A bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus having a cash slot for charging/discharging a bill or bills, comprises: a bill storage section provided inwardly of the cash slot in the apparatus to store a bill or bills, and posture changing means that changes the bill storage section to a money depositing/withdrawing posture, in which a bill or bills are received from and paid to a user through the cash slot, and to a feeding/stacking posture, in which a bill or bills are fed into the apparatus and stacked in the bill storage section, and wherein a bill or bills stored in the bill storage section are caused to project toward a user when the money depositing/withdrawing posture is assumed.

The present invention relates to a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, which handles, for example, a bill or bills.
Conventionally, a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus is mounted in an automated transaction machine used in financial institutions, and the like. The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus comprises a cash slot for allowing a user to deposit/withdraw a bill or bills, a bill discriminator for discrimination of a bill, and a bill conveyance path, which passes the bill discriminator and conveys a bill or bills. Also, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus comprises a combination of respective units, such as a temporary stocker for temporarily storing a deposited bill or bills, a deposit box for storing a deposited bill or bills, a withdrawal box, from which a bill or bills for withdrawal are fed, a recycle box for storing and feeding a bill or bills for deposits and withdrawals, a reject box for storing a bill or bills, which are not to be stored in the deposit box and the recycle box, and a bill or bills, which are not to be withdrawn, out of a bill or bills fed from the withdrawal box, and a load/collect box for feeding a bill or bills being supplied to the recycle box and storing a bill or bills collected from the recycle box.
Along with the popularization of automatic transaction machines, there is heightened a need of making such bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus small in size, inexpensive, and convenient in use while ensuring conventional functions and performances.
Also, along with increase in handling foreign bills in the country and in needs for bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus in the foreign countries, there are demanded for bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus capable of handling not only Japanese yen bills but also foreign bills.
Also, there are demanded bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus highly adapted to general purpose and capable of meeting various needs such as kinds of bills as handled, an arrangement of a cash slot related to an operation by a user, front and rear surface operations related to an operation by a person in charge, etc.
Various constructions have been proposed for, in particular, the cash slot of a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, which involves the above-mentioned needs.
For example, there is proposed a bill processing machine, in which a cash slot is arranged on a vertical surface on the front thereof and a storage unit is arranged so that a bill or bills are charged/discharged horizontally from the cash slot (see JP-A-10-181928). The storage unit of the bill processing machine is in the form of a drum capable of rotation and rotates to predetermined positions according to a feeding operation of a charged bill or bills and a stacking operation of a discharged bill or bills. Thereby, a cash slot (bill slot) in a horizontal direction is realized.
Also, there is proposed a bill processing device, in which a cash slot is arranged on a horizontal surface on the front of the device and a storage unit is arranged so that a bill or bills are charged/discharged vertically from the cash slot (see JP-A-9-208134). The storage unit of the bill processing device is constructed to enable rotation and rotates to predetermined positions in a feeding operation of a charged bill or bills and a stacking operation of a discharged bill or bills. Thereby, a cash slot (bill slot) in a vertical direction is realized.
Also, there is proposed a bill handling device, in which a bill storage unit in a cash slot is constructed to be capable of rotate, thus enabling accommodating to a money deposit position being either a substantially horizontal position or a substantially vertical position (see JP-A-2000-331214). Thereby, the bill handling device can be mounted on either an housing, in which a cash slot (bill slot) is arranged on a substantially vertical surface, or an housing, in which a cash slot is arranged on a substantially horizontal surface.
On the other hand, since these types of devices operate all day in an unmanned state in an automatic machine corner of a financial institution, a high reliability is demanded of cash depositing/withdrawing transaction by a user. For example, in a deposit transaction, a user charges a bill or bills, which are folded or torn, into a cash slot, in some cases. When fed into the device, such bill or bills are sometimes skewed much or torn to cause jam generated on a bill conveyance path according to a state of conveyance.
Further, with a device, which can also handle foreign bills, kinds of bills are not only increased as compared with Japanese yen bills but also bills are frequently and greatly different in size in longitudinal and transverse directions according to kinds of bills. Therefore, there is a possibility that a large number of bills charged into a cash slot are aligned very randomly. Also, in terms of situations of bill circulation in respective countries, some foreign bills are sometimes in a worse state than that of Japanese yen bills with respect to degree of fold and tear.
With the cash slot, which affords depositing/withdrawing of a bill or bills horizontally, as in the JP-A-10-181928 described above, however, ends of bills cannot be aligned due to gravity when bills are charged. Therefore, bills in an unevenly aligned state are frequently taken into the device, which sometimes causes jam in conveyance, and thus reduction in bill jam at the time of feeding presents an important problem.
Also, the cash slot, through which a bill or bills are permitted to be charged in a vertical direction, as in JP-A-9-208134 includes many portions positioned in dead spaces as seen from a user. Therefore, in some cases, a bill or bills, such foreign bill or bills, which are small in size, are left in the cash slot, so that a subsequent transaction is made impossible. In such case, handling of the device cannot help but be reserved, so that prevention of leaving a bill or bills is an important problem.
Also, with a pocket type cash slot, through which a bill or bills are permitted to be charged, as in JP-A-2000-331214, it is necessary for a user to enter a hand into the cash slot, in which a drive unit is present. Therefore, there is caused a problem that a user is psychologically afraid to insert a hand, and so it is an important task to make a user interface at the cash slot friendly to a user.

Bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus and method of controlling the same


A NAND cell unit is formed with an advanced gate forming process on a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, which is formed on a semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type with an insulating film interposed therebetween. First impurity-doped layers of a second conductivity type are formed on the semiconductor layer, which serve as channel regions of the select gate transistors Bit line contact- and source line contact-use second impurity-doped layers of the first conductivity type are formed at bit line and source line contact portions, sidewalls of which are covered with an insulating film.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor memory device, especially relates to a NAND-type flash memory with an SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) substrate
2. Description of the Related Art
A NAND-type flash memory is known as one of electrically rewritable and non-volatile semiconductor memories (EEPROMs). The NAND-type flash memory has such a basic feature that the unit cell area is smaller than that of a NOR-type flash memory, and it is easy to make the capacity large. Further, data read or write of the cell array being performed by a page, it is possible to perform high-speed read and write.
Further miniaturization of a memory cell in accordance with progress of microfabrication technologies will bring some problems in the NAND-type flash memory such as: it becomes difficult to secure the breakdown voltage between cells; and the capacitive coupling noise between cells is increased. One approach to solve these problems is to use such a technology that the cell array is formed on an SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) substrate. There have already been provided such SOI technologies (for example, refer to (1) Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-094612, (2) Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No.11-163303, and (3) Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-174241).

Method of fabricating a semiconductor memory device


A battery device has at least two interconnected battery modules and at least one cooling plate arranged between two battery modules for cooling the battery modules. A housing encases the battery device and is provided with a frame structure. The at least one cooling plate is traversed by a flow of fluid and is formed from two metal layers that are connected to one another. Additionally, the at least one cooling plate is connected fixedly at least by its ends to the frame structure and stiffens the frame structure. Thus, the battery device exhibits high power and is robust.

1. Field of the Invention.
The invention relates to a battery device having at least two interconnected battery modules and having at least one cooling plate arranged between two battery modules. The present invention also relates to a motor vehicle having a battery device of said type.
2. Description of the Related Art.
U.S. 2011/0212355 A1 discloses a generic battery device having a plurality of interconnected battery modules and cooling plates arranged between the battery modules for the purpose of cooling the battery modules.
U.S. 2011/0162821 A1 discloses a cooling system for cooling solar cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,671 B2 discloses a battery device having a plurality of battery modules or battery cells. Cooling plates in the form of cooling fins are arranged between the individual battery cells, but are not traversed by flow. The cooling fins simultaneously stiffen the battery device, but are not in direct contact with the battery cells.
DE 10 2008 034 863 B4 discloses a lithium-ion battery having a multiplicity of individual cells that are interconnected in series or in parallel. A cooling plate is arranged at the pole side of the individual cells and is fastened to the battery housing at a plurality of fastening points so as to be at least partially horizontally movable. Thus, the cooling plate is decoupled from the battery housing at least to a certain extent and is movable independently thereof.
An object of the invention is to provide a generic type of battery device with a high level of inherent stiffness and a high power output.

Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


A butterfly damper for installation in duct work through which air and/or gases will be flowing either under a positive or negative pressure has: an outer cylindrical surface structure made of a strong material; an inner cylindrical surface structure made of a resilient material; a circumferential portion of compressible material, which is always tending to return to the non-compressed form thereof, which is initially compressed between the outer cylindrical surface structure and the inner cylindrical surface structure, whereby the inside diameter of the duct body portion, initially, is uniform throughout the length thereof, and, thereafter, when the initial compressive force becomes less effective, the compressive material expands causing radially inward movement of adjacent circumferential portions of the inner cylindrical surface structure; a blade to be moved across the flow of air and/or gases into sealing contact with the radially inwardly moved circumferential portions of the inner cylindrical surface structure, which have been so moved upon the expansion of the compressible material, to thereby stop the flow of air and/or gases; blade mounting components secured to the outer cylindrical surface; and controllable blade movement components movably secured to the blade mounting components. In a preferred embodiment, the blade is elliptical in shape and is mounted slightly offset on a diagonal about a full shaft positioned on a transverse axis. When the blade is closed in the offset diagonal position thereof, the air and/or gas flow is completely sealed, independent of shaft seals.

Butterfly dampers for installation in duct work through which air and/or gases will be flowing, have been previously installed. However, none of these previously installed butterfly dampers are believed to be leak free butterfly dampers.
In contrast to these butterfly dampers used in stopping air and/or gas flows, while still allowing some leakage, butterfly valves used in stopping liquid flows are provided to stop liquid flows without leakage. For example, butterfly valves are provided by the Norris/O'Bannon division of the Dover Corporation of Tulsa, Okla. and designated as Norris Butterfly Valves. An elastomer lined R-Series, inclusive of R 1000, R 2000, and R 3000 valves, referred respectively as wafer span type, double rib type, and full lug type, are available in sizes from two inches to thirty-six inches. The liquid pressure rating is two hundred pounds per square inch. The temperature range is minus thirty five degrees to positive two hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. The valve bodies, depending on type, are made from cast iron, ductile iron, cast steel, bronze, and aluminum. Each valve body on the inside is isolated from the flow stream of a liquid by a resilient elastomer link, or seal, and O-ring seals. An angle-disc, i.e. an angle-blade, construction gives a three hundred and sixty degree uninterrupted contact of the disc, i.e. the blade, with the seat provided by using the resilient elastomer material. The disc, i.e. the blade, does not seat in the shaft holes, thereby assuring a bubble tight shutoff of the liquid flow, with no scrubbing of the elastomer in the shaft hole area. Shafts holding and positioning the disc, i.e. blade, are double O-ring sealed to prevent leakage into shaft bearing areas. If needed a field-replaceable resilient seat is bonded to a rigid backing ring to prevent this resilient seat from distorting or collapsing due to high velocity flow of the liquids, or in vacuum service, and during installation. Body O-ring flange seals are used to eliminate the need for flange gaskets. These flange seals can be replaced without dismantling this butterfly valve and replacing the seat. These Norris Butterfly Valves are used in oil-field drilling and production applications, in shipboard ballast systems, cargo handling systems, cooling water systems and as machinery valves.
In respect to U.S. patents finally considered at the conclusion of a U.S. patent Search:
In 1969 in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,476, James E. Hemphill illustrated and described his butterfly valve having a symmetrical valve disc, i.e. blade, provided with a fin configuration on both sides for reducing the hydrodynamic torque on the valve disc, so as to reduce the torque necessary to position the valve disc within the flow passage in the valve housing;
In 1970, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,299, Donald R. Phillips disclosed his resilient liner for butterfly valves, which he noted is an improved resilient liner in respect to one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,641. The valve body has an internal receiving space to receive resilient lining material. The overall configuration is such that the cold flow of the resilient material is effectively utilized to seal the resilient material, formed as the liner, against the valve body, and the internal receiving space thereof. Importantly, when achieving this sealing, the cold flow of the sealing material is prevented from materially effecting the internal diameter of the disc, i.e. blade, engaging portion of this resilient material liner. To accomplish this result, the overall resilient seat is composed of two basic elements. One element is an enclosed reinforcing member made of hard rubber, plastic, metal or so forth, and it s tubular in configuration. The other element is an encompassing resilient tubular liner member, which encompasses the reinforcing member, as these two elements are positioned in the internal receiving space of the valve body;
In 1971, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,360, Domer Scaramucci. illustrated and described his disc valve assembly with a tilt-in valve member. His valve can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled, thereby facilitating the manufacture and field repair of his disc valve assembly. Further, since the disc valve member, and the seat assembly for it, are both insertable axially, via the same end of the valve body, both components can be removed from the valve body, by simply removing one flange, thereby reducing the time required during field repair of the valve assembly;
In 1972, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,712, Bradley E. Bertrem disclosed his butterfly valve for mounting between removable flanges. Also one of the two flanges can be removed when the valve stays closed, while retaining fluid pressure in the flow passageway. In providing his butterfly valve, he included a resilient liner of a length equal to or less than the length of the butterfly valve body, so no part of the resilient liner extends beyond the butterfly valve faces. This resilient liner included two portions. The first portion, which is not resilient, is an outer circumferential portion or backing ring made of metal or of some non-metallic material such as plastic. This backing ring is stiff to lend strength and support to the overall liner. The second portion is an inner circumferential resilient portion, which encompasses most of the backing ring and determines the flow passageway, having a reduced internal diameter resilient portion, thereby forming a valve seating resilient surface portion. When the disc, i.e. blade, of his butterfly valve is rotated to the closed position, its annual seating non-resilient surface is engaged into full sealing contact with the reduced internal diameter resilient portion of the second portion of the overall liner;
In 1972, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,235, Arthur A. Scott illustrated and disclosed his throttling butterfly valve. The strong housing has a seat contoured along a generally frusto or semi-spherical surface, which includes a throttling slot. The disc, i.e. blade, is made of at least two portions. One portion is a disc-like metal insert welded to a metal shaft. The other portion is a resilient material molded about the metal insert and formed to have a frusto-conical outer wall, having, in turn, a sealing lip. When the disc, i.e. blade, is rotated, the sealing lip fully contacts the frusto or semi-spherical surface of the housing, i.e. body portion, of this butterfly valve, to thereby completely stop the flow of fluid through this throttling butterfly valve;
In 1975, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,555, Brad E. Bertrem and Dennis L. Young disclosed their butterfly valves disc with a dovetail groove. Their patent is assigned to the Dover Corporation of Tulsa, Okla., which has the division known as Norris/O'Bannon. The valve products are referred to as Norris Butterfly Valves. In their patent they describe how a metal disc, i.e. blade, has a dovetail groove in the circumferential edge thereof to receive and to position a compliant member in the form of a torous having an original circular cross-section, receiving ninety percent of the volume of the torous member. The dovetail groove has: an entrance section having sidewalls parallel to the plane of the disc; then a diverging section with sidewalls at an angle of thirty degrees to the plane of the disc; a converging section with the sidewalls approximately forty-five degrees to the plane of the disc; and the bottom of the groove is of a circular cross-section tangent to the walls of the converging sections. The extending ten percent of the original torous compliant member makes the sealing contact with a metal seat.
In a brochure this Norris Butterfly Valve is referred to as a metal seated butterfly valve, which incorporates an elastomeric O-ring seal in the periphery of the disc edge. A metal insert space, referred to as a seat, is machined for the O-ring to be seated therein. In the same brochure, resilient seated butterfly valves are illustrated and described, wherein the entire seat is made of a resilient material, specially formed to be contacted by the periphery of an angularly positioned and moved disc, which, when seated on the resilient seat, creates a positive, bubble tight shutoff of the liquid flow, with a three hundred and sixty degree uninterrupted contact between the angle disc and the rubber seat. Because the flow stream never touches the body of this butterfly valve, there is no need for having a costly high-alloy body, even in corrosive service. The resilient elastomer seats, which are highly resistant to deterioration, are easily replaced on-site in minutes;
In 1976, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,177, Hans D. Baumann illustrated and described his low torque and low noise butterfly valve disc of an oval shape. This disc is mounted for rotation, so this disc is tilted, when in the closed position. The disc has a flat machined rim for closely contacting the inner wall of the bore of this butterfly valve,
In 1977, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,424, Donald H. Davis and John G. Mossey, disclosed their shaft bearing and seals for butterfly valves used to control the flow of steam, having multiple pressure chambers, seals, and a bearing, which collectively make an effective overall shaft end seal, even in the presence of flexures of the shaft;
In 1984, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,917, Hans D. Baumann illustrated and described his low torque valve disc for lined butterfly valves. The rubber lining extends the full flow length of this valve metallic housing. The disc, i.e. blade, has an oval shape and a flat rim, in turn having a slightly rounded corner. This corner is the terminating outer periphery of the disc, which makes the sealing contact with the inner resilient wall of this butterfly valve, when the disc is in a tilted closed position.
In 1990, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,350, Barry C. Beyer and Thomas M. Pendergrass disclosed their gasketless air damper installed in room circulating air ducts of a ventilation system of a building, wherein one thermostat is used to control the temperature in several different rooms. Their gasketless air damper quietly modulates the airflow to a room, and when necessary is closed, creating a tight mechanical seal with low air leakage. There are no discrete gaskets or seals, which otherwise would be capable of becoming loose or worn with the passage of time; and
In 1992, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,097, Brian K. Davis, Marshall U. Hines, Larry K. Ball, and Stephen R. Cronenberg, illustrated and described their butterfly valve with a plural-fence modular plate. They selectively added rim like portions, they called fences, to the periphery of their flow modulator, i.e. disc, i.e. blade, to achieve substantial reductions in the aerodynamic or hydrodynamic torque exerted on the modulator.
This background information derived from the Norris Butterfly Valves brochure and the selected U.S. Patents, provides the understanding of how butterfly valves used in controlling both air and/or gases, and liquids have been made with metallic components, often machined, and with resilient material components, often specially formed recesses or seats, which in turn were specially cast or machined.
There remains a need, however, for a comparatively lower cost, easily manufactured, quickly installed, freely operated, highly reliable, zero leakage butterfly valve for controlling and stopping the flow of air and/or gases, often susceptible of carrying abrasive particles and corrosive substances in duct work. Moreover, preferably, the butterfly damper body, blade, shaft, and connecting parts can be made out of all types of thermo-setting resin plastics, all types of thermoplastic materials, urethane, and castable plastics and rubbers, as all respective specifications and service environments for the butterfly damper may call for.

Method of assembling a butterfly damper capable of fully stopping the flow of air and/or gases


A solar power inverter that detects islanding conditions includes a power generation component that generates alternating current (AC) from direct current produced by photovoltaic cells. The inverter generates AC for a load or an electrical power grid. The inverter also includes a component that generates synchrophasors from characteristics of electrically proximate AC. The inverter further includes a component that receives grid synchrophasors transmitted from a location on the electrical power grid (e.g., a transmission substation). The inverter further includes a controller that uses the inverter synchrophasors and the grid synchrophasors to calculate a degree of correlation between the electrical power grid AC frequency and the frequency of the electrically proximate AC. If the degree of correlation dips below a predefined value or exhibits certain patterns or behaviors that are indicative of a loss of mains (e.g., a loss of main power along the electrical power grid), the controller can cause the power generation component to stop generating AC or cause the inverter to intentionally island by electrically disconnecting from the electrical power grid.

A solar power inverter can be electrically connected to a local load (e.g., an industrial facility, a commercial building, a residential home, etc.) so as to provide electrical power to the local load. The local load is typically also connected to a utility grid and obtains electrical power that is generated by electrical power generators and that is transmitted across the utility grid. The solar power inverter can also supply electrical power to the utility grid. A portion of the utility grid between the solar power inverter and the electrical power generators may experience a disruption or other event (e.g., a switch opening, a line down, etc.) that results in the interruption of the flow of electrical power. In such an event, the solar power inverter and the local load become an island.
Certain electrical standards (e.g., UL 1741 and IEEE 1547) require solar power inverters to detect an islanding condition and disconnect (stop producing electrical power) within a certain period of time (e.g., two seconds). Such requirements stem at least partially from a need to protect line worker safety. Conventional solar power inverters can detect an islanding condition by using a technique involving two mechanisms. In the first mechanism, if the solar power inverter detects a change in utility grid frequency, the solar power inverter changes its frequency in such a way as to attempt to accentuate that utility grid frequency change. If the solar power inverter can affect the utility grid frequency, then an islanding condition has likely occurred. The second mechanism involves supplying reactive power pulses to the utility grid. If an islanding condition exists, the reactive power pulses will cause a perturbation that activates a positive feedback. Upon detecting an islanding condition, the solar power inverter is required to disconnect within the certain period of time.

Systems and methods for islanding detection


Despite the massive advances in digital electronics, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices in the past 20 years our engagement with video content is essentially unchanged to that of the first video recorders as it is merely where we access it and upon what we access it that have changed. It is still a passive experience. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide multimedia content that facilitates user engagement and transactions directly through their viewing of the multimedia content in shareable multimedia content elements. Such engagement and transactions may be accessing additional informational content linked to specific elements within the multimedia content or triggering the purchase of an item contained within the multimedia content. Embodiments of the invention may support monetization, analytics, secondary multimedia content, website functionality and micro-websites.

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite communication protocols, e.g. TCP/IP, to link several billion devices worldwide. It is essentially a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), the infrastructure to support email, and peer-to-peer networks for file sharing and telephony.
At the same time wireless communication systems today have fundamentally changed how consumers, advertisers, and enterprises interact, communicate, exchange, store, and utilize information through a variety of formats including text, electronic mail, video, multimedia, and plain-old-telephone-service (POTS) as well as through a variety of mobile wireless devices from cellular telephones (cellphones), personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, tablet PCs, portable multimedia players, and portable gaming consoles. Electronic content previously accessible only through a large bulky personal computer or computer terminal has with advances in semiconductor electronics, displays and wireless communications become accessible to users upon lightweight portable devices essentially anywhere the user roams.
As of April 2014, approximately 3 billion people, nearly 40% of the world's human population have an Internet connection. Over the past thirty years most traditional communications media including telephone, music, film, and television are being reshaped or redefined by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol television (IPTV). Newspaper, book, and other print publishing are adapting to website technology, or are reshaped into blogging and web feeds. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of human interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking. Online shopping has boomed both for major retail outlets and small artisans and traders. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries.
However, despite all of these advances some fundamental aspects of user engagement with the content they access and view have remained essentially unchanged. Today, streaming media is a major growth sector. Today, mid-2014 streaming video takes up more than one-third of Internet traffic during normal television-watching hours and on average people spend twice as much time on the Internet as they do watching television. Streaming video due to its large data demand represents approximately 75% of all Internet traffic in areas such as North America. Yet, the user experience is the same, select the content to watch and simply watch it. Rather than being restricted to when the content was being broadcast as with television the user can select when to start viewing whenever they want, pause, re-start, etc. Basically exactly the same features as video recorders have provided for the past nearly 40 years. Even where accessed from within a website the functionality provided to the viewer is nothing new. For many generators of the video content, e.g. advertisers, music companies, etc. they are still dependent upon multiple other Internet and web elements to convert a video viewing into anything else.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide multimedia content producers with the means to facilitate viewer engagement and transactions directly through the user's viewing of the multimedia content in shareable multimedia content elements. Additionally, it would be beneficial to provide viewers with extensible content through their accessing and engagement with an item of shareable multimedia content or its elements.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide multimedia content that facilitates:                Users to perform transactions directly inside sharable web based primary multimedia content;        Users to complete other functions relevant to them inside sharable web based primary multimedia content;        Users to embed secondary multimedia content and website functionality within sharable web based primary multimedia content;        Users to render their primary multimedia content interactive whilst enabling content monetization, viewer analytics, and distribution management;        Users to browse secondary multimedia content, access secondary multimedia content etc. associated with the primary multimedia content they are viewing;        Users to purchase products, participate in surveys, view schedules, and perform other actions;        Provisioning of website functionality within an item of primary multimedia content such that it becomes a fluid means of accessing multimedia content rather than a discrete disassociated element of a website; and        Primary multimedia content being a micro-website.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems for multimedia content


A persistent personal messaging system provides tuple space functionality supporting a user changing between a plurality of client devices, even within a loosely coupled, distributed system for persistent personal messaging. A user, irrespective of which messaging client they are using, logs on to the system. The act of logging on places a tuple, representing the user, into the tuple space. A “contacts” service agent finds the friends and groups that the user belongs to and notifies other users that the user has logged on. Given the on-line status of other users and groups, a “history” service agent will retrieve previous messages from the tuple space that formed the user's conversations with users and groups, as if the user had never logged off or switched devices. When the user adds a new message to any conversation, the message is added as a tuple to the tuple space.

1. Field
The described aspects relate to interactive workspaces and ubiquitous computing. More particularly, it pertains to an infrastructure for a population of disparate computing platforms to readily interface to a service object located in a distributed system to obtain persistent personal messaging.
2. Background
A distributed computer system, such as but not limited to the Internet, is characterized by rapid, real-time interchange among many dissimilar processes executing simultaneously on a large array of dissimilar and geographically diverse processors. A distributed computer system's resources are usually spatially separated, and the execution of its applications often involves multiple execution threads that can be widely separated in time.
Operators for a population of users of client devices compete in a competitive, evolving communication marketplace. It is difficult to satisfy user expectations for various services, especially over distributed computer systems. Often, user expectations are at variance with each other in having different preferred service providers, such as searching. In addition, certain types of content can be segregated in different nodes of a distributed network with proprietary interfaces that frustrate accessing these services.
Client devices are increasingly mobile with communication capabilities as their principal purpose or having wireless communication capabilities to extend connectivity. End users desire to access services with these mobile communication devices that were previously the domain of terminals, work stations, and general purpose computers. The latter devices intended for general purpose computing have had a tendency toward standardization, or at least to accommodate a wide range of usage environments. By contrast, mobile communication devices are progressed with a priority toward economic manufacture, small size and extended battery service life with performance focused on wireless communication rather than processing capabilities. Furthermore, the evolution of broadcast bands and protocols has tended to encourage a proliferation in communication chipsets. As such, offering of various services to users of mobile communication devices has been limited, especially as compared to the larger current market for users of general purpose computers.
A number of obstacles discourage addressing the challenges of deploying services to mobile communication devices as is conventional for a general purpose computer. The communication bandwidth to mobile communication devices is often constrained as compared to broadband channels to general purpose computers, discouraging downloading of interfacing software to properly configure the mobile communication device for various services. Often the user interface of the mobile communication device is severely constrained in size, limiting display size and the number of control buttons that can be presented, further complicating such configuring. Moreover, many users tend to make use of mobile communication devices in situations (e.g., traveling) that do not lend themselves to such focused interaction.
One such function that is complicated by the unique constraints and pattern of usage of mobile devices is instant messaging. Often, a person will use several different instances of an Internet messaging client, such as on a desktop personal computer (PC) at work, on a laptop PC at home and on a mobile device. One problem is that there is no continuity between using the different devices. A conversation with a single person or a group that is started on a client running on the PC is broken and lost once the user switches to the client on the laptop or mobile device.

Persistent personal messaging in a distributed system


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a bar-shaped preform. The present invention further relates to a method for manufacturing optical fibers using the manufactured bar-shaped preform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a bar-shaped preform, which method comprises the following steps:
i) supplying one or more reactive gases, which may or may not be doped, to the interior of a substrate tube,
ii) carrying out a deposition reaction of gases from step i) in said substrate tube so as to obtain one or more glass layers on the interior of the substrate tube, and
iii) contracting the substrate tube from step ii) while heating said tube so as to obtain the massive, bar-shaped preform.
The present invention further relates to a method for manufacturing optical fibres, using such a bar-shaped preform.
2. Discussion of the Background
Such a method is known per se from U.S. Pat. No. RE 30.635. According to said US patent, a PCVD (Plasma Coating Vapor Deposition) process is used for manufacturing internally clad glass tubes from which optical fibres are drawn, which tubes consists of a core and a jacket of glass, which core and which jacket have different refractive index values. In order to obtain an optical fibre having a low attenuation, due to the presence of OH groups, at a wavelength of 1385 nm, a hydrogen-free fluor compound is generally supplied to the hollow substrate tube. The addition of such a fluor compound prevents the incorporation of OH-groups during the PCVD process. The incorporation of fluor in the glass structure causes the refractive index value of the glass to decrease, however. Said decrease is subsequently compensated by adding to the reactive gas mixture a component which has properties that cause the refractive index to increase, for example GeO2. One drawback of such a method is the fact that it leads to an increase of the total amount of dopes in the glass structure, resulting in an undesirable attenuation increase caused by the so-called Rayleigh scattering.

Method for manufacturing a bar-shaped preform as well as a method for manufacturing optical fibres from such a bar-shaped preform


A drill bit for cutting a borehole having a borehole sidewall, corner and bottom, includes a bit body having a bit axis and a rolling cone cutter mounted on the bit body and adapted for rotation about a cone axis. Further, the drill bit includes at least one insert having a base portion secured in the rolling cone cutter and having a cutting portion extending therefrom. The cutting portion of the at least one insert has a cutting surface including at least one flute.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to earth-boring bits used to drill a borehole for the ultimate recovery of oil, gas or minerals. More particularly, the invention relates to rolling cone rock bits and to an improved cutting structure and cutter element for such bits.
2. Background Information
An earth-boring drill bit is typically mounted on the lower end of a drill string and is rotated by revolving the drill string at the surface or by actuation of downhole motors or turbines, or by both methods. With weight applied to the drill string, the rotating drill bit engages the earthen formation and proceeds to form a borehole along a predetermined path toward a target zone. The borehole formed in the drilling process will have a diameter generally equal to the diameter or "gage" of the drill bit.
In oil and gas drilling, the cost of drilling a borehole is proportional to the length of time it takes to drill to the desired depth and location. The time required to drill the well, in turn, is greatly affected by the number of times the drill bit must be changed in order to reach the targeted formation. This is the case because each time the bit is changed, the entire string of drill pipes, which may be miles long, must be retrieved from the borehole, section by section. Once the drill string has been retrieved and the new bit installed, the bit must be lowered to the bottom of the borehole on the drill string, which again must be constructed section by section. As is thus obvious, this process, known as a "trip" of the drill string, requires considerable time, effort and expense. Because drilling costs are typically thousands of dollars per hour, it is thus always desirable to employ drill bits which will drill faster and longer and which are usable over a wider range of formation hardness. The length of time that a drill bit may be employed before it must be changed depends upon its rate of penetration ("ROP"), as well as its durability.
An earth-boring bit in common use today includes one or more rotatable cutters that perform their cutting function due to the rolling movement of the cutters acting against the formation material. The cutters roll and slide upon the bottom of the borehole as the bit is rotated, the rotatable cutters thereby engaging and disintegrating the formation material in their path. The rotatable cutters may be described as generally conical in shape and are therefore sometimes referred to as rolling cones or rolling cone cutters. The borehole is formed as the action of the rotary cones remove chips of formation material which are carried upward and out of the borehole by drilling fluid which is pumped downwardly through the drill pipe and out of the bit.
The earth disintegrating action of the rolling cone cutters is enhanced by providing the cutters with a plurality of cutter elements or inserts. Cutter elements are generally of two types: inserts formed of a very hard material, such as tungsten carbide, that are press fit into undersized apertures in the cone surface; or teeth that are milled, cast or otherwise integrally formed from the material of the rolling cone. Bits having tungsten carbide inserts are typically referred to as "TCI" bits or "insert" bits, while those having teeth formed from the cone material are known as "steel tooth bits." In each instance, the cutter elements on the rotating cutters break up the formation to form the new borehole by a combination of gouging and scraping or chipping and crushing. The geometry, materials, and positioning of the cutter elements (both steel teeth and tungsten carbide inserts) upon the cone cutters greatly impact bit durability and ROP and thus, are important to the success of a particular bit design.
The inserts in TCI bits are typically positioned in circumferential rows on the rolling cone cutters. Most such bits include a row of inserts in the heel surface of the rolling cone cutters. The heel surface is a generally frustoconical surface configured and positioned so as to align generally with and ream the sidewall of the borehole as the bit rotates. In addition, conventional bits typically include a circumferential gage row of cutter elements mounted adjacent to the heel surface but oriented and sized in such a manner so as to cut the corner of the borehole. Further, conventional bits also include a number of inner rows of cutter elements that are located in circumferential rows disposed radially inward or in board from the gage row. These cutter elements are sized and configured for cutting the bottom of the borehole, and are typically described as inner row cutter elements.
Earthen formations generally undergo two types of fractures when penetrated by a cutter element that protrudes from a rolling cone of a drill bit. A first type of fracture is generally referred to as a plastic fracture, and is the type of fracture where the cutter element penetrates into the rock and volumetrically displaces the rock by compressing and crushing it. In this circumstance, shearing or tearing fracture, rather than tensile fracture, is the major mode of crack propagation. This type of fracture generally creates a crater in the rock that is the size and shape of that portion of the cutter element that has penetrated into the rock.
A second principal type of fracture is what is referred to as a brittle fracture. A brittle fracture typically occurs after a plastic fracture has first taken place. That is, when the rock first undergoes plastic fracture, a region around the crater made by the cutter element will experience increased tensile stress, will weaken, and may crack in that region, even though the rock in that region surrounding the crater has not been volumetrically displaced by the cutter element. This region of increased stress is generally recognized as the "Hertzian" contact zone. In certain formations, when the cutter element displaces enough of the rock and creates sufficient stress in the Hertzian contact zone proximal the plastic fracture, rock in the Hertzian contact zone may itself break and chip away from the crater. Where this brittle fracture occurs, the cutter element effectively removes a volume of rock that is larger than the volume of rock displaced in the plastic fracture.
The characteristics of these fractures depend largely on the geometry of the cutter element and the properties of the rock that is being penetrated. In general, for a given formation, a sharper insert will generally create more of a plastic fracture, whereas a more blunt cutter element will produce more of a brittle fracture. However, the more blunt insert will typically require a higher force and WOB to penetrate to the same depth into the rock as compared to a sharper cutter element. Because a brittle fracture provides for additional rock removal as compared to a plastic fracture alone, it would be advantageous to provide a cutter element suitable for inducing brittle fractures that would perform that function without requiring increased force or weight on bit.
Accordingly, increasing ROP while maintaining good cutter and bit life to increase the footage drilled is still an important goal so as to decrease drilling time and recover valuable oil and gas more economically. To increase a bit's rate of penetration (ROP), it is desirable to increase the bit's ability to initiate brittle fractures at the locations where the cutter element engages the formation material so that the volume of rock removed by each hit or impact of the cutter element is greater than the volume of rock actually penetrated by the cutter element.

Drill bit and cutter element having a fluted geometry


A system for reducing CFAR loss due to sea clutter is disclosed. The system includes a first channel tuned for CFAR gain in a spatially correlated background and a second channel tuned for low CFAR loss in spatially uncorrelated backgrounds. Each of the channels employs a distribution free CFAR using rank ordered statistics to establish a constant false alarm rate. The output of each channel is fused by a hit correlation function and the stream of combined hits is processed by a target centroiding function.

Radar backscatter from an ocean surface is commonly referred to as sea clutter. Any radar backscatter not due to the scattering from an ocean surface can be considered a potential target. The amplitude statistics of clutter have been modeled by Rayleigh, log-normal, contaminated-normal, Weibull, log-Weibull and K-distributions. Maritime surveillance radar relies on non-coherent processing techniques and the amplitude statistics of the sea clutter backscatter determines radar sensitivity and false alarm performance.
In one type of surveillance radar system designed to detect low radar cross section targets such as periscopes or small watercraft against a background of sea clutter, high range resolution is applied to minimize sea clutter competing with the target. The scan rate is chosen to be sufficiently high to provide multiple observations while the target is present. The system sensitivity is set to provide a high probability of detecting small targets of interest while accepting a high likelihood of also detecting tens of thousands of false plot detections per radar scan from noise and sea clutter. The false plot detections are filtered out over the observation time using integration along-a-path techniques such as retrospective track-before-detect processing that are capable of operating in a high false activity rate environment without incurring miss-association errors that are typically encountered in Track-While-Scan systems. The retrospective track-before-detect process maintains a history of scan level detections over the observation time and integrates along prior velocity trajectories searching for persistent returns that are indicative of a real target. The plots from sea clutter and noise will have little correlation in their position from scan to scan, being "noise like" and will have a low probability of integrating up and passing the retrospective process. The end result is a track picture that is sufficiently clean of false and clutter tracks that it can be readily understood.
A key factor that determines the detection performance is the ability to provide a first threshold on each range/azimuth cell that maintains a near Constant False Alarm Rate to fit within the radars processing resources in the presence of an unknown statistical background. There are numerous Constant False Alarm Rate techniques in the literature that develop thresholds based on a measure of the background region around the cell under test using both parametric or non-parametric algorithms. The parametric CFAR requires knowledge of the underlying statistics while the non-parametric CFAR is distribution free. CFAR techniques are based on an interference background (noise and sea clutter) that is assumed to be spatially uncorrelated. Large background regions are typically used to minimize the CFAR loss (which is the loss between the ideal threshold and the one computed by the CFAR). A guard band is typically employed that separates the cell under test from the background region and prevents extended targets from entering the background region and affecting sensitivity. CFAR designed for spatially uncorrelated backgrounds will introduce a higher threshold in the upwind direction to adapt to the higher clutter levels returned.
Recent studies of sea clutter phenomenology by Watts and Ward suggest that at certain aspect angles relative to the wind the sea clutter is spatially correlated (upwind and downwind). CFAR techniques have been developed to take advantage of this property and they result in a significant CFAR gain (>5 dB) when compared to standard techniques that have a large background region. These CFAR gain techniques require that the background estimate be derived from a region very close to the cell under test and also that the background size be on the order of the spatial correlation interval. Since spatial correlations are on the order of 10 meters, the number of background cells is much less than what is typically used in traditional CFAR designed for low CFAR loss. Therefore, CFAR designed for CFAR gain in correlated backgrounds will have high CFAR loss in uncorrelated backgrounds such as crosswind and noise limited conditions. Another problem is that CFAR gain techniques have problems with extended targets since the background measurement is taken with virtually no guard band.
To mitigate this problem, the current method is to build a clutter map where the statistics of each region are measured over time. The appropriate CFAR parameters are applied in each region. The problem with this approach is that it takes time to develop the clutter map since sufficient averaging is required to accurately characterize the clutter backscatter; the CFAR loss is higher because clutter variations within a clutter map cell are not tolerated, there are discontinuities at the clutter map cell boundaries and the clutter map solution still does not address the detection of extended targets in regions where CFAR gain techniques are applied.


A support assembly for a mirror head includes a support arm defining a longitudinal axis. A top slot wall and a bottom slot wall of the support arm extend at least partly along the longitudinal axis and at least partly define a slot therebetween. The top slot wall defines an opening therethrough. A ramp extends from the bottom slot wall towards the top slot wall adjacent to the opening. The support assembly further includes inboard and outboard trunnions that are adapted to be at least partly and movably received in the slot. A carriage is coupled to the outboard trunnion and the mirror head. A support brace is rotationally coupled to the inboard and outboard trunnions. The outboard trunnion selectively travels on the ramp and through the opening to allow the support brace to be inclined obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis and the carriage to be rotated.

Vehicles typically include one or more external rearview mirrors. Such external rearview mirrors are generally adapted to be adjusted at preselected positions. For example, external rearview mirrors can be selectively folded towards and away from the vehicle. Further, such external rearview mirrors can also be rotated between a landscape position and a portrait position for adjusting a field of view.
In order to switch between the landscape and portrait positions, conventional mirror heads are rotated about a single pivot which is perpendicular to the mirror. The pivot is generally placed at an outboard end of a support arm that supports the mirror head. The position of the pivot may place a relatively large mass (i.e., the mirror head) at the outboard end of a long cantilevered arm (i.e., the support arm). This may cause the mirror's center of gravity to reside in an unfavourable position leading to undesirable vibrations of the mirror head. Such vibrations may increase when the mirror head is rotated to the portrait position as the center of gravity is moved further outboard of the vehicle.


The present invention aims to smoothly and adequately adjust recording laser power while an increase in processing load during recording is suppressed. When a recording operation start request is received, OPC is executed with reference to a target β value (βt) of a disc to set recording laser power Pws. Recording operation is performed based on the set recording laser power Pws. When a system is brought into an intermittent standby state, R-OPC is executed, so the recording laser power Pws is adjusted and set again. Then, its subsequent recording operation is performed based on the recording laser power Pws which is set again. When a duration of the recording operation exceeds a maximal waiting time Ts, the recording operation is suspended so that the system is set to a recording standby state. Then, the R-OPC is executed, so that the recording laser power Pws is adjusted and set again.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc device for recording and/or reproducing information by using laser beams, which is particularly suitable for adjusting a set value of laser power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various optical recording media such as a compact disc (CD) and a digital versatile disc (DVD) have been commercialized and are widely available. With respect to the optical recording media, in general, laser power is optimized on a system side before recording/reproducing operations because optimum laser power is changed according to a medium.
For example, laser power setting processing using a β value is performed for a CD-R and a DVD-R. That is, test data is recorded with predetermined laser power on a trial write area formatted on the medium. A β value is obtained from an amplitude value of a reproduced RF signal (asymmetry) of the test data. Recording Laser power is set such that the obtained β value becomes a target β value required for the medium (disc).
For example, a method described in JP 2002-260230 A has been known as a method of setting recording laser power using the β value.
When a system state (medium temperature etc.) changes after the setting of the recording laser power as described above, for example, the recording sensitivity of the medium is changed from an initial state. With this change, the recording laser power initially set is gradually deviated from an adequate value. In order to solve such a problem, on the system side, the initially set recording laser power is generally adjusted as appropriate according to a current system state.
For example, in a system for performing recording/reproducing on the CD-R and the DVD-R, a reflection light intensity caused by the initially set recording laser power is held as an amplitude level of a photo detector. An amplitude level obtained during recording operation is compared with the amplitude level in the case of the initially set recording laser power. A set value of the recording laser power is dynamically changed so that both amplitude levels become equal to each other.
However, in this case, it is necessary to perform processing for adjusting the laser power in parallel with the recording operation. Therefore, a processing sequence performed during the recording operation, which has been regarded as complicated up to now, is further complicated, so such a problem that a processing load to a microcomputer further increases occurs.
In recordable media using as a material for a recording layer an organic dye material, for example, a CD-R and a DVD-R, the sensitivity of the recording layer depends on a wavelength of laser light. Therefore, when a wavelength of laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser is varied with a change in temperature of the semiconductor laser, a phenomenon in which a recording state is changed according to the wavelength even in the case of the same intensity occurs. Thus, as described above, when the amplitude level of the reflection light is monitored to adjust the laser power, there occurs such a problem that the laser power cannot be adequately adjusted.

Optical disc device for recording and reproducing information on and from a write-once-type disc using laser light


A bone anchor is described having pre-attached suture material. After insertion, lateral wings can be deployed on the bone anchor to prevent anchor pull-out. The suture may be attached at the tip of the anchor by tying it to a wire hook secured in a cavity in the anchor tip. The anchor may be inserted and deployed using an anchor inserter that is configured to apply an axial force to the anchor, thereby deforming the anchor to form the lateral wings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices and procedures. More particularly, the present invention relates to suture anchors for insertion into bone.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several medical procedures where a surgeon needs to have suture material that is secured to bone. For example, the surgeon may desire bone-anchored suture to attach soft tissue such as tendons or other soft connective tissue to the bone. One common example is a torn rotator cuff, where the supraspinatus tendon has separated from the humerus causing pain and loss of ability to elevate and externally rotate the arm. To repair a torn rotator cuff, typically a surgical procedure is used to suture the torn tendon to the bone using a variety of methods. Some procedures utilize large incisions and involve complete detachment of the deltoid muscle from the acromion. Small diameter holes are made in the bone for passing suture material through the bone to secure the tendon. Such large incision procedures are traumatic, causing prolonged pain and recovery time. Other procedures make small incisions and use arthroscopic techniques to attach sutures using either small diameter holes or a bone anchor. However, it is difficult to manipulate sutures within the surgical site using arthroscopic techniques. In addition, when knot tying is used to secure the suture to a bone anchor, it is difficult to properly adjust the tension of the suture while tightening the knot. Accordingly, there is a need for improved anchor systems.


In a motor and a disk drive apparatus in accordance with the present invention, a position detecting part 30 comprises a detection signal switching circuit 39A, a noise elimination circuit 38 and a detection circuit 39B, and the detection signal switching circuit 39A is configured to output an inverted detection signal obtained by logically inverting a detection signal until the rotation speed reaches a predetermined rotation speed after the beginning of starting or until a position detection pulse signal FG is detected a predetermined number of times; position detection operation is carried out only during the ON operation of PWM, whereby PWM sensorless starting is carried out.

The present invention relates to a motor for carrying out PWM sensorless driving and to a disk drive apparatus using the motor.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional motor. The operation of the conventional motor will be described briefly by using this FIG. 21. A rotor 1010 has a field part formed of a permanent magnet and generates a rotation force by virtue of interaction with three-phase windings 1011, 1012 and 1013. A power supplying part 1020 comprises three high-side power transistors and three low-side power transistors. The respective high-side and low-side power transistors are connected in series, and one terminal of each winding of a phase is connected to the connection point. The power supplying part 1020 comprising the high-side power transistors and the low-side power transistors supplies electric power to the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013. A position detecting part 1030 compares the terminal voltages V1, V2 and V3, each generated at one terminal of each of the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013, with the common voltage Vc generated at the other terminals, and outputs a position detection pulse signal FG in response to the result of the comparison. A commanding part 1040 outputs a speed command signal EC for controlling the speed of the rotor 1010 to a switching controlling part 1050. The switching controlling part 1050 outputs a PWM signal Wp for high-frequency switching the power transistors of the power supplying part 1020 to an activation controlling part 1060 in response to the speed command signal EC of the commanding part 1040. The activation controlling part 1060 outputs activation control signals N1, N2, N3, M1, M2 and M3 for controlling activation to the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013 to the power supplying part 1020 in response to the position detection pulse signal FG of the position detecting part 1030 and the PWM signal Wp of the switching controlling part 1050. Hence, the power supplying part 1020 supplies activation-controlled electric power to the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013, whereby the rotor 1010 is driven by PWM sensorless operation.
In addition, in the conventional motor, in order that the detection of the rotor position is prevented from malfunctioning, an output signal subjected to masking depending on high-frequency switching operation is used as a position detection signal for activation switching. A conventional motor having this kind of configuration is disclosed in the gazette of Japanese unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. Hei 11-4595, for example.
In the conventional motor configured as described above, when high-frequency switching operation is OFF, the neutral point of the windings is pulled to the power supply voltage or the ground voltage, whereby it is difficult to carry out position detection operation. As a motor for solving this kind of problem, a motor having a different configuration, such as the motor disclosed in the gazette of Japanese unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. Hei 0.8-223970, is available. In this conventional motor, position detection operation was carried out only during the ON operation of high-frequency switching operation.
However, the configuration of the above-mentioned conventional motor has problems described below. In the conventional motor, the position detecting part 1030 compares the terminal voltages V1, V2 and V3, each generated at one terminal of each of the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013, with the common voltage Vc, and outputs the position detection pulse signal FG to the activation controlling part 1060 in response to the result of the comparison; the activation controlling part 1060 outputs high-side activation control signals N1, N2 and N3 and low-side activation control signals M1, M2 and M3 to the power supplying part 1020 in response to the position detection pulse signal FG. Hence, the power supplying part 1020 supplies electric power to the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013, thereby carrying out the sensorless driving of the motor. Therefore, when the position detecting part 1030 erroneously detects the position of the rotor at the beginning of starting, sensorless driving is carried out while activation control is done according to the information detected erroneously; hence, there was a problem of having a high possibility of causing a starting failure in the conventional motor.
Since the position of the rotor is indefinite and the rotation speed thereof is low at the beginning of starting, the counter electromotive voltages induced in the windings 1011, 1012 and 1013 are small, and it is difficult to accurately detect the position of the rotor. Hence, in the sensorless driving of the conventional motor, a starting failure may occur, resulting in a serious problem. In particular, in the case when the motor is started by PWM sensorless operation, since an induced voltage owing to the change in current due to PWM operation is superimposed on the terminal voltage of a detection phase, the position of the rotor is erroneously detected under the influence of the induced voltage generated at the time of PWM sensorless starting, whereby a starting failure may occur. Hence, as another conventional motor, an apparatus is available that is configured so as to be started after the rotor is attracted to a specific phase at the time of starting so that its position is fixed. In the motor having this kind of configuration, rotor movement time for initial position fixing is required; this causes a problem of extending starting time.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed are a thermophilic phospholipase having an optimum temperature range of 95 to 105.degree. C. which is useful in high-temperature degumming processes in oil refining process and high-temperature processing of phospholipids; and a method for producing a thermophilic phospholipase comprising culturing a microorganism capable of producing the phospholipase in a culture medium and collecting the phospholipase from the resultant culture.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to thermophilic phospholipases and a method for producing the phospholipases. More particularly, the invention relates to novel thermophilic phospholipases useful in degumming processes and widely applicable to the oil chemical industry and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as a method for producing the phospholipases.
2. Description of Prior Art
To date, phospholipase A.sub.2 has been used as an agent for treating hypercholestelemia [J. Lipid Res. 36, 1147 (1995)], and phospholipase A.sub.1 and phospholipase A.sub.2 have been used for production of lysophospholipids useful as a surfactant [J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 72, 1375 (1995)].
Phospholipase A.sub.2 has also been used in oil refining processes. When phospholipase A.sub.2 is introduced into degumming processes in oil refining, it becomes possible to reduce the phosphorous content to a level of 8 ppm or below, and thus simple physical oil refining processes become applicable. As a result, the oil refining process using phospholipase A.sub.2 is used in its degumming processes has successfully reduced the amount of water consumption to 1/8 based on that of conventional processes and the steam cost to 5.27 dollars/ton which was 9.19 dollars/ton in conventional processes (Inform, 6, 1284 (1995)).
As mentioned above, phospholipases have been widely used in various fields. However, since such phospholipases are originated from higher organisms, they are limited in yield and properties such as thermostability. In particular, in these processes, in which high temperature circumstances are desired such as degumming processes in oil refining, thermophilic phospholipases which do not lose their enzymatic activity even at high temperatures have been strongly demanded.
However, such thermophilic phospholipases have not been reported yet.

Thermophilic phospholipases and method for production thereof

Director-General of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


The invention relates to a semiconductor element with metallic and non-metallic surfaces, with the non-metallic surfaces of the semiconductor being provided with a layer which has irregularities, so that adhesion between the non-metallic surface and the molding compound is thus increased.

A semiconductor element has to satisfy a large number of requirements, and has to have a certain minimum life. However, semiconductor elements are generally highly sensitive, so that environmental influences can adversely affect the operation of an element such as this, and can considerably shorten its life. Once a semiconductor element has been produced, it is therefore generally fitted with a housing in order to protect the semiconductor element against environmental influences. The housing which is generally used in semiconductor technology is generally in form of a molding compound composed of organic polymers (typically thermosetting plastics based on epoxy resins such as Orthocresolnovolac), which are applied to the semiconductor element by extrusion coating. A semiconductor element which has been packed in this way is subjected after its production to further process steps, with the various process steps being carried out at different temperatures, so that a semiconductor element such as this is repeatedly subjected to temperature loads. In order to make it possible to effectively protect the semiconductor element against the environmental influences, a housing must be in close contact with the semiconductor element in widely different conditions, and it must not have any tendency to separation. It is thus necessary for the adhesion of the molding compound to all of the exposed surfaces of the semiconductor element (or the chip) to be set such that no separation (delamination) occurs in repeatedly changing temperature conditions. A semiconductor element is generally composed of metallic and non-metallic parts, which have different adhesion characteristics with respect to the molding compound. Both the metallic surfaces and the non-metallic surfaces must therefore be prepared in separate steps, so as to ensure the adhesion to the molding compound.
In order to improve the adhesion between the metallic surfaces and the housing, a further, suitably, roughened metallic layer is deposited on all of the metallic surfaces which are in contact with the molding compound, before the production of the housing. Electrochemical deposition is particularly suitable for deposition of this metallic layer, in order to make it possible to deposit filaments in the nanometer range, which considerably improves the adhesion between the metallic surface and the molding compound.
A layer composed of a polyimide polymer is applied to the non-metallic surfaces in order to improve the adhesion of the non-metallic surfaces of a semiconductor element to the molding compound. However, since the adhesion between the metallic surface and the polyimide polymer is not optimal, a further layer, which is referred to in the following text as a passivation layer, must be applied underneath the polyimide polymer. This passivation layer, which improves the adhesion between the polyimide and the metallic surfaces, is preferably composed of a dielectric, such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide.
The object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor element which can be provided with a housing without having to apply a passivation layer to the non-metallic surfaces.

Semiconductor element with improved adhesion characteristics of the non-metallic surfaces


A contents distribution system for a simulation ride system has a seat rocking unit, a video unit, an acoustic unit, and a simulation ride control apparatus. The simulation ride control apparatus has the simulation ride system controlling operations of the seat rocking unit, the video unit, and the acoustic unit by using content data, and a distribution apparatus for a ride contents administration center. The distribution apparatus for the ride contents administration center distributes the content data and the simulation ride control apparatus receives the distributed content data.

The present invention relates to a contents distribution system for a simulation ride system, a distribution apparatus for a ride contents administration center, a simulation ride control apparatus and computer software, and more particularly to a contents distribution system for a simulation ride system having a seat rocking unit, a video unit, an acoustic unit, and a simulation ride control apparatus and comprising a simulation ride system in which the simulation ride control apparatus controls operations of the seat rocking unit, the video unit, and the acoustic unit by using content data and a distribution apparatus for a ride contents administration center.
In the entertainment industry, there are known amusement facilities having interactive game machines such as an amusement park, a theme park, and an urban theme park into which a ride attraction, a production-type attraction, a high-tech attraction, etc. are introduced.

Contents distribution system for simulation ride system, distribution apparatus for ride contents administration center, simulation ride control apparatus and computer software


Microwave drying of ceramic honeycomb logs using a customizable cover that can take the form of a flexible wrap or a rigid cover is disclosed. The cover can be in the form of a wrap disposed directly in contact with the leading edge of the log surface. The cover can also be a rigid cover disposed adjacent but not in contact with the leading edge of the log surface. At least a portion of the trailing edge of the log can remain uncovered either by having windows in the wrap or by the rigid cover only covering the leading edge of the log surface. The customizable cover can be configured to compensate for log shape deformities as well as or in addition to the adverse effect on log shape cause by the drying differential created by passing a log through a microwave drying station leading-edge first.

The process of forming a ceramic honeycomb structure involves forming an extrudate having a select or desired shape. The extrudate is wet and is referred to as a "log." Once extruded, it is difficult to change the shape of the log in a controlled way. However, differences between a desired extrudate shape and the actual extrudate shape can occur. Such differences can cause the log to not meet its shape specification, which requires that the log be discarded. This increases the production costs of the final ceramic honeycomb structure, which in an example is used as an automotive filter.
It is therefore desirable to be able to correct such shape imperfections when processing the log so that the final ceramic article has a shape that meets its shape specification.


An improved sensor module assembly to be used in an array for measuring the distribution of forces, displacements, or temperatures or other physically measurable quantity of an article being tested or measured. A programmable digital processor is installed at each sensor and connected between transducers and a digital bus. This integrated transducer digital processor can send data as high fidelity, digital signals with commensurately low noise to another digital processor. The integrated transducer digital processor can also send and receive other digital information, allowing communication of commands and data among processors, including a larger, centralized, digital processor which may be employed to read and store the digital data signals.

In performing measuring and/or testing, it is frequently necessary to have a plurality of sensors secured to numerous sites of the article being measured or tested in order to obtain data from such sites. Typically in the prior art, a system which utilized a plurality of sensors for obtaining information utilized a plurality of transducers and each transducer required that a plurality of wires be connected from each transducer to a plurality of transducer indicators.
For clarity in this document, the term "sensor" is used for a device that is responsive to changes in an input quantity by providing a proportional output, typically for the purpose of measurement. In addition, the term "transducer" is used for a device for converting an input energy to an output energy, typically used for converting from one form of energy into another form of energy for the purpose of measurement. Thus, a spring scale is a sensor that converts input mechanical force into a mechanical displacement that may be read on a linear scale; a transducer used with the sensor can convert the input mechanical energy to an output electrical signal.
The large number of wires had to be manually connected to carry the signals to the transducer indicators. The bulky and unyielding array of wires required for transmission of data from the sensors to the indicators, for example electromechanical meters or computer channels, created the potential for multiple forms of data transmission errors (i.e. noise) and/or channel failure (i.e. lack of signal). For example, if a testing system had ten sensors and nine wires were required from each sensor and its associated transducers, such system would require ninety wires for transmission of data obtained therefrom.


Provided herein are novel 5′-(S)—CH3 substituted bicyclic nucleosides, oligomeric compounds prepared therefrom and methods of using the oligomeric compounds. More particularly, the furanose ring of each of the novel 5′-(S)—CH3 substituted bicyclic nucleosides includes a 2′ to 4′ bridging group. The 5′-(S)—CH3 substituted bicyclic nucleosides are expected to be useful for enhancing one or more properties of the oligomeric compounds they are incorporated into such as for example increasing the binding affinity. In certain embodiments, the oligomeric compounds provided herein hybridize to a portion of a target RNA resulting in loss of normal function of the target RNA.

Targeting disease-causing gene sequences was first suggested more than thirty years ago (Belikova et al., Tet. Lett., 1967, 37, 3557-3562), and antisense activity was demonstrated in cell culture more than a decade later (Zamecnik et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1978, 75, 280-284). One advantage of antisense technology in the treatment of a disease or condition that stems from a disease-causing gene is that it is a direct genetic approach that has the ability to modulate (increase or decrease) the expression of specific disease-causing genes. Another advantage is that validation of a therapeutic target using antisense compounds results in direct and immediate discovery of the drug candidate; the antisense compound is the potential therapeutic agent.
Generally, the principle behind antisense technology is that an antisense compound hybridizes to a target nucleic acid and modulates gene expression activities or function, such as transcription or translation. The modulation of gene expression can be achieved by, for example, target degradation or occupancy-based inhibition. An example of modulation of RNA target function by degradation is RNase H-based degradation of the target RNA upon hybridization with a DNA-like antisense compound. Another example of modulation of gene expression by target degradation is RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi generally refers to antisense-mediated gene silencing involving the introduction of dsRNA leading to the sequence-specific reduction of targeted endogenous mRNA levels. Regardless of the specific mechanism, this sequence-specificity makes antisense compounds extremely attractive as tools for target validation and gene functionalization, as well as therapeutics to selectively modulate the expression of genes involved in the pathogenesis of malignancies and other diseases.
Antisense technology is an effective means for reducing the expression of one or more specific gene products and can therefore prove to be uniquely useful in a number of therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications. Chemically modified nucleosides are routinely used for incorporation into antisense compounds to enhance one or more properties, such as nuclease resistance, pharmacokinetics or affinity for a target RNA. In 1998, the antisense compound, Vitravene® (fomivirsen; developed by Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Carlsbad, Calif.) was the first antisense drug to achieve marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is currently a treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced retinitis in AIDS patients.
New chemical modifications have improved the potency and efficacy of antisense compounds, uncovering the potential for oral delivery as well as enhancing subcutaneous administration, decreasing potential for side effects, and leading to improvements in patient convenience. Chemical modifications increasing potency of antisense compounds allow administration of lower doses, which reduces the potential for toxicity, as well as decreasing overall cost of therapy. Modifications increasing the resistance to degradation result in slower clearance from the body, allowing for less frequent dosing. Different types of chemical modifications can be combined in one compound to further optimize the compound's efficacy. One such group of chemical modifications includes bicyclic nucleosides wherein the furanose portion of the nucleoside includes a bridge connecting two atoms on the furanose ring thereby forming a bicyclic ring system. Such bicyclic nucleosides have various names including BNA's and LNA's for bicyclic nucleic acids or locked nucleic acids respectively.
Various bicyclic nucleosides have been prepared and reported in the patent literature as well as in scientific literature, see for example: Singh et al., Chem. Commun., 1998, 4, 455-456; Koshkin et al., Tetrahedron, 1998, 54, 3607-3630; Wahlestedt et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2000, 97, 5633-5638; Kumar et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 1998, 8(16), 2219-2222; Wengel et al., PCT International Application number PCT/DK98/00393 (published as WO 99/14226 on Mar. 25, 1999), filed Sep. 14, 1998; Singh et al., J. Org. Chem., 1998, 63, 10035-10039, the text of each is incorporated by reference herein, in their entirety. Examples of issued US patents and published applications include for example: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,053,207, 6,794,499, 6,770,748 and 6,268,490 and published U.S. applications 20040219565, 20040014959, 20030207841, 20040192918, 20030224377, 20040143114, 20030087230 and 20030082807, the text of each is incorporated by reference herein, in their entirety.
Various carbocyclic bicyclic nucleosides have been prepared and reported in the literature. Such carbocyclic bicyclic nucleosides include 4′-(CH2)3-2′ bridged analogs (see Frier et al., Nucleic Acids Research, 1997, 25 (22), 4429-4443); 4′-CH═CH—CH2-2′ bridged analogs (see Albaek et al., J. Org. Chem., 2006, 71, 7731-7740); and 4′-CH2—C(═CH2)-2′ bridged analogs and related analogs (see published International Application WO 2008/154401, published on Dec. 8, 2008).
Bicyclic nucleosides comprising 4′-CH2 (R)-2′, where R is amino or substituted amino, have also been prepared and incorporated into oligonucleotides (see Wengel et al. Chem. Commun., 2003, 2130-2131).
Various other bicyclic nucleosides have been previously reported in the literature including: 4′-(CH2)3—O-2′ and 4′-(CH2)2—O-2′ (and analogs thereof see Morita et al., Biorg. Med. Chem., 2003, 11, 2211-2226; Kaneko et al., published U.S. Patent Application, US 2002/0147332; Japanese Patent Application, HEI-11-33863, published Feb. 12, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,133); 4′-CH2—N(OCH3)-2′ (and analogs thereof see published International Application WO 2008/150729, published on Dec. 11, 2008); 4′-CH2—O—N(CH3)-2′,4′-CH2—N(CH3)—CH2-2′ and 4′-(C═O)—NH—CH2-2′ (and analogs thereof see published U.S. Patent Application, US 2004/0171570; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,670,461 and 6,794,499); 4′-CH2—N(R)—O-2′, wherein R is H, C1-C12 alkyl or a protecting group (see U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,672, issued on Sep. 23, 2008); and 4′-CH2—O—CH2-2′ (and analogs thereof see U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,566, issued on Jun. 11, 2002).
Carbocyclic bicyclic nucleosides have also been prepared and incorporated into oligonucleotides which were further evaluated in biochemical studies including 4′-(CH2)n—C(H)(CH3)-2′ bridged analogs where n is 1 or 2 and analogs thereof (see Srivastava et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129(26), 8362-8379 and Chattopadhyaya published International Application WO 2008/111908); and 4′-(CH2)3-2′ bridged analogs (see Chattopadhyaya et al., J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74, 118-134).
Other bicyclic nucleosides that have been prepared and incorporated into oligonucleotides which were further evaluated in biochemical studies including 4′-(O—CH2)2-2′, 4′-C(H)(CN)-2′ and 2′-(CH2)2—N(R)-4′ bridged analogs (see Imanishi et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem., 2006, 14, 1029-1038 and Chattopadhyaya et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 15173-15187).
Oligonucleotides incorporating 5′-(S)—CH3 bicyclic nucleosides having a 4′-CH2—O-2′ bridging group have been prepared and evaluated in biochemical studies (see commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,547,684, issued on Jun. 16, 2009).
Oligonucleotides incorporating 5′-(S)—CH3 bicyclic nucleosides having a 4′-C(H)(CH3)—O-2′ bridging group have been previously prepared (see commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,854, issued on Feb. 23, 2009; and commonly owned International Application PCT/US2009/066863, filed Dec. 4, 2009).

5′-substituted bicyclic nucleosides and oligomeric compounds prepared therefrom


This invention discloses circularly knit undergarments, said under garments having an anterior tummy region, a posterior stretching from the waist to the gluteal region, and two outer-regions corresponding to the outer thigh region, each of said regions includes knit-in support panels to minimize appearance of undesirable bulges. The posterior region further includes a plurality of derriere cups to slim and shape the lower half of the body to a younger tone and to provide a natural appearance to the derriere, hips and tummy. In a preferred embodiment the body of the undergarment is made with material that is seamlessly woven, for example, light weight micro fiber nylon or LYCRA spandex, and includes a gusset that is made of cotton and micro fiber nylon to prevent moisture build up between the legs. The under garments are finished in ribbing located at their terminal ends. In addition to providing an overall slimming and reshaping of the lower body part, the unique knitting technique and the derriere cups in the posterior of the under garment provide the wearer comfort, a rounder natural look to the buttocks, and a psychological boost.

There has been continuing interest in the apparel industry to develop undergarments that provide a sliming and shaping effect in the lower half of the body such as hips, tummy and thighs. The earliest form of lower body garment used for controlling and minimizing the appearance of body bulges was the girdle. However, the traditional girdle is made of heavy fabric and requires seaming of individual panels and can have a rubberized feeling next to a wearer's skin, and is uncomfortable and hot.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,824 to Kuney discloses knitted garments which include form-fitting pockets in order that they can accentuate specific portions of the body. The girdle is knitted using a constant knit structure, with the stitch length being varied in selected areas to form spaced concave areas which are to correspond to specific regions of the wearer's body. However, the two concave areas in the girdle described in this patent are separated by tightly knit seamed pieces that create discomfort and might be unsightly under a wearer's clothes. The garment in the shape of a girdle, also makes the wearer feel hot and uncomfortable. It also has the disadvantage of squeezing the two buttocks together into one large unattractive mass instead of separating the buttocks and making them look more round and natural.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,548 to Osborne describes a legged panty having strategically located support panels for minimizing the appearance of undesirable body bulges along a wearer's stomach, hips and thighs, and the panty includes a U-shaped or anchor shaped support panel about the gluteal crease in order to provide support for the buttocks, and additional yarn provides added fabric fullness to the buttock cheeks. The design includes a substantially anchor-shaped support panel extending vertically through the center of the rear portion and curving around toward and along a portion of the first and second leg portions in order that it conforms to the regions of a wearer's body corresponding to the areas between and beneath the wearer's buttock cheeks. In other words, the garment smashes the buttocks together and gives the appearance of one large undifferentiated, unattractive and unnatural gluteal mass.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,892 to Blakely describes an undergarment in which the legs of the undergarment are free of bottom leg bands, with each of the legs of the undergarments is formed as a seamless two-ply fabric tube having a tubular inner ply and a tubular outer ply, the two plies being connected to each other by being knit to each other at the bottom edge of the leg, and therefore the legs are free of separately formed and attached bottom leg bands. The main disadvantage of the garment described is that the enhanced body shaping is provided for the abdominal region using a tighter knit than in the rear part of the panty, thus making the rear part longer than the front part. This design still smashes or squeezes the buttocks together and the unnatural appearance of one large undifferentiated buttock mass clearly indicates to an observer that the wearer is using a body slimming garment.
Yet an additional disadvantage of the under garments described in the prior art is the use of waist bands with compressive elastic that pinches or makes the flesh protrude above the band.
The above disadvantages have been overcome in the present invention.

Circularly knit undergarment having knit-in support panels and derriere cup fullness