This invention relates to ungrounded type flexible fabric container with a reduced energy of electrostatic discharge suitable for use in a combustible environment. A woven fabric is configured to form a flexible fabric container having sidewalls, a top feature and a bottom feature. The woven fabric flexible bulk container is made from a static dissipating fabric comprising fabric woven of non-conductive tapes, to which a plurality of bicomponent conductive staple fibers are added. The bicomponent conductive staple fibers have one or more longitudinal stripes of a carbon loaded conductive constituent on an outer surface of a non-conductive constituent. Preferably the staple fibers are woven into or coated onto the fabric at a spacing of from 3 mm to 100 mm.

In the past, various methods have been employed to produce anti-static woven fabrics suitable for flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBC) or clean room garments. FIBCs are used in the packaging and transportation of dry substances such as metal ores, chemicals, foodstuffs and powders. They are designed to be handled with standard fork-lifts and typically hold from 500 to 4400 pounds of material. Common dimensions include 35 inch and 41 inch square cylinders.
Construction and manufacture of FIBCs is disclosed in references such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,364,424 and 4,610,028 to Nattrass. FIBCs may be customized by the top and bottom features. For example, the Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association (FIBC Association) identifies FIBCs with top features such as cone top, duffel top, top spout or open top. Similarly, the FIBC Association identifies FIBCs with bottom features such as bottom spout, side/bottom spout, full bottom, cone bottom and closed bottom.
A common hazard of FIBCs is electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD hazard ranges from personnel nuisance shocks to sparks capable of igniting explosive mixtures of dust or flammable gases. As a result it is necessary to eliminate ESD from flexible intermediate bulk containers in certain applications.
Some of the textile fabrics used in FIBCs include polypropylene and Tyvek®. Polypropylene is particularly favored for FIBCs due to its inertness, strength and low cost. FIBCs made from woven polypropylene are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,699 to Pappas that is incorporated by reference herein.
FIBCs are either coated or uncoated. Uncoated FIBCs are breathable and allow transmission of moisture through the fabric. Coated FIBCs can restrict transmission of moisture; prevent dust escaping as well as having other special properties. For example, when ultraviolet light resistance is desired, a UV stabilizing coating is used. As an alternate, threads and yarns can be coated with a UV stabilizer before weaving into fabric.
Control of ESD from fabrics can be either conductive or dissipative. Conductive refers to the electrical conduction of any accumulated charge, to an electrical ground. Dissipative refers to the dissipation of static electricity through electrostatic discharges including corona discharges, spark discharges, brush discharges or propagating brush discharges. Spark, brush and propagating brush discharges can create incendiary discharges in many common flammable atmospheres. In contrast the corona discharges are generally below incendiary discharge energy levels.
Conductive fabrics require an electrically sufficient connection to a ground point. These fabrics function by draining an accumulating electrical charge to the ground. Any disruption in the ground connection disables their ESD control ability. Additionally, fabrication of containers formed of conductive fabrics requires specialized construction techniques to ensure all conductive surfaces are electrically connected together for a ground source.
In contrast, dissipative fabrics rely on the fabric, alone or in conjunction with an antistatic coating, to discharge charges at levels below those that cause damage or create a spark capable of igniting flammable material (for example by corona discharge). Examples of dissipative fabrics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,355 to Fuson and assigned to E. I du Pont and U.S. Patents assigned to Linq Industrial Fabrics, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,154 to Pappas et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,449 to Ebadat et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,772 to Ebadat et al.
The fabrics disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,355 comprise polypropylene yarns interwoven with sheath-core filament yarns. The sheath-core filament yarns further comprise semi-conductor carbon black or graphite containing core and a non-conducting sheath. The filaments are interlaced in the fabric at between ¼ and 2 inch intervals. In a preferred embodiment, the filaments are crimped so that stretching of the sheath-core yarn does not break the electrical continuity of the semi-conductor core. A noted disadvantage of sheath-core filaments is the relatively high cost of resultant yarns.
The fabrics disclosed (but not claimed) in the Linq Industries assigned patents also comprise sheath-core yarns interwoven with non-conductive yarns or superimposed over non-conductive yarns. Such fabrics are identified as "quasi-conductive," conduct electricity through the fabric and have surface resistivity of 109 to 1012 ohms per square and the sheath-core yarns are identified as "quasi-conductive" with a resistance of 108 ohms per meter. In order to attain the disclosed surface resistivity an antistatic coating is utilized. Without antistatic coating, the sheath-core yarns must be placed at a narrow spacing with the effective discharge area between the sheath-core yarns limited to 9 mm.
These patents teach against the use of conductive fibers in ungrounded antistatic applications. When relying upon the sheath-core yarns for static dissipation these fabrics are costly. In contrast, when relying on antistatic coating alone, such fabrics are susceptible to failure if the coating becomes removed during use. Additionally, when FIBCs comprise such fabrics are filled with non-conductive powders a surface charge potential of −32 kV (negative 32 kV) can be attained.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,699 to Pappas et al. discloses the use of conductive fibers in ungrounded antistatic fabric further comprising an antistatic coating. The resultant surface resistivity of the fabric is 1.75 times 1013 to 9.46 times 1013. When the coating is not present the disclosed fabrics do not adequately dissipate static charges. As a result, care must be taken to preserve the integrity of the coating.
The above patents are incorporated by reference. It is seen from the above that what is needed is a dissipative antistatic fabric that does not rely upon antistatic coatings or sheath-core filament yarns.
As a result, it is seen that a more robust anti-static textile fabric capable of preventing high surface charge levels is desirable, particularly a fabric that does not rely upon anti-static coatings or narrow spacing of quasi-conductor yarns.

Anti-static woven flexible bulk container


A method, apparatus, and storage medium for registering a first application with one or more task applications. According to one embodiment, a set of first application characterization data is provided. Map data for the one or more task applications is stored in a database. The set of first application characterization data is mapped, in accordance with the map data, into a mapped set of first application data for each of the one or more task applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networks and, in particular, to registration of web sites with multiple search engines on a network such as the world-wide web.
2. Description of the Related Art
In computer network systems such as local-area networks ("LANs"), wide-area networks ("WANs"), and the Internet and the world wide web ("WWW") which operates thereon, large numbers of servers are established on nodes of the network. Such servers are used for many purposes. For example, such servers may be WWW hyper text transport protocol ("HTTP") compatible servers that serve information through the use of web pages to users (often known as browsers) using other servers on the network. A server is typically an application running on a computer-based processor, that provides for access to and communication over the network.
The WWW is a distributed set of machines and applications, characterized by a set of protocols operating on top of the backbone of the Internet, and allows a graphical interface system to operate thereon for accessing information through the Internet. The WWW's protocol, WWW HTTP, runs on top of the Internet's transmission control protocol/Internet protocol ("TCP/IP").
Web sites (also known as web pages or home pages) on the WWW are typically built using the hyper-text markup language ("HTML"), which allows uniform resource locators ("URLs") to be embedded into the script that is used to build pages of such sites. URLs are unique addresses for servers (or for web pages running on servers) on the network, which provide a complete HTTP resource path. URLs thus serve as hypertext links that a browser of the page may select to access further web pages, either on the same server or on other servers of the WWW.
A web browser is an application running on a node of a network that, in WWW-compatible type network systems, allows users of a particular server to view available information and thus allows the user to search graphical and text-based files that are linked together using hypertext links embedded in documents or files. Such documents are typically available from servers on the network that understand HTTP. When a given web page of a server is retrieved by a user using another server, the document retrieved may have various hypertext links embedded therein and a local copy of the page is created local to the retrieving user. Thus, when the user clicks on a hypertext link, the locally-stored information related to the selected hypertext link is typically sufficient to allow the user's machine to open a connection across the Internet to the server indicated by the hypertext link and its associated URL.
For one user of a server of a network to be able to access other servers of the network, the other servers' addresses, which are URLs, must be known. In particular, to be able to access or browse an existing web site, a user must know of the site's existence and URL. One of the problems that has arisen related to use of the WWW is the location of information and web sites of interest. Because of the vast size and decentralized nature of the Internet and WWW, it can be difficult to locate web sites relating to a particular subject, or to learn of their existence.
In response to this problem, various web sites contain servers with search engines that allow browsers to search for various locations on the WWW that are related to particular subjects of interest to the user. Some current search engines include Yahoo|.TM. and AltaVista.TM., whose URLs are, respectively: "www.yahoo.com" and "www.altavista.digital.com". A typical search engine may present data in, for example, a hierarchical, organized way; with an index or table of contents; or in response to a search query containing various keywords. These and other ways of providing information to the browser may be considered means for providing for a user to search for web sites of interest on the WWW. These search engines typically maintain a large database with information matching various web sites to various subjects or associated topics. Thus, the database may be searched by keyword or presented in other organized ways to users.
Because of the decentralized nature of the Internet and WWW, and because new sites may be added at any time, it can be difficult for search engines to develop and maintain an accurate, up-to-date database of existing web sites. For this reason, many search engines allow web sites to be "registered" with the search engine. The more web sites that register with the search engine, the more attractive the search engine becomes to potential users. Conversely, a web site owner also has an interest in being registered with as many search engines as possible.
For example, for the Great Chips company to register its web site, "www.great.sub.-- chips.com", with the Nifty Search Engine company, having an URL of "www.nifty.sub.-- search.sub.-- engine.com", the great chips.com web site manager can provide information characterizing the web site to Nifty Search Engine, which can then add this information to its database. Users subsequently using the Nifty Search Engine can be made aware of Great Chips' web site in response to an appropriate search query, for instance.
A web site may be registered with a given search engine, typically, by supplying various pre-defined types of information characterizing their web site. For example, there may be name-value fields for a company's name, address, contact information, web site name, description field, and the like. For each web site registered, one or more descriptions can typically be selected from a pre-defined list of categories and/or subcategories defined for each search engine, such as "entertainment," "entertainment: video games," "engineering," "books," "hobbies: beads," "hobbies: magic," and the like. The proper selection from these categories and other information entered in various fields helps a search engine locate the web site in response to queries, or otherwise helps the search engine to properly categorize the web site.
Site managers or owners are often interested in registering their web sites with a large number of search engines to maximize the visibility of their web site to those using search engines. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to maintain an up-to-date, accurate registration with a large number of search engines, for a variety of reasons. There are currently estimated to be hundreds of search engines on the Internet. Each search engine typically has a unique data format, as well as a unique method of registering. For example, some search engines require registration by a user filling out an HTML form accessed from the search engine's web site, whereas some require registration by emailing a specially-formatted email message to the search engine at its email address. Further, the number and type of information fields and pre-defined categories can be different from one search engine to another. Thus, it can be difficult for a web site to be registered with a large number of search engines due to their large number, differences in the registration process, and differences in the types of information needed for registration with a particular search engine.
Additionally, new search engines can be added, and established search engines can change their registration or database format, requiring further registration or re-registration. Finally, aspects of the web site itself may change or require different emphasis in the way it is registered with search engines, which can require re-registering with all currently-registered search engines as well as registering with additional search engines.
One additional problem is that users may be relatively new to computer applications and may have difficulty registering with a strangely-formatted registration page of a search engine, or with learning to register with multiple search engines.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages and drawbacks of the known art and to provide improved methods and apparatuses for registering web sites with search engines.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Automatic web site registration with multiple search engines


Disclosed herein is an RF probe for use with a medical imaging apparatus, the probe comprising an intracorporeal self-tuned resonator coil for receiving a signal indicative of an image of an interior portion of a body. The resonator coil is preferably coupled to a transmission medium having a characteristic impedance such that the resonator coil is substantially self-matching with the transmission medium's characteristic impedance. Preferably the resonator coil comprises an open wound conductor having a plurality of turns. The length of the resonator coil can be used to tune the resonator coil to a desired frequency, such as the Larmour frequency. Further, a return lead of the transmission medium is preferably coupled to an end of the conductor, and a signal lead of the transmission medium is preferably coupled to a point on the winding, thereby defining a turns ratio for the resonator coil. The turns ratio of the resonator coil can be used to match the resonator coil to the characteristic impedance of the transmission medium. Because the resonator coil of the present invention is self-tuning and self-matching, it avoids the use of bulky and relatively expensive tuning and matching circuits.

MRI imaging has become a widely-used and well-known imaging modality for generating images of interior portions of the human body. Because those of ordinary skill in the art are quite familiar with the basic concepts of MRI, those concepts need only be briefly set forth as background for the invention.
Toward that end, as is well-known, MRI machines are used to create images of interior portions of the body. In doing so, an MRI machine applies a magnetic field to at least a portion of the body to be imaged. A typical magnetic field strength is 1.5 T, although other field strengths are used (commonly in the range of 0.5 T–3.0 T). Thereafter, localized gradients are created in the magnetic field, and RF pulses are applied to a target area representing the portion of the body for which an image is desired. A typical frequency for the RF pulse is the Larmour frequency (around 63 MHz for protons in a magnetic field of 1.5 T). Protons in the target area absorb energy from the RF pulse in an amount sufficient to change their spin direction. Once the RF pulse is turned off, the protons release excess stored energy as they return to their natural alignment in the magnetic field. When releasing this stored energy, signals are created that are indicative of an image of the target area. When properly sensed, such signals can be processed by a computer to generate an MR image of the target area.
It is known in the art to receive such signals through the use of an intracorporeal RF probe (also referred to as an RF receiver). When disposed in the body proximate to the target area, such RF probes are capable of sensing the proton emissions and providing the sensed signal to the image generating computer system by way of a transmission medium such as a coaxial cable. Because such probes may be inserted into the body through very small openings, it is important that those receivers have as small of a mechanical envelope as possible.
Also, it is important that the receiver coil resonate (i.e., efficiently store energy) at the Larmour frequency. To resonate a particular frequency f, the inductive components (L) and capacitive components (C) of the receiver coil should satisfy the following equation:
  f  =      1          2            π                    LC
The RF probes in prevalent use for MR imaging can be grouped into two basic categories (1) an elongated coil with a thin cross section, and (2) a loopless antenna (dipole) consisting of a single thin wire. An example of an elongated coil design for an RF receiver is described by Quick et al. in Single-Loop Coil Concepts for Intravascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, vol. 41, pp. 751–758 (1999), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. An example of a loopless antenna design is described by Ocali and Atalar in Intravascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using a Loopless Catheter Antenna, Magnetic Resonance in Imaging, vol. 37, pp. 112–118 (1997), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Other coil examples are Helmholtz coils (which typically consist of two single loop coils in parallel) and flat coils.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary prior art coil receiver assembly. A single loop coil 100 senses the signal emitted by the target area responsive to the RF pulses. Both coil 100 and thin coaxial cable 102 can be disposed inside the body of the patient. The signal passes from coil 100 through thin coaxial cable 102 to thicker coaxial cable 104, which may be RG 58 cable or the like. Together the thin and thick coaxial cables 102 and 104 have a length of λ/2 and form part of a tuned resonance circuit. The coil receiver assembly also includes an external tuning/matching circuit 106 as shown, wherein variable tuning capacitor Ct forms a resonant circuit with the inductance of the coil 100 and cables 102 and 104, and variable matching capacitor Cm matches the input impedance of the resonance circuit with that of the receiver (50 Ω).
FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) illustrate an exemplary prior art antenna receiver assembly. Dipole antenna 110 is shown in FIG. 2(a). The dipole antenna 110 is formed of two separated conductors 112 and 114. As the current path is not complete, charge oscillates between the two tips of the conductors 112 and 114. When implemented, the antenna 110 is coupled with thin coaxial cable and disposed within a catheter 120. Catheter 120 may be inserted within the body proximate to the target area for imaging thereof. For satisfactory quality of performance, the input impedance of the antenna 110 (ZIN) must be matched with the characteristic impedance of coaxial cable 122 shown in FIG. 2(b). Also, to avoid interference caused by antenna resonation, detuning is needed to electronically damp the receiver's resonance by presenting the coaxial cable to the antenna as a large magnitude impedance. For these purposes, external tuning/matching/decoupling circuit 124 is provided to link the catheter 120 with coaxial cable 122 (which itself terminates at connector 126).
Such prior art receiver assemblies suffer from various shortcomings, namely (1) the single loop coil design exemplified by FIG. 1 works well for near field resolution but not for far field resolution (due to field cancellation occurring at a relatively short distance from the loop)—the near field and far field pertaining to the physical location of the imaging field relative to the receiver, (2) the antenna design exemplified by FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) works well for far field resolution but not for near field resolution (as determined by the device's geometry which defines a near/far transition zone), (3) each design requires the use of bulky and relatively expensive external matching circuits and tuning circuits, and (4) the coil design of FIG. 1 allows heat to build up as current passes through the coil. While Helmholtz coils and flat coils do not suffer from troubling near/far field transition zones, those coils require the use of external matching and tuning circuits.
Additional coil designs are shown in the article Rivas et al., "In Vivo Real-Time Intravascular MRI", Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, 4 (2), pp. 223–232, 2002 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference), all of which suffer from the same or similar shortcomings mentioned above.
Therefore, there is a need in the art of medical imaging for an RF probe that provides high performance in both near field and the far field imaging. Further, there is a need in the art of medical imaging for an RF probe that avoids the incorporation of bulky external electrical components such as matching circuits and tuning circuits which not only adversely affect the size of its mechanical envelope but also add to the cost of the receiver.

Method and apparatus for intracorporeal medical imaging using a self-tuned coil


A planning assistance method for correcting joint elements is provided. In accordance with the method, the actual shape of at least one part of the joint element which is of interest is detected. The actual shape is compared with an intended shape, and the comparison data is used to plan the abrasion of joint element parts.

Changes in the shape of joint bones are a possible cause of arthritic joint diseases. Bone anomalies can for example occur in the region of the hip joint which lead to bone collisions in the joint region when the leg moves and—in particular in the longer term—cause attrition complaints. In surgical correcting steps, the femoral head or acetabular rim—both are examples of joint elements in the terminology of the present invention—are for example returned back to their natural shape in order to prevent collisions between the femur and the acetabulum in the joint region, wherein the intention is to restore the natural shape of the femoral head.
In open (non-arthroscopic) surgeries, spherical templates are sometimes used in accordance with the prior art in order to check the sphericity of the femoral head. Using these and other currently used means, it is not possible to systematically compare the desired state with the current shape of the joint element accurately. In particular, it is not possible to monitor and control the abrasion depth to the necessary and desired level of accuracy.

Planning assistance for correcting joint elements


The disclosure provides modified biotin-binding proteins which can be expressed in soluble form in high yield in bacteria. Also provided are fusion proteins comprising the modified biotin-binding protein and an antigen. The disclosure further provides non-hemolytic variants of alpha-hemolysin from S. aureus and fusion protein comprising non-hemolytic variant of alpha-hemolysin and a biotin-binding domains. Immunogenic compositions comprising the proteins are also disclosed and use of such immunogenic compositions for inducing an immune response or for vaccinating a subject are also disclosed.

Biotin-binding protein and their derivatives can be widely used in various applications. However, production or purification of recombinant biotin-binding proteins can be very difficult. When expressed in E. coli, most biotin-binding proteins tend to accumulate in inclusion bodies, denaturing, refolding and tedious downstream processing are required in the preparation of active proteins. Expression in E. coli is preferable because of the low cost of production and the potential for further engineering; thus, biotin-binding proteins that can be efficiently produced in E. coli are highly sought after. Further, expression E. coli also provides the possibility to generate recombinant fusion proteins containing biotin-binding protein for various applications.
Accordingly, there is need in the art for biotin-binding proteins and fusion proteins containing biotin-binding proteins which can be expressed in soluble form in high yields in E. coli.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Modified biotin-binding protein, fusion proteins thereof and applications


A method is disclosed for producing elastomer compounds for use in the production of rubbers. At least one elastomer to be processed for the production of an elastomer mixture can be slowly added to a mixer/extruder and is mixed and plasticized and/or masticated (melted) while it passes through the mixer/extruder. The elastomer, when slowly added to the mixer/extruder, can be present in a fluid medium in an evenly distributed form.

The invention relates to a method and device for manufacturing elastomer mixtures (elastomer compounds) to fabricate rubber articles, in which at least one elastomer to be processed for manufacturing the elastomer mixture is metered into a mixing extruder, and mixed and plasticized and/or masticated ("melted open") while passing through the mixing extruder.
Elastomer mixtures can include a continuous elastomer matrix and a filler incorporated into the elastomer matrix, and are starting products for rubber manufacture. For example, the unprocessed elastomer can be natural rubber or synthetic rubber, e.g., nitryl rubber. Soot particles or silicate particles can be used as the filler, for example. The degree of distribution and degree of dispersal (degree of dispersion) have been shown to considerably influence the technical properties of the rubber. In known methods for manufacturing such elastomer mixtures, closed mixers are used for dispersive and distributive mixing along with plasticizing and/or mastication of the filler or elastomer.
To simplify the manufacture of elastomer mixtures for the rubber industry, an attempt was made to replace the traditional forms of presentation of natural or synthetic rubber, e.g., ball form, with liquid or powdery elastomer as the raw material. In addition, the particle form of presentation is a precondition for continuous rubber mixture manufacture.
The use of liquid elastomers has thus far only been rudimentarily developed, since this would require a rethinking and considerable investment on the part of the rubber industry. However, it would seem that powdery elastomers are proving themselves as a starting material for the manufacture of elastomer mixtures in both discontinuous and continuous procedures. In turn, this made it necessary to provide methods for manufacturing powdery rubber. Methods were developed for spray-drying and freeze-drying of nitryl rubber or natural rubber. The flash evaporation method or milling procedures were also used to generate smaller particles. However, one disadvantage to all of these methods lies in the stickiness and creeping characteristic of the generated rubber particles. Nonetheless, powder products were fabricated by dusting the particles with very fine organic and inorganic powders to deactivate the cohesive effects. Unfortunately, undesired contaminants were introduced into the manufactured particles time and again as a result of these measures.
As a consequence, a method was developed for manufacturing rubber/filler mixtures in powder form. In this case, a stable rubber/water emulsion is first formed independent of the type and state of the rubber (e.g., solution or emulsion polymerizates, natural rubber or nitryl rubber). This emulsion receives a filler (soot or silicate) whose particle size distribution had previously been precisely set, and which exists in an aqueous suspension along with various additives. The latex emulsion and filler suspension were homogenized in a mixing container via intensive blending. The precipitation process is then concluded under continuous blending in a reaction container, and the obtained precipitation product is transferred to a homogenization container for further processing. The bulk of the water is then removed in a centrifuge, whereupon the finely distributed mixture is dried to a residual water content of less than 1%. The resultant rubber/filler mixtures obtained in a powder form are free-flowing after drying, and suitable for the manufacture of rubber products in a continuous procedure.
To manufacture the rubber or rubber articles, the powdery rubber/filler mixtures obtained in this way are then plasticized and/or masticated ("melted open") in a twin-shaft extruder along with softeners and other admixtures, which yields a continuous, liquid polymer matrix with filler particles suspended therein. Adding a vulcanizing agent creates additional crosslinkages between the elastomer molecules, so that the subsequently cooled "mass" has the desired rubbery properties. This makes it possible to fabricate tailor-made rubber mixtures depending on the type of used elastomer, and on the type, size and content of filler particles. Required to this end are at least two different powdery rubber/filler mixtures, from which a wide range of rubber mixtures can in turn be obtained by establishing a suitable mixture ratio between them.
EP-1035155A1 discloses such a method for manufacturing powdery, free-flowing rubber/filler mixtures (rubber/filler batches). The rubber and soot are precipitated to "granulates" (powdered rubber) via coagulation in a suspension with the corresponding rubber and soot. The powdered rubber has a round shape with a diameter of 1 to 3 mm, wherein the soot envelops the polymer. The soot is already present in a pre-distributed form. The soot enables easy handling, in particular simple storage and metering.
This method can basically be used to manufacture all important rubbers (natural or synthetic) as granulate. Various additives and softeners can be incorporated into the granulate, thereby simplifying the metering of components into the mixing aggregate.
However, it has also been shown that there are disadvantages to manufacturing rubber using powdery rubber/filler mixtures too. Specifically, an examination of the entire energy balance from natural rubber or artificial to the end product shows that this type of rubber manufacture is energy-intensive. Sine the water is already removed while manufacturing the powdered rubber (rubber/filler mixture), and this powdered rubber is subsequently "melted open" in a twin-shaft extruder along with a vulcanizing agent and other admixtures, a very high level of energy must be expended for melting open and incorporating the fillers. In addition to the high energy costs, care must here always be taken that the temperature of the product in the extruder does not exceed a critical temperature, since the elastomer might otherwise become damaged. The elastomer polymer chains are here broken down into smaller fragments and/or chemically modified by the high temperature, and/or additional organic constituents, in particular softeners, are broken down, and/or premature crosslinkage can be initiated in the presence of vulcanizing agent.

Elastomer mixtures for rubber manufacture


An applicator device includes a print head that applies droplets to a target, and a processor. The processor is configured to acquire a value relating to a contact of the applicator device against the target, detect movement of the applicator device on the target, and control, when the value is within a set range, the print head to apply droplets on the target based on the detected movement.

In the related art, there are devices that apply a droplet to an application surface of an application medium based on movement of the device on the application surface of the application medium. For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H10-35034 describes a manual printing device that prints on a recording medium by being manually scanned on the recording medium. Specifically, the printing device described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H10-35034 prints by spraying, in accordance with the amount of movement of the device, ink from a print head onto the recording medium when the device is manually scanned on the recording medium by a user.

Applicator device, application method, and non-transitory recording medium


A formwork, a device for clamping the formwork and a mechanism for actuating the clamping are taught. The formwork includes two molds, which mount together. The clamping device secures the mounted molds and allows the formwork to operate. The clamping device includes a movable member and a tension member, which locks the movable member to protruding sections of each mold. This clamping device is duplicated along the length of the protruding sections. The mechanism for actuating the clamping exerts force upon the movable member to secure it between the tension member and the protruding sections. This same mechanism can withdraw the movable member from the clamp. By this, the clamping is accomplished and a more efficient formwork is achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for molding products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a formwork, a means for clamping the formwork and a means for actuating the clamping of the formwork.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Techniques for clamping a formwork are described in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 57-44447, 57-45645 and 58-49372. In these techniques, angle members are secured to joining portions of a pair of two molds, constituting a formwork, thereby to form protruding pieces. The pair of protruding pieces are clamped to each other by a number of wedges disposed along a longitudinal direction of the formwork. The number of wedges are connected in series. By pulling one end of the series of wedges in the longitudinal direction of the formwork, the wedges are moved as a unit so that the protruding pieces are clamped at each wedge portion along the longitudinal direction of the formwork.
However, in these techniques, both the action of clamping the formwork and the action of maintaining the clamped condition are performed by the wedges. As a result, the force exerted by the wedges on both the protruding pieces, to bring the protruding pieces into engagement, becomes necessarily large. Therefore, a large force is required to pull the wedges, since the frictional force at the wedge surfaces is high. Accordingly, since an expansion is caused in the member connecting the wedges, the intervals of the wedges and the intervals of positions at which the wedges impart the forces are deviated and not coincident with each other. Thus, drawbacks have been encountered in which it becomes impossible to clamp uniformly along the longitudinal direction. At the same time, the correction of the wedge intervals must be made while correcting relative positions with respect to other wedges, which requires many man-hours.
Furthermore, the direction of the pulling of the wedges and the direction of force exerted to bring the pair of protruding pieces into engagement are different from each other by 90 degrees. As a result, since the turn of the direction of the force is effected on the surfaces of the wedges, the pulling force of the wedges is greatly reduced.
Moreover, in order to transmit the pulling force across the series of the wedges, it is necessary to connect the wedges throughout the formwork continuosly in the longitudinal direction by a member. Therefore, it is necessary to form a hole in a circular ring (a so-called "tire") for rotating the formwork, or in a protruding portion of a reinforcing rib or the like. Thus, the drawbacks are the inefficiency in wasted man-hours and the degraded strength of the ring or rib.


A method for forming a metal silicide contact for a semiconductor device includes forming a refractory metal layer over a substrate, including active and non-active area of said substrate, and forming a cap layer over the refractory metal layer. A counter tensile layer is formed over the cap layer, wherein the counter tensile layer is selected from a material such that an opposing directional stress is created between the counter tensile layer and the cap layer, with respect to a directional stress created between the refractory metal layer and the cap layer.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing processes, and, more particularly, to a method for controlling voiding and bridging in silicide formation.
In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, salicide (or self-aligned silicide) materials are formed upon gate conductors and diffusion regions to reduce the line resistance of a CMOS device, thereby improving the speed characteristics thereof. In salicide technology, a refractory metal or a near noble metal, such as titanium for example, is deposited on a silicon substrate. The deposited titanium is then annealed, thereby forming a silicide layer only on the exposed areas of the substrate. The areas of unreacted titanium left on the dielectric may then be selectively etched away without a masking step. Thus, the process is "self-aligning."
As circuit devices have continued to shrink in size, however, it has been found that titanium silicide (TiSi2) becomes an unsatisfactory silicide material since the sheet resistance thereof begins to sharply increase when the linewidth of the device decreases below 0.20 μm. More recently, cobalt disilicide (CoSi2) has been used as a replacement for titanium in salicide structures since it does not suffer from a linewidth dependent sheet resistance problem. On the other hand, the use of cobalt silicide structures is not without its own drawbacks. For example, unlike titanium, a cobalt layer requires a cap layer such as titanium nitride (TiN) due to the sensitivity of cobalt to contaminants during the annealing process.
When cobalt reacts with silicon on the active areas of a device, there is a dimensional reduction of the material from that of the original cobalt metal-free surface due to material densification during silicide formation. In other words, if one (volumetric) unit of metal is deposited on the top and sides of a gate structure, for example, after the silicidation process, the overall height and width of the structure will shrink depending on the extent of reaction on specific planes of the structure. These dimensional changes for different parts of the device structure require that the protective cap deposited over the silicide metal either flex due to changes in different areas of the device below, or allow voids to open up in certain locations thereunder to compensate for volumetric changes occurring at various points below the cap. Unfortunately, the differential stresses, voiding and/or delamination that can occur could allow silicon and/or metal to move into undesired areas, resulting in subsequent voiding and electrical bridging.

Method for controlling voiding and bridging in silicide formation

International Business Machines Corporation


An integral rim (J') having frustoconical seats (2') inclined 15.degree..+-.1.degree., the axial widths (P') of which are greatly decreased as compared with the axial widths (P) of the known frustoconical seats (2), and having a mounting groove (3') of reduced height (H') so as to permit an increase in the space available for the braking means. The assembly of a rim (J') as described above and of a tire (T) having beads the tips of which have been truncated permits better resistance of said beads to fatigue while permitting easy mounting. The invention is employed for tires and rims intended for heavy vehicles.

The present invention relates to an integral rim with frustoconical seats inclined 15.degree..+-.1.degree. on which it is intended to mount a tire of the "heavy vehicle" type without independent air tube. It also concerns one assembly of such a rim with a tire, the beads of which have seats of adapted shape.
Such known assemblies, which are very widely used, have significant advantages: the danger of the throwing off of metal parts being eliminated, greater safety is assured; as the tires used are tires without independent air tube, the absence of the latter and of the flap results in a substantial saving, while avoiding rubbing and pinching between tire, tube and rim, and thus heating and puncture of the inner tube.
The known rims with 15.degree. inclined seats have dimensions which are standardized in accordance with the international standards in force (T.R.A.; ETRTO). Tires having beads with frustoconical seats are mounted on such rims in known manner. The generatrix of a seat is either linear forming an angle of generally between 15.degree. and 20.degree. with the axis of rotation of the tire, or is formed of two segments, one inclined 15.degree. and the other, which extends the first axially towards the inside, being inclined by an angle of more than 15.degree., and even more than 25.degree.. The standard rims are provided in their central portion with a so-called mounting groove which permits the mounting of the tire on the rim. The radially inside diameter of this groove is a major obstacle to the selection of brake drums or disk brake calipers of large diameter, which would permit greater braking efficiency.
Any increase in the diameter of the mounting groove without any other change, either of the beads of the tire intended to be mounted or of the other parts of the rim, makes the mounting of the tire practically impossible.

Rim with inclined seats and assembly of such a rim with a tire

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin - Michelin & Cie


A system for automated adaptation and improvement of speaker authentication in a voice biometric system environment, comprising a speech sample collector, a target selector, a voice analyzer, a voice data modifier, and a call flow creator. The speech sample collector retrieves speech samples from a database of enrolled participants in a speaker authentication system. The target selector selects target users that will be used to test the speaker authentication system. The voice analyzer extracts a speech component data set from each of the speech samples. The call flow creator creates a plurality of call flows for testing the speaker authentication system, each call flow being either an impostor call flow or a legitimate call flow. The call flows created by the call flow creator are used to test the speaker authentication system.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of voice biometric systems encompassing speakers in communication networks, and particularly to the field of automated adaptation and improvement of speaker authentication accuracy in a communication network.
Discussion of the State of the Art
The field of voice biometrics has grown considerably with advances in speech recognition technology and computer processing capability. A speaker authentication system is a method for authenticating a speaker's identity using the acoustical elements of his voice. For example, an individual may wish to access his customer account using a telephone, while an enterprise handling the account may wish to ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access specific accounts. In these situations, the individual could authenticate her identity using her voice rather than (for example) inputting dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) digits on a telephone keypad to provide a personal identification number or PIN.
FIG. 4 illustrates a typical prior art architecture designed to support speaker authentication in a communication network. Speaker authentication system 401 performs two main functions, namely enrollment and authentication.
In the enrollment function, a speaker 410 speaks into the system through a voice interface 413 such as a telephone, microphone or other audio input mechanism. Speaker 410, whose identity is already known using other means, such as account and password through, for example, DTMF digit entry, is asked to repeat a collection of pre-configured phrases through an audio input mechanism (for example, a telephone) to be recognized by speech recognition engine 420. By analyzing various components of the speaker's voice data, enrollment processor 422 learns the speaker's voice pattern and creates a voice reference model that is then stored in speaker database 426. The same procedure would apply for each additional speaker, for example speaker 411 and speaker 412, who desire to enroll into speaker authentication system 401.
In subsequent voice interactions with the system, a speaker 411, who has previously enrolled with the system as described in the previous paragraph, can now authenticate her identity by using just her voice. Authentication interface 430 prompts the speaker to speak her account number and/or other identifying information. For example, the account number is recognized by speech recognition engine 420 and the corresponding account is accessed. Authentication processor 431 retrieves the associated voice reference model for speaker 411 from the speaker database 426. The speech pattern is then compared to the voice reference model by the comparison function 432. The comparison is checked to see whether the resulting score satisfies some threshold condition as defined by scoring threshold definition 433 to qualify as authenticated; for example, speaker authentication may only be completed when a confidence threshold of 95% is achieved. A decision on whether or not to authenticate the speaker is then made by the decision function 434.
Since an individual's voice from both the enrollment and authentication steps can often contain noise elements (including but not limited to ambient noise, additive noise resulting from the characteristics of the communication network, voice changes due to age, stress, or health, etc.) that could impede the accuracy of the speaker's true voice pattern, speaker authentication system 401 is apt to have a reduced accuracy that could result in security and usability issues by allowing false accepts (i.e. authenticating impostors), allowing false rejects (i.e. genuine speakers are rejected), or other unintended system issues. In order to mitigate these issues, a speaker authentication system must undergo regular testing and tuning to improve the authentication process by uncovering and removing security and usability issues.
In a typical voice biometric testing environment, a set of test speakers 451 use a test set of spoken account numbers, or other identifying information, of known enrolled speakers 400 to test the accuracy of the authentication system 431. In an example of one testing scenario, a test speaker 452 will speak the account number for a previously enrolled speaker 410. The authentication processor 431 uses the speech that is digitally recognized through an automatic speech recognition server 420 and retrieves the voice reference model that is associated to speaker 411 from the speaker database 426 and compared by the comparison function 432. The comparison is scored and cross-referenced to the scoring threshold definition 433. A decision on whether or not to authenticate the speaker is then made by the decision function 434. Since the testing effort knows that the speaker 452 is indeed an impostor, if the system authenticates the speaker 452 as speaker 410, then it is known that there is a security problem with the system.
The current art of testing voice biometric systems by manually creating test speaker samples and running them through the voice authentication system one-by-one would provide little improvement to the voice authentication system since creating enough test samples to thoroughly exercise the system would not be practical. Furthermore, the human labor required to create voice test samples in the current art would be incredibly expensive.
The problem with the current art is further compounded when speakers uses various communication devices and networks with a varying degrees of quality.
What is needed is the automatic creation of voice samples for testing as well as an automated way of presenting the test scenarios to the system in order to identify security and usability issues.

System and method for automated adaptation and improvement of speaker authentication in a voice biometric system environment


Embodiments are directed to improving transportation of tubular structures. A roller may have a housing having a vertical axis and one or more upper flanges. The one or more upper flanges may have an upper surface that is transverse and non-perpendicular to the vertical axis of the housing. Optionally, the upper surface may be curved. The roller may have one or more wheels that are rotatably coupled to the housing and that extend downward from the housing.

Tubular structures, such as concrete forms including cylindrical cardboard tubes available under the mark SONOTUBE®, are often used as containers to transport cargo by way of airlifts, such as airdrops. The tubular structures are at least partially filled with supplies and then carried to aircraft. The tubular structures have shapes and dimensions that make them challenging and awkward to carry. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.


A reduced size, hermetically sealed semiconductor transducer and methods for fabricating the same. In a preferred embodiment, the transducer comprises a transducer wafer including a diaphragm which deflects upon the application of a force thereto. At least one semiconductor transducer element and one electrical contact are disposed on a top surface of the transducer wafer, with the electrical contact coupled to the semiconductor element and extending to a peripheral portion of the wafer. A cover member is provided that is dimensioned to surround the semiconductor element. A peripheral glass frit bond is formed between the cover member and the transducer wafer, and between the cover member and at least a portion of the electrical contact. An aperture is formed in a top portion of the cover member, positioned above a region bounded by the peripheral glass bond. This aperture functions to prevent air gap formation in the peripheral glass frit bond. A sealing member hermetically seals the aperture, whereby a vacuum is maintained between the transducer element and the cover member, the transducer element thereby being hermetically sealed from the external environment, while at least a portion of the electrical contact remains exposed to enable subsequent wire bonding thereto.

Semiconductor piezoresistive transducers have been widely known for many years and are used in a great variety of applications and harsh environments which require the transducer to be protected from the environment. In addition, in order to provide absolute pressure measurements, the transducer sensing elements must often be contained within a cavity of a known pressure, usually a vacuum, to provide a pressure reference. This vacuum cavity must of course be hermetically sealed to maintain the vacuum and protect the sensing elements. Such transducers are termed "absolute" pressure transducers, and may be fabricated as extremely small devices for use in the medical field, as pressure sensors in automobiles, and so on. The smaller the transducer can be manufactured for the given pressure range, the wider variety of applications that are possible and the cheaper the price.
Techniques for hermetically sealing semiconductor piezoresistive transducers from hostile environments have generally limited how small the transducers could be made since additional lateral space has been required to accommodate a hermetically sealing cover structure. Essentially, the piezoresistive transducer employs silicon resistive elements, the resistance of which varies according to the intensity or magnitude of an applied force upon an associated diaphragm. Such resistors comprise serpentine or tortuous line patterns. It is these resistor elements which must be hermetically isolated from the external environment to ensure proper sensing performance.
An example of such hermetically sealed environmentally protected absolute piezoresistive transducers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,901 entitled "Method of Making Integral Transducer Structures Employing High Conductivity Surface Features" issued on Mar. 26, 1991 to A. Kurtz et al. and assigned to the assignee herein. The piezoresistive elements in that patent are formed over the central region of a dielectric layer which overlays a silicon diaphragm. The elements are arranged to form a Wheatstone bridge where the four circuit nodes of the bridge are configured as four p+ silicon electrical contact posts disposed on the peripheral comers of the device. Electrical interconnections, also comprised of p+ silicon, interconnect the contact posts with the piezoresistive transducer elements. A bias voltage is brought to two of the contacts, while the voltage is measured between the other two contacts. This is accomplished by bonding external wires to each contact, which wires are run to an external voltage source and potentiometer.
As the silicon diaphragm deflects in response to an applied force or pressure, the resistance of the piezoresistive transducer elements changes, thereby changing the measured voltage. The actual applied force or pressure can then readily be determined from the measured voltage.
The hermetic seal for this device was provided by fabricating a peripheral flange on the device's outer periphery beyond the contact posts. In this way an absolute cavity can be made which will provide a vacuum reference. A glass sheet cover is then bonded to the top of the flange to create the hermetic seal. The glass sheet is also bonded to the outside of the contact posts, while openings are left atop the contact posts to enable subsequent wire bonding thereto. A major drawback of this configuration is that the peripheral flange undesirably increases the size of the overall device. Moreover, the contact posts must be enlarged to provide adequate surface area for bonding to both the glass sheet and to the external wire bonds. This likewise increases the size of the device.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to reduce the size of this type of transducer by eliminating the above described additional space allocated to the hermetically sealing structure of the semiconductor transducer, and the required enlargement of the contact posts.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reduced size, hermetically sealed semiconductor transducer with a vacuum cavity reference in which the hermetic sealing structure contributes only minimally to the overall size of the device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method for fabricating such a reduced size, hermetically sealed semiconductor transducer.

Hermetically sealed transducers and methods for producing the same

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In a tubular pressure chamber a drop of a DNA solution with gold particles suspended therein is atomized at the opening of a cannula by a pressure impact. The fog droplets containing the gold particles and the DNA entrained by them, are pressured by the pressure impact through a restriction at the end of the pressure chamber and thereby accelerated and focused. They subsequently traverse in free flight an evacuated specimen chamber and impact in a narrowly limited target area with a predetermined pulse, cells fixed on a holder, thereby penetrating them.

The invention concerns a process for the genetic transformation of cells, in particular plant cells, together with an apparatus to carry out the process for the insertion of particles in cells. Such a process and a corresponding apparatus are described for example in EP-A-0 270 356.
The present invention further concerns the application of the process according to the invention to the preparation of transgenic plants, together with transgenic plants obtainable by said process and the progeny thereof.
Numerous processes and methods are available at the present time for the genetic manipulation of the genotype of plants by means of the recombinant DNA technology; they are routinely used in many laboratories.
The most effectively investigated and most frequently used processes undoubtedly include the Agrobacterium transformation system.
Agrobacterium cells have on their Ti-plasmid a large DNA fragment, the so-called T-DNA region, which in the natural transformation of plant cells is integrated into the plant genome.
This natural gene transfer system may be used after carrying out different modifications as a gene vector system for the controlled transformation of plants (Chilton, M. D., 1983).
However, the Agrobacterium transformation system has the decisive disadvantage that the effective range of Agrobacteria is restricted to certain dicotyledonous plants and a few representative of the monocotyledons (Hernalsteens & al., 1984; Hookas-Van-Slogteren & al, 1984), which are insignificant from an agricultural economic standpoint. This signifies that the most important cultivated plants are not accessible for effective gene transfer.
Furthermore, the agrobacteria used are pathogens, which in their host plants induce characteristic disease symptoms in the form of cancer like tissue growths and which therefore may be handled under strict safety regulations in the laboratory only.
Alternative transformation systems, which were developed to equalize the disadvantages of the Agrobacterium transformation systems and which are directed at the transfer of exogenic DNA into plant protoplasts, such as the direct gene transfer of DNA in protoplasts (Paszkowski & al., 1984, Potrykus & al., 1986) and the microinjection of vector-free DNA in protoplasts (Steinbiss and Stabel, 1983; Morikawa and Yamada, 1985) or cells (Nomura and Komamime, 1986), must be considered problematic to the extent that the regeneration of entire plants from plant protoplasts of a plurality of plant species, in particular from the group of the gramineae still poses numerous problems at the present time.
Another disadvantage of these alternative transformation systems concerns as before, the relatively low transformation rates, which at this time have values of 1 to 5%.
These low transformation rates make it necessary to provide the DNA to be inserted with markers (for example antibiotics resistance genes), which make possible the rapid selection of the transformants from the large number of untransformed cells.
This means, however, that at the present time no satisfactory transformation process is available, which permits even the commercially efficient and cost efficient production of transgenic plants with novel and useful properties, in particular with regard to plants of the group of monocotyledoneae.
It is therefore an urgent task to develop processes making possible the rapid, efficient and reproducible transformation of all plants independently of their taxonomic position and the peculiarities resulting from it, thereby assuring the effective and economic production of transgenic plants, even commercially.
This is especially true relative to plants of the group of the monocotyledoneae, particularly those of the family of the gramineae, which includes the economically most important cultivated plants, such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, rice, millet and the like, and which therefore are of a very special economic interest, particularly as no satisfactory process is available at this time for the preparation of transgenic monocotyledonous plants. Initial attempts in this direction consist of different, very recently developed transformation processes based on the insertion of DNA into plant cells included in a higher organized unit, such as for example an intact tissue body, an embryo or a whole, completely developed plant. This involves on the one hand the injection of exogenic DNA into the young inflorescence of rye plants (de la Pena & al., 1987), and on the other, a virus infection of corn plants, transmitted by Agrobacterium, with "maize streak virus" (Grimsley & al., 1987). However, these newly developed processes also have their disadvantages; thus for example, the process first mentioned above has not been reproducible to date.
An alternative process, again involving the transformation of plant cells within a higher organized unit, is based on the bombardment of said cells with particles associated with the DNA to be transformed. The impact of these highly accelerated particles produces holes in the cell walls of the cells impacted, through which the particles enter the cell, together with their associated DNA.
By means of these so-called microprojectiles a multitude of cells may be reached very rapidly. Microprojectiles have already been used in the past for gene transfer (Klein & al., 1988; Christou & al., 1988; EP-A-0 270 356) and were found to be suitable relative to certain problem definitions. However, the commercially available ballistic devices are not particularly suitable for the bombardment of small tissue areas with correspondingly small cells, such as for example in the case of the meristems. As the metal particles are fired dry in the ballistic processes, aggregates of a few or of many particles are fired which almost always tear deep wounds in the specimen. This tendency to aggregate is further enhanced by the bonding of the DNA on the particles.
The generally very high particle velocity of the ballistic processes requires a large working distance, which leads to the strong scattering of the particles. The particle velocity can be affected in the known ballistic methods in large stages only. It is hardly possible in this manner to improve the strong scattering of the particles. However, small tissues with small cells require dense coverage of the specimen with uniformly distributed individual particles in a narrowly limited target field, in order to obtain high transformation rates. The pulse of the particles should be as similar as possible, i.e. it should be possible to control the velocity and mass, the particle density on the specimen and the particle velocity very finely, so as to be able to adapt to different tissues.

Process and apparatus for the genetic transformation of cells

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH)


A signal received under a multipath condition is buffered in storage memories 50a and 50b comprising two banks, and while overlap of write and read is allowed, the received data is supplied to matched filters 60a and 60b as much as possible, in a pipeline manner, and in-phase addition of four symbols per unit is performed in in-phase adders 80a and 80b.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a delay profile making method and a delay profile making apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
A receiver of W-CDMA system determines the arrival timings of paths that enable RAKE combining, and makes delay profiles during the process of establishing synchronization.
As for the process of making a delay profile, commonly, received data that corresponds to a given search period is temporarily stored in a storage memory; when the storing is done, the data is read at an appropriate timing and supplied to an correlation detector (i.e. matched filter) for correlation detection; in-phase addition is performed with respect to the obtained correlation level; and, utilizing this in-phase addition, power calculation is performed to make a delay profile.
Incidentally, the above power calculation that utilizes in-phase addition refers to a method of calculating power by accumulatively adding a number of in-phase data (i.e. having + or − in common) and performing square calculations with respect to the accumulative calculation values, instead of performing a square calculation on a per received data basis and adding the calculation results. The accumulative calculation has the merit of enlarging the number and improving the S/N.
Typically, the pattern of pilot signals and such, which provides the foundation in delay profile making, is a pattern in which simply the same positive or negative data such as "+1" and "−1" continues.
This, consequently, makes it possible to accumulatively add a given number of correlation levels that are output from a matched filter (i.e. correlation detector) on a continuous basis, and perform in-phase addition operations efficiently.
In such case, changing the number of symbols that are subject to in-phase addition is not difficult, and when efficient power calculation is desired, the number of symbols that are subject to in-phase addition needs to be increased.
However, as described in W-CDMA Communication Systems, ed. Keiji Tachikawa, 2nd ed. (Tokyo: Maruzen, 2001), 109–110, the secondary CPICH in the CPICH (Common Pilot Channel), which is a physical layer in W-CDMA system, uses patterns, in which "+1" and "−1" exist in a mixed manner, for pilot symbol patterns.
Consequently, if correlation detection is performed with respect to the secondary CPICH (referring mainly to cases where channel estimation is performed for each path while the adaptive array antenna is in use), as in the conventional case, by simply accumulatively adding the correlation levels, the positive data and the negative data cancel out each other, and the accumulative addition value becomes 0, thereby making it impossible to detect correlation.
Therefore, performing in-phase addition requires ingenuity that divides data on a per pattern basis and that adds the data at the corresponding positions in respective patterns (i.e. data that share the same + and −).
For instance, if the basic pattern is "+1, −1, −1, +1," it becomes necessary to divide and extract output from a matched filter per four symbols, and add the +1's and the −1's.
However, data processing performed on a per 4-symbol unit basis necessarily increases the number of times of operation and increases the time required for the accumulative addition operation processing. If a method stores all received data from a search period and performs correlation detection as in the conventional case, the processing time before delay profile making becomes long compared to the conventional case, and this becomes an obstacle to timely establishment of synchronization.
Moreover, where the secondary CPICH is used in delay profile making, it is preferable that, before the accumulative addition of four symbols of data (correlation levels) is complete, the following four symbols are output from a matched filter, and furthermore, in view of processing efficiency, it is important that four symbols of data flows in continuously in a pipeline manner, and the conventional art fails to meet these demands.

Delay profile making method and delay profile making apparatus

Abstract: In the buffering in storage memories 50a and 50b, processor 40 adaptively changes the search period based on timing information acquired in advance.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to compositions containing probiotic bacteria and uronic acid oligosaccharides. The compositions can suitably be used as infant nutrition and advantageously reduce the incidence of infection.

Infant formula generally aim to mimic the compositional features and (protective) effects of human breast milk. One major step forward in this development is the inclusion of prebiotic fiber in the infant formula. Prebiotic fiber is also present in human breast milk and stimulates a healthy development of the intestinal flora. It was also recently found that oral ingestion of prebiotic fibers by infants stimulates the development of a healthy immune system. A further recent development is the inclusion of probiotic bacteria in infant formula. Many studies suggest beneficial effects of the oral administration of probiotic bacteria.
Significant research is presently conducted to find optimal combinations of probiotic bacteria and prebiotic fiber (synbiotic compositions). WO2004/089115 describes a composition comprising a Lactobacillus strain and a non-digestible oligosaccharide. WO2004/00340 also describes synbiotic compositions.


A heated wiper blade for motor vehicles includes an elongated flexible beam and a heating element extending along the beam. The heating element may be configured to provide increased heat at the central portion of the blade and at the opposite ends of the blade. The heating element is comprised of an electrical conductor material that varies the amperage drawn between hot and cold ambient temperature operation. The flexible beam may include curved end portions and a flat or reduced curvature central portion. The heating element is preferably covered and sealed off to prevent loss of heat energy.

The present invention relates to windshield wiper blades for motor vehicles and the like, and in particular to an improved heated wiper blade and associated method.
Heated windshield wipers are generally known in the art, and include many different forms and designs. Some such heated wiper blades heat the wiper frame, arm, and blade, or a combination of these members, using a heating element or some other type of added assembly. While such wiper blades are somewhat effective, they are inconvenient to both the manufacturer and the end user. For example, they are either very costly to manufacture, thereby resulting in a high cost product that is passed through to the consumer, or they are very complex to install, thereby eliminating many of the do-it-yourself consumers. Also, such prior designs fail to consider that the wiper should work effectively with the windshield defrosting system of the motor vehicle as a fully integrated functional unit. Without the windshield defroster system, the windshield will freeze up with the accumulated snow and ice, creating a hazardous situation.
A unique frameless heated wiper assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,721,382, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. While such wiper assemblies are generally effective, certain improvements to the same would be advantageous.

Heated wiper blade for motor vehicles and the like


A system and method for estimating a channel in wireless communication systems using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). From the received OFDM symbols, Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimate of the channel frequency response is obtained at the pilot locations. A hypothesis test is performed on the ML estimates and the outcome of the hypothesis test is used to decide a shrinkage target. Biased estimation methods are used to shrink the ML estimates towards the shrinkage target to obtain better estimates of the channel frequency response at the pilot locations and these estimates are interpolated using a Filter to get a set of complete estimates of the channel over the resource block. The Filter is an Empirical Weiner Filter or a robust 2D-MMSE filter and the biased estimation is done using either a James-Stein (JS) estimator or a shrinkage estimator or an empirical Bayes estimator.

In pilot aided channel estimation schemes, optimal estimation of the communication channel requires knowledge of the channel correlation functions in time and frequency which are seldom known accurately. Interestingly, even when the channel correlation functions are known accurately, ill-conditioning of the computed covariance matrices degrade the performance of the optimum Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) (also called Wiener) filter.
In most practical systems the numbers of the pilots are kept minimal to reduce the resource overhead during data transmissions. In the face of such demanding requirements it is desired to obtain channel estimates which are reasonably close to optimal estimates even when (1) the statistics are not known a priori or are time varying, (2) systems are required to operate on minimal number of pilots and/or at low Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) and/or at low Signal to Noise plus Interference Ratio (SINR) and (3) the MMSE filters suffer from performance degradation due to rank deficiency of the computed correlation matrices.
Robust channel estimation methods have been proposed to address the issues faced during channel estimation. One approach is to use the Wiener filter assuming uniform ideally support limited scattering function that is a uniform power delay profile (PDP) and uniform support limited Doppler spectrum is assumed. This is supposed to be the worst case PDP and Doppler power spectrum and hence a MMSE filter designed under such assumptions is supposed to work well for a wide range of PDPs and Doppler spectrums. We call such a MMSE filter as the robust 2D-MMSE filter. However, in the case of finite number of pilots this robust 2D-MMSE filter may not perform well.

Robust channel estimation of OFDM systems

Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology


A real image mode variable magnification finder has an objective optical system with positive refracting power, an image erecting optical system, and an ocular optical system with positive refracting power. The objective optical system has a first lens unit with negative refracting power, a second lens unit with negative refracting power, a third lens unit with positive refracting power, and a fourth lens unit with negative refracting power. When the magnification of the finder is changed, at least one lens unit, namely the third lens unit is moved. In this way, the total length of the objective optical system can be reduced, and thus a compact finder is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
This Invention relates to a real image mode variable magnification finder for attachment which is constructed to be independent of a photographing optical system as in a still camera or a video camera.
2. Description of Related Art
Real image mode variable magnification finders have been designed so that an intermediate image is formed inside an image erecting system to reduce the total length of an objective unit. As an example, a design is known that a Porro prism is divided into two pieces. When this design is used, as shown in FIG. 1A, the entrance window of an objective optical system 2, in contrast with FIG. 1B, can be located at a position lower than the window of an eyepiece 4. Thus, a shift Sh of the objective optical system 2 from the optical axis can be diminished to keep parallax with a photographic lens 7 to a minimum. In particular, it is known that a prism such that light from the objective optical system 2 is reflected upward and then back minimizes interference with a film mask 5 of a camera and is most suitable for use in reducing the thickness of the camera. Also, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numeral 1 represents a finder unit; 3, a Porro prism; 6, a film; and 8, a camera case.
As will be obvious from Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication Nos. Hei 7-84184 and Hei 9-68739, it is known that, in order to place a mechanism member for changing the size of a field frame, the field frame is placed above the side face of an objective optical system including a prism, after light is reflected three times by the prism, and thereby space for the mechanism member can be provided.
Further, as set forth in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 5-53054, it is known that, in order to increase the optical path length of the back focus section of the objective optical system, it is only necessary to use a prism whose entrance surface is concave.
In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 1-257817, a technique is known that, in a real image mode finder using a Porro mirror in an image erecting optical system, an eyepiece is fixed to a frame to prevent dirt particles from penetrating into an intermediate image, providing an enclosed structure.
However, each of Hei 7-84184, Hei 5-53054, and Hei 9-68739 which are mentioned above has the problem that the adhesion of dirt particles to a field lens located on the pupil side of the intermediate image cannot be prevented because the eyepiece is movable for diopter adjustment.
Japanese Patent Preliminary Publication No. Hei 4-51108 is capable of increasing the back focal distance of the objective optical system, but has the problem that the total length of the objective optical system becomes large and thus the thickness of the camera cannot be decreased.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a real image mode variable magnification finder which has an objective optical system whose back focal distance is long and whose total length is short, rarely allows the penetration of dirt particles although diopter-adjustable, undergoes little change in performance, and is small in size.
In order to accomplish this object, according to the present invention, the real image mode variable magnification finder includes an objective optical system with positive refracting power, an image erecting optical system, and an ocular optical system with positive refracting power. The objective optical system has a first lens unit with negative refracting power, a second lens unit with negative refracting power, a third lens unit with positive refracting power, and a fourth lens unit with negative refracting power, and is designed so that when the magnification of the finder is changed, at least one lens unit, namely the third lens unit is moved.
Further, according to the present invention, the real image mode variable magnification finder is constructed so that the image erecting optical system includes a prism and the fourth lens unit with negative refracting power is configured to be integral with the entrance surface of the prism.
Still further, according to the present invention, the real image mode variable magnification finder includes an objective optical system with positive refracting power, an image erecting optical system, and an ocular optical system with positive refracting power. The image erecting optical system is composed of a prism and a mirror, and the ocular optical system is provided with at least two lenses, that is, a fixed lens and a moving lens.
This and other objects as well as the features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


Apparatus (10) for engaging at least a portion (20b) of a signature (20a) in a hopper (14) and moving the portion relative to a stack of signatures (20) in the hopper includes a stem member (110) and a suction cup (150) mounted on the stem member. The stem member (110) is supported for movement toward and away from the stack of signatures (20) A venturi tube (160) is provided in the stem member (110) for generating a vacuum which is communicated to the suction cup (150). The vacuum in the suction cup (150) causes the portion (20b) of a signature (20a) to be gripped by the suction cup (150) and moved relative to the stack of signatures (20) in the hopper (14) upon movement of the stem member (110).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating a vacuum, and particularly relates to an apparatus for generating a vacuum in a suction head for engaging and moving a signature relative to a stack of signatures in a hopper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to engage and move a signature relative to a stack of signatures in a hopper using one or more suction heads. Each suction head is connected by an air line to a source for generating a vacuum, such as a vacuum pump, which is remotely located relative to the suction head. Because the air lines have to be evacuated before a vacuum is pulled in each suction head, there is an inherent time delay between the initiation of the vacuum source and a vacuum being achieved at the suction head. Further, the air lines have to be blown down periodically to clean out paper dust which can become trapped in the vacuum system.


Plural pieces of frame data are generated and held based on image data obtained by capturing images while moving a plurality of capture devices for capturing images in different directions. A frame data group containing consecutive pieces of frame data determined to have been captured at practically the same position can be extracted from the plural pieces of held frame data. Frame data is deleted from the extracted frame data such that one piece of frame data can exist as the data captured at one position. Thus, when the frame data corresponding to a plurality of positions on a map is stored, thinned frame data is stored after being associated with the corresponding position on the map. Therefore, when virtual space in a walk-through system is designed using an IBR technology, panoramic images for reproduction of the virtual space can be efficiently generated and held.

Technology of capturing real space using a capture device mounted on a moving object, and representing the captured real space as virtual space using a computer based on the captured image data is proposed (for example, 'Building Image-Based Cybercities by Using Vehicle-Mounted Cameras' by Endo, Katayama, Tamura, Hirose, Watanabe, and Tanigawa (published by Shingaku Society, PA-3-4, pp. 276–277, in 1997), 'Building Image-Based Cybercities by Using Vehicle-Mounted Cameras(2)—Generation of Wide-Range Virtual Environment by Using Photorealistic Images —' by Hirose, Watanabe, Tanigawa, Endo, Katayama, and Tamura (published in Proceedings of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan Second Annual Conference, pp. 67–70, in 1997), etc.
A method for representing real space captured as virtual space based on the captured image data captured by the capture device mounted on a moving object can be a method of reconstructing a geometric model of real space based on captured image data, and representing it in the conventional CG technology. However, the technology is limited in correctness, precision, reality, etc. of a model. On the other hand, the image-based rendering (IBR) technology of representing virtual space using a captured image without using a model has recently attracted attention. The IBR technology produces an image from any viewpoint based on a plurality of captured images. Since the IBR technology uses captured images, realistic virtual space can be represented.
To produce walk-through system of virtual space using the above mentioned IBR technology, it is necessary to produce and present an image depending on the position in the virtual space of a user. In this type of system, each frame of captured image data is associated and stored with the position in the virtual space, the corresponding frame is obtained based on the position and the view direction of the user in the virtual space, thereby reproducing the frames.
As a common method of obtaining the position data in the real space, the position measurement system using an artificial satellite represented by the GPS (Global Positioning System) which is also used for a car navigation system, etc. can be used. A method of associating the position data obtained in the GPS with the captured image data can use a time code (Japanese Patent Publication Laid-open No. 11-168754). In this method, each frame of captured image data can be associated with position data by associating the time data contained in the position data with the time code added to each frame of captured image data.
In the walk-through presentation in the above mentioned virtual space, a user can see a desired direction from his or her viewpoint. Therefore, an image at each viewpoint is stored as a panoramic image covering a range wider than an image to be reproduced, a partial image to be reproduced is cropped and displayed from the panoramic image based on the position and the view direction of the user in the virtual space.
However, when a real city's view is captured by a capture device mounted on a vehicle as a moving object, image data of the same physical point is captured for a plurality of frames due to the condition of a traffic signal, the traffic jam, etc. Therefore, collected captured image data can contain a larger number of panoramic images at the same point. This apparently causes data overlapping. For example, wasteful panoramic images can be stored when a database of panoramic images are generated to represent virtual space. Furthermore, this also indicates wasting resources of storage media such as a hard disk, etc.

Image processing apparatus and method for producing a virtual space for walk-through


A system and method for information management is provided. The system provides for collection of data from multiple, dissimilar and disparate sources having various collection schedules by a plurality of data collectors. It further provides a central database for storage of the collected data with front-end alerts and triggers. The central database has a central data store module for data storage and a central configuration module for configuring the data as well as the components of the system. The system includes a reporting module for generating and forwarding user specific scheduled reports from the accessed data in the central database. The presentation of the data could be any time, anywhere and in any format required by the end user. The system also provides an administration module for collecting, monitoring and configuring the collected data, data collectors, central database and the reports for the end user(s).

Advances in computing technology today have provided various options for business entities when it comes to conducting business and making business decisions. Various software and hardware solutions today are used by businesses to conduct various aspects of business, including manufacturing, inventory management, marketing, sales and human resources management. Various data indicators are used to forecast business conditions overcome competition and operate efficiently.
Availability of critical information at all times and everywhere is important for a business entity's (or "enterprise") success. It is not only important to measure performance metrics but strategic growth drivers as well. Establishing a balanced view throughout an enterprise is very critical to short term performance and long-term growth.
Traditional boundaries today are disappearing in businesses. More and more businesses are operating across time zones, business lines and marketing segments. In addition to serving multiple market segments, enterprises are employing advanced production and inventory control systems, and outsourcing non-critical functions.
Management emphasis is on improving productivity, which results in increased stockholder value. Enterprises are relying on various specialized business function software like "Supply Chain," ERP, CRM, Sales automation etc., to provide value to customers.
Most businesses have a combination of legacy and newer business applications, including software and hardware systems. They are also likely to have multiple and/or dissimilar applications performing similar functions. During mergers and acquisitions of businesses, it is common for companies to inherit a number of systems. Depending on the company these may or may not be integrated. Successful integration typically depends on the organization of strategic objectives and the extent to which processes logically match up to these objectives. Such coordinated integration leads to strategic advantage, e.g., opportunities to share marketing, sales, production, procurement and R&D information.
Information availability and distribution is a major factor in the success of organizations. Since businesses have a number of applications that are critical, availability of information from those systems are also critical to the success of the organization as a whole. Because sources of information can be from different arenas, generating a collective information pool is a problem. Information may be available in many different formats: namely paper, spreadsheet, online/offline document, proprietary applications etc. Information may also be collected from disparate sources that may be incompatible. Further, the problem is compounded in delivering relevant data to the correct audience. Also, the needs for specific information vary from consumer to consumer, in content and delivery techniques.
With all the options available today, in hardware and/or software, what is still lacking is a comprehensive and scalable system that allows business entities to collect and analyze meaningful data. Therefore, there is a need for a system that allows collection of data from various sources and the means to filter the collected data based upon user choices.

Method and system for managing real time data


An electro-thermal ice protection system for an airfoil comprises: a metal foil heater including an integral parting strip, the metal foil heater configurable to cover at least a portion of a leading edge of the airfoil with the integral parting strip disposed along an air-stagnation zone of the leading edge; and a controller coupled electrically to the metal foil heater for controlling electrical energy from a power source to the metal foil of the heater in accordance with a pulse duty-cycle and for controlling power to the parting strip of the heater to maintain the air-stagnation zone virtually free of ice formation. A method of making an exemplary metal foil heater for use in ice protection of an airfoil comprises the steps of: preparing a sheet of Titanium foil in a rectangular shape having a length substantially greater than a width thereof for covering at least a portion of the leading edge of the airfoil; applying a layer of Nickel material over an area along each width edge of the Titanium foil; applying a layer of Copper material over the Nickel layer along each width edge of the Titanium foil; and attaching conductor wires to the Copper layers at each width edge.

The present invention is related to electro-thermal ice protection systems for aero structures, in general, and more particularly, to a system comprising a metal foil heater, including an integral parting strip, configurable to cover at least a portion of a leading edge of an airfoil; and a controller for controlling heating energy to the metal foil of the heater in accordance with a pulse duty-cycle and for controlling heating energy to the parting strip to maintain an air-stagnation zone of the leading edge virtually free of ice formation.
Currently proposed electro-thermal de-icing or anti-icing products for leading edge ice protection of aero surfaces generally utilize heating elements or electrodes disposed at a leading edge surface of the aero structure in the form of a serpentine or interdigitated finger area grid to deliver heating power to ice which may be formed thereon. One such proposed electro-thermal ice protection product operates in an electro-chemical mode in which energy is delivered through capacitive coupling to the accreted ice by high frequency (HF) audio electro-chemical heating. Through an electrolysis reaction, gases are generated at the ice-surface interface which tend to affect the ice adhesive bond and separate the ice from the surface. When disposed on an airfoil under flight conditions in a wind tunnel, it was found that the electrolysis reaction was highly dependent on temperature, i.e. much more active as the temperature rose. Accordingly, heat energy tended to concentrate at a spot or spots in the heater grid where the temperature rose and the warmer the spot the more energy was drawn to it creating an avalanche effect. So, a spot on the heater grid where the electro-chemical reaction first started ended up drawing heat energy away from the rest of the grid to the point where ice could no longer be removed from the colder surfaces.
In addition, it was found that the electro-chemical heating method fails to perform at low temperatures, like below −20° C., for example, because the ice which is a protonic semiconductor is not conductive enough at these temperatures to allow significant power to be imparted at voltage levels that are consistent with safe aero design practice as dictated by the U.S. FAA regulations and FAA advisory circular bulletins such as AC 25.981, for example.
Further, conductive heater electrodes have been proposed to be disposed on, but insulated from, the aero surfaces to be protected from ice in parallel finger patterns which ran the length of the heater. In one serpentine pattern design, each finger had a width dimension of 0.020 inches or 20 mils with a separation distance from adjacent fingers of 20 mils, and a thickness dimension of 0.004 inches or 4 mils. However, this bare metal surface heater arrangement was found not to be structurally sound when tested under airfoil flight conditions, especially under rain erosion and particulate abrasion conditions. Any layer of material disposed over the heater grid for protection against rain erosion and particulate abrasion conditions will cause heat losses which will impose additional heating power requirements for ice protection. Generally, power supply systems on-board the aero structure can not afford to provide such ice protection power without affecting the power requirements to other systems.
A similar ice protection system is proposed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,075, entitled "Systems and Methods For Modifying Ice Adhesion Strength", and issued to Victor Petrenko on Feb. 22, 2000. Petrenko recognized that there is a liquid like layer (LLL) at the ice interface between the ice layer and aero structure which is a major factor in the ice adhesion strength. Petrenko realized that the LLL functions as a wetting surface which substantially increases the effective contact area between surfaces. The Petrenko system comprises a first electrode connected to the aero surface, preferably in the form of a grid, an electrically insulating layer disposed over the first electrode, and a second electrode formed over the first electrode in a similar grid as the first electrode. In operation, when ice is detected on the surface, a DC voltage is applied across the first and second electrode grids of sufficient magnitude to decrease the ice adhesion strength of the LLL and facilitate ice removal by the wind slipstream across the aero surface.
Since the Petrenko system proposes a similar grid of electrodes either in a serpentine or interdigitated design which couple energy into the ice layer accreted on an aero structure to loosen the bond between the ice and aero surface, it will suffer similar structural and power requirement drawbacks in an aero structure flight environment as described for the AC electro-chemical heating system above.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the present electro-thermal ice protection systems and offers an electro-thermal ice protection system rugged enough to withstand exposure to an aero structure operational environment, and capable of shedding ice from an aero surface at safe voltages and substantially reduced power levels, and before the ice accretes to a dangerous thickness level.

Low power, pulsed, electro-thermal ice protection system