zener diode, switched-resistor, or a DC/DC-converter-circuit. In all of these cases, however, the energy associated with the over voltages is dissipated into the circuit or redistributed between neighboring cells resulting in energy loss, complex design, and cumbersome manufacture.
The present invention provides a means of achieving the same benefits through functional integration of the electrochemical cell or primary source of electrical energy and a super-capacitor.

Electrochemical and capacitative energy storage device and method of manufacture


A conjugate electrical connector with improved contact conductivity having slots or grooves in one terminal and rounded protrusions on the opposite terminal. This contact feature provides for two lines of contact points per protrusion/slot pair where the protrusion touches the two edges of the slot whereas the closest prior art only provides one line of contact where a protrusion contacts a terminal without a slot. The amount of energy lost in heat dissipation due to contact resistance is reduced. Additional advantages include: the terminals will lock together with a mechanical confirmation, the terminal will seat in the same place each time it is connected, and movement between the terminals is less likely.

Presently, conjugate electrical connectors come in varying shapes and sizes, but they all have primarily the same components and work in much the same way. It is not uncommon to have an application which requires a connection that can be quickly and easily connected or released without tools. A problem with using this kind of electrical connection is that, due to the build-up of corrosion and contaminants and to the limited area of contact between the terminals, some resistance is always present. The result is a wasteful loss of electrical energy as it is dissipated as heat.
One common variety of electrical connector is the conjugate electrical connector. The male terminal has a flat blade or tab for interface with the female terminal and includes means for permanently joining the tab to a conductor. Typically, the tab is joined to the conductor by crimping, soldering, welding, or some combination of the three.
The female terminal is dimensioned to encase the male terminal and, on three sides, resembles a rectangular box. The fourth side typically has a spring integrated therein to provide the force for frictional engagement between the two terminals and to prevent the terminals from becoming unintentionally disconnected.
One type of spring design used in female terminals is of the leaf spring variety. The spring is a separate piece of bowed metal crimped into place on the fourth side of the female connector, thus defining an aperture to accept the tab of the male connector. The spring presses against one flat side of the tab to force the second flat side of the tab against a contact surface defined by the side of the female terminal opposite the spring. Typically with this configuration, there are rounded protrusions on the contact surface of the female terminal for making positive contact with the tab. Since the protrusions define only line contacts with the tab, the spring force creates a great deal of pressure along the line contacts. When the tab is inserted into the female terminal, this pressure forces the corrosion and contaminants out from between the two contacting surfaces, thus making a line of positive contact.
Another type of spring design used in female terminals is formed from the same piece of material as the rest of the female terminal. The forth side of the terminal is split and the confronting end edges defined at the split are bent to provide two resilient downturned cantilevered fingers which, in conjunction with the three rectangular box sides, define an aperture to receive the male terminal tab with an interference fit. Due to the resiliency of the material, the fingers do not deform plastically when the tab is inserted into the female terminal aperture but, rather, a constant force is applied to the male tab by the end edges of the fingers. In this case, the lines of positive contact are defined between the end edges of the fingers and the confronting flat surface of the tab.

Electrical connector with feature for increased contact area


A non-immunogenic, bioerodible implantation composition which comprises alginate fibres.

The present invention relates to alginate fibres and a process for their preparation and their use. In particular the present invention relates to an implantation composition comprising alginate fibres.
A number of methods for producing conventional alginate fibres are described in the art. The extrusion of alginate solutions into an aqueous solution containing calcium ions to form calcium alginate filaments is known, for example, from British Patent Specifications Nos. 567641, 568177, 571657 and 624987. The replacement of a proportion of the calcium ions in calcium alginate by sodium ions to produce a more soluble fibre is known from British Patent Specification No. 653341.
Alginate is a heterogeneous group of linear binary copolymers of 1-4 linked .beta.-D-mannuronic acid (M) and its C-5 epimer O-L-guluronic acid (G). The monomers are arranged in a blockwise pattern along the polymeric chain where homopolymeric regions (M blocks and G blocks) are interspaced with sequences containing both monomers (MG blocks). The proportion and sequential arrangement of the uronic acids in alginate depend upon the species of algae and the kind of algal tissue from which the material is prepared.
Commercial alginates are produced mainly from Laminaria hyperborea, Macrocystis pyrifera, Laminaria digitata, Ascophyllum nodosum, Laminaria japonica, Eclonia maxima, Lesonia negrescens and Saragassum sp.
Alginate fibres have been known for some time as being useful in the preparation of wound dressings. For example, EP 433354 describes a wound dressing comprising a backing layer and a wound contact pad, the latter comprising a mixed salt alginate. EP 476756 describes a non-woven alginate fabric useful for the preparation of wound and burn dressings, the fabric being characterised in terms of its absorptive properties whereby the absorbency of the fabric is greater than 25.0 grams of deionised water or 19.0 grams of saline water per gram of fabric.
Alginates have also been used in transplantation and implantation compositions, however this use of alginates has been somewhat problematic due to immunogenic responses which have been observed. For example, Lim and Sun ((1980) Science 210, 908) microencapsulated islets using alginate gel, poly-L-lysine and polyethylenimine. The encapsulated islets were injected intraperitoneally into diabetic rats. The animals' blood glucose levels dropped to normal for two to three weeks, suggesting that the encapsulation process had protected the islets from invasion by the recipients' immune system. However, these studies showed that the microcapsules were eventually rejected as a result of fibrosis, or fibroblast formulation around the microcapsule, which eventually restricts the flow of nutrients to the cells contained in the microcapsule and the outflow of material from the microcapsule created by the islet cells disposed therein.
WO91/07951 describes a transplantation or implantation composition which provokes a reduced immune response and which employs an alginate comprising greater than 50% L-guluronic acid. The compositions described by WO91/07951 would not however be bioerodible when incorporated within the body cavity.


The ink-jet recording apparatus has an ink passage into which a water-based ink or a preservation solution is filled. The ink passage employs a rubber member formed from an ethylene propylene diene rubber in which a sulfenamide-based vulcanization accelerator or a thiazole-based vulcanization accelerator is employed. The water-based ink has a dynamic surface tension at a lifetime of 100 ms of about 35 mN/m to about 45 mN/m as measured by means of a maximum bubble pressure method at a measurement temperature of 25° C. Furthermore, the preservation solution has a dynamic surface tension at a lifetime of 100 ms of about 30 mN/m to about 35 mN/m as measured by means of the maximum bubble pressure method at a measurement temperature of 25° C.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus in which insoluble materials originating from rubber members employed in an ink passage are prevented from precipitating into a water-based ink or a preservation solution filled into the ink passage.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink-jet recording apparatus is an apparatus for performing recording by causing ink to adhere to a recording material such as recording paper by means of an ink ejection method such as a thermal method or a piezo method. In the thermal method, ink is rapidly heated to generate bubbles, and fine droplets of the ink are ejected from fine nozzles by utilizing the pressure generated by the rapid heating. In the piezo method, fine droplets of ink are ejected by use of a piezoelectric element.
In an ink-jet recording apparatus, rubber members are employed in an ink passage comprised of an ink tank, an ink-jet head and the ink. These rubber members include, but are not limited to, a cap which covers nozzles of the ink-jet head, a wiper which cleans the end face of the nozzles of the ink-jet head, a seal packing which is placed at the joint portion between components, and the like. In addition, if the ink tank is provided separately from the ink-jet head, the rubber members also include a tube which supplies ink from the ink tank to the ink-jet head, and the like.
However, when the rubber members come in contact with a water-based ink (hereinafter simply referred to as an ink) employed in ink-jet recording or with a preservation solution filled into an ink passage at the time of shipping or during long-term storage, the additives contained in the rubber members are dissolved in the ink or the preservation solution. The dissolved additives then precipitate as an insoluble material, thereby causing a problem such as clogging of nozzles of an ink-jet head.
In view of the above, a method has been proposed in US-A1-2005116984. In this method, rubber materials to be employed in an ink passage are immersed in water at 60° C. for a predetermined time in a sealed container for determining the amount of dissolved materials to thereby select suitable rubber materials.
However, the amounts and kinds of the insoluble materials precipitating into an ink or a preservation solution depend on the composition of the ink or the preservation solution. Therefore, even when the rubber materials selected by means of the method of US-A1-2005116984 are employed in the rubber members forming the ink passage, the problem of the precipitation of the insoluble materials occasionally arises. Specifically, the problem may arise when the composition of the ink is adjusted such that the ink has a dynamic surface tension preferable for ejection stability and when the composition of the preservation solution is adjusted such that the preservation solution has a dynamic surface tension preferable for replaceability with the ink and wettability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A peak hold circuit includes an error amplification circuit having a first transistor section receiving an input voltage and a second transistor section constituting a differential error amplifier together with the first transistor section. The second transistor section has a plurality of transistors connected in parallel so as to operate individually. The peak hold circuit also includes a switching circuit having a plurality of switching transistors operated in accordance with an operation voltage of each of the transistors of the second transistor section, a charging circuit including a capacitor, for charging the capacitor stage by stage in accordance with a switching operation of each of the switching transistors of the switching circuit, and an output circuit for outputting a charging potential of the capacitor as a peak value signal of the input voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peak hold circuit favorably applied to a light receiving circuit for optical interconnects and a constant-voltage generating circuit favorably applied to a laser driving circuit.
2. Discussion of the Background
A technique of detecting an analog signal at high speed and converting it into a digital signal has recently been essential to a multimedia instrument and the like. A sample hold circuit is necessary for an analog-to-digital conversion. As one method of the sample hold circuit, there is a combination of a high-speed switch circuit and a voltage holding capacitor, for catching analog signals sampled in a short time slot and holding their peak values.
Of circuits for processing digital signals only, there are a circuit for optical telecommunications and optical interconnects, a signal readout circuit for a magnetic memory and semiconductor memory, and the like, the input signal levels of which are varied and unclear. In these circuits, it is important that an input signal level of the preamplifier is detected automatically to determine the optimum operation point and minimize a distortion of waveform of a reproduced pulse.
In order to minimize the distortion, an automatic discrimination type waveform reproduction circuit has been employed which detects and normalizes a peak level of an input pulse signal to always discriminate the pulse signal by half the amplitude of the pulse signal irrespective of variations in the level of the input pulse signal.
It is a peak hold circuit that is important in common to the foregoing examples. In particular, it is desirable for a circuit for processing a signal with an arbitrary pattern, such as the optical interconnection, to respond to a burst waveform and it is important to respond at high speed of not less than nanoseconds in order to correctly detect and hold a peak value of the first-input pulse. Recently there have been great demands that the peak hold circuit should be relatively small in size or compact so as to be incorporated into an IC without any external capacitor. Also there have been demands for low power consumption in order to incorporate the peak hold circuit into a multichannel array.
The fundamental arrangements of known prior art peak hold circuits are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the operation principle of each circuit is as follows. In the circuit of FIG. 1, a pulse input to an input terminal of a differential amplifier constituted of transistors Q100 and Q101, is compared with an output voltage of the peak hold circuit and, if the voltage of the input pulse is higher than the output voltage, an error is amplified and the base voltage of a switching transistor Q102 is increased. Thus, the transistor Q102 is turned on to start charging a voltage holding capacitor C100. When an output voltage of an emitter follower circuit of a transistor Q103 reaches the voltage of the input pulse, the base voltage of the transistor Q102 is lowered to cut off the current flowing into the transistor Q102. If the top voltage of the input pulse is maintained until the current is cut off the voltage with which the voltage holding capacitor C100 is charged, becomes equal to the peak voltage of the input pulse.
Since the leak peak current of the transistor Q103 is low, the time constant of discharging of the capacitor is large and its peak voltage is maintained.
The operation of the switching transistor Q102 will be described in more detail. The transistor Q102 is a bipolar transistor and thus has a characteristic of causing a current to flow exponentially with respect to a base-to-emitter voltage. When the amplitude of input voltage of the base is small, the dynamic impedance is high, the injected current is small, and the peak transit time is long. On the other hand, when the amplitude exceeds a certain value, the impedance is drastically lowered and the charging time is too short, with the result that a feedback is delayed and so is the cutoff of the switching transistor, thus causing an overshoot of the output voltage.
Consequently, an input voltage range for normally operating the circuit is restricted, and it is difficult to widen an input dynamic range. If the input voltage is too high, a collector current may flow through the transistors beyond a tolerable range, and the cutoff frequency may decrease, thereby causing a delay in response.
A circuit capable of excluding the above drawbacks to some extent, is shown in FIG. 2. In the circuit of FIG. 2, a voltage holding capacitor C100 is charged with a current which is almost proportional to the amplitude of an error voltage by a current output amplifier using a pnp transistor in place of a switch of an npn transistor (shown in FIG. 1) with drastically changing impedance. In the circuit of FIG. 2, a power supply voltage needs to be higher than that of the circuit of FIG. 1 and the pnp transistor should satisfy a high speed operation.
In general, however, the bandwidth of the pnp transistor is about one-tenth of that of the npn transistor; thus, the circuit of FIG. 2 has an essential problem that a high-speed operation cannot be satisfied.
The problem of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 on principle is an exponentially, nonlinear response to an input voltage of a switching transistor. However, this problem can be resolved if, as in the circuit of FIG. 2, the npn switching transistor is operated so as to exhibit a linear response to the input voltage.
A high gain feedback amplifier may be useful for the peak hold circuit in order to linearly operate an element originally having a remarkably nonlinear characteristic. In this case, usually, there occurs a problem that a high-speed operation cannot be carried out due to a delay in a high gain feedback as well as a problem that a large-sized circuit increases in chip area and thus in power consumption.

Peak hold circuit including a constant voltage generator


A semiconductor integrated circuit device having a memory portion and a logic circuit portion formed with a same semiconductor substrate comprising a first logic circuit block, a second logic circuit block disposed in an area different from an area in which the first logic circuit block is disposed, and a pair of memory blocks oppositely disposed so that the second logic circuit block comes in between. Data stored in the pair of memory blocks are transmitted to the second logic circuit block for processing via a memory peripheral circuit provided on the second logic circuit block. A result of the data processing is transmitted to the first logic circuit block or an external device via an input/output circuit provided in the second logic circuit block.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to a technology effectively applicable to an LSI (Large Scale Integration) having a logic circuit block and a memory block formed on a single semiconductor substrate.
There is known, as a semiconductor integrated circuit device having a logic circuit block and a memory block, a rectangular semiconductor chip arranged at an end portion of a main surface thereof with a RAM (Random Access Memory) and with the logic circuit block at a center of the chip as described in "BiCMOS Technology," Seiji Kubo, Sep. 20, 1990, pp 146 to 151, Electronic Information Communications Association, by way of example.
The present invention also relates to a method of laying out many functional circuit blocks on a chip of a semiconductor integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to a technology effectively applicable to a semiconductor integrated circuit device such as a gate array composed of an ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic) circuit and the like.
For designing technique of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a standard cell method is known. In the standard cell method, standard cells previously designed are assembled to design an entire chip. Such a standard cell method is described in Nikkei Electronics, Sep. 9, 1985, pp 165-169 and 175-176, Nikkei-McGraw-Hill.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device with interleaved memory and logic blocks


System and method embodiments are provided for improving the performance of query processing in a massively parallel processing (MPP) database system by pushing down join query processing to data nodes recursively. An embodiment method includes receiving, at a coordinator process, a join query associated with a plurality of tables of the MPP database system, generating, at the coordinator process, an execution plan tree for the join query, and processing, at each of a plurality of data nodes communicating with the coordinator process, the execution plan tree to obtain join query results. The method further includes, upon detecting a next join operator below a top join operator in the execution plan tree at each of the data nodes, forwarding to the other data nodes a sub-tree for the next join operator, and receiving, at each of the data nodes from the other data nodes, sub-tree processing results.

A massively parallel processing (MPP) database system allows a database administrator to create a database and distribute its data to a number of processors, called partitions or data nodes. The concept of MPP is the coordinated processing of a program by multiple processors, with each processer working on different parts of the program. The processors communicate with one another to complete a task, with each of them using its own operating system and memory resources. There is usually at least one process that serves clients of the MPP database system, called coordinator. A Structured Query Language (SQL) join query issued against such a database is handled by the coordinator that selects data tables to fulfill the join query and sends this information to each data node for execution.

System and method for distributed SQL join processing in shared-nothing relational database clusters using self directed data streams


Realizing a presentation system which can present picture data and voice data in a simplified manner after shooting and picking up pictures by a digital still camera, etc. and recording voices by a voice recorder, etc. Firstly, when the presentation system executes the program, a folder will be selected to specify a recording area in the personal computer 10 (step 1). After obtaining temporal information of all picture data and voice data in the folder, the presentation system performs relating operation for pages of slides so that the picture data and the voice data correspond to the slides at the time of data presentation (step 2). Next, the presentation system makes the user select whether information processing for data will be performed or not (step 3). If the user intends to perform the information processing for data, the flow advances to step 4, in which the user can perform the information processing for data such as voice recognition, text inputting, or selecting static pictures from moving pictures, if necessary, for each of the related slide data in the presentation system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a presentation system for synthetically presenting information intended by an editor using picture information and voice information, a method for generating presentation data, and a program for generating presentation data.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, when an editor attempts to present pictures shot and picked up by a digital still camera, etc. and voices recorded by a voice recorder, etc. by using a personal computer, the editor has to paste picture data and voice data manually on a presentation software.
In pasting picture data and voice data on the presentation software, the editor is required to have sophisticated skills, and plenty of time is necessary to do this work. Furthermore, some data which are originally related to each other temporally are not dealt with as such by the personal computer. So, the editor has to consider the data relation, which increases the work of the editor.

System, method and program for handling temporally related presentation data


Disclosed is a method enabling the generation, by means of voice frequencies, of a sequence of several characters and the high-speed transmission of these characters. This method comprises the step of the elimination, during transmission, of the blanks between two successive characters when these characters are distinct or are encoded distinctly.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of the transmission of data on a telephone network.
More specifically, the invention relates to a method and a system enabling the generation, by means of voice frequencies, of a sequence of characters and the high-speed transmission of these characters.
In the present description, the term "sequence of characters" is understood to mean a sequence of at least two characters, especially but not exclusively a telephone number, an identification code or enciphering data elements.
The invention has many applications. Thus, the method and system according to the invention may be used to secure long-distance electronic transactions, especially those pertaining to telephone services for which it is essential to be able to speedily identify the provider of the telephone service, It can be applied more particularly when the long-distance electronic transactions are secured by means of portable objects having a credit card format, sending out voice signals and designed to be used in combination with telephone receivers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the multi-frequency encoding used to transmit dialling, identification and enciphering information on a telephone network is a dual tone multi-frequency or DTMF encoding.
With this DTMF encoding, each character is encoded in the form of a combination of two frequencies (a high frequency and a low frequency) that are transmitted simultaneously, Each of the two frequencies transmitted is chosen from amongst two groups of four frequencies (namely a group of four low frequencies and a group of four high frequencies). One of the frequencies is chosen from one of the groups and the other frequency is chosen from the other group. It is thus possible to encode 4.times.4=16 different characters, i.e. generally the ten digits from 0 to 9 and six additional characters. Owing to the fact that they are located in the telephone passband (from 100 to 3300 Hz), these frequencies are generally called voice or acoustic frequencies. They enable the transmission of the telephone number of the called party and generally, in a conversation stage, of various other data elements (especially identification information). In general, DTMF encoding is implemented by means of a multi-frequency keyboard of a telephone set. The user enters the sequence of characters (for example the digits of a telephone number) by means of his keyboard. Each stroke on this keyboard enables the encoding and dispatch of one character.
There is also a known way of using DTMF encoding in a portable object (for example with a credit card format or in the form of tokens or pocket calculators) of the type designed to be used in combination with a telephone set. In this case, the user applies his portable object against the telephone set, and then activates it (for example by pressing a button designed for this purpose). The portable object then automatically enters a sequence of characters such as for example an identification key designed to be verified by a vocal server which is at the called number.
In general, DTMF encoding enables the transmission of data elements at a speed of 4 to 8 characters per second. While this speed is generally enough for the transmission of dialling information, it is not so for all information elements and especially for the identification codes. Indeed, the number of characters that may be contained in an identification code is sometimes fairly great, Owing to the low speed of transmission, the transmission time is then extremely (and excessively) long for normal use by a private party.
As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 which describe the essential characteristics of DTMF transmission, it is necessary to set up a blank between the transmission of two successive characters. Indeed, when two successive characters are identical, the two DTMF frequencies used to encode this character are the same. Consequently, if a blank is not inserted between two identical successive characters, one of them may be lost at the time of the decoding. The existence of this blank, whose duration is comparable to the period of transmission of a character, reduces the theoretical speed of transmission of the characters by half.
The technical problem to which the present invention proposes to provide a solution is that of the at least partial elimination of the blanks, the goal being to increase the speed of transmission of the characters.

Method and system for the high-speed generation and transmission of a sequence of characters by means of voice frequencies