Coating compositions are disclosed that include a film-forming resin, a colorant, a long chain alkyl group containing polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated compound, and a diluent. Also disclosed are substrates at least partially coated with such compositions, substrates at least partially coated with a multi-layer composite coating comprising at least one coating layer deposited from such compositions, and methods for improving the adhesion of a multi-layer composite coating system to a porous substrate.

There are a number of considerations relevant in the art of protective and decorative coating systems for substrates, such as wood substrates, including cabinets, floors, furniture, and the like. As will be appreciated, such coating systems are often made up of more than one coating layer. Porous substrates, such as wood, for example, are often coated with multi-layer composite coating systems that include a toner layer, a stain layer, a sealer layer, and a topcoat layer. Typically, the toner and/or stain layer(s) are coloring layers, i.e., they provide coloring. The sealer layer is often a protective layer that is sanded to provide a smooth finish, while the topcoat layer is often a protective layer that provides surface properties, such as mar and scratch resistance.
In many cases, one or more of the various coating layers in such multi-layer composite coating systems are deposited from coating compositions that contain radiation curable materials, such as resins that are curable by exposure to ultraviolet ("UV") radiation. Such resins can provide coatings exhibiting excellent properties, such as adhesion properties, and are often desirable for wood finish applications because of the heat sensitivity of wood, which often makes certain thermosetting coatings unfavorable.
There are some drawbacks, however, to using certain radiation curable materials in such coating compositions. For example, when a wiping stain and/or toner composition is desired, toxicity issues can prevent the inclusion of certain radiation curable materials.
As a result, it is desired to provide coating compositions, such as stain and toner compositions suitable for use as a wiping stain and/or toner, which can be used in combination with coating layers comprising radiation curable materials to provide multi-layer composite coating systems exhibiting acceptable properties, including acceptable adhesion properties and resistance to blistering.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Coating compositions suitable for use as a wood stain and/or toner


A variable position detent mechanism for latching a control lever at an infinite number of operating positions includes a semi-circular member connected to a support so that its axis coincides with the pivot of the control lever. A pair of electric detent coils are connected to the lever at a location adjacent the semi-circular member so that when the detent coils are energized they operate co-axially sandwiching the semi-circular member securing the lever with respect to the semi-circular member.

Joystick controls are commonly used on machines having a dual path hydraulic drive. Typically, movement of the joystick in a fore and aft direction controls the forward and reverse drive functions, while moving the joystick from side to side from the neutral position controls the steering function. The joystick is normally spring biased to return to the neutral position when the operator releases the joystick. Optionally, many joysticks used for implements have a detent mechanism to hold the joystick primarily in an extreme actuated position.
One of the problems encountered with the joysticks used for dual path hydrostatic drive machines is that even though the force exerted by the return spring of today's joystick controls is relatively light, such force contributes significantly to operator arm fatigue, particularly when the joystick is held in a forward or a reverse drive position for extended travel periods.
Another problem encountered therewith is such detents have heretofore been capable of only holding the joystick at a particular position. For various reasons, the operator may wish to operate the vehicle at a speed less than maximum speed and thus it would be desirable to be able to retain the joystick at various operating positions. Variable position control levers have been designed to accomplish this task such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,270 issued to Comment et al on Jan. 19, 1971. However, this control lever only allows movement of the lever in one plane and is only useful for cable or linkage type control arrangements.
Finally, friction packs are often used to hold a lever at various positions. However the friction force required to hold the lever at the maximum actuated position makes lever modulation difficult. The friction pack force is hard to turn on and off and such devices are not suitable for levers that must be automatically returned to a neutral position before an engine is started. The control lever disclosed in the co-pending application serial number 08/713679 overcomes this problem and is known to work well in most instances. However this arrangement requires that the circular member to be of varying width to aid in holding the lever at the maximum actuated position.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.

Variable position detent mechanism for a control lever


An artificial frond for use with artificial plants comprises an integral sheet of flexible polymeric material molded generally in the shape of a frond having a central elongate stem portion and a plurality of elongate leaves extending outwardly from the stem portion. Reinforcing means sufficient to maintain the structural integrity of the artificial frond, including structural supporting rods and elasticity-imparting fiber material, are embedded within the integral sheet. The integral sheet is preferably a laminate having a flexible polymeric foam intermediate body layer and outer surface layers pigmented to simulate the color of a natural frond.

This invention relates to an artificial frond for use with artificial plants, and more particularly, to an artificial palm frond for use with artificial palm trees.
Artificial palm trees are customarily employed both indoors for creating a tropical effect, and outdoors for ornamenting lawns, boulevards, parkways, park grounds, and the like. In constructing such artificial trees, the artificial fronds are typically individually fabricated and then appropriately anchored to the trunk portion of the tree. The fabrication of artificial palm fronds in the size and shape duplicating the appearance of their natural counterparts and with the structural integrity sufficient to withstand the natural forces encountered in outdoor use, has generally been an arduous and time-consuming task.
Previous techniques for fabricating artificial fronds have generally relied upon adhesive or mechanical attachment of the leaf portions of the frond to a supporting rod or stem member. This has usually required each individual leaf to be separately formed and separately secured at its lower end to the stem member. Reduction in the number of individual parts required for assembly has previously been achieved by cutting a flexible sheet of fabric or the like along approximately parallel lines which extend a substantial part of the distance across the sheet so as to define a large number of petal or leaf portions integral at one end with a connecting strip. The connecting strip is then wrapped about a stem member of wire or the like and secured thereto by a malleable wire wrapping so that the petal or leaf portions are arrayed about and extend from the supporting stem member.
While artificial palm fronds have previously been constructed by techniques similar to those described above, such palm fronds have generally been limited to the type whose leaves extend outwardly from the stem portion in a feather-like arrangement. When attempting to fabricate artificial palm fronds of the type whose leaves extend outwardly from the stem portion in a fan-like arrangement, maintaining the structural integrity of the frond, particularly for outdoor use, becomes much more serious of a problem. The areas of particular concern are in providing sufficient structural support for the more concentrated mass at the inner region of the fan-like leaf arrangement, and in providing sufficient elasticity and tear resistance for the thinner sectioned outer region thereof.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the artificial frond fabrication techniques described above by providing an artificial frond construction capable of being easily molded in one piece with sufficient structural integrity to accommodate the requirements of artificial palm fronds with a fan-like type of leaf arrangement.

Artificial frond for use with artificial plants


A catalyst substrate support is provided for a corrugated foil honeycomb matrix defining a plurality of passages extending therethrough which are generally parallel to an axis. A peripheral mantle extends about an outer perimeter of the matrix and has inwardly extending flanges which extend across an outer periphery of the opposite end faces to cover outermost of the passages and restrict fluid flow between the peripheral mantle and the matrix. The outer perimeter of the matrix and the peripheral mantle may be spaced apart to define a gap for accommodating differential thermal expansions of the matrix and the peripheral mantle, the gap being smaller than a height of the inwardly extending flanges. Cross members secured to each of the opposite end faces of the matrix may transfer at least part of the gravitational load of the matrix to the mantle.

Honeycomb matrixes made from high temperature steel foil are used as support structures for catalytic coatings, for both automotive and industrial (stationary engine) applications. Industrial applications pose different challenges than automotive applications to the service life of the catalyst substrate. This is because of the significantly larger size of industrial type catalytic converters.
The matrix is usually formed by winding previously corrugated foil into a spiral shape to form a multitude of channels or passages. The foil is quite thin, typically on the order of a few thousands of an inch and accordingly relatively easy to bend. In the case of industrial sized units the diameter of the matrix may approach six feet (2.0 m).
The matrix has an axis about which the spiral winds. The passages run generally parallel to the axis. The matrix is mounted within a housing. Although the matrix may be mounted with its axis vertically aligned, in practise the matrix is generally mounted with its axis aligned horizontally with a bottom portion of the outer periphery of the matrix resting on an interior wall of the housing. The balance of the outer periphery is in close proximity to the interior wall to avoid gas leakage about the matrix.
In larger sized converters, failures due to collapse of the channels or passages arise. Contributing factors to the collapse may be the weight of the matrix and thermal stresses. Failure is believed to occur in stages. In a first stage some of the lowermost channels collapse causing the matrix to drop in the housing and enlarge the gap between the uppermost regions of the matrix and the corresponding portion of the interior wall of the housing. The enlarged gap in turn permits gas flow leakage between the housing and the matrix. The gas flow leakage in turn causes the matrix to flutter thereby incurring more damage until it becomes ineffective.
In very large reactors, the matrix is built up of arrays of smaller rectangular elements which are shrouded about the perimeter in order to retain the foil and provide a well-defined cross-section. In view of the relatively modest size, the individual elements are not designed with weight bearing or thermal expansion considerations in mind. The present invention is directed at large round cross-section matrixes (rather than built up matrixes) where weight in the past has been supported over a relatively small contact area by the lowermost foil layers. The expression "round section" is intended to reflect the most likely and common design choice rather than to impose a limitation that the cross-section must be circular rather than having another curved profile not perfectly circular.
Matrix life is also a function of how long the catalytic coating deposited thereon will last. This is generally however a function of the amount of coating applied. As the catalytic materials in the coating are very expensive (such as platinum) currently the amount of the coating applied is related to the expected service life of the support structure. If greater longevity were achievable in the support, longer service of the matrix would be achievable by applying more catalyst. While this would increase the cost of the converter it is believed that any such increase would be outweighed by costs associated with the downtime required to exchange the matrix within the converter or to exchange the entire converter.
It is an object of this invention to provide a catalyst substrate support arrangement which is less prone to collapsing than the prior arrangements. It is also an object of this invention to provide a catalyst substrate mounting arrangement which is more tolerant to radial collapse before the onset of leakage than prior designs.


A memory device of a memory module includes a CA buffer that receives a command/address (CA) signal through a bus shared by a memory device different from the memory device of the memory module, and a calibration logic circuit that identifies location information of the memory device on the bus. The memory device recognizes its own location on a bus in a memory module to perform self-calibration, and thus, the memory device appropriately operates even under an operation condition varying depending on a location in the memory module.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a memory device performing self-calibration by identifying location information and a memory module including the same.
A memory module is a printed circuit board on which one or more memory devices are mounted. The memory module may be used in various computing systems such as a server, a workstation, and a personal computer. As operating speeds of the memory module and the memory devices mounted on the memory module gradually increase, various calibration or training operations may be performed on a memory device. Due to a standard, size, a wire space, etc. of the memory module, a bus including a plurality of transmission paths may be shared to access a plurality of memory devices in the memory module. However, locations of the plurality of memory devices placed on the bus in the memory module may be different.
Calibration is a process of determining a deviation from a standard and determining correction factors in order to reduce, remove, or compensate for the deviations. Calibration can include adjusting a particular function to improve effectiveness.
Training is a process of teaching to make fit, qualified or proficient. Training can reduce, remove, or compensate for mistakes that would occur had the training not been performed.

Memory device performing self-calibration by identifying location information and memory module including the same


A blood containment device for use with a vascular entry needle provides visual and tactile confirmation that a blood vessel has been properly entered. The device includes a blood visualization chamber defined by a compliant member which provides a visual indication that a needle connected to the device has accessed a selected blood vessel. The blood visualization chamber is vented to allow air to escape therefrom as it is displaced by blood entering the visualization chamber, while a gas permeable membrane in communication with the vent to prevent significant blood from escaping from the blood containment device. A sealing member formed on an outer surface at one end of the compliant member works in conjunction with the gas permeable membrane to prevent significant leakage of blood from the device. The compliant member pulsates with changes in blood pressure, thereby providing continuous tactile confirmation that the needle tip is properly positioned within the selected blood vessel. The device allows passage therethrough of an elongated medical instrument such as catheterization apparatus while preventing significant blood leakage from the device.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vascular entry devices. More particularly, the invention relates to blood containment devices for use with a vascular entry needle to provide visual and tactile confirmation that the needle tip has entered into a blood vessel and to allow for the introduction of an elongated medical instrument through the device.
2. The Relevant Technology
It is a common medical procedure to insert a hollow needle into a patient's blood vessel for the purpose of either withdrawing blood or introducing a drug, guide wire, guide catheter, or the like into the blood vessel. One difficulty with such procedures, however, is determining when the tip of the needle is properly placed within the selected blood vessel. Another concern is that unless the blood is contained, vascular pressure, and arterial pressure in particular, can force a leakage or spray of blood through the needle which will escape through the opposite end of the needle. This can create a risk to medical personnel of exposure to blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis and HIV, that may be present in the patient's blood.
The problems of blood containment and confirming proper needle placement are particularly applicable during the procedure for introducing a guide wire, catheter, or the like, into a patient's artery for carrying out procedures in or around the patient's heart. Such catheterization involves first creating access to the selected artery using a vascular entry needle of sufficient bore, and then inserting a guide wire, guide catheter, or other catheter apparatus through the needle and into the selected artery. Often, the guide wire is first inserted and located in a desired position, after which the catheter is inserted over the guide wire to the desired position. Self-guiding catheters may also be inserted without first using a guide wire. After the catheter apparatus has been placed into the desired position, the vascular entry needle can then be removed by sliding it backwards over and off the proximal end of the guide wire apparatus.
In performing a catheterization procedure, as noted above, it is crucial that the vascular entry needle be properly positioned within the selected blood vessel. When an ordinary entry needle is used, entry of the needle tip into the blood vessel is indicated by the escape of blood at the proximal end of the needle. However, this has the attendant contamination problems mentioned above.
Another problem is that, during positioning, the needle can be accidentally pulled out of the blood vessel or pushed through the opposite side of the vessel wall, which defeats the catheterization procedure. Accordingly, it is important after the needle tip first enters the blood vessel to confirm that the tip remains properly positioned within the blood vessel.
Various blood containment devices exist which are directed to solving the above problems. Two such devices are the AngioDynamics.TM. SOS Bloodless.TM. Entry Needle (U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,121) and the Arrow-Fischell EVAN.TM. Vascular Entry Needle. Both of these devices have a vascular entry needle attached to a transparent plastic containment member. The plastic containment member has a catheter guideway extending therethrough which allows insertion of catheterization apparatus through the device. The catheter guideway has a barrier within it which blocks blood from escaping, but allows passage of the catheterization apparatus.
Both devices also have features for indicating when the needle tip enters a blood vessel. The AngioDynamics.TM. SOS Bloodless.TM. Entry Needle has a length of transparent, flexible plastic tubing which branches off from the plastic containment member and leads to a small, collapsed, transparent plastic blood bag. When the needle tip is inserted into an artery, blood travels through the needle, into the guideway of the plastic containment member, out through the plastic tubing, and into the small blood bag. The soft plastic tubing of this device purportedly permits palpitation and visualization of the arterial pulse. However, the attached tube and blood bag can be cumbersome, particularly once the blood bag is filled. Also, once the blood bag is filled, the visual confirmation of needle tip placement stops.
The Arrow-Fischell EVAN.TM. Vascular Entry Needle provides for visualization of blood in a different way. The lower portion of the catheter guideway is narrow (about equal to the needle bore) for approximately two inches. It then opens into an air chamber near the upper portion of the device. When the tip of the vascular entry needle enters an artery, blood travels under pressure through the needle and partially fills the narrow lower portion of the guideway. It does this by slightly compressing the trapped air in the air chamber at the upper portion of the device. The thin column of blood then pulses back and forth in the guideway in response to the patient's heartbeat. This provides a visual indication that the needle tip is in a blood vessel. However, it can sometimes be difficult for a user of the device to see movement of the blood column, and there is no provision for tactile detection of the pulsating blood pressure.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved device which allows for convenient visual and tactile confirmation of when an associated vascular entry needle enters a selected blood vessel, but which contains the blood to prevent its escape with the attendant contamination risks.
In addition, there is a need for a blood containment device that includes a flexible membrane that can fill with blood and provide visual and/or tactile confirmation of proper needle placement, which is configured to prevent or at least minimize leakage of blood while allowing for the venting of air therefrom.
Such blood containment devices having improved capability of preventing leakage of blood are disclosed and claimed herein.

Vascular blood flashback containment device with improved sealing capability


A computer, e.g. a server or computer operated by a network provider sends one or more requesting computers (clients) a most likely predicted-to-be selected (predicted) page of information by determining a preference factor for this page based on one or more pages that are requested by the client. This page is added to a local cache of predicted-to-be-selected pages in the client. Once the predicted-to-be selected page is in the cache, the client can update the appearance of the link (i.e. by changing the color or otherwise changing the appearance of the link indicator) to indicate to the user that the page represented by that link is available in the local cache.

Computerized information gathering using such entities as the World Wide Web is based around the concept of "pages" of information. A page of information consists of any number of textual, graphical, audio/visual, or other elements (i.e. multimedia information) that are sent upon receipt of a request for that particular page by a computer connected to the network from a server computer that may serve as a host repository for many such pages.
The World Wide Web is an extremely-widespread information service that can deliver both text and non-text multimedia information (audio, video, graphics). The Web is a global hyptertext system. Hypertext is a computer-based protocol for linking documents to other related documents. Links are embedded within the text of a document in the form of highlighted words or images and, when activated, cause the linked document to be retrieved and displayed. The linked document can itself contain links to other documents, and so on, ad infinitum. Links are most commonly activated by pointing and clicking with a mouse.
A computer system may be attached to an information network, such as the World Wide Web, by means of a modem or other network connecting device. Often the user is connected not directly to the information network itself but to an interim computer (network provider) with a direct connection.
The user of the requesting computer may request a specific page by sending a specific page name (such as the Universal Resource Locator, or URL, on the World Wide Web) to the network. This name is interpreted and routed to the correct server, which places the requested page data on the network for retrieval by the requesting computer. As mentioned, a page of information may contain "links" (textual or graphical pointers to other pages of information) that are available to the user of the requesting computer. If the user selects one of these links, the name of the associated information page is then requested and the process continues as described above. In this way, the user of the requesting computer can navigate the information network, requesting pages as desired.
Examples of computers communicating over a network are given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,852 to Attanasio et al., issued on Dec. 6, 1994. A description of network configurations that are used to identify and search for information in databases in described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/677,059 to Brown et al, filed on Jul. 9, 1996, still pending. These references are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The maximum possible speed of this interaction is determined by the bandwidth of the devices used to connect participating devices to the network, and to the bandwidth of the network itself. It may be noted that between the time that a given page of information is sent to the requesting computer and the time the next page is requested (i.e., while the user is viewing or otherwise using the page received), the bandwidth of the connecting devices is not being used effectively. Thus the effective bandwidth of the communication process is much lower than the potential useful bandwidth.

System and method for predictive caching of information pages

International Business Machines Corporation


An endoscope system according to the present invention is characterized by an imaging assembly that a user can alternatively attach to a first deployment assembly and to a second deployment assembly. The image assembly has a distal end configured for detecting image information and a proximal end configured for delivering the image information to a location remote from the imaging assembly distal end. The deployment assembly for deploying the imaging assembly includes a support member and a connecting member. The connecting member is carried on the support member and is removably and replaceably mountable with the imaging assembly housing for connecting the support member to the imaging assembly. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support member includes a shaft member, a handle element connected to the proximal end of the shaft member for manual engagement of the deployment assembly, an articulating portion connected to the distal end of the shaft member and movable between undeflected and deflected positions for deflecting the tip of the imaging assembly, and a deflecting element. The deflecting element is attached in selected proximity to the distal end of the articulating portion for deflecting the articulating portion. The deployment assembly can include an imaging assembly guide element slidably and removably and replaceably mountable with the imaging assembly. Thus, an operator can use her hand to slidably extend the imaging assembly from the deployment means so as to position the imaging assembly's distal end in selected proximity to a target site.

The present invention relates to surgical endoscopes and more particularly to endoscopes for use in minimally invasive surgery. Minimally invasive surgery is performed through a primary incision that is smaller than most traditional surgical openings. Such surgery relies on an endoscope for visualization of the operative field. A surgeon can insert the endoscope into a patient's body via the primary incision or via an alternative insertion point.
An endoscope includes any instrument inserted into the body to obtain a view of the interior of the body. However, an endoscope for minimally invasive surgery often includes a long, thin imaging assembly with an image detecting element located at the distal end of the assembly and electrically conductive leads extending from the image detecting element. Such endoscopes generally also include an illumination fiber bundle which brings light down to the region of the imaging or camera lens and which illuminates the field of view. An endoscope system for minimally invasive surgery will often display a video image on a large monitor.
Generally for thoracoscopic surgery, the viewing endoscope is handled and operated by a dedicated operating room assistant. The endoscope can have a short focal length and working distance allowing the operator to position the endoscope close to a surgical field when the surgeon makes incisions for harvesting a small vessel or when the surgeon removes a tissue specimen.
Thoracic endoscopes generally have a series of small diameter lenses, e.g., rod lenses, adapted to relay an image from an objective assembly to an eyepiece. Alternatively, thoracic endoscopes can have an objective which directly images onto a CCD element or video pick-up under about one centimeter in cross dimension. The optics may have a field of view between about 50.degree. to over 100.degree., and a working distance generally on the order of one half to two inches. These specifications allow the camera to be sufficiently close to the surgical instrument to effectively image the details of the surgical field.
One drawback of a typical endoscope with a field of view of about 50.degree. is that to obtain a sufficiently enlarged view of the surgical field so as to facilitate surgical tasks such as dissecting and suturing tissue, clipping vessels, and the like, the endoscope must be moved closer to the tissue and constantly re-positioned as the surgery proceeds. Advancing the endoscope narrows the actual view. In addition, when operating at a working distance of about one inch, the surgeon may have a distorted or partially obscured view of even a simple structure, such as a vessel or small nodule, or may lose track of where in the operating theater he is actually performing. It is then necessary to retract the endoscope to obtain a wider field of view.
In thoracoscopic surgery, it is important for the surgeon to have access to a wide field of view of the surgical field because a typical procedure can involve cutting into the chest wall to harvest one or more blood vessels, for example when performing cardiac bypass grafting. The chest cavity includes organs such as a patient's heart and lungs and numerous vascular structures. These organs and vascular structures can obstruct endoscopes with a narrow field of view. In some cases a surgeon inserts her fingertips through the primary incision. The surgeons fingertips can also obstruct the endoscopes view of the surgical field.
In addition, a wide field of view can be necessary, for example, to guide a surgical instrument to a surgical site when the instrument is inserted at a point remote from the endoscope insertion point. A surgeon can accomplish such a wide field of view by positioning the endoscope at an appropriate angle far enough from the surgical site and far enough from the instrument insertion point to bring both the surgical site and the instrument insertion point into its field of view.
A supplemental view can also be obtained by inserting a second endoscope through a second endoscope insertion point to view the surgical arena from a different vantage point or angle, or with different overall magnification or field of view. The manipulation of the second endoscope would then require care 1) to determine and to maintain the endoscope's position, 2) to keep the surgical site in the field of view, and 3) to correlate the site shown in one endoscope with the site imaged by the other. This manipulation is difficult because of the number of instruments and incisions already involved in an operation and the limited visibility of the surgical field due to the intervening structures present when performing a surgical intervention, such as a resection or the excavation of a vessel.
A number of devices or systems for obtaining adequate views have been previously proposed to address related problems in the field of laparoscopic or bronchoscopic surgery or endoscopic biopsies. Thus, endoscope system designers have proposed various arrangements of multiple imaging sites and corresponding video synchronization, or screen-within-a-screen processing for situations where operators insert an endoscope along a body passage and use the endoscope for mapping or viewing features on the passage.
However, the situation of viewing polyps in the colon, or other features within a tubular passage differs substantially from the problem posed by imaging a surgical arena in a relatively large body cavity, such as the chest cavity. In thoracoscopic procedures, for example, instruments are inserted and tissue excavation or resection is carried out in and around a variety of tissues, mobile or moving organs, or the surgeon's fingers. In the latter context, there is no natural channel guiding the endoscope. The extent of the operating arena may be quite large and include a number of occluding structures around the surgical site itself.
Furthermore, in many procedures, it is common to use several distinct endoscopes. For example, in thoracoscopy, a surgeon will often initiate a procedure using a flexible endoscope. The flexible endoscope blocks the left or right bronchus allowing greater visualization of the surgical field. Such a flexible endoscope typically costs between about $8,000 and about $12,000. Following this initiation of the procedure, a rigid endoscope is used for thoracoscopic examination of the thoracic cavity. Such a rigid endoscope typically costs between about $3,000 and about $5,000. In addition, a surgeon can require an articulating endoscope or a different optical angle scope. An articulating scope typically costs between about $3,000 and about $5,000.
Another drawback of present endoscope systems is the amount of light lost in the illumination fiber bundle. Typical illumination fiber bundles deliver approximately 40% of the light delivered to the bundle by the light source. Inefficient transmission of light from the light source by the illumination fiber bundle can limit the imaging capability of an endoscope.
Thus there remains a need for improvement in endoscopic systems for surgical use.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope system configured for effective viewing in and around a variety of tissues, mobile or moving organs, and the surgeon's fingers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an endoscope system that does not require multiple, expensive endoscopes to successfully and efficiently complete a surgical procedure.
It is another object of the invention to minimize light loss in an illumination fiber bundle.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.


A grain moisture regulating system includes a grain bin with a perforated grain supporting floor and a fan for blowing outside ambient air into the grain bin through the grain mass set thereupon, and through an air outlet at the top of the grain bin. A humidistat fan control system measures ambient moisture in the air outside the grain bin and compares it to ambient moisture in the air inside the grain bin for controlling the fan. A fan operation control system includes a plurality of moisture content sensors which measure ambient moisture in the air outside the grain bin and ambient moisture in the air above the grain mass in the grain bin to produce a signal for the humidistat fan control system. A computer operates to receive input signals from the fan operation control system, wherein a desired ambient moisture threshold level of the grain mass is set into the computer, and when the ambient moisture in outside air exceeds the desired ambient moisture threshold level of the grain mass, the humidistat fan control system stops fan operation, and in the other event, the humidistat fan control system will turn the fan on. Finally, a plurality of timers are included which are setable in timed increments for maintaining power to the fan and are further controlled by the computer for maintaining power to the fan as a function of the desired ambient moisture threshold level of the grain mass.

1. Technical Field
This invention is in the field of grain drying systems used with grain bins and, more particularly, a grain moisture regulating system employing ambient air blown into the bottom of the bin and moving upwardly through the grain mass when the outside air moisture content is less than the moisture content of the air within the grain bin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many examples of grain drying systems are found in the prior art, most of which employ some variation of the following described system. A perforated drying floor is suspended above the floor of the grain bin, and the grain mass rests on the drying floor. Air is directed under the drying floor and upwards through the grain mass by a fan unit or the like. As the directed air passes through the grain mass, the moisture on the outside of the kernels is "wiped off" and removed as the air exits the grain bin at the top thereof. The grain mass is thus slowly dried as air moves over the grain.
The prior art as thus described includes several disadvantages, one of the main ones being that the air used to dry the grain is sent through the grain mass regardless of the moisture content of the air. Clearly, if the air used for drying has a higher moisture content than the grain mass itself (which often occurs in grain-producing areas), the grain mass may actually be remoisturized which is counterproductive to the drying process. There is therefore a need for a drying system which will not operate when the outside moisture content is higher than the moisture content within the grain bin.
Another problem in the storage of grain occurs when grain is stored in the grain bin, the top of the grain mass often forms a dense top cap due to the moisture-bred "stickiness" of the upper grains. This top cap is often so dense that a man can walk on the top cap without his legs sinking into the top of the grain much beyond his shoe tops. In the prior art, when the fan is on, pressurized, moisture-laden air hits the empty void at the top of the bin above the grain mass, and there much of the moisture in the air falls back down when that air exits the bin exit ports because the ports release the air too quickly and the pressure at the top of the bin is too low. The result is an "air-stall".
Such an "air-stall" lets moisture be "rained" back out of the air mass which falls down onto the grain, clogging its air-flow and causing its top cap to get still more dense from expanded, moisture swollen kernels. The system hereof prevents much of the air stalling and "raining back" due to the generally continuous air flow under relative high pressure through the grain mass during the drying process. Such a process gives more drying opportunity for grain within the grain bin than those processes found in the prior art.
Drying efficiency in many prior art systems is decreased by static pressure, which in terms of the grain mass results from two major conditions. One involves the blocking of airflow by moistureswollen kernels, and the other involves air flow blockage by the tightly packed together kernels in the top cap.
Other prior art devices stir the dense top crust or top cap in grain bins by a mechanism sometimes called a "stir-ator". Such "stir-ators" can be quite expensive. There is therefore a need for a system which will act to substantially prevent formation of the top cap of the grain mass with or without a "stir-ator" unit being present.
One of the problems encountered in the prior art is that although some prior art systems determine the external humidity and others determine the internal humidity, there is no example in the prior art that discloses a system that will compare the external moisture content of the air to the internal moisture content and prevent fan operation for drying unless the external moisture content of the air is less than the internal moisture content. There is a need for such a system.
Another problem encountered in the prior art is that many of the drying systems presently being used steadily force relatively low volumes of air through the high moisture grain mass which can result in the redepositing of moisture on the top of the grain mass, the moisture that has been removed from the grain mass by the passage of air therethrough. As the warmed moisture-laden air travels upward through the grain and enters the upper region of the grain bin above the grain mass, unless there is sufficient air volume moving upwards through the grain mass, the moisture-laden air at the top of the grain bin is not forced out of the eave air outlets before it cools. As the air cools, it no longer can hold the same volume of moisture and some of the moisture will then recondense and fall out of the air on to the top of the grain mass. This can result in the formation of the top cap, which further acts to prevent drying of the grain mass. Such a condition can be prevented by moving larger masses of air through the grain mass. There is therefore a need for a drying system which will move greater amounts of air through the grain mass and prevent recondensation of water vapor from the air at the top of the grain bin.


An absorbable and unidirectionally compressible intestinal anastomosis device, including a first through pipe portion and a second through pipe portion respectively including large ends and small ends; the large ends are used for fixing an intestinal canal; and the small end of the second through pipe portion is inserted into the small end of the first through pipe portion. The two large ends are drawn close to each other to achieve an intestine-intestine anastomosis. The outer sides of circular rings at the ends of the small ends of the first through pipe portion and the second through pipe portion are provided with gradually-expanded elastic horn-shaped openings. The device can make two stapled intestinal canals rest relatively, thereby avoiding adjustments required in other assembling modes.

Intestinal anastomosis is one of the most common operations in abdominal surgery, and it is also the surgical technique that surgeons must master. It is the key technology for digestive tract reconstruction and is related to the success or failure of surgery. Ideal bowel anastomosis should avoid complications such as anastomotic leakage, stenosis, hemorrhage, etc., and is easy to operate. Improvement and innovation matching technology has always been a hot topic in external scientific research. Up to now, hundreds of anastomotic methods have been developed. These methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, but none of them can fully meet the above requirements. For example, the most commonly used manual suture method and stapler method in clinical practice can not completely avoid complications such as anastomotic leakage, stenosis and hemorrhage.
At present, the traditional intestinal suture anastomosis and tubular stapler are mainly used.
Conventional manual suture anastomosis, that is, the surgeon uses a conventional surgical method to manually suture and knot with a needle holder, forceps, and needle thread.
The tube-type stapler is placed in one end of the intestine tube, and the other end of the excitation rod is placed again, and the end-end anastomosis is performed, but the tube-type stapler is mainly applied to the rectum and part of the sigmoid colon. Intestinal anastomosis requires an additional small opening and suturing the small opening.
The linear cutting and closing device improves the intestinal anastomosis. This method can correct the end-to-end anastomosis of the intestine, but it changes the original structure of the digestive tract.
In summary, the traditional intestinal anastomosis has the disadvantages of high operational difficulty and high incidence of postoperative anastomotic leakage; while the tubular stapler is suitable for a small range of intestinal tubes; in addition, the above traditional anastomosis is more difficult to be performed under laparoscopy, and the main problem of anastomotic leakage can't be effectively solved.

Absorbable and unidirectionally compressible intestine-intestine stapler


A portable terminal includes a page storage section, in which a Web page is temporarily stored while the Web page is being browsed. Thus, when the same Web page is browsed the next time, a control section compares the Web page with the previously stored page contents and moves the display range of the page, so that the updated portion is displayed at a predetermined position on a display section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus that displays Web pages, for example, and that preferentially displays predetermined items in accordance with multiple designated priority conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following first to sixth related art proposed as systems and methods for preferentially displaying predetermined items in accordance with priority conditions.
The first related art is an information system that includes a mobile memory and an information, terminal for accessing the mobile memory. By manipulating the operating section of the information terminal, a user can select one of a plurality of choices displayed on a screen, and can search for desired information. In this case, data related to the selection of choices by the user when accessing desired information are stored in the database of the mobile memory, and are employed to prepare a data input history for that user. Thereafter, when the user next employs the information terminal to search for information, the data input history stored in the mobile memory is referred to and employed for a preferential display of previous choices frequently made by the user.
The second related art is a contents pre-read method for employing priority levels of pages at individual linking destinations to determine the order for the pre-reading of the contents of these pages, and for determining priority levels based on past access frequencies (See, for example, JP-A-11-219313).
The third related art is a screen display control system. According to this system, screen display priorities used for displaying screens are provided in accordance with priority item data selected from a priority display selection menu, data about the date and time where the item was selected, and record data as to when the menu was actually selected. Then, the display positions of the menu items for which the priorities are allocated are changed, and the menu items are thereafter displayed on the screen of the terminal.
The fourth related art is a display method whereby, at the time of an access by a user, a profile of the user is examined and the cursor is positioned at an information element (a hyperlink) of information, which is determined in accordance with the times selected in the past and the tastes exhibited by the user.
The fifth related art is a page pre-read system that includes: a link table, wherein a list of linking destinations for the individual Web pages is entered together with selection frequencies that are based on the previous history; a table updating section, for updating the contents of the link table when a link is selected; and a page pre-reading section for, based on the contents of the link table, pre-reading data at a URL that, in the past, was frequently selected (See, for example, JP-A-11-249823.).
The third related art is a display method whereby, when a Web page is updated, the updated Web page is compared with a cache file, and the updated text data portion is displayed so as to be identified with the other text data portion (See, for example, JP-A-2001-34525.).
JP-A-11-219313, JP-A-11-249823 and JP-A-2001-34525 are referred to as related art.
As the use of portable terminals, such as cellular phones and PDAs, has spread, increasingly there are cases wherein cellular phones are used to browse Web pages via the Internet.
Most of these Web pages are prepared on the assumption that they are to be browsed by apparatuses, such as personal computers, that have large display devices, and thus, are usually not appropriate for reading using portable terminals having only small display sections.
Further, small portable terminals, such as cellular phones, have only limited input means. For a personal computer, it is assumed that a pointing device, such as a mouse, is provided as an input device, while for many cellular phones, only a small number of keys are available for browsing Web pages.
As a method for browsing a large Web page, or an image, using a small screen, a Web page is reduced so that the entire width of the page, or the complete page, can be fitted into the display section.
However, many Web pages are much larger than the display section of a cellular phone.
Therefore, according to this browsing method, when a Web page is reduced so as to fit a display section, the reduction rate is too large for characters on a page to be read.
Furthermore, when a Web page, created for display by a personal computer, is browsed using a cellular phone that has only a small display device, in many cases only a not very important portion (frequently the upper left portion) is initially displayed, and a user must scroll the screen.
Thus, when a user browses a large Web page using a cellular phone, the user, in order to read information outside the display range of the display section, must scroll the screen by pressing a key many times. This is a disadvantage, in that the user is forced to repeatedly perform a troublesome operation.
Therefore, the above described methods are proposed for preferentially displaying predetermined items in accordance with a priority order.
However, according to the related art for displaying items in priority order, since priorities are allocated in accordance with historical selection times and access frequencies, a highly important item of information, truly needed by a user, is not always displayed. Further, this related art can not provide a mechanism for displaying, when no information element is available that satisfies the requirements for an item of the highest priority, displaying an information element of the second highest priority.
Further, there is a case wherein an information element that on a specific page is granted the highest priority is not even present on another page, and one wherein an information element that on a specific page has a low priority has the highest on another page. However, according to the related art, depending on the situation, priorities can not be designated and these demands can not be coped with.
That is, the related art can not display information that initially is highly important to a user, so that the user either has trouble identifying useful data, or must perform a troublesome scroll operation. Therefore, a disadvantage of the related art is that necessary information can not be displayed rapidly.


The present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus having a sheet supporting tray removably mountable within the sheet feeding apparatus and adapted to stack and support sheets, a regulating device provided on the sheet supporting tray and adapted to regulate and position lateral edges of the sheets stacked in the sheet supporting tray, an urging mechanism for urging with a predetermined urging force the sheets stacked in the sheet supporting tray against the regulating device, and an urging force adjusting mechanism for adjusting the urging mechanism so that the urging mechanism can urge the sheets against the regulating device with greater force during insertion of the sheet supporting tray into the sheet feeding apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus which can separate sheets one by one by utilizing the friction force of the sheets stacked in a cassette and then can feed it to an image forming system.
2. Related Background Art
An example of a conventional sheet feeding apparatus of this kind is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.
In FIGS. 14 and 15, a cassette 101 has an intermediate plate 103 on which sheets are stacked and which is pivotally supported on pivot pins 105 at its base end. Upper limit pegs 102 for limiting a stacking amount of sheets to be stacked in the cassette 101 are formed on a rear wall of the cassette at its upper end. Further, a size indicating means 104 for transmitting the size of the sheet stacked in the cassette to the sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming system is provided on an outer surface of a side wall of the cassette 101. A pair of separating pawls or claws 106 are mounted for movement in an up-and-down direction at front corners of the cassette 101, and a base portion of each separating claw is pivotally mounted on a caulking pin 116. The separating claws 106 serve to urge against front corners of the sheet stack rested on the intermediate plate 103 and to separate an uppermost sheet from the other sheets.
A support plate 110 is disposed in the vicinity of the other side wall of the cassette 101, and a pressure spring 107 is fixed to an inner surface of the support plate by a screw 109. An edge regulating member (not shown) is opposed to the pressure spring 107, which regulating member serves to regulate a position of one lateral edge (parallel to a sheet feeding direction) of the sheet stack in the cassette 101. A sheet guide 112 for guiding the sheet fed from the cassette 101 is formed on the front portion of the cassette 101. Further, the intermediate plate 103 is provided with a slot 113 for receiving a sensor for detecting the presence/absence of the sheet, and a separating sheet 115 adhered thereto and adapted to prevent the double feed of the last sheet.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional sheet feeding apparatus, since the pressure spring 107 was used to regulate the lateral edge of the sheet stack, the following drawbacks arose:
(1) If the sheet stack is obliquely rested (referred to as "oblique stack" or "skew stack" hereinafter) in the cassette 101, the skew-feed of the sheet to be fed cannot be avoided.
(2) If a spring force of the pressure spring 107 is increased to avoid the drawback as mentioned in the above Item (1), when a thin sheet stack is stored in the cassette 101 for a long time, the lateral edges of the sheet stack will be deformed, thus causing the bending of the sheets and/or the poor transfer of a toner image onto the sheet.
In order to eliminate the above drawbacks, an improved technique has been proposed, as disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Appln. No. 54-159583.
According to this technique, a coil spring is arranged between a movable side plate adapted to be contacted with the lateral edge of the sheet stack and a pivotable actuator so that when the sheet stack is rested on a bottom plate, the actuator is cocked to reduce a distance between the movable side plate and the actuator, thereby urging the movable side plate toward the sheet stack by the relatively strong force of the coil spring to align the lateral edges of the sheets with each other, and, when the bottom plate is lifted to feed the sheet, the actuator returns to a laid condition to increase the distance between the movable side plate and the actuator, thereby urging the movable side plate toward the sheet stack by the relatively weak force of the coil spring. In this way, when the sheets are replenished, the lateral edges of the sheets can be aligned with each other, and, when the sheet is fed, the urging force of the movable side plate is decreased, thus preventing poor sheet supply.
However, with this arrangement, when the sheets are replenished, it is necessary to set the sheets on the bottom plate in opposition to the strong urging force of the movable side plate, thus severely degrading the operability.
Further, since the urging forces are adjusted in two-stages by the single coil spring, the values of the urging forces are determined unconditionally, with the result that effective urging forces cannot be obtained. That is to say, if the urging force for aligning the sheets with each other is set to a greater value, the urging force acting on the sheets when the sheet is being fed will also become greater, thus easily causing poor sheet supply; whereas, if the urging force acting on the sheets when the sheet is fed is set to a smaller value, the urging force for aligning the sheets with each other will also become smaller, thus causing poor alignment of the sheets.


A licensing system provides enhanced flexibility for licensing applications in a network. The licensing system includes a directory services database which stores all license information. The directory services database is accessed by providing a request to a license service provider associated with a server. The license service provider generates an executable entity based on the request parameters, which searches the database and, if the appropriate units are available, assembles a license. The license and the application are then transmitted to the requesting client. All aspects of the transaction are also stored in a database organized according to a transaction's relation to a particular license.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to licensing software, and more particularly, to licensing software electronically in a network environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most software vendors currently favor licensing as the preferred method of distributing software. Licensing software provides the vendor with a certain amount of control which may be used to the vendor's advantage. For example, licensing software allows the vendor to prohibit unauthorized usage of the software that might facilitate unauthorized copying. In addition, licensing provides an advantageous method of providing and billing for software. Through licensing, the vendor may sell several identical copies of the same software and charge the buyer for each copy.
Licensing schemes have been adapted for the network environment as well as the individual personal computer. In a network environment, such as a client-server network, multiple users may access the same copy of a particular application. Consequently, the vendor can charge the network owner not for the number of copies installed on the network, but for the number of users having access to the software.
Software is conventionally licensed using an agreement between the vendor and the user or administrator. The agreement is typically either a conventionally signed contract or a "shrink wrap" agreement attached to the packaging for the software, to which the licensee acknowledges agreement by opening the package.
Although traditional and shrink wrap licensing are more or less applicable to individual systems, they are not well-suited to the network environment. Both traditional and shrink wrap licensing schemes are difficult to enforce on a network where several users have access to the software. Consequently, various electronic systems have been devised for controlling access to software on a network.
Electronic licensing typically comprises providing a set of criteria under which a request for an application from the server should be granted. One common licensing system uses a fixed set of licenses controlled by a license server. The license information is maintained in a license database, along with information regarding which applications are in use and how many units are still available. The information in the database may be encrypted to prevent forgeries. When an application is desired, the application commences running. Code embedded in the application initially requests a license from the server to facilitate the execution of the application. The server checks the database of licenses, and if the appropriate licenses are available, grants the request. As requests are received and licenses granted, the relevant information is logged into a file to track usage of the various applications.
If a license is not available, the client contacts another server to find the appropriate license. The client in the conventional system has the responsibility to obtain licenses from the various servers, and the individual servers provide resources at the client's request. To facilitate such licensing, the application typically includes a library of programs designed to contact the server, request a license, and track the resulting license.
Although such a licensing system provides some security against unauthorized usage of applications, it suffers several drawbacks. For example, the number of programs required for the client to request and maintain licenses occupies a significant portion of the client's limited memory resources. Further, a conventional licensing system stores most of the licensing information in the client's memory. Consequently, in the event of a client crash, the licensing information is lost and difficult to reconstruct.
Conventional licensing systems also suffer limited scalability. When a call is made to a server, all of the execution occurs on each individual server for any particular call. Similarly, if a license is located on a particular machine, all execution necessary to operate on that license occurs on that machine. Consequently, a central server containing most of the licenses available on a particular network may be overworked while other, more local server resources remain idle. Similarly, if any particular server crashes or otherwise becomes unavailable, none of the licensing information associated with that server can be accessed by clients, even if other servers are operating.
In addition, conventional licensing systems rely on code embedded in the application to establish the licensing attributes. Code is placed in the application which interprets information received from the server to establish licensing parameters. Because the behavior of the license is not established until after the request has been made and the license obtained, the user cannot read the license terms prior to the request. Moreover, this system lacks flexibility. To change the licensing terms, the code in the application must be revised.
An electronic software licensing system is thus needed which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.

Fault tolerant electronic licensing system


The invention relates to a method for detecting the passage by a vehicle of a determined point for monitoring on a road, wherein from a remotely situated location a laser beam is transmitted continuously to the point for monitoring, reflections from the transmitted laser beam are received at the remotely situated location, and it is determined from the received reflections that the vehicle is passing the point for monitoring. The laser beam can be transmitted at right angles to the travel direction of the passing vehicle. The detection can be used to activate a red-light camera, to measure the speed of the vehicle or measure the traffic intensity, without sensors, for instance induction loops, having to be arranged in the road for this purpose. The invention further relates to a system for performing this method.

In most known methods use is made of sensors which are mounted in or on the road surface. A classic example are air-filled conduits laid over the road surface which record a pressure difference when the wheels of a vehicle drive over them. Loads on the road surface by passing vehicles can also be detected using piezoelectric elements embedded in the road surface. Most widely used however are inductive detections. Here the change is measured in the amperage in a loop-like conductor in the road surface which results from the change in the electromagnetic field when a vehicle—largely consisting of metal—passes by.
The drawback which all said methods have in common is that they require modifications to the road surface at the location to be monitored, for instance a stop line at a traffic light. Cutting operations are generally required for this purpose, whereby the road must be closed for a time. This is increasingly less acceptable as the amount of traffic increases, all the more so because it is usually precisely at the busiest points in the road network that the detectors are required. Furthermore, the number of sensors which can be accommodated at a given location in the road surface is limited, since there must be sufficient space between them so that they do not affect each other's operation. It is mainly at busy intersections that large numbers of sensors, particularly induction loops, are often found in the road surface. In addition to loops which must detect driving through a red light, there are often also loops which respond to the presence of a vehicle at a intersection which is otherwise empty in order to set the traffic light to green, and loops which respond to the presence of vehicles which have priority, such as buses, emergency service vehicles and the like.

Method and system for detecting with laser the passage by a vehicle of a point for monitoring on a road


An image pickup apparatus includes a first lens for converging light incident thereto through a first field area, a first prism to which light is incident through a second field area at a right of the first field area, a second lens for converging the light emitted from the first prism, a second prism to which light is incident through a third field area at a left of the first field area, and a third lens for converging the light emitted from the second prism. The respective lenses are placed at areas corresponding to the vertices of a triangle in a front view.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus including lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been known various types of image pickup apparatuses including lenses (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-328045, Japanese Patent No. 3566100, Domestic Re-publication of PCT International Publication No. WO2005/024508, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2005-167442, 2006-246193 and 2007-295141, for example).
The aforementioned patent documents Nos. 2004-328045, 3566100 and WO2005/024508 disclose image pickup apparatuses including lenses and prisms and being capable of picking-up images of plural view fields. The aforementioned patent documents Nos. 2005-167442, 2006-246193 and 2007-295141 disclose image pickup apparatuses including plural lenses and being capable of reducing thicknesses.
Further, conventionally, there has been known an image pickup apparatus including a wide angle lens and being capable of picking-up an image of panoramic image.
However, the conventional image pickup apparatus including wide angle lenses have a problem that barrel-shaped distortions occur around a picked-up image.
Therefore, conventionally, in order to overcome the aforementioned problem, there has been suggested an image pickup apparatus including a lens (a first lens) for converging light incident from its front side (a first area), a prism (a first optical-path changing member) to which light is incident at its right side (a second area), a lens (a second lens) for converging the light emitted from the prism, a prism (a second optical-path changing member) to which light is incident at its left side (a third area), and a lens (a third lens) for converging the light emitted from the prism. In such an image pickup apparatus, the three lenses are placed in a line in a horizontal direction. Further, in such an image pickup apparatus, by picking-up and synthesizing the light converged by the three lenses, it is possible to pick-up a panoramic image, while suppressing the occurrence of barrel-shaped distortions.


This invention relates to methods, reagents and kits for enriching nucleic acid sequences. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods, reagents and kits for sample preparation including sample modification, sample enrichment and amplification.

Haplotype information can be vital in the analysis of disease by determining whether two or more sequence variants are located on the same nucleic acid fragment. This is of special interest in tumour research and diagnosis where it is important to know if two or more inactivating mutations occur on the same or different chromosomes. Similarly better information about which genotypes are located on the same nucleic acid segment can greatly increase the information derived from genotyping data and in the statistical analysis of genetic linkage or linkage disequilibrium of inherited traits and markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs (e.g. [1-3]).
To date there has been no method developed that satisfactorily solves the problem of how to obtain haplotype information in vitro, that is to determine which gene variants are located, over some distance, on the same nucleic acid molecule.
Current analysis of heritable diseases is hampered by the fact that given the genotypes of the parents, it is still often impossible to confirm if a particular allele is obtained from the mother or from the father. In theory, with the ability to distinguish between haplotypes, more meioses would be informative and thereby facilitate genetic linkage analysis. Another area where haplotyping has proven to be of interest is in the study of genetic effects on a subject's response to different drugs. Recent publications have shown that haplotype information is important to be able to relate genetic factors to a patient's response to various drugs, [4].
Currently, there are only a few methods available for obtaining haplotype information. When lineage data and nucleic acid samples are available linkage analysis is applicable. It is also possible to use statistical methods to calculate possible allele-combinations from allele frequencies to gain information on a haplotype. However, this technique can only be used with a small number of alleles at the same time and on population-size data, and the analysis only provides statistical evidence for the presence of a given haplotype. Haplotype information can also be gained from hemizygous X- and Y-chromosomes, where haplotypes are immediately apparent from the genotype.
The possibility to study cells with only one autosome chromosome is utilised in some in vivo techniques. One approach is the creation of rodent-human hybrid cells, for example using the so called "Conversion technology" [2]. Some of the rodent-human hybrid cells will contain one of the two possible copies from a human chromosome. A second approach is to use hydatidiform moles, i.e. tissues that due to a fertilisation defect only contain genetic material from the sperm (complete hydatidiform mole) thereby containing only one copy of each chromosome.
There are also some in vitro molecular techniques that can be used to determine haplotypes. One technique is the sub-cloning of all nucleic acid sequences of interest, isolating individual clones and subsequently genotyping them. Allele-specific analysis through Fibre Fluorescent In Situ Hybridisation is another possible approach, however it has not yet been convincingly shown to be useful for SNP based haplotyping. A third approach is double PCR Allele Specific Amplification (double-PASA [5], a double allele-specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) which gives linkage information of two adjacent polymorphic sites. Pyrosequencing [6] and mass spectrometry may be used to analyse haplotypes over short distances, i.e. <100 nt.


A method of programming data in a nonvolatile memory device comprises receiving program data to be programmed in selected memory cells of the nonvolatile memory device, reading data from the selected memory cells, encoding the program data using at least one encoding scheme selected from among multiple encoding schemes according to a comparison of the program data and the read data, generating flag data including encoding information, and programming the encoded program data and the flag data in the selected memory cells.

The inventive concept relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to a memory system comprising a nonvolatile memory device and a controller and a method for programming data in the nonvolatile memory device.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power. Examples of volatile memory devices include static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). Examples of nonvolatile memory devices include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory device, a phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), and ferroelectric RAM (FRAM).
There is a continuing demand for nonvolatile memory devices to have improved performance characteristics, such as faster operating speed and lower power consumption, for instance. To address this demand, researchers have sought improvements in both the physical and operational characteristics of the devices.

Encoding program data based on data stored in memory cells to be programmed


A method of manufacturing a curved-surface metal line is provided. A three-dimensional structure is formed with a metal member and then fixed together with an insulator. Alternatively, the metal member and the insulator are embedded-formed to jointly form the three-dimensional structure, or the metal member and the insulator are fixed together and then jointly form the three-dimensional structure. Then, a photoresist protection layer is formed outside the metal member, and a selective exposure treatment is performed such that corresponding locations of the photoresist protection layer being exposed is subject to a photochemical reaction. The photoresist protection layer is developed, and after the photoresist protection layer is partially dissolved, portions of the metal member at the corresponding locations are simultaneously exposed. The exposed portions of the metal member are etched, and residual portions of the photoresist protection layer are removed to form the metal line provided on the insulator.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Currently, with the development of electronic products towards high functionalities, lightness and thinness, related electronic products increasingly focus on meeting light, thin, short, small and multifunctional needs. However, for different electronic products (such as antennas and illuminating lamps), different three-dimensional line structures need to be designed according to different product appearances and internal structures, thereby meeting the miniaturization need of the electronic products.
In the existing technology, a flexible base membrane is provided, a preset metal line is printed or screen-printed on the flexible base membrane, and electronic components are mounted on the metal line. Then, a hot forming process is performed to obtain the three-dimensional curved structure being required. Finally, the metal line and an insulation shell are formed by injection-molding so as to form a metal line with a specific curved structure. The technology is often applied to products such as antennas and illuminating lamps.
However, according to the method of the manufacturing three-dimensional metal line, the specific metal line structure is firstly formed, and then the specific metal line structure and the insulation shell are formed by injection-molding. Due to complicated and diversified shapes of the metal line, when the metal line and the insulation shell are formed by injection-molding, even if the metal line is positioned by the mold, in the process that the flowing plastic is injected into a mold, the metal line is still easily deformed by impact of the flowing plastic, such that the metal line being finally manufactured is inaccurate. If the impact force is too large, damage and breakage may occur, thereby affecting the reliability of the metal line.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need to design a new method of manufacturing a curved-surface metal line exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Method of manufacturing curved-surface metal line


This invention describes a low cost biofermentation medium, and an economical method using the medium, for the manufacture of .alpha., .omega.-alkanedicarboxylic acids. The invention provides a biofermentation medium and a method of bioproduction for these important diacids which makes their large scale commercial production economically feasible using a biocatalyst. This method of production obviates the need for chemical synthesis using expensive starting materials from fossil fuels, and does not generate a costly hazardous waste stream.

Long-chain .alpha., .omega.-alkanedicarboxylic acids (i.e., alkanedicarboxylic acids with a carbon number of nine or greater) are used as raw materials in the synthesis of a variety of chemical products and polymer materials. For example, dodecanedioic acid is used as a comonomer with bisphenol A to produce a copolyestercarbonate, a particularly desirable engineering thermoplastic which retains high impact strength, the hallmark of polycarbonate resin, while having a lower melt viscosity. This property results in better molding productivity than conventional polycarbonate resin, allowing the production of light, strong, thin-walled plastic parts.
Diacids with carbon numbers greater than four (hereinafter referred to as diacids) are currently produced almost exclusively by nonbiological conversion processes. Dodecanedioic acid is manufactured through the nickel-catalyzed cyclic trimerization of butadiene, followed by hydrogenation to cyclododecane, air oxidation to a mixture of cyclododecanone and cyclododecanol, and finally, nitric acid oxidation to dodecanedioic acid. These types of chemical processes for the production of diacids have a number of limitations and disadvantages. Each process is restricted to the production of diacids of specific carbon chain lengths, based on the starting material used. For example, the dodecanedioic acid process begins with butadiene, therefore the products of this reaction process are limited to acids with chain lengths in multiples of four. In practice, only a single diacid, dodecanedioic acid, is made by this process. In addition, the processes are based on nonrenewable petrochemical feedstocks, and the multireaction conversion process produces unwanted byproducts which result in yield loses, heavy metal wastes, and nitrogen oxides which must be destroyed in a reduction furnace.
Biological conversion processes for the production of diacids have a number of potential advantages relative to the existing non-biological conversion processes. Primary among these is the use of renewable feedstocks as starting materials and the ability to produce the diacid without the generation of hazardous chemical byproducts which necessitate costly waste disposal processes. Another important advantage achieved by using a biological process is that such a process can easily be adapted to produce a wide variety of diacids using the same biocatalyst and the same equipment. Because current organic chemical syntheses are suited to the production of only a single diacid, the synthesis of several different diacids would require the development of a new synthetic scheme for each diacid. On the other hand, a yeast biocatalyst can be used to produce diacids of varying lengths using the same equipment, media and protocols merely by providing a different substrate to the yeast.
Several naturally occurring yeasts are known to produce diacids when provided fatty acids, fatty acid esters or alkanes as substrates. Yeasts belonging to the genus Candida, such as C. albicans, C. cloacae, C. guillermondii, C. intermedia, C. lipolytica, C. maltosa, C. parapsilosis, C. zeylenoides, and C. tropicalis have been reported to produce diacids. These yeasts have a number of limitations preventing their use for the commercial production of diacids, however. They produce an inefficient total yield of diacid relative to the fatty acid or alkane starting material, and they also produce relatively large quantities of unwanted byproducts.
In yeast, n-alkane substrates are transported into the cell, hydroxylated to fatty alcohols by a specific cytochrome P450 system, and then further oxidized by an alcohol oxidase and an aldehyde oxidase to form a fatty acid. Fatty acids are oxidized in the same way to form the corresponding diacid. Both fatty acids and diacids can be degraded, however, through the peroxisomal .quadrature.-oxidation pathway subsequent to activation to an acyl-CoA ester. This leads to shortening of the chain by units of two. Thus, diacids produced in yeasts are often shortened to differing degrees.
Genetically modified strains of Candida tropicalis have been developed that overcome some of these obstacles to cost-effective commercial production of diacids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,466 discloses the genetic modification of a C. tropicalis strain. In this strain of yeast, the beta-oxidation pathway is blocked, resulting in the production of substantially pure diacid without the unwanted conversion of the substrate into shorter chain diacids and biomass, and in substantially quantitative yield with respect to the starting material. A particular organism blocked for .quadrature.-oxidation is C. tropicalis H5343 (ATCC No. 20962).
C. tropicalis has been further modified, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,878. This reference discloses amplification of the genes encoding cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and NADPH reductase, which results in increased 4-hydroxylase activity and thus increased specific productivity (grams of diacid/liter/hr) of diacids. The particular organism having amplified cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and NADPH reductase components is known as C. tropicalis AR40 (ATCC No. 20987).
The known genetically modified strains show distinct advantages over previously available yeast strains for the production of diacids. This technology has resulted in organisms which are able to produce the large quantities of product necessary to develop a commercially feasible process. The described production using these prior art methods, however, includes the use of preferred fermentation media which contain relatively expensive components. The cost of the medium in the biofermentation processes is too high for practical use in diacid production on a large commercial scale. For example, the preferred embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,878 describes a medium comprising 3 g/L peptone, 6 g/L yeast extract, 6.7 g/L Yeast Nitrogen Base (Difco), 3 g/L sodium acetate, 7.2 g/L K.sub.2 HPO.sub.4 .multidot.3H.sub.2 O, 9.3 g/L KH.sub.2 PO.sub.4, and 75 g/L glucose. These are ingredients suitable for laboratory practice, but not industrial scale fermentation.
Consequently, there remains a need for low-cost, complete biofermentation media which provide sufficient nutrient support to the yeast biocatalyst to permit high specific productivity of diacids from suitable fatty acid or alkane starting material.

Fermentation medium and method for producing .alpha., .omega. -alkanedicarboxylic acids


A mobile receiver having a multi-mode interference suppression function and a way to estimate its speed utilizes a parametric approach to interference suppression at high speeds, and a nonparametric approach at low speeds. In particular, if the mobile receiver is currently operating in a nonparametric mode and its speed exceeds a first predetermined threshold, the mobile receiver switches to a parametric mode. Conversely, if the mobile receiver is currently in parametric mode and its speed is less than a second predetermined threshold, the mobile receiver switches to nonparametric mode. In one embodiment, the speed may be estimated by a Doppler frequency in the received signal, and the thresholds are Doppler frequencies. In one embodiment, the first and second thresholds are different, creating a hysteresis in the mode switching.

WCDMA signals experience interference in dispersive channels. This interference is a combination of self-interference, such as intersymbol interference; multiple access interference, i.e., interference due to non-zero code cross-correlation; interference from other cells in the downlink; or interference from other users in the uplink. This interference must be suppressed in order to achieve good throughput, in particular for High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) receivers. In addition, the enhanced throughput requirements set by 3GPP standardization for type 2 (single antenna terminal) and type 3 (dual antenna terminal) receivers cannot be met without interference suppression.
Linear methods for suppressing interference generally fall into the categories of chip level or symbol level equalization. Symbol level equalization follows the traditional Rake receiver architecture where the received chip-level data is despread at multiple delays, and then the multiple signal images are combined. Chip level equalization reverses the order of these operations. The received chip data is first combined using a linear filter and then despread at a single delay. These techniques are equivalent from a performance perspective, and the present invention applies to either equalization approach.
For symbol level equalization, one effective approach is the Generalized Rake receiver, or G-Rake. A G-Rake receiver calculates combining weights to perform both coherent combining of symbols despread at different delay values, as well as interference suppression by accounting for interference temporal and spatial correlations in the combining weight formulation. The combining weights are given byw=Ru−1hwhere Ru is an impairment covariance matrix and h is a vector of net channel coefficients. Here, the term "impairment" includes both interference and noise, while the term "net channel coefficient" refers to a channel coefficient that includes the effects of the transmit and receive filters as well as the fading wireless channel.
There are two general approaches to obtaining the impairment covariance matrix Ru in a G-Rake receiver—nonparametric and parametric. Nonparametric method(s) are blind, and estimate Ru, directly from observed data. The parametric method assumes an underlying model, and computes Ru from model parameters.
For chip equalization, the received signal at the chip level is given byr=Hc+v where r is a block of received chips, H is a convolution matrix of chip or sub-chip spaced versions of the net channel coefficients, v represents white Gaussian noise due to neighboring base stations and thermal noise, and c is the transmitted chip sequence. The chip equalizer filter f that suppresses the interference in (2) is the solution tof=A−1b,where A is a correlation matrix of received pilot chips, and b is a cross-correlation vector of received pilot chips with actual pilot chips.
Similar to G-Rake, there are two ways to generate the chip equalizer filter—a nonparametric form and a parametric form. These two forms differ primarily in how the A matrix is calculated. The nonparametric form uses the received chip data directly to calculate the A matrix. The parametric form works instead with the channel impulse response and the powers of the serving base station and the white Gaussian noise.
The existing parametric and nonparametric equalization approaches have different strengths and weaknesses. These are discussed with respect to the G-Rake receiver. The same strengths and weaknesses generally hold for chip equalization as well.
The strength of the parametric G-Rake approach is that performance (measured, e.g., by BER, BLER, or throughput) is relatively insensitive to the speed of the mobile receiver, such as a WCDMA user equipment (UE). The main weakness of the parametric approach is that it relies on channel information developed by the path searcher/delay estimator in the receiver. If this information is incorrect, then the effective color of the impairment will be incorrectly modeled. This mis-modeling degrades the performance of the G-Rake receiver.
The strength of the nonparametric approach is that it is a blind technique. There is no specific model for interference, so all interference is captured by the estimation approach. This blind approach is also indirectly a weakness. Blind approaches typically need a significant amount of "training" data to perform well. In a WCDMA system, the pilot channel has only 10 symbols per slot, so the pilot-based approach to covariance estimation requires significant smoothing (filtering) to work well. Smoothing limits the effectiveness of the approach to low UE speed.
Receivers employing either parametric or nonparametric techniques for channel equalization and interference suppression are thus optimal only under the circumstances for which the respective method generates the best results, and are suboptimal under other circumstances.

Speed-based, hybrid parametric/non-parametric equalization


A cage for cylindrical rolling-contact elements, in which two rolling-contact elements that are in contact with one another at their lateral surfaces are arranged in series in the circumferential direction in a pocket and in which each of the two rolling-contact elements is guided parallel to a cage axis, includes a web connecting adjoining side rings to one another, there being stub-shaped webs on the side rings in the center of the pockets, between the two rolling-contact elements, the webs projecting partially into the pocket between the rolling-contact elements. The webs comprise sections that extend parallel to the cage axis, lie partially inside and partially outside the pitch circle and are connected to one another by sections that extend obliquely to the cage axis. The stub-shaped webs have no contact with the rolling-contact elements during rotation of the cage.

A cage of this kind, constructed in accordance with the generic type, is already known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,128. FIG. 3 of this prior publication shows a fragment of a cage, in the pockets of which two cylindrical rollers 6, 7 are arranged in series in the circumferential direction, touching one another with their lateral surfaces. They are prevented from falling out of the pockets in the radial direction by retention noses 12, which are arranged on the longitudinal sides of the pockets, opposite one another in the circumferential direction, and lie radially outside and inside the pitch circle. These retention noses 12 interact with stub-shaped webs 13, which are arranged on the side rings 2, 3 of the cage 1 and extend a short way into the pocket.
The disadvantage here is that such a solid cage, which is manufactured from a tube, can be produced only with great difficulty. In order to produce separate inner and outer projections for the retention of the rolling-contact elements, the material must be caulked or deformed accordingly. A further disadvantage is that a cage manufactured in such a solid form is very heavy.


An antenna extender system includes a means for applying a bias force on the antenna to urge it toward an extended position, and a means for controlling the velocity of the antenna when it is moved from a retracted to the extended position by a constant bias force. The antenna extender system solves the problem of uncontrolled instantaneous extension of antennas in small, mobile telecommunication instruments.

Retractable antennas are commonly used in mobile telecommunication equipment such as portable telephones, cellular phones and two-way radios. Typically, retractable antennas used in mobile telecommunication instruments require two-handed operation for extension. For example, when answering a call on a cellular phone, the user must open the flip-open cover, if so equipped, pull out the antenna with one hand while holding the phone in the other hand, push a button to answer the call, then speak. This multiple step operation is cumbersome, particularly if the user is carrying another article or is otherwise impaired from using both hands to extend the antenna.
Several arrangements have been proposed for powering the extension of the antenna on small, mobile telecommunication instruments. Electrically powered, motor driven antenna extenders, such as those found on vehicles and larger communication instruments, are undesirable for small instruments because of the space requirements for the motor and drive mechanisms, the resultant added weight and cost, and the significant current draw on a limited power source, i.e., the batteries of the instrument.
Other arrangements have also been proposed for the automatic extension of antennas for mobile telecommunication instruments. For example, a guided helical compression spring arrangement is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/627,448, filed Apr. 14, 1996 by Charles A. Rudisill for a RETRACTABLE ANTENNA ASSEMBLY, and assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. Other linear or variable rate springs, such as helical extension springs, have also been proposed for use in antenna extension systems. However, spring extension systems using either linear or variable rate springs apply a significantly higher bias force on an antenna when it is deflected than when it approaches its free length. For example, if an antenna is biased at the extended position with a minimal preload spring force, the force acting on the antenna when retracted will be the product of the spring rate times the deflection of the spring, plus the preload force. The resultant high bias force produced by such springs causes the antenna, when released, to extend very rapidly, virtually instantaneously. If the user is careless, the rapidly extending distal end of the antenna could strike an object or person, perhaps even in the eye, and cause serious damage or injury.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems set forth above. It is desirable to have an extension system for the antenna on mobile telecommunication instruments that is small, lightweight, economical to produce, and does not require an auxiliary power source for its operation. It is also desirable to have such an extension system that automatically extends the antenna at a predetermined controlled velocity, upon actuation of a release latch.

Mechanically controlled velocity extender system for antennas