The present application provides novel human gene ELOVL7 whose expression is markedly elevated in prostate cancers. The gene and polypeptide encoded by the gene can be used, for example, in the diagnosis of prostate cancers, as target molecules for developing drugs against the disease, and for attenuating cell growth of prostate cancer.

PRC is the most common malignancy in males and the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and Europe (Gronberg H. Lancet 2003; 361:859-64.), and frequency of PRC has been increasing significantly in most developed countries probably due to prevalent western-style diet and the explosion of the aging population (Gronberg H. Lancet 2003; 361:859-64., Hsing A W, Devesa S S. Epidemiol Rev 2001; 23:3-13.). Surgical and radiation therapies are effective to the localized disease, but nearly 30% of treated PRC patients still suffer from the relapse of the disease (Feldman B J, Feldman D. Nat Rev Cancer 2001; 1:34-45., Han M, et. al, J Urol 2001; 166:416-9., Isaacs W, et. al., Cancer Cell 2002; 2:113-6.). Most of the patients with relapsed or advanced disease respond well to androgen-ablation therapy because PRCs are usually androgen-dependent at a relatively early stage. However, they often acquire androgen-independent phenotype and show no or very poor response to the androgen ablation therapy. No effective anti-cancer drug or therapy is presently available to the advanced or recurrent androgen-independent PRC. Hence, development of new therapies on the basis of the molecular mechanisms of prostate carcinogenesis or hormone refractory is urgently and eagerly required.
Earlier we performed genome-wide cDNA microarray analysis of PRC cells purified from clinical cancer tissues by means of LMM (Laser Microbeam Microdissection) and identified dozens of genes whose expression levels were evidently increased in PRC cells and/or its precursor PINs, comparing with normal prostatic epithelial cells (Ashida S, et al., Cancer Res 2004; 64:5963-72.). Among the trans-activated genes, we here report characterization of a novel gene, ELOVL7 (Genebank Accession No. NM—024930, SEQ ID NO.14, encoding SEQ ID NO.15), which is very likely to play a significant role in long-chain fatty acids synthesis. ELOVL (elongation of very long chain fatty acids) family are human homologues of yeast ELOs and catalyze the elongation reaction of the long-chain fatty acids (Leonard A E, et. al., Prog Lipid Res 2004; 43: 36-54. Wang Y, et. al., J Lipid Res 2005; 46: 706-15.). The elongation system, which responsible for the addition of two carbon units to the carboxyl end of a fatty acid chain, is composed of four enzymes: a condensing enzyme (elongase, β-ketoacyl CoA synthase), β-ketoacyl CoA reductase, β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrase, and trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase (Leonard A E, et. al., Prog Lipid Res 2004; 43: 36-54.), and the rate of fatty acid elongation is determined by the activity of the elongase (Wang Y, et. al., J Lipid Res 2005; 46: 706-15.). Six distinct fatty acid elongase subtypes (ELOVL1-6) are reported in the mammalian so far, and each of these multiple elongation enzymes is thought to work specifically for different chain length saturated or unsaturated fatty acids (Leonard A E, et. al., Prog Lipid Res 2004; 43: 36-54., Wang Y, et. al., J Lipid Res 2005; 46: 706-15. Suneja S K, et. al., Biochim Biophys Acta. 1990; 1042: 81-5.). The metabolic pathways of long-chain fatty acids plays an important role in the maintenance of membrane lipid composition and the generation of precursors for certain cell signaling molecules, such as eicosanoids (Leonard A E, et. al., Prog Lipid Res 2004; 43: 36-54., Wang Y, et. al., J Lipid Res 2005; 46: 706-15.), thus these metabolic pathways are expected to involve some essential activity of cancer cells.
cDNA microarray technologies have provided comprehensive profiles of gene expression in normal and malignant cells, and the ability to compare the gene expression in malignant and corresponding normal cells (Okabe et al., Cancer Res 61:2129-37 (2001); Kitahara et al., Cancer Res 61: 3544-9 (2001); Lin et al., Oncogene 21:4120-8 (2002); Hasegawa et al., Cancer Res 62:7012-7 (2002)). This approach enables understanding of the complex nature of cancer cells, and helps to understand the mechanism of carcinogenesis. Identification of genes that are deregulated in tumors can lead to more precise and accurate diagnosis of individual cancers, and to develop novel therapeutic targets (Bienz and Clevers, Cell 103:311-20 (2000)). To disclose mechanisms underlying tumors from a genome-wide point of view, and to discover target molecules for diagnosis and development of novel therapeutic drugs, the present inventors have been analyzing the expression profiles of tumor cells using a cDNA microarray of 23040 genes (Okabe et al., Cancer Res 61:2129-37 (2001); Kitahara et al., Cancer Res 61:3544-9 (2001); Lin et al., Oncogene 21:4120-8 (2002); Hasegawa et al., Cancer Res 62:7012-7 (2002)).
Studies designed to reveal mechanisms of carcinogenesis have already facilitated identification of molecular targets for anti-tumor agents. For example, inhibitors of farnesyltransferase (FTIs) which were originally developed to inhibit the growth-signaling pathway related to Ras, whose activation depends on posttranslational farnesylation, has been effective in treating Ras-dependent tumors in animal models (Sun J, et. al., Oncogene 16: 1467-73 (1998)). Clinical trials on human using a combination or anti-cancer drugs and anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab, have been conducted to antagonize the proto-oncogene receptor HER2/neu; and have been achieving improved clinical response and overall survival of breast-cancer patients (Molina M A, et. al., Cancer Res 61:4744-4749 (2001)). A tyrosine kinase inhibitor, STI-571, which selectively inactivates bcr-abl fusion proteins, has been developed to treat chronic myelogenous leukemias wherein constitutive activation of bcr-abl tyrosine kinase plays a crucial role in the transformation of leukocytes. Agents of these kinds are designed to suppress oncogenic activity of specific gene products (O'Dwyer M E and Druker B J, Curr Opin Oncol 12:594-7 (2000)). Therefore, gene products commonly up-regulated in cancerous cells may serve as potential targets for developing novel anti-cancer agents. In fact, novel drugs targeting abnormally expressed molecules that have causative effects on cancer growth and progression have been proven to be effective to certain types of cancers. Such drugs include Herceptin for breast cancer, Glivec (STI571) for CML and Iressa (ZD1839) for non-small cell lung cancer.
Several molecules have been known to be over-expressed in PRC and are identified as therapeutic targets or markers of PRC (Xu et al., Cancer Res 60: 6568-72 (2000); Luo et al., Cancer Res 62: 2220-6 (2002)). However, most of them are also highly expressed in other major organs. Thus, agents that target these molecules may be toxic to cancer cells but may also adversely affect normally growing cells of other organs.
It has been demonstrated that CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize epitope peptides derived from tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) presented on MHC Class I molecule, and lyse tumor cells. Since the discovery of MAGE family as the first example of TAAs, many other TAAs have been discovered using immunological approaches (Boon, Int J Cancer 54: 177-80 (1993); Boon and van der Bruggen, J Exp Med 183: 725-9 (1996); van der Bruggen et al., Science 254: 1643-7 (1991); Brichard et al., J Exp Med 178: 489-95 (1993); Kawakami et al., J Exp Med 180: 347-52 (1994)). Some of the discovered TAAs are now in the stage of clinical development as targets of immunotherapy. TAAs discovered so far include MAGE (van der Bruggen et al., Science 254: 1643-7 (1991)), gp100 (Kawakami et al., J Exp Med 180: 347-52 (1994)), SART (Shichijo et al., J Exp Med 187: 277-88 (1998)), and NY-ESO-1 (Chen et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94: 1914-8 (1997)). On the other hand, gene products which had been demonstrated to be specifically over-expressed in tumor cells, have been shown to be recognized as targets inducing cellular immune responses. Such gene products include p53 (Umano et al., Brit J Cancer 84: 1052-7 (2001)), HER2/neu (Tanaka et al., Brit J Cancer 84: 94-9 (2001)), CEA (Nukaya et al., Int J Cancer 80: 92-7 (1999)), and so on.
In spite of significant progress in basic and clinical research concerning TAAs (Rosenberg et al., Nature Med 4: 321-7 (1998); Mukherji et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92: 8078-82 (1995); Hu et al., Cancer Res 56: 2479-83 (1996)), only limited number of candidate TAAs for the treatment of adenocarcinomas, including colorectal cancer, are available. TAAs abundantly expressed in cancer cells, and at the same time which expression is restricted to cancer cells would be promising candidates as immunotherapeutic targets. Further, identification of new TAAs inducing potent and specific antitumor immune responses is expected to encourage clinical use of peptide vaccination strategy in various types of cancer (Boon and van der Bruggen, J Exp Med 183: 725-9 (1996); van der Bruggen et al., Science 254: 1643-7 (1991); Brichard et al., J Exp Med 178:489-95 (1993); Kawakami et al., J Exp Med 180: 347-52 (1994); Shichijo et al., J Exp Med 187: 277-88 (1998); Chen et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94: 1914-8 (1997); Harris, J Natl Cancer Inst 88: 1442-55 (1996); Butterfield et al., Cancer Res 59: 3134-42 (1999); Vissers et al., Cancer Res 59: 5554-9 (1999); van der Burg et al., J Immunol 156: 3308-14 (1996); Tanaka et al., Cancer Res 57: 4465-8 (1997); Fujie et al., Int J Cancer 80: 169-72 (1999); Kikuchi et al., Int J Cancer 81: 459-66 (1999); Oiso et al., Int J Cancer 81: 387-94 (1999)).
It has been repeatedly reported that peptide-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from certain healthy donors produce significant levels of IFN-α or γ in response to the peptide, but rarely exert cytotoxicity against tumor cells in an HLA-A24 or -A0201 restricted manner in 51Cr-release assays (Kawano et al., Cancer Res 60: 3550-8 (2000); Nishizaka et al., Cancer Res 60: 4830-7 (2000); Tamura et al., Jpn J Cancer Res 92: 762-7 (2001)). However, both of HLA-A24 and HLA-A0201 are one of the common HLA alleles in Japanese, as well as Caucasian populations (Date et al., Tissue Antigens 47: 93-101 (1996); Kondo et al., J Immunol 155: 4307-12 (1995); Kubo et al., J Immunol 152: 3913-24 (1994); Imanishi et al., Proceeding of the eleventh International Histocompatibility Workshop and Conference Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1065 (1992); Williams et al., Tissue Antigen 49: 129 (1997)). Thus, antigenic peptides of cancers presented by these HLAs may be especially useful for the treatment of cancers among Japanese and Caucasian populations. Further, it is known that the induction of low-affinity CTL in vitro usually results from the use of peptide at a high concentration, generating a high level of specific peptide/MHC complexes on antigen presenting cells (APCs), which will effectively activate these CTL (Alexander-Miller et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93: 4102-7 (1996)).

Genes and polypeptides relating to prostate cancers


The present teachings are directed toward methods of determining the lifetime of a catalyst for producing carbon nanotubes. The methods include providing different isotopically-labeled reaction components, primarily hydrocarbon sources containing different carbon isotopes, to the catalyst and measuring the Raman spectra of the carbon nanotubes produced with the different hydrocarbon sources.

1. Field of the Invention
The present teaching relate to a method for determining the catalyst lifetime for catalysts producing single walled carbon nanotubes, (hereinafter "SWNTs"). The method is based on analysis of Raman spectra of nanotubes obtained by sequential introduction of isotopically-labeled reaction components, such as, gases 12CH4 and 13CH4, at different stages of catalyst activity during nanotube production. The growth of the nanotubes can be evaluated by mass spectrometry.
The present teachings also relate to the modification of catalyst composition, for example, using Fe/Mo instead of Fe, that can increase the lifetime approximately three times and thereby increasing the yield of the SWNT. An increase of 100° C. in the synthesis temperature shortened the lifetime from, for example, about 35 minutes to about 10 minutes, however the growth rate increased resulting in a similar overall yield of SWNT. No evidence of lifetime changes was found when the carbon feedstock varied on the order of 8 times, but instead resulted in variation of the amount of disorder carbon formed.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) is considered the most controllable and versatile method for the growth of carbon nanotubes. Along with the traditional iron-based family of catalysts and co-catalysts for the growth of SWNT, new families of noble metal-based catalysts (Pt, Pd, Au, Ag), together with Cu, have been reported. This brings more diversity and complexity to the elucidation of the catalyst features favorable for nanotube growth, since catalyst properties and parameters like preparation method, pretreatment, diameter and their crystallographic and electronic structure have a remarkable influence on nanotube growth.
Among catalyst properties, the lifetime is a key characteristic, especially for growing long tubes needed for particular applications. Previously reported approaches for estimation of the catalyst lifetime are mainly based on post synthesis measurements of the nanotubes' length with time.
Methods include monitoring in-situ height during growth of the SWNT, and inducing growth marks during growth of multi-walled carbon nanotube (hereinafter "MWCNT") arrays.
All of the above reported approaches are generally applicable for individual tubes or very well aligned forests of tubes, where the length of the nanotube can be measured. A need exists for a simple method that allows one to evaluate the period of catalyst activity and determine the duration favorable for the growth of SWNTs. Of particular interest are methods for studying and determining the catalyst lifetime for bulk growth of SWNTs. Additionally, a need exists for understanding the dependence of the catalyst lifetime on, such factors as, for example, catalyst composition and different nanotube synthesis parameters.

Method of determining lifetime of a nanotube-producing catalyst


An ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic transducer array having a thinner portion, an intermediate portion, and a thicker portion that extend along an azimuthal direction. This transducer array is used to acquire first and second images of an imaged region. The first and second images differ in ultrasonic imaging bandwidth and/or ultrasonic center frequency such that the intermediate transducer portion is active in both the images while at least one of the thinner and the thicker transducer portions is active in only one of the images. The first and second images are then combined to form a composite display image.

This invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging system and method for forming a combined image from at least two ultrasonic images that differ in resolution.
Ustuner, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,926 describes an ultrasonic imaging system that combines a detail image having high spatial resolution with a contrast image having high contrast resolution to produce a combined image. This combined image combines both detail resolution of the detail image and contrast resolution of the contrast image. With this approach, improved combined images can be created.
The present invention represents an improvement to the imaging systems described in the above-identified Ustuner patent, and this improvement provides yet further operational advantages.

System and method for forming a combined ultrasonic image


A backplane connector includes a number of wafers and a spacer for assembling the wafers together. Each wafer includes an insulating frame and a number of conductive terminals fixed to the insulating frame. The insulating bracket includes a first protrusion and a second protrusion. The spacer includes a first body portion and a second body portion. The first body portion includes a first clamping slot for clamping the first protrusion. The second body portion includes a second clamping slot for clamping the second protrusion. The present disclosure increases the ability of the spacer to resist external forces and improves the structural stability of the backplane connector.

The existing backplane connectors usually include an insulating housing, a plurality of wafers assembled to the insulating housing, and a spacer for combining the wafers together. Each wafer includes an insulating frame, a plurality of conductive terminals insert-molded with the insulating frame, and a metal shield disposed on at least one side of the insulating frame. The insulating frame includes a protrusion at a rear end, and the spacer includes a positioning groove for receiving the protrusion.
However, the existing spacer is usually of a flat plate configuration which only fixes and positions the wafers at the rear end thereof. When the spacer is subjected to external force, it is easy to loosen or fall off. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the structural stability of the spacer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Backplane connector with improved structure


A wireless communication apparatus includes a plurality of antenna branches for transmitting and receiving a wireless communication signal, a calibration coefficient calculator for calculating a calibration coefficient for each frequency band, the calibration coefficient correcting an imbalance in phase and amplitude existing between the antenna branches, a coefficient storage memory for storing the calibration coefficient of each frequency band, a calibration coefficient reader for reading the calibration coefficient of a frequency band of one of a transmission signal and a reception signal as a target to be calibrated, a calibration coefficient interpolator for interpolating a calibration coefficient of the frequency band if the coefficient storage memory stores no corresponding calibration coefficient of the frequency band, and a calibration coefficient multiplier for multiplying one of the transmission signal and the reception signal by one of the read calibration coefficient and the interpolated calibration coefficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, a wireless communication method, and a computer program for performing an antenna calibration process compensating an imbalance in phase and amplitude present between antenna branches of a plurality of antennas. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, a wireless communication method, and a computer program for performing the calibration process on the antenna branches in a communication system handling a wide-band signal.
The present invention also relates to a wireless communication apparatus, a wireless communication method, and a computer program for performing the calibration process on the antenna branches in a wide-band communication system, such as an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, which divides a wide-band signal into a plurality of sub-carriers. In particular, the present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, a wireless communication method, and a computer program for performing the calibration process on the antenna branches in a wide-band communication system that uses a plurality of packet formats different in the sub-carrier placement on a frequency axis as defined in the IEEE802.11n standard.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wireless network draws attention as a system that is free from wiring in wired communication method in the related art. Standards available for wireless network are the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and IEEE802.15. For example, IEEE802.11a/g as wireless LAN standard adopts multi-carrier OFDM modulation method. The IEEE802.11a/g standard supports a communication system of up to a communication speed of 54 Mbps. There is a need for a next-generation wireless LAN standard that can achieve an even higher bit rate.
A multi-antenna technique may be available as a wireless communication technique to achieve a high-throughput wireless data transmission. In the multi-antenna technique, a communication apparatus works on a plurality of antennas. An adaptive array antenna is widely known as a multi-antenna technique. The adaptive array antenna supports communications by controlling a gain of each antenna element and determining antenna directivity appropriate for transmission and reception. More specifically, a signal received by each antenna element is multiplied by an appropriate weight to obtain a receiving directivity pattern of the entire array antenna. The transmission signal is then multiplied by an appropriate weight of each antenna element and then transmitted from the respective antenna element. A transmission directivity pattern as the entire array antenna is thus controlled. The array antenna may work as a sector antenna in which a main lobe of the antenna is directed to a desired direction with a low-level side lobe directed to an undesired direction so that no radio wave is transmitted in the undesired direction. In another method, the main lobe of the antenna is directed to a desired mobile station and a null lobe of the antenna is directed to an interfering mobile station so that a signal-to-interference and noise power ratio (SINR) is increased.
Multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) communication also draws attention as another example of wireless communication techniques employing the multi-antenna. The MIMO communication provides a spatial multiplexed stream by arranging a plurality of antenna elements in each of a receiver side and a transmitter side. The transmitter side multiplexes transmission data by spatial coding and time coding a plurality units of transmission data, and sending the transmission data units to a plurality of transmitting antenna elements to transmit the transmission data units via channels. The receive side then spatial decoding and time decoding signals received via a plurality of receiving antenna elements via the channels, demultiplexes the decoded signals into a plurality of units of data, and thus obtains the original data in a manner free from crosstalk between streams. Without widening the frequency band, the MIMO communication method increases a capacity of transmission in response to the number of antenna elements and increases the communication speed. Since spatial multiplexing is used, frequency utilization is high. The MIMO communication method takes advantage of channel characteristics and is different from a mere transmission and reception adaptive array. For example, the IEEE802.11n standard as an expanded version of the IEEE802.11 standard adopts the OFDM_MIMO communication method.
When a radio frequency (RF) signal passes through an RF transmitter circuit or an RF receiver circuit in the multi-antenna system, an imbalance in phase and amplitude between antenna branches appears as the effect of individual variations in an active element and a component, such as an amplifier, a frequency converter, or the like, forming the RF transmitter circuit or the RF receiver circuit, regardless of the type of multi-antenna technique. The effect of individual variations is particularly great in an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit in the RF receiver circuit and a power amplifier (PA) in the RF transmitter circuit. The imbalance in phase and amplitude between branches leads to degradation in antenna characteristics of the adaptive array, and may result in a directivity completely different from an intended directivity. The imbalance in phase and amplitude between branches in the MIMO communication causes an erratic channel recognition, and a failure in the acquisition of appropriate transmission channel forming row and column. Decoding characteristics on the receiver side are thus substantially degraded.
A calibration process is performed to equalize characteristics between the RF transmitter circuit and the RF receiver circuit in order to control the effect of imbalance in phase and amplitude. The calibration process is typically performed in the frequency domain. In each branch, a calibration coefficient is multiplied on a per sub-carrier basis in the frequency domain.
A communication system handling a wide-band signal acquires the calibration coefficient for each frequency band in use. For example, the OFDM system divides a wide-band signal into a plurality of sub-carriers using fast Fourier transform (FFT) as previously discussed. In this case, the antenna calibration coefficient is determined on a per sub-carrier basis. A transfer function is acquired through transmission and reception of a packet containing all the sub-carriers, and the antenna calibration coefficient is determined for each sub-carrier.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-348236 discloses an array antenna transmission apparatus. In accordance with the disclosure, the whole frequency band is divided into a plurality of blocks, and amplitude/phase deviations of the sub-carriers are averaged over all the sub-carriers within one block on the basis of the fact that the deviation of a frequency response between adjacent sub-carriers is small. The array antenna transmission apparatus thus obtains a highly accurate calibration coefficient.
Referring to FIG. 7, the IEEE802.11n standard adopting the OFDM_MIMO communication method contains a total of five packet formats. The five packet formats include (1) Legacy Mode working on the 20 MHz band, (2) HT Mixed Mode working on the 20 MHz band, (3) HT Mixed Mode working on the 40 MHz band, (4) 40M Duplicate Legacy Mode working on the 20 MHz band (lower band) of the 40 MHz band and the 20 MHz band (upper band) of the 40 MHz band in a duplicate fashion, and (5) 40M Duplicate HT Mixed Mode working on the 20 MHz band (lower band) of the 40 MHz band and the 20 MHz band (upper band) of the 40 MHz band in a duplicate fashion. Sub-carriers are different on the frequency axis depending on each of a packet format having signals within the 20 MHz band, a packet format having signals within the whole 40 MHz band, a packet format having signals in the upper band of the 40 MHz band, a packet format having signals in the lower band of the 40 MHz band, and a packet format having signals in each of the upper band and the lower band of the 40 MH band. Five calibration cycles are performed to obtain the calibration coefficients for the five packet formats.
Normal communications are not performed during the calibration operation.

Apparatus and method for wireless communication, and computer program


A combination mode a data transfer for a transfer source and a transfer destination is previously defined by a value of resource select information of a control register (CHCRn). An address comparator circuit (SACn, DACn) has judging logic specified by the defined contents and detects, depending on its logical structure, a data transfer address error in the a data transfer controller (8) on the basis of such logical structure, in accordance with resource select information and the transfer source address and transfer destination address of the address registers (SARn, DARn). Since the data transfer is started only when the resource select information matches with the setting information of both address registers, high reliability can be assured for memory protection in the data transfer operation by the data transfer controller.

The present invention relates to a memory protection function (or data protection function) in a data transfer control apparatus, such as a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller), and, more specifically, to technology which is effective for application, for example, to a microcomputer (processor or microprocessor) and a data processing system having a memory management unit.
The load on a microcomputer, processor or CPU (Central Processing Unit) for effecting data transfer can be eased by use of a DMAC. In data transfer using a DMAC, a processor or CPU initially sets the transfer destination address or transfer source address into a transfer destination address register and transfer source address register in the DMAC, and the DMAC, having completed initial setting thereof, upon receiving the data transfer request, executes a data transfer by acquiring the bus right from the processor or CPU. As is obvious from this explanation, when a DMAC is provided, one access route is provided for the memory and register.
Nowadays, many computer systems support a virtual memory and provide substantial memory protection by means of a memory management unit (MMU). Therefore, when the processor and CPU make access to a register and memory, memory protection by the memory management unit can be realized. However, when the computer system includes a DMAC, since the CPU and processor set the data transfer destination address and transfer source address by direct memory access to the register in the DMAC as data, the memory protection is not effectuated in the course of an address conversion by the memory management unit. In other words, when a DMAC is provided between the MMU and an external input/output circuit, the transfer destination and transfer source address set in the DMAC are used directly as a physical address without passing through the MMU, and thereby the protection function performed by the MMU cannot be realized. Thereby, when the access route is provided by the DMAC, there is a fear that data or a program may be corrupted unexpectedly by an erroneous access to an access prohibited region or that security cannot be maintained because the OS (Operating System) and system data can be read freely.
The Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. SHO 62-191950 describes a technique for memory protection which involves comparing an output address of the DMAC with a protection address, and the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 1-250162 describes a control system for write protection of a memory which involves comparing an output address of a DMAC with a write protect address. Moreover, the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 6-266648 describes a technique for intercepting an access to the main memory by a direct memory access control mechanism when the address output from the direct memory access control mechanism exceeds a data transfer allowable range on the main memory.
In addition, the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 2-297235 describes a technique involving a memory data protection circuit having region information indicating whether a relevant address region is a program region or a data region corresponding to an address of the main memory, making it possible to identify an irregular evens when the region information corresponding to the program fetch address of the main memory indicates a data region or to control a write request when the region information corresponding to the write address to the main memory indicates a program region.
Finally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 6-119250 describes a technique for memory protection which involves forcibly setting a part of the output address signal of the device for DMA transfer control to a constant value.
However, the techniques mentioned above are intended to realize memory protection from outside of the device after the device, such as a DMAC, has started data transfer to output an address signal. That is, even if an access violates the memory protection, the device itself, such as a DMAC, first starts the data transfer operation. Since it is impossible in this case to control an operation of the DMAC itself which violates the memory protection, this operation of the circuit, such as a DMAC, is to a certain degree useless.
Moreover, since memory protection is executed to a particularly set address range, like a protection address or write protect address, if the protection address, etc. is undesirably updated because the setting is done erroneously for the protection addresses and the CPU operates under an uncontrollable condition, memory protection cannot be realized and the reliability of the memory protection becomes rather low. As described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 6-119250, even when a part of the output address signal of the device for DMA transfer control is updated to a constant value, the situation is the same, if an error exists in the setting of the constant value information.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a data transfer controller which can control a data transfer operation by itself when a violation of memory protection occurs.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a data transfer controller which can improve the reliability of memory protection.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a microcomputer, microprocessor and moreover a data processing system, which can reduce the possibility of useless data transfer as much as possible by a data transfer controller even if a data transfer request which violates memory protection is issued, thereby to contribute to improvement of the data processing efficiency.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a microcomputer, microprocessor and moreover a data processing system, which can improve safe system operation as it relates to memory protection by a data transfer controller.
The aforementioned and other objects and novel characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Typical features of the present invention disclosed in this application will be explained briefly.
That is, the data transfer control circuit (8) has a storing region, in a control register (CHCRn), for resource select information (RS0 to RS3) to designate with a plurality of bits a mode of operation involving a combination of the data transfer source area and data transfer destination. This data transfer control circuit (8) refers to the transfer source address, transfer destination address and resource select information initially set to the address register (SARn, DARn) and detects, with an address error detector (96), an address error indicating that at least one of the transfer source address and data transfer destination address is deviated from the mode operation for the combination of the data transfer source area and data transfer destination designated by the resource select information in order to determine permission/prohibition of the data transfer. When data transfer is to be permitted, the data transfer controller asserts a signal, such as a bus right request signal (BREQ) to obtain the bus right from the other bus master, such as the CPU, and thereafter starts the data transfer operation. When data transfer is to be prohibited, the data transfer controller does not assert the bus right request signal, but asserts, for example, an address error interruption signal, in place of such bus right request signal, and transfers the process for dealing with such address error, for example, to the central processing unit (3).
The features explained above detects a memory protection violation specified by the data transfer controller as an address error. The application for data transfer (combination of the data transfer source area and transfer destination) of only one data transfer channel formed by the address register and control register is determined by the resource select information. With reference to the application for data transfer, when at least one of the transfer destination address and transfer source address is corrupted, the start of the data transfer operation is prohibited. Therefore, when the transfer destination and transfer source addresses to be set to the address register are corrupted for the combination of the transfer origination circuit and transfer destination circuit assigned to only one data transfer channel due to the setting error, noise or uncontrolled running of the system, the data transfer operation is prohibited. Moreover, if a setting error or unwanted update of the resource select information occurs, the data transfer operation is also prohibited even when the transfer origination and transfer destination addresses to be set to the address register are normal.
As explained above, a mode of operation involving a combination between the transfer source area and the transfer destination assuring data transfer is predetermined depending on a value of the resource select information, and the address error detector has address error determining logic conforming to the defined content and detects, on the basis of such logical structure, an address error which disables data transfer control by the data transfer controller depending on the resource select information of the control register and transfer source address and transfer destination address of the address register. Since the data transfer is started only when the resource select information is matched with the setting information of the address register, a higher reliability of memory protection can be assured for the data transfer operation by the data transfer controller. Moreover, the data transfer controller itself can control the data transfer operation for avoiding a memory protection violation by the data transfer controller, and thereby can avoid a useless data transfer operation.
According to a further detail of the feature explained above, the data transfer controller (8) comprises a plurality of data transfer charnels haying address registers (SARn, DARn) and control registers (CHCRn), an internal bus (80) connected to address registers and control registers included in a plurality of data transfer channels, a bus interface circuit (81) for interfacing the internal bus with an external circuit, and control circuits (82 to 85) for executing transfer control via the bus interface circuit by utilizing one data transfer channel in a plurality of data transfer channels depending on the data transfer request. To an address register, the data transfer source address and data transfer destination address are set.
The control register has a storing region for storing resource select information (RS0 to RS3) for designating, by a plurality of bits, a mode of operation involving a combination of a data transfer request source area assigned to the data transfer channel, including the relevant control register, a data transfer source area responding to the data transfer request from the requesting section and a data transfer destination. The control register also comprises an address error detector (96) for detecting an address error indicating that at least one of the data transfer source area address and data transfer destination address set to the address register is inconsistent with the mode of operation involving the combination of the data transfer source area designated by the resource select information included in the control register and the data transfer destination.
The control circuit determines the data transfer channel for responding to the request source area when a data transfer request is issued from the resource select information set to the control register. The control circuit further executes the data transfer operation using the data transfer channel responding to the data transfer request under the condition that an address error is not detected. The information identifying the transfer request source area included in the resource select information is similar to the information designating the kind of transfer request. In such a mode, the resource select information also designates the data transfer request issuing area or the kind of data transfer request assigned to the relevant data transfer channel. That is, the data transfer channel to be used for the data transfer request is determined by referring to the resource select information. The data transfer request is equivalent, for example, to a data transfer request from a particular peripheral circuit or a starting request (setting of the transfer enable bit (DE) of the control register) by the CPU. For example, the data transfer requesting area is indicated by the data transfer request signal individualized for each kind of requesting area or additional information indicating the requesting area. When the setting of the transfer enable bit is designated as a transfer request, the transfer requesting area is the CPU, and a value for equalizing the setting of the transfer enable bit to the starting request or starting request area is set in the resource select information.
In the event of exclusively operating a plurality of data transfer channels, priority may be changed by further providing an operation register (MDAOR) which is connected to the internal bus for common use for a plurality of data transfer channels and assigning, to this operation register, a storing region for storing the priority information (PR0, PR1) to determine the priority of the data transfer channels to execute a data transfer request when a plurality of data transfer requests are competing. In this case, the control circuit gives priority to the data transfer request for the data transfer channel having the higher priority depending on the priority information when the data transfer requests are competing for a plurality of data transfer channels at the time of determining a data transfer channel.
The microcomputer (1) which includes the data transfer controller comprises a central processing unit CPU(3), memory management units (40, 41, 42) for converting the logical addresses output from the CPU into physical addresses, a data transfer controller (8), a bus state controller (51) for controlling the bus access cycle depending on the physical address output from the memory management unit or the physical address output from the data transfer controller, built-in peripheral circuits (70 to 74) connected to the bus state controller vie the peripheral buses (56, 57) and an external bus interface circuit (6) coupled with the bus state controller. In this case, the CPU executes the setting for each register of the data transfer controller via the memory management unit, the data transfer controller allows, at the time of executing a data transfer in response to a data transfer request, the bus state controller to assert the bus right request signal (BREQ) and starts the data transfer after the responding bus right acknowledgment signal (BACK) is asserted by the bus state controller.
The microcomputer can be constituted by integration on a single semiconductor substrate.
The data processing system comprises a microcomputer, external buses (60, 61) coupled with the external bus interface circuit and external peripheral circuits (62 to 65) coupled with the external buses.
At the time of address conversion by the memory management unit, the microcomputer carries out memory protection for the address space administered by the CPU to prohibit access, for example, to the system space in the user mode. The memory protection by the memory management unit is effective for the access address In this case, the transfer controller (8) prohibits the start of data transfer for the transfer destination address and transfer source address, as explained above, when the CPU (3) designates a setting when the transfer mode of the resource select information is in conflict with the transfer destination address and/or transfer source address being set as data in the address registers. Therefore, the data protection for the access prohibiting area can also be realized for a data transfer operation by the data transfer controller to which the memory protection of the memory management unit is not directly available, and thereby safe operation of the data processing system can be enhanced. Moreover, the data transfer controller itself can prohibit a data transfer operation which is likely to produce a memory protection violation by the data transfer controller, thereby avoiding a useless data transfer operation, while contributing to the improvement of the data processing efficiency by the data processing system and the microcomputer.
A mode for detecting an address error by the address error detector in the data transfer controller comprising a microcomputer incorporated in the data processing system can be defined as (1) a condition where the transfer source address preset to the address register, when the data transfer source area responding to the data transfer request is a built in peripheral circuit, indicates an external peripheral circuit, (2) a condition where the transfer source address preset in the address register indicates a built-in peripheral circuit when the data transfer source area responding to the data transfer request is an external peripheral circuit, (3) a condition where the transfer destination address preset in the address register indicates an external peripheral circuit when the data transfer destination responding to the data transfer request is a built-in peripheral circuit, and (4) a condition where the transfer destination address preset in the address register indicates an internal peripheral circuit when the data transfer destination responding to the data transfer request is an external peripheral circuit. This address error mode can prevent erroneous operation caused by a serious memory protection violation resulting from a mistake concerning the internal space and the external space of the microcomputer.

Data transfer controller, microcomputer and data processing system


A method of preventing migraine headaches in humans by the administration of the compound of the formula I ##STR1## or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof in a non-toxic, effective therapeutic amount (calculated as base) to a human in need thereof.

This invention is directed to a method of treatment of migraine headaches in humans by the administration to the humans of the compound of the formula I ##STR2## or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof in a non-toxic, therapeutic amount (calculated as base) to a human in need thereof.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,706 and 3,885,046 m-chloro-.alpha.-t-butylaminopropiophenone and salts thereof, in particular the hydrochloride salt, were disclosed on being antidepressants. Bupropion hydrochloride is the generic name for m-chloro-.alpha.-t-butylarninopropiophenone which is used under the trademark WELLBUTRIN.RTM. in the United States of America for the treatment of depressions. The neurochemical mechanism of the antidepressant effect of bupropion is not known.
I have now found that bupropion hydrochloride is effective in treating migraine headaches in humans. It is effective when administered alone or together with caffeine, e.g., with one or two cups of coffee.
The compound of formula (I) (the active ingredient) or the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof is preferably administered in unit dosage form to the human being treated.


A method and apparatus for deflating a tire of a vehicle, the apparatus including a housing having at least one channel member and at least one opening provided in the housing, and at least one deflator connected to the housing, an actuating cam slidably housed in the channel member and being removable from a first position to a second position, the cam engaging the at least one deflator when in the first position and respectively moving the at least one deflator into the at least one opening upon sliding of the cam from the first position to the second position so as to be engagable with a tire of a vehicle and a mechanism for sliding the cam in the channel member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for deflating the tire of a vehicle wherein an actuating cam slidably is slidably positioned in a housing and serves to engage at least one deflator connected to the housing.
2. Discussion of the Background
Deflators are known such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,397, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Tire deflators of this type include a mechanism for disabling vehicles which fail to stop at check points. Disabling such vehicles precludes high-speed chases which are dangerous to both police officers and to the general public. The tire deflator can be used at permanent facilities, e.g., U.S. customs inspection points as well as at improvised check points such as police road blocks or other locations where access by non-authorized personnel can be selectively prohibited. The spike utilized in this patent is permanently detachably mounted on its own support block of metal, plastic or other desirable material which, in turn, is mounted on the continuous base plate that provides support for a plurality of spikes. Each spike is attachable to a passage in the support block and the combined spike and support block is detachable as an integral unit from the base plate after tire penetration so as to remain attached to the tire after penetration of the tire by the spike.
Other traffic controllers are known such as that set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,170 that serve as devices to preclude wrong-way automobile traffic from entering exits of parking areas and the like. More particularly, a visible barrier is presented at the pavement level so as to permit the desired traffic flow by use of its depression when engaged by rolling tires, so as to cause or likely cause tire damage to an undesired reverse flow of traffic by use of its visible configuration of projecting members.
Heretofore, traffic directors or controllers of the type under consideration have often involved retractable spring arms and spikes assembled as a unit in a frame.
Durability of the traffic controllers can become a problem because the mechanisms causing projection of the spikes or their deflating members requires a plurality of movable elements, particularly where these movable elements are not provided with adequate support once the tire of the vehicle rolls over them. It is therefore desirable to have a tire deflator which is operable in a reliable manner and, upon operation, also provides support for the spike and permits the spike to both pierce the tire of the vehicle and be carried off by the tire, particularly in the instance where the spike is hollow, since this permits more rapid deflation of the tire.
It is also desirable to provide a tire deflator which has a minimum number of movable parts which are of sturdy construction and operate in a reliable manner despite adverse weather conditions and despite being exposed to not only the elements but also to dirt, sand and other gritty substances which are normally found on roads.

Method and apparatus for deflating a tire of a vehicle


A wheel comprising: an inner hub including a first side, a second side being generally parallel to and opposite of the first side, an axle shaft emanating up from the second side, a plurality of inner spokes emanating up from the second side and outward from the axle shaft and engaging an inner circumferential member; an outer hub engaged to the inner circumferential member, a plurality of outer spokes emanating from the inner circumferential member, the outer spokes being engaged to the inner circumferential member at a proximal end of the spokes and engaged to an inner surface of an over mold substrate at a distal end of the spokes, the over mold substrate also having an outer surface being generally parallel to and opposite of the inner surface; and a over mold tread chemically bonded to the outer surface of the over mold substrate.

The use of plastic wheels on a wide variety of products is known. Among these products, are various forms of push and pull carts having two or more wheels. These carts may include beach carts, hand carts, refuse carts, baggage carts, golf push carts and the like. The use of plastic wheels on these types of carts has proven to be both reliable and economical. Additionally, there is a long standing need to develop recycling methods which enable the processing of old materials into new products in order to both preserve limited natural resources and prevent the waste of potentially useful materials. When compared to virgin production, recycling also allows manufacturers to reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution, reduce water pollution, reduce the need for "conventional" waste disposal (i.e. a landfill), and lower greenhouse gas production. Some materials are easily recyclable such as glass, metal and paper. Other materials, such as plastic, textiles and electronics, are more difficult to recycle. In the past, much of these waste products from the manufacture of products or post consumer used materials which incorporate plastics were simply shipped off to the landfill. Today, the desirability of so-called "green" manufacturing has increased remarkably. "Green" manufacturing include the incorporation of recycled materials into the finished product, as well as the ability to reclaim previously used materials as either a fresh supply of the material being produced or the reuse of the original material in the production of a different material.
Hence, a need exists for a durable, plastic wheel which makes use of recycled materials in its formation.


A unique connecting pin is provided for splicing or lacing up conveyor belt egments. The connecting pin has multiple core pieces of defined lengths, aligned within the interior of a casing element. The casing element is constructed from a relatively soft material, which can give during operations, and the core pieces are aligned in such a way, that they extend through more than two coupling eyelets.

The present invention concerns connecting pins for lacing or splicing conveyor belts and the like, and in particular to a connecting pin having core pieces of defined length which are aligned in the interior of at least one casing element.
Heretofore, the casing element of a typical belt fastener connecting pin is a casing pipe, which contains in its interior, disk shaped core pieces that are larger in diameter than in height (FR-2 574 510). Another type of coupling pin is disclosed in CA-1 067 315, which has several ribbed beads that extend lengthwise along the body of the casing element. In this instance, there is also a spiral shaped insert between the ribbed bead and the casing element, which during operation attempts to transfer the forces, which are primarily shear forces, as evenly as possible between the belt fasteners.
The prior art connecting pins have generally not been able to meet all demands placed upon them. They are typically unable to withstand the static loads occurring during operation, or especially the very high dynamic loads. These dynamic loads occur when a cleated conveyor band runs across its associated carrier rolls, and leads to rapid wear and tearing of the prior art connecting pins.

Connecting pin for belt fasteners and the like

MATO Maschinen-und Metallwarenfabrik Curt Matthaei GmbH & Co. KG


A device for locking refractory insulation members on support elements in a heat treating furnace, boiler or other piping has a first strap end with a ramp and a second strap end with a raised bearing tab. The ramp engages the bearing tab with an interference-fit to capture the first strap end on the second strap end. The first embodiment of the invention includes a hook insertable in a window. The hook has a deflectable ramp with a bearing edge which engages a lock surface on the raised bearing tab to lock opposing strap ends to one another. The second embodiment of the invention includes an angled edge on the first strap end which engages the raised bearing tab on the second strap end. The first and second strap ends have opposing slots. The first strap end includes a notched back which, when the opposing slots are fully interengaged, receives the bearing tab to capture the first strap end on the second strap end. In both embodiments, the first strap end is positively locked on the second strap end to prevent the strap ends from working free from one another. No welding or bending is required to lock the strap ends to one another.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to refractory insulation for support elements in heat treating furnaces and, more particularly, to means for securing insulation on the support elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heat treating furnaces, for example walking beam furnaces or roller hearth furnaces, typically employ support elements, such as water cooled pipes having skid rails or the like, for supporting a work piece as it is conveyed through the furnace. To minimize heat loss from the furnace into the cooling water, the pipes are provided with jackets of refractory insulation. The jackets are typically formed in semi-cylindrical pre-cast segments, or similar configurations, which are joined to one another to encircle the support elements. To facilitate interlocking the segments to one another, metallic straps are integrally cast with the refractory material, and the strap ends have means for interlocking one to another, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,167.
Problems heretofore experienced with refractory insulation include the following: The useful life of refractory insulation jackets is relatively short, so the heat treating furnace must regularly be shut down for work personnel to enter the furnace and repair or replace insulation. The more complicated the attachment, the more time required to loosen old insulation and install replacements. Additionally, the shocks and stresses incident to movement of the work piece through the furnace causes refractory insulation segments which have no locking mechanism to work free from one another. Loose insulation thus may fall to the furnace floor, leaving the water cooled pipes directly exposed to the furnace atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,167 discloses no-weld refractory coverings for water cooled pipes wherein metallic straps are anchored and pre-cast into semi-cylindrical insulation segments. The straps have opposing slots on their ends which are intermeshed to hold corresponding insulation segments to one another around a water cooled pipe. A second embodiment of the straps includes a first strap end having peripheral slots and a second strap end having mating tabs which are received in the slots to interlock opposing straps. The first embodiment of the straps is subject to loosening and fall-off of individual segments since there is no means for positively locking the opposing slots to one another. The second embodiment appears to require manufacturing within very low tolerances. If the tabs are even slightly larger than the opposing slots, the opposing strap ends will not interlock properly, thus unduly increasing installation time and labor. It also appears that the second embodiment would be difficult to disengage for repair or replacement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,609 discloses a protective refractory member having clips and wire mesh pre-cast within the refractory member halves. The clips engage openings in the wire mesh to secure opposing halves to one another. There is no mechanism for positively interlocking the clips in the mesh. Opposing halves may thus work free from one another and fall from the support element.
A third and similar means for interengaging refractory segments is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,721. Again, this arrangement has no locking mechanism.
Finally, it has become common in the art to tack weld opposing strap ends to one another to protect against working free. Alternatively, others in the art have welded lock rods at appropriate locations on the strap ends, which are bent on-site by installment personnel, to capture one strap end on another. Each of these alternatives requires an additional installation and removal step, which is undesirable from the standpoint of labor and down time.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for interlocking refractory members which automatically prevents opposing members from working free due to normal stresses, strains and vibrations within the heating furnace. It is also an object to simplify installation and retrofit of refractory insulation to minimize the expense and labor associated with heating furnace down time. It is a further object to provide a device for locking refractory insulation members which requires no welding, or similar added step, at the point of installation, and which is also relatively easy to unlock for repair or replacement.


An automation and energy management system includes an automation panel box which may be positioned adjacent to a circuit breaker panel box. The automation panel box includes one or more circuit breaker control modules, one or more device control modules and a power module for providing power to the control modules. The circuit breaker control module provides signals to operate motorized circuit breakers, so as to turn on or off the power to a device being managed and the device control module provides signals to control individual appliances. Each of the two control modules is capable of controlling up to eight different circuit breakers or eight different individual devices and each includes a manual override button for each breaker or device controlled, which override button can be manually pressed by a person desiring to override the automation and energy management control. Each control module includes a counting circuit which sequentially enables one of several toggle circuits that sustains the state of each circuit breaker (or appliance switch). A facility computer generally communicates with the modules over a bus and issues commands to cause certain automatic functions of energy management to occur.

Energy management and home automation has been known for many years. However, practical systems at reasonable cost, permitting effective energy usage control and functionally controlling the operation of various home appliances, still have not been developed. To the extent that such energy control and automation systems have been developed, the homeowner becomes a slave to the automatic system, rather than the automatic system being an aide to the homeowner. For example, systems exist to automatically turn on the lights at a certain time and turn them off at a second certain time. However, in some situations, the homeowner may desire that the lights be off when the computer has been set to keep them on. In such a situation, the homeowner must reprogram the computer, rather than merely turn the lights off by simply flipping a switch.
Examples of typical prior art automation and energy management systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,882 in the name of Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,880 in the name of Johnson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,920 in the name of Reiter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,473 in the name of Bryant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,295 in the name of Fowler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,984 in the name of Waldman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,031 in the name of Froehling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,232 in the name of Peddie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,509 in the name of Burnnagel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,333 in the name of Schwarzbach et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,577 in the name of Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,120 in the name of Schonnack, U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,162 in the name of Hammer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,319 in the name of Wygant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,960 in the name of Gurr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,022 in the name of Kendall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,379 in the name of Simcoe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,646 in the name of Caltagirone et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,182 in the name of Eichelberger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,555 in the name of Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,242 in the name of Stevenson and U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,815 in the name of Karklys. Other energy managements systems are described in PCT Patent Application Number PCT/US. 87/02365, entitled "Energy Management System" in the name of Brown, Jr. et al., and French Patent 2,495,396 in the name of Pillebout.
It is also well known that each electrical power circuit in a building, such as a home, factory or the like, are protected by a fuse device, such as a circuit breaker, against power surges and overloads. Many appliances to be monitored, such as pumps and major appliances are included as the only power consuming appliance in the circuit, that is, the circuit breaker is designed to protect only that appliance. Other types of appliances, such as lights, small kitchen appliances and the like, may be grouped together in a single power circuit and share a common circuit breaker.
Where circuit breakers are used to protect the power circuit, the circuit breakers may include a small electric motor, which responds to appropriate electric controls signals for automatically tripping, setting or resetting the circuit breaker from a remote location. One significant difference between those appliances included with their own circuit breaker is that normally those appliances having their own circuit breaker are almost universally subject to automation and energy management, whereas only certain of the appliances plugged in to a multi appliance circuit will be energy managed and subject to automation. The motorized circuit breaker has been used in the past as a convenient element to manage the application of power to those single appliance circuits. Such motorized circuit breakers can be turned off at those desired times when it is desired that they not operate, such as the middle of the night for water heaters.
In order to have a fully automated facility, many times it is desirable for external signals, indicating a certain status, to be provided to the automation equipment in order to determine whether an appliance or device should be turned on or off. For example, if an automatic sprinkler system pump is being controlled by the automation system, it is desirable that system know whether the grass needs to be watered. Moisture sensing transducers or rain gauge transducers are well known and can provide such a signal indicating whether the ground is already moist or whether an adequate amount of rain has fallen. If such signals are provided, the automation system should respond thereto by not turning on the sprinkler system. Another example is an automatic light control system which may automatically turn on the lights as a certain time, such as dusk, and turn off the lights at a certain time, such as dawn. Optical sensors are well known devices to control such outdoor lights. In some circumstances, the homeowner desires to be able to override the sensor of the automation system. Many prior art devices would require the homeowner to reprogram a computer system, rather than simply operate a switch to reverse the automation systems sensor commands.
The automation system may additionally include items which are not typically subject to energy management such as being turned on and off. For example, the automation system may include a security system which responds upon sensing the opening or closing of windows or doors or the detection of a person by motion or heat sensing equipment. Upon detecting a breach of security, the automation system should automatically call for assistance or sound an alarm. Such a system can be incorporated into an overall automation system to automatically be turned on during certain hours, such as the middle of the night or the normal daylight hours when all family members are working or in school. However, such security systems must be easily reset whenever a family schedule change occurs, such as a person arriving home late in the evening or staying home from work due to illness, vacation, holidays and the like. Such resetting must be as simple as existing free standing systems by operating an encoded switch or the like, and not by reprogramming a computer.
In many energy management and home automation systems, it is not practical in every instance to send the status signals determining whether automation should occur or the homeowner override signals back to the central automation computer. For one thing, a computer would become overburdened in monitoring so many signals and this would result in delays between the sending of a signal and the servicing of a signal. For example, when the computer polling or being interrupted by a plurality of a status or override signals becomes backlogged by servicing too many requests, a person could walk into a room and find the lights would not go on for several seconds after the switch was turned, the police would be called before the security system override code was recognized and acted upon by the computer. To solve this problem, some mechanism, which is independent of the automation computer must be developed to override the computer's commands. In addition, it is further necessary that the homeowner have the final determination of whether the status signals are to be followed. For example, despite the fact a status signal indicates that sufficient rain has fallen so as to prevent the turning on of the automatic sprinkler system, the homeowner may desire the system be turned on for other reasons, such as newly planted grass. Hence, overall override means must be provided under the control of the homeowner to override either the automation system, as determined first by the computer system or, second, as determined by the response to the status signals.


A negative impression of an anatomical portion of a person is captured by forcing the anatomical portion into impression foam to collapse the impression foam into the negative impression. The impression foam has a crush characteristic of approximately constant resistance force over a relatively wide predetermined range of collapse distances. The negative impression is obtained by collapsing the impression foam within the range of constant-force collapse distances, thereby creating the negative impression under conditions which reflect an equally-loaded anatomical portion. A cushion support contour created from the equally-loaded negative impression is beneficial in more appropriately supporting the anatomical portion. The present invention is particularly useful in fabricating wheelchair seat cushions.

A wheelchair seat cushion must perform a number of important functions. The seat cushion should be comfortable and capable of providing proper support for optimal posture and posture control for a considerable length of time. The seat cushion should also assist, or at least not materially hinder, the user in maneuvering the wheelchair, permit a useful range of motion from the pelvis and upper torso of the person, and create stability and security for the person within the wheelchair. Perhaps most importantly, the seat cushion should help prevent and reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers created by prolonged sitting on the cushion without adequate pressure relief. Pressure ulcers can become a very serious health problem for individuals who must remain constantly in contact with the support cushion, and it is important to avoid such pressure ulcers.
Wheelchair users like everyone are of substantially different sizes, weights and shapes. Many wheelchair users have physical disabilities and associated posture and postural control impairments such as those typically caused by congenital disorders. Other wheelchair users, such as those who have been disabled by acquired or traumatic injuries, may have a more typical size and shape. In all of these cases, the support contour of the wheelchair seat cushion must safely support the anatomy of the user, whether the anatomy is abnormal or more typical. Wheelchair seat cushions must fit and perform properly to prevent further physical impairment and pressure ulcers. The cushion must also enhance the functional capabilities of the user by supporting independence in activities of daily living. There are a number of different theories or approaches for configuring the support contour of a wheelchair seat cushion to avoid pressure ulcers and to provide adequate postural alignment.
To provide the best individualized support, the cushion must accommodate the anatomical particularities and preferences of the user. Custom wheelchair cushions are used for this purpose. Most custom wheelchair cushions are created from an impression of the anatomy of the user. After capturing a shape of the user's anatomy, the captured shape is used to construct a mold for the cushion. Then the mold is used to fabricate the cushion, including the support contour which interfaces with the user's anatomy from which the shape was originally captured. There are a number of different theories for configuring the support contour to address the perceived needs and requirements of the user.
The most prevalent approach used to configure the support contour of a custom cushion, at least at the time of filing hereof, is to distribute the weight of the user substantially uniformly over the entire support contour. The uniform pressure distribution is theorized to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers because the uniform pressure distribution is thought to avoid localized high-pressure points which cause pressure ulcers. The substantial conformance of the support contour to the anatomical shape of the user is also believed to encourage the user toward proper postural alignment.
A new support theory is described in the above-identified U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/628,860. This new support theory is based on offloading and isolating pressure and shear forces from the skin surrounding the bony prominences of the user's pelvic area skeletal structure. Applying this support theory involves configuring the support contour with additional clearance, and therefore achieving greater pressure relief, around the ischial tuberosities, the greater trochantors, the coccyx and the sacrum in the pelvic area, while transferring more support to the broader tissue and musculature below the proximal thigh leg bones and at the posterior lateral buttocks. Pressure and shear forces on the skin around the bony prominences is relieved, and pressure is transferred to the broader tissue areas to encourage proper postural alignment. The pressure transferred to the broader tissue areas encourages proper postural alignment, while making offloading possible.
To execute successfully any of the different support theories, the support contour of the cushion must be created relative to the captured shape of the individual. Otherwise, the user can not be supported adequately to achieve the desired objectives of the support theory.
There are a number of sophisticated methods and devices available for use to determine and capture anatomical shapes. One type of device is a seating simulator. A seating simulator uses a relatively large chair-like structure in which flexible bags or containers of beads are confined. The user is seated on the bags and the beads distribute themselves around the user's anatomy. A vacuum is then applied within the bags, and the exterior pressure on the bags forces the beads to hold the conforming position. The user is then removed, and the user's shape is captured. Any adjustments are thereafter made. To translate the captured shape into information which can be used to create the custom cushion, relatively sophisticated electronic mapping equipment is moved over the shape held by the bag. A multiplicity of different points across the shape are measured, and the measurements are transferred electronically to a software computational algorithm or program which defines a mathematical simulation of the captured shape of the users anatomy. This simulation is thereafter used to create a mold from which the cushion is formed. Alternatively, a plaster or other material casting is made of the captured shaped directly from the bag while the captured shape is held. The casting is shipped to a cushion manufacturer for interpretation and fabrication of a custom cushion having the desired support contour.
Another type of shape-capturing device uses a two-dimensional grid of plungers or rod-like elements which are brought into contact with the users anatomy. The relative displacement or movement of the plungers due to contact with the anatomy is measured. The measurement data is then transferred electronically and is used by a computational algorithm or program which defines a mathematical simulation of the captured shape. Thereafter, the simulation is used to create a mold from which the cushion is formed.
The described types of shape-capturing equipment are sophisticated and relatively expensive to use, and that expense must be charged as part of the price of the custom cushion. The size of the equipment makes it inconvenient for transportation to the user, which can be a problem or at least an inconvenience if the user cannot travel comfortably. At the very least, the practical cost of the cushion is exaggerated by the added travel expenses and inconvenience to the user.
Even though the described types of shape-capturing and shape-simulating equipment may make hundreds or even thousands of measurements at different locations over the anatomy of the individual, those numbers of measurements might still be relatively coarse, particularly in locations where significant changes in contour of the anatomy occur. The computational shape-simulating programs must interpolate the measurements, and that interpolation may not be entirely accurate. As a consequence, the cushion may not be as comfortable or effective as desired.
A more significant problem with the described types of shape-capturing and shape-simulating equipment is that it does not measure a fully-loaded anatomical shape. A fully-loaded shape is one which accurately reflects the effect of the full weight of the individual against a resistance. The resistance will be from the cushion once it is fabricated. In the case of the shape-capturing equipment which uses beads confined in bags, certain limited areas of the entire anatomy will contact the beads with exaggerated loading, while other areas of the entire anatomy will not naturally contact the beads at all. For example, sitting on the bag will transfer virtually the entire weight of the individual from the tissue surrounding the ischial tuberosities to the beads in the bag. Relatively less or little weight will be transferred from the lateral posterior buttocks and sides of the pelvic area to the beads. In order to simulate the shape of these low weight transfer areas, the beads in the bag must be pushed up against the anatomy. However, pushing the beads against the anatomy does not result in the same shape as would occur from a fully loaded condition in which the weight of the individual is fully and naturally resisted over the entire contact area. The combination of areas of exaggerated loading and simulated loading creates distortion in the captured shape as compared to a fully loaded shape, and this distortion may be reflected by insufficiencies in the support from the cushion.
In the type of shape-capturing equipment which utilizes a grid of plungers, resilient foam or spring-like devices surround each plunger. The resiliency of the foam or springs is intended to create resistance to the weight of the anatomy, thereby allowing the user to sit down on or recline against the plungers. However, the foam or springs do not uniformly load the anatomy. Those portions of the anatomy which depress the plungers to a greater extent will be resisted by greater pressure compared to the resistance from plungers contacting other areas of the anatomy which are less depressed. The amount of resistance increases with an increase in the distance traveled by the plunger. The shape captured from such devices is therefore a non-uniformly loaded shape, in the sense that the resistance is not uniform over the entire area of the anatomy. A cushion formed from a nonuniformly loaded shape may be inadequate.
Another problem with shape-capturing equipment is that the captured shape is based on a static position and posture of the user. For the equipment to capture the image accurately, the user must remain still. In actual use, the user is almost always moving on the cushion. For example, the user is rocking his or her upper torso when turning the wheels of the wheelchair. The user may be leaning from one side to the other when reaching or may be leaning forward to work at a desk. A support contour which is configured from a static anatomical shape is prone to create pressures and shear forces at bony prominences, resulting in an increased risk of pressure ulcers, due to the natural movement of the user.
Because of the necessity to use shape-capturing equipment and because the user must stay stationary while the shape is captured in such equipment, a wheelchair user is not able to test and evaluate the support contour of the cushion before it is formed. The ability of the cushion to protect the skin, to assist the user in manipulating the wheelchair, or at least not to inhibit the user in maneuvering the wheelchair are important aspects of the cushion. If the cushion positions the user too far forward, or too far rearward, or too low or high, the center of gravity within the wheelchair and the ability to maneuver the wheelchair and comfort and safety of the user can be impaired. However, these actual-use aspects of the cushion are only determinable after the cushion has been fabricated.

Individually-contoured seat cushion and shape capturing and fabricating method for seat cushion


A hand-held device having a housing and a processor disposed within the housing, includes a camera and a temperature sensing element having an adjustable field of view. The camera is configured to generate an image of an object and to permit the user to frame the image at a portion of the object to determine the temperature of the framed portion. The temperature sensing element includes a plurality of temperature sensors and the processor is configured to select ones of the plurality of sensors to produce a field of view (FOV) of the temperature sensing element that is less than or equal to the frame in the image. The selected sensors are activated to generate signals corresponding to the temperature of the object in the FOV and the processor is configured to determine a sensed temperature based on the sensor signals.

Portable electronic devices such as cellular telephones are ubiquitous in many societies. The rise in popularity of portable electronic devices can be attributed, at least in part, to the ever-lowering expense of the devices. In many instances, such as smart-phones and tablets, the popularity of the devices is further attributable to the ever-increasing functionality of the devices. For example, telephones commonly include cameras, GPS receivers, inertial sensors and a number of applications many of which bear little relationship to a communications system.
While many of the functionalities may provide only entertainment value, some functionalities are more practical. Incorporation of a GPS receiver, for example, when combined with a web browser application allows an individual to virtually instantly obtain directions to a location of interest.
Although a wide variety of applications and functionalities are provided in mobile devices, additional capabilities are desirable. By way of example, mobile devices can be used to obtain weather information, including near-real-time radar of the area in which a user is located. Thus, a user can determine that a front is approaching, that rain is expected, and that temperatures will be falling below freezing. The actual temperature in the vicinity of the user can also be obtained. Even with all of that information, however, the user cannot be sure if a wet-looking pavement is simply damp or is covered with so-called "black ice" since pavement may be below freezing while the air temperature is above freezing.
What is needed is a system that can be used to determine the temperature of an object, virtually anywhere at any time.

Portable device with temperature sensing


A method for determining ambient light intensity includes: acquiring a plurality of light sensing integral values obtained by sampling light intensity with a predetermined light sensing collecting time window and a predetermined sampling frequency through a photosensitive element, wherein the light sensing collecting time window is greater than a screen blanking time of a terminal; determining a minimum light sensing integral value and a maximum light sensing integral value in the plurality of light sensing integral values; determining a light sensing integral value of a photosensitive element which corresponds to an ambient light according to the maximum light sensing integral value, the light sensing collecting time window, the minimum light sensing integral value and the screen blanking time; and determining the ambient light intensity according to the light sensing integral value of the photosensitive element which corresponds to the ambient light and a predetermined light intensity.

The mobile device needs to be equipped with a photosensitive element to detect an ambient light intensity.
In general, a photosensitive element is placed on a frame portion of a screen of a mobile terminal, and a narrow-slit solution is used to determine the ambient light intensity. In the process of determining the ambient light intensity by using the narrow-slit solution, a frame having a certain width is required to be set within a field of view (FOV) of the photosensitive element, so as to prevent the screen display light from being received by the photosensitive element after being reflected and projected through the light path, which affects the determination of the ambient light intensity.

Method, apparatus and storage medium for determining ambient light intensity

BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.


A telephone set is modified to permit it to automatically send repetitive data associated with telephone purchases. A retailer and a customer interact to ensure that accurate data is initially stored while eliminating the necessity of repeating the same information during subsequent purchases. A removable portable device stores the same information and permits a user to make purchases from any telephone.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the telecommunications, and more particularly to a telephone set modified to serve as a terminal for use in making telephone purchases.
2. Description of Related Art
When customers utilize a telephone to place orders from retailers, such as catalog or shopping channel companies, a significant portion of the customer's time is used to provide information that is not directly related to the item(s) they wish to purchase. With every order, the customer must provide or verify their name, address, phone number, credit card number and expiration date. Having to repeat this information with each order presents a significant disincentive to a potential customer's participation in phone-order shopping. Retailers incur added costs by having to gather such information verbally and repeatedly. Similarly, many non-retail transactions require consumers to provide portions of the same information or other information such as Social Security number, business phone number, and date of birth. In an era where improved customer satisfaction, increased efficiency and cost reduction are goals of both business and governments these systems are inappropriately wasteful.
Voice response systems have been developed to reduce a retailer's costs. These systems present a verbal menu of the options available with instructions as to which key on the telephone keypad to press to activate a particular option. In addition, some systems prompt users for relevant data (almost always numeric in nature) such as checking account number, credit card number, date of birth and Social Security number in order to provide the user with specific information about his account. These systems require the user to navigate long sequences of commands to retrieve or enter the necessary information. Sometimes, unclear instructions frustrate the user or the system does not have options the user wants. While some systems offer a menu choice which permits the user to speak with a person, that feature is often only available during business hours and is hence of limited usefulness.
Other voice response systems recognize very simple voice commands, but for other information, such as a user's name or address, the system merely records the information as it is spoken by the user for later transcription. The process of recording and transcription is inherently error-prone: the user may leave out critical information, the recordings may be of such poor quality that the information is effectively lost, or the transcription step itself may introduce errors and/or misinterpretations.
"Smart" cards are known which store a wide variety of information in digital format. Such cards incorporate memory, one or more microprocessors, software, and an interface to allow data transfer between the card and external devices.
Credit or debit cards are known for automated financial transactions. By using a digitally-encoded magnetic strip which contains the user's name, account number and a password, the user is afforded access to computer networks by having the card "read" by a machine. This technology is well-defined and standardized throughout the commercial world.


A method is performed in a computing system that includes a plurality of processing nodes of multiple types configurable to run in multiple performance states. In the method, an application executes on a thread assigned to a first processing node. Power and performance of the application on the first processing node is estimated. Power and performance of the application in multiple performance states on other processing nodes of the plurality of processing nodes besides the first processing node is also estimated. It is determined that the estimated power and performance of the application on a second processing node in a respective performance state of the multiple performance states is preferable to the power and performance of the application on the first processing node. The thread is reassigned to the second processing node, with the second processing node in the respective performance state.

Energy consumption is a significant part of the total cost of ownership of data centers. It therefore is desirable to operate processors in a data center in an efficient manner. Efficient processor operation presents significant challenges, however. For example, power and performance of an application may vary between different phases of the application.

Thread assignment for power and performance efficiency using multiple power states