An inverse collimator detector for nuclear medicine imaging applications is provided. The inverse collimator detector includes an inverse collimator wherein high density, high atomic number collimator material is placed in the location where the conventional collimator has no material, and no material is placed where the conventional collimator has high density, high atomic number collimator material. The inverse collimator detector of the present invention allows significantly higher detection efficiency for incident photons while providing distance information and maintaining high resolution for isolated, small sources of radioactivity associated with molecular imaging agents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to nuclear medicine, and systems for obtaining nuclear medical images of a patient's body organs of interest. In particular, the present invention relates to a novel detector configuration for single photon imaging including single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and planar imaging.
2. Description of the Background Art
Nuclear medicine is a unique medical specialty wherein radiation is used to acquire images that show the function and anatomy of organs, bones or tissues of the body. Radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into the body, either by injection or ingestion, and are attracted to specific organs, bones or tissues of interest. Such radiopharmaceuticals produce gamma photon emissions that emanate from the body. One or more detectors are used to detect the emitted gamma photons, and the information collected from the detector(s) is processed to calculate the position of origin of the emitted photon from the source (i.e., the body organ or tissue under study). The accumulation of a large number of emitted gamma positions allows an image of the organ or tissue under study to be displayed.
Single photon imaging, either planar or SPECT, relies on the use of a collimator placed between the source and a scintillation crystal or solid state detector, to allow only gamma rays aligned with the holes of the collimator to pass through to the detector, thus inferring the line on which the gamma emission is assumed to have occurred. Single photon imaging techniques require gamma ray detectors that calculate and store both the position of the detected gamma ray and its energy.
Two principal types of collimators have been used in nuclear medical imaging. The predominant type of collimation is the parallel-hole collimator. This type of collimator contains hundreds of parallel holes drilled or etched into a very dense material such as lead. The parallel-hole collimator accepts only photons traveling perpendicular to the scintillator surface, and produces a planar image of the same size as the source object. In general, the resolution of the parallel-hole collimator increases as the holes are made smaller in diameter and longer in length. The parallel-hole collimator offers greater sensitivity than a pinhole collimator, and its sensitivity does not depend on how closely centered the object is to the detector.
The conventional pinhole collimator typically is cone-shaped and has a single small hole drilled in the center of the collimator material. The pinhole collimator generates a magnified image of an object in accordance with its acceptance angle, and is primarily used in studying small organs such as the thyroid or localized objects such as a joint. The pinhole collimator must be placed at a very small distance from the object being imaged in order to achieve acceptable image quality. The pinhole collimator offers the benefit of high magnification of a single object, but loses resolution and sensitivity as the field of view (FOV) gets wider and the object is farther away from the pinhole.
Other known types of collimators include converging and diverging collimators. The converging collimator has holes that are not parallel; rather, the holes are focused toward the organ with the focal point being located in the center of the FOV. The image appears larger at the face of the scintillator using a converging collimator. The converging collimator has a lower sensitivity than the parallel-hole collimator, especially with thick objects.
The diverging collimator results by reversing the direction of the converging collimator. The diverging collimator is typically used to enlarge the FOV, such as would be necessary with a portable camera having a small scintillator. The diverging collimator has a lower sensitivity than the parallel-hole collimator, especially with thick objects.
The ability to image "hot spots" (i.e., small, isolated intense sources of radioactivity) has become an important imaging task in nuclear medicine. Conventional collimated nuclear medicine imaging is not designed to image small, isolated volumes of radioactivity with high resolution or in an efficient manner. It is merely intended to allow CT-like accumulation of planar or projection image data for reconstruction of large body volumes, such as the torso or the pelvis. This imaging task limits the acquisition techniques in nuclear medicine to the parallel-hole and, with corrections for distortions, converging collimation. Consequently, the choice of collimation represents a trade-off between the size of the FOV and the sensitivity and spatial resolution required to properly visualize the target object or organ. Thus, there exists a need in the art for improvements in collimator technology to enhance the imaging of small, isolated intense sources of radioactivity through improved detection efficiency and spatial information.

Inverse collimation for nuclear medicine imaging


A dispensing apparatus for dispensing contents from a container. The container rests upon a support in the apparatus and has an outlet at one end from which contents are directly dispersed and cover at its other end. The apparatus has a ram with a ram member engageable against the cover to move the cover between a first position adjacent the other end to a position adjacent the outlet to dispense contents from the container. The pressure exerted on the cover by the ram member is released after a dispensing operation.

Australian patent specification 633038 discloses a frozen confection dispensing apparatus employing a collapsible container for holding the frozen confection. The container is not self supporting and is received in a hollow casing. A bellows arrangement is under constant pressurisation and acts upon the container to dispense confection from the container. The container has an outlet which is coupled via a dispensing conduit to a dispensing valve. This apparatus includes means for tempering frozen confection in the container to transform the confection from a hard frozen condition at a first sub-freezing temperature to a soft serve condition at a higher second sub-freezing temperature. Thermal insulation is disclosed for maintaining the container at the second temperature.
With such an arrangement a dispensive valve is necessary and requires periodic cleaning. This apparatus is not particularly effective in dispensing confection having entrained solid particles such as pieces of nuts or the like. Such solids tend to adversely affect the operation of the valve. The container needs to be supported by a hollow casing and thus adds to the complexity of the apparatus. The dispensing conduit requires regular cleaning.
The pressure applied to the container by the bellows is constant and not relaxed between serves. Soft serve confection is aerated to give it a desired consistency and quality. The application of constant pressure on the container leads to loss of this aeration and overrun during dispensing. Thus results in wastage and deterioration of the iced confection.
Australian patent specification 618979 discloses another dispensing apparatus for frozen confection. The apparatus of this patent specification suffers from the same disadvantages as the apparatus of the specification just discussed. The apparatus of specification 618979 has a bellows shaped dispensing container from which the contents is dispensed via a passage terminated in a dispensing valve. The bellows shaped container does not allow all of its contents to be dispensed and wastage also occurs for this reason.
Australian patent specification 577058/94 discloses yet another apparatus for dispensing soft serve frozen confection. That apparatus employs a container having a deformable upper portion and has an integrally formed outlet from which contents within the container may be directly dispensed by application of pressure on the upper portion of the container by a plunger. The outlet is normally sealed by a cover which is removed prior to commencing a dispensing operation. Once again, the plunger functions continuously pressurise the container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus which at least minimises some of the disadvantages referred to above.


A method and system for adjusting the horsepower output of an internal combustion engine having an electronic control with programmable memory, at least one cylinder, and at least one fuel injector in fuel delivery communication with said cylinder. The method includes. operating the engine at full load until the engine reaches an equilibrium operating temperature and achieves an overall engine operating horsepower,. sensing the overall engine operating horsepower and. comparing the overall engine operating horsepower to a target engine operating horsepower.. Fuel dispensed by the fuel injectors to each cylinder individually sequentially is cut off and the change in overall engine horsepower output per each disabled cylinder is recorded.. The fuel injector delivery output is adjusted based upon the percent deviation of overall engine horsepower output per cylinder and the overall engine horsepower percent deviation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system to adjust the horsepower output of an internal combustion engine having an electronic control with programmable memory to within a target range such that it is possible to manufacture engines of the same make and model having greater uniformity of engine horsepower when comparing engines within a given series.
The present invention further relates to a method and a system for adjusting the horsepower output of an internal combustion engine having an electronic control with programmable memory, at least one cylinder, and at least one fuel injector in fuel delivery communication with said cylinder by measuring the horsepower developed by the engine during normal operation, and adjusting the fuel dispensed by the fuel injectors as needed in order to adjust the horsepower developed by an engine to a target or nominal range.
The present invention further relates to a method and a system for controlling the horsepower output of a compression ignition internal combustion engine, such as a diesel engine, so that the engines of a given series conform more uniformly to a target horsepower output range.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic controllers for internal combustion engines are old and well known in the art. In diesel engines, the conventional practice utilizes electronic control units having volatile and nonvolatile memory, input and output driver circuitry, and a processor capable of executing a stored instruction set, to control the various functions of the engine and its associated systems. A particular electronic control unit communicates with numerous sensors, actuators and other electronic control units necessary to control various functions which may include aspects of fuel delivery.
During engine manufacturing, or during engine service life, a certain range of engine horsepower output which differs from the target or nominal horsepower rating has been tolerated because there has been no easy way to ensure that an engine rated at a certain horsepower accurately developed that rated or nominal horsepower. If the horsepower developed by an engine is too high for a given nominal rating, the engine suffers premature wear with resulting lessening of engine life. Moreover, operators of vehicles equipped with such engines experienced uncertainty in duty cycles and hauling capabilities because the horsepower rating varied over such a wide range for a given manufacturer's model series. Thus, uniformity of engine models within a fleet of vehicles with such engines was still no guarantee that each engine developed the same horsepower, or was capable of hauling the same loads and acting the same way over the same route. This unpredictable effect is costly to the fleet owner in terms of fuel consumption and engine service life.
Weisman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,827 discloses a method for comprehensive control of an internal combustion engine, such as a compression ignition engine, utilizing an electronic control module. The control strategy integrates various functions of engine control including an acceleration balance test for the engine cylinders, a fuel economy vehicle speed limit adder, a fueling limit for high altitude vehicle operation, throttle logic, a data-hub for operation trending and vehicle component lifting analyses, a gear ratio torque limit, an air temperature based torque limit, enhanced fan control, and an idle shutdown strategy based on ambient temperature. Included within the '827 patent is a method for balancing the fuel injectors. The method comprises operating the engine at a predetermined idle speed so as to permit the engine to stabilize, and cutting off the fuel delivered by the fuel injectors to at least one of the cylinders. The method further comprises measuring the acceleration RPM of the engine with at least one cylinder cut out, and modifying the fuel delivered from the fuel injectors based on the measured acceleration RPM so as to balance the power output of each cylinder. The balancing of the cylinders is done so as to reduce particulate emissions, improve fuel economy and reduce localized engine wear. There is no showing that it is possible to adjust the horsepower output of the engine to a target range which is uniform within a nominal target range.

Method to adjust the horsepower output of an internal combustion engine to a target horsepower output range


An image forming system, which forms an image relating to subject data on a recording medium having a holding unit holding identification information specific to the storage medium, including: a detection unit which detects identification information held by the holding unit of an arbitrary recording medium on which an image is recorded; and a control unit which acquires subject data corresponding to the detected identification information and forms an image relating to the acquired subject data on the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system, and in particular to management of print data using a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip having a specific ID.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, in order to copy a print, the print is scanned and an image of the print is copied on print paper using a copying machine or the like. In addition, in a case where the print is one printed by a printer, a file stored in a computer is retrieved to print the print anew. As exemplifying such a print system in which a computer and a printer are connected in this way, there is known a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-105689.
However, if the copying machine is used for the copy, naturally, the image quality of an image on a copied print may be deteriorated compared with that of the original print, or the image on the copied print may be inclined. In addition, in the case in which a print is printed by a printer, it takes a considerably long time to retrieve an original file for the print. Moreover, it is difficult to identify the original file if there are other files having similar contents.


Antenna apparatus, and an associated methodology, for a multi-frequency-band-capable radio device, such as a quad-band mobile station. The antenna apparatus is formed from a three-dimensional rectilinear non-conductive dielectric antenna substrate, such as cube. An elongated radiation element is disposed over multiple surfaces of the antenna substrate. A T-shaped impedance matching element located at the end of the radiation element permits the antenna input impedance to be matched to a communications device. The length of the radiation element is selected to be substantially equal to a quarter wavelength of the lowest frequency band at which the antenna operates.

In modern society, the ready availability and access to mobile radio communication systems through which to communicate is a practical necessity. Cellular, and cellular-like, communication systems are exemplary radio communication systems whose infrastructures have been widely deployed and regularly utilized by many. Successive generations of cellular communication systems have been developed, and their operating parameters and protocols are set forth in standards promulgated by standard-setting bodies. And, successive generations of network apparatus have been deployed, each operable in conformity with an associated operating standard.
Early-generation cellular communication systems provided voice communication services and limited data communication services. Successor-generation, cellular communication systems provide increasingly data-intensive communication services. Differing operating standards not only provide different communication capabilities, but utilize different communication technologies and differing frequencies of operation in different frequency bands. The installation of different types of cellular communication systems is sometimes geographically dependent. That is to say, in different areas, network infrastructures, operable pursuant to different types of operating standards, are deployed. The network infrastructures deployed in the different areas are not necessarily compatible. A mobile station operable to communicate by way of network infrastructure constructed in conformity with one operating specification is not necessarily operable to communicate by way of network infrastructure operable pursuant to another operating standard.
So-called, multi-mode mobile stations have been developed that provide the mobile station with communication capability in more than one, i.e., multiple, communication systems, which also operate at different frequencies in different frequency bands. Generally, such multi-mode mobile stations automatically select the manner by which the mobile station is to be operable, responsive to the detected network infrastructure in whose coverage area that the mobile station is positioned. If positioned in the coverage area of the network infrastructures of more than one type of communication system with which the mobile station is capable of communicating, selection of a network infrastructure through which to communicate is made pursuant to a preference scheme, or manually. When provided with multi-mode capability, the mobile station contains circuitry and circuit elements permitting its operation to communicate pursuant to each of the communication systems. Most simply, a multi-mode mobile station is formed of separate circuitry, separately operable to communicate pursuant to the different operating standards. Sometimes, to the extent that circuit elements of the different circuit paths can be shared, parts of the separate circuit paths are constructed to be intertwined, or otherwise shared. By sharing circuit elements, the circuitry size and part count is reduced, resulting in cost and size savings.
Sharing of antenna transducer elements between the different circuit paths, however, presents unique challenges. The required size of an antenna transducer element is, in part, dependent upon the frequencies of the signal energy that is to be transduced by the transducer element. And, as mobile station constructions become increasingly miniaturized, housed in housings of increasingly small package sizes, antenna transducer design becomes increasingly difficult, particularly in multi-mode mobile stations when the different modes operate at different frequencies. Significant effort has been exerted to construct an antenna transducer, operable over multiple frequency bands, and also of small dimension to permit its positioning within the housing of a mobile station of compact size.
A PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) has been used in multi-mode mobile stations because of its relatively compact size, low profile and because it permits dual-band radiation, however, PIFA antennas have narrow bandwidths. In order to enhance the bandwidth of a PIFA, the structure of the PIFA is sometimes combined together with a parasitic element, or a multi-layered, three-dimensional structure. Such additions, however, increase the volumetric dimensions of the antenna, as well as its weight. The additional resonant branches make the antenna difficult to tune and sometimes introduce EMC and EMI, which interferes with transducing of signal energy. A need therefore exists for an improved small-dimension antenna structure which is also capable of use in multiple different frequency bands.
It is in light of this background information related to antenna transducers for radio devices that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Multi-band antenna apparatus disposed on a three-dimensional substrate, and associated methodology, for a radio device


A method, system, and computer program product are described for adaptively learning user preferences for smart services. According to an exemplary embodiment, a method for adaptively learning user preferences for smart services includes modeling an availability of a subscriber for responding to an event associated with a service in terms subscriber context information available to determine a current situation of the subscriber related to the service, the subscriber context information based on private information of the subscriber. The availability of the subscriber for responding to the event is determined using a probability value associated with at least a portion of the subscriber context information. The probability value associated with the portion of the subscriber context information is updated based on feedback received from the subscriber in response to being presented a response to the event.

Smart services combine basic service functions, such as communication, personal information management (PIM), and location services with personal (often private) subscriber information to yield services that are tailored to each subscriber's particular needs. The private subscriber information can include subscriber preferences of the subscriber, changing subscriber situations (such as a location or activity associated with the subscriber), and other private subscriber data.
To maximize their return on investment, service providers, such as telecommunications service providers, and enterprises can benefit from enabling third-party service developers (i.e., developers that are not part of the given telecommunications service provider's organization or enterprise administrative domain) to be able to develop services for users. Such developers can contribute new and creative solutions to address users' needs (e.g., for an enterprise) and potentially generate additional revenues for the service provider or enterprise. Because such third-party service developers are external to the service provider's organization or the enterprise's administrative domain, it may be imprudent for service providers to fully trust these external developers in developing and deploying services for their customers.
Under conventional approaches, service developers must interface directly with the services and associated private subscriber data maintained by service providers to deliver smart services to the providers' subscribers. This can lead to the undesirable result of having to expose core service functionality and private subscriber data to the developers during development of a smart service or when the service is deployed and used. Similarly, subscribers typically must interface directly with each of the service providers offering a particular smart service to the subscriber. Various service providers may not provide for a consistent interface to their services, leading to an inconsistent subscriber experience across all of the services offered. In addition, service providers may not want to expose core functionality of their smart services to the service hosting providers that will host these services. Despite the challenge of maintaining subscriber and service provider privacy, smart services should be able to utilize subscriber information to constantly improve upon the services they provide to their subscribers. Accordingly, what is needed is a method, system, and computer program product for adaptively learning user preferences for smart services.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method, system, and computer program product for adaptively learning user preferences for smart services


A component support system includes a first vertical support unit, a second vertical support unit and a raceway system between the first vertical support unit and the second vertical support unit. The raceway system includes at least one floor and at least one divider coupled to the at least one floor and extending non-parallel relative to the at least one floor.

Computing systems, such as those used in communication systems and networks, typically include a plurality of hardware elements or computing components such as servers, routers, switches and the like. Due to space limitations, such components are usually vertically stacked or supported in a vertical support unit such as a cabinet, shelving system, closet or rack.
Computing components typically require at least two connections: data and power. Data connections provide data input to the component and output data from the component. Power connections provide necessary power to the component. Such data and power is transmitted by cabling (also known as wiring). In some environments, the power and data cabling are routed from the floor or ceiling through a single channel extending along one side of the vertical support unit. In other environments, the power and data cabling are simply strung and attached along the vertical support unit.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A blender circuit configured to receive a first signal having a first signal phase and a second signal having a second signal phase. The first and second signals have a similar frequency and the first and second signal phases are separated by a time delay. The blender circuit includes a first, second and third circuits. The first circuit is configured to receive the first signal and to generate a plurality of first intermediate signals that are independent of the time delay between the first and second signals. The second circuit is configured to receive the second signal and to generate a plurality of second intermediate signals that are independent of the time delay between the first and second signals. The third circuit is configured to receive the first plurality and second plurality of intermediate signals and to generate plurality of out signals. Each of the plurality of out signals have different signal phases that are spaced in time relative to each other. Each signal phase of the plurality of out signals falls within the time delay. The number of out signals generated within the time delay varies dependant upon the length of the time delay.

The present invention relates to deriving a fixed delay between multiple clock signals, in particular, to delay locked loop (DLL) circuits.
High speed electronic systems often have critical timing requirements that call for a periodic clock signal having a precise timing relationship with some reference signal. Many high performance integrated circuits present challenges in keeping such integrated circuits synchronized during operation.
The operation of these complex systems require that the components be highly synchronized. In this way, the maximum skew or difference in time between the significant edges of the internal clocking signals of all the components should be minimal. Different components may have different manufacturing parameters. In addition, other factors such as ambient temperature, voltage, and processing variation can lead to large difference in the phases of the internal clocking signals of the different components. Consequently, feeding a system-wide reference clock to the components may not be sufficient to achieve synchronization.
One way synchronization has been achieved is with the use of delay locked loop (DLL) circuits. A DLL typically includes a phase detector that detects the phase difference between an input clock and an output clock signal of the same frequency and generates a digital signal related to the phase difference. The phase difference signal is then in turn used by a delay control block to control a delay chain. A delay chain accordingly advances or delays the timing of the output clock signal with respect to the input clock signal until the rising edge of the output clock signal is coincident with the rising edge of the input clock signal. The phase detector control block and delay chain thus operate in a closed loop to bring the two clock signals into phase and thus synchronize the component whose operations are timed in accordance with the respective clock signals.
In a DLL feedback loop, on-chip delay is often modeled. The modeled delay approximates the actual delay caused by a semiconductor device's circuit components, such as: receiver, a driver, and an off chip driver (OCD), as well as that caused by external termination and load. A delay model often utilizes an inverter chain to account for delay.
Some such DLL feedback loop designs suffer from inaccurate modeling of the actual delay caused by the circuit components. Some such inaccuracies result from variations in technology and unaccounted for temperate effects. Furthermore, some designs are difficult to implement in some systems.
For these and other reasons the need exits for the present invention.


A method and apparatus (80) are provided for routing entanglement building between a selected pairing of interface qubits (82). The qubits of the selected pairing of interface qubits (82) are separately entangled with at least one intermediate qubit (84) by interacting respective light fields with the interface qubits of the selected pairing and using an optical merge arrangement (83) to further interact the light fields with at least one intermediate qubit (84). Where there are multiple intermediate qubits (84) the intermediate qubits are entangled with each other. The or each entangled intermediate qubit (84) is then removed from entanglement.

In quantum information systems, information is held in the "state" of a quantum system; typically this will be a two-level quantum system providing for a unit of quantum information called a quantum bit or "qubit". Unlike classical digital states which are discrete, a qubit is not restricted to discrete states but can be in a superposition of two states at any given time.
Any two-level quantum system can be used for a qubit and several physical implementations have been realized including ones based on the polarization states of single photons, electron spin, nuclear spin, and the coherent state of light.
One way of transferring quantum information between two locations uses the technique known as 'quantum teleportation'. This makes uses of two entangled qubits, known as a Bell pair, situated at respective ones of the locations; the term "entanglement" is also used in the present specification to refer to two entangled qubits. The creation of such a Bell pair is generally mediated by a light field sent over an optical channel (for example an optical waveguide such as optical fibre or silicon channels within a chip). Although this process is distance limited, where a respective qubit from two separate distributed Bell Pairs are co-located, it is possible to combine (or 'merge') the Bell pairs by a local quantum operation effected between the co-located qubits. This process, known as 'entanglement swapping', results in an entanglement between the two non co-located qubits of the Bell pairs while the co-located qubits cease to be entangled at all.
The device hosting the co-located qubits and which performs the local quantum operation to merge the Bell pairs is called a "quantum repeater". The basic role of a quantum repeater is to create a respective Bell pair with each of two neighbouring spaced nodes and then to merge the Bell pairs. By chaining multiple quantum repeaters, an end-to-end entanglement can be created between end points separated by any distance thereby permitting the transfer of quantum information between arbitrarily-spaced end points.
Where a desired entanglement between two qubits is not directly created by a mediating light field interacting with both qubits in turn, the entanglement is effectively built up from multiple entanglements each involving a respective mediating light field; the qubit-to-qubit path taken by each such light field can be thought of as defining a build path segment for the desired entanglement, the aggregate of these build path segments defining an overall entanglement build path for the desired entanglement corresponding to the combined qubit-to-qubit paths taken by the mediating light fields. Thus, an entanglement formed between first and second spaced endpoint qubits that are coupled through a quantum repeater, will have a build path comprising a first segment between the first endpoint qubit and a first qubit of the quantum repeater, a second segment between the first qubit of the quantum repeater and a second qubit of the repeater, and a third segment between the second qubit of the quantum repeater and the second endpoint qubit; note that in this example the segments are not formed in order, the second segment being created last.
By controlling the path of a mediating light field, the endpoint qubits involved in an entanglement can be controlled. In terms of the entanglement build path, this corresponds to the selective routing of a build path segment whereby entanglement building is selectively routed to occur between desired endpoint qubits. Typically, routing of a light field is effected by an optical switch; again, in terms of entanglement build paths, such a switch can be considered to be one example of an entanglement build path switch.
Optical switches are complex and expensive and the present invention is concerned with providing an entanglement build path switch that reduces or avoids entirely the use of optical switches.

Method and apparatus for selectively routing entanglement building

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


The invention discloses a controller for controlling an electric motor having a stator and an armature, the stator includes stator magnetic poles, the armature includes multiple two-node, open circuit armature windings. The armature windings are inductively linked the armature and insulated from the armature and from each other. The motor has at least one repeatable section, each repeatable section includes a group of poles and windings. The stator has two stator magnetic poles per repeatable section. The controller comprises magnetomotive force means for energizing the stator magnetic poles as a north pole and a south pole per repeatable section with adjacent poles being of opposite polarity, means to control electrical currents in from none to at least one two-node, open circuit armature winding thereby forming armature electromagnetic poles of various numbers to the strength levels available, with adjacent armature electromagnetic poles having opposite polarity, and with no more than two armature electromagnetic poles per repeatable section, to control the force and torque generated by the motor.

1. Field of the Invention
This application is related to motor speed and torque controllers for both positive and negative torques, and to motor starters, and power output controllers. This invention relates to such controllers for brush-type and brushless machines, and more particularly, to controllers for brush-type and brushless electrical machines of the type disclosed in the referenced patents titled: Multiple Windings Electrical Machines.
2. Background Art
Previous brush-type electrical machine controllers have used series resistance to control speed and torque and current, especially the excessive currents caused during the starting of series motors. The control of these brush-type machines is very important in considering the application of these motors. There has been a lack of a reliably-operating, efficient controller for brush-type machines. The speed and torque of a series motor energized from a constant potential supply can be controlled by inserting resistance in series with the supply line. Speed control for shunt and compound motors can be obtained by inserting resistance in series with the armature circuit only. The stator field flux of shunt motors can be varied to control the speed of these motors, although special care is required to prevent overspeeding of the motor if the shunt stator field flux becomes very weak. The speed of DC motors can be varied by varying the voltage applied to the motors; the Ward Leonard system of speed control is an example of varying the voltage applied to the DC motor. In the Ward Leonard system the adjustable output voltage from a motor-generator set is applied to the motor. Electric vehicle motor controllers use semiconductor chopper controllers as well as electromechanical switches to connect resistors and batteries in various combinations to regulate electrical power input to the motor, which thereby control the motor output torque.
Torque or force generated by a rotary or linear motor, respectively, are each a cause for, tend to cause, relative movement of the respective motor stator with respect to the respective motor armature. Torque is a cause for relative movement between armature and stator in a rotary motor, and force is a cause for relative movement between armature and stator in a linear motor.
3. Multiple Windings Electrical Motor
The motor comprises a stator and an armature, which are constrained with respect to each other by bearings means to bidirectional relative movement along, or rotating about only one axis. The stator comprises a stator magnetic yoke, stator magnetic poles, structural support means, a key means interlocking the stator magnetic yoke and the structural support means, magnetomotive force means, a brush holder means, brushes, and electrical energy coupling means. The stator magnetomotive force means are either stator windings with current flowing through them, or permanent magnets. The brush holder means positions the brushes and spring-loads them against the commutator and insulates the brushes from each other. The armature comprises a magnetic armature with teeth regularly spaced at the armature winding pitch, a commutator with conducting commutator segments, multiple two-node, open circuit armature windings per repeatable section attached to and electrically insulated from the magnetic armature and each other and with active edges of each winding spaced one stator pole pitch apart in the direction of relative movement, a mechanical energy coupling means, and a key means interlocking the magnetic armature and the mechanical energy coupling means. The armature and stator are constrained with respect to each other by bearing means which are mounted between the stator structural support means and the armature mechanical energy coupling means, so that there is an air gap separating the armature from the stator, and particularly separating the magnetic armature and the stator magnetic poles.
The armature and stator are preferred to have roughly equivalent magnetic energy, which is the magnetomotive force times the flux density times the volume, to more effectively interact with each other. The number of multiple armature windings is chosen for smoothness of operation, practicality, controllability, and convenience. It is recognized that an electrical motor of this type could be configured to have more armature windings than stator windings or that there could be no stator windings, as in a permanent-magnet field motor. The commutator has uniformly sized and spaced conducting, commutator segments which are insulated from the armature mounting and each other. It is preferred that one end of each armature winding be electrically connected to one and only one commutator segment; however, it is recognized that there could be additional commutator segments not connected to any armature winding, and that there could be more than one commutator segment electrically connected to one armature winding end. It is preferred that the number of commutator segments be equal to the number of armature winding ends, and that also equals the number of armature teeth or winding slots or winding positions; it is also preferred that the armature winding ends be connected electrically to the closest commutator segment.
A multiple windings electrical motor may be constructed of any practical number of stator pole pairs, which are also called repeatable sections; double-dashed lines in certain of the FIGS. 1 through 18, mark the boundaries of one repeatable section of the motors shown. Repeatable sections are interconnected at the stator magnetic yoke, the stator structural support means, the brush holder means, the armature mechanical energy coupling means, the magnetic armature, the commutator, and at the electrical energy coupling means.
In operation, the multiple windings electrical motor utilizes external energy to establish a magnetic field and magnetic flux which links the stator magnetic yoke, stator magnetic poles, magnetic armature, air gap, armature windings, and stator windings, when they are present. The external energy for the motor is supplied by an electrical energy source such as a unidirectional voltage source; the electrical energy source may be an alternating current source when the electrical motor is a universal type; some of the external energy may be supplied by one or more permanent magnets when such permanent magnets are used to establish the stator magnetomotive force.
The multiple windings electrical motor includes brush vacancies--two brush vacancies per repeatable section. These vacancies are used to avoid shorting between positive and negative voltages, or AC voltages, by a brush bridging two commutator segments, and to interrupt the armature current and initiate the energy disposal from an armature winding-to-be-commutated. The brush vacancies divide the brushes into two groups called first brush group means and second brush group means.
Stator windings with current flow or permanent magnets magnetically energize the stator magnetic poles. Armature windings with current flow establish armature electromagnetic poles. These stator magnetic poles and armature electromagnetic poles are positioned with respect to each other so that the total magnetic field energy of the motor will incrementally increase when the energized armature windings move incrementally with respect to the stator; this is the method of force or torque generation by both linear and rotary motors. The magnitude of the force or torque generated is proportional to the change in the motor magnetic field energy per unit relative movement. The commutation of the armature windings is designed to maintain the force or torque generating actions of the stator and armature described above, by continuously re-establishing these positional relationships, approximately, in spite of relative movement.
The energy in the interrupted armature winding can be disposed of by dissipating it or by recovering it for re-use. To dissipate the interrupted armature windings energy external to the multiple windings electrical motor, add electrical connections from the group brushes to externally located dissipating devices through half bridge circuits; the diodes of the half bridge circuits are connected to be normally back-biased and only forward-biased when the energy dissipation is being done. The various types of energy dissipating devices considered are: resistors, back-to-back zener diodes, back-to-back selenium clipper diodes and varistors. The recovery of energy from interrupted armature windings is believed to be a new concept, and one which will improve the efficiency of electrical machines.

Multiple two-node windings electrical motors controllers


In a distributed computing system containing multiple entities such as servers and clients, an object passed between the entities is attached with metadata identifying the type of the object and/or types and values of properties associated with the object. Before the object is passed to an entity in the distributed computing system, the object may be serialized into a data format that the receiving entity can understand.

In a distributed computing system including a client component ("client") and a server component ("server"), the server may expose a service so that the client can use the exposed service. In a typical scenario, the client calls a method offered by the exposed service on the server. The server executes the method and returns a server object of a specific type to the client. The client may or may not modify the server object sent by the server. The client may also make a new method call using the server object. For example, the client may return the server object to the server as a parameter of the new method call. Similarly, a client may instantiate a client object and send it to the server. Thus, objects may be passed between the server and the client.
Conventionally, an object passed between a client and a server does not include information identifying the type of the object. For example, when the server sends a server object to the client, the server object conventionally does not contain any information that identifies the type of the server object. Thus, later, when the client sends the server object back to the server, the server cannot identify the original type of the server object, e.g., whether the server object was of a string or a Boolean.
While specific disadvantages of existing systems have been illustrated and described in this Background Section, those skilled in the art and others will recognize that the subject matter claimed herein is not limited to any specific implementation for solving any or all of the described disadvantages.

Preservation of type information between a client and a server


Embodiments of proofs to filter spam are presented herein. Proofs are utilized to indicate a sender used a set amount of computer resources in sending a message in order to demonstrate the sender is not a “spammer”. Varying the complexity of the proofs, or the level of resources used to send the message, will indicate to the recipient the relative likelihood the message is spam. Higher resource usage indicates that the message may not be spam, while lower resource usage increases the likelihood a message is spam. Also, if the recipient requires a higher level of proof than received, the receiver may request the sender send additional proof to verify the message is not spam.

The prevalence of message communication continues to increase as users utilize a wide variety of computing devices to communicate, one to another. For example, users may use desktop computers, wireless phones, and so on, to communicate through the use of email (i.e., electronic mail). Email employs standards and conventions for addressing and routing such that the email may be delivered across a network, such as the Internet, utilizing a plurality of devices. Thus, email may be transferred within a company over an intranet, across the world using the Internet, and so on.
Unfortunately, as the prevalence of these techniques for sending messages has continued to expand, the amount of "spam" encountered by the user has also continued to increase. Spam is typically thought of as an email that is sent to a large number of recipients, such as to promote a product or service. Because sending an email generally costs the sender little or nothing to send, "spammers" have developed which send the equivalent of junk mail to as many users as can be located. Even though a minute fraction of the recipients may actually desire the described product or service, this minute fraction may be enough to offset the minimal costs in sending the spam. Consequently, a vast number of spammers are responsible for communicating a vast number of unwanted and irrelevant emails. Thus, a typical user may receive a large number of these irrelevant emails, thereby hindering the user's interaction with relevant emails. In some instances, for example, the user may be required to spend a significant amount of time interacting with each of the unwanted emails in order to determine which, if any, of the emails received by the user might actually be of interest.


A distribution manifold is provided for dispensing product into an airstream. The distribution manifold has a venturi port which has a front surface and a rear surface, as well as an air passage extending between the front surface and the rear surface. Additionally, the venturi port has a product inlet coupled to the air passage. The distribution manifold also has a bypass port which has a top surface, a bottom surface, a front bypass surface, and a rear bypass surface. The bypass port has a product throughway connecting the front bypass surface and the rear bypass surface. A wall of the bypass port defines a passage from the top surface to the bottom surface for insulating the passage from fluid communication with the product throughway.

Air seeders and other seeding devices are commonly towed by tractors to apply seed or fertilizer, or both simultaneously, to a field. As an example, an air seeder may be towed in combination with a tilling implement, one behind the other, to place the seed and fertilizer under the surface of the soil. An air seeder has as its central component a wheeled seed cart which comprises one or more frame-mounted product tanks for holding product, generally seed or fertilizer or both. Air seeders also generally comprise a metering system for dispensing product from the tanks and a pneumatic distribution system for delivering the product from tank to soil.
It is known to provide an air seeder with volumetric meters which measure a fixed volume of seed per unit of linear distance. These volumetric meters typically comprise either augers or fluted cylinders (meter rollers) which rotate through a product reservoir to measure granular product, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,489,321 and 3,763,797. The meters rotate to feed product into a pneumatic distribution system. The pneumatic distribution system of an air seeder generally utilizes a centrifugal fan to provide at least one airstream which flows through the pneumatic distribution system to seed boots where product is deposited in the soil. Product is first introduced to the air stream by the metering system at a primary distribution manifold located below the metering system. Product is carried by the air stream through distribution lines to a series of secondary distribution manifolds ("headers"), which in turn distribute product through distribution lines to seed boots mounted behind ground openers on the tilling implement so that the product may be evenly delivered to the span of ground (the "tillage") acted upon by the tilling implement.
Operators of conventional seeding equipment have problems configuring distribution manifolds for accepting metered product from multiple tanks entering into the pneumatic distribution systems. When an operator wants to switch tank applications or the setup of the tilling implement, the operator must reconfigure downstream distribution lines to ensure that product is applied in the proper location on the tillage.
In addition, if the operator wishes to inspect, repair, or replace components of a primary distribution manifold, the operator must remove bolts or other fastening devices used to mount the primary distribution manifold on the seed cart.
Also, conventional primary distribution manifolds do not foster optimal product flow as product enters the ports of the primary distribution manifold, often resulting in damage to the product and disjointed delivery of product to the tillage.
Therefore, it is desirable to devise a primary distribution manifold having a means for the operator to adapt the pneumatic distribution system for varying configurations of other components of the seed cart and the tilling implement. It is also desirable to devise such a manifold which promotes a smooth flow of metered product.


A wrapping apparatus is provided including a shuttle for orbital movement around an object to be wrapped, the shuttle carrying a feed roll from which a web of plastic film is drawn to wrap the object, the shuttle including a pre-stretching mechanism including: a braking roller mounted on the shuttle for rotation about an axis that is fixed relative to the shuttle; a stretching roller mounted on the shuttle for rotation about an axis which is fixed relative to the shuttle, parallel to the braking roller axis and spaced therefrom, the web being drawn directly from the feed roll around the stretching roller; drive transmission means connecting the rollers such that the surface speed of the stretching roller exceeds that of the braking roller; mandrel means for the rotational support of a feed roll of stretch wrap film mounted on the shuttle by guide means allowing the mandrel to move freely towards the braking roller under the influence of tension in a web of film drawn directly from the feed roll and passing around the stretching roller; and supplementary loading means acting independently of the web tension to supplement the effect of the web tension in urging the feed roll towards the braking roller to maintain braking contact therebetween. A method of wrapping at least part of an object in plastic film is provided including: loading a shuttle with a feed roll of the film, attaching an end of the film to the object; causing the shuttle to orbit at least part of the object; and pre-stretching the film as it is drawn from the feed roll by the relative movement between the object and the shuttle prior to its application to the object; wherein the feed roll is free to move bodily into contact with a braking roller under the effect of tension in the film departing from the feed roll and the step of pre-stretching the film is effected by of drawing the film directly from the feed roll around the stretching roller connected to the braking roller by drive transmission means ensuring that the surface speed of the stretching roller is greater than that of the braking roller, and augmenting the effect of the tension in the film in maintaining contact between the feed roll and the braking roller and having a value that is not dependent on the film tension.

Stretch wrapping utilises film having the property known as "memory", that is to say a tendency to recover its former shape or size, after having been strained beyond its elastic limit, some short while after the straining force has been relaxed.
Plastics wrapping film is normally provided to the user as a feed roll of unstretched film. Film is customarily drawn from the roll and applied to the object by securing an end of the film to the object, and then either rotating the object or orbiting the feed roll around the object. A number of types of pre-stretching mechanisms have been proposed hitherto whereby the web of film extending from the feed roll to the object is stretched as it is drawn from the roll before being applied to the object.
Such pre-stretching of the film is advantageous for a number of reasons, for example;
the pre-stretched film may be applied to the object under a relatively low lay-up tension, as the subsequent contraction of the film ensures a desirably tight wrap (this is particularly advantageous when an assemblage of relatively small or lightweight articles is to be wrapped, because it reduces the likelihood of the articles being displaced by the wrapping process), PA1 moderate or properly controlled pre-stretching improves the mechanical properties of the film, and PA1 it is economical, in that a given weight of film may be extended to provide effectively more wrapping material.
The simplest and least desirable prior known pre-stretching apparatus merely applies a brake to the roll of film. Such apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,806 (Lancaster) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,179 (Lancaster). In these and other instances wherein a brake is applied to the feed roll, the stretching is induced by using a high lay-up tension. This suffers from the disadvantages inherent in the use of a high lay-up tension indicated above. Furthermore, stretching occurs throughout the whole length of the flight of web extending from the feed roll to the object, so that the overall increase in length is large, and becomes unmanageable unless the rate of pre-stretch is limited to undesirably low values. Furthermore, stretching over a long length of film causes excessive contraction in the width direction of the film.
An improvement on simple brake devices is disclosed in Australian patent No. 536099 (Lancaster), wherein the web of film is trained around two rollers interposed between the feed roll and the object to be wrapped. Those rollers are connected by drive transmission means such that they necessarily rotate at different speeds or in different directions. This results in the stretching of the short length of web between the rollers.
Another prior art proposal is disclosed in Australian patent No. 589065 (Underhaug), wherein a braking roller in contact with the feed roll is connected to a stretching roller in contact with the drawn-off web by drive transmission means ensuring that the surface speed of the stretching roller is greater than that of the braking roller, so that a small and relatively constant length of web extending from the feed roll to the stretching roller is pre-stretched.
The braking and stretching rollers of the Underhaug device are mounted on a swinging lever whereby the web tension acting on the stretching roller is effective to load the braking roller against the feed roll. This ensures that braking contact between the braking roller and the feed roll is maintained as the feed roll diminishes in size. The lever introduces a mechanical advantage and ensures high pressure braking contact, indeed this is described as an advantage of the Underhaug device over its prior art.
In most respects the Underhaug device performs well when used in wrapping apparatus wherein the object to be wrapped rotates to draw a web of film from a positionally fixed feed roll. However it is not well adapted for use in wrapping apparatus (referred to hereinafter as "orbital wrapping apparatus) wherein the relative rotational motion between the object and the feed roll is effected by causing the feed roll to orbit around a positionally fixed object or part of an object, as exemplified in our Australian patent No. 653255.
In such orbital wrapping apparatus the feed roll is usually carried on an orbiting shuttle, which may be required to pass through the bore of an annular object, and which, for that reason, or merely to minimize the mass of the orbiting components, is kept as small as possible. The Underhaug pre-stretching mechanism, with its swinging lever, is not sufficiently compact for ready installation on a small shuttle. Furthermore, the orbital path of the shuttle is usually non-circular and inertial effects acting on the swing mounted stretching roller may affect the tension generated in the web.
The high braking efficiency of the Underhaug device, due to the high pressure between the braking roller and the feed roll arising from the mechanical advantage of the lever, while normally desirable, has been found to be a disadvantage under some circumstances, in particular when the shape of the object being wrapped and/or the shape of the orbital path are such that the rate of draw-off of web from the feed roll is erratic and subject to marked and sudden increases. In such instances the sudden increase in web tension needed to accelerate the feed roll causes a simultaneous severe application of the braking roller tending to prevent such acceleration. It has been found that, at best, this causes over stretching and, at worst, can cause the web to fail in tension and eventually snap.

Wrapping apparatus including a shuttle orbital movement around an object to be wrapped and method using same


An apparatus is provided for reducing read latency for an I/O device residing on a first bus having a first, short read latency timeout period. The apparatus includes a I/O bridge on a second bus having a second, longer read latency timeout compared to that of first bus which modifies read transactions into two separate transactions. A first transaction is a write transaction to the same address requested by the read transaction. This transaction forces a write-back if the address hits in a CPU's write-back cache. Thereafter the read transaction is performed after a predetermined period of time following initiation of the write transaction. This removes the possibility of a device on the first bus having a short read latency timeout period from exceeding it's read latency timeout limit.

This invention relates generally to computer systems and more particularly to computer systems having write-back caches.
As it is known in the art, certain I/O busses such as Digital Equipment Corporation's Q-bus.TM. have a short read latency timeout. A read latency timeout is defined as the longest period of time required by the system for satisfying a read request from an I/O device. For the Q-bus this read latency timeout is eight microseconds. Once an I/O device residing on the Q-bus does a read request transaction the requesting device waits for eight microseconds and if the requesting device hasn't received the data within this time period the requesting device assumes that there was a fault and declares a fatal error.
In some applications it is desirable to connect I/O busses having a short read latency timeout to a computer system including a Central Processor Unit (CPU) and a cache memory and in particular a write-back cache memory. Typical cache memory is relatively small, high-speed memory compared to main memory and is physically located close to ie processor. In systems using cache memory with a CPU, the cache memory is typically provided to hold data which is most likely to be used by the processor.
A CPU will retrieve data from main memory, perform some operation on the data and eventually write this data back to main memory. The performance of a system is effected by the number of times a CPU performs read and write type operations to main memory. In order to reduce the number of operations the CPU performs with main memory many CPUs incorporate various cache memory techniques.
One technique used is the incorporation of a write-back cache. A write-back cache improves the performance of a system by limiting the number of write transactions to main memory. If a CPU seeks to perform a write operation to main memory, and the location is located in this CPU's cache (a cache hit), then the cache location is written to and it now contains the latest version of the data for that memory location. This saves the CPU from performing a write operation to main memory and results in an increase in performance. If the CPU requests a write to a memory location that is not in the cache (a cache miss) then the write to main memory is performed, or optionally the location can be allocated into the cache and then the write can be done into the cache.
One drawback to write-back caches occurs when the CPU is required to perform a write-back operation. Should a read from either a second CPU or from an I/O device hit in the first CPU's cache then the first CPU will stall the read transaction requested by the second CPU or I/O device, write the current version of the data out from the first CPU's write-back cache to main memory where it can be accessed by the requesting CPU or I/O device, and then allow the original requested transaction to complete. In this manner the original read transaction takes a longer time to complete since it waits for the write-back operation to occur before it can access the desired data.
Proper system operation requires that the system be able to satisfy read requests from I/O devices in a period of time less than or equal to the worst case read latency timeout limit for the bus the I/O device resides on. Accordingly in some cases it is possible for a read latency timeout to occur while performing a write back operation caused by a different read operation. For example, if a read is requested from an I/O device residing on an I/o bus having a short read latency timeout, this read can stall due to a currently executing read transaction from a device on a different I/O bus. This currently executing read stalls because the location requested by the read hits in the CPU's write-back cache. In response, the CPU will perform a write-back operation. The stalled read from the device on the different I/O bus is allowed to finish, and the read requested by the I/O device residing on the I/O bus having a short read latency timeout is then able to start. However, the device requesting this read may have timed out before this read can complete, due to the long wait caused by the previous read which resulted in a write-back operation. Should this timeout take place a fatal error is declared, and system operation halts.

Method and apparatus for reducing the apparent read latency when connecting busses with fixed read reply timeouts to CPUs with write-back caches


This invention relates to a method for thermal conditioning of hair which comprises:. (a) applying to hair a rinse-off composition comprising: PA1 (b) rinsing the composition from the hair with water; PA1 (c) applying heat via a heating appliance to the composition treated hair to dry or style the hair and wherein a reduction in the bending modulus caused by the silicone conditioning agent is at least 1.00%, and wherein the method of the invention results in the deposition on the hair of at least 30 ug silicone/1 g of hair.. (1) a nonvolatile silicone conditioning agent; and PA2 (2) a carrier;

There is sufficient evidence both from both consumer and clinical testing that the use of heat styling appliances is damaging to human hair.
For consumers that heat style, their primary concern is to use a shampoo or conditioner treatment that can protect and improve the condition of their hair. Shampoos and conditioners containing silicone conditioning agents are able to deliver these benefits by 1)coating the hair with a conforming layer of silicone that smoothes the hair's imperfections such as roughness, cracks, cuticle uplift, or cuticle removal, and, 2) helping to protect the hair from extreme internal water loss with heat. As a result of coating the hair with conditioning agents, shampoo and conditioner treatments often impart increased softness, better combing characteristics, luster, and in general, improve the appearance of one's hair.
The claimed invention not only protects the hair from the damaging action of heat, but in addition, uses heat to mediate increased conditioning or softness dependent on the delivery and deposition of conditioning agent between certain known levels.

Heat-mediated conditioning from shampoo and conditioner hair care compositions containing silicone


A method for producing a micromechanical device, e.g., a micromechanical oscillating mirror device, is provided. It is provided, starting from the front side of an SOI/EOI(epipoly on insulator) substrate, to penetrate to the desired depth of the silicon substrate layer in two successive, separate deep etching steps, and to use this in its upper region that is close to the oxide layer as sacrificial layer for vertically exposing the island structures that are positioned above the oxide layer in the functional layer. The method according to the present invention of a sacrificial layer process for generating large vertical deflections utilizes purely surface micromechanical process steps.

A method of the above-described type is disclosed in published German Patent Document DE 197 57 197 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,390, which will be mentioned in greater detail below.
Although applicable to any number of micromechanical devices and structures, particularly switches and light modulators for displays, the basic underlying problem definition relating to the present invention is explained with reference to a micromechanical oscillating mirror device which can be manufactured using the technology of silicon surface micromechanics.
Micromechanical oscillating mirror devices are used, for example, in integrated optics to switch over the path of light rays between single optical wave guides (optical fibers) or those situated in an array. Such oscillating mirror devices are known in various design variants, and have a controllable drive—integrated into the mirror or situated next to the mirror on the same chip—which generates the tilting motions of the mirror surface, and therewith the optical switching procedures.
These tilting motions, in which the movable, micromechanically exposed part of the oscillating mirror device, that is, the island region, whose upper side forms the mirror surface, is able to execute torsional vibrations which have an amplitude such that a part of the island region reaches into the area of the silicon substrate layer that has been etched free, assume that there is a deep-running free space under the island region, according to the size of the desired tilt angle. The area etched bare naturally has to have at least the lateral dimensions of the island region.
Large deflections perpendicular to the chip surface, as are required for oscillating mirror devices or other optical components in micromechanics (optical MEMS), are currently not able to be produced in surface micromechanics, since the usual sacrificial layers and etching techniques used permit only the motion of the structures exposed by a few micrometers perpendicular to the surface, which corresponds to a tilt angle of only a few degrees, which is insufficient for many applications.
Optical components having large vertical deflections, e.g., oscillating mirror devices, are, as is described, for example, in published German Patent Document DE 197 57 197 cited above, at this time, therefore, mostly achieved in that the mirror structures are structured from the wafer front and are disengaged from the backside of the carrier substrates using the methods of volume (bulk) micromechanics. In this context, SOI material is generally used and it is necessary to etch through the silicon substrate layer starting from the backside, with the aid of anisotropic wet etching, up to the upper silicon layer (or oxide layer), while the lateral exposing of the island region, before or after wet etching, is done by a dry etching method.
A front side deep etching method, using which, micromechanical structures are exposed laterally and vertically, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,390 that was mentioned at the outset. In that document, the so-called SCREAM process (single crystal reactive etching and metallization process) starts from a uniform monocrystalline silicon wafer, i.e., it is not able to be subdivided into separate functional layers and sacrificial layers, in which all structuring steps and deep etching steps are carried out uninterruptedly with the aid of reactive ion etching (RIE). In this context, first of all, the etching mask is structured by RIE etching, subsequently the corresponding trench structures are generated in the wafer by RIE deep etching, then, by selective masking of the side walls of the trenches, the structure to be exposed is specified, and finally the substrate region below the selected (island) structure is exposed by complete etching undercutting using RIE. The SCREAM process stands out, on the one hand, by great process uniformity, and on the other hand, by the etching undercutting takes place at a low etching rate typical of the process, which has a negative effect, particularly in the case of wide selected (island) structures. Especially problematic with respect to applications particularly for oscillating mirror devices is the fact that the unprotected underside of the selected (island) structure, in response to etching undercutting of the region of the silicon substrate lying below it, is considerably attacked as well.

Method for the production of a micromechanical device, particularly a micromechanical oscillating mirror device


The invention relates to novel benzodiazepine derivatives with antiproliferative activity and more specifically to novel benzodiazepine compounds, such as those in formulas (V)-(VII). The invention also provides conjugates of the benzodiazepine compounds linked to a cell-binding agent. The invention further provides compositions and methods useful for inhibiting abnormal cell growth or treating a proliferative disorder in a mammal using the compounds or conjugates of the invention. The present invention is further directed to methods of preparing a conjugate of a cell-binding agent and a cytotoxic compound. The methods comprise the use of an imine reactive compound to enable efficient conjugations of cytotoxic compounds with cell binding agents.

Benzodiazepine derivatives are useful compounds for treating various disorders, and include medicaments such as, antiepileptics (imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,5]benzothiadiazepines, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,688; U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,852), antibacterials (pyrimido[1,2-c][1,3,5]benzothiadiazepines, GB 1476684), diuretics and hypotensives (pyrrolo(1,2-b)[1,2,5]benzothiadiazepine 5,5 dioxide, U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,646), hypolipidemics (WO 03091232), anti-depressants (U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,266); osteoporosis (JP 2138272).
Recently, it has been shown in animal tumor models that benzodiazepine derivatives, such as pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBDs), act as anti-tumor agents (N-2-imidazolyl alkyl substituted 1,2,5-benzothiadiazepine-1,1-dioxide, U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,746), benzo-pyrido or dipyrido thiadiazepine (WO 2004/069843), pyrrolo[1,2-b][1,2,5]benzothiadiazepines and pyrrolo[1,2-b][1,2,5]benzodiazepine derivatives (WO2007/015280), tomaymycin derivatives (e.g., pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepines), such as those described in WO 00/12508, WO2005/085260, WO2007/085930, and EP 2019104. Benzodiazepines are also known to affect cell growth and differentiation (Kamal A., et al., Bioorg Med. Chem. 2008 Aug. 15; 16(16):7804-10 (and references cited therein); Kumar R, Mini Rev Med. Chem. 2003 June; 3(4):323-39 (and references cited therein); Bednarski J J, et al., 2004; Sutter A. P, et al., 2002; Blatt N B, et al., 2002), Kamal A. et al., Current Med. Chem., 2002; 2; 215-254, Wang J-J., J. Med. Chem., 2206; 49:1442-1449, Alley M. C. et al., Cancer Res. 2004; 64:6700-6706, Pepper C. J., Cancer Res 2004; 74:6750-6755, Thurston D. E. and Bose D. S., Chem Rev 1994; 94:433-465; and Tozuka, Z., et al., Journal of Antibiotics, (1983) 36; 1699-1708. General structure of PBDs is described in US Publication Number 20070072846. The PBDs differ in the number, type and position of substituents, in both their aromatic A rings and pyrrolo C rings, and in the degree of saturation of the C ring. Their ability to form an adduct in the minor groove and crosslink DNA enables them to interfere with DNA processing, hence their potential for use as antiproliferative agents.
The first pyrrolobenzodiazepine to enter the clinic, SJG-136 (NSC 694501) is a potent cytotoxic agent that causes DNA inter-strand crosslinks (S. G Gregson et al., 2001, J. Med. Chem., 44: 737-748; M. C. Alley et al., 2004, Cancer Res., 64: 6700-6706; J. A. Hartley et al., 2004, Cancer Res., 64: 6693-6699; C. Martin et al., 2005, Biochemistry., 44: 4135-4147; S. Arnould et al., 2006, Mol. Cancer. Ther., 5: 1602-1509). Results from a Phase I clinical evaluation of SJG-136 revealed that this drug was toxic at extremely low doses (maximum tolerated dose of 45 μg/m2, and several adverse effects were noted, including vascular leak syndrome, peripheral edema, liver toxicity and fatigue. DNA damage was noted at all doses in circulating lymphocytes (D. Hochhauser et al., 2009, Clin. Cancer Res., 15: 2140-2147). Thus, there exists a need for improved benzodiazepine derivatives that are less toxic and still therapeutically active for treating a variety of proliferative disease states, such as cancer.
Monoclonal antibodies are increasingly being explored as therapeutic agents against cancer. Several monoclonal antibodies against cancer cell-surface antigens have already been approved for cancer treatment, such as rituximab for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, trastuzumab for breast cancer, cetuximab for head and neck and colorectal cancer, cetuximab, panitimumab, and bevacizumab for colorectal cancer, and alemtuzumab for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Strome, S. E., Sausville, E. A., and Mann, D., 2007, The Oncologist, 12, 1084-1095). However, the cytotoxic activity of a "naked" antibody can be limited to the mechanisms of receptor function inhibition, complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC).
An approach to enhance the cytotoxic activity of antibody toward target cancer cells is by linking antibody with cytotoxic effectors (A. D. Ricart, and A. W. Tolcher, 2007, Nat. Clin. Pract. Oncol. 4, 245-255; Lambert, J., 2010, Drugs of the Future 35, 471-480). The antibody-cytotoxic drug conjugate (ADC) binds specifically to cancer cells, followed by conjugate internalization and degradation, which results in the intracellular release of the toxic drug and ultimately to the death of the cancer cells. The cytotoxic drugs that have been employed in linkage with antibodies include antitubulin drugs such as maytansinoids and auristatins, DNA-binding drugs such as calicheamicin that causes sequence-specific double-stranded DNA cleavage. Another class of DNA-binding cytotoxic drugs includes imine-containing pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBD) such as N-2-imidazolyl alkyl substituted 1,2,5-benzothiadiazepine-1,1-dioxide, U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,746), benzo-pyrido or dipyrido thiadiazepine (WO 2004/069843), pyrrolo[1,2-b][1,2,5]benzothiadiazepines and pyrrole[1,2-b][1,2,5]benzodiazepine derivatives (WO2007/015280), tomaymycin derivatives (e.g., pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepines), such as those described in WO 00/12508, WO2005/085260, WO2007/085930, EP 2019104, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,746). Other DNA-binding benzodiazepine drugs are described in US Patent Publication No. 2010/0203007A1. These benzodiazepine drugs containing imine bonds bind to the minor groove of DNA and interfere with DNA function, resulting in cell death.
There is a need for new methods for preparing conjugates of cell-binding agent and cytotoxic drugs bearing an imine group.

Cytotoxic benzodiazepine derivatives and methods of preparation


A multi-point distance measurement apparatus comprises a distance measurement device for, and measuring distances to first and second points of an object field to produce distance information, a device for determining a difference between the distances to the first point and the second point in accordance with the distance information from the distance measurement device, and a photographing distance selection device for comparing the difference with a predetermined value and selecting the smaller one of the distances as a photographing distance when the difference is larger than the predetermined value and selecting the distance to the first point as the photographing distance when the difference is not greater than the predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-point distance measurement apparatus which determines a photographing distance by a plurality of distance information.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, it has been a common practice in a multi-point distance measurement apparatus to measure distances for a plurality of points and to focus a lens to a photographing distance to include an object within the depth of field.
However, in the prior art multi-point distance measurement apparatus, the lens is not always best focused to a principal object.
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view including two photographing scenes, a near scene and a far scene. In the near scene, two persons X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 stand beside each other at a position of a near photographing distance Rx from a camera 8, and one person X.sub.3 stands between the two persons X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 at a distance .DELTA.R behind them. In the far scene, persons Y.sub.1, Y.sub.2, and Y.sub.3 stand with the same positional relationship as persons X.sub.1 -X.sub.3, but with persons Y.sub.1 and Y.sub.2 at a far photographing distance Ry from the camera.
The near scene is typical for photography in a relatively small area, such as indoors, and the far scene is typical for photography in a relatively large area, such as outdoors.
FIG. 6 shows the relationship between depth of field and photographing distance. As shown in FIG. 6, as the photographing distance R.sub.m increases, the corresponding depth of field D.sub.m increases. Conversely, as the photographing distance decreases, the depth of field decreases. With respect to the scene in FIG. 5, it will thus be appreciated that whether the distance .DELTA.R is within the depth of field will depend on the applicable photographing distance. Consequently, when the photographer's intended principal object is the center person, whether or not the center person is within the depth of field will depend on whether the photographing is near distance photographing or far distance photographing. This presents a problem in that the photographer may or may not obtain a properly focused photograph of the intended principal object.
Further, in photographing a far scene in a flash mode, even if the photographing distance is set to a principal object, there is a potential problem in that the flash light may not reach the principal object so that a proper exposure is not obtained.

Multi-point distance measurement apparatus


Optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid can be obtained by treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid with an optionally treated microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing the 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby asymmetrically reduce the same into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid.

This invention relates to a process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid. More particularly, it relates to a process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid which comprises treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid with an optionally treated microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing the 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, and collecting the (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid thus formed.
Optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid is an important intermediate in the production of various drugs, optically active and physiologically active substances, and derivatives thereof.
Further, optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-butyric acid, which is an important intermediate in the production of drugs such as ACE inhibitors, can be readily obtained by bringing optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into contact with a hydrogenation catalyst such as palladium in a hydrogen atmosphere.

Process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid


Rh antibody hybrids for use in testing red blood cells for the presence of one or more Rh factors. The Rh hybrid antibody may also be used in therapeutic procedures which require the use of Rh antisera. The hybrid antibody includes an IgG anti-Rh antibody which has a polymeric tailpiece attached to the carboxy terminal end of each of the IgG antibody heavy chains. A hemagglutinin method is provided for Rh phenotyping in which agglutination of Rh-positive red blood cells is achieved in a one-step process involving addition of the hybrid Rh antisera to the red blood cells being tested.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to antibodies to Rh(Rhesus) factors which are present on the surface of red blood cells. More particularly, the invention is directed to improved Rh antibodies which may be used in Rh typing methods or as therapeutic agents.
2. Description of Related Art
The publications and other reference materials referred to herein to describe the background of the invention and to provide additional details regarding its practice are hereby incorporated by reference. For convenience, the reference materials are numerically referenced and identified in the appended bibliography.
Rh factors are genetically determined antigens (agglutinogens) which are present on the surface of red blood cells. Rh factors form a complex blood group system which is of major importance in clinical medicine. The Rh(D) antigen is one of the most immunogenic and best known Rh factors. The presence or absence of Rh(D) antigen is especially important in blood transfusions because mixing of Rh(D) positive and Rh(D) negative blood types can result in blood clotting and other severe problems for the blood recipient. Rh(D) blood type is also important in pregnancy where severe problems can occur when the mother and fetus have Rh(D) blood types which do not match.
A number of methods have been developed to determine Rh blood type. The majority of the procedures are hemagglutination tests which utilize one or more reagents that include antibodies to Rh antigens. Typically, the reagents are added to a sample of red blood cells in a test well and incubated for a set period of time. The presence of Rh antigen is most often determined macroscopically by agglutination of the cells in the same manner as other conventional blood typing procedures.
Several modalities and antibody reagents are currently available to perform Rh hemagglutinin tests. In one type of test protocol, IgG anti-Rh antibodies are initially added to the red blood cells. IgG antibodies are "incomplete" antibodies with respect to the Rh antigen and therefor are not able to agglutinate the red blood cells by themselves. As a result, potentiating agents such as non-specific proteins or secondary anti-human IgG must be added to induce a positive agglutination reaction. This type of test is prone to false positives due to the non specific nature of the added potentiating agent.
In another type of Rh typing protocol, IgM anti-Rh antibodies are used in place of the IgG antibody. IgM is a complete antibody with respect to Rh and is capable of agglutinating Rh positive cells. However, IgM antibodies are not nearly as reactive as IgG antibodies. This results in the need for extended incubation times and the potential for false negative tests.
The basic Rh hemagglutination tests have been modified in a number of different ways in order to simplify the tests and make them more accurate. For example, a "gel test" has been proposed which uses a recombinant anti-Rh(D)Fab/phage and anti-M13phage antibody as the secondary reagent. Alternatively, IgG anti-D has been pretreated with reducing agents to open the hinge region of the molecule. Also, red blood cells have been treated with certain enzymatic preparations, such as papain, to render the cells susceptible to direct agglutination with IgG anti-Rh(D). Exemplary Rh(D) blood typing procedures are set forth in Reference Nos. 1-11.
Although the existing procedures for determining Rh blood type are well-suited for their intended purpose, there is still room for improvement. Accordingly, there is a continuing need to develop new reagents and protocols which will make Rh phenotyping even easier, faster and more accurate.
Rh(D) antibodies are also used as prophylactic agents. For example, the administration of Rh(D) antibodies for preventing the hemolytic disease of the newborn due to Rh incompatibility (HDN-Rh) is a very effective, and well established medical practice. HDN-Rh occurs to Rh(D) positive fetuses carried by previously immunized, Rh(D) negative, pregnant women. Rh(D) antibodies of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) class existing in the maternal blood cross the placental barrier and reach the fetal circulation. Once there, Rh(D) antibodies bind to and induce lysis of red blood cells, causing the disease. Since 1961 it is known that the administration of Rh(D) antibodies to pregnant women just after delivery prevents Rh(D) sensitization. More recently and based on accumulated evidence of Rh immunization during pregnancy, antenatal administration of Rh(D) antibodies (at 28 week's gestation) has also been proposed, and adopted in some countries. Despite its efficacy, the mechanism of action of the administered Rh(D) antibodies is not completely understood.
At the time of introduction of the Rh prophylaxis programme, the Rh(D) immunoglobulin for injection was derived mainly from the post-partum plasma of women immunized by pregnancy. Due to the success of this treatment the diminishing number of women immunized during pregnancy has reduced the availability of plasma-derived anti-D. This shortage lead to the recruitment and immunization of D negative male volunteers for the procurement of anti-D. Currently, anti-D used in prophylaxis is composed of immunoglobulin obtained almost entirely from these two sources.
Several considerations suggest that additional, non-plasma derived, sources of anti-D will be required in the near future. Firstly, the demand is expected to increase as the population grows. Secondly, the number of immunized, pregnant women donors is expected to diminish even more due to the efficacy of the Rh prophylaxis. Thirdly, immunization of D negative volunteers has been criticized due to potential risks of contamination with pathogenic, blood-borne viruses. An alternative approach to producing human anti-D is the monoclonal and recombinant antibody technologies.

The Regents of the University of California


A system and method for object-level snapshot creation in an object-based storage system. The host device includes a first object management table (OMT) and a file system. The object-based storage system is connected to the host device and includes a controller and object-based storage devices (OSD). The controller includes a snapshot module, a second OMT. The snapshot module receives and processes OSD and other commands from the file system or a service processor, creates an original object and a mirror object in an OSD, and initiates a snapshot operation in an OSD. The first OMT may also reside at a metadata server. A snapshot operation may be a mirror operation or a copy on write operation. The first OMT and the second OMT maintain mapping information of a file identifier, a partition ID, and an object ID, and an object status and a generation number of snapshots.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage systems, and more specifically to creating an object-level snapshot in a storage system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage device (e.g., magnetic disks) typically stores data on a block basis. However, an object-based storage device (OSD) stores data as an object. In an OSD, each object includes the data and an attribute portion. The attributes may include information regarding, for example, the size of the data, user ID information, etc. Since the attribute maintains the size of data in the object, the object size may be variable. In contrast, in current storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) the size of the stored information is typically fixed.
Current snapshot mechanisms are based on block level addressing on a storage system. A file system on a host computer can translate a file name into an appropriate block address. However, objects in an object-based storage device are identified by their object ID (OID), therefore, a snapshot copy on an object-based storage system may require the host computer to manage the relationship between file names and snapshot object OIDs. Further, currently an OSD does not have a copy operation interface. Therefore, when a snapshot copy is provided on an object-based storage system, a new command, or some module that takes care of the snapshot creation operation, needs to be provided in the storage system.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a snapshot copy on an object-based storage system.

System and method for creating an object-level snapshot in a storage system


A deer scent dispenser is provided for use in the field to attract deer. The dispenser is comprised of a cylindrical container provided with a bottom reservoir for liquid deer scent. The upper part of the container has plastic screen walls which hold a wick of absorbent biodegradable rayon, cotton or the like. The wick is supported upon a spindle and spaced from the interior wall of the container to provide for maximum diffusion and avoid dripping of scent on the wall. A cap closes the container at the top and a loop or bail detachable at one end for fitting over a support such as a branch is provided for supporting the container. The screen wall of the container has openings of a sufficient size to provide visual inspection for the condition of the wick and the reservoir and to receive a probe for moving the wick to ascertain the level of the liquid. The reservoir may be filled with liquid from the top by opening the cap or through the screen by slightly tilting the container.

In the past, liquid deer scent has been commonly employed by dispensing droplets of the liquid in the area where it is desired to attract deer. The dispensing has conventionally been employed by the use of a squeeze bottle or the like. Such application has required time and skill in choosing the area and to some extent has been haphazard.
To improve the efficiency of providing deer scent, there have also been provided various devices employing apparatus holding a liquid deer scent with wicks which provide a wind borne odor of the deer scent by evaporation of the liquid from the wick. While such devices have been useful, there has been a problem in providing support of the wick, visual inspection of the supply of liquid deer scent remaining in the devices and ready refilling in the field where cold and inclement weather may make any manual manipulations difficult and awkward.


A silver halide color photographic material containing a novel cyan coupler and capable of forming a cyan dye having a high color density and an excellent light fastness. The photographic light-sensitive material contains at least one 1H-imidazo[1,5-a]imidazole cyan coupler represented by the following Formula (I) in at least one layer provided on a support: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 each represent a substituent, provided that at least one of R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and represents an electron attractive group; and X represents a hydrogen atom or a group capable of splitting off upon a reaction with an oxidation product of a color developing agent.

In a silver halide color photographic material, there is now most widely used the system in which the reaction of dye-forming couplers coloring to yellow, magenta and cyan with color developing agents is utilized to form a color image.
In recent years, research has been conducted for improving dye-forming couplers to be used in the silver halide color photographic material from the viewpoint of providing improvements in color reproduction and image fastness, but it can not be said that such couplers have sufficiently been improved. In particular, with respect to a cyan coupler, a phenol series or naphthol series coupler has so far consistently been used, but the dyes formed from these couplers have undesired absorptions in the blue and green regions, which has become a large obstacle against the improvement in color reproduction. Further, the small molecular extinction coefficient of a formed cyan dye is also disadvantageous to improvement in the sharpness of an image.
Recently, research has been conducted on cyan dye-forming couplers containing a new skeleton having a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group, and various heterocyclic compounds have been proposed. There are disclosed, for example, the diphenylimidazole series couplers described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,672, the pyrazoloazole series couplers described in JP-A-63-199352 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an unexamined Japanese patent application), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,916,051 and 4,873,183, JP-A-l-105250, and JP-A-1-105251, and the condensed imidazole series couplers described in DE 4,016,418A1. In any of these couplers, improvement in color reproduction is described and they are characterized by excellent absorption characteristics of a formed dye.
However, the dyes obtained from the above couplers have the defects that the absorptions thereof are shifted to a shorter wavelength, and that fastness to light and heat is inferior, and further have a serious problem in practical use because the coupling activity of the coupler itself is small.

Silver halide color photographic material