The present invention is directed to an apparatus, a system and a method for detecting the presence or absence of trace elements in a biological sample using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. The trace elements are used to develop a signature profile which is analyzed directly or compared with the known profile of a standard. In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus, system and method are used to detect malignant cancer cells in vivo.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in one aspect, relates to the field of spectroscopy, and devices and methods through which it is applied. In a more particular aspect, the invention relates to spectroscopic devices and methods using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in the detection of trace metal elements in the various parts of living organism. The invention also relates to the detection of normal and malignant tissue or cancer cells using LIBS devices and methods according to the invention. The invention also relates to a method and device that can provide real-time on site measurement of trace metals in a plant or animal. It can be used to detect cancer or trace element deficiency related to other health problems in either animals or plants.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,307 to Cremers et al discloses an apparatus and method for using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to identify contaminants in liquid samples.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,825, to Alexander discloses an apparatus and method for using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to examine paints and coatings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,882 to Cooper et al discloses a fiber optic cone penetrometer probe to irradiate soil with UV or visible light to generate a fluorescence, reflection, or absorption spectrum of soil contaminants. The fluorescence spectroscopy described in the patent generates information for classifying certain molecular species, but does not form a plasma and is generally insensitive to atomic species, which are important to the identification of metal contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,416 to Singh et al discloses analytical methods involving Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The disclosure is limited to utilizing LIBS methodology to examine inorganic specimens in environmental applications to determine the presence materials such radioactive elements or toxic metals in off-gas emissions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,754 to Theriault et al discloses a cone penetrometer involving Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for soil sample analysis.
All documents cited herein are incorporated by reference for all purposes.
3. Background
The optimum concentration and balance among various trace elements is vital for the health of both plants and animals. For example, an imbalance in certain trace elements such as sodium, potassium or others can indicate a number of health disorders. In animals such imbalances can cause or be indicative of a disorder to the nervous system or decreased functioning of the brain, liver, kidney or other vital organ. An imbalance in one or more trace elements can also affect or indicate a disorder in plants at various stages of growth, either at germination, blossoming, or at another stage of growth.
Recent surveys reveal that in 2003, breast cancer will be newly diagnosed in over 200,000 women in the United States.1,2 Early diagnosis, especially before the cancer has metastasized to regional lymph nodes is essential. Breast lumps can be found by self-examining or a physical examination by a medical practitioner. Primary diagnosis is currently done using ultrasound and/or mammography tests. In the regular course of diagnosis, a breast biopsy is needed to determine whether a lump is malignant or benign. This requires that the lump, or some part thereof be first extracted by surgery and then analyzed using pathological methodology to determine whether the biopsy contains cancerous cells. Recently, imaging and molecular biology techniques have been developed for assisting with cancer diagnosis.3-5
Existing technologies for cancer detection include radiology NMR imaging and biopsy followed by histopathological examination. Newer methods, which are still experimental include matrix assisted laser desorptionlionization (MALDI) technique, and surface enhanced laser/desorption ionization (SELDI) technique. These different methodologies are very expensive and can also require significant time for analyzing a sample in a laboratory. Current methods for definitive identification of malignancy within a breast can be a difficult and painful process because a sample from a suspicious tissue mass must be extracted and then analyzed to determine whether it is malignant.
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a method for detecting the presence of various elements in a sample by directing a high power emission from a laser onto the sample to form a plasma. The plasma is then analyzed spectroscopically to determine the composition of the sample.
The LIBS methodology, through the discovery of this invention, now offers promise as a method suitable for incorporating with a probe to detect trace metal profiles in various biological media, because it is highly sensitive and requires no sample preparation. The LIBS method can include delivery of laser energy to a sample through air utilizing high power densities to ionize a sample. According to the invention, fiber optic cable can be used successfully to obtain LIBS spectral data from a remote location allowing analysis of a sample located at a considerable distance from the excitation laser and analyzing equipment. Further information about Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,416 issued May 12, 1998, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/098,368, filed Mar. 18, 2002.
In the practicing the instant invention, LIBS surpasses the demanding and expensive methodology currently associated with cancer identification and produces results at a lower cost, in less time, providing spectral profiles that correlate to classifications of cancer while at the same time eliminating many of the complexities and risks inherent in tissue analysis by biopsy. According to the invention, LIBS has additional uses than known methods of analyzing biological samples including uses for tissue identification and forensic analysis of trace elements in a biological sample.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for specimen analysis


An adhering substance detection apparatus according to an embodiment includes a calculating unit and a determining unit. The calculating unit calculates, for each cell composed of a predetermined number of pixels in a captured image, an edge feature value that is based on edge vectors in the pixels, and that classifies an edge orientation that is included in the edge feature value, into two types of angle classes. The determining unit determines a condition of adhering substance adhering to an image capturing apparatus that captured the captured image, based on a transition count representing number of transitions the angle class goes through within a unit region that is a predetermined region composed of a predetermined number of the cells.

Conventionally having been known is an adhering substance detection apparatus that detects an adhering substance adhering to a lens of a camera that is installed on a vehicle, for example, based on a captured image captured by the camera. Some adhering substance detection apparatuses detect an adhering substance based on a difference between captured images captured in the temporal order, for example (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-038048, for example).
However, in the conventional technology mentioned above, there is some room for improvement in the accuracy of adhering substance detection.

Adhering substance detection apparatus and adhering substance detection method


A three-leg power converter apparatus including first, second and third input/output ports, a three-leg bridge converter, a filter circuit, a decoupling circuit and a controller is presented. The three-leg bridge converter has three single-leg circuits, two DC terminals connecting to two terminals of the first input/output port, and three mid-terminals with each of them being formed by a middle point of one of the three single-leg circuits. The controller connects to the three-leg bridge converter for controlling an input or output current passing through each DC terminal and mid-terminal. The filter circuit connects between two of the mid-terminals and the second input/output port. The decoupling circuit has two terminals connecting to the second input/output port and another terminal connecting to a terminal of the third input/output port, with the third input/output port having another terminal connecting to the other mid-terminal that dose not connect with the filter circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-leg power converter apparatus, and more particularly to a power converter apparatus with three input/output ports for converting electrical power between these three ports.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, owing to the rapid development in Power Electronics, some apparatuses based on technology of power electronics have been applied to fields relative to power conversion. Basically, there are four typical types in operation of power conversion: AC/DC, DC/DC, DC/AC, and AC/AC, which are realized by apparatuses such as AC/DC converters, DC/DC converters, DC/AC inverters and AC/AC converters. Generally, a power converter apparatus with single power stage can only complete one of said typical types in operation of power conversion, and plural and different types of power converters are required while a complex power conversion function has to be achieved.
For example, a conventional on-line UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system shown in FIG. 1 includes two power stages 91, 92, wherein the power stage 91 is an AC/DC converter and the other power stage 92 is a DC/AC inverter, so that a normal AC power can be converted into an AC power for an AC load. Furthermore, a conventional off-line UPS system with small capacity is illustrated in FIG. 2. Regarding to the off-line UPS system, a requirement for providing two power stages 93, 94 is needed because the battery voltage of a limited amount of batteries is evidently lower than the required DC voltage of DC/AC inverter 94 applied in the off-line UPS system. The power stage 93 is a DC/DC converter acting as a boost converter for raising a DC voltage of the batteries, and the power stage 94 is a DC/AC inverter for converting the DC power generated by the power stage 93 into an AC power for an AC load. Moreover, a kind of power converter apparatuses for a photovoltaic generation system disclosed in US patents numbered U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,174 is illustrated by FIG. 3. In the above-mentioned power converter apparatus, there are two power stages 95, 96 connected between a solar cell array and an AC power distribution system, with the power stage 95 converting a variable DC power generated by the solar cell array into a regulated DC power and the power stage 96 further converting the DC power into an AC power and then injecting the AC power into the AC power distribution system.
Accordingly, for most conventional power converter apparatuses to complete a complex power conversion operation including at least two typical types in operation of power conversion, at least two power stages are required. Hence, the power electronic circuits and the control circuits of conventional power converter apparatuses with complex power conversion operation are complicated, and a cost for manufacture of the conventional power converter apparatus is high. As a result, there is a need for redesigning the conventional power converter apparatus for implementation thereof.


The present invention is concerned with a method of assaying D-vanillylmandelic acid (D-VMA) contained in a specimen of a living organism through the following steps (A) to (D), and a reagent and a kit used for the assay, wherein a racemic mixture of VMA is used as the standard substance for preparing a calibration curve and a labeled anti-D-VMA antibody is used as the labeled anti-VMA antibody to specifically assay only D-VMA in the specimen:. (A) the step of conducting a competitive reaction of VMA in the specimen and VMA in solid phase against the labeled anti-VMA antibody;. (B) the step of separating the liquid phase from the solid phase;. (C) the step of determining the quantity of labeling of the labeled anti-VMA antibody combined with the solid-phase VMA and that of other substances; and. (D) the step of preparing a calibration curve or obtaining an equation by using a standard substance of a known concentration, calculating the concentration of VMA corresponding to the quantity of labeling determined in the step (C) by using the calibration curve or equation thus obtained, and defining the concentration thus calculated as the concentration of VMA contained in the specimen.

As tumor producing acidic catecholamine metabolites, pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma have been known. Neuroblastoma is generated primarily in infants and has been one of the assaying items of mass screening in Japan.
Presence of neuroblastoma in vivo has been determined by assaying vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and homovanilic acid (HVA), which are acidic catecholamine metabolites, in urine.
As methods used for assaying VMA and HVA in urine, qualitative methods such as spot test and dip test and quantitative methods such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and immunoassay have hitherto been reported. The spot test and the dip test suffer from high appearance ratio of false positive, and thus they are not quite satisfactory. On the other hand, HPLC is an excellent method which is reliable with respect to precision, but a skilled specialist is required for maintenance and management of the device. Also it has a drawback in that a plurality of test samples cannot be treated at the same time.
In contrast, immunoassay has been expected to overcome the drawbacks as mentioned above [see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications Nos. 123765/1985 and 11165/1987; Biogenic Amines, 4, No. 3, 229-235 (1987); Infant Cancer, 24, 250-252 (1988); Revised Neuroblastoma Mass Screening, 148-152 (1989), published by Shakai Fukushi Hojin Onshi Zaidan Boshi Aiikukai; Journal of Immunological Methods, 118, 101-107 (1989)].
VMA, as shown by the following formula, has an asymmetric carbon in the molecule, and two optical isomers with different optical activities (D form and L form) exist. ##STR1## wherein * represents asymmetric carbon.
However, there is nothing in the articles hitherto published or reported in the art which teaches or suggests as to whether D-VMA can be specifically assayed by means of immunoassay.

Method of assaying d-vanillylmandelic acid


An epoxy resin composition which comprises an epoxy resin (A), a curing agent (B), a curing accelerator (C) and a component retarding curing of the epoxy resin (D) which is at least one component selected from components (a), (b) and (c) represented by general formulae [1], [2] and [3], respectively, a semiconductor device having a semiconductor element encapsulated by using the composition, and a process for providing latency to an epoxy resin composition. The epoxy resin exhibits excellent storage stability, excellent fluidity and curing property during encapsulating by molding and excellent resistance to soldering without forming cleavages or cracks by the soldering treatment at high temperatures in accordance with the lead-free soldering. An epoxy resin composition can be provided with latency by adjusting the amounts of the curing accelerator and the component for retarding curing.                (a) An anion component represented by general formula [1]:

As the process for sealing semiconductor elements such as IC and LSI, encapsulating by molding using a molding material of an epoxy resin composition (also referred to as "an epoxy resin molding material", hereinafter) is suitable for mass production at a low cost and has been used for a long time. With respect to the reliability, the properties of the epoxy resin compositions have been improved by improving the epoxy resin and a phenol resin used as the crosslinking agent. However, electronic instruments have decreased sizes and weights and exhibit enhanced performances as the recent trend of the market, the degree of integration of semiconductors continues to increase, and the surface mounting of semiconductor devices has been promoted. Due to the above situation, requirements to the epoxy resin compositions for encapsulating semiconductors are becoming harder, and problems which cannot be overcome with conventional epoxy resin compositions are arising.
The greatest among such problems is the phenomenon that semiconductor devices are rapidly exposed to a high temperature such as 200° C. or higher in the step of dipping into a solder or in the step of solder reflow due to adoption of the surface mounting, and cleavages caused by the stress formed by explosive vaporization of absorbed moisture take place at the inside of semiconductor devices, in particular, at the interface of the cured epoxy resin composition and various plated portions used for bonding such as gold-plated portions and silver-plated portions on semiconductor elements, lead frames and inner leads. This phenomenon causes a great damage to the reliability. Moreover, the change of solders containing lead into lead-free solders due to the environmental problems increases the temperature of the soldering treatment, and the resistance to soldering under explosive stress formed by vaporization of moisture contained in the semiconductor devices is required more greatly than before.
To overcome the decrease in the reliability due to the soldering treatment, a process in which the amount of an inorganic filler in an epoxy resin composition is increased so that a decrease in the absorption of moisture, an increase in the strength and a decrease in the expansion under heating are achieved and the resistance to soldering is improved, and a resin having a small melt viscosity is used so that low viscosity and excellent fluidity during molding is maintained, is proposed (for example Patent Reference 1). Although the resistance to soldering can be improved considerably by using this process, this process has a drawback in that fluidity is sacrificed by the increase in the amount of the inorganic filler, and cavities tend to be formed due to insufficient filling of the space in a package with the epoxy resin composition. A process in which various coupling agents such as aminosilanes and mercaptosilanes are added and fluidity and resistance to soldering are simultaneously exhibited so that formation of cleavages at the interface of plated portions and the cured epoxy resin composition is prevented, is proposed (for example, Patent Reference 2). However, this method does not succeed in obtaining an epoxy resin composition for encapsulating semiconductors exhibiting the sufficient results. Technology for satisfying the reliability without adversely affecting the fluidity and the filling property even when the amount of the inorganic filler is increased has been desired.
On the other hand, an adduct of a tertiary phosphine with a quinone exhibiting an excellent quick curing property is added to an epoxy resin composition used in the electric and electronic fields as the curing accelerator so that the curing reaction of the resin during the curing is accelerated (for example, Patent Reference 3).
When the above curing accelerator is used, the curing reaction of the epoxy resin proceeds early in the initial period of the curing reaction although the reaction is not fast since the temperature range showing the effect to accelerate curing extends to relatively low temperatures, and the molecular weight of the resin composition (the molding material) increases due to the reaction. The increase in the molecular weight increases the viscosity of the resin and, as the result, a problem such as defect molding arises due to the insufficient fluidity when a resin composition (a molding material) contains a great amount of a filler to improve the reliability.
Various attempts have been made to protect a reactive substrate using a component suppressing the curing property so that the fluidity is improved. This method is called the method of latency. For example, curing accelerators provided with latency by converting a phosphonium ion into a salt with a strongly anionic compound so that the active point of the curing accelerators is protected, are known (for example, Patent References 4 to 5). However, it is difficult that the curing property and the fluidity are simultaneously improved with these salts since the suppressing component remains throughout the initial period to the final period of the reaction. Thus, the above salts are not satisfactory.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Heisei 7 (1995)-37041 (pages 1 to 9)
[Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 8 (1996)-253555 (pages 2 to 9)
[Patent Reference 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 10 (1998)-25335 (page 2)
[Patent Reference 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-98053 (page 5)
[Patent Reference 5] U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,420 (pages 2 to 4)

Epoxy resin composition, process for providing latency to the composition and a semiconductor device

Abstract: (b) A compound represented by general formula [2]:

Abstract: (c) A silane compound represented by general formula [3]:


A vessel for rare-gas filling is provided that is capable of realizing a substantially completely circularly polarized light state in the vessel by using a single crystal material for a light entrance window. To this end, the thickness and the crystal axis orientation of the single crystal material are optimized. A polarization method of rare-gas nucleus using such a vessel is also provided. Embodiment of the vessel and the polarization method include those in which (1) an alkali resistance is high, (2) a pressure resistance is high, (3) no permeation of 3He occurs, and (4) a neutron absorption corresponds to applications to basic science, for example, neutron scattering is negligible. The vessel for rare-gas filling includes a vessel body and a pipe connected to the vessel body for introducing a rare-gas containing gas and an alkali metal into the vessel body. The vessel body is provided with a light entrance window made of a single-crystal material of which the thickness and crystal axis orientation have been adjusted to be a predetermined thickness and orientation, respectively. The vessel for rare-gas filling is preferably formed of sapphire or the like.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostic apparatuses have been put into practical use as a method of examining an internal structure of an object to be measured without injury. At present, many such apparatuses are being operated at general hospitals in local communities and so on, playing an active role on site in medical image diagnostics along with X-ray CT. The MRI exploits the interaction between an atomic nucleus spin (nuclear spin) and an electromagnetic field, which is called as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The resonance energy may be frequencywise converted into a frequency of several tens of megahertz (the frequency band used for FM radio transmission). In the MRI, therefore, the electromagnetic energy irradiated to a test body is fairly low as compared with visible light and X-rays, and is less invasive. However, the low interaction energy for NMR/MRI leads to a related disadvantage, i.e. low detection sensitivity, in theory. In reality, although the MRI diagnostic has become widely used, its resolution is lower than that of X-ray CT. Moreover, since MRI is directed to the hydrogen nucleus (proton, 1H), which has the largest interaction energy among atomic nuclei, it visualizes the density of hydrogen atoms in water, or lipid of a living tissue. Therefore, MRI has found few applications on organs having a low hydrogen density such as the lung. To address such problems, research has been conducted into improving the detection sensitivity of MRI, including application of a very high magnetic field and high coil efficiency. Each attempt at improvement, however, seems to have reached a plateau. In order to achieve an even higher sensitivity, it will be necessary to introduce an innovative technology which studies in depth the principle of NMR. Practical examples of research which has been achieving a success in fulfilling the above described demands include an introduction of a rare gas having a high nuclear spin polarization.
Gases having no sensitivity to MRI at a normal pressure will drastically change the characteristics of MRI when the polarization of nuclear spin of the gases are increased. The nuclear spin polarization of rare gases have been studied for application to the basic science. A method increasing nuclear spin polarization in a rare gas is as follows. The rare gas is filled in a vessel together with an alkali metal such as rubidium or the like. The contents of the vessel are then irradiated with circularly polarized light. Matching the wavelength of the light to the D1 resonance of the alkali metal atom results in a polarization of electron spin of the alkali metal atom due to D1 resonance absorption. The polarized alkali atom collides with the rare gas atom. Through a hyperfine interaction between the electron spin and the rare-gas nuclear spin upon collision, the electron spin polarization is transferred to the nuclear spin polarization. The nuclear spin polarization of the rare gas obtained through this method is very high as compared with a nuclear spin polarization in the conventional MRI. When such a polarization is applied to MRI, the sensitivity will increase by a factor of several tens of thousands to obtain a magnetic resonance signal stronger by not less than 1000 times that of the same volume of water, so that such a rare gas has come to be used for MRI.
In the application to MRI, a polarized rare gas is supplied to a test body in two ways. One way involves a method in which the rare gas is stored together with an alkali metal vapor in a vessel under a static magnetic field. The vessel is irradiated with a laser light to polarize the atomic nucleus of the rare gas through the laser light irradiation, and the rare gas is then supplied to the test body. The other way involves (1) a method in which a mixed gas of the rare gas and the alkali metal vapor is passed through a laser light irradiating part in a static magnetic field to continually polarize the rare gas, and the rare gas is supplied to the test body, or (2) a method using a flow-type polarization vessel conducting the polarization while flowing the mixed gas. The sensitivity of MRI is determined by (1) the energy of the interaction between the nuclear spin and the electromagnetic field, and (2) the product of a square of the nuclear spin polarization and the number of polarized nuclei. This latter product provides a figure of merit for optimization that depends on various parameters. These parameters include, but are not limited to, intensity and circular polarization of laser light in the D1 resonance, a spin exchange rate between the electron spin and the nuclear spin, a spin relaxation time, a pressure of the rare gas, a pressure of nitrogen gas or 4He gas added thereto, and so on. The intensity and circular polarization of the laser light are preferably comparatively high. The spin exchange rate is determined by a combination of a rare gas and an alkali metal and the alkali-metal atomic number density, and the value of the spin exchange rate is preferably comparatively high. The alkali atomic number density is dependent on a temperature. The spin relaxation times of the electron and the nucleus depend on the alkali atomic number density, gas pressure, vessel wall and so on, in which the relaxation time is preferably comparatively long. Taking into consideration all of the above, conditions most suitable for a polarization vessel are as follows:
(1) the light incident part of the vessel should not impair the intensity of the laser light generating D1 resonance;
(2) a more completely circularly polarized light in the vessel should be realized in order to promote a high nuclear spin polarization;
(3) paramagnetic impurities should be decreased on the surface of the vessel as far as possible in order to obtain a long relaxation time;
(4) the vessel should have a high alkali resistance;
(5) the vessel should have a high pressure resistance because a higher gas pressure in the vessel, for example not less than several atmospheric pressure, is preferable; and
(6) when the vessel is used for the polarization of 3He, the vessel should have no permeability for 3He.
Further, when the vessel is applied to basic science, especially when it is used in precision experiments and the like, it is required to have an certain accuracy, so that
(7) the thickness and material of the vessel are preferably uniform; and when the vessel is used in an neutron scattering experiment,
(8) the material of the vessel must have a transparency for neutrons.
JP-A-11-309126 describes an apparatus for producing a polarized rare gas. A flow-type polarization vessel of a coaxial, multi-cylindrical configuration is created by combining outer and inner cylinders, each made of silica glass with a clearance of 0.5 mm. A mixed gas of a rare gas and a vapor of an alkali metal, such as rubidium, is caused to flow in one direction into the clearance. An excited light is irradiated into the flow-type vessel and a magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the excited light irradiating surface. However, in the apparatus for producing the polarized rare gas according to JP-A-11-309126, since amorphous silica glass is used for both the outer cylinder and inner cylinder constituting the flow-type vessel, circularly polarized laser light will pass through the silica glass from the curved outer cylinder into the clearance to cause the scattering of the laser light, thereby impairing the intensity of the laser light. Moreover, the circular polarization may significantly collapse. The decrease of laser light intensity and the collapse of circularly polarized light will deteriorate the performance of the rare gas polarization. Further, although the vessel must be chemically resistant to a high temperature alkali-metal vapor, the glass vessel used for the above application is less chemically resistant to a high temperature alkali metal. As such, the vessel may deteriorate in a short period of time. When the apparatus is used for 3He gas, there is a problem in that 3He permeates into the glass. Further, since the vessel for rare gas polarization made by glass sculpture cannot have generally uniform thickness and material, there is a problem in the incumbent reduced accuracy when being used for precision experiments in basic science.
JP-A-2003-502132 describes a flow-type polarization vessel of such a configuration that a flat disc-shaped glass window is fitted onto ends of a glass cylinder. When using a diode laser, the oscillation width is significantly smaller than the natural width of the D1 resonance, so that the gas pressure is raised for the purpose of expanding the resonance width by a Doppler effect. Further, a light entrance window is made flat for the purpose of preventing the intensity reduction of the laser light. However, the light entrance window of the flat glass plate cannot obtain the required pressure resistance unless it has a sufficient thickness. Actually, in the polarization vessel according to JP-A-2003-502132, a thick disc having a thickness of not less than 5 mm is used in the light entrance window with a diameter of 24 mm. In the polarization of the rare-gas nucleus, it is important that the circular polarization of the incident light is large. JP-A-2003-502132 describes that the window should not have birefringence so as not to impair the circular polarization of laser light. However, when welding such glass, a problem of strain cannot be avoided. Birefringence may occur even at a slight strain, and collapse the circularly polarized light. The effect of birefringence increases in proportion to the window thickness. Further, the high temperature alkali-metal vapor adheres to, and penetrates into, the glass surface to corrode it. The alkali-metal atoms located on the glass surface are not polarized, so that the nuclear spin polarization of the rare gas is significantly depolarized. Also, when the flow-type vessel is used for 3He polarization, it is necessary to increase the spin exchange rate, and hence potassium may be used in addition to rubidium (see, e.g., E. Babcock et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 123003 (2003)). The problem on the corrosion resistance becomes more serious. Since 3He permeates into glass, this may also cause a problem. And, a vessel using such a thick glass may not be suitable for use in basic science. Additionally, the vessel shown in JP-A-2003-502132 uses a glass material containing boron. Such a glass material absorbs neutrons. As the thickness of the glass is increased, the glass is less likely to allow the passage of neutrons, thus disabling the experiment of neutron scattering.
JP-A-2003-245263 describes a structure having a light entrance window in which quartz or sapphire having an excellent light transmittance is used in a part or entire part of the flow-type polarization vessel. JP-A-2003-245263 merely mentions quartz and sapphire as an example of the material having an excellent light transmittance for the light entrance window, but there is neither any description nor suggestion of the kind of crystal, such as a single crystal and a polycrystal, or the determination of the orientation of crystal axis.

Vessel for rare gas filling, and method for polarization of rare gas atomic nucleus using said vessel

High Energy Accelerator Research Organization


The invention relates to a process for the production of IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), and to a composition comprising IL-18BP characterized by a specific glycosylation pattern.

Proteins have become commercially important as drugs that are also generally called "biologicals". One of the greatest challenges is the development of cost effective and efficient processes for the production of recombinant proteins on a commercial scale.
The biotech industry makes an extensive use of mammalian cells for the manufacturing of recombinant glycoproteins for human therapy.
Today, fed-batch and perfusion cultures are the two dominant modes of industrial operation for the mammalian cell culture processes that require large amount of proteins (Hu and Aunins 1997). Whatever the production technology of choice is, development efforts aim at obtaining production processes that warrant high volumetric productivity, batch-to-batch consistency, homogenous product quality at low costs.
The decision between fed-batch or perfusion production mode is mainly dictated by the biology of the clone and the property of the product, and is done on a case-by-case basis during the course of the development of a new drug product (Kadouri and Spier 1997).
When the selection is a perfusion process, one of the culture systems of choice is stationary packed-bed bioreactor in which cells are immobilized onto solid carriers. This system is easy to operate and with appropriate carriers and culture conditions very high cell density (of ˜107-108 cell·ml−1) can be achieved.
A consequence of this high cell density is the need for an intensive medium perfusion rate (feed and harvest) that should be used in order to keep the cells viable and productive. It appears that the perfusion rate is one of the central parameters of such a process: it drives the volumetric protein productivity, the protein product quality and has a very strong impact on the overall economics of the process.
Therefore at industrial scale the optimal stationary packed-bed bioreactor process should operate with a perfusion rate as low as possible without compromising on quantity and quality of the product.
In the course of reducing the perfusion rate, several studies were conducted where the concentration of glucose (Wang et al. 2002) (Dowd et al. 2001) is used as an indicator of other nutrients level in the feed medium in order to operate the bioreactor at a low perfusion rate without accumulating in the culture high levels of toxic by-products such as lactate and ammonia (Sugiura and Kakuzaki 1998) (Racher et al. 1993). Modification of culture parameters such as pH or temperature (Chuppa et al. 1997) is also a common strategy to optimize culture conditions and reduce medium perfusion needs.
In order to achieve optimal medium perfusion rate, three approaches can be considered:
a) To fix perfusion rate at a constant value during the entire production run.
This approach is usually preferred in industrial production processes, since it is simpler to operate in a robust and consistent way. It also it has the advantage to define medium costs of the process as there is no variation in perfusion rate from run to run.
b) To adjust perfusion rate in response to cell number and/or nutrient consumption such as glucose (Oh et al. 1994) (Dowd et al. 2001) (Gorenflo et al. 2003), glutamine (Gorenflo et al. 2002), or oxygen (Kyung et al. 1994). Although this approach provides a more scientific rationale for adjusting the perfusion rate, it may lead to an overgrown culture and an "out-of-control" increase of the perfusion rate. When cells are cultured in suspension mode, a "culture bleed" is done to avoid overgrowing the culture, but this is not possible when cells are immobilized on a carrier. So in general, this approach is not preferred for manufacturing operations as it is difficult to operate in a robust and consistent manner and the medium perfusion rate needs to be readjusted on a daily basis.
c) To combine both strategies a) and b) with an initial cell propagation phase (or "growth phase") where the perfusion rate is progressively increased according to cell growth requirements during the growth phase followed by a shift of culture conditions such as temperature and/or pH in order to stabilize and keep cell metabolism at a relatively low and constant level. At this stage, the perfusion rate can be reduced to a fixed value, matching the reduced need of the cells throughout the production phase.
It is known that modification of the perfusion rate during a perfusion process, as well as modification of other bioprocess factors, can influence the recombinant protein quality and in particular its glycosylation pattern (Jenkins et al. 1996) (Andersen et al. 2000). Glycosylation is usually recognized as an important function in the solubility, immunogenicity, and pharmacokinetic properties of human glycoproteins and those are key parameters in the safety and clinical efficacy of a product (Goochee et al. 1991). In particular, glycosylation affects folding and secretion of many glycoproteins, as well as their plasma half-life, thus having an important impact on in vivo biology and activity of glycosylated proteins.
In general, the term "glycosylation" of a protein refers to the formation of the sugar-amino acid linkage. Glycosylation is a crucial event in the biosynthesis of the carbohydrate units of (secreted) glycoproteins. It sets into motion a complex series of posttranslational enzymatic steps that lead to the formation of a host of protein-bound oligosaccharides with diverse biological functions.
Mammalian glycoproteins commonly contain three types of constituent glycans; the N-linked glycans which are attached to asparagine via an N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residue in an Asn-Xxx-(Ser, Thr) motif, where Xxx can be any amino acid except proline, those attached to serine or threonine, referred to as O-linked glycans and the carbohydrate components of glycosylphosphatidylinositol. Although many variations are possible, the antennae of mature glycans usually consist of one or more N-acetyllactosamine units with the chains terminating in either sialic acid or α-linked galactose. Fucose is frequently found attached to the asparagine-linked GlcNAc residue and often, additionally on the antennae. Other common modifications to the basic structure include a GlcNAc residue attached to the 4-position of the core branching mannose residue, referred to as a "bisecting" GlcNAc residue and sulphate groups which can be found in a variety of locations, both on the core and the antennae.
The biosynthesis of these compounds involves attachment to the asparagine of a glycan containing the trimannosyl-chitobiose core together with an additional six mannose and three glucose residues followed by removal of the glucose and four mannose residues. Various other glycosyl transferases and glycosidases then process the (GlcNAc)2(Man)5 structure to the mature glycan. This process results in three general types of N-linked glycan depending on the extent of processing; "high-mannose" glycans in which only mannose resides on the two antennae, "hybrid glycans" in which one antenna is processed and "complex" glycans where both antennae are modified. O-linked glycans, on the other hand, are much more diverse, ranging from monosaccharides to large sulphated polysaccharides with no common core structure or consensus sequence of amino acids at the attachment site (Harvey, 2001).
One such glycosylated protein of therapeutic interest is interleukin-18 binding protein.
Interleukin-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) is a naturally occurring soluble protein that was initially affinity purified, on an IL-18 column, from urine (Novick et al. 1999). IL-18BP abolishes IL-18 induction of IFN-γ and IL-18 activation of NF-κB in vitro. In addition, IL-18BP inhibits induction of IFN-γ in mice injected with LPS.
The IL-18BP gene was localized to the human chromosome 11, and no exon coding for a transmembrane domain could be found in the 8.3 kb genomic sequence comprising the IL-18BP gene. Four isoforms of IL-18BP generated by alternative mRNA splicing have been identified in humans so far. They were designated IL-18BP a, b, c, and d, all sharing the same N-terminus and differing in the C-terminus (Novick et al 1999). These isoforms vary in their ability to bind IL-18 (Kim et al. 2000). Of the four human IL-18BP (hIL-18BP) isoforms, isoforms a and c are known to have a neutralizing capacity for IL-18. The most abundant IL-18BP isoform, isoform a, exhibits a high affinity for IL-18 with a rapid on-rate and a slow off-rate, and a dissociation constant (Kd) of approximately 0.4 nM (Kim et al. 2000).
IL-18BP belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily.
The residues involved in the interaction of IL-18 with IL-18BP have been described through the use of computer modelling (Kim et al. 2000) and based on the interaction between the similar protein IL-1β with the IL-1R type I (Vigers et al. 1997).
IL-18BP is constitutively present in many cells (Puren et al. 1999) and circulates in healthy humans, representing a unique phenomenon in cytokine biology. Due to the high affinity of IL-18BP to IL-18 (Kd=0.4 nM) as well as the high concentration of IL-18BP found in the circulation (20 fold molar excess over IL-18), it has been speculated that most, if not all of the IL-18 molecules in the circulation are bound to IL-18BP. Thus, the circulating IL-18BP that competes with cell surface receptors for IL-18 may act as a natural anti-inflammatory and an immunosuppressive molecule.
IL-18BP has been suggested as a therapeutic protein in a number of diseases and disorders, such as psoriasis, Crohn's Disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, liver injury, sepsis, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart diseases, allergies, etc., see e.g. WO9909063, WO0107480, WO0162285, WO0185201, WO02060479, WO02096456, WO03080104, WO02092008, WO02101049, WO03013577.
The prior art does not describe a process for the production of recombinant IL-18BP in CHO cells, nor IL-18BP compositions characterized by a specific glycosylation profile.

Production of recombinant IL-18 binding protein


The invention relates to a device for pivoting a pivotable module out of the path of a conveyor belt. The device is composed of a coupling triangle whose corner points are pivotally arranged in such a manner that one corner point is pivotally disposed at the pivotable module and the other two corner points are pivotally arranged at the piston rods of actuating cylinders. The housings of the actuating cylinders constitute the fixing points for the pivoting movement of the coupling triangle. The pivoting movement of the coupling triangle is effected in that only one cylinder is actuated and the other cylinder remains in its withdrawn or extended state to act as a rod.

The invention relates to a device for pivoting a pivotable module out of the path of a feed or discharge conveyor belt.
French Application FR-A-2,104,687 discloses a pivotable module which is pivotable to the left or right within the framework of a conveying path. The pivoting here takes place on a circular path within a guide rail.

Device for pivoting a pivotable module out of the path of a conveyor belt


A stand-on debris blower comprising including a main frame, a pair of front wheels, and a pair of rear wheels. The stand-on debris blower also includes an operator standing platform coupled to the main frame, a control pedestal positioned forward of and above the operator standing platform, and a power source, wherein the power source has a vertically-oriented shaft. A blower assembly is also provided, wherein the blower assembly includes a horizontally-oriented impeller configured to rotate about a vertical axis, the horizontally-oriented impeller being coupled to the vertically-oriented shaft of the power source. Additionally, the blower assembly may include a V-shaped deflector assembly configurable to block air flow to at least a first, a second, or both a first and second discharge chute in the blower assembly.

The present disclosure relates generally to outdoor power equipment such as, e.g., stand-on, ride-on, and/or walk-behind debris blowers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to stand-on debris blowers utilizing at least one vertical shaft power source and a horizontally-oriented blower assembly coupled to the vertical shaft power source, along with a multi-position deflector assembly capable of both diverting and impeding the flow of air through the blower assembly.
The use of debris blowers is prevalent for many yard and landscape maintenance tasks. Previously, most debris blowers were housed on a hand cart-style frame, requiring a user to manually push the cart to direct the blower. In other scenarios, a centrifugal fan blower unit was mounted to (or towed behind) a tractor or other large yard vehicle. However, the hand cart-style blowers were often not practical for use in large areas and/or across varied landscapes, while the blowers mounted to (or towed behind) larger vehicles generally lacked the maneuverability and ease of transport desired for removing debris in smaller areas.
More recently, stand-on debris blowers have gained favor with many landscape professionals and other users, as their powered, rideable design enables a user to cover larger areas and highly-varied terrain, while their overall maneuverability and relatively compact size also makes them suitable for smaller areas, such as residential yards. An example of such a stand-on debris blower is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,044 B1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
While stand-on debris blowers such as those shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,044 B1 are advantageous in many scenarios, they have thus far been limited to use with horizontally-oriented power sources (e.g., horizontal-shaft, V-twin internal combustion engines), thereby effecting the options for blower configuration and placement, as well as the overall cost and size of the equipment unit. Furthermore, in blower assemblies having multiple side discharge chutes (e.g., right-, left-, and/or front-directed chutes), the operator must control the operation and position of two or more deflector assemblies within the blower assembly in the event that the operator wishes to completely impede the flow of air from the blower assembly. That is, in the case of a blower assembly having a right- and a left-directed side discharge chute, the operator must individually control (via, e.g., two or more control levers) respective deflector assemblies associated with each respective chute in order to close off the flow of air from the blower assembly during, e.g., machine transport. The need to control the position of multiple deflector assemblies individually may be time-consuming to the operator, and may lead to unwanted or unintentional opening/closing of side discharge chutes before achieving the desired positioning of the various deflector assemblies.
This patent document described devices and/or configurations that are intended to address the issues discussed above and/or other issues.

Stand-on debris blower and deflector assembly for same


Leakage is detected between a process fluid and a temperature-conditioning fluid, or from a process fluid to a temperature-conditioning fluid, in an industrial process. The industrial process includes an A and a B fluid, and one of the A and B fluids receives heat from or transfer heat to the other of the A and the B fluids by an indirect contact method, and one but not both of the A and the B fluids is an industrial process fluid. At least one specie of tracer chemical is maintained in the A fluid, and that specie of tracer chemical is not a normal component of the B fluid. At least one of the A and the B fluids is subjected to at least one analysis at least one site. Such analysis at least detects the presence of the specie of tracer chemical when the fluid subjected to the analysis is the B fluid, and such analysis at least determines the concentration of the specie of tracer chemical when the fluid subjected to the analysis is the A fluid.

Many industrial water processes are comprised of at least one body of process fluid, which is commonly an organic-based process fluid, serviced by at least one body of temperature-conditioning fluid, which is commonly an aqueous-based temperature-conditioning water, such as cooling water. These bodies are held within separate lines or other confines to prevent contamination of one body with the fluid of the other. The servicing of the process fluid by the temperature-conditioning fluid however generally requires such fluids to be brought into close proximity, such as being routed on opposite sides of a heat exchanger wall or surface. The close proximity of such distinct bodies of fluids creates a serious, but unavoidable, risk of leakage between bodies, whereby at least one body is contaminated by the fluid of the other. The ramifications of such process fluid/temperature-conditioning fluid leakage can be extremely serious because the makeups of such fluids are very dissimilar in most industries. Temperature-conditioning fluids routinely are waters that contain far less solutes or other non-H.sub.2 O substances than process fluids. The non-H.sub.2 O substances of temperature-conditioning waters are typically inorganic materials, and organic substances, whether naturally occurring or added as treatment chemicals, are present only in relatively minute amounts. In contrast, not only does the concentration of non-H.sub.2 O substances in process fluids typically dwarf that of temperature-conditioning fluids, such non-H.sub.2 O substances often are comprised in significant portion of organic materials.
Leakage from process fluid to temperature-conditioning fluid not only represents a process fluid loss, which can significantly increase the overall manufacturing costs and can lead to serious fouling of the temperature-conditioning fluid system. Leakage from temperature-conditioning fluid to process fluid not only represents a temperature-conditioning fluid loss, which can throw off a temperature-conditioning fluid treatment program, but also can seriously taint the process fluids. These dissimilar fluids are not intended to contact each other or intermix in any manner, and when the mingling of some portion of one with the other occurs through leakage, a method whereby such leakage is not only detected, but also located and/or quantified, would be highly advantageous to the manufacturing process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for detecting leakage between at least one body of temperature-conditioning fluid and at least one body of process fluid in an industrial process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for locating the site of leakage between at least one body of temperature-conditioning fluid and at least one body of process fluid in an industrial process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for quantifying leakage between at least one body of temperature-conditioning fluid and at least one body of process fluid in an industrial process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for responsive treatment of a body of temperature-conditioning fluid and/or a body of process fluid upon the detection, location and/or quantification of leakage there between in an industrial process. These and other objects of the present invention are discussed in detail below.

Leak detection and responsive treatment in industrial water processes


An electro-luminescent device includes a transparent substrate, a black matrix on the transparent substrate defining a plurality of spaces, a plurality of color representing layers each arranged in respective ones of the spaces, an overcoat layer on the black matrix and the color representing layers, a plurality of first electrodes disposed on the overcoat layer in a first direction with respect to the color representing layers, a phosphor layer formed on the plurality of first electrodes, an insulating film on the phosphor layer, and a plurality of second electrodes disposed on the insulating film in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to an electro-luminescent device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, the display industry has flourished with the introduction of TFT-LCDs to the TV market, the growth of plasma display panel (PDP) TVs, the advent of next-generation displays such as organic electro-luminescent (EL) devices, and the like. In particular, the advent of diverse displays has been mainly concentrated on application to TVs and mobile equipment, thereby enabling consumers to select desired displays among a wide variety of displays. Also, it is expected that the advent of an inorganic EL device, the driving principle of which is similar to that of organic EL devices, will provide consumers with an opportunity to select another display in the future, even though such an inorganic EL device is still a nascent technology and has yet to enter the market.
Organic EL devices, as developed recently, have been used since 2002 for consumer goods such as displays for mobile phones. However, inorganic EL devices have yet to be widely recognized for consumer applications. Although inorganic EL devices are different from organic EL devices in terms of the manufacturing processes and whether the luminous material is an organic material or an inorganic material, inorganic EL devices have the same driving mechanism (using an electric field) as organic EL devices.
However, inorganic EL devices are improper for miniature devices (for example, mobile equipment) because inorganic EL devices involve electrical shock danger due to their high driving voltage in contrast to organic EL devices. On the other hand, inorganic EL devices have an advantage in larger displays because thin film transistors (TFTs) are unnecessary. In addition, inorganic EL devices are similar to PDPs in terms of the driving system because high driving voltages for luminescence of the inorganic material is necessary.
As compared to other displays, inorganic EL devices have remarkable advantages of low costs according to their simple manufacturing processes and of stable performance even in harsh environments. The inorganic EL devices also have a great advantage in that products can be manufactured using an inexpensive thin film process, as compared to TFT-LCDs and organic EL devices which require the use of thin film processes.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram schematically illustrating a general EL panel. As shown in FIG. 1, the EL panel includes gate lines GL1 to GLm and data lines DL1 to DLn which are arranged on a glass substrate 10 intersecting with each other. The EL panel also includes pixel elements PE each arranged at an intersection between each of the gate lines GL1 to GLm and each of the data lines DL1 to DLn.
Each pixel element PE is activated when a gate signal on an associated one of the gate lines GL1 to GLm is enabled. In the activated state, the pixel element PE emits light with an intensity corresponding to the level of a pixel signal on an associated one of the data lines DL1 to DLn.
To drive the EL panel, a gate driver 12 is connected to the gate lines GL1 to GLm, and a data driver 14 is connected to the data lines DL1 to DLn. The gate driver 12 sequentially activates the gate lines GL1 to GLm. The data driver 14 supplies pixel signals to the pixel elements PE via the data lines DL1 to DLn, respectively.
The pixel elements PE, which are driven by the gate drivers 12 and data drivers 14, will now be described. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating one pixel element in the EL panel of FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the pixel element includes an EL cell OLED having a cathode terminal connected to the ground, and a cell driving circuit 16 adapted to drive the EL cell OLED in accordance with a signal on a gate line GL and a signal on a data line DL. The EL cell driving circuit 16 includes a first PMOS TFT T1 adapted to perform a switching operation for the data signal on the data line DL in accordance with the signal on the gate line GL, and a second PMOS TFT T2 adapted to supply a voltage to the EL cell OLED in accordance with the data signal on the data line DL. The EL cell driving circuit 16 also includes a storage capacitor Cst connected between gate and source terminals of the second PMOS TFT T2 to maintain the data signal received via the first PMOS TFT T1 for a predetermined time.
Hereinafter, a related art method for manufacturing an EL device will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 3A to 3E are sectional views illustrating processing steps of the related art EL device manufacturing method.
As shown in FIG. 3A, first electrodes 22 are first formed on a transparent substrate 21 such that the first electrodes 22 are uniformly spaced apart from one another in a column direction, using a method in which an organic material containing metal grains is printed on the transparent substrate 21. Here, each first electrode 22 is a reflective electrode made of Al exhibiting excellent reflectivity.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3B, an insulating film 23 is formed over the entire surface of the transparent substrate 21 such that a predetermined portion of each first electrode 22 at one side of the first electrode 22 is exposed. The first electrodes 22 exposed through the insulating film 23 function as first pad terminals, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 3C, a phosphor layer 24 is then formed on the insulating film 23 in accordance with a sputtering method under the condition in which a shadow mask (not shown) is used. For the phosphor layer 24, a blue phosphor layer may be used.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, transparent metal (for example, indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like) is deposited over the entire surface of the transparent substrate 21 including the phosphor layer 24 in accordance with a sputtering method. The transparent metal deposited in accordance with the sputtering method is then selectively removed using a laser ablation technique, to form a plurality of second electrodes 25 uniformly spaced apart from one another in a row direction perpendicular to the first electrodes 22. The second electrodes 25 function as transparent electrodes, respectively. The second electrode 25, which is arranged at one outermost portion of the substrate 21 corresponding to the side of the first pad terminals, is a second pad terminal.
Thereafter, red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color representing layers 26 are formed around the second electrodes 25, as shown in FIG. 3E. A protective film (not shown) is formed over the entire surface of the resulting structure of the EL device obtained in accordance with the above-mentioned processes, to protect the EL device. After performing a sealing process, the EL device is connected to driving circuits or chips via the first and second pad terminals, using TCPs. That is, the EL device is connected to a gate driver and a data driver to receive signals from the drive, thereby displaying an image.
However, the above-mentioned related art EL device manufacturing method has various problems. That is, first, the phosphor layer may be damaged when the transparent metal layer is deposited over the phosphor layer and is then selectively removed to form the second electrodes (transparent electrodes). As a result, the throughput may be degraded. Second, addition of a function to reduce the damage is necessary. Furthermore, the second electrodes are formed using laser ablation because the phosphor layer exhibits poor resistance to wet etching. For this reason, the utility of existing LCD manufacturing equipment is degraded.

Electro-luminescent device and method for manufacturing the same


A method and apparatus for driving a plasma display panel in which pairs of sustain electrodes lines respectively including X-electrode lines and Y-electrode lines that are alternately arranged parallel with each other are disposed to be orthogonal to address electrode lines, and discharge cells are defined by intersections between the sustain electrodes and the address electrode lines. In the method, a unit frame as a display period is divided into a plurality of subfields to realize time-division grayscale display, and the individual subfields include a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period. The method includes maintaining the Y-electrode lines at a reference level during the reset period and the sustain period; and addressing the Y-electrode lines by biasing the Y-electrode lines to a first level and simultaneously, sequentially applying a scan signal of the reference level to the Y-electrode lines during the address period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for driving a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for driving a PDP having a simplified scan electrode driving circuitry.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is an internal perspective view showing the structure of a typical surface discharge type triode PDP, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a single discharge cell of the PDP shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm, dielectric layers 11 and 15, Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn, X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn, phosphor layers 16, barrier walls 17, and a protective layer 12, are provided between a front glass substrate 10 and a rear glass substrate 13 of the surface discharge PDP 1.
The address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm are formed on the front surface of the rear glass substrate 13 in a predetermined pattern. A rear dielectric layer 15 covers the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm. The barrier walls 17 are formed on the rear dielectric layer 15 in between, and in parallel to, the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm. The barrier walls 17 partition discharge regions of respective discharge cells and prevent cross talk between the discharge cells. The phosphor layers 16 are formed on the rear dielectric layer 15 and on the sides of the barrier walls 17.
The X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn and the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn are formed in pairs on the rear surface of the front glass substrate 10 to be orthogonal to the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm, and their intersections define discharge cells. Each of the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn and the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn may include a transparent electrode portion X1a, . . . , Xna and Y1a, . . . , Yna formed of a transparent conductive material, e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), and a metal electrode portion X1b, . . . , Xnb and Y1b, . . . , Ynb, for increasing conductivity. A front dielectric layer 11 covers the X-electrode lines X1, X2, . . . , Xn and the Y-electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn. The protective layer 12, which may be formed of a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer, protects the panel 1 against a strong electrical field, and it is deposited on the front dielectric layer 11. A gas for forming plasma is hermetically sealed in a discharge space 14.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,618 discloses an address-display separation (ADS) driving is method for a PDP having the structure shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a typical driving apparatus 2 for the PDP 1 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the driving apparatus 2 includes an image processor 26, a logic controller 22, an address driver 23, an X-driver 24, and a Y-driver 25. The image processor 26 converts an external analog image signal into an internal image signal, for example, 8-bit red (R) video data, 8-bit green (G) video data, and 8-bit blue (B) video data, a clock signal, a vertical synchronizing signal, and a horizontal synchronizing signal. The logic controller 22 generates drive controlling signals SA, SY, and SX in response to the internal image signals from the image processor 26.
The address driver 23 processes the address signal SA to generate a display data signal and applies the display data signal to the address electrode lines. The X-driver 24 processes the X-drive controlling signal SX and applies the result to the X-electrode lines. The Y-driver 25 processes the Y-drive controlling signal SY and applies the result to the Y-electrode lines.
FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing an ADS method of driving the PDP 1 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, to realize time-division grayscale display, a unit frame may be divided into a plurality of subfields SF1, . . . , SF8. The individual subfields SF1, . . . , SF8 may be further divided into reset periods R1, . . . , R8, address periods A1, . . . , A8, and sustain periods S1, . . . , S8, respectively.
The luminance of the PDP 1 is proportional to a total length of the sustain periods S1, . . . , S8 in a unit frame, which is 255 T (T is a unit of time). A time 2n−1 is set to a sustain period Sn of an nth subfield SFn. Thus, by appropriately selecting a subfield to display, display of 256 grayscales, including grayscale 0, may be performed.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing examples of drive signals applied in unit subfields shown in FIG. 4 to electrode lines of the PDP 1 shown in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 5, reference characters SAR1 . . . ABm are drive signals applied to address electrode lines (AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm of FIG. 1), SX1 . . . Xn are drive signals applied to X-electrode lines (X1, . . . , Xn of FIG. 1), and SY1 . . . Yn are drive signals applied to Y-electrode lines (Y1, . . . , Yn of FIG. 1).
Referring to FIG. 5, a unit subfield SF includes a reset period PR, an address period PA, and a sustain period PS. During the reset period PR, a voltage applied to the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn is raised from a ground voltage VG to a first voltage Ve and simultaneously, a ground voltage VG is applied to the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn and the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm.
Next, a voltage applied to the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn is raised from a second voltage VS (e.g., 155 V) to a maximum voltage (VSET+VS) (e.g., 355 V), and simultaneously, a ground voltage VG is applied to the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn and the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm.
Next, while a voltage applied to the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn is maintained at the second voltage VS, a voltage applied to the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn reduces from the second voltage VS to the ground voltage VG while simultaneously applying a ground voltage VG to the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm.
Thus, during the address period PA, while applying display data signals to the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm, a scan signal of the ground voltage VG is sequentially applied to the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn, which are biased to a fourth voltage VSCAN, to thereby address the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn. Applying display data signals of an address voltage VA to the address electrode lines AR1, AG1, . . . , AGm, ABm selects the respective discharge cell, and a ground voltage VG is applied to an address electrode line when the corresponding discharge cell is not to be selected. Thus, applying an address voltage VA to an address electrode while applying the ground voltage VG to the corresponding Y electroce generates wall charges in corresponding discharge cell due to an address discharge. To facilitate the address discharge, the first voltage Ve may be maintained at the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn during the address period.
During the sustain period PS, a sustain pulse of a second voltage VS is alternately applied to the Y-electrode lines Y1, . . . , Yn and the X-electrode lines X1, . . . , Xn, thereby provoking a display discharge in those discharge cells that were selected during the address period PA.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a Y-driver of a conventional apparatus for driving a PDP, FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing examples of scan controlling signals applied to a scan drive integrated circuit (IC), and FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing examples of scan controlling signals used in a conventional method of driving a PDP.
Referring to FIG. 6, a Y-driver 25 processes Y drive controlling signals SY to generate a display data signal and applies it to the Y-electrode lines. The Y-driver 25 may include a circuit portion and a scan drive IC 251. The circuit portion applies various voltages (e.g., Vs, Vset, or Vscan) to the Y-electrode lines in the reset period PR, address period PA, and sustain period PS. The scan drive IC 251 enables sequential application of a scan pulse to the Y-electrode lines during the address period PA.
The scan drive IC 251 may include a plurality of output terminals and one scan drive IC may be formed for each Y-electrode line.
The scan drive IC 251 receives scan controlling signals as shown in FIG. 7 and outputs a scan pulse to the Y-electrode lines during the address period. Although the scan controlling signals may be changed depending on the type of the scan drive IC 251, they typically include a clock signal CLK, a data signal Data, a strobe signal STB, a blanking signal BLK, and a high impedance controlling signal HIZ.
The scan drive IC 251 outputs a scan pulse to the Y-electrode lines during the address period PA, and a discharge pulse and a reset pulse may pass through its internal diode path during the sustain period PS and reset period PR. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the scan drive IC 251 may be grounded at a floating electric potential level, which varies over time, instead of an absolute "0" level. A device for electrically isolating an input controlling signal of the scan drive IC 251 from its output controlling signal may be required to provide such a floating ground.
Conventionally, an optocoupler or a transformer may be used to electrically isolate the scan drive's input signal from the output signal. A typical apparatus for driving a PDP utilizes an optocoupler 252, as shown in FIG. 6. However, when producing PDPs in bulk, providing the optocoupler 252 may increases dispersion of components and defective products, thereby reducing yield.

Method and apparatus for driving plasma display panel


A medical apparatus for removing deposits from arterial and venous walls comprising a partially hollow body, essentially circular in cross-section, having an insertion end and a withdrawal end. At least two shell-shaped parts extend from the insertion end towards the withdrawal end pivotally connected to the body proximate the insertion end and forming a cutting edge distal from the insertion end. The shell-shaped parts have a convex surface towards the cutting edge facing away from the body such that the cutting edge generally faces toward the central axis of the body of the apparatus. At least two leaf arms pivotally connected at one end to each other, the other end of each leaf arm being pivotally connected to one of the shell-shaped parts, are disposed inside the partially hollow body and are connected to means for expanding the shell-shaped parts. Means for withdrawing the body from a vessel are connected to the withdrawal end of the body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a medical apparatus for the removal of deposits, such as plaque, from the walls of arteries and/or veins, which is vessel-insertable, practical, withdrawable and directable, and which eliminates such deposits by slicing off portions with cutting edges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Arteriosclerosis, a chronic, progressive, degenerative disease, particularly when located on the inner surface of artery walls, is an illness occurring frequently in the civilized world, most commonly during the second half of normal life spans. For example, about 90% of such cases are the cause of arterial blockage diseases, one of the most frequent causes of death. As a result of penetration of thrombocytes in the cell interspaces, followed by lipoid-containing deposits, the inner-most portion of walls of the vessels develops what is known as atheromas changes, which leads to the death of cells and, finally, expands the connecting tissue at this artery wall site (sclerosis). As a result of these changes, the artery wall loses its normal elasticity. Focal deposits, especially Cholesterin crystals that also penetrate to the middle of the vessel wall, lead to inflammatory reactions and more cell deaths. This results in calcium deposits, which cause growths in the vessel lumen and later produce thrombosis.
In some cases, arteriosclerosis can be treated with medicines, dilating the vessel to increase the flow of blood. In some cases, physio-therapeutic methods have been shown to improve circulation. In still other instances, surgical procedures have been developed to treat arteriosclerosis. The surgical treatment of arteriosclerosis changes when particular organs or parts of the body are involved. Vascular surgery can be successfully applied, particularly in the following cases:
a) Arteriosclerosis alteration to the carotid artery which supplies blood to the brain; PA1 b) Arteriosclerosis alteration to the coronary arteries, that is, coronary bypass and implanting; PA1 c) Serious arteriosclerosis which affects the supply of blood to the extremities; PA1 d) Arteriosclerosis to the kidney arteries; and PA1 e) The removal of aneurisms. PA1 a) Bypass surgery during which the plugged artery is replaced by a section of the patient's vein or artery or synthetic material in the form of a vessel, to bridge the flow of blood into certain areas; PA1 b) Endarterectomy; PA1 c) Implanting of a patch after endarterectomy; PA1 d) Implanting of a vessel prosthesis, either as a replacement or bypass for the arteriosclerosis artery; PA1 e) Sympathectomy; PA1 f) Removing arteriosclerosis changes using a balloon catheter.
With arteriosclerosis change, the following surgical techniques are generally applied:
It is known that arteriosclerosis changes are located mainly on internal walls of arteries, while the external walls remain relatively normal. When intersclerotic material is removed or sliced from the internal wall, the surface is left smooth. U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,332 teaches an atherectomy apparatus for surgical excision of atheromas, such as plaque deposits in an artery. The apparatus, after insertion into the desired vessel, operates by first penetrating the plaque in a forward direction with a conically-pointed metal tip and then pulling the tip back in a retrograde direction, which tip includes a cylindrical cutting edge, to shave off a cylindrical layer of the plaque. To enlarge the lumen of the plaque, sequentially larger diameter tips are progressively used. In addition to the necessity of changing tips to progressively enlarge the lumen of the plaque, an obvious disadvantage, this device has the further disadvantage that the sharp edges of the cutting portion of the tip are directed from the inside to the outside of the vessel, which could lead to the injury of healthy vessels. Similar devices are also taught by German reference 1,909,080, which discloses a probe having a protecting cap with a cutting edge connected to a tube which runs through a body which is movable toward the protecting cap such that material which is sliced from the arterial wall is retained within the protecting cap; British patent application GB 2,044,103 which teaches a cutting device for removing material from stenoses within blood vessels having a head mounted in tandem with a body, both the head and body having cutting edges such that, when inserted into a blood vessel, the head and body are positioned on opposite sides of the stenoses to be removed, the head being drawn toward the body causing the cutting edges on the head and the body to cut through the stenoses; U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,871, which teaches a catheter atherotome, for performing partial atherectomy in an artery having an expansible cutter head; U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,482 and related U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,579, which teach a flexible rotary catheter for cutting, ingesting and removing an obstruction from an artery; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,821, which discloses a flexible, small diameter catheter having a working head with a non-sharp impacting surface which is rotated at a high rate of speed by an associated drive means within the catheter.
Other devices for effecting openings in arteries clogged with plaque are taught by European Patent Application 0,117,519 which discloses a catheter having electrical terminals and a probe with a screw-type element disposed therein for expanding the circumference of the probe for pushing through the clogged artery; French reference 1,585,065, which discloses a surgical instrument for breaking through plaque and arteries; German reference DE 3,800,777 A1, which discloses a thermal, sound apparatus with laser means for angioplasty drawing pins; and German reference DE 3,320,984 A1, which discloses a catheter having an end portion, the circumference of which is expandable, for pushing through a blockage.
See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,041, which teaches a surgical device for cutting and removing venous valves, having a valve cutter with a fixed, non-expandable, circular cutting head affixed to a cable or wire, the cutting edge of which slices through the material to be removed as the device is pulled through a vein; U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,215, which teaches a valve valvulotome for preparing veins in situ for arterial bypass; U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,383, which teaches an apparatus for in situ cutting through one-way valves in a vein having a cutting catheter and a pulling catheter, the pulling catheter being advanced through the vein in a normal direction of blood flow and then connected to a cutting catheter and pulled back reversely through the one-way valves, the valve cusps of which are severed by cutting blades on the cutting catheter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,240, which teaches a balloon-tip catheter for tearing away one-way valves in a vein having an arrowhead shape when inflated, with an annular groove formed in the arrowhead base adjacent to and extending around the catheter tube; U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,154, which teaches an adjustable intraluminal valvulotome; U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,928, which teaches an angioplasty device having an operative member for removing and/or crushing an obstruction in a vessel such as a balloon, cutting rotors, fiber meshes and lasers; U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,458, which teaches a catheter having an element such as a fiber optic emitting laser energy, a heated element or a knife for intersecting and releasing undesired material in a blood vessel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,321, which teaches a venous valve cutter having a blade drawn by a rod attached centrally so that a portion of the blade extends on either side of the rod; U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,128, which teaches a coronary cutting and dilating instrument having a flexible probe at a distal end for guidance through a coronary artery followed, in succession, by one or more radially-extending knife blades for making a coronary incision and an inflatable balloon for dilating the stenotic artery zone immediately after the incision; U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,427, which teaches a vein-stripping instrument having a cable formed from a mono-filament of axially-oriented synthetic thermoplastic material, with a tubular plastic cap ultrasonically welded to each end; U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,553, which teaches a surgical vein-stripping instrument, having a cable with rounded end portions to which are attached bullet-shaped tips; U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,949, which teaches a gastroesophageal catheter having a flexible tube with a head attached to one end, the head comprising a plurality of cutting apertures communicating with the interior of the tube; U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,206, which teaches a vein stripper having an elongated slender wire and a bucket member slidable thereon; and International Patent Application PCT/US89/00634, which teaches a valvulectome, having an elongated probe with a tip and an actuating rod which moves a pair of blade members between retracted and expanded positions.

Surgical apparatus for removal of deposits from vessels


A driver and a receiver supply a data signal, which is based on serial data having a regular bit pattern, such as a clock, which includes 1's and 0's alternating with each other during an adjustment period, and is based on serial data having an arbitrary bit pattern during a transfer period following the adjustment period. A duty factor controller adjusts a data transition characteristic of the driver or the receiver so that a duty factor of the data signal supplied from the receiver is equal to 50% in the adjustment period, and has the adjusted data transition characteristic stored. A clock recovery unit recovers a clock synchronized with a data signal, which is supplied from the receiver in the transfer period and is based on the adjusted transition characteristic, from the data signal.

The present invention relates to a clock recovery circuit or a clock recovery unit suitable for high-speed differential interface.
IEEE 1394.b standard defines small-amplitude differential serial data transfer. A clock recovery technique for recovering, from a data signal, a clock that is synchronized with the data signal is required for a receiving unit used in such serial data transfer.
An example of a conventional clock recovery technique is shown in D. H. Wolaver, "Phase-Locked Loop circuit Design", Section 10–2, pp. 213–216, Prentice Hall (1991). In this example, the format of a data signal is converted from NRZ (non-return-to-zero) to RZ (return-to-zero), and then a clock is recovered from the RZ data signal with a PLL (phase-locked loop).
Basically, an H level duration and an L level duration of an NRZ data signal are both an integer multiple of one data interval. However, the H level duration, for example, may become shorter than one data interval due to a skew occurring in a differential amplifier or a differential transfer path, or due to process variations. In such a case, with the conventional example, a timing jitter occurs in the recovered clock.
Moreover, with the conventional example, a phase detector and a charge pump of the PLL need to update the respective outputs for each data interval, whereby the operating speed of these elements limits the data rate.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is an articulation type supporter which is formed in a multiple-joint structure configured to support an item such as a book, a portable device, etc. wherein the rotation of the movable frame based on the weight of the item is limited about the connected portion of the base frame, and it is convenient for a user to handle. The featured configuration includes the base frame installed at the fixed structure, a movable frame of which one end is connected through the first hinge connection unit to the base frame, and the connection frames which are connected in series from the other end of the movable frame through the second hinge connection unit, wherein the first hinge connection unit includes the first brake unit configured to limit the rotations of the movable frame in response to the weight applied from the other end of the movable frame while providing the upward and downward rotation motion of the movable frame in response to the user's force.

Since a portable electronic device such as a tablet PC, etc. is advantageous in that it is light and portable and is equipped with a variety of functions such as a function for watching videos irrespective of places, a function for viewing e-books, a function for making documents, a function for communication, etc., the use of such a portable electronic device continues to increase.
Even though the item such as a portable electronic device, a book, etc. is light, it is hard for a user to use while carrying it with for a long time. When using the item, it makes the user's hands uneasy. When the user needs to use both hands, it becomes harder to support the item.
For example, when the user needs to use a portable electronic device without using any supporter while lying in a bed or sitting in a chair without a table attached like in a vehicle, a train, etc., the user holds the portable electronic device with one hand, with the other hand handling with it, which makes the hands of the user uneasy and limited for another action.
To improve the above-mentioned problems, the Korean Patent Registration No. 1321016 (hereinafter referred to as "Prior Art") discloses a configuration wherein there are provided a plurality of link members forming an articulated structure, and the installation position of the portable electronic device may be adjusted by folding the link members.
The prior art however has a problem in that in case where the link members are arranged long, the end member of the link members should be bulkier in terms of the configuration of the link members because it is hard to withstand the weight of the portable electronic device.
The arranging length of the link members as mentioned above is limited because it is related with the weight of the item.


In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methods are provided for a hearing instrument with self-diagnostics. A detection circuitry may be used to monitor the functional status of at least one transducer by measuring an energy level output of the transducer and comparing the energy level output to a pre-determined threshold level. The detection circuitry may generate an error message output if the measured energy level output of the transducer falls below the pre-determined threshold level. A memory device may be used to store the error message output generated by the detection circuitry.

In a typical hearing instrument (which may include hearing aids, personal communication ear buds, cell phone headsets, etc.), there is no means to identify the problem when the hearing instrument stops delivering sound into the ear canal. Users might suspect that the battery has died, that one of the transducers has become clogged with debris, or that the device is broken in some manner, however, there is usually no way to determine the cause of the problem without analyzing each element of the hearing instrument separately. A hearing aid, for example, is particularly vulnerable to malfunction resulting from earwax build-up in the outlet port of the hearing aid. However, a malfunction caused by earwax build-up may not be easily detectable by the hearing aid user.

Hearing instrument with self-diagnostics


The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of circle type terminal for driving motor of hybrid vehicle, comprising: assembling a terminal assembly having a plurality of bus-rings; accommodating the terminal assembly into an insert jig; coupling the insert jig with an injection mold; and supplying insert resin into the insert jig through the injection mold to integrally form an insulator with the terminal assembly thus performing manufacturing a circle type terminal, thereby providing a simple process to manufacture the circle type terminal and a method of forming an insulating material that can lower a manufacturing cost.

A DC brushless motor used as a driving motor in a hybrid vehicle comprises a circle type terminal which has a plurality of copper-made conductors (hereinafter "bus-ring").
The circle type terminal uses a three-phase current to supply to eighteen stator coils for driving a motor.
In this case, an insulating material is used for insulating between phases and also between the terminal and other outside parts.
Conventionally, a coating type insulating material was used for the bus-rings of the circle type terminal.
That is, to manufacture a conventional circle type terminal, a terminal assembly comprising a plurality of bus-rings is assembled, and then the coating type insulating material such as silicon is coated on top of the bus-rings for insulating between the bus-rings.
However, according to the conventional method where the silicon is applied to form the insulating material of the circle type terminal, a manufacturing cost rises due to a high price of the silicon and due to a generation of much loss during coating of the silicon.
Also, the insulating material formed by coating the silicon shows a low level of oil resistance and a low level of insulating resistance due to a generation of air bubbles, thus causing problems in securing credibility on operation.

Manufacturing method of circle type terminal used in driving motor of hybrid vehicle


A printing apparatus that can be registered to a printing service on the Internet includes a processor that executes registration to the printing service in a case in which an administrator, which has successfully logged in to the printing apparatus via an administrator login screen, instructs the registration to the printing service. A user, which is not the administrator, cannot instruct the registration to the printing service in the case in which the login function of the printing apparatus is enabled. In addition, in a case in which the login function is disabled, the display displays a registration screen used for instructing to execute the registration to the printing service, and the at least one processor executes the registration to the printing service in response to the instruction to execute the registration to the printing service.

In conventional printing services, printing is performed upon a user transmitting a print job directly to a printing apparatus from a client terminal, such as a personal computer (PC).
Meanwhile, in recent years, cloud-based printing services on the Internet, such as Google® Cloud Print envisaged by Google Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., United States, have been proposed.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of Google® Cloud Print. It is assumed that a printing apparatus 1010 supports Google® Cloud Print functions, and a client terminal 1000 supports Google® Cloud Print client functions. A cloud-based printing service 1020 represents a cloud-based printing service on the Internet.
The user first transmits a cloud-based print service registration request 1110 from the client terminal 1000 to the printing apparatus 1010. The registration request 1110 includes a user ID that is information that identifies a user who is requesting the service. Upon receiving the registration request 1110, the printing apparatus 1010 transmits a cloud-based printing service registration request 1120 to the cloud-based printing service 1020. The cloud-based printing service registration request 1120 includes the user ID included in the registration request 1110 from the client terminal 1000, and a unique printer ID of the printing apparatus 1010. Upon receiving the registration request 1120 from the printing apparatus 1010, the cloud-based printing service 1020 associates the user ID and the printer ID included in the registration request 1120 with each other, and registers the printing apparatus 1010 as a printing apparatus that can execute Google® Cloud Print. Then, the cloud-based printing service 1020 returns the result of registration to the printing apparatus 1010, using a cloud-based printing service registration response 1130. Upon receiving the response 1130, the printing apparatus 1010 returns the contents of the response 1130, in the form of a cloud-based printing service registration response 1140, to the client terminal 1000. Upon receiving the response 1140, the client terminal 1000 recognizes the printing apparatus 1010 as a printing apparatus that can execute Google® Cloud Print.
Next, the user transmits print data 1150 to a logical printer for the cloud-based printing service 1020 that corresponds to the printing apparatus 1010. In response, the cloud-based printing service 1020 converts the print data 1150 thus received into print data 1160 that is formatted to be executable by the printing apparatus 1010. Then, the cloud-based printing service 1020 transmits the print data 1160 thus converted to the printing apparatus 1010, and, in response, the printing apparatus 1010 executes printing based on the print data 1160 thus received. U.S. Pat. No. 8,867,070 discloses the configuration of the above-described cloud-based printing service.
Usually, administrator authority functions are set to a printing apparatus, and such a printing apparatus is managed by being set up to allow only administrators to change the settings of the printing apparatus (e.g. ON/OFF settings of various print protocols that include cloud-based printing service functions). In the case of a printing apparatus that has been set up in such a manner, a user is requested to log in to the printing apparatus as an administrator upon the user making an attempt to change a setting among various settings of the printing apparatus from a user interface (UI).
According to the technology disclosed in the above-described U.S. Pat. No. 8,867,070, however, upon a printing apparatus receiving a cloud-based printing service registration request from a client terminal, the printing apparatus immediately transmits a registration request to the cloud-based printing service on the Internet, and the printing apparatus is thus registered to the service. Such a configuration allows non-administrators to execute registration to the cloud-based printing service, and causes inconsistency with a policy related to the setting change of the printing apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to solve the problem in the above-described conventional technology.

Printing apparatus that registers to a printing service in response to receipt of an instruction from an administrator when a login function of the printing apparatus is enabled, and related control method and program


A moving blade for a turbomachine with a central portion that is geometrically subdivided into four adjacent pressure-side zones disposed on the pressure side of the blade, and into four adjacent suction-side zones disposed on the suction side of the blade, the pressure-side and suction-side zones being distributed on either side of the skeleton of the blade, and the blade including in its central portion a pressure-side cooling circuit and a suction-side cooling circuit, the pressure-side cooling circuit including three radial cavities occupying three adjacent pressure-side zones, and the suction-side cooling circuit including three radial cavities occupying the four suction-side zones and the remaining pressure-side zone.

The present invention relates to the general field of cooling moving blades for turbomachines, and in particular the blades of a high pressure turbine.
In a turbomachine, it is known to provide the moving blades of a gas turbine, such as the high pressure turbine or the low pressure turbine, with internal cooling circuits enabling them to withstand without damage the very high temperatures to which they are subjected while the turbomachine is in operation. Thus, in a high pressure turbine, the temperature of the gas coming from the combustion chamber can reach values that are well above those that can be withstood by the moving blades of the turbine without damage, thereby having the consequence of reducing their lifetime.
By means of such cooling circuits, air which is generally introduced into the blade via its root, travels through the blade following a path made up of cavities formed inside the blade, prior to being ejected through orifices that open out in the surface of the blade.
A wide variety of different configurations exist for such cooling circuits. Thus, certain circuits make use of cooling cavities that occupy the entire width of the blade, thereby presenting the drawback of limiting the thermal efficiency of the cooling. In order to mitigate that defect, other circuits, such as those described in patent documents EP 1 288 438 and EP 1 288 439, propose using edge cooling cavities occupying only one side of the blade (pressure side or suction side), or both sides with the addition of a large central cavity between the edge cavities. Although such circuits are effective from a thermal point of view, they remain difficult and expensive to produce by casting and the weight of the resulting blade is large.

Central cooling circuit for a moving blade of a turbomachine