An energy conversion system comprising ammonia for fueling an SOFC stack to generate electricity and a hydrogen-rich tailgas. In the SOFC stack, ammonia is cracked to hydrogen and nitrogen. Ammonia is stored in a metal halide complex and is released therefrom as gaseous ammonia by waste heat from the SOFC. A heat exchanger is positioned across the SOFC cathode such that incoming air is tempered by the cathode exhaust air. In a two-stage energy conversion system, the hydrogen-rich tailgas from the SOFC is supplied as fuel to a secondary energy conversion device which may be, for example, an internal combustion engine or a gas turbine engine which may operate, for example, either a generator for generating additional electricity or a vehicle for motive power, or a second fuel cell stack.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are well known in the fuel cell art. SOFCs have significant advantages over some other forms of fuel cells, such as proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, in that SOFCs are not subject to CO poisoning of the anode and therefore can burn reformate directly from a catalytic hydrocarbon reformer, which produces CO and H2. Further, some simple fuels such as natural gas (methane) and short-chain alcohols (methanol, ethanol, etc.) can be partly or fully reformed internally in the SOFC anode, conferring large advantages in efficiency and simplification of an overall fuel cell system.
It is known in the fuel cell art to employ ammonia (NH3) as another cost-effective alternative fuel, which is well-matched to internal reforming. Ammonia may be fed directly into an SOFC anode and cracked to nitrogen and hydrogen in an endothermic reaction without requiring a separate catalytic fuel reformer as is needed for fueling of an SOFC with conventional, petroleum-based fuels.
A very great advantage of ammonia compared to carbon-based fuels is that coking of the anode is not possible, because there is no carbon in the fuel. This allows a wider window of operating temperature in the anode, which can make possible operation of an SOFC at lower operating temperatures, thereby permitting the use of lower cost materials for forming the SOFC stack.
Another advantage is that manufactured ammonia is essentially sulfur-free, which avoids the well-known deterioration of an anode that can occur with even trace quantities of sulfur, as are typically present in naturally-occurring hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline. This feature also avoids the necessity of incorporating into an SOFC system sulfur-trapping means and/or expensive sulfur-tolerant materials of manufacture.
Another advantage of fueling by ammonia is that it is a zero CO2-emissions fuel. Although commercial synthesis of ammonia typically involves the use of hydrocarbon fuels, such synthesis may be performed at the hydrocarbon wellhead with the resulting CO2 sequestered underground. Alternatively, ammonia may be synthesized using nuclear energy which, of course, does not generate CO2.
A solid tablet invented by a Amminex A/S comprising ammonia absorbed efficiently in compact salt units is safe to handle and consist of inexpensive and abundant raw materials. This makes it different from most other hydrogen storage technologies in that it requires no special safety precautions. Ammonia has a high hydrogen content and when stored safely in a solid form enables the material to contain large amounts of hydrogen per unit volume, making it an ideal "hydrogen carrier" fuel for vehicular and stationary power systems.
It is known to combine an SOFC stack, operated with hydrocarbon reformate as a fuel source, with an internal combustion engine (ICE) in a two-stage energy conversion system wherein the anode tailgas of the SOFC, containing large amounts of hydrogen and CO, is used as a hot fuel for the downstream ICE.
What is needed in the art is an analogous system fueled by ammonia as a source for hydrogen fuel.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an efficient, zero-CO2-emissions, system for generating electrical, and optionally mechanical and thermal, energy.

Energy conversion device including a solid oxide fuel cell fueled by ammonia


A method for protection of a mammal that has impaired glucose tolerance or early stage diabetes mellitus from developing overt or insulin dependent diabetes comprises administering an orally effective dose of a pharmaceutical formulation comprising insulin at nighttime, e.g., at or shortly before bedtime.

Proteins, peptides and other biological molecules ("biological macromolecules", namely biological polymers such as proteins and polypeptides) are increasingly being use in many diverse areas of science and technology. For example, proteins are employed as active agents in the fields of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and veterinary products. Unfortunately, the use of biological macromolecules as active agents in pharmaceutical compositions is often severely limited by the presence of natural barriers of passage to the location where the active agent is required. Such barriers include the skin, lipid bi-layers, mucosal membranes, severe pH conditions and digestive enzymes.
There are many obstacles to successful oral delivery of biological macromolecules. For example, biological macromolecules are large and are amphipathic in nature. More importantly, the active conformation of many biological macromolecules may be sensitive to a variety of environmental factors, such as temperature, oxidizing agents, pH, freezing, shaking and shear stress. In planning oral delivery systems comprising biological macromolecules as an active agent for drug development, these complex structural and stability factors must be considered. In addition, in general, for medical and therapeutic applications, where a biological macromolecule is being administered to a patient and is expected to perform its natural biological function, delivery vehicles can be used to facilitate absorption through the gastrointestinal tract. These delivery vehicles must be able to release active molecules, at a rate that is consistent with the needs of the particular patient or the disease process.
One specific biological macromolecule, the hormone insulin, contributes to the normal regulation of blood glucose levels through its release by the pancreas, more specifically by the β-cells of a major type of pancreatic tissue (the islets of Langerhans), so that the glucose can be used as a source of energy. Insulin secretion is a regulated process that, in normal subjects, provides stable concentrations of glucose in blood during both fasting and feeding. In normal healthy humans, insulin is secreted from the pancreas into the portal vein, which carries the insulin to the liver. The liver utilizes and/or metabolizes a large portion of the insulin that it receives from the portal circulation.
Blood glucose concentration is the principal stimulus to insulin secretion in healthy humans. Glucose enters the pancreatic β-cell by facilitated transport and is then phosphorylated by glucokinase. Expression of glucokinase is primarily limited to cells and tissues involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism, such as the liver and the pancreatic β-cells. The capacity of sugars to undergo phosphorylation and subsequent glycolysis correlates closely with their ability to stimulate insulin release. It is noted that not all tissues are dependent on insulin for glucose uptake. For example, the brain, kidneys and red blood cells are insulin independent tissues, while the liver, adipose and muscle are insulin dependent tissues.
Diabetes Mellitus ("diabetes") is a disease state in which the pancreas does not release insulin at levels capable of controlling glucose levels and/or in which muscle, fat and liver cells respond poorly to normal insulin levels because of insulin resistance. Diabetes Mellitus is classified into two types: Type 1 and Type 2. Approximately 5 to 10% of diagnosed cases of diabetes are attributed to Type 1 diabetes, and approximately 90% to 95% to type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is diabetes that is insulin dependent and usually first appears in young people. In Type 1 diabetes, the islet cells of the pancreas stop producing insulin mainly due to autoimmune destruction and the patient must inject himself with the missing hormone.
Type 2 diabetes is non-insulin dependent diabetes, which may be caused by a combination of insulin resistance (or decreased insulin sensitivity) and, in later stages, insufficient insulin secretion. This is the most common type of diabetes in the Western world. Close to 8% of the adult population of various countries around the world, including the United States, have Type 2 diabetes, and about 30% of these patients will need to use exogenous insulin at some point during their life spans due to secondary pancreas exhaustion and the eventual cessation of insulin production.
Insulin resistance (or decreased insulin sensitivity) is also prevalent in the population, especially in overweight individuals, in those with risk of diabetes (i.e., pre-diabetic, wherein blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes) and in individuals with type 2 diabetes who produce enough insulin but whose tissues have a diminished ability to adequately respond to the action of insulin. In order to compensate and overcome the insulin resistance, the pancreatic β-cells initially increase their insulin production such that insulin resistant individuals have high plasma insulin levels. However, after a period of high demand placed on these cells, the cells start to decompensate and exhaust, and insulin secretion is reduced at later stages of diabetes. By the time an individual is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, roughly 50% of the β-cells have died due to increased demand for insulin production.
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and accounted for more than 193,000 deaths in 1997. However, this is an underestimate because complications resulting from diabetes are a major cause of morbidity in the population. Diabetes is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in the form of cardiovascular disease, stroke, digestive diseases, infection, metabolic complications, ophthalmic disorders, neuropathy, kidney disease and failure, peripheral vascular disease, ulcerations and amputations, oral complications, and depression. Thus, diabetes contributes to substantially many deaths that are ultimately ascribed to other causes.
The main cause of mortality with Diabetes Mellitus is long term micro- and macro-vascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for up to 80% of the deaths of type 2 diabetic patients, and diabetics have a two- to four-fold increase in the risk of coronary artery disease, equal that of patients who have survived a stroke or myocardial infarction. In other words, heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes occur two to four times more frequently in adult diabetics than in adult non-diabetics. This increased risk of coronary artery disease combined with an increase in hypertensive cardiomyopathy manifests itself in an increase in the risk of congestive heart failure. These vascular complications lead to neuropathies, retinopathies and peripheral vascular disease.
Diabetic retinopathy (the breakdown of the lining at the back of the eye) is the leading cause of blindness in adults aged 20 through 74 years, and diabetic kidney disease, e.g., nephropathy (the inability of the kidney to properly filter body toxins), accounts for 40% of all new cases of end-stage renal disease (kidney failure). Furthermore, diabetes is also the leading cause for amputation of limbs in the United States. Diabetes causes special problems during pregnancy, and the rate of congenital malformations can be five times higher in the children of women with diabetes.
Insulin resistance plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, which eventually induces the development of diabetic complications. Furthermore, insulin resistance ostensibly plays a role in the pathogenesis of macrovascular disease, cardiovascular diseases and microvascular disease.
Poor glycemic control contributes to the high incidence of these complications, and the beneficial effects of tight glycemic control on the chronic complications of diabetes are widely accepted in clinical practice. However, only recently has it been firmly established that elevated blood glucose levels are a direct cause of long-term complications of diabetes. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study both showed that control of blood glucose at levels as close to normal as possible prevents and retards development of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and microvascular disease.
In type 1 diabetes, insulin therapy is essential and is intended to replace the absent endogenous insulin with an exogenous insulin supply. In type 2 diabetes, therapy has consisted of oral antidiabetic agents, which increase insulin sensitivity and/or insulin secretion, and insulin if, and when, the oral agents fail.
The problem of providing bioavailable unmodified human insulin, in a useful form, to the ever-increasing population of diabetics has occupied physicians and scientists for almost 100 years. Many attempts have been made to solve some of the problems of stability and biological delivery of this peptide. Because insulin is a peptide drug (MW approx. 6000 Da) that is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, it ordinarily requires parenteral administration such as by subcutaneous injection. Thus, most diabetic patients self-administer insulin by subcutaneous injections, often multiple times per day. However, the limitations of multiple daily injections, such as inconvenience, poor patient acceptability, compliance and the difficulty of matching postprandial insulin availability to postprandial requirements, are some of the better-known shortcomings of insulin therapy.
Despite studies demonstrating the beneficial effects of tight glycemic control on chronic complications of diabetes, clinicians are not particularly keen on aggressive insulin therapy, particularly in the early stages of the disease, and this is widely accepted in clinical practice. The unmet challenge of achieving tight glycemic control is due, in part, to the shortcomings of the available subcutaneous route of insulin administration and the fear of hypoglycemia. In addition to the practical limitations of multiple daily injections discussed above, the shortcomings of the commonly available subcutaneous route of insulin administration have resulted in the generally inadequate glycemic control believed to be associated with many of the chronic complications (comorbidities) associated with diabetes.
Hyperinsulinemia (elevated blood concentrations of insulin) can occur by the administration of insulin in a location (and manner) that is not consistent with the normal physiological route of delivery. Insulin circulates in blood as the free monomer, and its volume of distribution approximates the volume of extracellular fluid. Under fasting conditions, the concentration of insulin in portal blood is, e.g., about 2-4 ng/mL, whereas the systemic (peripheral) concentration of insulin is, e.g., about 0.5 ng/mL, in normal healthy humans, translating into, e.g., a 5:1 ratio. In human diabetics who receive insulin via subcutaneous injection, the ratio is changed to about 0.75:1. Thus, in such diabetic patients, the liver does not receive the necessary concentrations of insulin to adequately control blood glucose. Elevated systemic levels of insulin may lead to increased glucose uptake, glycogen synthesis, glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis, cortisol synthesis and triacylglycerol synthesis, leading to the expression of key genes that result in greater utilization of glucose.
In the field of insulin delivery, where multiple repeated administrations are required on a daily basis throughout the patient's life, it is desirable to create compositions of insulin that do not alter physiological clinical activity and that do not require injections. Oral delivery of insulin is a particularly desirable route of administration, for safety and convenience considerations, because it can minimize or eliminate the discomfort that often attends repeated hypodermic injections. It has been a significant unmet goal in the art to imitate normal insulin levels in the portal and systemic circulation via oral administration of insulin.
Oral delivery of insulin may have advantages beyond convenience, acceptance and compliance issues. Insulin absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract mimics the physiology of insulin secreted by the pancreas because both are released into the portal vein and carried directly to the liver before being delivered into the peripheral circulation. Absorption into the portal circulation maintains a peripheral-portal insulin gradient that regulates insulin secretion. In its first passage through the liver, roughly 60% of the insulin is retained and metabolized, thereby reducing the incidence of peripheral hyperinsulinemia, a factor linked to complications in diabetes. A not uncommon, and serious, complication of insulin treatment and other oral antidiabetic agents is hypoglycemia.
However, insulin exemplifies the problems confronted in the art in designing an effective oral drug delivery system for biological macromolecules. Insulin absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is prevented presumably by its molecular size and its susceptibility for enzymatic degradation. The physicochemical properties of insulin and its susceptibility to enzymatic digestion have precluded the design of a commercially viable oral or alternate delivery system.
Emisphere Technologies, Inc. has developed compositions of insulin that are orally administrable, e.g., absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in adequate concentrations, such that the insulin is bioavailable and bioactive following oral administration and provide sufficient absorption and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties to provide the desired therapeutic effect, i.e., cause a reduction of blood glucose, as disclosed in U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 10/237,138, 60/346,746, 60/347,312, 60/368,617, 60/374,979, 60/389,364, 60/438,195, 60/438,451, 60/438,444, 60/452,660 and 60/488,465, as well as in International Patent Application Publications Nos. WO 03/057170, WO 03/057650 and WO02/02509, all assigned to Emisphere Technologies, Inc., all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The novel drug delivery technology of Emisphere Technologies, Inc. is based upon the design and synthesis of low molecular weight compounds called "delivery agents." When formulated with insulin, the delivery agent, which is in a preferred embodiment 4-CNAB (sodium N-[4-(4-chloro-2 hydroxybenzoyl)amino]butyrate) enables the gastrointestinal absorption of insulin. It is believed that the mechanism of this process is that 4-CNAB interacts with insulin non-covalently, creating more favorable physical-chemical properties for absorption. Once across the gastrointestinal wall, insulin disassociates rapidly from 4-CNAB and reverts to its normal, pharmacologically active state. 4-CNAB is not intended to possess any inherent pharmacological activity and serves only to increase the oral bioavailability of insulin by facilitating the transport of insulin across the gastrointestinal wall. The pharmacology of insulin is the desired therapeutic effect and is well characterized.
Whereas traditional subcutaneous insulin dosing shifts the point of entry of insulin into the circulation from the natural site (the portal vein) to the systemic circulation, the oral dosing method developed by Emisphere Technologies, Inc. mimics natural physiology, namely, the ratio of concentration of unmodified insulin in the portal circulation to that in the systemic circulation approaches the normal physiological ratio, e.g., from about 2:1 to about 6:1. The effect of this route of dosing is two fold. First, by targeting the liver directly, a greater control of glucose may be achieved. Various studies have shown that intraportal delivery of insulin can yield a comparable control of glucose at infusion rates lower than those required by peripheral administration. Because the insulin will undergo substantial (˜50%) first-pass metabolism prior to entering the systemic circulation, a lower serum concentration and total exposure is achieved. This may, in turn, alleviate any detrimental effects of insulin on non-target tissues.
Insulin/4-CNAB capsules were evaluated by Emisphere Technologies, Inc. in a nonclinical program that included pharmacological screening, pharmacokinetic and metabolic profiles, and toxicity assessments in rats and monkeys. These studies in rats and monkeys showed that 4-CNAB is absorbed rapidly following oral administration.
Insulin/4-CNAB capsules were also evaluated by Emisphere Technologies, Inc. in clinical studies for the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and the effect of food on the absorption of insulin. In these studies, 4-CNAB was shown to enhance the gastrointestinal absorption of insulin following oral administration in diabetic patients and healthy subjects. Oral administration of Insulin/4-CNAB capsules resulted in rapid absorption of both insulin and 4-CNAB, and the insulin absorbed orally in combination with 4-CNAB was pharmacologically active, as demonstrated by a reduction of blood glucose in healthy and diabetic subjects and by a blunting of postprandial glucose excursion in diabetic patients. These studies suggest that oral administration of a formulation of insulin/4-CNAB is well-tolerated and reduces blood glucose concentrations in both healthy subjects and diabetic patients.
In normal physiology, first-phase insulin secretion takes place 5 to 20 minutes after the start of a meal, and this effect has a well-known impact on prandial glucose homeostasis. The loss of first-phase insulin secretion is a characteristic feature of Type 2 diabetic patients in the early stages of the disease, and it is also observed in prediabetic states, namely individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. In the absence of first-phase insulin secretion, the stimulatory effect of glucagon on gluconeogenesis is not suppressed and may contribute to the development of prandial hyperglycemia. In the basal state as well as in the prandial phase, plasma glucose concentrations are correlated with hepatic glucose output. Therefore, restoration of first-phase insulin secretion at the time of meal ingestion should suppress prandial hepatic glucose output and subsequently improve the blood glucose profile.
Several approaches have been undertaken to prove this hypothesis. However, the therapeutic regimens were either too dangerous for a long-term treatment (such as intravenous administration of regular human insulin) or pharmacologically unsuitable (fast-acting insulin analogues). Furthermore, restoration of first phase insulin response appears to be difficult in patients with a long-standing history of diabetes who have lost most or all of their endogenous insulin secretion capacity.
Currently, regular subcutaneously injected insulin is recommended to be dosed at 30 to 45 minutes prior to mealtime. As a result, diabetic patients and other insulin users must engage in considerable planning of their meals and of their insulin administrations relative to their meals. Unfortunately, intervening events that may take place between administration of insulin and ingestion of the meal may affect the anticipated glucose excursion. Furthermore, there is also the potential for hypoglycemia if the administered insulin provides a therapeutic effect over too great a time, e.g., after the rise in glucose levels that occur as a result of ingestion of the meal has already been lowered.
In addition, certain short acting insulin formulations, because of the speed with which the insulin provides a blood glucose lowering effect, may, between the time of administration of insulin and the time of ingestion of the meal, contribute to a lowering of blood glucose to a level that could range from subclinical hypoglycemia to more undesirable effects.
It is desirable to provide an oral insulin treatment for early phase and late phase diabetic patients, and for individuals with impaired glucose tolerance who have impaired first phase insulin secretion, which treatment can be administered orally at or shortly prior to mealtime and that has a short duration of action.


A gyroscopically-oriented survey tool, includes a housing having an axis. Three accelerometers are mounted in the housing with their axis set orthogonally. A first of the axis is aligned to the axis of the housing. A second of the axis is perpendicular to the first. A third of the axis is perpendicular to both of the first and the second. Three gyroscopes are mounted pseudo-orthogonally in the housing with their axis set at relative angles of other than 90 degrees. None of the axis of the gyroscopes are mounted parallel to the axis of the accelerometers. This configuration permits data from the accelerometers to be used to check the quality of data from the gyroscopes.

Boreholes drilled into the ground are rarely straight, owing to the interaction of a rotating drill bit with inhomogeneous ground. Nevertheless, deviation of the borehole is intentional in some instances. To determine the true trajectory, borehole survey instruments are run through the hole. Measurements of dip (or inclination) and azimuth can be made at intervals along the borehole and the results interpolated to derive the trajectory. Sometimes the measurements are made while moving the instrument along the borehole; sometimes the measurements are made at discrete stationary intervals.
Sensing inclination is relatively straightforward. There is considerable prior art related to accelerometers and tiltmeters that can be used to determine the inclination of the instrument axis with the gravitational vertical. Sensing azimuth is more difficult. There are three methods of doing this: (1) using a sensor referenced to an inertial frame of reference (i.e., a gyroscope), (2) using the Earth's magnetic field (i.e., a magnetometer or compass), or (3) integrating changes in curvature of the borehole from an initial surface orientation.
Current gyroscopically-oriented instruments are the most complex and expensive. Typically, they rely on one or two rotating-mass gyroscopes in a gimballed or strap-down mount. As the instrument is run through the borehole, movements of the axis (in the case of gimballed gyroscope) or precessive forces (in the case of a strap-down gyroscope) are measured to obtain the attitude of the instrument. Unfortunately, rotating gyroscopes are sensitive to shock loading, drift, and external magnetic fields. Much of the effort in improving the accuracy of gyroscopically-oriented revolves around compensating for drift in the gyroscopes.
Instruments using the Earth's magnetic field are of relatively simple construction and are therefore the least expensive. Unfortunately, magnetic fields generated by the drilling equipment and/or nearby mineralization can distort the local magnetic field, and hence the reported azimuth. Instruments with three-component magnetometers (e.g., a fluxgate magnetometer) are able to give some diagnostic information such as magnetic field strength and magnetic dip. These diagnostic parameters should be constant for a given geographical location and any significant variation can be taken as an indication that the reported azimuth is less reliable. Additionally, magnetically-oriented survey instruments do not operate well at high geomagnetic latitudes because the Earth's magnetic field is near-vertical.
Integration-type instruments are typically run inside the drill rods. A snug fit between the instrument and the rods ensures that the instrument takes on the same curvature as the rods. As the instrument is run through the rods, the twists and turns of the rods are added up to obtain the borehole trajectory. Unfortunately, measurement errors accumulate and the error of these instruments increases with hole depth.


Techniques are provided for back-gate control in an asymmetrical memory cell. In one aspect, the cell includes five transistors and can be employed for static random access memory (SRAM) applications. An inventive memory circuit can include a plurality of bit line structures, a plurality of word line structures that intersect the plurality of bit line structures to form a plurality of cell locations, and a plurality of cells located at the plurality of cell locations. Each cell can be selectively coupled to a corresponding one of the bit line structures under control of a corresponding one of the word line structures. Each cell can include a first inverter having first and second field effect transistors (FETS) and a second inverter with third and fourth FETS that is cross-coupled to the first inverter to form a storage flip-flop. One of the FETS in the first inverter can be configured with independent front and back gates and can function as both an access transistor and part of one of the inverters.

As device size substantially shrinks in advanced very large scale integration (VLSI) technology, increased process variation causes significant amounts of threshold voltage fluctuation. As a result, stability of static random access memory (SRAM) deteriorates due to large threshold voltage mismatches between two neighboring transistors in a cell. The well-known conventional six transistor SRAM is described, e.g., in Hodges & Jackson's textbook "Analysis and Design of Integrated Circuits," 2d edition, at pages 364-68 (New York, McGraw Hill, 1988). The conventional SRAM has its worst stability during the READ mode because the voltage at the storage node having a "zero" logic value rises during the READ cycle. If this increased node voltage is larger than the trip voltage of the inverter, the stored logic values will be flipped and data will be lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,656 to Zhang discloses an asymmetric memory cell for single-ended sensing. An apparatus including an asymmetrical memory cell having a first inverter and a second inverter is provided. The first inverter is larger than said second inverter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,230 to Kuriyama discloses a semiconductor memory device capable of operating at high speed and stably even under low power supply voltage. A memory cell includes a read/write word line R/WL1 driving an access transistor Q1 in read and write operations and a write word line WL1 driving an access transistor Q2 in the write operation. In the write operation, both access transistors Q1 and Q2 are driven, and storage information is written in the memory cell by a bit line and a complementary bit line having potentials complementary to each other. On the other hand, in the read operation, only access transistor Q1 is rendered conductive, and storage information is read out through the bit line. Since access transistor Q2 is rendered nonconductive, a P type TFT transistor and an N type transistor operate as a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) type inverter having a large voltage gain. Therefore, a sufficient operating margin is secured even in the read operation.
While the so-called asymmetrical SRAM cell can achieve an improved static noise margin (SNM) as compared to a conventional symmetrical SRAM cell, there are practical limits, due to device size considerations, to obtain further improvement in the SNM.
It would be desirable to overcome the limitations in previous approaches.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Computer-readable medium encoding a back-gate controlled asymmetrical memory cell and memory using the cell

International Business Machines Corporation


A processing device is provided which includes memory and a processor. The processor is configured to receive an input image having a first resolution, generate linear down-sampled versions of the input image by down-sampling the input image via a linear upscaling network and generate non-linear down-sampled versions of the input image by down-sampling the input image via a non-linear upscaling network. The processor is also configured to convert the down-sampled versions of the input image into pixels of an output image having a second resolution higher than the first resolution and provide the output image for display.

Super-resolution is the process of upscaling an original image (e.g. video image, photo), via a neural network, to extract more information (e.g., details) than the amount of information present in the original image. Super-resolution techniques use information from different images or frames to create an up-scaled image. Details are extracted from each image in a sequence to reconstruct other images.


A toner composition comprised of resin particles, pigment particles, and submicron colloidal domains of an ionomeric polymer or an interpolymer complex comprising a first polymer and a second polymer, preferably, independently selected from the group consisting of an ionophoric polymer and the ionomeric polymer. The ionomeric polymer and interpolymer complex are optionally complexed to a Lewis acid, a salt, or an ion thereof.

This invention is generally directed to toner compositions and developer compositions useful in electrostatographic imaging systems including color imaging processes. More specifically, the present invention is directed to toner compositions containing therein, as charge control agents, certain ion-binding polymers.
Electrostatographic processes, and more specifically the xerographic process, are well known as documented in several prior art references. This process involves development of an electrostatic latent image by applying toner particles to the image to be developed using, for example, cascade development, magnetic brush development, and touchdown development. The toner particles applied can be charged negatively or positively, depending upon the charge deposited on the photoreceptor surface and whether image or background areas are exposed to light. Thus, for example, when it is desired to develop an area which is negatively charged relative to the developer housing bias, the toner particles are positively charged usually by incorporating therein certain charge enhancing additives. In contrast, when developing an area which is positively charged relative to the developer housing bias, the toner particles are negatively charged usually by incorporating therein charge control agents which will cause the toner particles to assume negative charges thereon.
In modern xerographic developers, additives known as charge control agents ("CCAs") are used to modify charge levels, charge distribution, admix characteristics and developer life. Problems accompanying the use of CCAs range from shortfalls in their ability to impact this array of properties In a beneficial manner to incompatibility with other subsystems (e.g., photoreceptor and fuser). Pigments, including carbon blacks, organic and inorganic colorants and magnetic particles (Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, .gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) tend to have a dominant effect on the charging characteristics of a toner or developer. Accordingly, one of the most significant shortfalls in the use of charge control agents for color xerography is the necessity of formulating different compositions whenever the pigments in the toner are changed. Even with effective charge control agents one is often limited in choice of colorant.
Various toner formulations are known:
Winnik et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,763 (issued Apr. 7, 1992), discloses a dry toner composition which comprises a resin, hydrophilic silica particles having dyes covalently bonded to the particle surfaces through silane coupling agents, and a polymer having at least one segment capable of enhancing the dispersability of the silica particles in the resin and at least one segment capable of adsorbing onto the surface of the silica particles. In one embodiment, the polymer segment capable of adsorbing onto the surface of the silica particles is ionophoric and capable of complexing with a salt, thereby incorporating a toner charge control additive into the polymer.
Tsubuko et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,763 (issued May 15, 1990), discloses a developer which comprises toner particles containing therein at least an ionomer resin, which toner particles may comprise a colorant which is prepared by a flushing method by using a pigment component and an ionomer resin, when necessary, with addition thereto of a humic acid component.
Madeline et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,764 (issued May 15, 1990), discloses positively chargeable toner containing block copolymers, which allegedly improves compatibility with the toner resin. Preferred are block copolymers of styrene with methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate as one block and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate as the other block, quaternized with methyl tosylate or benzyl chloride. Phase separation, if any, is discussed for example in Example V, Comparison V, and Comparison VI.
Madeline et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,765 (issued May 15, 1990), discloses negatively chargeable toner containing block copolymers, which allegedly improves compatibility with the toner resin. Preferred are block copolymers of styrene, methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate as one block and salts or esters of methacrylic acid or acrylic acid as the other block in the copolymer.
Smith et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,989 (issued Jun. 3, 1986), discloses a toner composition containing resin particles, pigment particles, and a complex of a dipolar molecule or salt attached to an ionophoric polymer.
Lewis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,436 (issued Jan. 17, 1984), discloses a process for rapidly charging uncharged toner particles to a positive polarity.
Gruber et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,646 (issued Nov. 15, 1983), discloses nitrogen containing polymers as charge enhancing additive for toners.
Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,898 (issued Nov. 10, 1981), discloses positively charged toners containing quaternary ammonium salts attached to acrylate polymers.
Horton, Xerox Disclosure Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 75 (January/February 1977), discloses a carrier coating with ionomeric resins.
Developer compositions with charge enhancing additives are well known. Thus, for example, there are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,893,935; 4,937,157; and 4,904,762 the use of quaternary ammonium salts as charge control agents for electrostatic toner compositions. Also, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,390 developer compositions containing as charge enhancing additives organic sulfate and sulfonates, which additives can impart a positive charge to the toner composition. Further, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,672 positively charged toner compositions with resin particles and pigment particles, and as charge enhancing additives alkyl pyridinium compounds. Moreover, toner compositions with negative charge enhancing additives are known, reference for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,411,974 and 4,206,064. The '974 patent discloses negatively charged toner compositions comprised of resin particles, pigment particles, and as a charge enhancing additive or-tho-halo phenyl carboxylic acids. Similarly, there are disclosed in the '064 patent toner compositions with chromium, cobalt, and nickel complexes of salicylic acid as negative charge enhancing additives.
Accordingly, there thus continues to be a need for improved charge control agents for incorporation into toner compositions and developer compositions. Additionally, there continues to be a need for charge control agents which effectively eliminate or passivate the contribution of pigments or other toner constituents to the triboelectric properties of positive and negative charging toner compositions. Also, there continues to be a need for toner and developer compositions which contain charge control agents that are non-toxic, do not adversely affect fuser rolls, and in particular Viton.RTM. fuser rolls selected for use in electrostatographic imaging systems, are thermally stable; and wherein the charge control agents are immobile. Additionally, there is a need for charge control agents which can be prepared by a simple direct, economical process, thereby decreasing the cost of the toner compositions generated. Furthermore, there continues to be a need for toner compositions which will rapidly charge new uncharged toner particles which are added to a positively charged toner composition or negatively charged toner compositions. Moreover, there continues to be a need for toner compositions comprised of charge control agents which will allow development of electrostatic latent images, either positively charged or negatively charged, with a wide spectrum of toner resins.

Toner compositions containing complexed ionomeric materials


The present invention provides a video surveillance system which tracks a tracking target by a plurality of surveillance cameras. This system is capable of tracking completely the location of the tracking target even in case the camera picture is automatically changed in accordance with the moving of the tracking target. The system includes a moving direction detector for detecting the moving direction of a tracking target. Moreover, the system has storage units for storing the passage configuration of a surveillance zone and the camera location information. The system also has a camera selector for identifying a camera which will shoot the tracking target next in accordance with the moving direction information, passage configuration information and camera location information, and a screen composition unit for synthesizing on a screen a picture from a camera shooting the tracking target and a picture from a camera selected by the camera selector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video surveillance system comprising a plurality of surveillance cameras and a surveillance terminal which browses pictures from the surveillance cameras, the video surveillance system automatically displaying the pictures from the plurality of cameras in accordance with the direction of moving of a tracking target and the camera installation state so that the surveyor will keep track of the tracking target.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in line with the support for IP networks by surveillance apparatus, development of a wide area surveillance system has been under way where a plurality of surveillance cameras are used to monitor a wide area as a single block. Such a surveillance camera reduces the workload of a surveyor in controlling a plurality of cameras by way of automatization of camera control and improvement of the interfaces of a surveillance terminal.
Concerning the automatization of camera control, there is known surveillance apparatus described in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-92751. According to the surveillance apparatus described in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-92751, it is possible to hand over surveillance to other surveillance cameras. This makes it possible to display a tracking target on a surveillance terminal without the operation of the user.
Concerning the interfaces of the surveillance terminal, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 289607/1997 is disclosed. The surveillance system described in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 289607/1997 displays a map which shows the camera locations on the surveillance terminal for the surveyor to readily locate the camera locations.
According to the system equipped with the related art automatic tracking feature, in case the tracking target has moved outside the horizon of the camera performing surveillance, pictures on the surveillance terminal are automatically switched. Thus, it is difficult to readily understand the locations of newly displayed cameras with respect to those of the cameras displayed just before. Even when a map is displayed just like in the system described in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 289607/1997, the surveyor cannot readily understand the relationship between displayed picture and the camera icons on the map. Moreover, it is necessary to frequently move the line of sight between the map and the camera picture in order to check correspondence between the map contents and the camera locations. This increases the workload of the surveyor.

Video surveillance system, surveillance video composition apparatus, and video surveillance server


A seal assembly includes an annular seal support, and an annular seal housing operably connected to the seal support. The seal housing includes a first axial surface facing away from the seal support, and a second axial surface opposite the first axial surface. A seal is located at the first axial surface. One or more first springs extend between the seal support and the second axial surface to urge the seal housing away from the seal support, and one or more second springs are located at the first axial surface to urge the seal housing toward the seal support.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to the art of gas turbine engines, and in particular to face seal arrangements of gas turbine engines.
A face seal is typically utilized to seal between a relatively high pressure area and a relatively low pressure area of a gas turbine engine. The seal includes a seal support, which in some configurations is an annular ring. An annular seal housing is installed to the seal support, and includes a seal ring that extends axially to and contacts a seal seat to define a seal interface. The seal housing is supported by a plurality of retention pins arrayed around the seal support. The seal ring is biased toward the seal seat in an axial direction by one or more springs extending from the seal support to a spring guide located at the seal housing.
Seal failure is typically observed as premature sealing face wear which starts to translate the seal assembly and lengthen the spring. As this wear progresses and spring lengthening continues, the spring load is reduced to a level however that level can still be high enough which continued wear and more severe damage to the seal can occur. This additional seal damage can lead to increased level of engine system risk and additional damage to surrounding hardware. The challenge was to create a design that could mitigate this issue and still meet all other design requirements and critical features.


A hair care product contains a yolk antibody (a yolk-derived, anti-hair antibody) which has been obtained from an egg of a domestic fowl immunized using, as an antigen, whole human hair, e.g., normal human hair or human hair damaged by permanent waving, dyeing or bleaching, hair particles obtained by grinding constituent tissues of human hair, the keratin protein extracted from the human hair, or a hydrolysate of the keratin protein.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hair care product containing a yolk antibody, and more specifically to a hair care product which contains as an effective ingredient a yolk antibody obtained from an egg of a domestic fowl immunized using human hair (which may hereinafter be called simply "hair" for the sake of brevity) as an antigen, can impart good touch feeling to hair, and can reduce hair damage.
2) Description of the Related Art
Keeping step with the increase in individual choice of fashion in recent years, the tendency of preference toward long hair has steadily taken root. In addition, there is also increased diversity as to the style of long hair available because of hairdressing such as localized or partial head permanent waving. Reflecting this, hair damage such as split and broken hair is also increasing steadily.
Such hair damage is considered to have occurred because the structure of hair was weakened due to modification of the keratin protein by chemical treatment such as permanent waving, making the hair more susceptible to physical influences such as hot-air blowing and brushing.
As a measure for the prevention of such hair damage, it is known to add collagen, keratin protein, egg albumin protein or the like to various hair care products in order to cope with deterioration of the protein structure due to chemical treatment, thereby to form a protective film on the surface of hair and to improve the water retaining property and flexibility (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 280413/1986).
Although protein components such as collagen, keratin protein and egg albumin protein can exhibit some benefit in the prevention of damage by chemical treatment of hair, these effects are not fully satisfactory.
To improve set retention, it is also known that an antiserum which has been obtained using hair particles as an antigen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,161 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference) will improve the hair.
However, the antiserum used in the above method is obtained from the blood of an animal immunized with hair particles. The procedure for obtaining the antiserum is therefore irksome and, moreover, the yield available from a single practice of the procedure is low, so that the above method is not considered satisfactory industrially.
In particular, it is well known that an antiserum obtained from a mammal has complement-activating effects so that it tends to stimulate neutrophils to cause local inflammation. It is therefore preferred not to use a mammal antiserum in hair care products. Further, an antiserum is an antibody obtained from the blood of an animal so that the antiserum is undesirable from the standpoint of animal protection.
With a view toward reducing the frictional force on the surface of hair, on the other hand, an oil component such as a higher alcohol, an ester oil, fluid paraffin or silicone oil is added to and utilized in hair rinse agents, hair treatment agents, hair brushing agents and the like.
It is, however, the current situation that such oil components cannot achieve satisfactory treatment effects for damaged hair although they show certain effects for the prevention of hair damage. Further, use of an oil component in a large proportion in hair care products results in an increase in stickiness and greasiness and may hence impair how the hair feels after use.

Yolk antibody-containing hair care product


A method of obtaining a plurality of infrared images of a banknote that involves simultaneously illuminating the banknote with infrared light at a first wavelength and infrared light at a second wavelength, capturing an image of the banknote with an RGB camera, obtaining from both a first output channel signal and a second output channel signal of the RGB camera sensor where the intensity distribution of the infrared light at the first wavelength and the intensity distribution of the infrared light at the second wavelength uses a first calibration coefficient and a second calibration coefficient of the RGB camera sensor, producing separate infrared images of the banknote at the first wavelength and the second wavelength from the respective intensity distributions.

The present invention relates generally to the acquisition of an image of a banknote, a security document, or the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to obtaining images of a banknote in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum for the purpose of identification and verification of the authenticity and denomination of the banknote.
Many conventional banknote validation devices are known within the field of banknote characterisation and authentication. Typically, a banknote validator device will utilise an optical sensor arrangement to interrogate and obtain information relating to an inserted banknote. The optical sensor arrangement may include visible, infrared and ultraviolet light sources, and one or more image sensor to receive and record reflected, transmitted and/or fluoresced light from the banknote under investigation.
Because of advances in anti-forgery technology, some currency banknotes now include sophisticated inks that have different spectral characteristics over the range of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, some current currency banknotes contain inks that exhibit absorption spectra which vary over the infrared sector of the electromagnetic spectrum. Consequently, it is desirable for the optical sensor arrangement of a banknote validator device to be configured so as to be able to resolve these different absorption spectra to enable the banknote validator device to correctly recognise banknotes with the infrared variable inks.
In order that the banknotes having this variable absorption spectra in the infrared region can be correctly identified, it is necessary to illuminate the banknote at more than one infrared wavelength, and this requires the provision of more than one infrared light source. Alternatively, a single incandescent infrared light source can be used. However, such a source has a variable output, is less reliable than an LED, and is more difficult to accurately control.
A problem arises when attempting to illuminate a banknote with, for example, two distinct wavelengths of infrared light, because the conventional RGB camera used in a typical banknote validator cannot resolve between the two infrared wavelengths at the same time. It would therefore be necessary to illuminate the banknote sequentially with the first infrared wavelength and then the second infrared wavelength. However, this solution leads to a further problem in that the overall illumination time and additional image acquisition time would require a reduction in the throughput speed of the banknote under investigation.
Another possible solution would be to introduce infrared filters into the optical sensor arrangement of the banknote validator. This solution is not desirable since it would necessarily lead to an unwanted increase in the overall cost of the optical sensor arrangement and may additionally require enlargement of the overall size of the optical sensor arrangement.
The present invention seeks to overcome the above described problems associated with conventional banknote validators.


A chip information output circuit including a fuse box, capable of reducing a layout area without affecting input capacitance, is provided. The chip information output circuit includes a plurality of fuse blocks for generating different outputs according to whether a fuse is cut and a pipeline circuit for receiving a plurality of signals, which are output in parallel from the respective fuse blocks, and serially outputting the plurality of signals. Each of the fuse blocks includes a plurality of fuse boxes for generating output signals, the levels of which are either a high or low logic level according to whether the fuses included therein are cut, wherein the respective fuse boxes are enabled in response to the respective control signals and the output lines of the fuse boxes are wired by an OR operation. The pipeline circuit includes a plurality of serially connected latch units for latching signals output from the fuse blocks and outputting the latched signals.

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Korean Application No. 99-42332, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a chip information output circuit capable of increasing layout efficiency without affecting input capacitance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Manufacturing processes of semiconductor memory devices are divided into manufacturing processes of the semiconductor memory devices in wafer state and processes related to assembling the device as a package. After the manufacturing processes of the semiconductor memory devices in the wafer state are completed, it is not possible to determine information regarding individual chips. Namely, it is not possible to know where the manufactured memory device is positioned on the wafer or on which wafer the manufactured memory device is positioned in a lot.
In order to solve this problem, a fuse box including a signature transistor and a fuse is conventionally provided. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional fuse box. The fuse box 1 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged in each pin of the memory device. Fuses included in each of the pins are cut in the wafer state so as to have unique information regarding the chip. After subjecting a packaged memory device to certain conditions, it is determined whether the fuse is cut for each pin by measuring current which flows through the pin. When the states of whether the fuses are cut are observed for various pins, it is possible to obtain information regarding the chip.
For example, in the fuse box 1 shown in FIG. 1, in the case where none of the first through third fuses A, B, and C are cut, when a pad apply voltage, that is, an input voltage Vin is higher than the sum of a supply voltage Vcc and a transistor threshold voltage Vtn, a first transistor T1 is turned on and a certain amount of current I flows. If only the third fuse C is cut, the current I flows only when the input voltage Vin is higher than the supply voltage Vcc+2Vtn. Also, if the second fuse B and the third fuse C are cut, the current I flows only when the input voltage Vin is higher than the supply voltage Vcc+3Vtn. When the first fuse A is cut, the current I does not flow regardless of the input voltage Vin.
The states of the input voltage Vin and the output current I are determined according to the states, cut or not cut, of the fuses. When three fuses are used, four cases exist. For example, when it is assumed that such a fuse box is included in each pin of the memory device, it is possible to store 4N (N is the number of pins) information items regarding the chips.
However, because of the conventional fuse box 1 having the above structure, when the operating frequency of the memory device is greater than or equal to 400 MHZ and the memory device operates at high speed, input capacitance of each pin increases. Since signal integrity deteriorates due to the increase of the input capacitance, it is not possible to correctly receive a data signal value input to a memory device. Accordingly, the performance of the memory device may deteriorate.
Also, since the number of storable information items on the chips with respect to the number of fuses is only xc2xdN times of the maximum number of cases, a layout area becomes larger.
The present invention is therefore directed to providing a chip information output circuit which substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chip information output circuit including a fuse box capable of reducing the layout area of a chip without affecting input capacitance.
Accordingly, to achieve the above object, there is provided a chip information output circuit, comprising a plurality of fuse blocks for generating different outputs according to whether a fuse is cut and a pipeline circuit for receiving a plurality of signals, which are output in parallel from the respective fuse blocks, and serially outputting the plurality of signals.
Each of the fuse blocks comprises a plurality of fuse boxes for generating output signals, the levels of which are either a high or low logic level according to whether the fuses included therein are cut, wherein the respective fuse boxes are enabled in response to the respective control signals and the output lines of the fuse boxes are wired by an OR operation.
The pipeline circuit comprises a plurality of serially connected latch units for latching signals output from the fuse blocks and outputting the latched signals. Each of the latch units comprises a multiplexer for selecting either data input from the fuse blocks or data input from adjacent latch units and outputting the selected data and a flip-flop for synchronizing the data output from the multiplexer with a clock signal and outputting the synchronized data.
According to a first preferred embodiment, each of the fuse boxes comprises a pull-up transistor gated by a ground voltage, the pull-up transistor for outputting a signal of a logic xe2x80x98highxe2x80x99 level to the drain thereof, a pull-down transistor gated by an input signal, the pull-down transistor for outputting a signal of a logic xe2x80x98lowxe2x80x99 level to the drain thereof, a fuse connected between the drain of the pull-up transistor and the drain of the pull-down transistor, and a transmission unit for transmitting a signal from the drain of the pull-up transistor to an output port in response to the input signal.
According to a second preferred embodiment, each of the fuse boxes comprises a pull-up transistor gated by an input signal, the pull-up transistor for outputting a signal of the logic xe2x80x98highxe2x80x99 level to the drain thereof, a fuse connected between a terminal to which the input signal is input and the drain of the pull-up transistor, and a transmission unit for transmitting a signal from the drain of the pull-up transistor to an output port in response to the input signal.
According to a third preferred embodiment, each of the fuse boxes comprises a pull-up transistor gated by an input signal, the pull-up transistor for outputting a signal of the logic xe2x80x98highxe2x80x99 level to the drain thereof, a pull-down transistor gated by the input signal, the pull-down transistor for outputting a signal of the logic xe2x80x98lowxe2x80x99 level to the drain thereof, a fuse connected between the drain of the pull-up transistor and the drain of the pull-down transistor, a latch for latching a signal from the drain of the pull-down transistor, and a transmission unit for transmitting the output signal of the latch to an output port in response to the input signal.
According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain information on a chip by storing information in a fuse box array which generates different outputs according to whether the fuse is cut and serially reading the information through a pin. Therefore, since it is possible to store 2N information items with respect to N fuse boxes without affecting input capacitance, it is possible to reduce the layout area using a minimum number of fuses.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


A high-performance integrable tunable inductor includes a "primary" coil and a "drive" coil placed in close proximity to each other and simultaneously driven with primary and drive currents, respectively. The drive current induces mutual components of inductance in the primary coil which vary with the phase and amplitude relationship between the two currents. These relationships are controlled to precisely establish the impedance of the primary coil, allowing the inductor to be "tuned" to provide a desired inductance or resistance by simply varying the phase and amplitude relationships appropriately. Inductance values tunable over ranges of about 2:1 and Q values of nearly 2000 have been demonstrated. The primary coil can also be made to operate as a relatively large integrated capacitance by setting the phase and amplitude relationships appropriately. The tunable inductor can be fabricated with standard CMOS processes, or any of a number of other processing technologies, and thus integrated into a host of analog circuits for which a highly-integrated implementation is desirable.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of precision inductors, particularly tunable inductors that can be integrated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demands for more efficient, higher performance, smaller electronic circuits are regularly heard. Integration typically results in smaller circuits, but often at the expense of performance. In the area of wireless communications, for example, highly integrated transceiver designs often require high performance passive components--particularly inductors and capacitors--but present integrated versions of these components typically possess several performance-degrading shortcomings.
It is often desirable for the inductors in an RF transceiver to have low loss and high quality factor (Q) characteristics: high-Q tank circuits in voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) reduce phase noise, low loss inductors in low noise amplifiers (LNAs) and power amplifiers improve input and output matching, and inductively loaded circuits in general offer significant power savings when implemented with high-Q components. These demands are not easily met, however, when the passive components are integrated. For example, the frequency selectivity of a circuit in which an inductor is used increases with its Q, requiring extremely precise values of inductance which are difficult to attain in an integrated device. Deviations from the desired inductance value must be compensated for with other frequency-variable passive elements, which may be limited in both Q and tuning range.
The performance of integrated inductors is also limited by the parasitic capacitance inherently present between coil and substrate. This capacitance resonates with the inductance at the self-resonant frequency, which often serves as a frequency limit below which circuits must operate. Larger coils are needed to obtain larger values of inductance, but the coil's larger area results in higher values of capacitance and a lower self-resonant frequency. Larger coils also possess a higher series resistance, increasing losses and reducing Q.
At present, these shortcomings are best addressed with fixed value off-chip inductors, but variations in component value, assembly technology, die interconnection methods, and packaging variations can cause changes in the inductance seen by the design. Using off-chip components also increases assembly time and reduces reliability. Also, the power dissipation of buffers which drive off-chip signals can be significant, resulting in higher power consumption.
"Active" inductor circuits, based on transistor gain stages and gyrator configurations, for example, have also been used to achieve integrated inductances. These circuits typically involve the use of active devices in a feedback loop, which gives rise to a number of problems: the active devices can generate unacceptably high levels of noise, they can saturate--limiting their dynamic range, and they consume amounts of power that may be undesirable in low power systems.

Integrable high-Q tunable capacitor and method


A method and structure for processing a plurality of prepreg sheets includes a conveyor assembly having a first conveyor, a second conveyor, and a processing zone positioned between the first and second conveyors. In an implementation, a plurality of prepreg sheets are advanced from a plurality of material supply creels into the processing zone by a first conveyor and a second conveyor turning in opposite directions. Within the processing zone, a compressive pressure is applied to the prepreg sheets by first pressure plates attached to first conveyor and second pressure plates attached to the second conveyor. A thermoplastic within the prepreg sheets is melted within the processing zone by a heater to consolidate the prepreg sheets into a consolidated laminate.

Structures manufactured from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) panels are commonly used in industries such as aircraft manufacture. CRFP structures typically include a plurality of carbon fiber layers pre-impregnated with a thermoset resin, referred to as prepregs. A prepreg is commonly positioned within a vacuum bag and onto a contoured mandrel which is used to shape the prepreg, and the prepreg is debulked by removing air from between the carbon fiber layers by applying a vacuum to the vacuum bag. Once the prepreg has been debulked, heat is applied to cure the shaped prepreg within an autoclave. Thermoset prepregs can cure over time during storage at room temperature and thus have a shelf life, which can be extended by storing the prepregs at low temperatures.
Some structures can be formed using a prepreg that includes a plurality of carbon fiber layers pre-impregnated with a thermoplastic resin rather than a thermoset resin. Thermoplastic prepregs have an advantage over thermoset prepregs as they can be stored indefinitely at room temperature. These structures can be shaped using a process similar to that described above for CFRP panels that use a thermoset resin, except the prepregs are heated to melt the thermoplastic and cooled to solidify the thermoplastic. Thermoplastic prepregs can be reheated to reshape the prepreg.
Preparing prepregs within a vacuum bag, shaping the prepreg using a shaped mandrel, and curing the prepreg within an oven or autoclave requires costly equipment and is therefore an expensive process.
A method and structure that simplifies the preparation of CFRP blanks, and a process which uses the CFRP blanks, would be a welcome addition to the art.

Method and apparatus for rapid continuous consolidation of thermoplastic components


A display apparatus includes a matrix of electrodes formed of scanning electrodes and information electrodes. A scanning device uses a plurality of scanning methods for selecting scanning electrodes and performs the scanning methods according to respective priorities, and a driving device changes driving conditions according to the scanning methods or the priorities thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus employing matrix electrodes and, more particularly, to a liquid crystal display apparatus which employs ferroelectric liquid crystal and performs scanning for partial rewriting.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device for displaying image information is known which comprises many pixels formed by placing a liquid crystal compound between an array of scanning electrodes and an array of signal electrodes to constitutes a matrix of electrodes. An example of this type of display device is illustrated in Figs, 15 and 16. A scanning method used in such a display device is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,561 (Kanbe et al.) and in U.S. Ser. No. 85,017 (Inoue et al., Aug. 13, 1987). The method utilizes a memory to scan for partial rewriting so as to maintain a smooth display of movements even during low field frequency scanning.
Another driving waveform is disclosed by Taniguchi et al. in European Laid-Open No. 394,903, which helps to speed up the frame frequency and provide a sufficient driving margin, i.e., the range of the driving voltage or the writing pulse width within which images of favorable quality can be displayed.
However, since the scanning waveform according to the above conventional art is a black erasing waveform and includes DC components, frequent repetition of partial-rewrite scanning on a single scanning electrode causes the following problems in the pixels on that scanning electrode.
(1) decrease of the driving margin
(2) deterioration of liquid crystal alignment
(3) decrease in sharpness of contrast

Display apparatus having both refresh-scan and partial-scan


A self-propelled chopper forage harvester has a flap assembly at the discharge end of a pivotable ejector pipe. A hydraulic actuator moves the flap assembly about a generally horizontal axis for directing the projection of the forage. The flap assembly is removably mounted so it can be either at a position at the top of the discharge end of the ejector pipe for filling open-top forage boxes or at a position 180 degrees therefrom and at the bottom of the discharge end for filling closed-top forage boxes.

The present invention relates generally to agricultural machinery and more particularly to a harvester with a selectively positionable deflector or flap which is arranged at the discharge end of an ejector pipe or conduit.
Chopper forage harvesters of this type cut crop material, chop the material to a preselected length, and then project the chopped crop material into a forage box located either behind or adjacent the harvester. The forage box may be on a trailer towed by the harvester or on a truck. Both open-top and closed-top forage boxes are used. In the latter case one or more of the end walls or side walls has a filling opening adjacent its upper edge.
An apparatus to achieve filling an open-top forage box as evenly as possible is shown in German Patent 3,316,325 published Nov. 8, 1984. That patent shows a pivotable two-part flap at the output end of the ejector pipe, by which the angle of projection of the chopped crop material or forage can be changed according to the position of the flap. But such an arrangement cannot be used with a closed-top forage box which is filled through an opening in the side or end. In such a case it is the practice to remove the whole ejector pipe and replace it with one designed for directing the forage through the opening in the side or end of the forage box. It is desirable to be able to fill either an open-top or closed-top forage box without exchanging ejector pipes.
The present invention is directed to solving the above described problem in the prior art.

Harvester with selectively positionable deflector


An adaptor for generally permanent coupling of a lubricant line to a lubricant fitting. The fitting has a base, a neck, a head, a lubricant passage, and a valve member biased toward a closed position. The adaptor comprises a body having a hole extending therethrough and an insert in the hole having a circular head and a thin-walled cylindrical extension extending from the head slidable in the hole. The extension defines a socket for receiving the head of the fitting on application of the body and insert to the fitting. The extension is radially inwardly deformable into interlocking engagement with the fitting. The head of the insert has a pin extending therefrom within the socket in the direction toward an inner end of the hole. The head includes a passage for flow of lubricant therethrough. The body is formed for connection thereto of a lubricant line and has a wedging formation in the hole for radially deforming the extension into tight sealing engagement with the head of the fitting on forcible movement of the insert in the body toward the inner end thereof. The pin enters the head of the fitting with movement of the insert and engages a valve member in the fitting to move it to an open position by engagement of the pin with the valve member for flow of lubricant through the fitting.

This invention relates generally to lubricant fittings and more particularly to an adaptor for attaching a lubricant line to a lubricant fitting. Installation of lubricant systems on equipment typically requires the removal of existing lubricant fittings for connection of lubricant delivery lines to the lubricant points. Since the lubricant fittings are typically press-in type fittings, removal is often difficult and time consuming. Moreover, if lubricant delivery lines are attached directly to the fittings, the pressure required to open a check valve in the fitting is typically about 450 psi, which creates a large pressure drop in the lubricant system.
Existing lubricant fitting adaptors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,704,678 and 4,892,171. The adaptor of the U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,678, however, does not eliminate the pressure drop due to the check valve in the fitting as discussed above. Furthermore, the adaptor of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,171 is snap-fitted onto a lubricant fitting and does not provide adequate sealing between the lubricant fitting and adaptor.
Accordingly, there is presently a need for a lubricant fitting adaptor which allows for simple connection of a lubricant line to an existing lubricant fitting, provides adequate sealing between the lubricant fitting and adaptor and reduces the pressure drop through the lubricant fitting.


Apparatus and method of providing textured surfaces for computer-generated images comprises embedding a procedural description corresponding to a bit-map representation of a texture in a hybrid file module that also includes the bit-map representation. The hybrid file module may be transmitted to a player over a data communications medium. Once received, the player extracts the procedural description from the hybrid file module, with the procedural description then being used to render the texture.

The use of procedural techniques for three-dimensional texturing (solid texturing), modeling, and shading in computer graphics and animation has grown rapidly over the past decade. It is now possible for three-dimensional objects and shapes created on a personal computer or workstation to be filled in with textures simulating natural materials and natural phenomena. For example, it is now common to display realistic images having textures resembling marble, wood, or stone. Likewise, computer researchers and scientists have successfully simulated natural phenomena such as fog, waves, fire, and clouds for display on a computer screen.
Texturing methods vary the point-to-point surface properties of an object to give the appearance of detail that is not actually present in the geometry. A "texture"—sometimes referred to as a "pattern" or "wallpaper"—is simply an image that used as surface covering for objects or shapes created by a graphics program running on a computer. Textures come in many varieties. Examples include bump mapping, which simulate the appearance of surface bumps without actually modifying the geometry of the object; light maps which give the appearance of smooth diffuse lighting; displacement mapping, in which textures are used actually to move the surface; and solid textures that give consistent textures of all surfaces of an object regardless of distortions of the surface parameter space.
A texture may be explicitly specified by storing all the complex details of the scene or sequence in a bit-map that contains the value of each pixel in the image. This approach obviously requires a large amount of storage space within the computer; but is it well suited for certain representations, such as a reproduction of a famous painting. Alternatively, all of the details of a given texture may be abstracted into a mathematical function or algorithm (i.e., a procedure) that is used to define pixel values. A procedural technique is defined as a code segment or algorithm that specifies some characteristic of computer generated model or effect. A procedural texture, therefore, is an image initially described—not by the pixel values—but by the operation or formula, which may include a pseudo random element, used to create the pixel values.
Procedural textures offer certain advantages over bit-mapped textures. For instance, the storage requirements of a procedural texture are generally independent of the number of pixels. That is, a procedural texture can be stored in a storage space that is several orders of magnitude less than the space required to store a corresponding bit-mapped representation. Procedural textures also provide the power of parametric control (sometimes referred to as database amplification) allowing the user to create a variety of textures that can be evaluated to any desired resolution. Procedural techniques further offer the designer the flexibility of creating completely abstract or purely artistic effects that lack resemblance to natural objects. Techniques for building procedural textures are described in "Texturing and Modeling", Second Edition, (Chapter 2) Ebert et al., Academic Press, London (1998). Various methods of using procedural textures in graphics rendering systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,956,043, 5,949,428, 5,852,443, 5,808,617, and 5,481,669.
Current methods and systems primarily use fixed-sized, pixel-based images for textures. Few rendering applications utilize procedural textures. For instance, rendering applications and plug-ins that are designed for Internet viewing of models usually transmit compressed images. This places to significant demands on the bandwidth of the data communications medium. A typical JPEG compressed image with dimensions of 512×512 pixels, for example, requires about 75 K bytes. A procedural texture of the same image might only require 3 K bytes. Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus capable of taking advantage of the benefits offered by procedural textures, with backward compatibility in existing three-dimensional (3D) authoring and rendering applications that rely on traditional pixel-based images for textures.


The invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog, catalog query, and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features. The item identifier is used in business transactions between the trading partners. In the present invention, a configured item is associated with a two-part item identifier where one part is a systematically assigned, fixed length field that provides systematic identification of the catalog and the second part is a variable length field to identify the item in the catalog. A catalog and catalog query provide a means to generate the two-part item identifier based on the description of the configured item identifier. A catalog query with the item identifier can query the catalog to determine the description of the item.

A company sells items to their trading partners and lists the description of these items in a catalog. To aid in clearly specifying the item, the company assigns to each item an item identifier, called a part number or part name, which is used for order and other processes that require identification of the item. The item identifier is usually a short compact string of digits, letters, and special characters that may be processed by computer programs. People working with these item identifiers learn to recognize the items by their item identifiers. Since the item identifier need only be consistent within a company, the structure, format, meaning, etc. are unique for each company. Hence, each company has its own item identification system. When buyer orders an item from a seller, the buyer usually orders the item using the identification system of the seller but in some industries such as electronics, the buyer may order an item using the item identifier of the buyer. When the seller's identifier is used, the seller provides a catalog so that buyers can find the item using the description provided by the seller and use the item identifier to order the item. The catalog and item identifier mechanism has worked for a very long time and is a corner stone for commerce.
The item identifier has a one-to-one mapping to the "orderable" item. As an example, a sugar provider sells sugar. However, the sugar is not sold as "sugar" but as bags of sugar from a finite set of sizes for example: 10 pound bag, 50 pound bag, 100 pound bag, etc. Each bag size is assigned an item identifier so that a buyer can purchase a specific number of a specific bag size. For example, the 10 pound bag is assigned the identifier "S10", 50 pound bag the identifier "S50", and 100 pound bag the identifier "S100". When the sugar supplier received an order for "6-S50", then six 50 pound bags were ordered.
The catalog structures and item identifier mechanisms worked well for processes that had people executing the process steps. People can accommodate high levels of variability and still function. However, computer systems are now used to execute these processes. These systems and the programs that support the processes are fast, accurate, and dumb. Small variations may require that the programs be modified or rewritten. There are significant advantages for industries to standardize the item identifier and the catalog. The item identifier for most grocery items is the Universal Product Code, UPC, which is seen as the bar code on the item. The UPC is twelve-digit string where six digits identify the selling company and five digits are assigned by the company to identify their products. One digit is a check digit. The company has freedom to assign their five digits as item identifiers for its products. Most companies have less than 100,000 orderable products so the five-digit limit is workable. The grocery and other industries have had significant success in implementing the UPC and gained substantial financial benefit through the changes in the business processes supported by the UPC. However, the electronics industry lead by a strong industry consortium, RosettaNet, and a strong standards organization, the Uniform Code Council, UCC, has had difficulty in the adoption of the global successor to the twelve digit UPC, the fourteen digit Global Trade Item Number, GTIN. The GTIN, like the UPC, identifies the company that sells the item and provides up to five digits for the company to assign for item identifiers. Five digits provide 100,000 unique combinations 00000 to 99999. RosettaNet defines "Partner Interface Processes", PIP's, the business transactions between trading partners to accomplish elements of larger processes. An example is PIP 2A9: Query Technical Product Information which defines how one trading partner can query the catalog of another over the Internet and receive a response with either the item identifier of an item matching the description of the item in the query or an indication that there is no matching item. The PIP defines the Extensible Markup Language, XML, message formats and the state behavior of each partner depending on the decisions indicated in the XML messages. Another example is PIP 3A4: Manage Purchase Order which defines how one trading partner can send a purchase order to a trading partner and the management of the purchase order between the order placement and delivery. RosettaNet and the UCC want to standardize the definition of the item identifier in the XML messages and have chosen the GTIN as the standard. While it may appear that many of the items are simple and can be assigned a GTIN, closer inspection reveals a level of complexity that will be difficult to accommodate with the use of the GTIN as currently defined.
Many of the electronic items have a wide range of configurable options in the specification of the orderable item. As an example, a capacitor, a simple electronic part, is described by a set of properties such as the capacitance value, tolerance, resistance, body size, carrier package, etc. Selecting values for each of these properties specifies a capacitor. The values are typically encoded in the part number, the item identifier. In the example of the sugar supplier, the bag size was encoded in the part number. The capacitor suppliers encode the values for each of these variables into the item identifier using algorithms that assign portions of the item identifier to each of the variables. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the item identifier for a Kemet Electronics Corp. capacitor is C0805C103K5RAC where the first character encodes the capacitor type (Ceramic), the next four characters encode the capacitor body type (0805), the next encodes the specification (Standard), the next three encode the capacitance value (0.50 pF.), the next character encodes the tolerance, the next the resistance value, etc. Numbers and letters are used. Thus, in a small number of characters, 6 to 20, the possible configurations for a Kemet ceramic capacitor are covered. However, the number of possible combinations are very large. Six alphanumeric characters can encode over two billion combinations. Most combinations will never be used. In addition to the capacitor characteristics encoded in the Kemet item identifier, information about the carrier of the capacitors is required and added as a suffix to the encoded identifier. The buyer cannot buy one capacitor but buys them in carriers designed to feed the capacitors into the assembly equipment. There are a number of different carriers to fit different assembly equipment and the carrier must match the equipment requirements. For example, Mylar tape on a 12″ reel carrier holds 10,000 capacitors and a bulk carrier holds 15,000 capacitors. A buyer that has assembly equipment that needs the Mylar tape carrier must not order the bulk carrier. The number of combinations of capacitor characteristics and carriers is very large. Assigning a GTIN for each of the possible combinations is not possible: 1) The number of possible combinations is larger than the 100,000 values of a GTIN and 2) The mapping of combinations to GTIN values would require a table with as many rows as combinations. The algorithms that map the variable values to a finite number of characters are very effective. However, this structure is not consistent with the RosettaNet and UCC definition of the use of the GTIN as currently defined except for those cases where the algorithm can map the variable values into the five digits that a company can control. The algorithms for each company, even those who manufacture identical items, for example capacitors, are unique to each company. The systems of each company are built around the part number so this will not be easy to change.
However, RosettaNet has achieved a significant milestone in the definition and agreement of the catalog structure, the taxonomy of how the characteristics and values are expressed in the description for each item. Thus, searching for and defining each item can be done in a consistent process and the resulting definition for identical items from different manufacturers can be the same. The RosettaNet vision is illustrated in FIG. 2 where a buyer can connect through the Internet 125 to a seller's Web site with a catalog using a web browser 127 or a business-to-business server 126 and send an item description 1 to the seller's electronic catalog 2 using the RosettaNet PIP 2A9: Query Technical Product Information. The catalog 2 responds with the item identifier 3 if the seller has an item matching the description. The buyer can then order the item using the item identifier provided by the seller's electronic catalog by sending an order 4 using the RosettaNet PIP 3A4: Manage Purchase Order to the seller's order processing system 5. However, the products or services provided by the seller may not be covered by the RosettaNet standard and the RosettaNet 2A9 will not be sufficient to accommodate the characteristics that are not standard.
The function of the item identifier is for the supplier or seller to provide the item defined in the item description. The buyer uses the seller's catalog to determine the item identifier. Essentially the seller is telling buyers, "If you want to order the item you described, ask for it using the item identifier that is provided as the response". The item description and form of the response must be standardized for this process to work. However, the item identifier need not have a standard since the item identifier need only be used with a specific catalog. RosettaNet has achieved a level of standardization but cannot cover all of the possible functions, features, and services provided by trading partners in the electronic industry. The item identifier must fully identify the item if the process is to operate with systems and remove the need for human interpretation or intervention.
In the past, the item identifier was processed by people and needed to be short enough so that a person could write it in an order form with minimum transcription errors. However, the orders are now created by computer systems and processed by computer systems. The item identifiers can now be much longer so that formats and processes can be standardized.
In the electronics industry, some buyers do not select an item from the seller's catalog but sends the description of the item and ask the seller to deliver the item using the buyer's item identifier to identify the item. In many cases, the seller has the item in the catalog but must still use the buyer's item identifier. Or, the seller has a similar item and modifies the item to meet the buyer's requirements. For example, the buyer wants the buyer's logo to be printed on the item where the item is already in the sellers catalog. The item identifier process must accommodate this form of item identification.
The RosettaNet standard processes, catalog taxonomies, and the use of GTIN as the only item identifier are not sufficient to support the requirements of the electronics industry and other industries where the items have a high number of configurations. The objective of RosettaNet is to provide the structure so that trading partners can rely on standard processes and data formats such that third parties can provide much of the systems and software and custom development can be avoided or at least minimized. This also permits connection to new trading partners with a minimum of effort and delay. Solving the configured item identifier problem will provide a complete framework for RosettaNet and thus, provide the benefits of a standard. The standard must provide a means for accommodating item properties that are not standard. In addition, it is desirable that the solution permits use of current systems wherever possible.

Catalog, catalog query, and item identifier for configurable items


The invention is directed to an inflatable display that has a plurality of inflatable compartments. A first inflatable compartment is continuously inflated by a first fan element and at least a second inflatable compartment is periodically inflated by a second fan element. The inflatable display may be produced from permeable material and configured to represent a predetermined shape or design when inflated, such as a witch and caldron, Santa Claus and a chimney, or the Easter Bunny and an Easter egg. Further, the inflatable display may include a string of lights enclosed within a plastic shell to avoid damaging the inflatable display material by heat or fire. Also, the period associated with the operational inflation/deflation may be controlled by a variable controller connected to the second fan element.

Inflatable displays have become increasingly popular in recent years. These types of displays have a wide range of application, shape and size, including, but not limited to, figures for holiday and seasonal decoration, marketing, advertising, entertainment, and event attraction. The inflatable displays are made from a permeable fabric that allows air to pass through the fabric at approximately the same rate as the air being blown into the inflatable display. The process of continuously blowing air being supplied from a fan or other inflation device occurring at substantially the same rate as air escaping the fabric allows the display to maintain a three-dimensional shape without the use of an internal or external frame or structure. These are known in the industry as "cold-air" inflatable displays.
Typically, the cold-air inflatable display is a single figure comprised of pieces of permeable fabric configured to create an individual figure when inflated. For example, a consumer may decide to decorate their house with a jack-o-lantern inflatable display for the Halloween season, a snowman inflatable display for the holiday season, or an Uncle Sam inflatable display for Independence Day. As such, typically, the single figure is inflated and part of a static display. There is no present apparatus or method utilizing a fan assembly or other inflation assembly to inflate a single assembly having multiple inflation dynamic compartments.

Dynamic multiple compartment air inflatable display


Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for archiving data from a database. One method includes identifying a data record to be archived; determining the contents of an archive record, the archive record having values for a first plurality of attributes in the data record; storing the archive record in a data archive; determining the contents of an index record, the index record comprising values for a second plurality of attributes in the data record; adding the index record to a dictionary-based archive index with a reference to the location of the archive record in the data archive; deleting the data record from the database; accepting a query for a desired archive record; and performing a search of the archive index to find the desired archive record.

The present invention relates to the archiving of data.
Computer systems can store large amounts of data during their operations. Because the data must be available for updating, reading, and writing, data required during operations are stored in a transactional database. Managers of this data may wish to archive the data into storage outside the transactional database. Although stored outside the transactional database, archives must remain accessible for users to read their contents. The type of access available to users is determined by the way in which the archive is stored.
In traditional archives, the archived data is stored in a flat file or other type of convenient storage outside the transactional database. When accessing archived data, a user typically requires one or more particular items of data in the archive. Searching through the archive directly to find a desired item of data can be difficult and time consuming. Therefore, some index to the archive is usually maintained outside the archive. Traditionally, the index to the archive is stored in the transactional database as a sorted set of primary keys referencing the archived data. For each set of values for the keys in the index, the index provides the location of the corresponding data in the archive.