The present invention provides a rapid and inexpensive method for extractively isolating acidic lipopeptide antibiotics, such as those having a cyclic peptide or cyclic depsipeptide core, in high yield and purity. In particular, there is provided a method of extracting a variety of acidic lipopeptide antibiotics, directly or indirectly, into water immiscible organic solvents by using a divalent cation chelation procedure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of extractively purifying and/or isolating antibiotics and/or antimicrobial agents. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inexpensive and efficient extractive method for purifying or isolating lipopeptide antibiotics.
2. Description of the Related Art
An important class of antibiotics that inhibit gram-positive bacteria are the acidic lipopeptide antibiotics. Generally, acidic lipopeptide antibiotics consist of either a cyclic peptide core or a cyclic depsipeptide core acylated with a lipophilic fragment and have an isoelectric point of less than about pH 7.0. The lipophilic fragment, typically an unsaturated fatty acid, may be of varying length. Frequently, the antibiotic activity of lipopeptide antibiotics is related to the length of the lipophilic fragment.
Examples of acidic lipopeptide antibiotics include, but are not limited to, laspartomycin (Umezawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,582; Naganawa et al., 1968, J. Antibiot., 21, 55; Naganawa et al., 1970, J. Antibiot., 23, 423), zaomycin (Kuroya, 1960, Antibiotics Ann., 194; Kuroya, JP 8150), crystallomycin (Gauze et al., 1957, Antibiotiki, 2, 9), aspartocin (Shay et al., 1960, Antibiotics Annual, 194; Hausman et al., 1964, Antimicrob. Ag. Chemother., 352; Hausman et al., 1969, J. Antibiot., 22, 207; Martin et al., 1960, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2079), amphomycin (Bodanszky et al., 1973, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 95, 2352), glumamycin (Fujino et al., 1965, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jap., 38, 515), brevistin (Shoji et al., 1976, J. Antibiotics, 29, 380), cerexin A (Shoji et al., 1976, J. Antibiotics, 29, 1268), cerexin B (Shoji et al., 1976, J. Antibiotics, 29, 1275) Antibiotic A-30912 (Hoehn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,789), Antibiotic A-1437 (Hammann et al., EP 0 629 636 BI; Lattrell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,288), Antibiotic A-54145 (Fukada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,789; Boeck et al., 1990, J. Antibiotics, 43, 587), Antibiotic A-21978C (Debono et al., 1988, J. Antibiotics, 41, 1093) and tsushimycin (Shoji et. al., 1968, J. Antibiot., 21, 439). See also Berdy, "CRC Handbook of Antibiotic Compounds," Volume IV, Part I, pages 313–327, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., (1980); Korzybinski et al., "Antibiotics-Origin Nature and Properties," Vol. I, Pergamon Press, pp. 397–401 and 404–408, New York, N.Y. (1967).
The acidic lipopeptide antibiotics are typically active against Gram-positive microbes and constitute important therapeutics in the treatment of infections caused by these bacteria. However, conventional procedures used to isolate and purify acidic lipopeptide antibiotics from fermentation broths involve a number of extraction and chromatography steps, which are time consuming, labor intensive and expensive to carry out on a commercial scale. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved methods of isolating and/or purifying acidic lipopeptide antibiotics.

Extractive purification of lipopeptide antibiotics


To improve the accuracy of the self position estimation of a mobile robot. A robot measures a distance to an object in the mobile environment by using a range sensor. An environmental map storage unit stores an environmental map containing a plurality of map data each corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of measurement directions from which a point in the mobile environment is to be observed. A self position estimation unit selects a map data corresponding to a measurement direction in which a distance to the object is measured by the range sensor from the plurality of map data. Then, the self position estimation unit estimates a self position of the mobile robot based on the selected map data and range data obtained by the range sensor.

Environmental maps describing the mobile environment of autonomous mobile robots (hereinafter, simply called "mobile robots") may be used in the mobile robots for their autonomous movements (see Patent documents 1-3). Such environmental maps are used for estimating for the self position of mobile robots in mobile environment and for planning of moving paths and the likes. For example, the environmental map is generated as a grid map, in which two-dimensional (2D) mobile environment, where the mobile robot moves, is divided in a grid pattern, and an indication to indicate whether or not the mobile robot can move is arranged in each grid cell framed in by grid lines.
The generation of environmental maps are implemented, for example, by measuring the mobile environment using a range sensor capable of obtaining range information of the outside world, such as a laser range finder and a stereo camera (see Patent documents 1, 3 and 4). The environmental maps may be generated in advance and then supplied to mobile robots, or may be generated by the mobile robots having range sensors in their own while moving in the mobile space. The latter technique in which the estimation of the self position of the mobile robot and the generation of the environmental map are performed simultaneously is called "SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)".
For example, a mobile robot disclosed in Patent document 1 is equipped with plural range sensors adopting different sensing principles, e.g., an ultrasonic sensor and an infrared sensor, and measures plural spatial areas located at different heights from the floor surface on which the mobile robot is located by using these range sensors. Then, the mobile robot disclosed in Patent document 1 generates plural 2D environmental maps based on range data obtained by the range sensors, and generates a single 2D environmental map by superimposing and integrating these plural 2D environmental maps. The mobile robot disclosed in Patent document 1 searches an optimal moving path that can avoid an obstacle by referring to the integrated 2D environmental map, and performs movement while avoiding the obstacle.
Furthermore, Patent document 2 discloses an environmental map for a mobile robot in which 2D mobile space is divided into unit areas. Then, with the environmental map being defined as an xy-plane, x-direction and y-direction distances from each unit area to an obstacle are recorded as information for each unit area. The mobile robot disclosed in Patent document 2 estimates the self position in the mobile environment by comparing a distance to an obstacle measured by a range finder with a distance to the obstacle recorded in that environmental map.
Furthermore, Patent documents 3 and 4 disclose techniques to generate environmental maps for mobile robots in which positions of obstacles are identified as 2D grid maps. Specifically, the mobile robots disclosed in Patent documents 3 and 4 measure mobile environment by a range sensor installed in the mobile robot, and project the position of an obstacle calculated by using the measured range information on a 2D grid map. When cells for which the number of times an obstacle is projected exceeds a predefined value, the cells are determined as "obstacle cells" in which an obstacle exists and an environmental map in which the positions of obstacles are specified is created.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-310043
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-58311
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-252346
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-242934

Autonomous mobile robot, self position estimation method, environmental map generation method, environmental map generation apparatus, and data structure for environmental map


A light-receiving apparatus comprises a light-receiving device positioned relative to an external component with increased accuracy. A sealing frame is mounted on a printed circuit board. One corner of this sealing frame is detectable by image processing. The position inside of the sealing frame at which the light-receiving device should be mounted is determined from the detected position of the corner of the sealing frame. A sealing material is injected inside the sealing frame and cured, thereby sealing the light-receiving device. Pins of the external components are inserted into holes or cutouts in the sealing frame and made stationary when the light-receiving device is mounted to the external component. The mounting of the light-receiving device inside the sealing frame is based on the sealing frame, and the mounting of the apparatus to the external part is based on the sealing frame. Therefore, the light-receiving device can be mounted relative to the external part with high accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-receiving apparatus for use in a camera or the like and, more particularly, to a light-receiving apparatus for determining the range or distance to a subject to be photographed and to a method of fabricating such a light-receiving apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The configuration of a prior art light-receiving apparatus for a camera or the like is shown in FIG. 4, where a light-receiving device 12 is monolithically integrated with an arithmetical IC on a printed circuit board 11. A sealing frame 13 is mounted around the light-receiving device 12. A sealing material 14 is injected and cured inside the sealing frame 13, thereby sealing the light-receiving device 12. Mounting means, such as holes 16a and 16b, are formed in the printed circuit board 11 to position and mount the apparatus to a structural component, such as a camera holder.
The prior art light-receiving apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is fabricated in the manner described below. A die pad 11a is formed as a part of a conductor pattern on the printed circuit board 11. The position of the die pad 11a is detected by image recognition techniques. The light-receiving device 12 is mounted on the die pad 11a, and the sealing frame 13 is mounted around the light-receiving device 12. The sealing material 14 is injected and cured inside the sealing frame 13. When the apparatus is mounted to a structural component, such as a camera holder, pins of the holder are inserted into the holes 16a and 16b of the printed circuit board 11. The pins are then placed in position and adjustments are made. The pins are fixed using an adhesive or the like. The order in which the sealing frame 13 and the light-receiving device 12 are mounted may be reversed. The sealing frame 13 suffices to surround the light-receiving device 12. Higher positioning accuracy is not required.
The mounting means 16a and 16b formed in the printed circuit board 11 are used to assist in positioning the light-receiving apparatus relative to the structural component. The position of the light-receiving device 12 is determined based on the position of the die pad 11a that is printed as a part of the conductor pattern.
Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 44283/1995 discloses a technique for forming a leadframe by insert molding to fabricate a sealing frame integrally with a support plate for the leadframe. Also in this technique, mounting means is formed in the support plate for positioning the light-receiving apparatus relative to a structural component, such as a camera holder, and for mounting the light-receiving apparatus to the structural component. A light-receiving device is mounted at a position determined based on the position of the leadframe.
In the conventional light-receiving apparatus, the accuracy of range finding is determined by the portion of the light-receiving device 12 (generally, a position-sensitive detector (PSD)) that receives light transmitted through optics. In particular, the light-receiving apparatus is so set up that the illuminated position on the position-sensitive detector (PSD) is varied according to the distance to the subject. An IC calculates the distance to the subject dependent on the illuminated position on the PSD. During this range-finding operation, in order that the illuminated position be located accurately, it is necessary that the optic axis of a lens fixedly mounted to the holder accurately pass across a given position on the light-receiving device 12. Although the positional relationship between the printed circuit board 11 and the holder is not very important, the positional relationship between the light-receiving device 12 and the holder greatly affects the accuracy of the range finding. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately position the light-receiving device 12 relative to the holder.
In any of the prior art techniques described above, the light-receiving device 12 is not accurately positioned relative to the holder, thereby resulting in the danger that the light-receiving apparatus may become defective. In the first-mentioned conventional technique, the light-receiving device 12 is mounted according to the conductor pattern printed or otherwise formed on the printed circuit board 11. The pins are inserted into the holes 16a and 16b formed in the printed circuit board, and the holder is mounted. However, a slight mismatch tends to take place between the formation of the conductor pattern on the printed circuit board 11 and the stamping operation defining the contour including the holes 16a and 16b. This may result in an error in the positional relationship between the conductor pattern and the holes 16a, 16b. Consequently, the positional relationship between the light-receiving device 12 and the holder may be upset.
Where insert molding is done, the light-receiving device 12 is mounted at a position determined based on the position of the leadframe. Protrusions formed on the support plate are fitted in holes and thus the holder is mounted. If the accuracy of the relative positional relationship among various components during insert molding, especially the positional relationship between the support plate and the leadframe, is not good, the relative positional accuracy between the light-receiving device and the holder is low. Furthermore, these process steps are cumbersome to perform, because insert molding must be performed with high accuracy.
Accordingly, by the foregoing prior art techniques, there is the possibility that the relative positional relationship between the light-receiving device and the holder deteriorates. Therefore, slight play is provided around the holder-mounting-and-guiding means formed by the mounting means 16a, 16b in the printed circuit board 11. The positioning operation is required to be carried out using other positioning mechanisms, such as eccentric pins, while adjusting the position and the angular position of the board 11, the holder, or the lens in order to accomplish an accurate positioning operation. In this manner, the use of other positioning mechanisms or complex fabrication steps are necessary to position the light-receiving device 12 relative to the holder accurately.

Light-receiving apparatus having a position detectable portion on a sealing frame and its manufacturing method


A synchronous cross-connect switch for routing data samples from a source node to a destination node comprises a mesh architecture including a plurality of inputs for receiving one or more of the data samples presented to the cross-connect switch. The mesh architecture includes a plurality of nodes operatively interconnected with one another using one or more half-duplex links. Each of the nodes further includes a receiver and a transmitter. Each node further includes an input time-slot-interchanger (TSI) operatively coupled to a first half-duplex link and to the receiver, the input TSI being configurable to selectively reorder one or more data samples received by the receiver, and an output TSI operatively coupled to a second half-duplex link and to the transmitter, the output TSI being configurable to selectively reorder one or more data samples to be transmitted by the transmitter. A controller operatively coupled to the receiver and to the transmitter is configured to selectively route a data sample to at least one of an output of the cross-connect switch and an adjacent node in the mesh architecture in a conflict-free manner.

Communication networks are generally based on either a packet-switching protocol, a circuit-switching protocol, or some combination of the two, such as, for example, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) protocol. In a packet-switching protocol, messages are divided into packets before they are sent. Each packet is then individually transmitted and can even follow different routes to its destination based on routing information contained in the packet. Once all the packets forming a given message arrive at the target destination, they are recompiled into the original message. In a circuit-switching protocol, on the other hand, the message path is determined prior to sending the data. A dedicated channel is allocated for transmission between a source and a destination. Because routing is predetermined, transmitted messages need not include routing information, as in the case of packet switching. Circuit switching is ideally suited for applications in which data must be transmitted quickly and must arrive in the same order in which it was sent. For this reason, most real-time data applications, such as, for example, live audio and/or video streaming, employ a circuit-switching protocol.
Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), which is a well-known circuit-switching protocol, allocates multiple data streams to respective time slots and repeatedly transmits a fixed sequence of time slots over a single transmission channel. TDM is predominantly used in telecommunications networks. Synchronous network protocols, such as, for example, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and Synchronous Data Hierarchy (SDH) use TDM to transport voice and data through the core of the network. A more detailed description of these and other conventional protocols may be found, for example, in the articles D. Bertsekas et al., "Data networks, Second Edition," Prentice Hall (1992), J. Goralski, "SONET, Second Edition," McGraw-Hill, USA (2000), R. Perlman, "Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches and Internetworking Protocols," Addison-Wesley (1997), M. Sexton, "Broadband Networking: ATM, SCH, and SONET," Artech House, Mass. (1997), S. Kershav, "An Engineering Approach to Computer Networks," Addison-Wesley (1997), A. Tannenbaum, "Computer Networks," Prentice Hall (1996), D. Corner, "Internetworking with TCP/IP," NJ: Prentice Hall (2000), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
One class of switches known as non-blocking cross-connect switches are typically employed in a synchronous TDM network. A connection between an input and an output of a switch is considered to be blocked if there is no signal path available through the switch. Signal paths must be simultaneously established for all connections in the synchronous TDM network, a condition which is a requirement for admission of a new connection. A non-blocking cross-connect switch must guarantee transmission of data through the switch at a specified aggregate transmission rate. Some conventional approaches to designing non-blocking cross connects include time-division switching, space-division switching, and multistage switching which is essentially a combination of time-division and space-division switching.
Each of the above techniques for routing data through a network, however, incorporate certain undesirable characteristics. Accordingly, there exists a need for a cross-connect architecture for use in a circuit-switching network that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional methodologies.

Mesh architecture for synchronous cross-connects


A box-type microscope apparatus includes a stage, a microscope, and a housing, which has a fixed housing and a moving housing provided to be openable, closable, and movable with respect to the fixed housing. The box-type microscope apparatus further includes a specimen vessel positioning device for fixing the specimen vessel placed on the stage at a constant position. of the stage and a positioning release device for actuating the specimen vessel positioning means when the moving housing is moved toward a position of a closed state to release a positioning of the specimen vessel performed by the specimen vessel positioning device with respect to the stage when the moving housing is opened.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a box-type microscope apparatus, such as an optical microscope apparatus, having a housing for blocking light or protecting a specimen environment which is chiefly used for the purpose of the observation and/or measurement of a living specimen such as a cell.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical microscopes are generally used as means for observing living cells, in vivo, such as medium cell specimens, cultured with culture fluid on petri dishes or microplates. In recent years, the optical microscope has been combined with a high-sensitivity image pickup means, such as a cooled CCD camera, so that feeble fluorescent light is detected from the medium cell labeled by fluorescence and is recorded as image data. The fluorescent light from the medium cell labeled by fluorescence is extremely feeble, and in order to detect this feeble fluorescent light with accuracy, the detection of light other than the fluorescent light from the cell, namely, of disturbance light, must be prevented as far as possible. For this, some optical microscope apparatuses commercially available have structures such that the entire inverted microscope is covered with a housing and thereby external light is not detected at least when an image is acquired. As one of such box-type optical microscope apparatuses, an inverted microscope, for example, made by General Electric Healthcare Company, is available.
This optical microscope apparatus covers the entire inverted microscope with a housing and includes an electric stage on which a microplate can be placed and which is controlled by a computer and thereby can be moved in X and Y directions. The housing is partially provided with a door so that the electric stage springs forth from the door to a preset position outside the housing, with the microplate placed on the stage. An operator brings about a state where the electric stage lies at the preset position outside the housing and is capable of replacing or setting the microplate. In accordance with instructions of the operator, the door is such as to open when the electric stage springs forth to the preset position outside the housing and to close when the electric stage is incorporated in the housing. Whereby, the entire inverted microscope can be light-blocked and it becomes possible to protect the specimen environment in combination with a living body holding device such as a temperature controller.
In such a box-type motor-operated microscope, when an observation object is moved from a position outside the box to an observation position inside the box by the electric stage, there is the possibility that foreign matter, such as the hand and finger of the operator, is drawn in error into the box, and thus it becomes necessary to ensure safety. However, in an upright box-type microscope incorporating an image forming optical system, an observation optical system, and the electric stage in the housing, the safety mechanism of a door section is known (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Kokai No. 2003-5079). The microscope apparatus disclosed in Kokai No. 2003-5079 is provided with a detection means for detecting the presence of the foreign matter in the door section when a supporting bench supporting the observation object is brought into the housing.
However, the present applicant has invented an optical microscope apparatus set forth in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-331325, as the box-type motor-operated microscope for the purpose of obviating oversizing of the apparatus and improving the operation accuracy of the stage without enlarging the operation range of the stage. An optical microscope apparatus 101 according to this invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, includes an inverted microscope 102 having an electric stage 112 on which a microplate 140 incorporating a specimen A is placed, a transmitting illumination optical system 111, and an image forming optical system 114; and a housing 120 surrounding the inverted microscope 102. The housing 120 is composed of a fixed housing 121 and a moving housing 122 which can be opened and closed with respect to the fixed housing 121. The moving housing 122 is rotatably supported by the fixed housing 121 so as to bring about an opened state shown in FIG. 1 by rotating on a rotary shaft 160 through a rotation mechanism, not shown, like bearings. The housing 120 is such that, in a closed state, external light is blocked and the inverted microscope 102 can be maintained in a light-blocked state. Also, in this figure, reference numeral 113 denotes a reflecting illumination optical system.
Of optical parts constituting the transmitting illumination optical system 111 and the image forming optical system 114, some optical parts arranged above the electric stage 112 are provided to be movable through the moving housing 122. When the moving housing 122 is located at the position of the opened state with respect to the fixed housing 121, these optical parts are removed from the upper position of the electric stage 112, while when it is located at the position of the closed state, the optical axis of the transmitting illumination optical system 111 is practically aligned with that of the image forming optical system 114.
According to the optical microscope apparatus 101 constructed as mentioned above, in the case where the microplate 140 incorporating the specimen A on the electric stage 112 is replaced, when the moving housing 122 is opened with respect to the fixed housing 121, some optical parts in the transmitting illumination optical system arranged above the electric stage 112 are removed, together with the moving housing 122, from the upper position of the electric stage 112. Hence, a wide space is ensured above the electric stage 112 and the work of the replacement and fixing of the specimen is facilitated. When the moving housing 122 is closed with respect to the fixed housing 121, the inverted microscope 102 is covered with the housing 120 and is light-blocked, and the optical axis of the optical system located above the electric stage 112 constituting the inverted microscope 102 is practically aligned with that of the optical system located below the electric stage 112, so that it becomes possible to utilize illumination light from the transmitting illumination optical system 111 and to carry out a microscope observation through the image forming optical system 114.
An optical microscope apparatus 201 of another example set forth in the specification of Application No. 2005-331325, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, is constructed so that a housing 220 is provided with a moving housing 222 movable in a horizontal direction through a direct-acting guide, not shown, on a fixed housing 221. Between the fixed housing 221 and the moving housing 222, a click mechanism, not shown, is provided so that the moving housing 222 is capable of maintaining the opened and closed states with respect to the fixed housing 221. In these figures, reference numeral 211 denotes a transmitting illumination optical system; 212, an electric stage; 213, an image forming lens; 214, an image forming optical system; and 219, a condenser lens.
According to the optical microscope apparatus 201 of FIGS. 2A and 2B constructed as mentioned above, when the moving housing 222, as shown in FIG. 2A, is located at the position of the closed state with respect to the fixed housing 221, the optical axis of the condenser lens 219 in the transmitting illumination optical system 211 provided in the moving housing 222 is practically aligned with that of the objective lens 213 and the moving housing 222 is maintained in a fixed state by the operation of the click mechanism at this position, so that a space inside the housing 220 is blocked from the external light. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the moving housing 222 is moved to be in the opened state, optical members arranged above the electric stage 212 in the transmitting illumination optical system 211 are removed together with the moving housing 222. Consequently, a wide space is ensured above the electric stage 112 and the work of the replacement and fixing of the specimen is facilitated. Moreover, the correction collar of the objective lens can also be operated.
According to the optical microscope apparatus 201 of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the housing 220 can be opened and closed only by sliding the moving housing 222 in the horizontal direction with respect to the fixed housing 221 and a great force is not needed for manipulation. Hence, there is the advantage that maneuverability is excellent. In addition, according to the optical microscope apparatuses shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, since there is no need to enlarge the operation range of the electric stage to the exterior of the housing in order to ensure a wide space for the work of the replacement of the specimen above the electric stage, oversizing of the apparatus can be prevented and the operation accuracy of the electric stage can be improved.


The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for obtaining a high-hydrogen, low-carbon-monoxide gas which is suitable for feeding low-temperature fuel cells in electric vehicles. A high-hydrogen gas mixture is generated by means of a methanol reforming reaction, using a Cu- and ZrO-containing catalyst material. The carbon monoxide content of the gas is decreased to a concentration of less than approximately 100 ppm by means of a selective methanization using a Ru- and TiO.sub.2 -containing catalyst material and/or by means of a selective oxidation using a Pt- and TiO.sub.2 -containing catalyst material.

This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for obtaining a high-hydrogen, low-carbon-monoxide gas (particularly for feeding low-temperature fuel cells in electric vehicles) by means of a methanol reforming reaction, using a Cu- and ZrO.sub.2 -containing catalyst material. The process and apparatus according to the invention produces a high-hydrogen gas mixture whose CO content is reduced to less than 100 ppm.
A process and apparatus of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,783. There, the Cu constituent is provided in the reforming reactor, for example, by introducing CuO into the reactor and reducing it to form elemental copper. This is accomplished by causing an N.sub.2 /H.sub.2 mixture which has an H.sub.2 content of 3% to pass through at temperatures of between 100.degree. C. and 270.degree. C. for 72 h. In a subsequent stage, the initial gas mixture of the methanol reforming reactor is subjected to a selective methanization for reducing the CO concentration.
A detailed process for selective methanization is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,164, in which a ruthenium or rhodium catalyst on an aluminum oxide carrier material is used. By means of this process, the CO concentration in the gas mixture can be lowered to less than 100 ppm. It is also known that, in addition to the selective methanization, the CO content in a high-hydrogen gas mixture can alternatively be decreased by the selective oxidation with the use of a platinum, rhodium or ruthenium catalyst material on an Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 carrier (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,073), or by the selective hydrogen separation by means of a membrane consisting of a palladium alloy (e.g., Japanese Published Patent Application JP 62-105901(A)).
In Chemical Abstracts, Volume 115, 1991, No. 240892d, a ruthenium/titanium catalyst is disclosed for the selective methanization of carbon dioxide at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
Chemical Abstracts, Volume 74, 1971, No. 35106u, describes the selective methanization of carbon monoxide in a gas mixture, which contains hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, at temperatures in the range of between 125.degree. C. and 300.degree. C. using ruthenium-containing catalysts.
Published European Patent Applications EP. 0 650 922 A1 and EP 0 650 923 A1 describe processes and apparatuses for the catalytic removal of carbon monoxide in a high-hydrogen gas by selective oxidation and/or selective methanization. For the selective oxidation, Pt/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ru/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or Pt zeolite carrier catalyst material are suggested. For the selective methanization, the use of an Ru/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 carrier catalyst material is suggested.
One object of the present invention is to provide a process and an apparatus of the initially mentioned type which produces a high-hydrogen and low-carbon-monoxide gas suitable for feeding low-temperature fuel cells, in a mobile systems, with expenditures which are as low as possible.
This object is achieved according to the invention by means of a methanol reforming reaction using a Cu- and ZrO.sub.2 -containing material, followed by removal of carbon monoxide by selective methanization on a special ruthenium catalyst material with a TiO.sub.2 carrier and/or by means of a selective oxidation using a platinum catalyst material with a TiO.sub.2 carrier. In this manner, a very high methanol conversion rate of over 98% can be achieved in the case of a high integral catalyst load of up to 10 Nm.sup.3 H.sub.2 /kg.sub.cat h, as well as a CO concentration of less than 100 ppm, preferably below 50 ppm. (Nm.sup.3 refers to a cubic meter, at standard conditions.)
In a further embodiment of the invention, the Cu constituent of the catalyst is provided by reducing CuO by means of an N.sub.2 /H.sub.2 mixture with an H.sub.2 content of more than 5% and up to 20%. In this manner, a sufficiently active catalyst material is obtained which withstands the above-mentioned, high integral catalyst load, to which, in addition, an isothermal reaction course may contribute which has a high gas flow rate.
According to another feature of the invention, it is found that, a particular composition of the TiO.sub.2 -containing catalyst carrier material is favorable for selective oxidation of the carbon monoxide.
Another advantage for the selective methanization and/or the selective oxidation is an unsteady reaction course which has a periodically changing flow direction at temperature below 200.degree. C. and 120.degree. C. Thus, both types of the selective CO conversion can be used together.
A further embodiment of the invention contains a methanol reforming reactor in a tube bundle construction which is designed specifically for a high integral catalyst load with a high methanol conversion rate.
To improve the heat transfer capacity of the tube bundle arrangement of the methanol reforming reactor, in still another embodiment, the reaction tube or tubes are provided with heat transfer ribs arranged on their side facing the tempering fluid, and/or on their side facing the catalyst material, with heat conduction webs.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Process for obtaining a high-hydrogen, low-carbon-monoxide gas


The system and method of the present invention automatically extracts the top k recommendations of objects, such as topics, items, products, books, movies, food, drinks, etc., from a local probabilistic recommendation system. Unlike prior systems, the present invention accomplishes the extraction of the top k recommendations of objects without examining a probability for every object that can be recommended. Further, the system and method of the present invention is capable of being implemented using probabilistic recommendation systems based on any conventional type of probabilistic distribution or machine learning technique, including, for example, decision trees and Bayesian networks.

1. Technical Field
The present invention involves a new system and process for automatically determining at least one highest probability recommendation from a local probabilistic recommendation system.
2. Related Art
By way of background, collaborative filtering or recommender systems typically use various probabilistic methods in combination with one or more databases comprised of user preferences to predict additional topics, items, or products a new user might like. Generally, the goal of such systems is to predict the utility of objects to a particular user based on a database of user preferences or votes from a sample or population of other users. Either of two general classes of collaborative filtering algorithms, e.g., memory-based algorithms or model-based collaborative filtering, is often used for making such predictions. Such predictions are made possible by first obtaining a set of user preferences for a particular user. These preferences are obtained either explicitly or implicitly using conventional techniques.
Such systems then typically use these user preferences to predict likely user preferences as to other particular objects by computing probabilities for every possible topic, item, product, etc. that a new user might like. These probabilities are then sorted in decreasing order, and any desired number of the highest probability objects are then returned as recommendations. However, as the number of objects becomes increasingly large, the time required to compute the probabilities, and then sort those probabilities, increases. Consequently, the performance of such systems degrades with increasing numbers of objects, and such systems are unable to provide real-time recommendations as the number of objects increases.
For example, with conventional schemes, a probabilistic model can be used for making predictions in a movie-recommendation application that suggests movies to users based on the other movies that they have seen. One method of implementing such a scheme is to build a probabilistic model over a set of variables representing whether a user has seen particular movies in the set of movies. The model is constructed such that, for each movie, the conditional probability that the user has watched a particular movie is extracted for each movie. In general, such a scheme is used to recommend movies as follows: for each movie that a user has not watched, the probability that the user would have watched the movie is calculated based on the assumption that it is unknown whether the user has actually watched the movie. Such a scheme then recommends those movies that have the highest posterior probability.
In particular, such a conventional scheme determines the probability for every movie, then sorts those probabilities and provides a partial or complete sorted list in order of highest to lowest probability that the user would like to watch each movie. In this example, as the number of movies increases, the time required to compute and sort the probabilities naturally increases. Therefore, as the number of movies in this example increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for such a scheme to provide real-time recommendations as a result of the increased computing time required to make such recommendations.
Consequently, what is needed is a new system and method for automatically determining a set of at least one most likely probabilistic recommendation without the need to determine probabilities for each possible object for which a recommendation could be made.

System and process for automatically providing fast recommendations using local probability distributions


A power supply circuit for the modem of a mobile telecommunications device comprises a battery, a modem status detection circuit for detecting whether the modem is in communication with a base station or is searching for a base station, a current or voltage booster, and a switching circuit controlled by the detection circuit for switching the current or voltage booster into and out of operation such that the booster provides additional current to the modem when it is searching for a base station.

As is well known, cellphones communicate by radiolink with an infrastructure of base stations positioned at locations distributed around the geographical area within which the cellphone network operates.
When a cell phone is first powered up, or when it moves from one cell to another, it has to search for a base station. The current, or power, which the modem of the cell phone uses whilst searching for a base station is greater than that used after it has logged itself on to a base station. The battery that is used therefore has to be sufficiently highly rated to provide for the higher level of power or current which is needed during the searching process. As a result, the physical size of the battery must be sufficiently great to enable the battery to deliver the required higher levels of power or current and to have a sufficiently long life (i.e. time between rechargings) to enable it to be practical.

Power supply circuit for mobile telecommunications devices


According to one embodiment, the array chip includes a three-dimensionally disposed plurality of memory cells and a memory-side interconnection layer connected to the memory cells. The circuit chip includes a substrate, a control circuit provided on the substrate, and a circuit-side interconnection layer provided on the control circuit and connected to the control circuit. The circuit chip is stuck to the array chip with the circuit-side interconnection layer facing to the memory-side interconnection layer. The bonding metal is provided between the memory-side interconnection layer and the circuit-side interconnection layer. The bonding metal is bonded to the memory-side interconnection layer and the circuit-side interconnection layer.

A memory device having a three-dimensional structure has been proposed. In the memory device, a memory hole is formed in a stacked body including a plurality of electrode layers stacked via insulating layers. The electrode layers function as control gates in memory cells. A silicon body functioning as a channel is provided on the sidewall of the memory hole via a charge storage film.
In order to reduce a space factor of a control circuit of a three-dimensional memory array in a chip, there has also been proposed a technique for providing the control circuit right under the array. For example, a configuration is proposed in which bit lines are connected to transistors formed on a substrate, via contact plugs formed at an array end portion and a bit line extension layer provided on the lower side of a memory array.
Therefore, a fine interconnection layer equivalent to the bit lines is also necessary under the array. A region around the array is necessary in order to form a deep contact. Further, there is a concern about a problem in that, for example, the bit lines are substantially long, a bit line capacity increase, and operation speed is affected.

Semiconductor device having a pad proximate to a step structure section of an array chip


Example embodiments facilitate orchestrating changes of data made (and/or actions specified for execution) in a client-side program with changes of corresponding data made in one or more server-side data objects. An example method includes structuring one or more worksheet relationships between one or more worksheets of a client-side spreadsheet in accordance with one or more data object relationships of one or more data objects of a server-side data structure; determining that one or more operations have been selected for performing on data of one or more of the worksheets; detecting user input operative to initiate performance of the one or more operations; and initiating implementation of the one or more operations (e.g., CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations) in accordance with the one or more worksheet relationships and the one or more data object relationships (e.g., hierarchical relationships). A spreadsheet add-in may issue request messages to web services tasked with completing the one or more operations.

The present application relates to computing, and more specifically to software, systems, and methods for using client-side software applications and accompanying User Interfaces (UIs) to use and/or interact with server-side computing resources, e.g., data and/or functionality.
Systems and methods for enabling client-side computing resources (e.g., data, devices, software functionality, etc.) and accompanying devices to use or interact with server-side computing resources are employed in various demanding applications, including mobile enterprise applications; cloud data storage services for personal computers; browsers for accessing financial websites and accounts, and so on. Such applications often demand efficient, versatile, and user friendly systems and methods that facilitate productivity and that can leverage preexisting user knowledge and intuition to facilitate improved user experience.
Efficient user friendly systems facilitating orchestration or interactions between client-side computing resources (e.g., personal computers, mobile devices, accompanying software, data, etc.) and server-side computing resources (e.g., cloud-based data storage, server-side software applications, etc.) can be particularly important in enterprise applications.
Enterprise applications often involve business users that are frequently interacting with business data, e.g., deleting data, updating data, and so on. Some of this data may be manipulated using client-side spreadsheets. However, conventionally, business users had difficulty updating server-side data responsive to changes they made to data in their client-side spreadsheets.
Furthermore, note that conventional spreadsheets often provide User Interfaces (UIs) with two-dimensional grids (also called tables or worksheets). However, server-side data is often intricately structured with multiple dimensions in accordance with specific data models characterizing relational databases or other types of databases.
As such, this has complicated the ability of spreadsheet users to efficiently and accurately update or manipulate intricately structured server-side data after changes are made to client-side spreadsheet data. Similarly, updating or manipulating client-side data in view of complex server-side data models can be equally problematic when using conventional approaches for Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations.

Orchestration of crud operations for a hierarchical web service data model in a spreadsheet


A battery pack apparatus is provided. The battery pack includes a battery, a circuit board connected to the battery, and a detecting unit on the circuit board configured to detect a battery power line of the battery detached from the circuit board by detecting a battery voltage drop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack apparatus containing a primary or secondary battery, and a method of controlling the battery pack apparatus; in particular, the present invention relates to a battery pack apparatus capable of detecting a battery removed state, and a method of controlling the battery pack apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a battery protection circuit that prohibits charge and discharge by blowing a thermal fuse using a heat element when abnormality such as overvoltage of a battery is detected. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-357540 discloses such battery protection circuit that blows the thermal fuse using a heat element and stops charge and discharge when overvoltage of a battery is detected.
Further, Japanese Patent No. 2576525 discloses a battery pack apparatus including a secondary battery detachable from an electronic apparatus. Characteristic data on the secondary battery stored in a nonvolatile memory incorporated in the battery pack apparatus are occasionally updated to obtain an accurate characteristic of the secondary battery. The above-described patent discloses a battery pack apparatus including a nonvolatile memory, while a computer (hereinafter described as CPU) based automatic measuring unit is provided to a charging apparatus. In the case where the battery pack apparatus is held by the charging apparatus, the number of charges, a discharge characteristic, and the like are automatically measured to calculate and display the capacity of the battery based on such data. Further, the data on the discharge characteristic and capacity are stored in the nonvolatile memory included in the battery apparatus. Therefore, battery life can be predicted, and the battery can be used economically and efficiently.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2576525. A battery pack apparatus 1 stores a battery group (hereinafter described as a battery cell) 2 including, for example, a plurality of nickel-cadmium batteries connected in series as shown with a dotted line 2, and a nonvolatile memory 3 formed of, for example, an EEPROM. A connection terminal 4 led from the +(positive) electrode of the battery cell 2, a connection terminal 5 led from the −(negative) electrode thereof, and an input-output terminal 6 led from the nonvolatile memory 3 are provided to predetermined positions on the outside surface of a housing of the battery pack apparatus 1. A charging apparatus 7 includes an automatic measuring unit having a CPU 14, thereby automatically measuring the number of charges, a discharge characteristic, and the like.
An A/D converter 13, heater 21, cooler 22, switch circuit 15, display unit 19, switch group 23 and interface circuit 18 are connected to the CPU 14 that serves as a hub of the control, and an input-output terminal 10 is led from the CPU 14. Further, an external input-output terminal 20 is led from the interface circuit 18. It should be noted that, although not shown in the figure, the CPU 14 includes a ROM incorporating control software, input-output apparatus, and the like.
Further, a holding space 11 to store the battery pack apparatus 1 is formed in the charging apparatus 7. A connection terminal 8 led from a terminal 15a of the switch circuit 15, a terminal 9 led from a terminal 15b thereof, and the input-output terminal 10 led from the CPU 14 are provided to predetermined positions on the outside surface of the housing forming the holding space 11. The heater 21 and cooler 22 are provided on the outside surface of the housing forming the holding space 11, and further, a temperature sensor 12 is provided. The heater 21 and cooler 22 are driven by a control signal from the CPU 14, and turned on so that the charge of the battery cell 2 in the battery pack apparatus 1 is optimized under a temperature condition within a predetermined range.
A charge circuit 16 is connected between a terminal 15c and terminal 15f of the switch circuit 15, and a rated load 17 is connected between a terminal 15e and a terminal 15h. Further, a terminal 15d and terminal 15g of the switch circuit 15 are open. The switch circuit 15 has a control terminal to which a control signal is supplied from the CPU 14, and the predetermined terminal 15a (15b) is selectively connected to the terminals 15c, 15d, 15e (15f, 15g, 15h). Specifically, when charging, the terminal 15a is connected to the terminal 15c, and the terminal 15b is connected to the terminal 15f. Further, when measuring a discharge characteristic, the terminal 15a is connected to the terminal 15e, and the terminal 15b is connected to the terminal 15h. Except for charging and measuring the discharge characteristic, the terminal 15a is connected to the terminal 15d, and the terminal 15b is connected to the terminal 15g.
Further, the connection terminal 8 and temperature sensor 12 are connected to the A/D converter 13 connected to the CPU 14. Thus, data on the terminal voltage of the battery cell 2, an ambient temperature, and the like are input into the CPU 14 via the A/D converter 13, according to need. The CPU 14 enters various modes corresponding to the operations using the switch group 23, a signal indicating that the battery pack apparatus 1 has been stored in the holding space 11, and the like. Further, the CPU 14 conducts various kinds of processing so as to control respective units, prepares a display signal according to need, and supplies the display signal to the display unit 19 to display predetermined information.
For example, as shown by the dotted-line arrows, the connection terminal 4 of the battery pack apparatus 1 is connected to the connection terminal 8 of the charging apparatus 7, and the connection terminal 5 of the battery pack apparatus 1 is connected to the connection terminal 9 of the charging apparatus 7 in the state of the battery pack apparatus 1 being stored in the holding space 11. In addition, the input-output terminal 6 of the battery pack apparatus 1 is connected to the input-output terminal 10 of the charging apparatus 7, thereby coupling the nonvolatile memory 3 to the CPU 14. If an external input apparatus is connected to the external input-output terminal 20 in such state, the nonvolatile memory 3 is brought into a writing state. Subsequently, data indicating, for example, the name of administrator, start date of use, ID number, and the like are written from the connected external input apparatus, are supplied to the nonvolatile memory 3 and stored in a predetermined region thereof via the interface circuit 18 and CPU 14.
Further, upon storing the battery pack apparatus 1 in the holding space 11, the CPU 14 automatically retrieves data on the number of charges stored in the nonvolatile memory 3, and displays the number of charges on the display unit 19. If a charging mode is selected, the CPU 14 operates the heater 21 and cooler 22 based on the value supplied from the temperature sensor 12, controls the ambient temperature of the battery pack apparatus 1 to be an optimum temperature, and connects the charge circuit 16 to the battery cell 2 to charge in that state. Further, the CPU 14 obtains a value of the terminal voltage of the battery cell 2 and monitors the value. If more voltage drop than a predetermined level is detected, the CPU 14 terminates charging, updates a flag indicating the number of charges, and stores data on the number of charges and the like in the nonvolatile memory 3. Further, the CPU 14 is selectively in the discharge characteristic measurement mode once every predetermined number of times, connects the rated load 17 to the battery cell 2, obtains the terminal voltage, and collects data on the terminal voltage with a predetermined period until the terminal voltage decreases to a predetermined level. With the terminal voltage having the predetermined level and the discharge characteristic measurement having been over, the CPU 14 calculates and displays the battery capacity based on the data on the terminal voltage, and stores data on the discharge characteristic measurement and the battery capacity in the nonvolatile memory 3.
Various kinds of data intensively stored in the nonvolatile memory 3 through the above-mentioned processing are retrieved by the operation using the switch group 23 and processing steps at the CPU 14 according to need, and are input into the CPU 14. Display signals corresponding to the various data are prepared in the CPU 14, and supplied to the display unit 19 to be displayed as information by means of characters and the like. Further, in the case where an external output apparatus such as a printer is connected to the external input-output terminal 20, data stored in the nonvolatile memory 3 and data generated by the processing of the CPU 14 are retrieved according to need, and output in the form of hard copy. Hence, a user can readily determine the battery life comprehensively and can manage battery history by referring to such information as the battery capacity, number of charges, start date of use and the like displayed according to the processing steps and according to need.

Battery pack apparatus and method of controlling battery pack apparatus


The present invention is directed to a non-emissive, bimodal cured polymeric network which has an onset degradation temperature that is about 100.degree. C. above the onset degradation temperature of a base polymer. The novel cured polymeric network comprises the cured reaction product of the following ingredients: (a) combination of one or more liquid carrier monomers or prepolymers which combination is reactive to form a base polymer by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the presence of a UV photosensitizer at a temperature, T.sub.uv ; and (b) between about 10 and 100 wt-% based on ingredient (a) of a combination of one or more monomers or prepolymers which combination is reactive to form a cured high temperature stable polymer by heating at a temperature, T.sub..DELTA.. Ingredient (b) is soluble or dispersible in ingredient (a) at a temperature, T.sub.s, wherein T.sub.s is equal to or lower than T.sub.uv, and T.sub.uv is at least about 50.degree. C. lower than T.sub..DELTA..

The present invention relates to the synthesis of cured polymeric networks (e.g. films) that possess stability at elevated temperature (e.g. broadly above about 300.degree. C., advantageously above 400.degree. C., and preferably above 500.degree. C.), and more particularly to the synthesis of such networks which are non-emissive during their cure.
A variety of high temperature polymers are known in the art, including, for example, polyimides, bismaleimides, polyphenylene sulfides, and the like. The high temperature stability of such polymers, in part, translates into high molecular weight which often makes such polymers solid at room temperature and/or difficult to solvate in conventional organic solvents such as those used in formulating coatings compositions. Such high temperature polymers, then, either must be heated at elevated temperature for application and/or solvated in solvents that present a hazard both in their handling during compounding of formulations containing such polymers and in containment of such solvents which are volatilized when the formulations are cured.
A variety of useful polymeric network-forming monomers, oligomers, and prepolymers, possess properties for making advantageous cured polymeric networks, but such networks degrade at temperatures making them unsuitable for a variety of uses which require exposure to elevated temperature, such as in the formulation of potting compounds, wire coatings, photo-resists, and the like. The ability to enhance such useful polymeric systems for retaining their advantageous polymeric properties while enhancing their heat stability would find attraction in the marketplace, especially if such systems were made non-emissive. Non-emissive, for present purposes, comprehends the absence of evolution of organic components during cure of the formulation ingredients, but does not preclude the evolution of water during curing.

Bimodal cured intermixed polymeric networks which are stable at high temperature


A poll of a first database is initiated (e.g., a SOT database). The poll of the first database is to identify if any transactions have occurred since a previous poll of the first database. Based on the poll of the first database, information is received that identifies one or more transaction identifiers. A missing transaction identifier is identified based on a contagious list of transaction identifiers. In response to identifying the missing transaction identifier, the missing transaction identifier is stored in a list of missing transaction identifiers for use in a later poll of the first database. By tracking the missing transaction identifier, the process can identify transactions that take longer to commit without introducing lag for transactions that commit quickly.

Modern software stacks are becoming Polyglot Persistence (i.e., they require multiple specialized databases). This is accelerated by variety of trends, such as, an adoption of micro service architectures, a need for data warehousing, a need for actionable analytics, a need to be real time in software operations etc. However, the adoption of Polyglot Persistence has created a common problem—to have a consistent data representation across multiple data stores. In traditional architectures, where the data is stored in a single database (e.g., a Relational Database Management system (RDBMS)), the Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation Durability (also known as ACID) properties of the data storage would have ensured a consistent state of data for application software; however, the same is very difficult to achieve in Polyglot Persistent systems. For this reason, a compromise called Basically Available. Soft state, Eventual consistency (BASE), commonly called "Eventual Consistency" has been more commonly adopted.
In order to achieve eventual consistency of the data, the data in a main database called a "Source of Truth" (SOT) database is tracked for changes and that are to be streamed to downstream databases for synchronization. This is a common technique called Change Data Capture (CDC). CDC is a highly studied aspect of data systems and various solutions have been proposed with a variety of advantages and disadvantages.
One solution is to use an event queue. In this technique, the SOT database maintains a changelog table along with the data table. This changelog table itself is populated through hooks in application code, database triggers, etc. The biggest disadvantage of this technique is the additional space required in the SOT database and the processing power used by SOT database in populating a changelog. In some cases, where the rows in SOT database run into millions, this becomes a significant problem.
Another solution is to use polling. This is a technique where the SOT database is polled for changes using additional metadata columns. The polling thread remembers the state of last synchronization through the use of metadata columns and streams the delta changes to downstream databases. In existing polling techniques, there may be cases where polling cannot identify some changes to the database tables due to race conditions. To avoid the loss of data between polls some solutions have introduced a long lag time to allow committed data to synchronize; however, in many cases, the long lag time is unacceptable.
Log Scanners are another common solution. In this technique, the transaction logs (journals) of the SOT database are parsed and the changes to the databases are retrieved. This technique ensures that no changes are lost, however, it is highly dependent on the ability to understand the transactional log format of the SOT databases. Some transaction logs are very proprietary and version dependent, which can cause the transaction log software to break when a new version is introduced.


An example expander includes a processor, a switch, and a plurality of physical layer devices (PHYs). The processor is to detect an error condition and, in response to detecting the error condition, cause the expander to enter a reduced functionality mode which keeps the switch and the plurality of physical layer devices (PHYs) operating notwithstanding the error condition.

Serial attached SCSI (SAS) is generally a point-to-point architecture that transfers data to and from small computer system interface (SCSI) storage devices by using serial communication. In a SAS storage environment, there are typically three types of SAS devices: initiators, targets, and expanders. The initiator is a device that originates processing requests for a target and receives responses from the target. The initiator may be, for example, a host bus adapter (HBA) or a data storage controller. The target is device that receives processing requests from initiators and sends responses to the respective initiators. The target may be, for example, an end device such as a SAS hard disk drive, serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drive, solid state disk (SSD), or SAS tape drive. The expander is an intermediate device that forms part of the service delivery subsystem and facilitates communication between initiators, targets, and/or other expanders. In particular, the expander may facilitate the connection of multiple SAS target devices to a single initiator port, thereby creating a larger SAS domain.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The method and means of transmitting a user's transaction message to a destination node in a computer-secured network operates on the message, and a sequence number that is unique to the transaction message to form a message authentication code in combination with the user's personal identification number. The message authentication code is encrypted with a generated random number and a single session encryption key which also encrypts the user's personal identification number. An intermediate node may receive the encryptions to reproduce the personal identification number that is then used to encrypt the received message and sequence number to produce the random number and a message authentication code for comparison with a decrypted message authentication code. Upon favorable comparison, the random number and the message authentication code are encrypted with a second session encryption key to produce an output code that is transmitted to the destination node along with an encrypted personal identification number. There, the received encryptions are decrypted using the second session key to provide the personal identification number for use in encrypting the message and sequence number to produce a message authentication code for comparison with a decrypted message authentication code. Upon favorable comparison, the transaction is completed and a selected portion of the decrypted random number is returned to the originating node for comparison with the corresponding portion of the random number that was generated there. Upon unfavorable comparison at the destination node or at an intermediate node, a different portion of the decrypted random number is returned to the originating node for comparison with the corresponding portion of the random number that was generated there. The comparisons at the originating node provide an unambiguous indication of the completion or non-completion of the transaction at the destination node.

Conventional data encryption networks commonly encrypt a Personal Identification Number with a particular encryption key for transmission along with data messages, sequence numbers, and the like, from one location node in the data network to the next location or node in the network. There, the encrypted PIN is decrypted using the encryption key, and re-encrypted with another encryption key for transmission to the next node in the network, and so on to the final node destination in the network.
In addition, such conventional data encryption networks also develop a Message Authentication Codes in various ways, and then encrypt such MAC for transmission to the next node using a MAC-encryption key that is different from the encryption key used to encrypt the PIN. At such next node, the MAC is decrypted using the MAC encryption key and then re-encrypted using a new MAC-encryption key for transmission to the next node, and so on to the final destination node in the network.
Further, such conventional networks operate upon the PIN, MAC, data message, sequence number, and the like, received and decrypted at the final destination node to consummate a transaction, or not, and then communicate an ACKnowledgment or Non-ACKnowledgment message back to the originating node of the network. Such ACK or NACK codes may be encrypted and decrypted in the course of transmission node by node through the network back to the originating node to provide an indication there of the status of the intended transaction at the final destination node.
Conventional data encryption networks of this type are impeded from handling greater volumes of messages from end to end by the requirement for separately encrypting and decrypting the PIN and MAC codes at each node using different encryption/decryption keys for each, and by the requirement for encrypting/decrypting at least the ACK code at each node along the return path in the network.
In addition, such conventional data encryption networks are susceptible to unauthorized intrusion and compromise of the security and message authenticity from node to node because of the separated PIN and MAC encryption/decryption techniques involved. For example, the encrypted PIN is vulnerable to being "stripped" away from the associated MAC, message, sequence number, and the like, and to being appended to a different MAC, message, sequence number, and the like, for faithful transmission over the network. Further, the return acknowledgment code may be intercepted and readily converted to a non-acknowledgment code or simply be altered in transmission after the transaction was completed at the destination node. Such a return code condition could, for example, cause the user to suffer the debiting of his account and, at the same time, the denial of completion of a credit purchase at point-of-sale terminal or other originating node.

Method and means for combining and managing personal verification and message authentication encrytions for network transmission


A travelling section 30 for retaining the stick type cosmetic material is installed rotatably in an axial direction in an outer shell section 2 which is constituted by rotatably connecting a front cylinder 10 and a base cylinder 20. An outer circumferential surface 43 of a spiral cylinder 40 which is spirally engaged with a male screw section of the travelling section fits in a second slide surface provided on an inner circumferential surface of the base cylinder 20 which is one component of the outer shell section 2. Due to frictional force of this fit-in part, a cylindrical body and the spiral cylinder 40 are synchronously rotated. The travelling section 30 is engaged with an inner circumference of the front cylinder 10 and can slide only in an axial direction. When the travelling section 30 reaches the uppermost limit or the lowermost limit by relative rotations of the front cylinder 10 and the base cylinder 20, if further rotary torque is furnished, synchronously rotating means are released and the base cylinder 20 and the spiral cylinder 40 are raced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for housing a stick type cosmetic material, more precisely an improvement of a mechanism for preventing a stick type cosmetic material feeding mechanism from breaking.
2. Description of the Related Art
A container for a stick type cosmetic material capable of housing the stick type cosmetic material in the container or feeding out the stick type cosmetic material by relatively rotating members which constitute the container and operating a feeding mechanism in the container has been known.
If the rotation is further continued at the uppermost limit or the lowermost limit of the stick type cosmetic material, a large load will be applied to the feeding mechanism and it will be possible for the container to be broken.
As measures for the problem described above, there has been a proposal which if rotary torque is furnished despite that the stick type cosmetic material reaches the uppermost limit, the further feeding operation will be stopped when a male screw of the feeding mechanism goes over the last thread ridge of a female screw. However, when the male screw goes over the last thread ridge of the female screw, the male screw falls once and is engaged with a next thread ridge and therefore a reciprocating motion is made at a short pitch at the uppermost limit
An object of the present invention is to prevent a feeding mechanism from breaking even though large rotary torque is furnished at the uppermost limit or the lowermost limit of a stick type cosmetic material.
Further, another object of the present invention is that even though large rotary torque is furnished at the uppermost limit of the stick type cosmetic material, the feeding mechanism does not make a reciprocating motion and therefore an up-and-down motion of the stick type cosmetic material can be minimized.
In order to achieve the objects described above, a container for a stick type cosmetic material which has a mechanism for feeding out the stick type cosmetic material according to the present invention comprises:
a front cylinder;
a base cylinder which can be connected to the front cylinder;
an outer shell section constituted by coaxially and rotatably connecting the front cylinder and the base cylinder;
a travelling section which is installed in the outer shell section, has a retaining section for retaining the stick type cosmetic material, and travels in an axial direction in the outer shell section;
a rotation regulating mechanism which allows the travelling section only to relatively slide in a axial direction with respect to one of the front cylinder and the base cylinder which constitute the outer shell section;
a spiral cylinder which has a female screw section to be spirally engaged with a male screw section installed at the travelling section;
a spiral engagement mechanism constituted by spiral engagement of the male screw section and the female screw section;
synchronously rotating means for rotating, by slide resistance, the spiral cylinder synchronously with the other one of the front cylinder and the base cylinder which constitute the outer shell section; and
travel regulating means for regulating travel of the travelling section at the travelling limit in the outer shell section. And if the front cylinder and the base cylinder are relatively rotated, the travelling section will be fed out by the feeding mechanism, and if rotary torque which relatively rotates the front cylinder and the base cylinder exceeds a value of the slide resistance of the synchronously rotating means when the travelling section reaches the uppermost limit, the synchronously rotating means will be released and the spiral cylinder and the male screw section are synchronously rotated.

Container for stick type cosmetic material


An OLED device, comprising, a first layer of independently addressable light emitting elements; and a second layer of independently addressable light emitting elements located on top of the first layer; wherein one of the first and second layers of independently addressable light emitting elements comprises a patterned array of red and blue light emitting elements, and the other of the first and second layers of independently addressable light emitting elements comprises an array of green light emitting elements.

Light-emitting, flat-panel display devices are used for a number of applications such as general illumination light sources, decorative light sources, and information displays. Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices often form an array of differently colored, light-emitting elements that are either arranged spatially in a single layer of independently addressable light emitting elements as discussed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,869 issued to Tang and Littman, entitled "Organic electroluminescent multicolor image display device" or are composed of three stacked layers of independently addressable light emitting elements as has been discussed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,436 issued to Forrest et al., entitled "Transparent Contacts for Organic Devices". To form large, high-resolution devices of either type presents significant manufacturing barriers.
The structure of an OLED typically comprises, in sequence, an anode, an organic electroluminescent (EL) medium, and a cathode. The organic EL medium disposed between the anode and the cathode is commonly comprised of an organic hole-transporting layer (HTL) and an organic electron-transporting layer (ETL). Holes and electrons recombine and emit light in the ETL near the interface of HTL/ETL. Tang et al., "Organic electroluminescent diodes", Applied Physics Letters, 51, 913 (1987), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292, demonstrated highly efficient OLEDs using such a structure of organic material layers. Since then, numerous OLEDs with alternative organic material layer structures have been disclosed. For example, there are three organic material layer OLEDs that contain an organic light-emitting layer (LEL) between the HTL and the ETL, such as that disclosed by Adachi et al., "Electroluminescence in Organic Films with Three-Layer Structure", Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 27, L269 (1988), and by Tang et al., "Electroluminescence of doped organic thin films", Journal of Applied Physics, 65, 3610 (1989). The LEL commonly includes a host material doped with a guest material wherein the layer structures are denoted as HTL/LEL/ETL. Further, there are other organic material layer structures that contain a hole-injecting layer (HIL), and/or an electron-injecting layer (EIL), and/or a hole-blocking layer, and/or an electron-blocking layer in the devices. These structures have further resulted in improved device performance. The term "EL unit" may be used to describe the organic material layers between and in electrical contact with a pair of electrodes, and will include at least one light-emitting layer, and more typically comprises, in sequence, a hole-transport layer, a light-emitting layer, and an electron-transport layer, denoted in brief as HTL/LEL/ETL. Devices having multiple layers of independently addressable light emitting elements will therefore have more than one EL unit stacked on top of one another wherein at least two of the EL units are positioned between separate pairs of electrodes.
The formation of a full-color display device through the spatial arrangement of different colors of emissive organic materials on a single layer of independently addressable light emitting elements requires at least three different organic materials to be deposited in a mosaic on a single layer of independently addressable light emitting elements. This mosaic must be deposited such that any one of the organic materials do not overlap a second organic material and further that each organic material appropriately overlaps electrodes that are formed to drive the organic display. Methods such as vapor deposition through a shadow mask are often used to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, accurate alignment of these precision shadow masks with the appropriate electrodes on the substrate requires a significant period of time to accomplish, slowing manufacturing. Of even greater concern is the fact that the shadow masks are typically not thermally stable and, therefore, it is difficult to maintain the exact tolerances necessary to correctly pattern the three-or-more colors of organic light-emitting materials onto a substrate. Further, the amount of thermal expansion that can occur with a shadow mask increases with increases in mask area, making this process more difficult, when forming OLED displays on large substrates. Other methods to pattern organic materials onto a substrate have been proposed and are a subject of research. However, only evaporation through a shadow mask has been successfully demonstrated in high-volume manufacturing.
To overcome this problem, organic materials may be uniformly deposited on a single layer, wherein these organic materials form an array of addressable EL units providing either a broadband emission or multiple spectral peaks. Red, green and blue color filters may then be used to filter the emission from the addressable array of EL units to form red, green, and blue subpixels. While this method has the advantage that it allows a full-color display to be made without requiring patterning of the deposited organic material, the color filters must provide a narrow pass band to form a full-color display, significantly reducing the efficiency of the display. In such a display, it is typical that less than one third of the light that is produced by the array of organic units is passed through the color filters.
It is possible to use other color filter arrangements to improve the efficiency of an OLED display with red, green and blue color filters. One particularly useful approach utilizes an unfiltered white subpixel in addition to the subpixels that are filtered using red, green, and blue color filters as described in U.S. patent application US 2004/0113875 assigned to Miller et al. and entitled "Color OLED display with improved power efficiency". Using this approach, it has been shown that the efficiency of the display device can be doubled when compared to the use of subpixels having red, green, and blue color filters. In this display configuration nearly two-thirds of the light that is produced by the organic emitter is passed through the color filters when displaying typical images. Unfortunately, the layout of the underlying circuitry required to drive a display employing a fourth subpixel in each pixel limits the resolution of the display device.
Alternatively to devices having an array of EL units producing multiple colors of light emission within a single layer of independently addressable light emitting elements, independently addressable layers of red, green and blue light emitting elements may be formed in a passive-matrix stacked OLED display structure as described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,436 issued to Forrest et al., entitled "Transparent Contacts for Organic Devices". A full color display device of this type is created by forming at least three layers of independently addressable light emitting elements as shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, a display device of this type is formed by forming a first electrode 12 on a substrate 10. An EL unit 14 (comprised of one or more light-emitting organic material layers, and optionally additional material layers as further discussed below) is then formed over the first electrode, followed by a second electrode 16. Successive EL units 18 and 22 and electrodes 20 and 24 are then formed over this second electrode 16. To form a full-color device in this way requires the formation of at least three EL units 14, 18, and 22 and four electrodes 12, 16, 20, and 24. This method has the advantage that it does not, necessarily, require the organic materials to be spatially patterned. That is, if three layers of independently addressable light emitting elements can be formed, one emitting red light, a second emitting green light, and a third emitting blue light, then a full-color display may be formed without spatially patterning the EL materials. The display device can also theoretically be higher in resolution since the red, green, and blue subpixels are formed in the same location within the array of light emitting elements that form the display device.
Unfortunately, a robust manufacturing process for forming display devices of this type has not been demonstrated and active-matrix structures for forming such displays have not been disclosed. Issues such as the need to connect four stacked electrodes to circuitry on a substrate; the lack of electrode materials that are substantially transparent and have a high enough work function to serve as a cathode; and the need for TFT structures that can be used and connected to the four separate electrodes all prohibit the robust manufacturing of devices having three or more layers of independently addressable light emitting elements.
Multi-color displays having multiple layers of independently addressable light emitting elements have also been discussed in the prior art that are formed having two emissive layers of independently addressable light emitting elements. U.S. Patent Application 2005/0012465 filed by Uchida and entitled "Organic electroluminescent device, method for driving the same, illumination device, and electronic apparatus" describes such an OLED device structure. In this device structure, three electrodes are formed on a substrate wherein the center electrode and one of the first and third electrodes have transparency. An EL unit is formed between each pair of electrodes. This device is driven such that by switching between a forward driving in which the first and third electrodes serve as anodes and inverse driving where the first and third electrodes serve as cathodes either the first or second EL unit is driven with a forward bias and emits light while the remaining EL unit is simultaneously driven with a reverse bias and does not emit light. By driving this display device in this way, the device may emit either the color of light produced by the first or the second EL unit. If the drive is switched from forward to inverse bias quickly enough, both EL units are perceived as emitting light and the device is perceived as emitting a mixture of the color of light produced by the first and second EL unit. Such a device structure does not require the first and third electrodes to be driven independently of one another, potentially reducing the circuitry required to drive the display device. This patent application does not, however, describe a full-color display device or provide an active matrix means for driving the display device.
Full color displays having two layers of independently addressable light emitting elements have also been disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,618 issued to Arnold et al. and entitled "Color organic light emitting diode display with improved lifetime" discusses a display having a layer of independently addressable blue light emitting elements above which are patterned an array of red and green EL units to form a second layer of independently addressable light emitting elements capable of providing red and green light. Such a display device provides a longer lifetime since the blue light emitting OLEDs generally have a shorter lifetime than red or green light emitting OLEDs and this structure allows the area of blue light emitting diodes to be increased, decreasing the current density required to drive the OLEDs which, in turn, allows the OLED to operate in a more stable domain, thereby increasing its lifetime.
It is further known in the art that the human eye is less sensitive to spatial detail in low luminance colors than in high luminance colors. For this reason, displays, having a single layer of light emission, have been suggested which include fewer blue and/or red light-emitting elements than green. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,274 issued to Takahashi et al. and entitled "Matrix-type color liquid crystal display device" provides for a liquid crystal display that consists of a matrix of light-emitting elements wherein fewer red and blue light emitting elements are employed than green light-emitting elements. However, this principle has not been applied display structures having more than one layer of independently addressable light emitting elements.
There is a need, therefore, for an OLED device structure that reduces the tolerances for patterning different OLED materials, has a high efficiency, has the capability for forming a high resolution display device, and that is simpler to construct than a device having three-or-more layers of independently addressable light emitting elements.


Presented are apparatus and methods for pump-through fluid loss control. In one embodiment, the fluid loss control device is positioned in a wellbore having a first and a second one-way valve therein. The first one-way valve is openable in response to a first, selected differential pressure acting upward across the first one-way valve. For example, fluid pumped from an ESP from below the device acts to open the first one-way valve. Fluid is flowed upward through the device through the first one-way valve while the second one-way valve is closed. The first one-way valve is closed by reducing the first differential pressure across the first one-way valve, for example, by turning off the ESP. The second one-way valve is opened in response to a second, selected differential pressure acting downward across the valve. Fluid is flowed downward through the second one-way valve while the first one-way valve is closed.

Electrical submersible pumps (ESP) are used in the oil and gas production industry to pump production and other fluids upwards in the wellbore in deep water applications. Some large ESPs are generally capable of pumping from 10-40 k barrels per day depending on conditions and pump specifications. Typically, positioned above the ESP, or other submersible pump, is a standing valve which prevents back-flow (downhole) into the ESP when the pump is shut-off for maintenance, injection procedures, pressure tests, bleeding off produced gas, etc. The standing valve is closed by hydrostatic head when the pump is off, provided, for example, by production fluid in the tubing. For deep water applications, the standing valve can hold a substantial differential pressure across the valve to support hydrostatic head above the ESP and, when applicable, tubing pressure from operations above the ESP. The valve opens when the pump is turned on and produces a relatively low differential pressure drop across the valve to a designed pressure value. The valve remains open for production of hydrocarbons or pumping of fluids uphole.
An ESP may see hundreds of shut-offs each year, again depending on circumstances. It is important to prevent back-flow into most pumps, since such reverse flow tends to rotate the pump backwards, damaging the pump. The standing valve must be able to seal adequately against significant hydrostatic pressure, especially in deep water wells. For example, the standing valve may have to seal against about 8,000 feet of production fluid or hold 3500 psi differential pressure. The standing valve also must withstand the tubing pressure above the valve during uphole operations.
However, it is often desirable for the standing valve to allow leakage of fluid down into the pump to lubricate and prime the pump for when it is activated. Consequently, prior art tubing standing valves, are designed to open to downward fluid flow at a selected differential pressure. For example, the valve may open to a downward fluid differential pressure of 3600-4000 psi. Typically, the pressure differential sufficient to operate the standing valve to fluid flow downward is relatively higher than the differential pressure to open the valve to upward fluid flow.
These requirements, holding against a high pressure (hydrostatic and tubing), opening at a relatively low differential upward pressure for production, and opening at a relatively high pump-down pressure for leakage, make a workable design and manufacture more difficult. For example, relatively hard materials, such as tungsten carbide, and relatively exacting tolerances, for example, at the valve seat, may be required for the valve parts to adequately seal, provide a closely defined small cross-sectional differential area for opening, etc.
Commercially available pump-through fluid loss control devices are made by Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., and sold as PES® Pump-Through Fluid Loss Control Devices. A single valve is used for both production and pump-through, with biasing spring assemblies providing for a relatively lower differential pressure to open the valve for production and a relatively higher differential pressure (pump-down pressure) to open the valve for pump-through procedures. A movable valve element seals on a movable valve seat. Pressure from the ESP below acts on the lower side of the valve element, on a cross-sectional area radially inside the seat, to move the valve upward and allow production. The valve element is biased closed when insufficient pressure is provided from below. For pump-through of fluids downward, fluid pressure is built up in the tubing string above the valve, the differential pressure acting on a narrow annular cross-sectional area of the movable seat. The seat, which is at the upper end or as a shoulder of a slidable sleeve, for example, is biased upward by a biasing mechanism. Sufficient differential pressure moves the seat downward while the valve element is prevented from similar downward movement, thereby opening the valve assembly for downward fluid flow.
The invention disclosed herein is described largely in terms of a standing valve assembly for use above an ESP, for example, in deep water wells. However, such a standing valve assembly can be employed in combination with various tool and string configurations for various purposes, as those of skill in the art will recognize. For example, the tool assembly can be used to prevent the loss of completion fluids or kill fluids and to prevent contamination of the wellbore-perforated interval.


A concentrator nozzle for a hair dryer contains: a wind collector and a rotatable operation member. The wind collector includes a connection groove formed on a circular bottom thereof. An upper end of the rotatable operation member includes a cutout extending to a lower end of the rotatable operation member. The connection groove is connected with a coupling segment on a body of the hair dryer so as to receive airflow produced by the hair dryer, and the wind collector drives the rotatable operation member to rotate so as to produce a vortex flow for curling the user's hairs fixed on the concentrator nozzle. Then, the hair dryer blows hot air to the user's hairs, thus forming the user's hairs in a desired curling shape.

A conventional hair dryer contains a fan unit and a heating unit, the fan unit draws air from an external environment to produce airflow, and the airflow is heated by the heating unit to form hot air which is discharged out of an air outlet of the hair dryer. The air outlet is circular so as to discharge the hot air. To discharge the hot air forcefully, a concentrator nozzle is connected with the air outlet, but such a concentrator nozzle cannot curl user's hairs.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A hydraulic tensioner having a piston with a pressure relief valve and grooved tip. The tensioner includes an oil passage that is formed in the piston, and that opens at the piston tip. The pressure relief valve is located in the oil passage, and the groove that connects to the opening of the oil passage is formed on the face of the piston tip.

A tensioning device, such as a hydraulic tensioner, is used to impart and maintain a certain degree of tension in the chain or belt that drives, for example, an engine camshaft. A hydraulic tensioner typically comprises a housing having a bore, and a piston having a rear end which is inserted into the bore of the housing. The piston is biased in a protruding or outward direction by a spring. A fluid chamber is formed by the inner wall surface of the bore and the rear end face of the piston. A fluid pressure source provides pressurized fluid through a passage in the housing to the fluid chamber.
When the tension of the chain or belt increases during engine operation, the piston receives a force in the retraction direction, and the fluid pressure in the fluid chamber also increases. If the force received by the piston is excessive the piston and housing may be damaged.
In conventional hydraulic tensioners, relief valves have been provided in the housing, and thus require enlargement of the housing. Also, typically, the tip of the piston tends to develop wear from its contact with the tensioner arm.
The present invention is directed to the above-described problems in conventional hydraulic tensioners, and provides a hydraulic tensioner which has a pressure relief valve that releases oil from the fluid chamber to the outside, conserves housing space, and reduces wear of the tip of the piston. When the fluid pressure in the fluid chamber exceeds a predetermined maximum, the pressure relief valve opens so that oil can discharge to the outside and lubricate the tip of the piston.

Hydraulic tensioner having a piston with a pressure relief valve and grooved tip


Sport boot including a sole overlaid by an upper, the boot having an internal support surface for the foot and a portion for supporting the arch of the user's foot, wherein the supporting portion is constituted by a flexible, elastically deformable element positioned between the internal support surface and an internal lateral flank of the upper, and wherein it includes a volume adjusting mechanism which it demarcates with the upper, by acting on its profile, along at least one transverse plane with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arch support for a boot, such as a sport boot including a sole overlaid by an upper provided with an opening to enable passage of the user's foot and having closure and tightening mechanism, including a sport boot incorporating such an arch support. The sole includes an external portion adapted to be in contact with the ground or with a sport accessory such as a cross-country ski, a conventional skate or an in-line roller skate.
Generally, a boot of the above-mentioned type has an internal sole portion, referred to as an internal or comfort sole, arranged directly beneath the user's foot. It is known to provide on this internal portion of the sole a zone for supporting the arch of the user's foot.
2. Background and Material Information
Such portions for supporting the arch of the foot are widely diffused and generally are constituted by a projection of the internal sole, made of a more or less flexible and elastic material along a standard profile for a given type of boot.
As a result, these supporting portions are not perfectly adapted to the morphology of the user's foot, and this may lead to a discomfort that could disturb the blood circulation in this zone of the foot.
To remedy this disadvantage, supporting portions for the arch of the foot have already been proposed which have certain adjustments.
Thus, the U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,942 proposes a supporting portion for the arch of the foot including adjusting means in a longitudinal direction so as to better adapt to the morphology of a given user.
Foot internal tightening means taking into account the morphology of the arch of a user's foot are also known from the Japanese Patent No 7-108002.

Sport boot provided with an adjustable arch support, and an adjustable arch support therefor