A vehicle-side connector (10) is to be connected to a battery in a vehicle. The vehicle-side connector (10) includes a housing main body (20) fixed to a body of the vehicle, and a sub-housing (30) fit to the housing main body (20) from an inner side of the vehicle. A seal (31) is sandwiched between the housing main body (20) and the sub-housing (30) to cut off the interior of the vehicle from water. A water guide (27) is formed by a clearance (S) between the housing main body (20) and the sub-housing (30) and is outside a water cut-off area defined by the seal (31). A water drain (28) opens down from the water guide (27) in the housing main body (20) and is configured to drain water to an outer side of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-side connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle-side connector connected to a battery mounted in a vehicle is known, for example, from Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H07-29631. An accommodating chamber facing the outside of the vehicle is provided on a body of the vehicle and the vehicle-side connector is accommodated in this accommodating chamber. A tapered water guide portion inclined downwardly toward the outside of the vehicle is provided on the lower surface of the accommodating chamber, and a water drainage port is provided on a lower end part of this water guide portion. The water drainage port is open downward and a drain hose is connected to this water drainage port. Water having intruded into the accommodating chamber is fed to the drain hose through the water guide portion and the water drainage port and discharged to a side below the accommodating chamber from this drain hose.
However, since the above water drainage port is arranged inside the vehicle, there is a possibility of battery leakage due to water leaking from the water drainage port, for example, in the case of a vehicle type in which a battery is installed below an accommodating chamber. Further, since water is introduced to the water drainage port by the tapered water guide portion, the water guide portion may be set almost in a horizontal posture depending on an angle of inclination of a garage where the vehicle is parked and water may not be possibly fed toward the water drainage port.
The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to reliably drain water having intruded into a vehicle-side connector to the outside of a vehicle by preventing the intrusion of the water into the interior of the vehicle.


A pressure monitoring assembly includes an isolation valve assembly and a differential pressure sensor assembly. The rigid manifold has two pressure inlet ports which each communicate with respective pressure outlet ports through isolation valves. An equalization passage and valve connect the two pressure lines. The pressure sensor assembly is sized to mate directly with the monolithic manifold by having sensor inlet ports that line up with the pressure outlet ports. Pressure tight attachments releasably secure the pressure sensor assembly to the manifold, but are rigid to support the weight of the pressure sensor assembly. No bleeding valves are necessary. Orientation and the positioning and construction of the manifold effectively reduce the amount of heat transfer between the pressure lines and the pressure sensor(s).

The present invention relates to pressure sensors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pressure sensor body designed to permit rigid mounting of the pressure sensor to a larger assembly.
Differential pressure sensors or differential pressure transducers are known in the art. The differential pressure sensors include at least first and second pressure inlet ports. The first (low) pressure inlet port may be attached to a low pressure inlet line and the second (high) pressure port may be attached to a higher pressure inlet line. The differential pressure transmitter returns an electrical signal indicative of the difference in pressure between the higher pressure line and the low pressure line. The differential pressure transmitter is intended to measure a difference in pressure with substantially no flow between the pressure lines. The transmitter may include a single diaphragm or other sensor element affected by the low pressure and the higher pressure on both opposing sides, or it may include two separate pressure sensors with the measured pressure low pressure electrically compared against the measured high pressure.
Such pressure sensors are most commonly supplied on a stand-alone basis. Installation in the field may require two or more individuals: an electrician to run the electrical lines and a plumber or pipe-fitter to run the fluid lines. Additionally, the plumber or pipe-fitter may install isolation valves on the ends of the low pressure line and the high pressure line to facilitate removal or replacement of the pressure sensor(s) or transducer(s). The isolation valves can be closed to close off or xe2x80x9cisolatexe2x80x9d the high and low pressure lines from the pressure sensor elements.
Differential pressure sensors assemblies or differential pressure transmitter assemblies are known in the art. These assemblies incorporate both the pressure sensor assembly and the isolation valve assembly as a single manufactured product, and thus require less field installation time. In particular, the connections made between the isolation valves and the pressure sensor(s) may be made as a manufacturing step for the assembly rather than in the field.
Known differential pressure transmitters may be assembled from relatively low cost components, but assembly and/or installation time and costs may be significant. Improvements are needed to reduce the cost and increase the functionality both in the manufacture and in the installation of such pressure transmitters.
The present invention is a sensor primarily including a sensing element and a sensor housing. The sensing element measures at least one fluid parameter, such as pressure. The sensor housing provides a sealed chamber in fluid communication with the sensing element. The sensor housing has a smooth surface for mating with the sensing element. The sensor housing also has a threaded interior surface opposite the sensing element for rotational attachment to a tubing or piping system. The sensor housing also has a flange defining two planar surfaces normal to the central axis of the interior chamber. One of the planar surfaces has threaded bore holes extending less than the full width of the flange, allowing for fixable attachment of the flange to a structure. In one aspect, a body extends outward from the flange, and provides the threaded interior chamber. The body has an exterior surface with at least one flat normal to the planar surfaces of the flange. The flats are positioned adjacent to each bore hole to allow the head of the screw to mate with the flange surface. In another embodiment, a neck extends from one side of the flange defining the interior chamber, and the sensing element is attached to a smooth surface of the neck.


A remote control device includes first and second pointing devices, wherein each pointing device is provided in a different plane, for the provision of flexible and ergonomic user commands. The first pointing device may be provided on an upper surface of a remote control housing (in a first plane) while the second pointing device may be provided on a lower surface of the remote control housing (in a second plane). In this configuration, a user's thumb may engage the first pointing device which the user's finger engages the second pointing device. Combinations of thumb and finger movement are detected through the pointing devices and interpreted to generate remote control signals.

It is known to control the operation of various types of equipment and devices utilizing a separate electronic device which is configured to transmit command and/or control signals to the equipment or device. These separate electronic devices are usually referred to as "remote controls". Sometimes a remote control can also receive and interpret signals as well as transmitting them.
Remote controls can send control and/or command signals to associated equipment or devices via a range of protocols and transmission mechanisms. In the field of consumer electronic devices, it is common for a remote control to include an infra-red LED which transmits a series of pulses which are received by an infra-red receiver provided as part of the device being controlled. Each command and/or control is associated with a unique pattern of pulses, which are recognized by the infra-red receiver in cooperation with a suitable processor. Each command or control may be actuated by a separate button or combination of buttons provided on the remote control. It is also known for remote controls to transmit command or control signals via wireless or radiofrequency channels, and also for remote controls to be provided with receivers or transceivers to enable them to receive signals from a target device.
It has been known for some time to provide remote controls for televisions. These initially simple devices became more complicated as the number of channels increased and interactive services began to be provided via television broadcast signals, which meant that additional functionalities had to be included in the controls. Presently, a typical television remote control may have many tens of buttons, for example up to fifty or sixty. This can be confusing for consumers.
Furthermore, the typical home nowadays has multiple devices each being provided with their own remote control. For example a typical household may comprise separate remote controls for a television, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, set-top box, games console, hi-fi system, wireless music player, VCR and so on. Because of the proliferation of consumer devices, attention has been paid to the provision of "all in one" remote controls.
The concept behind an all in one remote control is for a single remote control to be provided, which is compatible with or can be programmed for operation with a number of different devices. One problem with the take-up of such all in one remote controls is the need to design a keypad layout that has sufficient flexibility to cope with the different functions and different designs of the various devices that it needs to control.
Existing universal remote controls therefore tend to have a very large number of buttons, for example fifty or sixty is not uncommon. This can be confusing for the user as the choice of buttons available can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to find the correct button, especially in dark environments.
In order to overcome these problems, it is known to provide double sided remote controls. One side may include some basic functionality while the other side may include the full selection of buttons and other extra functionality such as a Dvorak keyboard or alternative inferior design such as QWERTY. In some cases the chassis of the remote control is housed in a jacket which hides one side of buttons from the user's hand in use. The chassis can be removed from the jacket, flipped over and reinserted in the event of the user wishing to change the functionality that he desires.
Some manufacturers have also incorporated display screens within a remote control, in order to cut down the number of buttons that the user needs to use. Display screens may be incorporated on an existing "candy bar" type hand held remote control, or on specialized tablet style remote control devices. In either case, the display screen (which may be a touch screen display) renders these devices expensive and increases their vulnerability to malfunction if for example they are subject to mechanical trauma. In addition the multiple buttons are not aesthetically pleasing.
There is therefore a need for a remote control device which has few buttons but can provide easy access to a wide variety of functions, this device should also ideally be aesthetically appealing.

Remote control with multiple pointing devices in different planes

STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited


A system and method for scanning a business card or a driver's license from within MS Outlook directly into the address book of MS Outlook. The system includes a scanning device and a program application that is integrated with MS Outlook. The application controls the card scanner connected to the personal computer, stores the acquired image of the scanned card, extracts the text data and image data using an OCR module, opens a new contact in the MS Outlook address book and inserts the extracted textual and image data into said contact each in its appropriate field.

A business card scanner is a compact scanner for reading and organizing business cards. A business card is scanned into a graphic file by the business card scanner, and the graphic file of the business card is sent to a computer through a standard computer interface such as USB interface. The graphic file is then accessed by post-processing software such as optical character reorganization (OCR) software to convert it into text information. The text information may include Name, Title, Company, E-mail and Address field and can then be saved to an address file such as MS Outlook® address file.
In the known art, there is no known method that enables the scanning of a business card from within MS Outlook® directly into its own contact file. In today's art, a third party application is needed to import the scanned textual and image data into the MS Outlook® address file. CardScan™ from Corex is such a product in today's market which can scan a business card and update MS Outlook® address book, but it needs to be run separately and cannot be run from within MS Outlook®. Other such products are BizCardReader from CardReader Inc., SnapScan™ from FutureDial's, WorldCard from AsiaZest (Alestron Inc.) and IRIS Business Card Reader.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,108 given to Cotte et al. provides a document scanning system that is triggered by the inserted document which then lunches the software application. It is desirable to be able to auto sense the inserted document being controlled by the software application without having to lunch another application.
It is thus desirable to be able to scan a business card or a driver's license from within MS Outlook® and be able to automatically store the extracted data in the MS Outlook® address book, without having to open another application. This will release the user from the need to open a third party application that is dedicated to scanning the card, extracting the data and then it can also update the MS Outlook® address book.

System and method for scanning a business card from within a contacts address book and directly inserting into the address book database


A computer device is provided that includes a processor configured to receive a source code for a program including at least two code files, and process the source code for the program to generate a machine-level code file for each of the at least two code files of the source code. The processor is further configured to generate control flow graph data for each machine-level code file generated for the at least two code files of the source code, generate a machine-level intermediate representation for each machine-level code file using a machine-level code file and the generated control flow graph data for that machine-level code file, merge the machine-level intermediate representations into a merged machine-level intermediate representation, and perform machine-level optimizations on the merged machine-level intermediate representation and output an optimized merged machine-level intermediate representation.

Programming languages that compile programs on a file-by-file basis may separately compile each file of the source code into object files, and then merge the separate object files into an executable file. In some examples, the compiler may employ link-time optimization (LTO) techniques to apply interprocedural optimizations to eliminate duplicate calculations, inefficient use of memory, and other optimizations to the source code as a whole.

Merged machine-level intermediate representation optimizations


A disclosed device eliminates an error in a displacement amount measured value caused by changes over time in a characteristic of a displacement sensor, and can always maintain high accuracy of measurement. When a hydraulic valve, to which the displacement sensor is mounted, is positioned at predetermined positions, output signals from the displacement sensor are acquired as sample values. On the basis of the acquired sample values, a trend of changes over time in the characteristic of the displacement sensor is computed. Settings of a conversion table, which is used for displacement amount computation, are corrected in a direction along the computed trend of changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a displacement amount measuring device which measures the displacement amount of a movable body by using a displacement sensor which outputs a sensor signal corresponding to the displacement amount of the movable body, and in particular, relates to a technique for calibrating the displacement amount measuring device in accordance with changes in the characteristic of the displacement sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-258109 discloses a displacement amount measuring device which measures the displacement amount of a movable element of a solenoid valve, by using a rod-shaped magnet which is interlocked with the movable element of the solenoid valve, and a magnetic sensing device (e.g., a Hall IC) which is held within a case assembled to the solenoid valve. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-258109 also discloses that the neutral position is calibrated by learning control only one time after completion of assembly of the case and the solenoid valve, and that sufficient accuracy of measurement can be ensured merely by correcting the assembly error by this one-time calibration.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S58-193403 discloses an angle detecting device in which, by using an angle sensor which is interlocked with rotation of a rotating body and emits a pulse signal each time the rotating body rotates by a unit angle and generates a reference pulse signal at a predetermined reference position, the angle value from the reference position is computed by counting the pulse signals inputted from the angle sensor, and the angle value is stored. This angle detecting device corrects the error of the angle value by resetting the stored angle value to zero when the reference pulse signal is inputted. However, if the angle value at the time when the reference pulse signal is inputted is outside of a range between a predetermined upper limit value and lower limit value, which can be considered to be reference positions, the angle value is not reset. In this way, erroneous resetting caused by high-frequency noise being mistakenly considered as the reference pulse signal, is prevented.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-273642 discloses the following in order to correct the feeding/driving of a ball screw of machine tool. Before machining, the ball screw is moved to the stroke end, and the coordinate value of the stroke end is detected. After machining, the ball screw is again moved to the stroke end, and the coordinate value of the stroke end is detected. On the basis of the difference in the coordinate values of the stroke end before machining and after machining (the amount of elongation of the main shaft due to the thermal expansion), the driving amount of the ball screw is corrected.
In the displacement amount measuring device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-258109, initial stage calibration of the neutral position of the movable body is carried out only one time at the time when the device is assembled, and no calibration whatsoever is carried out thereafter. However, the characteristic of the portion that first senses the displacement amount of the object, such as a magnet or a Hall IC or the like (a displacement sensor in the present specification), gradually changes over the long period of time of use of the displacement amount measuring device. For example, there are cases in which the magnetic force of the magnet gradually decreases or the position of the magnet shifts, or the circuit characteristics, such as the gain or the like, of the Hall IC also change. Due to such characteristics of the displacement sensor changing over time, the results of measurement of the displacement amount measuring device gradually include a large error.
In the angle measuring device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S58-193403, the error in the angle measurement value, which is due to an error in counting the pulse signals, can be eliminated by resetting, to zero, the measurement value at the time when the rotating body is positioned at the reference position. However, the correction method, which is employed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S58-193403 and in which the measurement value at the reference position is reset to zero, cannot eliminate errors in the measured value of the displacement amount, which errors are due to changes over time in the characteristic of the displacement sensor in a device which determines the displacement amount from a sensor signal value outputted from the Hall IC of a displacement sensor, such as the displacement amount measuring device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-258109. Namely, if the characteristic of the displacement sensor changes, because the non-linear relationship between the displacement amount and the sensor signal value changes over the entire displacement range, the errors in the results of measuring the displacement amount cannot be corrected over the entire displacement range, even if only the measured value of the one point which is the reference position is reset to zero.
In the ball screw feeding/driving device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-273642, the error in the ball feed amount, which is caused by thermal expansion of the main shaft during machining, can be corrected on the basis of the difference in the coordinate values of the stroke end before and after machining. However, in a device, such as the displacement amount measuring device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-258109, in which the non-linear relationship between the displacement amount and the sensor signal value changes over the entire displacement range due to changes in the characteristic of the displacement sensor, it is not possible to correct errors in the results of measurement of the displacement amount over the entire displacement range, merely from the difference in the coordinate values at the one point which is the stroke end.


Light emitted from light-projecting elements constituted by LEDs (light-emitting diodes) or the like is transmitted to a light-projecting optical system of a sensor head portion through an optical fiber cable and projected from the light-projecting optical system onto an object. The light projected onto the object is reflected on the object. The reflected light is made incident on a light-receiving optical system. The light incident on the light-receiving optical system is led to a light-receiving element. The light-receiving element detects the incident light and generates a light-receiving signal based on the quantity of the detected light. The light-receiving signal generated by the light-receiving element is transmitted to a signal processing control portion of a main body portion through a light-receiving circuit and an electric wire cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric sensor provided with light-projecting elements and a light-receiving element.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photoelectric sensor is used for detecting the presence of an object in a detection region, the position of the object, the color of the object, etc. by means of projecting light on the detection region and receiving the reflected or transmitted light from the object.
In a separate type photoelectric sensor, a sensor head portion for projecting light and receiving light and a main body portion for processing various signals are separated from each other.
As a related-art separate type photoelectric sensor, there is a photoelectric sensor including: a sensor head portion including a light source, and a light-receiving element; and a main body portion including various circuits. The circuits in the main body portion are connected to the light source and light-receiving element in the sensor head portion by two electric wire cables.
The light emission state of the light source of the sensor head portion is controlled from the main body portion side through one of the electric wire cables. With light emission from the light source, light reflected on an object is received by the light-receiving element of the sensor head portion. A signal output from the light-receiving element is transmitted to the main body portion through the other electric wire cable.
As another related-art photoelectric sensor, there is a photoelectric sensor including: a main body portion including a light source, and a light-receiving element; and a sensor head portion connected to the main body portion by two optical fiber cables (e.g. see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 330940/1999).
In the photoelectric sensor, light emitted from a light-emitting element of the main body portion is led to the sensor head portion through one of the optical fiber cables. Light reflected on an object is led from the sensor head portion to the light-receiving element of the main body portion through the other optical fiber cable.
The related-art photoelectric sensors however have the following problems.
In the photoelectric sensor in which the main body portion and the sensor head portion are connected to each other by two electric wire cables, a signal for controlling the light emission state of the light-emitting element and a signal output from the light-receiving element are transmitted by two electric wire cables adjacent to each other and having a length of about 2 m to about 10 m. For this reason, the signals propagated through the two electric wire cables interfere with each other. As a result, the level of noise increases, so that S/N (signal-to-noise ratio) deteriorates. Accordingly, detection accuracy is lowered, so that reliability is lowered.
On the other hand, in the photoelectric sensor in which the main body portion and the sensor head portion are connected to each other by two optical fiber cables, light emitted from the light-emitting element of the main body portion is transmitted to the sensor head portion through one of the optical fiber cables while light reflected on the object is led from the sensor head portion to the light-receiving element through the other optical fiber cable. For this reason, attenuation of the quantity of light caused by transmission of light becomes remarkable. When, for example, the quantity of light is attenuated to about 65% by one optical fiber cable, no more than about 42% of the quantity of light emitted from the light-emitting element can be received.
As described above, in the photoelectric sensor in which the sensor head portion and the main body portion are connected to each other by two optical fiber cables, light-utilizing efficiency is low.


A toner for developing electrostatic images, comprising a binder resin and a colorant, the binder resin including a crystalline polyester resin and an amorphous resin. When, in differential scanning calorimetry of the toner according to ASTM D3418-8, the temperature of the endothermic peak derived from the crystalline polyester resin in a first heating process is defined as Tm1 (° C.), the endothermic quantity based on the endothermic peak in the first heating process is defined as ΔH1 (mW/g), and the endothermic quantity based on the endothermic peak in a second heating process is defined as ΔH2 (mW/g), Tm1 is 50 to 80° C., and ΔH1 and ΔH2 satisfy the relationship represented by the following Formula (1). When the softening temperature of the toner is defined as Tf1/2 (° C.), Tf1/2 is 85 to 135° C. Tm1 and Tf1/2 satisfy the relationship represented by the following Formula (2):0.35≦ΔH2/ΔH1≦0.95  Formula (1)Tf1/2≦205−(1.4×Tm1)  Formula (2).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for developing electrostatic images for use in electrophotographic apparatuses utilizing the electrophotographic process such as copying machines, printers and facsimiles, and an electrostatic image developer and an image-forming method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various fixing methods for fixing toner for developing electrostatic images (hereinafter, referred to simply as "toner") are known, including a pressure fixing method using only a pressure roll at room temperature, a contact-heating fixing method using a heating roll or the like, an oven fixing method using oven heating, a flash fixing method using, for example, a xenon lamp, an electromagnetic wave fixing method using, for example, a microwave, and non-contact fixing methods such as a solvent fixing method using solvent vapor. Among them, the oven-heating and contact-heating fixing methods have been predominantly used due to their reliability and stability.
In particular, the contact-heating fixing methods using, for example, a heating roll and a belt, by which images are fixed in a fixing unit normally including a combination of a heating roll or belt provided with a heat source and a pressure roll or belt by bringing the toner image face of a recording medium into contact with, while conveying it past, the heating roll or belt surface under pressure, are higher in thermal efficiency and allow rapid fixing because the heating roll or belt surface and the toner image face of the recording material are brought into contact with each other directly, and thus are used widely.
In these thermal-fixing methods, fixing at a lower temperature is desirable for reducing energy consumption and shortening the so-called warm-up time, i.e., the period from the time of turning on the device to the time when the temperature of the fixing unit reaches operation temperature and the fixing unit becomes ready for operation. Recently, in particular, there has been demand for interrupting the power supply to the fixing unit when it is not in use for further energy conservation, which in turn requires that the fixing member in the fixing unit is heated to a desirable fixing temperature immediately after the start of power supply, and thus fixing at a yet further reduced temperature is desirable.
Reduction of the fixing temperature is also favorable from the viewpoint of cost, as it enables acceleration of printing speed even at the same power consumption level and extension of the lifetime of the heating roll and other parts in the contact-heating fixing method.
However, in conventional methods, a decrease in the fixing temperature of toner is accompanied by a decrease in the glass transition point of the toner particles, which makes it difficult to preserve the storability of the toner. Accordingly, for well-balanced low-temperature fixing and toner storability, it is necessary to provide the toner with a so-called sharp melting property, by which the toner retains a high glass transition point and exhibits a sharp decrease in viscosity in the high temperature range.
However, amorphous resins, which are the resins commonly used for toner, have, for example, glass transition points and molecular weights in relatively wide ranges, and thus, it is necessary to control the composition and molecular weight of a resin extremely precisely to give a resin having a sharp melting property. However, such strict control of a resin demands a special manufacturing process for production of the resin or a special treatment for control of the resin molecular weight (for example, purification of the resin by chromatography), thereby raising the cost for producing the resin and also providing an unnecessary resin, which is not preferable from the recent perspective of environmental protection.
Methods of using a crystalline resin as the binder resin in order to improve low-temperature fixing efficiency have been studied (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-B) Nos. 56-13943, 62-39428 and 63-25335, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein). By using a crystalline resin, low-temperature fixing can be attained, since a toner retains its hardness up until the melting point of the crystal and exhibits a sharp decrease in viscosity at a temperature exceeding the melting point together with the melting of the crystal. However, the crystalline resins described in the literature above were problematic in that the fixing performance thereof on paper is insufficient.
Crystalline resins promising to have improved fixing efficiency on paper are crystalline polyester resins. A method of using a noncrystalline polyester resin having a glass transition temperature of higher than 40° C. and a crystalline polyester resin having a melting point of 130° C. to 200° C. in combination has been proposed as a toner using crystalline polyester resins (e.g., JP-B No. 62-39428, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein). Although the toner prepared by the method is superior in pulverization efficiency and blocking resistance, it is not possible to fix the toner at a temperature lower than before because the melting point of the crystalline polyester resin is relatively high.
Alternatively, toners containing a resin having a melting point of 110° C. or less (as the crystalline resin) and an amorphous resin in combination have also been proposed (e.g., JP-B No. 4-30014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein). However, combined use of crystalline and amorphous resins leads to a drop in the melting point of the toner, causing problems such as toner blocking and deterioration in powder flowability.
Alternatively, a method of using a crystalline polyester resin and an amorphous resin in combination and fusing the crystalline component using the history of the temperature in the fixing step, and thus preventing blocking of paper during discharge from the fixing unit and also retaining transparency, has been proposed (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2003-50478, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein). However because the crystalline and amorphous resins are fused with each other in the fixed image and thus the melting point of the toner in the fixed image is brought down as described above, the method causes the problem that the toner images once formed on a paper are often transferred onto another paper facing the printed image, resulting in image defects, when the images are exposed to pressure and heat, for example, during conveyance, transportation, or storage in summer.
If the binder resin contains an amorphous resin component in a greater amount, the toner has properties more dependent on the amorphous resin component, and thus it is difficult to lower the fixing temperature beyond previous reductions. Thus, for practical use, it is necessary to use a crystalline resin alone or in combination with an extremely small amount of an amorphous resin. As described above, it has been difficult with the conventional technology to simultaneously satisfy the requirements in low-temperature fixing efficiency, toner storage stability, and storage stability of a fixed image under heat and pressure.

Toner for developing electrostatic images, electrostatic image developer, and image-forming method


A flexible envelope having a body initially scaled at one end in a zone designed to be opened, the body including at least two walls (26A, 26B) whereof the longitudinal edges are bound together along a longitudinal weld (14) extending over the height of the body, at least one of the walls (26A, 26B) extending outside the body beyond the longitudinal weld (14) to form a flap (36). The package has a weakened line (42) constituting an incipient tear formed on the flap (36) along the longitudinal weld (14), the weakened line (42) delimiting on the flap (36) a strip (43A) at least locally detachable from the package body and an adhesive (44) borne by a strip (43A), the adhesive (44) being designed to enable the strip to be subsequently bonded against the package outer surface.

The present invention relates to a flexible packaging, of the type comprising a body initially closed at one end in a region designed to be open, the body comprising at least two sections whose longitudinal edges are bonded to each other along a longitudinal weld lying along the height of the body, at least one of the sections extending outside the body beyond the longitudinal weld for a flap.
Many food products, such as pulverulent products like coffee and flour, liquid products, or granular products such as pastas and rice, are packaged in flexible packages of the aforementioned type. These packages are formed from one or more welded sheets. They generally have at least one lower transverse weld made in the base of the body and an upper transverse weld initially made in the upper end of the body. To take out the products contained in the packaging, the upper weld is completely or partially broken or else the upper end of the packaging is completely or partially detached. The open packaging forms a pouch, access to which is possible from the upper end which forms a neck defining a passage for access inside the pouch.
After removing the upper transverse weld, it is difficult to keep the neck closed in order to prevent leakage of the products which are still contained in the pouch.
In order to keep such packages closed, it has been proposed to provide an adhesive strip attached to the body, one end of which is sealed permanently to the outer face of the packaging body and the other end of which is adapted in order to be stuck to the opposite face of the packaging body after the neck has been folded over itself, thus keeping the neck compressed between the packaging body.
Metal strips attached to the end of the neck are also known, these metal strips comprising, on each side, plastically deformable extensions making it possible, after the neck has been rolled over itself, to fold down the extensions of the strip on each side of the neck so as to keep the latter in its rolled position.
The means of retaining the rolled part of the neck in order to allow reliable resealing of the packaging are relatively expensive to implement since they require fastening external elements to the packaging.


A communication device for compressing packets includes a first interface, a grouping module and a second interface. The first interface receives packets from a group of media streams, the grouping module generates a group packet that includes a group identifier as well as the payloads of the packets, and the second interface communicates the group packet for receipt by a remote device. A communication device for decompressing packets includes a memory, an interface, and a processor. The memory stores state information for a group of media streams, the interface receives a group packet carrying payloads from the media streams, and the processor reconstructs the headers of the packets using the state information.

Exponential increases in the amount of wireless traffic have placed greater demands on packet-based network resources. Often, in order to provide consistent and reliable service, wireless service providers must lease expensive network infrastructure components. For example, base transceiver stations in mobile networks may require expensive connections to base station controllers to allow data from mobile units to reach a network. Inefficient use of available resources, therefore, can be an expensive prospect.

Increasing network efficiency using packet compression and decompression


The projection lens of a lamp unit is configured as a plano-convex lens whose front surface is a convex curved surface and whose rear surface is a plane. The rear surface is constituted by a plane tilted upward with respect to a plane orthogonal to the optical axis and outward in a vehicle width direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp equipped with a so-called projector-type lamp unit.
2. Related Art
In general, a vehicle headlamp comprises a lamp room formed by a lamp body and a translucent cover attached to a front end opening of the lamp body, the lamp room accommodating a lamp unit having an optical axis extending in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle. Disclosed in JP-A-63-314701 is a projector-type lamp unit as one type of the lamp unit.
In the projector-type lamp unit, a projection lens is disposed on an optical axis of the projector-type lamp unit, and a light source is disposed behind a rear focus point of the projection lens. Light from the light source onto a reflector is reflected so as to direct to an area close to the optical axis. As the projection lens, a plano-convex lens is used. In the plano-convex lens, a front surface is a convex curved surface and a rear surface is a plane.
However, the projection lens has problems described below since a plane constituting its rear surface is orthogonal to an optical axis.
In general, a vehicle headlamp is arranged in the right and left corners of the front end of a vehicle, so that its translucent cover often has a surface profile tilted upward along a vehicle profile and outward in a vehicle width direction. A projection lens of the lamp unit is constituted by a plane whose rear surface is orthogonal to an optical axis thus it is impossible to arrange the projection lens along the translucent cover. This results in a larger depth dimension of a lamp room accommodating the lamp unit.
Another problem is that, when the lamp unit is observed through the translucent cover, only its projection lens appears in the front direction of the vehicle, which lacks a novel design of the headlamp.


An upshift control device for an automatic transmission is provided in which the transmission is shifted up by releasing an oil pressure from a first engaging element that has been engaged while applying an oil pressure to a second engaging element that has been released. This upshift control device includes engine racing detecting means for detecting racing of an engine of the vehicle during upshifting, and engine racing preventive control mans for generating to an actuator of a timing valve a command to temporarily apply a pressure to a back pressure chamber of a first accumulator which is provided in an oil path leading to the first engaging element and from which the pressure has been released, when racing of the engine is detected after the upshift command is generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upshift control device for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a technique for controlling a back pressure of an accumulator of an engaging element to be released during upshifting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is known a shift control device for an automatic transmission as disclosed in Japanese laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-248526. When the transmission is shifted up from its 3rd-speed gear position to 4th-speed gear position, racing of the engine may occur or the torque of the output shaft of the transmission may be suddenly reduced if the released pressure of a low clutch 50 to be released inappropriately overlaps the applied pressure of the a band brake 28 to be engaged. In view of this problem, the shift control device disclosed in the above-identified publication is provided with a low clutch sequence valve 90 that is switched from a supply position for applying a pressure to a low clutch accumulator 83 of the low clutch 50 to a drain position for draining the accumulator 83, when a difference between the accumulator back pressure and the 4th-speed engaging pressure as operating signal pressures becomes equal to a predetermined value, so that the released pressure and the applied pressure are controlled to the same level in appropriate timing.
If the low clutch sequence valve 90 of the known shift control device as described above is tuned to be switched at a point of time when interlocking occurs, namely, when the applied pressure and released pressure overlap each other, the torque of the output shaft of the transmission is pulled down or drops to a large depth in the initial period of inertia phase, resulting in increased shocks, as shown in FIG. 9.
If the low clutch sequence valve 90 is tuned to be switched at a point of time when the applied pressure and the released pressure hardly overlap each other, so as to alleviate pull-down of the torque of the output shaft and thus reduce shocks, on the other hand, racing of the engine would occur due to an insufficient engaging capacity before or after the start of the inertial phase. In order to prevent racing of the engine while at the same time reducing shocks, therefore, the low clutch sequence valve 90 needs to be switched just before the engine starts racing.
Where the low clutch sequence valve is tuned to be switched at a point of time just before the engine starts racing as shown in FIG. 10, however, racing of the engine may occur since the applied pressure, released pressure and torque of the output shaft vary depending upon shift conditions. In view of this, the sequence valve is actually tuned so that the hydraulic capacity of the engaging elements is closer to the interlocking condition. In this case, however, the torque of the output shaft may be pulled down deeply or the engine suffers from racing due to variations in the oil pressure or the output torque.

Upshift control device for automatic transmission


A new and distinct variety of Verbena plant, substantially as herein illustrated and described, characterized particularly as to novelty by its rose flowers, that turn to light pink when the flower matures, early flowering and a habit that is very compact and later spreading.

The present invention comprises a new distinct cultivar of Verbena, botanically known as Verbena×hybrida.
The new cultivar is propagated from cuttings resulting from the cross of 'Oxena' and 'B0977-7'. 'Oxena' is a red flowering Verbena. 'Oxena' is commercially available as 'Babylon Red'. 'B0977-7' is a burgundy flowering Verbena. 'B0977-7' is not commercially available and is not known by any synonyms. 'Oxena' is patented as U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,126. 'B0977-7' has not been patented.
As a result of this cross the present cultivar was created in 2002 in Enkhuizen, Netherlands and has been repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings in Enkhuizen, Netherlands and Sarrians, France over a two year period. The new variety is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The new Verbena plant is an annual in most climatical zones in the US, only in zones 9 and 10 it is a perennial plant.


A device for suturing a vascular puncture site includes a shaft having a distal end terminating in a pair of resilient prongs, each of which releasably carries a suture anchor attached to one end of a suture. The shaft is installed within a hollow tube for longitudinal translation therein between first and second positions. The tube has a distal end portion and an opening spaced proximally therefrom. When the shaft is in its first position, the prongs are radially closed in the distal end portion. When the shaft is in its second position, the prongs expand radially to an open position through the opening. The proximal end of the shaft is connected to an actuation member in a fitting that is removably connectable to the proximal end of a sheath. The distal end of the tube is introduced into the puncture site through the sheath, with the shaft in its first position. The sheath is partially withdrawn, leaving the distal end of the tube inside the vessel. The shaft is moved to its second position, whereupon the prongs expand to their open position, thus positioning the suture anchors for penetration of the vascular wall tissue by manipulation of the shaft and/or the tube. The shaft is moved back to its first position to retract the prongs back into the tube, leaving the suture anchors secured to the vascular wall tissue. The tube is withdrawn, leaving the sutures trailing from the anchors so as to be secured together.

This invention relates to the field of hemostasis devices; that is, medical instruments designed to stanch the flow of blood from a ruptured or punctured blood vessel. More specifically, in one aspect, the present invention relates to a percutaneous hemostasis device, i.e., a device that can reach through the skin and subcutaneous tissue to promote hemostasis in a perforated or punctured bodily lumen, such as a blood vessel. In another aspect, the present invention relates to the method of using such a device to promote hemostasis at a perforation or puncture site in a subcutaneous bodily lumen, particularly a blood vessel.
A growing number of therapeutic and diagnostic medical procedures involve the percutaneous introduction of instrumentation into a vein or artery. For example, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), most often involving the femoral artery, is performed hundreds of thousands of times annually, while other vessel-piercing procedures (e.g., percutaneous coronary or peripheral angiography) number more than five million per year.
In each event, the closing and subsequent healing of the resultant vascular puncture is critical to the successful completion of the procedure. Traditionally, the application of external pressure to the skin entry site has been employed to stem bleeding from the wound until clotting and tissue rebuilding have sealed the perforation. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,388--Toller, which discloses an external pressure application device for effecting hemostasis in a femoral artery puncture.) In some situations, this pressure must be maintained for up to an hour or more, during which the patient is immobilized, often with sandbags or the like. With externally-applied manual pressure, both patient comfort and practitioner efficiency are impaired. Additionally, a risk of hematoma exists, since bleeding from the vessel may continue until sufficient clotting effects hemostasis. Also, external pressure application devices may be unsuitable for obese patients, since the skin surface may be a considerable distance from the vascular puncture site, thereby rendering skin compression inaccurate and thus less effective.
Consequently, devices have been developed for promoting hemostasis directly at the site of the vascular perforation. For example, there are devices that deploy intraluminal plugs within the vessel to close the puncture site, as disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.; 4,852,568--Kensey; 4,890,612--Kensey; 5,021,059--Kensey et al.; and 5,061,274--Kensey. Another approach is to deliver a tissue adhesive or clotting agent to the perforation site, as disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,221,259--Weldon et al.; 5,383,899--Hammerslag; 5,419,765--Weldon et al.; and 5,486,195--Myers et al. This method may entail some risk of disadvantageously introducing some of the adhesive or clotting agent into the bloodstream. Still another approach is the application of pressure directly to the perforation site, as exemplified by PCT International Publication Number WO 95/32671; U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,261--Guerrieo; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,246--Sinofsky, the last-named disclosing the simultaneous application of direct pressure to the perforated vessel and the direction of laser energy through an optical fiber to cauterize the wound. Yet another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,616--Fowler, wherein a cylindrical plug is inserted along the shaft of a catheter segment extending from the skin surface to the blood vessel. The catheter is then removed so that the plug can expand as fluid is drawn into the plug from the vessel and the surrounding tissue. Unless pressure is applied, however, bleeding may occur around the plug into the subcutaneous tissue. A similar concept is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,183--Janzen et al., which discloses a variety of plug delivery devices, including threaded plug pushers and multilegged channels, that install a plug that may be resorbable.
Many of the above-noted devices rely, to varying degrees, on tactile sensation alone to indicate to the surgeon the proper placement of the puncture closing instrumentation, and they may also require upstream clamping of the blood vessel to reduce intraluminal pressure to approximately atmospheric pressure at the puncture site.
Another type of percutaneous vascular hemostasis device is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,417,699 and 5,527,322, both to Klein et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,561--Voda; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,408--Gordon. This type of device comprises a mechanism for delivering a suture percutaneously to a vascular suturing site, and then tying the suture in situ. While such devices, if properly employed, are capable of very effectively stemming blood flow, they may require a relatively high degree of dexterity to be operated properly. Furthermore, they tend to be somewhat complex and expensive to manufacture, and thus are not practically employed as single use, disposable products. Consequently, sterilization may be required between uses to reduce the risk of infection, thereby increasing their cost and inconvenience.
Accordingly, there has been a long-felt need for an effective percutaneous vascular hemostasis device that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use, that is adapted for use as disposable device, and that does not require the introduction of a foreign substance--such as a plug, tissue adhesive, or clotting agent--into the bloodstream.

Percutaneous hemostatic suturing device and method


Intact mitochondria is isolated from cells by swelling the cells, lysing the swollen cells using a mild detergent such as CHAPS to release the mitochondria, and then recovering the mitochondria.

In the last decade, mitochondria research has undergone tremendous progress as new technologies and increased understanding have paved the way for new areas of investigation. Mitochondria are organelles that provide an energy source for cell processes. New disciplines have emerged studying the role of the mitochondria in apoptosis and in human diseases. An increase in awareness of the role that mitochondrial dysfunction plays in human disorders, such as diabetes, neurological diseases, heart disease, and a host of other new discoveries of human disorders necessitated the development of a more effective method to isolate intact mitochondria.
The currently employed method for the isolation of intact mitochondria is conventionally referred to as dounce homogenization. In this method, cells are mechanically lysed to release cell components by homogenization in a Polytron tissue tearer or Dounce tissue grinder. The extent of lysis can be measured visually by comparison under a microscope of the original intact cells with those after douncing. Douncing is customarily accomplished under physiological conditions in a buffer containing sugars to preserve organelle integrity which does not swell the cell in order to minimize damage to the organelle during lysis.
Subsequent to cell lysis, the homogenate containing the mitochondria suspended in the buffer is centrifuged at low speed to remove unbroken cells, cellular debris and nuclei from the suspension. The supernatant is then centrifuged at high speed, and the mitochondria, in pellet form, are recovered, rinsed with the sugar containing buffer, and used for applications, including studies as indicated above related to apoptosis, signal transduction and metabolism.
In practicing methods for recovering mitochondria, the manipulative steps are accomplished at a temperature of less than about 10° C. in order to preserve the activity of the organelle. It is also customary to finely mince the tissue prior to beginning the recovery process.
Known douncing methods have been used to isolate mitochondria from cultured cells and hard tissue (e.g. muscle or heart) and soft tissue (e.g. liver or kidney). The methods are applicable with respect to mammalian cells as well as those from other species.

Method for the isolation of intact mitochondria from cells


An automatic telerecording apparatus is comprised of a television antenna which receives a television signal, and a key view-designating block which designates as a key view a view appearing in an identical or similar pattern every time a television program desired to be recorded is broadcast, out of moving picture information based on the television signal received by the antenna. The designated key view is stored in a key view memory, and the moving picture information based on the received television signal is monitored, to detect the key view appearing in the moving picture information. When the key view is detected, the moving picture information is stored over a preset time period.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic telerecording apparatus which automatically records desired programs from television broadcasting, and more particularly to an automatic telerecording apparatus which is suitable for automatically recording TV programs, such as a weather forecast program and a news program, which have contents thereof frequently updated and are repeatedly broadcast a day.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there are known VTRs (Video Tape Recorders) with an automatic telerecording function, i.e. a function of automatically recording desired programs from television broadcasting, which have been set for recording beforehand, to prevent failure to watch the programs and enable watching them at any desired time. To automatically record a desired TV program by a VTR of this kind, the user selects a TV channel through which the TV program is broadcast, and sets a starting time and a terminating time of the program. Then, the VTR receives TV broadcasting over a time period from the set starting time to the set terminating time, extracts moving pictures of the selected TV channel and records the moving pictures on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, whereby the desired TV program is automatically recorded.
Weather forecast programs and news programs are repeatedly broadcast a day, of which updated information is particularly useful to the audience. Therefore, there is a desire to watch TV programs of this kind at any desired time to obtain updated information thereof.
In the conventional automatic telerecording apparatus (VTR), however, to automatically record a program which has contents thereof frequently updated and is repeatedly broadcast a day, such as a weather forecast program, whenever it is broadcast, the user has to set the apparatus for automatic recording of the program for each time of broadcasting of the program, which is troublesome to the user. Even if such setting has been made, it is a nuisance to reset the VTR for automatic recording of another program, so that the VTR is likely to be exclusively used for automatic recording of a particular program such as weather forecast program. Further, if the user wishes to immediately watch the recorded weather forecast program which usually extends several minutes, it takes much time to rewind the magnetic tape, and thus the VTR is low in operability or slow in starting the reproduction. Moreover, programs of this kind are likely to be erased after they have been reproduced once, and therefore repeated use of the magnetic tape for recording programs can cause various troubles.


A multi-aperture imaging device includes an image sensor, an array of optical channels, each optical channel including an optic for imaging a partial field of view of a total field of view onto an image sensor region of the image sensor, and a beam-deflector switchable between a first rotational position and a second rotational position by executing a switching movement, and configured to deflect, in a first rotational position, optical paths of the optical channels into a first viewing direction, and to deflect, in a second rotational position, the optical paths of the optical channels into a second viewing direction. The array is configured to execute, based on the switching movement, an adjustment movement for adjusting an orientation of the array with respect to the beam-deflector.

Conventional cameras have an imaging channel that images the entire object field. The cameras have adaptive components that enable a relative lateral, two-dimensional displacement between an objective and an image sensor for realizing an optical image stabilization function.
Multi-aperture imaging systems having a linear channel arrangement consist of several imaging channels, each only capturing a part of the object and containing a deflecting mirror. The deflecting mirror may be rotatably supported and, among other things, enable switching the viewing direction so that the same camera may see different viewing directions, e.g., the viewing directions forming an angle of 180°. The installation height of the mirror influences the overall height of the camera, whereas the lenses needed for imaging comprise a low overall height, i.e., the mirrors are taller than the lenses. By using the camera in two viewing directions as a result of a rotation of the mirrors into another deflecting position, the needed installation height is additionally increased in a disadvantageous manner.
Concepts for capturing object regions or fields of view in a multi-channel manner which enable high quality image capturing would be desirable.

Multi-aperture imaging device having a low installation height and a switchable viewing direction, imaging system and method for providing a multi-aperture imaging device

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


A method and apparatus for maximizing the performance of DMA transfers over a PCI.TM. bus are provided which includes a Per-Channel Retry count, Double Buffer Management, Wait Enable functionality, Back Up register functionality, Gather/Scatter mapping, a method for minimization of PIO writes, Read Semaphore functionality, a method for servicing of DMA transfers during FMU latency periods, Valid bit functionality, high and low water thresholds, and re-usable page tables.

This invention relates generally to computer systems and more specifically to data transfers within computer systems.
As it is known in the art, in order for components comprising a computer system to use data stored in main memory or in other components, there needs to be a communication channel dedicated to inter-component data communication. Such a communication channel is typically comprised of a data bus having a protocol specifying proper use of the data bus.
One such protocol used in the industry is the Direct Memory Access protocol, referred to as DMA. DMA is a method for allowing a component having DMA capabilities to control the reading and writing of data to or from a target device. DMA is a very efficient data transfer methodology because the central processing unit (CPU) does not need to be directly involved in the transaction. Since the CPU does not need to control DMA data transfers, it is free to perform other computing tasks. Therefore, not only does DMA allow for quick data access, it also increases the system's overall performance by allowing the CPU to concurrently perform other necessary computations.
One implementation of DMA is used as part of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI.TM.) data bus standard. The PCI.TM. standard is an overall bus architecture standard which governs the physical features of a bus as well as the structure of data transfers using the bus. The specified data bus structure allows each component connected to the bus to become either a bus master device, which controls transactions on the bus, or a target device which is accessed by a bus master device.
To become a bus master, a device asserts a request signal connected to an arbitration unit referred to as the bus arbiter. Using one of a variety of arbitration schemes, the arbiter grants ownership of the PCI.TM. bus to a bus master device at the appropriate time. Once a device acquires ownership of the bus, it is allowed to initiate a data transfer between itself and a target device, which is typically a shared memory subsystem.
A data transfer, employing the PCI.TM. standard, is initiated when the bus master device places the address of a desired data element and a command onto the address/data bus and asserts a signal referred to as FRAME. The FRAME signal defines the outer timing boundaries of the transfer, i.e. its assertion and deassertion (along with the IRDY and TRDY signals defined below) indicates the beginning and ending of the data transfer. After or coincident with the bus master asserting the FRAME signal, it further asserts an Initiator Ready signal referred to as IRDY. The assertion of this signal indicates that the bus master device is ready to transfer the first data word.
When the target device decodes the address it asserts signal DEVSEL and, when it is ready to transfer or receive data, asserts a target ready signal referred to as TRDY. Data is only transferred when the TRDY and IRDY signals are concurrently asserted. Alternatively it should be noted that when the signal TRDY is de-asserted, this indicates to the bus master device that the target is not ready to be accessed with the next word of data. When the FRAME signal is de-asserted, the bus master terminates the transfer after attempting one further data phase. To terminate the data transfer, the bus master relinquishes control of the PCI.TM. bus to allow another device to become bus master and to initiate its own data transfer cycle. Accordingly, a read or write cycle on the PCI.TM. bus is completely controlled by the bus master device and the target device with no intervention by the central processing unit.
Certain problems can arise when transferring data using a DMA data transfer mechanism over the PCI.TM. bus. As previously mentioned, a data transfer only occurs when both the TRDY and IRDY signals are asserted. If a target device is busy and cannot support a data transfer, it will not assert the TRDY signal. Alternatively, if a target begins a data block transfer but subsequently is not able to complete the transfer, it will de-assert the TRDY signal and assert the STOP signal having transferred only a portion of the requested data.
When a data block transfer is ended by the target device before completion, the bus master device re-establishes communication with the target device, at a future time, to complete the transfer of the data block. What is typically done in the industry is that the bus master device will immediately begin trying to re-establish data transfer communications with the target device in order to complete the data transfer as quickly as possible. However, immediately retrying a data transfer request can waste PCI cycles if the target device will typically remain busy for a period of time after the data transfer is terminated.
A further problem that arises during DMA data transfers over the PCI.TM. bus is that of erratic data flow. A typical cause for erratic data flow in bus master and target devices is access time for the device's private memory subsystem. Access to a private memory subsystem is typically lengthened due to refresh cycles which coincide with data access cycles, and due to addressing latency when using dynamic memory elements which incur significant address penalties when an access crosses an address page boundary.
The PCI.TM. bus protocol provides a maximum data transfer rate of one longword per 30 ns when operating with a 33 Mhz PCI.TM. bus clock. In order to approach this magnitude of data rate, a bus master and target device combination should be capable of transferring a longword of data to/from the PCI.TM. bus during every PCI.TM. clock cycle. If data is not accessible at this rate due to erratic data flow, PCI.TM. bus bandwidth is wasted which results in a reduction of the overall system performance.
Another problem which impedes the transfer of data over the PCI.TM. bus is the time required to set up the DMA transfer. A chip having DMA capabilities has control structures which keep track of the data to be transferred in each DMA transfer. These structures require significant chip resources and bus bandwidth to initialize and manage the data transfer which detracts from the available time that the chip has to perform the data transfer. Such time delays reduce the DMA data transfer performance on the PCI.TM. bus.
Therefore a data transfer methodology is required which solves these problems and hence increases the data bandwidth of the data bus.

Mechanism for high bandwidth DMA transfers in a PCI environment


A non-contacting seal for sealing in high temperature applications includes at least one segment having an inner pad with a hydrodynamic/hydrostatic lift-off geometry enabling the seal to run in a non-contact mode, and at least one finger spring supported on the pad that aids in making the seal radially compliant while also being axially stiff, compared to the radial direction. In one embodiment, multiple segments are supported on a support member spaced from the pad to form a gap (g) therebetween. The pad preferably includes a wear resistant layer on its inner diameter (ID) which prevents excessive wear of the pad. In one embodiment, the hydrodynamic/hydrostatic lift-off geometry is in the form of a groove formed on the inner pad. A cover may also be provided between inner pads at the ID and the support ring at the outer diameter OD in order to prevent leakage through the gap.

The use of seals for sealing gaps between a rotating and a non-rotating element, such as those found in gas turbine engines, in order to prevent fluids from leaking around rotating equipment is well known in the art. Conventional dynamic seals used for rotating equipment such as gas or steam turbine engines, compressors and the like, are traditionally designed as either non-contacting seals having a gap between the seal and the rotating surface, for example a labyrinth seal, or as contacting seals without a gap for example, brush seals, segmented carbon seals, and the like. Contacting seals are designed to minimize leakage at the cost of friction and wear of seal faces. On the other hand, non-contacting seals are designed to operate with some face separation to reduce frictional heat generation and wear at the cost of some leakage. Because of the size of the gaps typically created, non-contacting labyrinth seals have been found to have high levels of leakage during use. However, an advantage of such labyrinth seals is that they are traditionally made from metallic structures and, hence, can be used at high temperatures and for high surface speed applications. Generally, such seals are designed with a gap greater than the normal rotor growth and excursions to avoid rotor contact. In unusual cases when the rotor does contact the seal, the seal gap further enlarges, thereby, degrading seal performance and equipment efficiency.
Other types of non-contacting seals, such as non-contacting hydrodynamic and hydrostatic seals used in turbomachinery, particularly in gas compressors, are also known in the art. Unlike labyrinth seals, non-contacting hydrodynamic seals run on very thin fluid or gas films, typically in the range of about 50-300 μinch, as compared to labyrinth radial clearances which are typically in the range of 0.02-0.1 inch. Non-contacting circumferential seals have also posed design challenges. Some of the design requirements of non-contacting, particularly circumferential seals include: 1.) the ability of the seal inner diameter (ID) to conform to the variation of the rotor outer diameter (OD); 2.) the provision of hydrodynamic and/or hydrostatic grooves at the seal ID to provide seal lift-off at relatively low r.p.m to minimize groove wear; 3.) the balancing of seal radial compliance to conform to the rotor OD and sufficient axial stiffness to withstand the differential pressure between the high and low pressure sides; 4.) the provision of fluid or gas film stiffness sufficiently higher than the radial structural stiffness of the seal so as to provide non-contact operation at high speeds even during transient rotor excursions; and 5.) the use of high temperature/high strength superalloy materials for high temperature operation while also providing for shallow hydrodynamic/hydrostatic grooves.
The face seals of non-contacting seals can be polished extremely flat so that mating surfaces are parallel and can operate with very small gap clearance in the range of about 50-300 μinch, to provide stable non-contacting film riding conditions, as known in the art. In such seals, the dimensions required have been found to be critical and the seal face materials should not distort over a wide range of temperature and pressure. Conventional non-contacting seals may include very shallow (100-300 μinch) hydrodynamic and/or hydrostatic grooves such as spiral grooves, Raleigh pads or radial grooves, as is also known in the art. As the rotor speed and system pressure increase, fluid or gas pressure within these shallow grooves build up which can cause the rotor to unacceptably separate from the seal interface. The seal opening force generated by these shallow grooves drops off rapidly as the gap between the sealing surfaces increases. For circumferential seals, the sealing interface is circular around the circumference of the rotor. Lastly, the clearance of the sealing interface cannot be controlled as precisely as the face seals because of a number of factors, including rotor non-circularity, run-out, radial excursion, centrifugal growth and the like.
Segmented carbon seals are contacting seals that typically have a much lower leakage than labyrinth seals, as they tend only to make light contact with the rotating surface. However, the application temperature and surface speed of segmented carbon seals are both limited. For example, at temperatures above about 1000° F. and surface speeds above about 300 ft/sec., segmented carbon seals are generally not used due to performance limitations. Brush seals are traditionally made of high temperature superalloy bristles and, hence, their application temperatures and surface speeds are greater than those of segmented carbon seals. Typically, brush seals are used in applications up to about 1200° to 1400° F. and speeds up to about 1000-1200 ft/sec. For example, in gas turbine engines brush seals are often utilized to minimize leakage of fluids at circumferential gaps, such as between a machine housing and a rotor, around a rotary shaft of the engine, and between two spaces having different fluid pressure within the engine. In turbine engines, the fluid pressure within the system, (which may be either liquid or gas) is greater than the discharge pressure (the pressure outside the area of the engine housing, toward which the fluid will tend to leak), thus creating a pressure differential in the system. As used herein, the system pressure side of is referred to as the high pressure side, while the discharge pressure side is referred to as the low pressure side.
Both carbon segmented seals and brush seals wear with time, and as they wear their performance degrades, as known to those of skill in the art. In addition, metallic brush seals are not generally used at surface speeds greater than about 1200 ft/sec. because of the potential for bristle tip melting. Surface speeds in the vicinity of a gas-path can generally be greater than about 1200 ft/sec and, thus, brush seals are typically not suitable for such applications.
In order to enhance efficiency of rotating equipment, both the application temperature and surface speed are constantly being increased. Currently, the only known sealing system available for these extremely high temperature/high surface speed applications is the larger-gap labyrinth seal.
Therefore, there is a need for advanced high temperature seals which are capable of running with a smaller gap or clearance compared to labyrinth seals for high temperature and speed applications in order to enhance equipment efficiency.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Non-contacting seal for rotating surfaces


The invention relates to new arylglycinamide derivatives of general formula I

The invention relates to new arylglycinamide derivatives of general formula
and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, processes for preparing them and pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds. The compounds are valuable neurokinin (tachykinin) antagonists.
The abbreviations used in this specification and claims are explained as follows:
CDI=Carbonyldiimidazole
DCCI=Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide
HOBt=1-Hydroxybenzotriazole
THF=Tetrahydrofuran
DMF=Dimethylformamide
RT=Room temperature
DMAP=4-Dimethylaminopyridine
TBTU=O-Benzotriazolyl-tetramethyluronium-tetrafluoroborate
The formulae are shown in simplified form. In representing the compounds, for example, all the CH3-substituents are represented by a hyphen and CH is represented by , thus, for example:
denotes
The invention relates to new arylglycinamide derivatives of general formula I
or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein
Ar denotes unsubstituted or mono- to penta-substituted phenyl, or unsubstituted or mono- or disubstituted naphthyl [wherein the substituents of the phenyl and naphthyl independently of one another denote halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), (C1-4)alkyl, Oxe2x80x94(C1-4)alkyl, CF3, OCF3 or NR12R13 (wherein R12 and R13 independently of one another denote H, methyl or acetyl)] or Ar is phenyl substituted by xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94or xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94;
R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound denote a ring of the formula
or
wherein
r, s and t are 2 or 3;
R6 denotes
H.
(C1-5)alkyl,
(C3-5)alkenyl
propynyl,
hydroxy (C2-4)alkyl,
methoxy(C2-4)alkyl,
di (C1-3)alkylamino (C2-4)alkyl,
amino (C2-4)alkyl,
amino,
di(C1-3)alkylamino,
monofluoro- to perfluoro(C1-2)alkyl,
N-methylpiperidinyl,
pyridyl,
pyrimidinyl,
pyrazinyl,
pyridazinyl
or the group xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94C(O)NR14R15,
wherein
R14 is H or (C1-4)alkyl and
R15 is H, (C1-4)alkyl, (C3-6)cycloalkyl, hydroxy(C2-4)alkyl, alkoxy(C2-3)alkyl, phenyl(C1-4)alkyl, or R14 and R15 together with the N to which they are bound form a ring (1-pyrrolidinyl, piperidino, morpholino or 1-methylpiperazin-4-yl);
R7 has one of the definitions (a) to (d),
(a) hydroxy
(b) 4-piperidinopiperidyl,
(c)
wherein R16 and R17 independently of one another denote
H,
(C1-4)alkyl,
(C3-6)cycloalkyl,
hydroxy (C2-4)alkyl,
(C1-3) alkoxy(C2-4)alkyl,
phenyl(C1-4)alkyl or
di(C1-3)alkylamino(C2-4)alkyl,
or if R16 is H or (C1-4)alkyl,
R17 may also be xe2x80x94CH2C(O)NR18R19, wherein R18 and R19 are defined as R14 and R15 hereinbefore;
(d)
wherein R20 denotes
H,
(C1-4)alkyl,
(C4-6)cycloalkyl or
xe2x80x94CH2C(O)NR21R22,
wherein R21 and R22 are defined as R14 and R15
hereinbefore;
R8 is H
R9 and R10 independently of each other denote (C1-4)alkyl;
R11 denotes
H,
(C1-5)alkyl,
(C3-5)alkenyl,
propynyl,
hydroxy(C2-4)alkyl,
methoxy(C2-3)alkyl,
di (C1-3)alkylamino (C2-3)alkyl,
amino(C2-3)alkyl,
amino,
di(C1-3)alkylamino,
monofluoro- to perfluoro (C1-2)alkyl,
N-methylpiperidinyl,
pyridyl,
pyrimidinyl,
pyrazinyl,
pyridazinyl
or the group xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94C(O)NR23R24,
wherein R23 and R24 are defined as R14 and R15 hereinbefore;
R3 denotes H, (C1-4)alkyl, unsubstituted or mono- to trisubstituted phenyl, wherein the substituents independently of one another denote halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), (C1-4)alkyl, Oxe2x80x94(C1-4)alkyl, CF3, OCF3 or NR25R26 (wherein R25 and R26 independently of one another denote H, methyl or acetyl);
R4 denotes phenyl(C1-4)alkyl or naphthyl(C1-4)alkyl, wherein phenyl may be substituted by 1 to 3 substituents, wherein the substituents independently of one another denote halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), (C1-4)alkyl, Oxe2x80x94(C1-4)alkyl, CF3, OCF3 or NR27R28 (wherein R27 and R28 independently of one another denote H, methyl or acetyl); and
R5 denotes H, (C1-4)alkyl, (C3-6)cycloalkyl, CH2COOH, CH2C(O)NH2, OH or phenyl(C1-4)alkyl.
Preferred compounds of general formula I are those wherein
Ar denotes unsubstituted or mono- or disubstituted phenyl, or unsubstituted naphthyl, or Ar is phenyl substituted by xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94;
R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound denote a ring of the formula
or
wherein
r is 2 or 3 and
s and t are 2;
R6, R7, R8, R9, R10 and R11 are as hereinbefore defined;
R3 is H or (C1-4)alkyl,
R4 denotes phenyl(C1-4)alkyl or naphthyl(C1-4)alkyl, wherein phenyl may be substituted by 1 or 2 substituents, wherein the substituents independently of one another are halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), (C1-4)alkyl, Oxe2x80x94(C1-4)alkyl, CF3 or OCF3; and
R5 denotes H, (C1-4)alkyl, (C3-6)cycloalkyl, OH or (C1-4)alkylphenyl.
Particular mention should be made of compounds of formula I wherein
Ar is unsubstituted or mono- or disubstituted phenyl, or unsubstituted naphthyl [wherein the substituents of the phenyl independently of one another are halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), methyl, methoxy, CF3 or OCF3] or Ar is phenyl substituted by xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94(CH2)2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94;
particularly those wherein Ar is phenyl, naphthyl, phenyl substituted in position 3 and/or 4 by methoxy or halogen, or phenyl in which positions 2 and 3 or 3 and 4 are linked by xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, preferably those compounds wherein
Ar is phenyl,
phenyl substituted by methoxy in positions 3 and 4 or phenyl wherein positions 3 and 4 or 2 and 3 are linked by xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94.
Of the compounds defined above, special mention should be made of those wherein, in the ring
r is 2 or 3 and
R6 denotes
H,
(C1-5)alkyl,
(C3-5)alkenyl,
propynyl,
hydroxy (C2-4)alkyl,
methoxy (C2-4)alkyl,
di(C1-3)alkylamino(C2-4)alkyl,
amino (C2-4)alkyl,
amino,
di(C1-3)alkylamino,
monofluoro- to perfluoro(C1-2)alkyl,
N-methylpiperidinyl,
pyridyl,
pyrimidinyl, or
particularly those wherein
r is 3 and R6 is methyl;
and those wherein
r is 2 and
R6 is
H,
(C1-4)alkyl,
propenyl,
propynyl,
hydroxy (C2-3)alkyl,
methoxyethyl,
di(C1-2)alkylamino (C2-3)alkyl,
aminoethyl,
amino,
dimethylamino,
CH2CF3,
N-methylpiperidinyl,
pyridyl,
pyrimidinyl, or
preferably those wherein
r is 2 and
R6 is H, (C1-3)alkyl, allyl, 2-propynyl, xe2x80x94CH2CH2OCH3, xe2x80x94CH2CH2N(CH3)2, N-methylpiperidinyl, 2-pyrimidinyl or
r is 2 and
R6 is H, CH3, C3H7, CH(CH3)2, CH2CH2OH, CH2CH2OCH3 or CH2CH2N (CH3)2.
Of the compounds defined above, mention should also be made of those wherein R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound form the ring
wherein R8 is H and
R7 is OH
wherein R16 and R17 independently of one another denote:
H
(C1-3)alkyl,
(CH2)nOH wherein n is 2, 3 or 4
(CH2)2OCH3
xe2x80x94(CH2)nPh wherein n is 2 or 4
(CH2)2N(CH3)2
particularly those wherein
R16 and R17 are both CH3 or C2H5 or
R16 is H or CH3 and R17 is (C1-3)alkyl,
(CH2)2OH,
(CH2)4OH or
and those wherein
R7 denotes
especially those wherein
R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound form the ring
xe2x80x83wherein
(a) R8 is H and
R7 is
wherein R16 and R17 both represent CH3, C2H5 or CH2CH2OH or R16 is H or CH3 and R17 is (C1-3)alkyl,
(CH2)2OH or
(CH2)4OH or
(b) R8 is H and R7 denotes
Of the compounds defined above, mention should also be made of those wherein
R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound form the ring
Of the compounds defined above, special mention should also be made of those wherein
R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound form the ring
wherein R11 is H or (C1-3)alkyl, particularly those wherein
R11 is xe2x80x94CH(CH3)2
Of the compounds defined above, the ones of particular interest are those wherein R3 is H; and/or
R4 denotes phenyl(C1-4)alkyl, wherein phenyl may be substituted by 1 or 2 substituents, wherein the substituents independently of one another denote halogen (F, Cl, Br, I), (C1-4)alkyl, Oxe2x80x94(C1-4)alkyl, CF3 or OCF3; and/or
R5 denotes H, (C1-4)alkyl, (C3-6)cycloalkyl, xe2x80x94OH or phenyl(C1-4)alkyl,
particularly those wherein
R4 denotes phenyl(C2-4)alkyl, wherein the substituents are in positions 3 and/or 5 of the phenyl ring and/or
R5 is H, methyl, OH or phenethyl, preferably those wherein
R4 is
and R5 is methyl.
Compounds of general formula I may have acid groups, chiefly carboxyl groups, and/or basic groups such as amino functions, for example. Compounds of general formula I may therefore be present either as internal salts, as salts with pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, sulphonic acid or organic acids (such as maleic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, tartaric acid or acetic acid) or as salts with pharmaceutically acceptable bases such as alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxides or carbonates, zinc or ammonium hydroxides or organic amines such as dimethylamine, triethylamine, triethanolamine, etc.
The compounds according to the invention may occur as racemates but may also be obtained as pure enantiomers, i.e. in the (R)- or (S)-form.
The term naphthyl used hereinbefore includes both 1-naphthyl and 2-naphthyl.
Test results for compounds according to the invention:
The receptor affinity for the NK1-receptor (substance P-receptor) is determined on human lymphoblastoma cells (IM-9) with cloned NK1-receptors, by measuring the displacement of 125I-labelled substance P. The Ki-values thus obtained show the efficacy of the compounds:
The compounds according to the invention are valuable neurokinin (tachykinin) antagonists which have both substance P antagonism and also neurokinin A and neurokinin B antagonistic properties. They are useful for the treatment and prevention of neurokinin-mediated diseases:
for the treatment or prevention of inflammatory and allergic diseases of the respiratory tract, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, hyperreactive respiratory tract, emphysema, rhinitis and cough,
and of the eyes, such as conjunctivitis and iritis,
of the skin, such as dermatitis in contact eczema, urticaria, psoriasis, sunburn, insect bites and stings, itching, sensitive or hypersensitive skin,
of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, Crohn""s disease, irritable bowel and Hirschsprung""s disease,
of the joints, such as rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis and Reiter syndrome;
for treating diseases of the central nervous system such as dementia, Alzheimer""s disease, schizophrenia, psychoses, depression, headache (e.g. migraine or tension headaches), epilepsy, Parkinson""s disease and stroke;
for treating herpes zoster and postherpetic pain, tumours, collagenoses, dysfunction of the deferent urinary tract, haemorrhoids, nausea and vomiting, caused for example by radiation or cytostatic therapy or motion and pain of all kinds.
The invention therefore also relates to the use of the compounds according to the invention as therapeutic agents and pharmaceutical preparations which contain these compounds. They are preferably used in humans. The compounds according to the invention may be administered by intravenous, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intraperitoneal or intranasal route, by inhalation, by transdermal route, optionally aided by iontophoresis or enhancers known from the literature, and by oral route.
For parenteral administration the compounds of formula I or the physiologically acceptable salts thereof, possibly with the conventional substances such as solubilisers, emulsifiers or other adjuvants, are dissolved, suspended or emulsified. Solvents which may be used include: water, physiological saline solutions or alcohols, e.g. ethanol, propanediol or glycerol, sugar solutions such as glucose or mannitol solutions or a mixture of several solvents.
In addition, the compounds may be administered by means of implants, e.g. of polylactide, polyglycolide or polyhydroxybutyric acid or intranasal preparations.
The oral efficacy of compounds of general formula I can be demonstrated by the following standard test:
Inhibition of lowering of blood pressure caused by NK1 in anaesthetised guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs weighing 300-500 grams were anaesthetised with pentobarbital (50 mg/kg i.p.), intubated and artificially ventilated. They were ventilated with 10 ml/kg of air at a frequency of 60 breaths per minute. The carotid artery was canulated and the arterial blood pressure was recorded. A polyethylene tube was inserted into the jugular vein for the intravenous supply of substances.
A temporary reduction in blood pressure was brought about at intervals of 10 minutes by intravenous administration of the NK1-agonist [(xcex2Ala4, Sar9, Met (O2)11]SP (4-11)
in a dose of 0.2 xcexcmol/kg. After the blood pressure thus produced has been measured, the test compound was introduced into the duodenum and the NK1-agonist was again injected every 10 minutes.
The results were expressed as a % inhibition of the reduction in blood pressure caused by the NK1-agonist specified.
In a dosage of 1 mg/kg (administered into the duodenum) the compound of Example 1 inhibited the lowering of blood pressure caused by the NK1-agonist by 80%.
The compounds according to the invention can be produced using generally known methods.
The compounds may be prepared in various ways. The two most common procedures are represented by the following diagram:
Method A. The carboxylic acid may be linked to the amine HN(R5)R4 by various methods. Conventional methods are coupling processes such as those used in peptide chemistry. A coupling reagent such as TBTU, DCCI/HOBt, CDI, etc., is added to the coupling partners in substantially equivalent quantities. Suitable solvents are DMF, THF, CH2Cl2, CHCl3, acetonitrile or other inert solvents or mixtures thereof. The suitable temperature range is between xe2x88x9250xc2x0 C. and +120xc2x0 C., preferably between 0xc2x0 C. and 40xc2x0 C.
The carboxylic acid may also initially be converted into the corresponding acid halide by known methods using SOCl2, SO2Cl2, PCl3, PCl5 or PBr3 or mixtures thereof, and the acid halide is then reacted with the amine HN(R5)R4 in an inert solvent such as CH2Cl2, THF or dioxane at temperatures between xe2x88x9250xc2x0 C. and +100xc2x0 C., typically at 0xc2x0 to 20xc2x0 C.
Another alternative is to convert the carboxylic acid initially into the alkylester, usually the methylester, by known methods and this ester is then reacted with the amine HN(R5)R4 in an inert solvent such as DMF, dioxane or THF. The reaction temperatures are between 20xc2x0 C. and 150xc2x0 C., typically between 50xc2x0 C. and 120xc2x0 C. The reaction may also be carried out in a pressurized container.
Method B. Here, the xcex1-halo-arylacetamide derivative obtained by known methods is reacted with the amine R1(R2)NH, thereby cleaving hydrogen halide. Inorganic bases such as K2CO3, NaHCO3 or CaCO3 or organic bases such as triethylamine, Hxc3xcnig base, pyridine or DMAP are used to mop up the cleaved (or excess) hydrogen halide, or an excess of the amine R1 (R2)NH may be used. DMF, THF, dioxane or other inert solvents are used. The temperature range for the reaction is from 0 to 100xc2x0 C., typically between 10 and 80xc2x0 C.
Method C. The compounds according to the invention wherein R5 is not H may also be prepared as follows: first of all, the corresponding compound in which R5 is H is synthesised using method A or B. Then, N-alkylation is carried out as follows in order to introduce alkyl, cycloalkyl or CH2COOH. The compounds according to the invention wherein R5 is H are deprotonated with an equivalent quantity of NaH, NaNH2, KOH, NaOCH3 or another strong base. Anhydrous inert solvents such as THF, dioxane or diethylether are used for this. Then the corresponding alkylating agent is added slowly in the form of the corresponding halide, tosylate or mesylate. The reaction is carried out at a temperature within the range from xe2x88x9250xc2x0 C. to +100xc2x0 C., typically between 0xc2x0 C. and +5xc2x0 C.

Arylglycinamide derivatives, method of producing said derivatives and pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds

Abstract: and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein R1 and R2 together with the N to which they are bound form a ring of the formula

Abstract: in which

Abstract: R3, R4, R5, Ar, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, r, s and t have the meanings given in the specification and the preparation and use thereof. The new compounds are valuable neurokinin (tachykinin) antagonists.


A semiconductor device including: a well layer that is formed on a semiconductor substrate; a first impurity diffusion layer that is formed on the well layer; a floating gate that is formed on the well layer in one region isolated from the first impurity diffusion layer, with a gate insulating film therebetween, and that is drawn over the first impurity diffusion layer and over the well layer in other region isolated from the first impurity diffusion layer, respectively; a source or drain layer that is formed on the well layer in such a manner that the source or drain layer sandwiches the floating gate disposed on the gate insulation film with another source or drain layer and in isolation from the first impurity diffusion layer; and a second impurity diffusion layer that is formed on the well layer adjacently to the other region, the well layer being of a first conductivity type while the source or drain layer, the first impurity diffusion layer and the second impurity diffusion layer being each of a second conductivity type.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. More specifically, the invention relates to a technology that realizes electrical erasure in a FAMOS without increasing the number of processes.
2. Related Art
Among related art semiconductor memory devices is one called a FAMOS that realizes a non-volatile memory element if only it is provided with one MIS transistor having a floating gate structure. In the FAMOS, writing is performed by injection of hot electrons into the floating gate, the hot electrons having been generated through the avalanche breakdown of a PN junction formed between an N-type semiconductor substrate and a P-type drain layer. Also, reading is performed in the FAMOS through use of a shift in the threshold voltage, the shift occurring at the time when electrons are injected into the floating gate.
JP-A-10-178115 and JP-A-5-55602 are examples of related art. JP-A-10-178115, for example, discloses a method of realizing an electrically erasable FAMOS by depositing a control gate on the floating gate with an insulating film therebetween and electrically erasing carriers, having been accumulated at the floating gate, through tunneling.
However, in a related art FAMOS, once electrons have been injected into a floating gate, it is difficult to extract the electrons from the floating gate by means of an electrical technique. Thus, undesirably, information written into a FAMOS cannot be erased, which precludes repetition of the writing procedure. Furthermore, the method disclosed in JP-A-10-178115 requires that a control gate is deposited on the floating gate, with an insulating film therebetween, in order for an erasing action to be electrically realized in a FAMOS. This incurs a disadvantage that the number of processes is increased.