A microwave frequency Doppler vehicle intruder alarm comprises an oscillator 3, a mixer 2 and an amplification stage 4, 5 having its output applied to a low-pass filter 7, whose output is split into two branches. A first branch, comprising a rectifier diode and a comparator, provides a signal on its output when a significant level of non-carrier microwave signals is received. This branch is sensitive to signals having Doppler frequencies of 0-200 Hz, which includes the intruder indicative frequencies. A second branch, comprising an amplifier 8, a high pass filter 9, and a comparator 10, provides an output signal on the detection of a significant level of signals in the 40-200 Hz band, which frequencies are indicative of externally generated interference. A logic element 15 mutes the output of the alarm when the second branch indicates the presence of externally generated interference. An antenna arrangement (FIG. 3, not shown) generates a rectangular radiation field which provides optimum coverage of the interior of a vehicle by being mounted in the roof thereof. Steering of the radiation field to provide optimum illumination when the arrangement is mounted off-center on the roof is achieved by the use of a shunt capacitor to effect a phase difference in signals applied to respective ones of first and second antennae.

The present invention relates to an alarm sensor and more particularly, although not exclusively, to an alarm sensor suitable for use in a microwave frequency vehicle intruder alarm.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to an antenna arrangement for use in a vehicle intruder alarm.
Vehicle intruder alarms which rely on detection of the Doppler shift of a reflected microwave signal to indicate movement within a space have been available for several years. One such alarm is described in United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB-A-2280558, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A problem has been identified with such alarms in that microwave energy leaked from microwave ovens can cause them to be falsely triggered.
Microwave ovens typically employ a cavity magnetron source, the frequency of which will vary as the load Voltage standing wave ratio or VSWR within the oven changes due to rotation of the turntable or mode-stirrer paddle. As microwave ovens typically operate at 2.5 GHz, microwave alarm sensors operating in the 2.45 GHz ISM band can often be subjected to strong interference, traversing their operating frequency.
Microwave ovens also tend to have poorly filtered and regulated power supplies. This typically results in wideband am and fm signals extending several hundred MHZ either side of the centre frequency. These sidebands contain the fundamental mains frequency and many higher order harmonic frequencies.
These modulation phenomena can cause false triggering of low power microwave alarm sensors in two ways. Firstly, the sensor can mistake rectified am sidebands as a Doppler shifted reflection, i.e. as a moving target. Secondly, especially in single antenna systems such as that described in United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB-A-2280558, an oscillator of the sensor can injection lock to the frequency of the powerful interfering signal. In this instance, the sensor will be triggered as the oscillator becomes locked or as it unlocks itself.


A caster angle regulating tool for automobile wheels includes a prismatic head (15), a set of wheel drum plate mounting disks (18, 19, 20) interchangeably attachable by screws (25) in holes (23) therethrough to screw threaded bores (17) in bosses (16) on the prismatic head (15), a pivotable adjusting nut (11) pivotly mounted by opposite axle shafts (12) thereon in bearings (13) in brackets (14) mounted on the prismatic head, a screw threaded adjusting shaft (6) engageable in the adjusting nut (11) and a clamping device (1, 2, 3, 4) rotatably mounted on one end (5) of the adjusting screw for clamping onto a stub axle (M) attached to the wheel drum plate (R). Rotation of the adjusting shaft (6) in the adjusting nut (11) thereby moves the spring stub axle to increase or decrease the caster angle, depending upon the direction of rotation of the adjusting shaft during alignment of the wheels. Each of the mounting disks of the set of mounting disks has a plurality of radial slots (21, 27, 29) extending radially outwardly from a central hole and a plurality of second slots (22, 26, 28) equally angularly spaced with respect to each other and varying in number to facilitate use of the set of disks on wheels having varying numbers and sizes of wheel drum attaching screws thereon.

The instant invention relates to a wheel aligning tool or device for regulating the caster angle of automobile forward or rear wheels, by correcting their relationship with the chassis or sub-frame.
The natural de-regulation of the caster angle, whether positive or negative, is due to the excessive stress imparted to the forward wheels of the vehicle, whether of forward or rear traction. This condition, added to the natural metal fatigue and the poor condition of roads, makes it imperative to correct or regulate the caster angle in order to obtain a proper alignment of the vehicle wheels.
Steering features of an automobile depend on its reversibility, progression and stability conditions, which are basic for attaining comfort and safety of the driver, by providing accurate and easy driving of the vehicle.
The pivot around which the wheel rotates is not a vertical pivot, but it is forwardly directed a certain angle called a caster angle. A "wanderer" steering, an abrupt steering or a hard and dangerous steering depend on the caster angle, as well as the deviation from the road. Its wrong adjustment may also cause shimmying.
This pivot should also have a king pin inclination or outward slant measured angularly with respect to the vertical plane.
On the other hand, the stub axles should form a downward angle, called drop or camber.
Further, the front wheels are toed-in which compensates the trend of the wheels to open during running.
Shaft alignment after checking the four steering parameters, advance, outward slant, camber and convergence, is highly important since driving safety and ease, as well as life of tires will depend on their accuracy, according to manufacturing standards.
The vehicle running gear has manual means allowing controlling and correcting these parameters by an operator except angular variations which may have been produced between the fixing plate plane of the wheels and the suspension stub axles, since this is a rigid assembly, whose caster angle is factory preset.
These angular variations related to the caster angle of the wheels may be produced at the front gear as well as at the rear gear of the vehicle, with respect to the chassis or sub-frame thereof.
A caster angle regulating tool should resist the stress to which it is subjected for counterbalancing the forward part strength. This is the reason for this regulating tool. Further, such tool should be easily handled by the operator.
Basically, there are three types of tools for correcting the caster angle which differ from each other, but all of them use the coupling of the torsion lever to the wheel plate, and the support arm on the sleeve of the suspension spring, this pertaining to prior art in the public domain.
One of the known types according to Argentine Patent No. 222,604, uses a means for coupling the torsion lever to the wheel plate and a support arm at the suspension spring stub axle, assisted by two or three coupling disks for the vehicle wheel which are mounted by means of three, four or five screws to the brake drum. These disks are interchangeable for being adapted to different automobile models.
A second type of tool shown in Argentine Patent No. 222,603 uses a universal turnbuckle with lefthand screw thread and nut on one side and righthand screw thread on the opposite side, mating with a coupling disk having a plurality of holes provided to be adapted to the vehicle model involved.
A third type of tool shown in Argentine Patent No. 221,305 uses a Whitworth thread screw and nut. The position of the nut should be changed before or after the lever, depending on whether the caster angle is to be increased or decreased. This tool uses six or seven coupling disks for coupling to the wheel plate, according to the vehicle model. In an alternative embodiment, one end of the lever is provided with a pivoting bushing, allowing a better operation of the tool. The lever has a single disk with multiple holes for fixing it to different kinds of wheels.
All these arrangements have several disadvantages, one of the main disadvantages being the high force required for their operation and the short life of the mechanism, in spite of its lubrication.


The present invention discloses a metal oxide (MO) semiconductor, which is implemented by respectively doping at least an oxide of rare earth element R and an oxide of rare earth element R′ into an indium-containing MO semiconductor to form an InxMyRnR′mOz semiconductor. According to the present invention, the extremely high oxygen bond breaking energy in the oxide of rare earth element R is used to effectively control the carrier concentration in the semiconductor, and a charge transportation center can be formed by using the characteristic that the radius of rare earth ions is equivalent to the radius of indium ions, so that the electrical stability of the semiconductor is improved. The present invention further provides a thin-film transistor based on the MO semiconductor and application thereof.

In a present metal oxide semiconductor system, indium ion (In3+) has a relatively large ion radius, which ensures its efficient carrier transport channel with a higher probability of orbital overlap in a multi-element metal oxide, and its 5s orbital is a main electron transport channel. However, on the one hand, due to the lower bond breaking energy of In—O after indium bonds with oxygen, a large number of oxygen vacancy defects are present in pure indium oxide (In2O3) thin-films. Oxygen vacancy is the main reason for the stability deterioration of metal oxide thin-film transistors. On the other hand, many lattice mismatches occur in indium oxide that forms a film by conventional sputtering. This makes the carrier mobility of the thin-film low, which limits its application in high-performance thin-film transistors. It is generally necessary to dope Ga3+ ions with the same amount as In3+ ions to regulate the oxygen vacancy. Besides, to ensure the performance uniformity of semiconductor devices, the MO semiconductor thin-film needs to keep an amorphous thin-film structure.
Because the crystal structure of ZnO is quite different from that of In2O3 and that of Ga2O3, doping Zn ions with the same amount as In ions in the thin-film can inhibit the crystallization of the material and keep the amorphous structure of the thin-film. Therefore, IGZO (In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 mol) is the most widely used MO semiconductor material at present.
However, IGZO also has some problems: The addition of a large number of Ga3+ and Zn3+ ions greatly dilutes the concentration of In3+, thereby reducing the overlapping degree of 5s orbitals and lowering the electron mobility.
In addition, IGZO and other materials have a large number of trap states near the valence band. This leads to the generation of photo-induced carriers even if the illumination energy is lower than the band gap, resulting in the poor illumination stability of current MO semiconductors.

Metal oxide (MO) semiconductor and thin-film transistor and application thereof


An exercise assisting device and exercise assisting method are provided. The device performs the following operations: transmitting a first control signal, the first control signal is related to a motion demonstration video corresponding to an exercise course data; receiving a video stream of a user; analyzing the video stream to generate a motion recognition result corresponding to the exercise course data of the user, and determining whether a motion target value is achieved according to the motion recognition result and the exercise course data; and when the motion target value is not achieved, the motion recognition result and the motion target value are input into an expert suggestion model to generate a follow-up motion suggestion and to determine a follow-up motion demonstration video corresponding to the follow-up motion suggestion.

In recent years, as the trend of exercise has become more and more popular and people have paid more attention to various demands of exercise. Various application programs and training courses for assisting users in self-exercise training have been successively launched in the market. However, general application programs and training courses available in the market usually only have standardized and fixed courses, e.g., only provide users with regular training courses for daily or weekly exercise, and no real-time analysis is made according to the training conditions of users at the time of exercising. Thus, it is impossible to give users training suggestions or change training courses immediately.
For example, under the current exercise assisting device, an application program may provide a partner training video for exercise (e.g., a teaching video for lifting dumbbells) to assist the user in training. However, when sports interruption, physical weakness, wrong posture, or unable to achieve an exercise course target (e.g., lifting a 10 kg dumbbell for 10 times with one hand) occur in the training process of the user, the application program cannot make real-time adjustment according to such conditions (e.g. change courses in time, suspend the video or make professional suggestions). As the user needs to judge the exercise condition thereof on his/her own, and the user usually does not have the professional knowledge to judge standards, it cannot be ensured that the user can correctly complete training motions and reach training goals, which reduces the training efficiency of the user.
Furthermore, even if some application programs can analyze the user's condition in real time, they still need user-wearable sensors to collect limb motion data of users, and different types of wearable sensors need to be replaced for different training courses. This causes limitation and inconvenience to the exercise training of the users, and thus these application programs are still unable to effectively assist the users in completing the training.
Accordingly, an urgent need exists in the art to provide a technology that can immediately generate follow-up motion suggestions and follow-up motion demonstration videos according to exercise conditions of users without the need of wearable sensors, thereby providing users with exercise assistance.

Exercise assisting device and exercise assisting method


A backlight module is provided with at least one light guide plate each including a plurality of openings; a white reflective film bent to conceal the at least one light guide plate and including a plurality of circuitries, a plurality of paired conductive terminals and a plurality of through holes; and at least one illumination unit disposed under the at least one light guide plate, each of the at least one illumination unit including a circuit member and a plurality of LEDs each disposed in one of the openings. The light emitted by the LEDs is directed to the at least one light guide plate and is further directed out of the white reflective film via the through holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to backlighting and more particularly to such a backlight module including a white reflective film having plasma formed thereon, and an illumination unit having light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light source, and the white reflective film being bent to conceal a light guide plate so that emitted light can be reflected by the bent white reflective film, and it can make the backlight module thinner and simplify the manufacturing processes.
2. Description of Related Art
Membranes are applicable to calculators, electronic scales, computer and keyboards having keys and integrated circuits (ICs). Printed circuit board for the membrane employs plasma as conductive material which is printed on substrate formed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by lithography. Next, the half-finished product is sent to a heater to heat for more than one hour in a temperature of 150-250° C. for curing. The employed plasma is typically heating-type plasma which adheres to other elements when temperature reaches about 150° C. However, the membrane may malfunction and have poor conductibility after such long period time of heating.
Typically, a backlight module and the membrane are provided in a keyboard so that a user can operate the keyboard under poor lighting conditions. The backlight module comprises a reflective plate, a transparent light guide plate disposed on the reflective plate for guiding light and allowing light to pass through, and a light emitting arrangement for emitting light toward the light guide plate. The light is reflected by the reflective plate and is guided by the light guide plate, thereby uniformly directing the light along the light guide plate. The membranes are disposed on the light guide plate. The membranes are formed of transparent material. Thus, a blocking layer (e.g., dark ink or opaque material) in an opaque area is provided to restricted the light only emmited through desired areas.
The light emitting arrangement is provided at one side of the light guide plate. Thus, distal portions of the light guide plate are insufficiently illuminated. Further, the stack construction of the conventional backlight module is relatively thick and its manufacturing process is complicated. Furthermore, the optical passage is formed by the transparent membranes made of PET and the light guide plate made of optical polycarbonate (PC). Silver Ink is provided in the circuit of the membranes for adhering purpose. However, the silver ink can absorb light. Thus, light passing the optical passage may have its strength decreased greatly due to the absorption. As a result, illumination is poor. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.


A system and method for network performance testing are developed. One system includes a control network device configured to send network test performance settings configure at least one data generator and network switches so that each data generator sends test data via a plurality of network entities such as network ports or cable modems, for example. The exemplary system further includes at least one data receiver for receiving the test data from the at least one data generator via the network entities and an entity under testing such as a cable modem termination system, for example. In one embodiment, when a data receiver receives the test data, the data receiver provides the received test data to the control network device that generates a test result record based on the test data received on the data receiver.

The Internet, a world-wide-network of interconnected computers, provides multi-media content including audio, video, graphics and text that requires a large bandwidth for downloading and viewing. Most Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") allow customers to connect to the Internet via a serial telephone line from a Public Switched Telephone Network ("PSTN") at data rates including 14,400 bps, 28,800 bps, 33,600 bps, 56,000 bps and others that are much slower than the about 10 Mbps to 30+Mbps available on a coaxial cable or Hybrid Fiber Coaxial ("HFC") cable system on a cable television network.
With the explosive growth of the Internet, it is desirable to use the larger bandwidth of a cable television network to connect to the Internet and other computer networks. Cable modems, such as those provided by 3Com Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., Motorola Corporation of Arlington Heights, Ill., Cisco Corporation of San Jose, Calif., Scientific-Atlanta, of Norcross, Ga., and others, offer customers a higher-speed connectivity to the Internet, an intranet, Local Area Networks ("LANs") and other computer networks via cable television networks. These cable modems currently support data connections to the Internet and other computer networks via a cable television network with a data rate of up to 30+ Mbps, which is a much larger data rate than can be supported by a modem used over a serial telephone line.
Cable modems access available bandwidth by sending and receiving data through the same coaxial cable that carries cable-television ("CATV") signals, rather than twisted-pair telephone wires used by dial-up and XDSL modems. Cable modems allow a computer user to send and receive information over a cable network. Many cable television networks provide bi-directional cable systems, in which data is sent "downstream", from a cable system "headend" to a customer, as well as "upstream", from the customer back to the headend. The cable system headend is a central location in the cable television network and is responsible for sending cable signals in the downstream direction and receiving cable signals in the upstream direction. An exemplary bi-directional data-over-cable system typically includes a customer premises equipment entity such a customer computer, a cable modem, a cable modem termination system ("CMTS"), a cable television network, and a data network such as the Internet.
A CMTS is located at the headend of a cable system and provides the interface where cable modems access the Internet. A CMTS performs functions such as bandwidth allocation and power level regulations while transmitting and receiving data to and from the cable modems. Both the cable modems and the CMTS modulate digital signals using techniques such as quadrature phase shift keying ("QPSK") modulation and quadrature amplitude modulation ("QAM").
Transmission between cable modems and CMTSs occurs in two separate frequency bands. On most US cable modem systems, downstream (CMTS-to-cable modem) data occupy 6 MHz channels between 50 to 860 MHz, and upstream (cable modem-to-CMTS) data occupy smaller bandwidth (200 kHz to 3.2 MHz) channels between 5 and 42 MHz. The downstream channel, having been used to transmit television signals that require superior transmission channel characteristics, supports complex modulation techniques such as 64-QAM and 256 QAM. Less complex and more robust modulation schemes such as QPSK and 16-QAM are typically used in the upstream channel to counteract the effects of ingress-undesired signals that leak into the cable system.
A modern cable network that supports broadcast television and high-speed data service combines fiber-optic and coaxial cable transmission facilities. Fiber-optic lines carry signals from the CMTS to a fiber node. Fiber-optic transmission lines carry signals over much greater distances than coaxial cables with fewer amplifiers. Reducing the number of amplifiers used on a cable system increases the channel capacity, improves the signal quality and reduces maintenance costs. Once the signals reach a fiber node, they are converted to coaxial cable lines, which carry the signals through the neighborhood to the subscribers' homes. Typically, a single fiber node on a coaxial cable line serves between 500 to 1000 cable service subscribers. However, other systems are possible as well, such as, a Fiber-To-The-Home ("FTTH") system, where an optical node serves a single subscriber and, thus, increases Quality of Service ("QoS") provided for the subscriber.
The distance between a cable modem subscriber and a CMTS dictates the amount of coaxial cable through which the digital signals must travel, and longer runs of cable typically produce more severe traffic losses. Further, the broadband nature of the cable network allows many cable modems to share the same communications media. This means that multiple cable modems are connected to a CMTS through a shared communication link.
Many applications that run on customer premise equipment entities such as personal computers or Voice over IP devices generate traffic at varying rates and generally require that network devices forward the traffic at the rates generated by the applications. Most network applications typically operate over a Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP") that enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange data. The TCP guarantees a delivery of data packets in the order the data packets were sent. As is known in the art, each TCP connection session involves a bi-directional connection process, where a plurality of switches provide high speed switching of data packets and use information in a header of a TCP packets to manage TCP traffic.
Some network applications may be less tolerant to traffic delays or losses than others. If infinite network resources were available, all application traffic could be carried at the application's required rate with no packet loss. However, network resources are not infinite, and test performance systems for testing network equipment are necessary to optimize the network capacity.
Testing of network devices is typically based on a throughput, or the ability to forward packets of various sizes between input (ingress) ports and output (egress) ports, measured in packets per seconds ("pps") with measurable delay (latency) and delay variability (jitter). Typically, the biggest challenge experienced during testing of network devices is the ability to generate enough traffic to determine a point where a device under test starts to drop packets and reaches a saturation point.
One of the existing systems for network performance testing is the Netcom SmartBits™ system. The Netcom SmartBits™ emerged as a default industry standard testing tool for generating large amounts of traffic on many ports and measuring the results for the network performance such as throughput, latency and jiter. The Netcom system generates packets with a fixed-length or variable-length packets while receiving packets, and provides a testing tool for multiple modular ports. However, the Netcom system requires using a separate testing device (testing cards) for each device under testing. On a receiving side, each testing card contains counters to monitor such parameters as a number of packets that were transmitted, a number of packets that were received, byte counts, and collisions, for example. In the Netcom system, a Windows programming interface allows to program individual cards, monitor their status, and view the network performance data generated on each card.
However, the Netcom network testing systems are typically very expensive and limited in the sense that a network system requires a separate card for each network device to be tested in the network. In addition, there are other limitations associated with the Netcom system. Specifically, the Netcom cards place limitations on the types of traffic data that can be generated. For example, it is known in the art, that the Netcom system can generate data packets with IP headers, but cannot generate or test data using TCP sessions. Further, the packets generated on each card of the Netcom system have to be of one type, and sending a plurality of different packets using a single Netcom device is not possible.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary Netcom SmartBits™ system architecture 100 in a data-over-cable system. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes two SmartBits™ devices 104, 106 connected with a link cable 108, where each SmartBits™ device has a plurality of SmartBits™ cards. As mentioned in the proceeding paragraphs and shown in FIG. 1, each SmartBits™ card is connected via a testing network connection (testing connections 110A–110G) to one cable modem (cable modems 114A–114G). FIG. 1 illustrates a two-way data-over-cable system where an upstream connection and a downstream connection are provided via a cable network 118 terminated with a CMTS 116 located at a head-end of the data-over-cable system. As is known in the art, each card has internal logic to perform network performance analysis for a device under testing. Once the performance analysis is completed, the Netcom cards provide the performance analysis data to a control network device 102. The control network device 102 has a graphical user interface functionality and, thus, displays the test results to system administrators. However, as mentioned in the proceeding paragraphs, the Netcom system has the ability to send only one type of packets in one direction of data flow and, thus, in the system shown in FIG. 1, all cards in the devices 104 and 106 generate the same type of packets. Further, the Netcom system has the limited ability to generate different protocols of data packets. The packets generated by the Netcom cards have to be of one type (the same protocol, the size, etc.) and sending a plurality of different packet types using the Netcom tools is not possible.
The existing network performance testing tools are generally limited in their ability to efficiently test networks under varying operating conditions. It is increasingly important to analyze the network conditions without limitations of the existing tools. In addition, eliminating the need for having a separate testing device at each port and providing greater flexibility of the testing tools would provide better means to test network under actual operating conditions. Therefore, it is desirable to develop an efficient and comprehensive network testing system.

System and method for network performance testing


A method for fabricating a thermal inkjet head equipped with symmetrical heaters and a rapid ink refill mechanism and the head fabricated by the method are provided. The method incorporates two thick photoresist deposition processes and a nickel electroplating process. The first thick photoresist deposition process is carried out to form a primary ink chamber and an auxiliary ink chamber in fluid communication with a funnel-shaped manifold and an injector orifice. The second thick photoresist deposition process forms a mold for forming an injector passageway that leads to the injector orifice. The nickel electroplating process provides an orifice plate on top of the inkjet head through which an injector passageway that leads to the injector orifice is provided for injecting ink droplets.

The present invention generally relates to an integrated micro-droplet generator and more particularly, relates to a thermal bubble type inkjet head that is equipped with a rapid ink refill mechanism and off-shooter heater and a method for fabricating the head.
Since the advent of printers, and specifically for low cost printers for personal computers, a variety of inkjet printing mechanisms have been developed and utilized in the industry. These inkjet printing mechanisms include the piezoelectric type, the electrostatic type and the thermal bubble type, etc. After the first thermal inkjet printer becomes commercially available in the early 1980's, there has been a great progress in the development of inkjet printing technology.
In an inkjet printer, a liquid droplet injector is one of the key mechanisms. To provide a high-quality and reliable inkjet printer, the availability of a liquid droplet injector capable of supplying high-quality droplets at high-frequency and high-spacial resolution is critical.
Presently, there are two types of inkjet printers that are available in the marketplace, the piezoelectric type and the thermal type. The thermal inkjet system, also known as thermal bubble inkjet system, as thermally driven bubble system or as bubble jet system utilizes bubble to eject ink droplets out of an ink supply chamber, while piezoelectric printers utilize piezoelectric actuators to pump ink out from a reservoir chamber. The principle of operation for a thermal bubble inkjet system is that an electrical current is first conducted to the heater by an electrode to boil liquid in an ink reservoir chamber. When the liquid is in a boiling state, bubble forms in the liquid and expands and thus functions as a pump to eject a fixed quantity of liquid from the reservoir chamber through an orifice and then forms into droplets. When the electrical current is turned-off, the bubble generated collapses and liquid refills the chamber by capillary force.
When evaluating the performance of a thermal bubble inkjet system, factors such as droplet ejection frequency, cross-talk between adjacent chambers and the generation of satellite droplets are considered. Two of these performance factors, i.e. the satellite droplets, which degrade the sharpness of the image produced and the cross-talk between adjacent chambers and flow channels which decreases the quality and reliability of the inkjet system are frequently encountered. In order to improve the performance of a thermal bubble inkjet system, these drawbacks must be corrected.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for fabricating a thermal bubble inkjet print head with rapid ink refill mechanism and off-shooter heater

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method of controlling vehicle stability includes the steps of obtaining a measured yaw rate from the vehicle, generating a predicted yaw rate based on the measured yaw rate, calculating a first error signal based on a difference between the measured yaw rate and a desired yaw rate, calculating a second error signal based on a difference between the predicted yaw rate and the desired yaw rate, and sending a selected one of the first and second error signals to a yaw controller to conduct stability control. The predicted yaw rate can be generated by sending the measured yaw rate through a lead filter.

Vehicle stability systems may engage anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and/or electronically-controlled limited-slip differentials (ELSDs) to improve vehicle traction and stability. For example, when a vehicle attempts to accelerate or climb on a split-mu, low-high friction surface, the ABS and the ELSD may be controlled to send more driving torque to the driven wheel so the vehicle can maintain longitudinal motion, sending more traction torque to the higher friction wheel. However, at higher vehicle speeds, yaw stability must be carefully controlled, particularly near the vehicle's stability limit, to prevent undesired yaw motion so the vehicle does not deviate laterally from the driver's intended direction.
Generally, yaw control in the stability system can be conducted by comparing a desired vehicle yaw rate with a measured vehicle yaw rate obtained from an on-board Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor. The desired yaw rate can be calculated in real time using a vehicle model calibrated with the desired vehicle handling, characteristics. When the measured yaw rate differs from the desired yaw rate, a yaw controller is triggered to correct the yaw rate and reduce the difference between the measured and desired values.
A fast response time is desirable to achieve proper vehicle yaw control. However, actuator and sensor delay can significantly delay corrections to an input in the yaw controller and therefore delay engagement and disengagement of the ABS and/or the ELSD for stability control. This delay can reduce the overall effectiveness of the vehicle yaw control system. Thus, it is important to minimize delays in both engaging and disengaging the vehicle stability system.
There is a desire for a yaw control that has a fast response time to minimize response time delay in a vehicle stability system.

Predictive vehicle stability control method


An underwater mining machine includes a chassis mounted on a powered drive arrangement for driving the chassis on an underwater surface, the chassis having a front end and a rear end and being adapted to be manoeuvrable and driven in at least a forward direction, a rotatable cutting drum secured to a boom which is attached to a cradle mounted on the chassis, and material gathering arms adapted to gather material which has been excavated or broken up by the cutting drum.

THIS invention relates to an underwater mining machine of the type used to recover mineral bearing deposits from the sea bed or other underwater location
Underwater mining machines are adapted to gather material from the seabed and transport the material to a processing vessel operating on the surface. The mining machine is generally unmanned and will be controlled by an operator situated on the vessel who is provided with control information from sensors, on board cameras, and other information gathering devices located on the mining machine.
Prior art machines are described in, for example, the specifications of South African patent nos. 95/7262 and 92/6858.
In many underwater mining situations the material to be recovered from the seabed is either covered by an overburden of hard or compacted material, or is itself relatively homogenous and compacted and therefore needs to be broken up before it can be transported to the surface. Diamond bearing gravels, for example, are often covered by an overburden of sand and rock which makes recovery of the gravels that much more problematic.
Prior art machines have not always had the capability of effectively or efficiently dealing with a deep overburden or rock outcrop of any significant size or hardness. Also, prior art machines in attempting to break up the overburden often leave an uneven track on which the machine must travel causing problems with the forward movement of the machine and also decreasing the efficiency of the gathering process.

8 Willowdale, Rosen Street, Corlett Gardens


A method includes performing a pre-reading on memory cells selected from a plurality of memory cells according to a pre-read voltage and determining whether the selected memory cells each are read as a first logical value or a second logical value, comparing a number of memory cells read as the first logical value among the selected memory cells with a predetermined number, and when the number of selected memory cells read as the first logical value is smaller than the predetermined number, performing a first main reading of the selected memory cells, the first main reading adapted to read a memory cell that stores multiple bits.

1. Field of Invention
Embodiments relate to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device having a plurality of memory cells and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices are memory devices implemented using semiconductor materials such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and the like. The semiconductor memory devices are classified into volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices
Volatile memory devices are memory devices in which stored data is lost when their power supplies are interrupted. The volatile memory devices include static random access memories (SRAMs), dynamic RAMs (DRAMs), synchronous DRAMs (SDRAMs), and the like. Nonvolatile memory devices are memory devices that retain stored data even when their power supplies are interrupted. The nonvolatile memory devices include read only memories (ROMs), programmable ROMs (PROMs), erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), flash memories, phase-change RAMs (PRAM), magnetic RAMs (MRAMs), resistive RAMs (RRAMs), ferroelectric RAMs (FRAMs), and the like. Flash memories are classified into a NOR type and a NAND type.

Semiconductor memory device including plurality of memory cells and method of operating the same


Disclosed is a novel gene and growth arrest gene product encoded by the gene. Expression of the growth arrest gene B4B results in inhibition of cellular proliferation. The gene and gene product serve as markers of cancerous or pre-cancerous conditions, and as markers of immune states.

B lymphocyte development and differentiation are important in establishing and maintaining the immune response in mammalian species. Mature, immunoglobulin-secreting B cells are the end result of a complex process of differentiation from hematopoietic progenitors that originate in the bone marrow.
The differentiation program of B lymphocytes involves a complex set of molecular signals, perhaps the most fundamental of which is productive rearrangement of the immunoglobulin (Ig) variable domain genetic locus. During B cell ontogeny, productive rearrangement of the Ig gene locus appears to be the central event permitting progression of B cell differentiation to the mature stages of the memory B cell and Ig-secreting plasma cell; however, correct joining of the V, D and J regions of the heavy chain variable domain with the C region to form functional heavy chain polypeptides does not occur in every progenitor B cell.
While positive selection is thought to facilitate continued viability and expansion of B cells possessing productive Ig rearrangements, it has been shown that uncharacterized mechanisms of negative selection, other than apoptosis regulated by bcl-2 and fas, are also involved in the elimination of cells containing nonproductive Ig gene rearrangements (Tarlinton, 1994). In fact, a majority of candidate B cells fail in this early differentiative step and are eliminated from the B cell repertoire. In contrast, and possibly as a result of the breakdown of the various forms of elimination, cells in almost any stage of B cell differentiation are known to undergo neoplastic immortalization, resulting in the appearance of various forms of leukemia and lymphoma when the body's ability to identify and destroy such cells breaks down (Lukens, 1993). Thus, means for early detection of malformed cells would be useful in effecting early diagnosis and treatment of leukemia. Forming the basis for the present invention is the identification of a novel gene, termed "B4B." Even though expression of B4B mRNA can be detected in multiple tissues, expression of the protein which is encoded by the B4B gene is tightly restricted to a subset of progenitor/pre-B cells which do not express cytoplasmic .mu.-chains. Such cells may therefore lack productive Ig gene rearrangements, and may be superfluous to the body. According to an important feature of the present invention it is further recognized that expression in cells of B4B induces inhibition of cellular growth. Accordingly, B4B antigen expression serves as a useful cell marker, and induction of such expression may prevent unwanted cellular proliferation. These and other useful features of the invention are described in the sections that follow.

Growth arrest gene compositions and methods


A system and method for providing an optical coupler is disclosed. In one aspect, the method and system include a plurality of optical fibers, a first covering, and a second covering. The plurality of optical fibers further include a first end, a second end, a fused portion between the first end and the second end, a first interface between the first end and the fused portion, and a second interface between the second end and fused portion. The first and second coverings enclose substantially all of the first and second interfaces, respectively. In a second aspect, the method and system include a plurality of optical fibers and a covering. The plurality of optical fibers further include a first end, a second end, a fused portion between the first end and the second end, a first interface between the first end and the fused portion, and a second interface between the fused portion and the second end. The covering encloses substantially all of the fused portion, the first interface, and the second interface.

Conventional optical couplers are used to combine or divide optical signal, for example an optic signal in a fiber optic cable. Conventional optical couplers are comprised of a plurality of fiber optic cables. Where an optical signal is to be split, the number of cables outputting a signal is greater than the number of cables inputting the signal. Similarly, where an optic signal is to be combined, the number of cables outputting a signal is less than the number of cables inputting the signal.
In order to form a conventional optic coupler, several fiber optic cables are fused together. In order to fuse the fibers, the fibers are typically placed in contact with each other, and heated and placed under tension. As the fibers are heated and drawn, the fibers fuse. To obtain a different number of input fibers than output fibers, a portion of each of a predetermined number of fibers is removed.
An important property of an optical coupler is reliability. For example, the Bellcore standard for fiber optic components provides several standards for optical coupler reliability, including temperature cycling, impact, and vibration standards. The impact, or mechanical shock standard, requires that optical couplers be capable of withstanding eight drops on each of three mutually perpendicular axes from a height of 1.8 meters (six feet). An optical coupler should be able to withstand having this impact test repeated five times. Similarly, optical couplers should pass a vibration test to meet Bellcore vibration standards. The vibration test provides a sinusoidal vibration having a frequency of ten Hertz to two thousand Hertz with an amplitude of 20G (or 1.52 millimeters or 0.0060 inches double amplitude). The frequency is swept from ten Hertz to two thousand Hertz and back within 20 minutes. This sweep cycle is repeated twelve times for in each of three mutually perpendicular directions to complete the test. An optical coupler should meet these standards.
Impact and vibration standards specify the impact and vibrations an optical coupler must withstand before failure. For example, when optical couplers are shipped to consumers, the couplers may be dropped. If the optical coupler cannot withstand the fall, it will fail. Similarly, the vibrations an optical coupler can withstand prior to failure affect its reliability.
Conventional optical couplers are able to withstand only a relatively small impact or small vibrations prior to failure. Thus, the reliability of typical optical couplers is greatly reduced by impacts or vibrations.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for providing an optical coupler with increased resistance to failure due to impacts and vibrations and, therefore, greater reliability. The present invention addresses such a need.

Low cost and easy to use improved optical coupler


A transmitting apparatus for an interactive communication system using a broadcast wave, which includes a first storage unit, a second storage unit, and a transmitting unit. The first storage unit stores a plurality of frames of image data. The second storage unit stores control information which shows links between said plurality of frames of image data stored in the first storage unit, and which indicates a combining of a supplementary design with the image data. These supplementary designs are stored by a receiving apparatus and are combined with the image represented by the image data. The transmitting unit repeatedly transmits a predetermined number of frames of image data together with corresponding control information.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data communication system, and to a data transmitting apparatus and data receiving apparatus, where simulated bidirectional communication processing is performed between a data transmitting apparatus and a data receiving apparatus using one-way communication, such as a television (TV) broadcast.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It is now possible to connect personal computers in the home to networks using a standard telephone line and so receive a great variety of information provided by servers around the world. The most representative example of such a network is the World Wide Web (WWW) on the Internet. WWW servers transmit a combination of image information and control information, which has the image information displayed within text information, to personal computers as the data for displaying a one-page image on the personal computer's screen. When such pages are made up of text information alone, only control information for displaying this text information is transmitted. This control information is written using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), with browser software executed by the personal computer decoding and executing the HTML code to display each page on the WWW which is downloaded by the user. Here, information indicating a link to another page can be attached to character strings and images in a page, so that when the user makes a selection operation for such a character string or image using a mouse, for example, the browser will access the WWW server that provides the indicated page and will obtain the information for displaying this new page. On obtaining this information, the browser will decode and execute its content to display the new page.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 7-322226 (1995) discloses a method for multiplexing control information that can generate the kind of interactive display described above into a TV broadcast which is transmitted using a TV broadcast ground wave. In this method, the program transmitting apparatus multiplexes data, written in a language which resembles HTML for composing an interactive screen, into a program broadcast before transmitting. On receiving this broadcast, the program receiving apparatus interprets the composition of the interactive screen and combines basic display elements which have been stored inside its construction in accordance with the indicated composition to display the interactive screen.
The above method has a major drawback in that the control information is written in a language for indicating a variety of control operations which are performed for display, so that the receiving apparatus needs to interpret and execute these control operations one by one to perform display. Additionally, most high resolution images provided by WWW servers are compressed using complex techniques, so that when a receiving apparatus attempts to display such image information, it is usually necessary to perform decompression in addition to the processes for display in accordance with the control information. Since such complex processing is required, the load of the receiving apparatus is considerable, which greatly increases the cost of the necessary hardware for the receiving apparatus. This problem makes this communication method unsuitable for a TV broadcast communication system in which transmission is performed from a small number of transmitting apparatuses to a large number of receiving apparatuses.

Interactive data communication system with unidirectionally transmitted broadcast wave

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


One embodiment of the invention includes a cooling tank reservoir with a pressure release valve and a cooling fluid conduit wrapped around the pressure release valve.

Like conventional combustion engine systems, fuel cell systems include a coolant system, which circulates a cooling fluid through a fuel cell stack, for example, through bipolar plates of the fuel cell stack, to control the operating temperature of the fuel cell within a desired temperature range. A radiator removes heat from the coolant. The radiator is connected to a coolant tank reservoir. The radiator may have a pressure valve which opens to allow coolant in the radiator to flow over into the coolant tank reservoir if a certain pressure in the radiator is reached. However, some radiators may not include such a pressure valve. Hydrogen or other gases used as a reactant gas in the fuel cell may make its way into the cooling system and accumulate in the coolant tank reservoir. The cooling tank reservoir may also include a valve designed to release the gases, such as hydrogen accumulated in the headspace of the coolant tank reservoir at a certain pressure.


An image sensor for capturing an image includes a photosensitive area for receiving incident light; a substance placed covering a portion of the photosensitive area which substance includes a first index of refraction; and a plurality of electrodes positioned adjacent the substance having a dielectric placed between a portion of the electrodes, which dielectric includes a second index of refraction lower than the first index of refraction.

Referring to FIG. 1, prior art image sensors 10 include a plurality of electrodes 15 stacked vertically beside a photosensitive area 20, and a transparent dielectric 30 is disposed over the photosensitive area 20 and between the electrodes. A microlens 40 rests on a transparent spacer 50 over the dielectric for focusing the incident light (depicted by the arrows) onto the photosensitive area 20. The majority of the incident light passes through the microlens 40 and overlaying dielectric 30 and onto the photosensitive area 20. Upon passing through the microlens 40 and subsequently, a portion of the light, however, is dispersed outwardly. As a consequent, this dispersed light does not reach the photosensitive area 20.
Although the currently known and utilized image sensors and method for making such image sensors are satisfactory, they include drawbacks. As mentioned above, a portion of the light passes between the electrodes and is not directed toward the photosensitive area 20, and as a result, there is an inherent inefficiency resulting from this mis-directed light.
Consequently, a need exists for an image sensor and a method for making such image sensors in which this inefficiency is eliminated

Image sensor having multiple layers of dielectrics adjacent the photosensitive area for improved quantum efficiency


A method and system for estimating the volume of blood ejected from the left ventricle of the heart to a succeeding chamber/conduit, or vice-versa, while imaging the intersection of such structures is described. The process utilizes either the M-mode to estimate volume differences in a view of the ventricle over time or Doppler processing techniques to obtain flow profiles across intersections (e.g., valves), or blood vessels, which are then utilized to calculate output. This process can be combined with ECG guidance/triggering to measure/track changes in output from beat to beat, or during the course of an evaluation or therapeutic procedure. This process can be specifically used for the placement of permanent pacemaker electrodes.

Volumetric output of blood from the heart and/or circulatory system are of interest in various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Such measurements are of significant interest during electrophysiological evaluation/therapy to first evaluate the extent of dysfunction due to arrhythmia and subsequently to judge the effect/effectiveness of any ablations/therapeutic procedures that are carried out on the cardiac muscle/conduction system. Iwa et al., Eur. J. Cardithorac. Surg., 5, 191–197 (1991).
Ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice, especially in cardiology, since this modality offers real-time imaging capabilities of the moving heart. Further, advances through Doppler techniques allow the physician to visualize as well as measure blood flow. Pulse wave and continuous wave Doppler have proven to be quite accurate, and an effective way of evaluating flow through various parts of the circulatory system, especially the heart. Tortoli et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 28, 249–257 (2002); Mohan et al., Pediatr. Cardiol. 23, 58–61 (2002); Ogawa et al., J. Vasc. Surg., 35, 527–531 (2002); Pislaru et al., J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., 38, 1748–1756 (2001).
Other technologies, including washout curves of contrast agents have been proposed to measure flow volume, especially to compensate for loss of signal quality due to imaging depth. Krishna et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 23, 453–459 (1997); Schrope et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 19, 567–579 (1993).
However, till recent advances in miniaturized ultrasonic transducers, physicians were limited to only certain angles of view, thus limiting the range and effectiveness of possible measurements. Further, given the depth of imaging required by such classical approaches, associated interrogation frequency limitations due to attenuation restricted the accuracy of measurement. Krishna et al., Phys. Med. Biol., 44, 681–694 (1999). With the recent introduction of catheter based transducers for imaging the heart from either the vena-cava or even from within the heart, such limitations on frequency of interrogation and angle of view are not applicable.
One specific need for this invention is for the permanent placement of cardiac pacing electrodes. Cardiac pacing has been around for many years, and essentially involves the placement of a permanent electrode in the right ventricle to quicken the pace of an otherwise slow heart. A new therapy has recently been introduced to the market, Which involves pacing of the left ventricle in conjunction with the right ventricle in an effort to "resynchronize" the heart, that is, to coordinate the left ventricle's contraction in time with the contraction of the right ventricle. One problem in the current therapy is the optimization of the placement of the left ventricular electrode so as to provide maximum therapy. This invention addresses this problem by providing intracardiac ultrasound imaging and ultrasound Doppler as a new tool in the placement of the electrode.

Method and system for using ultrasound in cardiac diagnosis and therapy


Apparatus for conducting fluid and preventing its icing have a fluid line structure and a tubular fluid line element located in that fluid line structure and having a cross-section sufficient for a desired throughput of fluid. A heater element is located inside the fluid line structure and is in heat-transfer relationship with an inside of the tubular fluid line element. Such heater element may be an electric heater element inside the fluid line structure encompassing the tubular fluid line element in heat-transfer relationship with an inside of that tubular fluid line element. A frangible or other fluid line nipple may be removably connected to the fluid line structure, and the tubular fluid line element may extend from that fluid line structure to that fluid line nipple. A heat transfer reduction may be provided between the electric heater element and the fluid line structure outside of the tubular fluid line element.

Icing, that is solidification of fluid, is a problem wherever fluid is supposed to flow in a relatively low-temperature environment. By way of example, icing aboard aircraft has continued to be a problem and water lines are particularly vulnerable. In this respect, the expression "water" covers not only potable or pure water, but also water containing additives, sometimes called "blue water," and waste or grey water with entrained liquids and largely emulsified solids. However, the utility of the invention is not limited to the prevention of icing of water, but extends to a prevention of icing, that is low temperature solidification, of other fluids in various fields where preservation of fluid movement or mobility is important.
As one of many examples, it is important that no ice plug form in water or other fluid line assemblies. For one thing, such line assemblies have to be ready for water or other fluid flow or servicing at all times. Moreover, the formation of ice plugs in such assemblies regularly prompts service personnel to stab into such lines with ice picks and other implements which can damage the assembly.
By way of remedial action, electrically heated jackets have been provided over part of the outside of the assembly. Typically, such electric heating devices had to be formed or molded to the water line, elbow or other fitting to be heated. Such type of heating required large amounts of power dissipation in order to generate enough heat to prevent internal ice formations. For one thing, such conventional heaters were beset by practically inevitable heat transfer problems between the inside of the heater and the adjacent outside of the water line or fitting, which required a corresponding increase of the electric energy energizing the heating element, and which in turn correspondingly loaded the onboard power supply and shortened the useful life of the heating element. The problem was aggravated by the presence of O-rings in the water line fitting assembly which naturally impeded heat flow to the water in the assembly. In consequence, conventional heater approaches often elevated the surface temperature of water line components beyond safe levels and safety guidelines.
Similar approaches using coiled tubular heating elements tended to suffer from dielectric breakdown.
Problems also exist in other areas, such as in cryogenics, where moving fluids have to be maintained in a certain state, and where O-rings and other seals have to be maintained at certain temperatures.


A cage (1) for cylindrical rolling elements (5) comprising two side rings (2, 3) connected to each other by circumferentially uniformly spaced crossbars (4) so that receiving pockets (6) are formed for the rolling elements (5) is characterized in that opposing end surfaces (8) of the pockets (6) comprise projections (11) which extend inwards in axial direction and bear against end faces of the rolling elements (5) which prevents an axial offset between the rolling elements (5) and the cage (1) so that after insertion and suspension of the first rolling element (5), the cage (1) can be filled with the rest of the rolling elements (5) without their being damaged.

A cage of the above type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,985. For the installation of cages of this type in double rim bearings, as shown for example on Page 107 of INA Catalogue 306, the cylindrical rolling elements are pushed into the cage in radial direction from the inside to the outside. During this procedure, it often happens that the cage and the rolling elements are offset from one another i.e., there is no axial correspondence of position between the cage pocket and the rolling element, so that the rolling elements project beyond the axial length of the pockets into the region of the side rings of the cage. The side rings of the cage are damaged during the radial insertion of the rolling elements and spalling or tearing-out of the material of the cage occurs which can lead to a high reject rate of the bearings if the broken-off material penetrates into the raceway region. In the case of sleeve bearings i.e., bearings with very narrow rims, there exists the additional danger of the cage protruding beyond the rims in axial direction.
Another drawback of such cage and rolling element assemblies is the frequently occurring large rolling element sag i.e., the rolling elements fall downwards within the pockets due to the force of gravity so that a gap is formed between their rolling surface and the outer raceway. Due to this sag, the end face of a shaft introduced into the bearing comes to abut against the end faces of individual cylindrical rollers or against the end faces of the side rings of the cage itself which means that the insertion of the shaft is rather problematic so that an automatic assembly is rendered more difficult.


A method and apparatus for purifying an aqueous suspension comprising feeding an aqueous suspension containing fine particles comprising an inorganic component from the outer surface of a wavy hollow fiber membrane having an outer diameter of from 0.5 to 3.1 mm to filter, followed by physical wash of the hollow fiber membrane. The purifying method can reduce the damage of the membrane outer surface during the physical wash step, prevent open pores on the surface from covering and achieve stable filtration. The hollow fiber membrane bundle can be produced by having a pulsation flow contacted with the hollow fiber material being extruded from the double spinning nozzle under specific conditions and cooling and solidifying or coagulating it while shaking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for purifying an aqueous suspension with a module comprising wavy hollow fiber membranes. Particularly, the present invention relates to a method for purifying an aqueous suspension, for example, tap water such as river water, lake water, marsh water and ground water; water for industrial use; waste water; secondary treatment waste water; industrial sewage; domestic sewage; human waste; sea water and the like with the module.
Further, the present invention is also directed to a bundle of wavy hollow fiber membranes, a process for producing the same, and a hollow fiber membrane module comprising the same.
2. Related Art
Heretofore, various methods for purifying aqueous suspensions such as tap water, water for industrial use, waste water, industrial sewage, domestic sewage, human waste, sea water and the like with a hollow fiber membrane have been known. In particular, a purifying method according to so-called external pressure filtration, in which raw water permeates in the direction from the outer to inner surface of a hollow fiber membrane, can secure a larger membrane area contributing to filtration per unit volume when compared to so-called internal pressure filtration, in which raw water permeates in the direction from the inner to outer surface of a hollow fiber membrane. Therefore external pressure filtration is advantageously used in the field wherein minimization of water production cost is required, for example, a water-treatment field such as turbidity removal for waterworks.
In the above method for purifying aqueous suspensions with hollow fiber membranes, suspended or organic materials having a size bigger than the pore diameter of the membranes, are hindered on the membrane surface to cause a so-called concentration polarization or form a cake layer. Moreover, the organic materials in aqueous suspension clog the pores of membranes or adhere to the inner network structure of membranes. As a result, the filtration flux upon filtering the raw water is decreased to about one tenth of that upon filtering pure water. Accordingly, there have been also known purifying methods in which physical wash of membranes is regularly practiced after the filtration in order to achieve a more stable filtration flux.
Specifically, it has been known to carry out, after a certain-term filtration, backward wash comprising feeding a part of filtrate in the reverse direction to the filtration, i.e., in the direction from the filtrate side to the raw water side (hereinafter simply referred to as back wash), air-scrubbing comprising supplying compressed gases and/or compressed air and raw water in the direction from the lower to upper part of the hollow fiber membrane module filled with water to shake fibers and discharge suspended solids accumulating among the hollow fiber membranes from the system, and the like. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-19002 discloses a method in which a bubble generation nozzle is arranged on the side of or down the hollow fiber membranes in the hollow fiber membrane storage container, and a gas is injected therefrom together with back wash.
On the other hand, as a membrane which can be used for the above-mentioned purifying method, a reverse osmosis membrane, an ultrafiltration membrane, a microfiltration membrane, a gas separation membrane, a nanofilter, and a deairing membrane have been known. These membranes are not used alone but used in plural, i.e., in the form of a hollow fiber membrane module. The membrane module is prepared by mounting a plurality of the membranes in a module case, sealing at least one edge thereof with a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, and cutting the bonded and fixed portion to open a hollow portion. Such a module is used in various fluid treatment fields, for instance, a reverse osmosis membrane module is used for desalination of sea water or brine, production of primary pure water of ultra-pure water, and concentration of fruit juice or milk; an ultrafiltration membrane module for collection of electrodeposition paints, production of pyrogen-free water, treatment of waste water, concentration of enzymes, final filtration of ultra-pure water, and turbidity removal from tap water or waste water; a microfiltration membrane module for turbidity removal from tap water or waste water, treatment of concentrated water, germ removal and purification of fermentation liquid, and fine particle removal from chemicals, a gas separation membrane module for steam removal, condensation of hydrogen, condensation or enrichment of oxygen, condensation or enrichment of nitrogen, and condensation of carbon dioxide; a nanofilter module for removal of agricultural chemicals or halogenated organic compounds; and a deairing membrane module for deairing of water and aqueous solution. The hollow fiber membranes per se have also been studied. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.64-22308 discloses the art using an external pressure filtration type hollow fiber membrane module wherein hollow fibers having wavy or spiral curls at least in a part thereof are mounted instead of the conventional straight hollow fiber membrane in order to prevent such a mutual clinging of the hollow fibers that hinders raw water from flowing toward the center of the module and to use almost all the hollow fibers mounted in the module for effective filtration.
We, the present inventors, have made studies on a purifying method enabling a stable filtration.
In particular, we have made studies focusing on the fact that the hollow fiber membrane surface is considerably damaged when the aqueous suspension comprising fine particles containing an inorganic component is purified according to an external pressure filtration method taking a step of physical wash such as back wash and air-scrubbing.
As a result, we have found that when an inorganic component is contained in the suspended solid accumulating among hollow fiber membranes, the outer surfaces of the membranes rub against each other through the suspended solids at the physical wash step and pores on the surface of the membranes are covered with the result that the stability of the filtration operation is deteriorated. Further, we have found that the continuation of such a phenomenon may result in the breakage of the membranes.
As the result of our extensive and intensive studies, we successfully provided, by using a bundle of hollow fiber membranes having specific waves, diameter and further bulkiness, a purifying method enabling a stable filtration, in which the damage of membrane surfaces caused by an inorganic component at the physical wash step, is unexpectedly decreased.
Moreover, in the production of a hollow fiber membrane comprising extruding membrane production raw liquid followed by cooling and then solidification or coagulation, we have also succeeded in efficiently producing a bundle having specific waves, diameter and further bulkiness as described above by contacting a pulsation flow with hollow fiber materials under specific conditions to vibrate and cooling and solidifying or coagulating the hollow fiber materials while vibrating.
Namely, it is an object of the present invention to provide a purifying method enabling stable filtration, in which, during the physical wash step following filtration of aqueous suspension, the external surfaces of hollow fiber membranes is prevented from rubbing against each other through suspended solids in the aqueous suspension containing an inorganic component, and the covering of open pores on the surface of hollow fiber membranes is hindered. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a bundle of the hollow fiber membranes which is used for the purifying method, a process for producing the bundle, and a module mounting the bundle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a purifying method enabling a stable filtration, in which the efficiency of the physical wash to discharge suspended solids accumulating among hollow fiber membranes is improved without damaging the surface of the hollow fiber membranes. It is also another object of the present invention to provide a bundle which can be used for the purifying method, a method for producing the membrane bundle, and a module mounting the bundle.
Insufficient physical wash may cause accumulation of suspended solids in the hollow fiber membrane bundle so that the membranes cling to each other in the shape of a rod. In such a case, raw water cannot be supplied into the bundle with the result that the amount of the filtrate to be recovered is seriously decreased. Additionally, if physical wash is conducted in the state that the hollow fiber membranes are clinging to each other in a rod shape, the hollow fiber membranes may be broken by an excessive external force toward the horizontal direction The present invention also solves such problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bundle capable of decreasing defects caused upon bonding and fixing a bundle to a module case even if a bonding agent to be employed has a high initial viscosity before hardening or the bundle is bonded and fixed to a large-scale module case with a large diameter, and to provide a process for producing the bundle.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention can be achieved by the following.
1) A method for purifying aqueous suspension comprising feeding aqueous suspension containing a fine particle comprising an inorganic component from the outer surface of a wavy hollow fiber membrane having an outer diameter of from 0.5 to 3.1 mm to filter, followed by physical wash of the hollow fiber membrane.
2) A hollow fiber membrane bundle which is prepared by collecting a plurality of wavy hollow fiber membranes so as to orient in the same direction with a bulkiness of from 1.45 to 2.00, wherein the membrane has an inner diameter of from 0.3 to 1.7 mm, an outer diameter of from 0.5 to 3.1 mm, a membrane thickness of from 0.1 to 0.7 mm, and a flatness of from 0.8 to 1.0.
3) A method for producing a hollow fiber membrane bundle comprising the steps of:
i) extruding membrane production raw liquid in the form of a hollow fiber through a co-axial tube-in-orifice spinning nozzle to obtain a hollow fiber material,
ii) cooling and solidifying or coagulating the hollow fiber material to obtain a hollow fiber membrane, and
iii) collecting a plurality of the thus-obtained hollow fiber membranes so as to orient in the same direction;
wherein a pulsation flow is contacted with the hollow fiber material before or during the cooling and solidifying step or the coagulating step.
4) A hollow fiber membrane module, wherein a plurality of wavy hollow fiber membranes each having an inner diameter of 0.3 to 1.7 mm, an outer diameter of 0.5 to 3.1 mm, a membrane thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 mm and a flatness of 0.8 to 1.0 is collected so as to orient in the same direction and mounted with a packing ratio of from 35 to 55%.


This invention relates to the method of using neurotrophic pipecolic acid derivative compounds having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins as inhibitors of the enzyme activity associated with immunophilin proteins, and particularly inhibitors of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase or rotamase enzyme activity to stimulate or promote neuronal growth or regeneration.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the method of using neurotrophic pipecolic acid derivative compounds having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins as inhibitors of the enzyme activity associated with immunophilin proteins, and particularly inhibitors of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase or rotamase enzyme activity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term immunophilin refers to a number of proteins that serve as receptors for the principal immunosuppressant drugs, cyclosporin A (CsA), FK506, and rapamycin. Known classes of immunophilins are cyclophilins, and FK506 binding proteins, such as FKBP. Cyclosporin A binds to cyclophilin while FK506 and rapamycin bind to FKBP. These immunophilin-drug complexes interface with a variety of intracellular signal transduction systems, especially in the immune system and the nervous system.
Immunophilins are known to have peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) or rotamase enzyme activity. It has been determined that rotamase activity has a role in the catalyzation of the interconversion of the cis and trans isomer of immunophilin proteins.
Immunophilins were originally discovered and studied in immune tissue. It was initially postulated by those skilled in the art that inhibition of the immunophilins rotamase activity leads to the inhibition of T-cell proliferation, thereby causing the immunosuppressive action exhibited by immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclosporin A, FK506, and rapamycin. Further study has shown that the inhibition of rotamase activity, in and of itself, is not sufficient for immunosuppressant activity. Schreiber et al. Science 1990, 250, 556-559. Instead immunosuppression appears to stem from the formulation of a complex of immunosuppressant drugs and immunophilins. It has been shown that the immunophilin-drug complexes interact with ternary protein targets as their mode of action. Schreiber et al., Cell 1991, 66, 807-815. In the case of FKBP-FK506 and FKBP-CsA, the drug-immunophilin complexes bind to the enzyme calcineurin, inhibiting T-cell receptor signalling leading to T-cell proliferation. Similarly, the complex of rapamycin and FKBP interacts with the RAFT1/FRAP protein and inhibits signalling from the IL-2 receptor.
Immunophilins have been found to be present at high concentrations in the central nervous system. Immunophilins are enriched 10-50 times more in the central nervous system than in the immune system. Within neural tissues, immunophilins appear to influence nitric oxide synthesis, neurotransmitter release, and neuronal process extension.
Nitric oxide serves several roles in the body. In the brain, nitric oxide appears to be a neurotransmitter. It is formed, from arginine, by nitric oxide synthetase which oxidizes the guanidino group of arginine forming nitric oxide and citrulline. Stimulation of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptors rapidly and markedly activates nitric oxide synthetase and stimulates cGMP formation. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthetase with arginine derivatives such as nitroarginine blocks the glutamate induced increase in cGMP levels. Nitric oxide synthetase is a calcium-calmodulin requiring enzyme and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation stimulates nitric oxide synthetase activity because the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor possesses a calcium channel which is opened by glutamate stimulation, allowing calcium to rush into the cells and activate the nitric oxide synthetase.
Glutamate is a physiologic neurotransmitter. However, when released in excess, glutamate elicits neurotoxicity via N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors. Treatment of cerebral cortical neuronal cultures with glutamate or N-methyl-d-aspartate kills up to 90% of neurons and these effects are blocked by N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist drugs. This N-methyl-d-aspartate neurotoxicity is thought to be a major contributor to neuronal damage following vascular stroke. Thus, there is a massive release of glutamate following cerebral vascular occlusion and numerous N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonists block stroke damage. Phosphorylation of nitric oxide synthetase inhibits its catalytic activity. By enhancing nitric oxide synthetase phosphorylation, FK506 might functionally inhibit nitric oxide formation and thus block glutamate neurotoxicity. Indeed, low concentrations of FK506 and cyclosporin A both block N-methyl-d-aspartate neurotoxicity in cortical cultures. The mediating role of FKBP is evident, as rapamycin reverses the therapeutic effect of FK506. Presumably FK506, already marketed as an immunosuppressant, could be clinically employed in stroke patients.
FK506 also augments the phosphorylation of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP43). GAP43 is involved in neuronal process extension and its phosphorylation appears to augment this activity. Accordingly, the effects of FK506 rapamycin and cyclosporin in neuronal process extension have been examined using PC12 cells. PC12 cells are a continuous line of neuronal-like cells which extend neurites when stimulated by nerve growth factor (NGF).
Surprisingly, it has been found that picomolar concentrations of an immunosuppressant such as FK506 and rapamycin stimulate neurite out growth in PC12 cells and sensory nervous, namely dorsal root ganglion cells (DRGs). Lyons et al. proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 3191-3195. In whole animal experiments, FK506 has been shown to stimulate nerve regeneration following facial nerve injury and results in functional recovery in animals with sciatic nerve lesions.
More particularly, it has been found that drugs with a high affinity for FKBP are potent rotamase inhibitors and exhibit excellent neurotrophic effects. Snyder et al., xe2x80x9cImmunophilins and the Nervous Systemxe2x80x9d, Nature Medicine, Volume 1, No. 1, Jan. 1995, 32-37. These findings suggest the use of immunosuppressants in treating various peripheral neuropathies and enhancing neuronal regrowth in the central nervous system (CNS). Studies have demonstrated that neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer""s disease, Parkinson""s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may occur due to the loss, or decreased availability, of a neurotrophic substance specific for a particular population of neurons affected in the disorder.
Several neurotrophic factors effecting specific neuronal populations in the central nervous system have been identified. For example, it has been hypothesized that Alzheimer""s disease results from a decrease or loss of nerve growth factor (NGF). It has thus been proposed to treat Alzeheimer""s patients with exogenous nerve growth factor or other neurotrophic proteins such as brain derived growth factor, glial derived growth factor, ciliary neurotrophic factor, and neurotropin-3 to increase the survival of degenerating neuronal populations.
Clinical application of these proteins in various neurological disease states is hampered by difficulties in the delivery and bioavailability of large proteins to nervous system targets. By contrast, immunosuppressant drugs with neurotrophic activity are relatively small and display excellent bioavailability and specificity. However, when administered chronically, immunosuppressants exhibit a number of potentially serious side effects including nephrotoxicity, such as impairment of glomerular filtration and irreversible interstitial fibrosis (Kopp et al., 1991, J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 1:162); neurological deficits, such as involuntary tremors, or non-specific cerebral angina such as non-localized headaches (De Groen et al., 1987, N. Engl. J. Med. 317:861); and vascular hypertension with complications resulting therefrom (Kahan et al., 1989 N. Engl. J. Med. 321: 1725).
The present invention provides non-immunosuppressive as well as immunosuppressive p-ipecolic acid derivative cmpounds containing small molecule FKBP rotamase inhibitors which are extremely potent in augmenting neurite outgrowth, and for promoting neuronal growth, and regeneration in various neuropathological situations where neuronal repair can be facilitated including peripheral nerve damage by physical injury or disease state such as diabetes, physical damage to the central nervous system (spinal cord and brain), brain damage associated with stroke, and for the treatment of neurological disorders relating to neurodegeneration, including Parkinson""s disease, Alzheimer""s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This invention relates to the method of using neurotrophic pipecolic acid derivative compounds having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins as inhibitors of the enzyme activity associated with immunophilin proteins, and particularly inhibitors of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase or rotamase enzyme activity.
A preferred embodiment of this invention is a method of treating a neurological disorder in an animal, comprising:
administering to an animal an effective amount of a pipecolic acid derivative having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins to stimulate growth of damaged peripheral nerves or to promote neuronal regeneration, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilin exhibits rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.
Another preferred embodiment of this invention is a method of treating a neurological disorder in an animal, comprising:
administering to an animal an effective amount of a pipecolic acid derivative having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins in combination with an effective amount of a neurotrophic factor selected from the group consisting of neurotrophic growth factor, brain derived growth factor, glial derived growth factor, cilial neurotrophic factor, and neurotropin-3, to stimulate growth of damaged peripheral nerves or to promote neuronal regeneration, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilin exhibits rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.
Another preferred embodiment of this invention is a method of stimulating growth of damaged peripheral nerves, comprising;
administering to damaged peripheral nerves an effective amount of a pipecolic acid derivative compound having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins to stimulate or promote growth of the damaged peripheral nerves, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilins exhibit rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.
Another preferred embodiment of this invention is a method of stimulating growth of damaged peripheral nerves, comprising:
administering to damaged peripheral nerves an effective amount of a pipecolic acid derivative compound having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins to stimulate growth of damaged peripheral nerves, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilin exhibit rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.
Another preferred embodiment of this invention is a method for promoting neuronal regeneration and growth in animals, comprising:
administering to an animal an effective amount of a pipecolic acid derivative compound having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins to promote neuronal regeneration, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilins exhibit rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.
Yet another preferred embodiment of this invention is a method for preventing neurodegeneration in an animal, comprising:
administering to an animal an effective amount of a pipecolic acid erivative having an affinity for FKBP-type immunophilins to prevent neurodegeneration, wherein the FKBP-type immunophilin exhibits rotamase activity and the pipecolic acid derivative inhibits said rotamase activity of the immunophilin.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine


The invention relates to a printing device for printing sheet elements (1) that are serially fed to the printing device, in particular product labels made of temperature-sensitive paper or paper substitute materials, comprising a feed device for feeding the sheet elements to a print head which acts on the sheet element, wherein the print head comprises a thermal slat (3) which is supported flexibly by a carrier device (8) such that between the thermal slat (3) and the deflection device (4) a counterpressure surface is formed at a predefined surface pressure on the sheet element (1) to be printed. The thermal slat (3) is associated with an adaptor means (7) that is exchangeable together with the thermal slat (3).

Such a printing device is known from DE 100 22 152 A1. This is a printing device that is designed as a thermal printer in which the thermal slat prints the temperature-sensitive labels by local heating. With this known type of printer, product labels of different widths can be printed, wherein the width of the thermal slat has to be adapted to the maximum width of the label to be printed.
From DE 41 39 445 A1 a print head is known which is pretensioned using a multitude of springs that are provided between the print head and end stops of movable shanks.
From DE 33 15 947 A1 a print device is known in which the print head, which comprises the printing plate and a heater for heating the printing plate, is connected to an operating device that is movable in the opposite direction and that comprises elastic elements in the form of leaf springs.
In printing devices of the type mentioned in the introduction it is crucial that the surface pressure between the active area of the thermal slat and the label to be printed always remains the same so as to ensure good print quality. On the other hand the thermal slat, due to its contact with the surface of labels, is subject to wear and tear which limits the service life of the thermal slat. In particular when labels are printed whose width is considerably less than the width of the thermal slat, the printing device operates in an uneconomical manner because wear and tear in this region leads to failure of the thermal slat although the outer zone of said thermal slat is still functional. Moreover, wider thermal slats are of course more expensive than narrower ones.


This invention is in the field of detergent proteases obtainable from a strain of a new Bacillus sp. ZI 315. Moreover, the invention is directed towards a process for the preparation of the protease, the use of the protease as detergent enzyme, and detergent compositions comprising the protease of the invention.

Detergent enzymes have been marketed for more than 20 years and are now well established as normal detergent ingredients in both powder and liquid detergents all over the world.
Enzymes used in washing formulations comprise many different enzymes such as proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases, as well as other enzymes, or mixtures thereof. Commercially the most important enzymes are the proteases.
Detergent proteases have been developed by isolation of proteases found in nature followed by testing in detergent formulations. Most detergent proteases are obtained from members of the genus Bacillus.
Examples of commercial protease products are ALCALASE.TM., ESPERASE.TM. and SAVINASE.TM., all supplied by Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark. The ALCALASE.TM. protease is produced by strains of the species Bacillus licheniformis. The ESPERASE.TM. and SAVINASE.TM. proteases are obtained by cultivation of strains of alkalophilic Bacilli.
The washing traditions, especially the used washing temperature, the hardness of the used water, and the ingredients of the detergents vary very much from one country to another. Typical conditions are outlined below:
low pH and low water hardness: liquid detergents in US and Asia; PA1 low pH and high water hardness: liquid detergents in Europe; PA1 high pH and low water hardness: powder detergents in US and Asia; and PA1 high pH and high water hardness: powder detergents in Europe.
(A low pH in detergents is typically a pH in the range 8.0-9.5, in particular around 9; a high pH in detergents is typically a pH in the range 10-11.5, in particular around 10.5. A low water hardness is typically in the range 3.degree.-6.degree. dH; a high water hardness is typically in the range 15.degree.-20.degree. dH, in particular around 18.degree. dH).
Furthermore, the compositions of the detergents are changing these years in order to make the washing process more environmental friendly. All these differences and changes within the detergent industry make the field extremely complicated. There is therefore a need all the time to find new proteases which perform optimally at a certain specified set of conditions.

Alkaline protease from Bacillus sp. ZI315