There is disclosed a process for preparing polysuccinimide by the thermal polycondensation of amino acids such as L-aspartic acid in the presence of an acidic catalyst for the polycondensation reaction and a surfactant either in the dry state or in the presence of a high boiling organic reaction medium whereby a polymer is provided more efficiently.

Polyaspartic acid has been produced by thermal polymerization of L-aspartic acid which involves heating the acid to a temperature in the range of from about 200.degree. C. to about 400.degree. C. Water is driven off as the acid polymerizes to form polysuccinimide. The imide is easily converted to polyaspartic acid by basic hydrolysis. Early interest in such processes related to theories for formation of prebiotic polypeptides. For the purpose of testing such theories laboratory experiments used powdered L-aspartic acid, usually packed in the bottom of a flask which was then heated below the melting point of the acid. Such reactions were slow and took place over many hours. One such example is reported by Kokufuta et al. in Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan Vol. 51 (5) 1555-1556 (1978) "Temperature Effect on the Molecular Weight and the Optical Purity of Anhydropolyaspartic Acid Prepared by Thermal Polycondensation." The structure of anhydropolyaspartic acid has been thoroughly investigated such as by J. Kovacs et al. in J.O.C.S. Vol. 26 1084-1091 (1961).
In recent years many utilities have been suggested for anhydropolyamino acid. Such polyamides have been suggested as potential drug carriers by Neuse et al. in Die Angewandte Makronmolekulare Chemie 192 35-50 (1991) "Water-soluble polyamides as potential drug carriers." They have also been tested as scale inhibitors with respect to natural sea water and calcium sulfate in particular by Sarig et al. as reported by the National Council on Research and Development (NRCD 8-76, Seawater Desalination 150-157 (1977). Polyaspartic acid has been well known for its ability to disperse solid particles in detergent formulations, having been mentioned as a dispersant in numerous patents, a few of which are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,363,797; 4,333,844; 4,407,722 and 4,428,749. Also, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,724 to Kalota et al., it has been discovered that compositions comprising polyamino acids such as aspartic acid, when ionized at alkaline pH, effectively inhibit corrosion of ferrous metals in the presence of aqueous medium. Various derivatives of polyamino acids have also been made wherein attributes have been supplied by groups attached to reactive sites on the molecule. One such example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,380 to Fujimoto et al.
Because of the various impending potential utilities of anhydropolyamino acids, interest in processes for preparing such compounds in large volume, particularly polyaspartic acid, has increased. This interest has resulted in several recent patents being issued which are directed to fluid bed systems; in particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,986 to Cassata. Other such patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,057,597 and 5,221,733 to Koskan and Koskan et al. respectively. More recently, patents have issued covering a process for preparing the polysuccinimide by means of tray driers such as a directly heated rotary tray drier in U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,145 to Paik et al. and an indirectly heated tray drier in U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,010 to Koskan et al. When phosphoric acid is employed in these processes the aspartic acid undergoes polymerization to form the polysuccinimide, forming a course powder containing lumps of up to about two and one-half centimeters in diameter. Prior to subsequent processing the course powder must be treated to remove the lumps. Furthermore, in the use of an acidic catalyst such as phosphoric the powder undergoes a tacky phase which makes the powder difficult to handle in these dryers.
It has been often noted in the literature that the color of the polysuccinimide is related in rough manner to the time/temperature relationship in its production. For example, the color of the product from processes employing relatively longer reaction time under elevated temperature produces more darkly colored polysuccinimide than is produced with shorter reaction time and lower temperatures. A typical teaching of this phenomenon is found in a publication entitled "Temperature Effect on the Molecular Weight and the Optical Purity of Anhydropolyaspartic acid Prepared by Thermal Polycondensation" by Kokufuta et al., Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, Vol. 51, pp. 1555-1556, 1978.
Many efforts have been made to lower the time/temperature relationship by employing the above noted dryers. However, the polysuccinimide produced by such processes possesses an undesirable color. The color of the polysuccinimide is transferred to the water soluble salt upon hydrolysis of the initial product.
It has been reported in the literature that the use of acidic catalysts such as phosphoric acid reduces the color of the resulting polysuccinimide. It is believed that phosphoric acid increases the reaction rate and therefore reduces the amount of time required at high temperature for completion of the reaction. While color of the polysuccinimide produced in a solution of phosphoric acid is improved, the use of large amounts of acid is inconvenient. Another attempt to employ liquid media for the L-aspartic polymerization process is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,179 wherein the use of poly(alkylene glycols) is employed. A wide range of acidic catalysts employed in the process for thermal polymerization of L-aspartic acid is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,176 to Adler et al.
Acid catalysts cause problems in achieving homogeneous reaction mixtures due to the formation of lumps of solids in the reaction mixture containing L-aspartic as polysuccimide forms and water is expelled. This problem increases as the amount of acid catalyst increases. One solution to this problem appears in the above noted U.S. patent to Adler et al. There is described therein the use of phosphoric acid as well as other acid catalysts in a process wherein processing aids are employed for the purpose of maintaining the reaction mixture in a homogeneous condition. Such processing aid are described as mechanical means to break up the lumps or the addition of such materials as zeolites, sulfates, sulfonates, carbonates, perchlorate, silicates, chlorides, bromides, alumina, glass beads, polymeric granules, polysuccinimide polymer or mixtures thereof.
While phosphoric acid aids in producing polysuccinimide of lighter color, there is always process variation which result in polysuccinimide having an undesirable amount of color. In one attempt to overcome the color problem it has been found that the polyaspartate formed by thermal polymerization of L-aspartic acid, followed by alkaline hydrolysis is treated with bleach in water solution. This treatment is reported to decolorize the solution of polyaspartate as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,864 to Wood, et al. However, in many instances the color of the polysuccinimide becomes a disadvantage as this initial product is employed without first converting it to the water soluble polyaspartate salt as was done in the above noted patent to Wood et al. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,237 to Freeman et al. and Australian Patent AU-A-14775/92, the polysuccinimide is added directly to other ingredients to form a detergent composition. The color of the polysuccinimide, particularly in detergent applications, is desirably white. Thus the method of decolorizing the water solution of the salt is not useful in preparing desirable compositions of the above noted patent to Freeman et al. which incorporate the succinimide.
Recent investigations of the process for polymerizing L-aspartic acid has led to various the discovery of various liquid media in which the reaction takes place. In EP 640641 assigned to Mitsui Toatsu there is disclosed a process wherein a portion of the liquid medium is removed during the reaction while charging additional organic solvent containing less water. Water is removed from the withdrawn medium and then returned to the reactor. Although this process described by example at relatively low concentrations, there is noted a formation of non-uniform (heterogeneous) mixture and bulk material was stirred during the reaction.
In copending application Ser. No. 08/398,323 filed Mar. 3, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,517, there is disclosed the use of organic liquids which surprisingly provide excellent results in the thermal polycondensation process whereby L-aspartic acid is converted to polysuccinimide. In these liquid systems there is a need for reducing the drag on mixing equipment which results in high energy usage and non-uniform admixture of the L-aspartic acid with the acid catalyst typically employed.
Accordingly, there is needed a convenient process for the production of polysuccinimide which has acceptable color for detergent applications without the need for decolorization. More convenient liquid media are needed for large scale production of polysuccinimide having very little color.

Process for the production of polysuccinimide


A solid-state image sensor having unit pixel cells arranged in a matrix form, each unit pixel cell having a photoelectric conversion element formed on a semiconductor substrate, a color filter formed on the photoelectric conversion element and a micro-lens formed on the color filter, where a thickness of the color filter is greater in the center than in the periphery. Further, the color filters adjoin in vertical and horizontal directions in the arrangement of the unit pixel cells. A cross-sectional shape of the color filter is, for example, triangular, trapezoidal, convex, lens-shaped or semielliptic.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor in which unit pixel cells are arranged in a matrix, each cell including a photo-electric conversion element formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a color filter formed on the photo-electric conversion element. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the solid-state image sensor.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Speaking of solid-state imaging sensors such as a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensor and a Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) sensor, shortening of exit pupil distance between a lens of camera and the solid-state image sensor, and the miniaturization of cells are progressing, along with miniaturization of cameras and an increase in the pixel count of solid-state image sensors.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state image sensor disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Application No. 2001-249218. FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of two unit pixels located particularly in the periphery of an imaging area. In the solid-state image sensor, a flattening film 14 such as a Boro-Phospho Silicated Glass (BPSG) is formed on a photodiode 11 of a photoelectric conversion unit, and an in-layer lens 3 is formed on the flattening film. In order to reduce variation in finishing of each color filter, a transparent film 4 is formed on the in-layer lens 3 for flattening the surface of the in-layer lens 3, while a color filter 2 is formed on the transparent film 4. The color filter 2 can be a color filter made of complementary colors such as yellow, cyan, magenta, and green, or a color filter made of primary colors such as red, green and blue. A micro-lens 1 and the color filter 2 are positioned offset toward the center of the imaging area, in order to increase an amount of oblique light received by the photodiode 11 in the periphery of the imaging area.
Color filter layers have conventionally been formed based on, for example, a dyeing method or a color resist method. In the color resist method, selective exposure and development processing are performed on a photo resist film that contains colorants and pigments, so as to form a color filter of intended color. Then, a transparent flattening film is formed below micro-lens for reducing the unevenness in the surface of the color filter after the formation of the color filter, which results in less variation in the formation of the micro-lens 1.
According to the improved example disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Application No. 2001-249218, thin-sliming of the complementary green filter, which is formed by a combination of cyan and yellow and is therefore very likely to be the thickest film among the color filter layers, is suggested. This is because the shortening of the distance between the surface of the semiconductor substrate and the transparent flattening film 13 that is located below the micro-lens is necessary as a solution to the problems such as degradation of luminous sensitivity to oblique light and color mixing caused between neighboring pixels, which are due to miniaturization of cells.
In the method of manufacturing a color filter, a color filter coating, which is a color filter component of the first color and does not contain a photosensitizing agent, is formed by selective etching. Therefore, for example, in the process of manufacturing a complementary color filter, by forming a green filter component using the same method as applied to the first color, it is possible to form a green filter component as thin as a filter component of other colors, which leads to thin-sliming of color filter layer.
However, along with the shortening of exit pupil distance between a lens of a camera and a solid-state image element it has been difficult, with the conventional solid-state image sensor, to reduce the degradation of light sensitivity and the color mixing caused between the neighboring pixels, by simply rendering the color filter thinner. This is because a cross-sectional shape of the color filter is not always finished by vertical cut: the firstly formed color filter has a trapezoidal shape (i.e. the upper base length is shorter than the lower base length) and secondly and thirdly formed color filters are inserted into the space where color filters are not yet formed. As a result, oblique incident light passes through the edge of the color filter of the neighboring pixel, as shown in FIG. 2A, and desired spectral characteristics cannot be obtained. Another problem with the conventional cross-sectional shape is that an alignment margin decreases as the miniaturization of solid-state image sensors progresses. In the case where a color filter and a micro-lens are not properly aligned, color mixing is caused by the fact that the oblique incident light passes the edge of the color filter of the neighboring pixel, as shown in FIG. 2B, and desired spectral characteristics cannot be obtained. Further problems such as color density difference between lines, flicker, color shading, and variation in sensitivity are caused since the degree of color mixing varies depending on the angle at which the incident light passes. The color density difference between lines is a difference in density of color between the neighboring lines caused by the difference in the degree of color mixing between lines due to the different arrangement of colors in each line. The flicker attributes to a spectral difference between fields due to color mixing in the case of complementary color filter. The color shading is a phenomenon that the color differently develops between in the periphery of the imaging area and in the center.
As described above, technology which prevents decrease in light sensitivity that is a main characteristic of the solid-state image sensors as well as other characteristics such as color mixing between the neighboring pixels, a color density difference between lines, flicker and color shading is needed as the miniaturization of solid-state image sensors progress.

Solid-state image sensor and method of manufacturing thereof


A TV antenna apparatus for vehicles of the present invention includes a plurality of sheet antennas serving as an antenna element which is obtained by forming a foil having a specific pattern on a base sheet constituted of a flexible insulating film, adhering means for adhering the plurality of sheet antennas to respective positions of front and rear nonconductive members of a vehicle body, such as inner right and left sides of front and rear bumpers of nonconductive members of the vehicle body, and feeders for connecting the plurality of sheet antennas adhered by the adhering means, to a TV set in a four-channel diversity system.

The present invention relates to a TV antenna apparatus for vehicles which is usually called a mast-less antenna apparatus having no masts protruded from the car body but a sheet antenna for receiving a TV broadcast wave.
Recently there have been great demands for the use of the mast-less antenna apparatus as a TV antenna apparatus for vehicles.
FIG. 21 is a view showing an example of a wideband TV antenna apparatus 20 conventionally used for receiving a TV broadcast wave. As shown in FIG. 21, the apparatus 20 includes a folded antenna element 21 obtained by folding a metal pipe with a diameter of about 10 mm like an oval or a loop. A feed section 23 is provided in the central part of the antenna element 21 and connected to a feeder 25, which is constituted of a coaxial cable, through a balun 24 (matching transformer for choosing between balanced and unbalanced lines).
The folded antenna element 21 is formed of a so-called rigid member, and its length is about 1300 mm and its width is about 50 mm when it is used in the VHF band (falling between 90 MHz and 222 MHz in Japan). Since the antenna element 21 so constituted is too large in size and rigid, it is not adapted to an object so well. For this reason, the antenna element 21 is not suitable to be used as a mast-less antenna apparatus which is mounted on a resin panel of a vehicle.
The antenna element 21 constituted as shown in FIG. 21 and used in the VHF band is not able to receive a radio wave of the UHF band with efficiency. In order to satisfactorily receive the radio wave of the UHF band as well as that of the VHF band, a small-sized antenna element for the UHF band, which is about one-fifth of the antenna element 21, has to be added and, in this case, in order to prevent the antenna element 21 for the VHF band and that for the UHF band from interfering with each other, a wave separator for separating the radio waves of both the antenna elements is needed.
As an example of the mast-less antenna apparatus, there is an antenna apparatus used for a windowpane of a vehicle. In this antenna apparatus, a thin, narrow, strip conductor provided on the rear window, is used as an antenna element.
The vehicle windowpane antenna apparatus is suitable as the mast-less antenna apparatus because no portions are greatly protruded from the car body. However, even though, for example, a four-channel space diversity reception method is adopted, no good space diversity effect can be obtained.
To obtain good space diversity effect, the antenna elements have to be arranged at intervals of about .lambda./4 (.lambda.: wavelength). Assuming that the frequency f of received wave is 100 MHz, .lambda./4 is 75 cm. Thus, the antenna elements need to be arranged vertically and horizontally on the rear window of a vehicle (especially an automobile) at intervals of 75 cm. It is however physically difficult to arrange the antenna elements on the rear window in the same manner as described above.
The radio waves are coming from different directions every moment in accordance with the movement of the vehicle. Therefore, when the antenna elements of the vehicle windowpane antenna apparatus are formed on the rear window of the vehicle, they can favorably receive the wave coming from a direction perpendicular to the window surface, but not the waves falling upon the sides and front of the vehicle because they are obstructed by the car body.


A light-emitting device can be configured to have little variation in light emission characteristics even at increased temperatures. A light-emitting device can include a light-emitting section for emitting light with a predetermined wavelength, and a fluorescent material for absorbing a part of light emitted from the light-emitting section and emitting light with a longer wavelength. The light-emitting device can mix the light with the predetermined wavelength from the light-emitting section and the light with the longer wavelength from the fluorescent material, and thereby emit a mixed light. The fluorescent material can include single crystal grains in which primary grains have a diameter of 1 μm or less. Crystal defects, such as a grain boundary, do not often and sometimes never occur in the single crystal grain having a diameter of 1 μm or less. Thus, it is possible to restrain a phenomenon in which a crystal defect non-radially emits absorbed energy (as heat) which then reduces light emission efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting device which performs wavelength conversion with the use of a fluorescent material.
2. Description of the Related Art
A light-emitting diode is practically used in industrial products as a compact and lightweight light source which emits light with high efficiency. Light emission from the light-emitting diode, however, has a narrow spectral width, and hence it is difficult impossible to obtain white light from a single device. Accordingly, a light-emitting device for obtaining white light with a wide spectral width by mixing blue light and yellow light has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-208815), and is practically used. The light-emitting device includes a blue light-emitting diode and a fluorescent material for absorbing blue light and for emitting yellow light.
The following can be used for the fluorescent material for emitting yellow light: an yttrium aluminum garnet fluorescent material activated by Ce (Y3Al5O12:Ce, (Y,Gd)3Al5O12:Ce, or the like); a terbium aluminum garnet fluorescent material activated by Ce (Tb3Al5O12:Ce or the like); an alkaline earth metal orthosilicate fluorescent material activated by Eu ((Sr,Ca,Ba)SiO4:Eu or the like), or the like. These materials absorb light emission from the blue light-emitting diode, and emit yellowish fluorescent light.
To manufacture these fluorescent materials, oxide particles and/or metallic salt are/is combined and mixed in accordance with the composition ratio of a desired fluorescent material. A mixture is put into a crucible made of ceramic with flux or the like. The mixture and the flux are subjected to heat treatment at high temperatures in an atmospheric atmosphere or a reduction atmosphere, to prepare a fluorescent material with desired composition by baking. According to this method, the diameter of crystal grains of the fluorescent material grows to several μm or more by baking. The resulting grains of the fluorescent material become a material for a light-emitting diode, after being cleaned, dried, and sized by crushing and by a sieve that evens their diameters. This method makes it possible to manufacture the fluorescent material in quantity. The manufactured fluorescent material is dispersed in a transparent resin, and the resin is charged into a case in which the blue light-emitting diode is disposed. Thus, a white light-emitting diode is manufactured.
The fluorescent material used in the conventional white light-emitting diode has extremely high light conversion efficiency at ambient temperature. There is a problem, however, in that the light conversion efficiency decreases at high temperatures. In this case, if the electric current density of the blue light-emitting diode is increased to increase the intensity of light emission, the light emission efficiency of the fluorescent material is decreased due to heat from the blue light-emitting diode. Thus, yellow light is reduced, so that the color of light emitted from the diode is bluish white. In a like manner, the color of emitted light changes when the ambient temperature is increased. As described above, reduction in the light emission efficiency of the fluorescent material in an environment at high temperatures is a phenomenon called "temperature quenching," and there was no effective method for resolving it.
In the conventional white light-emitting diode, there were cases where the density of the fluorescent material charged into the case was biased in the resin. Thus, there were problems of unevenness in luminance and unevenness in the color of emitted light. The unevenness in the color of emitted light was a critical defect in applying the white light-emitting diode to a backlighting source for liquid crystal display. When a product emitted a color of light that was out of a predetermined chromaticity range, the product was rejected as defective. Therefore, product yield was low and there was much waste.

Light emitting diode with fluorescent material


A method and an estimator program for estimating the server farm size and the availability of the server farm for a given redundancy factor and a given particular number of clients.

This invention relates to data processing systems of the type which include a server farm that executes application programs for multiple clients (users); and more particularly, this invention relates to methods for estimating the xe2x80x9cserver farm sizexe2x80x9d with a given redundancy factor and estimating the xe2x80x9cavailabilityxe2x80x9d of the server farm in the above type of data processing systems.
The co-pending application described above involves an estimator program to perform method steps for estimating the availability of an application program that runs on any xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d in a cluster of at least two servers. By xe2x80x9cavailability of an application programxe2x80x9d is meant the probability that at any particular time instance, at least one of the servers in a cluster (farm) will actually be servicing requests from external workstations able to use the application program.
In one embodiment, the so-called estimator program begins by receiving input parameters which include (i) multiple downtime periods for each computer in the cluster (farm) that occur at respective frequencies due to various downtime sources, and (ii) an application xe2x80x9cfailoverxe2x80x9d time period for switching the running of the application program from any one computer to another computer which is operable. From these input parameters, the described estimator program estimates first and second annual stoppage times, then determines the availability of the application program on the cluster of computers which is derived from the sum of the first and second annual stoppage times.
Thus, as discussed, the estimator program of the previously-described invention estimated a first annual stoppage time for the application program due solely to the concurrent stoppage of all of the computers, as a function of the ratio of a single computer virtual downtime period over the single computer virtual time between stops. Then subsequently, the estimator program was used to estimate a second annual stoppage time for the application program, due solely to the switching of running the application program from one computer to another computer as a function of the single virtual stoppage rate and the application failover time period. From this, the estimator program determined the availability of the application program on the cluster of computers by deriving the sum of the first and second annual stoppage times.
The estimator program method was based on the assumption that xe2x80x9capplication availabilityxe2x80x9d was to be determined from four factors which were:
(i) single-server hardware reliability;
(ii) maintenance, support, and service strategies;
(iii) user application and environment;
(iv) failover or system reconnection mechanism and application recovery mechanism.
The prior estimation parameters which were described in the co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 08/550,603 did not take into consideration the total number of operating server farm clients and the normal single server workload of users involved with each single server. Further, the earlier work did not provide a recommendation or estimate regarding the number of servers required in the server farm (or cluster) which would meet the customers"" performance and redundancy level requirements.
This new method involving the server farm size and availability calculations is based on (1) the single server parameters such as (a) the meantime to failure (MTTF), (b) the meantime to repair (MTTR), and (c) the single server application performance benchmarks, and (2) individual customer preferential requirements, involving (a) the total number of server farm application users and (b) a desirable redundancy level.
This new method uses the following definition of the server farm availability. This definition is the probability that a server farm provides access to applications and data for a particular minimum number of users. As soon as the server farm can not serve this particular minimum number of users, it is considered failed. When some of the users have lost connections but can reconnect to other servers and continue to work and the majority of users do not experience any interruptions in their work, the farm is not considered failed, if it can still serve this particular number of users.
A widely used approach to improve a system""s availability beyond the availability of a single system is by using server farms with redundant servers. In this case, if one of the farm""s servers fails, the xe2x80x9cunluckyxe2x80x9d users connected to this server will lose their connections, but will have an opportunity to reconnect to other servers in the farm and get access to their applications and data. If all of the xe2x80x9cunluckyxe2x80x9d users get access to their applications and data, the farm is considered xe2x80x9cavailable.xe2x80x9d If at least one of the xe2x80x9cunluckyxe2x80x9d users fails to get access to his/her applications and data, it means that the server farm""s redundancy was exhausted and the server farm is considered failed.
The parameters for MTTF and MTTR can be estimated as indicated in the cited prior U.S. Ser. No. 08/550,603 as a single computer virtual time between failures and a single computer virtual downtime period, respectively, for a particular application and user environment.
While the present invention may be shown in a preferential embodiment for a server farm that uses any workload balancing mechanism, it is not limited thereto, and can be used for any other data processing environment where the definition of the xe2x80x9cserver farm availabilityxe2x80x9d can be applied.
Thus the object of the present invention is to provide a method for estimating the xe2x80x9cserver farm sizexe2x80x9d and estimating the xe2x80x9cavailabilityxe2x80x9d of the server farm based on individual server parameters including the redundancy factor. The method will generate recommendations for a customer who requires a reliable operating environment with sufficient redundancy which must continue to serve a particular number of clients (application users) even during cases of single server failures or stops for planned maintenance.
In accordance with the present invention, a novel estimator program performs method steps for estimating the xe2x80x9cserver farm sizexe2x80x9d and estimating the xe2x80x9cavailabilityxe2x80x9d of the server farm for a given redundancy factor and a given particular number of clients. By the availability of a server farm is herein meant the probability that the server farm will service not less than a given particular number of clients.
In one particular embodiment, the estimator program begins by receiving input parameters which include a redundancy factor (or a normal single server workload of users), a particular number of clients xe2x80x9cnxe2x80x9d for utilizing the server farm, and parameters of single servers that form the server farm.
The first single server parameter is the server performance benchmark. A benchmark value is based on the user workload simulation for a particular type of server. The second single server parameter is the server mean time between failures (MTTF) that is a measure of the single server reliability. The next single server parameter is the mean time to repair (MTTR) that is a measure of the server maintainability and/or serviceability.
Next, the estimator program uses the input parameters to generate an estimate of the farm size for the farm that will comprise servers with given parameters and will be able to serve at least a given particular number of clients xe2x80x9cnxe2x80x9d. Then, the estimator program establishes the server reserved number of servers and provides an estimate of the server farm MTTF utilizing a Markov algorithm. Next, the estimator program estimates the availability and corresponding downtime for the server farm from the server farm MTTF and the server farm MTTR that is assumed equal to the single server MTTR.
As a result, the estimator program provides the estimations of the two very important parameters that determine the cost analyses of the investment into the highly available server farms. The application of the novel estimator program demonstrates that the server farms with higher redundancy factor (more servers and, accordingly, higher the server farm cost) deliver less server farm downtime (less downtime related to business losses, and, accordingly, less downtime cost).

Method for estimating the availability of an operating server farm


A method and apparatus for deep content tagging. A media device receives one or more first frames of a content item, where the one or more first frames spans a duration of a scene in the content item. The media device detects one or more objects or features in each of the first frames using a neural network model and identifies one or more first genres associated with the first frames based at least in part on the detected objects or features in each of the first frames. The media device further controls playback of the content item based at least in part on the identified first genres.

Machine learning is a technique for improving the ability of a computer system or application to perform a certain task. Machine learning can be broken down into two component parts: training and inferencing. During the training phase, a machine learning system is provided with an "answer" and a large volume of raw data associated with the answer. For example, a machine learning system may be trained to recognize cats by providing the system with a large number of cat photos and/or videos (e.g., the raw data) and an indication that the provided media contains a "cat" (e.g., the answer). The machine learning system may then analyze the raw data to "learn" a set of rules that can be used to describe the answer. For example, the system may perform statistical analysis on the raw data to determine a common set of features (e.g., the rules) that can be associated with the term "cat" (e.g., whiskers, paws, fur, four legs, etc.). During the inferencing phase, the machine learning system may apply the rules to new data to generate answers or inferences about the data. For example, the system may analyze a family photo and determine, based on the learned rules, that the photo includes an image of a cat.


A memorial urn includes a central core having at least one vessel stored therein, the vessel functioning to house and identify cremated remains. A protective outer shell having a one or more commemoratory items is positioned about the core. One or more lighted elements illuminates the outer body, and a candleholder is positioned onto the outer body. A base unit is removably secured to the bottom of the outer shell.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Since the dawn of recorded history, man has endeavored to maintain a link between themselves and their deceased loved ones. This is typically accomplished through the use of a memorial such as a headstone, statue, or other such monument. These monuments are typically located adjacent to the burial site of the deceased, and serve as a permanent reminder to the legacy of a loved one. However, owing to increased concern for health conditions around cemeteries, the ever-increasing costs of earth burials, and the increasingly scarce availability of burial space, cremation has become a widely popular alternative to the more traditional whole-body interment.
To this end, the cremated remains of an individual are typically placed within a vessel such as an urn, for example, prior to being returned to a family member or loved one. At this point, the family members must decide what to do with the ashes. For example, many cemeteries offer patrons the option of purchasing a burial space that is specifically designed for the internment of cremated remains, while other families choose to scatter the ashes of their loved ones. Still, others opt to remember their loved ones by keeping the urn containing the cremated ashes in their homes.
However, until now these urns have been generally unsatisfactory because they are readily identifiable as an urn, offer mere token customization options, and do not generally convey a suitable and enduring monument to the departed which can remain with families for generations to come.
Accordingly, the need exists for a memorial urn which can be custom crafted to create a unique and lasting tribute to a loved one that includes a sealed compartment for securely and permanently housing the cremated remains.


A dischargeable storage device instantaneously moveable between a store position and a discharge position. The dischargeable storage device includes a deck having a pair of pivotable trap doors. Each door has a guide post. The dischargeable storage device has a plunger having two guide channels. The plunger is moveable within the aperture. Each guide channel is adapted to cooperate with one of the guide posts such that when the plunger is depressed, the guide posts travel along the guide channels allowing the trap doors to open. An apparatus for for evenly distributing portions of food having a dischargeable storage device is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dischargeable storage device and an apparatus comprising a dischargeable storage device for evenly distributing food over a surface.
2. Background Art
In the manufacture of certain food items, such as pizza, it is necessary to evenly distribute food over a surface. For instance, in making pizzas, the cheese should be evenly distributed over the surface of the pizza.
The popularity of pizza, and the high volume production thereof, necessitates that pizza ingredients should be evenly distributed over the surface of the pizza for quality, economical, and aesthetic purposes. Even distribution of cheese helps to give the pizza an attractive, consistent appearance; uniform baking characteristics; and uniform cutting and taste characteristics.
Originally, distributing cheese over the surface of a pizza was done by hand. However, this method failed to produce consistent and accurate results.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,760 issued to Ansari and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses an apparatus for evenly distributing food over a surface, and in particular, to an apparatus for evenly distributing a predetermined amount of cheese on the surface of a pizza. While the invention described by the '760 patent proved successful, improvements were made thereto.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dischargeable storage device for distributing food over a surface


Voltage fluctuations, especially due to a resonant effect of a power distribution system, result in serious timing skews in a high-speed digital system. Adding extra resistive loadings for coupling out the noise into external terminations will reduce a quality factor of the power distribution system, which will effectively minimize the noise accumulation. The external coupled resistive terminators are preferably formed on positions of a microstrip resonator where relatively high noise fluctuations occur. Each of the external coupled resistive terminators may be formed of a resistor, a transmission line with a resistor at one end, a lossy transmission line with an open circuit at one end, or a quarter-wavelength lossy transmission line. Simulation results indicate that the maximum voltage fluctuations are suppressed from 750 mV to 150 mV at a resonant frequency and about 50% for an overall range of the operating frequencies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a power distribution system and, more particularly, to a method of reducing switching noise in a power distribution system by external coupled resistive terminators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Precisely controlling timing skew is one of major challenges in high-speed digital signaling. Among various reasons that cause the timing skew, power integrity is recently considered to be a principal concern, especially under a requirement of high throughput and low voltage swing. Switching noise is a dominant noise source in a power distribution system. Minimizing this noise will be beneficial to overall power integrity.
When an I/O buffer is switched, it will not only draw energy from the power distribution system in a very short period of time, but also induce a broadband noise onto the power distribution system. The noise level is exacerbated even further when multiple signals make transitions at the same time, which is referred to as simultaneously switching noises. These simultaneously switching noises are basically in phase or nearly in phase and therefore their noise amplitudes can be accumulated, instead of being cancelled. If designed improperly, power/ground planes of the power distribution system form a resonator such that the noise with a frequency closer to a certain resonant frequency can be stored up, causing more severe problems to the power integrity.
One of the most common and greatly accepted solutions to suppressing the noise is placing decoupling capacitors on to the power distribution system; however, equivalent series inductances of wirings used to connect between the decoupling capacitors and the power distribution system limits a possible application to a high frequency regime.
Alternatively, lowing the resonant effect can effectively alleviate the noise accumulation since the noise is more violent upon resonance. The resonance effect on the noise can be avoided by detuning the resonant frequency from an operating frequency or adding more loss to reduce a quality factor of the power distribution system. For example, noise absorption materials are provided at edges of a circuit board to effectively minimize reflection and radiation due to edge discontinuity, especially at a high frequency regime. This method is referred to as "edge termination." Two types of noise absorption materials have been proposed, i.e. electric and magnetic lossy materials. However, in the case of the electric lossy materials, an undesired leakage current is induced and, in the case of the magnetic lossy materials, it is impossible to achieve a broadband absorption due to a lack of appropriate magnetic lossy materials.

Method of reducing switching noise in a power distribution system by external coupled resistive terminators


A fuel cap is provided to improve sealing characteristics of a pressurized fuel tank. When the inner pressure P of a fuel tank is a negative pressure less than a predetermined regulation negative pressure Pr which does not need to be controlled, a valve 160 is pressed upward by the urging force of a spring 164 to bring a lip portion 161 of the valve 160 into contact with a seal surface 156 of a seal body 150 to thereby close the valve 160. As a result, the fuel tank is sealed from the outside air. At this time, a flat plate portion 155 of the rubber-made seal body 150 is bent by the urging force of the spring 164 so that the gap L between the flat plate portion 155 and the lower surface of a ceiling plate portion 131 is narrowed. In addition, the divergence of center of the valve 160 with respect to the seal body 50 is limited by ribs 162 of the valve 160 located in a valve slide hole 135.

The present invention relates to a fuel cap (hereinafter simply called cap) attached to a filler neck of a fuel tank of an automobile and, particularly, relates to a fuel cap having a negative pressure valve permitting air to flow from the outside of a fuel tank to the inside thereof at the time of lowering of the inner pressure of the fuel tank to prevent the inner pressure of the fuel tank from lowering further.
A cap of this type is described in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Sho-63-86481 for preventing dust or the like mixed in flowing-in air at the time of operation of the valve from depositing on the negative pressure valve.
In the cap described in the aforementioned Publication, a dust proof plate is arranged in an air passage up to the negative pressure valve to alter the flow of air and make the dust mixed in the air fall, to thereby obtain an effect of being dust proof.
In the cap described in the above Publication, however, there is still room for improvement in the durability of the dust proof effect, because the space of the place where the fallen dust can deposit is small.


A method is provided that includes, but is not limited to the steps of driving in an on-off manner in a period of time an electronic switch in series with a respective glow plug between the terminals of a d.c. voltage supply, sensing the glow plug voltage and the glow plug current, generating analogue sense signals representative of the time integral of the glow plug voltage and current, generating analogue reference signals corresponding to the digital values of corresponding control words, comparing the sense signals to the respective reference signals and modifying the corresponding control words so as to minimize the difference between the sense signals and the reference signals, calculating the average values of the sensed voltage and current on the basis of the values of the control words at the beginning and at the end of the “on” time of the electronic switch.

Glow plugs are typically associated with the cylinder chambers of Diesel engines, and are controlled by an associated electronic control module which is arranged to control in real time the amount of energy transferred to each glow plug, so as to reach and hold a predetermined working temperature. The electronic control module drives the electronic switches, generally MOSFET transistors, by means of pulse-width-modulated (PWM) control signals.
The energy transferred to the glow plugs is the key variable to be controlled, and the glow-plug control systems generally monitor both the voltage across each glow plug and the current flowing through each glow plug.
Controlling the energy transferred to the glow plugs means controlling the power transferred thereto during each period of the PWM driving signals applied to the corresponding electronic switches. The duty-cycle of the PWM driving signals is controlled in a closed-loop, in order to supply the desired energy to each glow plug.
With the presently known control systems the best control performances are achieved through a direct determination of the rms values of the voltage and current waveforms for each period of the PWM driving signals. Such a solution involves remarkable difficulties, in particular due to the high sensitivity to external noise and the complexity of the hardware circuitry and the digital processing needed.
Some known solutions are based on sampling the glow plug voltage and current by means of a so-called high sampling task, with a view to digitally computing the rms values thereof. This solution requires expensive and very fast analogue channel converters, and this adversely affects the digital control throughput and the overall cost of the glow plug control system.
In order to avoid the need for a fast sampling task, it has been proposed to sample the glow plug voltage and current only once per period of the PWM driving signals, for instance at the middle of the "on" phase of said signals. Such a solution indeed solves the issue of the fast sampling, but introduces in turn an important error into the calculation of the rms values of the glow plug voltage and current.
In view of the foregoing, it is at least one object of the present invention to provide an improved method and an improved apparatus for controlling glow plugs in a Diesel engine, allowing to overcome the above-outlined inconveniences of the prior art systems. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Method and an apparatus for controlling glow plugs in a diesel engine, particularly for motor-vehicles


One or more modules include a first portion that teams together multiple physical network interface ports of a computing system to appear as a single virtual network interface port to a switch to which the physical ports are linked. A second portion determines a receive port upon which a packet of a TCP session was received. A third portion assigns a transmit port to be the receive port, wherein the transmit port is used by the computing system to transmit packets of the TCP session. The third portion assigns the transmit port prior to a TCP offload engine (TOE) being enabled to offload from the system CPU processing of packets of the TCP session transceived on the assigned transmit/receive port. If a subsequent packet for the TCP session is received on a different second port, the transmit port is reassigned to be the second port.

There is a constant demand for increased data availability and bandwidth in computer networks. This has driven the development of higher data transmission rates on network links, such as Ethernet links, from the order of tens of megabits per second to hundreds of gigabits per second. However, the migration to these new technologies may be expensive and disruptive to the operation of data centers and users that employ them. An alternative method to increase bandwidth is to logically group multiple network interface ports together so that they appear to clients as a single network interface port, commonly referred to as a virtual network interface port. This practice is commonly referred to as simply teaming, network interface controller (NIC) teaming, link aggregation, link bundling, port trunking and NIC bonding, and is generally referred to herein as network interface adapter teaming, adapter teaming or simply teaming. Another advantage of NIC teaming is increased data availability by supporting failover to a different port of the team if one of the ports fails.
The most widely used suite of networking protocols is the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols. Generally speaking, a TCP segment includes a header and payload that are encapsulated within an IP packet. The IP packet includes a header and payload that are encapsulated within a data link layer packet, such as an Ethernet frame, or packet. Historically, the Ethernet frame is received by the network interface adapter and transferred to the system memory of the host computer, which is a server system in many cases. The network protocol stack of the host operating system, which is executed by the host CPU, then processes the frame according to the various protocol layers. The processing involves: examining various fields of the packet headers; performing error checking by generating checksums of the packet words and comparing the generated checksum with the checksum included in the packet; generating and transmitting acknowledgement packets on the network to acknowledge receipt of the received packets; and establishing connections with remote hosts, which involves processing packets and generating and transmitting packets; among others. For outgoing packets, the host CPU generates the checksums and headers, which includes calculating sequence numbers performing sliding window calculations to accomplish network congestion control. The CPU generates the packets in the system memory, the packets are transferred to the network interface adapter, and the adapter transfers the packet from system memory out of its ports onto the network.
It was found that a significant amount of the CPU bandwidth was being consumed by processing the TCP/IP packets and in some cases causing poor performance of applications running on the host. A solution developed to address this problem was to offload some the TCP/IP processing to the network interface adapter. The portion of the network adapter devoted to this task is commonly referred to as a TCP Offload Engine (TOE). A TOE stores state of a TCP session to enable it to offload the system CPU by performing some or all of the TCP/IP processing. TOEs may also reduce the amount of traffic on the host local bus, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, by alleviating the need for some packets and/or headers to travel from system memory across the PCI bus to the network adapter, such as the acknowledgement packets, which are generated by the TOE which is on the network interface side of the PCI bus rather than the system memory side of the PCI bus.
Unfortunately, the performance benefits enjoyed by separately employing network adapter teaming and separately employing TOEs have been difficult to realize when using the two in combination. This appears to be primarily due to the fact that the network switch to which the individual host network interface adapters are linked may choose to transmit the packets of a TCP session to a different physical port of the virtual adapter than the physical port of the virtual adapter that the host chooses to transmit the packets of the TCP session. That is, the output port selection algorithms (commonly referred to as hashing algorithms) of the network switch and the host may be different. This is problematic because the TOE requires the TCP session state in order to perform its protocol offload functions. This causes the copying of packets within system memory and/or the different network adapters that are receiving the packets and transmitting the packets for the TCP session, which results in wasted system memory, local I/O bus and/or CPU bandwidth and in some cases overall system performance that is worse than obtained without the TOE services. For this reason, major network solution providers have chosen not to support TOE in combination with predominate teaming protocols, such as LACP and IEEE 802.3ad.
Therefore, a solution is needed to improve the performance of a host computer system that combines network adapter teaming and TOEs.

Adaptive receive path learning to facilitate combining TCP offloading and network adapter teaming


Disclosed is a high linearity programmable gain amplifier using a switch, including an attenuating portion for controlling a gain of a signal and an amplifying portion having a first amplifying part and a second amplifying part, for amplifying an input signal and outputting a signal amplified, wherein the first amplifying part has a first amplifier for amplifying an input signal and a first switch for activating the first amplifier and the second amplifying part has a second amplifier for amplifying an input signal and a second switch for activating the second amplifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gain amplifier, more particularly, to a high linearity programmable gain amplifier using a switch.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a discrete step gain switch amplifier (DSGSA) using a prior art switch.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional amplifier using a switch consists of an attenuating portion 110 and an amplifying portion 120.
The attenuating portion 110 includes an input terminal RFin, a plurality of switches SW11 to SW14, and a plurality of resistors R11 to R16.
The amplifying portion 120 is composed of an amplifier 121, resistors RF1 and RF2, and an output terminal RFout.
The output terminal of the attenuating portion 110 is connected with the input terminal of the amplifying portion 120.
When all of switches SW11 to SW14 in the attenuating portion 110 are opened, even if an input signal is applied to the attenuating portion 110, no signal is to be amplified by the amplifying portion 120 because any circuit cannot be formed.
Meanwhile, when the switch SW11 of the attenuating portion 110 is closed to form the circuit, an input signal is applied to a first input terminal of the amplifying portion 120, and a signal attenuated by the attenuating portion 110 based on a combined resistance value of resistors R11 to R16 is applied to a second input terminal of the amplifying portion 120.
The turn-on or turn-off of switches SW11 to SW14 may alter the gain of the amplifier 121.
If the attenuating portion 110 exists in the first and second input terminals of the amplifying portion 120, when an amplifying operation in the amplifier 121 is performed in a low gain, the effect of the noise figure from the amplifier 121 is minimal, but, when the amplifying or converting operation in the amplifier 121 is performed in a high gain, the noise due to the switching noise from a switching element or a thermal noise in the amplifier 121, etc, can be added to an original signal, thereby deteriorating the noise figure.
FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a variable gain low noise amplifier constructed by a parallel connection of prior art amplifier.
As shown, the variable gain low noise amplifier has a first selective portion to a fourth selective portion 201, 202, 203 and 204, a power supply and an input/output terminal.
The first selective portion 201 comprises a driving part including resistors R21 and R22, a capacitor C11 and a transistor M11, and further comprises a capacitor C12 and a transistor M12.
The second selective portion 202 comprises a driving part including resistors R23 and R24, a capacitor C21 and a transistor M21 and an amplifying part including capacitors C12 and C23 and a transistor M22.
The third selective portion 203 comprises a driving part including resistors R25 and R26, a capacitor C31 and a transistor M31 and an amplifying part including capacitors C32 and C33 and a transistor M32.
The fourth selective portion 204 comprises a driving part including resistors R27 and R28, a capacitor C41 and a transistor M41 and an amplifying part including capacitors C42 and C43 and a transistor M42.
The operation of the variable gain low noise amplifier will be described below in detail.
If a current I1 is applied to a base of the transistor M12 to select the first selective portion 201, a current between an emitter and a base of the transistor M12 is amplified rapidly and thereby conducting the transistor M12. This also leads the conduction of the transistor M11. As a result, a gain is determined by the capacitor C12.
If a current I2 flows into a base of the transistor M22, the transistor M22 is conducted and conduction of the transistor M22 also leads to conduction of the transistor M21. As a result, a gain is determined by the capacitance ratio of the capacitor C22 to the capacitor C23.
The third selective portion 203 and the fourth selective portion 204 operate in similar manner with the first selective portion 201 and the second selective portion 202.
In conclusion, the transistor M12 does not attenuate a signal, but the transistors M22, M32 and M42 attenuate a signal with gains determined by the capacitance ratio of the capacitor C22 to the capacitor C23, the capacitance ratio of the capacitor C32 to the capacitor C33 and the capacitance ratio of the capacitor 42 to the capacitor C43, respectively.
Accordingly, the total gain of the whole amplifier circuit is changed depending on which selective portion among the selective portions 201 to 204 is selected.
That is, a desired gain of the amplifier circuit is achieved by connecting the selective portions 201 to 204 in parallel and selecting any one of the selective portions 201 to 204.
However, the conventional variable gain low noise amplifier is disadvantageous in that the parallel connection of the amplifying parts, i.e. the selective portions, and application of the electric current to select any one amplifying part among the amplifying parts lead to deterioration of the characteristics of the circuit in view of the bandwidth, and further the application of an electric current to the amplifying parts increases the total power consumption.

High linearity programmable gain amplifier using switch


An auxiliary child seat unit for a vehicle which has seat belt holes provided in sides of a lower rear part of the auxiliary child seat unit, through which seat belts are placed to allow the auxiliary child seat unit to be stably fastened to an interior of the vehicle. A seat belt connection opening is provided within the auxiliary child seat unit between the seat belt holes wherein the seat belts are attached by an engagement mechanism provided on the seat belts.

The present device relates to an auxiliary child seat unit for use with a seat of a motor vehicle.
It has been widely practiced to attach an auxiliary child seat unit to the seat of a motor vehicle to secure the safety of a child. The auxiliary child seat unit is usually fastened to the seat of the vehicle by a seat belt provided in the vehicle, such that the auxiliary child seat unit is safely secured during regular movement of the vehicle and during sudden stops of the vehicle.
Generally, sides of the auxiliary child seat unit or a bottom thereof have belt holes through which a seat belt with an engagement plate is inserted, to fasten the auxiliary child seat unit to the seat of the vehicle. Specifically, the seat belt with the engagement plate is inserted through the belt holes and connected outside the auxiliary child seat unit with another seat belt containing an engagement means for receiving the engagement plate, thereby securing the auxiliary child seat unit to the seat of the vehicle.
In conventional devices, the operation of connecting the seat belts by engaging the engagement plate with the engagement means to fasten the auxiliary child seat unit to the seat of the motor vehicle is performed in a narrow place outside the auxiliary child seat unit. For that reason, it is difficult to change the length of the seat belts and thus tighten the seat belts to properly fasten the auxiliary child seat unit to the seat of the vehicle. In addition to this problem, given that the engagement means of the seat belt is exposed outside the body of the auxiliary child seat unit, the child secured in o the auxiliary child seat unit is able to touch the engagement means. This may result in the engagement plate being disengaged from the engagement means or in the child having his or her finger pinched by the engagement means.


Provided herein are type II transmembrane serine protease 7 (MTSP7) polypeptides. Zymogen and activated forms of these polypeptides as well as single and two chain forms of the protease domain are also provided. Methods using the polypeptides to identify compounds that modulate the protease activity of an MTSP7 are provided.

Cancer, which is a leading cause of death in the United States, is characterized by an increase in the number of abnormal neoplastic cells, which proliferate to form a tumor mass, the invasion of adjacent tissues by these neoplastic tumor cells, and the generation of malignant cells that metastasize via the blood or lymphatic system to regional lymph nodes and to distant sites. Among the hallmarks of cancer is a breakdown in the communication among tumor cells and their environment. Normal cells do not divide in the absence of stimulatory signals and cease dividing in the presence of inhibitory signals. Growth-stimulatory and growth-inhibitory signals, are routinely exchanged between cells within a tissue. In a cancerous, or neoplastic state, a cell acquires the ability to "override" these signals and to proliferate under conditions in which normal cells do not grow.
In order to proliferate tumor cells acquire a number of distinct aberrant traits reflecting genetic alterations. The genomes of certain well-studied tumors carry several different independently altered genes, including activated oncogenes and inactivated tumor suppressor genes. Each of these genetic changes appears to be responsible for imparting some of the traits that, in the aggregate, represent the full neoplastic phenotype.
A variety of biochemical factors have been associated with different phases of metastasis. Cell surface receptors for collagen, glycoproteins such as laminin, and proteoglycans, facilitate tumor cell attachment, an important step in invasion and metastases. Attachment triggers the release of degradative enzymes which facilitate the penetration of tumor cells through tissue barriers. Once the tumor cells have entered the target tissue, specific growth factors are required for further proliferation. Tumor invasion and progression involve a complex series of events, in which tumor cells detach from the primary tumor, break down the normal tissue surrounding it, and migrate into a blood or lymphatic vessel to be carried to a distant site. The breaking down of normal tissue barriers is accomplished by the elaboration of specific enzymes that degrade the proteins of the extracellular matrix that make up basement membranes and stromal components of tissues.
A class of extracellular matrix degrading enzymes has been implicated in tumor invasion. Among these are the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). For example, the production of the matrix metalloproteinase stromelysin is associated with malignant tumors with metastatic potential (see, e.g., McDonnell et al. (1990) Smnrs. in Cancer Biology 1:107–115; McDonnell et al. (1990) Cancer and Metastasis Reviews 9:309–319)
The capacity of cancer cells to metastasize and invade tissue is facilitated by degradation of the basement membrane. Several proteinase enzymes, including the MMPs, have been reported to facilitate the process of invasion of tumor cells. MMPs are reported to enhance degradation of the basement membrane, which thereby permits tumorous cells to invade tissues. For example, two major metalloproteinases having molecular weights of about 70 kDa and 92 kDa appear to enhance ability of tumor cells to metastasize.
Type II Transmembrane Serine Proteases (TTSPs)
In addition to the MMPs, serine proteases have been implicated in neoplastic disease progression. Most serine proteases, which are either secreted enzymes or are sequestered in cytoplasmic storage organelles, have roles in blood coagulation, wound healing, digestion, immune responses and tumor invasion and metastasis. A class of cell surface proteins designated type II transmembrane serine proteases, which are membrane-anchored proteins with additional extracellular domains, has been identified. As cell surface proteins, they are positioned to play a role in intracellular signal transduction and in mediating cell surface proteolytic events.
Cell surface proteolysis is a mechanism for the generation of biologically active proteins that mediate a variety of cellular functions. These membrane-anchored proteins, include a disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase (ADAM) and membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase (MT-MMP). In mammals, at least 17 members of the TTSP family are known, including seven in humans (see, Hooper et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276:857–860). These include: corin (accession nos. AF133845 and AB013874; see, Yan et al. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274:14926–14938; Tomia et al. (1998) J. Biochem. 124:784–789; Uan et al. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97:8525–8529); enterpeptidase (also designated enterokinase; accession no. U09860 for the human protein; see, Kitamoto et al. (1995) Biochem. 27:4562–4568; Yahagi et al. (1996) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 219:806–812; Kitamoto et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91:7588–7592; Matsushima et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:19976–19982;); human airway trypsin-like protease (HAT; accession no. AB002134; see Yamaoka et al. J. Biol. Chem. 273:11894–11901); MTSP1 and matriptase (also called TADG-15; see SEQ ID Nos. 1 and 2; accession nos. AF133086/AF118224, AF04280022; Takeuchi et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96:11054–1161; Lin et al. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274:18231–18236; Takeuchi et al. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275:26333–26342; and Kim et al. (1999) Immunogenetics 49:420–429); hepsin (see, accession nos. M18930, AF030065, X70900; Leytus et al. (1988) Biochem. 27: 11895–11901; Vu et al. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272:31315–31320; and Farley et al. (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1173:350–352; and see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,616); TMPRS2 (see, Accession Nos. U75329 and AF113596; Paoloni-Giacobino et al. (1997) Genomics 44:309–320; and Jacquinet et al. (2000) FEBS Lett. 468: 93–100); and TMPRSS4 (see, Accession No. NM 016425; Wallrapp et al. (2000) Cancer 60:2602–2606).
Serine proteases, including transmembrane serine proteases, have been implicated in processes involved in neoplastic development and progression. While the precise role of these proteases has not been elaborated, serine proteases and inhibitors thereof are involved in the control of many intra- and extracellular physiological processes, including degradative actions in cancer cell invasion, metastatic spread, and neovascularization of tumors, that are involved in tumor progression. It is believed that proteases are involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and contribute to tissue remodeling, and are necessary for cancer invasion and metastasis. The activity and/or expression of some proteases have been shown to correlate with tumor progression and development.
For example, a membrane-type serine protease MTSP1 (also called matriptase; see SEQ ID Nos. 1 and 2 from U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,616; and GenBank Accession No. AF118224; (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274:18231–18236; U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,616; see, also Takeuchi (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96:11054–1161) that is expressed in epithelial cancer and normal tissue (Takeucuhi et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 96(20):11054–61) has been identified. Matriptase was originally identified in human breast cancer cells as a major gelatinase (see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,848), a type of matrix metalloprotease (MMP). It has been proposed that it plays a role in the metastasis of breast cancer. Matriptase also is expressed in a variety of epithelial tissues with high levels of activity and/or expression in the human gastrointestinal tract and the prostate. Other MTSPs, designated MTSP3, MTSP4 and MTSP6 and protease domains thereof, have been described in International PCT application No. PCT/US01/03471 and copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/776,191, filed Feb. 2, 2001.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a kallikrein-like serine protease, degrades extracellular matrix glycoproteins fibronectin and laminin, and, has been postulated to facilitate invasion by prostate cancer cells (Webber et al. (1995) Clin. Cancer Res., 1(10):1089–94). Blocking PSA proteolytic activity with PSA-specific monoclonal antibodies results in a dose-dependent decrease in vitro in the invasion of the reconstituted basement membrane Matrigel by LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells which secrete high levels of PSA.
Hepsin, a cell surface serine protease identified in hepatoma cells, is overexpressed in ovarian cancer (Tanimoto et al. (1997) Cancer Res., 57(14):2884–7). The hepsin transcript appears to be abundant in carcinoma tissue and is almost never expressed in normal adult tissue, including normal ovary. It has been suggested that hepsin is frequently overexpressed in ovarian tumors and therefore can be a candidate protease in the invasive process and growth capacity of ovarian tumor cells.
A serine protease-like gene, designated normal epithelial cell-specific 1 (NES1) (Liu et al., Cancer Res., 56(14):3371–9 (1996)) has been identified. Although expression of the NES1 mRNA is observed in all normal and immortalized nontumorigenic epithelial cell lines, the majority of human breast cancer cell lines show a drastic reduction or a complete lack of its expression. The structural similarity of NES1 to polypeptides known to regulate growth factor activity and a negative correlation of NES1 expression with breast oncogenesis suggest a direct or indirect role for this protease-like gene product in the suppression of tumorigenesis.
Hence transmembrane serine proteases appear to be involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of tumors. There is a need to further elucidate their role in these processes and to identify additional transmembrane proteases. Therefore, it is an object herein to provide transmembrane serine protease (MTSP) proteins and nucleic acids encoding such MTSP proteases that are involved in the regulation of or participate in tumorigenesis and/or carcinogenesis. It is also an object herein to provide prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic screening methods using such proteases and the nucleic acids encoding such proteases.

Nucleic acid molecules encoding a transmembrane serine protease 7, the encoded polypeptides and methods based thereon


A first valve portion and a second valve portion are arranged in series in a flow passage within a valve casing to open and close the flow passage. The first valve portion includes a first valve seat, a first valve element supported to a first valve shaft and adapted to make an axial reciprocating movement into contact with or away from the first valve seat, and an opening and closing drive unit composed of a motor and a motion converting mechanism that converts a rotary motion into a linear motion, the opening and closing drive unit causing the first valve shaft to make a reciprocating movement and capable of effecting a flow rate control and slow valve-opening for the flow passage. The second valve portion includes a second valve seat, a second valve element adapted to move into contact with or away from the second valve seat, a compression spring that urges the second valve element into contact with the second valve seat, and an electromagnetic valve-opening unit for moving the second valve element away from the second valve seat by an electromagnetic force and capable of effecting quick valve-closure for the flow passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve for opening and closing a flow passage of a fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following valve is employed as a valve for controlling a flow rate of a fluid.
The valve concerned is constructed such that a flow passage defined within a valve casing having fluid inlet and outlet portions is partitioned by a valve seat, with a valve hole of the valve seat being opened and closed by a valve element supported to a valve shaft. The valve shaft is driven back and forth in its axial direction by opening and closing drive means, closing the valve hole with the valve element supported thereto as it moves forward and opening the valve hole as it moves backward.
Conventionally, as a valve of this type, there is known one which uses a pulse motor as the above-mentioned drive means and in which the rotary force of the pulse motor is converted into linear motion to move the valve shaft forward and backward, thus opening and closing the valve hole (see, for example, JP 2608579).
With the valve described above, however, both the opening and closing of the valve element must be effected by driving the pulse motor. Therefore, when, for instance, a need arises to effect emergency valve closure, it is difficult to close the valve instantaneously. Further, when power outage occurs while the valve is open, the valve cannot be closed, which may cause a defect in equipment using a fluid.

Valve having fast and slow acting closure elements


Disclosed is an adaptive canceler in which a pipelined approach is used wherein reference signals are divided into two or more sections having concurrent weight adjustment. This architecture allows the speed of adaptive cancellation to be increased and/or the number of reference taps to be increased without loss of cancellation speed. Once a continuous stream of digital data has been established in this architecture, the speed of the adaptive processor is limited only by approximately the processing time of the slowest element. The noise canceled signal may then be converted to the frequency domain in a fast Fourier transform device.

The present invention relates generally to adaptive noise suppression and, more particularly, to adaptive noise cancellation processing and comparative analysis for operating equipments or machinery. The invention relates especially to such apparatus which performs such adaptive cancellation processing and comparative analysis continuously in real time.
Although conventional performance measurements may provide an indication of defects or potential defects in operating equipments of machinery, typically only gross or catastrophic defects will be identified. Relatively few latent defects are discovered by such measurements. However, the acoustic signals emanating from an operating apparatus (acoustic signature) may contain information which identifies not only the present defects which could be found by performance measurements but also latent defects or potential defects which could lead to subsequent failures of the apparatus. Acoustic-frequency signals radiated from operating apparatus, for example apparatus having moving parts, can contain valuable information with respect to the present and future performance of the apparatus.
However, the acoustical analysis of operating components can be a difficult task. Background noise at acoustic-frequencies can mask the acoustical signals radiated from the component being examined. In the testing of a component in a factory environment for example, noise from test-stand machinery, noise from other components under test, and ambient factory noise may obscure the signals of interest radiating from the component under test. It may be possible to isolate the desired acoustical signatures using sound intensity techniques; however, in an environment where speed of analysis is important, an unacceptable amount of time is required to perform an acoustic intensity analysis due to the large number of measurements necessary to achieve sufficient accuracy. In cases where the background noise varies greatly or is unpredictable, sound intensity techniques will generally be unsatisfactory. Isolating and analyzing the acoustical signature of operating equipment is, in general, a difficult problem in any situation where an uncontrolled operating environment exists or where large amounts of interfering signals are present.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,426 entitled "Adaptive Noise Suppression" issued to Chabries et al. suggests that adaptive processing can be used to diminish the adverse effects of noise distortion in processing signals from machinery wherein the desired signal provides an indicia of wear or malfunction. The basic theory of adaptive noise cancellation is well known and has been described by Bernard Widrow et al. in the article "Adaptive Noise Cancelling: Principle and Applications", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1975, pages 1692-1716. In particular, Widrow et al. describe a generalized multiple-reference noise canceler on pages 1710-1711. In adaptive noise canceling, a signal channel and at least one reference channel are needed to provide noise cancellation. The signal channel receives a signal of interest which is corrupted by additive noise or interference. The reference channels receive noise that is correlated in some way with the additive noise or interference on the signal channel but not substantially correlated with the signal of interest. The signals which are received by the reference channels are adaptively filtered and then subtracted from the signal received by the signal channel to obtain an estimate of the signal of interest.
However, the successful application of adaptive noise cancellation to the analysis of a dynamically changing acoustic signature of apparatus operating in an environment contaminated with dynamically changing background noise has proven difficult to achieve. The adaptive processor must be able to respond to background noise which may vary widely in amplitude, frequency, and duration. Similarly, the acoustic signal of interest may vary widely in amplitude, frequency and duration. The noise signals may be very similar to the signal of interest. These obstacles facing the cancellation apparatus are especially troublesome if the processing and analysis is required to be done in real time.
Consider the case where it is desired to perform acoustic signature analysis on automotive transmissions as part of end-of-the-line quality control testing in a factory environment. The background noise may be the entire range of factory noises including any acoustic interference generated by the test fixture itself for the transmission under test and identical test fixtures for performing simultaneous testing on other transmissions. This may include the acoustic signals generated by the other transmissions undergoing test or other acoustic signals generated by the transmission under test itself. If the test is to be performed on every transmission, the entire test procedure, including acceptance or rejection of the part, must be accomplished very quickly in order to maintain the speed of the assembly line, for example in 20-30 seconds. Acoustic analysis of the transmission may be required at several different rotational speeds or revolutions-per-minute (RPM's). In one test configuration, the transmission is driven continuously from rest to the maximum test RPM and back to rest during the allotted time. The adaptive canceler apparatus must be able to provide the acoustic signal of interest for selected RPM's and must be able to capture this signal as the operating speed of the transmission passes through the selected RPM's. In terms of the frequency domain in the case of an automotive transmission, the acoustic signals of interest may vary from 10 Hz to 5 kHz and may be have a bandwidth as narrow as a few Hertz or as wide as thousands of Hertz. In the time domain, the frequencies of interest may vary from 100 milliseconds to 200 microseconds in duration. The interfering noise signals may present an even larger variation in signals to be processed. The analysis of other devices may present even more stringent requirements.
To satisfy the foregoing requirements, the adaptive canceler must be able to perform continuous real-time cancellation of widely varying background noise at very high data rates over a broad spectrum of frequencies and signal durations. The background noise may be such that multiple reference channels are required for satisfactory cancellation. In a typical situation, after the background noise has been canceled and the canceler is providing a continuous stream of real-time data corresponding to the signal of interest, it is desirable to provide real-time analysis of the data. Automatic analysis of the data is preferred, or even required as is the case in a production line test of a device such as an automatic transmission, or in situations where it is important that the analysis be accomplished quickly or almost instantaneously. The adaptive canceler and the automatic analysis system must have a throughput rate capable of handling the great volume of data produced in these circumstances.


Apparatus for rapidly acquiring a large number of samples of a signal under test, stores the samples in a waveform memory without converting the samples to binary form. The signal under test is applied to an arrangement of comparators and exclusive-OR gates to provide a signal indicative of amplitude. The waveform memory is arranged in rows and columns. In one embodiment, the amplitude-indicative signal serves as a row address signal for the waveform memory, and a scanning control signal serves as a column address signal for the waveform memory. In another embodiment, an X-Y display is produced in which the column address signal is responsive to the amplitude of a second signal under test.

Within the context of test and measurement instruments such as digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs) and the like, signals under test (SUT) are digitized using an analog to digital (A/D) converter to provide sample data suitable for further processing, such as waveform generation. Several types of A/D converter configurations are in wide use, such as, successive approximation, fast-in slow-out (FISO) and flash (A/D) converters. The typical flash converter consists of a set of comparators that produce a "thermometer code" output. This is then converted with several levels of combinational logic directly into a binary number value that represents one sample. FISO A/D converters store samples in a bank of capacitors. One acquisition is obtained at a high sample rate, then the charges are multiplexed out at a slower rate to a conventional A/D converter.
In typical oscilloscope architectures, speed of conversion is sacrificed in order to reduce power requirements. Pipelining techniques are sometimes used to regain some of the lost speed. In order to obtain very high sample rates, multiple A/D converters may be interleaved. The FISO approach requires the use of a complex timing and correction algorithm that is applied to the data after it is digitized.
Current oscilloscope digitizers have equivalent time and interleave modes of operation. Binary samples from digitized SUTs are stored in large circular waveform memories. Acquiring a waveform requires interaction from a system processor that manages the resetting of hardware registers as well as the computing of trigger positions and the unloading of wrapped waveforms in the circular memory. As a result, the dead time between trigger events can be very large.


A method of vending a physical copy of a digital image includes embedding a version of the digital image and software for purchasing the physical copy of the image from an online image provider into source code for a website, such that, when the website is displayed, the version of the digital image is displayed and the software for purchasing is controlled through a user interface displaying the website.

Cameras have been used for decades to capture photographic images by both professional and amateur photographers. In recent years, cameras that capture and store images digitally have become increasingly prevalent over more traditional film cameras. Digital cameras are generally capable of capturing and storing large numbers of photographic images, which may then be selectively displayed, printed on physical media, permanently stored or discarded.
A variety of media have proliferated in response to the demand for practical digital image display solutions. Of these, internet websites are particularly prominent. These websites may be accessed from any one of millions of computing devices that are connected to the internet worldwide. As such, internet websites can inexpensively and efficiently provide digital images to a large audience by displaying the images on computing devices accessing the websites. Moreover, internet websites are relatively easy to set up and maintain, inexpensive to operate, and customizable.
When a physical copy of a digital image is desired, one can typically be obtained from a professional photo printing service for a fee or from a home printer.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Method and system of vending a copy of a digital image

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Avoided is falsely detecting a hand of a usual user being in contact with a contact sensor, instead of detecting an object, such as water, having a high dielectric constant being in contact with the contact sensor. A smartphone (1) includes a contact determination section (101) which determines that (i) a hand is in contact with a contact sensor (11) in a case where an output value outputted by the contact sensor (11) is not lower than TH1 and lower than TH3 and (ii) an object, such as water, having a high dielectric constant is in contact with the contact sensor (11) in a case where the output value is not lower than TH3.

Conventionally, in regard to a mobile terminal including a sensor such as a touch sensor, there has been known a technique of determining, in accordance with contact or the like detected by the sensor, contents of a process to be carried out by the mobile terminal, a situation in which the mobile terminal is in, and the like.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses (i) a system which detects fingers or the like being in contact with both of electrodes provided at respective both ends of a terminal employing an electrostatic sensor and (ii) a technique of determining contents of a process depending on the number of the fingers or the like being in contact with the electrodes.
Meanwhile, Patent Literature 2 discloses a mobile terminal which determines, in accordance with information on acceleration and on how the mobile terminal is held, a hand holding the mobile terminal.

Portable terminal and method for controlling portable terminal


A lamp in which a LED array is coupled to a transistor such that the same amount of current flows through both. The voltage level at the control (e.g., base) terminal of the transistor is controlled such that the current magnitude is reduced when the operating temperature rises. As a result, the heat generated from the junctions of the LEDs in the LED arrays is reduced, thereby compensating for the increase in the operating temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to Light Emitting Diode (LED) arrays, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for increasing reliability of operation of the LED arrays in lamps operating at higher temperatures. The invention also relates to the use of such lamps as brake/tail lamps of an automobile.
2. Related Art
A light emitting diode (LED) commonly contains a semiconductor p-n junction, and produces light with an intensity directly proportional to an electric current flowing through it in the forward direction. Many of such LEDs are often formed as an array, commonly to generate light of a desired level of intensity.
LED arrays may in turn be packaged as lamps along with other components such as driver circuits and casings. One such application is the use of LED array based lamps as brake and tail lamps in automobiles. In general, the brake light generates light of one intensity in response to brake being applied, and a tail lamp generates light of another intensity especially during night.
One problem with LED array based lamps is that the LED arrays may be susceptible to failures at high operating temperatures (i.e., in the general surroundings of the light or automobile). The source of such failures is often that the operating temperature may cause an increase in the temperature of P-N junctions in the LEDs, thereby further increasing the temperature in the immediate viscinity of the LED arrays, which could destroy/burn the LED material (including the P-N junction, casing, or wire-bonding of the PN junction to connecting leads).
What is therefore needed is a method and apparatus for increasing the reliability of operation of the LED arrays in lamps operating at higher temperatures.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Increasing reliability of operation of light emitting diode arrays at higher operating temperatures and its use in the lamps of automobiles


A communication system and method for displaying text captions corresponding to voice communications between an assisted user's mobile wireless device and a separate hearing user's device includes at least one communication component configured to enable the appliance to communicate with a relay, a display, and a processor operably coupled to the at least one communication component and the display. The processor is configured to enable the assisted user to establish an association between the appliance and the mobile device, receive text originating at the relay, the text corresponding to a transcript of the hearing user's voice signal originating at the hearing user's device, and cause text captions corresponding to the received text to be displayed on the display.

The present application relates generally to telephone systems and specifically to telephone systems that provide for real-time text captioning for the hard of hearing.
Modern telecommunication services provide features to assist those who are deaf or hard of hearing. One such feature is the text telephone (TTY) also known as a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD). TTYs allow for text communication through the telephone system by generating tones that may be transmitted by analog telephone lines in response to a user typing letters on a keyboard.
Hearing users may communicate with deaf users who have TTY devices through so-called "relays." A relay is a service funded by telephone communication surcharges that provides a "call assistant" who intermediates between a deaf user and a hearing user. The call assistant communicates with the deaf user using a TTY and communicates with the hearing user by voice over a standard telephone line.
A relay service may also be used to help those who are not deaf, but hard of hearing, by providing a captioned telephone. With a captioned telephone, a user who is hard of hearing may carry on a normal telephone conversation with a hearing user while a text transcription of the words spoken by the hearing user is displayed on the telephone. The text transcription allows the hard of hearing user to confirm his or her understanding of the spoken words. Unlike with a conventional relay service, captioned telephone requires extremely fast text transcription using a computer executed voice recognition system (typically with revoicing by a trained operator) so that the text captioning is as nearly as possible contemporaneous with the spoken words.
Text captioned telephones of this type are marketed under the service mark CAPTEL and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,307,921 and 6,075,842 assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference.
A text captioned telephone system employs a relay service in a mode where the relay transmits both the voice of the hearing user and a text stream of the spoken words by that user. A telephone or display device of the receiving hard of hearing user provides a text display for displaying the captions.
In a single-line text captioned telephone, text and voice signals may be received over a single telephone line and separated electronically. The text captioned telephone includes software that automatically dials the relay, and providing the relay with the telephone number of the ultimate destination of the call. For incoming telephone calls, the hard of hearing user must normally hang up and redial the caller through the relay.
In a two-line text captioned telephone, a first telephone line communicates with the caller, and a second telephone line communicates exclusively with the relay. The two-line system allows text captioning to be easily used on incoming calls by allowing the text captioned telephone to dial out to the relay when the call is received and forward the necessary voice signal.
Many users of text-captioned telephony have jobs requiring significant use of the telephone as made possible by text-captioning. These users face a significant problem when they need to make use of telephone systems outside of their normal work environment where text captioning telephones may not be available or equipment such as cellular telephones that does not support text captioning must be used. Many workplaces use proprietary private branch exchange (PBX) telephone lines that do not support analog text captioning telephones, the latter which require standard telephone connections.
Other problems with existing telephony systems include an inability to confirm that a communication has been initiated by a person at a call back telephone number, system users that allow others to use their accounts to share or avoid costs, lack of options for terminating calls to persons that use relay systems, inability for a relay user to identify that an incoming call is a relay call and the identity of the caller and how to present information to an emergency call center that can be used by the call center to call back or establish communication with a relay user.

Device independent text captioned telephone service