An anti-IL-23 specific human Ig derived protein is useful in therapeutic and diagnostic compositions, methods and devices. The anti-IL-23 Ig derived protein preferably includes one or more of the Seg 1, Seg 2, and Seg 3 epitopes of the p40 subunit of IL-23.

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is the name given to a factor that is composed of the p40 subunit of IL-12 (IL-12beta, IL-12-p40) and another protein of 19 kDa, designated p19. The p19 subunit is structurally related to IL-6, G-CSF, and the p35 subunit of IL-12. The p19 subunit by itself is biologically inactive while the complex of p19 with p40 is active. The active complex is secreted by antigen presenting cells after cell activation. Mouse memory T-cells (CD4 (+)CD45 Rb(low)) proliferate in response to IL-23 but not in response to IL-12. Human monocyte-derived macrophages produce IL-23 in response to virus infection (Sendai virus, but not Influenza A virus).
The IL-23 receptor complex consists of a receptor chain, termed IL23R, and the beta-1 subunit of the IL-12 receptor. IL-23 does not bind to the beta-2 subunit of the IL-12 receptor. The human IL-23R gene is on human chromosome 1 within 150 kb of the gene encoding IL-12Rbeta2. IL-23 activates the same signaling molecules as IL-12: JAK2, Tyk2, and STAT-1, STAT-3, STAT4, and STAT-5. STAT4 activation is substantially weaker and different DNA-binding STAT complexes form in response to IL-23 as compared to IL-12. IL-23R associates constitutively with JAK2 and in a ligand-dependent manner with STAT-3.
Expression of p19 in transgenic mice leads to runting, systemic inflammation, infertility, and death before 3 months of age. The animals show high serum concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1. The number of circulating neutrophils is increased. Acute phase proteins are expressed constitutively. Animals expressing p19 specifically in the liver do not show these abnormalities. Expression of p19 is most likely due to hematopoietic cells as bone marrow transplantation of cells expressing p19 causes the same phenotype as that observed in the transgenic animals.
Biologically active IL-12 exists as a heterodimer comprised of 2 covalently linked subunits of 35 (p35) and 40 (p40) kD. IL-12 acts by binding to both the IL-12beta 1 and beta 2 receptor proteins and thereby induces signaling in a cell presenting both of these receptors. Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that IL-12 can induce robust Th1 immune responses that are characterized by production of IFNγ and IL-2 from CD4+ T cells. Inappropriate Th1 responses, and thus IL-12 expression, are believed to correlate with many autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and uveitis. In animal models, IL-12 neutralization was shown to ameliorate autoimmune disease. However, these studies neutralized both IL-12 and IL-23 through the shared p40 subunit.
IL-12 is thought to be important in the development of Th1, or "type 1," CD4+ T cell responses, whereas IL-23 is thought to be important for the activation of memory CD4+ T cells. Several studies suggest that IL-12 is responsible for generating effective immune responses to intracellular pathogens and tumor cells, while the function of IL-23 in these types of immune responses has yet to be fully described. Therefore, while inhibition of both IL-12 and IL-23 should provide significant therapy for immune-mediated disease, inhibition of IL-12 pathways could limit immunity to pathogens or tumor cells and result in an unwanted risk profile. In contrast, inhibition of only IL-23 could provide therapeutic benefit while leaving IL-12 pathways intact. Thus, effective therapy would be achieved concomitant with a lowered risk profile.
Non-human, chimeric, polyclonal (e.g., anti-sera) and/or monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) and fragments (e.g., proteolytic digestion products thereof) are potential therapeutic agents that are being developed in some cases to attempt to treat certain diseases. However, such antibodies that comprise non-human portions elicit an immune response when administered to humans. Such an immune response can result in an immune complex-mediated clearance of the antibodies from the circulation, and make repeated administration unsuitable for therapy, thereby reducing the therapeutic benefit to the patient and limiting the readministration of the Ig derived protein. For example, repeated administration of antibodies comprising non-human portions can lead to serum sickness and/or anaphalaxis. In order to avoid these and other such problems, a number of approaches have been taken to reduce the immunogenicity of such antibodies and portions thereof, including chimerization and "humanization," as well known in the art. These approaches have produced antibodies having reduced immunogenicity, but with other less desirable properties.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide anti-IL-23 antibodies or specified portions or variants, nucleic acids, host cells, compositions, and methods of making and using thereof, that overcome one more of these problems.

IL-23p40 specific immunoglobulin derived proteins


An implantable apparatus for the early diagnosis of tachycardia in the heart is provided with. a microelectrode array, which is in contact with the cardiac muscle tissue, for detecting stimulus conduction potentials in the cardiac muscle tissue, PA1 a measuring device, which is in connection with the microelectrode array, for determining the refractory time of the cardiac muscle cells in the monitored cardiac region, PA1 a measuring device, which is in connection with the microelectrode array, for determining the stimulus conduction velocity in the monitored cardiac muscle region, PA1 a computing device for determining the product value of the refractory time and the stimulus conduction velocity, PA1 a comparator for comparing the product value with a tachycardia threshold, any falling short of the tachycardia threshold signaling a condition of the heart in risk of tachycardia, PA1 a stimulation arrangement for generating antitachycardia stimulation upon detection of a condition of risk of tachycardia in particular via the microelectrode array, and PA1 a control unit for controlling the measuring and evaluation processes within the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an implantable apparatus for the early diagnosis and suppression of tachycardia in the heart.
2. Background Art
As for the background of the invention, a short explanation is necessary of the cardiac arrhythmias designated as tachycardia, in which the heart rate rises beyond a physiologically reasonable degree. In this case, the individual contractions of the heart take place so fast that no sufficient quantity of blood is transported per contraction. The heart rate increase is over-compensated by the decrease in volume of the heartbeat.
Fundamentally, ventricular tachycardia conditions are dangerous, since the pumping capacity of the heart is mainly performed by the ventriculus, while the atrium contributes to blood conveyance only to a very limited degree.
Conditions of ventricular tachycardia can be subdivided in varying degrees of severity. A first stage is characterized by changes in the morphology of the electric stimulus signals of the cardiac muscle cells and by irregularity in the slightly increased cardiac rhythm.
A second stage is the so-called ventricular flutter at a heart rate that has not yet risen to a critical degree. The decrease of the pumping capacity can however lead to a patient's syncope.
The most serious stage is the so-called ventricular fibrillation, in which case the drastic decrease of the pumping capacity leads to the death of a patient within a very short time.
To date, various measures have been taken for tachycardia therapy, adapted to the degree of severity of tachycardia. At a less critical stage, the setting in of tachycardia is frequently suppressed by so-called antitachycardia stimulation at amplitudes of some volts which is customary for heart pacemakers. The heart beating stably but too rapidly is "caught up", to which end stimulation pulses at certain time intervals are used. The prerequisite for the success of such a moderate therapy is the timely recognition and classification of such a condition of tachycardia.
In the case of ventricular fibrillation, the only thing that works is as a rule a defibrillation shock of some hundreds of volts, if this potential can be applied directly in the heart. Defibrillation shocks applied extracorporally--for example via chest electrodes--even need amplitudes of some kV.
If successful, a defibrillation shock leads to electric excitation of all cardiac muscle cells so that subsequently, all the cells find themselves in the so-called refractory phase. During this refractory phase, which is to be designated as a "dead period", any stimulus conduction within the heart is interrupted, even that one previously leading to fibrillation. The latter may base on circulating self-excitation, in which an excitation front circulates cyclically around a pathologically disfigured spot in the cardiac tissue--for instance an infarction scar.
Summing up, it may be said that the defibrillation shock is sort of a "reset" of the entire cardiac muscle apparatus which is very drastic and painful to the patient. Therefore, any effort should be made for conditions of tachycardia to be diagnosed as early as possible so that measures can be taken to prevent fibrillations from setting in.
However, the detection of high heart rates alone is not sufficient for this early diagnosis, since, in particular in the range of low heart rates, tachycardia conditions cannot be distinguished from natural increases of the heart rate as a result of physical stress. This is why the prior art mainly proceeds from two objectives for the early diagnosis of tachycardia. On the one hand, this consists in the evaluation, implemented on a heart pacemaker, of the so-called heart rate variability in ECG diagrams. Irregularities or certain acceleration patterns of the cardiac rhythm are to be recognized, which occur regularly at the beginning of the virtual tachycardia condition. Drawbacks of this method reside in the comparatively high requirements of computing and storing capacity, which today's implants cannot comply with sufficiently.
On the other hand, early tachycardia diagnosis makes use of an evaluation of the action potentials of cardiac muscle cells. Their morphology is subject to certain modifications already very early before the beginning of tachycardia. However, the implementation of such evaluation methods is not put into practice for lack of adequate findings, and presumably, the requirements on the computing and storing capacities of today's standards will again be too high for it to be possible to implement the corresponding method on an implant.

Implantable apparatus for the early diagnosis and suppression of tachycardia in the heart

Biotronik Mess- und Therapiegerate GmbH & Co.


A preparation method of adiposomes, and use thereof. Provided is a method for preparing adiposomes consisting of neutral lipids and a monolayer phospholipid membrane, comprising a1) vortexing phospholipid and neutral lipids in a buffer, centrifuging the resulting mixture, and collecting an upper liquid phase; a2) purifying the upper liquid phase twice or more by uniformly mixing the upper liquid phase with the buffer, layering the mixture, and collecting an upper liquid phase; and a3) uniformly mixing the upper liquid phase obtained in step a2) with the buffer, layering the mixture, and collecting a lower liquid phase in containing adiposomes. For the adiposomes prepared by the method, one or more resident proteins and/or functional proteins can be recruited to obtain artificial lipid droplets, and one or more apolipoproteins can be recruited to obtain artificial lipoproteins; and they all play important roles in preparing drugs and/or drug carriers.

A lipid droplet (LD) is a cellular organelle that consists of a neutral lipid core, a monolayer phospholipid membrane and associated proteins, and the functions of such cellular organelle include: 1) synthesis, storage, metabolization and transportation of lipids; 2) storage and degradation of proteins; 3) production and modification of lipid signaling molecules and hormones; and 4) interaction with other cellular organelles. Because the lipid droplets have the above-mentioned multiple functions, many human diseases, especially metabolic diseases, are closely related to the formation and dynamic changes of lipid droplets. However, the formation mechanism and dynamic changes of the lipid droplets are still difficult to study. Currently, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of how lipid droplets are formed, of the functions of lipid droplets and of their regulatory mechanisms. It is the complexities of the composition of lipid droplets and their interaction with other cellular organelles that interfere with our ability to dissect these mechanisms.
In the past decade, people have been dedicated to the isolation and purification of lipid droplets, and to the elucidation of the protein and lipid composition of lipid droplets through proteomic and lipidomic studies. However, it is found in the studies of proteomes and other components that lipid droplets obtained by isolation almost always contain fragments of the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and other cellular organelles. It can be seen that it is necessary to prepare artificial lipid droplets (ALDs) which are close to the natural lipid droplets in both structure and composition.
In addition to lipid droplets, there is a type of structure in the human body that is constructed by a monolayer phospholipid membrane packaging neutral lipids and is coated with proteins on its surface, and such structure is called a lipoprotein. Although the structure of the lipoprotein is very similar to that of the lipid droplet, they are different in localization and surface proteins: lipid droplets are present in cells, but lipoproteins are present in blood; the main protein on lipid droplets is a lipid droplet resident/structural protein, but the main protein on lipoproteins is an apolipoprotein. Different lipoproteins have different apolipoproteins on their surface. The type and ratio of lipoproteins have a very important impact on human health. A high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a key component of cholesterol reverse transport, which can prevent the deposition of cholesterol on vascular walls, having a very important preventive effect on cardiac and cerebral vessel diseases, such as atherosclerosis. Artificial lipoproteins may be used for supplements of high-density lipoproteins or other drug carriers.

Preparation method of adiposomes, and use thereof

INSTITUTE OF BIOPHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A wafer polishing apparatus includes a polishing tape extending between two guide rollers, a first surface of the polishing tape contacting a surface of a wafer to be polished, a polishing head including a pusher pad, the pusher pad adapted to push the polishing tape against the surface of the wafer to be polished, a color image sensor adjacent to the polishing tape, the color image sensor being adapted to detect a color image of the polishing tape and to output a signal corresponding to the detected color image, and a controller connected to the color image sensor, the controller being adapted to receive the signal output from the color image sensor and to determine when a color of the color image detected by the color image sensor changes, a change in the color image indicating a polishing end point.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to an apparatus and method of processing a substrate. More particularly, example embodiments related to an apparatus for polishing a wafer and to a method of determining an end point of a polishing process by the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic system may include an integrated circuit chip on a printed circuit board, e.g., a controller such as a microprocessor, a memory chip such as a DRAM or flash memory, and so forth. To facilitate mass production, an integrated circuit chip may be formed on a semiconductor wafer.
Conventional formation of an integrated circuit chip on a semiconductor wafer may include selectively removing a portion of the semiconductor wafer, e.g., etching, polishing, and so forth. For example, conventional etching may include positioning the semiconductor wafer between bottom and top electrodes, followed by application of radio frequency (RF) voltage to the top/bottom electrodes to generate plasma for etching a portion of the semiconductor wafer or an object placed on the semiconductor wafer. In another example, conventional polishing may include a sponge roller contacting a semiconductor wafer, e.g., a beveled part or an edge part of the semiconductor wafer, and a solution supplied, e.g., via a nozzle, onto the semiconductor wafer.
Selective removal of portions of a semiconductor wafer may be followed by cleaning. For example, conventional etching, e.g., a reactive ion etching (RIE), may cause surface roughness on the semiconductor wafer, e.g., protrusions on edges of the semiconductor wafer. That is, by-products generated during the RIE may adhere to the semiconductor wafer, e.g., to an edge of the semiconductor wafer, so acicular protrusions may be formed thereon. Such protrusions may function as etch masks, e.g., interfering with proper etching, or may break to trigger generation of particles and impurities on the semiconductor wafer, thereby reducing production yield. Such protrusions may be removed by the cleaning process, e.g., secondary dry etching and/or polishing, before further processing, e.g., a photolithography process.
A conventional dry etching, however, may have an insufficiently precise detection of start/end points of the etching. For example, a conventional detection of start/end points of an etching process may include using an emission spectroscopy analysis, so an end point of the etching process may be determined according to concentration of an activated species easily observable, e.g., energy, ions, and so forth. For example, when an etching gas is used in the etching process, emission spectroscopy analysis may be used to measure concentration of a decomposed material or of reaction formation material of an etching gas in order to determine an end point of the etching process. The concentration may be determined according to variation in emission intensity based on a predetermined wavelength. For example, when using a CF gas, e.g., CF4 gas, to etch a silicon oxide layer, a wavelength of about 483.5 nm may be used to detect emission of a reaction product CO* during etching, so an etching end point may be determined by variation of emission intensity of the CO*. Similarly, when using a CF gas, e.g., CF4 gas, to etch a silicon nitride layer, a wavelength of about 674 nm may be used to detect emission of a reaction product N* during etching, so an etching end point may be determined by variation of emission intensity of the N*. Detection of an end point of an etching process via an emission spectroscopy analysis, however, may be difficult to conduct in real time without over-etching, thereby causing damage to underlying layers.
Another conventional detection of start/end points of an etching process may include using an end point detector (EPD) employing an emission spectroscope with a refraction lattice drivable by a motor. For example, when light generated in a plasma chamber is incident on the refraction lattice, e.g., through an optical fiber, the refraction lattice may divide the received light according to wavelengths to facilitate detection of a wavelength related to the undergoing process for measuring intensity thereof. Use of the EPD, however, may have several shortcomings.
First, in order to determine the wavelength related to the undergoing process, the EPD may require adjustment of a light reception angle of the refraction lattice and detection of light in the spectrum of about 200 nm to about 800 nm, so driving the refraction lattice may require a long time. Second, when intensity of a single wavelength over time is used to determine an end point of an etching process, it may be difficult to determine an end point of etching in small areas due to noise. For example, if a semiconductor wafer is mostly covered with a photoresist layer and only a very small portion thereof to be etched includes, e.g., silicon oxide, wavelengths corresponding to by-products due to the photoresist may be measured as a noise signal. As such, when an area of, e.g., silicon oxide, is small, e.g., about 0.5% of the semiconductor wafer or smaller, most measure signals corresponding to the silicon oxide may be buried in noise, and thus, may have a difficulty to be detected. Third, a change of light intensity may occur in response to causes other than type of an etched layer, e.g., a change in plasma density or a muddy EPD window, thereby causing inaccurate detection. Even if an additional wavelength is used to improve detection sensitivity of the EPD, a real time analysis may be difficult since the wavelength must be changed in the measurement of the existing single refraction lattice method.
A conventional polishing process may include polishing using a polishing tape. The conventional polishing tape may contact the semiconductor wafer during rotation thereof to remove surface roughness from the semiconductor wafer, and may continue polishing the wafer until an end point of the polishing is determined with respect to thickness of the wafer or with respect to a change in tension of the polishing tape contacting the semiconductor wafer. The conventional methods of determining an end point of the polishing, however, may not be sufficiently precise and/or efficient in real time.

Apparatus for polishing a wafer and method for detecting a polishing end point by the same


A process for creating a MOSFET device, with a narrow polycide gate structure, on an ultra-thin gate oxide, has been developed. The process features partially etching of a polysilicon layer, used in the polycide structure, to a level in which only a thin residual layer of the polysilicon remains. After formation of a lightly doped source and drain region, formed via ion implantation through the thin residual polysilicon layer, an oxidation is performed to convert the thin residual polysilicon layer, to an oxide layer. The ability to complete the patterning of the polysilicon layer using oxidation procedures, avoids the risk of RIE trenching or pitting, that can occur if the polysilicon layer is patterned using only RIE procedures.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods used for fabrication of metal oxide semiconductor filed effect transistors, (MOSFET), devices, and more specifically to a process used to create a polycide gate structure, on a thin gate insulator layer.
(2) Description of Prior Art
The semiconductor industry is continually striving to improve the performance of semiconductor devices while still attempting to decrease the cost of semiconductor chips. These objectives have been successfully addressed via the use of micro-miniaturization, or the use of sub-micron features, in semiconductor devices. Smaller features reduce performance degrading capacitances and resistances, resulting in faster devices. The use of smaller features also allow smaller chips to be fabricated, still possessing the same level of integration as counterparts with larger features, and thus allowing more, smaller, chips to be realized from a starting wafer, thus reducing the processing costs for a specific chip.
Micro-miniaturization has been realized by advances in specific semiconductor fabrication disciplines, such as photolithography and dry etching. The use of more sophisticated exposure cameras, as well as the use of more sensitive photoresist materials, have allowed sub-micron features to be routinely obtained in photoresist layers. In addition the use of advanced dry etching tools and processes, have allowed the sub-micron images in photoresist layers, to be successfully transferred to underlying materials used in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. However when attempting to use micro-miniaturization to fabricate advanced semiconductor devices, for example using narrow polycide, (metal silicide-polysilicon), gate structure, on very thin gate oxide layers, special care must be used in order to avoid problems associated with the smaller device features. For example during the definition of a narrow polycide gate structure, via the use of anisotropic dry etching procedures, micro-trenches can be created at the foot, or edges, of the narrow polycide gate structure, during the patterning of the polysilicon layer, which underlies the metal silicide layer of the polycide structure. The trenching phenomena, more pronounced with narrower features, can lead to yield loss resulting from polysilicon gate to substrate leakages or shorts. In addition to severe over etch of the polysilicon, in the polycide gate structure occurs, etch pits can also be formed in the subsequent source and drain region, again possibly adversely influencing device yield. If the selectivity of the polysilicon etch procedure is increased to decrease the occurrence of trenching or pitting, the profile of the polycide gate structure can be tapered, thus adversely influencing yield and performance.
This invention will offer a process for forming polycide gate structures, in which trenching and pitting phenomena are avoided by terminating the polysilicon etch procedure, prior to exposure of the underlying gate oxide layer. With about 100 to 200 Angstroms of polysilicon remaining in subsequent source and drain regions, the etch procedure is terminated. The lightly doped source and drain region, (LDD), is implanted through the very thin residual polysilicon layer, into the underlying substrate. An oxidation procedure, used to create a sidewall insulator layer for the polycide gate structure, results in the oxidation of the residual polysilicon, on the LDD region, subsequently removed during the formation of an insulator spacer, on the sides of the polycide gate structure. Prior art, such as an invention offered by Kamijo, et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,535, describe a process in which a partial dry etching procedure, for a polysilicon gate structure, is used. However their process is completed with additional dry etching, thus being exposed to the trenching and pitting phenomena. Our invention features the use of oxidation to complete the formation of the polysilicon portion of the polycide gate structure.

Method of fabricating a narrow polycide gate structure on an ultra-thin gate insulator layer

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An endgate striker assembly engageable with an endgate latch, wherein the endgate striker assembly has a striker and an overmolded-annular shoulder. The striker has an attachment portion at one end, a head at the opposite end and a cylindrical shaft between the attachment portion and the head. The overmolded-annular shoulder is between the cylindrical shaft and the attachment portion. The overmolded-annular shoulder has an annular damper and an annular shoulder. The annular damper is molded over the surface of the annular shoulder facing the cylindrical shaft and at least part of the outer circumferential surface of the annular shoulder.

A pickup truck or a trailer is equipped with an endgate at the open end of a cargo box. The endgate is a rigid member hinged to the cargo box for movement between a closed position in which the endgate closes off the open end to retain cargo inside the cargo box of the truck or trailer, and an open position in which the endgate projects rearward, permitting greater access to the area within the cargo box. The endgate is held in the closed position when an endgate mounted latch engages a striker mounted to a side panel of the cargo box.


A fluid compressor includes a compressor inlet for receiving a medium, a compressor for compressing the medium, a compressor outlet for discharging the compressed medium and a compressor muffler. The compressor muffler includes a housing defining an inner space, an inlet for receiving a compressed medium, a muffling structure located in the inner space, wherein the muffling structure has a plurality of chambers for receiving the compressed medium from the inlet, an outlet for discharging the compressed medium and a flow path located in the inner space; The flow path communicates the inlet with the muffling structure and the muffling structure with the outlet; A method for reducing any noise-generating frequencies present in a compressed medium is additionally presented.

The present invention relates to a compressor muffler for reducing noise-generating frequencies imparted to the compressed medium by the compressor.
Conventional compressor mufflers, both external and integral, are well known in the prior art and require large and small volume chambers along with a series of baffles in order to reduce noise-generating frequencies. This requires that the muffler portion of the compressor be relatively large as compared to the rest of the compressor, thereby requiring a large operation space. In addition, because of their design the most commonly used types of compressor mufflers are not able to reduce specific noise-generating frequencies, but rather they attempt to reduce noise-generating frequencies across a broad spectrum. As a result, some of the noise-generating frequencies retain a portion of their magnitude. The need remains for a compressor muffler that performs better or at least as well as conventional compressor mufflers, yet has a more compact housing that would allow a compressor to operate within a smaller space.
It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a compressor muffler that is integrally associated with a compressor and more compact, such that the compressor is smaller and requires less room.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a compressor muffler wherein the compressor muffler can be designed to the individual characteristics of different compressors.
Other objects and advantages will appear hereinbelow.
In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects and advantages are readily attained.
According to the invention, a fluid compressor is provided which comprises: a compressor inlet for receiving a medium; a compressor for compressing said medium thereby creating a compressed medium; a compressor outlet for discharging said compressed medium and a compressor muffler for reducing noise-generating frequencies, wherein said compressor muffler comprises: a housing defining an inner space; an inlet for receiving a compressed medium; a muffling structure located in said inner space, wherein said muffling structure comprises a plurality of chambers for receiving said compressed medium from said inlet; an outlet for discharging said compressed medium; and a flow path located in said inner space, wherein said flow path communicates said inlet with said muffling structure and said muffling structure with said outlet.


A rearview mirror assembly for use on a motor vehicle includes a bracket swingably mounted on a base connected to a motor vehicle body and a mirror holder support member housed in a frame of the bracket. The frame of the bracket has a plurality of projecting engaging edges which engage the mirror holder support member. The mirror holder support member is biased into abutment against the engaging edges of the bracket frame under the bias of a resilient plate fastened to the bracket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rearview mirror assembly for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to an attachment structure for a mirror support of an automotive rearview mirror assembly.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Rearview mirror assemblies for use on motor vehicles include a mirror holder supported by a mirror holder support unit which is attached to a bracket connected to a motor vehicle body. When the mirror held by the mirror holder is damaged, the rearview mirror is not replaced in its entirety since it would be time-consuming and costly to replace the entire rearview mirror assembly with a new rearview mirror assembly. Instead, the mirror holder is detached from the bracket, then the mirror holder is removed from the mirror holder support unit, and replaced with a mirror holder on which a new mirror is mounted. To allow such a mirror replacement, the mirror holder support unit is detachably mounted on the bracket.
Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 62(1987)-170346 discloses a rearview mirror assembly for a motor vehicle, which includes a mirror holder support member and a metal plate disposed behind the mirror holder support member. The metal plate and the mirror holder support member are fastened to each other by a plurality of screws. The metal plate has fingers on its upper end which engage a bracket, with the lower end of the metal plate being fixed to the bracket by screws from below. The mirror holder support member is thus attached to the bracket. With such an attachment structure, however, since the lower end of the metal plate is attached to the bracket by the screws from below, the lower end tends to wobble in the horizontal direction.
A rearview mirror assembly disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63(1988)-37321 has a mirror holder support member having engagement holes defined in its upper end and screw threading portions in its lower end. The engagement holes receive fingers on a bracket, and the screw threading portions and a lower end of the bracket are fastened to each other by screws, thereby attaching the mirror holder support member to the bracket. The upper and lower ends of the mirror holder support member are fixed to the bracket by the fingers and screws, respectively. Consequently, the bracket cannot absorb the thermal expansion of the mirror holder support member due to the heat thereof.

Rearview mirror assembly for motor vehicle


The present multi-function cable hoist system controller monitors a variety of drilling rig hoist system functions, including: positioning of the hoist block of the hoist system, speed/momentum of the hoist block, and hoist block loading. The controller can also monitor: cable ton-mile parameters, weight on the drill bit, and drill bit penetration rate. The controller automatically controls operation of the hoist system's drawworks when the system's operation exceeds certain preset and user specified parameters. The controller has a housing containing a microprocessor, supporting circuitry, and input and output systems. An instruction set digitally stored on the microprocessor codes for the functional features of the controller and enables it to process inputs and to generate outputs to accomplish the controller's functions. Device input means and display/alarm means are mounted on the front panel of the housing. A drawworks output communicates drawworks control signals to the hoist system.

In the oil production industry, hoist systems are used for drilling and other operations associated with drilling rigs and well service rigs. These rigs can experience certain conditions that result in the main hoist block of the hoist system traveling into too close proximity of the cable support mechanism at the top of the rig supporting the hoist block and equipment and personnel on the rig's deck. The load block exceeding the upper and lower travel limits can result in damage to the rig or hoist equipment and possible injury to the operating personnel. In response to this risk, the field has been motivated to develop means to set both the upper and lower block travel limits and have a shutdown mechanism to automatically stop movement of the hoist block when either limit is reached.
A variety of shutdown mechanisms have been developed in the field to limit hoist block travel to between set-distance points along its travel path. These include simple electromechanical and optical trip switches operated by the physical movement of the hoist block (or some other part of the hoist system) past the switch, which operates to stop the hoist's drawworks. Problems with such simple trip switch travel limiters further motivated the field to develop more sophisticated shutdown mechanisms. These more sophisticated mechanisms often include indirect means of monitoring the position of the hoist block along its travel path. For example, Nield et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,217) disclose an electronic controller and indicator that monitors the position of the hoist block along its travel path via a linkage to the drawworks drum of the hoist system rather than to the hoist block.
However, there are conditions inherent in the operation of a hoist system other than the mere location of the hoist (or load) block along its travel limit that are important for the hoist system operator to monitor and control. For example, the momentum of the hoist block as it approaches either its upper or lower travel limit impacts what that limit point should be set at in view of the drawwork's braking capability. With drilling operations capable of attaining depths greater than 15,000 feet, static drill string loads of hundreds of tons can be placed on the hoist block. Movement of such high masses can create an extreme condition of momentum that can cause a travel block to exceed a set-distance type travel limit that it otherwise would not—especially a lower limit.
It would be beneficial to the field to have a hoist block travel controller that set travel limits based on "rate of approach" to a "zero momentum point." This is to say, that the upper and lower limits of the hoist block along its travel path are considered to be points beyond which the hoist block has no momentum ("zero momentum points"), and hence no movement. Therefore, the momentum of the hoist block (the speed and mass of the block including the load it is carrying) and the braking capacity of the drawworks are factored into a function to automatically apply braking to the drawworks at a point within the travel limit of the hoist block depending on the block's mass and rate of approach toward a zero momentum point. Such a shutdown mechanism would permit a maximum travel range to be selected without the same risk of over-travel as in a set-distance type shutdown system.
Another feature of a hoist system that must be monitored, especially in an oil drilling rig, is the ton-mile parameter of the drawworks cable. In a drawworks, the cable wear is influenced by two important factors: the distance traveled by the cable over the sheaves/wheels of the hoist system, and the load supported by the cable. Cable used in such hoist systems has a predetermined life span measured by the product of the number of tons supported times the miles of distance the cable has traveled. This product is designated as the ton-miles parameter of the cable. Exceeding the albeit theoretical ton-mile capacity of a cable can result in failure of the cable with expensive and sometime disastrous results. Also to be avoided is the allowance of too large a safety margin (e.g., caused by an inability to accurately determine the ton-mile wear on a cable), resulting in lost time and added expense when unnecessarily replacing a cable that still has substantial useful life. Therefore, it would be further beneficial to the field to have a multi-function hoist block travel controller that additionally monitored the ton-mile wear parameter of the hoist system's drawworks cable.

Microprocessor integrated multifunction hoist system controller


A side-tone circuit comprises a microphone configured to generate a reverse link audio signal and a side-tone noise suppressor. The side tone noise suppressor is configured to receive the reverse link audio signal, suppress noise in the received reverse link audio signal, and output a noise suppressed side-tone signal. The side-tone noise circuit also includes a speaker configured to receive the noise suppressed audio signal and communicate it to a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to voice communication and more particularly to systems and methods for side-tone noise suppression in a communication handset.
2. Background
In ordinary conversation, an individual speaker is accustomed to hearing the words they speak. This type of "feedback" provides certain queues to the speaker such as whether they are speaking loudly enough to be heard, what there tone is, etc. But when a speaker speaks into a telephone or other type of handset, e.g., a wireless communications handset, at least part of this feedback is blocked by the handset itself. This blocking can create an unnatural, and uncomfortable, experience for the speaker, because they do not receive the normal queues that allow them to evaluate how effectively they are communicating.
To compensate, communication handsets typically incorporate side-tone processing, which transfers a portion of the signal spoken by the user back into the handset earpiece. Thus, the side-tone signal replaces the normal feedback, which is blocked by the handset. In addition to providing normal communication queues as described above, the side-tone signal ensures the user that their handset is working and that they are speaking into, or loud enough for, the handset.
Unfortunately, however, current handsets do not filter out noise in the side-tone signal. Thus, if the speaker is in a noisy environment, the noise gets transferred to the speaker's ear. The noise can substantially degrade the effectiveness of the feedback because, for example, the user can no longer tell whether they are speaking loud enough. In fact, in such a situation, the user is likely to overcompensate for the noise they hear and speak too loudly into the handset. Also, the noise can interfere with the speaker's ability to hear the other party to the conversation. The result is an unpleasant experience for both parties. Moreover, the speaker is often forced to repeat himself, or is forced to ask the other party to repeat himself, which leads to increased talk time. Increased talk time is not only inconvenient, but for wireless communication handsets at least, is undesirable because it also drives up the charges incurred by the user.
The noise also gets transferred to the party on the other end of the call. As a result, conventional handsets typically include some mechanism whereby the noise is suppressed in the outgoing communication. But this noise suppression does not extend to the side-tone audio path in conventional handsets. Therefore, surrounding noise is still fed back to the user's ear, even in handsets with noise suppression on the outgoing communication, or reverse link.

Systems and methods for side-tone noise suppression


The present invention provides an Ethernet switching apparatus using frame multiplexing and demultiplexing. The Ethernet switching apparatus has a plurality of frame demultiplexers, a plurality of frame multiplexers and a switch fabric chip set. The frame demultiplexers convert at least one 10 gigabits Ethernet frame into a plurality of gigabit Ethernet frames. The frame multiplexers convert a plurality of gigabit Ethernet frames into at least one 10 gigabits Ethernet frame. The switch fabric chip set is provided with input and output interfaces using the GMII, and is connected to the frame demultiplexers and the frame multiplexers in the GMII format. The switch fabric chip set outputs frames through an arbitrary usable one of a plurality of GMII ports connected to a corresponding frame multiplexer if the frames are transmitted to the corresponding frame multiplexer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an Ethernet switching apparatus and method, and more particularly to an Ethernet switching apparatus and method using frame multiplexing and demultiplexing, which can correctly set a frame transmission sequence without information on the internal path of a switch fabric chip set by multiplexing a plurality of 1 gigabit Ethernet frames to one or more 10 gigabit Ethernet frames and demultiplexing one or more 10 gigabit Ethernet frames to a plurality of 1 gigabit Ethernet frames.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in order to implement an Ethernet switching apparatus, the configuration of a shared bus is used if a frame transmission speed of an input/output port is not high and a memory speed is low. On the other hand, an Ethernet switching apparatus is implemented using a switch fabric employing a crosspoint matrix so as to solve a bandwidth problem of the shared bus if the speed of an input/output port is higher than a gigabit level and a large capacity Ethernet switch is required. However, even in this case, the switch fabric must operate at the same speed as the speediest input/output port.
In the simplest prior art embodiment implementing such an Ethernet switching apparatus, it can be most realistically seen that low speed input streams are time division multiplexed to higher speed data streams. However, time division multiplexing (TDM) is disadvantageous in that frames must be configured to recognize respective input ports, and exclusive channels must be used due to the characteristics of TDM, thus decreasing the efficiency of bandwidth use.
Several methods and apparatuses have been proposed and used so as to overcome the disadvantage in the prior art.
For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,306 B1 (July, 2001) is proposed to provide scalability of network switches. In this patent, a bus-shaped switch node containing a route table constructed by joining local area network (LAN) standard technologies, such as high speed Ethernet, similar bridge protocols, etc., and a frame buffer, and unit switch modules having a plurality of Ethernet ports connected to the switch node are constructed in the form of an integrated circuit (IC). Further, if a plurality of unit switch modules are combined with LAN standard technologies, such as high speed Ethernet, similar bridge protocols, etc., an N*N atomic type switch mesh can be constructed, so an Ethernet network switch with very high scalability can be constructed. However, in the above method, the scalability of the network switch is very high, while a maximum processing speed per port obtained by a user port is limited to those of Ethernet ports of the unit switch modules. Moreover, this method is problematic in that the bus-shaped unit switch modules must have a processing capacity equal to or greater than 10 gigabits so as to provide 10 gigabit Ethernet ports to users.
Further, the implementation of a high speed switch architecture through the insertion of high speed media between a 2-gigabit backplane of a concentrator and a gigabit fiber optic Ethernet link is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,882 B1 (October, 2001). The object of this patent is to increase the efficiency of a fiber optic link by independently performing forwarding processing for transmission and reception packets in high speed media. However, the switch having the above architecture is problematic in that its maximum capacity and bandwidth are fundamentally limited due to the transmission speed of the fiber optic link.
Further, a network switch in which ATM ports and Ethernet ports are mixed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,528 B1 (July, 2001). In this patent, an Ethernet frame format is different from an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) format. Therefore, in order to reduce the number of ATM cell converters and the Ethernet frame converters required at each port, when an ATM port transmits packets to an Ethernet port, the ATM port transmits packets to a shared Ethernet frame converter through a crossbar switch to allow the packets to be converted into Ethernet frames, and thereafter the Ethernet frame converter outputs the Ethernet frames to a desired Ethernet port using the crossbar switch. On the other hand, when the Ethernet port transmits packets to the ATM port, the Ethernet port transmits the packets to a shared ATM cell converter through the crossbar switch to allow the packets to be converted into ATM cells, and thereafter the ATM cell converter transmits the ATM cells to a desired ATM port using the crossbar switch. This method is advantageous in that it can reduce the number of ATM cell converters and the Ethernet frame converters, while it is disadvantageous in that, since it uses the crossbar switch twice, packet converting ability per unit time of the crossbar switch is decreased as the frequency of packet transmission between the ATM port and the Ethernet port is increased.
Further, a packet switching fabric disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,692 B1 (June, 2001) is constructed such that a ring pair comprised of a data ring and a control ring and unit switch modules accommodating a plurality of user ports are coupled to each other as a ring architecture, and an exclusive managing device for traffic management of the ring is inserted into the ring. Through the above construction, the switching fabric is operated such that a unit switch module having a medium and low speed user port executes traffic processing using a cut-through method, and a unit switch module having a Gbps-level port provides a service using a resource reservation allocation method so as to prevent the deterioration of the performance of an entire system. In this case, an exclusive protocol method is used in such traffic management. However, the switching fabric using the protocol method is limited in that the entire capacity of the switching fabric is determined according to the transmission speed of the ring which is a part constituting the core of the switching fabric, and is problematic in that it causes a burden of frame conversion due to the use of an exclusive device.
As described above, the conventional TDM method is problematic in that the efficiency of bandwidth use is decreased, and the switching fabric employing a ring architecture is problematic in that the transmission speed of the ring must be increased to be greater than 10 Gbps. Further, the network switch using a crossbar switch is problematic in that the processing speed of the crossbar switch is inevitably reduced to the maximum speed obtained by a port. The switching fabric using an exclusive device or an exclusive protocol for traffic management is problematic in that it requires an additional high speed switch, and a protocol converter for reconverting converted high speed packets into original Ethernet packets, and further requires an additional interface circuit for connection to a conventional chip set.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A material at least partly coated with a passive film of fluoride formed by contact with a gas containing ClF.

In the fabrication of semiconductors, LCDs (liquid crystal displays), PDPs (plasma display panels) and the like, large amounts of fluorine-based gases are used in an etching process for etching a circuit pattern on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and in a cleaning process for cleaning the inner side of semiconductor fabrication equipment and liquid crystal fabrication equipment.
Patent document 1 discloses a technology in which ClF3 (chlorine trifluoride) is used as a fluorine-based gas for cleaning the semiconductor fabrication equipment.

Material, storage container using the material, valve attached to the storage container, method of storing ClF and method of using ClF storage container


An electromagnetic switch includes a main contact housing portion housing a main contact mechanism having a pair of fixed contacts fixedly disposed maintaining a predetermined interval and a movable contact disposed to connect with and separate from the pair of fixed contacts in a contact housing case; an auxiliary contact housing portion housing at least two auxiliary contact mechanisms having fixed contacts and movable contacts disposed connecting to and separating from the fixed contacts; and an electromagnet unit having a movable plunger individually coupled to move the movable contact of the main contact mechanism and the movable contacts of the auxiliary contact mechanisms. The main contact housing portion, the auxiliary contact housing portion, and the electromagnet unit are disposed in series.

In some cases, a main contact mechanism that carries out conduction and interruption of a large current, and an auxiliary contact mechanism linked to the operation of the main contact mechanism, are provided in an electromagnetic switch such as an electromagnetic relay or electromagnetic contactor. An electromagnetic switch described in PTL 1 is known for providing a main contact mechanism and auxiliary contact mechanism in this way. The electromagnetic switch described in PTL 1 is such that a movable contact coupled by a coupling shaft to a movable plunger of an electromagnet unit is disposed between a pair of fixed contacts to be capable of contacting to and separating from the pair of fixed contacts. Further, an auxiliary contact terminal pusher is disposed to face the leading end of the coupling shaft protruding beyond the movable contact, and an auxiliary contact movable terminal is pressed by the auxiliary contact terminal pusher. The auxiliary contact movable terminal is such that the auxiliary contact is in an off-state in a state wherein the auxiliary contact terminal pusher is not being pressed by the coupling shaft, while the auxiliary contact is in an on-state in a state wherein the auxiliary contact terminal pusher is being pressed by the coupling shaft.

Electromagnetic switch and contact position regulating method thereof

FUJI ELECTRIC FA COMPONENTS & SYSTEMS CO., LTD.


A disk filter for filtering mat forming suspensions is provided with a hollow shaft for receiving a flow of fine fraction created by hydrostatic pressure difference between the suspension to be filtered and the fine fraction in the hollow shaft. According to the invention, each disc is provided with a number of fine fraction chambers communicating with the interior of the hollow shaft via respective holes in the circumferential wall of the shaft. Each chamber is arranged, such that it functions as a dropleg during movement upwards, with the result that the coarse particle (fibre) concentration of the created coarse fraction is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for filtering mat forming suspensions, such as fibre pulp suspensions, and a method of operating such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The expression "mat forming suspensions" is used to mean the kind of suspension which leaves a porous mat of course particles on a filter material when passing through the filter material. The mat of particles gradually becomes thicker and as a result becomes less pervious by liquid during the filtering operation. Therefore, the mat must be regularly removed from the filter material, in order to provide optimal filtering efficiency.
One method of removing the mat from the filter material is to raise repeatedly the filter material up above a pool of the suspension to be filtered, so that the mat falls off by gravity provided that the mat contains a sufficient amount of liquid. In other words, the course particle concentration of the mat must be relatively low. In this case, the filtering operation is normally accomplished by providing a hydrostatic pressure difference between the suspension to be filtered and the created fine fraction of the suspension. Devices for carrying out filtering processes in this manner are hereafter called hydrostatic filtering apparatuses.
Another method of removing the mat is to spray jets of liquid on the filter material, while the latter is positioned above the pool of suspension, so that the mat is stripped off the filter material in pieces. This method is used in such filtering processes in which the course particle concentration of the mat is increased by subjecting the fine fraction side of the filter material to vacuum. Devices for carrying out filtering processes in this manner are known as vacuum filtering apparatuses.
There is a known type of hydrostatic filtering apparatus for filtering mat forming suspensions, such as fibre pulp suspensions, comprising a container for the suspension to be filtered, inlet means for supplying a suspension to the container, a hollow rotatable horizontal shaft with a circumferential wall extending in the container, and means for rotating the hollow shaft. At least one annular, substantially vertical hollow filter disc with two opposed side walls of filter material is mounted on said circumferential wall concentrically with the shaft. The circumferential wall has holes for providing communication between the interior of the hollow filter disc and the interior of the hollow shaft. Means is provided for controlling the volume of the suspension in the container during operation, such that the side walls of filter material are partly above the suspension in the container, while the hollow shaft is at least partly submerged in the suspension in the container. Thus, the gas pressure on the suspension in the container is substantially equal to the gas pressure prevailing in the hollow shaft. During operation, a fine fraction of the suspension is forced through the side walls of filter material into the hollow filter disc and further into the hollow shaft via said holes by hydrostatic pressure in the suspension in the container, and a course fraction of the suspension is created outside the filter disc. There are provided fine fraction discharge means for discharging said fine fraction of the suspension from the interior of the hollow shaft, and course fraction discharge means for discharging said course fraction of the suspension from the apparatus.
This type of hydrostatic filtering apparatus is of a simple and inexpensive design, and is particularly used for dewatering fibre pulp suspensions in connection with processes for producing paper. However, a drawback to this filtering apparatus is the poor utilization of the filter material submerged in the suspension caused by the relatively liquid impervious mat of fibres, which is rapidly formed on the filter material during operation. The fact is that about two thirds of the created fine fraction of the suspension is achieved through the filter material at the down-moving part of the filter disc, where the mat in an average sense is relatively thin, whereas only about one third of the fine fraction is achieved through the filter material at the up-moving part of the filter disc, where the mat is thick.
Another drawback to this type of hydrostatic filtering apparatus is that the latter is incapable of producing dewatered thickened fibre pulp suspensions having a fibre concentric exceeding about 3%, which makes the use of this filtration apparatus impossible in many filtering applications in the paper making industry.
Filtering processes for producing thickened fibre pulp suspensions having a fibre concentration exceeding 3% are conventionally carried out by means of the above-mentioned vacuum filtering apparatuses. However, such a vacuum filtering apparatus is much more complicated to fabricate and install compared with a hydrostatic filtering apparatus, which considerably adds to the costs. Thus, a vacuum filtering apparatus is normally provided with at least one dropleg having a height of about 7 meters for providing the vacuum required. This dropleg arrangement has the consequence that the consumption of pump energy of the apparatus is relatively high, since the fine fraction of the suspension must be pumped the corresponding height of the dropleg. In addition to this, such a dropleg gives rise to increased mixing of air in the fine fraction of the suspension, which has the drawback of reducing the capacity of subsequent fibre pulp treating machinery.

Apparatus for filtering suspensions and a method of operating the apparatus


An electrophotographic printer apparatus for printing a color image is provided with a receptive layer for recording an electrostatic latent image and a developer unit for applying the toners of a number of colors to the electrostatic latent image. Also provided are an intermediate transfer medium to which toner images formed in a layered form on the receptive layer are transferred, and a power supply for applying a difference in potential between the intermediate transfer medium and the receptive layer. Further provided are a current detector for detecting a value of an electric current flowing across the intermediate transfer medium and the receptive layer, and a transfer unit for transferring the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer medium to a recording medium. Furthermore, a main controller is provided for effecting control in setting the potential difference between the intermediate transfer medium and the receptive layer to V1, in obtaining a current value I1 from the current detector when a toner layer is not present between the intermediate transfer medium and the receptive layer, in obtaining a current value IX from the current detector when the toner layer is present between the intermediate transfer medium and the receptive layer, and in optimally correcting operating conditions of an image-forming element by determining characteristics of the toner layer on the basis of a difference between the current value I1 and the current value IX.

Various methods are known as a method of color-image forming using the electrophotographic process. For example, in a first method, a plurality of monochromatic toner images of mutually different colors are formed on a toner image carrier. These toner images are consecutively transferred to one location on a recording medium in a superposed manner. In a second method, a plurality of monochromatic toner images of mutually different colors are formed on a toner image carrier. These toner images are then consecutively transferred to one portion of an intermediate transfer medium in a superposed manner. Subsequently, the superposed images are collectively transferred from the intermediate transfer medium to a recording medium. In a third method, toner images of a number of colors are formed directly on a toner image carrier. The toner images are then collectively transferred to a recording medium. These methods can be realized by an apparatus having only one light source for forming latent images. Further, these methods can also be realized by an apparatus having latent-image forming light sources in a number corresponding to the number of the toner colors. The latter type is referred to as a tandem type.
The above-described methods have both advantages and disadvantages. The first method excels in the transferability of the respective color toners. In addition, since the basic principle of the first method is simple, the first method has been widely put to practical use. However, development is substantially affected by the characteristics of the recording medium, and development on small-sized paper and thick paper is difficult. In the third method, the circumferential length of the toner image carrier is required to be as long as the length of the recording medium. For this reason, the apparatus becomes large in size. In addition, the formation of a latent image on the toner image carrier is influenced by the toner image which was earlier attached to and formed on the toner image carrier. For this reason, this method is inferior in the color reproducibility of a final image. Accordingly, in recent years, studies have been made on the second method using the intermediate transfer medium, and apparatuses based on this method have been commercialized. According to the second method, however, two transfers are effected before the toner images formed on the toner image carrier are transferred to the recording medium. For this reason, the operating characteristics of the transfer process largely affect the image quality.
To cope with this situation, there is a conventional example in which the arrangement of layers of the intermediate transfer medium is devised to prevent the occurrence of faulty transfer due to defects of the intermediate transfer medium itself as well as the resultant deterioration of image quality. Further, in another conventional example which is premised on the arrangement of the tandem type, an attempt is made to solve the problem in the following manner. Namely, the transfer rate of a toner image earlier transferred to the intermediate transfer medium and that of a toner image subsequently transferred thereto are set at the same rate. In this conventional example, the range of resistance values of the intermediate transfer medium and the range of voltages to be applied to the intermediate transfer medium are prescribed for this purpose.
However, with the method using the intermediate transfer medium, it is also necessary to take the following aspect into consideration. The characteristics of the toner image carrier change due to changes in the surrounding environment and extended periods of use. This also applies to the intermediate transfer medium and a transfer unit. For this reason, even if optimum materials and electrical conditions are set, if the settings are fixed, it does not follow that optimum image formation can always be effected. Excellent image formation is difficult particularly in a process which operates by a combination of members whose changes in characteristics vary. In order to effect excellent image formation, not only should transferability be excellent, but also the image quality of the toner images themselves which are formed on the toner image carrier should be set in optimum conditions. Further, the toner images themselves should be provided with excellent electrostatic characteristics which match the transferability. Nevertheless, in proposals and studies made concerning the conventional image forming systems, control values have been fixed with respect to various processes and members.

Color-image forming apparatus having intermediate transfer member and controller for controlling the transfer bias


A server device may receive, from a user device, application activity data associated with the user device; determine, based on the application activity data, a location associated with the user device; store information associating the application activity data with a call identifier and the location; receive an indication that an incoming call has been received, the incoming call being placed using the call identifier; determine, based on receiving the indication, a location of a caller that placed the call; identify the application activity data based on the call identifier and the location of the caller; and output the application activity data to a callee associated with the call.

When a user contacts a customer service provider, associated with a particular application, the customer service provider may attempt to assist the user (e.g., resolve technical issues, place an order for goods and/or services, etc.). The customer service provider may be unaware of the user's interaction with the application prior to when the user contacts the customer service provider.

Context profile identification and sharing


A method and system for delivering dynamic web pages, for example including a report resulting from a database query, in the INTERNET. The query is run on a server computer and the resulting records are then transmitted to a client computer as script variables in a header of an HTML document. The body of the HTML document includes tags for displaying the script variables, which define a view template for the records. A browser on the client computer is responsible for interpreting the HTML tags, in order to display the result of the query on the client computer according to the corresponding view template.

Networks of computers are commonly used to implement distributed data processing systems. In particular, the INTERNET has attained a widespread diffusion in the last years. The INTERNET is a network of networks connecting millions of computers with a decentralized design. The INTERNET has a client/server architecture, wherein server computers of the network support shared resources; client computers access the shared resources through the network.
The INTERNET also allows each client computer to interact dynamically with a server computer, in order to download and display information whose content changes each time it is provided by the server computer. This function is typically used for handling generation and distribution of reports resulting from database queries on the server computer.
A solution known in the art for delivering dynamic information in the INTERNET consists in running programs, for example designed to accept and return data conforming to the Common Gateway Interface (CGI), which perform a specific task on the server computer in response to a corresponding request received from the client computer. For example, the CGI program executes a query on a database of the server computer; each record resulting from the query is stored into a corresponding variable of the CGI program. A report is built on the server computer reading these variables and performing the appropriate manipulations. The report is then sent to the client computer ready to be displayed.
A drawback of the solution described above is that a data model employed by the data base of the server computer usually does not match with all the reports that can be generated by the server computer, so that a direct data access is not possible. In other words, the CGI program building the report cannot query a single table of the data base directly. Conversely, the CGI program must query different data base tables, in order to build a single row to be shown in a table of the report. This implies a dynamic memory allocation process to store the corresponding variables of the CGI program, since the number of records resulting from the queries is not known a priori. As a consequence, execution of the CGI program is prone to generate errors due to missing allocation of memory on the server computer.
Moreover, the CGI program running the query and building the report is quite complex. Therefore, execution of this program severely affects the performance of the server computer. This drawback is particularly acute in a high-availability server computer, to which a large number of requests for complex reports are submitted at the same time. In this case, the heavy exploitation of resources on the server computer increases its response time, thereby slowing down operation of the whole network.

Method and system for delivering dynamic information in a network

International Business Machines Corporation


A roofing removing tool has a shingle removing body for removing shingles from a roof deck. The shingle removing body has a plurality of elongated tines having a forward portion insertable beneath shingles to be removed. A handle extends rearwardly from the shingle removal body for manipulation of the tool. The tool further has a nail removal body for simultaneously removing nails from a roof deck as shingles are removed from the roof deck. The nail removing body has a nail removing blade supported in spaced relationship to and below the tines, and is positioned rearwardly of the forward portion of the tines and adjacent the handle.

Frequently it is necessary to strip old roofing materials from a roof deck before the application of new roofing materials. The old roofing materials requiring removal are typically roofing shingles and roofing nails although other materials, such as tar paper and the like, also may be stripped during removal of the old roof. Roofers often employ a shovel or other tool to remove or strip these materials from a roof. The shovel or other tool is inserted under the lip of the exposed shingles and the shingle is lifted away from the roof deck. The roofing nails employed to hold down the shingles generally tear through the shingles during the lifting process and remain imbedded in the underlying roof structure. After the shingles have been stripped, the remaining individual roofing nails protrude from the deck and must be either withdrawn from the deck or driven down into the deck to allow for the application of the new roofing materials. The requirement to withdraw the old roofing nails, or to drive them into the roof deck increases the total required time for removal of the old roofing and installation of the new roofing, thereby increasing the total cost of the roofing operation.


Monoclonal antibodies have been developed which specifically bind the PSA-ACT complex without significant cross-reactivity with PSA, ACT or CG-ACT. The antibodies were generated using a unique immunogen comprising a PSA-ACT complex having bound to monoclonal antibodies against PSA and monoclonal antibodies against ACT. It is theorized that the antibodies against PSA and ACT block immunodominant sites on the PSA-ACT complex. The antibodies generated against the unique immunogen specifically bind the PSA-ACT complex, but have no significant cross-reactivity with either PSA or ACT. The monoclonal antibodies of the present invention can be used in immunoassays to specifically detect PSA-ACT in a sample.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a 34 kDa secretory protein of the human prostate (Wang, et ale, Invest. Urol., 17:159-163, 1979). The concentration of PSA in prostatic fluid and seminal plasma is very high, ranging from 0.5 to 2 mg/ml (Wang et al., Prostate, 2:89-96, 1981; Lilja et al., Prostate, 12:29-38, 1988). PSA is also present at elevated levels in serum of patients with prostate cancer. Because of this, serum PSA level has become an important tumor marker for the early detection and monitoring of patients with prostate cancer.
Serum PSA level is also elevated in patients with the non-cancerous disease, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Considerable studies have been performed in an effort to distinguish an elevated PSA serum level that is associated with prostate cancer from one that is associated with BPH. One area of study has focused on the various forms of PSA present in serum.
PSA has been shown to complex with protease inhibitors, such as .alpha..sub.1 -antichymotrypsin (ACT) and .alpha..sub.2 -macroglobulin (Christensson, et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 194:755-763, 1990). In serum, the majority of PSA is complexed with protease inhibitors, with only a small percentage of PSA remaining in its free form (Lilja, et ale, Clin. Chem., 37:1618-1625, 1991). Monitoring the relative amounts of the different forms of PSA (complexed versus free) in serum has been shown to be of potential clinical value in differentiating prostate cancer and BPH (Stenman et al., Cancer Res., 51:222-226, 1991; Christensson, et al., J. Urol., 150:100-105, 1993).
One way to detect the presence of PSA in a sample is by immunoassay. Immunoassays are assay systems that exploit the ability of an antibody to specifically recognize and bind to a particular target molecule. The region of a molecule that is recognized by an antibody, and to which the antibody binds is referred to as an "epitope." Large molecules, such as proteins, possess multiple epitopes. The molecule that is recognized by the antibody is also referred to as an "antigen."
Immunoassays are used extensively in modern diagnostics (Fackrell, J. Clin. Immunoassay 8:213-219, 1995). A large number of different immunoassay formats have been described (Yolken, R. H., Rev. Infect. Dis. 4:35, 1985); Ngo, T. T. et al., Enzyme Mediated Immunoassay, Plenum Press, N.Y., 1985). Immunoassay formats have been developed that are amenable to large scale usage.
The simplest immunoassay involves merely incubating an antibody that is capable of binding to a predetermined molecule (i.e. the "analyte") with a sample that is suspected to contain the analyte. The presence of the target molecule is determined by the presence, and is proportional to the concentration, of any immune complexes that form through the binding of antibody and analyte. In order to facilitate the separation of such immune complexes from the unbound antibody initially present, a solid phase is typically employed. In more sophisticated immunoassays, the concentration of the target molecule is determined by binding the antibody to a support, and then incubating the bound antibody in the presence of the analyte-containing sample.
Target molecules that have become bound to the immobilized antibody can be detected in any of a variety of ways. For example, the support can be incubated in the presence of a labeled, second antibody (i.e. a "sandwich" immunoassay) that is capable of binding to a second epitope of the target molecule. Immobilization of the labeled antibody on the support thus required the presence of the target, and is proportional to the concentration of the target in the sample. In an alternative assays, the sample is incubated with a known amount of labeled target and antibody binding site. Any target molecules present in the sample compete with the labeled target molecules for the antibody binding sites. Thus, the amount of labeled target molecules that are able to bind to the antibody is inversely proportional to the concentration of target molecule in the sample.
The various immunoassay formats can be further divided into two main classes, depending upon whether the assay requires the separation of bound species from unbound species. Heterogeneous immunoassays require such purification, and hence entail a separation or isolation step. Because homogeneous assays lack a separation step, and are more easily automated, they may be more desirable than heterogeneous assays in applications that entail the screening of large numbers of patients.
Regardless of immunoassay format, the utility of an immunoassay in detecting an analyte depends upon its capacity to report the extent of the formation of immune complexes between the antibody employed and the analyte whose presence or concentration is being measured. One approach for increasing this capacity involves labeling one or more the reagents.
A wide array of labels (such as radioisotopes, enzymes, fluorescent moieties, chemiluminescent moieties, or macroscopic labels, such as a bead, etc.) have been employed in order to facilitate the detection of immune complexes (Chard, T. et al., Laboratory Techniques and Biochemistry in Molecular Biology, North Holland Publishing Company, N.Y., 1978; Kemeny, D. M. et al., ELISA and Other Solid Phase Immunoassays, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., 1988).
Immunodetection of the various forms of PSA in serum has become an important objective. Immunoassays to detect PSA in serum have been developed. These assays, however, measure all immunologically detectable forms of PSA in serum, i.e., PSA in its free form, in addition to PSA complexed with ACT. Immunoassays to measure only the free form of PSA have also been developed.
Prior immunoassays, however, have not been capable of selectively detecting the PSA-ACT complex. This is in part because antibodies that are specific for the PSA-ACT complex have not been developed. Because of the importance of detecting PSA, PSA-ACT and the relative amounts of each, it would be desirable to have an immunoassay capable of specifically detecting the PSA-ACT complex.
Previous attempts to generate antibodies specific for the PSA-ACT complex have been unsuccessful. Antibodies to PSA-ACT previously developed are not specific to PSA-ACT, but also bind free PSA, ACT or other serum ACT complexes, such as cathepsin G-ACT (CG-ACT). It is theorized that immunodominant sites on the PSA-ACT complex are not specific for the complex, but are also active for either PSA or ACT. What is needed are antibodies to PSA-ACT that do not significantly cross-react with PSA, ACT or CG-ACT.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for the PSA-ACT complex


In order to realize quick writing and reading of information required in an editorial process of an image onto and from a disc type storage device, an image processing device of the present invention includes: an input image receiving section for receiving image data having been inputted; a first compression transfer section for transferring the image data received by the input image receiving section directly to an HDD; an area data generation section for generating area data of the image data on the basis of the image data having been received; a second compression transfer section for transferring the area data, having been generated by the area data generation section, to the HDD; and an output image processing section for editing the image data on the basis of the area data stored in the HDD. Thus, it is possible to quickly transfer the image data and the area data to the HDD.

Conventionally, various data storage methods have been proposed in order to store inputted data into a storage device such as a hard disc drive (HDD) or the like or in order to read out data stored in the storage device.
For example, as a storage method of image data, a still video storage device which stores image data from an outside into a memory and stores the image data from the memory into a storage medium (see Patent Document 1). That is, storage of image data is carried out in the storage device as follows: image data retained in the memory is transferred to the storage medium at the time when it becomes possible to store the image data. Thus, it is not necessary to rotate a storage medium (disc) while the image processing device is on standby for storage, so that it is possible to prevent the disc and a head from being abraded away.
Further, in order to reduce time taken to read out image data stored in HDD, the following file device was proposed.
The file device stores a set of plural image components constituting a single document image into a data memory and stores management information and editorial information of the document image into an information memory. Further, contents of the data memory and the information memory are transferred to a storage device as a single file (see Patent Document 2).
(Patent Document 1)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 109882/1989 (Tokukaihei 1-109882)(Publication date: Apr. 26, 1989)
(Patent Document 2)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 169643/1989 (Tokukaihei 1-169643)(Publication date: Jul. 4, 1989)
However, in the arrangement of Patent Document 1, the image data from the outside is temporarily stored in the memory, and the image data is sent to the storage medium. According to the arrangement of Patent Document 1, the image data temporarily stored in the memory is collectively transferred to and is stored in the storage medium, so that it takes time to transfer the image data to the storage medium and store the image data into the storage medium after the image data has been inputted from the outside.
Further, in the arrangement of Patent Document 2, the image components, the management information and the editorial information are temporarily stored in the respective memories, and they are stored into an external storage device as a single file. Thus, as in the arrangement of Patent Document 1, it takes time to transfer the image data to the external storage device and store the image data into the external storage device after the image data has been inputted.

Image processing device, transfer controlling method of image processing device, output controlling method of image processing device, control program of image processing device, storage medium storing control program of image processing device


An auxiliary traction wheel is provided so that a dual wheel arrangement may be changed to a three-wheel assembly. A modified wheel is described as are attachment studs which are used to secure the wheels together.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an auxiliary wheel assembly for a vehicle and more particularly to an auxiliary traction wheel assembly for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of trucks employ a pair of dual wheels at the rearward end thereof. Each of the dual wheels includes an inner wheel having a hub portion including a plurality of spaced-apart openings formed therein which receive the lug bolts extending from a brake drum or the like. An outer wheel is positioned outwardly of the inner wheel and it also has a central hub portion provided with a plurality of openings which also receive the stud bolts extending therethrough. Lug nuts are threadably mounted on the lug bolts and secure both the inner and outer wheels to the brake drum for rotation therewith. Although the conventional dual wheels of the truck perform generally satisfactorily, it is sometimes desirable to provide additional flotation or traction to the dual wheels in extremely muddy or sandy conditions. Further, some smaller trucks only employ a single wheel at the opposite ends of the driven axle shaft and there are many times when those single wheels do not provide sufficient traction or flotation for the truck.


A method, system, and computer-readable storage medium are provided for compressing a packet of data sent across a wireless transmission path to reduce power consumption in a wireless input device. The wireless input device preferably includes a human interface device that sends a report that is of variable length and compressed by refraining from transmitting unused bytes of a packet containing the report. Certain byte fields can be swapped, such as a first scan code byte field with a modifier key byte. Also, any reserved bytes that are not used can be removed in order to convert a standard HID report format into the present compressed report format. By removing unused bytes and optimally swapping the more prevalently used byte into the first field while removing any reserved bytes, the compressed report reduces the amount of power consumed to transmit the compressed report, relative to a non-compressed and fixed-length report of conventional HID input devices. A report descriptor maintains the compresses format and provides that format, along with the compressed report, to the USB interface, for example, to recompile the standard report at the input port of, for example, a personal computer. The input device can be, for example, a keyboard and a pointing device. If a pointing device is used, the scroll wheel and button information can be combined into a single byte rather than utilizing two bytes as in conventional HID reports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to electronic circuits and in particular to circuits used in wireless electronic input/output devices such as human interface devices (HIDs) that send and receive serial information into and from a computer using a compressed packet to reduce the consumption of power needed by a battery operated, wireless input/output device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
A typical personal computer (PC) generally comprises a processing unit or microprocessor, memory, and input/output ports. A processing unit can have functional units that receive instructions from, for example, memory and operate on those instructions to produce results stored back into the memory, or dispatched to an input/output device connected to the port. There are many types of processors available on the market and are generally classified based on the instruction sets they are capable of handling. Memory can be defined generally as system memory or magnetic/optical mask storage memory. System memory is configured closer to the processing unit and is oftentimes referred to as semiconductor memory. The input/output port operates as a buffer and bus bridge to connect input/output devices to, for example, the system bus to which the processing unit is either directly or indirectly connected.
There are numerous types of input/output ports currently operative in the marketplace. For example, the input/output ports can be classified as either a serial port or a parallel port. If a PC includes a serial port, it is generally beneficial to communicate to the PC using a universal serial bus (USB). USB is a communication architecture that gives a PC the ability to interconnect with a variety of devices using a simple four-wire cable. USB has gained widespread acceptance where USB protocols can configure devices at startup for plug-and-play relative ease-of-use. When a USB peripheral is plugged into a USB port on a PC, the PC can auto-detect and auto-configure that peripheral device. In most cases, there is no user intervention required. The original USB specification has evolved over time to meet the needs of the industry, resulting in two versions available today. The USB interface can be described in various versions, all of which are available through the Internet at www.usb.org.
The USB devices that can be configured at startup or at runtime can be broken into various device classes, for example. Each device class defines a common behavior and protocols for those devices. A popular USB device class includes the human interface device (HID) class. As defined herein, the HID class consists primarily of devices (referred to herein as HID devices or simply devices) that are used by humans to control the operation of a computer system, such as a PC. Typical examples of HID class devices include: keyboards and pointing devices, front-panel controls, controls that might be found on devices such as telephones, VCR remote controls, games or simulation devices, and devices that may not require human interaction but provide data in a similar format to HID class devices (e.g., barcode readers, thermometers, or volt meters). A description of all of the various examples of HID class devices is provided in the usb.org website, under the definition of device class for HIDs and HID usage tables.
The USB protocol defines the structure by which HID devices send and receive data. For example, HID devices transmit and receive data in data packages called "reports." Reports contain two different types of data generated by HID devices: buttons and values. While the various types of data are generally classified as "data items," each data item is generated by a control, such as a key, slider, single access of a joystick, button, knob, switch, etc. While a button-type data item is binary (i.e., either the button is depressed or not), a value-type data item can have a range of values, usually indicating the position of a pointer device as opposed to, for example, whether a button on that pointer device has been depressed. While HID devices usually generate input data items, reports can also be received by HID devices. The reception of reports by an HID device can, for example, enable the PC to control an LED, speaker volume, or other output devices on an HID device.
Each control has an associated "usage" specified by the HID device manufacturer or, alternatively, programmed into the HID device during plug-and-play or startup. When the HID device is being auto-detected and auto-configured, the HID device can receive from a client (or host) an HID "report descriptor." A report descriptor will specify the reports generated by the HID device. Thus, for each report, the report descriptor describes the arrangement and formatting of the data items contained in the report, as well as the usages associated with each data item. Thus, the report can be represented as a set of bytes within a packet, each byte arranged and formatted according to the report descriptor to define certain usages for those bytes. Accordingly, one or more bytes within the report represents a data item usable by the PC. Any application program that uses HID report data must first parse the associated report descriptor to determine how to interpret the individual reports, and how to find the data items within the reports.
Typical USB HID reports from a keyboard are arranged and formatted by the report descriptor as having a fixed-length, 8-byte sequence of bits placed within a packet sent from the HID keyboard to the PC. The HID keyboard packet can allow possibly up to six simultaneous key presses, presses on a modifier key (e.g., a control, shift, alt key, etc.), and also contain a reserve byte to thereby represent all 8 bytes of the report. A conventional HID boot protocol keyboard packet is a fixed-length 8-byte packet, whereas a conventional HID mouse packet is a fixed-length 4-byte packet.
Difficulties arise, however, when attempting to send all fields of fixed-length keyboard and mouse packets across a wireless medium. For example, there may be several byte fields within the HID report that will be transmitted, even though many of those fields are not used in a typical packet. For example, a typical keyboard most likely encounters only a single key press, even though the HID keyboard report will transmit up to six simultaneous fields allocated for six simultaneous key presses. Requiring a wireless keyboard to transmit the entire 8-byte report, even though there is only a single byte of data in the report, significantly impacts the battery-life of the wireless keyboard. The typical mouse usage is movement only. Thus, the report should contains X and Y deltas, and not the unused Z delta (scroll wheel) or button presses. Therefore, the 4-byte mouse report should only contain two bytes of data since, in most instances, the only prevalent usage is the movement in the X and Y delta directions. Requiring the mouse to transmit the entire 4-byte report even though no button(s) are being actuated, nor is the scroll wheel being moved, significantly impacts the battery-life of the wireless mouse.
It would be desirable to have a system and method for compressing an HID report into only those bytes currently implemented by the HID device, and to discard and not transmit all bytes of the report that are not being implemented. In addition, it would also be desirable to arrange the fields within the report so that the type of report being conveyed can be determined as quickly as possible and, preferably, within one byte of the report. Instead of sending non-used reserve bytes or bytes reserved for concurrent key actuation or modified key actuation, it would be of benefit to simply not send such bytes in order to formulate a variable-size and relatively small size, compressed packet that consumes lessened energy for transmission thereof.

Wireless human interface device packet compression system and method for reducing power consumption


A dual-phase zeolite having a transition metal-containing zeolite phase and a transition metal-containing oxide phase. The catalytic material may be an intimate mixture of a phase-layered structure of a first phase constituted preferably of a copper-containing high silica zeolite and a second phase constituted of copper-containing zirconia.. Methods are also disclosed for making a single-stage catalyst for removing NO.sub.x and HC at high efficiency in an oxygen-rich automotive exhaust gas, and for treating the exhaust gas with the dual-phase catalyst above.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the technology of engine exhaust gas purification, and more Particularly to the technology of removing NO.sub.x at high efficiency in an oxygen-rich atmosphere from lean side air/fuel (A/F) ratio combustion.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Much of the prior art catalysts were designed to operate in a somewhat oxygen-deficient environment since engines were operated at or about stoichiometric combustion. Optimally, commercially available automotive catalysts will not promote reduction of NO.sub.x in an environment of excess oxygen; the traditional reductant, rhodium, is restricted to a narrow window of A/F if ammonia production is to be avoided.
High silica zeolites (2XM/.sub.n.XAl.sub.2 O.sub.3.YSiO.sub.2) of the transition metal ion exchange type, when loaded on an alumina carrier, have demonstrated a desirable ability to act as a molecular sieve and create active sites (a surface on which NO can compete with O.sub.2 for reacting with a reductant), thus permitting reduction of NO.sub.x to take place in an oxidizing environment.
One of the earliest applications of high silica zeolites to the purification of engine exhaust gases is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,328, wherein a copper exchanged zeolite is deployed. The copper is most effective as the ion exchange metal because it is active at lower temperatures (such as present in a lean-burn engine exhaust) than other metals known to date. Such catalyst was used to perform as a three-way catalyst in an oxidizing environment and was found to initially possess a high absorption capacity for organic materials at high temperatures without preference for water.
Unfortunately, transition metal containing zeolites degrade at high temperatures usually found in automotive exhaust systems. The catalyst, that is, the transition metal, tends to react with the alumina of the zeolite and form an aluminate which acts as a low surface area material preventing the transition metal from being actively catalytic and thereby reduces the catalytic activity of the entire system.

Method for purification of lean-burn engine exhaust gas