The invention encompasses the novel compound of Formula I as well as a method of treating COX-2 mediated diseases comprising administration to a patient in need of such treatment of a non-toxic therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I. The invention also encompasses certain pharmaceutical compositions for treatment of COX-2 mediated diseases comprising compounds of Formula I.

This invention relates to methods of treating cyclooxygenase mediated diseases and certain pharmaceutical compositions therefor.
Non-steroidal, antiinflammatory drugs exert most of their antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity and inhibit hormone-induced uterine contractions and certain types of cancer growth through inhibition of prostaglandin G/H synthase, also known as cyclooxygenase. Initially, only one form of cyclooxygenase was known, this corresponding to cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) or the constitutive enzyme, as originally identified in bovine seminal vesicles. More recently the gene for a second inducible form of cyclooxygenase, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been cloned, sequenced and characterized initially from chicken, murine and human sources. This enzyme is distinct from the COX-1 which has been cloned, sequenced and characterized from various sources including the sheep, the mouse and man. The second form of cyclooxygenase, COX-2, is rapidly and readily inducible by a number of agents including mitogens, endotoxin, hormones, cytokines and growth factors. As prostaglandins have both physiological and pathological roles, we have concluded that the constitutive enzyme, COX-1, is responsible, in large part, for endogenous basal release of prostaglandins and hence is important in their physiological functions such as the maintenance of gastrointestinal integrity and renal blood flow. In contrast, we have concluded that the inducible form, COX-2, is mainly responsible for the pathological effects of prostaglandins where rapid induction of the enzyme would occur in response to such agents as inflammatory agents, hormones, growth factors, and cytokines. Thus, a selective inhibitor of COX-2 will have similar antiinflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic properties to a conventional non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug, and in addition would inhibit hormone-induced uterine contractions and have potential anti-cancer effects, but will have a diminished ability to induce some of the mechanism-based side effects. In particular, such a compound should have a reduced potential for gastrointestinal toxicity, a reduced potential for renal side effects, a reduced effect on bleeding times and possibly a lessened ability to induce asthma attacks in aspirin-sensitive asthmatic subjects.
Furthermore, such a compound will also inhibit prostanoid-induced smooth muscle contraction by preventing the synthesis of contractile prostanoids and hence may be of use in the treatment of dysmenorrhea, premature labour, asthma and eosinophil related disorders. It will also be of use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, for decreasing bone loss particularly in postmenopausal women (i.e. treatment of osteoporosis) and for the treatment of glaucoma.
The potential utilities of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors are discussed in the following articles:
1. John Vane, "Towards a better aspirin" in Nature, Vol. 367, pp. 215-216, 1994.
2. Bruno Battistini, Regina Botting and Y. S. Bakhle, "COX-1 and COX-2: Toward the Development of More Selective NSAIDs" in Drug News and Perspectives, Vol. 7, pp. 501-512, 1994. PA1 3. David B. Reitz and Karen Seibert, "Selective Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors" in Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, James A. Bristol, Editor, Vol. 30, pp. 179-188, 1995. PA1 4. Don E. Griswold and Jerry L. Adams, "Constituative Cyclooxygenase (COX-1) and Inducible Cyclooxygenase (COX-2): Rationale for Selective Inhibition and Progress to Date" in Medicinal Research Reviews, Vol. 16, pp. 181-206, 1996. PA1 Ar is a mono-, di-, or trisubstituted phenyl or pyridinyl (or the N-oxide thereof), wherein the substituents are chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.2 is chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7, R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.10, R.sup.11, R.sup.12, R.sup.13, are each independantly chosen from the group consisting of PA1 or R.sup.4 and R.sup.5, R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 or R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 together with the atom to which they are attached form a saturated monocyclic ring of 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 atoms. PA1 (a) hydrogen, PA1 (b) halo, PA1 (c) C.sub.1-4 alkoxy, PA1 (d) C.sub.1-4 alkylthio, PA1 (e) C.sub.1-4 alkyl, PA1 (f) CF.sub.3, and PA1 (g) CN. PA1 Ar is a mono-, di-, or trisubstituted pyridinyl (or the N-oxide thereof), wherein the substituents are chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.2 is chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.11, R.sup.12, R.sup.13, are each independantly chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.2 is chosen from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.2 is chloro, PA1 wherein there is one group X independently selected from the group consisting of PA1 R.sup.2 is chloro, PA1 wherein there is one group X independently selected from the group consisting of PA1 3-(4-Methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-phenyl-5-trifluoromethylpyridine; PA1 2-(3-Chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-5-trifluoromethyl-pyridine; PA1 2-(4-Chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-5-trifluoromethyl-pyridine; PA1 2-(4-Fluorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-5-trifluoromethyl-pyridine; PA1 3-(4-Methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(3-pyridinyl)-5-trifluoromethylpyridine; PA1 5-Methyl-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-phenylpyridine; PA1 2-(4-Chlorophenyl)-5-methyl-3-(4-methylsulfonyl) phenylpyridine; PA1 5-Methyl-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(3-pyridinyl) pyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl) phenylpyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(2-pyridinyl) pyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(3-pyridinyl) pyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(4-pyridinyl) pyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(2-methyl-5-pyridinyl)pyridine; PA1 2-(4-Chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenylpyridinyl-5-carboxylic acid methyl ester; PA1 2-(4-Chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenylpyridinyl-5-carboxylic acid; PA1 5-Cyano-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methylsulfonyl) phenylpyridine; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(3-pyridyl)pyridine hydromethanesulfonate; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(3-pyridyl)pyridine hydrochloride; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(2-methyl-5-pyridinyl)pyridine Hydrochloride; PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(2-ethyl-5-pyridinyl)pyridine; and PA1 5-Chloro-3-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2-(2-ethyl-5-pyridinyl)pyridine hydromethanesulfonate. PA1 a non-toxic therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. PA1 a non-toxic therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. PA1 administration to a patient in need of such treatment of a non-toxic therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. PA1 AA=arachidonic acid PA1 Ac=acetyl PA1 AIBN=2.2-azobisisobutyronitrile PA1 BHT=butylated hydroxytoluene PA1 Bn=benzyl PA1 CSA=camphor sulfonic acid (racemic) PA1 dba=dibenzylideneacetone PA1 DMAP=4-(dimethylamino)pyridine PA1 DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide PA1 DMSO=dimethyl sulfoxide PA1 EDTA=ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid PA1 ESA=ethane sulfonic acid PA1 Et.sub.3 N=triethylamine PA1 HBSS=Hanks balanced salt solution PA1 HEPES=N-[2-Hydroxyethyl]piperazine-N.sup.1 -[2-ethanesulfonic acid] PA1 HWB=human whole blood PA1 KHMDS=potassium hexamethyldisilazane PA1 LDA=lithium diisopropylamide PA1 LPS=lipopolysaccharide PA1 mCPBA=m-chloroperbenzoic acid PA1 MMPP=magnesium monoperoxyphthalate PA1 Ms=methanesulfonyl=mesyl PA1 Ms0=methanesulfonate=mesylate PA1 MTBE=methyl tert-butyl ether PA1 NBS=N-bromosuccinimide PA1 NCS=N-chlorosuccinimide PA1 NIS=N-iodosuccinimide PA1 NMO=N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide PA1 NMP=N-methylpyrrolidone PA1 NSAID=non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug PA1 oxone.RTM.=2KHSO.sub.5 KHSO.sub.4 K.sub.2 SO.sub.4 PA1 PCC=pyridinium chlorochromate PA1 PDC=pyridinium dichromate PA1 PEG=polyethyleneglycol PA1 Ph=phenyl PA1 pyr=pyridinyl PA1 r.t.=room temperature PA1 rac.=racemic PA1 Tf=trifluoromethanesulfonyl=triflyl PA1 Tf0=trifluoromethanesulfonate=triflate PA1 THF=tetrahydrofuran PA1 TLC=thin layer chromatography PA1 Ts=p-toluenesulfonyl=tosyl PA1 TsO=p-toluenesulfonate=tosylate PA1 Tz=1H (or 2H)-tetrazol-5-yl PA1 SO.sub.2 Me=methyl sulfone PA1 SO.sub.2 NH.sub.2 =sulfonamide PA1 Me=methyl PA1 Et=ethyl PA1 n-Pr=normal propyl PA1 i-Pr=isopropyl PA1 n-Bu=normal butyl PA1 i-Bu=isobutyl PA1 s-Bu=secondary butyl PA1 t-Bu=tertiary butyl PA1 c-Pr=cyclopropyl PA1 c-Bu=cyclobutyl PA1 c-Pen=cyclopentyl PA1 c-Hex=cyclohexyl PA1 bid - bis in die=twice daily PA1 qid=quater in die=four times a day PA1 tid=ter in die=three times a day PA1 0, 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h PA1 PEG 200/300/400: restricted to 2 mL/kg PA1 Methocel 0.5%-1.0%: 10 mL/kg PA1 Tween 80: 10 mL/kg PA1 0, 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 6 h or PA1 0, 5 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h. PA1 Dextrose: 1 mL/kg PA1 Moleculosol 25%: 1 mL/kg PA1 DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide): Restricted to a dose volume of 0.1 mL per animal PA1 PEG 200: Not more than 60% mixed with 40% sterile water--1 mL/kg PA1 (i) all operations were carried out at room or ambient temperature, that is, at a temperature in the range 18-25.degree. C. and drying of organics was done using MgSO.sub.4, PA1 (ii) evaporation of solvent was carried out using a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure (600-4000 pascals: 4.5-30 mm. Hg) with a bath temperature of up to 60.degree. C., PA1 (iii) the course of reactions was followed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and reaction times are given for illustration only; PA1 (iv) melting points are uncorrected and `d` indicates decomposition; the melting points given are those obtained for the materials prepared as described; polymorphism may result in isolation of materials with different melting points in some preparations; PA1 (v) the structure and purity of all final products were assured by at least one of the following techniques: TLC, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry or microanalytical data; PA1 (vi) yields are given for illustration only; PA1 (vii) when given, NMR data is in the form of delta (d) values for major diagnostic protons, given in parts per million (ppm) relative to tetramethylsilane (TMS) as internal standard, determined at 300 MHz or 400 MHz using the indicated solvent; conventional abbreviations used for signal shape are: s. singlet; d. doublet; t. triplet; m. multiplet; br. broad; etc.: in addition "Ar" signifies an aromatic signal; PA1 (viii) chemical symbols have their usual meanings; the following abbreviations have also been used v (volume), w (weight), b.p. (boiling point), m.p. (melting point), L (litre(s)), mL (millilitres), g (gram(s)), mg (milligrams(s)), mol (moles), mmol (millimoles), eq (equivalent(s)), r.t. (room temperature).
WO 96/10012 (DuPont Merck, Apr. 4, 1996) discloses compounds represented by Formula A as being useful in the treatment of COX-2 mediated diseases, by virtue of their selective inhibition of COX-2 rather than COX-1. We have now discovered that a subset of the compounds represented by A, in which --J--K--L--is --NCHCH--, X is a bond, R.sup.1 is aromatic and R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 are not both hydrogen show unexpectedly superior selectivity for the inhibition of COX-2 over COX-1 and/or superior potency as compared to the closest species disclosed in 96/10012. This subset of compounds is the subject of the present invention and is represented by Formula I. ##STR1##
Of the over 175 specific compounds disclosed in WO 96/10012, only 4 of them are pyridines, and none of these latter contain a substituent (R.sup.3 or R.sup.4 in A) on the pyridine ring.
WO 96/16934 (Searle, Jun. 6, 1996) discloses compounds represented by structure B as being useful for the treatment of inflammation and related disorders. Chemically, these compounds differ from those of the present invention in that the central of the three aromatic rings is benzene rather than pyridine.

Substituted pyridines as selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors


An information signal reproducing apparatus for reproducing from a recording medium information signals recorded on recording tracks formed on the recording medium. The boosting ratio at which an information signal reproduced from the recording medium is boosted before it is output is selected in response to changes in the state of reproduction, thereby minimizing deterioration of the reproduced information signal as well as stabilizing the reproduction operation.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing information signals recorded on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art:
A still video apparatus shown in FIG. 1 which is an example of this kind of conventional apparatus for reproducing information signals has a reproducing system which makes use of a boosting transformer 5 to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of a reproduction signal if a thin film head or the like is employed as a magnetic head 1. A motor 3 is rotated at a constant speed under the control of a motor control circuit 4. The magnetic head 1 detects a signal from a magnetic recording medium 2 in the form of a disk which is rotated by the motor 3. This signal is boosted by the boosting transformer 5 so as to obtain an optimum carrier-to-noise (C/N) ratio, is amplified by a preamplifier 6, and thereafter undergoes amplitude correction in an equalizer 7, finally being demodulated into a baseband signal by an FM demodulator 6. The magnetic head 1 is capable of moving on a head moving rail 9 in the radial direction of the recording medium 2. The position of the magnetic head 1 is controlled by a head driving circuit 10. The magnetic head 1 is moved on the head moving rail 9 so that it reproduces signals from recording tracks formed on the magnetic recording medium 2.
As is well-known, a relative speed between the disk-like magnetic recording medium and the magnetic head becomes smaller as the head approaches the inner circumference of the recording medium. Correspondingly, the reproduction output is necessarily reduced. If the radius of an outermost recording track of a single magnetic recording medium is 20 mm; the radius of an innermost recording track is 15.1 mm; and the track pitch is 0.1 mm, this recording medium has 50 tracks available for recording. If the rotational speed of the recording medium is 3600 rpm, the speed of the first (outermost) track is 7.54 m/s, and the speed of the fiftieth (innermost) track is 5.69 m/s. The speed of the fiftieth track relative to the magnetic head is lower than that of the first track by 25%. In addition, if the recording frequency is 7 MHz, the recording wavelength is 1.1 .mu.m at the first track and is 0.8 .mu.m at the fiftieth track. The loss depending upon the recording wavelength is greater at the fiftieth track than it is at the first track. As a whole, there is a reduction of more than 25% in the output from the recording medium at the innermost track.
The boosting ratio of the boosting transformer 5 is determined so that the C/N is highest at the innermost track on the magnetic recording medium.
If a head reproduction output is E; the boosting ratio of the boosting transformer is n; the input-conversion noise level of the preamplifier is N.sub.A ; the level of head impedance noise is N.sub.h ; and the level of noise including tracing noise and modulation noise generating on the recording medium is Nm (N represents the level of noise certain frequency apart from the carrier, C represents the carrier), the C/N of a carrier having a single carrier frequency is represented by ##EQU1##
N.sub.A and N.sub.h are constant with respect to the position of the magnetic head on the recording medium in the radial direction while N.sub.m changes depending upon the radial position of the magnetic head such that it is larger at an outer circumferential position (where the wavelength is longer) than it is at an inner circumferential position (where the wavelength is shorter). Therefore, if N.sub.A and N.sub.h are on the same order, for example, they are several 0.1 nv/.sqroot.Hz, there are different relationships between n and C/N at the outer and inner circumferences of the recording area on the recording medium, as those shown in FIG. 2, in which the C/N begins to saturate at the outer circumference when n is n.sub.1 which is a value smaller than n.sub.2 which corresponds to the saturation at the inner circumference. As a result, the boosting ratio is generally set to a value as represented by n.sub.2 (relating to the change in C/N at the inner circumference).
However, if the boosting ratio of the boosting transformer is increased, the coupling coefficient tends to become smaller depending upon the form of the transformer or upon how the winding is formed, and the insertion loss thereby increases, resulting in a problem of a deterioration in the transmission characteristics.
To widen the band of recording signals on the recording medium, the resonance-point frequency of the recording head should be heightened as much as possible. It is therefore desired to reduce the inductance of the boosting transformer by minimizing the boosting ratio thereof.
Recently, many attempts have been made to achieve improvements in magnetic recording mediums or circuits for use in magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus for recording or reproducing information signals such as video signals in order to realize recording/reproduction of images with improved image qualities which cannot be achieved by conventional apparatus. In a system generally adopted for this purpose, the carrier frequency of a luminance signal recorded on a magnetic recording medium is increased in order to widen the video signal band and thereby realize image formation with a high degree of resolution.
In this case, many apparatus of this kind are designed, as in the case of a Super-VHS system for a video tape recorder, to provide a compatibility with ordinary conventional apparatus in such a manner that one recording/reproduction apparatus is constituted by two types of systems selectively used: one in which recording or reproduction is performed with the same frequency deviation as that of the conventional apparatus; and one in which the carrier frequency is heightened so as to expand the recording band for recording or reproduction of high-resolution video information.
FIG. 3 shows an example of this type of conventional magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus in which a video signal which has been input through a signal input terminal 11 is supplied via a switch S.sub.1 to one of a circuit 12 for processing high-resolution video information recording signals and a circuit 13 for processing low-resolution video information recording signals, is amplified by a recording amplifier 14 to a suitable amplitude, and is thereafter supplied as a recording current to a magnetic head 16 via a recording/reproduction change-over switch S.sub.2 and a boosting transformer 15 such as a rotary transformer, finally being recorded on a magnetic recording medium A in the form of a tape or disk.
When recording information recorded on the recording medium A in this manner is reproduced, the voltage of a signal detected by the magnetic head 16 is boosted to a suitable level by the boosting transformer 15, and the reproduction signal is thereafter supplied to a preamplifier 17 via a switch S.sub.2, and is supplied via a switch S.sub.3 to a circuit 18 for processing high-resolution video information reproduction signals if the signal contains high-resolution video information or to a circuit 19 for processing low-resolution video information reproduction signals if the signal contains conventional video information, the output from each circuit being output through an output terminal 20.
However, in the above example of the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to employ a recording medium improved in high-band characteristics in order to compensate for a reduction in the output of the high-band components of the video information signal in the high-image-quality mode in which the FM carrier frequency is increased. This is disadvantageous in terms of handling of the recording medium. It is also necessary to employ, as the recording/reproduction head, a narrow-gap head in order to improve the sensitivity in the high band of the video signal as much as possible. On the other hand, however, the use of a narrow-gap head entails a deterioration of the low-band reproduction sensitivity.

Information signal reproducing apparatus


The present invention is a hinge repair tool constructed from two, spaced apart pairs of modified vise grip or wrench pliers. A single, elongated, upper bar is connected to the respective top jaws of each of the pairs of pliers. Two lower bars are also connected to respective lower jaws of the two pairs of pliers. Each of the pairs of pliers is operative independently of one another, so that each of the respective lower bars can be repositioned relative to the common upper bar. The lower bars are separated from one another and a gap is formed therebetween. A rigid bar is connected to the handles of the two pairs of pliers to provide additional stability. The vise grip pliers each include a mechanism for locking the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw thereof.

One of the earliest structural components of civilized man was the swinging door. In order to provide privacy and to exclude the elements and unwanted intruders, animals and insects from living quarters, swinging doors are now common features of buildings. Doors are disposed both externally and internally to buildings such as houses, office buildings, factories, hospitals, warehouses, theaters, and schools. Even twenty-first century doors that open and close quickly, quietly and automatically by sensing the presence of a person proximate thereto are most often swinging doors.
Historically, the preferred mechanism for effecting the swinging door operation is the hinge, which movably connects the door to its door frame. The standard hinge comprises two metal plates or leaves, each having a number of apertures (screw or nail holes) formed therein. A swiveling mechanism, such as a slip pin, cup and ball, or spiral elevator device, which may be spring-loaded, connects the two metal leaves. Conventionally, two or more hinges are spaced apart along one longitudinal border of a door in order to provide stability. It is not unusual to encounter more than two hinges disposed on a door and door frame, depending upon the size and weight of the door that is supported thereby.
Over a period of time, especially when a door is opened and closed frequently and most often when the door itself is massive, as in the case of external doors and steel doors, the screws or nails securing the metal leaves to the door and/or door frame can shift position and misalign relative to the structures they support. In the case of wooden doors and door frames, changes in heat and humidity are also the cause for such shifting and misaligning. When this misalignment occurs, the door may "stick" to the door frame, making it difficult to open the door, once closed. In extreme situations, the door may not close entirely.
Heretofore, the solution to the shifting and misalignment problem has been to remove one or both leaves of the hinge and replace or reseat the hinge with new, usually larger screws. Wood putty or filler was employed, when necessary.
Repositioning the hinge(s) relative to the door and door frame was another, more time-consuming option. What is needed is a tool for adjusting the hinge relative to the door and door frame.


An integrated circuit device includes a substrate including first and second fin-type active areas, a gate structure on the first and second fin-type active areas, first and second source/drain regions on the first and second fin-type active areas, respectively, a first source/drain contact on the first source/drain region and comprising first and second portions, a second source/drain contact on the second source/drain region and comprising first and second portions, the second portion having an upper surface at a lower level than an upper surface of the first portion, a first stressor layer on the upper surface of the second portion of the first source/drain contact, and a second stressor layer on the upper surface of the second portion of the second source/drain contact, the second stressor layer including a material different from a material included in the first stressor layer.

According to demand for electronic appliances to be light, thin, and small, the demand for high integration of integrated circuit devices has been increasing. Owing to the downscaling of integrated circuit devices, development of integrated circuit devices in which insulating distances among wires and contacts can be reliably provided within a relatively small device area and performance of the integrated circuit devices can be optimized may be demanded.


The invention relates to an elevator installation and also to a method for controlling elevators. In the method a run plan is formed for driving elevator cars on the basis of service requests, the elevator cars are driven according to the run plan, by supplying electric power via the electricity distribution network of the building to a hoisting machine driving an elevator car, and also by supplying electric power from a hoisting machine braking an elevator car back to the electricity distribution network of the building, alternatives for a run plan are formed for driving elevator cars on the basis of service requests, the electric power which the hoisting machines need for implementing the aforementioned alternatives is determined, and also a run plan is selected for use from the plurality of different alternatives, when implementing which run plan the electric powers of the hoisting machines, when summed together, smooth the power variation occurring in the electricity supply of the building.

The electrical energy requirement of elevators varies at different times. During a run the power requirement is essentially greater than during a standstill of the elevator. The load of the elevator car as well as, inter alia, the magnitude of the counterweight of the elevator car affect the power consumption during a run.
The fuses of a rising main in a building as well as the cables are usually dimensioned according to a greater required power. Generally the costs of a mains electricity connection of a building increase when the dimensioning of the fuses/the power requirement of the building increases.
From the viewpoint of the electricity provider, a wide-ranging power variation can be a problem, because it might cause, among other things, oscillation in the frequency of the electricity network.

Elevator installation and a method for controlling elevators


In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a queue comprising a plurality of entries and a control unit coupled to the queue. The control unit is configured to allocate a first queue entry to a store memory operation, and is configured to write a first even offset, a first even mask, a first odd offset, and a first odd mask corresponding to the store memory operation to the first entry. A group of contiguous memory locations are logically divided into alternately-addressed even and odd byte ranges. A given store memory operation writes at most one even byte range and one adjacent odd byte range. The first even offset identifies a first even byte range that is potentially written by the store memory operation, and the first odd offset identifies a first odd byte range that is potentially written by the store memory operation. The first even mask identifies bytes within the first even byte range that are written by the store memory operation, and wherein the first odd mask identifies bytes within the first odd byte range that are written by the store memory operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to processors and, more particularly, to detecting load/store dependencies in processors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processors generally include support for memory operations to facilitate transfer of data between the processors and memory to which the processors may be coupled. As used herein, a memory operation is an operation specifying a transfer of data between a processor and a main memory (although the transfer may be completed in cache). Load memory operations specify a transfer of data from memory to the processor, and store memory operations specify a transfer of data from the processor to memory. Memory operations may be an implicit part of an instruction which includes a memory operation, or may be explicit load/store instructions. Load memory operations may be more succinctly referred to herein as "loads". Similarly, store memory operations may be more succinctly referred to as "stores".
A given memory operation can specify the transfer of multiple bytes beginning at a memory address that is calculated during execution of the memory operation. For example, 16 bit (2 byte), 32 bit (4 byte), and 64 bit (8 byte) transfers are common in addition to an 8 bit (1 byte) transfer. In some cases, even 128 bit (16 byte) transfers are supported. The address is typically calculated by adding one or more address operands specified by the memory operation to generate an effective address or virtual address, which can optionally be translated through an address translation mechanism to a physical address of a memory location within the memory. Typically, the address can identify any byte as the first byte to be transferred, and the additional bytes of the multiple byte transfer are contiguous in memory to the first byte and stored at increasing (numerical) memory addresses.
Since any byte can be identified as the first byte, a given memory operation can be misaligned. Various processors define misalignment in different ways. In the strictest sense, a memory operation is misaligned if it is not aligned to a boundary that matches its data size (e.g. an 8 byte memory operation is misaligned if not aligned to an 8 byte boundary in memory, a 4 byte memory operation is misaligned if not aligned to a 4 byte boundary, etc.). Misaligned memory operations can, in some cases require additional execution resources (as compared to an aligned memory operation) to complete the access, and misalignment can be more loosely defined to be those cases in which additional resources are needed. For example, a processor often implements a cache having cache blocks. If one or more of the bytes operated upon by the memory operation are in one cache line and the remaining bytes are in another cache line, two cache lines are accessed to complete the memory operation as opposed to one cache line if the accessed bytes are included within one cache line.
Since memory operations can have arbitrary alignment and arbitrary size, dependency checking between loads and previous stores that have not yet completed is complicated. Often, a full cache block-sized mask is maintained for each incomplete store, identifying bytes within the cache block that are written by the store. A similar cache-block sized mask is generated for each load, and compared to the store masks. A dependency can thus be detected by comparing the cache block address of the store to the cache block address of the load (i.e. the address less the least significant bits that form an offset into the cache block) for equality, and detecting that at least one mask bit corresponding to the same byte is set in both the store mask and the load mask. However, storage for the masks is expensive.

Efficient encoding for detecting load dependency on store with misalignment


A water sports board, such as a surf board, is described which has a rider operated center fin that is rotatably mounted on the lower side of the board which aids in steering the board. The central fin is rotatably moved by a center fin assembly that includes a driving mechanism such as a tiller or arm secured to a rotatable shaft passing through the board that is secured to the rotatable central fin. The rider uses his or her rear foot to apply a force to the tiller or arm which moves the tiller and in turn moves the center fin so as to steer the board.

Surfboards and other water sport boards generally are elongated tapered boards having upper surfaces called a deck, lower surfaces and center line. The boards are configured to support a rider on their upper surfaces. Early surfboards had a single fin in an aft position mounted to the lower surface along a center line of the board. Most commercially available surfboards now have a triple fin arrangement, commonly referred to as the thruster, on the lower surface at the aft portion of the board. The three fin arrangement has a center fin mounted along the center line of the board and two other side fins are spaced away from the center line of the board and forward of the center fin. The two side fins are usually mounted to the board at an acute angle with respect to the center line, i.e. they tow in and they are frequently canted, i.e. inclined away from the center line.


A semiconductor device includes a lower substrate having wiring patterns formed of a plurality of wirings, semiconductor chips located above the lower substrate and electrically connected to the wirings, an intermediate member which seals the semiconductor chips in columnar form and substantially, and a resin board which substantially covers the entire upper surface of the intermediate member. A thermal expansion coefficient of the resin board and a thermal expansion coefficient of the lower substrate are made approximately identical to each other.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device wherein semiconductor chips are electrically connected to a wiring board and sealed, and a manufacturing method thereof.
In a conventional semiconductor device, a plurality of circuit wirings are provided on a front surface of a wiring board formed of a glass epoxy resin. Semiconductor chips are electrically connected to the circuit wirings and mounted thereto. The semiconductor chips mounted onto the wiring board are sealed with a first encapsulating resin layer such as a resin approximately equal to the wiring board in thermal expansion coefficient. The first encapsulating resin layer is heated and temporarily cured. After the temporary curing of the first encapsulating resin layer, a second encapsulating resin layer comprised of a high Tg resin made coincident with the wiring board in thermal expansion coefficient is applied so as to reach a thickness similar to that of the wiring board. Then, the first and second encapsulating resin layers are heat and cured and external terminals are formed on the back surface of the wiring board, whereby the above semiconductor device is manufactured. Excessive thermal expansion of the first encapsulating resin layer exceeding a glass transition temperature Tg upon heat treatment in a reflow process at the mounting of the semiconductor device on a mounting board is suppressed by the second encapsulating resin layer which does not exceed the glass transition temperature Tg, thereby preventing warpage of the semiconductor device.
After the temporary curing of the first encapsulating resin layer, a high rigidity member comprised of a metal or the like smaller than a range in which a resin encapsulating layer is applied is disposed on the first encapsulating resin layer. Thereafter, the second encapsulating resin layer is applied and thermoset to enhance the rigidity of the semiconductor device, thereby preventing the warpage of the semiconductor device in the reflow process (refer to, for example, a patent document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 10-112515 (paragraph 0019 in page 4 to paragraph 0031 in page 5 and paragraphs 0031 to 0033 in page 5, and FIGS. 1 and 3)).
In the above patent document 1, the semiconductor chips mounted on the wiring board formed of the glass epoxy resin are sealed with the encapsulating resin layer approximately equal to the wiring board in thermal expansion coefficient. Therefore, even though the encapsulating resin layer is heated and cured in the sealing process step, no warpage occurs at that time, whereas when the thermal expansion coefficient of the wiring board is smaller than that of the encapsulating resin layer, warpage caused by the difference in thermal expansion coefficient at the cooling subsequent to the heating/curing of the encapsulating resin layer in the sealing process step, that is, dish-shaped warpage occurs due to more shrinkage of the encapsulating resin layer at the cooling subsequent to the heating/cooling.
In order to prevent such dish-shaped warpage, the present applicant has proposed a technique wherein in Japanese patent application No. 2005-87644, when semiconductor chips are mounted on a wiring board such as a silicon substrate small in thermal expansion coefficient and sealed with an encapsulating resin layer, a metal plate or sheet formed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient approximately equal to that of a silicon substrate or the like such as a metal plate is provided on the opposite side of the silicon substrate or the like to thereby prevent the dish-shaped warpage of the semiconductor device.
Incidentally, the high rigidity member formed of the metal or the like (having about half length according to FIG. 3 of the patent document 1) smaller than the range in which the encapsulating resin layer is applied, is disposed on the first encapsulating resin layer after the temporary curing of the first encapsulating resin layer in the above patent document 1. Therefore, even though the second encapsulating resin layer is thereafter applied and thermoset, the wiring board and the high rigidity member are set to the same degree in the amount of shrinkage because the length of the high rigidity member less than or equal to half in thermal expansion coefficient is set to about half the length of the wiring board, thus causing no problem referred to above.
However, the patent document 1 is accompanied by problems that when the technique of the patent document 1 is used in the semiconductor device in which there is the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the wiring board and the encapsulating resin layer, more warpage occurs on the shrunk side at the cooling subsequent to the heat treatment for heating/curing when the wiring board equipped with the semiconductor chips is sealed with the encapsulating resin layer in the sealing process step at its manufacture and it is heated/cured and cooled, and when the thermal expansion coefficient of the wiring board is smaller than that of the encapsulating resin layer, the dish-shaped warpage occurs, whereas when the thermal expansion coefficient of the wiring board is large than it, shallow bell-shaped warpage occurs.
With the occurrence of such warpage, the wiring board or the like cannot be held reliably when the wiring board formed with the encapsulating resin layer is held on a working table or the like by suction under vacuum in the external terminal forming process step subsequent to the sealing process step. Further, the formation of the external terminals might become difficult. When the wiring board or the like is held on the working table or the like by a mechanical clamp apparatus, cracks occur in the wiring board or the like because the force trying to correct the warpage acts.
This occurs even in a dividing process step at the time that a plurality of semiconductor devices are simultaneously formed and divided into fractions or pieces. Their retention might be incomplete when they are applied onto a dicing sheet having adhesion to divide them into the fractions.
The above results in a reduction in the manufacturing efficiency of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards bumpless interfaces to an embedded silicon die, in integrated circuit (IC) package assemblies. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a surrounding portion of dielectric material defining a cavity therein; placing at least one die in the cavity, the die including a contact; depositing a dielectric material on the die and the surrounding portion; etching the dielectric material to expose the contact; and depositing conductive material onto the contact. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Emerging package assemblies may include embedded dies, for example, processors and memory chips. In order to access these embedded dies, the packaging assemblies must contain conductive pathways to electrically couple a package-level interconnect (e.g., solder balls) to a die contact Current technologies used to fabricate interfaces between dies and the surrounding packaging may require numerous processing steps each contributing to the cost and manufacturing complexity of the assembly. Reducing the number of required steps may simplify processing and reduce the manufacturing cost of the finished package assembly.

Bumpless die-package interface for bumpless build-up layer (BBUL)


Disclosed are systems and methods by which a storage device may process and return I/O commands to a host in the order in which the host provided the commands, thereby reducing host overhead, including but not limited to the following: receiving a first I/O command and a second I/O command, the first I/O command and the second I/O command being assigned a sequence tag, issuing the first I/O command and the second I/O command to one or more storage channels based on their respective sequence tags, collecting a command completion notice of the first I/O command or the second I/O command when the first I/O command or the second I/O command has been respectively completed; and issuing a command completion notification to a host based on the sequence tag of the associated completed first I/O command or the second I/O command.

The following background is intended solely to provide information necessary to understand the context of the inventive ideas and concepts disclosed herein. Thus, this background section may contain patentable subject matter and should not be regarded as a disclosure of prior art.
From the perspective of a storage device, there is generally no guarantee that a given I/O command will be performed before any other given I/O command—there are a variety of reasons for this, but three important ones of note are first, that I/O commands may be of differing size and complexity (e.g., a small write is generally faster than a large write, and for some media, reads are considerably faster than writes), second, that there are multiple internal channels for processing commands, each associated with storage media in the storage device, and each channel has a processing queue independent of the host's processing queues (e.g., multiple channels to multiple NAND flash chips—each individual channel servicing specific physical addresses), and third, some storage devices have background operations which may occupy one or more internal processing channels at uncontrollable intervals (e.g., garbage collection in NAND flash).
When utilizing a storage system, write coherency and consistency may be essential properties that should be maintained. For example, when a computer system requests that a datum first be written, then later read, in that order, the computer system should ensure that the commands are in fact processed in that order. Otherwise, if the read command were to be executed before the write command, the read command would return incorrect (old) data. As a further example, if an older write request were processed after a newer write request, an illegal-overwrite would occur, and the data recorded on the device would be incorrect. This managerial problem is amplified if multiple applications are allowed to access the same datum, and if there are multiple queues by which the host can issue I/O commands.
Thus, there is a desire for mechanisms to enhance the ability of storage devices to manage write scheduling.


A developing device according to the present invention has a developer carrying member for conveying a developer to a developing area opposite to an image carrying member with the developer held on its surface and a controlling member for controlling the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area upon being pressed against the surface of the developer carrying member, the surface of the developer carrying member and/or the surface of the controlling member pressed against the surface of the developer carrying member being composed of an elastic material having a rubber hardness of 20.degree. to 70.degree. and having elongation of 400 to 1200%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a developing device used for developing a latent image formed on an image carrying member in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer. Particularly, it relates to a developing device so adapted as to press a controlling member against the surface of a developer carrying member while conveying a developer to a developing area opposite to an image carrying member with the developer held on the surface of the developer carrying member and control the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area by the controlling member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, various developing devices have been conventionally used for developing a latent image formed on an image carrying member.
As such a developing device, a developing device using a monocomponent developer containing no carrier particles has been known in addition to a developing device using a two-component developer containing carrier particles and toner particles.
In such a developing device using a monocomponent developer, in order that a developer in a suitable amount is stably conveyed to a developing area opposite to an image carrying member by a developer carrying member, one so adapted as to press a controlling member having spring elasticity or rubber elasticity against the surface of a developer carrying member while conveying a developer to a developing area opposite to an image carrying member with the developer held on the surface of the developer carrying member, control the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area with the developer held on the surface of the developer carrying member by the controlling member, and subject the developer to triboelectric charging has been generally known, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 16736/1988.
Examples of the developer carrying member include an elastic roller composed of a rubber material as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 19749/1987 and one in a sleeve shape composed of a metal or a resin material as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 226676/1988.
When the controlling member is pressed against the surface of the developer carrying member, to control the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area as described above, however, a heavy load is applied to the developer by contact pressure of the controlling member, whereby the developer on the surface of the developer carrying member may, in some cases, be cracked, producing fine powder. Particularly in order to form an image at high speed, when the speed at which the developer is conveyed by the developer carrying member is increased, the developer is badly cracked by pressing of the controlling member, producing a lot of fine powder.
When the developer is thus cracked, producing fine powder, the fine powder is gradually increased and is welded on the surface of the developer carrying member, so that a formed image may be made non-uniform in density, for example.
In order to prevent the developer from being cracked by pressing of the controlling member, therefore, a method of weakening contact pressure of the controlling member against the developer carrying member and reducing the load applied to the developer has been considered. When the contact pressure of the controlling member is thus weakened, there are some problems. For example, it is difficult to control the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area opposite to the image carrying member by the developer carrying member to be a suitable amount, and it is impossible to sufficiently subject the developer to triboelectric changing.

Developing device capable of preventing cracking of developer due to pressing of a developer layer controlling member


Exterior facing panels for outer walls of the buildings including plural panels, each of the panels having a top face; side faces connected to the top face and bent downwardly from the edge of the top face; inward-bent end portions connected to the side faces and bent inwardly to the panel in a substantially right angle with respect to the side faces, and the inward-bent end portions supporting and holding an adiabatic material filed with the panels, engaging holes extending laterally across some parts of the side faces in a manner that the adjacent engaging holes of the adjacent side faces of the adjacent panels do not face oppositely with each other; and a clip having a claw for engaging with the engaging hole, a holding portion for engaging with the inward-bent end portion of the panel, a connecting portion for connecting the clip with a frame which is used for structurally holding and supporting the exterior facing panels, and an adiabatic plate attached to a bottom of the connecting portion for preventing heat or cold from transferring between the panels and frames. Preferably, in the inward-bent exterior facing panels, a size of the claw of the clip inserted into the corresponding engaging hole is smaller than that of the corresponding engaging hole.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exterior facing panels attached to outer walls of a structure such as buildings. More particularly, it relates to exterior facing panels which can be effectively prevented from deforming due to contraction or expansion thereof caused by change of outside temperature, and also which can be effectively prevented from bedewing by attaching an adiabatic plate between the exterior facing panels and an interior frame on which the panels are attached.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 5 shows an example of the exterior facing panels of prior art. In FIG. 5, the end portions (12a) of the side faces (11a) of the exterior facing panels (10a) are bent exteriorly (to the left direction of the side face in FIG. 5) so that the adjacent end portions (12a) are close or next to each other on the frame (40a). The end portions (12a) are fixed directly to the frame (40a) by connecting means such as fasteners. When outdoor temperature changes, the exterior facing panels suffer from contraction or expansion caused by the temperature changes and deform because the panels have no room to absorb the physical changes of contraction or expansion thereof. Therefore, in response to the change of the outer temperature, the panels become uneven in the surface. The panels tend to have bad appearance and be relatively weakened, unstable or undurable in structure and duration of use thereof are reduced. In addition, since the panels of prior art have the outward-bent end portions (12a) mentioned above, the panels tend to be easily damaged and to hurt bodies of workers when being handled. Moreover, the out-bent end portions (12a) essentially require using additional fixing tape for fixing adiabatic materials (50a) filled in inner portions of the panels. Furthermore, the panels having the outward-bent end portions (12a) are relatively inferior in loading or stocking or carrying because of their geometric structure.

Exterior facing panel system for outer walls of buildings


A system and method for cross-platform patching of applications. The method may include deploying a patch package on a first computer running a first type of operating system, and executing the patching mechanism on the first computer. The patch package may include a patching mechanism operable to execute on a second computer running a second type of operating system. The patch package may also include a first set of one or more new code components, which may replace a first set of one or more old code components in a first application. The patch package may also be deployed on the second computer. The method may also include replacing a second set of one or more old code components in a second application on the second computer with a second set of one or more new code components included in the patch package.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computer systems and, more particularly, to a method for patching cross-platform software.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most modern software must face the inevitability of program errors, or "bugs", and of fixing these same bugs. One traditional method is to provide the end user with an entirely new copy of the software in question, in which the offending bugs have been eliminated.
However, this method faces several difficulties. Cost or bandwidth limitations may make it inefficient to recompile, distribute, and install an entirely new piece of software, especially if only a small part of the software needs to be changed. Software providers may not wish to release new versions of software to fix each individual bug, but if end users are made to wait too long between bug fixes, they may become dissatisfied with the product. Alternatively, bug fixes may be provided in new versions of the software, but new versions may also include new behavior or features that break compatibility with the old software.
An alternative approach to fixing bugs is to "patch" the software, which involves replacing only those components of the software that contain bugs, rather than the entire application. The patch process may be simplified if an application is comprised of one or more individual library components, since only those libraries that contain the bug may need to be replaced. Compiling and distributing individual library components may be considerably simpler than compiling and distributing an application.
However, the increased simplicity of patching software may lead to many more revisions of the software, compared to a methodology where the entire application is replaced. Since each individual patch may need to be tested against some or all other patched versions of the application, patching may increase the burden on software providers to track and test their software. This burden may be even further increased if the provider offers multiple versions of the software on multiple platforms.
In addition to fixing bugs, end users may also need to be notified of bugs, and of fixes to bugs. Detection of particularly severe bugs may lead to the provider directly contacting the end user with a bug fix. However, direct contact may not be practical for all bugs, and the software provider may have difficulty contacting all its customers. Alternatively, end users may be required to keep track of the latest bug fixes themselves, but if an end user has multiple pieces of software, each from a different software provider, keeping track of bug fixes may become difficult and/or time-consuming.
One solution to the above problem is to have the computer make automatic checks for bug fixes over the Internet, either through the target software itself or through a software update system built into the operating system. While both these methods are improvements over tracking bug fixes manually, both may also have drawbacks. For example, adding bug fix tracking to the piece of software may increase the complexity of the software to be shipped.
Alternatively, operating system-implemented software updating services may be limited to certain software vendors, may not offer patch-specific updating mechanisms, and are generally limited to one operating system in their applicability. However, some software vendors may wish to simultaneously release patches for multiple versions of the same application on different operating systems, which may be difficult to achieve with multiple operating system-specific software updating services.

System and method for software patching for cross-platform products


An approach for managing addition or deletion of nodes in a multicast or broadcast group, which avoids introducing a single point of failure at a group controller, certificate authority, or key distribution center, is disclosed. A central group controller utilizes a binary tree structure to generate and distribute session keys for the establishment of a secure multicast group among multiple user nodes. The central group controller is replicated in a plurality of other group controllers, interconnected in a network having a secure communication channel and connected to a load balancer. The secure communication channel is established using a public key exchange protocol. The load balancer distributes incoming join/leave requests to a master group controller. The master group controller processes the join or leave, generates a new group session key, and distributes the new group session key to all other group controller replicas. Each group controller is successively designated as master group controller in real time when a former master group controller crashes or relinquishes its master authority.

The proliferation of network computing has shaped how society conducts business and personal communication. As reliance on computer networks grows, the flow of information between computers continues to increase in dramatic fashion. Accompanying this increased flow of information is a proportionate concern for network security. Commercial users, who regularly conduct business involving the exchange of confidential or company proprietary information over their computer networks, demand that such information is secure against interception by an unauthorized party or to intentional corruption. In addition, with the acceptance of electronic commerce over the global Internet, all users recognize the critical role cryptographic systems play in maintaining the integrity of network communication.
Cryptography is the art and science of keeping messages secure. A message is information or data that is arranged or formatted in a particular way. In general, a message, sometimes referred to as "plaintext" or "cleartext," is encrypted or transformed using a cipher to create "ciphertext," which disguises the message in such a way as to hide its substance. In the context of cryptography, a cipher is a mathematical function that can be computed by a data processor. Once received by the intended recipient, the ciphertext is decrypted to convert the ciphertext back into plaintext. Ideally, ciphertext sufficiently disguises a message in such a way that even if the ciphertext is obtained by an unintended recipient, the substance of the message cannot be discerned from the ciphertext.
Many different encryption/decryption approaches for protecting information exist. In general, the selection of an encryption/decryption scheme depends upon considerations such as the types of communications to be made more secure, the particular parameters of the network environment in which the security is to be implemented, and desired level of security. An important consideration is the particular system on which a security scheme is to be implemented since the level of security often has a direct effect on system resources.
For example, for small applications that require a relatively low level of security, a traditional restricted algorithm approach may be appropriate. With a restricted algorithm approach, a group of participants agree to use a specific, predetermined algorithm to encrypt and decrypt messages exchanged among the participants. Because the algorithm is maintained in secret, a relatively simple algorithm may be used. However, in the event that the secrecy of the algorithm is compromised, the algorithm must be changed to preserve secure communication among the participants. Scalability, under this approach, is an issue. As the number of participants increases, keeping the algorithm secret and updating it when compromises occur place an undue strain on network resources. In addition, standard algorithms cannot be used since each group of participants must have a unique algorithm.
To address the shortcomings of traditional restricted algorithm approaches, many contemporary cryptography approaches use a key-based algorithm. Generally two types of key-based algorithms exist: symmetric algorithms; and asymmetric algorithms, of which one example is a public key algorithm. As a practical matter, a key forms one of the inputs to a mathematical function that is used by a processor or computer to generate a ciphertext.
Public key algorithms are designed so that the key used for encryption is different than the key used for decryption. These algorithms are premised on the fact that the decryption key cannot be determined from the encryption key, at least not in any reasonable amount of time with practical computing resources. Typically, the encryption key (public key) is made public so that anyone, including an eavesdropper, can use the public key to encrypt a message. However, only a specific participant in possession of the decryption key (private key) can decrypt the message.
Public key algorithms, however, often are not employed as a mechanism to encrypt messages, largely because such algorithms consume an inordinate amount of system resources and time to encrypt entire messages. Further, public key encryption systems are vulnerable to chosen-plaintext attacks, particularly when there are relatively few possible encrypted messages.
As a result, a public key cryptosystem generally is utilized to establish a secure data communication channel through key exchanges among the participants. Two or more parties, who wish to communicate over a secure channel, exchange or make available to each other public (or non-secure) key values. Each party uses the other party's public key value to privately and securely compute a private key, using an agreed-upon algorithm. The parties then use their derived private keys in a separate encryption algorithm to encrypt messages passed over the data communication channel. Conventionally, these private keys are valid only on a per communication session basis, and thus, are referred to as session keys. These session keys can be used to encrypt/decrypt a specified number of messages or for a specified period of time.
A typical scenario involves participants A and B, in which user A is considered a publisher of a message to a subscriber, user B. The public key algorithm used to establish a secure channel between publisher, A, and subscriber, B, is as follows:                1. B provides a public key, , to A.        2. A generates a random session key SK, encrypts it using public key  and sends it to B.        3. B decrypts the message using private key, b (to recover the session key SK).        4. Both A and B use the session key SK to encrypt their communications with each other; after the communication session, A and B discard SK.The above approach provides the added security of destroying the session key at the end of a session, thereby, providing greater protection against eavesdroppers.
Once a multicast group is established, management of the sessions keys due to membership changes poses a number of problems. Forward secrecy, which arises when a member node leaves the multicast group and may still possess the capability to decipher future messages exchanged among the group, becomes a concern. In addition, in the case where a new member node enters the multicast group, the new member should not be permitted to decrypt the past messages of the multicast group. Another consideration involves making session key updates when a "join" or "leave" occurs; updates must be rapid to prevent undue system delay. This issue relates to how well the network scales to accommodate additional users.
Another conventional technique used to establish secure communication employs a trusted third party authentication mechanism, such as a certificate authority ("CA") or key distribution center ("KDC") to regulate the exchange of keys. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system that uses a single central group controller (GC) 901 that has responsibility for distributing, creating, and updating session keys to members of the multicast group (users A-H). The eight users, A-H, communicate with group controller 901 via separate point-to-point connections 903 to obtain a dynamic group session key. The channels 903 can be made secure by using a standard Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol.
The group controller preferably comes to a shared Group Session key using a binary tree approach. The KDC or CA carries out a third party authentication. The keys can be sent in a multicast or broadcast messages or overlapping broadcast or multicast messages or many point to point messages. Diffie-Hellman is not required to secure communications with the group controller; the binary tree approach provides it. Ideally, only one message from the group controller is needed.
Alternatively, Diffie-Hellman is used to do a point to point communication with the CA or KDC, and the CA or KDC can give out a group session key without using the binary tree approach. All nodes get the same session key using N−1 point to point messages. These two approaches are orthogonal and can be combined for optimization.
To set up the secured channel among the nodes, N−1 messages are exchanged, wherein N is the number of nodes. Although this is relatively low overhead in terms of messages exchanged, a major drawback is that the centralized group controller 901 represents a single point of failure, and therefore the system lacks fault tolerance. If the group controller 901 is down, no secure communication can exist among the multicast group of users A-H. Such a prospect is unacceptable, especially in mission critical systems.
Another drawback is that the group controller 901 is a potential bottleneck in the network when a binary tree algorithm is used, and the KDC or CA are potential bottlenecks when other mechanisms are used. For instance, if multiple nodes request to join the multicast group, the controller 901 may not be able to process all such requests in a timely manner. This problem may be acute if the multicast group is over a wide area network (WAN). Further, a system dependent upon a group controller 901 is not easily enlarged or scaled, due, in part, to physical hardware constraints.
A binary tree approach is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/407,785, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CREATING A SECURE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL AMONG MULTIPLE EVENT SERVICE NODES," filed concurrently herewith, and naming as inventors Sunil K. Srivastava, Jonathan Trostle, Raymond Bell, and Ramprasad Golla, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The binary tree approach described therein makes it possible to scale a secure communication system to large multicast groups, with less overhead involved in transmission of new group session keys when members join in a multicast group. Advantageously, each affected member does only log2N decryption operations; further, when a member joins or leaves, the central group controller, which acts as a group membership coordinator, sends only a subset of keys to existing group members on an affected tree branch. All keys that are affected can be sent, ideally, in one multicast or broadcast message, and only keys that correspond to a particular node will be decrypted by that node.
One issue with this approach, however, is that the central group controller presents a single point of failure. The KDC and CA also present a single point of failure in approaches that do not use a binary tree mechanism.
Based upon the foregoing, there is a clear need for improved approaches to key exchange that eliminate a single point of failure, especially among broadcast or multicast group members.
There is also a need for an approach for providing a secure communication channel among a group controller, KDC, or CA so that the group controller, KDC or CA may be distributed. Since the group controller, KDC, and CA normally are essential for establishing any secure channel, this need presents a circular or "chicken and egg" type of paradox.
In particular, there is an acute need for an improved approach to enhance scalability and fault tolerance, particularly over a WAN.
Based on the need to provide secure communication while limiting the adverse effects on system resources and the limitations in the prior approaches, an approach for providing secure communication that provides a relatively high level of security while requiring relatively fewer system resources and time to perform is highly desirable.

Method for overcoming the single point of failure of the central group controller in a binary tree group key exchange approach


An assembling jig for assembling an optical connector is provided. The optical connector has a pair of beam portions having elasticity and adapted to hold a ferrule holding an optical fiber. The assembling jig includes a body portion, an optical connector receiving portion movably held by the body portion and adapted to receive the optical connector, a ferrule receiving portion movably held by the body portion and adapted to receive the ferrule, and an abutting portion adapted to abut the pair of beam portions to open the pair of beam portions outward.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an assembling jig for an optical connector that receives and holds a ferrule having an optical fiber and, more specifically, relates to an assembling jig that can easily perform the assembly of such an optical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Related attaching/detaching jigs for optical connectors are described in Japanese Patent (JP-B) No. 3354503 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-292643 (Patent Document 2), respectively.
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a ferrule pulled-out state of an optical connector 105 according to Patent Document 1 and FIG. 1B is a partly sectioned side view of the optical connector 105.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the optical connector 105 comprises a housing 110 and a ferrule 120 attached to the housing 110.
The housing 110 has a pair of locking pieces 111 on its optical fiber connection side. Each locking piece 111 has a locking portion 112 on the optical fiber connection side. The locking portions 112 serve to lock a flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 at a position where the locking pieces 111 are closed to each other, thereby holding an attached state of the ferrule 120 as shown in FIG. 1B. The locking pieces 111 are elastically openable from the closed position described above to a releasing position where the attached state of the ferrule 120 can be released.
The ferrule 120 comprises a connection-side portion 121 located on the optical fiber connection side of the optical connector 105, a fitting-side portion 122 located on the mating optical connector fitting side opposite to the optical fiber connection side of the optical connector 105, and the flange portion 123 located between the connection-side portion 121 and the fitting-side portion 122. An optical fiber 106 is connected to the ferrule 120.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 is integrally formed of a plastic material into a U-shape in cross section as a whole. The ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 has, on its base side at a right end in the figure, a grip portion for gripping by fingers of an operator and, on its distal end side, a pair of elastic grasping pieces 126 continuous with the grip portion and capable of grasping therebetween the connection-side portion 121 of the ferrule 120. The thickness of each elastic grasping piece 126 is set so that when the elastic grasping pieces 126 are inserted between the locking pieces 111 so as to face the locking pieces 111 and grasp therebetween the connection-side portion 121 of the ferrule 120, the locking pieces 111 are opened to the releasing position. On the other hand, the elastic grasping pieces 126 are each formed with cutouts that serve to prevent the locking pieces 111 from being opened to the releasing position when the elastic grasping pieces 126 are inserted between the locking pieces 111 so as not to face the locking pieces 111, i.e. so as to be perpendicular to the locking pieces 111, while grasping therebetween the connection-side portion 121 of the ferrule 120.
In the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125, the cutouts are formed on both sides of each elastic grasping piece 126 only at its free end and the bottom of the tool 125 is cut out at its portion corresponding to the cutouts.
Next, a description will be given of operations of attaching and detaching the ferrule 120 of the optical connector 105 by the use of the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 having the structure described above.
At first, in order to pull out the ferrule 120 attached to the housing 110 as shown in FIG. 1B, the operator holds the grip portion of the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 so that the pair of elastic grasping pieces 126 are oriented for insertion between the pair of locking pieces 111 of the optical connector 105 so as to face the locking pieces 111. While holding the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 in this manner, the operator pushes the elastic grasping pieces 126 in between the locking pieces 111 until end faces of the elastic grasping pieces 126 butt against an abutment surface of the flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 so that the elastic grasping pieces 126 are placed between the locking pieces 111 so as to face the locking pieces 111 and grasp therebetween the connection-side portion 121 of the ferrule 120. In this pushed state, the connection-side portion 121 of the ferrule 120 is completely grasped between the elastic grasping pieces 126 and, simultaneously, the locking pieces 111 are opened outward to the releasing position where the locking of the flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 by the locking portions 112 is released. Therefore, by retreating the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125, the operator can pull out the ferrule 120 from the housing 110 of the optical connector 105.
Then, in order to attach the ferrule 120 thus pulled out back to the housing 110 of the optical connector 105 again, the operator, while grasping the ferrule 120 between the elastic grasping pieces 126, rotates the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125 by 90 degrees so that the elastic grasping pieces 126 are oriented for insertion between the locking pieces 111 of the optical connector 105 so as not to face the locking pieces 111. Then, the operator pushes the ferrule 120 into the housing 110 of the optical connector 105 so that the fitting-side portion 122 of the ferrule 120 is inserted between the locking pieces 111 and then the flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 pushes open the locking portions 112 of the locking pieces 111. Then, when the flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 rides over the locking portions 112 of the locking pieces 111, the operator retreats and pulls out the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125. In this event, since the cutouts are provided on both sides of each elastic grasping piece 126 at its free end, the locking pieces 111 are maintained in the closed position. Therefore, since the flange portion 123 of the ferrule 120 is locked by the locking portions 112 of the locking pieces 111, the ferrule 120 is retained at an attaching position in the housing 110 and is never pulled out while being grasped between the elastic grasping pieces 126 of the ferrule attaching/detaching tool 125.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an optical connector and a disassembling jig according to Patent Document 2 and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a state where a stopper 144 is pushed out of a shell member 142 by a reaction force (expansion force) of a coil spring.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a disassembling jig 151 comprises a body 152 and releasing portions 154 fixed to the body 152 on both sides thereof by two screws 153 on each side. Each releasing portion 154 has a tapered portion 154a and a recessed portion (groove) 154b formed at its free end.
An optical connector 141 comprises a shell member (plug frame) 142, an internal member (not shown) disposed in the shell member 142, a stopper 144 attached to the shell member 142, and a coil spring interposed between the internal member and the stopper 144.
An optical fiber 150 is connected to the internal member and the coil spring constantly urges the internal member in a direction of fitting with a mating optical connector.
The shell member 142 is provided with slits (insertion portions) 142a at both side portions thereof on its one end side and is further provided with two windows (engaging portions) 142b in each of upper and lower surfaces thereof on the one end side. The shape of the stopper 144 is trapezoidal when seen from above and is rectangular when seen from the side. The stopper 144 is provided with projecting locking portions 144a, in correspondence with the engaging portions 142b, on upper and lower surfaces thereof near its one end. The shell member 142 is made of a synthetic resin and is elastically deformable and, therefore, the locking portions 144a are engageable and disengageable with respect to the corresponding engaging portions 142b.
Next, a description will be given of operations of disassembling the optical connector 141 by the use of the disassembling jig 151 according to Patent Document 2.
At first, the tapered portions 154a of the disassembling jig 151 are inserted into the slits 142a of the shell member 142, respectively, then, the slits 142a are opened so that the stopper 144 is received in a receiving portion 151a of the disassembling jig 151.
Specifically, when the slits 142a are opened, the engaging portions 142b on the upper side of the shell member 142 move upward and the engaging portions 142b on the lower side thereof move downward, and therefore, the locking portions 144a of the stopper 144 are disengaged or released from the engaging portions 142b, respectively. Consequently, by a reaction force of the compressed coil spring, the stopper 144 is detached from the shell member 142 and moves deep into the receiving portion 151a of the disassembling jig 151.
Then, by pulling the optical fiber 150, the disassembling jig 151, and the stopper 144 with fingers of an operator, the internal member is pulled out of the shell member 142.

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A signal transfer line of electrical equipment which is provided with a BNC connector as the external input/output connector to which a coaxial cable is connected and which performs transfer of signals between the BNC connector and a circuit board inside the equipment, wherein the BNC connector is mounted to a connector board, a DIN connector is mounted to the board, a line pattern portion connecting the BNC connector and DIN connector being constituted on the board, pins for signals of the DIN connector being comprised with a characteristic impedance the same as the characteristic impedance of the coaxial cable by suitably grounding surrounding pins or by the microstripping of the line pattern portion etc., whereby arrangement of wiring in the electrical equipment becomes unnecessary so that connections for transferring signals can be manufactured at a low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal transfer line of electrical equipment having a BNC connector as the external input/output connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
When transferring signals between electrical equipment by coaxial cable, a BNC connector is mounted to the electrical equipment. The transfer between the BNC connector and a circuit board in the electrical equipment is generally also performed using a coaxial cable.
However, if a coaxial cable is used, it is necessary to use an additional coaxial connector when the end of the coaxial connector is not connected directly to the electrical component but is connected indirectly. A coaxial cable and coaxial connector are expensive, so manufacturing each signal transfer line becomes high in cost.
Further, if the number of coaxial cables increases, the arrangement of the wiring becomes complicated.

Signal transfer line having a din connector


A toner comprising separate toner particles each of which comprises a fixable core, the core being provided with a conductive surface layer containing a doped electrically conductive polymer and an intermediate layer, particularly a polymer-containing intermediate layer disposed between the surface layer and the core.

The present invention relates to a toner comprising toner particles each comprising a core provided with a conductive surface layer containing a doped electrically conductive polymer. A toner of this kind is known from the pre-published Japanese Patent Application 3-100561. This toner, which is made up of a number of individual toner particles, can be used, for example, in an electrophotographic imaging process. By varying, for example, the thickness of the conductive surface layer, the resistance of the toner can be adjusted between 1 and 1*1013 ohm*m. The toner resistance is practically independent of the ambient conditions, particularly the air humidity.
This toner differs particularly from toners coated with more conventional conductive surface layers, for example surface layers containing carbon, conductive metal oxides or conductive resins, and has the disadvantage that the resistance of this toner changes sharply when the toner is exposed to mechanical loads. After the toner is provided with a conductive surface layer, it is exposed to various mechanical loads. These include, for example, the loads accompanying the transport of the toner to an image-forming apparatus, particularly a printer. In the printer the toner again experiences a number of mechanical loads, such as being transported from an internal supply to a developing unit and the continuous supply of the toner to said developing unit. A change in the resistance has the effect that the development characteristic of the toner changes, and this has an adverse effect on the quality of a printed image. Problems of this kind can be obviated by continuously measuring the toner resistance in the developing unit and adapting the development settings to the measured value. However, this solution is expensive and increases the sensitivity of the image-forming apparatus to malfunctioning. A second possible solution is to adjust the development settings manually, either by a service engineer or by the user himself, for example if the imaging quality has perceptibly deteriorated. On the one hand, this solution has the significant disadvantage that the imaging quality is not constant, while on the other hand adjusting the development settings by a service engineer is expensive.
The object of the present invention is to provide a toner which has better resistance to mechanical loads. To this end a toner has been developed wherein an intermediate layer is provided between the core and the surface layer. It has surprisingly been found that the toner according to the present invention has a much better resistance to mechanical loads. As a result, the toner resistance changes much less sharply, so that the printing quality of an image-forming apparatus is much more stable over time. The reason why the toner according to the present invention has a much better resistance to mechanical loads is not completely clear. Possibly, the intermediate layer results in a foundation which is stable and homogeneous both physically and chemically so that the electrically conductive surface layer adheres more satisfactorily. Another possibility is that the intermediate layer provides a change in the morphology of the core surface so that the surface layer acquires a different structure which is more resistant to the typical mechanical loads. There is also the possibility of an interaction between the intermediate layer and the surface layer so that the latter becomes mechanically stronger. In one preferred embodiment, the intermediate layer contains a polymer. The advantage of a material of this kind is the low cost and minimal environmental load. In another preferred embodiment, the glass transition temperature of the polymer is 70xc2x0 C. or higher. As a result, the intermediate layer is practically unchangeable at the temperatures to which the toner is normally exposed in an image-forming apparatus, so that the good properties of the toner according to the present invention are maintained. In yet another preferred embodiment, the polymer has a glass transition temperature of 100xc2x0 C. or higher, whereby the toner has even more stable properties. Preferably, the polymer is transparent so that the toner can be colored by applying to the core a coloring agent, more particularly a dye or pigment. The advantage of this is that a strong color can be obtained in a simple manner. The polymer is preferably selected from the group consisting of polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and copolymers of maleic acid and olefins. The said olefins can, for example, be aliphatic, alicyclic or aromatic and may carry one or more substituents. More preferably, the polymer is a copolymer of maleic acid and aliphatic olefins. A copolymer of this kind yields very stable toners.
The core of the toner preferably contains a fixable polymer, for example a thermoplastic polymer or a pressure-sensitive polymer. Common polymers are the styrenes, styrene copolymers such as the styrene acrylates, styrene-butadiene copolymers and styrene maleic acid copolymers, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, polyesters, polyurethanes, polyvinyl chlorides, epoxy resins and so on. These can be used as a single component or as a mixture. Preferably, the polymer has a weight-averaged molecular weight of between 200 and 100,000. This molecular weight can, for example, be adapted to the required mechanical properties of the image or to the intrinsic properties of the image-forming process.
The conductive surface layer preferably contains a doped electrically conductive polymer derived from one or more of the monomers selected from the group consisting of thiophen, aniline, pyrrole or derivatives thereof. A polymer of this kind contains a conjugate chain, so that charge carriers can readily shift. In this chain the charge carriers are created via a doping process, particularly a chemical or electrochemical process. Processes of this kind comprise an oxidation or reduction reaction, in which electrons are removed or added to the polymer chain. Preferably again, the surface layer contains polyethylene dioxythiophen. This conductive polymer has the advantage of being practically colorless, so that the conductive surface layer has no disturbing effect on the color of the toner. The surface layer may be a closed layer around a toner particle but it may also form an unclosed layer, particularly in the form of conductive paths. In a further embodiment, the core also contains a magnetisable material so that it can be used in an image-forming process making use of unary conductive magnetic toner.
The present invention will be further explained by reference to the following examples. All the reactions and experiments were carried out at room temperature.
Examples 1 to 6 describe how toner cores can be provided with an intermediate layer according to the present invention.
Examples 7 to 14 describe the preparation of a number of conductive toners according to the present invention.
Example 15 relates to an experiment concerning the resistance curve against mechanical loading of a number of toners according to the invention.