Electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, in particular a heavy goods vehicle, which apparatus includes an electronic control unit (ECU) adapted to control actuation of vehicle brakes. The ECU has a non volatile storage memory for storing braking related control parameters particular to the vehicle and a discretely programmable storage device to carry operating data for one or more auxiliary functions of the vehicle. The ECU is operable to check one or more incoming and outgoing variables and control algorithms against a predefined list such as to safeguard the braking function against error modes.

The invention relates to electronic control apparatus for a vehicle and in particular, but not exclusively, to control equipment for commercial vehicles.
Heavy commercial vehicles are now designed and built with electronic control units (ECU1s). These are responsive to control signals initiated by the drive of a towing vehicle to control valves of a pneumatic circuit to apply braking pressure from a compressed air reservoir to brake actuators of braked wheels. Such an ECU may include anti-lock brake pressure modulation means (ABS) operable to adjust braking pressure according to sensed wheel adhesion loss on respective sides of the vehicle.
One such ECU is described in EP1167147, in which the ECU comprises a main data memory and electronics for specific braking related vehicle parameters. The memory is parameterized by the trailer builder using specialized equipment to enable the function of the ECU to be matched to the particular vehicle. This is analogous to the setting up of a conventionally mechanically operable variable load valve in a purely pneumatic system.
Customers and operators of trailer vehicles are increasingly requiring trailer electronic control apparatus to be adapted to control other functions. Different operators require different functions according to the manner of use of their trailers. Provision of special controls for different customers can be relatively costly for trailer builders and suppliers and, in each case, due consideration has to be given to the safety critical nature of the core system which controls the brakes.
The present invention seeks to provide a control apparatus for a vehicle which addresses the above problem
According to the invention, there is provided a control apparatus for a vehicle, which apparatus comprises an electronic control unit adapted to control actuation of vehicle brakes, which ECU has non volatile storage memory for storing braking related control parameters particular to the vehicle, wherein the ECU further comprises discretely programmable storage device to carry operating data for one or more auxiliary functions of the vehicle and is operable to check one or more incoming and outgoing variables and control algorithms against a predefined list such as to safeguard the braking function against error modes.

Knorr-Bremse Systems for Commercial Vehicles Limited


A seat, in particular motor vehicle seat, with a seat part and a backrest pivotally mounted relative to the seat part, which includes a backrest frame with two mutually opposite side bars, is provided. The two side bars are connected with each other via a transverse shaft which is rotatably mounted on the seat part in the region of a side bar. At least one fitting arrangement with a fitting part fixed at the backrest frame is provided, in order to arrest the pivotally mounted backrest relative to the seat part. The fitting part fixed at the backrest frame is welded to one of the side bars and the transverse shaft is welded to this fitting part. An end of the transverse shaft extends through one of the two side bars and this end is rotatably mounted in a seat side part of the seat part, so that the transverse shaft defines a pivot axis about which the backrest is pivotable relative to the seat part.

The present invention relates to a seat, in particular a motor vehicle seat.
Such seat includes a seat part and a backrest pivotally mounted relative to the seat part, so that an inclination of the backrest relative to the seat part can be adjusted. To be able to arrest the backrest in an adjusted relative position with respect to the seat part, a fitting arrangement is provided. Such fitting arrangement usually includes two fitting parts, for example as part of detent fittings. One fitting part here is fixed at a backrest frame of the backrest carrying a backrest cushion and the other fitting part is fixed at the seat part. For example, via locking elements provided inside the fitting arrangement the two fitting parts and hence the backrest can be arrested relative to the seat part. By actuating the locking elements, the arrestment can be released again, so that the backrest can be varied in its inclination relative to the seat part. There can also be provided an adjusting element for example in the form of a hand wheel or an adjusting lever at the fitting arrangement, in order to pivot the backrest.
Furthermore, it is known in such seats to rigidly connect two mutually opposite side bars of a backrest frame of the backrest with each other via a transverse shaft. The transverse shaft here above all serves for absorbing forces and moments acting on the backrest. The transverse shaft possibly can also be utilized for the definition of a pivot axis, about which the backrest is pivotally mounted. For this purpose, at least one of the side bars of the backrest frame is non-rotatably connected with the transverse shaft and the transverse shaft is rotatably mounted on the seat part. Via the transverse shaft, the backrest thus is pivotally mounted on the seat part about a pivot axis. Alternatively, additional components, such as for example weld nuts, stepped pins or inlay sheets can be used for specifying the pivot axis.
At an end of the transverse shaft, the fitting arrangement furthermore can be provided. A fitting arrangement furthermore can include the adjusting element via which the backrest can be rotated about its pivot axis, in order to (manually) pivot the backrest relative to the seat part.
Usually, a transverse shaft connecting the two side bars of a backrest frame is connected with a fitting part of the fitting arrangement via additional components, such as for example sheets. This does not only increase the costs, but also the weight of the seat, the assembly expenditure and the assembly time. Moreover, by using such additional components a force can be transmitted only indirectly between the backrest frame and the transverse shaft.

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Coburg


Methods for non-invasive fat reduction can include targeting a region of interest below a surface of skin, which contains fat and delivering ultrasound energy to the region of interest. The ultrasound energy generates a thermal lesion with said ultrasound energy on a fat cell. The lesion can create an opening in the surface of the fat cell, which allows the draining of a fluid out of the fat cell and through the opening. In addition, by applying ultrasound energy to fat cells to increase the temperature to between 43 degrees and 49 degrees, cell apoptosis can be realized, thereby resulting in reduction of fat.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ultrasound therapy systems, and in particular to methods and systems for treating cellulite or reducing fat.
Description of the Related Art
In general, cellulite refers to a common skin disorder which is characterized by a dimple appearance in a person's skin that may be found on the hips, thighs, and/or buttocks. Underneath the dermis and epidermis layers of the skin there are multiple layers of fat. Cellulite tends to develop in the subcutaneous fat layers, which is unique as compared to other fat layers because the subcutaneous fat can be structured into specific chambers surrounded by strands of linked tissue, which are known as fat lobuli. This appearance is much more common in women than in men because of differences in the way fat, muscle, and connective tissue are distributed in men's and women's skin. The lumpiness of cellulite is caused by the fat lobuli that push and distort the connective tissues beneath the skin; resulting protrusions and depressions of connective tissue anchor points create the appearance of cellulite.
Invasive treatments for cellulite include Iontophoresis, liposuction, and electrolipophoresis, which can involve an application of a low-frequency electric current. Non-invasive treatments for cellulite can include laser and suction massage combination therapy, pneumatic pressure massage therapy, lymphatic drainage massage, and low-frequency ultrasound diathermy. Such invasive and non-invasive treatments have yielded marginal results. In addition, a number of drugs that act on fatty tissue have been tried as therapeutic agents for cellulite treatment. Such drugs can be administered orally, applied topically as ointments, or by trans-dermal injection. At this point, no drug has been reported in the scientific literature as having a significant effect on cellulite. New developments for the treatment of cellulite are needed.
In addition, similar techniques have attempted to address the reduction of fat in humans, but such attempts have likewise had mixed results.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A particular computer-implemented method includes receiving sensed data from sensors of a sensor array, where data from each sensor is descriptive of waveform phenomena detected at the sensor. The method also includes determining an estimated spatial spectrum of the waveform phenomena based at least partially on the sensed data. The method further includes determining an estimated covariance matrix of the waveform phenomena based on the estimated spatial spectrum. The method includes determining adaptive beamforming weights using the estimated covariance matrix.

Deployment of long aperture arrays using large numbers of sensor elements has been enabled by the evolution of sensor technology, telemetry technology, and digital processing technology. Such arrays hold promise for benefits in terms of theoretical processing gain and spatial resolution. Long aperture arrays have been employed across a range of applications, including acoustic and radar applications. Adaptive beamforming techniques have been applied to long aperture arrays to increase a system's ability to perform well in complicated signal and interference environments. For many adaptive beamforming techniques, increasing the number of sensor elements of the array works against a desire to adapt quickly. Additionally, multipath environments introduce challenges that may cause substantial performance loss for certain adaptive beamforming techniques.
Many approaches for covariance estimation for adaptive beamforming have been proposed. Many adaptive beamforming techniques use sensed data to estimate a covariance matrix and use the covariance matrix for spectral estimation. However, snapshot deficient operation and correlated signal and interference environments continue to be difficult to handle for certain adaptive beamforming techniques.


A retainer (40) has side plates (45) that slide against sliding-contact surfaces (29) of a female housing (20). Each sliding-contact surface (29) has an obliquely extending guide rib (33) and a locking projection (36) above the guide rib (33). The inner surface of each side plate (45) has a guide groove (46) into which the guide rib (33) is fittable and a locking hole (50) into which the locking projection (36) is fittable. Terminal fittings (11) are inserted into cavities (25) of the housing (20) and then the retainer (40) is pushed along the guide ribs (33) to a full locking position where the front edges of the side plates (45) contact the front edges of the sliding-contact surfaces (29) and the locking projections (36) are located in the locking holes (50) to doubly lock the terminal fittings (11) in the cavities (25).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a retainer for locking terminal fittings in a connector housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known connector with a retainer that is insertable in an oblique direction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,176 and also is shown in FIGS. 15-17 herein. This connector shown in FIGS. 15-17 comprises a connector housing 1 formed with cavities 2 into which terminal fittings 3 are inserted from behind. A retainer 4 has locking portions 5 at its leading end and is mountable to cover an open part of the lower surface of the connector housing 1. The retainer 4 is held initially at a partial locking position where the locking portions 5 are retracted from the cavities 2. Thus, the terminal fittings 3 can be inserted into and withdrawn from the cavities 2. The retainer 4 is pushed obliquely toward a full locking position after the terminal fittings 3 are inserted into the cavities 2. At the full locking position, the locking portions 5 enter the cavities 2 and engage the terminal fittings 3 from behind with respect to insertion direction, thereby locking the terminal fittings 3.
The obliquely inserted retainer has an advantage that insufficiently inserted terminal fittings 3 can be pushed to their proper insertion positions as the retainer 4 is pushed to the full locking position, as shown in FIG. 15.
On the other hand, side plates 6 provided at the opposite ends of the retainer 4 are held in sliding contact with the opposite side surfaces of the connector housing 1. Three projections 7A, 7B, 7C are provided on each side surface of the connector housing 1 and are spaced apart along a moving direction of the retainer 4. A groove 8 is formed in each side plate 6 for receiving two adjacent projections 7A to 7C. The retainer 4 is held at the partial locking position with the two projections 7A, 7B at the rear side fitted in the grooves 8, as shown in FIG. 16, and is held at the full locking position with the two projections 7B, 7C at the front side fitted in the grooves 8, as shown in FIG. 17. The movement of the retainer 4 is guided mainly by the engagement of the middle projections 7B with the grooves 8. However, relatively long grooves 8 need to be formed and the side plates 4 of the retainer 4 accordingly bulge out forwardly.
The connector of FIGS. 15-17 is fitted into a receptacle of a mating male connector as shown in FIG. 17 after the retainer 4 is held at the full locking position. Since the side plates 6 bulge out to positions where they interfere with the leading end of the receptacle 9, dimensions of the receptacle 9 need to be enlarged to avoid interference. This leads to a size enlargement of the connector particularly in widthwise direction.
The present invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to make an entire connector assembled by connecting mating connectors smaller.
The invention is directed to a connector with a connector housing formed with one or more cavities into which the terminal fittings are inserted. A retainer is mountable on outer surfaces of the connector housing and is movable obliquely to an insertion direction of the terminal fittings to lock the terminal fittings in the cavities. The retainer comprises at least one side plate that is engageable with a corresponding side surface of the connector housing. Preferably, the side plate is slideably engaged with the side surface of the connector housing. A guiding portion for guiding movement of the retainer in an oblique direction and a locking portion for locking the retainer are provided between the side plate and the side surface of the connector housing. The guiding portion and the locking portion are spaced from one another in a direction that intersects the moving direction of the retainer. The locking portion preferably is closer than the guiding portion to the leading end of the side plate relative to the moving direction of the retainer.
The retainer preferably can be held at a partial locking position where the retainer is retracted from the cavities to permit insertion and withdrawal of the terminal fittings into and from the cavities. The retainer also can be held at a full locking position where the retainer enters the cavities to engage the terminal fittings from behind with respect to the insertion direction. Preferably, the locking portion locks the retainer at the partial locking position and at the full locking position.
The retainer may be held in the partial locking position by holding the side plate between the locking portion and a stopper wall of the connector housing.
The locking portions preferably are dimensioned to require deflection of the side plates away from one another as the side plates move over the locking portions during the movement of the retainer from the partial locking position to the full locking position. The disposition of the locking portions closer to the projecting ends of the locking plates reduces the amount of deflection of the side plates that is required to move the retainer to the full locking position.
The guiding portion that guides the movement of the retainer in the oblique direction and the locking portion that locks the retainer at the locking positions are displaced in the direction intersecting with the moving direction of the retainer. Therefore, the depth dimension of the side plate can be small. As a result, the side plate bulges out forwardly to only a small degree and is located before the leading end of the receptacle, even when the retainer reaches the full locking position. For example, the connector housing may be fit into the receptacle of a mating connector housing. In this situation, it is not necessary to fit the side plate of the retainer inside the receptacle, and a dimension of the receptacle in widthwise direction can be made smaller, thereby making the entire connector compact.
The guiding portion preferably comprises a guide rib on either one of the side surface of the connector housing and the side plate of the retainer and a guide groove formed in the other thereof. The locking portion preferably comprises a locking projection on either one of the side surface of the connector housing and the side plate of the retainer and a locking hole is formed in the other thereof for engagement with the locking projection.
The movement of the retainer is guided by the movement of the guide groove along the guide rib, and the retainer is held at the locking position by the engagement of the locking projection with the locking hole.
The guide rib may comprise a tapered surface and the guide groove may comprise a corresponding tapered surface.
The locking projection preferably comprises a tapered surface for guiding the retainer during its movement in the moving direction.
Most preferably, the side surface comprises a slanted surface to allow the mounting of the retainer on the connector housing by forcing the side surface to deflect.
The projecting distance of the locking projections from the side surfaces preferably is set smaller than the projecting distance of the guide ribs from the side surfaces.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.


A polymer electrolyte of high durability consistent with the present invention is characterized as including a first repeating unit represented by a general formula—{C(Z1)(Z2)—C(Z3)(Z4—SO3H)}—                (where Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4 are respectively F or Rf1, F or Rf2, F or Rf3, and nothing or Rf4; and        each of Rf1, to Rf4 is a perfluoroalkyl group in which the carbon number is from 1 to 10) in a polymer chain, and having an equivalent weight of 2500 g/eq or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte of high durability and a production process thereof, more particularly to a polymer electrolyte of high durability which is suitable for an electrolyte membrane, an electrode material and the like for use in polymer electrolyte fuel cells, water electrolyzers, halogen hydracid electrolyzers, sodium chloride electrolyzers, oxide and/or hydrogen concentrators, humidity sensors, gas sensors and the like, and a production process thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A polymer electrolyte is a polymer material having an electrolyte group such as a sulfonic acid group in a polymer chain. As the polymer electrolyte has properties of strongly bonding to specific ions and selectively permeating cations or anions, it is formed into particles, fibers or membranes, and utilized in various applications such as electrodialysis, diffusion dialysis and cell diaphragms.
For example, in the various electrochemical devices such as the polymer electrolyte fuel cells and the water electrolyzers, the polymer electrolyte is formed into a membrane and used in a state of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), where both sides of the polymer electrolyte are bonded with electrodes respectively. Also, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the electrode generally has a two-layered structure consisting of a diffusion layer and a catalyst layer. The diffusion layer is for supplying the catalyst layer with a reaction gas and electrons, and carbon fibers, carbon papers or the like are used as the diffusion layer. Further, the catalyst layer acts as a reaction field of an electrode reaction, and generally consists of a complex of a carbon supporting a catalyst such as platinum and a polymer electrolyte.
As the polymer electrolyte for use in such applications, various materials are conventionally known. For example, for the electrolyte membrane and the electrolyte in the catalyst layer used in the electrochemical devices operating under a severe condition, a wholly fluorinated electrolyte membrane of excellent oxidation resistance is generally used (for example, "Nafion", a registered trademark, manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Inc., "Aciplex", a registered trademark, manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation, "Flemion", a registered trademark, manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., and the like), and a hydrocarbon-based electrolyte is also considered for use.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,053 discloses a trifluorovinyl sulfonic acid polymer which is obtained by copolymerizing trifluorovinyl sulfonyl fluoride (CF2═CFSO2F) and tetrafluoroethylene (CF2═CF2), a molecule of which includes a structure represented by —CF2—CF(SO3X)—(where X is hydrogen, alkaline metal, ammonium ions or amine ions), and equivalent weight of which is about 14000 g/eq (see column 1, lines 60-71 and column 2, lines 34-37).
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,317 discloses a process of synthesizing fluoroalkenyl sulfonyl fluoride (RfCF═CFSO2F, where Rf is fluorine, perfluoroalkyl or omega-hydroperfluoroalkyl) which is used for synthesizing the trifluorovinyl sulfonic acid polymer described above (see column 1, lines 41-51).
Still further, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei4(1992)-11608 discloses a proton conductor represented by (—CF2—CF(SO3H)—)n (where n is 100 or more). Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2002-105216 discloses sulfonated polychlorotrifluoroethylene obtained by sulfonation of a chloro group in polychlorotrifluoroethylene.
In an operating environment of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, a peroxide is produced as a side reaction of an electrode reaction. Further, the produced peroxide becomes a peroxide radical while diffusing in the membrane. There has been a problem that  the conventional hydrocarbon-based electrolyte is prone to corrosion by the peroxide radical and has low oxidation resistance. This is because a hydrocarbon skeleton constituting the hydrocarbon-based electrolyte is easily subjected to an oxidative reaction by the peroxide radical. Therefore, the wholly fluorinated electrolyte of high chemical stability is generally used as the electrolyte for use in the fuel cell even it is very expensive.
However, inventors of the present invention have found that the wholly fluorinated electrolyte such as Nafion (the registered trademark) also deteriorates with time if it is used for a long time under the operating condition of the fuel cell. Also, a detailed analysis of a cause for the deterioration revealed that an ether linkage in the conventional wholly fluorinated electrolyte often becomes a source of the degradation.
Besides, the trifluorovinyl sulfonic acid polymer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,053 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,317 is known as an electrolyte having a structure not including the ether linkage in the molecule. However, there are problems that its equivalent weight is as high as about 14000 g/eq, and sufficient proton conductivity for operating the fuel cell cannot be secured. This is mainly due to low copolymerization reactivity of trifluorovinyl sulfonyl fluoride (CF2═CFSO2F), which is a monomer.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei4(1992)-11608 discloses the proton conductor represented by (—CF2—CF(SO3H)—)n (where n is 100 or more) as the electrolyte not including the ether linkage in the molecule. However, specific means for synthesizing such proton conductor is not disclosed therein at all.

Polymer electrolyte of high durability and a production process thereof


A first unit and a second unit are provided in a multi-layer computing system, wherein the first unit is at a higher layer than the second unit in the multi-layer computing system, and wherein the first unit is a higher level unit and the second unit is a lower level unit. The higher level unit sends to the lower level unit, information to adjust a threshold for failure of components coupled to the lower level unit, wherein the higher level unit has more information on a degree of redundancy in the multi-layer computing system than the lower level unit. The lower level unit adjusts the threshold for the failure of the components, by using the information sent from the higher level unit.

1. Field
The disclosure relates to a method, system, and article of manufacture for adjusting the threshold for component failure in a multi-layer system by using redundancy information.
2. Background
A multi-layer computing system may comprise a plurality of layers in which higher level layers may directly or indirectly exert partial control over lower level layers. For example, in a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) the RAID layer may be a higher level layer and the individual drive handling layer may be a lower level layer. In certain multi-layer computing systems, the plurality of layers may be arranged hierarchically.
Failures of components can occur in multi-layer computing systems. When a component fails, the failure of the component may impact the processing of operations in the multi-layer computing system. Additionally, the failure of one component can affect other components. Furthermore, events that take place in one layer can affect operations in another layer.
The plurality of layers of the multi-layer computing system may communicate with each other and exchange information. Different layers may possess different information about the state of the multi-layer operating system. Nevertheless, the plurality of layers may have to coordinate the operations of the different layers to enable the multi-layer computing system to function properly.

Redundancy information for adjusting threshold for component failure in a multi-layer system

International Business Machines Corporation


A fly protector for cattle that includes a rectangular sheet of fabric, an anterior attachment means, a posterior attachment means, a plurality of fastening means , and a sealing means. The fly protector can further include leg coverings. The fly protector can be made of a cloth, an elastic, or a polymer material and the material may be porous.

The cattle industry suffers commercial losses do to ectoparasites. These losses have been well documented in the past, for example S. E. Kunz, Livestock Pests, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Texas, in: Encyclopedia of Agricultural Science, Volume 2, 1994 put the loss due to the following pests as follows: (a) Horn Flyxe2x80x94$876 million, (b) Stable flyxe2x80x94$432 million, (c) Horse flyxe2x80x94$190 million, (d) Mosquitosxe2x80x94$50 million, and (e) cattle grubxe2x80x94$560 million.
The horn fly is viewed as the most economically damaging pest and causes up to 14 percent weight loss in range cattle. When fly control is practiced, the calves of cows experiencing fly control can have weights up to 6 kilos higher than calves that are infested with horn flies. Steers and heifers also are affected by the horn flies when fly control is not practiced.
The stable fly is another parasite that hampers the cattle industry. Stable flies reduce the average daily gains of beef cattle by about 0.25 kilos per calf in a feed lot situation. The milk production of dairy cattle is also reduced due to the stable fly.
The horse fly and mosquitos are insect vectors of anaplasmosis, which can result in considerable weight loss and death if the animal bitten is left untreated.
The cattle industry has addressed these commercial losses generally using pesticides. The problem with using pesticides is that they do not eliminate all the insects treated, in turn this leads to a more resistant strain of the pest treated. This problem has been documented in S. E. Kunz and K. H. Kemp, Insecticides and Acaricides: Resistance and Environmental Impact, Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 1994, 13(4), pages 1249-1286.
Genetic selection is the underlying process for pesticide resistance. It is documented, in most cases that insects survive pesticide treatment due to genetic differences as opposed to the lack of full exposure to the pesticide. The selective pressure being imposed on pests by insecticides leads to a surviving pest that will breed stronger strains that will be equally resistant to the insecticide being utilized. The following pests have been shown to be resistant to pesticides in the United States: horn flies, buffalo flies, and sheep blowflies. Common problems that pesticide users face include: (1) users see pest survivors after treating the animal with a pesticide, (2) they misunderstand why all of the pests were not terminated, (3) so they increase the dosage of the pesticide used when treating the animals. This increase in pesticide only works to make future generations of the pest more resistant to insecticides. The industry deals with the problem by changing the insecticidcs being used to treat the animals. The problem with this approach is that the animals adapt to the new insecticides and the cycle is repeated. The current trend is that resistance to insecticides is increasing with these pests and the industry""s efforts to produce new pesticide compounds is slowing down. The problem with using pesticides to combat the problem is that the pesticides are toxic to many animals and are harmfull to the environment.
Information relevant to attempts to address theses problems can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,419,076, 5,104,659, 4,579,085, and 4,141,173. However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: pesticide resistance and re-infestation once the animal has been treated.
Accordingly, there is a pressing need in the industry to develop a device or a method to minimize the effects of pests on the cattle industry while at the same time preserving our environment from pesticides.
The present invention is directed to a fly protector for cattle that satisfies the need of reducing the amount of pesticide released into our environment while at the same time protecting cattle from pests that feed upon them. A fly protector for cattle having features of the present invention comprises a rectangular sheet of fabric, wherein a first and a second side of the rectangular sheet of fabric are parallel to each other and measure from about the withers of the cow to about the base of the tail of the cow and where the third and fourth sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric are parallel to each other and have a length that measures a distance that surrounds the dorsal and ventral portions of the cow between the withers and the base of the tail of the cow. The rectangular sheet of fabric will have an anterior means for attachment engaged adjacent to the first and third sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric, the anterior means for attachment will surround the neck of the cow and will serve to secure the fly protector on the cow. The rectangular sheet of fabric will have a posterior means for attachment engaged adjacent to the first and fourth sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric, the posterior means for attachment will surround the base of the tail of the cow and will serve to secure the fly protector on the cow. A plurality of fastening means for connecting the first and second sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric once the fabric has been placed around the dorsal and ventral portion of the cow and in which said plurality of fastenings means will be fastened on the dorsal (upper portion/the back) of the cow. Lastly, a sealing means for sealing the spaces between the plurality of fastening means between the first and second sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric so that the rectangular sheet of fabric forms an impenetrable border between the first and the second sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric. The reason for forming this impenetrable border is to prevent pests from entering the fly protector through this connection while at the same time reinforcing the connection between the first and second sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric. The fly protector ideally will be made of an elastic material that has pores that are no more than 3 millimeters in diameter. The fly protector may have a slit running parallel with the first and second sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric in which said slit is centrally located from all sides of the rectangular sheet of fabric.
In another variation of the invention, the anterior means for attachment will be tubular sheet of fabric that will fit over the cow""s head and rest between the neck of the cow and the withers of the cow. The tubular sheet of fabric will be attached to the fly protector""s anterior portion using a plurality of fastening means and may also employ a sealing means to seal the connection between the anterior portion of the fly protector and the tubular sheet of fabric. The tubular sheet of fabric will guard the cow""s neck portion from being bitten.
Another variation of the invention may employ leg protectors in which the leg protectors are conical sheets of fabric that cover from the dew claw of the cow to about the point of elbow of the cow and in which the leg protectors will be connected by an elastic means that will rest on the dorsal part of the cow so that the front leg protectors are connected together and the rear leg protectors are connected together. The purpose of the leg protectors is to protect milking cows from pests that customarily feed upon them. The purpose for the elastic means is to insure that the leg protectors will not slide down the leg of the cow and thereby defeat the purpose of the leg protectors.
In the above variations of the invention, the sheets of fabric can be porous. The pores can range up to 3 millimeters in diameter, the pores of the sheets of fabric can be determined based on the pest that the cow is being guarded against.

Le Pampa 1175, Torre II dto. 2 xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d 1428


A pixel structure includes a plurality of red sub-pixels, white sub-pixels, blue sub-pixels and green sub-pixels, which are arranged to form a plurality of first sub-pixel cells and second sub-pixel cells. The first and second sub-pixel cells may be arranged to form a plurality of pixel cells. The pixel cells may be arranged in the vertical direction repeatedly to form a plurality of pixel array cells. The pixel array cells may be arranged in the horizontal direction repeatedly to form a plurality of pixel arrays. The pixel structure further includes a supplement pixel array disposed in the pixel arrays according to a preset mode and configured to supplement polarity inversion in the pixel structure. The sub-pixels with a same color in a same row in a same signal frame may not have a same polarity, thereby reducing flicker and horizontal crosstalk of images and improving the image display quality.

In conventional color display panels, a display unit, such as a pixel, generally includes three sub-pixels of different colors: red R, green G and blue B. The color and brightness a pixel displays may depend on the ratio of the three sub-pixels of different colors in the pixel. Therefore, a color display panel may be called a RGB display panel. However, in the RGB display panel, the brightness of a pixel generally only depends on an average value of brightness of sub-pixels, resulting in a low brightness and a high power consumption of the RCB display panel.
To solve the above problems, a RGBW pixel structure has been provided in related art. The RGBW pixel structure is an array including a plurality of same pixel cells. A pixel cell includes four sub-pixels of different colors: red R, green G, blue B and white W.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates structures of a first sub-pixel cell 11 and a second sub-pixel cell 12 according to one embodiment. The first sub-pixel cell 11 and the second sub-pixel cell 12 constitute a pixel cell 1. A plurality of pixel cells are arranged repeatedly in an array to form a pixel structure.
FIG. 2a schematically illustrates a distribution diagram of sub-pixel polarities in a one-column inversion drive mode in related art. In such a drive mode, sub-pixels with a same color may have a same polarity. Red sub-pixels R and white sub-pixels W have a positive polarity, while green sub-pixels G and blue sub-pixels B have a negative polarity, which may result in strong flicker in image display and bad display quality. Referring to FIG. 2b, FIG. 2b schematically illustrates a distribution diagram of sub-pixel polarities in one-dot inversion drive mode in related art. In this manner, the problem that sub-pixels with a same color in a pixel cell have a same polarity may be avoided, however, a serious horizontal crosstalk may be generated.
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a distribution diagram of sub-pixel polarities in a two-column inversion drive mode in related art. In this manner, a severe horizontal crosstalk may be generated, which affects the display quality.

SHANGHAI TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


An electronic-circuit assembly of the present invention comprises a plurality of film carriers which are stacked. Respective film carriers have a plurality of through-holes. One of through-holes is provided on corresponding position to another through-hole in the stacked direction of the substrate. Two of adjacent film carriers are connected by the corresponding through-holes. A connection member is provided in two of adjacent through-holes in the stacked direction of the substrates. A connection state between film carriers can be easily checked. Since it is visually checked that solder appears inside the topmost through-hole. Furthermore, wiring lengths for connection between substrates can be reduced. Since the plurality of substrates are three-dimensionally connected.

The present invention relates to an electronic-circuit assembly, and more particularly to an electronic asemmbly having a plurality of substrates which are stacked.
An example of such a conventional electronic-circuit assembly having a laminate made of a plurality of substrates is described in a document disclosed in Rao R. Tummala and Eugene J. Rymaszewski, "Microelectronics Packaging Handbook", 1989, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp.462-464.
Referring to FIG. 7--7 of the reference, two ceramic substrates are stacked in this technique. These ceramic substrates are connected to each other by soldering pins protruding from a lower surface of an upper substrate to an upper surface of a lower substrate.
This prior art, however, has a problem that is described below.
First, it is hard to check a connection state between the substrates. This is because the connected portion is covered with the upper substrate.
Next, it takes a long time for a design change. This is because it requires a longer time to change a design of the ceramic substrates than that of flexible substrates such as tape automated bonding (TAB) tape. Specifically, it takes a few months for a design change of the ceramic substrates, while it takes a few days for a design change of the TAB tape. Particularly, it requires a long time to change processes of a mask for an internal circuit or a screen therefor.

Electronic-circuit assembly and its manufacturing method


One object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting element that includes an organic compound and an inorganic compound and has low driving voltage. The light emitting element of the invention includes a plurality of layers between a pair of electrodes, wherein the plurality of layers includes a layer that contains a carbazole derivative represented by a general formula (1) and an inorganic compound exhibiting an electron accepting property with respect to the carbazole derivative. By utilizing this structure, electrons are transported between the carbazole derivative and the inorganic compound and carriers are internally generated, and hence, the driving voltage of the light emitting element can be reduced.

A light emitting element formed using a light emitting material has characteristics such as being thin, lightweight, having high response speed and low voltage driving. Therefore, there are high expectations for its application in the next-generation flat panel displays. Moreover, it is said that a light emitting device in that light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix form has advantages of a wider viewing angle and better visibility than a conventional liquid crystal display device.
A basic structure of a light emitting element is a structure in which a layer containing an organic compound with a light emitting property (a light emitting layer) is interposed between a pair of electrodes. By applying voltage to this light emitting element, electrons and holes are respectively transported to the light emitting layer from the pair of electrodes so that a current flows through the light emitting element. Then, by recombining these carriers (i.e., the electrons and the holes), the organic compound with the light emitting property is excited. Upon returning to a ground state from the excited state, light is emitted.
As the excited state caused by an organic compound, there are a singlet excited state and a triplet excited state. Light emission generated in a singlet excited state is referred to as fluorescence and light emission generated in a triplet excited state is referred to as phosphorescence.
Such a light emitting element is generally formed to have a thickness of 1 μm or less, for example, 0.1 μm. This light emitting element has an great advantage of being thin and lightweight. Also, since the time it takes from the injection of carriers to light emission is about 1μ second or less, the light emitting element also has an advantage of having high response speed. In addition, sufficient light emission can be obtained by a direct-current voltage of only about several to several tens of volts, so the light emitting element requires relatively low power consumption. Because of these advantages, the light emitting element has been attracting attention as a next-generation flat panel display element.
Moreover, a light emitting element is formed to have a film form. Therefore, by forming a large-area light emitting element, light emission in a sheet form can be easily obtained. It is difficult to obtain this feature in the case of using a point light source typified by a filament lamp or an LED, or a line light source typified by a fluorescent lamp. Therefore, the light emitting element has a great utility value as a sheet light source that is applicable to a lighting and the like.
However, the light emitting element has problems of short-term durability and a poor heat resistance property. These problems hinder the development of the light emitting element. Typically, as disclosed in the non patent document 1, a light emitting element is generally formed by laminating a thin organic film using an organic compound. Therefore, it is thought that the short-term durability of the organic compound and the frailty of the thin organic film cause the above described problems.
On the other hand, there is an attempt to form a light emitting element by using a layer in which an organic compound and an inorganic compound are mixed, rather than a thin organic film. For example, the patent document 1 discloses a light emitting element using a light emitting layer in which fluorescent organic molecules are dispersed in metal oxide. Further, the patent document 2 discloses a light emitting element formed by laminating layers in which an organic compound (a compound with a hole transporting property, a compound with an electron transporting property, or a compound with a light emitting property) is dispersed in silica matrix via covalent bonds. In these documents, it is reported that the durability or the heat resistance property of the light emitting elements are improved.
In such light emitting elements disclosed in the patent document 1 and 2, however, the organic compound is simply dispersed in metal oxide which has an insulating property. Therefore, the light emitting elements disclosed in the patent document 1 and 2 have a problem in which it is more difficult for the current to flow through the light emitting element (i.e., the voltage required to feed a certain amount of current is increased, that is, the resistance is increased) as compared with a conventional light emitting element.
The luminance of light emission of these light emitting elements is increased in proportion to the density of current flowing through the light emitting elements, thereby causing a problem that the voltage for obtaining a certain amount of luminance (i.e., driving voltage) is increased. This results in an increase in driving voltage along with an increase in power consumption, even if long term durability and good heat resistance property are obtained by simply dispersing the organic compound in metal oxide.
To inhibit the short circuiting of a light emitting element due to a dust and the like, it is effective to increase the thickness of the light emitting element. However, when the thickness of a light emitting element disclosed in the patent document 1 or 2 is increased, the driving voltage is further increased. That is, increasing the thickness of a light emitting element having the conventional structure is practically difficult.    [Non Patent Document 1]: C. W. Tang et al., Applied Physics Letters, vol. 51, No. 12, pp. 913-915 (1987)    [Patent Document 1]: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-288092    [Patent Document 2]: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-306669

Light emitting element and light emitting device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A vehicle having a load frame with wheels, a drive frame, a drive wheel, a non-driven rigid castor wheel, and a pivot link assembly. The drive wheel and non-driven rigid castor wheel are each fixed to move with the drive frame. The pivot link assembly couples the drive frame to the load frame to permit the drive frame to move vertically relative to the load frame. The pivot link assembly also has a first pivot axis about which the drive frame is rotatable relative to the load frame.

The present invention is generally directed to material handling vehicles and, more particularly, to a vehicle having a vertically floating drive assembly.
Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are used throughout the material handling industry to transport loads. The term AGV is commonly used to refer to robust vehicle designs having any of a number of available automated guidance systems. Automatic guided carts (AGCs) is a term commonly used to refer to a less robust vehicle used for similar but smaller-scale applications. Current AGC designs generally include a frame with swivel castors located at the four corners of the frame. Other features may include a drive wheel assembly and rigid castors for directional control of the cart. In one current design, two rigid castors are fixed to the frame and located approximately midway between the swivel castors on each side of the cart frame. The two pair of swivel castor axes and the rigid castor axis are generally parallel to each other. The steerable driving unit is attached to the cart frame, generally by way of a plate that is hinged and spring loaded from the cart frame to ensure that the steerable drive wheel maintains adequate traction with the support surface.
While this arrangement is generally acceptable for uniform support surfaces, situations where the floor is not level and flat may give rise to losses in the directional control of the cart. More particularly, when the cart encounters an uneven surface, the direct mounting of the swivel and rigid castors to the cart frame may cause one or more of the three sets of castors to become disengaged from the support surface. Since the rigid castors are used for direction control of the cart, loss of contact between the rigid castors and the floor may cause loss of directional control of the cart. The only wheel that has significantly uniform contact with the floor is the hinged and spring loaded steerable drive wheel.


A novel bacteriophage RM 378 of Rhodothermus marinus, the nucleic acids of its genome, nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences of open reading frames (ORFs) of its genome, and polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acids, are described.

The use of thermophilic enzymes has revolutionized the field of recombinant DNA technology. Polymerases (DNA and RNA), ligases, exonucleases, reverse transcriptases, polynucleotide kinases and lysozymes, as well as many other thermophilic enzymes, are of great importance in the research industry today. In addition, thermophilic enzymes are also used in commercial settings (e.g., proteases and lipases used in washing powder, hydrolidic enzymes used in bleaching). Identification of new thermophilic enzymes will facilitate continued DNA research as well as assist in improving commercial enzyme-based products.
This invention pertains to a novel bacteriophage of Rhodothermus marinus, bacteriophage RM 378, which can be isolated from its native environment or can be recombinantly produced. The invention additionally pertains to the nucleic acids of the genome of bacteriophage RM 378 as deposited, as well as to the nucleic acids of a portion of the genome of bacteriophage RM 378 as shown in FIG. 1; to isolated nucleic acid molecules containing a nucleotide sequence of an open reading frame (or more than one open reading frame) of the genome of bacteriophage RM 378, such as an open reading frame as set forth in FIG. 2; to isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding a polypeptide obtainable from bacteriophage RM 378 or an active derivative or fragment of the polypeptide (e.g., a DNA polymerase, such as a DNA polymerase lacking exonuclease domains; a 3xe2x80x2-5xe2x80x2 exonuclease, such as a 3xe2x80x2-5xe2x80x2 exonuclease lacking DNA polymerase domain; a 5xe2x80x2-3xe2x80x2 exonuclease (RNase H); a DNA helicase; or an RNA ligase); to DNA constructs containing the isolated nucleic acid molecule operatively linked to a regulatory sequence; and also to host cells comprising the DNA constructs. The invention further pertains to isolated polypeptides encoded by these nucleic acids, as well as active derivatives or fragments of the polypeptides.
Because the host organism of the RM 378 bacteriophage is a thermophile, the enzymes and proteins of the RM 378 bacteriophage are expected to be significantly more thermostable than those of other (e.g., mesophilic) bacteriophages, such as the T4 bacteriophage of Escherichia coli. The enhanced stability of the enzymes and proteins of RM 378 bacteriophage allows their use under temperature conditions which would be prohibitive for other enzymes, thereby increasing the range of conditions which can be employed not only in DNA research but also in commercial settings.

Bacteriophage RM 378 of a thermophilic host organism


A method for removing sulfur-containing compounds is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes selectively separating a feed stream (118) comprising carbon dioxide and one or more sulfur-containing compounds, including hydrogen sulfide, at conditions sufficient to produce a first stream (122) comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide and a second stream (124) comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. A molar ratio of carbon dioxide to hydrogen sulfide in the first stream is greater than a molar ratio of carbon dioxide to hydrogen sulfide in the second stream, and a molar ratio of hydrogen sulfide in the first stream to hydrogen sulfide in the second stream is about 0.005 or more.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present inventions generally relate to methods for removing sulfur-containing compounds from streams containing hydrocarbons.
2. Description of Related Art
A reliable and cost effective gas purification system is essential to economic success for producing hydrocarbon gas streams such as natural gas. Sulfur removal is often the most difficult in terms of both recovery and cost due to tighter environmental regulations and product specifications. As such, sulfur removal processes have become more complicated and more capital intensive. There is a need, therefore, for improved sulfur removal processes that require less capital expenditure, less operating expenditure, and that provide better sulfur recovery to meet today's environmental specifications.

Methods for removing sulfur-containing compounds


A tool for temporarily laying a protective length of masking tape over the edge of a carpet along the base of a wall about to be painted, has a flared tape-laying roller that inserts a lateral portion of the masking tape between the edge of the carpet and the base of the wall down to the floor.

Typical painting procedures used in painting walls or baseboards call for the application of a masking tape over the edge of the carpet or other floor covering abutting the wall or baseboard. The manual laying out of such a masking tape is time-consuming and does not always result in a complete masking of the floor covering. In order to fully protect the strands of carpet pile nearest to the wall or baseboard, the edge of the masking tape must be pressed against the base of the wall or of the baseboard in order to prevent any paint from running into the carpet strands. However, this procedure prevents the painting of the lower section of the wall or baseboard closest to the ground. Most painters prefer to use a large blade that is inserted between the edge of the carpet and the base of the wall or baseboard then tilted back toward the operator to allow access to the lowest part of the surface to be painted. As the wall-facing side of the blade becomes soiled with paint, it must be wiped frequently to prevent any paint from dripping around the lower edge of the blade and soil the carpet. This procedure is a two-handed operation preventing the painter from using one hand to hold the paint applicator and the other to hold the paint bucket.
There is a need for an efficient masking tape applicator that can be used prior to the painting operation to fully protect the edge of a carpet or other type of floor covering while allowing painting of the wall or baseboard down to the floor.


There are provided (1) a process for producing a compound, which comprises the step of contacting a compound (A) defined by the formula, M1L13, a compound (B) defined by the formula, R1t-1TH, and a compound (C) defined by the formula, R2t-2TH2; (2) a catalyst component for addition polymerization, which comprises a compound produced by said process; (3) a process for producing a polymerization catalyst, which comprises the step of contacting said catalyst component with a transition metal compound and an optional organoaluminum compound; and (4) a process for producing an addition polymer, which comprises the step of addition polymerizing an addition polymerizable monomer in the presence of a catalyst produced by said process.

There are known the following so-called single-site catalysts, which polymerize an addition-polymerizable monomer such as an olefin to produce an addition polymer:
(1) a catalyst obtained by combining bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride with methylaluminoxane, and a catalyst obtained by combining said transition metal compound with a specific boron compound (JP 58-19309A, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,199);
(2) a catalyst obtained by combining bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dimethyl with tri(n-butyl)ammonium tetraxis(pentafluorophenyl)borate (JP 1-502036W, corresponding to EP 277004A); and
(3) a catalyst, which slightly lowers homogeneity of an addition polymer obtained (JP 5-320248A, corresponding to EP 571987A, JP 10-17617A, JP 11-12319A and JP 11-343306A), wherein the term "homogeneity" means uniformity of polymerization of a comonomer in case that said addition polymer is a copolymer.

Process for producing compound, catalyst component for addition polymerization, process for producing catalyst for addition polymerization, and process for producing addition polymer


A heat and humidity exchanger comprises panels made up of membrane sheets attached on either side of a separator. Channels extend across each panel between the separator and the membrane sheets. The panels are much stiffer than the membrane sheets. Panels are stacked in a spaced apart relationship to provide an ERV core. Spacing between adjacent panels may be smaller than a thickness of the panels.

Heat and humidity exchangers (also sometimes referred to as humidifiers) have been developed for a variety of applications, including building ventilation (HVAC), medical and respiratory applications, gas drying, and humidifying fuel cell reactants for electrical power generation.
Planar plate-type heat and humidity exchangers use membrane plates that are generally constructed of flat, water-permeable membranes (for example, Nafion®, cellulose, or other polymer membranes) supported between separators. The plates are typically stacked, sealed and configured to accommodate intake and exhaust streams flowing in either cross-flow or counter-flow configurations between alternate plate pairs, so that heat and humidity are transferred between the streams via the membrane.
A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a mechanical device that incorporates a heat exchanger in a ventilation system for providing controlled ventilation into a building. The HRV heats or cools incoming fresh air using exhaust air. Devices that also exchange moisture between the incoming fresh air and the exhaust air are generally referred to as Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs), sometimes also referred to as Enthalpy Recovery Ventilators. An ERV may remove excess humidity from the ventilating air that is being brought into a building or it may add humidity to the ventilating air. ERVs may be used to save energy and/or to improve indoor air quality in buildings.
The key component of an ERV system which transfers the heat and humidity between air streams, is the ERV core. Often ERV cores are constructed like the planar plate-type heat and humidity exchangers described above. An ERV also typically comprises an enclosure, fans to move the air streams, ducting, as well as filters, control electronics and other components.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a planar plate-type heat and humidity exchanger made from stacked planar sheets of membrane 3 with rigid corrugated separators 6 inserted between the membrane sheets. The separators support the membrane and maintain proper sheet spacing, as well as defining channels 5 for wet and dry streams flowing on opposite sides of each membrane sheet, in a cross-flow arrangement, as indicated by broad arrows 1 and 2 respectively. The membrane material is generally thin, flexible and not self-supporting. The separators 6 support the membrane, and reduce or prevent deflection of the membrane into the channels 5. The stack is encased within a rigid frame 4. In some heat and humidity exchangers, plastic flow field inserts are used instead of corrugated separators to provide support for the membrane, maintain spacing and provide flow channels for the streams on either side of the membrane.
Examples of heat and humidity exchangers with corrugated separators are described in US Patent Application Publication No. US2011/0192579. Examples of heat and humidity exchangers with flow field inserts are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,331,376 and 8,235,093.
Separators, such as corrugated members or flow field inserts that are used in the heat and humidity exchangers described above generally provide controlled or directional gas flow distribution over the membrane surface. However, the presence of such separators can restrict fluid flow across the membrane. The resulting pressure drop across the overall apparatus can be significant. For example, even with parallel, straight channels if a separator provides many closely-spaced ribs to support the membrane, the ribs of any significant thickness will tend to impede the fluid flow, and also increase pressure drop. The ribs may also block access of the fluid to a significant portion of the membrane surface. With more widely-spaced ribs the membrane can deflect into the channel also increasing the pressure drop. In some cases, with flow field inserts, the fluid flow path across the membrane can be quite tortuous which also tends to impede flow and increase pressure drop. Pressure drop is also induced by the increased wall surface area creating drag or friction to the flow. Pressure drop can also be increased as a result of deflection of the membrane into channels provided by the separators.


The present invention is directed to a liposomal preparation which is based on specific lipid components. The liposomal compounds are also combined with nucleic acids, forming nucleic acid-liposomal compounds. These compounds are useful in drug delivery, where specific therapeutic nucleic acids are used in the liposomes. The specific lipid components of the present invention provide a highly efficient and stable delivery system for nucleic acids. Consequently, the liposomal preparations are suitable for use in gene therapy.

As advances continue to be made in the molecular biology of inherited or acquired diseases, modulation or modification of the genetic program of living cells is looked upon with growing interest as a new therapeutic approach. Two different strategies have emerged: Gene therapy and oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. To be successful these two approaches must be mediated by an efficient "in vivo" transfer of the nucleic acid material to the target cells and there is a need to provide an efficient and safe delivery system of nucleic materials.
Gene therapy involves the transfer of normal, functional genetic material into cells to correct an abnormality due to a defective or deficient gene product. Typically, the genetic material to be transferred should at least contain the gene to be transferred together with a promoter to control the expression of the new gene. In general, two gene transfer strategies are considered: Viral (retrovirus or adenovirus) vectors and synthetic gene-transfer vectors.
Viral agents have been demonstrated to be highly efficient vectors for the transfection of somatic cells. Retroviruses in particular have received a great deal of attention because they not only enter cells efficiently, but also provide a mechanism for stable integration into the host genome through the provirus. However, clinical use of retroviral vector is hampered by safety issues. A first concern is the possibility of generating an infectious wild type virus following a recombination event. A second concern is the consequences of the random integration of the viral sequence into the genome of the target cell which may lead to tumorigenic event. In addition, as retroviruses would only complete their life cycle in dividing cells, a retroviral vector would be inefficient in targeting cells which are not dividing. DNA viruses such as adenoviruses are potential gene carriers but this strategy is limited in the size of the foreign DNA adenoviruses can carry and because of the restricted host range. However, the advantage of adenoviruses over retroviral vectors is their ability to infect post-mitotic cells.
Synthetic gene-transfer vectors have been subject to intense investigation since this strategy appears to be clinically safe. Potential methods of gene delivery that could be employed include DNA/protein complexes (1) or liposomes (2-7). The genetic material to be delivered to target cells by these methods are plasmids. Plasmids are recombinant DNA which are circular forms of double stranded DNA. They are constructed so that they have, at the minimum, a promoter and the gene coding for the protein of interest. Plasmids can be expressed in the nucleus of the transfected cells in a transient manner. In rare events, the plasmids may be integrated or partly integrated in the cell host genome and might therefore be stably expressed. Episomal plasmid vectors are plasmids able to replicate in the nucleus of the transfected cells and may therefore be expressed in a total growing cell population. Plasmids may have a promising potential considering the fact that they may be applied in combination with a synthetic vector as carrier and that gene therapy by this means may be safe, durable, and used as drug-like therapy.
Plasmid preparation is simple, quick, safe, and inexpensive representing important advantages over retroviral vector strategy. The successful use of this genetic tool for "in vivo" approaches to gene therapy will rely on the development of an efficient cell delivery system.
Liposomes have been shown to be efficient vehicles for many in vitro and in vivo applications. Liposome encapsulated DNA have been used in vitro (3,5) and in vivo (2,4,6,7) for the expression of a given gene through the use of plasmid vectors. The term "liposomes" describes a closed structure composed of lipid bilayers surrounding an internal aqueous space. Liposomes may be used to package DNA for delivery to cells, even in the case of plasmids of large size which could potentially be maintained in a soluble form that would allow direct application to in vivo systems by a simple intravenous injection. Formation of complexes of DNA with cationic liposomes has recently been the focus of research of many laboratories. In particular, lipofectin (Gibco BRL, Gaithersburg, Md.) has been successfully used for the transfection of various cell lines in vitro (3) and for systemic gene expression after intravenous delivery into adult mice (6).
Lipofectin is formed with the cationic lipid DOTMA, N1-(2,3-dioleyloxy) propyl!-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium chloride, and DOPE, dioleylphosphatidyl ethanolamine at a 1:1 molar ratio. The liposomes prepared with this formulation spontaneously interact with DNA through the electrostatic interaction of the negative charges of the nucleic acids and the positive charges at the surface of the cationic liposomes. This DNA/liposomal complex fuses with tissue culture cells and facilitates the delivery of functional DNA into the cells (3). New cationic liposomes have been developed: Lipofectamine (Gibco BRL), composed of DOSPA, 2,3-dioleyloxy-N2(sperminecarboxamido)ethyl!-N,N-dimethyl-1-propanaminium trifluoracetate and DOPE at a 1:1 molar ratio. Lipofectace (GIBCO BRL) composed of DDAB, dimethyidioctadecylammonium chloride and DOPE at a 1:1 molar ratio. DOTAP (Boehringer Mannheim, Ind.) 1-2-dioleoyloxy-3 (trimethyl ammonia) propane.
Behr et al. (9,10) have recently reported the use of a lipopolyamine (DOGS, Spermine-5-carboxy-glycinediotadecylamide) to transfer DNA to cultured cells. Lipopolyamines are synthesized from a natural polyamine spermine chemically linked to a lipid. For example, DOGS is made from spermine and dioctadecylamidoglycine (9). DOGS spontaneously condence DNA on a cationic lipid layer and result in the formation of nucleolipidic particles. This lipospermine-coated DNA shows high transfection efficiency (10).
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient and safe delivery system for nucleic acid materials.

Method for the liposomal delivery of nucleic acids

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


Disclosed herein is a variable grating diffractive light modulator, which actuates lower reflecting plates of a lower reflecting array by a piezoelectric actuating method, and includes an upper reflecting array that is spaced apart from the lower reflecting array and attached to a lower surface of a substrate that is made of a light transmissive material and covers the lower reflecting array, so that the light modulator reflects incident light transmitted through the substrate and thereby produces diffractive light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a variable grating diffractive light modulator, and more particularly, to a variable grating diffractive light modulator, which actuates lower reflecting plates of a lower reflecting array by a piezoelectric actuating method, and includes an upper reflecting array that is spaced apart from the lower reflecting array and attached to a lower surface of a substrate that is made of a light transmissive material and covers the lower reflecting array, so that the light modulator reflects incident light transmitted through the substrate and thereby produces diffractive light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an optical signal processing technology has advantages in that a great amount of data is quickly processed in a parallel manner unlike a conventional digital information processing technology in which it is impossible to process a great amount of data in real time. Studies have been conducted on the design and production of a binary phase only filter, an optical logic gate, a light amplifier, an image processing technique, an optical device, and a light modulator using a spatial light modulation theory. The spatial light modulator is applied to optical memory, optical display device, printer, optical interconnection, and hologram fields, and studies have been conducted to develop a display device employing it.
The spatial light modulator is embodied by a reflective deformable grating light modulator 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The modulator 10 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,360 by Bloom et al. The modulator 10 includes a plurality of reflective deformable ribbons 18, which have reflective surface parts, are suspended on an upper part of a silicon substrate 16, and are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals. An insulating layer 11 is deposited on the silicon substrate 16. Subsequently, a sacrificial silicon dioxide film 12 and a low-stress silicon nitride film 14 are deposited. The nitride film 14 is patterned by the ribbons 18, and a portion of the silicon dioxide film 12 is etched, thereby maintaining the ribbons 18 on the oxide spacer layer 12 by a nitride frame 20. In order to modulate light having a single wavelength of λo, the modulator is designed so that the height difference of the ribbon 18 and oxide spacer 12 is equal to a multiple of λo/2.
Limited by a vertical distance between a reflective surface 22 of each ribbon 18 and a reflective surface of the substrate 16, a grating amplitude of the modulator 10 is controlled by applying voltage between the ribbon 18 (the reflective surface 22 of the ribbon 18 acting as a first electrode) and the substrate 16 (a conductive layer 24 formed on a lower side of the substrate 16 to act as a second electrode). In an undeformed state of the light modulator with no voltage application, the grating amplitude is λo/2 while a total round-trip path difference between light beams reflected from the ribbon and substrate is λo. Thus, a phase of reflected light is reinforced. Accordingly, in the undeformed state, the modulator 10 acts as a plane mirror when it reflects incident light. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes the incident light reflected by the modulator 10 in the undeformed state.
When a proper voltage is applied between the ribbon 18 and substrate 16, the electrostatic force enables the ribbon 18 to move downward toward the surface of the substrate 16. At this time, the grating amplitude is changed to λo/4. The total round-trip path difference is a half of a wavelength, and light reflected from the deformed ribbon 18 and light reflected from the substrate 16 are subjected to destructive interference. The modulator diffracts incident light 26 using the interference. In FIG. 3, reference numerals 28 and 30 denote light beams diffracted in +/− diffractive modes (D+1, D−1) in the deformed state, respectively.
It has been proven that sticking of the ribbon 18 to the substrate 16 is a common problem of the light modulator 10 during a wet process applied to form a space under the ribbon 18 and during operation of the modulator 10. There are various methods of reducing the sticking: lyophilization, an OTS single layer treatment, use of a hard ribbon and/or a tightened nitride film gained by shortening the ribbon, a method of roughing or wrinkling one or both surfaces of two facing surfaces, a method of forming a reverse rail on the lower part of the ribbon, and a method of changing the chemical properties of the surfaces. In a solid-state sensor and actuator workshop held in June, 1994 at the Hilton Head Island in Scotland, prevention of sticking was reported, which is accomplished by reducing the contact area by forming a reverse rail on the lower part of a bridge and by employing a rough polysilicon layer as disclosed in "a process of finely treating the surface of a deformable grating light valve for high resolution display devices" suggested by Sandeyas, et al., and "a grating light valve for high resolution display devices", suggested by Apte et al.
Moreover, Apte et al. found that mechanical operation of the modulator 10 has a characteristic such that deformation of the ribbon 18 as a function of voltage forms hysteresis. The hysteresis is theoretically based on the fact that an electrostatic attractive force between the ribbon 18 and substrate 16 is a nonlinear function of the deformation, whereas hardness of the ribbon 18 is a substantially linear function of a resilient force by tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,360 by Bloom et al. discloses a latching feature which gives a modulator 10 advantages of an active matrix design without the need for active components. Additionally, Bloom et al. describes that this feature is valuable in low power applications where efficient use of available power is very important. However, Bloom et al. discloses the addition of small ridges below ribbons 18 to reduce a contact area, thereby reducing the sticking problem. However, since the substrate of the modulator 10 is used as an optical surface, a process of adding the small ridges to the surface is complicated in that a reflective element of the substrate 16 must be smooth so as to have high reflectance and must be positioned on a planar surface of the ribbon 18.
Typical display devices are formed in 2-D arrays of pixels. Discontinuous images formed by a plurality of pixels are integrated by user's eyes, thereby forming an aggregate image of pixels constituting a whole image. Unfortunately, prices of such a display device are high because the pixels are overlapped to form a complete array, so the production cost of each pixel is duplicated. The display device comprising pixels is exemplified by televisions or computer systems. Their pixels may be formed by an LCD device or a CRT device.
Accordingly, there is required a diffractive grating light valve capable of reducing or removing the sticking between the reflective element and the substrate without a complicated surface treatment adopted to reduce the sticking.
As well, a display device is required, which reduces the number of pixels to reduce production costs without reducing image quality while designing a system.
To satisfy the above requirements, a conventional improved technology is proposed in Korean Pat. Application No. 10-2000-7014798, entitled "method and device for modulating incident light beam to form 2-D image", by Silicon Light Machines Inc.
In the "method and device for modulating the incident light beam to form the 2-D image", the diffractive grating light valve includes a plurality of elongate elements each having a reflective surface. The elongate elements are arranged on an upper side of a substrate so that they are parallel to each other, have support ends, and their reflective surfaces lie in array (GLV array). The elongate elements form groups according to display elements. The groups alternately apply voltage to the substrate, resulting in deformation of the elements. The almost planar center portion of each deformed elongate element is parallel to and spaced from the center portion of the undeformed element by a predetermined distance which is set to ⅓–¼ of the distance between the undeformed reflective surface and the substrate. Thus, the deformed elongate elements are prevented from coming into contact with the surface of the substrate. Sticking between the elongate elements and the substrate is prevented by preventing contact between the elements and substrate. Additionally, the predetermined distance between each deformed elongate element and the substrate is limited so as to prevent hysteresis causing deformation of the elongate elements.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an elongate element 100 of a GLV in an undeformed state according to a conventional improved technology. In FIG. 4, the elongate element 100 is suspended above a surface of a substrate (including constitution layers) by ends thereof. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 102 denotes an air space.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a deformed elongate element 100 of the GLV. FIG. 5 shows that the deformed elongate element 100 is maintained in the suspended state thereof to be spaced from the surface of the substrate adjacent therebeneath. This is in contrast to the conventional modulator of FIGS. 1 to 3. Contact between the elongate element 100 and the surface of the substrate is prevented, thereby avoiding the disadvantages of conventional modulators. However, the elongate element 100 is apt to sag in the deformed state. The reason is that the elongate element 100 is uniformly subjected to an electrostatic attractive force acting toward the substrate in directions perpendicular to a longitudinal direction thereof, whereas tension of the elongate element 100 acts along the length of the elongate element 100. Therefore, the reflective surface of the elongate element is not planar but curvilinear.
However, the center part 102 of the elongate element 100 (FIG. 8) is almost planar, making the contrast ratio of diffracted light, gained by only the center part 102 of the elongate element 100, desirable. The substantially planar center part 102 has a length that is ⅓ of a distance between post holes 110. Hence, when the distance between the post holes 110 is 75 μm, the almost planar center part 102 is about 25 μm long.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the display element 200 in which the deformed elongate elements 100 are alternately arranged. FIG. 6 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line B–B′ of FIG. 5. The elongate ribbons 100 which are not removed are maintained at desired positions by an applied bias voltage. Deformation of the moving elongate ribbons 100 is achieved by alternate applications of operation voltages through the conductive layer 106 to the elongate elements 100. A vertical distance (d1) is almost constant to the almost planar center part 102 (FIG. 5), thereby limiting the grating amplitude of the GLV. The grating amplitude (d1) may be controlled by adjusting an operation voltage on the operated elongate elements 100. This results in precision tuning of the GLV in an optimum contrast ratio.
As for diffractive incident light having a single wavelength (λ1), it is preferable that the GLV has a grating width (d1) that is ¼ (λo/4) of the wavelength of incident light to assure a maximum contrast ratio in an image to be displayed. However, the grating width (d1) requires only a round trip distance that is the same as the sum of a half of the wavelength (λ1) and the whole number of the wavelength (λ1) (i.e. d1=λ1/4, 3λ1/4, 5λ1/4, . . . , Nλ1/2+λ1/4).
Referring to FIG. 6, the lower side of each elongate element 100 is spaced upward from the substrate by a distance of d2. Accordingly, the elongate elements 100 do not come into contact with the substrate during operation of the GLV. This results in avoidance of the sticking problems between the reflective ribbons and the substrate occurring in conventional modulators.
However, the conventional technology inevitably requires a gap between micromirrors to actuate the micromirrors with a ribbon shape. As the gap increases, a fill factor is reduced with respective to the same ribbon width. Hence, a maximum quantity of light which is diffracted to 0th or ±1 st order becomes small, thus reducing a dynamic range of the light modulator.
According to the conventional technology, the light modulator has various pitches, according to adapted areas, including printing or displaying areas. The light modulator must minimize the gap between the micromirrors under a given pitch. In the case of a light modulator having a small pitch, a high fill factor is required to assure a sufficient modulation dynamic range, thereby a small gap is required. However, it is very difficult to form a small gap. Further, as the gap is reduced, the capacity of the device is deteriorated.
Further, the conventional technology is problematic in that the diffraction efficiency is lowered, and the uniformity of the output light of all pixels is thus lowered, when the actuating distance of three or four micromirrors provided in one pixel to be simultaneously actuated is not accurately regulated.

Variable grating diffractive light modulator


A dam has a plurality of substantially parallel ribs with recesses therebetween. At least one of the recesses has a pad therein with its sheet engaging surface being interior of the sheet engaging surfaces of the ribs. The rib surfaces, which are engaged first by the sheets being fed, have a lower coefficient of friction with the sheets than the sheet engaging surface of the pad. If more than one sheet is fed from a stack to the dam, the sheets will strike the rib surfaces first and then the pad surface if not separated from each other by the rib surfaces. Since the pad surface has a coefficient of friction substantially equal to the sheet to sheet friction, this step function in friction helps to separate the top sheet from the next adjacent sheet.

One problem in feeding a top or bottom sheet of media from a stack of sheets of media is that at least the next adjacent sheet may be fed at the same time. Accordingly, various separating means have previously been suggested for separating a top sheet of a stack of sheets of media from the next adjacent sheet when the feed is from the top of the stack of sheets of media and for separating a bottom sheet of a stack of sheets of media from the next adjacent sheet when the feed is from the bottom of the stack of sheets of media.
It is known to separate a top sheet of a stack of sheets from the next adjacent sheet through using a dam, which is an element having an inclined surface in the path of the top sheet as it is fed from the stack of sheets so that its leading edge will strike the inclined surface of the element. In a printer, for example, the advancement of more than one sheet from the stack of sheets can cause jamming. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid simultaneous advancement of more than one sheet from a stack of sheets of media to a processing station such as a printer, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,684 to Gysling discloses a complex and expensive mechanism for advancing only a top sheet from a stack of sheets. A thickness sensor assembly senses the thickness of the sheet or sheets after advancement of the sheet or sheets from the stack past an angled dam, which has a smooth inclined or angled surface and is supposed to separate the top sheet from the next adjacent sheet. If more than one sheet is sensed by the thickness sensor assembly, a signal is produced to cause a brake shoe to frictionally engage the lower surface of a group of two or more sheets to separate the sheets. This allows only the top sheet to be advanced.
When a dam has its inclined surface formed with longitudinally extending ribs, there is corrugation of a sheet of media between the substantially parallel ribs when the sheet is advanced longitudinally along the exterior surface of each of the ribs. This corrugation is due to a buckling force created by resistance to movement of the sheet by the exterior surface of each of the ribs. While this dam is usually successful in separating an uppermost or top sheet from the next adjacent sheet in a stack of sheets, it is not always successful. Thus, multiple feeding of sheets can occur as the sheets advance up the inclined, ribbed surface of the dam.
Additionally, a surface having a coefficient of friction capable of reliably separating heavy media such as envelopes and labels, for example, tends to have more multiple sheet feeding of a light or high friction media such as bond or xerographic paper, for example. This presents the problem of whether to have an inclined surface of a dam capable of reliably separating heavy media or light media. This is not desirable with a printer since a printer needs to be capable of printing both heavy and light media to have a sufficient market.

Sheet separator dam with inset friction element


A coaxial connector assembly includes an outer housing holding an outer contact, a dielectric holder received in the outer contact, and a center contact received in the dielectric holder. The dielectric holder has a front and a cavity extending axially along the dielectric holder bounded by a cavity wall. The dielectric holder has an expansion slot formed in the cavity wall offset from, and proximate to, the front. The center contact has a socket at a mating end configured to receive a pin contact of a mating connector assembly. The center contact has deflectable beams at the mating end configured to deflect outward when mated with the pin contact. The center contact has flared tip ends at the distal ends of the beams. The flared tip ends are received in the expansion slot when the deflectable beams are deflected outward during mating with the pin contact.

The subject matter herein relates generally to coaxial connector assemblies.
Radio frequency (RF) coaxial connector assemblies have been used for numerous applications including military applications and automotive applications, such as global positioning systems (GPS), antennas, radios, mobile phones, multimedia devices, and the like. The connector assemblies are typically coaxial cable connectors that are provided at the end of coaxial cables.
In order to standardize various types of connector assemblies, particularly the interfaces for such connector assemblies, certain industry standards have been established. One of these standards is referred to as FAKRA. FAKRA is the Automotive Standards Committee in the German Institute for Standardization, representing international standardization interests in the automotive field. The FAKRA standard provides a system, based on keying and color coding, for proper connector attachment. Like jack keys can only be connected to like plug keyways in FAKRA connectors. Secure positioning and locking of connector housings is facilitated by way of a FAKRA defined catch on the jack housing and a cooperating latch on the plug housing.
The connector assemblies include a center contact and an outer contact that provides shielding for the center contact. The center contact is typically a socket that receives a pin contact. Conventional sockets do not allow for a large enough catch circle to reliably capture the pin contact. The pin contact may miss the catch circle and become wedged between the center contact and the dielectric holding the center contact. An unreliable electrical connection may occur in such situation and/or damage to the center contact and/or pin contact may occur.
A need remains for a coaxial connector assembly that may be manufactured in a cost effective and reliable manner. Additionally, a need remains for a coaxial connector assembly having a socket that reliably captures a pin contact during mating.


A method for operating a vehicle, the vehicle including an internal combustion engine coupled in the vehicle, the engine having at least one cylinder with an intake and an exhaust valve, where the opening and closing timing of the intake valve is adjustably retardable and the opening and closing timing of the exhaust valve is adjustably retardable via camshaft adjustments, during engine operation, an energy conversion device coupled in the vehicle capable of selectively supplying and absorbing torque during vehicle operation, and a transmission, the method comprising: adjustably retarding intake valve opening timing and intake valve closing timing from piston top dead center; and adjusting operation of the transmission and the energy conversion device to maintain engine speed sufficient to enable adjustment of said intake and exhaust valve timing.

Engines have used various forms of variable cam timing to improve engine operation over a variety of speed/load conditions. Further, hybrid vehicle systems may use variable cam timing to improve overall vehicle operation.
One approach to such a system is described in Japanese SAE paper 9739552. This system described a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) using an Atkinson engine with intake variable cam timing enabling late intake valve closing during shutdown and cranking (120 deg after BDC). The late intake valve closing may be used to reduce engine vibration during engine restarts.
However, the inventors herein have recognized a problem with such an approach. Specifically, Atkinson-cycle engines typically suffer a fundamental disadvantage of poor torque at low to medium engine speeds. The reduced peak torque levels may then lead to secondary problems with noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) and fuel efficiency because higher engine speeds are required to produce sufficient power in real customer driving.
Thus, in one approach, the above issues may be addressed by a system for a vehicle, comprising: an internal combustion engine coupled in the vehicle, the engine having at least one cylinder with an intake and exhaust valve, where the opening and closing timing of the intake valve is adjustably retardable and the opening and closing timing of the exhaust valve is adjustably retardable, during engine operation; and an energy conversion device coupled in the vehicle capable of selectively supplying and absorbing torque during vehicle operation.
In this way, it is possible to obtain improved starting operation, for example by utilizing both intake and exhaust retard. Further, it is also possible to obtain improved torque output during low to mid engine speeds. In other words, late intake/exhaust valve timings may be used to reduce fresh air pumped through the engine during engine shutdown and cranking, thereby reducing oxygen flow to the catalysts in the exhaust. Further, such operation also may reduce NVH during engine starting (cranking) and/or shutdown operation. However, by having variable intake and exhaust valve timing retard, wide-open throttle torque penalties such as in the Atkinson cycle are reduced, and it is actually possible to obtain some torque and power improvement.
Additionally, using both intake and exhaust valve timing retard reduces issues with late intake valve opening in a non-Atkinson cycle engine with variable intake valve timing retard. For example, in such a case, the late intake valve opening may increase noise and vibration, and again the valve timing adjustments may not assist in improving wide-open throttle torque output. Thus, more advanced timings may be used at least during some higher torque output conditions to better take advantage of the hybrid propulsion system and obtain better overall vehicle performance during real world driving conditions.
Furthermore, by using both intake and exhaust valve timing retard it is possible to obtain improved fuel efficiency and feedgas emissions at part throttle operating conditions, for example.

Hybrid vehicle system having engine with variable valve operation


Kits, devices, and methods are provided for attaching a snack box to a crib. Attached is such that, while still in the crib, the infant can open the lid and retrieve a snack stored inside, such as a bottle of milk. In some embodiments the snack box can even accommodate cold storage, e.g. by having a thermally insulated enclosure. It can even be a small electric refrigerator. Before the parent goes to sleep for the night, they can prepare a snack, and store it overnight in the snack box. When the infant wakes up in the morning, they can retrieve the snack by themselves, after a few days' training, without crying. This will permit the parent to sleep longer, because they will not have to wake up prematurely for delivering the morning snack, and then wait until it is consumed.

Infants frequently sleep during the night in cribs. A crib is a piece of indoor furniture, usually placed in either the parent's bedroom or a nursery.
When the infant wakes up in the morning, it tends to cry until given a snack, such as a bottle of milk. A parent needs to wake up to prepare it, sometimes before they were ready to wake up.
For somewhat older infants, parents often prepare the milk in the evening before, and store it in the family refrigerator, which is typically in the kitchen. When in the next morning they hear the infant cry, they go to the kitchen, pick up the bottle from the family refrigerator, and then go deliver it to the infant.
In some instances that is not enough, and the infant needs attention additional to the snack. But most of the times, the infant is content merely to get the snack, and start eating. In those instances, some parents may return to bed. After taking the time to consume the snack, the infant will cry again, waking up the parent again.

Equipping baby crib with snack box for overnight storage