A semiconductor structure includes filled dual reinforcing trenches that reduce curvature of the semiconductor structure by stiffening the semiconductor structure. The filled dual reinforcing trenches reduce curvature by acting against transverse loading, axial loading, and/or torsional loading of the semiconductor structure that would otherwise result in semiconductor structure curvature. The filled dual reinforcing trenches may be located in an array throughout the semiconductor structure, in particular locations within the semiconductor structure, or at the perimeter of the semiconductor structure.

A wafer, also referred to as a slice or substrate, is a thin semiconductor material used in electronics for the fabrication of integrated circuits and in photovoltaics for wafer-based solar cells. The wafer serves as the substrate for microelectronic devices built in and over the wafer and undergoes many microfabrication process steps such as doping or ion implantation, etching, deposition of various materials, and photolithographic patterning. Finally individual microcircuits, such as semiconductor chips, are separated and packaged.
There are a number of factors that can affect the shape of a wafer. While a wafer is at full thickness, it typically has the tensile strength to resist any external influences from changing its shape. However, as a wafer is thinned, external influences will cause a wafer to become concave or convex. Some of the more common influences are film type and thickness of the wafer. For example, nitrides can cause a wafer to become concave while oxides can cause a wafer to become convex. Additionally, how heavily a wafer is doped can result in a potato chip shaped wafer. One cause of wafer curvature is a result of stress or strain caused by thermal cycling of the wafer during its fabrication and/or a mismatch of respective Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) values of the particular film and the wafer material. Generally, the amount of wafer curvature increases as the wafer becomes thinner. Therefore, preventing wafer curvature is particularly important in thin wafer applications.

Wafer reinforcement to reduce wafer curvature

International Business Machines Corporation


An image display apparatus includes: a lighting unit which includes a lamp unit, and illuminates light onto a display screen; a power supply unit which supplies electric power to drive the lamp unit in the lighting unit; a main circuit unit which outputs a brightness control signal to control brightness of the lighting unit, and controls the power supply unit; and a constant voltage generator which is provided between the main circuit unit and the power supply unit, and controls magnitude of the brightness control signal which is output from the main circuit unit, to generate a constant voltage, wherein, by detecting over-current flowing in the lamp unit, the main circuit unit outputs the brightness control signal to apply a corresponding voltage to the lamp unit according to a form of the over-current, or activates the constant voltage generator so that the brightness control signal can be controlled by the constant voltage generator.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to an image display apparatus, and more particularly, to controlling over-current in an image display apparatus, in which an operation of a main circuit unit can be prevented from being interrupted due to an unnecessary power cutoff or electric current limit which may be caused by a sensitive operation of an over-current protection circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a related art image display apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, a related art image display apparatus (for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) television (TV)) includes a lighting unit 130 which includes a lamp unit and illuminates light onto a display screen, a power supply unit 120 which supplies electric power to drive the lamp unit of the lighting unit 130, and a main circuit unit 110 which outputs a brightness control signal to control brightness of the lighting unit 130, and controls the power supply unit 120.
In the related art image display apparatus, electric current or voltage supplied from the power supply unit 120 to the lamp unit of the lighting unit 130 is detected. If the detected electric current or voltage is abnormal, a protection circuit (not shown) is made to operate. In the case that the protection circuit includes only a detection circuit which performs a detection operation in proportion to the electric current, even the instantaneous electric current which is excessively applied by an abnormal oscillation which may occur because of the low ambient temperature is recognized as an over-current even if it is not the electric current which can destruct an actual circuit.
Further, in the case that an abnormal oscillation operating frequency is very fast, the protection circuit is made to operate without being reset via a recharging procedure even by a charge and discharge timing operation. Also, an abnormal brightness control signal is output by fault of a brightness control circuit (not shown) in the main circuit unit 110 to cause the power supply unit 120 to supply over-current to the lamp unit. Even in this case, the protection circuit operates to control a cutoff operation of electric power or a restricting operation of electric current. As a result, the operation of the main circuit unit 110 may be unnecessarily interrupted.

Image display apparatus and method of controlling over-current therefor


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for increasing long term expression in vitro and in vivo, comprising sequences and gene expression cassettes that increase expression of genes to which they are operably linked.

The development of gene transfer methods into liver is very attractive because the liver is the site of production for many secreted proteins (e.g., blood clotting factors VIII and IX) as well as the site of many inherited and acquired disorders including hemophilia, hypercholester-olemia, and hepatitis. The large size of this organ and its regenerative capabilities allow for transient damage and may be exploited to enhance gene transfer. Furthermore, the recently developed technique of intravascular delivery of naked plasmid DNA expression vectors allows high efficiency transfection of hepatocytes [Zhang et al. Hum Gene Ther. 1999 10(10):1735-1737]. Despite this great promise, the challenge is to both efficiently transfer and stably express transgenes in liver.
The injection of naked plasmid DNA (pDNA) into liver or tail vein vessels leads to high levels of foreign gene expression in rodent hepatocytes. Zhang et al. [Zhang et al. Hum Gene Ther. 1999 10(10):1735-1737] observed almost milligram quantities of foreign protein could be produced from >5% of the hepatocytes one day after injection. Such levels of gene transfer are sufficient to treat several common genetic diseases. Preliminary experiments have shown that intravascular injection in mice of an expression vector in which the human factor VIII gene is under transcriptional control of the cytomegalovirus promoter resulted in plasma levels of ˜500 ng/ml after one day. This level is equivalent to 100-250% of the normal human plasma levels for this protein. For hemophilia A and B, their clinical courses are greatly influenced by the percentage of normal serum levels of factor VIII or IX: <2%, severe; 2-5%, moderate; and 5-30% mild [Kay and High K. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1999 96(18):9973-9975]. A gene therapy that provides these factors continuously, even at 2-5% normal levels, would tremendously improve the patients' quality of life. Therefore, if expression levels were stable, the efficiency of the current naked DNA in vivo transfection method would be sufficient for human gene therapy of hemophilia A as well as several other genetic diseases including: hemophilia B, phenylketonuria, hypercholesterolemia, urea cycle disorders and organic acidurias. Expression of these factors would ideally be sustained for the lifetime of the patient, or at least for months or years.
Unstable expression of foreign genes in the liver has been observed using both viral and non-viral approaches [Yew et al. Mol Ther. 2001 4(1):75-82; Herweijer et al. J Gene Med. 2001 3(3):280-291]. Using a variety of techniques for delivery of DNA to a cell, foreign gene expression typically falls rapidly after 1-2 days. Promoter inactivation appears be the primary cause of this initial phase of expression loss [VandenDriessche et al. Curr Gene Ther 2001 September; 1(3):301-315]. The use of viral promoters, such as CMV, RSV, and SV40 promoters, while resulting in higher expression levels than cellular promoters in in vitro experiments, were considerably less effective in vivo. Furthermore, despite high levels of expression in vivo soon after gene transfer, expression diminished over time due to promoter shut off. Additionally, several studies have found that in vivo expression from a variety of promoters in the liver following adenoviral delivery quickly decreased within the first few days. For adenoviral delivery, unstable expression may have been partly caused by immune effects against the vector particle or viral gene products. Immune response to foreign gene products may also be partially responsible for the decreased expression of transgenes in vivo.
To overcome the shutoff of viral promoters, much work has gone into identification of promoter and enhancer sequences that might provide long term expression. Viral promoters generally expressed at very high levels one day after injection, but expression fell precipitously after day one. Conversely, tissue specific promoters, such as the liver-specific albumin promoter, often gave the desired sustained expression, but only at expression levels below therapeutic amounts [Herweijer et al. J Gene Med. 2001 3(3):280-291]. Hybrid promoters containing both viral and mammalian sequences have also been constructed in attempts to enable stable, high expression in vivo. For example, elements of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) enhancer in conjunction with the CMV promoter resulted in more sustained expression in hepatocyte cell cultures.
In eukaryotic cells, transcription of RNA polymerase II transcribed genes starts with the assembly of a preinitiation complex on the promoter of a gene. The promoter typically consists of a TATA box, CAAT sequences, and other binding motifs, called cis regulatory elements, to which transcription factors bind. The formation of this preinitiation complex is enhanced or impeded by other factors binding to the DNA. The binding of these positive and negative transcriptional regulators to the promoter and enhancer regions of a gene influences recruitment of the RNA polymerase preinitiation complex to the gene, the probability of initiation of transcription by the bound RNA polymerase, and the efficiency of the RNA polymerase in transcribing the gene. Binding of a transcriptional activator to its cognate regulatory element can also result in chromatin structure changes thus indirectly regulating gene expression. These structural changes may then enhance the probability of binding of other transcriptional activators, as in the case of tyrosine aminotransferase. The hepatic transcription factor HNF3, which has binding sites in albumin enhancers, relieves chromatin repression and thereby activates transcription [Crowe et al. J Biol Chem. 1999 274(35):25113-25120]. This form of regulation may be especially important for gene transfer vectors which, by definition, will not be in their cognate chromosomal environment. The inclusion of Locus Control Regions (LCRs) or matrix attachment regions (MARs) in pDNA expression vectors may also enhance expression of transgenes in specific tissues.
A large number of transcription factors are involved in regulating expression of genes in vivo. For instance, the following 21 liver related regulatory elements (and their respective by length) have been recognized to date: ANF (10), ANF4 (12), AT-rich (13), C/EBP (10), connexin 32 gene B2 element (24), COUP/EAR (16), DBP (13), EP (15), HLF (10), HNF1 (14), HNF3 (9), HNF4 (12), insulin response element (13), metal response element (15), methylated DNA-binding protein site (13), peroxisome proliferator response element (13), promoter linked coupling element (12), Slp gene promoter element (8), VBP (10), xenobiotic response element (10), and Y box (12) (Transcription Element Search Software, Transfac database).


A heating or cooling vessel for heating or cooling a fluid as it flows through the vessel includes an outer tubular shell and an inner tubular member mounted to the outer tubular shell. The inner tubular member includes a central passage defining a first flow path, and a space between the inner tubular member and the outer shell defines a second flow path which communicates with the first flow path at one end of the inner tubular member. A seal member is provided toward the opposite end of the inner tubular member, for cutting off communication between the first flow path and the second flow path. An inlet provides cool fluid to the first flow path, and the fluid circulates through the first flow path and into the second flow path for discharge through an outlet in communication with the second flow path. Heating or cooling elements are disposed in both the first and second flow paths, and are arranged to provide optimal exposure of the fluid to the heating or cooling elements during flow of fluid through the vessel to maximize the velocity at which the fluid is capable of passing through the vessel and thereby the volume of fluid heated or cooled during flow of fluid through the vessel.

This invention pertains to a system for heating or cooling a fluid, and more particularly to a fluid heating or cooling system in which the fluid is heated or cooled during fluid flow.
Various systems are known for heating or cooling a fluid during flow of the fluid through a flow path in a vessel. In particular, numerous prior patents disclose complicated serpentine flow paths in a vessel through which the fluid flows, and arrangement of heating or cooling elements within the fluid flow path. In such systems, the construction of the vessel is relatively complicated, resulting in a relatively high cost of manufacture. Further, such systems typically require that the fluid flow at a relatively low velocity in order to heat or cool the fluid to the desired temperature, resulting in a less than optimal output of heated or cooled fluid.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vessel for heating or cooling a fluid which is simple in its construction and operation, providing a relatively low cost of manufacture. It is further object of the invention to provide such a vessel in which the heating or cooling elements are arranged to provide optimum exposure of the fluid to the heating or cooling elements, enabling the fluid to be circulated through the vessel at a relatively high velocity to increase the output of heated or cooled fluid from the vessel. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a fluid heating or cooling vessel in which the heating or cooling elements are easily removed for service or replacement.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, an assembly for heating or cooling a fluid consists of an outer tubular shell which defines first and second ends and one or more side walls, and an inner tubular member mounted within the outer tubular shell. The inner tubular member also defines first and second ends and one or more side walls. The inner tubular member defines an internal passage forming a first flow path, and a space between the side walls of the inner tubular member and the side walls of the outer tubular shell forms a second flow path. The first and second flow paths are in communication with each other adjacent one of the ends of the inner tubular member. A first inlet/outlet opening is in communication with the first flow path and isolated from the second flow path, and a second inlet/outlet opening is in communication with the second flow path and isolated from the first flow path. A series of fluid heating or cooling elements are disposed in the first flow path, and likewise a series of second fluid heating or cooling elements are disposed in the second flow path. Fluid is introduced through one of the inlet/outlet openings and flows through the first and second flow paths, and is heated or cooled by the fluid heating or cooling elements during fluid flow. The heated or cooled fluid is then discharged through the second inlet/outlet opening.
In accordance with other aspects of the invention, the first end of the inner tubular member is spaced from the first end of the outer tubular shell, and a seal member is located toward the first end of the inner tubular member between the inner tubular member and the outer tubular shell for cutting off communication between the first and second flow paths. A first end plate is mounted to the first end of the outer tubular shell, and cooperates with the seal member and the one or more side walls of the outer tubular member to define an inlet/outlet chamber. The first inlet/outlet opening is formed in the outer tubular shell, and communicates through the inlet/outlet chamber with the first flow path. A second end plate is mounted to the second end of the outer tubular shell and is spaced from the second end of the inner tubular member. The second end plate and the one or more side walls of the outer tubular shell cooperate to define a transfer chamber in the space between the end plate and the second end of the inner tubular member, for establishing communication between the first and second flow paths. The plurality of first and second fluid heating or cooling elements are mounted to the second end plate, and extend from the second end plate into the first and second flow paths. In one form, the fluid heating or cooling elements are in the form of heater elements which extend throughout a majority of the length of the first and second flow paths.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.

Apparatus for heating or cooling of fluid including heating or cooling elements in a pair of counterflow fluid flow passages


In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods including the steps of providing one or more human somatic cells, causing transient increased expression of OCT4, KLF4, SOX2, and cMYC in the somatic cells forming modified somatic cells, providing a plurality of inactivated embryonic fibroblasts, associating the modified somatic cells with the inactivated embryonic fibroblasts in a culture media comprising 20% KO DMEM xeno-free serum replacement and at least 15 ng/ml recombinant bFGF to form human induced neural stem cells.

Much of our understanding of the human nervous system is derived from animal models, as well as basic in vitro monoculture of human neural cell types. Clearly, these model systems cannot truly recapitulate the human condition, given the complexity of the human brain or the variety of innervated tissues of the peripheral nervous system. As such, there is a critical need to develop more physiologically relevant in vitro human models of the brain and multi-tissue innervated co-cultures, for the purpose of high throughput analysis, the study of various cell-cell interactions, and the development of relevant disease models. Additionally, the establishment of robust models of human nervous tissue development may lead, directly or indirectly, to significant therapeutic advances.


A spinner type lure having a wire shaft, upon which a spinning element and fish hooks are mounted, having the wire shaft part thereof coated with a low surface friction and low water wetting material such as those included in the group containing polytetrafluoroethylenes and hexafluoropropylenes. The coating provides improved spinner action and more animated movement of the lure in the water.

Spinner type lures come in many styles and configurations and are designed to show movement and light flashes, when drawn through the water, to attract fish thereto and improve the efficiency of the fisherman. In order to do so the lure must provide animated action in the water, show light flashing to excite the fish and also slide through the water and weeds with relative ease and, not least, be durable.
Spinner type lures, presently available in the market place, fall short of the ideal in that the action of the lure is not as animated as it might be in view of the drag of water thereon and the friction between the shaft of the lure and any spinner mounted thereon. Furthermore, the shafts are prone to pitting and rusting thus further deteriorating the lure action and appearance with the result that the lure is prematurely discarded.


A digital wipe pattern generating device includes address generators for counting horizontal and vertical synchronization pulses to generate addresses; a calculator for obtaining wipe address data by effecting a plurality of sorts of calculations in a digital manner while using predetermined coefficients, combining and selecting arbitrarily results of the calculations; and a device for generating a wipe pattern by slicing the wipe address data at a predetermined slice level. Since all processings are effected in a digital manner, it is easier to fabricate the device, using ASICs or ICs, and thus the scale of the circuits can be reduced.

The present invention relates to a digital wipe pattern generating device used in broadcasting apparatuses, etc.
In television broadcast, etc. it is often carried out to inlay a television image in another television image. This inlaid image is inlaid in various shapes. The shape of this inlaid image is called a wipe pattern, which is generated usually electronically by combining triangular wave, sawtooth wave, etc. of horizontal or vertical synchronization frequency.
FIG. 1 shows the construction of a prior art wipe pattern generating device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a horizontal synchronization pulse; 2 is a vertical synchronization pulse; 3 is a delay circuit delaying the horizontal synchronization pulse 1; and 4 is a delay circuit delaying the vertical synchronization pulse 2.
5 is a triangular wave generator, in which the output of the delay circuit 3 stated above is inputted to generate a triangular signal 5a; 6 is a sawtooth wave generator, in which the output of the delay circuit 3 is inputted to generate a sawtooth wave 6a; and 7 is a parabolic wave signal generator, in which similarly the output of the delay circuit 3 is inputted to generate a parabolic wave signal 7a.
8 is a triangular wave generator, in which the output of the delay circuit 4 is inputted to generate a triangular wave signal 8a; 9 is a sawtooth wave generator, in which the output of the delay circuit 4 is inputted to generate a sawtooth wave signal 9a; and 10 is a parabolic wave generator, in which similarly the output of the delay circuit 4 is inputted to generate a parabolic wave signal 10a.
11 is a waveform synthesizer-selector, which combines the triangular wave signal 5a, the sawtooth wave signal 6a and the parabolic wave signal 7a as well as the triangular wave signal 8a, the sawtooth wave signal 9a and the parabolic wave signal 10a, and selects signals of various waveforms on the basis of a control signal 12a from a central processing unit (hereinbelow abbreviated to CPU) 12.
13 is a comparator, which compares the output 11a of the waveform synthesizer-selector 11 with a DC voltage 15 obtained by means of a variable resistor 14 and slices the output 11a of the waveform synthesizer-selector 11 at the level of this DC voltage 15 to output a wipe pattern 16.
Then, the operation of the prior art example will be explained. The delay circuits 3 and 4 function as positioners for the wipe pattern. The delay circuit 3 delays the horizontal synchronization pulse 1 and outputs it to the triangular wave generator 5, the sawtooth wave generator 6 and the parabolic wave signal generator 7.
Similarly the delay circuit 4 delays the vertical synchronization pulse 2 and outputs it to the triangular wave generator 8, the sawtooth wave generator 9 and the parabolic wave signal generator 10.
In this way, the triangular wave generator 5 and 8 output the triangular signals 5a and 8a, respectively, to the waveform synthesizer-selector 11; the sawtooth wave generators 6 and 9 output the sawtooth wave signals 6a and 9a, respectively, to the waveform synthesizer-selector; and at the same time the parabolic wave signal generators 7 and 10 output the parabolic wave signals 7a and 10a, respectively, to the waveform synthesizer-selector 11.
The waveform synthesizer-selector 11 combines the triangular wave signal 5a, the sawtooth wave signal 6a and the parabolic wave signal 7a as well as the triangular wave signal 8a, the sawtooth wave signal 9a and the parabolic wave signal 10a and further selects these signals on the basis of the control signal 12a from the CPU 12 to output them to the comparator 13.
The comparator 13 compares the signal synthesized or selected by this waveform synthesizer-selector 11 with the DC voltage 15 set by means of the variable resistor 14 and slices the output signal of the waveform synthesizer-selector 11 at the level of this DC voltage 15 to output a wipe pattern 16.
However, in the prior art wipe pattern generating device described above, capacitors having great capacities are required for the wave generators 5 to 10 and therefore there was a problem that it cannot be intended to reduce the size, when it is fabricated by using ICs.
Further there was another problem that, when it is required to generate more complicated wipe patterns, more circuits are required correspondingly, which gives rise to increase in the scale of the circuit, and thus more complicated circuit design is necessary.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Sprinkling device for installation in showers at the outlet of a water pipe is provided with at least one deflector having a plurality of peripheral vanes of a central spindle which is coaxially mounted in a first, preferably cylindrical, inner chamber. The inner chamber is housed in a socket which is tightly screwed into the end of the water pipe, and has a downward extension formed by a second cylindrical or conical inner chamber which opens onto a calibrated nozzle. A perforated outlet plate can be moved towards or away from the nozzle, and forms the front of a concentric sleeve which is slidably mounted around the socket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a sprinkling device for showers.
2. Discussion of Background Information
A certain number of sprinkling devices are known, that aim, for example, to reduce water consumption by virtue of the adjunction of devices, such as nozzles, limiting water output, or to obtain jets with adjustable force and amplitude. In this regard, the FR-824,149 filed by the company JACOB DELAFON, is notable in that it is related to a device for the dispersion and spraying of water, and is used especially in shower or sprinkler jet devices. This spraying device comprises an inner helical core providing a rotational movement to the liquid jet, the helical core being located in a concentric sleeve, preferably axially mobile, enabling the modification of the free space between the helical core and the movable sleeve, and, consequently, the adjustment of the fineness of the spray. Equivalent devices have also been proposed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,829 or U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,674. The devices disclosed in this patent also comprises a device capable of providing a swirling movement to the liquid jet, so as to obtain adequate agitation of air and water in order to maintain a sprinkling shower at the outlet of the device, comparable to that conventionally obtained while substantially reducing water consumption.
In all of these known devices, it is however, not possible to separately adjust the intensity fineness of the spray of the liquid jet. For example, FR-824,149, the helical core, suggested as the deflector means communicating a rotational movement to the liquid jet, slides coaxially inside a truncated bored sleeve, enabling the simultaneous obtaining of, either a vortex corresponding to a high degree of dispersion and spraying of an intense liquid jet, or an assembly of helical streams of water surrounded by a tapered liquid sheet, without a tangential component, that damps the swirling movement and the degree of fineness of the spray. It is thus impossible to obtain a jet with lesser amplitude, or simply, an intense jet that is not too dispersed, and at the same time keep water consumption at the same level (it would, of course, be possible to increase the intensity of the jet by increasing output). Another disadvantage of this known device is that it is systematically weakened at its center when the jet is dispersed to a maximum, and this constitutes an important disadvantage for a number of users.


The present disclosure provides an engine cooling system having a coolant temperature sensor to sense the temperature of coolant discharged from an engine; a radiator radiating heat while part of the coolant discharged from the engine is passed through the radiator; a coolant control valve unit to control coolant passing through the radiator and coolant supplied from the engine; and a control unit configured to control the temperature of coolant by controlling the coolant control valve unit according to the coolant temperature sensed by the coolant temperature sensor, wherein the control unit calculates a coolant temperature at an entrance of the engine using the sensed coolant temperature and a heat rejection rate of the engine based on the operation condition, calculates a temperature of coolant discharged from the radiator, and controls the opening degree of the coolant control valve unit using the coolant temperatures.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
An engine generates torque through the combustion of fuel, and a part of the fuel is exhausted as thermal energy. In particular, coolant absorbs thermal energy while circulating through the engine, a heater and a radiator, and releases the absorbed thermal energy to the outside.
When the coolant temperature of the engine is low, the viscosity of oil may increase while raising friction and fuel consumption. Then, the temperature of exhaust gas may slowly rise to increase the time required for activating a catalyst, and the quality of exhaust gas may be deteriorated. Furthermore, quite a long time may be required until the function of the heater is normalized.
When the coolant temperature of the engine is excessively high, knocking may occur. When ignition timing is adjusted in order to suppress the occurrence of knocking, the performance may be degraded. Furthermore, when the temperature of lubricant is excessively high, lubrication may not be normally performed.
Thus, a coolant control valve unit is applied to control a plurality of cooling elements through one valve. The coolant control valve unit may maintain the temperature of coolant at a high temperature in a specific portion of the engine while maintaining the temperature of coolant at a low temperature in another portion of the engine.
The coolant control valve unit controls coolant which circulates through each of the engine (oil cooler, heater and EGR cooler), the radiator and the like, thereby improving the entire cooling efficiency of the engine and reducing fuel consumption.
Therefore, a coolant temperature sensor is used to sense coolant temperature at a predetermined position, a target coolant temperature is set according to an operation condition, and the coolant control valve unit is controlled according to the target coolant temperature.
In particular, coolant temperature sensors may be arranged to sense coolant temperature at a coolant entrance and coolant exit of the engine and a radiator exit. According to the coolant temperatures sensed by the coolant temperature sensor, the valve opening degree of the coolant control valve unit may be controlled.
Recently, research has been conducted on a method which minimizes the number of coolant temperature sensors, senses coolant temperature at a predetermined position using an existing coolant temperature sensor, calculates coolant temperature at a predetermined position, and rapidly changes the valve opening degree of the coolant control valve unit using the sensed coolant temperature and the calculated coolant temperature, when the target coolant temperature was changed.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Engine cooling system having coolant temperature sensor


A feed apparatus for feeding a film has a pair of presser guide members for pressing a film F against an outer circumferential surface of a feed drum, a pair of upstream and downstream guide plates for guiding the film F, and a moving mechanism for moving a pair of nip rollers toward and away from the feed drum. When the film F is scanned by a light beam, the film F is tautly held against the outer circumferential surface of the feed drum. The moving mechanism has first and second displacing mechanisms actuatable in synchronism with vertical movement of the nip rollers toward and away from the feed drum for displacing the presser guide members and the upstream and downstream guide plates toward and away from the feed drum.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding a scanned medium in an auxiliary scanning direction by gripping the scanned medium with a feed drum which is rotated and nip rollers associated with the feed drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recording apparatuses for recording images on scanned media have been widely used. In such recording apparatuses, a light beam emitted from a light beam generator is applied through a light beam deflector and a scanning lens to scan a scanned medium in a main scanning direction, and the scanned medium is fed in an auxiliary scanning direction by an auxiliary scanning feed mechanism for recording an image on or reading an image from the scanned medium.
The auxiliary scanning feed mechanism usually employs a rotating feed drum, and nip rollers movable toward and away from the feed drum, for feeding the scanned medium in the auxiliary scanning direction.
While the scanned medium is being held against an outer circumferential surface of the feed drum by the nip rollers, the scanned medium often tends to sag due to gravity or flexure thereof. When the scanned medium sags, it is floated or curved off the outer circumferential surface of the feed drum, resulting in a feed error being produced or, on occasion, the lines recorded on the scanned medium by the application of a light beam being unduly curved.
When color-separated films of four colors, i.e., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (C, M, Y, BK) are to be produced using such an auxiliary scanning feed mechanism in a color platemaking process, if the films suffer respective feed errors caused by the auxiliary scanning feed mechanism, then respective images on the films are out of register with each other when superimposed, resulting in a reduction in register accuracy.
It has been the practice in the color platemaking process to place four color-separated images in one plate, sever the color-separated images after the plate has been produced, and use the color-separated images in superimposed relation to each other. In such a practice, it is important that a positional error (absolute positional error) of any individual dot on one film be in an allowable range.


In electron-beam lithography, and similar operations, to achieve good drawing accuracy on a sample, it is necessary to detect the position of a mark on the sample with high accuracy. To accomplish this, a mark signal amplifier is provided including a first circuit for taking maximum and minimum values out of a mark signal detected by causing an electron beam to scan a mark area provided on a sample. A second circuit determines a peak-to-peak value of an amplitude of the detected mark signal in accordance with the maximum and minimum values, and a third circuit produces an output signal of a constant amplitude level as an input to a binary-coding circuit in accordance with the peak-to-peak value. The output signal of the third circuit remains constant in spite of fluctuations of the detected mark signal, so that a higher accuracy is obtained in detecting the mark for positioning. An alternative arrangement adds the maximum and minimum values, and establishes a mean value of the maximum and minimum values from the resultant sum.

This invention relates to a mark signal amplifier which is used in an apparatus for electron-beam lithography and similar operations in order to detect with high accuracy the position of a mark for positioning which has been applied on the surface of a sample.
Devices for electron-beam lithography generally include a mark detecting circuit for positioning a sample (mask or wafer) and for measuring, for example, the drift and deflecting distortion of a beam deflection system. This circuit performs a very important function of making various corrections on the basis of an output signal obtained in such a manner that a mark called a "reference mark" is placed at a specified position on an X-Y stage or that a mark is applied on the sample itself, aand that the mark is scanned with an electron beam. It can be easily conjectured that the accuracy of mark detection therefore has a direct influence on the drawing accuracy itself.
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, when a mark 3 (for example, a mark of evaporated Au or a mark of a step or a recess in Si) on a silicon (Si) substrate 2 is scanned by an electron beam 1, a mark detection signal A based on reflected electrons is obtained in a solid-state detector 4. This signal is subjected to a binary-coding process with a threshold signal B, and is thus turned into a pulse.
Accordingly, the mark position can be known by precisely detecting the period of time from the initiation of the scanning to the time of obtaining the pulse signal. More specifically, letting v (m/sec) denote the scanning speed of the beam and t (sec) the period of time until the binary-coded pulse is obtained, the mark position is determined as a distance v.t (m) from the starting point of the scanning. In order to find the centroid of the mark more precisely, the period of time is obtained as t=(t.sub.1 +t.sub.2 +t.sub.3 +t.sub.4)/4 where t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 denote time intervals taken for the leading edge and trailing edge, respectively, of a first pulsed signal, and t.sub.3 and t.sub.4 denote those corresponding to a pulsed signal appearing next.
In order to ensure this operation, the level of the threshold signal B must be exactly 1/2 of that of the reflected electron signal A obtained in the solid-state detector 4 when the mark is being scanned. Moreover, the signal level of the reflected electron signal A during mark scanning varies greatly depending upon the magnitude of an electron beam current, the mounting position of the sensor, the deterioration of the sensor, the contamination of the mark itself, the shape of the mark, etc. Therefore, it is extremely difficult in practice to adjust the level of the threshold signal in many cases. Further, such adjusting results in a loss in time in the drawing, requires a high degree of skill, and cannot realize a delicate adjustment of high accuracy.


A seat belt buckle assembly includes a buckle housing; a plate extending from the buckle housing and defining a slot; and a bracket including a rivet engaged in the slot. The plate and rivet are configured such that, in response to an impact force that exceeds a threshold acting to pull the buckle housing away from the bracket, the slot plastically deforms, permitting the buckle housing and plate to translate relative to the bracket.

An automotive vehicle is typically equipped with a variety of safety systems designed to protect an occupant during a crash event. One of the primary or passive safety systems includes a seat belt safety system which automatically activates during an impact event. The seat belt safety system may include a variety of features such as a retractor and a pretensioner in addition to a webbing designed to lay across a vehicle occupant's lap and across the occupant's chest. The seat belt safety system's purpose is to secure the occupant within the seat and within the vehicle cabin during a crash event, sudden acceleration, or deceleration.

Load limiting seat belt buckle assemblies


Composite materials are prepared by mixing metal powder and dissimilar reinforcement materials in a fluid binder to form a slurry. The slurry is spread to form thin sheets which are air dried. The sheets are stacked to a predetermined thickness and placed in a vacuum retort where binder is removed at elevated temperature and reduced pressure. The resulting composite material is consolidated and bonded at elevated temperature and pressure.

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing composite materials comprising a metal matrix reinforced with fibers or other dissimilar material.
The method disclosed differs from the prior art in that uniform distribution and random orientation of fibers, or whiskers, throughout the matrix is effected with little or none of the fiber/matrix segregation, or clumping or "bird's nesting" of the fibers which has been noted in the short fiber or whisker reinforced composites made by other methods.
The process further affords safety in handling of fine, metal powders in that the binder coats the particles and prevents air oxidation.

Process for manufacture of reinforced composites


A method for controlling fault interruption in a high voltage electrical energy transmission system semiconductor high voltage electrical energy transmission switching system which includes a multiple stack of power semiconductor SCR thyristor circuit sections arranged for single phase or three-phase operation with each section of the stack comprising; a pair of input and output terminals, a plurality of switching thyristors connected in series between the input and output terminals, an auxiliary power transformer having at least three windings with first and second windings interconnecting the input and output terminals of one section to the respective output and input terminals in each adjacent section of the stack such that the voltage difference between the first and second transformer windings is limited to the maximum voltage across the section. The system also includes an AC/DC power supply connected to the third winding of the auxiliary power transformer and a gate drive circuit for controlling the firing of the switching thyristors in said section comprising the steps of connecting in tandem a multiple stack of power semiconductor SCR thyristor circuit switching sections. The a gate drive circuit is connected to the gate terminals of the commutation SCR thyristor""s for controlling the firing of the commutation SCR thyristor""s in each section and the firing angle of the SCR thyristor""s in each section is changed between 0xc2x0 and 180xc2x0 to allow for downstream protection coordination.

This invention relates to a semiconductor high voltage switching system and method for transmitting and distributing electrical power at very high voltage.
The transmission and distribution of electrical power benefits from the use of high power semiconductor thyristor switches for the distribution of high voltage DC and for the commutation of AC at high voltage. To produce the voltage levels needed to provide power at voltage levels above 10 kv and up to 200 k volts or higher it is commonplace to combine a multiple number of Silicon Controlled Rectifiers SCR""s (hereafter referred to as xe2x80x9cthyristorsxe2x80x9d) in series to form a semiconductor xe2x80x9cvalvexe2x80x9d. Conventional high voltage systems are designed using such semiconductor valves. To test the operation of a system using a semiconductor thyristor valve at multi kv voltage levels involves considerable safety considerations and makes the system very expensive to manufacture.
It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to simplify the design and manufacture of a semiconductor high voltage electrical energy transmission switching system and to provide a high voltage semiconductor commutation circuit for single and/or three phase operation.
It has been discovered in accordance with the principals of the present invention that by forming a series stack of free floating circuit sections each composed of a predetermined number of semiconductor SCR thyristors in series, auxiliary power can be transferred through the stack of circuit sections by incorporating an auxiliary power transformer in each circuit section arranged such that the voltage difference between the power transformer windings applied to the opposite ends of each circuit section will be equal to the maximum voltage across each circuit section of the stack. Using this arrangement the voltage across each section can be limited to a voltage of, e.g. 10 k volts, which reduces the cost of the semiconductor and firing transformer elements and simplifies the testing of the circuit sections during manufacture and use. The number of sections in a stack will depend on the desired voltage to be applied across each section and the line voltage.
Additional benefits include a reduction in the number of spare parts (the switching system for different voltage levels are built from the same building block) and ease of maintenance in that a faulty section need only be replaced.
Each free floating circuit section in each phase may include any number of unidirectionally series connected thyristors. Alternatively, the thyristors in each section may be bi-directionally connected, i.e., connected in an anti-parallel arrangement to allow current to pass in both directions and to permit forced commutation to turn off the thyristors if this is needed. Forced commutation is used to limit the fault current in a section before it rises to a level which will cause substantial damage to circuit breakers and other components (transformer, busses, etc.) elsewhere in the power system and/or to the components in the section. In the preferred forced commutation switch circuit embodiment of the present invention, applicable to single and three phase operation, the number of commutating capacitors in the switch circuit is reduced by a factor of two compared to conventional commutation switching circuits using semiconductor thyristors in which each semiconductor thyristor requires its own commutating capacitor. This is also true for the number of commutation inductors which is also reduced by a factor of two thereby further reducing the cost and weight/size of the section. For three-phase operation, each phase has a multiple stack of identical free floating circuit sections.
The semiconductor high voltage electrical energy transmission switching system of the present invention includes a multiple stack of power semiconductor SCR thyristor circuit sections arranged for single phase or three-phase operation with each section of the stack comprising; a pair of input and output terminals, a plurality of switching thyristors connected in series between the input and output terminals, an auxiliary power transformer having at least three windings with first and second windings interconnecting the input and output terminals of one section to the respective output and input terminals in each adjacent section of the stack such that the voltage difference between said first and second transformer windings is limited to the maximum voltage across said section, an AC/DC power supply connected to a third winding of said auxiliary power transformer and a gate drive circuit for controlling the firing of said switching thyristors in said section.

Semiconductor high voltage electrical energy transmission switching system and method


A liquid crystal display (LCD) and a fabrication method thereof are provided. The LCD includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposite to the first substrate. At least two layers of cholesteric liquid crystal layers are disposed between the first and the second substrates, wherein chiral dopants with different optical activities are respectively added in the cholesteric liquid crystal layers, and the chiral dopants have the same chemical structure. The fabrication method includes providing a first substrate and a second substrate opposite to the first substrate. A plurality of chiral dopants with different optical activities and having the same chemical structure are mixed into the same liquid crystal host respectively to form at least two kinds of cholesteric liquid crystal materials. Then, the cholesteric liquid crystal materials are disposed between the first and the second substrates to form at least two layers of cholesteric liquid crystal layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid crystal display, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display having left-handed and right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals and a fabrication method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reflective cholesteric liquid crystal displays have several advantages of high brightness, high contrast, low power consumption, wide viewing angles, and high reflectiveness. The cholesteric liquid crystals used in the reflective cholesteric liquid crystal displays can reflect lights of certain wavelengths. Specifically, a circular polarized light having the same chirality as the cholesteric liquid crystal can be reflected, and another circular polarized light having an opposite chirality will pass through the cholesteric liquid crystal.
In general, the cholesteric liquid crystals are formed by adding a chiral dopant into a nematic liquid crystal host. The chiral dopant can reflect a left-handed light or a right-handed light. When lights permeate through the cholesteric liquid crystals which can reflect a left-handed light, about 50% of the lights would be reflected and another 50% of the lights would pass through the cholesteric liquid crystals. Accordingly, if 100% of light reflection is desired, left-handed and right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals are required to be stacked to enhance reflection.
Europe Patent No. EP1058147 discloses a liquid crystal display, in which a stack of left-handed and right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals is used to increase reflection. The left-handed and the right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals used in this liquid crystal display are polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC), which are capsulate cholesteric liquid crystals. The cholesteric liquid crystals are packaged into balls for coating in a liquid crystal cell of the liquid crystal display. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,673 also discloses a liquid crystal display formed by stacking left-handed and right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals, in which, the left-handed and the right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals are dispersed in the liquid crystal cell in the form of capsules.
However, the required driving voltages of the above cholesteric liquid crystals are relatively high. Additionally, the chemical structures of the chiral dopants in the left-handed and the right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals are not disclosed in the above prior arts. Also, the effects of the chiral dopants on the driving voltages of the left-handed and the right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals are also not disclosed in of the above prior arts.

Liquid crystal display and fabrication method thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A novel carpet material or mat which is characterized by an extraordinary ability to quickly and comfortably discharge any build-up of a static electricity charge on a person who has built up such a charge, say, by walking across conventional carpeting. The novel material is constructed with a backing which has a low dissipation factor and relatively low volume and surface conductivity, with a conductive thread in the pile and with an electroconductive tufting substrate sheet.

It has long been desirable to provide a carpeting material which suitably dissipates build up of static electricity without being positively grounded. The need for effective static dissipation is particularly urgent in computer rooms and the like. Heretofore, carpetings have been provided which contained metallic threads and other such means to diminish static electricity. Also, positive grounding of such carpets with wires and nails has been effective, albeit inconvenient in many circumstances.
However, there is no art known which suggests the particular combination of constructions to be disclosed below, particularly in view of their extraordinary ability to dissipate static electricity without causing discomfort to pedestrians who have walked off, or who are walking upon the carpet.
In a hindsight evaluation of the invention, it may be said that it is a unique extension and combination of elements relating to all of the following areas of generally recognized art:
(1) carpets comprising conductor elements; PA1 (2) sheets containing conductive fillers; and PA1 (3) mats comprising foam and plastic backing. PA1 (1) A conductive tufting yarn, of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,811. A nylon yarn of this type is commercially available form Dow Badische Company of Williamsburg, Va., under the trade designation Y-514S and is wholly suitable for use in the products of the invention. In the product of the invention, it is suitable to utilize a product having less than 1%, indeed as low as 0.2%, by weight of conductive fiber. One conductive fiber advantageously used is that of the type sold by Dow Badische Company under the trade designation F-901. This is a nylon-type of yarn impregnated or coated with conductive carbon. It is more break-resistant that metal yarns of the prior art and, consequently, the electroconductivity thereof is more durable in the products of the invention. PA1 (i) a vinyl based material and PA1 (ii) a polymeric foam, advantageously a low density urethane reticulated foam forming the floor-contacting side of the backing and of the rug. The backing is conveniently of the type generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,699, i.e. of the type previously used in mats to achieve a creep-resistant property. Usually the foam is largely impregnated by the polymer-based composition, but a distinct non-impregnated portion of foam forms the bottom of the backing. PA1 (1) will provide a means to reduce the static level to 3,000 volts or less from, typically, 7,000 to 12,000 static volts, immediately upon a "charged" person stepping onto the mat; or PA1 (2) will minimize the voltage build up by a person walking on the carpeting material.


An LCD driver compares an image signal with a count of a counter repeatedly counting a clock. Based on the result of the comparison, the LCD driver outputs pulses each having a duty factor in accord with the image signal. When the count is not between first and second predetermined numbers, the frequency of the clock supplied to the counter is switched from a fundamental frequency to a low-frequency, thereby controlling the width of a drive voltage of a liquid crystal display cell and correcting the image signal in association with the S-shape characteristic of optical transmittance of the liquid crystal display cell. This LCD driver is advantageously simple in structure.

LCDs are commonly used as means for displaying images. The optical transmittance of a liquid crystal depends on the voltage applied to it. This property is utilized in an LCD to control the luminance of a liquid crystal by controlling the voltage applied to it to thereby control the amount of light emitted from a source of light and passing through the liquid crystal.
The optical transmittance of liquid crystal is not a linear function of the applied voltage. A typical TN-type or STN-type liquid crystal has a substantially linear optical transmittance only in the intermediate region of its operating voltage and has slowly varying nonlinear transmittance above and below the linear region, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, an overall optical transmittance of a liquid crystal has an S-shape distribution (referred to as S-shape characteristic of optical transmittance).
A conventional LCD driver converts a given image signal into a pulse-width modulated drive voltage using a pulse-width modulation (PWM) voltage generator. The conversion involves a correction that modifies the converted voltage such that an apparent linear optical transmittance is obtained, that is, the S-shape optical transmittance is compensated for in accord with the image signal.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional PWM voltage generator for use with an LCD drive. A display memory 41 stores image signals to be displayed on the LCD. The stored data may be output in sequence from the memory 41.
A palette circuit 42 has a lookup table for converting, for example, 4-bit (16-gray level) data into 5-bit (32-gray level) data. The converted data is clocked out from the palette circuit 42 in sequence. The palette circuit 42 is a programmable circuit composed of, for example, electrically erasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), configured to make above mentioned correction to the S-shape characteristic of the LCD.
A decoder 43 is supplied with a clock clk and the output of the palette circuit 42, and supplies a PWM control signal to a PWM circuit 44. The clock clk has a higher frequency than required in clocking 4-bit data, so that the palette circuit 42 can convert 4-bit data into 5-bit data.
The PWM circuit 44 executes pulse-width modulation of the clock under the control of a PWM control signal received from the decoder 43 and in accordance with the image signal received from the display memory 41, and periodically outputs pulse-width modulated signals OUT. The periodic signal OUT is supplied to the LCD as the drive voltage therefor.
In this way, the image signal received from the display memory 41 is corrected based on the S-shape characteristic of the LCD to provide luminance of a liquid crystal that is visually consistent with the image signal.
However, in order to raise the resolution of an image, the conventional PWM voltage generator steps up the frequency of a fundamental clock to a higher frequency prior to selecting a clock adequate for the image signal. Hence, the conventional PWM voltage generator requires a palette circuit as discussed above, which circuit disadvantageously increases complexity of the LCD driver, contrarily to a need for simplification of the driver.


An accessory drive system for an aircraft gas turbine engine is disclosed. The system may comprise an engine case including a core engine cowl and at least a first accessory drive gearbox disposed within the core engine cowl. The at least first accessory drive gearbox may be operatively connected to one or more accessories remotely located therefrom.

Many gas turbine engines include accessory drive gearboxes to drive the various accessory systems needed to operate the engine. As engine and aircraft designs have changed over time, the number of accessories driven by the gearbox has increased. Some of the accessories, to name a few, include electrical power generators, primary gas generator combustor fuel pumps, augmenter fuel pumps, oil pumps, hydraulic pumps and lubrication system scavenge pumps. Typically, during normal engine operation, the gearbox is driven by a tower shaft, which is connected to and driven by a main engine shaft such as the compressor shaft. During the engine start sequence, this loading is reversed and external power is supplied to the gearbox that drives a tower shaft to impart rotation to the compressor. The location of the gearbox can vary depending on engine cycle and application. For moderate to high bypass ratio turbofans used for commercial and transport applications, the gearbox is usually mounted under the core engine cowl onto the engine case. The accessories, in turn, are commonly mounted onto the gearbox housing. For instance, the fuel pump is often bolted to the gearbox on a mounting flange provided at the face of the gearbox.
While effective, the available space between the core engine cowl and the core engine is very limited. In addition to containing the gearbox and the accessories mounted thereon, the space under the core engine cowl also contains engine structural mounts, actuators, plumbing, brackets, controls, fuel lines, air or fluid heat exchangers/coolers and other components. While the number of accessories and components contained under the core engine cowl limit the amount of available space, space is further limited because the gearbox, accessories and components cannot be placed in certain sections of this space due to elevated operating temperatures in those sections. In addition, the operating temperature under the core engine cowl is not evenly distributed. For example, often times the downstream section under the core engine cowl is much hotter than the upstream section. As a result, the gearbox and the accessories are commonly mounted to the upstream section of the engine case in order to prevent exposure to the extreme heat in the downstream section.
Arrangement of the gearbox and accessories under the core engine cowl is also determined by the ease with which the gearbox and accessories can be removed for repair and maintenance. Furthermore, trends for future engine designs suggest that the available space under the core engine cowl will become even more limited. Thus, there is a need to configure the arrangement of the gearbox and accessories in order to maximize use of the limited available space under the core engine cowl.


The present invention provides compounds of formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof,

HIF mediates changes in gene expression in response to changes in cellular oxygen concentration. HIF is a heterodimer having an oxygen-regulated subunit (HIF-α) and a constitutively expressed subunit (HIF-β). In cells with adequate oxygen, HIF-α is hydroxylated at conserved proline residues by prolyl-hydroxylase (PHD) resulting in its rapid degradation. In cells with inadequate oxygen (hypoxia), there is a rapid accumulation of HIF-α which triggers an increase in glycolysis to compensate for energy loss due to reduced oxidative phosphorylation and upregulation of erythropoiesis and angiogenesis to achieve more efficient oxygen utilization. Other HIF-independent signalling pathways also respond to hypoxia and contribute to oxygen availability increase. PHD exists in three isoforms referred to as PHD1, PHD2 and PHD3 which function as oxygen sensors and in the regulation of cell metabolism in response to oxygen content in cells. Due to the central role of PHD in oxygen sensing, PHD inhibitors would be expected to be useful in treating cardiovascular disorders such as ischemic events, hematological disorders such as anemia, pulmonary disorders, brain disorders, and kidney disorders.
Studies using genetically engineered knockout mice or siRNA have identified that the three PHD isoforms differ in the way that they regulate HIF. It would appear that PHD inhibitors with an activity profile showing selectivity towards PHD1 may be most advantageous as unwanted side effects can arise from significant inhibition of PHD2.    Patent Document 1 describes certain triazolopyrimidine derivative compounds that are said to be useful as pest control agents.    Patent Document 2 describes certain pyridyl triazolopyrimidine derivative compounds that are said to be useful as harmful organism control agents.    Patent Document 3 describes triazolopyrimidine compounds that are said to be useful for treating of inhibiting the growth of cancerous tumour cells and associated diseases.    Patent Document 4 describes certain triazolopyrimidine compounds that are said to be useful as anxiolytic agents.    Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe triazolopyrimidine compounds.

Abstract: wherein X1, X2, X3, Y1, Y2, R1, R2 and R3 are as defined in the specification, processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and their use in therapy.


Sheet molded compound articles which optionally can be in-mold coated have the edges and exterior margin surfaces thereof sealed with a water-free and solventless fine particle size powder coating. The coating thickness has a gradual and smooth transition from the sealed edge to the non powder coated exterior surface thereby eliminating the need for sanding. The desired method of application is by electrostatic spraying and the cured powder coating is free of pops. Application of the powder coating to the edge and margin portions of the sheet molded compound article includes heating at least the edges of the article near or above the cure temperature of a subsequently applied powder coating to degas the article, reducing the temperature of at least the edge and margin portions of the article to a temperature below the powder coating cure temperature, applying a fine size powder coating material to the edge and margin portion of the article and heating the applied powder coating to a temperature at or above the minimum cure temperature thereof.

Heretofore, SMC articles generally containing fiber reinforcement therein have been made by compression molding and optionally in-mold coating the article. Subsequently, the entire exterior surface of the article as well as the edges thereof has been primed or top coated with a liquid coating. However, due to volatiles and/or gases contained within the SMC article, during cure and/or baking of the liquid primer or top coat, the volatiles could migrate to the surface and form a bubble which subsequently could burst (i.e., pop) leaving a crater like abnormality on a desired smooth surface.
SMC articles generally have internal voids. Low profile additives in automotive type body panels may increase the tendency to create internal voids while minimizing the shrinkage of the article's exterior dimensions. Most molded thermoset parts have a resin rich layer on the surface which was in contact with the mold surface. This resin rich layer can partially block passage of gases from the voids to the surface. Any process which disrupts this resin rich layer can expose these internal voids of the article such as die-cutting, deflashing, routing, sanding, punching out holes, and drilling. Solvent treatment and handling of the article during manufacturing and transporting can also cause disruption of the resin rich layer. They can be distinguished easily from molded surfaces.
Surface defects in subsequent coatings caused by the escape of trapped gases are more prevalent on or near machined surfaces than more remote areas of the part. The term machined as used herein does not specifically require that a machine be used to create the surface. These machined surfaces are created after molding and/or in-mold coating has occurred. The voids or pores of the porous plastic can be from a size large enough to be visible to submicron sizes. The voids are believed to supply gases during heated cure cycles that can pass through partially cured coatings creating either holes or craters, i.e., paint pops.
In order to overcome these problems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,297 to Rhue et al. relates to a method of preheating the entire substrate at a temperature and mime sufficient to degas the substrate with said temperature being above the cure temperature of the subsequently applied thermoset powder coating composition, immediately applying a thermoset powder coating composition to the entire exterior surface of the heated substrate while not allowing the substrate temperature to drop below the cure temperature of the powder coating composition, and curing the coated substrate at a temperature at or above the minimum cure temperature of the powder coating.
The above mentioned conditions prescribed by the Rhue process create several disadvantages in terms of surface appearance, quality and ease of operation. The application of a powder coating to the entire exterior surface of an SMC article tends to produce a non-smooth "orange peel" appearance, which can be visually unacceptable for many purposes. Perhaps more importantly, the restriction that the substrate temperature be held above the cure temperature of the powder coating during its application requires one or more of the following undesirable conditions:
1) The substrate must be preheated to temperatures substantially above the cure temperature of the powder coating, which can cause structural damage to the SMC article and to any adhesive used therein.
2) A powder coating material with low-temperature curing characteristics must be used, which greatly limits the varieties of powder coating materials which may be suitable.
3) The powder coating application booth must be heated to temperatures near or above the cure temperature of the powder coating, which can cause the powder to melt and plug in hoppers, delivery hoses, application guns, overspray reclamation equipment, etc.
4) The SMC article must be conveyed through the powder coating application booth (from preheat oven to cure oven) at high speed, which requires an excessive amount of powder coating application equipment (powder guns, pumps, hoppers, gun motion machines) in order to adequately coat the SMC article in the time allowed.
5) The length of the powder coating application booth (the distance from the preheat oven to the cure oven) must be minimized which in turn may restrict the recommended application space of one powder application gun to another.
Any or all of the above-defined conditions may be undesirable with regard to process feasibility and/or visual quality of the finished SMC article.


Provided are user equipment, a control method thereof and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer program recorded thereon. That is, according to the present invention, an image at a specific time is searched by identifying and tracking a person included in a corresponding reference image among a plurality of images photographed at a predetermined time different than a photographing time of the corresponding reference image by using the reference image, and a search result is provided or the images are classified according to the search result to conveniently acquire a desired image search result through the reference image, thereby improving convenience of a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to user equipment, control method thereof and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer program recorded thereon, and particularly, to user equipment, control method thereof and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer program recorded thereon which search an image at a specific time by identifying and tracking a person included in a corresponding reference image among a plurality of images photographed at a predetermined time different than a photographing time of the corresponding reference image by using the reference image, and provide a search result or classify the images according to the search result.
2. Description of the Related Art
A current image automatic tagging method adopts a scheme that determines whether the same person is present in a plurality of photographs based on a feature point of a person acquired from a reference image to tag whether a person corresponding to the reference image is present through the photograph when the same person is present in the plurality of photographs.
In recent years, under a situation in which multimedia photographing is routinized, enormously generated images are stored in a cloud server or a mass storage medium and manually classifying the generated images is not easy. Accordingly, a technology that automatically classifies the images appears, and as a result, when the images are classified into babies, adults, animals, landscapes, and the like or a tag is set by selecting a person of a specific photograph, a photograph in which a person having a similar feature to the corresponding person is present may be automatically identified and tagged.
However, utilization of classification based on a simple criterion is limitative and in even a method that tags the person, a photograph at a similar time to the selected reference tag can be searched, but a person which is changed with the passage of time is not automatically tracked and found.
An expected photograph for a case in which the person becomes the adult from a childhood photograph based on average face change data for specific sex and race may be generated in order to search missing children, but a feature disappears as the time elapses by reflection of average information and identifiability is lowered, and as a result, it is difficult to apply such a scheme to automatic image tagging.

User equipment, control method thereof and non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer program recorded thereon


An actuator having an optical position sensor is disclosed. The sensor remotely provides via a single optic fiber light having two spectral frequencies of about equal intensities to two inversely acting linear optical attenuators that attenuate light in response to the intensity of a magnetic field varied in relation to the movement of the actuator. The attenuated light from each attenuator is filtered producing two attenuated light signals of the two frequencies that are combined in another single optic fiber and then processed into voltages indicative of their intensities. The position of a moving object attached to the attenuators is derived from the difference of the two signals relative to their combined value, minimizing errors associated with obstructions the optical couplings. The attenuators may be orthagonal strips that slide in unison in slots in an elongated rod containing light transmitters and receivers. Light transmittance of the strips varies along their length. The strips are joined as a cartridge that slides within the rod.

An actuator used in jet engine and aircraft control systems should reliably and precisely sense the position of the object that it controls. Often, a position sensor (transducer) is connected to the actuator to accomplish these functions. When an actuator is used in a jet engine or aircraft control system, the sensor sends a signal to a location outside the actuator for display in the cockpit or for processing by electronic controls. Some sensors used in these applications use electromagnetic devices that transmit their output signals as voltages. More recently, optical position sensors using optic fibers for signal transmission have found favor because of their lower weight and insensitivity to disturbance from strong electromagnetic interference.
One type of electromagnetic sensor provides two voltage signals related to the motion of the object being sensed. A first voltage signal (V.sub.1) increases linearly with the motion of the object in a first direction, while a second voltage signal (V.sub.2) decreases linearly with motion of the object in the same direction. If the sum of the two signals, V.sub.1 +V.sub.2, is constant, then the position P of the object relative to a fixed point is determined by: ##EQU1## where K is a scaling constant.

Actuator with an optical position sensor using a variable magnetic field


A clamp with an exposed roller for manually rolling along a flexible tube to express the tube's contents. The stripper clamp is useful for one-handed movement toward a dispensing end of a flexible tube blood reservoir.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,194,452 and 3,847,370 describe tube stripping clamps which have internal rollers. These clamps are primarily useful for pulling along a flexible tube to strip out its contents. Such clamps are not useful for one-handed operation for pushing the contents out of such tube. Such pushing action would simply buckle the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,429 describes a typical roller clamp in which a firm actuated roller and floor of the clamp are inclined toward each other to vary the flow rate of liquid through such tube. Such roller clamps remain basically stationary on the tube and do not act to strip out the tube's contents by longitudinal rolling action along the tube.
In a co-pending co-owned application entitled "Blood Sampler," Ser. No. 025,980, filed Apr. 2, 1979, a flexible tube blood collector is described which is used to dispense a blood sample into a testing machine. Also in a co-pending, co-owned application entitled "Method of Collecting and Dispensing A Blood Sample," Ser. No. 025,979, filed Apr. 2, 1979, the method is described and claimed. When the machine does not have a vacuum extractor for the blood sample, the blood sample must be stripped from the tube into the machine. Because the stripper clamp is moving with a pushing action, it is important not to buckle the tube as the clamp proceeds toward the machine. Previous stripper clamps required a two-handed stripping; i.e., one to hold the tube taut to prevent buckling and the other to slide the clamp.


A computerized method for generating risk forecasts is provided. A set of securities is selected. A set of risk factors is selected. The risk factor returns a determined. A risk factor covariance matrix and an idiosyncratic variance matrix are constructed. For each risk factor, a factor loading coefficient is determined for each selected security. The risk factor covariance matrix is projected into a future forecast. The idiosyncratic variance matrix is projected into a future forecast. The factor loading coefficients, the future forecast of the risk factor covariance matrix, and the future forecast of the idiosyncratic variance matrix can be used to determine a forecast of the variance-covariance matrix for the selected securities.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of investment risk management and, more specifically, to a system, method, and computer program product for generating risk forecasts by predicting future volatility of single stocks and portfolios of stocks.
2. Discussion of the Background
Accurate and meaningful risk analysis is essential to superior investment performance. A standard definition of risk is the dispersion or volatility of returns for a single asset or a portfolio of assets, usually measured by standard deviation.
Standard portfolio theory, and modern analogues embodied in a range of value-at-risk (VaR) models, require estimates of volatility and covariance between stock returns in order to generate a risk forecast. It is well known that using the naive sample covariance matrix leads to unreliable risk forecasts simply because too many parameters have to be estimated from too little data. As an example, for a portfolio of 200 stocks, 20,100 parameters should be estimated in order to obtain the necessary covariance matrix. This is a manifestation of the so-called curse of dimensionality. Further, the out-of-sample forecasting performance of this naive estimate is hampered due to giving too much weight to the idiosyncratic component of risk.
The most common way to deal with this problem is to impose some structure on stock returns. In other words, it is assumed that stock returns are driven by several common factors. Consequently, volatility of stock returns can largely be explained by the volatility of factor returns. The so-constructed risk model is called a factor risk model, which provides a simple framework to reduce the curse of dimensionality and to identify sources of risk. In addition, a factor risk model makes it tractable to filter outliers and obtain more robust risk estimates. Additionally, a factor risk model makes it workable to achieve more accurate, forward-looking, risk forecasts.
A proper factor risk model has to address the following issues. First, it must be feasible to estimate. Second, it has to be intuitive to use. Third, it has to be parsimonious enough to avoid over-fitting and guarantee adequate out-of-sample performance. Finally, it must reflect commonalties in stock returns in order to reduce noise and to achieve the decompositions desired in making investment decisions such as hedging, bench marking, performance attribution, and segmented analysis.

Factor risk model based system, method, and computer program product for generating risk forecasts


The present disclosure pertains to antimicrobial compounds that include silver (Ag) and an s-triazine ring with substitutions at nitrogen or carbon atoms of the s-triazine ring. In one example, the antimicrobial silver s-triazine may be readily incorporated in a variety of compositions and devices in both medical and non-medical settings. In another example, the said compounds may possess broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes.

Although silver metal in itself does not exert antimicrobial effect, a majority of silver compounds possess antimicrobial property. Empirically, the Romans in Europe and Indians in Asia have used this knowledge for centuries. In ancient Rome it was common practice to add silver coins to large cisterns of water to improve potability. And in India, the practices of storing clarified fats in silver vessels to prevent rancidity and of applying thin silver foil to sweets are still widespread. The thin foil silver surface protects the sweets from bacteria shed by house flies which are common in sweet shops in tropical India. The antimicrobial or bacteriostatic action in the use of silver coins or foil is due to minute quantity of ionic silver released from the oxidized layer on the silver surface, an effect known as oligo-dynamic action.
In modern medicine, towards the turn of 20th century eye drops consisting of 1% silver nitrate solution were first employed to prevent blindness in newborns delivered by mothers suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. However, despite the tremendous potential of silver compounds as antimicrobials, commercial antimicrobial products that include silver have failed to materialize for several reasons. First, silver compounds containing products tend to degrade with time due to their photo-sensitive nature. This property of silver compounds also makes them thermally sensitive which in turn makes manufacturing products that include silver compounds very challenging. More often than not manufacturing processes involved are energetically very intensive. Second, more robust alternative to silver compounds in the form of antibiotics and other chemical based antimicrobials (xylenol derivatives and biguanides) were developed and have dominated the medical industry for over past fifty years or so. Nonetheless, despite the general limitations of silver compounds, several robust silver based technologies e.g. silver sulfadiazine, stabilized silver chloride, silver saccharinate, silver zeolites and silver zirconium phosphate have found applications in niche areas such as advanced wound care.
These silver technologies however, have their own limitations. For instance, silver sulfadiazine is practically insoluble in water. So, on w/w basis much higher content of the compound is required to exert therapeutically effective antimicrobial effect. And there have been reports of issues related to patient sensitivity to sulfonamides. Silver zeolites and silver zirconium phosphate due to their inorganic nature are unsuitable for inclusion in medical products that require implantation or contact with breached skin. Despite its promise, very few products based on silver saccharinate have been introduced in commerce.
Thus, there is a need for novel antimicrobial silver compounds or a group of silver compounds that form the basis of robust and effective antimicrobial silver technology that can overcome aforementioned limitations. More recently, a novel silver based technology including a group of silver cyanurate compounds was disclosed by the present inventor in the PCT/US2014/035945 application which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes. The present invention expands upon that development and provides a new class of antimicrobial silver s-triazine compounds that may possess good light and heat resistance and may be readily incorporated in a variety of compositions and devices in both medical and non-medical settings. The said antimicrobial silver s-triazine compounds may possess broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria, yeast, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms.

Antimicrobial compounds, methods of making the same and articles comprising them


A detecting apparatus detects the degree of correlation between first events and second events repeatedly occurring in an observed apparatus includes an acquiring unit that acquires second event count values each indicating the number of second events occurring during each first period between each first event and the first event next thereto. A measuring unit measures an observed number of each second event count value derived from the number of times the second event count value is observed. A calculating unit calculates the degree of correlation between the first events and the second events based on the observed number of each second event count value.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a detecting apparatus, system, program, and detecting method for detecting the degree of correlation between first events and second events repeatedly occurring in an observed apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
One known method for verifying hardware includes observing signals output from hardware to be verified with a device such as a logic analyzer. A known method for verifying software includes using a device such as a tracer that sequentially executes executable codes of software to be verified. A known method for verifying software and hardware includes sequentially recording state changes of software or hardware to be verified and performing verification based on information on the statistically processed records.
Known prior art describes a method including making an investigation on a statistical distribution of events in a normal state and determining a theoretical statistical distribution based on the observed values for increasing the accuracy of detecting abnormal events. Additional, a debugging apparatus has been described that uses events generated by the apparatus itself to reproduce execution of parallel programs and to increase the efficiency of debugging. Also described is a program that detects an event occurrence pattern from an event log based on information on a plurality of relationships defined between events and outputs the detected event occurrence pattern.
In the verification methods using a logic analyzer or a tracer, an enormous amount of results are output if the size of hardware or software to be verified is large. Therefore, these methods require predicting and registering bugs that might occur and sequentially deleting output results irrelevant to the registered bugs. Accordingly, this does not achieve efficient verification. In the verification methods using statistical information, it is difficult to analyze correlations between events. In addition, since the verification methods using statistical information require sequentially recording state changes of software or hardware, they require a large memory area if the software or hardware is operated for a long term.
Takemori, et al., "Modeling Techniques About Statistical Theory of Attack Events", The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communications Engineers, published March 2004, describes a method that requires preliminary modeling a statistical distribution of attack events (abnormal events). The debugging apparatus described above requires generating events by the apparatus itself and causing the events to be executed by parallel programs to be debugged.
The program described above requires obtaining the occurrence time of events and also involves complicated processing. In addition, the program excludes occurrence patterns of infrequent events. Therefore, occurrence patterns likely to include bugs are excluded, so that reliable verification cannot be accomplished.

Method, apparatus, and program for detecting the correlation between repeating events


A doorway mounted chin-up bar has a rod with an interior tube that is telescopically received within a rotating sleeve. A mount is positioned on each end of the rod for securing the rod to a doorjamb. A pair of U-shaped extension bars extend outward and upward from the rod. Each of the extension bars have first and second ends that extend out of planes that are defined by the doorway in first and second directions, respectively. A first hand-grip bar is affixed to the first ends of the extension bars and a second hand-grip bar is affixed to the second ends of the extension bars. When a user grasps the first hand-grip bar and pulls down, the extension bars pivot about the rod until the second hand-grip bar engages a wall surface above the doorway. The user may engage in chin-ups while being supported by the first hand-grip bar. Alternatively, a user may grasp the second hand-grip bar and pull down until the first hand-grip bar engages a wall surface above the doorway. The second hand-grip bar supports the user while the user engages in chin-ups. The first and second hand-grip bars are different distances away from the rod such that the hand-grip bars will be at different heights above the floor.

Door mounted exercise bar devices are known in the art. Exercise bar devices are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,452 to Winblad for a "Portable Chinning Bar Assembly", U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,191 to Miller, et al. for a "Doorway Mounted Horizontal Bar", U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,628 to Vanderbleek for an "Exercise Device for Chin-Ups" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,350 to Thomas for an "Exercise Bar Apparatus". The related art devices teach various methods and devices for mounting an exercise bar within a doorway. U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,894 to Dudley for a "Portable Support Bar Assembly" teaches a device for affixing a first horizontal bar to a door-jamb for supporting a second horizontal support bar outwardly and above a doorway. Improvements are desired in ease of installation. Also, a disadvantage with the related art devices is that once the exercise device is secure within a doorway, the hand-grip bar is set at a specific height. Therefore, the device does not easily accommodate users of different heights.


Element identification and concentration calculation can be conducted with precision by correcting waveform distortion caused by the energy resolution of a detection system. A smoothing process is effected on a measured waveform of fluorescent X-rays obtained from an object to be measured. A device function of the detection system is obtained for each analytic element, based on the energy resolution of the detection system for a fluorescent X-ray energy value of each analytic element. A deconvolution process is effected on the measured waveform thus smoothed, by using the device functions of the detection system. Analytic elements are identified and concentrations of the analytic elements are obtained from the waveform data after the deconvolution process. The measured waveform is compensated for absorption in a beryllium window prior to smoothing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an element analyzing method using fluorescent X-rays, and more particularly to an element analyzing method which makes possible precise identification of light elements and precise calculation of concentrations thereof.
2. Related Background Art
The X-ray fluorescence analysis has been heretofore used as a nondestructive element analysis for an object to be measured (sample). The total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis was developed to improve the sensitivity and is under study for applications to contamination control in semiconductor processes. Among the total reflection X-ray fluorescence analyses, the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis permits measurement of spectrums in a wide range of energy, so that multiple elements can be simultaneously analyzed thereby by using a single solid-state detector (SSD) disposed immediately above the sample. Since the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis needs no analyzing crystal, the SSD can be set closer to the sample. Therefore, the energy dispersive method has the feature of higher sensitivity for example than the wave dispersive method in X-ray fluorescence analysis.
The energy-dispersive total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis is inferior in spectrum resolution to the wave length dispersive method, providing a smaller total count number. Also, the total reflection method tends to have impeding peaks, for example escape peaks, peaks due to influence of diffraction beams, sum peaks (2K.sub..alpha. ; K.sub..alpha. +K.sub..beta.), peaks due to the Compton scattering, and so on.
The conventional energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis permits easy discrimination between element peaks and impeding peaks if concentrations of contaminating elements are high. It is, however, difficult to discriminate light elements in concentrations of not more than 10.sup.9 atoms/cm.sup.2, which is required in semiconductor processes, by using the conventional energy dispersive method. Reasons for this difficulty are as follows.
(1) The generation probability (fluorescence yield) of the K.sub..alpha. spectrum is for example 0.02 for Na, which is 1/20 of 0.4 for Zn. Thus, even if light elements (Na to Cl) exist in a sample in the same concentration as heavy elements, a total count number (K.sub..alpha. fluorescent line) obtained for each light element is smaller than those for heavy elements.
(2) A beryllium (Be) window is set at the fore end of the solid-state detector to maintain a high vacuum inside the detector and to prevent contamination on the surface of a Si crystal, of which the solid-state detector is made. The Be window absorbs the K.sub..alpha. spectrum. That is, if the Be window has a thickness of about 10 .mu.m, a light element lighter than F cannot be detected because of the absorption of the K.sub.60 line. Elements above Cl are free of the influence of absorption of the K.sub..alpha. line. Further, elements between F and Cl are influenced by the absorption depending upon the mass absorption coefficient thereof.
(3) Since a sample is made mainly of Si in a semiconductor process, the resultant spectrum will include peaks of Na to Cl elements on the tail of the K.sub..alpha. spectrum of the Si element. Thus, some means is required for making the half width of the Si peak as narrow as possible, for example, means for setting the X-ray incident angle amply smaller than the critical angle. This technique, however, decreases the total count number obtained, resulting in being readily affected by statistical error of counting.