The present invention relates to fungal Δ-15 fatty acid desaturases that are able to catalyze the conversion of linoleic acid (18:2, LA) to alpha-linolenic acid (18:3, ALA). Nucleic acid sequences encoding the desaturases, nucleic acid sequences which hybridize thereto, DNA constructs comprising the desaturase genes, and recombinant host plants and microorganisms expressing increased levels of the desaturases are described. Methods of increasing production of specific omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids by over-expression of the Δ-15 fatty acid desaturases are also described herein.

It has long been recognized that certain polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs, are important biological components of healthy cells. For example, such PUFAs are recognized as:                "Essential" fatty acids that can not be synthesized de novo in mammals and instead must be obtained either in the diet or derived by further desaturation and elongation of linoleic acid (LA) or α-linolenic acid (ALA);        Constituents of plasma membranes of cells, where they may be found in such forms as phospholipids or triglycerides;        Necessary for proper development, particularly in the developing infant brain, and for tissue formation and repair; and,        Precursors to several biologically active eicosanoids of importance in mammals, including prostacyclins, eicosanoids, leukotrienes and prostaglandins.
In the 1970's, observations of Greenland Eskimos linked a low incidence of heart disease and a high intake of long-chain omega-3 PUFAs (Dyerberg, J. et al., Amer. J. Clin Nutr. 28:958-966 (1975); Dyerberg, J. et al., Lancet 2(8081):117-119 (Jul. 15, 1978)). More recent studies have confirmed the cardiovascular protective effects of omega-3 PUFAs (Shimokawa, H., World Rev Nutr Diet, 88:100-108 (2001); von Schacky, C., and Dyerberg, J., World Rev Nutr Diet, 88:90-99 (2001)). Further, it has been discovered that several disorders respond to treatment with omega-3fatty acids, such as the rate of restenosis after angioplasty, symptoms of inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, psoriasis and eczema. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 PUFA) has been shown to reduce increases in blood pressure associated with stress and to improve performance on arithmetic tests. GLA and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA, another omega-6 PUFA) have been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation, cause vasodilation, lower cholesterol levels and inhibit proliferation of vessel wall smooth muscle and fibrous tissue (Brenner et al., Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 83: 85-101 (1976)). Administration of GLA or DGLA, alone or in combination with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, an omega-3 PUFA), has been shown to reduce or prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and other side effects caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,701). Further, GLA and DGLA have been shown to prevent or treat endometriosis and premenstrual syndrome (U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,592) and to treat myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue after viral infections (U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,871). Other evidence indicates that PUFAs may be involved in the regulation of calcium metabolism, suggesting that they may be useful in the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis and kidney or urinary tract stones. Finally, PUFAs can be used in the treatment of cancer and diabetes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,877; Horrobin et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 57 (Suppl.): 732S-737S (1993)).
PUFAs are generally divided into two major classes (consisting of the omega-6 and the omega-3 fatty acids) that are derived by desaturation and elongation of the essential fatty acids, LA and ALA, respectively. Despite a variety of commercial sources of PUFAs from natural sources [e.g., seeds of evening primrose, borage and black currants; filamentous fungi (Mortierella), Porphyridium (red alga), fish oils and marine plankton (Cyclotella, Nitzschia, Crypthecodinium)], there are several disadvantages associated with these methods of production. First, natural sources such as fish and plants tend to have highly heterogeneous oil compositions. The oils obtained from these sources therefore can require extensive purification to separate or enrich one or more of the desired PUFAs. Natural sources are also subject to uncontrollable fluctuations in availability (e.g., due to weather, disease, or over-fishing in the case of fish stocks); and, crops that produce PUFAs often are not competitive economically with hybrid crops developed for food production. Large-scale fermentation of some organisms that naturally produce PUFAs (e.g., Porphyridium, Mortierella) can also be expensive and/or difficult to cultivate on a commercial scale.
As a result of the limitations described above, extensive work has been conducted toward: 1.) the development of recombinant sources of PUFAs that are easy to produce commercially; and 2.) modification of fatty acid biosynthetic pathways, to enable production of desired PUFAs. For example, advances in the isolation, cloning and manipulation of fatty acid desaturase and elongase genes from various organisms have been made over the last several years. Knowledge of these gene sequences offers the prospect of producing a desired fatty acid and/or fatty acid composition in novel host organisms that do not naturally produce PUFAs. The literature reports a number of examples in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, such as: Domergue, F., et al. (Eur. J. Biochem. 269:4105-4113 (2002)), wherein two desaturases from the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricomutum were cloned into S. cerevisiae, leading to the production of EPA; Beaudoin F., et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97(12):6421-6 (2000)), wherein the omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA biosynthetic pathways were reconstituted in S. cerevisiae, using genes from Caenorhabditis elegans; Dyer, J. M., et al. (Appl. Eniv. Microbiol., 59:224-230 (2002)), wherein plant fatty acid desaturases (FAD2 and FAD3) were expressed in S. cerevisiae, leading to the production of ALA; and, U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,574 (Knutzon et al., Abbott Laboratories), wherein one desaturase from Brassica napus and two desaturases from the fungus Mortierella alpina were cloned into S. cerevisiae, leading to the production of LA, GLA, ALA and STA.
There remains a need, however, for an appropriate plant and/or microbial system in which these types of genes can be expressed to provide for economical production of commercial quantities of one or more PUFAs. Additionally, a need exists for oils enriched in specific PUFAs, notably EPA and DHA.
One class of microorganisms that has not been previously examined as a production platform for PUFAs are the oleaginous yeast. These organisms can accumulate oil up to 80% of their dry cell weight. The technology for growing oleaginous yeast with high oil content is well developed (for example, see EP 0 005 277B1; Ratledge, C., Prog. Ind. Microbiol. 16:119-206 (1982)), and may offer a cost advantage compared to commercial micro-algae fermentation for production of ω-3- or ω-6 PUFAs. Whole yeast cells may also represent a convenient way of encapsulating omega-3- or omega-6 PUFA-enriched oils for use in functional foods and animal feed supplements.
Despite the advantages noted above, most oleaginous yeast are naturally deficient in omega-6 PUFAs, since naturally produced PUFAs in these organisms are usually limited to 18:2 fatty acids. Thus, the problem to be solved is to develop an oleaginous yeast that accumulates oils enriched in omega-3 and/or omega-6 fatty acids. Toward this end, it is not only necessary to introduce the required desaturases and elongases that allow for the synthesis and accumulation of omega-3 and/or omega-6 fatty acids in oleaginous yeast, but also to increase the availability of the 18:3 substrate (i.e., ALA for ω-3 production). Generally, the availability of this substrate is controlled by the activity of Δ-15 desaturases that catalyze the conversion of LA to ALA.
There were a variety of known Δ-15 desaturases disclosed in the public literature, including those from photosynthetic organisms (e.g., plants) and Caenorhabditis elegans at the time that the instant invention was made. These desaturases are not known to be effective for altering fatty acid composition in oleaginous yeast and are not preferred for use in oleaginous yeast. Furthermore, heterologous expression of these desaturases in the non-oleaginous yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has resulted in production of less than 5% ALA (Reed, D. et al. Plant Physiol. 122:715-720 (2000); Meesapyodsuk, D. et al. Biochem. 39:11948-11954 (2000); WO 2003/099216). Thus, there is need for the identification and isolation of genes encoding Δ-15 desaturases that are able to support production of high levels of 18:3 (ALA) and higher ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in oleaginous microorganisms (e.g., oleaginous yeast) for use in the production of PUFAs.
The instant invention concerns, inter alia, isolation of the gene encoding a Δ-15 desaturase from the fungus Fusarium moniliforme and demonstrating surprisingly efficient conversion of 18:2 (LA) to 18:3 (ALA) upon expression in an oleaginous yeast. Orthologs of this Δ-15 desaturase were identified in Magnaporthe grisea, Fusarium graminearium, Aspergilius nidulans and Neurospora crassa. Upon further experimental analysis of the Fusarium moniliforme and Magnaporthe grisea desaturases' activity, however, it was surprisingly shown that both Δ-15 desaturases also have Δ-1 2 desaturase activity (and thus the enzymes are characterized herein as having bifunctional Δ-12/Δ-15 desaturase activity).
In addition to the interest in oleaginous yeast as a production platform for PUFAs, there has also been interest in plants as an alternative production platform for PUFAs.
WO 02/26946, published Apr. 4, 2002, describes isolated nucleic acid fragments encoding FAD4, FAD5, FAD5-2 and FAD6 fatty acid desaturase family members which are expressed in LCPUFA-producing organisms, e.g., Thraustochytrium, Pythium irregulare, Schizichytrium and Crypthecodinium. It is indicated that constructs containing the desaturase genes can be used in any expression system including plants, animals, and microorganisms for the production of cells capable of producing LCPUFAs.
WO 02/26946, published Apr. 4, 2002, describes FAD4, FAD5, FAD5-2, and FAD6 fatty acid desaturase members and uses thereof to produce long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
WO 98/55625, published Dec. 19, 1998, describes the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids by expression of polyketide-like synthesis genes in plants.
WO 98/46764, published Oct. 22, 1998, describes compositions and methods for preparing long chain fatty acids in plants, plant parts and plant cells which utilize nucleic acid sequences and constructs encoding fatty acid desaturases, including Δ-5 desaturases, Δ-6 desaturases and Δ-12 desaturases.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,183, issued to Knutzon et al. on Jun. 13, 2000, describes methods and compositions for synthesis of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plants.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,018, issued to Knutzon on Oct. 1, 2002, describes a method for producing stearidonic acid in plant seed utilizing a construct comprising a DNA sequence encoding a Δ-six desaturase.
Spychalla et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 94, 1142-1147 (February 1997), describes the isolation and characterization of a cDNA from C. elegans that, when expressed in Arabidopsis, encodes a fatty acid desaturase which can catalyze the introduction of an omega-3 double bond into a range of 18- and 20-carbon fatty acids.

Δ 15 desaturases suitable for altering levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in oleaginous plants and yeast


A method of printing includes providing a computer server linked to a plurality of printers, initiating a print job on a user computer device, querying the computer server for one or more available printers; transmitting identification information and location information of each printer from the computer server to the user computer device; displaying the information in the form of a list to the user computer device; selecting by a user one of the printers in the list; transmitting the selection to the computer server; transmitting configuration information for the selected printer to the user computer device; configuring the print data by with the configuration information; and transmitting the configured print data from the user computer device to the selected printer for printing.

The setting of the invention is a network (wired, wireless, or both) of devices such as printers, scanners, multifunction printing devices, personal computers, and handheld user computer devices. Mobile users connected to a network need the ability to easily and quickly discover and use the services provided by the devices on the network. These may include printing, scanning, and faxing. In particular, the mobile user needs a way of determining which devices offering the desired services are in close proximity of the user.
Printing methods currently on the market require a user to install a printer driver or other printer software on an user computer device before any file can be printed on that specific printer. Because of the hundreds of printer models currently on the market, it is improbable that a user would have printer drivers or software for each of these printers. Typically, a user only has the printer software of his home printer or printers installed on his user computer device. For a mobile user, this causes problems when printing needs arise while away from the user's home printer or printers. The present invention is designed to overcome the shortcomings in current market products by simplifying the process.

Method of printing, scanning, and faxing using device location


Taurine derivatives represented by the following formula (1) and cleanser compositions containing the same: ##STR1## wherein R is a linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 21 carbon atoms, and M.sub.1 and M.sub.2 are the same or different from each other and each independently is a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal atom, 1/2 (an alkaline earth metal atom), an ammonium group, etc.,. are excellent in foaming, detergency, comfort in use, rinsability, safety and biodegradability and are employed as a cleanser for the hair and body or tableware.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel taurine derivatives, processes for producing the same, and cleanser compositions containing such taurine derivatives. Moreover, the present invention relates to other taurine derivatives which are useful as intermediates for synthesizing the above-mentioned taurine derivatives and are themselves useful as cleansers, a process for producing the same, and cleanser compositions containing such taurine derivatives. The present invention also relates to methods of washing hair or skin using such taurine deirvatives.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, it has become demanded that the surfactants used as cleansers have excellent properties such as biodegradability, safety toward the skin, eyes and hair, foaming power, comfort in the use thereof, and rinsability as well as surface activity. Acylated amino acid surfactants, imidazoline surfactants, alkyl phosphate salts, saccharide surfactants such as alkyl glycosides have become widely employed as surfactants meeting the above demand.
Generally, these surfactants are costly and unsatisfactory in foaming power and detergency which are particularly important in the use as a cleanser, while they are excellent in other properties such as safety. Therefore, it is rare that these surfactants per se are independently used as the main ingredient of a cleanser such as a body cleanser and a shampoo. These surfactants are generally used together with a conventional anionic surfactant such as an alkyl sulfate, an alkyl ether sulfate and a fatty acid soap. Therefore, the development of a cleanser which is available at a low cost, is excellent in foaming power, detergency and comfort in the use thereof, and ensures high safety, is strongly demanded in the art.

Taurine derivatives for use in cleanser compositions


A flytrap including a casing having a trapping area adapted for holding a bait for attracting flies, a flapping mechanism, a holding-down mechanism, and an intermittent action control device, wherein when the driving mechanism is turned on, the holding-down mechanism is moved by a driven member of the driving mechanism to hold down the flapping mechanism, and the intermittent action control device starts counting a predetermined length of time when the driven member is turned to switch off a power control switch in cutting off power supply from the driving mechanism, and the driving mechanism is started again when the counting is ended, causing the the holding-down mechanism to be released from the flapping mechanism, permitting the flapping mechanism to flap attracted flies with a flyflap.

The present invention relates to flytraps, and more particularly to such a flytrap which intermittently drives a flyflap to flap flies attracted by a bait.
When catching or killing flies, a flypaper or flyflap may be used. When killing flies with a flyflap, dead flies may be left in food, causing food to be contaminated. A flypaper is a paper coated with some sticky or poisonous substance for catching flies. However, because of its limited area, a flypaper can only catch a limited number of flies. There is known a device comprised of a swinging rod having tassels hung thereon and a motor drive controlled to turn the swinging rod, and used for flapping flies away. However, this device can only flap flies away, but cannot kill flies.

Ta Chu Wei, No. 225-2, Hung-Chu Tsun, Lu-Chu Hsiang


The invention relates to novel compositions comprising of an extract of the plant Euphorbia prostrata, particularly with pharmaceutically acceptable carrier(s)/base(s), optionally with additional therapeutic agent(s) useful for the treatment of anorectal disease and colonic diseases such as hemorrhoids, fissures, cracks, fistulas, abscesses, inflammatory bowel disease, and the like. The novel compositions possess properties to control inflammation, prevent capillary bleeding and fragility in mammalians, particularly human beings. Process for the preparation of such novel compositions comprising an extract of the plant Euphorbia prostrata and pharmaceutically acceptable carrier(s)/base(s) useful for the treatment of anorectal disease including hemorrhoids, and colonic diseases are also provided. The composition comprise of flavonoidal and phenolic constituents extracted from the plant Euphorbia prostrata that possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic, haemostatic and wound-healing properties.

Among the various anorectal and colonic diseases, hemorrhoids occupy a prominent position and have been the subject of numerous clinical studies. Hemorrhoidal disease is characterised by bleeding, without any pain. Fresh blood spots occur immediately, on defecation. However, pain occurs when the hemorrhoids are secondarily infected, or complicated by thrombosis and anal fissures. Hemorrhoids can be caused by a variety of factors including hormones, genes, inflammation, infection, constipation, exercise, vascular stasis, diet, strain, physical stance in defecation, loss of connective tissue elasticity with age etc. The symptoms most widely recognized are bleeding, pain and prolapse (Hyams and Philpot, 1970; Smith, 1987). These may be accompanied by thrombosis, pruritis, edema etc. Hemorrhoids can be treated through reduction of inflammation and pain, haemostasis, wound healing and protection of vascular walls. Thus, an effective treatment of acute hemorrhoidal attacks should not only provide relief as early as 2-3 days after initiation of the treatment, but also reduce the recurrence of such attacks.
There exist several procedures for the treatment of hemorrhoids. WO8803398 patent application discloses surgical dressings for such treatment. Patents have been granted in respect of surgical devices such as European patent no. 0095142. U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,635 has been granted for the use of lasers in the treatment of hemorrhoids. The techniques of cryopharmacotherapy and electrochemical techniques for treatment of hemorrhoids have also been patented vide European patent no. 0091405 and European patent no. 0116688, respectively. However, the biggest drawbacks of the above are the involvement of medical experts beyond mere prescription of medicines and probable hospitalization. Also, some of them are physically and/or psychologically unpleasant in application for treating such diseases.
Several patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,160,148, 4,508,728, 4,797,392, 4,518,583 and 5,234,914) have been granted in respect of compositions containing certain wound healing agents to provide symptomatic relief, by promoting tissue repair, reducing inflammation and encouraging wound healing. Some of them like U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,518,583 and 5,234,914 contain antimicrobial agents. These compositions, however, only relieve symptoms associated with inflammation, like heat, itching, redness, pain and swelling.
A number of compositions for the treatment of anorectal diseases (including hemorrhoids) are based on the anesthetic and vasoconstrictive properties of the constituents, but these provide only temporary symptomatic relief.
Patents in the United States of America (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,613,498, 4,626,433, 5,166,132, 5,219,880, 5,234,914 and 4,797,392) and Europe (European patents nos. 0225832 and 0513442) have been granted in respect of compositions with varying constituents, for topical application in the form of suitable and acceptable pharmaceutical carriers, such as salts, ointments, etc., with organic, inorganic or biological active agents. However, these compositions provide only temporary relief and are limited to local application and cannot be used for systemic use or oral administration.
A topical treatment for hemorrhoidal pain and for spasms of the sphincters and muscles located in the GI tract is disclosed in a granted patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,753), which includes amino acid L-arginine in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,436 has been granted for a composition for dietary supplement for the treatment of hemorrhoids. The composition comprises 60% to 95% Indian Barberry by weight; 4.8% to 38% Nagkesar by weight; and 0.2% to 2% Margosa tree leaves by weight.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,906 discloses the use of bark or berries of the species Xanthoxylum clava herculis L and Xanthoxylum americanum Hill, both of the yellow wood tree family, are employed for the treatment of hemorrhoids and other membrane and capillary disorders of the veins and arteries. Improved strength and flexibility of the veins, arteries and their constituent structures is obtained.
The flavonoidal constituents present in the extract of Euphorbia Prostrata are reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. The phenolic compounds like ellagic and gallic acids and tannins are reported to have anti-inflammatory, haemostatic, gastro-protective and wound healing properties.
Other plants containing flavonoids including apigenin glycosides and luteolin glycosides are Ixora arborea (Rubiaceae), Bommeria hispida (Pteridaceae), Adenocalymma alliaceum (Bignoniaceae), Thalictrum thunbergii (Ranunculaceae), Perilla frutescens (Labiateae), Chrysenthemum indicum, C. coronarium and Matricaria chamomilla (Compositae), Thymus membranaceous (Labiateae), Digitalis lanata (Scrophulariaceae), Cuminum cyminum and Petroselinum (Umbelliferae). Several species of Euphorbia like Euphorbia minuta, Euphorbia microphylla, Euphorbia granulata (Euphorbiaceae) contain both apigenin and luteolin. Ellagic acid and other phenolic acids have been reported from different species of Euphorbia.
The safety of various components of the Euphorbia extract has been reported in the literature. Some of the reports also claim anti-mutagenic/anti-carcinogenic/anti-genotoxic properties of the components of the Euphorbia extract.
An Indian Pat. No. 186803 and several other patents (Australia, No. 698407; China, No. CN 1102387C; Europe, No. 868914; Russia, No. 2174396; South Africa, No. 97/2900; South Korea, No. 281679 and U.S., Pat. No. 5,858,371) have been granted to this applicant for a composition comprising a flavonoid containing extract of Euphorbia prostrata for treatment of anorectal and colonic diseases. However, the presence of the phenolic compounds those are therapeutically useful for treatment of anorectal and colonic diseases due to their hemostatic and astringent properties, did not exist in the claimed extract. The process of extraction claimed in the said patent comprised of an intermediate step of treating the concentrated extract with hot water (80-90° C.); which resulted in the loss of especially the phenolic compounds from the extract, since they were washed out with the water. It has been surprisingly found by the inventors of the present invention that the presence of the phenolic compounds like ellagic acid, gallic acid and tannins comprising of these acids makes the claimed extract more effective for treatment of hemorrhoids and other colonic diseases, as the phenolic compounds are known mucoprotective agents. The antimicrobial properties of these phenolic compounds further prevent secondary infections often accompanied with hemorrhoids, fissures, fistulas etc. The present invention describes an improved process for the preparation of the Euphorbia prostrata extract thus resulting in an improved composition of the said extract. The previously essential step of treatment of the concentrated extract with hot water has been removed in the present invention since it was found that the water soluble portion contains substantial amount of phenolic compounds; instead washing the said concentrated extract was done directly with non-polar solvent where only waxy materials and pigments are removed and there is no significant loss of phenolic compounds, followed by preferably re-extracting the washed polar extract in a medium polarity organic solvent followed by distilling, dehydrating and finally drying the extract.
The inventors have further researched, and have found that the novel flavonoid and phenolic compounds containing extract of Euphorbia prostrata disclosed in the present invention exhibits improved pharmacological response in comparison to existing compositions employing flavonoids either from Euphorbia or other sources. Further, the extraction procedure of the disclosed Euphorbia Prostrata extract in the present invention is more cost effective and less time consuming in comparison to that of existing compositions employing flavonoids isolated from Euphorbia prostrata. The commercial implications of the improved and economic extraction procedure led the inventors to re-establish the pharmacological and toxicological validity of the new extract. The results were strikingly better than those of the equivalent flavonoid doses of the more purified extract of Euphorbia prostrata as disclosed earlier.
The present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions for the long-term management of anorectal diseases including hemorrhoids, and colonic diseases that are safe and painless to administer and have long-term effectiveness. The compositions of the present invention have improved efficacy and safety and are economical to manufacture.

Pharmaceutical compositions comprising an extract of


A display device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The display device includes a display panel having a display region and a non-display region that are divided in a plane where a light-emitting surface of the display panel is located, a drive circuit plate being disposed on the non-display region; a light transmission layer which is extended from the display region to above the drive circuit plate within the non-display region and has an opening, the opening being adjacent to a boundary of the drive circuit plate close to the display region and being disposed on a side of the drive circuit plate close to the display region.

A flexible substrate of a flexible display panel may be bent or even folded, and can accordingly be easier to carry, or even be worn by consumers as a flexible display device on their bodies.
Usually, there is a thickness difference in a side surface of a FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) since the FPC has a certain thickness. When forming a bonding layer, the bonding layer cannot be completely attached to the side surface of the FPC. A light leakage will occur if the light is emitted from a region within the visible area other than the operable region, thereby adversely affecting the user experience.

Display device and method of manufacturing the same

CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A plurality of receptacles in an irrigation controller removably receive a plurality of modules. At least one station module is configured for insertion into a first one of the receptacles and is connectable to a corresponding solenoid actuated valve through a dedicated field valve line and common return line. The station module includes at least one switching device for selectively providing a first power signal that energizes the corresponding solenoid actuated valve. At least one encoder module is configured for insertion into a second one of the receptacles and is connectable to a multi-wire path for sending encoded signals and a second power signal along the multi-wire path for selectively energizing one of a plurality of solenoid actuated valves connected to corresponding decoder circuits connected along the multi-wire path. A processor executes the stored watering program and controls the station module and/or the encoder module in accordance with the stored watering program.

In many parts of the world due to inadequate rainfall it is necessary at certain times during the year to artificially water turf and landscaping. An ideal irrigation system for turf and landscaping should utilize a minimum number of valves, supply lines and sprinklers. Preferably the valves should be turned ON and OFF by an inexpensive, yet reliable electronic irrigation controller that is easy to program and can carry out a wide variety of watering schedules. The goal is to uniformly distribute the optimum amount of water over a given area. The type, placement and flow rates for each of the sprinklers are pre-selected when an irrigation system is designed and/or installed. The optimum flow rate provided by each sprinkler should preferably fall within plus or minus one-quarter gallon-per minute (GPM). The amount of water supplied by each sprinkler is largely determined by the size and configuration of its nozzle orifice(s), although variations result from fluctuations in water pressure that cannot be fully negated with regulators.
Residential and commercial irrigation systems typically include one or more solenoid operated valves that are turned ON and OFF by an electronic irrigation controller. The valves admit water to various subterranean branch lines usually made of PVC pipe that typically have several sprinklers connected to risers coupled to the branch lines at spaced intervals. Each combination of a solenoid valve and its associated sprinklers is referred to in the irrigation industry as a station or zone. A modern electronic irrigation controller typically includes a microprocessor that executes one or more watering programs. The watering programs can be pre-programmed by the user via push button and/or rotary controls. The controller usually has an LCD or other display to facilitate programming by the user. Often the controller will revert to a default watering program in the case of a power failure. The microprocessor controls the solenoid valves via suitable drivers and switching devices. The valves are opened and closed by the microprocessor in accordance with the pre-programmed run and cycle times for each of the stations.
Over the past decade, modular expandable irrigation controllers have gained increasing popularity. In these controllers, the base portion of the system contains the microprocessor and user actuated controls. Each station is then controlled by a corresponding station module which comprises a plastic housing that encloses and supports a station module circuit, as well as wire connection terminals for connecting wires to a plurality of solenoid actuated valves. Typically each station module circuit includes a plurality of triacs or other switching devices and can independently control a plurality of solenoid actuated valves, i.e., stations. The station modules contain pins, sockets, card edge connectors or some other standard form of electro-mechanical connectors for allowing them to be inserted into slots or receptacles in either the housing that contains the microprocessor or a separate back panel hinged to the microprocessor housing. When the station modules are plugged into a modular expandable irrigation controller they are mechanically supported and an electrical connection is made between the microprocessor and the driver. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,721,630 B1 of Peter Woytowitz, assigned to Hunter Industries, Inc., the assignee of the present application.
The advantage of an irrigation controller with a modular expandable configuration is that the controller need only be equipped with the minimum number of station modules that can control the total number of stations needed. Thus, for example, an irrigation system may have only three zones, requiring only a single station module, while another may have twelve stations which might require four station modules. Considerable cost savings are thus achieved. Moreover, if an irrigation system expands after initial installation because the landscaping has increased, additional station modules can be plugged into the controller. The station modules can also be removed and replaced if damaged, for example, during a lightening strike. In some modular expandable irrigation systems the base unit is capable of controlling a minimal number of stations without requiring the addition of any station modules. In others, such as the ICC™ irrigation controller manufactured and sold by Hunter Industries, Inc., at least a power module and one irrigation station module must be plugged into the controller in order to operate any stations or zones.
A modular expandable irrigation controller requires a dedicated field valve line to extend from the controller to the solenoid valve of each station. A common line returns from each of the solenoids to complete the circuit. Thus each station is controlled by the microprocessor through a separate circuit. When a residential irrigation system is installed, typically the controller is mounted in the garage and all the wires are laid underground to one or more subterranean valve boxes that contain the solenoid operated valves. The installers frequently do not have the foresight to install extra wires to support additional stations at some future date. This can lead to major cost and expense if the homeowner has a modular expandable irrigation controller that allows for the addition of more stations, but the hard wires to reach them are not already in place.
Another type of irrigation controller exists that does not require a dedicated field valve line to each station. So-called "decoder" systems are available in either two wire or three wire versions. In a two-wire decoder system one or two way communication between the microprocessor and the valves is achieved by encoding signals and transmitting them over the same two wires that carry the power to the valve solenoids. The valves are connected in parallel to the two wires through decoder circuits that are used to identify commands uniquely intended for that station. In a three-wire decoder system two of the wires are used for power and the third is used for communications. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,653,595 of Greengard, Jr. et al.; 4,209,131 of Barash et al. assigned to Motorola; 4,176,395 of Evelyn-Veere et al. assigned to Clemar Manufacturing; and 5,048,755 of Dodds et al.
In irrigation control systems of the decoder type signal modulation (AM or FM) is typically used to encode the commands and data sent between the microprocessor and the stations. Decoder systems can easily be expanded to provide additional stations simply by attaching additional decoder circuits and valves to the two-wire or three-wire path at the locations of each new station. It is not necessary to run dedicated field valve lines all the way back to the main controller for each new station. Thousands of feet of wiring can be accommodated by decoder irrigation systems so very large properties such as golf courses, housing subdivisions, apartments and condominiums can easily be automatically irrigated. Despite all their apparent versatility and attractiveness, decoder irrigation systems are much more complex, less well understood by users, and harder to troubleshoot than conventional modular expandable irrigation control systems that utilize a dedicated field valve line for each station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,658 of Sarver discloses a method of retrofitting an existing irrigation control system including a centralized controller, a plurality of independent valve control lines extending between the controller and the valves, and a return line extending from each of the valves to the controller. A terminal strip is installed within the controller and connects each of the valve control lines together. A signal encoder circuit board is permanently installed within the controller and a decoder is installed in series with each valve assembly. When the retrofitting is complete the irrigation control system of the Sarver patent essentially comprises a two wire decoder system. The first "wire" is the combination of each of the valve control lines now all in parallel to each other and all connected to one another via the terminal strip. The "second wire" is the common return line returning from each valve assembly. The permanent conversion of a conventional irrigation controller to a decoder system is not a practical solution for landscape contractors because it requires too much expertise and effort to make the physical modifications that are required. In addition, few conventional irrigation controllers have the space and other physical configuration requirements that would allow them to accept the installation and connection of the terminal strip and signal encoder circuit board. Moreover, such a retrofitting process would be impractical given the wide variety of programming and output formats of various conventional controllers already installed in the field. The resulting decoder controller disclosed in Sarver does not afford the benefits of a simpler conventional irrigation control system wherein each station essentially comprises a separate circuit.

Remote programming and diagnostic of decoder irrigation system


A tool structure includes a plurality of first blade members, each having a conical file arranged for cleaning of hooks and the like, with a plurality of second blades, each having a spring loop tool structure to direct fishing line through an associated fishing hook loop and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to tool apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved fishing hook tool arranged to accommodate cleaning and directing of fishing line through various fishing eyelet structure, such as fishing hooks and fishing rod loops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fishing accessory tool structure is available in the prior art, wherein such accessory structure has heretofore failed to assist fishermen in the threading and cleaning of eyelet structure relative to a fishing procedure. The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for various conical files arranged to permit the cleaning of eyelets associated with fishing equipment, wherein spring loop structure is arranged to secure a fishing line to permit its projection through such eyelet structure and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A method and an apparatus for repairing short circuits between electrodes of a multi-color organic light-emitting display device. A multi-color organic light-emitting display device having a color-converting filter section is provided. Then a short-circuited part between electrodes in the device is eliminated by irradiating the short-circuited part with a laser beam. The laser irradiation is carried out from the side of the device on which the color-converting filter section is not present. The method is carried out in an environment in which the moisture content is below a certain threshold value such as a vacuum or a dry nitrogen atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a repair apparatus for repairing short circuits between first electrodes and one or more second electrodes of a multi-color organic light-emitting display device containing a color-converting filter section. The invention can be used in the field of multi-color organic light-emitting display devices having color-converting filters.
2. Prior Art
Organic light-emitting devices have characteristics that low-voltage driving is possible and visibility is good due to being self-luminescent, and hence research into making organic light-emitting devices fit for practical use has been carried out vigorously (see Appl. Phys. Lett., 51, 913 (1987)). As such organic light-emitting devices, ones that comprise a substrate, first electrodes, an organic light-emitting layer comprising a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transport layer and an electron injection layer or the like, and one or more second electrodes are known, both in the case of an active matrix driving type (one second electrode) and in the case of a passive matrix driving type (plural second electrodes).
With such an organic light-emitting device, defects caused by short-circuiting between the first electrodes and the second electrode or electrodes may occur. The occurrence of such defects is a large factor in the yield being reduced.
Pixels where there is an electrical short circuit will not light up due to the inter-electrode potential required for light emission no longer being obtained, and hence these pixels will become display defects, that is, black spots in the display. Moreover, these pixels cause various other image quality defects when displaying an image. For example, well-known such image quality defects are a data line including a short-circuited pixel being lit continuously in the form of a bright line, the whole of an address line containing a short-circuited pixel becoming dark, and so on.
Methods for repairing such short circuits between such first and second electrodes include, for example, a method in which repair is carried out by partially destroying the short-circuited electrodes using a laser (a laser-based repair method) (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-260857, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-118684, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-208252, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-195677, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-340905). All of these patent documents disclose the repair of an organic light-emitting display device that does not have color-converting filters using a laser-based repair method.
In recent years, the development of multi-color organic light-emitting display devices in which color-converting filters are added as constituent elements to an organic light-emitting device as described above, has been carried out vigorously. With multi-color organic light-emitting display devices having color-converting filters, again reduction in image quality due to short-circuiting between electrodes in the organic light-emitting device section has been a problem. Such short-circuiting between electrodes may have to be repaired in a state in which the color-converting filters have already been provided on the multi-color organic light-emitting display device.
Repairing short circuits between first electrodes and one or more second electrodes of multi-color organic light-emitting display devices is important for preventing a drop in yield. However, there is a problem in the case of applying the laser-based repair method to a multi-color organic light-emitting display device. That is, because the multi-color organic light-emitting display device has color-converting filters, the laser irradiation cannot be carried out from the side where they are present. This is due to the fact that if the laser-based repair method is used to repair short-circuiting between electrodes in a multi-color organic light-emitting display device having color-converting filters from the side of the color-converting filters, the laser irradiation will damage a passivation layer or color-converting filter layers in the color-converting filter section. In particular, there is a problem that if the passivation layer is damaged, then moisture contained in the color-converting filter layers will diffuse out, and damage the organic light-emitting device, resulting in dark spots. This problem is particularly marked, for example, with a bottom emission type, passive matrix type, multi-color organic light-emitting display device in which the organic light-emitting layer is formed after the color-converting filters have been formed. Furthermore, with a multi-color organic light-emitting display device of this type, if it is decided to carry out the laser irradiation from the side of the organic light-emitting layer, i.e. the side opposite to the side of the color-converting filters, after sealing has been carried out, then there will be a problem that the choice of sealing member, drying agent and so on will be restricted. Moreover, there are calls for a repair method having a broad range of application that can also be applied to multi-color organic light-emitting display devices of other types.

Method of repairing and apparatus for repairing multi-color organic light-emitting display device


An electronic watch 400 which comprises a power supply 401 and a watch circuit 402. The watch circuit 402 comprises an oscillator circuit 403, a frequency divider circuit 404, a drive pulse generation means 405, a drive motor 406 which, in response to a drive pulse P1 that is output by the above-noted drive pulse generation means 405, drives at least one of the hour/minute, second, and functional hands including chronograph hands, a drive circuit means 407 which controls the drive of the drive motor 406, a drive circuit control means 408 which controls the above-noted drive circuit means 407, and a control condition detection means 409 which is connected to the above-noted drive circuit control means 408 and which detect the control condition in the drive circuit control means 408, the control condition detection means 409 being provided with a non-proper condition detection means 410 which senses the occurrence of a condition in which it is not possible to properly drive the above-noted drive motor 406 under a prescribed condition in a prescribed control mode currently being executed, and a control mode change-instructing means 411 which, in response to a detection signal of the above-noted non-proper condition detection means 410, issues an instruction to the drive circuit control means 408 to change the control mode currently being executed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic watch, and more specifically it relates to an electronic watch having a drive motor which is driven by a normal hand-movement drive pulse and a drive motor which is driven by a non-normal hand-movement drive pulse that differs from the above-noted normal hand-movement drive pulse, so that even if the power supply voltage or drive conditions change, a proper drive condition is maintained for the drive motor which is driven by a normal hand-movement drive pulse, and which can also achieve low-power-consumption operation
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a usual type of stepping motor for an electronic watch rotates in the forward direction only in response to, for example, an input signal, and is configured so as not to rotate in the reverse direction.
For this reason, if it is desirable to cause the rotor to rotate in the reverse direction, for example to set the hand positions, it is necessary to perform drive with a special reverse drive pulse.
A disclosure of such a special reverse drive pulse was made in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 52-80063, in which there is a reverse-rotation pulse in which two alternating pulses form one group, and a reverse-rotation pulse in which three alternating pulses form one group.
Of late, many solar cell watches, which have a solar cell, the light incident to which is converted to electrical energy, which is stored in a capacitor or secondary cell, this capacitor or secondary cell being used as the drive source.
In this type of solar cell watch, electrical energy is generally stored during the day and discharged during the evening, and there is a considerable variation in the voltage of the capacitor or secondary cell over even a period of one day.
Therefore, in this type of solar cell watch in particular, it is desirable that a stepping motor operates normally with as low a voltage as possible.
However, the reverse rotation operation of the above-noted stepping motor exhibits a narrower range of operating voltage than for forward operation, and it is particularly difficult to achieve normal operation at a low voltage.
Additionally, because the drive frequency for fast forward drive is high, the pulse width must be made narrow, making normal operation at a low voltage difficult.
An example of a system for hand movement in an electronic watch having a stepping motor in the past is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-58192, in which the rotation and non-rotation of the rotor are detected, and when the rotor is non-rotating, load compensation is performed by outputting a compensation drive pulse, thereby causing the stepping motor to rotate reliably, and to drive, via the gear train, the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand.
The disclosure of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-58192 will be generally explained, with reference made to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a electronic watch of the past.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are waveform diagrams which show the rotation detection operation of the load compensation of the electronic watch which is shown in FIG. 1, in which FIGS. 2 (a), (b), (c), and FIGS. 3 (a), (b), and (c) are approximately the same as FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-58192.
In FIG. 1, the normal watch section 200 corresponds to the FIG. 1 in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-58192, this drawing having been simplified for the purpose of the description.
In this drawing, the reference numeral 10 denotes a first stepping motor, 13 is a first rotor which is a rotor of the first stepping motor 10, 201 is an oscillator circuit, 202 is a frequencye divider circuit, 203 is a normal drive pulse generation circuit, 204 is a compensation drive pulse generation circuit, 205 is a coil switching pulse generation circuit, 206 is a drive pulse supply means, 207 is a load compensation control circuit, 208 is a coil switching pulse supply means, 209 is a drive circuit, and 210 is a detection circuit.
In this same drawing, 300 is a chronograph section, 20 is a second stepping motor, 301 is a chronograph pulse generation circuit, 302 is a chronograph pulse supply means, 303 is a second drive circuit, 116 is an S switch, and 117 is an R switch.
The normal watch section 200 will be described first. The oscillator circuit 201 outputs a 32768-Hz signal, based on the oscillation of a quartz crystal. The frequency divider circuit 202 divides the frequency of this signal.
The normal drive pulse generation circuit 203 generates a normal drive pulse P1 as shown in FIG. 2 (b), based on a signal of the frequency divider circuit 202.
The normal drive pulse P1 is a 5-ms pulse which has a ¼-ms pulse resting period in every 1 ms. The compensation drive pulse generation circuit 204 generates a compensation drive pulse pH when it is judged that the first stepping motor 10 cannot rotate, as will be described later, based on a signal of the frequency divider circuit 202.
The coil switching pulse generation circuit 205 generates the coil switching pulses Pk1 through Pk13 such as shown in FIG. 2 (d), based on a signal of the frequency divider circuit 202. The coil switching pulse Pk1 is output approximately 6 ms after the normal drive pulse P1, from Pk2 sequentially output. Each of the coil switching pulses Pk has a pulse width of 0.125 ms.
The normal drive pulse P1 which is output by the normal drive pulse generation circuit 203 is supplied to the drive circuit 209 via the drive pulse supply means 206.
Then pulses are alternately supplied to the first stepping motor 10 from the coil terminals O1 and O2, the first rotor 13 rotating, at which time the current waveforms H3 and H4, shown in FIG. 2 (a) and FIG. 3 (a), are generated.
The current waveform H3 is the waveform when the first rotor 13 could rotate, and the current waveform H4 is the waveform when the first rotor 13 could not rotate.
The current waveforms H3 and H4, as shown by the current waveforms H3a and H4a, are considerable different current waveforms from the point in time after the normal drive pulse P1 is finished being output.
The detection of rotation and non-rotation conditions is judged by detecting the difference in these current waveforms by detecting the difference in the induced voltage when the coil switching pulse Pk is applied to the drive circuit of the first stepping motor 10.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2 (d) and FIG. 3 (d), at an elapsed time of 6 ms, at which point the rotation of the first rotor 13 has not completely finished, the coil switching pulse from the coil switching pulse generation circuit 205 is applied to the drive circuit 209 via the coil switching pulse supply means 208.
It is then output to the first stepping motor 10 from the coil terminal O2.
The detection circuit 210 detects whether or not the induced voltage V1 at this time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth. The load compensation control circuit 207 receives the results of this detection, and in the case in which the induced voltage V1 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth, the next coil switching pulse Pk2 is output from the coil terminal O2.
If the induced voltage does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth, this is repeated until the coil switching pulse Pk13 is output from the coil terminal O2.
If none of the induced voltages for all the coil switching pulses Pk1 through Pk13 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the load compensation control circuit 207 judges that the first stepping motor 10 did not rotate, and performs controls of the drive pulse supply means 206 so as to output a compensation drive pulse which is generated by the compensation drive pulse generation circuit 204, thereby causing the first stepping motor 10 to rotate, via the drive circuit 209.
However, if one of the Pk coil switching pulses Pkn has an induced voltage Vn which exceeds the threshold voltage, the next coil switching pulse Pkn+1 is switched so as to be output not from the coil terminal O2, but rather from the coil terminal O1.
Then once again the detection is performed by the detection circuit 210 of whether or not the induced voltage of, for example, coil switching pulses Pkn+1 through Pkn+6 exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The load compensation control circuit 207 receives the results of this detection and, if even at least one of the induced voltages Vn+1 through Vn+6 of coil switching pulse Pkn+1 to Pknt+6, exceeded the threshold voltage, the judgment is made that the first stepping motor 10 has rotated, and the load compensation control circuit 207 controls the drive pulse supply means 206 so as not to output a compensation drive pulse Ph which is generated by the compensation drive pulse generation circuit 204.
If, however, not evenone of the induced voltages Vn+1 through Vn+6, exceeded the threshold voltage, the judgment is made that the first stepping motor 10 did not rotate, the output of coil switching pulses Pkn+7 and thereafter being stopped, and the load compensation control circuit 207 performing control of the drive pulse supply means 206 so that a compensation drive pulse which is generated by the compensation drive pulse Ph generation circuit 204 is output to the first stepping motor 10, thereby compensation for the delay caused by non-rotation.
The above-noted detection of rotation and non-rotation will next be described in further detail. FIG. 2 (a) shows the current waveform H3 occurring when the first stepping motor 10 rotates normally, and FIG. 2 (b) and (c) show the voltages Vo1 and Vo2 occurring at this time at coil terminals O1 and O2.
FIG. 3 (a) shows the current waveform H4 which occurs when the first stepping motor load is heavy and it could not rotate, while FIGS. 3 (b) and (c) show the voltages Vo1 and Vo2 occurring at this time at coil terminals O1 and O2.
The detection of rotation of the first stepping motor 10 in FIG. 2 will next be described. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), after a normal drive pulse P1 is applied to the coil terminal O1, the coil switching pulse Pk1 is applied to the coil terminal O2 at the detection time T1, the detection circuit 210 detecting whether or not the induced voltage V1 at that time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth.
If at this time the current waveform H3 shown at FIG. 2 (a) is above the reference line G, the induced voltage V1 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, but if it is below the reference line G, the induced voltage does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The position of the current waveform H3 at the detection time t1 is d1, and because this is below the reference line G, the induced voltage V1 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth. However, at detection time t2, the current waveform H3 is at the position d2, which is above the reference line G, this indicating that the induced voltage V2 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth.
When the coil switching voltage Pkn is applied to the coil terminal O2, if the induced voltage Vn exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the next coil switching pulse Pkn+1 is switched so as to be applied not to the coil terminal O2, but rather to coil terminal O1. In this case, the coil switching pulses are applied to the coil terminal O1 starting with the coil switching pulse Pk3 output at the detection time t3.
In this case, in contrast to the case in which the coil switching pulse is applied to the coil terminal O2, if the current waveform H3 shown at FIG. 2 (a) is below the reference line G, the induced voltage V3 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, whereas if the current waveform H3 is above the reference line G, the induced voltage does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
At the detection time t3, the coil switching pulse Pk3 is output from the coil terminal O1, and because the position of the current waveform at that time is d3, which is above the reference line G, the induced voltage V3 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
Further, at the detection times t4 and t5 as well, the current waveform H3 is at the positions, d4 and d5, respectively, these both being above the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltages V4 and V5 do not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
However, at the next detection time, t6, the current waveform H3 is at the position d6, which is below the reference line G, thereby indicating that the induced voltage V6 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth. At the six coil switching pulses Pk3 through Pk8 which are applied to the coil terminal O1, if even one of the induced voltages V3-V8 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the judgment is made that the first stepping motor 10 rotated.
In this case, because the induced voltage V6 exceeds the threshold voltage, the judgment is made that the first stepping motor rotated, so that the detection at coil switching pulses Pk7 and thereafter is stopped, and the compensation drive pulse Ph is not output.
Next, referring to FIG. 3, the rotation detection when the first stepping motor 10 did not rotate will be described. In this case, because the phase is 180 deg. different from the case of FIG. 2, a normal drive pulse P1 is applied to the coil terminal O2 as shown at FIG. 3 (b).
Then, the coil switching pulse Pk1 is applied to the coil terminal O1 at the detection time t1, detection being made as to whether or not the induced voltage V1 at that time exceeds the threshold voltage voltage.
In this case, similar to the case of FIG. 2 (a), if the current waveform H4 shown in FIG. 3 (a) is above the reference line G, the induced voltage V1 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, and if it is below the reference line G, the induced voltage V1 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The position of the current waveform H4 at the detection time t1 is d1, which is below the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltage V1 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth. Further, at the detection times t2 and t3, the current waveform H4 positions are d2 and d3, respectively, these both being below the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltages V2 and v3 do not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
Then at the next detection time t4, the current waveform H4 position is d4, which is above the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltage V4 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth.
With the coil switching pulse Pk applied to the coil terminal O1, if the induced voltage at that time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the next coil switching pulse Pkn+1 is switched so as to be applied not to the coil terminal O1 but rather to the coil terminal O2. In this case, the coil switching pulses starting with the coil switching pulse at the detection time t5 will be applied to the coil terminal O2.
In this case, in contrast to the case in which the coil switching pulses are applied to the coil terminal O1, if the current waveform H4 is below the reference line G in FIG. 3 (a) the induced voltage V5 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, and if it is above the reference line G the induced voltage V5 doe snot exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The position of the current waveform H4 at the detection time t5 is d5, which is above the reference line G, thereby indicating that the induced voltage V5 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth. Further at the detection times t6 through t10 as well, the current waveform H4 is at the positions d6 through d10, respectively, these all being above the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltages V6 through V10 do not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The coil switching pulse Pk which is applied to the coil terminal O2 is controlled by a counter, so that if during a prescribed period of time (in this case the period between detection times t5 to t10) there is not even one time of where the threshold voltage is exceeded, detection is stopped, a judgment is made that the first stepping motor did not rotate, 32 ms after which a compensation drive pulse Ph is output to perform compensation drive of the first stepping motor 10. By doing this, the non-rotation condition is detected and load compensation operation is performed so as to output a compensation drive pulse only in the case in which it is required.
In recent years, multifunction electronic watches have appeared which have, for example, a chronograph function (abbreviated as chronograph function hereinafter) in addition to the normal time display. FIG. 4 shows a plan view of an electronic watch module of the past having a chronograph function, this electronic watch applying as well to the present invention.
In this drawing, the reference number 10 is the first stepping motor which is shown in FIG. 1, this comprising a first coil 11, a first yoke 12, and a first rotor 13. The reference numeral 20 is the second stepping motor which is shown in FIG. 1, this comprising a second coil 21, a second yoke 22, and a second rotor 23. The numeral 4 denotes a time gear train, 5 is a second hand, 6 is a chronograph gear train, 7 is a functional hand including a chronograph hand, 116 is an S used to start and stop the function including chronograph function, and 117 is an R switch used to reset function, for example, the function, for example, and chronograph function.
The first stepping motor 10 rotates the first rotor 13, 180 deg. every one second, thereby driving the second hand 5 via the time gear train, and further driving the hour hand, and the minute hand (not shown in the drawing) to perform a normal display of the time.
The second stepping motor 20 performs a chronograph operation by means of the S switch 116, rotating the second rotor 23 by 180 deg. in each 10 ms by means of a high-speed 100-Hz pulse, thereby driving the chronograph hand 7 via the chronograph gear train 6 to perform a functional display including chronograph display.
Next, the chronograph circuit operation will be described, with reference being made to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5. Since the normal watch section 200 in FIG. 1 has already been described, this description will focus on the chronograph section 300. FIG. 5 shows the pulse waveforms output by an electronic watch of the past.
A chronograph pulse generation circuit 301 generates the chronograph pulse P11 as shown at FIG. 5 (b), based on a signal from the frequency divider circuit 202. The chronograph pulse P11 is supplied from a chronograph pulse supply means 302 to a second drive circuit 303 by means of a start operation of the S switch 116, output being made alternately from coil terminal O3 and O4 of the second drive circuit 303, thereby driving the second stepping motor 20.
The normal drive pulse P1 which is applied to the coil terminal O1 of the above-noted first stepping motor 10 is a 5-ms pulse such as shown at FIG. 5 (a), this having a ¼-ms resting period each 1 ms. Rotation and non-rotation are detected by the earlier-described method, and in the case of non-rotation, as shown at FIG. 5 (a), a compensation drive pulse Ph with a pulse width of 10 ms is output after 32 ms.
After one second, a normal drive pulse P1 is applied to the other coil terminal O2, this being alternately repeated. Next, the pulse which is applied to the second stepping motor 20 will be described. With regard to the pulse which is applied to the second stepping motor 20, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), at the point at which the S switch is operated to start the chronograph function a chronograph pulse P11 having a pulse width of 4 ms is output from the coil terminal O3 of the second coil 21.
Then, after 10 ms, the chronograph pulse P11 is applied other coil terminal O4. These outputs are alternately repeated each 10 ms.
Although the above-noted first stepping motor 10 and the second stepping motor 20 should be designed so as to be distant from one another to avoid interaction between their magnetic fields, because of a reduction in module size and the associated design requirements, there are cases in which the first stepping motor 10 and the second stepping motor 20 are disposed as shown in FIG. 4, with just a small space D between them.
Thus, when one stepping motor rotates, it magnetically interferes with the other stepping motor. In a motor such as the first stepping motor, in which detection is made of rotation and non-rotation, the above-noted magnetic interference can result in a misjudgment that the first stepping motor has rotated, when in fact it has not rotated, thereby resulting in inhibiting of the output of the compensation drive pulse, this resulting in a disturbance of the timekeeping by the watch.
In particular in the case of a stepping motor such as the second stepping motor which is rotating at a high speed of 1 Hz or higher, because pulses are constantly being output, the influence this motor drive has on the first stepping motor 10 in unavoidable. The mechanism of this erroneous detection will be described below.
FIG. 6 shows the waveforms which illustrate the rotation and non-rotation detection in the load compensation operation of the past. FIG. 6 (a) the current waveform when a normal drive pulse P2 is applied form the coil terminal O2 of the first stepping motor 10 for the case in which the first stepping motor 10 could not rotate. The solid line waveform H1 is the current waveform when there is magnetic interference from the second stepping motor 20 (that is, when the chronograph is operating), while the dotted line wave form H2 is the current waveform when there is no magnetic interference therefrom (that is, when the chronograph is not operating).
FIG. 6 (b) shows the current waveform of the second stepping motor 20 at that time. FIG. 6 (c) and FIG. 6 (d) show the voltage Vo2 at the coil terminal O2 of the first stepping motor 10 and the voltage Vo1 at the coil terminal O1 of the first stepping motor 10, respectively.
FIG. 6 (e) shows the waveforms of the coil switching pulses Pk1 through Pk13.
The current waveform of the first stepping motor 10 is a waveform such as shown as H2 in FIG. 6 (a) as long as the second stepping motor 20 is not being driven. However, if the second stepping motor 20 is being driven, it creates magnetic interference as shown in FIG. 6 (b), this resulting in the current waveform such as shown as H1 in FIG. 6 (a).
Turning now to what happens if detection of rotation and non-rotation is performed under these conditions, first a normal drive pulse P1 is output from the coil terminal O2.
Then the coil switching pulse Pk1 is applied at the coil terminal O1 at the detection time t1 and detection is made of whether or not the induced voltage V1 at that time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth. If at this time the waveform H1 is above the reference line G, the induced voltage V1 exceeds the threshold voltage, but if it is below the reference line G, it does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
The position of the current waveform H1 at the detection time t1 is d1, which is below the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltage V1 does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth. Additionally at detection times t2 and t3 the current waveform H1 is at the positions d2 and d3, which are both below the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltages V2 and V3 do not exceed the threshold voltage Vth. At the next detection time t4, the current waveform H1 position is d4, which is above the reference line G, thereby indicating that the induced voltage V4 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth.
With the coil switching pulse Pkn applied to the coil terminal O1, if the induced voltage at this time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the next coil switching pulse Pkn+1 is switch so as to be applied not to the coil terminal O1, but rather to the coil terminal O2. That is, the coil switching pulses Pk5 starting from the coil switching pulse Pk5 at detection time t5 are applied to the coil terminal O2.
In this case, in contrast to the case in which coil switching pulses are applied to the coil terminal O1, if the current waveform is below the reference line G, the induced voltage at that time exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, but if the current waveform is above the reference line G, the induced voltage does not exceed the threshold voltage Vth.
With regard to the coil switching pulse Pk5 which is now applied to the coil terminal O2 at the detection time t5, because of the influence of magnetic interference, the current waveform position H1 is d5, whereas it should normally have been at d′5. For this reason, although without the magnetic interference the position of the current waveform H2 would have been above the reference line G at d′5, indicating that the induced voltage V5 did not exceed the threshold voltage Vth, the effect of the magnetic interference is to move the position of the current waveform H1 at the d5, which is below the reference line G, indicating that the induced voltage V5 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth.
If the any one of the induced voltages V5 through V10 for the coil switching pulses Pk5 through Pk10 exceeds the threshold voltage Vth, the judgment is made that the stepping motor was driven.
Thus, although the first stepping motor has not actually rotated, an erroneous detection to the effect that it did not rotate occurs, and a compensation drive pulse Ph is not output as a result. Therefore, the action of the above-noted compensation drive pulse Ph in compensating the first stepping motor does not occur, and the time kept by this motor lags.
In addition, in the past there has been a commercially produced electronic watch which used a solar cell on the clock face, this being used in combination with a storage means such as an electrical double-layer capacitor or the like, rather than a battery (this electronic watch being referred to hereinafter as a solar watch).
Because the output voltage of an electrical double-layer capacitor is not constant, the stepping motor drive method in the solar watch was that of making a plurality of normal pulses available, these having differing driving forces. Additionally a means for detecting rotation and non-rotation was provided, a normal drive pulse being selected and output from the plurality of normal drive pulses which would enable drive with the minimum current a the voltage present at that time, thereby driving the stepping motor in a manner that accommodated the varying voltage.
The solar watch of the past will be described, with reference being made to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows the block diagram of the solar watch of the past, and FIG. 8 shows the waveforms of the normal pulse Ps of the solar watch which is shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, the reference numeral 45 denotes a solar cell which generates electricity in response to light, 70 is an electrical double-layer capacitor which stores electrical energy, 10 is a first stepping motor, 150 is a watch circuit which operates by the electrical power which is stored in the electrical double-layer capacitor 70, 101 is an oscillator circuit which generates the reference clock required for circuit operation, 102 is a frequency divider circuit which divides the frequency of the reference clock generated by the oscillator circuit 101, 103 is a first normal pulse generation circuit which generates the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 for the purpose of normal drive of the first stepping motor 10 and a compensation drive pulse Psh for the purpose of performing compensating drive, 108 is a first normal pulse selection circuit which selects one moral pulse Ps from the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 which are generated by the first normal pulse generation circuit, 133 is a clock control circuit which performs timekeeping based on a signal from the frequency dividing circuit 102, 120 is a first drive circuit for the purpose of driving the first stepping motor 10, 115 is a second hand control circuit which is controlled by the clock control circuit 122, and which supplies the normal pulse signal Ps which is selected by the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 to the first drive circuit 120 each one second, 119 is a first detection circuit which detects the rotation and non-rotation of the first stepping motor, and 114 is a first load compensation control circuit which performs control of the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 based on the results of the judgment made by the first detection circuit 119.
Next, circuit operation will be described.
The electrical energy generated by the solar cell 45 is stored in the electrical double-layer capacitor 70. The watch circuit 150 uses the electrical double-layer capacitor 70 as its power supply, and is driven by the power supply voltage Vc.
The first normal pulse generation circuit 103 generates the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 and the compensation pulse Psh, based on a signal from the frequency divider circuit 102. The first normal pulse selection circuit 108 is controlled by the first load compensation control circuit 114, selects one normal pulse Ps from the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8, according to a method to be described later, supplying this to the second hand control circuit 115 and transfers the magnitude of the currently selected normal pulse Ps to the first load compensation control circuit 114 by means of the signal S.
The second hand control circuit 115 supplies the normal pulse Ps to the first drive circuit 120 each one second, in accordance with the time that is kept by the watch control circuit 133. The first drive circuit 120 drives the first stepping motor 10 by means of the normal pulse Ps. The first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 by means of the results of the judgment of the first detection circuit 119, and in the case in which rotation was detected, outputs the same normal pulse Ps next time, but in the case in which non-rotation is detected, outputs the compensation drive pulse Psh and switches the next normal pulse Ps to the next larger normal pulse Ps.
Next, the pulse shapes will be described, FIGS. 8 (a) through (c) shows the waveforms of the normal pulses Ps1, Ps4, and Ps8 of the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 which are available. The normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 have a pulse width of 4 ms, but each have a pulse resting period that differs by 0.05 ms each. The normal pulse Ps1, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), has a pulse resting period Ks1 of 0.35 ms every 1 ms, the normal pulse Ps4 has a pulse resting period Ks4 of 0.2 ms every 1 ms, and the normal pulse Ps8 has no pulse resting period.
Although it is not shown in the drawing, the normal pulses Ps2, Ps3, Ps5, Ps6, and Ps7 have pulse resting periods of 0.3 ms, 0.25 ms, 0.15 ms, 0.1 ms and 0.05 ms, respective, every 1 ms. FIG. 8 (d) shows the compensation drive pulse Psh which is output when the judgment is made that drive was not possible by the normal pulse Ps.
The compensation drive pulse Psh is output 32 ms after the normal pulse Ps, has a pulse width of 12 ms and has 0.5-ms pulse resting periods every 1 ms in the latter 6 ms of this 12 ms.
TABLE 1Normal Pulse Ps Pulse Resting Periods and Minimum Drive VoltagesNormal PulsePulse Resting PeriodMinimum Drive VoltagePs10.35ms2.6VPs20.3ms2.3VPs30.25ms2.0VPs40.2ms1.8VPs50.15ms1.6VPs60.1ms1.4VPs70.05ms1.2VPs9(None)1.0V
As described above, because the normal pulses Ps1 through Ps8 have mutually differing pulse resting periods, the associated minimum voltage, that is, the minimum drive voltage is different for each. Table 1 shows the pulse resting periods and minimum drive voltages for each of the normal pulses Ps.
Because the normal pulse Ps8 has no resting period, it has the largest driving capacity, so that drive is possible even if Vc is only 1.0 V. The normal pulse Ps 1 has a long resting period of 0.35 ms, and thus has the smallest driving capacity. Thus, at a low voltage at which drive is not possible, drive is only possible at a power supply voltage Vc of 2.6 V or greater.
However, at a high power supply voltage Vc, the normal pulse Ps8 has more drive capacity than is necessary, so that the power consumption becomes large. In contrast to this, the normal pulse Ps1 enables drive at a power supply voltage Vc of 2.6 V or greater with a power consumption that is lower than any of the normal pulses Ps2 through Ps8. The normal pulses Ps2 through Ps7 each have the minimum drive voltages corresponding to their respective pulse resting periods. The solar watch is driven by the most optimal normal pulse Ps that has a low power consumption with respect to the power supply voltage of the electrical double-layer capacitor 70.
Next, the method of selecting an optimal normal pulse Ps will be described. In the load compensation control method practiced in the past, a given normal pulse Ps(n) is output, and if drive was not possible the next output normal pulse is selected as the next larger normal pulse Ps(n+1). If rotation occurred, however, the next pulse is the same normal pulse Ps(n), this being output a prescribed number of times, for example 100 times continuously, after which the next pulse was the next smaller normal pulse Ps(n−1).
By performing the above-noted operation, it is possible to select the optimum normal pulse. Take, for example, the case in which the power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V, and in which the normal pulse Ps3 is output. From Table 1, it can be seen that, with a power supply voltage Vc of 1.7, the smallest normal pulse usable for drive is the normal pulse Ps5, with which drive is possible with a minimum voltage of 1.6 V, making the normal pulse Ps5 the optimum pulse when the power supply voltage Vc is 1.7 V.
Since the minimum drive voltage with the normal pulse Ps3 pulse is 2.0 V, drive is not possible with a power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V. Thus, the first stepping motor 10 cannot be rotated, and the first detection circuit 119 makes the judgment that rotation was not possible. In accordance with the results of this judgment, the first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 so as to output a compensation drive pulse Psh, and also makes a switch to the next larger normal pulse Ps4 starting at the next time.
Thus, the first stepping motor 10 drive is compensated reliably by the compensation drive pulse Psh, and the next larger normal pulse Ps1 is output the next time. Note, however, that from Table 1 it can be seen that because the minimum drive voltage with the normal pulse Ps4 is 1.8 V, it still is not possible to perform drive with the power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V. Therefore, it is not possible for the first stepping motor 10 to rotate, and the first detection circuit 119 makes the judgment that rotation was not possible.
In accordance with the results of this judgment, the first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit so as to output a compensation pulse Psh and also makes a switch to the next larger normal pulse Ps5 starting the next time. Thus, the drive of the first stepping motor 10 is reliably compensated once again, and the next larger normal pulse Ps5 is output the next time. With the normal pulse Ps5 the minimum drive voltage is 1.6, so drive is possible with the power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V.
Therefore, the first detection circuit 119 makes the judgment that rotation was possible. In accordance with the results of this judgment, the first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 so that a compensation drive pulse Psh is not output, and outputs the same normal pulse Ps5 the next time as well. Thus, the normal pulse Ps5 is output the next time as the normal pulse Ps. Furthermore, if the power supply voltage Vc continues to be 1.7 V, when the normal pulse Ps5 is output continuously for 100 times, the first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 so as to output the next smaller normal pulse Ps4 as the next normal pulse Ps.
However, because with the normal pulse Ps4 drive is not possible with the power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V, the compensation pulse Psh is output to perform compensation drive, the normal pulse being returned to the next larger normal pulse Ps5 the next time output is made. In the above-described manner, with a power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 only one time out of 100 times is the normal pulse Ps4 output and drive not possible, so that the compensation pulse Psh is output to perform drive compensation, and at the other times drive continues with the optimum normal pulse Ps5. Although the current consumption of the compensation pulse Psh is larger than with a normal pulse Ps, this occurs only one time in 100, so that th effect extremely small and not enough to cause a problem.
Next, the case in which the power supply voltage Vc increases from 1.7 V to 2.1 V will be described. From Table 1, with a power supply voltage of 2.1 V, the optimum normal pulse Ps is the normal pulse Ps3, which has a minimum drive voltage of 2.0 V, the drive capacity with the normal pulse Ps5 being excessively large, so that the current consumption becomes larger than necessary. Note that, as described above, out of each 100 outputs of the normal pulse Ps5, the normal pulse Ps4 is output one time.
The minimum drive voltage with the normal pulse Ps4 is 1.8 V and while drive was not possible with a power supply voltage Vc of 1.7 V, drive is possible at a power supply voltage Vc of 2.1 V. Thus, when the normal pulse Ps4 is output, if the power supply voltage Vc is 2.1 V, the first stepping motor 10 is driven by this normal pulse Ps4, and the first detection circuit 119 makes the judgment that rotation was possible.
In accordance with the results of this judgment, the first load compensation control circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 so that a compensation pulse Psh is not output, and so that the same normal pulse Ps4 is selected for output next time as well. Then, the next time as well, the normal pulse Ps4 is output as the normal pulse Ps.
In addition, when the normal pulse Ps4 is output 100 times, the first load compensation circuit 114 controls the first normal pulse selection circuit 108 so that the next smaller normal pulse Ps3 is selected for output the next time. Because the minimum drive voltage with the normal pulse Ps3 is 2.0 V, so that drive is possible with a power supply voltage Vc of 2.1 V as well, the next time the same normal pulse Ps3 is output the next time as well.
By performing the above-noted operation, the normal pulse Ps3, which is the optimum normal pulse when the power supply voltage Vc is 2.1 V, is selected and output. Furthermore, after the normal pulse Ps3 is output 100 times, the next smaller normal pulse Ps2 is output, but drive is not possible at a power supply voltage Vc of 2.1 with this normal pulse Ps2, so that after the compensation pulse Psh performs compensation drive, the output normal pulse Ps is returned once again to the normal pulse Ps3. By doing this, it is possible to select and output the normal pulse which is optimum for a varying power supply voltage Vc.
This operation operates not only with respect to the power supply voltage variations, but with respect to the drive load of the calendar and the like, enabling the selection of the output of the optimum normal pulse at all times. The above-noted operation will be referred to hereinafter as multistage load compensation operation.
In recent years there has arisen demands from electronic watches for not only the normal time display, but for various additional functions such as an alarm function and a chronograph function. Specifically, in the case of an analog-indicating electronic watch, there is a desire to be able to do such things as switch from the normal time display to the alarm time display, and to perform operations such as fast-forward and fast-reverse with the chronograph display, which require drive capability by means of a non-normal pulse, and these desires have occurred with solar watches as well.
However, it is known that with a solar watch the power supply voltage varies widely, making it impossible to obtain sufficient motor drive energy with a fixed pulse width when performing non-normal pulse drive such as high-speed pulse drive and reverse pulse drive at low voltages, another associated problem being that a high voltages rotor overrun occurs, preventing proper drive, and thereby limiting the voltage range over which drive is possible. Accommodation of the above-noted functions in solar watches, in which the power supply voltage varies widely, is therefore not possible.
An effective drive means when the voltage is varying is the above-described multistage load compensation operation, and it can be envisioned that this method can be used to perform high-speed rotation and reverse rotation. However, with multistage load compensation, because of the time period for detection an the time period of output of a compensation drive pulse, the amount of time until the output of the next pulse becomes long, this posing the problem of preventing high-speed drive. For example, even if the pulse width of the normal pulse is as short as 4 ms, there is an addition detection time period of approximately 20 ms, and if rotation was not possible a compensation drive pulse having a width of 12 ms is output from the 32 ms point.
Therefore, during the amount of time until the drive is completed with a compensation drive pulse, that is, during the 50-ms period of time which is the total of the 32 ms before output of the compensation drive pulse, the 12-ms pulse width of the compensation drive pulse, and the stabilization time of approximately 8 ms, it is not possible to output the next normal pulse.
Therefore, with multistage load compensation, it is not possible to perform drive with a pulse interval of smaller than 50 ms. That is, drive at a frequency of higher than 20 Hz is not possible. Thus, in solar watches in the past it was difficult to perform high-speed rotation or reverse rotation. One method of solving the above-described problem is to detect the power supply voltage, and to output high-speed pulse or reverse pulse having a width responsive to the voltage at that time. An example of detecting the voltage and changing the width of a reversing pulse was proposed as an electronic watch stepping motor in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application S55-59375.
However when performing high-speed rotation or reverse rotation in a solar watch, in which the voltage varies over a wide ranges such as from approximately 1 V to 3 V, it is necessary to perform a plurality of voltage detections corresponding to the drive voltage ranges for these pulses. For example, if a high-speed pulse or reversing pulse is to be output to correspond to each of the four divided voltage ranges of 1 to 13 V, 1.3 to 1.7 V, 1.7 to 2.3 V, and 2.3 to 3 V, it is necessary to perform voltage detection at the five voltages of 1 V, 1.3 V, 1.7 V, 2.3 V, and 3 V.
Furthermore, if the variations between components being used and environmental conditions such as the operating temperature are considered, reliable operation requires that the voltage detection be performed with considerable accuracy. It is extremely difficult to perform high-accuracy voltage detection within such as small system as an electronic watch.


Various embodiments of systems and methods for cross media joint friend and item recommendations are disclosed herein.

Friend and item recommendation on social media sites is an important task, which not only brings convenience to users but also benefits platform providers. However, the process of recommendation for newly-launched social media sites can be challenging as they often lack user historical data and encounter data sparsity and cold-start problems. Thus, it is important to exploit auxiliary information to help improve recommendation performances on these sites. Existing approaches try to utilize the knowledge transferred from other mature sites, which often require overlapped users or similar items to ensure an effective knowledge transfer. However, these assumptions may not hold in practice because 1) overlapped user sets are often unavailable and costly to identify due to the heterogeneous user profile, content and network data, and 2) different schemes to show item attributes across sites can cause the attribute values to be inconsistent, incomplete, and noisy. Thus, the transferring of knowledge when no direct bridge is given between two social media sites remains a challenge. In addition, user-user relationships are widely used as side information to improve item recommendation, but the ability to exploit user-item interactions for friend recommendation is rather limited.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the view of the drawings. The headings used in the figures do not limit the scope of the claims.

Systems and methods for a cross media joint friend and item recommendation framework

Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of Arizona State University


A flat bundle of cables are each sheathed with an electrically insulative synthetic resin and arranged in a spaced relationship while extending in parallel with each other. A plurality of baseless bulbs are arranged one after another along at least one cable of the flat bundle of cables while making electrical connection to the at least one cable via lead wires. A plurality of moldable plastic material holding structures are arranged one after another in the spaced relationship along the flat bundle of cables. Each holding structure serves to firmly hold a respective baseless bulb and the flat bundle of cables so that a central axis of the bulb extends parallel with a plane of the flat bundle of cables and perpendicular to the extending direction of the cables.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for lighting a number of baseless bulbs for the purpose of decoration. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for lighting a number of baseless bulbs for the purpose of decoration wherein a plurality of baseless bulbs arranged on a flat bundle of cables are lighted continuously or intermittently as desired, in accordance with the order that the baseless bulbs are arranged one after another along each array of baseless bulbs. Further, the present invention relates to a socket or a bulb mounting/connecting body preferably employable for the apparatus of the foregoing type wherein a flat bundle of cables is firmly held in the socket in the clamped state.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, to increase a decorative effect in a Christmas season or for the purpose of window-displaying in a shopping district, a number of bulbs are arranged over a plane in individual shop and they are lighted continuously or intermittently as desired. Many proposals have been hitherto made with respect to an apparatus for lighting bulbs.
In view of storage of the apparatus in a small space during an inoperative period of time and simplification of practical use, baseless bulbs are usually used for the apparatus and they are electrically connected to cables via lead wires by soldering or caulking.
When the apparatus is constructed with a number of baseless bulbs, it exhibits advantages that it can be stored in a small space and it can be fabricated at a reduced cost. However, since it is difficult to automatically connect lead wires to each cable by soldering or caulking, each connecting operation should unavoidably be performed with operator's hands. For this reason, this type of conventional apparatuses cannot be fabricated on a mass production line in spite of a large demand for them.
Another problem of the conventional apparatus is that a mode of operation of the apparatus, i.e., continuous lighting or intermittent lighting of the same can be changed only in strictly limited circumstances.
Accordingly, there is still left plenty of room for improvement in respect to wiring operations, decorative effects, cable holding members and variation of the lighted state.