A method for forming a photoresist relief image including applying a layer of a coating composition on a substrate; and disposing a layer of a photoresist composition on the layer of the coating composition, wherein the coating composition comprises an amine-containing polymer comprising a hydrocarbon-substituted amino group and having nitrogen atoms in an amount from 3 to 47 weight percent, based on a total weight of the amine-containing polymer.

A photoresist is a photosensitive composition which is used to transfer an image to a substrate. A coating layer of the photoresist is formed on the substrate, and then exposed to actinic radiation through a photomask. The photomask has regions which are opaque and transparent to actinic radiation. When the photoresist coating layer is exposed to the actinic radiation, light-inducible chemical modification occurs on the photoresist coating layer, and a pattern of the photomask is transferred to the photoresist coating layer. Thereafter, the photoresist coating layer is developed to form a patterned image that may be selectively treated on a substrate.
Reflection of activating radiation used to expose a photoresist often poses limits on resolution of the image patterned in the photoresist layer. Reflection of radiation from the substrate/photoresist interface may produce spatial variations in the radiation intensity in the photoresist, resulting in non-uniform photoresist linewidth upon development. Radiation also may scatter from the substrate/photoresist interface into regions of the photoresist where exposure is non-intended, again resulting in linewidth variations.
One approach used to reduce the problem of reflected radiation has been the use of a radiation absorbing layer (antireflective composition layer) interposed between the substrate surface and the photoresist coating layer. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,338,078; 69,270,152; 5,677,112; 8,481,247; 8,012,670; 6,818,381; and 7,846,638; WO067329A1; and EP2000852.
Dry etching is often preferred for pattern transfer with a photoresist relief image. The plasma used however in a dry etch process may cause damage to thinner oxide and nitride layers, such as may be employed in DRAM, flash memory, logic device fabrication. Wet etching is often preferred over plasma etching because of damage in the integrity of materials like metal gates or gate oxides. The under-layer provides local protection to the underlying materials from the chemical etchants used during wet etching. Hence this protection provided by the under-layer must be kept intact during the wet etch process with increasing complexity due to the continuous shrinking of critical dimensions. Peel-off of under-layer patterns is observed commonly during prolonged wet etches or on sub-metals with poor adhesion properties.
Accordingly, there remains a continuing need for coating compositions that may provide properties such as gap-filling, planarization, adhesion to metal substrates, and wet chemical etch resistance in addition to functioning as a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC).

Coating composition for use with an overcoated photoresist

ROHM AND HAAS ELECTRONIC MATERIALS KOREA LTD.


Methods and systems are provided for using an existing email transfer protocol, such as SMTP, to exchange digital objects in an authenticated manner. The provided methods and systems solve the bootstrapping problem of computer identities for P2P communication by authenticating the exchange of public information. If the electronic mail protocols are strong, in that sending an email message to a given address results in the message reaching that address with a high degree of confidence, then the exchange of public information performed in accordance with embodiments of the invention is confidently authenticated.

A common form of communications between computers connected to the Internet follows a paradigm known in the industry as client-server. For example, existing servers are email servers, web servers, file servers, online banking servers, etc. Clients include home personal computers, office personal computers, laptop computers, hand-held devices, wireless digital telephones, etc. The various client devices connect and interact with the various server devices. In this model the different servers employ their own ways of authenticating and authorizing the client devices that connect with them. For example, some email servers issue and use pre-registered identities to authenticate and authorize. Some banking organizations use their own member identification and password databases to do the authentication and authorization. So a given client device, say a personal computer at home, needs to conform to the differing authentication methods enforced by the different servers with which it connects and interacts. In the client-server model, the broad problem of how two interacting computers "recognize" one another currently is solved by making the server computer enforce its preferences unilaterally on the client computer.
Although the above-described model works well for client-server interaction, it becomes impractical for interactions between the various client machines themselves. The industry terminology for such interaction between various client devices is called peer-to-peer (P2P) communications. In this case, neither client computer can force its authentication preferences on the other. For example, consider the desire for a first user, Alice, to share and exchange videos and pictures from her personal computer with a second user, Bob, who also has a personal computer. Bob may wish to authenticate Alice, in order to be confident that the videos and pictures are indeed being sent by her, rather than being sent by an imposter.
Additionally, Alice may wish to transmit the videos and pictures securely using an encryption technique such as RSA, so that an eavesdropper cannot view the videos or pictures. RSA is a public-key cryptography technique whereby anyone can encrypt data for a given user with the user's public-key, but only the user can decrypt the data by using the corresponding private-key. Thus, Alice and Bob need to first exchange their respective public-keys in order to establish the secure channel per the RSA algorithm. Exchanging public-keys is not a trivial task. Charlie, a malicious hacker, could try to "sit in the middle" of the key exchange communication. Charlie sends his own public-key to Alice, but pretending to be Bob; he sends his own public-key to Bob, but pretending to be Alice. Given that this initial key exchange communication is itself not secure, there is no simple way for Alice and Bob to realize that Charlie is "in the middle". If they fall for Charlie's ploy and start communicating using his key, he can act as the middle-man and pass all the communications between Alice and Bob, but be able to eavesdrop on all the content being passed back and forth. And of course he can make this even worse by changing the passed content as well.
Thus, Alice and Bob have a problem of how they can confidently "bootstrap" the exchange of public keys onto their communications session. More generally, the bootstrapping problem in a P2P setting involves exchanging any sort of public data or digital object such that the recipient is confident it came from the purported sender.

Authenticated exchange of public information using electronic mail


Disclosed herein are isolated rubella viral vector constructs that include a rubella non-structural protein open reading frame (ORF) with an in-frame deletion, a rubella structural protein ORF, and a heterologous antigenic insert. In one example, the in-frame deletion within the rubella non-structural protein ORF is an in-frame deletion between two NotI restriction enzyme sites. In some examples, the heterologous antigenic insert is positioned within the rubella non-structural protein ORF. In other examples, the heterologous antigenic insert is positioned within the rubella structural protein ORF. Exemplary antigenic inserts include a Gag antigenic insert, a gp41 antigenic insert or a gp120 antigenic insert. Also disclosed are uses of the isolated rubella viral vector, such as to induce an immune response to HIV-1, testing sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies, or screening antiviral drugs (such as protease inhibitors).

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is recognized as one of the greatest health threats facing modern society. Treatments for HIV-infected individuals as well as the development of vaccines to protect against infection are urgently needed. One difficulty has been in eliciting neutralizing antibodies to the virus.
The HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (gp120-gp41), which mediate receptor binding and entry, are the major targets for neutralizing antibodies. Although the envelope glycoproteins are immunogenic and induce a variety of antibodies, the neutralizing antibodies that are induced are strain-specific, and the majority of the immune response is diverted to non-neutralizing determinants. Broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies have been isolated only rarely from natural HIV infection. For example, only three gp41-directed neutralizing antibodies (2F5, 4E10 and Z13) and a few gp120-directed neutralizing antibodies have been identified to date.
The HIV envelope spike mediates binding to receptors and virus entry. The spike is trimeric and composed of three gp120 exterior and three gp41 transmembrane envelope glycoproteins. CD4 binding to gp120 in the spike induces conformational changes that allow binding to a coreceptor, either CCR5 or CXCR4, which is required for viral entry.
The mature gp120 glycoprotein is approximately 470-490 amino acids long depending on the HIV strain of origin. N-linked glycosylation at approximately 20 to 25 sites makes up nearly half of the mass of the molecule. Sequence analysis shows that the polypeptide is composed of five conserved regions (C1-C5) and five regions of high variability (V1-V5).
With the number of individuals infected with HIV-I approaching 1% of the world's population, an effective vaccine is urgently needed. As an enveloped virus, HIV-I hides most of its proteins and genes from humoral recognition behind a protective lipid bilayer. An available exposed viral target for neutralizing antibodies is the envelope spike. Genetic, immunologic and structural studies of the HIV-I envelope glycoproteins have revealed extraordinary diversity as well as multiple overlapping mechanisms of humoral evasion, including self-masquerading glycan, immunodominant variable loops, and conformational masking. These evolutionarily-honed barriers of antigenic diversity and immune evasion have confounded traditional means of vaccine development. The need exists for immunogens that are capable of eliciting a protective immune response in a suitable subject. In order to be effective, the antibodies raised must be capable of neutralizing a broad range of HIV strains and subtypes.
Some of our most successful vaccines, such as oral polio virus and measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine, consist of live attenuated viruses. These are given at very low doses, so the vaccine strain must grow in the host to produce sufficient viral antigens to elicit an immune response. By simulating a viral infection, they can elicit innate and adaptive immune responses, resulting in antigen-specific T cells and antibody-producing B cells. Through a process of attenuation, the vaccine strains have retained the growth and immunogenicity of wild type virus while losing its pathogenicity and virulence. However, for many pathogenic viruses, such as HIV, it has not been possible to produce a live attenuated vaccine.

Insertion of foreign genes in rubella virus and their stable expression in a live, attenuated viral vaccine

The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services


A grill shutter unit comprises a shutter unit provided in back of a traveling-air introductory port formed at a front end of a vehicle body and including shutter members, and a traveling-air guide member including a guide frame portion provided at an outer peripheral edge portion of the shutter unit and a seal portion provided to extend forward continuously from a front end of the guide frame portion and be made from soft synthetic resin having more flexibility than the frame portion, wherein the grill shutter unit is configured such that when the shutter members are closed, a seal portion of the traveling-air guide member is pressed against an outer peripheral wall face of the traveling-air introductory port by pressure of traveling air shut off by the shutter members closed.

The present invention relates to a grill shutter structure of a vehicle, and particularly relates to a grill shutter structure of a vehicle which comprises a shutter unit including a shutter member operative to be open or closed and a traveling-air guide member provided to extend forward from an outer peripheral edge portion of the shutter unit.
Conventionally, it is known to provide a grill shutter unit capable of adjusting the amount of traveling air introduced into an engine room through a traveling-air introductory port at a front grill or the like formed at a front end of a vehicle in order to prevent any improper combustion which may be caused by excessive cooling of an engine, a radiator and the like. The traveling air introduced into the engine room flows down a tunnel portion of a floor panel and other portions during a vehicle traveling, which may cause improper air turbulence around the vehicle. Accordingly, it has been desired, in order to prevent any traveling-resistance increase and fuel-economy (gas-mileage) deterioration of the vehicle caused by the traveling-resistance increase, that the grill shutter unit capable of adjusting the amount of traveling air introduced into the engine room is installed to the vehicle.
The grill shutter unit substantially comprises a shutter unit including a shutter operative to be open or closed for a traveling-air introductory port, an electromotive actuator operative to open or close the shutter, and others. A movable grill shutter for a vehicle disclosed in EP 2407333 A1 is arranged as a unit at a front grill opening portion, and it comprises a left-side first fin (left-side shutter) equipped with a first support shaft, a right-side second fin (right-side shutter) equipped with a second support shaft, a first output shaft operative to open or close the first fin, a second output shaft operative to open or close the second fin, and an actuator arranged between the first and second fins. Further, first and second joints are provided respectively between the first and second output shafts and the first and second support shafts.
It is also known, in order to improve the layout of a grill shutter unit and the design flexibility inside an engine room, to provide a structure in which the grill shutter unit is attached to a shroud member supporting a radiator, condenser and others, and the grill shutter unit and a traveling-air introductory port at a front grill or the like which is formed at a bumper face. According to a duct structure of a front portion of a vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-299522, a front grill formed at a bumper face and a traveling-air introductory port formed at a lower side of the front grill are provided, a duct device (grill shutter unit) attached to a radiator core support (shroud member) is provided between the front grill and the traveling-air introductory port and the radiator core support, and the duct device comprises plural duct portions operative to supply the traveling air to the radiator from the front grill and the traveling-air introductory port and shutters operative to pass or shut off the traveling air flowing down in the duct portions.
In general, the shroud member, which is of substantially a rectangular frame shape, is required to have a light weight, ensuring the support rigidity of the radiator, condenser and others as well as the strength as a vehicle-body constituting member. Therefore, the shroud member is made from a hard synthetic resin material containing glass fibers or the like, and attached to a vehicle body via an attaching bracket provided at front end portions of a pair of right-and-left front side frames. At front ends of the pair of right-and-left front side frames are arranged a pair of crash cans which extend forward respectively. A bumper reinforcement extending in a vehicle width direction is provided at respective front ends of the crash cans, and its front side area is covered with a bumper face. Thus, when a head-on collision of the vehicle happens, the crash cans provided at the front ends of the front side frames crush so that a collision load can be absorbed thereby and the safety of a passenger can be ensured.
It happens sometimes when rain or water, melt snow or the like which are splashed from a road surface come in through the traveling-air introductory port and some of them attaches itself onto surfaces of the shutters. Herein, since the water on the shutter surfaces causes the shutters to be frozen in the cold time, there is a concern that an opening/closing operation of the shutters may deteriorate. Accordingly, it has been proposed that an electric-conductive resilient member is attached to a lower end portion of each shutter so that the shutters can be prevented from being frozen in the cold time (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-276712).
The grill shutter unit of the above-described second patent document is superior in layout and design flexibility, compared to the grill shutter unit of the above-described first patent document. Further, in the duct structure of the vehicle front portion of the above-described second patent document, since the grill shutter unit is arranged in back of and apart from the traveling-air introductory port, any breakage of the grill shutter unit which may be caused by interference of the grill shutter unit with the bumper reinforcement can be avoided in a case of a small collision of the vehicle. In a heavy collision of the vehicle in which the bumper reinforcement retreats greatly, however, since the distance between the bumper reinforcement and the front ends of the front side frames decreases according to compressive deformation of the crash cans, there is a concern that the grill shutter unit may be broken by the collision load. In the duct structure of the vehicle front portion of the above-described second patent document, since the grill shutter unit including the shutter unit and the duct portion is configured as a unit, it becomes necessary to exchange an entire part of the grill shutter unit even when part of the front side portion of the duct portion gets broken. Consequently, costs of repair may increase, so that there is a problem in that the repairability may deteriorate.
Further, in the duct structure of the vehicle front portion of the above-described second patent document, since the shutters are arranged in back of the traveling-air introductory port and also the duct portion extending longitudinally to guide the traveling air from the traveling-air introductory port to the shutter unit is provided, some traveling air comes into the engine room through a gap formed between a tip of the duct portion and the traveling-air introductory port, so that there is a concern that the fuel economy (gas mileage) may deteriorate because of the improper combustion caused by the excessive cooling or the traveling-resistance increase. Herein, while it may be considered to design such that the tip of the duct portion contacts the traveling-air introductory port tightly, assembling of both the grill shutter unit and the bumper reinforcement is not so easy that there is a problem in that the assembling workability may deteriorate. Moreover, in this case in which the tip of the duct portion contacts the traveling-air introductory port, the grill shutter unit may get broken easily because it comes to interfere with the bumper reinforcement even in the light vehicle collision.


Various embodiments relating to validating a user's entitlement to play a game are provided. In one embodiment, a request for a user to play a game is received at a validation service. The request may include an obfuscate-encoded bundle including a signed user ID identifying the user, a signed hardware ID of a computing machine on which the game is requested to be played, and a signed receipt. The obfuscate-encoded bundle may be decoded and the request may be validated according to a plurality of security checks including determining that one or both of the signed hardware ID or the signed user ID respectively match a hardware ID and/or a user ID included in the signed receipt. If the request to play the game is valid, an authentication token may be sent to the computing machine that allows the user to play the game on the computing machine.

Unauthorized distribution, modification, or usage of games may result in unreliable game play that negatively affects game developer revenue, among other hindrances. Some level of protection may be afforded to reduce a possibility of unauthorized distribution and tampering of games beyond a purchase or license agreement, while not overly inconveniencing a rightful owner because of such protection.

Validation of user entitlement to game play


A Schottky barrier diode element includes an n-type or p-type silicon (Si) substrate, an oxide semiconductor layer, and a Schottky electrode layer, the oxide semiconductor layer including either or both of a polycrystalline oxide that includes gallium (Ga) as the main component and an amorphous oxide that includes gallium (Ga) as the main component.

A Schottky barrier diode is a diode that produces a rectifying action utilizing a potential barrier formed at the junction between a metal and a semiconductor. Si is most widely used as the semiconductor (see Patent Literature 1, for example). As a compound semiconductor having a band gap wider than that of Si, GaAs and, recently, SiC may be used instead of Si (see Patent Literatures 2 and 3, for example).
An Si-based Schottky diode is used for a high-speed switching element, a GHz-band transmission/reception mixer, a frequency conversion element, and the like. A GaAs-based Schottky diode can implement a higher-speed switching element, and is used for a microwave converter, a microwave mixer, and the like. It is considered that SiC can be applied to the electric vehicle field, the railroad field, the power transmission field, and the like (for which a higher voltage is required) due to its wide band gap.
A Schottky barrier diode that utilizes Si is relatively inexpensive, and is widely used. However, since the band gap of Si is as narrow as 1.1 eV, it is necessary to increase the size of the element in order to improve the breakdown characteristics. The band gap of GaAs is 1.4 eV, which is wider than that of Si. However, since it is difficult to implement the epitaxial growth of GaAs on an Si substrate, it is difficult to obtain a crystal with a small number of dislocations. Since the band gap of SiC is as wide as 3.3 eV, it is considered that a high dielectric breakdown field and better performance can be achieved by utilizing SiC. However, since the substrate production process and the epitaxial growth process require a high-temperature process, SiC has a problem from the viewpoint of mass productivity and cost.
Recently, Ga2O3 has attracted attention as a material having a band gap wider than that of SiC.
An oxide semiconductor is a material that has high mobility and a wide energy gap, and the application of an oxide semiconductor to a next-generation display driver transistor, a short-wavelength sensor, a low-power-consumption circuit, and the like has been desired. Non-Patent Literature 1 reports that monoclinic β-Ga2O3 was used for a power device, and VB=0.71 MV/cm was achieved. Patent Literature 4 discloses an example in which an ohmic electrode obtained by stacking monoclinic β-Ga2O3 and Ti is applied to a light-emitting diode.
Ga2O3 may have an α, β, γ, δ, or ∈ crystal structure. Ga2O3 having a β crystal structure (monoclinic crystal structure) has the highest thermal stability, and it has been reported that the band gap of Ga2O3 having a β crystal structure is 4.8 eV to 4.9 eV. A β-Ga2O3 monocrystalline substrate can be obtained using a floating zone (FZ) method or an edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method. However, since it is necessary to use a molecular beam epitaxy method at present in order to implement homoepitaxial growth, there is a problem from the viewpoint of mass productivity.

Oxide semiconductor substrate and schottky barrier diode


An apparatus for environmental tests includes a chamber having formed therein a test space for disposing a sample, and a tray that is provided on the upper surface of the chamber and has an open upper surface. A front wall of the tray is configured by an operation unit where switches are provided. A rear wall of the tray is configured by a control unit housing a control substrate. A left wall and a right wall of the tray are configured by hollow bodies connecting the operation unit and the control unit. The tray is covered with a lid.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for environmental tests.
2. Description of Related Art
An apparatus for environmental tests is known in which a sample is accommodated in a chamber and exposed to a predetermined temperature-humidity environment to test the sample for performance, quality and reliability such as service life, as disclosed in Japan Design Registration Publication No. 1158594. When environmental testing of a sample such as a printed board is performed, there is a case where, for example, a wiring 102 connected to the sample accommodated in a chamber 101 is connected to a measuring instrument 104, as shown in FIG. 23, and a computer 105 is used for processing the measurement data obtained with the measuring instrument 104. In this case, the measuring instrument 104 and the computer 105 are disposed close to an apparatus for environmental tests 100.
Where the measuring instrument 104 and the computer 105 are used, a large number of wirings such as signal wires or power supply wires are present around the apparatus for environmental tests 100. In addition, materials relating to the test, tools, and a large number of other objects also can be present around the apparatus for environmental tests. Therefore, the environment surrounding the apparatus for environmental tests 100 is degraded and those wirings can hinder the environmental testing operations.


An extruded sheet piling (20) is disclosed. The sheet piling has a planar body panel (22) with a top end (23) and a spaced bottom end (24). A first continuous side edge (26) and a second spaced parallel continuous side edge (27) extend between the top end and the bottom end of the body panel, respectively. A first planar flat (29) extends away from the first side edge of the body panel, and has an elongate continuous male locking member (31) formed along an outside edge (30) thereof A second spaced parallel flat (34) extends away from the second side edge of the body panel, and has a female locking member (36) extending the length of an outside edge (35) and which is sized and shaped to snugly receive the male locking member of an adjacent sheet piling therein. An elongate structural reinforcing rib (42) is extruded as a part of the sheet piling along the outside edge of the first flat, and is spaced from and parallel to the male locking member.

The use of aluminum and steel sheet piling, as well as the use of treated timber, to include timber beams and planking, in constructing retaining walls, sea walls, and the like is well known. Aluminum and steel sheet piling has the advantage of being rigid, however aluminum and steel sheet piling is expensive, and over time, particularly when exposed to the elements, the aluminum and steel will corrode such that retaining walls formed of these sheet pilings need to be periodically maintained, and/or replaced. Treated timber on the other hand, tends to be less expensive and thus more cost effective than aluminum and/or steel sheet pilings, and may provide a satisfactory service life dependent upon the usage for which the retaining wall is constructed. However, a problem that arises with the use of treated timber is that it has been banned in a great many areas due to its toxicity, and treated timber is experiencing substantially reduced service life due to increased marine borer activity.
Due to the aforementioned problems or using aluminum, steel, or treated timber retaining walls, the use of plastic or vinyl extruded sheet piling has become a popular option for use in forming retaining walls and sea walls. Extruded vinyl and plastic sheet pilings offer the advantage of being lightweight, less expensive than steel sheet pilings, and can also be extruded in a variety of architectural shapes and styles for a greater blend of utilitarian purpose and aesthetics than is available with rolled steel sheet pilings. Examples of such plastic sheet pilings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,588 to Berger; U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,315 to Wickberg, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,287 to Hooper, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,353 to Bourdo discloses a fiberglass sheet piling which offers the advantages of being less costly to fabricate than an extruded sheet piling, yet has the significant disadvantage of being more brittle such that if struck by a blunt force, for example a driftwood log if used in a sea wall, or by a vehicle if used to construct a retaining wall, the fiberglass panels could easily be cracked or destroyed.
Although plastic sheet pilings offer the advantage of being rugged, durable, inexpensive, and easy to use, they have the distinct disadvantage of being more flexible, i.e. having less structural rigidity than do steel sheet pilings. As known to those skilled in the art, a steel sheet piling will have a modulus of elasticity approximately 75 times greater than that of a plastic sheet piling. In most applications, the section thickness of an extruded sheet piling can be made thinner or thicker dependent on the end usage in which the sheet piling will be used, such that the disadvantage of a plastic sheet piling with regard to the structural rigidity of a steel sheet piling is minimized. However, in increasing the section thickness of an extruded plastic sheet piling, this necessarily results in increased costs and weight, which may impact the economic decision to use a plastic sheet piling in lieu of a steel sheet piling in the first instance. Three examples of an extruded plastic sheet piling based on the plastic panel erosion barrier disclosed in Hooper, et al are disclosed in FIGS. 1A-1C. These vinyl sheet pilings are also known as the ShoreGuard.RTM. family of vinyl sheet piling manufactured and sold by Materials International, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-C then, three extruded sheet pilings 5, 5' and 5" are disclosed, each of which is constructed in an almost identical fashion, although they differ in terms of the geographic profile formed by the extruded sheet piling. Thus, each one of these three sheet pilings has an elongate planar body panel 7 having a first continuous side edge 8, and a second continuous side edge 9. Extending from the first side edge 8 is a first flat section, known to those in the industry as a flat, having a continuous male locking member 12 formed along its outside edge opposite the first side edge of the body panel. As shown in FIGS. 1A and IB, the male locking member 12 is situated at the end of an arcuate section 13 formed along the outside edge of the first flat 11.
The sheet piling of FIGS. 1A-C has a second flat section 15, known as a second flat, extending away from the second side edge 9 of the body panel. A complimentarily shaped female locking member 16 is formed along the length of an outside edge of the second flat opposite the second side edge of the body panel. The two flats 11 and 15 extend in directions opposite one another and away from body panel 7, and are positioned parallel to one another such that a reversible profile is formed, in which, for example, respective adjacent ones of the sheet pilings 5, 5', and 5" can be placed in top end to top end, or top end to bottom end interlocked edge-standing relationship with respective ones of the extrusions 5, 5', and 5".
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, each male locking member 12 is formed as a generally T-shaped member, whereas the female locking member 16 is formed as a substantially C-shaped member. In the embodiment of FIG. 1C, however, the male locking member 12" is formed to have two outwardly projecting portions sized and shaped for being received within a substantially circular female locking member 16".
Although the embodiments of the prior art sheet pilings shown in FIGS. 1A-1C have proven to be a significant improvement over the sheet pilings and the vinyl plastic sheet pilings known in the art, the problem remains that due to the greater flexibility of an extruded plastic sheet piling, the flats 11 and 15 will tend to bend or deflect about a central bending axis or plane extending between the two flats in response to the application of a static or dynamic load or force against the flat. Although the interlocked edge-standing relationship of the male locking member within the female locking member of an adjacent sheet piling tends to add some structural rigidity to a plastic sheet piling retaining wall, the problem still exists that if an unexpected load is placed against the sheet piling the male locking member may be pulled out of the adjacent female locking member, and/or that the retaining wall could bow or flex, perhaps destructively so, dependent upon the loads being transmitted against the wall.
What is needed, therefore, but seemingly unavailable in the art is an extruded plastic sheet piling constructed and arranged to be placed into an interlocked edge-standing relationship with adjacent ones of the extruded sheet piling which will have a greater degree of structural rigidity than those extruded sheet pilings known in the art. What is also needed is such an improved sheet piling extrusion which will increase the strength of the interlocked male and female locking member joint to increase the pull-out strength of the interlocked male and female locking members. Additionally, there is a need for such an improved plastic sheet piling which will be balanced about its centroid such that the flow of the plastic material through an extrusion die is balanced, and so that the cooling of the extruded sheet piling will also be balanced about the centroid such that torsional forces which would otherwise tend to twist or flex the sheet piling extrusion as it cools will be greatly mitigated, if not eliminated entirely.


According to the present invention, compounds selected from the thiozole class of organic molecules are employed as antagonists for receptor-operated ion channels (ROICs) useful in the treatment of a variety of disease states in which ROICs are implicated. ROICs of particular interest are receptor-operated calcium channels (ROCCs). Compounds of particular interest with respect to the subject invention are compounds of the thiazolidinedione class of organic molecules, more particularly ciglitazone. Disease states in which particular utility is expected include vasculoproliferative diseases such as atherosclerosis, restenosis following angioplasty, and other conditions in which PDGF is known to play a role. The utility of the present invention with respect to further studies on the operation of ROICs and ROCCs and their role in disease will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the treatment of disease and, more particularly, to the treatment of diseases associated with receptor-operated calcium channels, including the treatment of hypertension, atherosclerosis, atherogenesis, thrombosis, vasospasm, and the consequences of these conditions.
Agonist-mediated increases in intracellular calcium in mammalian cells can occur via multiple mechanisms, most notably increased conductance of Ca.sup.2+ ions through voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCCs) and receptor-operated calcium channels (ROCCs), both being located in the plasma membrane.
The VOCCs were the first identified in cardiac muscle and their characterization were greatly facilitated by the discovery of the highly sensitive and specific dihydropyridine antagonists. Fleckenstein et al., Am. J. Cardiol. (1987)59:177B-187B. These channels occur primarily in so-called electrically excitable cells and have been studied extensively in cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle. Channel opening, or more precisely, the probability that specified numbers of calcium channels are biophysically in the open state, is directly related to the potential difference across the plasma membrane. Depolarization increases the probability of the existence of VOCCs in the open state, whereas hyperpolarization results in the opposite, that VOCCs are likely to be closed.
The ROCCs, on the other hand are insensitive to changes in membrane potential and although sensitivity to dihydropyridine antagonists have been reported, the concentration required for significant blockade are orders of magnitude greater than those required for antagonism of VOCCs. ROCCs are activated by specific ligands and have been identified in all mammalian cell types examined including electrically excitable cells, e.g. cardiac and vascular smooth muscle. ROCCs have been identified in cells not ordinarily thought of being electrically excitable (Table 1).
The activity of ROCCs appear to be modulated primarily through agonist interaction with specific cell surface receptors with consequent phosphinositide breakdown and induction by inositol phosphates, e.g. inositol trisphosphate and inositol tetrakisphosphate, and activation of calcium entry via ROCCs. Ligands that transmit their biological signals by mechanisms involving calcium entry via ROCCs produce a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration (Ca.sup.2+ !i) typified by a characteristic time-dependent kinetic form, regardless of the particular chemical agonist or the cell (tissue) type.
TABLE I ______________________________________ Disease processes and potential sites of lesions where receptor-operated calcium channel antagonists are expected to function to offset the particular lesion(s) Pathophysiologic processes, Disease states Tissues Neurohumoral agents ______________________________________ Atherogenesis, VSM, endothelium growth factors, A II Atherosclerosis, endothelin, cytokines, Vasospasm, Angina PDGF, thrombin Pectoris Restenosis after VSM, endothelium PDGF, growth factors angioplasty Thrombosis & VSM, platelets PDGF, thrombin, A II, infarction endothelium, EGF, TGF-beta Hypertension VSM cell, endothelium, vasopressors, EDRF, autononic innervation, neurotransmitters, juxtaglomerular endothelins Neoplasia and various transforming growth, oncogenesis factors, endothelin, PDGF Immunodeficient T cell, B cell, immune response conditions mast cells, eosinophil modifiers, cytokines neutrophil, macrohage chemotactic peptides Wound-healing mesenchyme and other growth factors, cell cells adhesion molecules Reactive airway bronchial VSM cell histamine, endothelin, disease, asthma & endothelium, mast beta-2 agonists, allergy cells, cromolyn Neural dysfunction glial cells, others neurotransmitters glioblastoma nerve growth and other factors, endothelin Schizophrenia CNS endothelin Encephalopathy CNS neuropeptides, amino acids, nitric oxide Memory dysfuncton CNS, other neural cells neurotransmitters Organogenesis various colony-stimulating and chemotactic factors, neuropeptides Endometriosis endometrial cells PDGF, other growth factors Algesia CNS kinin/kininogen modulators ______________________________________ VSM = vascular smooth muscle; EDRF = endotheliumderived relaxing factor; TGFbeta = transforming growth factor; A II = angiotensin II; EGF = epidermal growth factor
Subsequent to agonist-receptor binding, depending on the activator, there is a sharp initial spike in Ca.sup.2+ !i either immediately or after a delay followed by a slow decay in the calcium signal, which may be followed in some cases by oscillatory excursions in the calcium signal. Depending on cell-type or agonist, this general form has subtle but important variations, and may represent different subtypes of receptor-operated channels (see "Experimental Findings" below, and Ref: Rink, FEBS Lett, 1990).
A first aspect of the invention focuses on two physiological ligands that function via modulation of ROCCs and are implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension, atherogenesis and atherosclerosis and other vasculoproliferative disease.
A second aspect of the invention includes the general implications of the role of ROCCs in the pathophysiological derangements in a variety of cellular functions, including those involving, neoplasia, immune response modification, endocrine and exocrine dysfunction, neuropsychiatric disease, wound-healing, and cell growth and proliferation in diverse organ systems. These vast implications will be disclosed in the context of small neurohumoral peptides, particularly platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and bradykinin.
A further aspect of the invention includes the utility of the subject use of thiazole compounds as antagonists for ROCCs in the further illucidation of ROCC operation.
A still further aspect of the invention includes the use of thiazole compounds in the treatment of disease in humans such as atherosclerosis.

Calcium antagonists for treatment of vascular restenosis

The Regents of The University of California


A signal transmit-receive device of the invention reduces the number of high-speed signal lines required for connecting a transmitting circuit group and a receiving circuit group, and for running a loopback test on a signal transmit-receive device. The loopback test circuit uses an error detecting circuit, a test signal producing circuit, and a wiring for transmitting error information. The error detecting circuit compares a test signal pattern defined in advance by a first communication device and a received signal pattern. The test signal producing circuit produces the test signal pattern based on error information. If an error is detected, the error signal is transmitted to the test signal producing circuit through the wiring. The test signal producing circuit produces a predetermined test signal pattern if the error signal DE has an L level; upon receiving H level, it sends back the predetermined test signal pattern to the first communication device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for confirming the accuracy of communications performed in a signal transmit-receive device using optical or electrical signals. More particularly, it relates to a method of loopback tests run between a communication device and a signal transmit-receive device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an optical or electrical signal transmit-receive device in which a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit are paired have been used in an exchange, router and like used for signal communications. In such a signal transmit-receive device, to test the accuracy of communications transmissions, a test signal is looped from a communication device through a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit and back to the communication device without processing. The communication device compares a second, transmitted test signal with the test signal looped back from the signal transmit-receive device to determine the accuracy of transmitted communications signal. This test method is referred to as the loopback test method. A method of the prior art is disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,114.
Referring to FIG. 10, the problems of the conventional loopback method are described. In FIG. 10, a communication device 1001 transmits and receives parallel signals, a communication device 1003 transmits and receives serial signals, and a signal transmit-receive device 1002 performs mutual conversion of parallel signals and serial signals between the two communication devices to transmit the signals. A transmitting circuit 1004 and a receiving circuit 1008 are formed on ICs different from each other. A serializer 1005 converts parallel signals into serial signals, a transmitting driver 1007 drives a serial signal TX, an input buffer 1011 receives a serial signal RX, and a deserializer 1009 converts serial signals into parallel signals. In the signal transmit-receive device, during normal communication, a parallel signal TXD transmitted from the communication device 1001 is converted into a serial signal TX, which is transmitted to the communication device 1003. Conversely, a serial signal RX transmitted from the communication device 1003 is converted into a parallel signal RXD, which is transmitted to the communication device 1001. During a loopback test, a test signal transmitted from the communication device 1001 is converted by the serializer 1005 into an output signal TX, which is looped back to the communication device 1001 without processing, through the wiring 1006 for connecting the transmitting circuit 1004 and the receiving circuit 1008, and the deserializer 1009.
However, this conventional method requires that a signal of the same quantity as the test signal be fed between a transmitting circuit group and a receiving circuit group. This requires a circuit configuration for signal transfer and transfer time. Particularly, where the signal transmit-receive device must be constituted by different modules or ICs for a transmitting circuit group and a receiving circuit group, a circuit having the same transmission speed as a data signal for connecting the transmitting circuit group and the receiving circuit group is required to loop back a signal. Recent data signals generally have a high transmission speed over 1 Gbps, and high-speed signal lines and integrated circuit (IC) pins are required for connection between the transmitting circuit group and the receiving circuit group. However, high-speed signal lines and IC pins are generally more expensive than low-speed signal lines and IC pins, inviting an increase in installation costs. Also, an increased number of signal lines requires additional input-output circuits and invites an increase in power consumption. Use of inexpensive signal lines and IC pins is not feasible, however, since signal transmission rates would be unacceptably slow thereby degrading device performance.

Signal transmit-receive device, circuit, and loopback test method


The invention realizes a CATV repeater which has a reduced distance from a coaxial connector of a coaxial cable to a receptacle on a printed circuit board of an amplifier to prevent deterioration of the high frequency characteristic and besides facilitates connection and is tough against an outdoor environment. Receptacle 32 of amplification device 30 can be inserted into guide metal member 11 of body case 10, and the core of receptacle 32 is connected to core 21 of coaxial connector 20 of a coaxial cable by L-shaped connection pin 13. L-shaped connection pin 13 includes connection pin 13b having, at an end thereof, a cylindrical pin to be fitted with the receptacle of the amplifier and having, at the other end thereof, a U-shaped portion, and connection pin 13a having, at an end portion thereof, a hollow cylindrical portion with a pair of slits on the coaxial cable side and having, at the other end portion thereof, a cylindrical connection portion with ring-shaped projections with which the positioning of the U-shaped portion of connection pin 13b is set in a limited position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connection structure for a CATV repeater, and more particularly to a structure for connecting a coaxial cable connector of an amplifier removably mounted on a body case of a repeater and a coaxial cable connector provided on the body case for connecting a coaxial cable.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In order to transmit a TV signal from a CATV station to remote subscribers, CATV repeaters are connected in series. When some failure occurs with some intermediate repeater, a signal is not transmitted to those repeater following the failed repeater, causing many subscribers trouble. One of the possible reasons of failure is a connection between a CATV repeater and a coaxial cable. Particularly since CATV repeaters are installed in the open air and subject to a very wide range of temperature variation by sunshine, rain, snow and so forth, a crack is tend to be produced at a soldered connection portion, resulting in failure in the connection.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of a conventional connection structure which does not employ soldering.
As shown in FIG. 1, a case of a CATV repeater is composed of body case 40 and an openable lid (not shown). Amplifier 30 for amplifying a TV signal is removably mounted on body case 40. Amplifier 30 includes printed circuit board 31 on which an amplifier circuit is printed, and metal case 33 for allowing heat generated by the amplifier circuit to diffuse to body case 40. In order to facilitate mounting and removal of amplifier 30, receptacle 32 for a signal is provided on printed circuit board 31.
Meanwhile, body case 40 includes coaxial connector 20 to which a coaxial cable is connected, guide metal member 41 into which receptacle 32 of printed circuit board 31 is inserted, orthogonal connection member 42, L-shaped connection pin 43 located in the inside of orthogonal connection member 42 for transmitting a signal from core 21 of the coaxial cable in an orthogonal direction to receptacle 32, pressure contacting screw 44 for pressing core 21 to L-shaped connection pin 43, and grounding plate 45 for grounding guide metal member 41.
Core 21 is pressure contacted to L-shaped connection pin 43 to connect each other by pressure contacting screw 44 as shown in FIG. 2 and connected to the amplifier circuit via receptacle 32 provided on printed circuit board 31.
As described above, in the conventional connection structure for a CATV repeater, the core of a coaxial cable and an L-shaped connection pin are pressure contacted with and connected to each other by tightening a pressure contacting screw without soldering. However, a space in which the pressure contacting screw is disposed is required and the L-shaped connection pin must have as much additional length. Therefore, the conventional connection structure for a CATV repeater is disadvantageous in that the frequency characteristic of a signal is deteriorated by the L-shaped connection pin of the additional length.

Connection method and apparatus for CATV repeater


The present invention entails an implant for insertion into the alveolar bone of a patient and wherein the implant is provided with a generally vertically projecting anchoring pin that extends from the implant into the alveolar bone of the patient and effectively interconnects the implant with the alveolar bone. Moreover, the present invention entails a method or process of implanting a dental implant including directly implanting an implant into the extraction cavity after a tooth has been extracted therefrom. As a part of this process, prior to actually implanting, the extraction cavity is reamed so as to be compatible with an optimum size and shaped implant selected from a group of standard implants.

The natural teeth are often lost as a result of dental disease, trauma or injury. In recent years, more and more dentists and oral surgeons have turned to dental implants as an acceptable and appropriate means to restore a tooth that has been lost because of disease or trauma. Such dental implants offer an attractive alternative to other options because with a dental implant the patient realizes a restoration that closely approximates a natural tooth without having to alter the structure or appearance of adjacent natural teeth which occurs, for example, when a patient chooses a bridge option.
Typically in conventional processes, an implant operation begins with the extraction of the tooth. After extraction, the patient is sent home for a period of time, approximately 3 to 12 months, during which time the extraction or root cavity formed by the extraction is allowed to close and heal. This is because, typically, commercial implants are of a cylindrical shape and consequently do not naturally fit the general taper or conical shape of the extraction cavity. Consequently, conventional cylindrical shaped implants cannot be inserted directly into the natural tapered extraction cavity. Therefore, after extraction, the extraction cavity must be allowed to be close through healing. After the root cavity has closed and healed, the patient returns for further procedures. Here, the healed site is drilled to form an implant cavity in the area formally occupied by the extracted tooth. The size of the bore or cavity formed by the drill is slightly less than the diameter of the particular implant selected. Once the implant cavity has been formed, the implant is either inserted into the cavity with friction grip or screwed into the cavity with self-tapping threads. Thereafter, a second healing period follows. Time is required for the bone tissue surrounding the implant to grow up against and mechanically lock the implant in place. Typically, depending on the age of the patient and the site in the mouth, the second healing period can extend for approximately 3 to 12 months. Once integration has been reached, that is where the bony tissue fully grows in direct apposition to the implant, the dentist can install a false teeth or prosthesis onto the implant.
While dental implants are generally desirable, it is obvious that they come with some problems and much inconvenience. It is not uncommon for the period between tooth extraction and the final fitting of the prosthesis to be 6 to 18 months. Moreover, during that extended period, the patient may have to tolerate inconvenience, discomfort and sometimes pain.
Besides the time and inconvenience associated with conventional procedures for implanting, it is also difficult in some cases to properly orient the implant and maintain it stable after the prosthesis has been fitted. Obviously, insertion-type implants may tend to lack substantial implant-bony tissue contact from the outset. This can contribute to longer healing periods. Because of the lack of substantial close bone contact, it can take prolonged periods of time before the implant and the bony tissue integrate. Screw-type implants also are difficult to orient and stabilize. Typically, the thread pattern of screw-type implants require multi turns to set the implant. The hardness of the bony tissue in and around the implant cavity varies. With a multi turn implant, the threads tend to draw the implant towards and through softer bony tissue. This can results in the entire implant misaligning within the alveolar bone structure of the patient.
Finally, implants are typically designed such that they conform to a generally cylindrical configuration. In addition, typical implants are of a single piece construction and do not include additional or auxiliary means for interlocking the implant to the alveolar bone structure. Once the prosthesis has been attached to the top portion of the implant and the patient starts to use the implant to chew food, the stress, vertical and lateral forces, and rotational torques placed on the prosthesis are transferred downwardly to the implant. In cases where the implant is not stable and tightly secured within the implant cavity, the implant tends to rotate and turn under these stresses, forces and torque. This results in the implant becoming loose within the implant cavity and that often results in the implant becoming dislodged from the cavity or being so loose and unstable within the cavity that the same has to be removed from the patient's alveolar bone.
Finally, as noted above, most typical implants that are commercially available today include a cylindrical configuration. Thus, the outer walls are not generally tapered or conical. This cylindrical configuration results in substantial stresses and forces being concentrated at the lower end of the implant and those concentrated stresses and forces tend to loosen the implant and make the implant unstable within the patient's mouth.


This stabilization fabric application apparatus provides a rectangular framed box constructed of vertical and horizontal frame members. This rectangular box is constructed in a manner so that it is composed of two halves divided vertically through the center of the long axis of the box. These halves are then pivotally joined at the center of the upper surface of the frame at the frame pivot joints. Conversely, the lower surface of the frame is defined by the roller arms which are not connected to one another. This configuration allows the frame to open and close in a clam-like. The roller arms are used to dispense stabilization fabric from a roll contained in the framed box.

The present invention relates to an improvement in the manner in which construction fabric is applied beneath road beds and other similar construction projects during the initial stages of construction. More specifically, to an apparatus that has been purposely designed to deploy construction fabric in these projects in a highly effective manner that can be accomplished by one person.
The use of fabrics in the construction of roads, airport runways, lagoons, landfills, and all other similar construction projects has become very common in recent years and is in some cases mandated by law. These construction fabrics commonly come in two different types. The first of these is referred to as stabilization fabric and the second is referred to as a non-permeable linear membrane both of which are composed of strands of polyester or nylon that have been woven together to form large ribbons of the stabilization fabric. The ribbons of the fabric are then rolled on to cylindrical cores to form large rolls which are convenient both for storage and for the application of the stabilization fabric at a job site.
The stabilization fabric is commonly employed in the construction of roadways, airport runways, and other similar structures. In the construction of these structures, the stabilization fabric is positioned between the underlying earth and a layer of course aggregate that is commonly used to for a roadbed or runway bed. The use of the stabilization fabric operates to distribute the downward forces of the roadway and the traffic it carries in a more lateral fashion and thereby, over a wider area. This method of construction results in a stronger structure that lasts longer and requires less maintenance over its lifetime.
In the case of the construction of lagoons and landfills, their lining with the non-permeable linear membrane prevents the contents of these structures from leaching and entering the ground water. This is critical for the proper operation of these structures as they often contain pollutants that can cause long term damage that can take years to clean up, if possible at all, and cost millions of dollars. In either case, these construction fabrics are stored and deployed in the same manner and for purposes of simplicity the following description will focus solely on the manner by which the present invention is used to deploy stabilization fabric.
There are some problems associated with the use of stabilization fabric in the construction of these structures, most of which stem from the methods and devices employed to deploy and position it properly. In the past, the application of the fabric at the job site was accomplished in one of two ways. The first of these was simply to do it by hand. To accomplish this, a number of construction workers would manually lift a roll of the stabilization fabric and place it in the desired location with the tongue, or the lose end of the fabric in relation to the roll, positioned over the ground. Once this has been accomplished, the construction workers deployed the fabric by unrolling the fabric roll over the desired section of ground. There are many problems associated with the application of the stabilization fabric by hand not the least of which is the fabric rolls are large and heavy making them difficult to position correctly and requires a relatively large number of workers to accomplish. Additionally, the stabilization fabric is the most effective when it is laid out in a taut manner limiting the amount of wrinkles and creases formed in it during the process. This is very difficult to accomplish by hand as it requires that a good deal of tension be placed on the fabric as it is deployed over the ground. Finally, the presence of wind can also be a problem when deploying the stabilization fabric as it tends to get underneath the fabric and move it from the desired location. This is especially problematic when deploying the fabric by hand as there is no mechanism or method by which to deal with this circumstance and the rolls are too heavy to allow for their manipulation by hand.
The second method commonly employed to deploy stabilization fabric at a job site is the use of machinery to handle and control the fabric rolls during construction. This is most commonly accomplished by the use of an apparatus that has been designed to grasp a fabric roll on either end in a manner that allows it to freely rotate. This allows the fabric to be unwound from the fabric roll so that it can be deployed at the job site. These apparatuses also have the added advantage of being capable of moving the large fabric rolls around the job site thereby lessening the amount of construction workers otherwise required to perform these tasks.
While the use of these apparatuses has both improved the efficiency of employing stabilization fabric and made it significantly easier, problems still exist. These problems are generally the same as some of the ones described for the hand deployed method above. Wind can still get under the fabric as it is being deployed and cause it to be displaced in a manner that interferes with its proper operation. Additionally, wrinkles and creases can also form in the deployed stabilization fabric because these apparatuses do not provide a mechanism by which the proper amount of tension can be placed on the fabric during deployment. Thus, the use of these apparatuses does not eliminate the need for employing multiple workers to complete this task as there is no mechanism that adequately eliminates the wrinkles and creases from the stabilization fabric. This is important to the longevity of the structure being built as the wrinkles and creases can and often do result in damage to the stabilization fabric which limits its effectiveness in performing the job for which it was designed and installed.
Therefore, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for the deployment of stabilization fabric under road beds and other similar structures in a manner that requires only one worker to complete in a timely and effective manner. Additionally, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for the deployment of stabilization fabric in a manner that would be entirely unaffected by the presence of wind. Finally, it can also be seen that it would be desirable to provide such an apparatus that contains a mechanism which places a large degree of tension on the fabric during its deployment which effectively eliminates the formation of wrinkles and creases in it which in turn enhances the effectiveness of the fabric while increasing its life span.

Apparatus for the application of rolled stabilization fabric


Proposed is a height adjusting mechanism for a tiller handle (23) of an outboard motor (1). An adjustment piece (45) is detachably attached to the front end of a handle support bracket (22) which extends rearwards from the outboard motor main body (3). The adjustment piece is configured to be attached to the front end of the handle support member in two or more different positions and provided with a corresponding number of spacer portions (47-50) having different thicknesses so as to interpose a selected one of the spacer portions between corresponding stopper surfaces (41, 42) of the tiller handle and handle support bracket depending on the positions of the adjustment piece. Thereby, the height adjusting mechanism for the tiller handle is avoided from protruding laterally or vertically from the base end of the tiller handle so that the external appearance is not impaired and interferences with the surrounding parts can be effectively prevented. Also, the height of the tiller handle can be selected from two or more possible positions.

A watercraft fitted with an outboard motor is typically steered by pivoting the outboard motor mounted on a transom provided in a rear end of the watercraft about a vertical pivot axis. In case of small and medium-sized watercraft, it can be effected remotely by using a steering wheel provided in the cabin, but it is more common to use a steering handle bar (typically called as tiller handle) extending forwardly directly from the outboard motor. A tiller handle is placed at a substantially horizontal position (operating position) during normal operation of the watercraft, and can be held in a more vertically raised position (retracted position) when the outboard motor is tilted up because the watercraft is in shallow waters or moored.
It is known to make the height of a tiller handle adjustable during normal operation so as to accommodate different postures and builds of the users. The height of a tiller handle can be made adjustable by passing a pin through a part of the tiller handle and a selected one of a plurality of holes provided at different heights of a support bracket or by turning a vertical adjust screw abutting an upper surface of an end of the tiller handle on the other side of the pivot pin as seen from the user as disclosed in Japanese UM publication S62-192997.
The previously proposed height adjusting mechanisms for tiller handles have some problems in appearance and space requirements. The arrangement using a pin for adjustment is not favorable in appearance because the head and tip of the pin protrude sideways from the support bracket. Also, some lateral space is required for placing the pin into and out of the support bracket. The arrangement using an adjust screw is also unfavorable in appearance because the head of the adjust screw and a lock nut for the adjust screw protrude in the vertical direction. Also, some vertical space is required for turning the adjust screw and fastening the lock nut by using a socket wrench, and a measure must be taken so as to avoid interference with the engine cover.
As the height of a tiller handle is not required to be adjusted very often, the adjusting mechanism is desired to be concealed during normal operation of the tiller handle for a favorable appearance and to be compact enough not to cause any interference with other parts of the outboard motor. It is also desirable that the adjusting mechanism is readily accessible when an adjustment is required.


A meander line loaded antenna provides a wide instantaneous bandwidth with a first planar conductor extending orthogonally from a ground plane, a second planar conductor substantially parallel to the ground plane and separated from the first planar conductor by a gap, a meander line interconnecting the first and second planar conductors across the gap, and a third conductor connecting the second planar conductor to ground. The antenna may be arranged in opposed pairs, and also as two orthogonally opposed pairs forming a quadrature antenna. Each of the individual antennas, the opposed pairs of individual antennas, and the quadrature antennas may be stacked with each lower antenna forming the ground plane for the antenna mounted thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to high frequency, loop antennas and, particularly, to such antennas having a series reactance in the loop.
In the past, efficient antennas have typically required structures with minimum dimensions on the order of a quarter wavelength of the lowest operating frequency. These dimensions allowed the antenna to be excited easily and to be operated at or near resonance, limiting the energy dissipated in impedance losses and maximizing the transmitted energy. These antennas tended to be large in size at the resonant wavelength, and especially so at lower frequencies.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In order to address the shortcomings of traditional antenna design and functionality, the meander line loaded antenna (MLA) was developed. One such antenna is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,080 for MEANDER LINE LOADED ANTENNA, issued to John T. Apostolos, the inventor of the present application, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,080 describes an antenna that includes two or more conductive elements acting as radiating antenna elements, and a slow wave meander line adapted to couple electrical signals between the conductive elements. The meander line has a variable physical length which affects the electrical length and operating characteristics of the antenna. The electrical length of the meander line, and therefore the antenna, may be readily controlled.
More specifically, such an antenna includes two, spaced-apart vertical conductors and a horizontal conductor. The vertical and horizontal conductors are separated by gaps, which are bridged by meander lines. The meander lines include a slow wave structure having sequential sections with alternating high and low impedance values, which structure provides an electrical length that is greater than its physical length.
A meander line 108 according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 1 and is characterized by a plurality of series connected sections 110, 112. Sections 110, 112 are alternately sequentially connected and are designed to have respective high and low characteristic impedance values, which impedance values are sequentially alternated by the alternating sequential connection. These alternating impedance values create a slow wave structure having an effective electrical length that is greater than the actual physical length. This impedance structure may be formed by a transmission line having sections which alternate in their separation from a ground plane. In FIG. 1, high impedance sections 110 are suspended above the top surface of a dielectric sheet 114 and low impedance sections are formed as conductors directly on the top surface of dielectric sheet 114. Placing the dielectric sheet against a large planar conductor creates the different impedance values because the planar conductor acts as an effective ground plane. In the prior art antenna, the vertical or horizontal conductors of the antenna may be used to create that ground plane for meander line 108.
Meander line 108 is also designed to allow adjustment of its length. The slow wave structure permits lengths of the meander line to be switched in or out of the circuit quickly and with negligible loss, in order to change the effective length of the antenna. This switching is possible because active switching devices are located between the high and low impedance sections of the meander line. This keeps the current level through the switching device low and results in very low dissipation losses in the switch, thereby maintaining high antenna efficiency.
The MLA allows the physical dimensions of antennas to be significantly reduced while maintaining an electrical length that is still a multiple of a quarter wavelength. Antennas and radiating structures built using this design operate in the region where the limitation on their fundamental performance is governed by the Chu-Harrington relation. Meander line loaded antennas achieve the efficiency limit of the Chu-Harrington relation while allowing the antenna size to be much less than a quarter wavelength at the frequency of operation. Height reductions of 10 to 1 can be achieved over quarter wave monopole antennas while achieving comparable gain.
The prior art MLA antennas have relatively narrow instantaneous bandwidth. Although the switchable meander line allows the antennas to have a very wide tunable bandwidth, the bandwidth available for simultaneous or instantaneous use is relatively limited. Thus for multi-band or multi-use applications and for applications where signals can appear unexpectedly over a wide frequency range, existing MLA antennas are somewhat limited.
Further, as the use of wireless signaling proliferates across the useable spectrum and especially on mobile platforms, the need for wide band or multi-band antennas will only grow in response to the requirement for aperture and volumetric efficiency for the antennas of such systems.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a meander line loaded antenna (MLA) having a wide instantaneous bandwidth.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide such an antenna which may be replicated in different sizes to create multi-band antennas.
Accordingly, a wide band, meander line loaded antenna includes a first planar conductor extending orthogonally from a ground plane, a signal coupling device connected to the first planar conductor proximally to the ground plane, a second planar conductor substantially parallel to the ground plane and separated from the first planar conductor by a gap, a meander line interconnecting the first and second planar conductors across the gap, and a third conductor connecting the second planar conductor to ground.
Alternatively, the present antenna may be arranged in opposed pairs, and also as two orthogonally opposed pairs for functioning as a quadrature antenna.
Further, each of the antennas, whether singular, opposed pair or quadrature may be replicated as a smaller version and mounted on top of the original with the second planar conductor of the original antenna functioning as the ground plane for the smaller version.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


An axle/suspension system for a heavy-duty vehicle, in which the vehicle includes a frame that extends in a longitudinal direction relative to the vehicle. The axle/suspension system is attached to the vehicle frame via at least one hanger and includes at least one beam, which includes a first end and a second end. The first end of the beam is connected to the hanger, and the second end of the beam immovably captures an axle, which extends in a transverse direction relative to the vehicle. The beam is formed of a composite material and has a substantially constant cross section in the transverse direction to provide sufficient strength to control roll forces encountered by the vehicle during operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of axle/suspension systems for vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to the art of trailing or leading arm air-ride axle/suspension systems for heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers or semi-trailers, which cushion the ride and stabilize the vehicle during operation. Still more particularly, the invention relates to the art of trailing or leading arm air-ride axle/suspension systems for heavy-duty vehicles of the type that may be susceptible to roll forces and dock walk.
2. Background Art
Heavy-duty vehicles that transport freight, for example, tractor-trailers or semi-trailers and straight trucks, typically include leading or trailing arm air-ride suspension assemblies that connect the axles of the vehicle to the frame of the vehicle. These air-ride suspension assemblies use air springs to cushion the ride of the vehicle. In some heavy-duty vehicles, the suspension assemblies are connected directly to the primary frame of the vehicle. In other heavy-duty vehicles, the primary frame of the vehicle supports a subframe, and the suspension assemblies connect directly to the subframe. For those heavy-duty vehicles that support a subframe, the subframe can be non-movable or movable, the latter being commonly referred to as a slider box, slider subframe, slider undercarriage, or secondary slider frame. For the purpose of convenience and clarity, reference herein will be made to a slider box, with the understanding that such reference is by way of example, and that the present invention applies to heavy-duty vehicle primary frames, movable subframes and non-movable subframes.
In the heavy-duty vehicle art, one or more axle/suspension systems usually are suspended from a single slider box. It is understood that a slider box outfitted with usually two axle/suspension systems typically is referred to as a slider tandem, and for purposes of convenience and clarity, will hereinafter be referred to as a slider tandem. Of course, a slider box may also be outfitted with a single axle/suspension system, or three or more axle/suspension systems. By way of example, reference herein shall be made to a slider tandem having a pair of axle/suspension systems mounted thereon, with the understanding that such reference also applies to a slider outfitted with one, three or more axle/suspension systems. The slider tandem in turn is mounted on the underside of the trailer primary frame, and is movable longitudinally therealong to provide a means for variable load distribution and vehicular maneuverability.
More specifically, the amount of cargo that a trailer may carry is governed by local, state and/or national road and bridge laws, and is dependent on proper load distribution. The basic principle behind most road and bridge laws is to limit the maximum load that a vehicle may carry, as well as limit the maximum load that can be supported by individual axles. A trailer having a slider tandem gains an advantage with respect to laws governing maximum axle loads. More particularly, proper placement of the slider tandem varies individual axle loads or redistributes the trailer load so that it is within legal limits.
A slider box or other subframe typically includes a pair of longitudinally-extending, parallel, transversely-spaced elongated main members. A plurality of longitudinally-spaced parallel cross members extend transversely between and are attached to the main members. Pairs of transversely-spaced hangers are mounted on and depend from the main members and selected ones of the cross members. An axle/suspension system typically includes a pair of transversely-spaced trailing arm beams, each of which is pivotally connected at its front end to a respective one of the hangers. Each trailing arm beam also is welded or otherwise rigidly attached at its rear end to a transversely-extending axle of the axle/suspension system. The wheels of the vehicle are rotationally mounted, as known in the art, to opposing ends of the axle. The axle/suspension system further conventionally includes a pair of air springs, which each extend between and are mounted on the rear end of a respective one of the beams and a respective one of the main members, and a pair of shock absorbers, which each extend between and are mounted on a respective one of the beams and a respective one of the main members. It should be noted that, while the hangers are sometimes considered to be part of the vehicle frame once they are connected to the frame members, they are typically engineered as part of the axle/suspension system.
The axle/suspension system of the heavy-duty vehicle also acts to cushion the ride and stabilize the vehicle. More particularly, as the vehicle is traveling over-the-road, its wheels encounter road conditions that impart various forces, loads and/or stresses, collectively referred to herein as forces, to the respective axle on which the wheels are mounted, and in turn, to the suspension assemblies that are connected to and support the axle. In order to minimize the detrimental effect of these forces on the vehicle as it is operating, the axle/suspension system is designed to absorb at least some of them.
These forces include vertical forces caused by vertical movement of the wheels as they encounter certain road conditions, fore-aft forces caused by acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, and side-load and roll forces associated with transverse vehicle movement, such as turning of the vehicle and lane-change maneuvers. In order to address such disparate forces, axle/suspension systems have differing structural requirements. More particularly, it is desirable for an axle/suspension to be fairly stiff or rigid to minimize the amount of sway experienced by the vehicle and thus provide what is known in the art as roll stability. However, it is also desirable for an axle/suspension system to be relatively flexible to assist in cushioning the vehicle from vertical impacts, and to provide compliance so that the components of the axle/suspension system resist failure. In order to resolve these differing structural requirements, prior art axle/suspension systems include undesirable excessive weight and cost, as will be described in detail below.
In addition, it is desirable for trailing arm axle/suspension systems to reduce or prevent an event known as "dock walk," reduction of which typically has been achieved through the use of pivoted links and/or other components. More particularly, many heavy-duty vehicles transport dry freight, that is, cargo that is loaded into a van or trailer of a typical heavy-duty vehicle. To receive cargo, or to have it removed, the vehicle often parks at a loading dock, with a rear end of the trailer in close proximity to the dock. Due to the weight of the cargo, a fork lift or other transfer vehicle is used to load the cargo into or unload the cargo from the trailer, and travels from the loading dock into the trailer. At this stage of the loading or unloading process, a disadvantage of many prior art axle/suspension systems occurs, which is an event known in the art as "dock walk." The dock walk event will be described in greater detail below, but may be summarized as a generally arcuate motion of the rigid trailing arm beam and axle of the axle/suspension system in response to the sudden weight increase of the fork lift driving into the trailer, which causes the vehicle tires to rotate in a forward direction and undesirably move the trailer away from the loading dock.
In an attempt to reduce or prevent dock walk in prior art rigid-beam leading or trailing arm air-ride axle/suspension systems, additional components have been used to reduce the arcuate motion of the trailing arm beam when a forklift or other device is introduced into the trailer during a loading or unloading situation. For example, some systems employ a mechanical stop or similar structural component, as will be described in greater detail below, which reduces arcuate motion of the beam and the axle, and in turn reduces the rotation of the tires, which minimizes dock walk. Other systems employ manual exhaust valves, which will also be described in greater detail below, which enable bumpers within the air springs to act as a positive mechanical support and minimize arcuate motion of the beam and the axle, in turn minimizing forward rotation of the tires and dock walk.
However, components such as a structural stop and/or exhaust valves, as well as associated components for the operation and control of the stop and/or valves, involve an undesirable increase in weight of the axle/suspension system, as well as an undesirable increase in cost for the system. Moreover, such additional components add to the complexity of the axle/suspension system, undesirably increasing maintenance costs for the system.
Other types of prior art air-ride axle/suspension systems that are known in the art also reduce or prevent dock walk, such as parallelogram linkages in which each beam is made up of links that are pivotally attached to the frame hanger and the axle, as will be described in greater detail below. However, such prior art parallelogram linkage axle/suspension systems possess a distinct disadvantage, which is a lack of stiffness or rigidity that creates an inherent lack of roll stability. In order to provide stability, an auxiliary roll bar assembly must be incorporated into the parallelogram linkage system, which involves the addition of multiple components and thereby undesirably increases the weight, complexity, cost and maintenance of the system.
Other types of prior art axle/suspension systems, which are known in the art as mechanical spring suspension systems, typically are not subject to dock walk. Spring suspension systems, however, are not air-ride systems, and instead include a pairs of transversely-spaced leaf springs. These leaf springs are engineered to carry the vertical load of the vehicle, and therefore typically are stiff enough to control roll forces. The stiffness of the leaf springs of the spring suspension creates a significant disadvantage for the suspension, since the leaf springs must be engineered to be stiff enough to provide vertical force resistance and thus roll stability for a fully-loaded trailer, which sacrifices flexibility in situations where the trailer is only lightly loaded, thereby creating an extremely harsh ride when the trailer is lightly loaded. Thus, the ride that is enabled by a spring suspension is considerably less than optimum.
Therefore, in the prior art, the competing demands of stiffness or rigidity for roll stability, flexibility for compliance and dampening of vertical forces, and/or movable attachment of beams or links to the frame hangers and/or the axle for reduction of dock walk, have led to axle/suspension systems that provide less-than-optimum reaction of forces, and which are undesirably heavy and expensive. As a result, a need has existed in the art to develop a leading or trailing arm air-ride axle/suspension system that overcomes the disadvantages of prior art systems and provides a relatively lightweight, simple and economical system that can provide vehicle roll stability while potentially reducing or eliminating dock walk.

Heavy-duty vehicle axle/suspension system


A method facilitating power conservation in a wireless user equipment includes storing carrier aggregation information in a storage device at a wireless user equipment, monitoring a power level of a battery in the wireless user equipment during operation in a wireless network, and varying a current support capability for a carrier aggregation feature and the carrier aggregation information in relation to the power level of the battery such that less secondary component carriers are supported by the wireless user equipment as the power level of the battery decreases. The wireless user equipment including the storage device and at least one processor configured to monitor the power level of the battery and to vary the current support capability for the carrier aggregation feature and the carrier aggregation information in relation to the power level of the battery. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions associated with the method is also provided.

This disclosure relates to techniques for conserving power in wireless user equipment to extend the life of a battery powering the user equipment. Various embodiments of method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium are disclosed to facilitate power conservation in the wireless user equipment. The power conservation techniques find particular application in conjunction with user equipment that supports a carrier aggregation feature while the user equipment is operated in a wireless network that provides the carrier aggregation feature. Other applications of the power conservation techniques in conjunction with other wireless network features are also contemplated for the various embodiments described herein.
Smartphones are the Swiss army knives of the tech world. They function as music and video players, web browsers, personal organizers, calendar, mail reader, GPS and also a cell phone among other things. People don't want their smartphones to run out of battery life when they need it the most. Battery life is one of the most important considerations that people make when choosing a smartphone. With moderate use, one can extend the battery life to last an entire day before needing to be recharged.
Smartphones drain batteries faster in poor coverage areas searching for a good signal. Smartphones can also drain battery searching for open Wi-Fi Hot-Spots, Bluetooth, GPS, infrared capabilities. So users can take some simple precautions like turning off these features except when needed.
With the launch of carrier aggregation (CA) (e.g., a feature of long term evolution (LTE) Advanced and evolved universal terrestrial radio access networks (E-UTRA)), smartphones can gain access to a total bandwidth of up to 100 MHz and offering peak download speeds exceeding 1 Gb/s. For additional information on E-UTRAN, see, for example: i) 3GPP TS 36.331, version 9.3.0, Release 9, July 2010; and ii) 3GPP TS 36.306, version 11.4.0, Release 11, September 2013. The contents of these documents are fully incorporated herein by references. For CA, smartphones are constantly scanning for multiple eligible secondary component carriers while being connected to the primary component carrier. This may even cause the battery to drain faster when the smartphone is in good radio conditions. So, while a smartphone may be in the right radio conditions to support CA with multiple secondary carriers and give the user fast download/upload speeds, the battery life on the smartphone could be draining at a faster rate than desired. This may leave the user with a smartphone having no battery life when they need to use the device. A power management and power saving mode to optimize battery life of CA-capable smartphones is not available.
For these and other reasons, there is a need to define power management and power saving techniques for CA-capable wireless user equipment that is compatible with CA features offered by a wireless network.

Method and apparatus facilitating power conservation in wireless user equipment


The disclosure is of a building construction shingle of a synthetic polymeric resin protected from weathering with a laminated layer of U-V resistant polycarbonate resin.

1. Field of The Invention
The invention relates to construction materials and more particularly to shingles for roofing and siding applications on the exterior of a building.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Building panels useful as a roofing and siding material (shingles and clapboard) have been described as being thermoformed from polycarbonate resins; see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,702. As is also described in this patent, the polycarbonate resin used in thermoforming can be compounded with fillers such as glass fibers and with other additives such as coloring pigments. Although polycarbonate resins can be formulated to provide molded articles with a wide range of properties advantageous to exterior building panels, resistance to ultra-violet light degradation is difficult to achieve, without sacrificing moldability. Useful quantities of ultra-violet absorbing compounds, when added to polycarbonate resins, particularly in the presence of coloring pigments, adversely affect the polymers melt rheology making melt flow difficult to control.
In spite of the difficulty in molding polycarbonate resins containing ultra-violet light resisting agents, polycarbonate resins do have other properties which make them valuable as wear surfaces. In fact, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,034,528 and 4,096,011 have suggested that they be used to surface clad vinyl resin exterior sidings. If they could be formulated to resist degradation from exposure to ultra-violet radiation without adversely affecting processability, a major advance in the art would follow. This did happen in regard to branched aromatic polycarbonate resins, wherein it was discovered that they were compatible with a specific class of ultra-light absorbing benzotriazole's; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,177. But branched or highly cross-linked polycarbonate resins, with or without resistance to ultra-violet radiation, are too brittle to be useful as an impact-resistant exterior building material, even as a surface cladding which is suggested in the '177 patent.


A data entry and error embedding system in which, first, a document is bitmapped and recorded in a first memory. Then, it is displayed, and portions of it to be replicated by data entry are underlayed by a window, into which window replicated data is entered in location and size such that it is juxtaposed just below that which is replicated, enhancing the accuracy of replication. Second, with this format in place, selected portions of the replicated data are altered by the insertion of character or word substitutions, thus the embedding of errors. Finally, a proofreader would endeavor to correct the error embedded data and a record of his or her changes recorded. In this manner, the skill level of the proofreader and accuracy of the data are computed.

Data entry and proofreading tasks are a necessary part of almost all business endeavors. Thus, for example, business records must be kept, bills prepared, and reports drafted. These require data of some form to be entered, often by a human into a computer, and subsequently proofread for accuracy. The process of data entry is usually performed by a person possessing highly developed finger motor skills but can also be accomplished by unskilled personnel using manually notated keypunch cards or direct data entry via a keyboard. By such, data is converted from almost any originating form into a computer readable representation, which is usually in the form of conventional ASCII computer codes.
After data entry, proofreading is a follow-up process to verify data accuracy and involves one or more data verification cycles. Each data verification cycle consists of a single visual pass of a given text segment, often a line, whereby the data is checked and compared for accuracy from memory or from a prior text. Data entry and proofreading may be accomplished by the same or different personnel and closely sequential or at separate times.
As is well known, data entry and proofreading are often tedious and time-consuming tasks. In one prior attempt to improve data entry, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,396, issued on Dec. 28, 1971, to Spertus, a transparency is made of an original document and the transparency is projected onto the surface of a video display screen. The document is then read from the screen and entered by a human into a word processor or computer which would display the entered version of the document in juxtaposed format on the display screen. As described, the only method of juxtaposition between the original on the transparency and entered text was by physically varying the distance between the projector and screen, an obviously cumbersome, expensive, and slow process. Problems of character font sizing and spacing were not particularly addressed.
With respect to proofreading, it is acknowledged that computer processed comparison of related documents has been previously accomplished as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,182, issued on Mar. 12, 1986, to Queen, but no process for evaluating or enhancing the capability of the proofreader is known to have been meaningfully addressed.


A cover assembly for a motor vehicle having a pair of spaced apart sidewalls. The cover assembly includes a track formed in each sidewall and a panel. A first leg of each track is arranged substantially orthogonal to a floor of the vehicle and a second leg of each track is positioned above the floor and extends from the first leg. The panel is movably coupled to the tracks.

Vehicles such as trucks, SUVs, CUVs, sedans, vans, etc. may have a closure/cover member to cover and/or retain items within a vehicle area. For example, a vehicle may include a tailgate that provides access to a bed of the vehicle. Tailgates, however, can be heavy. Consequently, the tailgate may be difficult to open and close, especially for a person not fully capable of operating the tailgate. Further, when a tailgate is opened relative to the bed, a person may have to lean over the tailgate to remove any items that may be stowed in the bed. Again, this may be a disadvantage to some when retrieving items that may be stowed in the bed. It should be noted there may be other areas of the vehicle where it is desirable to store, protect and retrieve items and therefore also desirable to cover the areas and thereafter easily expose the same areas.