A system and method for watermarking a film includes a light source array including one or more light sources having light directed toward a film to be watermarked. A control mechanism is configured to synchronize a position of the film with the light sources such that the light sources are activated to record a watermark on the film to identify an aspect of the film, wherein the watermark includes a plurality of spots aligned transversely to a direction of film motion during printing of the film.

Improvements in camera capture technology have increased the ability for individuals to illegally reproduce film content. Illegal film copying (piracy) has resulted in substantial losses in profit to film makers and studios since the films that are produced can be illegally marketed using the advanced camera capture technology.
Once illegal copies of a title are released, there is no evidence of where the film was originally recorded. Attempts to remedy this include making small holes or marking dots into the film in a manual manner to provide an identity of the original film. However, these techniques are not useful in tracing illegal copy piracy. Further, such methods are time-consuming and inefficient, as these methods require a great deal of labor and cost. In addition, pirates are able to remove such marking digitally from the films.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic drawing of a typical film printing machine 10 is shown. In the printing machine 10, a film 12 is processed to add images and sound thereto. A plurality of motors 14 (labeled M1 through M7) are employed to advance the film 12 through different processes. A raw stock reel (varying in size) includes blank film. The raw stock is advanced to a picture printing head 18 and video images are copied to the raw stock by a master negative 22. Next, sound is applied to the film 12 at a sound track printing head 20.
A motor 14 (M7) is a main drive motor that drives picture and sound heads by coupling the head with a timing belt 15. Tensioning devices are not shown for simplicity. In fact, such tension arms are used to provide constant speed and steadiness during the printing process. As shown in FIG. 1, the film is not marked during printing. Instead, a separate process would be needed to place visible markings on the film, which requires making holes or marking dots into the film in a manual manner. Such a process is inefficient and not cost-effective.


A training weapon for use in firearm training simulations involving multiple participants each of whom is armed with a training weapon. The training weapon includes a trigger which is coupled with a switch that is part of an electrical circuit including a power supply and an indicator light. The trigger and switch being arranged such that when the trigger is depressed the switch closes the circuit thereby turning on the indicator light.

Exercises, simulations and the like are extremely useful tools for training individuals, including for example law enforcement and military personnel, in the use of firearms. One particularly useful type of training exercise or simulation involves confronting an individual having a firearm with a series of "friendly" and "unfriendly" targets. In such an simulation, the object is for the trainee to fire his or her weapon at the "unfriendly" targets while refraining from firing at the "friendly" targets.
A variation on this training exercise is to have multiple participants involved in the simulation. Exercises involving multiple participants can be much more chaotic, making it difficult for the individual participants and for observers to determine and evaluate what happened. In particular, difficulties can arise in determining which of the individual participants "fired" their weapons at a particular target and also when a participant discharged his or her weapon. Often in the heat of an exercise, an individual can fire his weapon without recalling it afterwards or even realizing it at the time he fires the weapon. In addition, a participant can believe he fired, or recall firing, his weapon when he actually did not fire. As will be appreciated, information concerning which of the individual participants fired at a particular target and when they fired at a particular target is essential to analyzing and evaluating the training exercise and to providing the participants with useful feedback.

Training weapon with trigger actuated indicator light


Disclosed is a balloon of an intragastric device, comprising, in combination: a core of a first material and having an inner surface and an outer surface; and a coating of a second material on at least one of the inner surface of the core and the outer surface of the core. Disclosed is a method, comprising, in combination: creating a core of a balloon by a core in a first material; dipping at least one of an inner surface of the core and an outer surface of the core in a second material, whereby a coating is formed on at least one of the inner surface of the core and the outer surface of the core. Also disclosed are products by processed disclosed herein. The first material may be of a more dimensional consistency than the second material, have a greater elasticity than the second material, or be primarily of polydimethylsiloxane. The second material may be of higher acid resistance than the first material, be less permeable than the first material, or be primarily of polydiphenylsiloxane.

This disclosure relates to implantable, expandable gastric devices. In particular, this disclosure relates to improved structures of balloons and methods of producing the same.
Many conventional implantable gastric devices have a balloon filled with a biocompatible fluid. Such gastric devices are generally inserted into the stomach when the balloon is deflated and then inflated in vivo. The gastric devices are often left in the stomach for an extended period of time to treat severe obesity or other conditions. The gastric devices are eventually removed after completing the treatment or for other reasons by deflating the balloon, grasping the gastric device with an extraction tool, and extracting the gastric device via the esophagus and mouth. Conventional gastric devices are deflated by attempting to puncture the balloon and aspirate the biocompatible fluid through a needle.
One challenge of conventional devices is that the balloon are generally fairly large in a deflated state because of the limited elasticity and expansion of the materials that can withstand the harsh environment within the stomach rupture. Many existing balloons for intragastric devices are made from polydiphenylsiloxane (PDPS), which resists degradation by acids, fungal growth and other microbial growth, but it has limited expansion. As such, the cuffs of such a balloon must have a fairly large diameter so that the balloon can be removed from a mandrel during the manufacturing process.
Another challenge of conventional intragastric devices is the life span of the balloon. For example, fungi or other microbes can grow into the material of the balloon and effectively decrease the wall thickness. This can weaken the balloon wall to the point that it ruptures under the pressure of the fluid in the balloon.

Materials and methods for improved intragastric balloon devices


A method is provided for functionalizing nanoscale fibers including reacting a plurality of nanoscale fibers with at least one epoxide monomer to chemically bond the at least one epoxide monomer to surfaces of the nanoscale fibers to form functionalized nanoscale fibers. Functionalized nanoscale fibers and nanoscale fiber films are also provided.

This invention relates generally to carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, and more particularly to methods for producing functionalized nanotubes, nanofibers, and nanoscale fiber films.
Carbon nanotubes and nanofibers have both rigidity and strength properties, such as high elasticity, large elastic strains, and fracture strain sustaining capabilities. Such a combination of properties is generally not present in conventional materials. In addition, carbon nanotubes and nanofibers are some of the strongest fibers currently known. For example, the Young's Modulus of single-walled carbon nanotubes can be about 1 TPa, which is about five times greater than that for steel (about 200 GPa), yet the density of the carbon nanotubes is about 1.2 g/cm3 to about 1.4 g/cm3. The tensile strength of single-walled carbon nanotubes is generally in the range of about 50 GPa to about 200 GPa. This tensile strength indicates that composite materials made of carbon nanotubes and/or nanofibers could likely be lighter and stronger as compared to current high-performance carbon fiber-based composites.
In addition to their exceptional mechanical properties, carbon nanotubes and nanofibers may provide either metallic or semiconductor characteristics based on the chiral structure of fullerene. Some carbon nanotubes and nanofibers also possess superior thermal and electrical properties such as thermal stability up to about 2800° C. in a vacuum and about 750° C. in air, thermal conductivity about twice as much as that of diamond, and an electric current transfer capacity about 1000 times greater than that of copper wire. Therefore, carbon nanotubes and nanofibers are regarded as one of the most promising reinforcement materials for the next generation of high-performance structural and multifunctional composites.
The use of nanoscale fibers in applications such as electronics, optics, thermal management, and high-performance composites have been hindered by technical roadblocks such as difficulties in their dispersion and their inert characteristics. Nanoscale fibers tend to form large bundles or big ropes, which may significantly limit potential applications. Conventional oxidization functionalization methods may etch the sidewalls, which may undesirably alter their mechanical properties. Effective functionalization to enhance dispersion, interfacial bonding, and functionality may be crucial to successfully transferring the exceptional properties of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers into many engineering applications.
Films of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, or buckypapers, are a potentially important material platform for many applications. Typically, the films are thin, preformed sheets of well-controlled and dispersed porous networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), multiple-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), or mixtures thereof. The carbon nanotube and nanofiber film materials are flexible, light weight, and have mechanical, conductivity, and corrosion resistance properties desirable for numerous applications. The film form also makes nanoscale materials and their properties transferable to a macroscale material for ease of handling.
Epoxy polymers are easy to process and exhibit excellent mechanical properties with little toxicity. They are regarded as a standard matrix material for composites in various high-performance structural composite applications, where substantial strength, stiffness, durability, light weight, and good processability are required. For instance, epoxies have been used for years in the aerospace and boat industries. Carbon nanotube and/or nanofiber reinforced epoxy polymer composites are of interest in many applications; however, poor dispersion and weak interfacial bonding between carbon nanotubes and epoxy resin has hindered their widespread commercial adoption.
Fluorination may be used to modify nanoscale fiber functionality by additional reaction and yet have little effect on the mechanical properties of the nanoscale fibers. For example, fluorination can effectively enhance the functionality of nanoscale fiber films reinforced with polypropylene. However, fluorination is not always viable for carbon nanoscale fiber-epoxy film composites, for example, due to the negative effect of elemental fluorine on the epoxy curing reaction. Moreover, oxidization and fluorination functionalizations may result in very low yield rate and may involve long, multiple chemical reactions. Accordingly, scale-up and mass production using these approaches for functionalization may be difficult or cost ineffective.
It therefore would be desirable to provide functionalized nanoscale fibers and nanoscale fiber films which reduce or avoid the aforementioned deficiencies. In particular, it would be desirable to provide nanoscale fibers and nanoscale fiber films functionalized for composite applications. It also would be desirable to provide improved methods for functionalizing films for composite applications.

Method for functionalization of nanoscale fibers and nanoscale fiber films

Florida State University Research Foundation


A magnetoresistance device is provided for improving thermal stability of a magnetoresistance element by preventing inter-diffusion between a conductor (such as a via and an interconnection) for connecting the magnetoresistance element to another element and layers constituting the magnetoresistance element. A magnetoresistance device is composed of a magnetoresistance element, a non-magnetic conductor providing electrical connection between said magnetoresistance element to another element, and a diffusion barrier structure disposed between the conductor and said magnetoresistance element, the magnetoresistance element including a free ferromagnetic layer having reversible spontaneous magnetization, a fixed ferromagnetic layer having fixed spontaneous magnetization, and a tunnel dielectric layer disposed between said free and fixed ferroelectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a magnetoresistance device and method of fabricating the same, particularly, to a magnetoresistance device including a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which exhibits a tunneling magnetoresistance effect (TMR), and method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A resistance of a magnetic tunnel junction, which consists of two ferromagnetic layers and a tunnel barrier layer (or a tunnel dielectric layer) disposed therebetween, changes depending on the relative direction of the magnetizations of the magnetic tunnel junction. Such phenomenon is known as a tunnel magnetoresistance effect. Measuring the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction allows the detection of the direction of the ferromagnetic layers. Making use of such characteristics of the magnetic tunnel junction, magnetoresistance devices including magnetic tunnel junctions are used for magnetic random access memories (MRAMs), which store data in a non-volatile fashion, and magnetic read heads for hard disc drives.
Magnetoresistance elements, which include a magnetic tunnel junction, are typically composed of a fixed magnetic layer, a free ferromagnetic layer, and a tunnel dielectric layer disposed between the fixed and free magnetic layers. The fixed magnetic layer has spontaneous magnetization whose direction is fixed, while the free magnetic layer has spontaneous magnetization whose direction is reversible.
In order to tightly fix spontaneous magnetization, fixed ferromagnetic layers are often formed to be in contact with antiferromagnetic layers. Exchange interaction provided by an antiferromagnetic layer tightly fixes the spontaneous magnetization of a fixed ferromagnetic layer. In general, antiferromagnetic layers are formed of manganese-including antiferromagnetic materials, such as IrMn, and PtMn.
Furthermore, a free ferromagnetic layer is often composed of hard and soft ferromagnetic layers, the hard ferromagnetic layer being made of ferromagnetic materials having high spin polarization ratios, and the soft magnetic layer being made of soft ferromagnetic materials. Such structure of a free ferromagnetic layer reduces the coercive force of the spontaneous magnetization of the free ferromagnetic layer with an increased magnetoresistance ratio (MR ratio) of the magnetic tunnel junction. Hard ferromagnetic layers are generally made of cobalt-including ferromagnetic materials, such as Co and CoFe, while soft ferromagnetic layers are generally made of nickel-including ferromagnetic materials, such as NiFe.
One of the issues of magnetoresistance elements is thermal stability. Subjecting magnetoresistance elements to a high temperature causes interdiffusion between layers incorporated therein. This interdiffusion deteriorates the characteristics of the magnetoresistance elements, especially the magnetoresistance ratio. Patent document 1 presents a problem concerning interdiffusion between hard and soft ferromagnetic layers. The essential point is that nickel included in the soft ferromagnetic layer is diffused into the hard ferromagnetic layer. Diffusion of nickel into a hard ferromagnetic layer deteriorates the magnetoresistance element. Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. P2000-20922A discloses that an oxide or nitride layer for preventing interdiffusion is disposed between hard and soft ferromagnetic layers. Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. Jp-A 2002-158381 addresses a problem that manganese from manganese-including antiferromagnetics diffuses into fixed ferromagnetic layers. This documents discloses a technique for avoiding diffusion of manganese into a fixed ferromagnetic layer by incorporating two ferromagnetic layers and a dielectric or amorphous layer disposed therebetween into the fixed magnetic layer. Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. Jp-A 2001-237471 discloses a technique for improving thermal stability of magnetoresistance elements by inserting magnetic oxide layers into fixed and free ferromagnetic layers. Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. Jp-A-Heisei 10-65232 addresses a problem of interdiffusion between a free ferromagnetic layer and a buffer layer disposed under the free ferromagnetic layer. This document discloses a technique for reducing the thermally induced diffusion into the buffer layer and thereby improving thermal stability by disposing an atomic diffusion barrier layer formed of oxides, nitrides, carbides, borides, or fluorides between the free ferromagnetic layer and the buffer layer.
Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. Jp-A 2002-74627 discloses a technique for increasing electron reflectivity and thereby improving thermal stability by disposing a high conductivity layer and an electron reflection layer which is substantially crystalline, and mainly includes an element different from the main element used for the high conductivity layer. This document also discloses that the electron reflection layer includes a first layer close to the free magnetic layer, and a second layer far from the free magnetic layer, the first layer consisting of an oxide of an element that is more easily oxidized than that consisting of the second layer.
Another issue of magnetoresistance elements is reduction in coercive forces of free ferromagnetic layers. A free ferromagnetic layer composed of a layered structure including hard and soft ferromagnetic layers may not have the coercive force reduced sufficiently in the case that an increased MR ratio is required.
Reduction of the coercive force can be achieved by reducing the product of magnetization Ms and thickness t of the free ferromagnetic layer (which is referred to as "the product Ms·t", hereinafter). An explanation of the reason is given in the following. For a uniaxial free ferromagnetic layer, the coercive field thereof depends on a total anisotropy field of the free ferromagnetic layer. For the magnetoresistance element having the size of the sub-micron order, a total anisotropy field of the free ferromagnetic layer mostly arises from the shape-induced anisotropy field of the free ferromagnetic layer. Therefore, the coercive force of the ferromagnetic layer is approximately equal to the shape-induced anisotropy field Ha. For this case, the anisotropy field Ha is represented by the following equation (1):Ha=4πMs(Nx−Ny),  (1)where Ms is the saturated magnetization of the free ferromagnetic layer, and Nx and Ny are demagnetization factors of the magnetoresistance element in the directions along the long and short sides, respectively. For a given thickness of the free ferromagnetic layer, Nx−Ny increases as an increase in the ratio of the long side to the short side (or the aspect ratio), and this results in an increase in the shape-induced anisotropy field Ha. Furthermore, the reduction in the size of the free ferromagnetic layer increases the anisotropy field Ha, because of the increase in the demagnetization factors as the reduction in the size of the free ferromagnetic layer. For a fixed aspect ratio, the anisotropy field Ha is approximately described by the following equation (2):Ha=4πMs·t/W,  (2)where W is the length of the short side of the free ferromagnetic layer, and t is the thickness of the free ferromagnetic layer. The equation (2) indicates that the coercive force of the free ferromagnetic layer can be reduced by reducing the product Ms·t. In general, reducing the thickness t of the free ferromagnetic layer achieves the reduction in product Ms·t, and thereby reduces the coercive force of the free ferromagnetic layer.
Additionally, Zhang et al. discloses a magnetic tunnel junction including an FeOx layer disposed between an Al2O3 layer and a CoFe layer, in Applied Physics Letters vol.89, No. 19, 7 May 2001, pp. 2911-2913.
Furthermore, Matsuda et al. discloses that magnetoresistances of magnetic tunnel junctions are reduced by a geometrical structure of the junctions in Applied Physics Letters, vol. 77, No. 19, 6 November 2000, pp. 3060-3062.
In addition, Moodera et al. discloses magnetoresistances of magnetic tunnel junctions are increased by a geometrical structure of the junctions in Applied Physics Letters, vol. 69, No. 5, 29 July 1996, pp. 708-710.
Also, Ohnuma et al. discloses a technique for forming a highly resistive soft magnetic film with granular metal consisting of cobalt base alloy, iron base alloy, and a non-magnetic oxide or nitride.
The inventor of the present invention has discovered that interdiffusion between a magnetoresistance element and a conductor electrically connecting the magnetoresistance element to other elements causes an undesirable influence on the characteristics of the magnetoresistance element. Operating a magnetoresistance element requires electrical connections of the magnetoresistance element with other elements (such as transistors). Therefore, a magnetoresistance element is connected to conductors such as via contacts and interconnections that are electrically connected to other elements. In general, such conductors are formed of aluminum, copper, tungsten, or titan nitride, as is the case of other semiconductor integrated circuits. Tantalum, ruthenium, zirconium, or molybdenum may be used for a conductor providing electrical connections between magnetoresistance elements and other elements. The interdiffusion between a magnetoresistance element and a conductor that electrically connects the magnetoresistance element to other elements causes the following three influences.
Firstly, the diffusion of material included in the conductor into the magnetic tunnel junction reduces the MR ratio thereof. For a conductor including aluminum, diffusion of aluminum into the magnetic tunnel junction is especially serious, because aluminum is diffused by applying relatively low temperature. In another aspect, the diffusion of the material of the conductor is essential because the diffusion of material included in the conductor, especially aluminum, into the antiferromagnetic layer and the soft ferromagnetic layer promotes the diffusion of manganese from the antiferromagnetic layer and nickel from the soft ferromagnetic layer into the tunnel barrier layer.
Secondly, the diffusion of material included in the magnetoresistance element into the conductor, which electrically connects the magnetoresistance element with other elements, increases the resistance of the conductor. The increase in the resistance of the conductor deteriorates the SN ratio for detecting the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction. Especially, since manganese included in the antiferromagnetic layer, and nickel in the soft ferromagnetic layer are diffused by relatively low temperature, the increase in the resistance caused by the diffusion of manganese and nickel is of significance.
Thirdly, thermal diffusion of material of the free ferromagnetic layer into the conductor that electrically connects the free ferromagnetic layer with other elements makes it difficult to achieve reduction in the coercive force through reducing the thickness t of the free ferromagnetic layer. This is because diffusion caused by a thermal treatment causes a large change in the characteristics thereof, and thus reduces operation reliability of the magnetoresistance element when the free ferromagnetic layer is decreased in the thickness. FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating influences caused by thermal treatments on 4πMs·t of free ferromagnetic layers having reduced thicknesses t. The characteristics of the free ferromagnetic layers are obtained under the condition described in the following; the structure of the samples is sub./Ta(10 nm)/AlOx/Ni81Fe19/Ta(10 nm) The AlOx films are formed through oxidizing aluminum films having a thickness of 1.5 nm. The thicknesses of the Ni81Fe19 films are selected out of the values of 3.0 nm, 2.6 nm, and 2.2 nm. The Ni81Fe19 films deposited through sputtering. The temperature of the thermal treatment ranges between 250° and 400° C., and the duration is 30 minutes. Magnetizations Ms are measured with a vibration magnetometer.
As illustrated in FIG. 26, thermal treatment on the Ni81Fe19 films having thicknesses t less than 30 nm causes drastic changes in 4πMs·t thereof; furthermore 4πMs·t is remarkably decreased as the decrease in the thickness t and the increase of the temperature of the thermal treatment. These samples exhibit poor repeatability. As thus-described, thermal treatment destabilizes 4πMs·t of the free ferromagnetic layer when the thickness thereof is reduced down to 3 nm. Such instability prevents reduction of the thickness t of free ferromagnetic layers.
There is a need for providing a technique for reducing interdiffusion between a magnetoresistance element and a conductor providing electrical connections between the magnetoresistance element and other elements.

Magnetoresistance device with a diffusion barrier between a conductor and a magnetoresistance element and method of fabricating the same


Purified genes encoding a cytokine from a mammal, reagents related thereto including purified proteins, specific antibodies, and nucleic acids encoding this molecule are provided. Methods of using said reagents and diagnostic kits are also provided.

AK155 is a cytokine that is structurally related to interleukin-10 (IL-10). A number of cytokines have been classed as IL-10-like, based on their structure. The IL-10-like cytokines include IL-20, IL-22, and mda-7, as well as AK155 (Moore, et al. (2001) Annu. Rev. Immunol. 19:683–765; Moore, et al. (1993) Annu. Rev. Immunol. 11:165–190). Cytokines are signaling molecules that mediate communication between cells, e.g., between cells of the immune system. Once secreted, cytokines travel to a different or identical cell, bind to a membrane-bound receptor, and provoke a series of events such as protein phosphorylation or gene activation, where these events result in changes in phagocytic or secretory activity, or changes in migration, differentiation state, and proliferation activity.
The cytokines may be classed into those associated with increased inflammation (Th1-type response) and decreased inflammation (Th2-type response). The Th1-type response is characterized by increases in production of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), TNF-β, IL-12, IL-18, and other pro-inflammatory cytokines (Sallusto, et al. (1998) Immunol. Today 19:568–574). IL-17 is generally a pro-inflammatory cytokine (Fort, et al. (2001) J. Immunol. 15:985–995). Th2-type response is characterized by increases in production of cytokines that suppress inflammation, e.g., IL4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13 (Liu, et al. (2001) Nature Immunol. 2:585–589). IL-25 appears to suppress inflammation (Fort, et al. (2001) J. Immunol. 15:985–995).
Within one interleukin family, such as the IL-1 family, different interleukins may be functionally related to each other in that they influence the course of one event, but exert opposite effects on that event. For example, IL-1ε has a pro-inflammatory effect, while IL-1δ has an anti-inflammatory effect (Debets, et al. (2001) J. Immunol. 167:1440–1446). IL-17 and IL-25 are examples of two other cytokines which are structurally similar, but produce opposite biological effects. The structure of any particular cytokine therefore serves as a guide to determining its physiological function.
An analysis of cell signaling proteins can also help determine a cytokine's role in physiology. For example, signaling involving signal transducers and activators of transcription-4 (STAT4) may indicate an inflammatory response, while signaling via STAT6 may indicate an anti-inflammatory response or Th2-type response (Romagnani (1997) Immunol. Today 18:263–266). Hence, the identities of the proteins that are phosphorylated, of the particular amino acid residues that become phosphorylated, and of the relevant transcription factors and genes that become activated, are all relevant to determining the function of the cytokine of interest. Other powerful techniques for determining the functions of cytokines and related signaling proteins include use of genetically altered animals where a specific gene is altered in all cells, e.g., IL-10−/− mice (Scheerens, et al. (2001) Eur. J. Immunol. 31:1465–1474), or where the genetic alteration is targeted to only one type of cell in the animal, e.g., liver cells, epithelial cells, cells of lymphoid lineage (Blumberg, et al. (2001) Cell 104:9–19), or macrophages and neutrophils (Takeda, et al. (1999) Immunity 10:39–49).


A method, system and program product for displaying a tooltip based on content within the tooltip is provided. Under the present invention, a feature (e.g., size, type, complexity, etc.) of the content within a tooltip is first determined. Based on the feature, a display time for the tooltip is calculated. The tooltip is then displayed for the duration of the calculated display time, after which time the tooltip is closed.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to a method, system and program product for displaying a tooltip. Specifically, the present invention displays a tooltip for a length of time that is dependent on a feature of the content within the tooltip.
2. Background Art
Tooltips have become an everyday source of information for a number of computer applications. Specifically, tooltips are textual or graphical labels that appear over an icon/control area in a graphical user interface (GUI). In general, a tooltip provides descriptive information about the functions of the underlying icon. Typically, a tooltip is displayed when a user points a mouse (or other input) device to the icon. When the user later selects the icon, moves the mouse device away from the icon, or performs some keyboard action, the tooltip is usually closed.
Unfortunately, as helpful as tooltips can be, they can also be a hindrance. For example, the tooltips often obstruct a portion of the computer display. Moreover, when the user is forced take some action such as moving the mouse device to close/hide a tooltip, the efficiency with which the underlying application operates is compromised. In addition, the amount of descriptive content within the tooltips can vary depending on the function being described. To this extent, a tooltip can include text, graphical representations, or a mixture of text and graphical representations. Accordingly, the amount of time it takes to observe and understand the content within the tooltip may vary.
Heretofore, attempts have been made to improve the nature by which tooltips are employed. In one attempt, a user is able to determine the "trigger" time for displaying a tooltip. That is, the user can select the length of time that must elapse before a tooltip can be displayed. No previous system, however, addresses the problems associated with the length of time a tooltip is displayed once it appears. As indicated above, tooltips can include content of varying size, type, or complexity, and it could be advantageous to display certain tooltips longer than others.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a method, system and program product for displaying a tooltip based on content within the tooltip. A further need exists for a tooltip to be displayed for an amount of time that is based on a feature of the content therein. Still yet, a need exists for the tooltip to be closed when the calculated amount of display time has elapsed.

Method, system and program product for displaying a tooltip based on content within the tooltip

International Business Machines Corporation


A predetermined electrode arrangement (1/1, 1/2, 1/3A, 1/6) comprising a plurality of shielded electrodes (213, 215) and a plurality of shielding electrodes (204, 214, 269A, 269B,) that together with other conductive (799, 206, 208, 207, 203, 218, 216, 217, 218) semi-conductive (not shown) and/or non-conductive material elements (212) are formed into a multi-functional energy condition assembly (1-1, 1-2, 1-3A, 1-6) or variant to be selectively coupled into circuitry (4-1, 5-1, 1-2).

Electrical systems have undergone short product life cycles over the last decade. A system built just two years ago can be considered obsolete to a third or fourth generation variation of the same application. Accordingly, passive componentry and circuitry built into these the systems need to evolve just as quickly. However, the evolvement of passive componentry has not kept pace. The performance of a computer or other electronic systems has typically been constrained by the frequency operating speed of its slowest active elements.
Passive componentry technologies have failed to keep up with these new breakthroughs and have produced only incremental changes in composition and performance. Advances in passive component design and changes have also focused primarily upon component size reduction, slight modifications of discrete component electrode portioning, dielectric discoveries, and modifications of embodiment manufacturing techniques or rates of production that decrease unit production cycle times.
At higher frequencies, energy pathways should normally be grouped or paired as an electrically complementary element or elements that work together electrically and magnetically in harmony and in balance within an energized system. Attempts to condition propagating energy portions with prior art componentry have led to increased levels of interference in the form of EMI, RFI, and capacitive and inductive parasitics. These increases can be due in part to imbalances and performance deficiencies of the passive componentry that create or induce interference into the associated electrical circuitry. These conditions have also created a new industry focus on passive componentry whereas, only a few years ago, the focus was primarily on the interference created by the active components from sources and conditions such as voltage imbalances.
Other disruptions to a circuit derive from large voltage transients, as well as ground loop interference caused by varying voltage or circuit voltage potentials. Certain existing transient or surge and EMI protection embodiments have been lacking in a need to provide adequate protection in one integrated package. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a universally exploitable solution to overcome these and other deficiencies in certain prior art that is also cost effective and will have a longevity of usages despite the ever-increasing operating frequencies of future circuits.
The new electrode arrangement overcomes the disadvantages of certain prior art devices by providing a multi-functional, component electrode arrangement and shielding element for conditioning of propagating energy portions along conductive by-pass pathways or circuitry. The new electrode arrangement also possesses a commonly shared and centrally positioned energy pathway or electrode(s) that can in many cases, simultaneously shield and allow smooth energy interaction between grouped and energized pathway electrodes. The new electrode arrangement, when energized, will allow the contained energy pathways or electrodes to operate with respect to one another harmoniously, yet in an oppositely phased or charged manner, respectively.
Coupled selectively into a circuit and energized, the new electrode arrangement and other elements will utilize three isolated energy pathways within one integrated package in order to provide simultaneous EMI filtering and energy surge/energy transient protection and/or suppression while still maintaining an apparent even or balanced voltage supply between an energy source and an energy-utilizing load.
The new electrode arrangement will simultaneous and effectively provide energy conditioning functions that can include noise and/or energy bypassing, noise and/or energy filtering, energy decoupling, and/or energy storage. Variations of the new electrode arrangement use commonly found and accepted materials and methodologies for its production.
Today's passive component manufacturing infrastructure will be provided with an unprecedented ability to produce the new electrode arrangement through the usage of current equipment and machinery to allow for an ease of adaptability or production changeover for producing a new product that gives the end user improved final performance for circuitries as compared to certain prior art products.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrode arrangement for circuit energy conditioning


A method for precisely measuring and displaying the whole profile of an X-ray spectral waveform, which rises from a background level and finally returns to the background level after passing across a peak. X-rays are counted for a time interval of to at a spectral position, resulting in X-ray N counts not containing statistical fluctuations. A standard deviation Eo representing a variation accompanying the N counts is given by Sqrt(N). Where the variation is greater than a given magnitude (tolerance error Er for display) at a spectral position where the X-ray intensity is high, X-rays are counted for a time interval of tm longer than the time interval to, producing increased counts Nm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for X-ray analysis using a wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (WDS) and, more particularly, to measurement and display of X-ray spectra.
2. Description of Related Art
Electron probe microanalyzers (EPMAs) and X-ray fluorescent analyzers (XRF) measure X-ray spectra and perform qualitative and quantitative analyses, using wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometers (WDS).
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the principle of WDS equipped to an EPMA. This X-ray spectrometer has a curved X-ray analyzing crystal whose center C moves on a straight line that is tilted by a takeoff angle a from a point S from which X-rays are produced. At this time, the point S, center C, and the center D of a slit in the X-ray detector are kept on a Rowland circle having a constant radius of R. Furthermore, the distance SC is kept equal to the distance CD. The analyzing crystal C having a crystal lattice plane curved with a radius of curvature of 2R always faces the center O of the Rowland circle.
The distance SC is referred to as the spectral position L. Let θ be the angle of incidence of X-rays on the analyzing crystal. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the following relationship holds:L=2R×sin θ  (1)Meanwhile, regarding the diffraction conditions for the analyzing crystal, the following relationship holds:2d×sin θ=n×λ  (2)where λ is the wavelength of X-rays and d is the lattice interplanar spacing of the analyzing crystal. n is a diffraction order assuming a positive integer. Eqs. (1) and (2) lead toL=(2R/2d)×n×λ  (3)The relationship between the wavelength λ of X-rays and the spectral position L can be known from Eq. (3).
An X-ray spectrum having a horizontal axis on which wavelength λ (or any one of a corresponding energy value, spectral position L, the value of sin θ, and the value of 2θ) is plotted and a vertical axis on which X-ray intensity is plotted can be obtained by scanning across the spectral position L and, at the same time, measuring X-rays that are counted by an X-ray detector.
Characteristic X-rays produced from chemical elements constituting a substance have wavelengths intrinsic to the respective elements. The kinds of the elements contained in a sample to be analyzed can be known by knowing the wavelength λ of the characteristic X-rays (qualitative analysis). The concentrations of the contained elements can be known by knowing the intensities of the characteristic X-rays (qualitative analysis). For example, JP-A-2002-181745 sets forth a conventional technique for performing a simple quantitative analysis by collecting X-ray spectra by WDS, identifying chemical elements from the spectra, and making a comparison with the previously found X-ray intensity of a reference sample using the characteristic X-ray peaks of the identified elements.
Counting of X-rays involves a random process. When the average of collected counts is N, the variance based on statistical fluctuations also produces N counts. Therefore, in the conventional X-ray spectrum acquired under the condition where the count time per point is kept at a constant value, collected counts near peak tops have the greatest amount of variation (statistical fluctuations). Consequently, it is impossible to obtain accurate waveforms from short-time measurements where the count time per point is constant.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the results of a simulation made to know whether the profile of a spectrum near peak tops having some height is affected by the presence or absence of variations in X-ray X counts. A spectrum (P) is obtained on the assumption that peaks having no variations are derived. In contrast, a spectrum (Q) is obtained based on X-ray counts in a case where X-ray counts collected at various spectral positions are subjected to variations due to a random process.
In order to obtain an accurate X-ray spectral waveform by minimizing variations in X-ray counts, one conventional technique consisting of increasing the constant count time per point corresponding to each spectral position is available. The whole X-ray spectrum has been measured for a long time. In another conventional method available, the whole X-ray spectrum is measured in a short time. Then, a region close to peaks is again measured for a long time.
However, these techniques fail to meet a demand for a technique capable of performing an analysis in a practically minimum time. Therefore, JP-A-51-25184 discloses a technique for lowering the scanning speed of a spectrometer only near existing peaks after detecting whether there are characteristic X-ray peaks. Furthermore, JP-A-1-312449 discloses a technique consisting of preparing a sample to be analyzed, previously setting a wavelength range for the sample, and making a long measurement of only the wavelength range in which characteristic X-ray peaks of chemical elements that might be contained in the sample appear.
In the technique of JP-A-51-25184, as the scanning speed of the spectrometer is lowered near peaks, the feed speed of a chart on which an X-ray spectrum is recorded is lowered synchronously. However, measurements of X-ray spectra using recent EPMA or XRF are performed by highly sophisticated digital control systems and so no chart is used. Furthermore, if X-ray intensities exceed a preset background level, the measure taken is only to switch the scan speed of the spectrometer to a lower speed. If peak heights vary variously, the lower speed used after the switching is kept constant irrespective of peak heights. Because characteristic X-ray peaks have heights that are different by plural orders of magnitude, it is impossible to set the scan speed according to the various peak heights.
In the technique of JP-A-1-312449, an X-ray spectrum is accepted as digital data under computer control. A wavelength range near characteristic X-ray peaks that are forecasted to appear is simply measured under constant conditions. It is impossible to set measurement conditions according to different peak heights.

Method and apparatus for analysis using X-ray spectra


The boot operations of one or more systems may be redirected. For example, a master boot processor may configure a slave boot processor to boot over a communication bus existing between the processors, which typically eliminates the need for boot software in slave systems. This can be accomplished such as by the master system updating a programmable interface of the slave system to identify an image from which to boot, such as from a remote boot image stored external to the slave system.

Embedded systems are usually computer-based systems, and are designed and implemented for performing a predefined and specific activity. As such, their designs and complexities vary greatly, although they do share some common hardware and software structures. An embedded system, as well as a typical computer system, has several major hardware components connected together by buses. These components may include central processing units (CPUs), peripheral devices providing the interface between the system an the external world, buses (e.g., CPU bus, PCI bus, SDRAM bus, etc.) connecting various system components among themselves and sometimes between systems that reside close to each other, and system controllers implementing various bus interfaces in the system, providing interrupt and timer support, and providing address decoding and re-mapping.
The basic operations performed in a computer system are fetch (or read) from a specified location and store (or write) to a specified location. Each location is identified by a unique address assigned to it in the bus it is located in, hence creating an address map for that bus, and when combined with other subsystems, an address map is defined for the whole system. However, each bus may view the system differently. For example, devices may reside on different buses and have different address schemes and electrical characteristics. Yet, these diverse devices may need to communicate among themselves.
When a device on bus A (for example a PCI bus) wishes to access a device in bus B (for example a device bus), it places on its bus a request including the address of the device it wishes to access. It is the responsibility of the system controller to identify that request, identify the bus for which the request is intended (also called address decoding), and to perform the necessary electrical, address and data conversions for placing the request on the destination bus.
For example, a CPU, in order to access a device residing in the PCI bus, puts its request on the CPU bus. The system controller identifies that request, decodes the address, and determines that it is an address assigned to the PCI bus. The system controller further performs the necessary conversions and places the converted request on the PCI bus to be handled by the destination PCI device.
In terms of initializing such a system, after a processor has been reset, it has no knowledge of the system it is in, therefore it always accesses to a specific address (0xFFF00100 in power PC) and executes the command written there. It is the responsibility of the designer to place the boot code in that address. And, more precisely, to preset the system controller such that this address when placed on the CPU bus will be transferred to the bus where the boot code resides.
In a PC, this is the task of the BIOS as can be seen on the screen when booting the PC. System boot process includes among other things, programming the system controller for correct address space decoding, performing power-on self-test, initializing various components in the system, obtaining the system image, creating the sufficient environment for booting it, and then transfer control to the operating system.
One of the issues in a multi-processor embedded environment, such as in a communications or computer device, is the software boot sequence. This issue is especially noticed in master-slaves systems where one central processor is used to manage the system and to synchronize the software versions and software download processes of its slaves. In such systems, it is common to find a small and robust boot-loader software which is embedded into each processor module and is being executed by the local processor at boot time. The major task of such a boot-loader software is usually to perform the preliminary initializations (both software and hardware) required for creating a communication channel with the master, synchronize themselves with the master software, and then wait for further instructions from the master which usually starts loading the "real" software to the slaves, a cumbersome process by itself. Although a distributed boot-loader is implemented in many systems, it is far from being trivial, and requires careful planning of software upgrade process, error recovery, inter boot-loaders communication and more. Needed are new methods and apparatus for booting processors in multiprocessor and other systems.

Method and apparatus for redirecting the boot operations of one or more systems


A lost communications link recovery method for a remotely-operated robot comprising the following steps: monitoring command and control (C2) signals transmitted over a wireless network from an operator control unit (OCU) to the robot; storing the C2 signals in a sliding window buffer; monitoring the wireless network for communication link breaks between the OCU and the robot; and creating, and issuing to the robot, reverse C2 commands based on the stored C2 signals upon detecting a communication link break.

The radio communication link between a remotely-operated robot and the operator can be broken in a number of ways. For example, the robot could travel beyond the range of the radio link, the robot could go behind an obstacle that shields the radio signal, the robot could execute a maneuver that results in an unfavorable orientation of the antenna, and/or the robot could move a manipulator arm or payload in such a way as to block the radio signal. When the radio link is broken the operator may lose control of the robot. In order to regain control, the operator must change his/her position to re-establish the radio link. In first responder and/or military applications, re-positioning the operator may expose the operator to unsafe conditions. Some remotely-operated robots have "retro-traverse" capabilities which allow the robot to return home automatically if the radio link is lost by using waypoint navigation or Simultaneous Localization and Mapping. There is a need for a simple method for re-establishing a radio communication link between a remotely-operated robot and an operator.

Method for automatic recovery of lost communications for unmanned ground robots

The United States of America as represented by Secretary of the Navy


A vehicle position recognizing system includes at least one magnetic marker for forming a magnetic field at a predetermined position on the road surface and at least one magnetic sensor for detecting the intensity of the magnetic field formed by the magnetic marker. An on-vehicle detector is provided for performing operation of the vehicle position on the basis of the magnetic field intensity obtained from the magnetic sensor at positions separated forward and backward from the magnetic marker by a predetermined amount. The on-vehicle detector has a correcting unit for correcting the magnetic field intensity of the magnetic marker on the basis of the magnetic field intensity obtained from the magnetic sensor at positions separated forward and backward from the magnetic marker by a predetermined amount. The on-vehicle detector also has a judging unit for judging the presence of the magnetic marker. The correction and judgment are preformed on the basis of an average value of the magnetic field intensity obtained from the magnetic sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle position recognizing system in which a predetermined magnetic field is formed on a predetermined traffic lane, and a vehicle running on the traffic lane detects the position of the own vehicle with a high accuracy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in, for example, Japanese Iatent Laid-Open No. 10-206173 specification, the conventional vehicle position recognizing system comprises: one or more of magnetic field forming means that is laid on the road surface at a predetermined position to form a predetermined magnetic field; magnetic field intensity detecting means for detecting the magnetic field formed by the magnetic field forming means; vehicle position operation suitability judging means for judging the suitability of performing the vehicle position operation by using the magnetic field intensity obtained by the magnetic field intensity detecting means; and vehicle position operating means that receives the judgment result of the vehicle position operation suitability judging means, and detects the vehicle position on the basis of the magnetic field intensity detected by the magnetic field intensity detecting means.
Furthermore, the magnetic field intensity detecting means is arranged such that it judges in advance the position where the effect of the magnetic field forming means is not received (for example, the middle point of the magnetic field forming means) by using non-magnetic field position judging means, and it records the magnetic field intensity of the non-magnetic field position, and it corrects the magnetic field intensity obtained by the magnetic field intensity detecting means.
With such a configuration, in the conventional system, the magnetic field intensity can be determined without receiving the effect of the earth magnetism or the magnetization of the vehicle, and therefore, an accurate vehicle position can be obtained.
However, the above described conventional system has such a problem that the magnetic field is wrongly detected, or it is not detected, or the vehicle horizontal position with a large error is outputted in the case where a material, a magnetic body or the like which powerfully disturbs the magnetic field exists on the traffic lane, especially, in the case where the magnetized metal in the joint of a concrete road or the structural body in a tunnel or the like forms a magnetic field larger than that of the magnetic field forming mean such as a magnetic marker.
The present invention is made for solving the above described problems, and it is an object to provide a vehicle position recognizing system by which it is possible to eliminate the effect of the magnetic disturbance of a material, a magnetic body or the like which disturbs the magnetic field on the traffic lane, and to surely detect the magnetic marker, and to accurately find the horizontal position of a vehicle.
The vehicle position recognizing system according to the invention of claim 1 is a system comprising: at least one signal area forming means for forming a magnetic field at a predetermined position on the road surface; at least one magnetic field intensity detecting means for detecting intensity of magnetic field formed by the above described signal area forming means; and vehicle position operating means for performing operation of a vehicle position on the basis of magnetic field intensity obtained by the above described magnetic field intensity detecting means at points separated forward and backward from the above described signal area forming means by a predetermined amount.
According to this configuration, there is such an effect that it is possible to eliminate the effect of the magnetic disturbance of a material, a magnetic body or the like which disturbs the magnetic field on the traffic lane, and to surely detect the magnetic marker, and to accurately determine the horizontal position of the vehicle.
The vehicle position recognizing system according to the invention of claim 2 is a system in which the above described vehicle position operating means has correcting means for correcting magnetic field intensity of the above described signal area forming means on the basis of magnetic field intensity obtained from the above described magnetic field intensity detecting means at points separated forward and backward from the above described signal area forming means by a predetermined amount.
According to this configuration, there is such an effect that even in an extremely large magnetic disturbance, the effect thereof can be eliminated, and an accurate vehicle position can be obtained, and furthermore, even in the case of the first signal area forming means, an accurate vehicle position can be obtained, and furthermore, it is also possible to simultaneously perform elimination of the effect to the magnetic field intensity detecting means because of the temperature fluctuation of the magnetic field intensity detecting means or the sudden magnetization of the vehicle body by the signal area forming means or the like, and moreover, even if the intervals of laying of the magnetic field forming means are variously changed, the detecting reliability is high and the detection accuracy of the vehicle position is also high.
The vehicle position recognizing system according to the invention of claim 3 is a system in which the above described vehicle position operating means has judging means for judging presence of the above described signal area forming mean on the basis of magnetic field intensity obtained from the above described magnetic field intensity detecting means at points separated forward and backward from the above described signal area forming means by a predetermined amount.
According to this configuration, there is such an effect that even in an extremely large magnetic disturbance, the effect thereof can be eliminated, and the detecting reliability can be improved, and furthermore, even in the case of the first signal area forming means, the detecting reliability can also be improved.
The vehicle position recognizing system according to the invention of claim 4 is a system in which the above described correcting means corrects magnetic field intensity of the above described signal area forming means on the basis of an average value of magnetic field intensity obtained from the above described magnetic field intensity detecting means.
According to this configuration, there is such an effect that even in an extremely large magnetic disturbance, the effect thereof can be eliminated, and furthermore, an accurate vehicle position can be obtained, and furthermore, even in the case of the first signal area firming means, an accurate vehicle position can be obtained, and furthermore, it is also possible to simultaneously perform the elimination of the effect to the magnetic field intensity detecting means because of the temperature fluctuation of the magnetic field intensity detecting means or the sudden magnetization of the vehicle body by the signal area forming means or the like, and moreover, even if the intervals of laying of the magnetic field forming means are variously changed, the detecting reliability is high and the detecting accuracy of the vehicle position is also high.
The vehicle position recognizing system according to the invention of claim 5 is a system in which the above described judging means judges presence of the above described signal area forming means on the basis of an average value of magnetic field intensity obtained from the above described magnetic field intensity detecting means.
According to this configuration, there is such an effect that even in an extremely large magnetic disturbance, the effect thereof can be eliminated, and the detecting reliability can be improved, and furthermore, even in the case of the first signal area forming means, the detecting reliability can be improved.


A rare earth permanent magnet consisting essentially, by weight, of 27.0-31.0% of at least one rare earth element including Y, 0.5-2.0% of B, 0.02-0.15% of N, 0.25% or less of O, 0.15% or less of C, at least one optional element selected from the group consisting of 0.1-2.0% of Nb, 0.02-2.0% of Al, 0.3-5.0% of Co, 0.01-0.5% of Ga and 0.01-1.0% of Cu, and a balance of Fe, and a production method thereof. The contents of rare earth element, oxygen, carbon and oxygen in the magnet are regulated within the specific ranges.

The present invention relates to an R--Fe--B-based rare earth permanent magnet, wherein R is one or more of rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and a production method thereof.
A rare earth permanent magnet, in particular, an R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet has been applied to a wide variety of fields due to a high performance thereof.
The R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet has a metal structure basically composed of three phases of R.sub.2 Fe.sub.14 B phase (main phase), RFe.sub.7 B.sub.6 phase (B-rich phase) and R.sub.85 Fe.sub.15 phase (R-rich phase). Generally, the R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet is inferior to an Sm--Co-based, sintered permanent magnet in corrosion resistance because of the presence of a rare earth element-rich phase and the three-phase metal structure. The poor corrosion resistance has been one of the drawbacks of the known R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet from the time of development to now.
Although the corrosion mechanism of the R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet has not been established, some report says that the corrosion proceeds with anodization of R-rich phase because the corrosion generally starts from R-rich phase. In fact, the amount of R-rich phase is reduced with decreasing content of rare earth element, and as a result thereof, the corrosion resistance of the R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet is improved. Therefore, one method for improving the corrosion resistance is to reduce the content of rare earth element.
A sintered rare earth magnet may be typically produced by a powder metallurgical method, for example, by melting and casting alloy metals for the magnet to form an alloy ingot, pulverizing the ingot to alloy powder, compacting the alloy powder to form a green body, sintering the compact body, heat-treating the sintered body and then working it. Since the alloy powder obtained by pulverizing an ingot has a high chemical activity because of a high content of rare earth element, the rare earth element is oxidized upon exposure to the atmosphere to result in increased oxygen content in the alloy powder. Therefore, a part of rare earth element is consumed to form a rare earth oxide to give a sintered body having a reduced content of magnetic rare earth element which contributes to magnetic properties of the sintered magnet. To compensate for the consumption of rare earth element and attain a practically sufficient level of magnetic properties, for example, a coercive force (iHc) of 13 kOe or higher, the content of rare earth element in the R--Fe--B-based, sintered permanent magnet is necessary to be increased. Practically, the rare earth element is added in an amount exceeding 31 weight %.
As mentioned above, the addition amount of the rare earth element should be decreased in view of improving the corrosion resistance, while be increased in view of attaining practically sufficient magnetic properties. Due to this antinomic requirement, a rare earth permanent magnet simultaneously having both a sufficient corrosion resistance and sufficient magnetic properties has not been obtained.

Rare earth permanent magnet and method for producing the same


The present invention uses a reactor that combines devices having a special portion structure to solve the difficulty of uniform blending due to the reactants becoming highly viscous, the difficulty of heat removal, and the increase in pressure loss, thus leading to continuous production of a polyester-based polymer stably having excellent quality.

Homopolymers that use as a monomer dilactide or diglycolide, i.e. intermolecular dehydration cyclic esters of hydroxy acids, homopolymers that utilize as monomers lactones of intramolecular cyclic esters and copolyers of these monomers (hereinafter, simply referred to as polyester-based polymers) are decomposed by light, heat, enzymes or the like and taken in the recirculation to nature, and thus they have been subjected to many studies as biodegradable polymer materials from the viewpoint of safeness and environmental pollution control.
It has been known that processes for manufacturing homopolymers of dilactide or diglycolide are roughly classified into two types of manufacturing methods. Namely, they are a process that includes directly subjecting a corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acid to dehydration polycondensation to produce a polymer and a process that involves once synthesizing a dehydration cyclic ester of a hydroxy acid and then subjecting the resulting ester to ring opening polymerization to manufacture a polymer.
It is difficult for the former, the direct polycondensation method, to produce a polymer with a molecular weight of 4,000 or more ("Lactic Acid" written by C. H. Halten, p. 226, Veriag Chemie, 1971) and studies on conditions in reacting operation for high degrees of polymerization have resulted in, at most, a molecular weight of about 20,000 as shown in JP 02-52930 B. For this reason, when a still further higher-molecular weight polymer is needed, the latter, the ring opening polymerization method of a cyclic ester, has been utilized.
In addition, for processes of continuously manufacturing polyester-based polymers using such lactides and lactones, continuously manufacturing processes using aromatic polyesters and lactones are disclosed in JPs 61-281124A, 61-283619A and 61-287922 A.
Any of these processes include a reaction system by means of a dynamic mixer using a reactor having there in a screw or a paddle-type agitating blade such as a kneader or an extruder and subsequently delivering the polymer inside step by step from an inlet for charging raw materials to a product outlet. They disclose that these techniques enable the completion of reaction in a short time. Mixing operation using such a dynamic mixer, however, cannot prevent a temperature rise due to heat liberation by shear in a final stage of reaction that involves a high-viscosity polymer, while reduction of the agitation speed for avoidance of the heat liberation may cause insufficient mixing in early stages. Additionally, for completing the reaction in a short time mentioned above, an operation such as increasing the reaction temperature or increasing the amount of catalyst is inevitably required, and therefore, in addition to a similar problem, it inversely affects the water resistance of the polyester-based polymer. Furthermore, in order to prevent, for example, the leakage of cyclic esters evaporated by heating or shearing heat liberation to the outside of a system, the methods need to enhance the sealability in agitating shafts, or dispose a portion having an extremely high shearing stress for boosting the sealability by the polymer itself, and so the techniques are not suitable.
Also, with methods for continuously producing polyester-based polymers from lactides, JP 5-93050 A discloses a continuous polymerization method, a so-called CSTR continuous manufacturing process, in which raw materials in a reaction are continuously fed to a plurality of agitating vessels in series to take as the reaction time a residence time of the material from an initial reaction vessel to a final reaction vessel. However, any of these relates to a reactor using a dynamic mixer and does not teach or suggest methods that solve the difficulty in uniform agitation due to increase in viscosity of reactants, which is a problem during continuous production of a high-molecular-weight polyester-based polymer from lactides or lactones, and the difficulty in heat removal.
In other words, even further addition of a method of manufacturing a polyester-based polymer from lactides as disclosed in each technique supra leads to the difficulty in agitation by a normal mixer and sometimes to the difficulty in even taking out the reaction contents in that the molecular weight of the polymer formed is increased, with the polymer viscosity increased to a very high viscosity range of 10,000 poise to hundreds of thousands of poise. In addition, even though the reaction system is agitated using a strong mixer having a devised mixing blade, the reaction contents give rise to the movement such as a laminar flow caused by the rotation of the agitating blade, which makes it difficult to uniformly perform blend in an entire system.
Additionally, accompaniment of heat liberation by ring opening polymerization of a cyclic ester renders difficult the temperature control within the reaction vessel on account of the difficulty of homogeneous agitation along with increased viscosity, thereby leading to an uncontrollable reaction, or to the generation of a temperature distribution in the polymer to deteriorate the quality due to local heating.
As described in JPs 7-26001 A and 7-149878 A, static mixers (SMs) without a dynamic mixer have started being used to solve these problems; however, a non-moving mixing element fixed through a tube has a structure for repeating the splitting, conversion and inversion of the flow, which shows a very large resistance to a fluid itself. In other words, the pressure loss in a reaction system becomes very large, thereby making difficult the designing of a reactor and a pump, etc. Also, the production capacity is lowered due to the upper limit of the discharge pressure.
In addition, the SM is not provided with a movable section of controlling mixing, or shearing force and is allowed to be optimally designed only for certain specific operational conditions. Hence, for other cases and thus most operational conditions, the SM cannot control mixing and must be operated while constantly accompanying a certain extent or more of mixing failure and heat distribution.
Furthermore, when the aperture of the SM, that is, the sectional area for the fluid to pass through is enlarged in order to reduce a high pressure loss, the mixing failure and the heat distribution become remarkably large. Mixing failure increases the time required for stabilizing the physical properties of a product to be discharged from the start of operation and lengthens the residence time necessary for reaching a target conversion of a reaction, thereby causing instability of properties of the product.
To avoid this, when the SM is sometimes used as a loop type continuous reacting apparatus, the mixing effect is increased with increasing the number of loops while a distribution of the residence time through the reactor is proportionally enlarged. As a result, the deteriorations in polymer qualities due to decomposition and discoloration caused by heat subjection for a long while are unavoidable. In particular, in the production of a copolymer of a polymer having hydroxyl groups and/or ester linkages with a cyclic ester, the molecular weight distribution is broadened and further the uniformity of the segment length in each block is decreased as the transesterification proceeds, which in turn causes adverse affects such as broadening of crystal peaks measured by DSC. Also, increase in flow volume in the loop section makes the facilities very large, which renders the cost of the facilities high and makes the reactor not practical.
On the other hand, to avoid a problem concerning mixing in early stages, a method is proposed which involves previously preparing a homogeneous solution using a solvent etc., or conducting preliminary polymerization by means of an agitation type reaction vessel having a mixer. However, mixing of raw materials for a polymer which are a solid or a high viscous liquid at a handling temperature with a cyclic ester require long-duration treatment under heating conditions, which cannot avoid a problem similar to the problem occurring in the above-mentioned loop type continuous reactor as a reaction proceeds.
In particular, polyester-based polymers produced from these cyclic esters have an excellent property in biodegradability, while they are susceptible to hydrolysis caused by acids, alkalis, or water and also have a property of being readily subjected to molecular-weight reduction by heat. For example, in GUPTAM, C, Colloid Polym. Sol. (DEU) 260 (3) 308–311, 1982, a study on thermal decomposition rates of homopolymers of dilactide by heat-up thermogravimetric analysis in air is reported which shows that molecular-weight reduction acceleratedly occurs even in a sealed reaction vessel for the case at an elevated temperature of 250° C. or higher.
In addition, homopolymers and copolymers of dilactide are susceptible to progress in discoloring when exposed to high temperature. In other words, the conventional manufacturing methods using such cyclic esters cannot attain uniform blending because of an increase in viscosity accompanying increase in the molecular weight of the polymer, thus effecting partial deterioration due to local heating leading to creation of the problem of decline in qualities. Aside from a small-scale experiment in a laboratory, large-scale industrial production requires a preferable manufacturing method.
As described above, when producing a polyester-based polymer, uniform agitation is difficult to be performed due to the reaction system becoming highly viscous, which sometimes leads to the occurrence of thermal decomposition, discoloration, etc, as well as decline in qualities of a polymer formed and decrease in production capacity on account of a high pressure loss. Also, because blending in early stages of reaction of a polymer having hydroxyl groups and/or ester linkages with a cyclic ester, i.e. raw materials, is difficult to be performed, an economically disadvantageous process has been enforced.
The present invention solves the difficulty of uniform agitation due to increase in viscosity of reactants, which is a problem during industrial production of a high-molecular-weight polyester-based polymer, the difficulty of uniform blending of a highly viscous raw material and low viscous raw material, the difficulty of heat removal, and productivity reduction on account of a high pressure loss, and provides a process of continuously producing a polyester-based polymer having excellent quality.

Process of continuously producing polyester polymer


A control plane entity selects a subset of a plurality of user plane entities to support a charging session associated with a user based on charging policies for the plurality of user plane entities. The control plane entity allocates portions of a quota for the charging session to the control plane entity and the subset of the plurality of user plane entities based on the charging policies. In some cases, the control plane entity modifies the quotas that are allocated to the control plane entity or the subset of the plurality of user plane entities. Modifying the quotas can include redistributing unused portions of the quotas among the control plane entity and the subset of the plurality of user plane entities, e.g., in response to handover of the user equipment between user plane entities.

Mobile communication systems provide a variety of services including streaming, social networking, electronic business, Internet searching, and the like. The services are extremely popular among users and user data traffic in mobile communication systems is expected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future. At the same time, users expect their quality of experience to improve. For example, users expect the latency of the mobile communication system to decrease despite the expected significant increase in traffic. At least in part to address these issues, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is developing an architecture for mobile communication systems that separates portions of the system into control plane functionality and user plane functionality.

Charging policies in network entities that have separate control plane and user plane


A saddle riding type vehicle includes a vehicle body frame, a head pipe, a steering shaft, and a steering damper. The head pipe is attached to the front end of the vehicle body frame. The steering shaft is inserted rotatably in the head pipe. The steering damper includes an electromagnet, a magnetic member, and a magnetic fluid. The electromagnet is provided around the steering shaft and has a first surface. The magnetic member is provided around the steering shaft and has a second surface opposed to the first surface. The magnetic fluid is stored in a gap formed between the first and second surfaces. One of the electromagnet and the magnetic member is attached to the steering shaft and the other is attached to the head pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to saddle riding type vehicles, and more specifically to a saddle riding type vehicle including a steering damper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Steering dampers are used in some cases in saddle riding type vehicles such as a motorcycle, an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle), and a snowmobile. The steering damper is used to damp the oscillation of a steering mechanism such as a steering wheel or steering handle.
A steering damper disclosed by JP 2000-203481 A is provided coaxially with a steering shaft. The disclosed steering damper includes a plurality of movable side disk plates, a plurality of fixed side disk plates, and a casing. The plurality of movable side disk plates rotate in synchronization with the steering shaft. The plurality of fixed side disk plates are attached to the casing. The casing stores a viscous fluid. The disclosed steering damper damps the oscillation of the front wheel during traveling using the viscous fluid.
However, the steering damper disclosed in JP 2000-203481 A cannot change the damping force.

Saddle riding type vehicle including steering damper


A map-updating-data creating apparatus performs, for each old map file, creating a map-updating file for rewriting the map file to a new map file, determining the serial number of each of the updated map files, creating a serial number management file in which marks are respectively written at positions corresponding to the serial numbers, and generating, as map-updating data, the map-updating file and the serial number management file. A navigation apparatus performs map-updating processing and determines, by referring to the serial number management file, whether a map file has already been updated. The navigation apparatus uses the map-updating file to execute navigation control if the map file has already been updated, and updates the map file and subsequently executes the navigation control if the map file has not been updated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to map-updating-data creating methods, and map updating methods and apparatuses, and in particular, to a method for creating map-updating data for use in map updating in the background while performing navigation control, and a map updating method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A navigation apparatus reads, from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (compact-disk read-only memory), a DVD (digital versatile disc), or a hard disk, map data corresponding to the present position of a vehicle, and draws the read map data to display a map on a display screen. In addition, the navigation apparatus fixedly displays a vehicle mark at a predetermined position, and scrolls the displayed map in accordance with traveling of the vehicle. The map data includes (1) a road layer including node data, road link data, and intersection data, (2) a background layer for displaying objects on the map, and (3) a character layer for displaying municipality names, etc. A map image displayed on the display screen is generated based on the background layer and the character layer, and map matching and guidance-route searching are performed on the basis of the road layer. Additionally, the navigation apparatus has a route guidance function which searches for a guidance route from a place of departure to a destination and which displays the guidance route on the map, and a personal computer display function that displays predetermined POI (place of interest) marks on the map.
The map data recorded on the recording medium becomes obsolete with time because of a topographic data changes due to construction of a new road, etc., opening and closure of facilities, housing/land improvement, and other reasons. Accordingly, a technology (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-337027) of the related art has been proposed in which updated map data is stored in units of regions in a nonvolatile memory of a navigation apparatus, and navigation control is performed such that a map of a region whose map data has been updated is read from the nonvolatile memory and a region whose map data has not been updated is read from a recording medium (such as a CD-ROM). This technology performs writing the latest map data of regions (blocks) obtained by performing updating in units of meshes from a removable memory to a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk, and checking, by referring to block management information, whether updated map data of all the meshes, which form the blocks, are stored in the nonvolatile memory. If the updated map data is not stored in the nonvolatile memory, map information is read from a recording medium (such as a CD-ROM). If the updated map data is stored in the nonvolatile memory, the updated map data stored is read and used to perform navigation control. Since, in this technology, it is necessary to perform the navigation control by using both the recording medium, such a CD-ROM or DVD, and the nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk, this technology has a problem in that the navigation control is complicated. In addition, this technology constantly needs a map recording medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD, for navigation control. Thus, it is required that a music CD player and a DVD player be provided separately from a map playback device, so that a problem occurs in that necessary hardware has a large size.
Accordingly, a method (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004-287705 and 2001-165675) has been proposed in which map data is stored in a map storage unit such as a hard disk, and, when the map data is altered, the map data on the hard disk is rewritten by the latest map data.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-287705, a user can update old map data on a hard disk to new map data by acquiring a difference between the old map data and the new map data from a center, or purchasing an updating DVD containing the difference between the old map data and the new map data. This makes it possible to perform navigation control by using the map data on the hard disk, and enables a music-listening and video-viewing DVD player to be used as a DVD for maps. In addition, music and video can be enjoyed while performing navigation control.
FIG. 20 is a schematic illustration of creation of an updating DVD by a map-difference-data creating apparatus (not shown).
Since map data includes a large number of files, the map-difference-data creating apparatus creates difference data items DFD1 to DFDN by extracting, in units of files, a difference between old map file OFL in old version (version 1) and new map file NFL in new version (version 2). After that, the map-difference-data creating apparatus combines all the difference data items to create updating data, and creates an updating DVD 1 by writing the updating data in a DVD.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an updating process of a navigation apparatus that uses the updating DVD 1 to update old map data on the hard disk to new map data. In the case of map updating, in the navigation apparatus, a hard disk (HD) reading unit 2 reads and inputs the old map file OFL in version 1 on a hard disk 3 to an updating unit 4, and a DVD playback unit 5 reads and inputs the difference data on the updating DVD 1 to the updating unit 4. The updating unit 4 creates the new map file in version 2 in units of files by using the difference data and the old map file OFL in version 1, and a hard disk (HD) writing unit 6 uses the new map file NFL to rewrite the old map file OLF.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-165675, a map file to be updated and a map-updating date and time are recorded in a DVD-ROM. When a map file read from the DVD-ROM does not exist on the hard disk, the map file is written on the hard disk, and, when the map file exists, the map-updating dates and times of the map file read from the DVD-ROM and the map file on the hard disk are compared with each other. If the map-updating date and time of the map file on the hard disk is older, the map file on the hard disk is updated by using the map file read from the DVD-ROM.
However, the map updating in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-287705 requires a long time of more than one or two hours. This is because time is taken by processing of creating a new map file based on an old map file and difference data and reading of the old map file. Accordingly, in the map updating, the vehicle needs to be left, with its engine running for the long time required for updating. Alternatively, after removing the hard disk, it is necessary to use a dedicated apparatus installed at a dealer to perform data rewriting for a long time. However, the map updating has a problem of inability to perform navigation control during the data rewriting.
In the map updating in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-165675, although no use of difference data shortens the time required for the map updating compared with that in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-287705, the amount of data is greater than that in the case of recording difference data since a map file to be updated is directly recorded on a DVD. Accordingly, all map files to be updated may not be recorded on a single DVD. The amount of map data at the present is approximately 15 gigabytes and the capacity of a DVD is 8.5 gigabytes. Thus, when more than half of the map files are altered, all the map files to be updated cannot be recorded on the single DVD. In this case, it is necessary to change DVDs during the map updating, so that a map updating operation is complicated. In addition, navigation control is impossible during the map updating. In the technologies of the related art, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004-287705 and 2001-165675, when updating old map data including a large number of map files, it is necessary to determine whether each map file has already been updated. In the above technologies, as shown in FIG. 22, a data version number (MT001) is assigned to map files 21 to 2N, and the data version number of all the map files 21 to 2N is incremented from MT001 to MT002 whenever map updating is performed. By referring to the data version number, it is determined whether each map file is the latest. The above determination requires processing in which, even for each map file whose map data is not to be updated, the map file is read from the hard disk and its version number is rewritten before being written on the hard disk. When considering that hundred thousand map files exist, a problem of a very long map updating time occurs.


A redundant decoder circuit includes a restoration circuit for restoring a decoder which activates a redundant memory cell. When the redundant memory cell which should store a predetermined information is disabled, the restoration circuit stops the decoder from supplying the active signal to the disabled memory cell. Therefore, the predetermined information is to be stored in another memory cell instead of the disabled memory cell, so that the redundant memory cell is used effectively.

A semiconductor memory device includes a redundant memory which stores a predetermined information instead of a main memory when a memory cell of the main memory is disabled, and a redundant decoder circuit supplies an active signal to the redundant memory in accordance with an address signal.
A conventional redundant decoder circuit includes a plurality of fuses which are cut to correspond to a content of the address signal. In this redundant decoder circuit, when an address signal corresponding to a normal memory cell of the main memory is applied to the redundant decoder circuit, no signal is applied to the redundant memory in accordance with the address signal, so that the redundant memory becomes inactive state. On the other hand, when an address signal corresponding to a disabled memory cell of the main memory is applied to the redundant decoder circuit, an active signal is applied to the redundant memory to activate a predetermined redundant memory cell.
According to the conventional redundant decoder circuit, however, there is a disadvantage in that if a redundant memory cell selected by the redundant decoder circuit is disabled, a semiconductor memory circuit is not used as a whole, even if there a normal redundant memory cell is available in the redundant memory. As a result, the semiconductor memory device must be replaced by another one to lower a fabricating yield.


A body cavity observation apparatus includes a treatment tool to be inserted into a body cavity of a subject with an insertion tool as a guide, an observation section attached to an opening of a body wall of the subject, a monitor for displaying the body cavity captured by the observation section, and a marker position-detecting device for detecting a position of a marker part applied to the treatment tool or insertion tool from an image showing the body cavity captured by the observation section. The marker position-detecting device includes a pixel extracting device for extracting a group of pixels in the same color as the color of the marker part from the image and a calculation device for calculating a position of the barycenter of the group of pixels as a position of the marker part. The pixel extracting device extracts a pixel whose output value of a color component included in a color of the marker part among R, G, and B output values outputted from an image pickup device of the observation section is bigger than an output value of a color component that is not included in a color of the marker part by a predetermined threshold of the group of pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body cavity observation apparatus, and more specifically to a body cavity observation apparatus that performs various treatments by displaying a subject's body cavity on a monitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
An abdominoscope apparatus, which is a body cavity observation apparatus, is an apparatus for piercing a surface of the patient's abdomen with a trocar (insertion tool) into the body cavity, inserting an inserting part of the abdominoscope with the trocar as a guide into the body cavity, and performing various treatments including adhesion treatment by displaying the presence of the adhesion in the body cavity, an observation object such as ovarian tumor, hysteromyoma and the like on a monitor. The abdominoscope is held on a moving holder attached to a fixed part at clinic and kept in a fixed state (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-164148).
In the clinic treatment using the abdominoscope device, a position of the tip of a treatment tool placed inside the body cavity is detected, and the tip of the treatment tool is tracked so that the tip always appears at the center of an image on the monitor to observe the observation object, which is actually subject to treatment, in the center of the monitor image. A position-detecting device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-164148 includes a magnetic three-dimensional position sensor attached to a part of the abdominoscope outside the body cavity. The magnetic three-dimensional position sensor includes a magnetic source attached to the abdominoscope and a magnetic sensor attached to a treatment tool, and calculates a position of the treatment tip of the treatment tool placed inside the body from the location outside the body where the magnetic sensor is set in a coordinate transformation method by rotating/translating and obtains position information on the tip of the treatment tool placed inside the body cavity.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-276974 applies a color marker part to the tip of a treatment tool, extracts the color marker part by converting brightness of a captured image into an independently calculated color space, and determines the extracted position as the tip position of the treatment tool tip.

Observation apparatus that detects position of a treatment tool from an image


A power generator having an impeller configured to facilitate the translation of balls through a ball-actuated turbine and facilitate the transfer of water to drive a water-actuated turbine. The impeller is located within a fluid compartment and creates a turbulent water flow, which generates an inverted vortex. The impeller includes a central bore having an outlet communicating with the fluid compartment and an inlet communicating with a feed space. An array of balls is supplied to the impeller bore via the feed space and traverses the bore in response to the vortex. The balls ascend through the fluid compartment and an upper water tank. At a higher elevation, the ascending balls are routed downstream via gravity to the ball-actuated turbine, while water is routed downstream via gravity to the water-actuated turbine. After performing their respective turbine-driving actions, the water and balls recirculate to the feed space to repeat the cycle.

There are different methods of categorizing energy—potential versus kinetic, type of energy, method of extraction, etc. When comparing renewable and nonrenewable energy, the method by which the energy is extracted creates the difference. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable energy is generated from resources that are naturally replenishing but whose energy per unit time is its limiting factor. Examples of renewable energy include solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. Conversely, nonrenewable energy is obtained from resources that either do not naturally replenish or replenish too slowly to be realistically replaced. Examples of nonrenewable energy include mostly fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
Although nonrenewable energy is superior in energy production per unit time, it is unsustainable for different reasons. As stated previously, the resources that produce nonrenewable energy will eventually deplete, while the global average per capita energy consumption has consistently increased. Between 1970-2014, average consumption has increased by approximately 45 percent according to Our World in Data.
A second reason for the unsustainability of nonrenewable resources relates to pollution. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted into the environment. Greenhouse gas is a major contributor to climate change, a serious environmental threat capable of impacting life on Earth through more frequent and extreme heat waves, droughts, storms, and spread of disease. The main human activity that emits carbon dioxide is the combustion of fossil fuels for energy and transportation, as disclosed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, changing the major source of energy acquisition from fossil fuels to renewable energy (clean energy) is critically important.
However, growth in the renewable energy sector has barely kept pace with the increased global demand for electricity. For example, fossil fuels provided about 70 percent of global electricity in 1980 and 65 percent in 2010. Despite the use of nuclear power in the 1980s, technology providing substantial improvement in acquiring energy from renewable resources has remained stagnant—yet the use of depleting resources has increased to keep up with demand.
This is not to say important technological advancements have not been made, but they tend to lack efficiency of energy acquisition from renewable resources. For example, a diversion facility is a type of hydroelectric plant that channel the flow of water toward power-generating turbines. The power cells where the turbines are contained consist of a multitude of mechanical parts, resulting in a system with an inherent efficiency deficiency.
Therefore, there is an unmet need for technological advancements capable of sustainably and efficiently making use of renewable energy in face of the stagnation affecting the sector. Namely, there is an established need for a power generator cell that offers increased energy efficiency by transforming the energy input into multiple energy output pathways each driving and powering a separate turbine unit.

Power generator with multiple turbine units