The present invention provides isolated polynucleotides encoding promyostatin polypeptides or a peptide portion thereof, polynucleotides complementary thereto, and oligonucleotides that can specifically hybridize to such polynucleotides. The present invention also provides an isolated polynucleotide encoding a mature myostatin peptide.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to peptide portions of promyostatin (growth differentiation factor-8; GDF-8) polypeptides, and more specifically to compositions that affect myostatin signal transduction in a cell, and to methods of using such compositions to modulate myostatin signal transduction in a cell.
2. Background Information
The amount of time, effort and money spent in the United States each year by individuals intent on losing weight is staggering. For many of these individuals, the goal is not merely to look better, but more importantly to avoid the inevitable medical problems associated with being overweight.
Greater than half of the adult population in the United States is considered to be overweight. Furthermore, twenty to thirty percent of adult men and thirty to forty percent of adult women in the United States are considered obese, with the highest rates occurring among the poor and minorities. Obesity, which is defined a being at least about twenty percent above the mean level of adiposity, has dramatically increased in prevalence over the past few decades and is becoming a major problem among the pediatric population. Twenty percent of all children are now considered overweight, a number that represents a doubling over the past five years.
Obesity and the medical problems directly attributable to it are a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of various pathologic conditions, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart attack, type II diabetes, gallbladder disease, and certain cancers, and contributes to premature death. Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States, and type II diabetes afflicts over 16 million people in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death by disease.
More than eighty percent of type II diabetes occurs in obese persons. Although type II diabetes affects all races, it is particularly prevalent among Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics. Significantly, type II diabetes, which used to occur almost exclusively in adults over age forty, now occurs in children, with reported cases having almost tripled over the last five years. Type II diabetes, also called non-insulin dependent diabetes, is characterized by reduced secretion of insulin in response to glucose and by resistance of the body to the action of insulin, even though insulin levels in the circulation generally are normal or elevated. Type II diabetes affects the function of a variety of different tissues and organs and can lead to vascular disease, renal failure, retinopathy and neuropathy.
In contrast to the medical problems associated with obesity, the severe weight loss that commonly occurs in patients with certain chronic diseases also presents a challenge to medical intervention. The molecular basis for this weight loss, referred to as cachexia, is not well understood. It is clear, however, that cachexia complicates management of such diseases and is associated with a poor prognosis for the patients. The effects of cachexia are evident in the wasting syndrome that occurs in cancer and AIDS patients.
Although great efforts have been made in attempting to elucidate the biological processes involved in regulating body weight, the results have provided more fanfare than actual value. For example, the discovery of leptin has been hailed as a breakthrough in understanding the molecular basis for fat accumulation in humans, and, with it, the promise of a cure for obesity. Studies in animals indicated that leptin is involved in transmitting internal signals regulating appetite, and suggested leptin could be useful for treating humans suffering from obesity. Progress in using leptin for treating obesity has been slow, however, and, thus far, leptin has not met initial expectations.
Treatment of the morbidly obese currently is limited to surgery to remove portions of the intestine, thereby reducing the amount of food (and calories) absorbed. For the moderately obese, the only "treatment" is eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, a method that has proved modestly successful at best. Thus, a need exists to identify the biological factors involved in regulating body weight, including muscle development and fat accumulation, such that methods for treating disorders such as obesity and cachexia can be developed. The present invention satisfies this need and provides additional advantages.

Polynucleotides encoding promyostatin polypeptides

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine


Methods are provided for the treatment of asthma with anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is neutrophil chemotactic peptide secreted by a variety of cells in response to inflammatory mediators (for a review see Hebert et al. Cancer Investigation 11(6):743 (1993)). IL-8 can play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders, such as adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, and multiple organ failure. Immune therapy for such inflammatory disorders can include treatment of an affected patient with anti-IL-8 antibodies.
Sticherling et al. (J. Immunol. 143:1628 (1989)) disclose the production and characterization of four monoclonal antibodies against IL-8. WO 92/04372, published Mar. 19, 1992, discloses polyclonal antibodies which react with the receptor-interacting site of IL-8 and peptide analogs of IL-8, along with the use of such antibodies to prevent an inflammatory response in patients. St. John et al. (Chest 103:932 (1993)) review immune therapy for ARDS, septic shock, and multiple organ failure, including the potential therapeutic use of anti-IL-8 antibodies Sekido et al. (Nature 365:654 (1993)) disclose the prevention of lung reperfusion injury in rabbits by a monoclonal antibody against IL-8. Mulligan et al. (J. Immunol. 150:5585 (1993)), disclose protective effects of a murine monoclonal antibody to human IL-8 in inflammatory lung injury in rats.
The instant invention demonstrates that the anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies of the invention can be used therapeutically in the treatment of other inflammatory disorders, such as bacterial pneumonias and inflammatory bowel disease.
Anti-IL-8 antibodies are additionally useful as reagents for assaying IL-8. For example, Sticherling et al. (Arch. Dermatol. Res. 284:82 (1992)), disclose the use of anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies as reagents in immunohistochemical studies. Ko et al. (J. Immunol. Methods 149:227 (1992)) disclose the use of anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies as reagents in an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) for IL-8.
The invention further demonstrates that IL-8 antagonists, including anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies, can be used therapeutically in the treatment of asthma.

Anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies for treatment of asthma


An introducer is configured to distinguish an introducer provided with a sheath tube whose wall thickness is reduced, from an introducer provided with a sheath tube whose wall thickness is not reduced, and to recognize the relationship between the inner diameter and the outer diameter for the sheath tube in which the wall thickness is reduced. The introducer includes an introducer sheath and a three-way stopcock portion. The introducer further includes a first information piece on at least one of the introducer sheath and the three-way stopcock portion and has an inner diameter dimension of the sheath tube as an index. Furthermore, a second information piece having an outer diameter dimension of the sheath tube as an index is on at least one of the introducer sheath and the three-way stopcock portion.

In recent years, various types of treatments and diagnoses in the medical field have been performed using an elongated and hollow tubular-shaped medical instrument called a catheter. Examples of such treatment methods include directly administering an agent into an affected area using the elongated configuration of the catheter, push-opening a narrowed section in the lumen in a living body using a catheter in which a balloon expanded by pressure is attached to a distal end of the catheter, scraping and opening the affected area using a catheter in which a cutter is attached to a distal portion of the catheter, and closing arterial aneurysm, bleeding, or feeding blood vessel sites with a filling material using the catheter. Other examples also include a treatment method of embedding and placing a tubular-shaped stent which has a mesh-shaped side surface into the lumen in the living body using the catheter so as to maintain an open state of the narrow section in the lumen in the living body. Further, examples include aspirating a thrombus within the blood vessels.
In general, an introducer is used in a case where the treatment, diagnosis, or the like is performed using the catheter. The introducer has an introducer sheath including a sheath tube introduced to a puncture site; a dilator which is inserted into a lumen of the sheath tube; and a three-way stopcock portion which is provided so as to be communicated with the lumen of the sheath tube. An example is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model No. 6-48684. The sheath tube is introduced to a puncture site which is formed on an arm or a leg and a catheter or the like is percutaneously inserted into a lesion site such as the blood vessel through the lumen of the sheath tube.
In general, the introducer is color-coded based on a color code. The color code shows a maximum diameter of a device (medical instrument such as a catheter) that can be inserted into the lumen of the sheath tube in the introducer sheath using colors.


Apparatus is provided for interconnecting an unmanned underwater vehicle V) and a free-floating pod, the apparatus comprising a communications cable extending between the pod and a less buoyant buoy, the buoy being in communication with a distal station, a mobile UUV in communication with a control vessel, connector structure on the UUV adapted to intercept the cable and adapted to slide along the cable toward the pod, and complementary engagement structure on the UUV and the pod adapted to cause the UUV to engage the pod in a preselected orientation and azimuth, to place the control vessel in communication with the distal station.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for interconnecting of two submerged bodies and is directed more particularly to such apparatus as will automatically align the two bodies upon interconnection to facilitate establishment of communication between the two bodies.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The underwater connection of two bodies may be required to establish communication between the two bodies in situations in which covertness and/or high data rate transmission is required. Such connections are required, for example, between submarines and underwater vehicles, such as torpedoes.
In an illustrative system, an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) is provided with a communication line extending to a control vessel, typically a submarine. A controlled body, typically a weapon, such as a torpedo, is deployed in a water column and has extending therefrom a communication line connected at a remote end to a submerged free-floating buoy. The buoy is connected by a communication cable to a free-floating pod of greater buoyancy than the buoy. Thus, the pod floats above the buoy with the communication cable disposed generally vertically therebetween. In operation, the UUV is maneuvered into contact with the vertical cable between the buoy and the pod, connects to the cable, and rides along the cable to a point adjacent to, or engaging, the pod. Communication is established between the UUV and the pod which effects communication between the submarine and the torpedo. Accordingly, from a relatively safe distance the submarine may send instructions to the torpedo.
While in some communication systems, it is acceptable for the UUV merely to be proximate the pod, in fiber-optic and free space laser communications, particularly where multiple spatially separated channels are involved, engagement and highly accurate alignment of the UUV and the pod are required. In such instances, only a single orientation of the UUV relative to the pod is acceptable.
More particularly, the single orientation includes orientation along an axis of substantially translational motion of the UUV relative to the pod; and an angular position of the UUV relative to a reference angular position of the pod (i.e., azimuthal position of the UUV). Positioning underwater bodies for their interconnection with azimuthal accuracy has heretofore required extensive human interaction and has been difficult, at best, in view of local currents and sea conditions.
There is, therefore, a need for a UUV adapted to engage a generally vertical communication cable extending in a water column between a lower free-floating buoy and an upper free-floating pod and adapted to ride along the cable into interlocking engagement with the pod in a selected orientation and azimuth for interconnection of communication components requiring precise alignment.

Apparatus for interconnecting an underwater vehicle and a free-floating pod

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


An elevator braking device and an elevator system are provided by the present disclosure. The elevator braking device includes: a fixed frame; a floating bracket, which is disposed on the axial guide of the fixed frame and movable along the axial guide; a movable plate supported by the floating bracket, the movable plate having a second friction plate on a second side of the brake disc; an actuator; and a position self-adjusting member which includes a magnetic portion to act on the magnetic member on the floating bracket such that after the braking state is released, the floating bracket tends to move towards a balanced position, thereby reducing a difference between a first gap G1 between the first friction plate and the brake disc and a second gap G2 between the second friction plate and the brake disc.

In the prior art, an elevator braking device is typically disposed in an elevator machine room. An elevator drive mechanism is provided with a brake disc, and friction plates are disposed on both sides of the brake disc. After receiving a braking signal, the friction plates on both sides will clamp the brake disc to form a braking force, so that an elevator drive shaft stops rotating, thereby stopping an elevator car. After receiving a braking releasing signal, the friction plates on both sides move to separate from the brake disc.
In such a braking device, there may be a case where gaps between the two friction plates and the brake disc vary greatly. For example, the friction plate on one side is closer to the brake disc, while the friction plate on the other side is further from the brake disc. When the gap between the friction plate and the brake disc are too small, the brake disc will be subject to an axial force or one-sided wear of the brake disc, thus affecting a service life of the brake disc and the friction plates, and even affecting a response time of the braking device.

Brake device for elevator and an elevator system


A double-side light receiving solar cell in a planer regular hexagon shape and having first electrodes on both surfaces are divided into four pieces by a line A-A′ connecting two opposing apexes and by a line B-B′ perpendicular to the line A-A′ and connecting center points on two opposing sides. By matching oblique lines of two divided pieces without misalignment and with respective surfaces in an inversed state, the first electrodes on the same side of the two divided pieces align along the same single straight line. Then, the first electrodes that are on the same side are connected with a first inter connecter, thereby constructing a unit having a rectangular outline. Units thus constructed are arranged so that relevant sides match without misalignment. By handling on a unit basis as described above, it is possible to facilitate an arrangement of the cells and an electricity connection work.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a solar cell module, and to a solar cell and a solar cell module. In particular, the present invention is suitable to be applied to a solar cell module containing double-side light receiving solar cells in which sunlight may incident from front and rear faces of them, and a manufacturing method thereof and a solar cell to be applied to such solar cell module. The present invention is suitably applicable also to the solar cell module which contains not double-side light receiving solar cells but one-side light receiving solar cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, against the backdrop of problems such as depletion of petroleum resources and global warming, development and spread of clean energy source without using petroleum resources have been taken up as a global-scale challenge. Photovoltaic solar systems, which use infinite solar energy without emitting CO2 and such, have been gaining attentions with an expectation as playing a major role towards the solution for such a challenge.
A typical photovoltaic solar system employs a solar cell module generally constituted from several tens of solar cells arranged in a planar state, in order to protect the solar cells as a power production source from being injured and to facilitate handling of the solar cells. Here, the solar cell module is commonly configured as a rectangle, about 1 m to 2 m on a side, so that the solar cells may be arranged efficiently within a given area, and the handling in transport and installation may be facilitated.
On the other hand, as shown in (a-2) of FIG. 28, a shape of an ingot (single crystal silicon) 30, which is used as a substrate material for the solar cells, is cylindrical by the nature of a manufacturing method thereof. Accordingly, slicing the ingot as it is to produce a cell substrate 31 necessarily makes a shape of the solar cells circular. This results in a problem that a filling rate of solar cells 10 to the solar cell module 20 becomes low due to a large area of spaces between the solar cells, even when the solar cells are arranged in a manner most efficiently as shown in (a-1) of FIG. 28, for example.
By contrast, as shown in (b-1) and (b-2) of FIG. 28, the filling rate of the solar cells 10 may be improved by making the shape of the solar cells 10 square. However, at the same time, this causes a problem that an unused area in the ingot 30 (hatched area in (b-2) of FIG. 28) that is not used as the substrate 31 becomes large, thus considerably decreasing use efficiency of the ingot.
Further, as shown in (c-1) and (c-2) of FIG. 28, making the shape of the solar cells 10 regular hexagonal may improve the filling rate of the solar cells 10 as compared to the case of the circular shape, and may also improve the use efficiency of the ingot 30 as compared to the case of the square shape. However, in this case, the solar cell module 20 still includes spaces at which the solar cells 10 may not be arranged, and the unused area of the ingot 30 that may not be used as the substrate 31 remains to no small extent.
In order to address such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-94127 describes a solar cell module, which may improve both the filling rate of the solar cell 10 and the use efficiency of the ingot 30. According to this prior art invention, as shown in FIG. 29B, the substrate 31 is cut out of the ingot 30 as a regular hexagon that is larger than a regular hexagon inscribed in an outer circumference of the ingot 30 and smaller than a regular hexagon in which an outer circumference of the ingot 30 is inscribed (the shape cut out in this manner is hereinafter referred to as "pseudohexagon"). With such an arrangement, it is possible to suppress the unused area of the ingot 30 that is not used as the substrate 31, and the use efficiency of the ingot 30 may be improved.
Further, in this prior art invention, when producing the solar cell 10 from the substrate 31 that has been cut out in the above manner, the solar cell 10 is divided into two or four pieces by a line P-P′ and/or a line Q-Q′ shown in FIG. 29B, and these pieces are arranged as shown in FIGS. 29A or 29C. With this, the area of the spaces at which the solar cells 10 may not be arranged may be suppressed, thereby improving the filling rate of the solar cell 10.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-148601 discloses an arrangement in which a solar cell in a regular hexagonal or pseudohexagonal shape is divided into two pieces by a straight line connecting two opposing apexes or a straight line connecting center points on two opposing sides, and these pieces are arranged in the solar cell module. FIG. 30A illustrates such an arrangement of the solar cell module according to this prior art invention, and FIG. 30B shows a cross-section taken at a line R-R′ of FIG. 30A.
It is additionally mentioned that, according to this prior art invention, the solar cells 10 are arranged in the solar cell module 20 so that polarities of the respective cells face the same direction. The solar cells 10 are electrically connected so that one of both surfaces of one solar cell 10 is connected to the other of the both surfaces of a solar cell 10 adjacent thereto are connected with an inter connecter 21.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-354822 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-26361 describe an arrangement in which the solar cells are arranged in a solar cell module so that the directions that polarities of one solar cell face is opposite to the directions that polarities of a solar cell adjacent thereto face. FIG. 31A illustrates such an arrangement of this prior art invention, and FIG. 31B shows a cross-section taken at a line S-S′ of FIG. 31A. According to this prior art invention, the surfaces on the same side of the respective solar cells 10 that are adjacent to each other are connected with the inter connecter 21. In this case, it is unnecessary to lead the inter connecter 21 around the cells from one side to the other, and therefore making an electrical connection may be facilitated. Moreover, it is possible to fill the space between the adjacent solar cells 10, and thus improving filling rate of the solar cells 10 to that extent.
In producing a solar cell module, a cumbersome work is required in order to arrange the solar cells and to connect electrically between the cells that have been arranged. In particular, when the solar cell is divided into four small pieces as shown in FIG. 29C, the arrangement becomes even more cumbersome compared to the arrangement of solar cells as they are without dividing. While the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-94127 shows the state after the arrangement of the cells is completed, any step taken during the arrangement or electrical connection is not described at all.
According to the case shown in FIG. 29C, four types of the solar cells are provided as the solar cells to be arranged. In this case, a problem arises that determination as to which type of the cell should be arranged at a certain position becomes difficult when arranging the four types of the solar cells in the solar cell module. It becomes particularly difficult to instantly determine the type of a solar cell to be selected for a certain position in terms of arrangement directions of electrodes on a solar cell, in a case in which the solar cells are to be arranged so that the polarities of the surfaces of the two adjacent solar cells are inversed as illustrated in FIGS. 31A to 31B.

Manufacturing method of solar cell module, and solar cell and solar cell module


A process for generating dynamic type is disclosed. A compiler generated template method including a mark for custom instruction is selected for cloning. Dynamic code is injected at the mark for the custom instructions. The template method including the injected dynamic code is compiled.

Types and type systems are ubiquitous aspects of computer programming although different languages may use different terminology. A type is a classification of data and assigning a type gives meaning to a sequence of bits. A sequence of bits does not, by itself, provide a distinction between memory addresses, instruction code, integers, floating point numbers, characters, and other purposes for the sequence. Associating a sequence of bits with a type informs computer programs how that sequence of bits should be understood. Other entities, such as objects, modules, communication channels, dependencies, or even types themselves, can become associated with a type.
A type system may be defined as "a tractable syntactic framework for classifying phrases according to the kinds of values they compute." A type system associates a type with each computed value and includes a set of rules or constraints for the type. A particular type system determines what constitutes a type error. In general, one aim of the type system is to prevent operations expecting a certain kind of value being used with values for which that operation does not make sense. Type systems are often specified as part of programming languages—and built into the interpreters and compilers for them—although they can also be implemented as optional tools.
The process of verifying and enforcing type constraints, often referred to as type checking, may occur either at compile-time or run-time. A programming language uses static typing when type checking is performed during compile-time as opposed to run-time. Static typing is a limited form of program verification, and it allows many type errors to be caught early in the development cycle. Static type checkers evaluate the type information that can be determined at compile time, but are able to verify that the checked conditions hold for further possible executions of the program. Applications created with static languages can be made more efficient, such as faster execution and/or taking reduced memory, by omitting runtime type checks and enabling other optimizations.
A programming language is dynamically typed when the majority of type checking is performed at run-time. Values in dynamic typing have types but variables do not, and a variable can refer to a value of any type. In one example, dynamic languages make excellent scripting languages. Applications created with dynamic languages can be relatively easily extended with new commands and functionality. Dynamic languages are also frequently used for creating Web sites and test harnesses, maintaining server farms, developing various utilities, and performing data transformations.


A multiple circuit board assembly includes stacks (50,52) of printed circuit boards each having a series of hermaphroditic edge connector nodes (46,46a, 82) that electrically connect a printed circuit board (56) of one stack to a plurality of boards of a second stack. Each board edge also includes a service cable connector (74) having electrical power and fiber optic input/output connector elements (161,163) that connect the board to a spring mounted service module connector receptacle (42) in a housing structure (16) that carries the assembled stacks of printed circuit boards. To avoid misaligning forces on the pressure type edge connector node contact elements as these engage one another, the service module connector plug (74) and receptacle (42) are initially spaced from one another at the time of mating contact of the edge connector nodes, and a spring mounted threaded nut (124) and screw (224) arrangement of the plug and receptacle is caused to be resiliently engaged to enable the plug and receptacle to be drawn to one another by the threaded securing elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention related to printed circuit board assemblies and more particularly concerns an arrangement for sequentially engaging different connector parts on a single circuit board and an improved connector assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
In arrangements described in the above-identified co-pending applications, first and second stacks of parallel closely spaced circuit boards are directly connected to one another in a edge to edge relation. Each printed circuit board has an edge provided with a series of hermaphroditic connector nodes to enable circuit boards to be connected directly to one another in edge to edge relation. The two stacks of boards are mounted in a structural housing cage which carries an array of service cable connector receptacle parts, each one of which connects with a service cable connector plug part that is carried by an individual one of the printed circuit boards. The hermaphroditic connector nodes employ pressure type contact elements, sometimes called "contact dots", "bumps" or "buttons", providing an array of raised conductive dots on one connector node that is firmly pressed against a mating array of raised conductive dots on a mating connector node. This provides electrical signal contact and transmission of the data signals between the nodes and therefore between the printed circuit boards to which the nodes are mounted. However, for coupling of input/output signals and electrical power, each connector board includes a plurality of service cables connected to a service cable connector part, such as a plug, which is arranged to mate with a service cable receptacle part carried on the housing structure that mounts the circuit board stacks. Connections between the service cable connector parts require a significant degree of motion of the parts toward one another, and a greater amount of force, to fully engage the pin and socket type connections that are employed for power and input/out signals.
To interengage raised dots of the connector nodes, the boards are moved into position and pressed against one another by a camming lever before the connector elements of the service cable connector parts are engaged so as to avoid any misalignment forces on the raised dot connections caused by tolerances in dimensions of the parts. A screw and nut arrangement is provided on the service cable connector parts to pull these together and fully engage their pin and socket connector elements after the raised dot node pressure connections are made. However, since there is no further motion available for the printed circuit board itself after connection of the raised do connections of the connector nodes, it is imperative that the screw and nut securing elements of the service cable connector parts be so positioned on interengagement of the raised dot connector elements that mere rotation will threadedly interengage the screw and nut so as to pull the service cable connector parts together. The nut and screw must not be allowed to engage one another before completion of the pressure type contact of the raised dots or they might interfere with or prevent full pressure contact of the raised dots. To meet such rigorous requirements the parts must be made to very tight dimensional tolerances, which greatly increases cost of manufacture. Because of the difficulty of obtaining and maintaining such tolerances during repeated insertion and detachment of individual circuit board assemblies, reliability of circuit connections is significantly decreased.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide for multiple connections that avoid or minimize above mentioned problems.

Sequential mating of connectors of multiple framed circuit board assembly


A bridgeless interleaved power factor correction (PFC) circuit using a single PFC choke having four windings formed on a single core to form the four input inductors of the PFC circuit. An AC-to-DC converter constructed using the bridgeless interleaved PFC circuit achieves high conversion efficiency with high power factor and low total harmonic distortion. Furthermore, the size of the PFC circuit is reduced by using a single PFC choke with quad-winding.

The present invention relates to AC-to-DC converters, and more particularly, to a bridgeless interleaved power factor correction circuit with improved efficiency and simplified structure.
AC-to-DC converters are used to convert an AC input voltage, such as a fully-rectified AC line voltage form a power outlet, to a regulated DC output voltage at a desired output voltage level. To meet regulatory requirements, AC-to-DC converters are designed with power factor correction (PFC) to achieve a high power factor (0.9 or more) while reducing total harmonic distortion (THD). Various topologies have been proposed for AC-to-DC converters incorporating power factor correction (PFC). For example, a conventional boost topology uses a bridge rectifier (also referred to as a diode bridge) to rectify the AC input voltage to DC followed by a boost converter functioning as an active PFC circuit. The boost converter attempts to maintain a constant DC bus voltage on its output while drawing a current that is always in phase with and at the same frequency as the line voltage. However, the diode bridge suffers significant power loss and converters using the boost topology typically have poor power conversion efficiency.
Other PFC topologies have been proposed to improve the power conversion efficiency. For example, bridgeless PFC circuits using active switches in place of the low-side diodes have been proposed to reduce power loss and improve conversion efficiency. Also, interleaved PFC circuits using two or more converters in parallel but operating out of phase have been proposed to distribute the total power over the two converters while obtaining frequency multiplication. Finally, bridgeless interleaved PFC circuits have also been proposed to provide a converter with low loss, high efficiency and low EMI (electromagnetic interference).

Bridgeless interleaved power factor correction circuit using a PFC inductor with quad-winding on a single core


A memory card includes a user ID hold unit holding user ID data provided to identify the user of the memory card, a first protection information memory unit holding first protection information restricting access to memory card, and a second protection information memory unit holding second protection information restricting access for each content data. Memory card refers to the user ID data to identify the user of the reproduction apparatus of interest and prohibits any unauthorized user from changing first and second protection information.

In recent years the Internet and other similar information communication networks have advanced and a cellular phone or the like is used for a personal terminal to allow the user to readily access network information.
In such information communication a digital signal is used to transmit information. As such, if a user copies music, video information or the like transmitted on such an information communication network as described above, each individual user can copy such information almost free of significant degradation in the quality of sound, image and the like.
Thus, if music information, image information or other similar works in copyright is transmitted on such an information communication network without any appropriate approach taken to protect the copyright, the copyright owner may have his/her right infringed significantly.
However, prioritizing copyright protection and preventing content data distribution on a rapidly expanding digital information communication work, is disadvantageous to copyright owners, who basically can collect a predetermined copyright fee for copying copyrighted works.
When an individual user receives music data or other similar copyrighted information distributed on such a digital information network as described above the user would record and thus hold the distributed content data in some form of recording medium.
Such a recording medium is for example a memory card or other similar, electrically data writable and erasable media.
In this case if such distributed content data as music data can be transferred from the recording medium of interest to another recording medium, as desired, without the copyright owner's permission the copyright owner's right cannot be protected.
Furthermore, if an individual other than a user having made payment in due course and thus received and stored distributed content data to a recording medium, can reproduce music data or the like from the recording medium or transfer and erase content data, as desired, the user's right would also not be protected.


A rotor (10) for a rotary electric machine has a plurality of magnetic poles (24) provided at intervals, in a circumferential direction, at the outer periphery of a rotor core (12). Each of the magnetic poles (24) has a first permanent magnet (26) buried in the center of the magnetic pole, and a pair of second permanent magnets (28) that are buried on both sides of the first permanent magnet (26) in the circumferential direction, and that are disposed such that a mutual spacing between the pair of the second permanent magnets (28) becomes narrower inward in the radial direction. A narrowest spacing between the pair of second permanent magnets (28) is set to be wider than a longitudinal-direction width of the first permanent magnet (26) in a magnetic path region (30) that is defined by the first permanent magnet (26) and the pair of second permanent magnets (28).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotor for a rotary electric machine, and more particularly to a rotor for a rotary electric machine in which a plurality of magnetic poles are disposed at intervals, in a circumferential direction, at an outer periphery of a rotor core.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-306849 (JP-A-2008-306849) discloses a rotary electric machine that has a stator in which a stator coil is distributedly wound around an inner periphery portion, and a buried permanent magnet-type rotor that is rotatably provided in the stator. The above rotor is made up of a rotary shaft and a cylindrical core body that is fixed to the rotary shaft.
The above core body results from integrally constructing, by crimping or the like, an axial-direction stack of magnetic steel sheets, each formed through punching, into a circular ring-like shape. A plurality of magnetic poles, evenly spaced in a circumferential direction, are provided in the outer periphery of the core body. FIG. 8 illustrates one magnetic pole in a state viewed from an axial-direction end face. FIG. 8 illustrates one magnetic pole 104, together with part of a stator 106, from among the members that are disposed evenly spaced (45°-angle intervals such that the central axis of a rotary shaft is the center of each fan shape) on the outer periphery of the core body 102 of the rotor 100.
A plurality of teeth 108 that point inward in a radial direction are provided, at equal spacings in the circumferential direction, on the inner periphery of the stator 106. Slots 108 are respectively formed, in a number identical to that of the teeth 106, between mutually adjacent teeth, such that the slots 108 are opened on the inner periphery side and at both end portions in the axial direction. A stator coil (not shown) that is wound around the teeth 106 is inserted into the slots 108. As a result, a rotating magnetic field is formed on the inner periphery side of the stator 100 when the stator coil is energized.
Each magnetic pole 104 provided in the core body 102 of the rotor 100 is made up of three permanent magnets, namely permanent magnets 112, 114, 116. The permanent magnet 112 disposed in the circumferential direction center of the magnetic pole 104 is buried in the vicinity of an outer peripheral face 103 of the core body 102. The permanent magnet 112 has end faces and a cross-section that exhibit an elongated rectangular shape, and is formed to substantially the same axial-direction length as that of the core body 102. The permanent magnet 112 is disposed in such a manner that the longitudinal direction thereof, on the magnet end face, runs substantially along the outer peripheral face 103 of the core body 102, and has a longitudinal-direction width W.
The other two permanent magnets 114, 116 are disposed symmetrically on both sides of the permanent magnet 112, in the circumferential direction, such that the two permanent magnets 114, 116 form a V-shape that widens towards the outer periphery. In other words, the permanent magnets 114, 116 are disposed in such a manner that the distance or mutual spacing becomes narrower towards the inner periphery, and the spacing between inner periphery-side end portions of the permanent magnets 114, 116, at which the mutual spacing is the narrowest, is narrower than the longitudinal-direction width W. In the magnetic pole 104, as a result, a substantially triangular magnetic path region 118 is formed or defined by the three permanent magnets 112, 114, 116. Both end portions of the magnetic path region 118, in the circumferential direction, are linked to the outer peripheral face 103 of the core body 102 via regions between the permanent magnet 112 and the permanent magnets 114, 116.
JP-A-2008-306849 indicates that in a rotary electric machine provided with a rotor 100 having the above configuration, it becomes possible to reduce counter electromotive force of a particular order that is generated upon operation of the rotary electric machine, and noise as well can be reduced, by setting, to a predefined angle, the intersection angle that is defined by virtual straight lines that join the circumferential-direction end portions of the permanent magnets 114, 116 and the center of the rotary shaft, and a virtual reference line that runs through the center of the rotary shaft and that is perpendicular to a radial-direction straight line that runs through the circumferential direction center of the permanent magnet 112.
In the rotary electric machine of JP-A-2008-306849, magnetic flux flow such as those illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C is formed at the magnetic pole 104 of the core body 102 of the rotor 100 upon rotational driving of the rotor 100 as a result of flow of current through the stator coil. FIG. 9A schematically illustrates the flow of magnetic flux (hereafter, magnet magnetic flux), generated by the permanent magnet 114, towards the outer periphery through a magnetic path region 118. FIG. 9B schematically illustrates the way in which magnetic flux, which is generated by a q-axis current component obtained by resolving the vector representing the electric current flowing through the stator coil, on a d-q plane that is a Cartesian coordinate system (hereafter, q-axis current magnetic flux or excitation current magnetic flux), flows from the inner periphery end portions of the teeth 108 of the stator 106 into the core body 102 and traverses the magnetic path region 118 in the magnetic pole 104. FIG. 9C schematically illustrates the flow of magnetic flux resulting from combining the abovementioned magnet magnetic flux and the abovementioned q-axis current magnetic flux.
With reference to FIG. 9A, the magnet magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 114 is directed towards the outer peripheral face 103 of the core body 102. Part of the magnetic flux coming out of the permanent magnet 114 is directed towards the outer peripheral face, through the permanent magnet 112. However, the permanent magnet 112 that is buried in the core body 102 has a magnetoresistance or relative permeability that is equivalent to that of a void, and hence most of the magnetic flux flows towards the outer peripheral face, through the circumferential-direction end portion region of the magnetic path region 118, which is a steel sheet portion having low magnetoresistance. With reference to FIG. 9B, the q-axis current magnetic flux that flows into the magnetic pole 104 in the core body 102 is likewise directed towards the outer peripheral face, by flowing substantially along a circular arc through the magnetic path region 118 having low magnetoresistance.
Consequently, upon overlap of the magnet magnetic flux and the q-axis current magnetic flux that flow as described above, the density of the resultant magnetic flux increases at a substantially triangular downstream region 120, denoted by a hatched portion within the magnetic path region 118, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, and as a result, magnetic saturation is likelier to occur. In turn, this can result in a lower torque of the rotary electric machine.
In FIG. 9A, the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 116 is not depicted. However, the magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 116 flows also towards the abovementioned downstream region 120, and hence there increases the possibility of magnetic saturation such as the above-described one. If the flow direction of the magnetic flux in the magnetic path region 118 is reversed, occurrence of magnetic saturation as described above is still likely at a region positioned between the permanent magnet 116 and the permanent magnet 112, within the magnetic path region 118.


The invention relates to a belt (1) of flexible material for use with absorbent garments, wherein the belt comprises attachment means (6, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22) securely attached at one end. The attachment means is in the form of a flexible strip of hook elements such as used for releasable hook and loop type connectors and is used for securing that one end to an outer surface of the belt. In order to provide greater comfort for the wearer the attachment means itself is located approximately centrally and extends with its greatest dimension (a) in the width direction of the belt where dimension (a) is between 25% to 75% of the belt width (z).

The type of belt in question can be integrated with an absorbent garment worn to assist in the collection of bodily discharges, particularly for persons suffering from incontinence, or the belt can be a separate belt to which an absorbent garment portion is attached by some means of releasable attachment such as hook and loop (also called touch and close) type fastening means, for instance such as sold under the trademark "VELCRO".
The belt of the separate type can be either a disposable belt, for limited use with a small number of absorbent chassis garments and thus requiring no particular cleaning, or a more permanent type which may be washed many times before its effectiveness or appearance warrants a change to a new belt.
Absorbent garments of the above mentioned type are well known in the art.
WO-A-91/08725 discloses an example of both these types in conjunction with an absorbent garment.
One of the problems recognized with such belts is achieving maximum comfort for the user by correct fitting, since incorrect fitting will result in sore, cut and/or painful areas for the user.
One area where it has been found desirable to increase comfort is the area of the belt attachment to itself. When one examines WO-A-91/08725 for example, it is clear that the attachment of the hook element strip and the loop element strip together for fastening the belt can easily result in one of the edges of the hook strip projecting beyond the zone to which it is intended to be attached and, as a result, contacting the body. This contact with the body is particularly uncomfortable.
Where the problem of incontinence is involved, it will be appreciated that persons suffering from this problem are often old and have physical handicaps of various types. As a consequence, they often require the assistance of personnel for fitting the belts or garments with integrated belts. If they, or the assistant personnel do not fasten the belt with great care, the hook element strips can easily be left in a position which makes them contact the body. This factor is particularly important for the case where the users are unable to assist themselves or otherwise unable to communicate the poor fitment to the assistant personnel.
It is also known from GB-A-2 232 337 to use longitudinal strips for belt fastening, whereby the strip is placed lengthways along the length of the belt portion. In this way, the risk of the hook element strip contacting the body above or below the longitudinal edges of the belt portion is reduced. The extent of the strip in the longitudinal direction of the belt portion is consequently considerable in order to be able to achieve adequate shear strength of the releasable fastener. This brings with it however the disadvantage that the strips may not properly overlap and will thus contact the wearer's body although at a different location. Such is of particular importance where the belt is slightly too small for example.
Arrangement of the elongate strip of hook elements along the width of the belt is known per se from FR-A-2 586 558, where a small margin between the edges of the strip and the outer edges of the belt is left. However, the size of such margin was not of importance to the inventors thereof and was thus nowhere considered.

Attachment means for a belt and an absorbent article


In a portable electrical device, a plurality of engaging portions of a frame on surfaces of the frame are directed in the same direction and engaging portions on two connecting terminals can be brought into engagement with the engaging portions along the same direction. Thus, both of the connecting terminals can be mounted on the frame from the same direction, and the efficiency of the mounting operation is improved and can be automated. Furthermore, deformation of or damage to the connecting terminals, caused by the mounting process, is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electrical device and, more specifically, to a structure for mounting connecting terminals for the electrodes of an electric cell in a portable electrical device. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a structure for mounting connecting terminals for the electrodes of an electric cell on a frame of an IC card.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 4 and 5 are respectively plan and cross-sectional views illustrating how connecting terminals for the electrodes of an electric cell are mounted on a frame of a conventional IC card. FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively plan and side elevational views of a conventional connecting terminal for the plus electrode of the cell. FIGS. 7A and 7B are respectively plan and side elevational views of a conventional connecting terminal for the minus electrode of the cell. In these figures, a frame 1 supports a circuit board on which electronic parts are mounted and connecting terminals of the electrodes of an electric cell. The frame 1 has pins 2a and 2b as engaging portions. The frame 1 also has insertion holes 3a and 3b in side surfaces of the frame. A connecting terminal 4 for the plus electrode, made of an elastic member, such as a thin stainless steel plate, has pin holes 4a as engaged portions into which the pins 2a are inserted, a tab 4b as an engaging portion that is brought into engagement with the insertion hole 3a, and a contact portion 4c that makes contact with the plus electrode surface of the electric cell.
A connecting terminal 5 for the minus electrode, made of an elastic member, such as a thin stainless steel plate, has pin holes 5a that are engaging portions into which the pins 2b are inserted, tabs 5b as engaging portions that are brought into engagement with the insertion holes 3b, and a contact portion 5c that makes contact with the minus electrode surface of the electric cell.
To mount the connecting terminals 4 and 5 on the frame 1, the tab 4b of the connecting terminal 4 is inserted into the insertion hole 3a from the direction of the side surface of the frame 1, and then the pin holes 4a are fitted with the pins 2a from the direction of the upper surface of the frame 1.
Next, the two tabs 5b of the connecting terminal 5 are inserted into the corresponding insertion holes 3b from direction A of the side surface of the frame 1, and then the pin holes 5a are fitted with the pins 2b from direction B of the upper surface of the frame 1.
Thereafter, heat is applied to the pins 2a and 2b to deform them and thereby fix the connecting terminals 4 and 5 for the plus and minus electrodes to the frame 1.
In the conventional connecting terminal mounting structure for electric cell electrodes, the tabs 4b and 5b are inserted into the insertion holes 3a and 3b in the frame 1 from the right and left side surfaces of the frame 1, and the pin holes 4a and 5a are fitted with the pins 2a and 2b located on the frame 1 perpendicular to the right and left side surfaces. Since the connecting terminals are thus mounted on the frame in various directions, the mounting work is inefficient and cannot be automated. Furthermore, the mounting work may deform and damage the connecting terminals 4 and 5.

Battery terminal mounting means for a portable electrical device


A build fail of a job in a development pipeline of an application development system is analyzed. A determination as to whether the build fail affects other jobs in the development pipeline is made. In response to determining that the build fail affects at least one of the other jobs of the plurality of jobs, an alert identifying the at least one of the other jobs affected by the build fail is generated.

An application may be one or more programs (e.g., computer programs), software, etc., that may be used by users, other applications, devices, etc., to perform various tasks, actions, functions, operations, methods, processes, calculations, etc. Examples of applications include web applications, enterprise applications, consumer applications, mobile applications, etc. An application may be divided into multiple components, modules, portions, etc. Each component, module, portion, etc., may perform different functions, operations, actions, processes, methods, etc., for the application, and may provide different services, functionalities, or resources for the application. Software jobs in a development pipeline of an application development system perform builds of applications for development, various types of testing, and deployment of applications.

Cross jobs failure dependency in CI/CD systems


In one aspect, the invention is an integrated circuit (IC) for use in testing a device. The IC includes a pin electronics (PE) driver having an output and a pin. The IC also includes a buffer connected to the output of the PE driver and the pin. The first voltage measured at the pin is greater than a second voltage measured at the output. The IC may include a first amplifier having an input connected to a voltage source. The IC may also include a second amplifier having an input connected to the output of the PE driver.

Automatic test equipment (ATE) refers to an automated, usually computer-driven, approach to testing devices, such as semiconductors, electronic circuits, and printed circuit board assemblies, for example. Pin electronics (PE) are generally part of an ATE. PE electronics typically provide driver, comparator and/or active load functionality for testing a device-under-test (DUT).

Pin electronics with high voltage functionality


A building block assembly has a base plate, a battery carrier disposed on the base plate, a plurality of transparent blocks disposed on the base plate, and a plurality of bulb seats disposed in the respective transparent blocks. Each of the bulb seats receives a bulb.

This invention relates to a building block assembly, and more particularly to a building block assembly which has a bulb in each transparent block.
Conventional building blocks do not have any bulb therein. A conventional building block assembly has one or more bulbs disposed on the conventional building block assembly. However, each block does not have a bulb therein. Therefore, the user cannot assemble the blocks in the predetermined positions in order to illuminate the bulbs.


The present invention relates to a modular breakout device providing optical and/or electrical connection interfaces in each modular unit. The exemplary breakout device includes a housing made up of a plurality of individual compartments stacked upon each other and a cover that is attachable to the housing. The plurality of individual compartments includes a base compartment configured with a port though a wall of the base compartment that is configured to accept optical and/or electrical transmission media and a first furcation tray. The first furcation tray is disposed on top of the base compartment and the cover is disposed on top of the first furcation tray to enclose the housing. In one exemplary aspect, the breakout device has an optical connection interface and an electrical connection interface disposed in a side wall of the first furcation tray.

Telecommunication cables are ubiquitous and used for distributing data across vast networks. The majority of cables are electrically conductive cables (typically copper), although the use of optical fiber cables is growing rapidly in telecommunication networks as larger and larger amounts of data are transmitted. As telecommunication cables are routed across data networks, it is necessary to periodically open the cable so that one or more telecommunication lines therein may be spliced, thereby allowing data to be distributed to other cables or "branches" of the telecommunication network. At each point where a telecommunication cable is opened, it is necessary to provide a telecommunications enclosure to protect the exposed interior of the cable. The cable branches may be further distributed until the network reaches individual homes, businesses, offices, and so on.
In some installations, hybrid cables or composite cables containing both optical and electrical conductors may be used, or the telecommunication cables can be disposed in protective conduits to provide protection to the cables contained therein. When a protective conduit or hybrid cable is used, environmental protection is needed at the breakout point where the cables within the conduit of hybrid cable are accessed so that the signals being carried by the cables can be routed to the desired location or piece of equipment. Conventional methods of making this final connection include taking the individual cables from the conduit or hybrid cable and running them directly to the remote location or equipment, or to connect the terminal ends of the cables in a the conduit or hybrid cable to individual jumper cables within a conventional telecommunication enclosure. Both of these approaches have disadvantages. For example, when cables from a hybrid cable having sufficient conductors to service multiple remote sites are used, the jacket and shielding layer (if present) of the cable must be removed for a sufficient length to allow the routing of the cable to the most distant of the locations being served by the cables. Doing the connection in this manner could be wasteful of the expensive hybrid cable that is being deconstructed to serve the remote sites. In addition, this approach would require an additional labor expense to express excessive lengths of the interior cables disposed within the hybrid cable.
Thus, the lower cost of using separate optical and electrical conductors might lead on to use the conventional closure approach mentioned above. However, this approach can require complex splicing/connection operations to be done in the field which may be undesirable if the craftsman doing the installation does not have the proper degree of skill or if the installation is done in a challenging environment such as when the connections are being made a hundred or so feet in the air on a cell tower installation.
Thus, a breakout/terminal device for multimedia multi-conductor cables and conduits is needed that allows simple and reliable connection of electrical and optical conductors in the field.

Modular breakout device for optical and electrical connections


A critical path detecting unit for detecting critical paths for a design in which cells are placed on an integrated circuit and information concerning timing constraints. A representative-critical-path extracting unit extracts a representative critical path by having one critical path represent critical paths which share more intervals than a certain number, and which are similar to one another, out of critical paths which have been detected by the critical path detecting unit. A path-image generating unit renders the representative critical path, which has been extracted by the representative-critical-path extracting unit and reflects information concerning other critical paths, which are similar to the representative critical path, on the representative critical path.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for, and a method of, detecting and displaying a critical path in order to support work for laying out cells and for timing closure in the development of large scale integrated circuits (LSI).
Work for laying out various cells on the chip and for timing closure is a large component in the development of an LSI. Efficiency in this work greatly affects the time needed for development. In general, work which is carried out until work for timing closure is performed in the following procedure.    1. A responsible engineer for logic architecture of an LSI prepares a netlist of the design.    2. An engineer responsible lays out macro cells, including an input/output (I/O) cell, a hard core, a static random access memory (SRAM), and a register array on the chip by means of manual operation on the basis of a floor plan of the entire chip.    3. A layout tool to be executed by a computer lays out other gates (basic cells), which are included in the aforementioned netlist, on the chip while pursuing optimization of timings and wiring.    4. The layout tool to be executed by the computer executes a timing job for design data obtained after the cells are placed, and outputs a timing report (end-point report or the like) of each path (signal-propagating path). The path is a route through which a signal propagates. The path started at a pin of a gate (usually a clock pin of a latch) which is termed as a start point, passes through some pins of gates halfway, and ends at a pin (a data pin of a usual latch) of a gate which is termed as an end point.    5. The engineer responsible for the layout refers to an output result of the fourth step. The engineer responsible for the layout thereby analyzes, and identifies, a cause of having a path (a critical path) through which a signal was unable to propagate in a provided timing (a signal was not propagated in time).    6. If the cause of the critical path is found in the floor plan by the analysis in the fifth step, the work returns to the third step, where the floor plan is modified. In a case where the cause is that the path is logically too deep, the work returns to the first step, where the netlist is altered. If it is found that a simple alteration can meet the timing constrains, the work proceeds to the ensuing process (descriptions is omitted).
The analysis of the critical path by the engineer responsible for the layout in the fifth step can be carried out by means of referring to end-point reports which have been made in the fourth step and an image obtained by overlaying the critical path with the chip which has been displayed on a display. This image can be created by means of detecting the critical path from the timing reports such as the end-point reports.
There have been techniques proposed by others of causing a computer to automatically execute a timing job as described in the fourth step to find a critical path as well as a technique of displaying a critical path in a visible manner. For example, the technique of finding a critical path is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Official Gazette No. Hei. 6-282597. In another example the technique of displaying a critical path is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Official Gazette No. Hei. 8-50608.
As described above, the technique of detecting, and visibly displaying, a critical path by use of a computer has been heretofore realized in order to analyze the critical path in the development of an LSI.
However, in a case where there are many critical paths (for example, hundreds of critical paths) in an initial stage or the like of the layout work, if the detected critical paths are displayed one by one, it requires a lot of time and labor to analyze the displayed critical paths.
On the other hand, if all of the detected critical paths are displayed at a time, the critical paths are so crowded on the display screen that it is difficult to identify each of the critical paths visibly.

Apparatus for analyzing post-layout timing critical paths

International Business Machines Corporation


A tool system for brake forming having a punch or a die and at least one insert. In one embodiment, two inserts are removably attached to a die. The die has a defined shape running along a longitudinal axis. Each insert has a protrusion with a particular cross-sectional shape running along the same longitudinal axis. The die has two cavities, each cavity having a cross-sectional shape matching the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion of one of the inserts. In another embodiment, the die has two protrusions and each insert has a cavity for receipt of one of the protrusions of the die. When one of the protrusions is inserted into one of the cavities, the insert is removably fixed to the die. At least one surface of each insert corresponds to and combines with the defined shape of the die, forming a bending surface against which a sheet of metal is formed. After press braking, the sheet of metal is substantially conformed to the defined shape of the die. In another embodiment, an insert is removably attached to a punch such that the insert forms the entire surface of the punch system that contacts the sheet of metal to be shaped during press braking. The inserts are positioned such that they encounter most of the wear caused by the brake forming, whereas the punch and the die encounter only minimal wear. As a result, the inserts are inexpensively repaired or replaced when needed, but the punch and the die remain in good condition during extended use.

This invention relates to the field of mechanical metal deformation processes, and more particularly to brake forming.
The process of brake forming involves placement of a piece of sheet metal along a die and pressing a punch downward onto the die to form the sheet metal along a straight axis in a desired shape. Many shapes can result, but common shapes include a v-shape, channel-shape, and u-shape.
Press brake punches and dies are well known in the art, as are methods of making them. Because punches and dies repeatedly undergo significant forces during brake forming, they are generally made of hardened steel. Such steel must have sufficient hardness to provide the necessary strength and rigidity to maintain the effectiveness and shape of the punch and die over multiple uses.
A major problem with press brake tools is that they wear out quickly. After a certain number of uses, abrasion and galling cause deformation of the punch and the die. Because precision in brake forming is often critical, when the punch or the die begins to lose its shape, the press operator must make adjustments to the forming process, replace the punch or die, or repair the punch or die. Replacement and repair of punches and dies contribute to the costs of the brake forming process, as does having to shut the press down during the re-tooling.
It is therefore desired to develop a punch and a die that better resist wear from repeated use, but that do not significantly increase the costs of manufacture or decrease the performance of the press brake. In the past, dies have been created with inserts to decrease friction. For example, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,972 includes a die having rotatable inserts made from an anti-friction material, such as TEFLON. However, being made from anti-friction material, these inserts cost more to produce, and must be replaced more often, than inserts made of harder, less expensive materials, such as steel. Further, because of the reduced hardness of such inserts, dies having these inserts may not be useable with some types of hardened sheet metal.
In addition, press brakes have been created in the past that include a removable punch insert and a removable die portion. For example, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,619 includes such a system. However, these types of tool systems do not sufficiently reduce the expense of press braking. First, the removable punch insert does not comprise the entire bending surface of the punch, and therefore the punch itself undergoes wear from the press braking process and must be periodically repaired or replaced. In addition, the removable punch insert can be expensive to make because it is an intricate part that contains several different bending surfaces of different radii, each of which must be separately tooled to precise measurements. Second, the removable die portion does not sufficiently reduce expenses because it itself is the tool used to shape the metal, and is therefore susceptible to substantial wear. The removable die portion is expensive to repair or replace because it consists of the entire portion of the bending surface of the die and thus must be machined to the desired shape and radius.


A spring assembly for a foil thrust bearing set includes a stiffener disc and a plurality of spring segments. Each spring segment has at least two anchoring tabs. When inserted into a slot in the stiffener disc, the anchoring tabs anchor the spring segment to the stiffener disc.

The invention relates to bearings in general and foil thrust bearings in particular.
Foil thrust bearings are very attractive for high speed rotating machinery because they do not require oil-based lubrication and the maintenance demands of an oil-based lubrication system. Instead of using oil, foil thrust bearings use a process fluid such as air, methane, water, or gaseous or liquid hydrogen, nitrogen or oxygen.
Metal foils, spring assemblies and other components of the foil bearings can be difficult to manufacture. In the spring assembly, for example, a unitary spring cluster is spot-welded to a spring stiffener disc. Spot-welding places restrictions on the types of materials that can be used for the spring cluster and the stiffener disc. Dissimilar metals for the spring cluster and the stiffener disc cannot be used, even though such use might be desirable.
Fabricating spring clusters for the spring assemblies can be difficult, especially for large bearings. A spring cluster is fabricated by chemically etching spring sectors in a very thin sheet of metal. For small foil bearings this is feasible but complex. However, as the rotating machines become larger, and larger foil thrust bearings are needed, fabricating a large spring cluster from a single sheet of very thin metal will become even more complex and possibly unfeasible.
Welded spring clusters can also lead to maintenance problems. If a single spring sector in the spring cluster is damaged, the spring cluster cannot be unwelded from the stiffener disc. Instead, the entire spring assembly must be replaced.


A system for use in material testing which can be used on non-planar shapes and which is simple and inexpensive in construction. The system includes a layer of piezoelectric material sandwiched between and connected to a unified electrode and a plurality of excitable electrodes; and a structure, such as a Faraday structure-like unit which prevents electric or static fields from getting into or out of the structure and controls voltage potentials contained therein to be uniform, enclosing the ultrasonic transducer unit, and functions by maintaining a voltage potential on the electrodes and the piezoelectric material then pulling to the reference potential selected electrodes to generate a signal which excites the piezoelectric material so it generates a corresponding signal and then measuring the return signal generated by the piezoelectric material in response to a return signal from material being tested in response to the signal generated by the piezoelectric material. The signal generation process can be viewed as being reversed from the process used in the prior art in that the initial signal is generated by the unit of the present invention by pulling an electrode to the reference potential rather than by applying a high voltage pulse to the electrode.

Transducers are defined as devices that convert energy from one form to another. Non-destructive testing (NDT) often uses special transducers to interrogate the internal structure and features of materials or devices under test (DUT) that can not be directly observed by ordinary means. In many instances the structures or features embedded in the materials are undesirable and are considered flaws or damage. In other instances the internal structures and features are an expected, allowable or necessary component of the material. In either case, obtaining accurate information about the nature and character of these internal structures and features is a fundamental need during the inspection, qualification and diagnosis of these materials. One common transducer in NDT applications is the ultrasound transducer (UT).
In the case of a UT, sound energy is converted to electrical energy or electrical energy is converted to sound energy. In many cases this energy conversion is done through the piezoelectric effect, where an electrical field or potential in a piezoelectric material induces a mechanical strain generating an acoustic field, or conversely, an acoustic field impinging on the piezoelectric material induces an electric field or potential. These piezoelectric materials normally have complex electrical impedances which require special methods to integrate them into useful transducers.
Ultrasound is defined as sound whose frequency is above the threshold of hearing (that is, greater than 20 kHz). For practical purposes, signals greater than 100 kHz are typically used. Frequency, along with excitation time width, defines the spatial resolution of the interrogating sound field. A short, high frequency pulse will enable small anomalies and defects in material to be detected. However, with an increase in frequency comes an increase in the attenuation through scattering and absorption of the sound energy. This limits the effective depth that can be probed without too great a loss in signal energy. Consequently, there is an optimal frequency range that trades resolution with received signal response. For ultrasound NDT, a frequency range between 2 and 20 MHz is optimal, with the lower range being most common.
A conventional NDT system configuration is shown in FIG. 1. In this figure the ultrasound system B is connected to a UT C via a long coaxial cable D. UT C includes piezoelectric material BP and an impedance matching and tuning network BI which operate and function in known manners. The ultrasound system produces a high voltage excitation signal which propagates down the coaxial cable, is applied to the piezoelectric element (which includes the piezoelectric material and optional tuning components) and generates an acoustic signal from the front of the UT. Received acoustic signals are sensed by the UT and converted to electrical signals, which are sent back down the coaxial cable to the ultrasound system for analysis. These received signals are generated due to an acoustic impedance mismatch in the material being interrogated. When the acoustic wave in the material impinges upon a change in material property (a change in either density or speed of sound which gives rise to a change in acoustic impedance), part of the acoustic wave is reflected, and another part is transmitted through. This reflected wave is what is received by the transducer. The location of either the far wall of the material or an internal crack or void is measured by the transit time for the wave to travel forward and then be reflected back. Corrosion shows up as a change in distance or transit time from the transducer to the far wall as compared with un-corroded sections.
A useful measure of the ability of a system to convey information from a transducer to a measurement or detection unit is the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). This parameter relates the signal, in whatever dimensions and units are appropriate, to the noise that is present and that would be detected simultaneously with the signal. High SNR values indicate that the signal stands out clearly against the background noise, whereas low SNR values indicate that the signal is being obscured by the noise.
High noise environments, long interconnections, lossy matching networks and low signal levels generally combine to degrade the SNR and confound the detection of small, deep or poorly defined structures or features in the material under interrogation.
Single crystal transducers limit the interrogation of material to the volume under the crystal. Consequently, to inspect more volume of the DUT, the transducer has to be moved. Movement of the transducer by the operator introduces the potential of operator error. Automated Ultrasound Testing systems (AUT) use robotics to move the transducer to remove the potential of operator error. However, these systems can be costly and are time consuming to set up.
Recently, NDT ultrasound systems have incorporated linear array transducers. A linear array transducer consists of a line of single rectangular piezoelectric elements closely spaced side by side. The height of each element is typically 1.5 times the width, and the inter-element spacing is on the order of half a wavelength. A typical linear array transducer will have 16, 64 or 128 such elements in a row. As known to those trained in the art, the geometry of the elements defines the electro-acoustic and geometric response of the transducer array. The thickness and type of piezoelectric material, along with the material loading the back and front sides of the piezoelectric material defines the frequency of operation of the transducer. The size and spacing of the elements defines the geometric response of the transducer as it is used in either single element, or multiple element operation. The ultrasound system or phased array system can pulse and sense single elements in a raster scan (see FIG. 2a) with the pulses to the various elements spaced relatively far apart in time from the pulses to other elements so that the acoustic waves from various elements do not superimpose.
Alternately, the elements can be pulsed either simultaneously or sequentially, introducing various delays between elements. FIG. 2b shows an example where the array elements are pulsed sequentially with small delays between the pulses to the various elements. This effectively steers the acoustic beam. By appropriate timing and control of the various elements in the array (establishing each as a "receive only", "transmit only" or "receive-transmit" combination as described elsewhere in this application) in conjunction with the overall timing organization of the high voltage and receiver gating, phased array operation can be achieved on both transmitted and received acoustic signals.
A linear array system effectively increases the volume of material that can be inspected by sweeping the beam throughout a range of angles in one dimension or stepping the active elements along the direction of the array without the need to move the transducer, thereby reducing the potential of operator errors. The transducer still must be moved in the direction perpendicular to the angle of beam steering to gather more volume information from the DUT in two dimensions. In this configuration, an encoder is used to measure the amount of motion, so that as the transducer is moved, the area under it is appropriately mapped by the phased array system. Phased array systems are typically 5 to 10 times more costly than a single element system, and the transducers are more expensive with more complex connectors and cabling due to the increased number of wires required to access all the elements.
Two-dimensional transducer array systems are also available and provide the greatest volume of inspection without the need to move the transducer. However, the complexity and cost of these systems have made their use prohibitive in NDT. They are primarily used in certain medical applications, providing three-dimensional imaging. As with the linear array, the 2D array has an even more complex connector and cabling systems due to the increased number of elements. In the linear or 2D array, although a common, large area front electrode is typically used, the back electrode of each cell is typically tied directly to a wire, so that the number of wires leaving the transducer are equal to the number of elements plus one for the reference wire. Transducer size is also limited when interrogating curved surfaces because the transducers are inflexible. As a result they are unable to make contact over large areas of curved surfaces.
There is a need for a two-dimensional array transducer system that can provide a large volume of interrogation without the need for an operator to move the transducer. There is also a need to have this transducer flexible so that it bends over a curved surface. There is also a need to integrate the excitation and receive functions of the ultrasound system to reduce the need for extensive cabling. The objective of this invention is to achieve all of these goals while reducing or avoiding the undesirable effects identified herein.

Laminar array ultrasound transducer and system


An I/O compression apparatus, for testing a memory array and/or a logic circuit, is comprised of a selectable compression circuit that outputs compressed test data from the memory array/logic circuit. An I/O scan register is coupled to each I/O pad for converting serial data to parallel and parallel data to serial in response to a test mode select signal, a test data input, and a test clock.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory. Generally, these can be considered either volatile or non-volatile memory.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems.
The manufacturing of memory devices typically includes a testing operation such as the testing standard IEEE 1149.1, also known as Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) boundary scan testing. The JTAG boundary scan method comprises a boundary scan cell coupled to predetermined pins of the integrated circuit. Test data is input to one or more boundary pins of the circuit. Another boundary pin or pins of the circuit are then checked for a predetermined output signal. Since the functions and topology of the tested part are known, the output signal will be known.
This testing can be a complicated, time consuming process. As memory devices become increasingly more complex and the memory density increases, the cost for testing also increases. Since the memory manufacturer has to test a large number of memory devices, even a small increase in test time, multiplied by the large number of memory devices, creates a problem for the manufacturer.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a way to reduce the time required to test a large number of integrated circuits.

Input/output compression and pin reduction in an integrated circuit


An image forming apparatus has a liquid discharge head to discharge droplets of a recording liquid to form an image on a recording medium and a maintenance-and-recovery mechanism to perform a maintenance and recovery operation on the liquid discharge head. The maintenance-and-recovery mechanism includes a suction device, a control unit, a drain tube, and a drain reservoir. The suction device suctions droplets of the recording liquid from the liquid discharge head. The suctioned droplets are not used for an image forming operation. The control unit controls a suction speed of the suction device. The drain reservoir stores the suctioned droplets drained from the drain tube. The drain tube is inclined relative to an opening portion of the drain reservoir. The control unit controls the suction speed of the suction device to change a drain speed of the suctioned droplets drained from the drain tube.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This disclosure generally relates to image forming apparatuses, and more specifically, to an image forming apparatus capable of preventing waste liquid from accumulating at a certain place in a drain reservoir.
2. Description of the Background
An image forming apparatus used as a printer, facsimile machine, copier, multi-functional device thereof, or plotter may have a recording head configured as, for example, a liquid discharge head for discharging liquid droplets of a recording liquid such as ink. Such image forming apparatuses discharge liquid droplets of a recording liquid from nozzles of the liquid discharge head to form a desired image on a recording medium, for example, a paper sheet.
However, in such image forming apparatuses, standby operation, high-temperature and/or low-humidity environment, and low printing frequency may increase the viscosity of the recording liquid, thereby resulting in clogging of the nozzles. Accordingly, such image forming apparatuses generally have a function to maintain and recover the discharge performance of the recording head.
As one example of such a maintenance and recovery function, a conventional image forming apparatus performs an idle discharge operation to discharge liquid droplets not contributing to image recording from nozzles at certain intervals or as needed, thus removing such viscosity-increase liquid from the recording head.
Such a conventional image forming apparatus may also have an idle discharge receiver to receive liquid droplets discharged from the nozzles during such an idle discharge operation. In such an idle discharge receiver, color materials, for example, pigment or dye, contained in a recording liquid may accumulate and grow over time. If such growth of accumulated color materials is not removed, the accumulated color materials may come into contact with a nozzle formation face of the recording head, thereby resulting in an operation failure of the recording head.
Hence, several measures have been proposed to deal with such accumulated materials.
In one example, a conventional inkjet image forming apparatus has a cleaning unit to prevent overflow or contamination of waste liquid. The cleaning unit includes a suction device to suction ink from discharge orifices, an ink passage tube through which to pass the suctioned ink, a drain reservoir to store the ink drained through the ink passage tube, and a shifting unit to shift a position of an end opening of the ink passage tube. When performing a cleaning operation using the cleaning unit, the conventional inkjet image forming apparatus shifts the position of the end opening of the ink passage tube so that such waste ink is relatively uniformly distributed over substantially an entire floor area of the drain reservoir.
In one example, a waste-liquid removal structure is proposed for a conventional inkjet image forming apparatus. The conventional image forming apparatus has a tube to guide waste liquid into a waste liquid tank, and an end opening of the tube is disposed at a certain height relative to the waste liquid tank. In order to remove the waste liquid accumulated below the end opening of the tube, the waste-liquid removal structure has a belt conveyor horizontally disposed in the waste liquid tank and a scraper uprightly disposed on a bottom portion of the waste liquid tank.
However, the above-described conventional inkjet image forming apparatuses have certain disadvantages, for example, relatively large size or highly complex configuration.
In one example, a conventional inkjet recording apparatus has a configuration in which an end opening for pigment waste liquid and an end opening for dye waste liquid are positioned adjacent each other. Such a configuration allows the two types of waste liquids to mix, thereby dissolving a solid deposit of the pigment waste liquid or suppressing solidification and accumulation of such pigment waste liquid. However, in such a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, pigment component may not be fully dissolved and therefore may result in the fixation and accumulation of such pigment waste liquid.
In one example, a conventional liquid discharge apparatus has a controller to change the rotation speed of a tube pump. In the conventional liquid discharge apparatus, the controller controls the tube pump to rotate at a relatively high speed for a given time period and then rotate at a relatively low speed for a given time period. However, such a configuration may need a relatively complex control operation to change the rotation speed of the tube pump. Moreover, repeating such a relatively complex speed change may adversely affect the durability of the tube pump.
In one example, for a conventional image forming apparatus, an idle discharge receiver is proposed that removes deposits of waste liquid accumulated at a slope portion that is provided to receive a recording liquid. The idle discharge receiver has a swing member including a plurality of swing plates coupled with coupling ribs. The swing plates are reciprocated parallel to a surface of the slope portion while keeping away from the slope portion. However, such a configuration has a disadvantage that, as the amount of ink attached to the swing member increases over time, such ink may intrude into gaps among components, so that the movement of the swing member may be prevented.
Thus, there is still a need for an image forming apparatus having a simple configuration and capable of relatively uniformly draining of waste liquid into a drain reservoir while maintaining stable operation without an increase in overall size.

Image forming apparatus with maintenance-and-recovery mechanism


This invention relates to nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of a new human ribonuclease and to the use of these sequences in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of inflammation and disorders associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Ribonucleases are proteins which catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds in RNA chains. They have similar primary structures and catalytic mechanisms. The RNA bonds hydrolyzed are ones between phosphorus and 5' oxygen atoms, generating a free 5'-OH group and a free 3'-phosphate group as new termini. The hydrolysis proceeds through an essential 2',3'-cyclic phosphate intermediate unique to RNA sequences. Although ribonucleases also have affinity for DNA sequences, hydrolysis does not occur because DNA lacks a 2'-hydroxyl group important for the formation of the 2',3'-cyclic phosphate intermediate. Four disulfide bonds, two histidine residues, and one lysine residue are highly conserved among ribonucleases and are important for catalysis.
Ribonucleases have evolved to support a variety of other physiological activities in addition to their function in hydrolysis of RNA. Such activities include anti-parasite, anti-bacterium, anti-virus, anti-neoplastic activities, neurotoxicity, and angiogenesis. For example, bovine seminal ribonuclease is anti-neoplastic (Laceetti, P. et al. (1992) Cancer Res. 52: 4582-4586). Some frog ribonucleases display both anti-viral and anti-neoplastic activity (Youle, R. J. et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 6012-6016; Mikulski, S. M. et al. (1990) J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 82: 151-152; and Wu, Y. -N. et al. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268: 10686-10693). Angiogenin is a tRNA-specific ribonuclease which binds actin on the surface of endothelial cells for endocytosis. Endocytosed angiogenin is translocated to the nucleus where it promotes endothelial invasiveness required for blood vessel formation (Moroianu, J. and Riordan, J. F. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 1217-1221). Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) are related ribonucleases which possess neurotoxicity (Beintema, J. J. et al. (1988) Biochemistry 27: 4530-4538; Ackerman, S. J. (1993) In Makino, S. and Fukuda, T., Eosinophils: Biological and Clinical Aspects. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., pp 33-74). In addition, ECP exhibits cytotoxic, anti-parasitic, and anti-bacterial activities. A EDN-related ribonuclease, named RNase k6, is shown to express in normal human monocytes and neutrophils, suggesting a role for this ribonuclease in host defense (Rosenberg, H. F. and Dyer, K. D. (1996) Nuc. Acid. Res. 24: 3507-3513).
The discovery of a new human ribonuclease and the polynucleotides encoding it satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of inflammation and disorders associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis.