The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for making simultaneous electrical connections, and more particularly to making these electrical connections simultaneously using a new bond tip configuration. Various methods and processes are being disclosed to simultaneously make electrical connections between electrical conductor lines or pads. The electrical connection is made by placing an electrically conductive wire across a pair of electrical lines or pads that have to be electrically connected and then by using a special tip, both ends of the electrically conductive wire are simultaneously secured to the two electrically conductive lines or pads.

With the advent of modern day electronics, the circuits on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) or modules or chips have become more and more dense. As a result the electrical lines or conductor lines and terminals or pads have become smaller so that more of them can be placed in a given area.
It therefore becomes necessary to make increasingly smaller electrical connections between these lines and pads to complete electrical functionality. The increased density of these electrical connections increases the probability that the conductor lines or paths will have to be rerouted.
The rerouting of the conductor lines are among the most important steps in the packaging technology. This is because the electronic hardware must be reliable and free from defects, as they are very expensive to manufacture and field failures cannot be repaired easily. In addition, due to the large size of the package (tens of millimeters), which supports a large area interconnection between silicon or other devices, it is not practical to isolate and throw away the defective part of the package, as is commonly done in the manufacture of silicon chips. To eliminate these immediate and potential defects, tremendous efforts are being made.
This rerouting of electrical wires is done for a variety of reasons. The first and foremost reason is for the purpose of E.C. (Engineering Change), which customizes a part for a particular performance requirement. Other reasons for re-routing electrical wires are defects or cracks in lines, or shorts between lines. Defects or faults in a conductor line could be due to masking or improper deposition of the conductive material. But they could also be related to other factors, such as impure material or stretching the resolution limits of the lithography process. The thin film redistribution lines may have opens due to contamination, process mishaps and physical damage.
Another reason for opens is due to stresses generated during thermal cycles in device attach and test processes used during assembly of PCB or ceramic modules. The thin film lines with cracks and other latent defects may develop opens. These opens could either be repaired or the signal line rerouted in order to use the substrate or module or package which would otherwise be electrically defective.
Particularly, in the thin film processing, the thin film redistribution and other interconnection lines are susceptible to defects which could result in the lines being electrically open. Defects could include voids, missing metal, various particle contamination or physical damage. A redundant metal scheme helps to substantially reduce the number of defective lines, but this scheme does not eliminate them entirely. Those lines identified as "open" after thin film electrical test can be repaired by processes such as laser CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) prior to a polyimide overcoat process. Occasionally an "open" line will go undetected through test or becomes "open" during subsequent thermal processing. These defective conductors appear in the module or substrate, after pins, capacitors and chips are joined If an "open" line should be found at this point, it is essential to repair the defect so that the module or the substrate or the package can be used.
Recently non-destructive electrical testing methods (for example, NLC (Nonlinear Conductivity) tester as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,900) have been developed. The NLC tester locates the lines with current constricting defects, such as, cracks, line breaks, intermittent opens, narrow necks, etc. The method of high pulse current, as discussed elsewhere, can then be used to open up the defects. This process is utilized due to the fact that it is easier to visually locate the complete opens than latent defects.
It is disclosed in, "Repairing Breaks in Printed Circuits," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 8, No. 11, Page 1469 (April 1966), that small breaks in a line can be repaired by filling the gap in the broken line with a material that is cured at room temperature or higher to form a base conductive material. A conductive metal layer is then electroplated over the base conductive material to complete the repair. Using this process would require that lines to be repaired, on extremely dense packages with chips, capacitors and discrete wires in place, be isolated during electroplating. This would create significant handling and tooling problem.
"Open Conductor Repair For Glass Metal Module," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 10, Page 2915 (March 1972), discloses another method of making open repairs. Here a metal line to be transferred is aligned over the open or break, and using a laser beam, a portion of the metal layer is welded to each end of the broken line. This article also teaches that the line could be reflowed into the break using a laser or it could be evaporated into the break. Each of these features cannot be used with the present invention, because the melting of high temperature conductive metals, such as copper, is used. Energy required to melt such lines by laser would damage polyimide adjacent to the lines to be repaired.
Another disclosure entitled "Welding Device Utilizing Laser Beams" U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,898 (1966) describes the simultaneous plural spot melting of metal and metal alloys of Al, Au and Ni, etc. By using a split beam laser focused onto two different spots on an electrode, the entire metal electrode becomes hot. Although the melting does occur simultaneously, the temperatures involved in melting the metals and metal alloy ranges from 600.degree. C. to 1400.degree. C. These temperatures are so high they would not only destroy the adhesion interface between the metal bond tabs and the polymer structure below it but would probably melt or deform several of the multilevel polymer and thin film layers below the bond tabs of this invention.
Many types of electrical connections and connection processes have been disclosed, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,040 entitled "Method of Forming Circuit Crossovers" discloses elaborate fabrication of compression formed semicircular terminals (35-80 mils long) which are gold plated and laminated in a press at 800 Psi and 340.degree. C. to transfer the ends of the crossovers from their carrier to functional lines. These process features could not be used with the present invention due to the macro size (35-80 mils) and the compression bonding parameters like 340.degree. C. temperature which would distort the polymer structure surrounding the bond tabs in the present invention.
A rather complex process for repairs of opens is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,367 (Dougherty, Jr.), where a conductor patch line is interconnected onto a good line through an insulating layer. This requires the addition of new wiring layers with photolithographic techniques which would be incompatible with a substrate with components already in place.
Another method of repairing opens is by decal transfer as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,304 (Amendola, et al.), and presently assigned to IBM Corporation.
Another method of electric circuit line repairs is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,355 (Johnson). A layer of phase-change material is deposited prior to the deposition of the conductive line and in case an open results in the conductive line, a current is passed through the phase-change material so that a portion of it becomes electrically conductive and makes an electrical bridge across the gap or open. This method is not suitable for repairs on polyimide films due to lack of adhesion of such phase-change materials to polyimide.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,264 (Thorwarth), a specifically shaped metallic part is placed on the conductor path interruption and by means of micro-resistance welding, the metallic part is welded to the conductor to bridge the interruption. Welding involves melting of the repair material which when used on current "state of the art" thin film polymer packages could cause structural damage to the polymer. Welding also requires the passage of high drive currents which would be incompatible with this invention as there are active devices which are connected to the lines being repaired at different locations, and with the high drive current these active devices would be damaged.
Another method of repairing opens and narrow necks has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,971 (Chen). The defective site in the conductor line having a thin portion or a narrow neck does not have to be physically located to initiate the repairs. The process is self-induced, i.e., the passage of the drive current creates a hot spot at the defective site and conductive material is induced to be deposited at the defective site. This process is also self-limiting, i.e., when the defect has been repaired, the process will slow down and stop by itself. This technique requires the substrate to be immersed in a plating bath or be exposed to organometallic vapors which would make it incompatible with line repair processes where the active and passive components have already been mounted on the substrate.
"Conductive Line Jumper/Repair Connection in Glass Metal Module," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 8, Page 2423 (January 1973), discloses another method of making open repairs. Here after the open has been located, a wire is placed across the open line and the wire is welded to each end of the open line. After welding the repaired plane is glassed over leaving a surface suitable for developing another circuit layer. This process teaches the repairs of the carrier at the build level, and not at the functional module level. This process also requires the use of high melting point metals and a subsequent sintering of inorganic materials.
Another welding process for repairing of opens is discussed in, "Circuit Repair/Work of Metallized Polyimide Substrates," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 22, No. 9, page 3986 (February 1980). A piece of wire is jumpered across the open and both ends of the jumpered wire are welded to the circuit line, thus yielding a "continuous electrical line. " This process also discloses the use of high melting point metals.
Another method of making circuit repairs is disclosed in, "Tailless Thermo-Compression Bonding," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 27, No. 5, page 3041 (October 1984), where the circuit line is repaired by passing an electric current between two electrodes which fuse the circuit line and the repair material together.
"Josephson Package Repair," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 26, No. 12, pages 6244-6245 (May 1984), is another example of making repairs. The faulty circuits are cut out by laser scribing, and the repair of an open is done by cutting the bad line next to the pad and using a third wiring level to reconnect to the proper pads. This process has the limitation of requiring photolithographic techniques to form the new wiring level. Furthermore, additional thin film process steps cannot be done after chips, pins etc, have been attached.
Laser deposition methods are also being developed for repairing circuit opens. As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 223,487, filed on Jul. 25, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,230, and presently assigned to IBM Corporation, an open circuit is repaired by laser induced electroplating process based on the thermobattery effect. One tip of the open conductor is heated with a laser beam, and a thermobattery is formed between the hot spot (tip of the conductor) and the cold part (normal section of the conductor). The laser heating of the tip induces the conductive material present in the plating solution to be formed at the hot tip. This process is continued until the growth of the conductive material joins the two open ends of the open, and a continuous electrical path is formed.
Another process for interconnecting thin-film electrical circuits is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,959, and presently assigned to IBM Corporation. Both ends of the existing circuit are partially ablated at the open defect site with pulses from an excimer laser, and then gold metal is deposited by LCVD (Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition). This process makes the repairs right after the thin film deposition, and prior to any subsequent module build (i.e. at the substrate level).
Under some circumstances a laser, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,941 (Sciaky, et al.), could be used to make spot welds. The laser induced melting can cause structural damage to sensitive dielectrics and adjoining lines.
Still another disclosure entitled "Device and Method for Repairing Conductor Path Breaks by Welding" U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,264, refers to the use of a resistance welding apparatus where there exists a circular central electrode and two semi-circular electrodes on opposite sides of the central electrode. Two power supplies are attached to the electrodes with the central electrode being common. The disclosure states that in one operation current flows through the electrodes and welds a tab to two lines as a repair process. It further states that a clock is incorporated in the device to switch the current from one outside electrode to the other and back again many times during the weld. This is because current would take the path of least resistance and create uneven/non-uniform melting of both tabs if a true simultaneous operation was tried.
IBM Disclosure, Vol. 18, No. 12, p. 3984 (May 1976) entitled "Individually Controllable Wire Solder Reflow Bonding Tip," is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,264, in that it also uses two power supplies to solder reflow two wires by using three (3) electrodes, one being a common.
These two documents refer to resistance welding using complex devices to melt metal wires or tab in place for the purpose of making electrical connections. Once again welding is too harsh a process to be used on a multilevel polymer/thin film package. The use of two power supplies, one for each end of the connection, does in fact simulate the conventional stitch bond approach so vastly used throughout the electronics industry.
On the other hand the invention of this Patent Application discloses "simultaneous electrical connection" which is making an electrical connection between two separate pads and/or lines by simultaneously ultrasonically bonding each end of a wire staple during one bond cycle.
Among other things, the invention of this Patent Application describes an electrical connection process after active and passive components may have been attached to the substrate. This can be done by using a micro-wire or staple and simultaneously securing it to two or more electrical pads or connections, and forming an electrically continuous path. The attaching of the micro-wire or staple can be accomplished by using brazing, ultrasonic bonding, lasersonic bonding, thermo-compression bonding or any combination of these methods. The term "lasersonic bonding" refers to a known process of bonding a member by applying both laser and sonic energy to the member, for instance, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,811.
The process of this invention allows electrical connection to be accomplished in one step which is another advantage over the other methods.
This process is novel in that it enables the electrical connection and rerouting of electrical lines after the module has been built.
The present invention relates generally to a new method of making electrical connections on high density electronic packaging. Various methods of making electrical connections are used throughout the industry such as solder connections, pluggable or contact connections, as well as ultrasonic, lasersonic, thermocompression and micro surface welding. This invention focuses on, but is not limited to, the simultaneous bonding of a wire connector to two separate and distinct bond pads for the purpose of creating a functional electrical net. The bond pads can be part of a multilevel polyimide, thin film structure.

Apparatus and methods for making simultaneous electrical connections

International Business Machine Corporation


A spinning reel slot machine which gives a multiplied payoff when certain conditions are fulfilled. Wins including a special symbol on the pay line are multiplied by an incremental multiplier when the machine is in a particular mode. A counter value is increased by one every time a second special symbol appears on the visible sections of the reels. Whenever the counter reaches a predetermined value, the counter is reset and the multiplier is increased. Whenever a multiplied payout occurs, the multiplier is reset to a minimum value.

This invention relates to gaming machines. More specifically, it relates to spinning reel type slot machines.
Spinning reel slot machines have maintained their popularity, evolving from electro-mechanical devices to the present day devices which employ microprocessor control. In modern devices, the spinning reels are used merely as a display to advise a player if he has won or lost a game of chance played entirely in a computer memory according to the rules embedded in a computer program. Such machines may have further displays, in addition to the reels, on which other aspects of the game are displayed. In the past, such displays have included "trail games" wherein an indicator proceeds along a board game style trail providing different features. These features might include nudges and gamble features awarding prizes. Such machines have also been known to have a variable jackpot, which increases over time until it is paid out. The variable size jackpot only applies to the maximum payout available.
Whatever theme the game has, it is necessary that the casino owner make a profit, and that the game have player appeal. This is often accomplished by increasing the jackpot gradually over time, so that players feel that they should keep playing to win the larger jackpot. However, a disadvantage of simply increasing the jackpot is that it is very unlikely that a player will win the jackpot, and most players will not risk continuing to play, just to win the jackpot. Also, after a jackpot occurs, players may shun a game because they believe it will not hit again soon or that the initial jackpot value is too small.

Slot machine with incremental pay-off multiplier


It is an object of the present invention to enhance the security and reduce the data amount of data to be handled in a group signing system, in which when the group public key which includes: a description for four groups: group 1, group 2, group T, and group E of the same order number; a description of bilinear mapping from group 1 and group 2 to group T; each generator of group 1, group 2, group T, and group E; and a signature public key of a signature scheme using group 1, group 2, and group T, is input, the member secret key including an integer not larger than the order number, member evidence which is a value given by multiplying the generator of group E by the member secret key, and an element of group 1 or group 2 which is a value given by multiplying the generator of the group 1 or the group 2 by the member secret key are sent to the member-certificate issuing device, and thereafter upon receipt of a signature for the member secret key, which is verifiable by the signature public key, from the member-certificate issuing device, the signature is used as the member certificate.

Related art of group signature which use bilinear mapping includes a group signature described in Dan Boneh, Xavier Boyen: "Short Group Signature: Advances in Cryptology—CRYPTO 2004," Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3152, pp. 41-55, 2004, Springer. The outline of this group signature will be described below.
Let a randomly selected unknown γ of a field Z/pZ with p being a prime number be the group secret key.
Let a letter string which describes: the prime number p; group 1, group 2 and group T which are of order number p; a bilinear map e from group 1 and group 2 to group T; an isomorphic map φ from group 2 to group 1; and a hash function Hash for mapping a letter string to field (Z/pZ), a generator G2 of group 2, a generator G1 of group 1 where φ(G2=G1, a randomly selected unknown H of group 1, and W=[γ]G2 be the group public key.
Where, W is the point of γ times G2.
Further, let randomly selected two points ξ1, ξ2 on field Z/pZ be the tracking secret key.
Let randomly selected two points on group 2 in which [ξ1]U=[ξ2]V=H be the tracking public key. And let a randomly selected point x on field Z/pZ be the member secret key.
Further, Let a randomly selected point y on field Z/pZ and A where A=[1/(γ+y)]([1−x]G1) be the member certificate.
Hereinafter, the group signing device will be described.
The group signing device is input with a message to be signed, a group public key, a tracking public key, a member secret key, a member certificate, and a random number.
The group signing device randomly selects points α and β on Z/pZ using an input random number and generates encrypted text, T1=[α]U, T2=[β]V, T3=[α+β]H.
The group signing device further randomly selects points α′, β′, δ′1, δ′2, and y′ on Z/pZ using an input random number, and generates a commitment, R1=[α′]U, R2=[β′]V, R3=e(T3,G2)^(x′)·e(H,W)^(−α′−β′)·e(H,G2)^(−δ′1−δ′2)·e(H,G2)^(y′), R4=[x′]T1−[¥delta′1]U, R5=[x′]T2−[¥delta′2]V, where symbol [^] means a power modulo operation.
The group signing device generates a hash value of a group public key, a tracking public key, a message, and U,V,T1,T2,T3,R1,R2,R3,R4,R5 to use as challenge value c.
The group signing device generates a response, sα=α′+cα, sβ=β′+cβ, sx=x′+cx, sδ1=δ′1+cxα, sδ2=cxβ, sy=y′+xy.
The group signature outputs T1,T2,T3,c,sα,sβ,sx,sδ1,sδ2,sy as the group signature for message m.
Hereinafter, the group-signature verifying device will be described.
The group-signature verifying device is input with a signed message, a group public key, and a tracking public key.
The group-signature verifying device generates R1=[sα]U−[c]T1, R2=[sβ]V−[c]T2, R3=e(T3,G2)^(sx)·e(H,W)^(−sα−sβ)·e(H,G2)^(−sδ1−sδ2)·e(H,G2)^(sy)(e(G1,G2)/e(T3,W))^(c), R4=[sx]T1−[sδ1]U, R5=[sx]T2−[sδ2]U, and generates a hash value of the group public key, the tracking public key, the signed message and U,V,T1,T2,T3,R1,R2,R3,R4,R5 to verify if this corresponds to challenge value c. If there is a correspondence, it is judged that the group signature is valid and, if not, invalid.

Member certificate acquiring device, member certificate issuing device, group signing device, and group signature verifying device


A bullet target configured to improve the skills of a shooter includes, in one embodiment, a head plate which is attached to an arm by a resilient or semi-resilient attachment member to allow the head plate to visually deflect when hit by a bullet and to substantially return to its original position. In another embodiment, the improved target utilizes an attachment mechanism which allows the head to rotate relative to the arm within a stop to minimize transfer of vibrations between the head plate and the arm. In a third embodiment, a plurality of head plates are used in alignment and selectively exposed to the shooter to improve decision making ability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a improved bullet targets. More specifically, the present invention relates to targets which improve the visual stimulation and/or function of the target to improve shooter abilities and to decrease broken targets.
2. State of the Art
In order to maintain proficiency in the use of firearms, it is common for law enforcement officers and sportsmen to engage in target practice. While many perceive target practice as simply a method for improving accuracy, it is important for law enforcement officers and the like to conduct target practice in scenarios which imitate real life situations. While accuracy is important for law enforcement officers, appropriate use of deadly force is even more important. While hitting a perpetrator in the arm or leg may cause some additional risk to the officer, firing at an innocent bystander or firing at a perpetrator who is not a risk raises greater concerns. Each year considerable controversy is raised by law enforcement officers who shoot unarmed individuals or otherwise use deadly force when not appropriate.
In order to properly train police officers, it is important that they develop both hand-eye coordination and that they receive sensor stimulation which is associated with actual conditions. Thus, it is important for law enforcement officers to be able to see when a target has been hit. It is also important that the target remain upright sufficiently to simulate the reactions of a typical target. Thus, for example, a target which falls when hit by a single shot may not provide appropriate stimulus to the officer, when a typical perpetrator would take several rounds before being sufficiently incapacitated that he would no longer pose a threat.
It is also important to train officers by requiring them to repeatedly be in situations in which they are forced to decide whether the target poses a threat within a fraction of a second. In real life situations, hesitating to fire can cost the officer his life. Firing too quickly can result in the death of an innocent party.
While there are high-tech shooting ranges which are configured to place an officer in a variety of situations, such shooting ranges are too expensive for many law enforcement agencies. Additionally, many existing shooting ranges cannot be readily adapted to use the technological advances. Thus, there is a need for simple bullet targets which provide improved situation stimulus and improved wear.


A turn lamp includes a base housing; a light source unit incorporated with a light source and housed in the base housing; an inner housing provided with a long and solid light guide; a lens cover that covers the base housing; and a diffused reflection generator that is structured such that light from the light source leaks out long from the light guide.

The present invention relates to a turn lamp.
Recently, there has been provided a turn lamp (direction indicator) that is mounted on a door mirror of a vehicle and is lit in conjunction with turn lamps provided at the front and rear of a vehicle. The turn lamp is used to further direct people around the vehicle to the driving intention of a driver. In such a construction, as light sources, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are excellent in durability and have strong directionality are sometimes used.
Conventionally, in order to satisfy legal requirements, a proposed door mirror is constructed so that only an outer part in the left and right direction of a vehicle lights up (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-103287, for example). However, in recent years where design properties are regarded as important, it has been demanded that a front part of a door mirror, in a direction opposite to the disposition part of a mirror of the door mirror, lights up across the entire area in the left and right direction. A proposed door mirror is thus constructed so that a front lower part thereof lights up across the entire area in the left and right direction (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-291671, for example).


A method has been described for making an electrical structure having an air dielectric and includes forming a first subunit including a sacrificial substrate, an electrically conductive layer including a first metal on the sacrificial substrate, and a sacrificial dielectric layer on the sacrificial substrate and the electrically conductive layer. The method further includes forming a second subunit including a dielectric layer and an electrically conductive layer thereon including the first metal, and coating a second metal onto the first metal of one or more of the first and second subunits. The method also includes aligning the first and second subunits together, heating and pressing the aligned first and second subunits to form an intermetallic compound of the first and second metals bonding adjacent metal portions together, and removing the sacrificial substrate and sacrificial dielectric layer to thereby form the electrical structure having the air dielectric.

An electronic device may include one or more circuit boards. A typical circuit board is a planar board that mechanically supports electronic components. The electronic components may comprise, for example, resistors, capacitors, switches, batteries, and other more complex integrated circuit components, i.e. microprocessors. The circuit board typically comprises a dielectric material, for example, a polymer material.
The circuit board may include conductive traces on the surface for connecting the electronic components to each other. As electronic circuitry has become more complex, multilayer circuit boards with at least two electrically conductive pattern layers have been developed. Typically, the different conductive trace layers of a multilayer circuit board may be connected through vertically extending vias, which comprise conductive materials, for example, metal.
A typical multilayer circuit board may comprise a plurality of core layers with bonding layers therebetween affixing the adjacent core layers together. Each core layer typically includes a dielectric layer with electrically conductive pattern layers on the opposing surfaces of the dielectric layer. Typically, during manufacture of the multilayer circuit boards, the core and bonding layers are stacked together and then heated and compressed (laminated) to cause the bonding layer to affix the adjacent core layers together.
One exemplary multilayer circuit board is a board that comprises an air-core dielectric waveguide structure. In other words, the multilayer circuit board includes a conductive core for transmitting the signal while adjacent portions of the multilayer circuit board provide an open area of air around the conductive core. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the air-core serves as a dielectric material surrounding the conductive core and provides for reduced loss and reduced loading effects in the conductive core.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,656,256 to Houck et al. discloses forming a multilayer circuit board to provide a coaxial air-core waveguide. The waveguide includes outer conductive layers forming a box-like outer conductor structure, and a pair of support arms extending inwardly from the outer conductive layers to support the inner conductor. The waveguide is formed during a multi-step process using a base substrate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,405,638, 7,948,335, 7,148,772, and 7,012,489 to Sherrer et al. also disclose a coaxial air-core waveguide. The waveguide includes outer conductive layers forming a box-like structure, and a single lateral support arm extending inwardly from one of the outer conductive layers to support the inner conductor. In another embodiment, the support arm may extend from the bottom conductive layer to define a pedestal support arm. In one embodiment, the waveguides may be stacked to provide a plurality of coaxial waveguides.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,898,356 to Sherrer et al. also discloses a coaxial air-core waveguide. This coaxial air-core waveguide includes a single lateral support arm extending between opposing outer conductive layers.
In the typical approach to manufacturing air-core waveguide radio frequency (RF) structures, the process may include mature wafer lithographic build up on wafer substrates. When these devices are finished and are to be integrated onto a device wafer, the air-core waveguide RF structure may have to be diced and wire bonded to the appropriate next level assembly. Vibration from the dicing process may place the air-core waveguide RF structures at risk.
A second possible approach involves direct build-up of air core RF structures on the device wafer itself. Damascene-based formation of these air core conductive traces, and the associated chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process may add risk to the integrity of the device wafer. Typical wafer substrates may not offer the most optimum RF properties for an RF substrate. Additionally, the thickness of the typical rigid wafer substrate may add undesirable size to the packaging of the air-core waveguide RF structure. For example, it impairs the use of the article in a restricted space.

Method for making electrical structure with air dielectric and related electrical structures


The invention provides a simple, rapid and cost-effective metal oxide-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MOALDI MS) without the addition of light-absorbing organic-matrix, comprising the use of (a) an inorganic metal oxide with light absorbing capability as an assisting material to render desorption/ionization of samples in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and (b) a citric acid buffer as the proton source for enhancing the ionization efficiency for analytes. Metal oxide assisting materials is not only restricted to the uses of films. Metal oxide nanoparticles are also suitable to be used as the assisting materials. Low matrix background, stable surface feature, homogeneous sample deposition, and wide detectable mass range are the merits of MOALDI MS.

Mass Spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical-tool that can provide the information about molecular weights and chemical structures for analytes. Charged gaseous ions are generally generated in an ionization source and subsequently distinguished based on their mass-to-charge ratios in a mass analyzer operated by an electric or magnetic filed.
Both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry, which have high sensitivity and wide mass range, are generally used for the analysis of high-polarity and high molecular-weight of analytes. The detectable mass range is up to several hundred thousand Daltons with the detection limit in the low fmol (10−15 mole) to amole range. Therefore, both mass spectrometries have been widely used in the research for life science and proteomics.
MALDI mass spectrometry, which is different from direct LDI MS, requires small organic molecules used as a matrix having the capacity to absorb the laser energy to assist laser desorption/ionization of samples. Therefore, the detectable mass range is extended to a higher mass than that in direct LDI MS. The MALDI results are mainly determined by the selection of matrices. However, high matrix background appearing in the MALDI mass spectra, the requirement of co-crystallization of analytes with matrices, and analyte signals only found in "sweet spots" all arise as conventional MALDI matrices are used for MALDI MS analysis.
Using inorganic materials as the assisting substrate in MALDI MS analysis can avoid some problems arising as conventional matrices are used. Tanaka et al. are the pioneers, who used inorganic material mixing with glycerol as the matrix. They employed cobalt powder (˜30 nm) mixing with glycerol as the assisting matrix in MALDI MS analysis for protein analyses. Later on, Sunneret al. alternatively used micro-sized graphite powder mixing with glycerol as the matrix. They also termed this approach as surface-assisted laser desorption/lonization mass spectrometry (SALDI MS). Graphite powder is proposed as the energy transfer medium during SALDI MS processes.
A remarkable progress in the development of inorganic material-assisted laser desorption/ionization, which is called desorption/ionization on silicon (DIOS), was made by Siuzdaket al. in 1999. DIOS is a matrix-free method, which uses a porous silicon film capable of absorbing the laser energy as the sample deposition film. The porous silicon substrate is facilitated by treating the silicon surfaces electrochemically and mass analysis using silicon films that are formed from a silicon surface by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, have been applied successfully to the analysis of small molecules However, the surfaces of the porous silicon substrates are easily oxidized, which may lead the substrates become ineffective. The unstable feature of the porous silicon film may cause problem in storage and in practical uses. In addition, the fabricaton of the porous silicon substrates required particular equipments for production of porous surfaces though some commercialized products are already available. Generally, the upper detectable mass range is ca. 6 kDa. A laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using a stable assisting material with the advantages of low matrix background, ease of sample preparation, homogeneous sample deposition, stable substrate surface, and wide detectable mass range should be desirable.

Metal oxide-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry


A cap is attached to a high-tension cable terminal for sealing an opening formed on an automobile engine. The cap includes a hollow cap body made of rubber and having a cylindrical portion, a hood integrally formed with and extending outwardly from the cap body, and a seal ring securely mounted on the cylindrical portion of the cap body. The seal ring is made of rubber different from the rubber of the cap body and has a high heat resistance and a sufficient elasticity. When the cap is mounted on the opening, the seal ring engages the inner peripheral surface of the opening to provide a seal against dirt, dust and water. Alternatively, the seal ring may be made of rubber of the same quality as the cap body. In this case, the hardness of the seal ring is rendered to be less than that of the cap body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cap for covering a terminal of a high-tension cable for use in an automobile engine. The cap according to the present invention is intended to seal an opening formed in a rocker cover for receiving a spark plug electrically connected to a coil tower of a distributor or an opening for receiving a plug of a direct ignition coil in an adapter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional rubber cap 1 (rain cover) which is attached to a high-tension cable terminal in an automobile engine. The cap 1 covers a spark plug (not shown) mounted in a plug opening 4 formed in a rocker cover of the automobile engine for connection of the spark plug with a high-tension cable. The cap 1 comprises a hollow cap body 6, a U-shaped hood 10 extending outwardly from an intermediate portion of the cap body 6, and a cylindrical sealing flap portion 11 extending downwardly from the hood 10 and having an outwardly raised portion 11a. Because the sealing flap portion 11 is spaced from and extends along the outer peripheral surface of the cap body 6, a cylindrical recess 12 is formed therebetween, which enables the sealing flap portion 11 to elastically deform in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction in which the sealing flap portion 11 extends. When the cap 1 is appropriately mounted on the plug opening 4, the outwardly raised portion 11a of the sealing flap portion 11 engages the inner peripheral surface of the plug opening 4 to provide a seal against dirt, dust and water.
In the above-described construction, however, when the engine is started and the temperature of the rocker cover increases, the sealing flap portion 11 is subjected to heat deterioration, thereby lowering the sealing performance thereof. As a result, the trouble of water entering the plug opening 4 may arise. Furthermore, when the cap 1 is inattentively mounted on the plug opening 4, an upper edge of the plug opening 4 occasionally interferes with and turns up a lower edge of the sealing flap portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the sealing becomes incomplete.
If a heat-resistant material superior in quality is used for the cap 1, there are no technical problems associated with the sealing performance. However, because the almost maximum cost reduction is required in manufacturing automobile parts, any solutions overcoming the technical problems are not permitted at the expense of cost. Accordingly, there has been an increasing demand for the development of a practical means overcoming the conventional problems.

Cap for a high-tension cable terminal for use in an automobile engine


The method calculates a scatter estimate for annihilation photons in a subject having a distribution of attenuation. The method can be used for scatter correction of detection data from a positron emission tomographic scanner. The method uses the following steps: —select a first scatter point S1 and a second scatter point S2, —determine a first scatter probability for scattering of a photon at scatter point S1 and a second scatter probability for scattering of a photon at scatter point S2, —determine an integral of the attenuation over a line connecting S1 and S2, —multiply the integral and the scatter probabilities and use the product in the calculation of the scatter estimate.

A typical emission scan using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner starts with the injection of a solution including a tracer into the subject to be scanned. The subject may be human or animal. The tracer is a pharmaceutical compound including a radioisotope with a relatively short half-life. The tracer has been adapted such that it is attracted to sites within the subject where specific biological or biochemical processes occur. The tracer moves to and is typically taken up in one or more organs of the subject in which these biological and biochemical processes occur.
When the radioisotope decays, it emits a positron, which travels a short distance before annihilating with an electron. The short distance, also called the positron range, is of the order of 1 mm in common subjects. The annihilation produces two high energy photons propagating in substantially opposite directions. The PET scanner includes a photon detector array arranged around a scanning area, usually in a ring-shaped pattern, in which the subject or at least the part of interest of the subject is arranged.
When the detector array detects two photons within a short timing window, a so-called 'coincidence' is recorded. The line connecting the two detectors that received the photons is called the line of response (LOR). The reconstruction of the image is based on the premise that the decayed radioisotope is located somewhere on the LOR. It should be noted that in fact the annihilation occurs on the LOR and the decayed radioisotope is a positron range removed from the point of annihilation. The relatively short positron range may be neglected or can be compensated for in the reconstruction. Each coincidence may be recorded in a list by three entries: two entries representing the two detectors, one entry representing the time of detection. The coincidences in the list can be grouped in one or more sinograms. A sinogram is typically processed using image reconstruction algorithms to obtain volumetric medical images of the subject.
The detector array of a typical PET scanner does not rotate during an acquisition and is generally arranged in two or more banks of stationary detector rings. Alternatively, the detectors may be arranged in a non-ring-shaped pattern. In most detector configurations there will be directions in which coincidences are not detectable due to the geometry of the detector array, since the scanner has a finite field of view and there may be blind spots due to gaps between the detectors.
To obtain quantitative results from a PET scan, the processing must, among others, take into account the attenuation of the photons within the subject. An estimate of the attenuation may be obtained by making test scans in which one or more positron emitter rod sources are arranged in the scanner. The sources may be made of a material such as 68Ge, which emits dual annihilation photons. Conventionally, two scans are used to derive the attenuation estimate, a blank scan in which the subject being scanned is not present in the scanning area and, typically, the scanner is empty except for the presence of the sources, and a transmission scan in which both the subject and the sources are present in the scanning area. The results of the blank scan are then divided by the results of the transmission scan, providing an attenuation sinogram. The attenuation sinogram can be used to correct the emission scan of the subject for the effects of attenuation.
Another image degrading factor is the scattering of annihilation photons within the subject. Compton scattering is the dominant mechanism of interaction of the photon in the human tissue. The ratio of scattered photons to the total number of photons detected may be up to 50%. The two photons of an annihilation do not in general travel in opposite directions any more after scattering. Hence, the decayed radioisotope will in general not be located on the LOR of a scatter event. Scatter events therefore degrade the image and the detection data are preferably corrected for scatter. A coincidence without scattering resulting from a single annihilation, where the radioisotope lies on the LOR, is called an unscattered event.
A method for scatter correction is known from the article 'New, Faster, Image-Based Scatter Correction for 3D PET' by C. C. Watson in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2000) pages 1587-1594. The method reconstructs an image from the detection data that are not corrected for scatter. An estimate of the scatter is calculated using an estimate of the image and of the attenuation. The method calculates a probability for a single-scatter event by tracing two photons resulting from an annihilation, one of which is scattered between the point of annihilation and the detector. The attenuations of the two photons along their paths to the detectors are multiplied with the detector cross sections and the scatter cross-section. A single-scatter estimate is obtained by integrating the probability over all annihilation points and scatter points. A scatter image is reconstructed from the scatter estimate and subtracted from the image derived from the detection data. The resulting image is scatter corrected. An estimate of first and higher order scatter is determined by applying the method for calculating the single-scatter estimate to the non-scatter-corrected image.
A disadvantage of the known method for scatter correction is the inaccuracy of the estimate for the higher-order scatter. It is an object of the invention to provide a method for calculating an improved estimate of higher-order scatter, computer software, a data carrier and a scanner system for carrying out the method.

Method of and software for calculating a scatter estimate for tomographic scanning and system for tomographic scanning


A high definition television receiver includes a comb filter for receiving trellis coded HDTV data, the comb filter turning on if there is interference from an NTSC signal having a co-channel in the data to thereby remove the interference, and the comb filter turning off if there is no interference to thereby pass the received HDTV data; a determining part for determining if the comb filter is turned on/off and providing a comb filter ON/OFF signal according to the determination result; and a united trellis decoder having united state transitions of a partial response trellis decoder and an optimal trellis decoder, the united trellis decoder having a signal group divided into signal groups of the partial response trellis decoder and the optimal trellis decoder, thereby operating as the partial response trellis decoder according to the comb filter ON signal and operating as the optimal trellis decoder according to the comb filter OFF signal input from the determining part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high definition television (HDTV) receiver, and more particularly, to an HDTV receiver employing a single decoder as both an optimal trellis decoder and a partial response trellis decoder.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A recently proposed transceiver of the grand alliance (GA) HDTV system has an 8 vestigial side band (VSB) transmitting system. In the 8 VSB transmitting method, input data are set for a trellis coding, and then converted into an 8 level signal, which is then transmitted in the VSB method. That is, when two-bit data are input, the trellis encoder does not code the higher bit, but 1/2 convolutional codes the lower bit in order to make it into two bits, thereby outputting three bits in total. The three bits are trellis coded modulated (TCM), which are mapped into highly error-correctable levels, namely, 8 levels. The TCM is the modulation of the convolutional coded signal, that is, a channel coding method capable of obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio of over about 3 dB without a loss of the channel bandwidth. Meanwhile, the signal transmitted in the VSB method is decoded using a trellis decoder. If there is an NTSC broadcasting station having a co-channel near the HDTV broadcasting station, the co-channel NTSC interference occurs. In this case, a comb filter, an NTSC rejection filter, is used for removing the co-channel NTSC interference. Accordingly, different decoders are used for decoding the data when using the comb filter and when not using it.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram showing the relations between a trellis encoder 21, comb filter 23, optimal trellis decoder 25 and partial response trellis decoder 27. FIG. 2 shows a detailed block diagram of the trellis encoder of FIG. 1.
In FIG. 2, the trellis encoder 21 includes a precoder 21-1, a convolutional encoder 21-2, and a TCM mapper 21-3. The higher bit X2 of the 2 bit signals X2, X1 input to the trellis encoder 21 is differentially encoded in the precoder 21-1 so that the partial response trellis decoder 27 can exactly decode the higher bit X2 which is not encoded, and then input to the TCM mapper 21-3 Z2. One lower bit X1 becomes 2 bits Z1, Z0 via the convolutional encoder 21-2, which are input to the TCM mapper 21-3. When the higher 1 bit X2 is input to the precoder 21-1, the summer 21-1a sums the input higher bit X2 and the data previously stored in the delayer 21-1b and then outputs it. At this time, "0" is output when the two values are the same, and "1" is output when the two values are different. Therefore, the trellis decoder can exactly recognize the value of the higher one bit X2 if only performing a hard decision upon the input data.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the TCM mapper receiving three bits Z2, Z1, Z0 transmits the 8 level voltage signal corresponding to the input data as illustrated in FIG. 3. Therefore, when the trellis encoder 21 of the transmitting part transmits the 8 level signal, the trellis decoders 25, 27 of the receiving part decode it into the two bit signals X2, X1 prior to encoding by the trellis encoder 21. Here, because the co-channel NTSC interference occurs in the area of the adjacent HDTV broadcasting station having the co-channel, the trellis decoder removes the NTSC interference using the comb filter 23 made up with a 12 symbol delayer 23-1 for delaying the value output from the TCM mapper 21-3, and the summer 23-2 for obtaining the difference of the value output from the current TCM mapper 21-3. Here, when the output of eight level from the TCM mapper 21-3 of the trellis encoder 21 passes the comb filter 23, the output is converted into 15 levels as illustrated in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the decoded data should be decoded using each different decoder when both using the comb filter 23 and not using it. That is, if there is no interference by the NTSC signal having the co-channel in the received signal, the signal is decoded by four state optimal trellis decoder 25. If there is interference by the NTSC signal having the co-channel, the signal is decoded by the 8 state partial response trellis decoder 27 via the comb filter 23. Here, the optimal trellis decoder 25 performs decoding using the signal mapper as same as FIG. 3.
The state transition is illustrated in FIG. 5. The signal group is shown in FIG. 6.
Here, the capital reference characters S0, S1 indicate memory states of the trellis encoder 21. The small letters s0, s1, s2, s3 indicate signal groups. That is, s0={-7, 1}, s1={-5, 3}, s2={3, 5}, s3={-1, 7}, and the euclidean distance values of respective groups are d0, d1, d2, d3.
Meanwhile, the partial response trellis decoder 27 performs the decoding operation using the signal passing through the comb filter 23 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The state transition is shown in FIG. 7, and the signal group is shown in FIG. 8. Likewise, the capital letters S1, S2, S3 indicate the memory states of the trellis encoder 21. The small letters s0, s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6 indicate the signal groups. That is, s0={-14, -6, 2}, s1={-12, -4, 4}, s2={-10, -2, 6}, s3={-8, 0, 8}, s4={-6, 2, 10}, s5={-4, 4, 12}, s6={-2, 6, 14}.
The above-mentioned HDTV receiver should have two trellis decoders such as the optimal trellis decoder and the partial response trellis decoder in accordance with the operation of the comb filter whether there is the NTSC signal having the co-channel or not. Therefore, twice as much hardware is required for respectively realizing the two kinds of trellis decoders, and the process is complicated because of the two kinds of control signals to process those outputs.


The present invention relates to an arrangement for gripping and releasing a plurality of sleepers intended for a railroad section with the aid of a unit, the arrangement including means for spacing adjacent units equidistantly. The means includes frame-associated and centrally pivotal arms whose outer portions co-act pivotally with one end of a respective brace or link whose other ends are pivotally fastened to a respective outer unit, wherein the central regions of the arms are pivotally fastened to one end of a respective brace or link whose other ends are pivotally fastened to a respective intermediate unit.

Several different methods and arrangements of the aforesaid kind are known to the art.
For instance, an appropriate example of the background of the technology relevant at present and the technical field to which the invention relates are found in the contents of the International Patent Application No. PCT/SE98/01992, with the International Publication No. WO-A1-99/24668.
This prior patent application illustrates and describes an arrangement that includes a number of units, each comprising beam-carrying, end-related gripping claws by means of which a number of sleepers chosen for an arrangement along a railroad track can be gripped and released simultaneously.
For a closer understanding of the basic conditions that shall be applied in respect of an arrangement, according to the present invention, the reader is referred primarily to the contents of said patent publication and secondarily to the following overview description given below, with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings.


An improved windsurfing catamaran type vessel. The illustrated vessel has an improved steering mechanism that includes a relatively stiff but bendable plastic rod that is directly received within one or more guiding passageways or grooves formed in the plastic hull of the vessel. The plastic-to-plastic interface between rod and groove provides relatively low friction interengagement as the rod moves. The groove is open to ambient water, which will further reduce the friction. The rod has stiffness/flexibility characteristics that allow it to turn around relatively large radii while still being able to span relatively short distances without significant bending. A manual operative control member is pivotally mounted on the hull and connected to the rod in a manner which multiplies the force applied by the use; this provides the magnitude of force needed to move the rod with minimum exertion by the user. The presently preferred hull, which comprises a pair of side-by-side elongated hull sections is of the planing type by virtue of the generally flat lower surfaces of the hull sections. The illustrated hull is rotationally molded to provide internally hollow hull sections with a relatively thin outer wall or casing. The top and bottom walls of the hull sections are maintained spaced apart by a plurality of generally upright spacer sections which may be integrally formed during the molding operation. This type of hull skims or glides generally over the surface of the water as distinguished from displacement types which extend down below the surface. Generally flat bottom surfaces provide a maximized footprint for stability for the user while raising the sail and during windsurfing operation.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,499 owned by applicant discloses a windsurfing vessel having a hull of catamaran dual hull configuration. It is a useful and desirable vessel, having a number of features and advantages. The two hull sections are of the displacement type wherein the hulls extend down into the water. That vessel also has an effective steering mechanism that allows the user to manipulate or move a push/pull cable or rod that simultaneously operates rudders at the rear end of each of the hull sections. As shown in that patent, the cable is received within an elongated sleeve that supports and provides guidance for the cable. The sleeve is mounted on the hull of the vessel.
The illustrated windsurfing catamaran vessel disclosed in this application provides several significant improvements over the vessel disclosed in the afore mentioned patent.
Instead of using a displacement type hull, the illustrated hull is a planing type, having generally flat bottom surfaces that tend to plane, skim or ride over the surface of the water during operation of the vessel. This allows the present vessel, once it is obtained sufficient speed, to operate with less friction and at higher speeds. Further, the dual, generally flat, lower surfaces provide a wider broader base for the hull of the vessel, provides added stability while the user is raising the sail, and also during sailing or windsurfing of the vessel. There is greater stability as compared to any type single section hull, as well as compared to a two section displacement type hull.
The illustrated vessel also includes an improved steering mechanism. As noted above the steering mechanism illustrated in the patent includes a push/pull rod or cable which is received in and moved along an elongated casing that is mounted on the vessel hull. The present steering mechanism does not include a separate casing, but rather the rod is directly received in a groove or passageway formed in the plastic hull of the illustrated vessel. The plastic-to-plastic rod-to-groove interface provides a relatively low friction relationship. This allows the push/pull rod to move easily in either desired direction.
The groove is open to the water, which further reduces the friction between the rod and the groove; this is an advantage for this mechanism, as distinguished from the problem which the water could create by causing rust and corrosion in a mechanism that utilized metal parts such as a metal sleeve or casing.
The illustrated elongated plastic cable or rod is sufficiently rigid verse flexible so it can go around relatively large radii while still being able to span relatively short distances without significant bending.
The illustrated steering mechanism includes a pivoted control member that is connected to the rod in such a manner as to multiply the force applied by the user to achieve the desired magnitude of force to effectively move the rod.


A method, computer-readable medium, and device for processing a stream of records are disclosed. A method may receive a registration request from a data source to join in providing a plurality of records to the stream, synchronize a timing system with the data source, receive an initial timestamp from the data source, and post the initial timestamp to a plurality of operators or a plurality of subscribers before the data source is allowed to send records into the stream.

Data streaming systems are used to perform real-time analysis and recording of flows of data records. Many data streaming systems are best-effort systems, which may drop records whenever they are under overload conditions. Similarly, there may be instances where data streaming systems may experience an unexpected failure of a data source where it may be difficult to ascertain as to what records have already been processed from the failed data source given the sudden interruption. As such, it is possible that the data streaming systems may simply end up processing the same records multiple times, i.e., "over accounting" of the records. Although dropping some records or over accounting the same records multiple times may be acceptable for some applications, other applications will require a guarantee that each and every record is accounted for and processed only once. Furthermore, in many data stream processing system, every record in the steam contains a timestamp. While the data stream processing system expects record timestamps to increase over the long term, it is difficult to ensure that records in the stream will arrive in monotonically increasing timestamp order.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Network data source time management for data streaming processing system


The present invention belongs to the field of loudspeaker and relates to directional sound wave radiator comprising a sound transmission duct, a reverser, an annular director, a parabolic reflector, and a straight tubular loudspeaker cylinder. The sound transmission duct is mounted substantially coaxially with said parabolic reflector. The straight tubular loudspeaker cylinder is connected to said parabolic reflector. The reverser is provided inside said straight tubular loudspeaker cylinder and at the outlet end of said sound transmission duct; the outlet end of said reverser has an annular section, which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of said parabolic reflector and is positioned substantially at the focus of said parabolic reflector. The annular director is mounted around said sound transmission duct and at the outlet end of said reverser to define an annular shape of the outlet end of said reverser. The reverser and said annular director are fixed to said sound transmission duct by supporting screws.

Conventionally, most loudspeaker horns have exponential curve, suspension line curve, or conical line shapes. FIG. 1 shows a conventional loudspeaker horn having an exponential curve shape. As shown in FIG. 1, such a conventional loudspeaker has a sound-generating head 1, an exponential horn 2, an exponential horn outlet section 3, and a reverser section 4. The loudspeaker horn works by utilizing a horn curve to provide certain resistance to the sound source (sound-generating head) to obtain an optimal efficiency of sound propagation. To reduce the length of horn, it is often made in three sections, in which the intermediate section is a reverser section, thus forming a folded structure, as indicated in FIG. 1, and its high-frequency response usually suffers some attenuation. Such a structure has the defect that its sound wave radiation angle at the output end is large, so the sound wave energy is not concentrated and the propagation distance is limited. For long distance and/or high-intensity broadcasting, energy must be concentrated in a small range, which can hardly be achieved using conventional loudspeakers.

Beijing Wave Energy Technology Development Company, Ltd.


A gene coding for Protein H, which is capable of binding specifically to human IgG of all subclasses, was isolated from Streptococcus sp. AP1 and expressed in host cells, E. coli to produce the Protein H.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel protein binding specifically to the Fc fragment of human immunoglobulin G(IgG), a gene coding for the said protein and to a process for producing the said protein.
2. Description of Related Art
It has been known that certain microorganisms produce a series of proteins known as bacterial Fc receptors which have affinity to the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin (Boyle et al., Bio/Technology 5, 697(1987)).
Typical examples of such proteins are Protein A derived from Staphylococcus aureus and Protein G derived from Streptococcus G148.
These Protein characteristically bind to the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin and are used for assay, purification and preparation of antibodies as well as clinical diagnosis and biological research.
They can also be used for treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases in which the proteins immobilized onto insoluble carriers are used to adsorb or remove undesirable immune complexes from blood(Cancer 46, 675(1980)).
These known proteins have some undesirable properties as agents for purification of human monoclonal antibodies produced from non-human animal cells or for removal of excessive IgG from blood for the purposes of blood purification.
Protein A binds to IgGs of various animal species including human beings as well as human IgA, IgM and so on. Protein G binds only to IgG but it binds both to human IgG and to IgGs of other animal species (Fahnestock, Trends in Biotechnology 5, 79 (1987)). Thus, their binding specificities are not so narrow that they can be used for assay, purification and adsorption or removal of human IgG.
Under the circumstances, development of a protein capable of binding specifically to human IgG has been demanded.
It was suspected that a protein which binds to human IgG(IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4) but not to IgGs of other animal species would be present in cells of group A Streptococcus strains (Bjorck, J. Immunol., 133, 969(1984)). However, no such protein has been isolated. Two types of IgG-Fc-binding proteins have been isolated from group A Streptococcus, one of which binds to human IgG(IgG1, IgG2 and IgG4), pig IgG and rabbit IgG; and the other binds specifically to human IgG3 (Boyle et al., Bio/Technology 5, 697(1987)).
It has been unknown whether or not such IgG-Fc-binding protein which binds specifically to human IgG (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4) but which does not bind to IgGs of most other animal species and to human IgA, IgD, IgE and IgM exists and whether or not a sufficient amount of such protein can stably be obtained.
The present inventors have extensively studied seeking for proteins which specifically binds to human IgG, and, as a result, found that Streptococcus sp. AP1 belonging to group A Streptococcus produces the protein with the above-mentioned properties. They have also obtained the gene coding for the said protein and provided a process for producing the said protein by the utilization of the gene through further extensive studies.
Thus, the present invention provides a novel protein capable of specifically binding to human IgG, and useful for assay and purification of human IgG, removal or adsorption of excessive IgG from blood and for diagnosis of autoimmune diseases. It also provide a gene coding for the said protein and a process for producing the said protcin in industrial scales.
The protein provided by the present invention, which is hereinafter referred to as Protein H, is a protein capable of binding to the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin and produced by a strain of group A Streptococcus and has the following binding specificity:
i) It binds to human IgG(IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4) and rabbit IgG; PA0 ii) It does no& bind to IgGs of mouse, rat, bovine, sheep and goat; PA0 iii) It does not bind to human IgA, IgD, IgE and IgM; PA0 i) It strongly binds to human IgG(IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4), human IgGFc and rabbit IgG; PA0 ii) It weakly binds to pig IgG; PA0 iii) It does not bind to IgGs of mouse, rat, bovine, sheep, goat and horse; PA0 iv) It does not bind to human IgGFab, IgA, IgD, IgE and IgM. PA0 i) inserting a gene coding for the Protein H into a vector; PA0 ii) introducing the resulting vector into a suitable host cell; PA0 iii) culturing the resulting transformant cell to produce the Protein H; and PA0 iv) recovering the Protein H from the culture.
or the following binding specificity:
The strain, Streptococcus sp. A which produces the Protein H has been deposited at the Fermentation Research Institute, Japan, under the deposit No. FERM P-10374 and also under the deposit No. FERM BP-2371 according to the BUDAPEST TREATY ON THE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE DEPOSIT OF MICROORGANISMS FOR THE PURPOSES OF PATENT PROCEDURE.
The Protein H can be produced by the genetic engineering technology using the gene coding for the Protein H.
The Protein H produced from the gene isolated from the Streptococcus sp. APl has been found. to be of the amino acid sequence given in the FIG. 1(A-B) by the analysis of the DNA sequences of the gene.
It is to be understood that subfragments o variants of the Protein H specifically disclosed in the present application wherein original amino acid sequence is modified or changed by insertion, addition, substitution, inversion or deletion of one or more amino acids are within the scope of the present invention as far as they retain the essential binding specificity as mentioned above.
The gene coding for the Protein H can be isolated from the chromosomal DNA of a Protein H-producing stain such as Streptococcus sp. APl based on the information on the DNA sequence of the Protein H shown in FIG. 4(A-B). The isolation of the gene can also be carried out as follows:
The chromosomal DNA can be isolated from cells of the Protein H-producing strain in accordance with a known method (Fahnestock, J. Bacteriol. 167, 870(1986)). The isolated chromosomal DNA is then segmented into fragments of adequate lengths by biochemical means such as digestion with restriction enzyme or physical means.
The resulting fragments are then inserted at an adequate restriction site into an adequate cloning vector such as .lambda.gtll (Young et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 1194 (1983)) or plasmid vectors such as pUC18 (Messing et al., Gene 33, 103 (1985)).
The vectors are then incorporated into adequate host cells such as E. coli.
From the resulting transformants, the clones producing the protein which binds to human IgG or the Fc region of human IgG are selected by a known method (Fahnestock et al., J. Bacteriol., 167, 870 (1986)).
After the proteins capable of binding to human IgG or the Fc region of human IgG are isolated from the resulting positive clones according to a conventional method, the binding specificities of the proteins are determined to select the clones producing the Protein H. FIG. 2 shows the binding specificity of the Protein H.
After the DNA insert of the said clone is isolated by a conventional method, the DNA sequence of the insert is determined by a known method (Sanger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 5463 (1977); Choen et al., DNA 4, 165 (1985)). FIG. 4(A-B) shows the DNA sequence of the DNA insert isolated from the positive clone Fc4. FIG. 5(A-B) shows the DNA sequence of the structural gene coding for the Protein H isolated from the said clone.
It is necessary for genes to be expressed that they contain expression-controlling regions such as promoter, terminator and the like. The gene shown in FIG. 4 contains such as necessary expression-controlling regions.
The expression of genes may be effected with expression vectors having the necessary expression controlling regions in which only the structural gene is inserted. For this purpose, the structural gene shown in FIG. 5(A-B) can preferably be used. The structural gene coding for the Protein H can be obtained from the gene of FIG. 4(A-B) or synthesized by a conventional method based on the amino acid sequence given in the present specification.
As for the expression vectors, various host-vector systems have already been developed, from which the most suitable host-vector system can be selected for the expression of the gene of the present invention.
It has been known that, for each host cell, there is a particularly preferable codon usage for the expression of a given gene. In constructing a gene to be used for a given host-vector system, the codons preferable for the host should be used. Adequate sequences for the gene for the Protein H to be used in a particular host-vector system can be designed based on the amino acid sequence given in FIG. 1(A-B) and synthesized by a conventional synthetic method.
The present invention is further concerned with a process for producing the Protein H by culturing a host cell transformed with an expression vector in which the gene encoding the Protein H is inserted.
The process comprises steps of
In the first step, the gene coding for the Protein H, which is isolated from the chromosomal DNA of Streptococcus sp. API or synthesized as mentioned above, is inserted into a vector suitable for a host to be used for the expression of the Protein H. The insertion of the gene can be carried out by digesting the vector with a suitable restriction enzyme and linking thereto the gene by a conventional method.
In the second step, the resulting vector with the gene is introduced into host cells. The host cells may be Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis or Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the like. The introduction of the expression vector into the host cells can be effected in a conventional way.
In the third step, the resulting transformant cells are cultured in a suitable medium to produce the Protein H by the expression of the gene. The cultivation can be conducted in a conventional manner.
In the fourth step, the produced Protein H is recovered from the culture and purified, which can be conducted by a known method. For example, the cells are destroyed by a known method such as ultrasonification, enzyme treatment or grinding. The Protein H released out of the cells or secreted into the medium is recovered and purified by conventional methods usually used in the field of biochemistry such as ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration, affinity chromatography using IgG as ligand, hydrophobic chromatography and reversed phase chromatography, which may be used solely or in suitable combinations.
As mentioned above, the protein provided by the present invention can be used for identification or separation of human IgG. For these purposes, the protein may be brought into a reagent kit or a pharmaceutical composition by mixing or combining it with suitable reagents, additives or carries.
The present invention will more precisely be described by the following examples. But, they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Gene encoding a novel protein H capable of binding to IgG


A power saving method for a mobile device in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The power saving method comprises detecting a screen status of the mobile device and switching to different connection states according to the screen status of the mobile device when the mobile device has no data transmission and reception.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power saving for a mobile device in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a power saving method, which switches the mobile device to different connection states according to a screen status of the mobile device and related mobile device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The third generation (3G) mobile communications system has adopted a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) wireless air interface access method for a cellular network. WCDMA can provide high frequency spectrum utilization, universal coverage, and high quality, high speed multimedia data transmission. The WCDMA method also meets all kinds of QoS (Quality of Service) requirements simultaneously, providing diverse flexible two-way transmission services and better communication quality to reduce transmission interruption rates.
In the WCDMA protocol, a fast dormancy feature can allow wireless communication device go to idle directly (shown in FIG.1) or go to Cell_PCH state (or Cell_FACH state) in certain period (shown in FIG. 2). While no data transmission and reception, a mobile device can send different types of SCRI (Signaling Connection Release Indication) to trigger the network to indicate the mobile device to go to Cell_PCH (or Cell_FACH) or idle state.
The Cell_PCH (or Cell_FACH) state can allow the mobile device re-setup the wireless link faster than the idle state. However, generally, the Cell_PCH (or Cell_FACH) state has smaller DRX cycle length than the idle state, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG 4. The smaller DRX cycle length, however, costs more average standby current.
Because a mobile device may be powered by a battery, use of these features causes the battery level to reduce. The battery must eventually be recharged, which maybe inconvenient to a user. Thus, a desire exists for reducing power consumption in mobile devices in order to prolong time between battery charges.

Power saving method and related mobile device


A circularly knit tubular hosiery member and garment formed therefrom and a method for producing both. The member has a first tubular portion with a lateral portion having a plurality of courses with short stitch lengths. The garment is formed from a pair of the members disposed in a side-by-side relationship, slit along a part of their length and joined at pairs of the edges thus formed to provide a panty section with front, rear and lateral portions. The lengths of the stitches in the courses in the lateral portions are shorter than the stitch lengths in the front and rear panty portions so that the panty section has an arcuately shaped leg profile within the lateral portions. The method includes forming the panty pantyhose combination garment from the two separate tubular members with the stitches in the courses of the lateral portions made smaller than the stitch lengths in the rear and front portions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seamless knit hosiery blank, a garment formed thereby and a method of making the blank and garment having an arcuate leg panty line or profile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pantyhose and hosiery manufacturers have traditionally formed pantyhose garments with a panty portion having a heavier yarn so as to simulate an undergarment for the wearer which might possibly eliminate the need for separate panties when the garment is worn. The appearance of the garment, thusly constructed, is like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,894. Such garments have panty sections that resemble trunks rather than a panties with arcuate leg profiles. This has traditionally been the only way to make conventional pantyhose with a single layer of yarn throughout the panty and leg portions to date.
It has been possible to manufacture pantyhose with the panty section having a somewhat curved leg profile by using an additional layer or layers of yarn which involves splicing and trimming the yarn at various locations. An example of this construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,627.
Thus, there has been a continuing demand for a single yarn layer panty and pantyhose combination garment having an arcuate panty profile to provide a more attractive and realistic combination garment. It is to this need and demand that the present invention is directed.

Panty pantyhose combination garment and method for forming same


A method estimates the interconnect capacitance of a first net in an integrated circuit. The first step of the method includes the generation of a value which indicates how tightly connected to one another are components connected to the first net. The second step of the method includes the prediction of interconnect capacitance of the first net based on the value generated in the first step and a number representing how many components are connected to the first net.

The present invention concerns the prediction of the capacitance of connection nets after they are placed on an integrated circuit.
In integrated circuits, delay through a component is dependent upon the load the component is required to drive. The load a component has to drive is dependent upon the fanout from the output of the component and dependent upon the length of connection lines which are part of the output net of the component.
When designing integrated circuits, it is important in estimating performance of the integrated circuit to estimate the delay through components. After the logic of the circuit has been designed, and before the integrated circuit has been manufactured, it is possible to determine the fanout from each component. However, the length of the connection wires which form the output net of the component and the resulting interconnect capacitance of the output net are difficult to predict with accuracy.
Typically, in the prior art, this net capacitance has been estimated solely on the basis of fanout from the component and empirically determined constants. For example the following Formula 1 or other similar formulas are typically used to determine the interconnect capacitance of nets. EQU Capacitance=c.sub.1 +c.sub.2 *Fanout Formula 1
In the above Formula 1, Fanout is the number of components driven by the output of the component, Capacitance is the predicted capacitance of the output net from the component and c.sub.1 and c.sub.2 are constants which are determined from statistics of previously routed designs. Besides using a straightforward formula as Formula 1 above, some attempts have been made to use more elaborate procedures to calculate net capacitance based on fanout. Such procedures generally use tables which indicate statistically typical values for capacitance as a function of fanout. Some tables take into account floor planning information available at the time the prediction is made.
One problem with the prior methods of predicting the capacitance of nets is the wide variation in the actual value of the capacitance of nets. For example, for most output nets with a fanout of 1, the connection lines are short and so the capacitance of the net is low. However, a small number of nets have much longer connection lines and thus much greater capacitance. If standard statistical techniques are used to predict capacitance of output nets, most of the nets will have less capacitance than the predicted value, while a small number of the output nets will have a capacitance which is several times greater than the predicted value. If one or more of the output nets with significantly greater capacitance is on a circuit path which is critical to performance, then the performance of the integrated circuit may be less than predicted. Such impaired performance of all or a section of an integrated circuit could require a designer to manually re-route connection lines in an integrated circuit. In some cases, it is required to redesign the logic of the integrated circuit.
One way to avoid the problem of significantly underestimating the capacitance of nets of some components is to simply predict much larger capacitance for all nets. This would guarantee that the predicted capacitance would be much closer for those few components with nets having significantly greater capacitance. However, using such inflated predictive values would generally result in underestimating actual performance of the integrated circuit.

Method for predicting capacitance of connection nets on an integrated circuit


The present invention relates to a DNA polymerase immobilized by covalent bonding. More particularly, the present invention relates to an immobilized DNA polymerase whose activity is maximally preserved by masking the active site of the DNA polymerase and optimizing interaction of the masked molecule to the substrate material. In one embodiment, the average activity of the immobilized DNA polymerase is more than about 10% relative to that of the solution phase DNA polymerase. Further provided by the invention are methods and kits for performing polymerase chain reactions (PCR).

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions in vivo, and they have very specific catalytic activities toward chemical reaction and substrate. Enzyme reactions using their specific catalytic activities are utilized in medical and life science research. Enzymes find use in various catalytic chemical processes as well. In these utilizations of enzyme reactions, it is required in many cases to separate enzymes from reaction solutions after the reactions are completed, for the purpose of purifying products or recycling the enzymes. However, in solution phase, it takes long time and is very cumbersome to separate and purify materials such as enzymes and reaction products from reaction samples. Therefore, it is very important in the utilization of enzyme reactions to develop a method of simplifying the enzyme separation process.
Since immobilized enzymes can provide very efficient methods to simplify the enzyme separation process, a variety of work has been performed extensively on the development of methods for immobilizing enzymes. The "immobilized enzyme" as used herein means an enzyme that is physically or chemically bound to a substrate material while retaining substantial catalytic activity. Advantages of using such immobilized enzymes are as follows.
For instance, the purification or separation process of reaction samples can be simplified since the immobilized enzyme can be easily separated and recycled from reaction samples by simply removing the immobilized enzyme after an enzyme reaction. Also, the cost can be reduced by reusing the recycled immobilized enzyme. In addition, because multiple processes where enzyme reactions are included can be simplified, the efficiency of the overall reaction processes can be increased. Further, the efficiency of utilizing enzyme can be increased due to additional effects such as an enhancement in physical stability of enzyme after immobilization or a change in the conditions of enzyme reaction.
Examples of the enzyme immobilization methods include the carrier-binding method where enzymes bind to a carrier that is typically insoluble to water, the cross-linking method where enzymes are connected one another using a reagent having multiple reaction groups, and the entrapping method where enzymes are surrounded by semi-permeable gel or macromolecular membrane. The immobilized DNA polymerase in the present invention is prepared by a kind of the carrier-binding method where enzymes are immobilized on a substrate material with covalent bonding. The characteristics of the carrier-binding method are thus described in detail below.
In the carrier-binding method, the kind of a carrier and the method of binding are selected based on physical and chemical interactions between the enzyme and the carrier. This is because the amount and the characteristics of the enzyme after immobilization on the carrier depend greatly on the characteristics of the carrier and the method of binding. This method is thus classified according to the method of binding between the enzyme and the carrier, and examples of the carrier-binding method include the physical adsorption method via hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals interaction, the ionic bonding method where an enzyme binds to a polysaccharide having ion exchange groups or a synthetic macromolecule via ionic bonding, and the covalent bonding method where covalent bonding is formed between an enzyme and a carrier.
The physical adsorption method or the ionic bonding method has an advantage that the possibility of damaging the enzyme activity by immobilization bonding is low, since the enzyme binding process to a carrier is relatively simple and the influence on the active site structure of the enzyme is relatively low due to weak binding. However, there is a disadvantage that the enzyme can be lost even with the small change in temperature and pH, due to the weak binding between the enzyme and the carrier, and the low specificity that causes nonspecific binding of undesired proteins.
The disadvantage of the above two method can be solved in the covalent bonding method, since in the covalent bonding method, enzymes are immobilized by forming a strong bond between the enzyme and the carrier. Therefore, works on a variety of the covalent bonding methods have been performed using various kinds of carriers.
Since the enzyme has various reaction groups that can form covalent bond with a carrier, for example, amine, carboxyl, hydroxyl, thiol, imidazole, etc., immobilization reactions toward such reaction groups that can be performed in aqueous solution have been developed such as amide bond formation reaction, alkylation or arylation, disulfide bond formation, diazotization, etc. In addition, there has been reported an immobilization method where an immobilization reaction group on a substrate material reacts directly with a reaction group of an enzyme, or an immobilization method where a substrate material and an enzyme are connected using a linker having reaction groups at both ends. However, the covalent bonding method has a difficulty of preserving the enzyme activity after immobilization, since a strong bond formed between the enzyme and the carrier gives rise to the structural change in the enzyme which in turn increases the possibility of damaging the enzyme activity.
The most important point in immobilizing an enzyme on a substrate material with covalent bonding is that the damage of the enzyme activity due to a structural change in the enzyme active site by immobilization bonding must be prevented. Therefore, it is essential that the immobilization reaction must not occur at or near the active site. And also, even if the immobilization reaction occurs at a site distant from the active site of the enzyme, the allosteric effect that eventually reduces the enzyme activity by influencing the total structure of the enzyme must not occur. Therefore, in order to immobilize the enzyme with its activity preserved, it must be possible to select an immobilization site in the enzyme toward which immobilization bonding occurs, i.e., to select a reaction group of the enzyme located at a particular site such that the activity is not damaged after the immobilization bonding. In other words, an oriented immobilization should be possible wherein the enzyme can be immobilized in an oriented manner so that a reaction group of the enzyme located at the particular site forms an immobilization bonding. However, an enzyme is a macromolecule that has a great number of amino acids connected by amide bonding. Due to such characteristic of the enzyme, reaction groups available for immobilization reaction, for example, amine, carboxyl, hydroxyls, etc. are numerous and they are distributed throughout the enzyme. Therefore, it is impossible with the prior technologies developed to date to direct an oriented immobilization by selecting a reaction group of an enzyme located at a particular site. In other words, in the enzyme immobilization using the prior art immobilization methods, random immobilization reactions occur toward a plurality of reaction groups in the enzyme. Therefore, an immobilization bonding can be formed at an undesirable site or a plurality of immobilization bonding can be formed, thereby severely damaging the enzyme activity.
In addition to the damage in the enzyme activity due to the nonspecific nature of the immobilization reaction in the prior art immobilization methods, the formation of covalent bonding by itself can possibly reduce the enzyme activity largely because it requires rearrangement of electrons. That is, even if it is possible to select a reaction group of the enzyme located at a particular site so as to direct an oriented immobilization toward the reaction group, it is impossible to confirm presence of the covalently immobilized enzyme with its activity preserved without damage unless an oriented immobilization is actually performed.
There have been efforts to immobilize certain biomolecules other than DNA polymerase. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,383 discloses a method of making an immobilized immunoadsorbent in which an antigen is used as a masking agent to protect (mask) an antibody of interest before reaction with a polymer support. U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,552 and Subramanian A. and W. Velander (1996) J. of Mol. Recognition. 9: 528 also disclose a similar method for preparing an immobilized immunoadsorbent using an antigen as a masking agent. U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,202 (see also PCT/EP93/03429 (WO 94/13322) discloses a method for preparing a conjugate of a protein (or a glycoprotein) with a water soluble protein using an antibody or an antiidiotypic antibody as a masking agent.
However, there is general understanding that such methods work largely because antibodies are robust molecules. That is, even unmasked antibodies are thought to be less sensitive to conformational changes induced by immobilization reactions occurring outside the antigen binding pocket. In marked contrast, DNA polymerase is thought to be especially sensitive to reactions involving amino acid residues within and outside the catalytic site. In particular, the prolonged antigen binding conditions required by the prior masking procedures are believed to be particularly unsuitable for manipulating sensitive DNA polymerases.
More generally, there is increasing recognition that prior methods of protecting antibodies and certain proteins before reaction with a substrate material will not provide good results with DNA polymerases. There is doubt that current approaches that focus on protecting active sites will be insufficient to preserve the biological activity of a DNA polymerase following immobilization. In practice, it has been difficult or in some cases impossible to preserve the biological activity of DNA polymerase after an immobilization procedure.
It would be desirable to have a method of immobilizing a DNA polymerase to a substrate material. It would be further desirable to have methods that protect not only the catalytic site of the DNA polymerase but also optimize interaction of the enzyme with the substrate material.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for amplifying a DNA template