A method for implementing a convolutional neural network (CNN) accelerator on a target includes utilizing one or more processing elements to implement a standard convolution layer. A configuration of the CNN accelerator is modified to change a data flow between components on the CNN accelerator. The one or more processing elements is utilized to implement a fully connected layer in response to the change in the data flow.

As images and videos have become more ubiquitous on the Internet, the need arises for algorithms with the capability to efficiently analyze their semantic content for various applications, including search and summarization. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been shown to be effective tools for performing image recognition, detection, and retrieval. CNNs may be scaled up and configured to support large labeled datasets that are required for the learning process. Under these conditions, CNNs have been found to be successful in learning complex and robust image features.
A CNN is a type of feed-forward artificial neural network where individual neurons are tiled in a manner such that they respond to overlapping regions in a visual field. CNNs are inspired by the behavior of optic nerves in living creatures. CNNs process data with multiple layers of neuron connections to achieve high accuracy in image recognition. Developments in multi-layer CNNs have led to improvement in the accuracy of complex recognition tasks such as large-category image classification, automatic speech recognition, as well as other data classification/recognition tasks.
The limitations in computing power of a single processor have led to the exploration of other computing configurations to meet the demands for supporting CNNs. Among the areas of exploration, CNN accelerators which utilize hardware specialization in the form of general purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPUs), multi-core processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) have been researched.

Method and apparatus for implementing layers on a convolutional neural network accelerator


There is provided a method for managing an investment portfolio. The method includes determining a feasible change in value of a first asset, and determining an allocation between the first asset and a second asset based on the feasible change in value of the first asset. The second asset appreciates over a holding period, and the allocation yields an expected minimum future value for the investment portfolio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to investment portfolios, and more particularly, to protecting a future value of an investment portfolio.
2. Description of the Related Art
Principal protected mutual funds offer investors a guarantee of principal, adjusted for fund dividends and distributions, on a set future date (maturity) while providing exposure to, i.e., participation in, higher risk and higher expected return asset classes such as equities. These appealing properties have led to considerable interest on the part of investors who have invested billions of dollars in such mutual funds in recent years. The usefulness and attractiveness of these principal protected mutual funds is limited by three factors:    (1) These funds are closed to new contributions (i.e., investor share purchases) during their protected (or guarantee) periods, unlike most mutual funds, which are open to contributions as well as redemptions on an ongoing basis.    (2) These funds are limited to a maximum maturity that corresponds to the duration of the high grade zero-coupon bonds in which they can invest.    (3) These funds protect initial principal for those mutual fund shares that are held to maturity, but interim gains generated on such principal are not protected.
There is a need for an investment portfolio that is not constrained by these factors.

Method for managing an investment portfolio


The present invention relates to biologically active peptides derived from the neurite outgrowth-promoting domain of laminin-1, i.e. the γ1-chain of laminin-1. These peptides include the decapeptide RDIAEIIKDI (SEQ ID NO: 1) and the truncated peptides derived therefrom comprising the biologically active domain thereof, the tripeptide KDI. The invention is directed to the biologically active tripeptide motif KDI, and to its use in promoting regeneration of neuronal or non-neuronal tissues and, in specific, to its use in the treatment of spinal cord injuries.

Laminin-1 promotes neurite outgrowth of both central and peripheral neurons of the rodent (Liesi, 1990). One of the neurite outgrowth domains of laminin-1 has been mapped to the C-terminal decapeptide RDIAEIIKDI (SEQ ID NO: 1) (P1543; p20; Liesi et al., 1989) of the γ1-chain of laminin-1.
Both human brain and spinal cord neurons attach and respond by neurite outgrowth to mouse laminin-1. Sequence analysis of the human brain isoforms of laminin-1 show approximately 96-100% homology to the mouse prototype (Liesi et al., 2001).
In recent years, multiple and diverse functions of laminin-1 have been reported in neural tissues. For example, laminin-1 has been shown to prevent neurotoxicity of the amyloid-β-peptide involved in neuronal death of Alzheimer disease (Bronfman et al., 1996; Drouet et al., 1999). Laminin-1 further affects development of dendritic spines of the cerebellar Purkinje cells (Seil, 1998), and influences memory processing by modulation of LTP (Nakagami et al., 2000). As most of the members of the laminin-superfamily are also present in neurons and glial cells of the human embryonic CNS (Liesi et al., 2001), laminins may have specific and diverse effects on development and mature function of the human CNS.
Using specific γ1 laminin antibodies on cultures of central neurons, the neurite outgrowth domain of the γ1-chain of laminin-1 has been shown to play a major role in neuronal migration and axon guidance. The nuclear rotation phase of cerebellar neuronal migration (Liesi et al., 1995), neuronal differentiation (Matsuzawa et al., 1996a), and axon guidance of rat hippocampal neurons (Matsuzawa et al., 1998) have all been shown to be influenced by the neurite outgrowth domain of the γ1-chain of laminin-1. In previous studies, we have shown that the neurite outgrowth domain of the γ1-chain of laminin-1 accumulates in brains of Alzheimer disease patients (Murtomäki et al., 1992) as well as in the weaver mouse cerebellum (Murtomäki et al., 1995). Therefore we have proposed that an increased accumulation of high concentrations of the neurite outgrowth domain of the γ1-laminin may be toxic to neurons. In line with this hypothesis, antibodies against the neurite outgrowth domain that neutralize the γ1-chain peptides restore both cell survival and neurite outgrowth of the weaver granule neurons (Liesi and Wright, 1996).
WO publication 93/24155 discloses a medical device, useful as a graft in repairing injured nerve tissues, specifically peripheral nerves, the device containing the decapeptide P1543. WO publication 98/43686 discloses fibrin-based, biocompatible materials for, for instance, peripheral nerve regeneration. The materials contain various bioactive peptides, including the above-indicated decapeptide. Furthermore, Hager et al. (1998) showed that the corresponding peptide derived from mouse laminin-1 modulates the electrical activity the neurons of rat neocortex.
WO publication 94/04560, on the other hand, discloses protein factors having Schwann cell mitogenic activity. The peptide sequences disclosed in the application include a sequence comprising the KDI motif. Use of the factors for e.g. neural regeneration is suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,090 discloses flavoring ingredients for food products, comprising tripeptides having hydrophobic amino acid residues. Preparation of the tripeptide KDI is described in the patent, but no medical use is suggested for the peptide.
Recently, netrin-1 has been shown to act on central neurons via a G-protein coupled receptor mechanism (Corset et al., 2000). Interestingly, the KDI-sequence is present in the chicken netrin-1 (Serafini et al., 1994), and the human netrin-protein (Meyerhardt et al., 1999) also has this domain, although modified. It is unclear, however, if the presence of this short sequence has any functional significance in these proteins. The KDI-sequence may be hidden in netrins either by conformation or glycosylation of the proteins.

Biologically active peptides and their use for repairing injured nerves


An endoscopic surgical instrument 20 includes an irrigation port 21 and an evacuation port 22. Each port, 21 and 22, is connected through independent valves 23 and 24, respectively to a single access conduit 25. The connection between the valves 23 and 24 and conduit 25 is along connector tubes 23a and 24a. The access conduit 25 leads from the valves and their respective valve conduits to a probe connector 26. This probe connector 26 is designed to receive one end, the locating end 27, of a surgical probe 28 which would be used during microsurgical procedures. The surgical instrument 20 also includes a port 31 which allows the surgeon to insert microsurgical instrumentation (not shown) along the access conduit 25 and the bore of the hollow probe 28 to exit from the end 32 thereof. The port 31 should provide a fluid-tight seal when no microsurgical instrumentation is being used with the surgical instrument 20. This will prevent fluid which may be moving along the access conduit 25 to or from the patient, from leaking.

Laparoscopic/endoscopic surgical procedure allows a surgeon to see inside the body of a patient without the necessity of large incisions. This reduces the chances of infection and other complications related to large incisions. The laparoscope (or endoscope) further allows the surgeon to manipulate microsurgical instruments within its housing without impeding the surgeon's view of the area under consideration.
During these surgical procedures it is desirable for as few lines as possible to enter the body of the patient. This reduces the size of the incision the surgeon needs to make. It follows from this that the greater the number of functions provided by a single instrument or the greater the number of instruments able to be passed through a single line entering the patient's body, the better.
Furthermore, in certain procedures it may be desirable to irrigate the area under consideration. This is turn necessitates the evacuation of the irrigation fluid or, when bleeding has occurred, the blood or fumes or tissue residue generated by the surgical procedure. From what has been said above it is preferable for both irrigation and evacuation to be conducted along a single conduit which, in turn, acts as an access line for surgical instruments.
A typical device which is used in laparoscopic procedures is an electrosurgical probe. Typically such a probe will comprise an radio frequency energy conductive tube covered with a dielectric material such as polyolefin. At one end, for convenience called the operational end, each probe could have any one of a number of functionally shaped electrodes. In addition a probe could have its end formed specifically for irrigation and/or evacuation.
As the electrodes at the end of the probe are not necessarily symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the probe, it is desirable for the probe to be mounted on its supporting instrument to permit rotation thereof about this axis. This would allow the manipulation of the operational end of the probe without unnecessary and inconvenient manipulation of the surgeon's arm. In addition, as a variety of electrode shapes are available to the surgeon it is desirable for these probes to be interchangeable.
Furthermore, any valves controlling the evacuation and irrigation procedures should be constructed so as to minimize the possibility of the valve malfunctions if, for example, any tissue or blood coagulates around their moving parts. Similarly if any of the instrumentation is to be reusable, such instrumentation, including the valves, should be capable of being efficiently cleaned by, for example, flushing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,215 (Allgood) discloses a valve for switching between an evacuation and an irrigation conduit and allowing both such evacuation and irrigation to be done via a single line entering the patient. The mechanism for switching between the irrigation, evacuation and closed configurations is by means of a L-valve or T-valve. This patent, in another embodiment thereof, further provides for a piston valve for making an on-off connection between an evacuation port and the line leading into the patient.
The L- and T-valves have the disadvantage that they must be manipulated by rotation by the surgeon, usually using his/her free hand. The piston valve disclosed in this patent has the disadvantage that it has many areas where blood and tissue accumulation and coagulation can occur which may result in the malfunctioning of the valve. In addition, the piston valve has numerous "dead" areas where fluid flow would not occur. This precludes the device from being effectively cleaned by commonly used flushing techniques. Finally, the Allgood patent does not disclose a single body for housing an evacuation/irrigation control valve together with a housing for laparoscopic and microsurgical instrumentation.
A surgical valve that the applicant is aware of is the piston valve illustrated in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
In this valve a piston 10 is located within a cylinder 11. The piston 10 can be moved along the bore of the cylinder 11 by means of a plunger 12, from a closed position (as shown) to an open position in which a conduit 13 is aligned with an access port 14. This allows fluid flow along a path to or from access port 14, via conduit 13 and space 16 from or to a further port 15. Upon release of the plunger 12 the piston 10 returns to its closed position under action of a spring 17.
This valve, although easy to use, has the disadvantage that blood and tissue accumulation occurs in space 16 and clogs both the space and the spring 17. This may result in undesirable over-evacuation or irrigation of the patient during surgical procedures.


An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup unit for picking up an image, a lens barrier for covering the front of a lens of the image pickup unit, a display for displaying image data recorded on a recording unit, and a controller for controlling mode switching of the image pickup apparatus in response to a mode switching command from a mode switching unit. The controller switches among three modes including an image pickup mode, a play mode, and a review mode. During the image pickup mode, power is supplied to the image pickup unit for image pickup. During the play mode, data is played on the display with power supplied to the image pickup unit for image pickup. After an elapse of a predetermined threshold time, power supplying to the image pickup unit is stopped. During the review mode, data is played on the display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a computer program. In particular, the present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a computer program for controlling mode setting and an image pickup unit in the image pickup apparatus such as a still camera, or a video camera, and a lens barrier as a lens protecting cover plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of image pickup apparatuses such as a still camera or a video camera include a lens barrier as a lens protecting cover plate. When no image pickup is performed, the lens barrier is closed to protect a lens.
Currently available digital cameras perform a state determination process as to whether image pickup is under way or not in response to a variety of user operation information, and controls the opening and closing of the lens barrier.
Many digital cameras are powered from a battery. To save power from the battery, power supplying to the image pickup unit including a lens driver in the image pickup apparatus is typically suspended while a user does not operate the apparatus for image pickup. For example, cameras are currently typically equipped with a monitor such as a liquid-crystal display, and captured data can be played on the monitor. During playing on the monitor, power supplying to the image pickup unit including the lens driver may be stopped to save battery power.
Cameras having a known automatically opened and closed lens barrier are designed to close the lens barrier prior to the stop of power supplying to the image pickup unit. If the user attempts to start image pickup after stopping of the power supplying to the image pickup unit, the image pickup cannot immediately resume. This is because an action to open the lens barrier needs to be performed. If the image pickup unit is continuously powered without interruptions, the lens barrier can continuously stay opened, and image pickup can immediately resume. However, if the lens barrier remains opened, a chance that dirt sticks to the lens may increase and power consumption may be increased. The lens barrier is preferably closed.
In typical known cameras, power supplying to the image pickup unit is stopped after an elapse of a constant time subsequent to the switching to a play mode on a monitor. During the constant time subsequent to the switching to the play mode on the monitor, the lens barrier remains opened. Control of the lens barrier is operatively linked with an on/off control to the power supplying to the image pickup unit. Even when content is played on the monitor, the lens barrier remains opened with power supplied to the image pickup unit. The lens barrier is closed when power supplying to the image pickup unit stops.

Image pickup apparatus, method for controlling the image pickup apparatus, and computer readable medium storing a program for controlling the mode setting of the image pickup apparatus


A process for the synthesis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides is provided which comprises assembling an oligonucleotide bound to a solid support in the presence of acetonitrile; prior to cleaving the oligonucleotide from the solid support removing the acetonitrile; and cleaving the oligonucleotide from the solid support. The process is particularly suited to the large scale synthesis of nucleotides. The acetonitrile may be removed from the solid support by one or both of drying and by washing with solvents. Preferred washing solvents comprise trialkylamines.

In the past 15 years or so, enormous progress has been made in the development of the synthesis of oligodeoxyribonucleotides (DNA sequences), oligoribonucleotides (RNA sequences) and their analogues 'Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 20, Protocol for Oligonucleotides and Analogs', Agrawal, S. Ed., Humana Press, Totowa, 1993. Much of the work has been carried out on a micromolar or even smaller scale, and automated solid phase synthesis involving monomeric phosphoramidite building blocks Beaucage, S. L.; Caruthers, M. H. Tetrahedron Lett., 1981, 22, 1859–1862 has proved to be the most convenient approach. Indeed, high molecular weight DNA and relatively high molecular weight RNA sequences can now be prepared routinely with commercially available synthesisers. These synthetic oligonucleotides have met a number of crucial needs in biology and biotechnology.
Whereas milligram quantities have generally sufficed for molecular biological purposes, gram to greater than 100 gram quantities are required for clinical trials. Several oligonucleotide analogues that are potential antisense drugs are now in advanced clinical trials. If, as seems likely in the very near future, one of these sequences becomes approved, say, for the treatment of AIDS or a form of cancer, kilogram, multikilogram or even larger quantities of a specific sequence or sequences will be required.
Many of the oligonucleotides currently of interest in the phamaceutical industry are analogues of natural oligonucleotides which comprise phosphorothioated-internucleoside linkages. When phosphorothioate linkages are present, particularly when such linkages comprise a major proportion of the linkages, and especially when they comprise 100% of the internucleoside linkages, it is highly desirable that the concentration of impurity, non-phosphorothioated linkages in the final product is kept to a pharmacologically acceptable level.
A large number of protocols for the synthesis of oligonucleotides employ acetonitrile as a solvent for the reagents employed. Acetonitrile is attractive as a solvent because it is inert towards the reagents and oligonucleotide product, it has good solvation properties and is environmentally acceptable. Commonly, for large-scale syntheses, a high concentration of acetonitrile is present during the stage when the oligonucleotide product is cleaved from the solid support. Hitherto, this has been acceptable for large scale synthesis because of the perceived inert nature of acetonitrile. However, during the course of the studies resulting in the present invention, it has now been surprisingly found that higher purity oligonucleotides can be obtained by reducing the concentration of acetonitrile present during the cleavage stage.

Process for the preparation of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides


Modified polyolefins are produced by reacting a functionalized polyolefin with one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds having a functional group reactive with the functional group on the polyolefin. These modified polyolefins may then polymerize in the presence of a photoinitiator upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation and also have the capability of copolymerizing in the presence of a photoinitiator with other ethylenically unsaturated crosslinking agents upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation. These modified polyolefins may also contain pendant carboxyl groups, which have the propensity to form hydrophilic salts with amines, and therefore may be rendered water-dispersible. The modified polyolefins of the present invention significantly improve the adhesion of paints, inks, and adhesives to various plastic and metal substrates.

Molded plastic parts are widely used in automobiles, trucks, household appliances, graphic arts and the like. Frequently these plastic parts are made from polyolefins such as polyethylene, ethylene copolymers, polypropylene, propylene copolymers and polyolefin blends with other polymers. One such blend is a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), which is a rubber-modified polypropylene. Frequently, these plastic parts have to be painted to match the color of painted metal parts that are also present in the automobile, appliance or other items. Typical paints do not adhere well to these plastic parts. Thus, adhesion-promoting primers are needed to improve the adhesion of the paints to the polyolefin materials.
Chlorinated polyolefins, particularly chlorinated, maleated crystalline polypropylene polymers are effective as adhesion-promoting primers and they have very limited solubility in anything other than aromatic or chlorinated solvents. The U.S. Federal Clean Air Act of 1990 limits the amounts of solvents that are on the Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) list that can be used in some areas, and most practical aromatic and chlorinated solvents for use in coatings applications are on the HAPs list. There are some applications where a non-chlorinated adhesion promoter is desired. Other systems proposed for use as primers are based on maleated amorphous polyolefins, which are dissolved in aromatic solvents such as xylene and toluene.
Attempts have been made to provide water based paints and primers for the automotive and appliance industries but these systems generally are not thought to be as effective as solvent based systems. For example, the polymers used in water based systems must be emulsified or dispersed in water using a nonionic, cationic or anionic surfactant and a primary, secondary or tertiary amine, which can lend water-sensitivity to the applied coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,047 describes pressure-sensitive adhesives that are readily detackifiable by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. These adhesive systems contain a normally tacky and pressure-sensitive adhesive having an epoxy equivalent value of about 400-900 and including an effective amount of an ionic photoinitiator. These adhesives show a decrease in adhesion to surfaces such as glass, aluminum, circuit boards, silicon wafers, and enamel after exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,697 discloses a process for improving the adhesion of paint to polyolefin surfaces. In this process polyolefin surfaces, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene/propylene copolymers, and EPDM copolymers (TPOs), are primed with a chlorinated polyolefin, which comprises chlorinated polypropylene and chlorinated polypropylene containing carboxylic anhydride groups, and then exposed to ultraviolet radiation. This treatment improves both the dry and wet adhesion of paint to the polyolefin surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,849 describes a coating composition which crosslinks upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This composition consists of (a) from 1 to 5 percent of a saturated, chlorinated polymeric material selected from the group consisting of (1) a chlorinated polyolefin containing about 5 to 75 percent by weight of chlorine and having a number average molecular weight of about 5,000 to 50,000, (2) a chlorinated polyolefin containing carboxylic anhydride groups and about 5 to 25 percent by weight of chlorine and having a number average molecular weight of about 5,000 to 50,000, and (3) a mixture thereof; (b) from 20 to 80 percent of a radiation sensitive monomer having at least two addition polymerizable unsaturated bonds; (c) from 0.1 to 5.0 percent of a photopolymerization initiator; and (d) from 80 to 20 percent of an acrylic addition polymer having at least one amino group and having a number average molecular weight of about 8,000 to 70,000. This patent discloses a method of coating comprising (1) applying a film of the coating composition of the invention to a plastic substrate, and (2) curing the film by exposing the film to ultraviolet radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,559 describes an adhesive film comprising (a) a base film permeable to ultraviolet light, (b) a layer of a pressure sensitive adhesive formed on one side of the film.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,567 describes an adhesive tape comprising an energy beam transmittable base sheet and an adhesive layer formed on the surface of the said base sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,048 discloses a composition for a water based adhesion promoter that consists of a non-chlorinated polyolefin, a nonionic surfactant, a primary, secondary or tertiary amine, and water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,767 describes an aqueous resin composition comprising (a) 80 to 10 parts by weight of a modified polyolefin; and (b) 20 to 90 parts by weight of an acrylic or methacrylic monomer or mixture thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,264 describes "switchable" adhesive compositions, which are capable of being transformed from a tacky to a non-tacky state. These compositions comprise an adhesive polymeric moiety and a plurality of bound in visible light curable groups, which are chemically bound to the adhesive polymeric moiety. The curing reaction of these adhesive compositions is initiated by visible light. This technology is also disclosed in WO 97/06836.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,182 describes a solution process for the modification of certain polyolefins with an unsaturated anhydride, unsaturated acid or unsaturated ester.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

UV-curable, non-chlorinated adhesion promoters


A support bracket is provided for holding an outlet end of a hose, such as a garden hose. The bracket includes a base which is adapted to be attached to a support surface, such as an exterior wall of a building. An arch extends away from an upper end of the base to a free end spaced from the base. A channel passes along the base and the arch. The channel is adapted to receive the hose therein. The arch terminates at a head which holds an outlet of the hose. The head extends at least partially downwardly so that water discharged from the outlet of the hose extends at least partially downwardly when the hose is supported by the bracket. Retainer ribs are provided to facilitate removable attachment of the hose within the channel of the bracket.

Garden hoses are commonly used to provide convenience in delivering water in a region proximate to a hose bib or other water supply outlet. For instance, residential dwellings often have a water supply associated therewith which features one or more hose bibs either extending through a wall of the dwelling or extending up out of the ground adjacent to a wall of the dwelling. The hose bib has a valve and associated valve handle and a threaded outlet port. A garden hose can be conveniently coupled to this outlet port so that when the valve is opened, water is released from an outlet of the hose. Once so arranged, water can be delivered to any region as close to the hose bib as a length of the hose (typically fifty or one hundred feet). In this way, planting beds around the residence can be watered, animals can be watered, cars can be cleaned, and other outdoor water needs can be met.
One common use for a garden hose is for an individual to clean up, particularly when the individual wishes to return into the residence and has become somewhat soiled. At other times, an individual may wish to remove soil from the individual's hands or other objects after working in the dirt or otherwise having the individual's hands become dirty.
A typical prior art garden hose and hose bib are not particularly effective for washing an individual's hands or other objects. A typical hose bib is usually one to two feet above the ground. If the hose is removed and the hose bib used as a "faucet" for hands washing, or washing of other items, the user has to hunch down significantly to place ones hands (or items) under the hose bib. When the garden hose is attached, the user faces the dilemma of requiring one hand for holding the hose and so only being able to wash hands one at a time (or only having one hand available to hold the item to be cleaned). This is particularly troublesome when soap is to be used to more thoroughly wash the individual's hands.
Various types of hose retainers are known in the art which facilitate storage of a hose off of the ground, such as rolled up on a reel, or merely wrapped around a hose support extending from a support surface such as an outer wall of the adjacent building. However, such supports in the prior art are not known to conveniently hold the outlet end of the hose in a proper fashion so that the outlet end of the hose can function as a faucet, such as for hands washing. Accordingly, a need exists for a support bracket which can hold an outlet end of the hose in fixed position relative to an adjacent support surface and with the outlet end of the hose angled downwardly at least slightly so that the hose can be conveniently used for hand washing, or washing of other items.


A compact, high integrity heat exchanger element comprises a core layer through which the heat exchange fluid passes between its inlet and its outlet. The core layer includes a main heat exchange region containing heat exchange surfaces acting as fins. It also has distributor/ collector regions containing flow intercepting features for distributing or collecting the fluid flow over the width of the element. The heat exchange element consists of a minimum of two unitary sheets of metal joined by diffusion bonding in selected places. During manufacture, at least one of the unitary sheets has been superplastically deformed, in at least some of the places where it has not been diffusion bonded, so as to form the core layer complete with all its features in one operation.

This invention relates to compact heat exchangers of the type generally known as plate-fin heat exchangers, and in particular to the structure and manufacture of high-integrity heat exchanger elements for such heat exchangers.
General information on plate fin heat exchangers may be found, for example, in a 1983 publication entitled "Compact Heat Exchangers" by R.L. Webb, published by the Hemisphere Publishing Corporation and obtainable from the British Library at Boston Spa, Yorkshire, England. A more comprehensive guide is "Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers - A Guide to their Specification and Use", 1st. Edition, edited by M.A. Taylor and published in 1987 by the Heat Transfer And Fluid Flow Service (HTFS) of Harwell Laboratory, Harwell, England.
The core layer of a plate-fin heat exchanger element is the space between adjacent plates of the heat exchanger matrix through which the heat exchange fluid flows. The core layer contains the so-called fin elements which aid the heat exchange process as the heat exchange fluid flows past them. In some heat exchange configurations the fin elements effectively comprise partitions running longitudinally of the core layer to define discrete fluid flow passages extending between the inlet and outlet regions. In others they are discontinuous elements around which the heat exchange fluid flows between the inlet and outlet regions.
Plate-fin heat exchanger elements require an effective structure for distributing the flow of heat exchange fluid from the fluid inlet of the element evenly across the width of the core layer. Also required is structure for collecting the fluid from across the width of the core layer and concentrating it towards the outlet of the element. Both types of structure are similar and will be referred to as distributors and collectors in the following description and claims.
One known way of providing plate-fin heat exchanger elements with distributors and collectors is to braze corrugated sheets into the inlet and outlet regions of the elements, the corrugations being arranged to convey the flow from the inlet to the main heat exchange region comprising the fins and from the fins to the outlet This is consonant with the prevailing practice in manufacture of plate-fin heat exchangers, which relies on assembling a multitude of parts into a multi-layer sandwich and brazing them together to produce a complete heat exchanger matrix.
The present invention seeks to provide elements for heat exchangers which have improved integrity, reduced complexity and reduced cost of fabrication in comparison with conventionally produced elements of the plate-fin type.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a heat exchanger element comprises
a core layer for flow of heat exchange fluid therethrough, and PA0 fluid inlet and outlet means communicating with the core layer; PA0 a main heat exchange region containing heat exchange surfaces, and PA0 a distributor region containing flow intercepting surfaces, the distributor region extending between the main heat exchange region and the inlet means so as to distribute the fluid flow across the extent of the core layer;
the core layer including
the heat exchange element comprising at least two unitary sheets of metal joined by diffusion bonding in selected places, at least one unitary sheet having been superplastically deformed, in at least some of the places where it has not been diffusion bonded, so as to form the core layer and define therein the flow intercepting surfaces in the distributor region as well as the heat exchange surfaces in the main heat exchange region.
The flow intercepting surfaces in the distributor region may comprise corrugations in the at least one superplastically deformed sheet, the corrugations being arranged to convey the heat exchange fluid from the inlet means to the main heat exchange region; in this case the minimum number of sheets required to make a single heat exchanger element will be two.
If necessary, the at least one superplastically deformed sheet may have a relatively undeformed transitional portion between a part of itself which is deformed so as to define the heat exchange surfaces in the main heat exchange region and another part of itself which is deformed so as to define the flow intercepting surfaces in the distributor region.
Alternatively, and using a minimum of two sheets of metal joined by diffusion bonding in selected places, we have found that an effective way of distributing the fluid flow across the lateral extent of the core layer is to incorporate flow intercepting surfaces in the distributor region which comprise an array of superplastically formed hollow projections projecting outwardly from a side of the at least one superplastically deformed sheet, the ends of the projections being diffusion bonded to the adjacent sheet.
Preferably, however, the heat exchanger element comprises at least three unitary sheets of metal joined by diffusion bonding in selected places, the flow intercepting surfaces in the distributor region comprising first and second sets of superplastically formed hollow projections, the first set of hollow projections projecting outwardly from a first side of the at least one superplastically deformed sheet, and the second set of hollow projections projecting outwardly from a second side of the at least one superplastically deformed sheet, the ends of the projections being diffusion bonded to the two adjacent sheets.
We also prefer that the core layer additionally comprises a fluid collector region formed integrally with the main heat exchange region and the distributor region and containing flow intercepting surfaces, the collector region extending between the main heat exchange region and the outlet means so as to collect the fluid flow from across the extent of the core layer and concentrate it for flow through the fluid outlet means.
The invention also embraces heat exchanger matrices comprising heat exchanger elements as described above.
According to a further aspect of the present invention a manufacturing method for a heat exchanger element comprises the steps of:
(a) selecting at least two metal sheets for stacking together, at least one of the metal sheets being capable of being superplastically deformed to form an expanded core layer in the finished element for flow of heat exchange medium therethrough;
(b) applying anti-diffusion-bonding stop-off substance in selected interfacial areas of at least one of the sheets thereby to define where diffusion bonding of the sheets will not occur, said interfacial areas being selected to define heat exchange surfaces in a main heat exchange region of the core layer, fluid inlet and outlet means for the core layer, and flow intercepting surfaces in a flow distributor region between the main heat exchange region and the fluid inlet means;
(c) stacking the sheets together and applying heat and pressure across the stack thickness to diffusion bond the sheets together where there is no anti-diffusionbonding substance;
(d) cooling the resulting diffusion-bonded structure;
(e) pressurising the interior of the structure by injecting a suitable fluid to break adhesive bonds between the anti-diffusion-bonding substance and the sheets; and
(f) heating the structure and pressurising its interior to superplastically deform said at least one metal sheet thereby simultaneously producing the heat exchange surfaces in the main heat exchange region and the flow intercepting surfaces in the flow distributor region.
Preferably, between steps (e) and (f) of the above method are inserted the consecutive additional steps of
purging the resulting structure of contaminants using an inert fluid to do so; and
evacuating the structure.
We prefer heat exchange elements according to the invention to have a flow collector region, extending between the main heat exchange region and the outlet means, in addition to a flow distributor region. In such a case, the anti-diffusion-bonding stop-off substance must be applied in step (b) of the above manufacturing method so as to define flow intercepting surfaces in the required flow collector region , whereby during the heating and pressurising step (f) the flow intercepting surfaces in the flow collector region are produced simultaneously with the heat exchange surfaces in the main heat exchange region and the flow intercepting surfaces in the flow distributor region.


An electronic flasher system adapted to change an operating sound in dependence on situations surrounding a vehicle when the vehicle changes its direction or lane, so that the driver can grasp the situations surrounding the vehicle by merely listening to such operating sound. The flasher system includes a flasher circuit 21A connected with a sound generator 3 for generating operating sound, and a situation detecting sensor 6 for outputting an output signal in dependence on a running state of the vehicle. The flasher circuit 21A causes a change of the turn-signal operating sound generated by the sound generator 3 in accordance with an obstacle detection signal from an obstacle sensor 61 and a vehicle speed detection signal from a vehicle-speed sensor 62.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic flasher systems and, in particular, to an improved electronic flasher system in which a semiconductor switch device is intermittently operated depending on manipulation of a turn-signal switch and a hazard switch, thereby causing turn-signal flashing or hazard flashing by direction indicator lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional electronic flasher systems are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. S64-90831 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H2-164629. These conventional systems involve a semiconductor switch device connected to lamps, a flasher circuit for transmitting an intermittent signal to the semiconductor switch device, and a switch connected to the flasher circuit. The semiconductor switch device is intermittently operated in accordance with an operation of the switch, thereby causing the lamps to flash.
In such an electronic flasher system, the semiconductor switch device itself does not generate an operating sound. For enabling confirmation of flashing, an operating sound is generated in relation to the operating states of the flasher system by utilizing car stereo speakers, as disclosed, for example, by Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S55-87630. Alternatively, a buzzer has been provided exclusively for generating an operating sound in an electronic flasher system.
However, in the conventional flasher system of the mechanical or electronic type, operating sound is merely generated responsive to flashing of the direction indicator lamps. Accordingly, it is impossible to obtain other information from the operating sound.


A barrier is fixed on a wall or other perimeter structure by way of support posts. The barrier has a support shaft along which a number of rotatable units are mounted. Each rotatable unit is formed from two interengaged elements, each element having been formed from a length of metal tubing. Part of the tubing has been cut longitudinally to define blades extending from one end of a tubular portion, and splayed outwardly and spaced apart. Two such elements are assembled so that their blades interengage to form one of the units. The rotatable units so constructed are simple to manufacture, but provide an effective barrier.

The present invention relates to barriers, for example, for fixing along the tops of walls, fences, and other perimeter structures.
Traditionally, broken glass, spikes and the like has been used on the top of perimeter structures to deter intrusion. Not only does this have an unpleasant appearance, it is relatively easy for intruders to climb over the fixed obstacles without problem. Increasingly therefore, barriers with movable spikes and blades are being used as such barriers are very much more difficult for intruders to circumvent.
However, the barriers with movable parts which are currently available are costly to construct, difficult to install, and have a particularly unpleasant appearance.


A method and device for compressing a gas-phase medium, particularly hydrogen or natural gas, wherein the medium may have a water content up to total saturation with water and wherein the medium is compressed in a single or multiple stages in at least one liquid-filled chamber. The liquid(s) that is/are used are an ionic liquid that is not susceptible to attack by the water contained in the medium to be compressed and/or a liquid with low vapor pressure that is not susceptible to attack by the water contained in the medium to be compressed, and the compressed medium undergoes a water separation stage.

The invention relates to a method and a device for compressing a gas-phase medium, particularly hydrogen or natural gas, wherein the medium may have a water content as high as complete saturation with water and wherein the medium is compressed in a single or multiple stages in at least one liquid-filled chamber.
A species-related method and species-related device for compressing a gas-phase medium are known from German patent application 102004046316. In methods and devices of such kind, the gas-phase medium is compressed in a liquid column. Ionic liquids in particular have proven to be useful as liquids in such columns, because they do not mix with the medium that is being compressed and can be separated from the compressed medium without residue. Species-related methods are also used for compressed any gas-phase media that have been or are contaminated with water as a consequence of their production, processing or their natural occurrence.
Ionic liquids are low melting, organic salts with melting points between 100 and 90° C., and most known ionic liquids are already in the liquid state at room temperature. Unlike conventional molecular liquids, ionic liquids are entirely ionic and accordingly they possess new and unusual properties. The properties of ionic liquids can be adapted fairly readily to existing technical problems by varying the structure of the anion and/or cation and by varying their combinations. Unlike conventional, molecular liquids, ionic liquids also have the advantage that they do not have any measurable vapor pressure. This means that not even the slightest traces evaporate—even in a high vacuum—until their decomposition temperature is reached. This is the aspect that is behind their other properties of nonflammability and environmental compatibility, because ionic liquids thus cannot escape into the atmosphere, Moreover, ionic liquids are very thermostable. The decomposition points of most are above 400° C. Density and mixing behavior with other liquids can be modified or adjusted for most ionic liquids by appropriate selection of the ions. Ionic liquids also have the further advantage that they are electrically conductive, so that accordingly they can prevent the buildup of electrical charges—which present potential hazard,
Species-related methods and devices are used particularly for compressing gas-phase hydrogen or natural gas. In this context, until now the problem that has presented itself has been that the hydrogen to be compressed inevitably contains water by virtue of the method of its production—by electrolysis for example. Previously, this had to be removed completely before proceeding with the actual compression, because it must not be allowed to come into contact with the previously known ionic liquids, since it would attack and destroy them. For this reason, until now it has been necessary to provide fairly complicated devices or systems for separating the water. In the case of oxygen production by electrolysis, for example, molecular sieves are used. However, these need energy because they have to be heated cyclically, and they also consume a portion of the valuable hydrogen, which is used as the purge gas for regenerating the molecular sieve. The necessary separation of the water thus makes hydrogen generation more expensive. Furthermore, devices of such kind require a certain degree of maintenance, which further raises the cost of generating hydrogen. The same problems are also encountered when compressing other media, such as natural gas for example, which must be compressed for use in refueling vehicles.


The present invention discloses an electromagnetic sensing touch screen, which includes a display panel, a sensing capacitor matrix, select units, voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs), digital potentiometers, EM (electromagnetic) wave receive/detection units, a standard EM wave transmit unit and a control unit. A single detection unit consists of a corresponding select unit, VCO, digital potentiometer and EM wave receive/detection unit. The control unit drives the standard EM wave transmit unit to transmit standard EM wave, and further controls the EM wave receive/detection units to receive sensed capacitance values from the sensing capacitor matrix in a scanning manner. As a result, each EM wave receive/detection unit generates a respective detection signal for determining the location of the finger(s) and checking how the finger(s) approaches to or actually touches the sensing capacitor matrix, thereby generating finger location information and implementing the multipoint touch and display function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a touch screen, and more specifically to an electromagnetic sensing touch screen using the frequency drift of the specific electromagnetic wave to detect the finger(s) location and implement a function of multipoint touch and display.
2. The Prior Arts
Modern computers use graphic user interface as human to machine interaction, mouse, keyboard and touch screen are commonly used as input device. The touch screen can be constructed in many ways, and some typical examples of common technologies to build touch sensors are shown below:
1. Resistive type touch sensor
2. Surface capacitance
3. SAW
4. IR
5. Projected capacitance
Different sensing method can provide different application problems in final application environment, for example the Projected capacitance touch sensor will be affected by radio frequencies emissions that nearby the harmonic of PCT touch sensor scanning frequency, the touch controller may report false information cause by the radiate radio noise.
It is therefore new technique developed to overcome false operation caused by radiate radio emissions nearby scanning harmonics, an electromagnetic sensing touch screen can overcome the RS problems by receiving beacon RF signals that fingers touch can affect such receiving and can be detected by controller that no ambient radiate can interference this new method.
Therefore, it is greatly needed for an electromagnetic sensing touch screen to implement wirelessly selecting and controlling the smart television by use of a wireless touch screen device provided with wireless control and touch screen functions, which is further enhanced by a smart set-top box and a wireless router, thereby solving the above problems in the prior arts.


Disclosed is an image processor that reduces or eliminates the effects of a flash band regardless of performing a shutter operation or not. An imaging device includes a flash band detector configured to determine whether each image of the consecutive images shown by image signals output from an imager is a flash band image a part of which is affected by a flash, and a flash band compensator configured to, if a first image is determined as the flash band image, generate a third image which is supposed where the third image is fully affected by a flash by using a second image which is not determined as the flash band image, and output the third image instead of the first image.

The present disclosure relates to image processors represented by imaging devices such as digital cameras and video cameras (camcorders) for capturing consecutive images.
Many complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging elements use a rolling shutter technique for allowing exposure to sequentially start for each horizontal line (hereinafter referred to as "line"), and sequentially reading image signals of respective lines to form a frame. In the imaging element using the rolling shutter technique, the starting time and ending time of the exposure period differ for each line. Therefore, if an external flash etc. is used during a period that is shorter than one frame period, a band of high luminance (a flash band) may appear on an output image of the imaging element.
International Patent Publication No. WO 2010/100866 discloses a technique for compensating for a flash band by adding image signals of two consecutive frames affected by flash.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd


A terminal unit (400) of a navigation system (100) transmits to a server (300) list request information containing a rectangular code corresponding to a predetermined display rectangular area of a travel route map. The terminal unit (400) acquires from the server (300) a server POI list corresponding to the rectangular code of the list request information, and when recognizing that the server POI list contains POI individual information corresponding to terminal base data that is not stored in a terminal base storage area, the terminal unit (400) transmits base data request information about POIID of the POI individual information to the server (300). Upon acquisition of server base data corresponding to the base data request information from the server (300), the terminal unit (400) stores the server base data in the terminal base storage area as terminal base data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information updating device, an information distributing device and an information processing system that perform processing related to update of feature information about a feature, and to a method thereof, a program thereof and a storage medium storing the program.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been conventionally known a navigation system that acquires a map or information about various facilities from a server via a network to update map or information stored in a terminal unit such as an in-vehicle or mobile navigation device and a mobile phone (see, for instance, Reference: JP2004-20220A, pages 15 to 24).
In the navigation system disclosed in the Reference, a communication navigation terminal unit transmits to a communications center device an update request for requesting transmission of map data (e.g., map data including information about various facilities positioned on a road map or a map) with a predetermined period having passed from the latest update request date and time. Then, if the communications center device recognizes that the requested map data has been upgraded at least partially, the map data is transmitted to the communication navigation terminal unit. The communication navigation terminal unit then updates the map data.
In an arrangement of the Reference described above, even in a case where, for instance, only one of all feature information respectively about a plurality of features positioned on the map in the map data has been upgraded, the entire map data including feature information that has not been upgraded might be transmitted and received. Thus, the arrangement includes a problem, where the feature information that has not been upgraded and thus does not require to be updated is also transmitted and received, so that amount of various information to be transmitted and received becomes large.

Information updating device, information distributing device, information processing system, method thereof, program thereof, and storage medium storing the program


An exemplary door frame assembly that is useful in an elevator system includes a plurality of door frame members including a header, a sill and a plurality of jambs. The door frame members are configured to be secured into a desired position along a hoistway. At least one guide rail bracket is supported by at least one of the door frame members. The guide rail bracket is moveable relative to the door frame member between a handling position in which the guide rail bracket is generally parallel to at least one of the header or the sill and a deployed position in which the guide rail bracket is generally perpendicular to the at least one of the header or sill.

Elevator systems are well known and in widespread use. There are various configurations of elevator systems. In many cases, an elevator car is associated with a counterweight and the two move in a coordinated fashion within a hoistway. The elevator car and counterweight each follow guide rails as they move within the hoistway.
Installing guide rails in an elevator system presents challenges and difficulties. A guide rail installation process is typically time-consuming and labor-intensive. There typically are many bracket components used for securing the guide rails in desired positions within a hoistway. Additionally, the alignment of the guide rails throughout the hoistway must be ensured to achieve proper ride quality.
For example, current rail fixings are adjustable for all of the rails. There are as many required alignment measurements as there are rails. This is normally done by dropping individual lines of wire from the top of the hoistway and then adjusting each of the rail blades square to the respective alignment wire.
If it were possible to streamline the guide rail installation process that would present cost savings in time and materials for elevator system manufacturers and installers.


In one aspect, a calibration method for a seed meter may include controlling an operation of a singulator to apply an initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator. The method may further include controlling the seed meter to rotate a seed transport member of the seed meter relative to a seed chamber of the seed meter containing a plurality of seeds. The method may additionally include performing a calibration cycle, which may include monitoring a first parameter indicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples as the seed transport member rotates, iteratively adjusting the aggressiveness setting from the initial aggressiveness setting as the first parameter is being monitored, and when the first parameter crosses a first threshold, recording the associated aggressiveness setting as a minimum aggressiveness setting for the singulator.

A planting implement has a plurality of row units, each row unit having at least one seed meter which dispenses seeds in a relatively controllable manner via a seed transport member of the seed meter. The seed transport member has an array of seed cells defined around its outer perimeter region. As the seed transport member rotates within the housing of the seed meter, each individual seed cell completes repeated rotations around the housing of the seed meter. During each rotation, each particular seed cell will pass through different regions of the seed meter. When passing through the seed pool of the seed meter, each seed cell typically acquires at least one seed during normal operation of the seed meter.
Air pressure, such as negative or positive air pressure supplied by an air system having an air pressure source associated with the seed meter, may be applied to the seed transport member to help pick up and hold seeds within the seed cells. Typically, the air pressure may be set based on predetermined or recommended ranges provided by a seed company or seed meter manufacturer for a seed meter model and/or a seed type. However, due to slight variations between seed meters of the same model or variations in seed lots, for example, such estimated ranges may not be ideal. In instances where the air pressure is not sufficient, excessive skips in the seed meter may occur. Conversely, in instances where the air pressure is too high, excessive multiples in the seed meter may occur. Such problems may reduce the efficiency of the implement and may also affect crop yields.
Additionally, a singulator is typically provided for use in a seed meter to reduce the number of occurrences of seed multiples in seed cells before delivery. Typically, the aggressiveness of the singulator may be set according to predetermined or recommended ranges for each seed meter model and each seed type, e.g., as provided by a seed company or seed meter manufacturer. However, due to slight variations between seed meters, or variations in seed lots, such ranges may not be ideal. In instances where the singulator aggressiveness is set too high, skips may occur. Conversely, in instances where the singulator aggressiveness is set too low, excessive multiples may still occur.
Accordingly, a method for automatically calibrating the air pressure of an air pressure source and the aggressiveness of a singulator for a given seed meter would be welcomed in the technology.

Methods and related systems for automatically calibrating seed meters


A method and electronic device for receiving information is provided. The method includes transmitting, by the electronic device, a scan time and an identification of the information to cause the identified information to be broadcast at the scan time; and scanning, by the electronic device, during the scan time to receive the information. The electronic device includes a transmitter configured to transmit a scan time and an identification of the information to cause the identified information to be broadcast at the scan time; and a scanner configured to scan during the scan time to receive the information.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a method and an apparatus for activating a scan function of an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for determining an activation period of a scan function in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a development of an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), a unique IP may be allocated to an object. After a unique IP is allocated to an object, the object may access an Internet network, and transmit and receive data. Accordingly, an Internet of objects (e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT)) is possible, and research on smart home systems for effectively utilizing an automatic device has been actively pursued. A smart home system refers to a system in which a plurality of devices is registered to one electronic device to effectively and intuitively control the plurality of registered devices.
However, since the types of devices for the Internet of objects vary and have been generalized, power consumption is an issue in managing a plurality of devices in one electronic device. For example, when one electronic device periodically scans a plurality of devices for an Internet of objects, power consumption of the electronic device increases according to the type of device and the scan period.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of effectively managing a plurality of registered devices in an electronic device.

Method and apparatus for activating scan function


The present invention relates to a composite of resin and fillers used in electronic parts and structural parts, and to a process for producing the same, and the object of the present invention is to provide a resin composite with a molded body having high dimensional accuracy, being free of surface defects attributable to a mold used for molding and being capable of easy forming and mass production, as well as a process for producing the same. The process for producing a resin composite according to the present invention comprises a step of mixing fillers of an average particle diameter of 40 .mu.m or less with thermosetting resin, a step of compression molding this mixed powder into a predetermined shape at ordinary temperature, and a step of allowing the compression molded body after released from the mold to be hardened by heating at 100 to 250.degree. C. to give a hardened molded body.

Methods of injection molding and heat press forming are used for producing parts with a predetermined shape from a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin, phenol resin or the like. In the method of injection molding, a resin slurry is poured into a mold with a predetermined shape and then thermally hardened in it. This is widely used as the most commonly molding method for the resins.
A resin composite is formed by mixing synthetic resins with various kinds of inorganic powders, improving hardness and strength rather than a molded body from only resins (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-151308 A, 1982). Generally, the resin composite can also be produced by injection molding or heat compression molding method in the same manner as for the resin above.
In injection molding and heat compression molding, however, the resin should be heated in a mold for molding, so that the mold is heated at high temperature. As a result, the thermal deformation of the mold has made it difficult to improve the dimensional accuracy of the resin composite.
Further, the mold used in these production methods must make use of materials with less thermal deformation and must have a shape with a gate and a slag gate for molten starting materials, thus such a special mold has been required. For this reason, use of these production methods has the problem of cumbersome procedures in producing various products in small amounts each, thus causing the production costs to be high.
Furthermore, heating and hardening carried out simultaneously with molding in a mold in one cycle in the above production method make it difficult to reduce the time required for producing products.
In addition, in the case of injection molding of thermosetting resin, resin left in a liner through which molten resin is introduced into the mold should be discarded because it cannot be reused or reproduced. Therefore, a high proportion of starting materials should be discarded in the case of a molded body with relatively small dimension, resulting in low yield. Hence, the cost of the starting materials is rendered high relative to the production cost, and the cost per product is therefore high.
In the case of the most common injection molding, surface defects having uneven portions are generated on the surface of the resulting molded body during injection molding. Examples of such defects are concave weld lines, projected lines or burrs occurring along the connecting portion at which separable half-molds are attached, tapping defects caused by knock-out pins occurring upon release of a product from the mold, and adherent portions of the resin left in a gate formed in a inlet of the mold. Such surface defects worsen qualities in outward appearance and cause a reduction in yield of the products.
The surface of the molded body formed by conventional injection molding or heat compression molding method is shaped by a mold surface, so that the surface of the body is finished to be smooth. For certain utilities, the surface is so smooth that it is necessary to prevent reduction of the bonding strength of solder applied onto the surface or separation of a printed film with characters or patterns from the surface.
In obtaining a porous molded body by conventional injection molding or heating compression molding, it is further difficult to secure and distribute a predetermined amount of pores uniformly inside of the molded body. That is, if the thermosetting resin is a condensation type resin, a hardening agent should be added to the resin in order to initiate hardening of the resin by chemical reaction. For example, if phenol novolak resin is used as thermosetting resin, a hardening agent such as hexamethylene tetramine is used, and hardening occurs by condensation reaction in which hexamethylene tetramine is decomposed by heating to form aldehyde which is then attacks a hydroxyl group in the phenol to lead to cross-linking. The hexamethylene tetramine is decomposed to generate carbon dioxide, ammonia or gases of water etc. along with aldehyde. And in injection molding, these gases in the condensation reaction process prevent pressure transfer required for molding, thus causing moldabitity to be lowered. For this reason, processing such as breathing is usually carried out during molding, and as a result, pores are hardly observed in the inside and on the outer face of the resin composite.
The porous composite is useful for a sliding member; however, the problem with use of such resin composite with less pores as sliding member is that it is badly worn due to frictional heat caused by sliding with the opposite member, because the thermal conductivity of thermosetting resin present in the sliding face is not high.
To improve the durability and longevity of the sliding members, therefore, it is necessary to apply a lubricant etc. onto the sliding face and to further supply it during use.
On the other hand, in the molding method according to conventional injection molding, the amount of fillers incorporated is limited to about 20 to 30 vol-% and there was a limit to its further increase. That is, the incorporation of a larger amount of fillers raises the viscosity of molten resin to worsen flow characteristics. Residual stress thus results, and the dimensional accuracy of the molded body is deteriorated, and defects such as cracks, warp, etc. are generated.
As described above, use of injection molding and heat compression molding has a limit to the increasing of the amount of fillers incorporated into the composite, and therefore, it is also difficult to improve the thermal resistance, tracking resistance of the composite. In use of the molded body according to the conventional molding method, there is a limit to its application to parts for safety devices etc. requiring characteristics such as high resistance to heat and tracking.

Resin-Filler composite and production method thereof


A process for producing thermoplastic film which is an antifogging, heat-sealable polypropylene film; the antifogging agent is a polyglycerol ester or a sorbitan ester of a fatty acid. The resultant film, which has good clarity, persistent antifogging characteristics, and excellent heat sealability, is useful for packaging refrigerated foods. The disclosure also provides a process for making the film in which the polypropylene-containing thermoplastic resin is extruded into a sheet with subsequent orientation of said sheet in the longitudinal direction to form a monoaxially oriented film; the film is then oriented in the transverse direction.

Polyolefin films are resistant to moisture upon prolonged contact with water. Among them, biaxially oriented polypropylene film is the most resistant to water vapor penetration. Consequently, when these films are employed to package refrigerated moisture-producing materials, particularly fresh produce, they cause moisture to condense on their inner surface thereby fogging the package and either eliminating or substantially reducing the visibility of the food.
While various approaches have provided various degrees of success in reducing fogging, they have not provided a film that possesses the characteristics of the present invention.
The present invention provides an advantage, in that it provides a transparent, fog-resistant, readily heat-sealable film that may be heat-sealed to a variety of materials. Thus, the films of the present invention may be readily heat-sealed to polymers, copolymers and terpolymers of olefins, to polyethylene, to paper and to itself. Thus, the present invention provides a significant advantage over the prior art in that it can be employed either alone or in conjunction with other materials to provide packages for refrigerated foods.

Process for making coated polypropylene film


An apparatus for remedying errors in a head end monitoring block includes an optical transmitting section for transmitting/receiving aerial broadcasting signals and its own broadcasting signals; a host computer for controlling respective sections of a head end; a master control section for monitoring an operating state of a transmitting path of the head end and the codeck boards; a master mother section for receiving certain signals from the master control section so as to connect communication paths between the optical transmitting section, the host computer and the master control section; a slave control section for monitoring the transmission state of a relevant codeck board, and for receiving an error occurrence signal from the master control section so as to carry out the function of the master control section in place of it; and a slave mother section for receiving an error occurrence signal from the master control section so as to connect communication paths between the optical transmitting section, the host computer and the master control section. In operation, if an error occurs in the master control board, the slave control board takes over the function of the master control board to carry out the head end block monitoring task in place of it. A method for remedying errors in a head end monitoring block includes analogous steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for remedying errors in a head end monitoring block and a control method therefor. Particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for remedying errors in a head end monitoring block, in which if an error occurs in a master control board monitoring the head end block in a network of multi-point topology, and thus, if a monitoring function cannot be carried out, then a slave control board takes over the function of the master control board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,956, in an optic cable TV, there is installed a head end by which television signals or other broadcasting signals received through an antenna are transmitted to a transmission line, and to which all signals from upstream are focused in the case of a bilateral system.
FIG. 1 illustrates the constitution of the general head end. As shown in this drawing, an optical transmitting section 1 converts optical signals such as aerial broadcasting signals and self broadcasting signals into electrical signals, and converts electrical signals into optical signals, so as to carry out transmission and receiving. A host computer 2 controls the respective sections of the head end. A master control board 3 monitors the state of the transmission line of the head end and the operating state of a relevant codeck board. A slave control board 4 monitors the transmission state of the relevant codeck boards. The monitoring environmental block self-monitors the head end so as to detect errors occurred in the respective sections, and to control them depending on the need.
However, in the conventional monitoring environmental block, the master control board is connected to the optical transmitting section and to the host computer, so as to carry out the transmission and receiving of information and so as to monitor. In this condition, if an error occurs in the master control board to disable the master control board, then the communications to and from the host computer are disconnected, and consequently, broadcasting signals cannot be transmitted to the respective home terminals.

Apparatus for remedying errors in head end monitoring block, and control method therefor


The invention concerns digital audio precompensation, and particularly the design of digital precompensation filters. The invention proposes an audio precompensation filter design scheme that uses a novel class of design criteria. Briefly, filter parameters are determined based on a weighting between, on one hand, approximating the precompensation filter to a fixed, non-zero filter component and, on the other hand, approximating the precompensated model response to a reference system response. For design purposes, the precompensation filter is preferably regarded as being additively decomposed into a fixed, non-zero component and an adjustable compensator component. The fixed component is normally configured by the filter designer, whereas the adjustable compensator component is determined by optimizing a criterion function involving the above weighting. The weighting can be made frequency- and/or channel-dependent to provide a very powerful tool for effectively controlling the extent and amount of compensation to be performed in different frequency regions and/or in different channels.

A system for generating or reproducing sound, including amplifiers, cables and loudspeakers, will always affect the spectral properties of the sound, often in unwanted ways. The reverberation of the room where the equipment is placed adds further modifications. Sound reproduction with very high quality can be attained by using matched sets of cables, amplifiers and loudspeakers of the highest quality, but this is cumbersome and very expensive. The increasing computational power of PCs and digital signal processors has introduced new possibilities for modifying the characteristics of a sound generating or sound reproducing system. The dynamic properties of the sound generating system may be measured and modeled by recording its response to known test signals, as well known from the literature. A precompensation filter, R in FIG. 1, is then placed between the original sound source and the audio equipment. The filter is calculated and implemented to compensate for the measured properties of the sound generating system, symbolized by H in FIG. 1. In particular, it is desirable that the phase and amplitude response of the compensated system is close to a prespecified ideal response, symbolized by D in FIG. 1. In other words, it is thus required that the compensated sound reproduction y(t) matches the ideal yref(t) to some given degree of accuracy. The pre-distortion generated by the precompensator R cancels the distortion due to the system H, such that the resulting sound reproduction has the sound characteristic of D. Up to the physical limits of the system, it is thus, at least in theory, possible to attain a superior sound quality, without the high cost of using extreme high-end audio equipment. The aim of the design could, for example, be to cancel acoustic resonances caused by imperfectly built loudspeaker cabinets. Another application could be to minimize low-frequency resonances due to the room acoustics, in different places of the listening room.
Digital precompensation filters can be applied not only to a single loudspeaker but also to multichannel sound generating systems. They can be important elements of designs aimed not only to generate better sound, but also to produce specific effects. The generation of virtual sound sources, rendering of sound, is of interest in, for example, the audio effects of computer games.
There has since a long time existed equipment, called graphical equalizers, aimed at compensating the frequency response of a sound generating system by modifying its gains in a set of fixed frequency bands. Automatic schemes exist that adjust such filters, see e.g. [1]. There are also other prior art techniques that partition the audio frequency range into different frequency bands, and construct different compensators within each of these bands, see e.g. [2, 3]. Such sub-band solutions will suffer from inadequate phase compensation, which creates problems, in particular at the borders of the bands.
Methods that treat the audio frequency range of interest as one band, have been suggested. This requires the use and adjustment of filters with a very high number of adjustable coefficients. Proposed methods are in general based on the adjustment of FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filters to minimize a least squares criterion that measures the deviation between the compensated signal y(t) and the desired response yref(t). See e.g. [4–10]. This formulation has been considered attractive since there exist tractable adaptation algorithms, as well as off-line design algorithms, that can adjust FIR filters based on least squares criteria. There also exist proposals for non-linear compensators, see e.g. [11]. Solutions, which suggest separate measurements of the room acoustics response and the loudspeaker response, have also been used in the design of a precompensation inverse filter for sound reproduction systems [3, 12]. This design partly equalizes both responses. In [13] a method is disclosed that apply both FIR and IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filters in audio system compensation. Such an approach is used to reduce the required number of FIR filter parameters in the compensation filter. However, all these present methods suffer from significant difficulties, which make their practical use quite problematic. The design schemes available in prior art generally result in compensation filters that have a high computational complexity and severe practical limitations. The resulting automatically generated compensation filters are sometimes even dangerous to the audio equipment, due to the risk of generating compensation signals with too high power.


A method for preventing denial of service attacks against Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servers includes receiving a HTTP request from a subscriber using a first communication network coupled to at least one other communication network, receiving a profile for the subscriber, filtering the request to determine whether the subscriber is authorized to make the request based upon the profile and forwarding the request to the other communication network when the subscriber is authorized to make the request. An apparatus capable of preventing denial of service attacks against HTTP servers includes a profile request generator capable of generating a profile request based upon a HTTP request received from a subscriber using a first communication network, a filter capable of determining whether the request is authorized based upon the requested profile and an authorizer capable of allowing the request to be forwarded on at least one other communication network coupled to the first communication network.

The World Wide Web ("Web" or "WWW") is a vast network of computer servers, computer clients and telecommunication data lines for sending and receiving data (or "content"). The Web servers send text or binary content to client programs. Text data includes specially formatted text documents (or "Web pages") written using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) protocol. The users use client programs such as "browsers" to establish data connections to Web servers, send requests for data, retrieve content and then view that content. Common browsers include Netscape Navigator® and Microsoft® Internet Explorer. These browsers and other Internet applications include the ability to access a URL (Universal Resource Locator) or "Web" site. The URL is used to specify the location of a file held on a remote machine.
Each URL is composed of several components. For example, the URL http://host/file.html includes three components. The first component, http, specifies the protocol that is used to access the target file. In the present example, the protocol is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). A URL may specify other protocols as well. For example, the URL of ftp://ftp.pgp.com/bub/docs/samples specifies access to files via "FTP" (File Transfer Protocol). This specifies a link for accessing the file directory docs/samples on the machine ftp.pgp.com.
The second component, host, indicates the name of the remote machine. This can be expressed either as a domain name (e.g., pgp.com) or a numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address such as 22.214.171.124. The final component, file.html, provides the path name of the target file. In other words, the target file is the file to which the hypertext link is to be made. The file is referenced relative to the base directory in which the Web pages are held.
The HTTP protocol is typically employed to transmit web pages between the client computer and the server computer. According to the HTTP protocol as specified by the Internet Request For Comments RFC 1945 (T. Berners-Lee et al.), clients and servers communicate using request messages and response messages. A request message is sent by a client to a server to initiate some action. Exemplary actions are listed in Table 1.
TABLE 1MessageDescriptionGETA request to fetch or retrieve informationPOSTA request to accept the attached entity as a new subordinate tothe identified URLPUTA request to accept the attached entity and store it under thesupplied URLDELETERequests that the origin server delete a resource
The server, in response to a request, returns a response message. A response message may include an entity body containing hypertext-based information. In addition, the response message must specify a status code, which indicates the action taken on the corresponding request.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a single HTTP transaction including a request message and a response message. Client computer 100 has established a data communications connection via the Web 105 to a web server 110. A client application, such as a Web browser, initiates a request for a resource. The resource may be, for example, a home page on a Web server 110. The client 100 opens a connection between the client 100 and the server 110. The client 100 then issues an HTTP request 115. The request 115 consists of a specific command, a URL and a message containing request parameters, information about the client, and possibly additional content information. When the server 110 receives the request 115, it attempts to perform the requested action and returns a HTTP response 120. The response includes status information, a success/error code and a message containing information about the server 110, information about the response itself, and possible content. Further description of HTTP is available in the technical and trade literature; See e.g., William Stallings, The Backbone of the Web, BYTE, October 1996.
FIG. 2 shows a simplified diagram of a computer connected to external networks 200 via a host computer 205 linked to an access point 210. An access point 210 is essentially an external location capable of permitting authorized users to access external computer networks. The access point 210 is typically maintained by a computer network service provider, such as a telephone company (Telco) or commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP). The access point 210 serves as a link in the overall network scheme and consists of a series of Network Access Servers (NASs) and other related hardware, software and/or firmware. An access point 210 may also include a modem pool (not shown) maintained by a Telephone Company (Telco) or an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that enables its authorized users or subscribers to obtain external network access through the host computer 205, which has the required dial-up connection capability. The access point 210 may include a gateway device 215, such as the Service Selection Gateway (SSG) Cisco model 6510, manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. and an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server 220, such as Cisco ACS or Cisco Secure, manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.
The Service Selection Gateway (SSG) is a product that allows data communications network users to select and login to services on the data communications network. These services can include computer intranets, pay per use sites, the Internet, community of interest services and the like.
The link between the host 205 and the gateway device 215 is typically a point-to-point link. The AAA server 220 may accommodate several client gateway devices simultaneously and communicate with one another according to a standard Internet protocol, such as the Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) protocol. RADIUS is protocol standard for communicating authentication, authorization and configuration information between a device that desires to authenticate its links and a shared authentication server. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other types of access methods may be provided by a Telco or ISP such as frame relay, leased lines or ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). Additionally, access methods may include Digital Subscriber Line-based methods (hereinafter referred to as xDSL) for supporting a host that uses a DSL access method, and/or a cable access method for supporting a host that uses a cable modem.
Typically, when the user desires to access a specified domain, the user runs a network logon application program on the host computer 205 which requires the user to input user identification and authorization information as a means of initiating access to the desired network. This information is then directed to the access point 210 where it is verified to ensure that the host user has the required authorization to permit access to the desired network. Once authorization is granted to the user, a connection is established via the access point 210 with the home gate of the specified domain site (235, 240, 245).
The connection established may be tunnel-based connections (225, 230), such as L2TP (Layer Two Tunneling Protocol) or L2F (Layer Two Forwarding) or an IP-based (Internet Protocol) connection, such as used with ATM or frame relay. The user of the host computer 205, having established such a connection, has the ongoing capability to access the specified domain until the connection is terminated either at the directive of the user or by error in data transmission. The access point 210 will typically have the capability to connect the user to various other privately owned secured domain sites, or the public Internet 200.
As the use of data communications networks increases worldwide, congestion of those networks has become a problem. A given data communications network, a given node on a data communications network, or a given link connecting two nodes has a certain capacity to pass data packets and that capacity cannot be exceeded. Network congestion is exacerbated by denial-of service attacks.
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks attempt to render a computer or network incapable of providing normal services. Denial of Service attacks typically target a computer's network bandwidth or connectivity. Bandwidth attacks flood the network with such a high volume of traffic that all available network resources are consumed, effectively locking out legitimate users. Connectivity attacks flood a computer with such an unusually a high volume of connection requests that all available operating system resources are consumed, thus preventing the computer from processing legitimate user requests. For example, a computer hacker intending to exploit present day HTTP servers could flood the network with many HTTP requests. The resources devoted to handling the large number of HTTP requests generated by the computer hacker could adversely affect services available to other users. If an innocent user makes normal page requests from a website while that website is being subjected to a DoS attack, the requests may fail completely or the pages may download so slowly as to make the website unusable.
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack uses many computers to launch a coordinated DoS attack against one or more targets. The perpetrator is able to increase the effectiveness of the Denial of Service by harnessing the resources of multiple unwitting accomplice computers that serve as attack platforms. Typically, a DDoS master program is installed on one computer using a stolen account. At a designated time, the master program communicates to a number of "agent" programs installed on computers anywhere on the Internet. The agents initiate the attack when they receive the command. The master program can initiate hundreds or even thousands of agent programs within seconds.
The currently available solutions to this problem are very limited and do not offer the level of security and service that most Internet users demand. One solution is to secure computers from being hijacked and used as attack platforms by, for example, periodically scanning Internet computers to make sure they are not being used as unwitting DoS attack platforms. This solution cuts the problem off before it can ever manifest. However, this solution is ineffective against computer users that desire to cause DoS attacks. Furthermore, this solution requires a coordinated effort amongst numerous parties around the world to secure Internet computers from becoming unwitting accomplices to such malicious intruders. Unfortunately, for every business that has the knowledge, budget and inclination to make such changes, there are many more which lack such resources.
What is needed is a solution that provides increased protection against HTTP server denial of service attacks.


Machine learning is enhanced by efficiently updating a weight that is represented as a conductivity of a resistive processing unit (RPU) that is connected between a row wire and a column wire. The weight is updated by the RPU interacting with bit streams carried on the row and column wires. Efficiency of the update is enhanced by calculating a bit length for the bit streams as a function of factors that include learning rate η, maximum activity xmax, maximum error differential δmax, and minimum weight update increment Δwmin.

The present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and more specifically, to stochastic neural networks.
Neural networks are configurations of computer hardware and/or software that imitate the functioning of biological cells involved in cognition. In a neural network, the processors simulate thousands or millions of neurons, which are connected by axons and synapses. Each connection is assigned a weight that is reinforcing, inhibitory, or neutral in its effect on the activation state of connected neural units. Each individual neural unit has a summation function which combines the values of all its inputs together. In some implementations, there is a threshold function or limiting function on at least some connections and/or on at least some neural units, such that the signal must surpass the limit before propagating to other neurons. A neural network can implement supervised, unsupervised, or semi-supervised machine learning.
Typically, neural networks are trained by a backpropagation algorithm in which training data is fed into the network at a front end and propagates "forward" through the network to a back end. The output of the network at the back end then is compared to an expected result, which is provided a priori by expert knowledge. An error differential between the output and the expected result is calculated and used to derive an error gradient. The error gradient then is propagated "backward" through the network (from back end toward front end) in order to update the weights assigned to each neuron's inputs. This process of forward and backward propagation is repeated to progressively reduce the error differential by iteratively updating the weights, until a desired value of error differential or a desired error rate (e.g., less than 3%) is achieved.

Dynamic management of weight update bit length

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for composing a melody by switching musical phrases sequentially corresponding to key input signals, and playing the switched musical phrases smoothly. The apparatus selects musical phrase data, which consists of note data and phrase change information data from a memory corresponding to the key input signals, then reads selected phrase data and plays a musical phrase corresponding to the phrase data. If a key input signal is detected during the playing of a musical phrase, the apparatus selects phrase data corresponding to the signal at the timing that the latest phrase change information data is read after the detection. The note data has a predetermined scale note value and read timing. The phrase change information data has a predetermined read timing. The scale note value and the read timing are predetermined so that a melody becomes in rhythm and in tune when musical phrases are sequentially played according to the note data that are included in selected phrase data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method, which composes a melody and an accompaniment by switching musical phrase data, each of which is an element of a melody data which indicates the melody and the accompaniment, and a program storage medium readable by the apparatus for combining a melody and an accompaniment.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that an electronic musical instrument which plays predetermined melodies or accompaniment patterns, which are read out from a memory device, by pressing each key or some combination of keys of a keyboard, instead of generating a musical note in correspondence with the key.
Japanese Patent Laid Open Hei No.8-6549 discloses a method of composing a melody on the basis of the information of the position of a figure which is displayed on a display of a computer.
In these apparatus and method, a new melody is selected and played rapidly when each key is pressed, or when the beginning of the next musical time unit such as a measure, etc. comes after the key is pressed.
The former has the defect that a rhythm of a previous melody dose not harmonize with a rhythm of the new melody, so that a whole melody is not played smoothly.
The latter has the defect that the other key pressing while the melody is played is not reflected in the melody.

Method of and apparatus for composing a melody by switching musical phrases, and program storage medium readable by the apparatus for composing a melody