A hybrid heating apparatus heats potable water with waste heat from heat recovery units and insolation from solar collectors. A single circulation pump circulates fluid between at least one heat exchanger and each of the heat recovery units and preferably the solar collector. A single controller receives sensor readings from the heat recovery units and the solar collector units and receives a demand to heat the potable water. To satisfy the demand, the controller determines the extent to which the demand may be satisfied from heat available from the heat recovery units and the solar collector units and sends command signals both to the circulating pump to circulate the fluid and to appropriate ones of valves at connections to those heat recovery units and solar collector units to allow fluid to circulate to be heated to flow to the heat exchanger for effecting heat exchange to heat the potable water.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid heating apparatus to heat potable water via "free heat", i.e., waste heat recovered by heat recovery units (such as refrigeration units) and heat from insolation units (such as by solar collection units). A single controller directs operation of a single pump to circulate fluid between at least one heat exchanger and each of the heat recovery units and insolation units and directs operation of valves to allow the fluid to be circulated to become heated before reaching the heat exchanger, which heat exchange with the potable water heats the same.
2. State of the Art
Commercial and residential facilities and dwellings include various systems for heating potable water. In generally, they primarily rely on a conventional water heater that includes either a fossil fuel (oil or natural gas) furnace or boiler or an electric water heater, although an increasing number of such facilities and dwellings have turned to a solar water heater to satisfy their demand for heating potable water to the extent feasible. If the solar water heater cannot meet the demand for potable water heating, then the conventional water heater is operated to satisfy the demand.
A solar water heater may be operated in either a closed loop system or an open loop system to heat potable water stored in a tank. In an open loop system, potable water to be heated is pumped from the tank directly to the solar water heater and back. In a closed loop system, glycol or other kind of fluid having a lower freeze temperature than that of water is pumped to the solar water heater for heating and pumped back to a heat exchanger for heating the potable water in the tank. In climates susceptible to freezing outdoor temperatures, the closed loop system for the solar water heater is used. In climates that are not susceptible to freezing outdoor temperatures, the open loop system may be used for the solar water heater.
In the case of a dedicated solar water heater, the piping may become cold when exposed to cold outdoor temperatures overnight when there is no insolation. At the time of sunrise (or later if they do not face the morning sun), the solar collectors can start again to heat fluid through insolation, but the solar water heater would be operating under a cold start and thus will need to heat the cold fluid circulating in the piping to a higher temperature before it can attempt to satisfy a demand for heating potable water.
Installation and operating costs affect the economic feasibility of incorporating a solar water heater into an existing commercial and residential facility and dwelling to satisfy needs to heat potable water. Thus, the need to heat circulating fluid in piping from a cold start adversely affects the economics of heating potable water by insolation since the conventional water heater will need to operate that much longer until the cold start condition is overcome. Further, the cost for installation and operation of a dedicated pump (and heat exchanger in the case of a closed loop) for the solar water heater adversely affect the economics of heating potable water by insolation.
JP2004012025 proposes an efficient hybrid system that improves the relationship between respective pieces of equipment in a solar system and a cogeneration system by reducing carrier power by inverter control. The hybrid system includes a solar heat collector, a heat storage tank, a heat exchanger to supply hot water, a hot water storage tank, an auxiliary boiler, a heat exchanger for collecting waste heat, a non-utility generator, an absorption type refrigerator, a refrigerating tower, a heater exchanger for heating, a system connection board for controlling the drive of each piece of equipment and a DC power supply board. The overall efficiency of operation is improved when both a solar heat collector and a refrigerant waste heat collector are used to heat water through respective heat exchangers as a supplement to a conventional boiler. However, the economics of such a system is adversely impacted by installing and running respective pumps and using respective heat exchangers for each water heating system, i.e., solar insolation, waste heat recovery, auxiliary boiler, etc.
It would be desirable to reduce the overall installation and operating costs to heat potable water that uses "free heat" from a solar water heater and refrigerant waste heat recovery units (HRU) by integrating them rather than keeping them as separate, stand-alone water heating systems.


Ground coils for a magnetically levitated railway include non-flux coils with an upper coil having a main-winding portion and an intermediate terminal forming a shunt-winding portion of the main-winding portion. A lower coil having a main-winding portion and an intermediate terminal forming a shunt-winding portion of the main-winding portion. The upper coil and the lower coils are arranged one above the other and are null-flux connected at null-flux connection points. A first lead terminal is connected to one null-flux connection point and a second lead terminal is connected to the intermediate terminal of the upper coil and the intermediate terminal of the lower coil for connecting to a power source and/or for interconnecting coils on left and right sides to provide guidance forces to the superconducting coils on the vehicle.

This invention relates to a ground coil used in a so-called ground primary-type magentically levitated railway in which a vehicle is equipped with superconducting coils.
In a so-called ground primary-type magentically levitated railway in which a vehicle is equipped with superconducting coils, use is being made of a side-wall levitation-guidance system in which the left and right side walls of a guideway are equipped with conductor coils for levitation, and corresponding locations of the left and right ground coils are connected by null-flux wiring. Also being used is a side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system in which wiring for propulsion is connected to terminals for the null-flux wiring.
Such a side-wall levitation-guidance system and the side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system have already been proposed as U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,059 by the inventors of the present invention.
Ground coils of the side-wall levitation-guidance type according to the prior art will now be described with FIGS. 1 through 4.
Conductor coils 14, 14' for propulsion are arranged in opposed relation on both inner side walls of a U-shaped track bed 9 at predetermined intervals along the direction in which the vehicle travels. As shown in FIG. 2, a three-phase propulsion power supply 20 (a polyphase motor of more than three phases can be employed if desired) is connected to the conductor coils 14, 14' for propulsion. Though the propulsion conductor coil 14' disposed on the nearer side wall of the track bed is deleted from FIG. 2, the propulsion conductor coil 14' is disposed on the nearer side wall of the track bed in the same manner as the propulsion conductor coil 14, and a propulsion power supply 20' is connected to it in the same fashion. Conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance are disposed in opposed relation on the sides of the propulsion conductor coils 14, 14' facing the superconducting coils 1, 1' and are arranged at predetermined intervals continuously along the direction in which the vehicle travels. Each conductor coil 15 comprises a null-flux connected upper coil 16 and lower coil 17 of the same shape and dimensions, and each conductor coil 15' comprises a null-flux connected upper coil 16' and lower coil 17' of the same shape and dimensions. These opposing conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance in turn are null-flux connected via connecting wires 18, 19.
The design is such that when the vehicle VH has its auxiliary wheels 7, 7' in contact with the track bed, the vertical midpoints of the superconducting coils 1, 1', the vertical midpoints of the levitation and guidance conductor coils 15, 15' and the vertical midpoints of the propulsion conductor coils 14, 14' lie on the same horizontal line. The upper coils 16, 16' and lower coils 17, 17' of the levitation and guidance conductor coils 15, 15' are vertically symmetrically positioned about respective predetermined points on the horizontal line. Further, numeral 4 denotes the truck of the vehicle VH, and numerals 5, 5' designate mechanical guiding wheels rotatably supported on one end of respective shafts 6, 6' the other ends of which are secured to the vehicle VH.
The arrangement described above is such that in response to introduction of power from the propulsion power supply 20, currents having the same direction as shown in FIG. 2 flow into the propulsion conductor coil 14 so that a propulsive force is produced by each of the vertical segments.
When the vehicle VH is running with its auxiliary wheels 7, 7' in contact with the track bed, the linkage flux developed by the conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance is zero, the current is zero and the electromagnetic resistance is zero. The reason for this is that the positional relationship between the superconducting coils 1, 1' and conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance is designed as set forth above, while the upper coil 16 and lower coil 17 are null-flux connected, as well as the upper coil 16' and lower coil 17'.
When the vehicle VH is running while levitated with its wheels 7, 7' raised, the vertical midpoints of the superconducting coils 1, 1' drop below the vertical midpoints of the conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance, as a result of which a difference is produced in the linkage magnetic flux between the upper coil 16' and lower coil 17'. At such time, currents as shown in FIG. 3 are induced in the upper coil 16 and lower coil 17 and in the upper coil 16' and lower coil 17'. In consequence, an attractive force acts between horizontal segments 16a, 16'a of the two upper coils 16, 16' and the upper horizontal segments of the superconducting coils 1, 1', while a repulsive force acts between horizontal segments 17a, 17'a of the two lower coils 17, 17' and the lower horizontal segments of the superconducting coils 1, 1'. Owing to these repulsive and attractive forces, a levitating force is produced that attempts to return the superconducting coils 1, 1' in the upward direction, with the coils 1, 1' attaining stability at a position where the weight of the vehicle vH is counterbalanced. Since the upper coil 16 and lower coil 17 as well as the upper coil 16' and lower coil 17' generate the levitating force effectively with little current, there is little electromagnetic traveling resistance.
The superconducting coils 1, 1' are arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal center line of the track bed 9, and the opposing upper coils 16, 16' and opposing lower coils 17, 17' are null-flux connected via the connecting wires 18, 19. Therefore, when the vehicle VH is situated in the middle of the track bed, the linkage flux does not become zero even though there is no lateral displacement of the vehicle VH in the levitated state. However, since the linkage fluxes of the conductor coils 15, 15' for levitation and guidance are equal, currents do not flow through the connecting wires 18, 19. As a result, no lateral force is produced.
If the vehicle VH shown in FIG. 1 is displaced leftward, for example, during levitated travel, a difference develops in the linkage flux between the upper coils 16, 16' and between the lower coils 17, 17'. When the superconducting coils 1, 1' cope with this change in the linkage flux, currents as shown in FIG. 4 are induced in the levitation and guidance coils 15, 15', whereby a guidance force is produced that restores the superconducting coils 1, 1' to the middle of the track. In other words, repulsive forces act between the horizontal segment 16a of the upper coil 16 and the upper horizontal segment of superconducting coil 1, and between the horizontal segment 17a of the lower coil 17 and the lower horizontal segment of superconducting coil 1, while attractive forces act between the horizontal segment 16a' of upper coil 16' and the upper horizontal segment of superconducting coil 1', and between the horizontal segment 17'a of lower coil 17a and the lower horizontal segment of superconducting coil 1'. These forces restore the superconducting coils 1, 1' to the middle of the track.
Next, a conventional ground coil of the side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance type will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6(a), 6(b) and 6(c).
In comparison with the ground coil of the side-wall levitation-guidance type described above, this example differs mainly in that conductor coils corresponding to the propulsion conductor coils 14, 14' in the aforementioned side-wall levitation-guidance system are not provided, and in that conductor coils having the same construction as the levitation and guidance conductor coils 15, 15' of the levitation-guidance-conductor coils 15, 15' in the aforementioned side-wall levitation-guidance system are made to perform the functions of levitation, propulsion and guidance.
As shown in FIG. 5, conductor coils 21, 21' are disposed in opposed relation on both inner side walls of the U-shaped track bed 9 and are arranged at predetermined intervals continuously along the direction in which the vehicle travels. This structure is similar to that of the levitation and guidance conductor coils 15, 15' in the side-wall levitation-guidance system. That is, the conductor coil 21 (21') comprising a null-flux connected upper coil 22 (22') and lower coil 23 (23') having the same shape and dimensions, and the opposing conductor coils 21, 21' on both inner side walls of the U-shaped track bed 9 are null-flux connected. When the vehicle VH is in contact with the ground via its auxiliary wheels 7, 7', the vertical midpoint of the conductor coil 21 and the vertical midpoint of the superconducting coil 1 lie on the same horizontal line, and the upper coil 22 and lower coil 23 are disposed symmetrically about a predetermined point on this horizontal line. The conductor coil 21' also has exactly the same structure and arrangement as the conductor coil 21. In addition, the upper coil 22' corresponds to the upper coil 22, and the lower coil 23' corresponds to the lower coil 23.
A three-phase power supply (or a polyphase power supply of more than three phases) 26 for propulsion is connected to connecting wires 24, 25 which null-flux connect the opposing conductor coils 21, 21'. In a case where a three-phase power supply is used as the propulsion power supply, the arrangement is such that the phases are connected successively to every third conductor coil.
By introducing power from the propulsion power supply 26 to the above-described arrangement, a current for propulsion flows through the conductor coil 21 via a node 27 of connecting line 24 from a to a node 27' through b, c and d, and from e to the node 27' through f, g and h, and a current for propulsion flows through the conductor coil 21' via the node 27' from a' to the node 27' through b', c' and d' and from e' to the node 27' through f', g' and h', as shown in FIG. 6(a). Currents having the same direction, which is indicated by the arrows, flow through each of the coils 22, 23, 22', 23'. A propulsion force is produced by the generation of an electromagnetic flux in the forward direction of the vehicle VH between the vertical segments of the conductor coils 21, 21', namely the segments a-b, c-d, e-f, g-h, a'-b', c'-d', e'-f', g'-h', and the vertical segments of the superconducting coils 1,1'.
Meanwhile, forces for levitation and guidance are generated in the same manner as described above in conjunction with FIGS. 3 and 4. This will be explained again with reference to FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c).
When the vehicle VH is running on its wheels 7, 7', the linkage flux developed by the conductor coils 21, 21' for levitation and guidance is zero, the current is zero and the electromagnetic resistance is zero. The reason for this is that the positional relationship between the superconducting coils 1, 1' and conductor coils 21, 21' is designed as set forth above, while the upper coil 22 and lower coil 23 are null-flux connected, as well as the upper coil 22' and lower coil 23'. When the vehicle VH is running while levitated, the vertical midpoints of the superconducting coils 1, 1' drop below the vertical midpoints of the conductor coils 21, 21', as a result of which a difference is produced in the linkage magnetic flux between upper coil 22 and lower coil 23 and between upper coil 22' and lower coil 23'. Currents as shown in FIG. 6(b) are induced in the upper coils 22, 22' and lower coils 23, 23'. Owing to repulsive and attractive forces between horizontal segments of the coils 22, 23, 22', 23', a levitating force is produced that attempts to return the superconducting coils 1, 1' in the upward direction, with the coils 1, 1' attaining stability at a position where the weight of the vehicle VH is counterbalanced, in a manner the same as that set forth above.
The superconducting coils 1, 1' are arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal center line of the track bed 9, and the opposing upper coils 22, 22' and opposing lower coils 23, 23' are null-flux connected via the connecting wires 24, 25. Therefore, when the vehicle VH is situated in the middle of the track bed 9, the linkage flux does not become zero even though there is no lateral displacement of the vehicle VH in the levitated state. However, since the linkage fluxes of the conductor coils 21, 21' are equal, currents do not flow through the connecting wires 24, 25. As a result, no lateral force is produced.
If the vehicle VH shown in FIG. 5 is displaced leftward, for example, during levitated travel, a difference develops in the linkage flux between the superconducting coils 1, 1' and the upper coils 22, 22' and between the superconducting coils 1, 1' and the lower coils 23, 23'. As a result, currents as shown in FIG. 6(c) are induced, whereby a guidance force is produced that the restores the superconducting coils 1, 1' to the middle of the track in the manner described above.
In the examples described above, a track bed having a U-shaped cross section is used as the track bed 9. However, it is possible to employ a track bed having a projecting-type cross section.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, superconducting coils 31, 31' are vertically mounted on both inner side surfaces of a generally box-shaped truck 30 of the vehicle VH, and conductor coils 32, 32' for performing levitation, propulsion and guidance functions, as described above in conjunction with the side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system, are arranged on both side walls of a projecting track bed 38 so as to be capable of electromagnetically coupling with the superconducting coils 31, 31'. The conductor coil 32 has upper and lower coils 33, 34, respectively, and the conductor coil 32' has upper and lower coils 33', 34', respectively. The conductor coils 32, 32' are connected by connecting wires 39, 40. Auxiliary wheels 37, 37' are raised when the vehicle VH is running while levitated. When vehicle speed drops below a certain level, the auxiliary wheels 37, 37' are extended from the vehicle VH and make contact with the track bed 38. Mechanical guidance wheels 35, 35' are rotatably mounted on the ends of respective shafts 36, 36' whose other ends are fixedly secured to the vehicle VH. These wheels 35, 35' are deployed and guide the vehicle VH mechanically while rolling along the side walls of the projecting track bed 38 when the vehicle VH is running on its wheels 37, 37'.
When a vehicle of extended length that allows an increase in passenger capacity is introduced in order to increase the transportation capacity of the magnetically levitated railway, it is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the levitating force of the magnetically levitated vehicle should be increased in comparison with that of a shorter vehicle having a smaller passenger capacity. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that when the magnetically levitated vehicle is traveling on a curved section of the railway, the guiding force should be increased in comparison with that needed when the vehicle is traveling on a straight section of the railway. Still another consideration is that when the vehicle is traveling on an upgrade section of the railway or on a section located in a tunnel, the propulsive force should be increased in comparison with that needed when the vehicle is traveling on a flat section of the railway or on sections located outside tunnels.
However, in the case of a ground coil in the conventional side-wall levitation-guidance system or side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system described above, the characteristics thereof are decided by the fact that the design factors of levitating force and guiding force are mutually restrictive in the side-wall levitation-guidance system and the design factors of propulsive force, levitating force and guiding force are mutually restrictive in the side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system owing to such design requirements as the number of windings of the conductor coils, the shape of the coils and the characteristics of the coils. In other words, the problem is that levitating force and guiding force in the former system, and propulsive force, levitating force and guiding force in the latter system, cannot be designed independently of each other.
Accordingly, when the levitating force is raised in the side-wall levitation-guidance system, the guiding force also is strengthened. When the levitating force is raised in the side-wall propulsion-levitation-guidance system, the propulsive force and guiding force also rise since these forces are linked to the guiding force.
In a case where the levitating force is raised, it is necessary to increase the ampere turns of the side-wall conductor coils for levitation. When the ampere turns of the side-wall conductor coils for levitation are increased, the voltage of the null-flux wiring for obtaining the guiding force rises. This increased voltage cannot be accommodated by low-voltage electric wires.
An object of the present invention is to provide ground coils for a magnetically levitated railway capable of smooth operation conforming to railway traveling conditions and vehicle conditions in which it is possible to obtain a levitating force suited to an increase in the weight of the vehicle body of a vehicle of extended length, a guiding force suited to curved sections of the railway and a propulsive force suited to tunnel sections and upgrade sections of the railway, this being achieved by designing propulsive force, levitating force and guiding force independently of one another.

Ground coil for magnetically levitated railway


Compounds having a structure of Structure I:

1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to ester derivatives of bisphenol-related compounds and their use for treatment of various indications. In particular the disclosure relates to ester derivatives of bisphenol-related compounds and their use for treatment of various cancers, for example, all stages of prostate cancer, including androgen dependent, androgen-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancers.
2. Description of the Art
Androgens mediate their effects through the androgen receptor (AR). Androgens play a role in a wide range of developmental and physiological responses and are involved in male sexual differentiation, maintenance of spermatogenesis, and male gonadotropin regulation (R. K. Ross, G. A. Coetzee, C. L. Pearce, J. K. Reichardt, P. Bretsky, L. N. Kolonel, B. E. Henderson, E. Lander, D. Altshuler & G. Daley, Eur Urol 35, 355-361 (1999); A. A. Thomson, Reproduction 121, 187-195 (2001); N. Tanji, K. Aoki & M. Yokoyama, Arch Androl 47, 1-7 (2001)). Several lines of evidence show that androgens are associated with the development of prostate carcinogenesis. Firstly, androgens induce prostatic carcinogenesis in rodent models (R. L. Noble, Cancer Res 37, 1929-1933 (1977); R. L. Noble, Oncology 34, 138-141 (1977)) and men receiving androgens in the form of anabolic steroids have a higher incidence of prostate cancer (J. T. Roberts & D. M. Essenhigh, Lancet 2, 742 (1986); J. A. Jackson, J. Waxman & A. M. Spiekerman, Arch Intern Med 149, 2365-2366 (1989); P. D. Guinan, W. Sadoughi, H. Alsheik, R. J. Ablin, D. Alrenga & I. M. Bush, Am J Surg 131, 599-600 (1976)). Secondly, prostate cancer does not develop if humans or dogs are castrated before puberty (J. D. Wilson & C. Roehrborn, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84, 4324-4331 (1999); G. Wilding, Cancer Surv 14, 113-130 (1992)). Castration of adult males causes involution of the prostate and apoptosis of prostatic epithelium while eliciting no effect on other male external genitalia (E. M. Bruckheimer & N. Kyprianou, Cell Tissue Res 301, 153-162 (2000); J. T. Isaacs, Prostate 5, 545-557 (1984)). This dependency on androgens provides the underlying rationale for treating prostate cancer with chemical or surgical castration (androgen ablation).
Androgens also play a role in female cancers. One example is ovarian cancer where elevated levels of androgens are associated with an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer (K. J. Helzlsouer, A. J. Alberg, G. B. Gordon, C. Longcope, T. L. Bush, S. C. Hoffman & G. W. Comstock, JAMA 274, 1926-1930 (1995); R. J. Edmondson, J. M. Monaghan & B. R. Davies, Br J Cancer 86, 879-885 (2002)). The androgen receptor has been detected in a majority of ovarian cancers (H. A. Risch, J Natl Cancer Inst 90, 1774-1786 (1998); B. R. Rao & B. J. Slotman, Endocr Rev 12, 14-26 (1991); G. M. Clinton & W. Hua, Crit. Rev Oncol Hematol 25, 1-9 (1997)), whereas estrogen receptor-alpha (ERa) and the progesterone receptor are detected in less than 50% of ovarian tumors.
An effective treatment available for advanced prostate cancer is the withdrawal of androgens which are essential for the survival of prostate epithelial cells. Androgen ablation therapy causes a temporary reduction in tumor burden concomitant with a decrease in serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Unfortunately prostate cancer can eventually grow again in the absence of testicular androgens (castration-resistant disease) (Huber et al 1987 Scand J. Urol Nephrol. 104, 33-39). Castration-resistant prostate cancer is biochemically characterized before the onset of symptoms by a rising titre of serum PSA (Miller et al 1992 J. Urol. 147, 956-961). Once the disease becomes castration-resistant most patients succumb to their disease within two years.
The androgen receptor has distinct functional domains that include the carboxy-terminal ligand-binding domain (LBD), a DNA-binding domain (DBD) comprising two zinc finger motifs, and an N-terminus domain (NTD) that contains one or more transcriptional activation domains. Binding of androgen (ligand) to the LBD of the androgen receptor results in its activation such that the receptor can effectively bind to its specific DNA consensus site, termed the androgen response element (ARE), on the promoter and enhancer regions of "normally" androgen regulated genes, such as PSA, to initiate transcription. The androgen receptor can be activated in the absence of androgen by stimulation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) pathway, with interleukin-6 (IL-6) and by various growth factors (Culig et al 1994 Cancer Res. 54, 5474-5478; Nazareth et al 1996 J. Biol. Chem. 271, 19900-19907; Sadar 1999 J. Biol. Chem. 274, 7777-7783; Ueda et al 2002 A J. Biol. Chem. 277, 7076-7085; and Ueda et al 2002 B J. Biol. Chem. 277, 38087-38094). The mechanism of ligand-independent transformation of the androgen receptor AR has been shown to involve: 1) increased nuclear androgen receptor protein suggesting nuclear translocation; 2) increased androgen receptor/ARE complex formation; and 3) the AR-NTD (Sadar 1999 J. Biol. Chem. 274, 7777-7783; Ueda et al 2002 A J. Biol. Chem. 277, 7076-7085; and Ueda et al 2002 B J. Biol. Chem. 277, 38087-38094). The androgen receptor may be activated in the absence of testicular androgens by alternative signal transduction pathways in castration-resistant disease, which is consistent with the finding that nuclear androgen receptor protein is present in secondary prostate cancer tumors (Kim et al 2002 Am. J. Pathol. 160, 219-226; and van der Kwast et al 1991 Inter. J. Cancer 48, 189-193).
Available inhibitors of the androgen receptor include nonsteroidal antiandrogens such as bicalutamide, nilutamide, flutamide, enzalutamide, and investigational drug ARN-509, and the steroidal antiandrogen, cyproterone acetate. These antiandrogens target the LBD of the androgen receptor and predominantly fail presumably due to poor affinity and mutations that lead to activation of the androgen receptor by these same antiandrogens (Taplin, M. E., Bubley, G. J., Kom Y. J., Small E. J., Uptonm M., Rajeshkumarm B., Balkm S. P., Cancer Res., 59, 2511-2515 (1999)). These antiandrogens would also have no effect on the recently discovered androgen receptor splice variants that lack the ligand-binding domain (LBD) to result in a constitutively active receptor which promotes progression of androgen-independent prostate cancer (Dehm S M, Schmidt L J, Heemers H V, Vessella R L, Tindall D J., Cancer Res 68, 5469-77, 2008; Guo Z, Yang X, Sun F, Jiang R, Linn D E, Chen H, Chen H, Kong X, Melamed J, Tepper C G, Kung H J, Brodie A M, Edwards J, Qiu Y., Cancer Res. 69, 2305-13, 2009; Hu et al 2009 Cancer Res. 69, 16-22; Sun et al 2010 J Clin Invest. 2010 120, 2715-30).
Conventional therapy has concentrated on androgen-dependent activation of the androgen receptor through its C-terminal domain. Recent studies developing antagonists to the androgen receptor have concentrated on the C-terminus and specifically: 1) the allosteric pocket and AF-2 activity (Estebanez-Perpi{umlaut over (n)}á et al 2007, PNAS 104, 16074-16079); 2) in silico "drug repurposing" procedure for identification of nonsteroidal antagonists (Bisson et al 2007, PNAS 104, 11927-11932); and coactivator or corepressor interactions (Chang et al 2005, Mol Endocrinology 19, 2478-2490; Hur et al 2004, PLoS Biol 2, E274; Estebanez-Perpi{umlaut over (n)}á et al 2005, JBC 280, 8060-8068; He et al 2004, Mol Cell 16, 425-438).
The AR-NTD is also a target for drug development (e.g. WO 2000/001813), since the NTD contains Activation-Function-1 (AF-1) which is the essential region required for androgen receptor transcriptional activity (Jenster et al 1991. Mol. Endocrinol. 5, 1396-404). The AR-NTD importantly plays a role in activation of the androgen receptor in the absence of androgens (Sadar, M. D. 1999 J. Biol. Chem. 274, 7777-7783; Sadar M D et al 1999 Endocr Relat Cancer. 6, 487-502; Ueda et al 2002 J. Biol. Chem. 277, 7076-7085; Ueda 2002 J. Biol. Chem. 277, 38087-38094; Blaszczyk et al 2004 Clin Cancer Res. 10, 1860-9; Dehm et al 2006 J Biol. Chem. 28, 27882-93; Gregory et al 2004 J Biol. Chem. 279, 7119-30). The AR-NTD is important in hormonal progression of prostate cancer as shown by application of decoy molecules (Quayle et al 2007, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 104, 1331-1336).
While the crystal structure has been resolved for the androgen receptor C-terminus LBD, this has not been the case for the NTD due to its high flexibility and intrinisic disorder in solution (Reid et al 2002 J. Biol. Chem. 277, 20079-20086) thereby hampering virtual docking drug discovery approaches.
Although progress has been made, there remains a need in the art for additional and/or improved compounds that modulate the androgen receptor. The present disclosure provides these and related advantages.

Ester derivatives of androgen receptor modulators and methods for their use

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, tautomer, or stereoisomer thereof, wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, J1, J2, X, Z, n1 and n2 are as defined herein, and wherein at least one of R1, R2 or R3 is an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl or aralkyl ester, are provided. Uses of such compounds for treatment of various indications, including prostate cancer, as well as methods of treatment involving such compounds are also provided.


Polyamide-6 articles exhibit dramatically improved dye bleed and perspiration performance characteristics, as well as reduced color change of fluorescent dyed polyamide-6. These improvements are achieved according to the present invention by modifying conventional dyeing and aftertreatment conditions. That is, conventional temperatures used for dyeing and the aftertreatment of polyamide-6 yarns are typically about 100xc2x0 C. and 77xc2x0 C., respectively. In contrast, the dyeing and aftertreatment procedures of this invention are carried out at about 80xc2x0 C. or lower, and about 5xc2x0 C. or lower, respectively. Bath ratios of between about 15:1 to about 20:1 are employed with the polyamide-6 article being retained in the bath sufficient to achieve about 75% dye uptake.

The present invention relates generally to a dyed polyamide articles (e.g., fibers, yarns, fabrics and the like) having markedly improved wetfastness properties. In particular, the present invention relates to dyed polyamide 6 articles and methods of making the same which result in improved wetfastness and colorfastness properties.
Polyamide (nylon) polymers such as, for example, polyamide-6 and polyamide-6,6 are commonly used in the production of fibers and yarns for elastic fabrics, especially swimwear. When textile fibers and yarns made of polyamide-6 are used for elastic fabric applications, they exhibit a wetfastness problem. More specifically, elastic fabrics made from polyamide-6 have a poorer dye bleed performance in water and a poorer colorfastness to laundering and perspiration than elastic fabrics made from polyamide-6,6.
Broadly, the present invention improves the wetfastness properties of polyamide-6 articles and decreases the bluing of Acid Red 52 upon aftertreatment and laundering while reducing processing costs (e.g., by reducing the energy and time of such treatments as compared to conventional polyamide-6 fibers). More specifically, the present invention is embodied in polyamide-6 articles having dramatically improved dye bleed and perspiration performance characteristics, as well as reduced color change of fluorescent dyed polyamide-6.
These improvements are achieved according to the present invention by modifying conventional dyeing and aftertreatment conditions. That is, conventional temperatures used for dyeing and the aftertreatment of polyamide-6 yarns are typically about 100xc2x0 C. and 77xc2x0 C., respectively. In contrast, the dyeing and aftertreatment procedures of this invention are carried out at about 80xc2x0 C. or lower (e.g., between about 70xc2x0 C. to about 80xc2x0), and about 50xc2x0 C. or lower (e.g., between about 20xc2x0 C. to about 50xc2x0 C.), respectively. Bath ratios of between about 15:1 to about 20:1 are employed with the polyamide-6 article being retained in the bath sufficient to achieve at least about 75% dye uptake, and more preferably between about 75% to about 80% dye uptake.
These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.
To promote an understanding of the principles of the present invention, descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention follow, and specific language is used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended by the use of this specific language and that alterations, modifications, equivalents, and further applications of the principles of the invention discussed are contemplated as would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains.
The polyamide-6 that may be employed in the practice of the present invention may be made by hydrolytically polymerizing polyamide-6 forming monomers such as, for example, poly(epsilon-caprolactam) in the presence of water and a carboxylic acid chain regulator. The carboxylic acid chain regulator is added in an amount ranging from about 0.01 to about 0.50 weight percent. Preferably, the amount of carboxylic acid chain regulator added is between about 0.05 and about 0.40 weight percent. Water is preferably used as a polymerization initiator. The amount of water used as an initiator may vary but is typically about 0.40 weight percent based on the weight of the polyamide-6 forming monomers.
The polyamide 6 may be formed into various shaped articles, such as, for example, fibers, yarns, textile fabrics, and the like. Fibers may be formed by subjecting the polyamide-6 to any conventional fiber-forming process such as, for example, that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,448 to Karageorgiou and U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,860 to Kent et al., each being expressly incorporated hereinto by reference. Similarly, fabrics may be formed by subjecting the polyamide-6 to any conventional fabric-forming process such as, for example, the process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,947 to Speich, the entirety of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference.
The polyamide-6 fibers and/or fabric may then be subjected to dyeing and aftertreatment in accordance with the present invention. The polyamide-6 articles may be dyed with conventional dyes used to dye polyamides, for example, metallized and non-metallized acid dyes. Dyeing may occur in fiber form such as in stock dyeing of filament staple, tow, tops, or sliver. Dyeing may also occur in fabric form such as woven, non-woven, or knitted goods or in garment form. The dyestuffs are preferably non-complexed acid dyes or 1:2 metal-complexed acid dyes prepared with chrome, iron, cobalt, copper, aluminum, or any transition metal.
The following general conditions are exemplary and not intended to be limiting. A dyebath is prepared at a volume equal to between about fifteen to about twenty times the weight of the articles to be dyed. Processing chemicals are added, including a chelating agent to prevent the deposition or complexing of metal ions in hard water, a dye leveling agent, and, in the case of metallized acid dyes, an acid donor to slowly lower the dyebath pH. The dyestuff is added, and the dyebath pH is adjusted to between about 5 and about 7 for acid dyes and to between about 8 and about 10 for metallized acid dyes. The dyebath solution is heated to the desired temperature, typically less than about 82xc2x0 C. (180xc2x0 F.), and typically between about 70xc2x0 C. (158xc2x0 F.) and about 80xc2x0 C. (176xc2x0 F.), at a rate of from about 0.5xc2x0 C. to about 3.0xc2x0 C. per minute and is held at that temperature for about 30 minutes to about 60 minutes. The dyebath is then cooled or emptied, and the articles are thoroughly rinsed with fresh water. The dyed articles are then aftertreated in a bath containing no added dye and dried in a tumble drier or in a vertical oven such as a Tenter or are passed over heater cans. The dyed articles may then be optionally heatset to improve dimensional stability.
A further understanding of this invention will be obtained from the following non-limiting Examples.

Dyed polyamide-6 articles having improved wetfastness properties and methods of making same


A negative electrode terminal for a battery in which a first metal layer and a second metal layer hardly separate from each other is provided by inhibiting an intermetallic compound from being formed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. This negative electrode terminal (8) for a battery is composed of a clad material formed by bonding a first metal layer (80), made of Al, including a first region connected with a battery terminal connecting plate and an adjacent second region on the same surface side as the first region and a second metal layer (81), made of Ni, connected with battery negative electrodes, while the second metal layer is arranged to be stacked on the first metal layer in the second region of the first metal layer.

In general, a terminal for a battery in which a plurality of members made of different metallic materials are bonded to each other is known. Such a terminal for a battery is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-6746, for example.
In Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-6746, there is disclosed a lithium ion battery including a battery can made of Al for functioning as a positive electrode, a clad body (positive electrode terminal) whose one surface side is welded to the battery can while a lead (battery terminal connecting plate) made of a metallic material such as Ni, copper, Ni-platted copper, an Ni alloy or a copper alloy is welded to another surface side and a negative electrode terminal connected to a negative electrode in a state insulated from the battery can. In the clad body of this lithium ion battery, an Al layer and an Ni layer are bonded to each other so that the Al layer (first metal layer) is positioned on one surface side welded to the battery can and the Ni layer (second metal layer) is positioned on another surface side to which the lead is welded. Thus, Ni and Ni larger in electrical resistance than Al are welded to each other, whereby it becomes possible to easily weld the lead and the clad body to each other by resistance welding. It is conceivable that the technique of connecting the lead and the positive electrode to each other through the clad body employing the metallic material easily weldable to the lead and the metallic material easily weldable to the positive electrode material in this manner is applicable also to a case of connecting the lead and the negative electrode to each other. Although not clearly described in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-6746, it is conceivable that the clad body is in such a state (overlay (OVERLAYS) shape) that the Al layer and the Ni layer are bonded to each other over the whole surfaces.

Negative electrode terminal for battery and method for producing negative electrode terminal for battery


A new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) plant named ‘BCHY-14.020’ originated as a controlled cross between varieties. The variety ‘BCHY-14.020’ has attractive inflorescences with sepalous florets with attractive sepal pigmentation and good commercial characteristics.

This invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of the Saxifragaceae family. The botanical name of the plant is Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) 'BCHY-14.020'.
The new cultivar originated as a seedling from a controlled cross between a variety known to the inventor as '.BC6.8' which was the seed parent and the commercial variety known as 'Oslo' which was the pollen parent. 'BC6.8' was the subject of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/135,035 which became U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,144. 'BC6.8' originated as a seedling from a controlled cross between the unpatented variety known as 'LK49' which was the seed parent and a commercial variety known as 'Venedig' to the inventor which may be the subject of U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,928 and registered as 'Venice Raven'. 'Venedig' was the pollen parent of that cross. 'LK49' is relatively compact plant with wiry stems, relatively small leaves, relatively small sepalous florets, and inflorescences that are resistant to being damaged by conditions in commercial coolers. The applicant is unaware as to whether the commercial variety known as 'Oslo' is the subject of a patent in the United States or a foreign country or protected as a plant variety in the United States or a foreign country. No observations of the parent 'Oslo' were made.
The variety 'BCHY-14.020' has sepalous florets with somewhat variegated sepal pigmentation at maturity and good commercial characteristics, including strong stems, a propensity to branch when pinched and a propensity to set infloresences on each stem and lateral branch. The color of the sepals changes as the plant ages. The plant is similar to U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,757 entitled Hydangrea Plant named 'BC6.1'. Below is a table comparing the new variety to similar varieties.
TABLE 1Commericalvariety 'Venedig'U.S.U.S.which may beNew VarietyPlant Pat.Plant Pat.U.S. Plant Pat.'BCHY-No. 24,144No. 23,757No. 10,92814.020''BC6.8''BC6.1''Venice Raven'Leaf size9.0 cm wide ×9 cm × 13 13 cm wide ×11 cm wide ×13.5 cm longcm16 cm long15.5 cm long -source U.S.Plant Pat. 10,928Plant 13″ in 6″13″ in 6″ 15″ in 6″ pot12″ in 6″ pot -heightpot.pot.observedcontrols grownalongside'BC6.1'.Stem StrongStrongStems areStrong -strengthstrong butobservedbenefit fromcontrols grownbeing stakedalongside'BC6.1'.SepalUpperBoth sides Upper sidesUpper side ofPigmen-sides of of sepals areof sepals aresepals is R.H.S.tationsepals are R.H.S. 71 A R.H.S. 86 A84 A (violetR.H.S. 96 C(red-purple (violetgroup). Under(violet - bluegroup).group);side of sepals isgroup) at theirUnder sidesR.H.S. 85 Acenters andof sepals are(violet group)R.H.S 83 BR.H.S. 88 Dobserved(violet group)(violet controls grownat theirgroup)alongsidemargins, and'BC6.1'.under sides ofsepals areR.H.S. 88 B(violet - bluegroup).Sepalous70 mm70 mm60 mm to 70 mm -Floret 70 mmobservedSize -controls grownDiameteralongside'BC6.1'.
The new cultivar 'BCHY-14.020' has been successfully asexually reproduced under controlled environmental conditions at a nursery in Half Moon Bay, Calif. under the direction of the inventor with its distinguishing characteristics remaining stable.
Asexual reproduction was first accomplished when vegetative cuttings were used from the initially selected plant. Examination of asexually reproduced, successive generations grown in Half Moon Bay, Calif. show that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for 'BCHY-14.020' remains firmly fixed.


The invention provides an electro-optical panel that stores data in pixels with a simple structure. In particular, pixels can be provided in association with intersections of data lines and scanning lines. Each of the pixels includes a hold capacitor, an inverter, an OLED element, and first to third transistors. At a reading period, data stored in the hold capacitor is inverted by the inverter and rewritten to the hold capacitor an even number of times. Thus, the logical level of the hold capacitor can be maintained. At a holding period, the second transistor is turned on. Also, the potential of a high potential source at the reading period is set to be higher than that at the holding period, and the potential of a low potential source at the reading period is set to be lower than that at the holding period.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical panel that stores data in pixels provided in association with intersections of a plurality of data lines and a plurality of scanning lines, a driving circuit and a driving method for driving the electro-optical panel, and an electronic apparatus using the electro-optical panel and the driving circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Active matrix liquid crystal panels are one type of liquid crystal panels using liquid crystal as electro-optical materials. Liquid crystal panels of this type include a plurality of scanning lines and a plurality of data lines, and also include pixels arranged in association with intersections of the data lines and the scanning lines in a matrix.
Furthermore, a technology, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-207453 (e.g., FIGS. 22 and 24), for providing static random access memories (SRAMs) in pixels in order to reduce power consumption is also publicly known.
FIG. 17 shows the structure of a pixel. The pixel can include a liquid crystal capacitor LC, transistors Tr1 to Tr3, and an inverter composed of transistors Tr4 and Tr5. With this circuit structure, an electric charge corresponding to 1-bit image data is stored in the liquid crystal capacitor LC. Then, the electric charge stored in the liquid crystal capacitor LC is rewritten at predetermined intervals. More specifically, the electric charge is rewritten by setting the transistor Tr1 to the off state and by changing the states of the-transistors Tr2 and Tr3 as follows: Tr2=off and Tr3=off→Tr2=off and Tr3 on→Tr2=off and Tr3=off.
At a period for holding the electric charge in the liquid crystal capacitor LC, the transistor Tr2 is set to the on state and the transistor Tr3 is set to the off state.
With this pixel structure, the polarity of a voltage applied to the liquid crystal can be inverted when the electric charge is rewritten, and the image data can be rewritten without using a data line 3. Thus, power consumption of the liquid crystal panel can be reduced.

Electro-optical panel, driving circuit and driving method for driving electro-optical panel, and electronic apparatus


A method and apparatus can diagnose a cell defect of a PDP module. The method can include dividing a screen of a PDP module into a plurality of regions, displaying a pattern for diagnosing the cell defect on less than all the regions, and blocking at least one of the remaining regions. Further, determined cell defects identified in at least two of the plurality of regions have different weights when combined to determine a resulting value for comparison to a threshold for the PDP module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) module, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for diagnosing a cell defect of a PDP module.
2. Background of the Related Art
PDP modules are employed in a large-scale television receiver, a monitor or the like since the modules are easily scaled up and colorized. A defective status of the module is determined based on a cell defect. A related art method for diagnosing the cell defect to determine whether or not the PDP module is defective will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
In general, a microcomputer 100 controls the television receiver, and a user interface 102 interfaces between a user and the microcomputer 100. A color decoder 106 receives a chrominance signal from a broadcasting signal receiver (not shown) to extract luminance signals and a vertical/horizontal sync signal (YUVHV) and then supplies them to a scaler IC 104. A pattern generator 108 includes various patterns containing a pattern to diagnose the cell defect, and supplies the pattern to the scaler IC 104 via a buffer 110. The scaler IC 104 scales the video signals YUVHV and RGB inputted according to the control of the microcomputer 100 to output the result to a PDP module 112. The PDP module 112 displays the output RGBHV of the scaler IC 104 on the screen.
The related art method for diagnosing the cell defect employed in the PDP television receiver will now be described. If the diagnostician operates a command for entry into a diagnosing mode of the cell defect via the user interface 102, the microcomputer 100 controls the respective parts to display the pattern for diagnosing the cell defect on the PDP module 112, as shown in FIG. 2.
The diagnostician diagnoses the cell defect by examining the pattern displayed on the screen of the PDP module 112 with the unaided eye. The cell defect is diagnosed for the entire screen by use of the pattern displayed on the entire surface of the screen.
As described above, the related art apparatus and method for diagnosing a cell defect in a PDP device using a PDP module has various disadvantages. In the related art, the cell defect of the border region and the cell defect of the center region are considered equivalent parameters when used to determine whether or not the PDP module is defective.
The equal process or treatment of the cell defects of the border and center regions in the related art causes a PDP module, which can have few cell defects or little to no problems in actual use, to be regarded as defective. Further, it can be very difficult to detect the cell defect for the entire surface particularly with the scale-up of the PDP module of the entire surface of the wide screen with the unaided eye. Accordingly, there is a long felt need for an apparatus and method capable of diagnosing a cell defect by a diagnostician or the like of the PDP module.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Method and apparatus for diagnosing cell defect of PDP module


This invention relates to a polymer having a chain structure of a repeating unit of a proton-conducting compound which causes an electrochemical redox reaction in a solution of a proton source to act as an electrode active material, and a heterocyclic compound structure; and an electrochemical cell comprising the polymer as an electrode active material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a conductive polymer used for an electrode material in an electrochemical cell such as a secondary battery, an electric double-layer capacitor, a redox capacitor and a condenser, as well as an electrochemical cell therewith. In particular, it relates to an electrode material whereby charge/discharge cycle properties can be improved without deterioration in an apparent capacity or input/output properties, and an electrochemical cell therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been suggested and practically used secondary batteries, electric double-layer capacitors, redox capacitors and condensers in which a proton-conducting compound is used as an electrode active material. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a typical example of such an electrochemical cell.
The electrochemical cell shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration where a cathode 2 and an anode 3 containing a proton-conducting compound as an active material are formed on a cathodic collector 1 and an anodic collector 4, respectively, these electrodes are combined via a separator 5 and only protons are involved as a charge carrier. The cell is filled with an aqueous or non-aqueous solution containing a proton-donating electrolyte after ionization, i.e., a proton source, as an electrolytic solution, and is sealed by a gasket 6.
The cathode 2 and the anode 3 can be prepared using an electrode material containing a doped or undoped proton-conducting compound powder, a conduction auxiliary and a binder. These electrodes can be formed by a method comprising the steps of placing the electrode material in a mold with a predetermined size and molding it by a hot press to form a solid electrode, or a method comprising the steps of depositing an electrode material slurry on a conductive substrate by screen printing and drying the resulting film to form an electrode. Then, a cathode 2 and an anode 3 thus formed can be mutually faced via a separator 5 to give an electrochemical cell.
Examples of a proton-conducting compound used as an electrode active material include π-conjugated polymers such as polyaniline, polythiophene, polypyrrole, polyacetylene, poly-p-phenylene, polyphenylene-vinylene, polyperinaphthalene, polyfuran, polyflurane, polythienylene, polypyridinediyl, polyisothianaphthene, polyquinoxaline, polypyridine, polypyrimidine, polyindole, polyaminoanthraquinone, polyimidazole and their derivatives; indole π-conjugated compound such as an indole trimer compound; quinones such as benzoquinone, naphthoquinone and anthraquinone; quinone polymers such as polyanthraquinone, polynaphthoquinone and polybenzoquinone where a quinone oxygen can be converted into a hydroxyl group by conjugation); and proton-conducting polymer prepared by copolymerizing two or more of the monomers giving the above polymers. These compounds may be doped to form a redox pair for exhibiting conductivity. These compounds are appropriately selected as a cathode and an anode active material, taking a redox potential difference into account.
Known electrolytic solutions include an aqueous electrolytic solution consisting of an aqueous acid solution and a non-aqueous electrolytic solution comprising an electrolyte in an organic solvent. The former aqueous electrolytic solution is exclusively used because it can give a high-capacity cell. The acid used may be an organic or inorganic acid; for example, inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, tetrafluoroboric acid, hexafluorophosphoric acid and hexafluorosilicic acid and organic acids such as saturated monocarboxylic acids, aliphatic carboxylic acids, oxycarboxylic acids, p-toluenesulfonic acid, polyvinylsulfonic acid and lauric acid.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2000-156329, 2001-143748 and 1995-320780 have disclosed specific examples of an electrolytic solution and an electrolyte used in a common electrochemical cell.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-156329 has disclosed an electrolytic solution for an aluminum electrolytic condenser comprising a quaternary salt formed from a quaternary cation of a compound having an N,N,N′-substituted amidine group and an organic acid anion as a solute. Examples of a compound having an N,N,N′-substituted amidine group include cyclic amidines having an imidazole ring, a 2-imidazoline ring or a tetrahydropyrimidine ring. Examples of an organic acid cation include those of carboxylic acids, and mono and dialkyl phosphates. Furthermore, it has described that the electrolytic solution can improve heat resistance, increases a specific conductance, improves durability and minimize deterioration of a sealer.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-143748 has disclosed a non-aqueous electrolytic solution for a lithium secondary battery containing a lithium salt of a perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid derivative and a heterocyclic compound having at least one fluorine atom and nitrogen or oxygen. Examples of the heterocyclic compound include pyrazoles, imidazoles, triazoles, oxazoles and coumarins. It has also described that in the electrolytic solution, the heterocyclic compound can prevent a cathode collector from being oxidatively deteriorated and improve charge/discharge cycle properties.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 7-320780 has disclosed the use of polyamides, polyimidazoles, polyimides, polyoxazoles, polytetrafluoroethyele, polymelamine formaldehyde, polycarbonates and polypropylene as an electrolyte for a solid electrolyte secondary battery. It has also described that using the polymer can prevent the electrolyte from reacting an anode and improve charge/discharge cycle properties.
We have filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-198660 (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-127920) disclosing that a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound or a polymer comprising a unit having a nitrogen-containing heterocycle structure is used as an electrode active material for preventing an electrode active material from being deteriorated by over-oxidation or over-reduction and for improving charge/discharge cycle properties of a secondary battery. Examples of these compounds described includes imidazole, triazole, pyrazole and their derivatives, and polymers comprising a unit having any of these structures.
The invention disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-127920 is based on the observation that a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound incorporated in an electrode material can prevent an electrode active material from being deteriorated by over-oxidation or over-reduction. In other words, in this technique, a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound is added to and mixed with an electrode or a polymer having a structure of a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound, specifically a copolymer having an imidazole moiety is used as a material for an electrode, in order to improve charge/discharge cycle properties of a secondary battery.
Further specific examples are a polyphenylquinoxaline represented by formula (13) as a comparative example, and a copolymer of benzimidazole and phenylquinoxaline represented by formula (14), which act as an active material. In the copolymer represented by formula (14), as a content of the structural unit of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound increases, charge/discharge cycle properties are improved while an electron conductivity is reduced, in comparison with the polymer represented by formula (13).
In particular, when the structural unit of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound is 50 wt % or more to the structural unit of the polyphenylquinoxaline, the content is so high that an electron conductivity is significantly reduced and a reaction resistance with ions in an electrolytic solution is increased, leading to deterioration in charge/discharge cycle properties.

This problem would be due to the chemical structure of the polymer, probably the following reasons. The chemical structure of the copolymer represented by formula (14) is a structure where the framework of the polymer main chain is a random polymer structure of the phenylquinoxaline structural unit and the benzimidazole structural unit, in which as a chemical composition, only a weight ratio of the phenylquinoxaline structural unit to the benzimidazole structural unit is controlled. In other words, regularity of an alignment of the structural units is not controlled in terms of a chemical structure.
Such a copolymer in which regularity of an alignment of the structural units is not controlled has a structure where two different structural units are randomly arranged, so that in comparison with a conventional polymer having one structural unit, i.e., a homopolymer, regularity in a chemical structure is reduced and formation of a conduction path for electrons is hindered, leading to tendency to considerable reduction in an electron conductivity.
For example, the phenylquinoxaline-benzimidazole copolymer represented by formula (14) has a structure where a benzimidazole moiety is introduced in the polyphenylquinoxaline framework with good electron conductivity because of its long π-conjugated system and thus breaks the conjugated system. Specifically, in comparison with the polyphenylquinoxaline (formula 13), formation of a conduction path for electrons is hindered, resulting in a reduced electron conductivity of the copolymer (formula 14).
In theory, an electron conductivity is significantly influenced by a length of a π-conjugated system and a density of a carrier for electrons. Thus, it is believed that introduction of a benzimidazole moiety into a polymer may reduce an electron conductivity because a longer π-conjugated system and a higher carrier density give a higher conductivity.
Therefore, an electron conductivity of a copolymer having such a chemical structure is significantly influenced by a weight ratio of a structural unit having an imidazole moiety; as the weight ratio increases, an electron conductivity is significantly reduced.
Furthermore, an electrochemical cell using such a copolymer as an electrode material has an increased internal resistance, leading to a reduced energy and deterioration in quick charge/discharge properties, and, when a content of the structural unit of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound is excessive, deterioration in charge/discharge cycle properties.

Polymers and electrochemical cell therewith


System and method for using multiple data packet signal testers having narrower data packet signal bandwidths for testing multiple data packet signal transmitters having wider data packet signal bandwidths. Using multiple data packet signal testers with narrower receiver bandwidths to process respective portions of the wider bandwidth of the data packet signals produced by the devices under test (DUTs) enables use of lower cost, narrower-bandwidth test equipment to test wide-bandwidth signals.

The present invention relates to testing data packet transceivers, and in particular, to testing wide band data packet signal transceivers using narrow band test equipment.
Many of today's electronic devices use wireless technologies for both connectivity and communications purposes. Because wireless devices transmit and receive electromagnetic energy, and because two or more wireless devices have the potential of interfering with the operations of one another by virtue of their signal frequencies and power spectral densities, these devices and their wireless technologies must adhere to various wireless technology standard specifications.
When deciding such wireless devices, engineers take extra care to ensure that such devices will meet or exceed each of their included wireless technology prescribed standard-based specifications. Furthermore, when these devices are later being manufactured in quantity, they are tested to ensure that manufacturing defects will not cause improper operation, including their adherence to the included wireless technology standard-based specifications.
For testing these devices following their manufacture and assembly, current wireless device test systems employ a subsystem for analyzing signals received from each device. Such subsystems typically include at least a vector signal generator (VSG) for providing the source signals to be transmitted to the device under test, and a vector signal analyzer (VSA) for analyzing signals produced by the device under test. The production of test signals by the VSG and signal analysis performed by the VSA are generally programmable so as to allow each to be used for testing a variety of devices for adherence to a variety of wireless technology standards with differing frequency ranges, bandwidths and signal modulation characteristics.
As part of the manufacturing of wireless communication devices, one significant component of production cost is costs associated with manufacturing tests. Typically, there is a direct correlation between the cost of test and the sophistication of the test equipment required to perform the test. Thus, innovations that can preserve test accuracy while minimizing equipment costs (e.g., increasing costs due to increasing sophistication of necessary test equipment, or testers) are important and can provide significant costs savings, particularly in view of the large numbers of such devices being manufactured and tested.
For example, the commonly known and widely used wireless standard known as "WiFi" is the result of a succession of standards and for which the signal bandwidth has grown to include orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signals up to 160 megahertz (MHz) wide (e.g., IEEE 802.11 ac standard). However, test equipment designed to test compliance with WiFi standards are in most cases limited to signal bandwidths of 80 MHz or less. Thus, such a tester is not adequate for testing a WiFi signal whose bandwidth exceeds 80 MHz. Accordingly, this would preclude testing IEEE802.11ac standard signals of 160 MHz. Increasing the capability of this test equipment to support measurements of 160 MHz wide signals would increase its cost. And, since few test points exist within these 160 MHz wide signal channels, such significant cost increases for the test equipment would yield little benefit in terms of additional testing capability.
Further, wireless devices designed for the IEEE 802.11ac standard are also capable of operating under the IEEE 801.11n standard with signal bandwidths of 40 MHz or less. Thus, a single tester applied to testing such a device would be capable of testing the IEEE 802.11n standard signals but would not be able to test the 160 MHz wide IEEE 802.11 ac standard signal. Instead, the required tester would need to be capable of capturing and analyzing signals of 160 MHz or more. The cost of such test systems is considerably higher than that of current testers capable of testing 80 MHz wide signals, and can result in unnecessary redundancy, since much of the baseband processing engines can be shared between the narrower and wider radio frequency (RF) signal paths. Further, many more test points exist for 20, 40 and 80 MHz wide signal channels, as compared to the 160 MHz wide signal channels. Accordingly, the acquisition costs of a tester capable of testing both IEEE 802.11n and 802.11ac signals up through the full 160 MHz wide frequency band is greater, thereby affecting the overall cost of manufacturing test for such advanced wireless devices.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a technique for testing increasingly sophisticated DUTs without necessarily requiring increasingly sophisticated testers.

System and method for testing wide band data packet signal transceivers using narrow band testers


A method of non-invasive detection of tumor and/or healthy tissue using hyperspectral imaging is provided. The method includes determining a pixel-wise classification of a hyperspectral image obtained from a target tissue by implementing a machine learning approach fed with hyperspectral data of at least one pixel. The method further includes performing a segmentation of the hyperspectral image by grouping pixels into at least one cluster based on the hyperspectral data of each pixel. The same classification is assigned to all the pixels belonging to the same cluster, so that each cluster is associated with a certain classification.

It is known the use of the hyperspectral imaging for several technical fields such as remote sensing, food quality inspection, drug analysis, defence and security, and medical applications.
The hyperspectral imaging is used in various medical applications particularly for differentiation between organs and for identification of tissues e.g. healthy, malignant, etc. One of the most promising implementations relates to the identification of brain cancer.
Brain cancer is one of the most important forms of the disease, and is a significant economic and social burden across Europe. The most common form is high-grade malignant glioma, which accounts for approximately 30-50% of primary brain cancers, with multiform glioblastoma making up 85% of these cases. These types of gliomas are characterized by fast-growing invasiveness, which is locally very aggressive, are in most cases unicentric and are rarely metastasizing.
Despite the introduction of new aggressive treatments combining surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, there continues to be treatment failure in the form of persistent or locally recurrent tumours (i.e. recurrence at the primary tumor location or within 2-3 cm of adjacent tissue). Median survival periods and 5-year survival rates for anaplastic astrocytomas are only 36 months and 18% respectively, whereas for glioblastoma multiforme these are 10 months and less than 5%, respectively.
The relevance and importance of complete resection for low grade tumours is well known, especially in pediatric cases. However, traditional diagnoses of internal tumours are based on excisional biopsy followed by histology or cytology. The main weakness of this standard methodology is twofold: firstly, it is an aggressive and invasive diagnosis with potential side effects and complications due to the surgical resection of both malign and healthy tissues; and secondly, diagnostic information is not available in real time and requires that the tissues are processed in a laboratory.
There are several alternatives to conventional optical visualisation through a surgical microscope, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography, Doppler scanning and nuclear medicine. Unlike these approaches, hyperspectral imaging offers the prospect of precise detection of the edges of the malignant tissues in real time during the surgical procedure in a non-invasive and non-ionized way.
WO2015023990A1 discloses an imaging system based on fluorescence imaging. The system is configured to display hyperspectral images taken under stimulus light as fluorescent images, and corrected for optical properties of tissue to provide quantitative maps of fluorophore concentration. Spectral information from hyperspectral images is processed to provide depth of fluorophore below the tissue surface. Quantitative images of fluorescence at depth are also prepared. The system does not provide qualitative maps displaying the different components of the image as the precise tumor localization or the normal tissue.
WO2014139020A1 is related to systems, methods and devices which apply hyperspectral imaging to illuminated brain tissues during invasive port based surgical procedures. This system is not focused in the brain cancer detection and does not perform a classification to identify the different materials found during surgery.
WO2014118674A2 discloses a medical hyperspectral imaging system for identifying a target structure using an algorithm fed with hyperspectral data from an optical surface probe. The system needs for the previous probe measurement data of the patient in order to provide reliable output. The output is valid only for the same patient. The system is not general enough to cope with different patient's samples.

Method of non-invasive detection of tumour and/or healthy tissue and hyperspectral imaging apparatus

UNIVERSIDAD DE LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA


The present invention relates to a system for diagnosing an insulation element within a battery management system (BMS), in which an input terminal and an output terminal of an insulation element obtain a battery pack diagnosis signal that is output through a battery monitoring circuit and passes through the insulation element, and then abnormality of the insulation element is diagnosed based on a bit operation value of the obtained battery pack diagnosis signal, or an input terminal and an output terminal of the insulation element obtain a transceived communication signal and then abnormality of the insulation element is diagnosed based on a bit operation value of the obtained transceived communication signal.

In general, a battery management system (BMS) applied to an electric vehicle is connected with a battery pack including a plurality of battery cells to manage various battery states of the battery pack.
In this case, the BMS may be generally divided into a high-voltage region that is connected with a battery cell and senses a voltage of the battery cell, and a low-voltage region that is connected with a vehicle, and in this case, the high-voltage region and the low-voltage region maintain an insulation state by means of an insulation element interposed therebetween.
Further, various diagnosis information about the battery cell sensed in the high-voltage region may be transmitted to an operation processing unit (micro controller unit (MCU)) positioned in the low-voltage region through the insulation element. In this case, when abnormality is generated in the insulation element, an erroneous operation of the BMS, such as the opening of a contactor, may be caused due to a generation of a problem in the transmitted various diagnosis information of the battery cell, and there is no technology for autonomously diagnosing the generation of abnormality of the insulation element, so that actually, there is a problem in stability, such as explosion of a battery pack, due to a failure of the reception of a diagnosis result.
In this respect, in order to solve the problems and the limits of the insulation element to which the BMS is applied in the related art, the present inventors developed a system for diagnosing an insulation element within a BMS, in which an input terminal and an output terminal of an insulation element obtain a battery pack diagnosis signal that is output through a battery monitoring circuit and passes through the insulation element, and then abnormality of the insulation element is diagnosed based on a bit operation value of the obtained battery pack diagnosis signal, or an input terminal and an output terminal of the insulation element obtain a transceived communication signal and then abnormality of the insulation element is diagnosed based on a bit operation value of the obtained transceived communication signal.

System for diagnosing insulating element in BMS


A projecting optical system for decreasing a height of an optical system is provided. The system includes a lamp for irradiating light, a color divider for dividing colors of light irradiated from the lamp, an illumination mixer for irradiating the light with equal light intensity, a channel-changing prism for changing a channel of light irradiated from the illumination mixer to upward and downward, and a TIR prism for changing a direction and angle of light to a predetermined direction and angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector, and more particularly, to a projecting optical system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years, projectors have become popular and various forms of projectors are manufactured. The projectors may be divided into products with light intensity applicable to a small screen and products with light intensity applicable to a large conference room or a theater. Also, projectors may be divided into projectors of a small portable size and projectors of a large size according based on purpose or use.
Display devices employed for projectors may be divided into LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels and DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) panels. In recent years, a plurality of projectors using the DMD panel, which is widely used, have been manufactured. The projector using the DMD panel is normally called a DLP (Digital Light Processing) panel.
A DMD panel used for a DLP projector includes a plurality of little micromirrors in a square form horizontally/vertically arranged which function as pixels. Tilting each micromirror around an axis of a diagonal line is performed by an electrical signal.
Therefore, when light is received by the DMD panel, an angle of the light reflected is changed by tilting the micromirrors. In this case, the angle of the light formed by tilting the micromirrors is not continuously changed, and the micromirrors are tilted in only two directions, such that a direction of the light is controlled using the micromirrors.
In this case, the micromirrors in the DMD panel are tilted in a diagonal direction of the micromirrors, and the light brought to incidence on the DMD panel needs to incidence in a direction at an angle of 45° to the diagonal line. The projecting optical system described below in accordance with a related art includes a TIR prism or mirror which is tilted by an electrical signal such that light brought to incidence on the TIR prism or mirror is at an angle of 45° to the diagonal line. Therefore, there is a problem in making the projector in a small size. This will be described in more detail referring to the appended drawings.
FIG. 1 is a top view of a projecting optical system in accordance with the related art. FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a projecting optical system in accordance with the related art.
As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the projecting optical system includes a lamp 101 for generating light, a color divider 102 for transmitting a particular wave of light, a illumination mixer 103 for receiving transmitted light and equally distributing the luminosity, a first illumination lens 104 and a second illumination lens 105 for controlling the luminosity, a first mirror 106 and a second mirror 107 for changing the direction of light, a TIR prism 108 for changing the angle of light to a particular angle, a DMD panel 109 for controlling light and darkness of an image by tilting the micromirrors (not illustrated), and a projecting lens 110 for receiving light reflected by the DMD panel 109 and projecting the light in a predetermined direction.
The projecting optical system composed as aforementioned in accordance with the related art will be described below. First, the lamp 101 irradiates light through a bulb that forms light and a reflective mirror that reflects light. Then, the light irradiated from the lamp 101 is divided into a plurality of colors according to time by rotation of the color divider 103 and then brought to incidence on the illumination mixer 103. In this case, the color divider 102 includes a plurality of filters for transmitting or reflecting only a particular color (red, green, blue) with the particular wave, and is rotatably provided via a motor.
The illumination mixer 103 maintains luminosity on an emission plane although luminosity of light brought to incidence on an incidence plane is not equal. Accordingly, the emission plane performs a role of a plane light source.
The light equally irradiated as aforementioned is brought to incidence on the DMD panel 109 by the first lens 104 and the second lens 105. However, the light incident on the DMD panel 109 needs to have a predetermined angle. Desirably, the light should be brought to incidence on the DMD panel 109 in a direction at 45° to the diagonal line.
To be parallel with an axis of a projecting lens 110, the angle of the light incident on the DMD panel 109 in a normal direction also needs to be at a predetermined angle. Therefore, in the structure of the illumination optical system, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the first mirror 106 and the second mirror 107 are provided between the illumination lens 104 and the second illumination lens 105. The direction of the light is changed to upward and downward for irradiating the light in a diagonal direction of the micromirror corresponding to the pixel of the DMD panel 108. As a result, the TIR prism 108 is also provided in a direction inclined by 45° to the diagonal line of the pixel for transmitting or reflecting light according to a characteristic of the incident angle of light.
Therefore, light incident on the DMD panel in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle is inclined to an angle enabling light indent on the projecting lens 110 or in an opposite direction by the electrical signal from outside so as to create a division of light and darkness on the screen.
In the case, as illustrated in FIG. 2, there is a problem in making the projecting optical system in a small size because a channel of the light needs to be moved a large amount and the height of the projecting optical system can not be lowered for bringing the light incident on the second illumination lens 105 at a top portion of the TIR prism inclined 45°.


A target that is usable in a position determination system such as, for example, a wheel alignment system, is structurally stable over wide temperature ranges, protected from humidity and chemical contamination, and not subject to breakage. A layered target structure includes a substrate board, a retro-reflective layer formed on the substrate board, a transparent sheet overlaying the retro-reflective layer, and an opaque patterned layer between the a retro-reflective layer and the transparent sheet. The layered target structure may be secured a support assembly.

Certain types of position determination systems, such as wheel alignment systems, use a vision imaging system that employs optical sensing devices to determine the positions of various target devices. A wheel alignment system of this type is capable of obtaining alignment information about a vehicle, such as toe, camber, ride height, toe curve, tilt angle, and the angular relationship of the vehicle's body relative to the vehicle's wheels.
The wheels of a motor vehicle may be aligned in a number of ways. For example, an operator or an alignment technician can use a vision imaging system, such as a computer-aided, three-dimensional (3D) machine vision that employs image sensing devices, such as cameras, to determine the positions of various target devices. Although such vision imaging systems are typically used for alignment purposes, these systems can also be used to obtain other positional and angular orientation information about a motor vehicle. Examples of such apparatus and methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,743, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Determining the Alignment of Motor Vehicle Wheels," issued to Jackson, et al. on Mar. 10, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,522, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Determining the Alignment of Motor Vehicle Wheels," issued to Jackson, et al. on Jul. 16, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,665, entitled "Glint-Resistant Position Determination System, issued to Jackson on Mar. 4, 2003, each incorporated herein by reference.
A computer is often used in conjunction with such vision imaging systems to calculate the orientation of the target device by identifying certain geometric characteristics on the target device. The computer takes perspective measurements and compares these measurements with the true image previously pre-programmed into the memory of the computer.
An example of a typical target device that can be used in a wheel alignment system is illustrated in FIG. 1. Target device 64 consists of a flat plate with a pattern of two or more differently sized circles 62, 63 marked in a pre-determined format thereon. Although a specific pattern is shown, a large number of different patterns can be used on the target device 64. In practice, a mathematical representation, or data corresponding to a true image (i.e. an image taken by viewing the target device perpendicularly to its primary plane) and the dimensions of the target device are preprogrammed into the memory of a computer so that, during the alignment process, the computer has a reference image to which the viewed perspective images of the target devices can be compared.
The computer calculates the orientation of the target device 64 by identifying certain geometric characteristics on the target device. The computer takes perspective measurements and compares these measurements with the true image previously pre-programmed into the memory of the computer.
The computer could, for example, calculate the center of each of the circles 62a, 62b by means of centroiding. This is a method commonly used by image analysis computers to determine the positioning of the center point or centerline of an object. Once the center points of the two circles 62a, 62b have been determined, the distance between the two can be measured. This process is then repeated for other circles in the pattern on the target device 64. These distances can then be compared to the true distances (i.e. non-perspective distances) between the respective centers. Similarly, the angle to the horizontal (or vertical) of the line joining the two centers can be determined. A calculation can then be made of the orientation of the target device 64.
Other methods of calculation can be used to determine the orientation of the target device 64. For example, the camera could sight onto only one of the circles, for example the circle 63, and by using the perspective image thereof (the distorted ellipse), calculate the orientation of that circle and, therefore, the orientation of the target device 64, as more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,535,522 and 5,724,743.
Existing targets commonly contain retro-reflective sheets sandwiched between front and back sheets of glass for protection from humidity and chemical contamination. The retro-reflective sheets generally comprise a rather fragile material. Neither glass layer adheres to the retro-reflective sheet. The combination is glued at its edges to a housing using hard epoxy glue to provide a seal and permanent attachment to the housing.
Wheel alignment systems are used predominantly in establishments such as automobile service centers, tire dealer shops, garages, repair shops, and the like. Such environments can subject the systems to a wide range of temperature, e.g., in the order of zero degrees F. to one hundred thirty degrees F. System targets additionally are often exposed to extremes of humidity and various harmful chemical products. Rough handling of the targets when being positioned on or removed from wheels is commonplace. Such handling of the target may cause the glue bond to loosen and allow humidity to wrinkle the retro-reflective sheet that is positioned between the two layers of glass. Resulting distortion can significantly affect the accuracy of the positioning system. Moreover, glass coverings of existing targets, as well as fragile retro-reflective material, can easily be broken if mishandled or dropped, rendering the targets unusable. Impact can be transferred through perimeter epoxy glue, imparting stresses to the glass elements with consequent breakage.
The need remains for alignment retro-reflective targets that are structurally stable over wide temperature ranges, that are protected from humidity and chemical contamination, and are better protected from breakage.

Retro-reflective target wafer for a position determination system