A process is provided for the preparation of pure cyclosporin which is purified chromatographically from a mixture of different cyclosporin forms and other substances prepared by fermentation. The process comprises feeding a mixture containing a desired form of cyclosporin with an eluent consisting of high pressure carbon dioxide and an adjuvant, into a chromatography column being packed with particles prepared of silica, and recovering from the eluent flow coming out of the chromatography column a fraction which contains the desired cyclosporin form in adequately pure form.

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of pure cyclosporin chromatographically from a mixture of different cyclosporins and other substances prepared by fermentation, using an eluent consisting essentially of high pressure carbon dioxide.
Cyclosporins are neutral, highly lipophilic, cyclic undekapeptides with a variable amino acid composition. At present, 25 different cyclosporin forms (A-Z) are known, from which the A-form has proved to be clinically the most valuable. Cyclosporins are produced by some fungi, e.g. Cylindrocarpon lucidum, Trichoderma polysporum, and various species of the genus Tolypocladium. Cyclosporins have been discovered to have not only of antibiotic activity, but also immunosuppressive properties, and they are currently used in the post-operative treatment of transplantation operations to prevent the rejection of the transplants. Cyclosporins are produced by fermenting fungal strains which produce great amounts of them. When mycclial extracts are obtained they usually contain different cyclosporin forms as a mixture. The desired form of cyclosporin has to be separated from the mixture obtained by fermentation by a purification process.
In the process currently in use, the separation of cyclosporin A is carried out by extracting the mycelial mass obtained by the fermentation first with methanol, whereafter the final separation is carried out in silica columns using different mixtures of organic solvents. The separation method is fairly slow and demands large chromatography columns with respect to the production volumes. Additionally, in a conventional process, great amounts of organic solvents must be handled, the purification and recycling of which is uneconomic and requires large equipment.
It is known that a substance which is in liquid form or in a supercritical state dissolves many compounds substantially better than the same substance in a gaseous state. Supercritical chromatography is indeed used to an ever-increasing amount to extract and separate various substances, especially in analytical applications (White et al., 1988, J. High Resolut. Chrom. & Chrom. Comm. 11:94-98).
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,720, a process for fractionating of mixtures, and especially or purification of hydrocarbon mixtures by elution chromatography is disclosed. In the process, supercritical carbon dioxide without adjuvants is used as the eluent. In the international patent application WO 93/23394 optically pure S-timolol is produced from racemic R,S-timolol. Although the isomeric separation described in said application is in principle of the same kind as the separation disclosed in the present invention, the two processes differ from each other even for their grounds in that in the enantiomer separation of timolol is a question of chiral selectivity between the timolol enantiomers and the chiral column filling, whereas the present invention is based on the different polar interactions between the cyclosporins to be separated and the non-chiral column filling.
We have now found that the desired cyclosporin form can easily be obtained in pure form from a mixture of cyclosporin forms and other substances prepared by fermentation by feeding the mixture into a chromatography column with an eluent consisting of high pressure carbon dioxide and an adjuvant, and recovering from the eluent flow, the fraction which contains the desired form of cyclosporin in adequately pure form.
By the process of this invention any desired form of cyclosporin included in the starting mixture can be prepared in pure form. Preferably cyclosporin A or cyclosporin G is prepared.
The purity of cyclosporin meeting the drug requirements has to be at least 98.5 weight-%. By optimizing the process parameters cyclosporin meeting the drug requirements is directly obtained according to the process of the present invention from a certain part of the eluent flow.
An advantage of the process is in that the separation of the cyclosporin forms can be carried out continuously in phases so that the following batch of the mixture can be fed to the chromatography column soon after the previous batch, whereby the desired form of cyclosponrin meeting the drug requirements can continuously be recovered from the eluent flow coming out of the column. The purification process can thus be carried out rapidly and with small equipment with respect to the production rate.
In addition, the production process according to the invention is simple. It has only three main stages: feeding of the cyclosporin mixture to a chromatography column with an eluent consisting of carbon dioxide and an adjuvant, chromatographic separation of the desired cyclosporin form, and separation of the pure product from the eluent.
It is characteristic to the process of the invention that a mixture prepared by fermentation containing many forms of cyclosporin and other substances originating from the fermentation as extracted into a suitable solvent, e.g. toluene, is fed into the eluent flow consisting of high pressure carbon dioxide and an appropriate adjuvant. The eluent is fed into a chromatography column at a temperature of 20 to 100.degree. C., preferably at the temperature of 20 to 60.degree. C., and at an increased pressure, preferably at the pressure of 75 to 350 bar (7.5 to 35 MPa). A continuous eluent flow is running through the column. As an eluent carbon dioxide is used, to which an adjuvant or a modifying agent has been added, being e.g. a low molecular alcohol, preferably methanol or 2-propanol. A mixture of suitable low molecular alcohols can also be used. The amount of the adjuvant in the eluent is between 1 to 50, preferably 4 to 28 weight-%. The chromatography column has been packed with a solid filler, e.g. with silica particles or modified silica.
A further advantage of the process of the invention is also the fact that one can directly use as a starting material solutions which have been obtained by extracting the mycelial mass obtained by fermentation with suitable solvents, e.g. with methanol and toluene. These solutions may contain many kinds of components in addition to the cyclosporin forms to be separated. For instance pigments and other impurities originating from the cultivation are left over in the solution during the extraction. The cyclosporin mixture to be separated (mycelial extract) can further be dissolved in another solvent, e.g. toluene, dichloromethane or methanol, and this solution can be fed into the chromatography column.
An example of a solid filler which can be used is silica. The diameter of the silica particles can be from 5 to 200 .mu.m, preferably from 5 to 45 .mu.m, most preferably e.g. 10 .mu.m, and the pore size from 60 to 120 .ANG.. Examples of silica which can be used as the column filler are cyanopropyl silica and propylenediol silica. The column filler and the adjuvant of the eluent have to be selected so that the desired cyclosporin form is eluted sufficiently separated from the other forms of cyclosporin. When purifying cyclosporin A the preferable selection is silica filler together with a methanol or 2-propanol adjuvant.
In addition to the above mentioned parameters an economical realization requires the use of a correct loading ratio. The "loading ratio" of the column is the ratio (mg/g) of the total amount of cyclosporin forms fed into the column to the amount of the filling material of the column. A suitable loading ratio depends on the adjuvant on the eluent, and of the amount thereof. In a silica column, using 2-propanol adjuvant, the suitable loading ratio is e.g. from 1.5 to 4.4 mg/g. In a silica column using methanol adjuvant the suitable loading ratio is e.g. from 4.4 to 16.2 mg/g.
The eluent flow coming out from the chromatography column is monitored with a suitable detector, e.g. with an ultraviolet detector in the wave length region of 210 to 250 nm. The eluent flow coming out of the column is divided into temporally successive fractions so that the fraction containing the desired cyclosporin form is recovered. The pressure of the eluent flow fraction to be recovered is decreased, whereby the adjuvant and cyclosporin being dissolved therein are separated from the carbon dioxide, which is evaporated. The desired cyclosporin form is recovered from the adjuvant solution obtained by known processes of chemical technology.
One embodiment of the process of the invention is to perform the purification of the mixture containing the cyclosporin forms in several successive steps. In the first chromatographic purification step, a chromatography column can be packed with, for example, large silica particles. A suitable particle size may be e.g. 25 to 40 .mu.m. In the first, coarse purification silica can be loaded with a fairly large amount of the mixture to be purified. A suitable loading ratio can be, e.g., 20 mg per g of silica. From the first chromatography step, a still impure fraction is recovered which, however, contains the main part of the desired cyclosporin form.
The coarsely purified product obtained from the first purification step is injected into a second chromatography column which has been packed with a high resolution silica. In the second chromatography step, a lower loading ratio is used, as well as a column which has been packed with silica having a fairly small particle size.
A chromatographical purification with two or more steps can be more advantageous with respect to the economy of the process than a one-step purification, e.g. in such a case in which the raw material mixture to be purified contains ingredients which stain the first chromatography column.
It is important that the process parameters are optimized so that the yield of the desired product meeting the drug requirements is as high as possible. In the following Examples those conditions are given in which cyclosporin meeting the drug requirements is advantageously obtained with high yield according to the present invention. In the experiments carried out, it is shown that the adjuvants (modifying agents) obvious to a person skilled in the art in the carbon dioxide eluent are not necessarily functional, but that only certain combinations of a column filling and an adjuvant cause such a separation that industrial production will be possible. In the Examples, it is also shown that by optimizing the process parameters the problematic impurities are made to elute ahead of the product which promotes the selectivity of the separation and makes the process technically and economically feasible.

Chromatographic purification of cyclosporing using a high pressure carbon dioxide eluent


Disclosed herein are a washing machine and a method of controlling the same that are capable of removing bubbles from a door after washing. The washing machine includes a drum and a door to open and close the drum. The method of controlling the washing machine includes determining whether the present operation is a spin-drying operation, and, when the present operation is the spin-drying operation, supplying water to the door to remove residual bubbles from the door.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a washing machine and a method of controlling the same, and, more particularly, to a washing machine and a method of controlling the same that are capable of removing bubbles from a door after washing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a washing machine (typically, a drum type washing machine) is an apparatus, including a water tub to store water (wash water or rinse water), a cylindrical drum rotatably installed in the water tub to receive laundry, and a motor to generate a drive force necessary to rotate the drum, to lift the laundry in the drum along the inner wall of the drum and drop the lifted laundry, during the rotation of the drum, thereby washing the laundry. In front of the drum is installed a door, normally made of glass, to allow laundry to be put into the drum or taken out of the drum therethrough.
The washing machine performs washing through a series of operations, such as a washing operation to separate contaminants from laundry with water containing a detergent (specifically, wash water), a rinsing operation to rinse bubbles or residual detergent from the laundry with water containing no detergent (specifically, rinse water), and a spin-drying operation to spin-dry the laundry.
In the washing machine, however, when a general detergent (not a drum-exclusive detergent) is used, or an excessive amount of the detergent is used, during washing, a large number of bubbles are generated, and the bubbles remain at the glass surface, the edge, and the inside of a door. Even after rinsing, the residual bubbles are not completely removed, with the result that the door glass is stained. In this case, a user may recognize that the rinsing has not been proper, which leads to the user's dissatisfaction with respect to the rinsing performance of the washing machine. In addition, it is inconvenient for the user to periodically clean the door to remove the stains from the door.
In order to solve these problems, conventional measures have been suggested to modify the structure of a detergent box or add a door cleaning hose. However, these measures require a change in structure of the washing machine and the addition of an additional device.

Washing machine and method of controlling the same


A two-piece tire assembly has a removable tread belt 12 for installing about the circumference of a tire carcass 14. The tread belt has at least a pair of belt layers, and one layer comprising inextensible reinforcing cables inclined at substantially zero degrees relative to the circumferential direction of the tire assembly. The cables in zero degree ply have a tensile breaking load of at least 27500 N.

The tread belt pneumatic tires of the present invention are generally designed for use on large earthmover vehicles and are subjected to high stress and loads under harsh environmental conditions such as in rock quarries, mines, foundries, and other areas where tires are subjected to puncture-producing and wear-inducing conditions.
The large pneumatic tires, which are typically used for earthmoving vehicles, sometimes fail due to the high stress and loads caused by the harsh environmental conditions in which they are operated. With the continual drive to improve earthmover performance, there is a continuing need to provide novel methods and tire designs for improving earthmover tire durability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Two piece tire with improved tire tread belt


The present invention relates to a method of nucleic acid molecule delivery into a fertilized egg. This method involves providing a fertilized egg prior to its formation of a protective layer, providing a nucleic acid molecule, and combining the nucleic acid molecule and the fertilized egg under conditions effective to allow the nucleic acid molecule to be delivered into the egg.

Diseases in shrimp aquaculture have substantially reduced production and resulted in significant revenue losses (Lightner et al., "Strategies for the Control of Viral Diseases of Shrimp in the Americas," Fish Path. 33:165–180 (1998); Dhar et al., "Isolation of Differentially Expressed Genes in White Spot Virus (WSV) Infected Shrimp (Penaeus stylirostris)," In: World Aquaculture Society, France (2000); Brock et al., "Disease Prevention and Control for Gametes and Embryos of Fish and Marine Shrimp," Aquaculture 197:137–159 (2001)) The use of molecular biology techniques to produce pathogen-resistant strains of shrimp through genetic transformation technology is considered a highly promising strategy for control of shrimp viral disease (Mialhe et al., "Future of Biotechnology-Based Control of Disease in Marine Invertebrates," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 4(4):275–83 (1995); Bachere et al., "Transgenic Crustaceans," World Aquaculture 28(4):51–5 (1997)). In the past decade, pathogen-resistant transgenic animals and plants have been developed (Beachy, "Virus Cross-Protection in Transgenic Plants," in D. P. S. Verma, and R. B. Goldberg, (eds.), Plant Gene Research: Temporal and Spatial Regulation of Plant Genes, New York: Springer Verlag pp. 313–327 (1998); Kim et al., "Disease Resistance in Tobacco and Tomato Plants Transformed with the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Nucleocapsid Gene," Plant Dis. 78:615–21 (1993); Sin, F. Y. T., "Transgenic Fish," Rev. Fish Biol. 7(4):417–41 (1997)), but use of such technology has only just begun for shrimp research. While methods for detecting viral disease in shrimp, including polymerase chain reaction (Dhar et al., "Detection and Quantification of Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) and White Spot Virus (WSV) of Shrimp by Real-Time Quantitative PCR and SYBR Chemistry," J. Clin. Microbiol. 39:2835–2845 (2001); Tang et al., "Detection and Quantification of Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus in Penaeid Shrimp by Real-Time PCR," Dis. Aquat. Org. 44(2):79–85 (2001)), light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (Nunan et al., "Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Used for the Detection of Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) in Experimentally Infected Shrimp," Dis. Aquatic. Org. 34:87–91 (1998); Goarant et al., "Arbitrarily Primed PCR to Type Vibrio Spp. Pathogenic for Shrimp," Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65(3):1145–1151 (1999); Chen et al., "Establishment of Cell Culture Systems from Penaeid Shrimp and Their Susceptibility to White Spot Disease and Yellow Head Viruses," Meth. in Cell Sci. 21:199–206 (1999); Toullec, "Crustacean Primary Cell Culture: a Technical Approach," Meth. in Cell Sci. 21:193–8 (1999); Sukhumsirichart et al., "Characterization and PCR Detection of Hepatopancreatic Parvovirus (HPV) from Penaeus Monodon in Thailand," Dis. Aquat. Org. 38:1–10 (1999), are widely used, methods for controlling viral disease in shrimp are still in development. One of the drawbacks to molecular engineering in shrimp and other crustaceans thus far has been the lack of a procedure to transform eggs or embryos with DNA that is easy, quick, highly efficient, and results in low mortality of eggs/embryos.
Three common methods of vector-expression for foreign nucleic acid delivery are electroporation (Muller et al., "Introducing Foreign Genes Into Fish Eggs With Electroporated Sperm as a Carrier," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 1:276–281 (1992); Powers et al., "Electroporation: a Method for Transferring Genes Into the Gametes of Zebra Fish (Brachydanio rerio), Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and Common Carp (Cyprimus carpio)," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 1:301–308 (1992); Sin et al., "Gene Transfer in Chinook Salmon by Electroporating Sperm in the Presence of PRSV-lacZ DNA," Aquaculture 117:57–69 (1993); Powers et al., "Electroporation as an Effective Means of Introducing DNA Into Abalone (Haliotis rufescens) Embryos," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 4(4):369–375 (1995); Tsai et al., "Sperm as a Carrier to Introduce an Exogenous DNA Fragment Into the Oocyte of Japanese Abalone (Haliotis divorsicolor suportexta)," Transgenic Res. 6(1):85–95 (1997); Fraga et al., "Introducing Antisense Oligonucleotides into Paramecium via Electroporation," J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 45(6):582–8 (1998); Preston et al., "Delivery of DNA to Early Embryos of the Kuruma Prawn, Penaeus japonicus," Aquaculture 181:225–234 (2000)), ballistic bombardment (Zelenin et al., "The Delivery of Foreign Genes Into Fertilized Eggs Using High-Velocity Microprojectiles," FEBS Lett. 287(1–2):118–120 (1991); Akasaka et al., "Introduction of DNA Into Sea Urchin Eggs by Particle Gun," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 4(3):255–261 (1995); Gendreau et al., "Transient Expression of a Luciferase Reporter Gene After Ballistic Introduction Into Artemia Franciscana (Crustacea) Embryos," Aquaculture 133:199–205 (1995); Baum et al., "Improved Ballistic Transient Transformation Conditions for Tomato Fruit Allow Identification of Organ-Specific Contributions of 1-Box and G-Box to the RBCS2 Promoter Activity," Plant J. 12(2):463–9 (1997); Udvardi et al., "Uptake of Exogenous DNA Via the Skin," J. Mol. Med. 77(10):744–50 (1999)), and microinjection (Udvardi et al., "Uptake of Exogenous DNA Via the Skin," J. Mol. Med. 77(10):744–50 (1999); Penman et al., "Patterns of Transgene Inheritance in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss)," Mol Reprod. Dev. 30:201–206 (1991); Damen et al., "Transcriptional Regulation of Tubulin Gene Expression in Differentiating Trochoblasts During Early Development of Patella Vulgata," Development 120:2835–2845 (1994); Gaiano et al., "Highly Efficient Germ-Line Transmission of Proviral Insertions," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:7777–7782 (1996); Cadoret et al., "Microinjection of Bivalve Eggs: Application in Genetics," Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 6(1):7277 (1997); Li et al., "Transfer of Foreign Gene to Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) by Spermatophore-Microinjection," Mol. Reprod. Dev. 56(2): 149–54 (2000)). Among these three methods, microinjection is considered to be the most tedious, but most efficient, method for transferring foreign nucleic acid into marine and fresh water species. It allows precision in delivery of exogenous nucleic acid and increases the chances that a treated egg will be transformed. The introduced nucleic acid is ultimately integrated into the chromosomes of the microinjected organism. Preston et al., "Delivery of DNA to Early Embryos of the Kuruma Prawn, Penaeus japonicus," Aquaculture 181:225–234 (2000), examined the relative efficiency of microinjection, electroporation, and particle bombardment for introducing nucleic acid into the embryos of the Kuruma prawn, Litopenaeus japonicus and found that microinjection is the most reliable technique but very time consuming. Electroporation is a desirable method for large scale gene transfer, however, host mortality tends to be high. An alternative non-surgical technique (e.g., spermatophore-microinjection), can be used as the delivery system, which provides somewhat better mortality. However, none of these methods of gene transfer is suitable to treat large numbers of fertilized shrimp eggs at one time, and most importantly, none of these methods raise the potential transformed shrimp into the mature stage.
Transgenic techniques provide a potential tool in producing shrimp capable of combating diseases and, subsequently, improving aquaculture production. However, at present, transgenic shrimp studies suffer from the lack of availability of suitably efficient methods for the introduction of foreign DNA into the very fragile shrimp zygotes. What is needed is a method of in vivo DNA delivery into the eggs of shrimp and other that provides improved ease of use, improved efficiency of transformation, and improved mortality rates over the existing methods.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.


The image transmission system of the present invention is provided with: a time-division display apparatus sequentially displaying first to N-th (N: an integer of 2 or more) images with a frequency above M×N [Hz] (M: an integer of 1 or more) by time division; a multiplexing unit plane-sequentially multiplexing the first to N-th images in accordance with the order of displaying the first to N-th images on the time-division display apparatus; a transmitting unit sending out the multiplexed images which have been multiplexed by the multiplexing unit to a predetermined image transmission path with a frame frequency of M [Hz]; and a receiving unit receiving the multiplexed images from the transmitting unit via the predetermined image transmission path and sequentially transmitting image data of the multiplexed images to the time-division display apparatus.

With the development of recent display techniques, there have been proposed and developed display apparatuses having a function other than a function of displaying a two-dimensional (plane) images. For example, a three-dimensional display which makes it possible to view not a two-dimensional image but a three-dimensional image can be said to be a typical example of such display apparatuses. As one of display apparatuses proposed as the three-dimensional display, there is a time-division three-dimensional display described in Patent Literatures 1 to 3. The principle of the time-division three-dimensional display will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the time-division three-dimensional display displays a left-eye image and a right-eye image constituting a three-dimensional image, switching the images at a high speed. An optical shutter such as liquid crystal glasses is constituted by a right-eye shutter and a left-eye shutter. In synchronization with the right-eye image being displayed, the right-eye shutter gets into a light transmission state and the left-eye shutter gets into a light blocking state. In synchronization with the left-eye image being displayed, the left-eye shutter gets into a light transmission state and the right-eye shutter gets into a light blocking state. When the three-dimensional display is viewed through the optical shutter, different images temporally enter the right and left eyes to realize three-dimensional display.
Another example of the display apparatuses having a function other than the function of displaying a two-dimensional image will be described. Content to be displayed on a display apparatus includes such content that should not be viewed by others, such as secret information and private data. These days when ubiquitous accompanying the development of information equipment is developing, it is an important to prevent display contents from being viewed by others, even among the public that includes an unspecified large number of people. As a related art to solve this problem, there is described an image display apparatus capable of preventing a display image from being stealthily viewed by others in Patent Literature 4. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the image display apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 2, the image display apparatus described in Patent Literature 4 includes image information accumulation memory 202, synthesis circuit 205, brightness/saturation conversion circuit 206, image display device 208, glasses-shutter timing generation circuit 209, and glasses 211 such as liquid crystal glasses.
Image information accumulation memory 202 stores inputted image signal 201 in frames on the basis of frame signal 203. The image signal stored in image information accumulation memory 202 is read twice at a rate twice as fast as the frame cycle. The image signal read first is provided for synthesis circuit 205 as first image signal 204 compressed to one half. The image signal that is read the second time is provided for synthesis circuit 205 as second image signal 207 after having undergone saturation and brightness conversion processing by brightness/saturation conversion circuit 206. Output of synthesis circuit 205 is provided for image display device 208 as a display signal. Accordingly, an image based on first image signal 204 and an image based on second image signal 207 are alternately displayed on image display device 208.
Glasses-shutter timing generation circuit 209 generates glasses-shutter driving signal 210 for driving the shutter of glasses 211 on the basis of frame signal 203. Glasses-shutter driving signal 210 is a timing signal to cause the shutter of glasses 211 to be turned on (light blocking state) during a period while an image based on second image signal 207 is displayed. By the shutter of glasses 211 being driven by this glasses-shutter driving signal 210, only the image based on first image signal 204 (secret image) are presented to a person who wears glasses 211 can view.
A person who does not wear glasses 211 sees a gray image in which the image based on first image signal 204 and the image based on second image signal 207 are merged, due to the temporal integration effect of eyesight (persistence of vision). This gray image is an image quite different from the image based on first image signal 204 (secret image). Thus, the person who does not wear glasses 211 cannot identify the image based on first image signal 204 (secret image).
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the secret image is shown to a person who wears liquid crystal glasses and not shown to a person who does not wear the liquid crystal glasses. Another example of such images that are related to one another includes, a secret image which can be viewed only by a person who wears liquid crystal glasses, a reverse image to negate the secret image and make the secret image appear to be an image quite unrelated to the secret image, and a public image to be viewed by a person who does not wear the liquid crystal glasses. In this example, in order to prevent both of the persons who wears and who does not wear the liquid crystal glasses from perceiving flickers, it is required that the cycle of displaying the set of three images of the secret image, the reverse image and the public image should be 60 Hz or more, that is, the frame frequency for displaying each unit image (subframe) of the secret image, the reverse image and the public image should be 180 Hz or more, in consideration of the time integration effect in human eyesight. If an image is displayed with a frame frequency lower than 180 Hz, the image is easily perceived as flicker by human eye, and thus, there is a problem that the image quality deteriorates. Furthermore, if an image is displayed with a frame frequency lower than 180 Hz, each secret image, the reverse image and public image appear to be independently displayed, and consequently, even the person who does not wear the liquid crystal glasses can view the secret image. Thus, there is a problem that the secrecy of the secret image deteriorates.
In order to prevent flicker, it is required, in the example shown in FIG. 2, to combine a secret image and a gray image as a set and set the frequency for displaying the set to 60 Hz or more similarly and, in the example of the three-dimensional shown in FIG. 1, to combine a right-eye image and a left-eye image as a set and set the frequency for displaying the set to 60 Hz or more similarly. In these cases, it is necessary to display each unit image (subframe) with a frame frequency of 60×2=120 Hz.
Thus, in order to realize a display apparatus utilizing the time integration effect of eyesight, it is required to display a unit image (subframe) constituting a frame, such as the secret image and the right-eye image, with a high-speed frame frequency of 120 Hz or more. To achieve this, it is desirable to, when transmitting these images to a display apparatus from an image transmission source (a PC (Personal Computer) or the like), transmit them with the same frame frequency as the high-speed frame frequency, such as 120 Hz and 180 Hz.
However, in image transmission standards which are currently widely prevalent, such as the DVI, the limit of the frame frequency capable of transmitting an image is practically 60 Hz. Therefore, it is not possible to transmit an image with a frame frequency more than 60 Hz. As measures for transmitting an image with a frame frequency more than 60 Hz, measures of devising a new image transmission system compatible with the high-speed frame frequency as described above and measures of parallelizing existing image transmission paths are conceivable.
However, the former measures have a problem that the versatility is low because of the specialization in high-speed transmission, in addition to the problem of the enormous cost of new development of compatible chips (for a transceiver and a receiver) and cables. The latter measures have a problem in which the wiring of cables is complicated. Therefore, neither measure can be said to be a realistic solution. Thus, it is desirable to transmit an image using only one image transmission path of an existing image transmission standard.
As an example of related art to realize this, the technique described in Patent Literature 5 can be given (FIG. 3). This technique relates to a technique of transmitting an image to a display apparatus which displays a three-dimensional image by a system different from the time-division system as shown in FIG. 1. In the technique described in Patent Literature 5, two-dimensional image 301 and depth image 302 are multiplexed to one large image by multiplexing means 312, and the multiplexed image is transmitted to a display apparatus with the use of an existing one two-dimensional image transmission path, as shown in FIG. 3. On the display apparatus side, separation means 313 separates the multiplexed image into two-dimensional image 301 and depth image 302.

Image transmission system, image transmission apparatus and image transmission method


An elevator target floor registration unit, which displays an estimated amount of time until an assigned elevator car arrives, reduces feelings of uneasiness. Various target floor registration units by which a user may register a target floor are installed on respective floors of a building. The target floor registration units are connected to an elevator controller via an interface. The elevator controller: (a) assigns a most suitable elevator car corresponding to a user's target floor registered using the target floor registration unit; (b) computes an expected waiting time for the elevator assigned to arrive at the floor of the aforementioned registration; and (c) sends said pieces of information on the elevator assignment and the expected waiting time to aforementioned target floor registration unit in order to display them.

The present invention relates to an elevator display device that displays the time it takes for an elevator to arrive.
Target floor registration units that suggest a departure elevator car for a given target floor (destination floor) that a user should ride upon have been installed near elevator landings for an increasing number of elevators in recent years. Such systems are often referred to as "destination entry" systems. In such cases, the elevator system is configured in such a manner that a call for an elevator car is registered automatically, and the car travels to the target floor without requiring any actuation once the user gets in the elevator car suggested by the registration unit. For example, Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. 2001-348170 describes how a user may be led to the assigned elevator car without any confusion.
Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. 2001-348170 describes that it is feasible for target floor registration units to be installed in a building in the manner shown in FIG. 8A, which is a plan view of a floor inside a building, wherein elevator cars A-F are provided about the elevator hall. Target floor registration units 10 are installed between cars B and C and between cars E and F at the elevator hall. Furthermore, they are positioned on respective guiding lines 20a and 20b drawn on the floor in order to lead a user who is present at a prescribed distance to the elevator hall.
As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, each target floor registration unit 10 has a registration operation part 11 for registering a target floor using numeric keys and a display part 12 for displaying elevator information. For example, when a user registers (enters) "25" for the 25th floor as the target floor using the numeric keys as shown in FIG. 8B, the 25th floor is displayed as "25F" on the display 12, as shown in FIG. 8C. In addition, the display 12 also tells the user which car (e.g., "A") to which he/she should proceed as well as the direction (e.g., "to the left") in which he/she should walk to get to the identified car.
If the user registered a target floor at a registration unit 10 that is located at some distance from the assigned elevator car, it is plausible that the user may feel uneasy or pressured, thinking, "The elevator car may have already arrived and departed," while he/she is moving to the front of the elevator car (e.g., car A) that was displayed on the display 12. If the assigned elevator car has, in fact, already departed before the user gets to the car, the user must reregister the target floor using another target floor registration unit 10. Therefore, it would be preferable to eliminate such feelings of uneasiness for a user who uses a registration unit 10 that is located far from the elevator car identified by the registration unit.
In light of the foregoing, the present invention aims to resolve one or more of the aforementioned issues that afflict conventional elevators.

Elevator display system providing an indication of an estimated arrival of an elevator car


A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication where a macro eNB or similar device may be configured to adjust an ABS configuration that is used for designating ABS subframes are provided to provide a VoLTE service to a UE. The ABS configuration may be adjusted by imposing one or more restrictions, such as alignment of the DRX OnDuration of a UE with some offset to the serving cell non-ABS subframes, and imposing restrictions on the ABS subframe settings at the macro eNB. The method or apparatus may initiate or terminate a wireless communication feature for a UE, and may adjust an ABS configuration based on the wireless communication feature, such that a maximum limit is set on a number of ABS subframes or a minimum limit is set on a number of non-ABS subframes based on the wireless communication feature.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to subframe configuration management in Long Term Evolution (LTE) heterogeneous networks (HetNets) with time domain enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example of an emerging telecommunication standard is LTE. LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lower costs, improve services, make use of new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards using OFDMA on the downlink (DL), SC-FDMA on the uplink (UL), and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there exists a need for further improvements in LTE technology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

Subframe configuration management in LTE HetNets with time domain EICIC and VoIP


A holding device (1) made of plastic for attachment to a support for holding and supporting at least one tube-shaped body comprises an attachment portion (2) connectable to the support and a holding portion (3) of two half-dishes (4, 5) enveloping the tube-shaped body. The two half-dishes are connected with each other at the side next to the attachment portion (2). At the side opposite the attachment portion (2), the half-dishes are connected by at least one hinged element (6) while at the side next to the attachment portion (2) they are joined by a snap-in catch device (7) arranged within the attachment portion (2).

The invention is directed to a holding device made of plastic for attachment of at least one tube-shaped body to a support. The device includes an attachment portion that is connectable to the support and carries the holding portion comprised of two half-dishes arranged for enveloping and holding the tube-shaped body. The half-dishes are connected with each other on the side next to the attachment portion.
A holding device is already known in the art where the holding portion exhibits two flanges that are connected with each other via a screw connection after receiving a tube-shaped body. (See, for example, published British Patent Application 2 187 255.) In this known device, the two flanges enclose a profiled end zone of a cone, which in turn is connectable with a support via an attachment zone. This results in high manufacturing expense because of the multiple piece construction. Also, the assembly expense is high because of the effort necessary to attach the entire unit in a functionally correct manner to a support.
In addition to the above, a holding device of plastic is known where there is arranged below a support plate a half-round shaped attachment zone. Above the support plate there is provided a strip-like element which engages with a mating cam in a closed position and functions as a holding zone after putting into place at least one tube-shaped body. (See British Patent 1,022,820.)
Further known in the prior art is a regulation plastic base nut which has two half-dishes connected with one another by a film-type hinge joint. The half-dishes respectively exhibit a conical inner diameter and frontally pass over into the attachment zone. After closing of the two half dishes, the entire unit can be positioned in a rectangularly designed support aperture. (See German Petty Patent 75,03424.1). This known device is merely designed as a regulation base nut and is unable, on the one side, to be attached to a support and, on the other side, is incapable of being attached to a traversing tube-shaped part, for example a hose or a tube.
In contrast thereto, the present invention has as the primary object to create a holding device of the initially mentioned type which is of low construction expense and simple design, but which can be functionally and correctly installed rapidly.


A fixing device includes a heating member, a pressure member, and a conveyance guide. The heating member internally includes a heating element. The pressure member includes an elastic layer located to be pressed against the heating member to ensure a fixing nip area between the heating member and the pressure member. The conveyance guide is located upstream with respect to the fixing nip area in a conveying path of a sheet on which the toner image is formed, and assists the sheet to run. The conveyance guide includes a first guiding portion that guides a head of the sheet to a distal end position close to the heating member and a second guiding portion that guides a tail of the sheet from the distal end position to an intermediate position between the heating member and the pressure member.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the description in this section is not prior art to the claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A fixing device, which is internally included in an electrophotographic or electrostatic recording type image forming apparatus, causes a sheet on which a toner image is formed by a previous process to pass and be sandwiched between two rollers (hereinafter referred to as a fixing nip area), a heating roller and a pressure roller. Thus, the fixing device applies pressure to and heats this sheet to fix the toner image. When a head of the sheet contacts a pressure roller before the head of the sheet reaches a fixing nip area, the sheet is easily caught in the pressure roller by an elastic layer of the pressure roller in the fixing device described above. This may generate a wrinkle on the sheet.
It is known that guiding the head of the sheet conveyed by a conveyance guide to a position close to the heating roller at an upstream side of the fixing nip area can prevent such wrinkle generation. A fixing device that prevents the wrinkle generation when curling a comparatively light and inelastic sheet has been disclosed. Additionally, the fixing device reduces a generation of a toner image disturbance due to a collision between a distal end of the sheet and a guiding portion when using a thick sheet.

Fixing device that reduces friction against sheet and image forming apparatus including the same


A weld zone of T-piping and its neighborhood are efficiently laser-heated to remove residual stress. For this purpose, the weld zone of a T-piping (50) is irradiated and heated with a laser beam emitted from a laser head (10) to remove residual stress. At this time, a rotating travel cart (3) travels along a ring rail (2) to adjust the position of the laser head (10) in a θ-direction, a vertical slide (4) slides to adjust the position of the laser head (10) in a Z-direction, a radial slide (5) slides to adjust the position of the laser head (10) in an L-direction, an arcuate piece slide (7) slides along an arcuate piece to adjust the α-direction of the laser head (10), a laser head support portion (9) turns to adjust the β-direction of the laser head (10), and oscillation adjusts the position of the laser head (10) in a γ-direction.

When piping is installed in a large plant such as a nuclear power plant, residual stress of tension generated in the inner peripheral surface of the piping poses a problem. When pipings are connected by welding, for example, residual stress occurs in the weld zone of the pipings, and stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) is caused to the piping by the residual stress, potentially shortening the life of the piping. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the residual stress generated in the piping by welding or the like.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150178 (Patent Document 1) discloses an apparatus for improving residual stress of piping, which is designed to reduce residual stress in the vicinity of a weld zone of piping by heating. This apparatus, which is publicly known, is equipped with an arc generating ring located on the outer periphery of piping, and a first ring coil and a second ring coil arranged on the outer periphery of the piping above and below the arc generating coil, respectively. When a magnetic field is generated by the ring coils, an arc occurs between the arc generating ring and the piping to heat the piping. Since the piping is heated, the residual stress of the piping is reduced.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1996-19881 (Patent Document 2) discloses a technique for surface machining the inner surface of piping by irradiating the inner surface of the piping with laser light. According to this technique, which is publicly known, laser light is guided into the piping by an optical fiber, whereafter the laser light is delivered from the optical fiber, and directed at the inner surface of the piping.
A method of stress removal by high frequency heating is widely known. However, the method using high frequency heating has the problems that it involves a large-scale apparatus, supply power for a high frequency wave is very great, and the interior of target piping needs to be cooled.
One of requirements of an apparatus for improving the residual stress of piping, which is used for removing residual stress, is to be able to heat a wide range of the surface of the piping uniformly. The ability to heat a wide range of the surface of the piping is important for increasing a throughput and ensuring residual stress removing performance. The ability to heat the piping uniformly, on the other hand, is important to render residual stress, which remains after heat-treatment, low. Fulfilling this requirement is not easy if the piping has a complicated shape, for example, if the piping is branched, or if a thick-walled pipe is targeted and, particularly, its broad range needs to be heated.
Against such a background, there is a demand for the provision of an apparatus for improving the residual stress of piping, which can uniformly heat a wide range of the surface of piping and, especially, can uniformly heat a wide range of the surface of piping even if the piping has a complicated shape, such as a T-piping.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150178
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1996-19881

Apparatus for improving residual stress of piping technical field


Technologies are generally described for an information system configured to manage parking facility resources. The system can create and apply models and profiles regarding customers, parking space usage, access patterns, events, traffic, and other factors related to the parking facility. Parking facility operators may use the models to seek optimized revenues or profits. Increased revenue for parking facility operators may be supported by allocating resources to longer staying and better paying customers. New opportunities such as reselling, auctions, or options may further improve revenue generation for parking facilities. Customers may interface with the information system for availability queries, interactive reservation, and various other functions that may improve convenience, security, privacy, and service quality for the customers as well as for neighboring businesses and venues. Improved efficiency in parking facility resource consumption may reduce street traffic congestion. Parking security may be improved by adaptive lighting and camera operation.

Parking facilities, such as parking decks and parking lots, can be an important economic resource for the owners and operators of the associated real estate. Parking facilities may also be key allied operations to affiliated or neighboring hotels, hospitals, residential areas, businesses, retail centers, sports venues, event locations, entertainment venues, or other such operations.
For parking customers, full information on the availability and pricing of various parking resources is not readily available. This lack of transparency complicates the market for, and consumption of, parking resources and may result in increased traffic, lost profits, or even avoidance of certain events or locations by consumers. For the managers of parking resources, a lack of detailed information regarding supply, demand, events, traffic, weather, and so on can complicate the establishment of optimal pricing. This can result in further lost profits.


The invention provides a drink machine for preparing and dispensing different hot and cold beverages. It comprises a plurality of beverage powder stock containers, each container being equipped with a feeding worm. Gearing units assigned to each stock container can be selectively coupled via a gearing unit to a common driving motor by actuating an electromagnet to operate the feeding worm of a selected beverage powder stock container. Thus, only one single driving motor is required to selectively operate all driving worms of the stock container. By this design, the feeding worms can easily be operated intermittently such that the overall quality of the prepared beverage is improved.

The present invention refers to a drink machine for selectively preparing and dispensing different hot and/or cold drinks prepared by dissolving a beverage powder in hot and/or cold water. Such a drink machine comprises as the main components a housing, a water-heater or boiler, a pump for feeding the water, a plurality of stock containers adapted to receive a stock of beverage powder, at least one mixing device for mixing the beverage powder with the water, and a control unit for controlling the preparation of the different drinks.
Each of the stock containers comprises feeding means for feeding the beverage powder contained in the stock containers to the mixing device.

Drink machine for selectively preparing and dispensing beverages


A seat load measuring apparatus that includes a seat rail between a seat-load measuring apparatus and a vehicle floor. The apparatus includes a base frame and a base bracket that provide a load support mechanism to support a load heavier than a predetermined load imposed on the vehicle seat.

The present invention relates to a seat-load measuring apparatus mounted under a seat rail for guiding a seat of a vehicle, such as a car, so as to measure the load imposed on the vehicle seat.
As this type of seat-load measuring apparatus, seat-load measuring apparatuses 104 have been proposed which are mounted under seat rails 103 for guiding a vehicle seat 102, on which a person 101 sits, in order to measure the load imposed on the vehicle seat 102, as shown in FIGS. 10(A) to 10(C) (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-258234, hereinafter "Patent Document 1").
In each seat-load measuring apparatus 104, a lower surface of a base 105 that has an upward-pointing angular-U shape in cross section is fixed to a seat mounting section 107 of a vehicle body with seat brackets 106 at the front and rear ends therebetween, and the seat rail 103 and the base 105 are connected by a pin bracket (hereinafter, also referred to as a rail bracket) 108 serving as a connecting bracket that has a downward-pointing angular-U shape in cross section. In this case, the seat rail 103 is firmly connected to the flat upper surface of the pin bracket 108, and a bracket pin (hereinafter, also referred to as a stopper bolt) 109 is passed through pin holes 108a and 108b provided in the left and right side plates of the pin bracket 108 and pin holes 105a and 105b provided in the left and right side plates of the base 105, thereby connecting the seat rail 103 to the base 105.
On the other hand, a seat-load measuring apparatus has been proposed which ensures measuring accuracy without any influence of manufacturing errors of a vehicle floor by placing a seat rail between the seat-load measuring apparatus and the vehicle floor and absorbing the manufacturing errors of the vehicle floor by a clearance formed by a sliding contact in the seat rail (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-116081, hereinafter "Patent Document 2").
The seat-load measuring apparatus 104 disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above is interposed between the seat bracket 106 fixed to the seat mounting section 107 of the vehicle body and the seat rail 103, assembly stress may be produced in the seat-load measuring apparatus 104 by the influence of the upper surface of the seat mounting section 107 of the vehicle body. When the assembly stress is produced in the seat-load measuring apparatus 104, the seat-load measuring apparatus 104 cannot ensure a sufficient measuring accuracy.
In a case in which a heavy load is imposed on the pin bracket 108 that connects the seat rail 103 and the base 105 of the seat-load measuring apparatus 104, for example, in a vehicle collision, the pin bracket 108 must have a sufficient strength to support the heavy load.
However, in the connecting structure for the seat rail 103 and the base 105 of the seat-load measuring apparatus 104 disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, only the bracket pin 109 extends through the pin holes 105a and 105b simply provided in the left and right side plates of the base 105 having an upwardly-pointing angular-U shape in cross section and the pin holes 108a and 108b simply provided in the left and right side plates of the pin bracket 108 having a downwardly-pointing angular-U shape in cross section. Therefore, the pin bracket 108 has a limitation of having a sufficient strength. That is, the pin bracket 108 can be increased to some extent by increasing the dimensions of portions 108c and 108d of the pin bracket 108 where the pin holes 108a and 108b are formed (for example, the thicknesses, and the distances from the pin holes 108a and 108b to the outer peripheral edge of the pin bracket 108). However, in such a case in which the dimensions of the portions of the pin bracket 108 having the pin holes 108a and 108b are simply increased, layout restrictions are increased, and mounting flexibility is reduced.
Although a heavy load, for example, in a vehicle collision can be, of course, supported by the connecting structure using the pin bracket 108 disclosed in the above publication, it is desirable to more reliably support such a heavy load without increasing layout restrictions.
In the seat-load measuring apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above, the seat rail is interposed between the seat-load measuring apparatus and the vehicle floor, and manufacturing errors of the vehicle floor are absorbed by the clearance produced by the sliding contact in the seat rail. This overcomes the problem of an insufficient measuring accuracy in Patent Document 1 described above.
In the seat-load measuring apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, however, an operation hole or the like must be formed in the base member, in a manner similar to that in Patent Document 1 described above, and this decreases the strength of the base member.
Although the base member disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above can support a heavy load produced, for example, in a vehicle collision, it is desirable to more reliably support such a heavy load without increasing layout restrictions.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances.


Disclosed in a laser projector to display an image by projecting a laser beam from a laser light source to a projection screen including an electromagnetic driven scan mirror to scan the laser beam from the laser light source, a detection unit to detect a back EMF which is generated by a drive of the electromagnetic driven scan mirror at a time of start-up of the laser projector, a first determination unit to determine whether a value of the back EMF which is detected by the detection unit exceeded a predetermined threshold or not and a light source control unit to start a lighting of the laser light source when the value of the back EMF is determined as exceeding the predetermined threshold by the determination unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser projector to display an image by scanning light from a laser light source to a projection screen.
2. Description of Related Art
As a laser projector using laser as a light source, there is known a laser projector which displays an image by scanning laser beam from a laser light source on a screen by an electromagnetic driven scan mirror which is made to vibrate back and forth.
The scan mirror has its innate resonance frequency which is determined by the size and the density and hardness of the material, and by driving the scan mirror at the resonance frequency, the scan mirror is made to vibrate in maximum deflection angle and a large image can be displayed at low power.
FIG. 10A shows a relation between deflection angle of a scan mirror and frequency and FIG. 10B shows a relation between deflection angle of a scan mirror and frequency under different environments. As shown in FIG. 10A, for example, there is a need to drive the scan mirror at a frequency within a range of fd2 to fd1 in order to drive the scan mirror in a deflection angle θa or above. However, individual variation in the resonance frequency of the scan mirror according to the product cannot be avoided and it is difficult to make the scan mirror vibrate in a sufficient deflection angle by driving the scan mirror at the optimum frequency from the beginning at the time of start-up of the laser projector. Particularly, the inclination is steep near the resonance point in the waveform of the frequency and the deflection angle fluctuates greatly even when the frequency shifts slightly.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10B, the resonance frequency of each scan mirror is greatly influenced by surrounding temperature environment and the like. Therefore, according to an environment, the scan mirror does not always vibrate in a deflection angle θa or more even when the scan mirror is driven at a frequency within a range of fd2 to fd1. Therefore, driving of the scan mirror at the time of start-up is even more difficult.
When the laser light source is emitted in a state where the deflection angle of the scan mirror is not sufficiently assured at the time of start-up, the laser beam which is reflected by the scan mirror will be emitted so as to concentrate within a narrow range. Particularly, because there is a possibility that a person may be in front of the screen at the time of start-up of the projector, there is a possibility of damaging a human body by the laser beam which has a high energy density.
Thereby, for example, JP2004-333698 discloses a projector comprising a light scan detection unit to detect whether the galvanometer mirror is carrying out the scanning operation normally or whether the galvanometer mirror is not carrying out the scanning operation normally. In such projector, a method in which the generation of laser beam can be surely blocked to improve the safety by blocking the power supply to the laser light source when it is detected by the light scan detection unit that the galvanometer mirror is not carrying out the scanning operation normally is applied.
However, JP2004-333698 is a technique to block the generation of the laser beam to the laser light source every time when it is detected that the galvanometer mirror is not carrying out the operation normally while the projector is being used, and this does not solve the problem specific to the start-up of the above described laser projector. Namely, that problem is the possibility of having high energy density light, which is due to the emitted laser beam being concentrated within a narrow range at the time of start-up of the projector due to the scan mirror not vibrating in a sufficient deflection angle, impinging upon a human body.


A method for accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone and the associated DTMF signals is disclosed. The preferred embodiment provides a system that converts the information content of a web page from text to speech (voice signals), signals the hyperlink selections of a web page in an audio manner, and allows selection of the hyperlinks through the use of DTMF signals generated from a telephone keypad. Upon receiving a DTMF signal corresponding to a hyperlink, the corresponding web page is fetched and again delivered to the user via one of the available delivery methods such as voice, fax-on-demand, electronic mail, or regular mail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for retrieving information from an interconnected network and for accessing and delivering the retrieved information to a user, and, more particularly, a method for accessing and retrieving information from an interconnected network such as the internet via a telephone in response to the user's request and for delivering the information via voice, fax-on-demand, e-mail, and other means to the user.
2. Background Art
Under the conventional method of accessing information on an interconnected network such as the internet, the user is required to have a certain amount of computer software and hardware and is expected to have a certain level of computer expertise before the user can successfully access (or browse) a wide range of information now available on the internet. If the user does not have the necessary hardware and the appropriate software to direct the computer to establish a connection to the internet via a modem or a direct connection to the internet, the user would then have no other means available to him or her for accessing the internet.
Given the amount of information now readily available on the internet, having the ability to access the internet becomes a matter of convenience as well as a matter of having access to an invaluable information source.
Additionally, from a company or an organization point of view, it is advantageous to direct customers to a centralized information database and thereby necessitating the maintenance of only one database rather than multiple databases.
The software and hardware requirement for accessing the internet creates a barrier for most people to take advantages of this information source. Prior art systems overcome this problem by providing a telephone fax-on-demand system where a user uses a telephone to dial into a company's web page and directs the system to fax the web page back to the user. However, the manner in operating this type of system is tedious and time consuming. In order for the user to access a hyperlink on the web page, the first web page needs to be faxed back to the user with the hyperlinks numerically annotated for reference. The user then calls a second time (or waits for the first fax page to arrive on another line) to access subsequent web pages numerically using the now numbered hyperlinks.
It is thus clear that a better system is needed to access and browse the internet in an inexpensive and efficient manner.

Method and apparatus for telephonically accessing and navigating the internet


In at least one embodiment, a method for execution on a portable fitness device of providing information about a first user engaged in a physical activity with the portable fitness device includes determining user performance data while the first user is engaged in the physical activity and determining whether or not to transmit the user performance data to a remotely located server computer system via a wide-area wireless network while the first user is engaged in the physical activity, wherein the determination of whether or not to transmit the user performance data is based on an indication of whether or not a remotely located second user is currently monitoring the first user.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to location-aware electronic devices, and in particular, to apparatus, methods, and program products facilitating the routing, scheduling, and real-time monitoring of outdoor activities, such as human fitness activities.
2. Description of the Related Art
As Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has matured, location-aware electronics have been integrated into a number of different mobile platforms, such as automobiles, mobile telephones, two-way radios, and hand-held GPS receivers, in order to provide location-based information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,007 to Root et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses that a GPS receiver may additionally be implemented within an athlete's portable performance monitor to enable the performance monitor to record and to present the athlete with accurate performance information, such as distance traveled and pace.

Methods and computer program products for providing information about a user during a physical activity


Recently, a smart antenna, i.e., a blind adaptive antenna array, has attracted much attention to suppress multiple access interference (MAI) and multipath signals to improve the capacity of a code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless communications system. Most of the smart antenna algorithms either need matrix computation or complex calculations. In this invented direction-of-arrival (DOA) tracking algorithm only 2M complex multiplications are required per snapshot. Further more the DOA tracking algorithm is not sensitive to the mixer phase distortions. Hence the system complexity is reduced since a separate phase calibration is not required for the DOA tracking algorithm. Also the equivalent DOA tracking error due to the mixer phase distortions is derived. Simulation results show that the DOA tracking algorithm in the present invention works effectively under additive white Gaussian (AWGN) as well as Rayleigh fading environments. Also the system employing the invented smart antenna has the same bit error rate (BER) performance as those of other existing smart antennas, however, has less computation burdens and complexity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless telecommunications in general and more particularly to a method and system for determining a direction of arrival angle with a smart antenna in a wireless telecommunications system.
2. Related Art
A smart antenna, such as a blind adaptive antenna array, is a method and system used to enhance a desired user signal, to suppress multiple access interfering signals, and in general to improve the performance of a wireless communications system, including CDMA systems such as third generation (3G) wireless communication systems, particularly those specified in the wide band CDMA (W-CDMA) or the CDMA2000 standards. In such systems, smart antenna technology may optionally be employed at a base station. A smart antenna can suppress interfering signals of different DOAs (Directions of Arrival) by using spatial diversity. Smart antenna technologies attract much attention these days as they support more users with a high quality of service and high data rates. Efficient smart antenna schemes have appeared recently. It is desirable that a smart antenna be effectively easy to implement.
The DOA tracking capability, convergence, and computation complexity are very important issues in the design of the smart antennas. Conventional methods for determining the direction of arrival of an incoming signal in a smart antenna system require matrix computation or complex computation, which are the costly parts of the smart antenna tracking algorithms. Specifically, known algorithms attempt to calculate the weight vectors directly by minimizing or maximizing some cost criteria such as SINR (signal to interference+noise ratio), BER (bit error rate) or MSE (mean square error). These methods require determining a separate weight vector for each antenna element; e.g., if there are six antenna elements, six unknown variables must be determined. Another drawback associated with known methods is that practical embodiments of these methods require calibration of mixer phase distortions.
The aforementioned needs are addressed to a great extent by the present invention, which provides a method and system for performing an initial DOA estimate and fine-tuning the estimate and for tracking the DOA when there is relative motion between the transmitter and receiver. The present invention utilizes the notion that the maximum antenna gain can be achieved when the weight vector for the antenna array is matched to the array response vector. In highly preferred embodiments, rather than attempting to calculate the weight vectors directly as is done in conventional algorithms, the present invention estimates a DOA angle and calculates the weight vectors as a function of the estimated DOA angle. The estimated DOA angle is then adaptively updated to optimize correlation output, e.g., to achieve the maximum output power or maximum signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) for the desired user. This method may be used during both the initial search for the DOA, in which a coarse adjustment is made to the estimated DOA angle, and for tracking the DOA as relative movement between the transmitter and the receiver occurs, in which a fine adjustment is made. The proposed algorithm of the present invention is not sensitive to mixer phase distortions. Thus, a separate phase calibration is not required in the system. The proposed algorithm also has lower computational burdens, as compared to conventional algorithms, for calculating weight vectors for smart antenna arrays, thereby lowering the complexity and cost of a system.

Direction of arrival angle tracking algorithm for smart antennas


The present invention relates to a child resistant closure for a bottle or container. More specifically, the present invention relates to improved two-cap structure assemblies.

It is well recognized that there is potential hazard, particularly for young children, if they are able to remove the closure cap from a bottle or container which may contain medicine or a toxic material or the like. Child resistant packaging or CR packaging is special packaging used to reduce the risk of children ingesting dangerous items. This is often accomplished by the use of a special safety cap. It is required by regulation for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medication, pesticides, and household chemicals.
Recently, there has been a desire to create child resistant safety caps for other consumer products such as eye drops. These products are often sold in small packages. Eye drops, for example, are often sold in containers as small as 5 to 20 milliliters. The packages often have eye droppers attached to their open end for dosing the container contents.
Child resistant safety caps often comprise a two-cap structure or closure. The "two-cap" structure being a structure or closure having an inner closure cap and a separate, non-interconnected, non-integral outer cap, the caps rotatable with respect to each other and both having interengaging components so that rotation of the outer cap in a clockwise direction will simultaneously and in unison rotate the inner cap to readily secure the inner cap to the neck of a bottle or container. The inner cap, however cannot be unthreaded or disengaged from the neck of the bottle or container unless an axial or a radial manual pressure is applied against the outer cap to produce an interengagement between the engaging means on the inner and outer caps so that they operate in unison when rotated counter-clockwise to thereby disengage the inner cap from the container. When an axial pressure is applied against the outer cap to produce the interengagement, the cap is known as a push-and-turn child resistant closure. When a radial pressure is applied against the outer cap to produce the interengagement, the cap is known as a squeeze-and-turn child resistant closure.
These two-cap structures are typically large in size when compared to those used for small containers such as dropper containers (e.g., eye or ear drop containers). Because of this typically "larger" size, mechanistic deficiencies in the two-cap structures may be less noticeable than in smaller two-cap structures. Therefore, there is a need for child resistant safety caps improving the mechanical interaction of the two-cap structures whether large in size or smaller in size—such as for dropper containers.


A funnel (22) includes a liner (28) connected to a support structure (26). The funnel (22) is connected to a base (24) positioned within a trash bag (78) having an opening disposed around the support structure (26) at a discharge opening of the funnel (26). The liner (22) is detachable from the support structure (26) which is compressed for storage after being detached from the base (24). The liner (22) and base (24) are connected to the support structure (26) for storage. The components are packaged as a kit with adhesive so a purchaser can assemble the components.

The present invention relates generally to a bag support assembly for supporting and filling a trash bag.
With the increasing need to be prudent from an ecological standpoint, trash including garden and lawn waste, such as grass clippings and leaves are collected in an ever increasing systematic fashion. Some governmental bodies, such as cities and municipalities, require that certain classes of trash, such as refuse or garden waste, be handled in a prescribed manner. For example, the collection, packaging and pick up of grass clippings and leaves separate from other household garbage is increasingly required.
Furthermore, in addition to common flexible plastic trash bags, the use of specific or authorized bags of a predetermined construction and size is frequently required. The bags may also be distributed by or on behalf of the city or municipality. One typical bag in use is of paper composition and has a 12 inch by 16 inch opening and is 36 inches in height. While a bag having these dimensions may be convenient for curbside pickup, it is not convenient for the homeowner attempting to fill it up in the yard of his or her home.
Attempts have been made to deal with the lack of rigidity associated with the plastic and paper trash bags and the difficulty in filling a trash bag with a small opening. The known attempts to provide a assembly to support a trash bag and channel trash into the opening of the bag, especially when the bag opening is small, have been cumbersome to market and ultimately use and store for the homeowner. Some assemblies do not provide a funnel or other devices to adequately direct the trash into the bag. While other assemblies include support structures which are inconveniently configured at the exterior of the bag and surrounding the bag.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least minimizing some of the problems mentioned above.


Disclosed herein are devices, methods and systems for ex-situ component recovery. The ex-situ recovery can be performed by desorbing or outgassing components of a processing system in a recovery system, rather than in the processing system itself. The recovery system can include a docking station and/or a heated vacuum chamber. The heated vacuum chamber can be used to desorb or outgas components that will be located inside the processing system, while the docking station can be used to desorb or outgas components that will be connected to the processing system. The processing system components can be placed under pressure by the recovery system to desorb or outgas contaminants and remove virtual leaks. The recovery system pressure can include a vacuum roughing pump, a turbomolecular pump, and/or a cryogenic pump to apply a pressure necessary to desorb or outgas the components.

This specification relates to ex-situ component recovery.
Semiconductors are manufactured in highly controlled environments. Contaminants that are not controlled or isolated can potentially reduce the yield of a semiconductor manufacturing process. Similarly, contaminants can lead to failures in processing equipment (e.g., reactors) used to manufacture semiconductors. Contaminants (e.g., water, oxygen, atmosphere, etc.) can be introduced to the processing equipment from the atmosphere surrounding the processing equipment. Contaminants can also be introduced to the processing equipment as a byproduct of the processing itself. These contaminants can accumulate on the components of the processing equipment, for example, through absorption, adsorption, or deposition. The accumulation of contaminants on the components of the processing equipment can interfere with normal operation of the processing equipment and, in turn, result in lower quality semiconductors.
Processes can be implemented to reduce the contaminants that are present in or on the components of the processing equipment in which semiconductor devices are manufactured. For example, the components of the processing equipment can be maintained by cleaning, replacing, or otherwise troubleshooting problems (e.g., identifying leaks) of the components of the processing equipment. Before the processing equipment is placed back in service, the components can be recovered (e.g., restored to operational condition) through desorption or outgassing to remove contaminants. The components can be outgassed, for example, in-situ (e.g., in the processing equipment). However, while the contaminants are being desorbed or outgassed from the components in-situ, the processing equipment is unavailable for manufacturing.


To cause a door from being forced open or broken to gain access, a safety door comprises a central actuator and a plurality of bars radially extending at spaced apart locations from said central actuator sufficient in number and spacing to reinforce substantially the entire door. The central actuator is pivotally mounted within the door and each of the plurality of bars has one of its ends pivotally mounted to the actuator to cause the bars to be retracted or extended by rotation of the actuator. There are at least four bars with at least one bar extending in each of the four sides of the door framework.

This invention relates to safety doors and more particularly to doors that resist forced entry from outside such as for example by forcing a deadbolt that is holding the door to the doorway frame to release or forcing the hinges from the door or doorway frame.
It is known to utilize multiple spaced apart deadbolts that resist forcible entry. This prior art technique has several disadvantages, such as for example: (1) the deadbolts only protrude a short distance into the frame of the door and thus can be forced free; (2) it is time consuming and inconvenient to individually move the deadbolts into place; and (3) the hinges can be forced out of the frame or the center of the door can be broken into such as by an axe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,763 discloses a central actuator that moves a plurality of deadbolts into place at spaced apart locations around the periphery of the door through individual linkages, thus reducing the inconvenience of moving individual deadbolts into place one at a time. However, the lock disclosed in this patent relies upon linkages near the deadbolts at the periphery of the door that activate the three individual deadbolts and the deadbolts have only a short length within the door. It has several disadvantages, such as: (1) there are no deadbolts on the hinge side of the door so there are only a few short screws holding this side of the door in place against an impact that may pull the screws holding the hinges free; and (2) each of the linkage mechanisms includes three pivot points from the central actuator and provides little support for the door itself. Thus, in the case of some doors, an axe may be used to break the door itself.
It is known to use bars mountable on the inside of the door and held at several locations so that they extend across the door. While these bars provide overall strength, it is time consuming to put them in place and remove them when locking or unlocking the door. Moreover, they are unsightly.


This invention presents a foldable cot. The foldable cot includes a foldable frame and a flexible sheet having a generally rectangular shape. The peripheral portions of the flexible sheet are secured to the foldable frame. The foldable frame has two-pairs of hingedly connected longitudinal bars, which allows the foldable frame to be folded in a longitudinal direction. A middle support structure is mounted to the hinge connectors. The middle support structure includes a pair of crossbars having a general X-shape. Upper ends of the crossbars are pivotably connected to the hinge connectors. There is provided a pair of vertical poles connecting the upper ends and lower ends of the crossbars, respectively. The vertical poles are extendible between a retracted position and an extended position, which allows the X-shaped crossbars to have a scissors-like motion so that the foldable frame can be folded in a transverse direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cots, and more particularly to a foldable cot.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable beds or cots have been used for many years. Such cots are widely used in conjunction with out door activities such as mountain climbing, fishing, boating, hunting, camping, flying, and the like. Foldable cots of existing types are not as satisfactory as could be desired. Such cots can also be used as an extra bed for home use.
A typical foldable cot includes a body-supporting sheet and a frame. Some of existing cots can be folded by dissembling the frame. Others utilize foldable frames. However, foldable cots of existing types are not as satisfactory as could be desired.

Active Lifestyle & Products & Services, Inc.


The invention relates to a mechanism that can be integrated with silicon facial prostheses used to recapitulate a natural facial appearance through biomimetic actuation. The prosthetic eye comprises a servo motor, microcontroller, battery, rotational shaft, and customized stainless steel tarsus. The tarsus mimics the natural eyelid and reinforces the silicon lid for rotational blink motion. A stainless steel clip holds the device together and polyurethane foam encases the device to allow proper fitting in the orbital cavity. The present invention fits within a model orbital cavity and the generated blink motion is tunable to match the position profile of an in vivo blink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to the field of prosthetic devices. More specifically, the invention relates to a prosthetic eye with a natural blink. Even more specifically, the present disclosure relates to a mechanism integrable into a prosthetic eye that effectuates a normal blink which provides a normal facial appearance for people with facial defects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Facial defects can be caused by congenital anomalies, trauma, or cancer. One possible facial defect is the loss of an eyelid or entire eye socket. The treatment is an orbital exenteration, a procedure where the eyelids and all orbital contents are removed. Eleven thousand people in the U.S. require an orbital exenteration every year. (P. Lee, Wang, C. C., & Adamis, A. P., "Ocular neovascularization: An epidemiological review," Survey of Ophthalmology, vol. 43, pp. 245-269, 1998.)
An orbital prosthesis can be created to protect sensitive skin against outside stimuli and to prevent an individual from being perceived as abnormal. While current orbital prostheses are able to replace absent facial anatomies with artificial eyes and eyelids, they are immobile and thus not truly lifelike. For patients who have already suffered the severe loss of facial anatomy and have undergone an orbital exenteration, many are also impacted psychologically when they are perceived as abnormal.
Orbital prostheses consisting of silicon eyelids and acrylic eyes are used to aesthetically cover a defect in the soft tissue of the orbit. These orbital prostheses are composed of medical grade silicone and methacrylates. Acrylic is implemented in the eyeball portion of the prosthetic and silicone is implemented in the area surrounding the eyeball (lids, brow) to mimic the appearance of the native facial tissue. Silicones are soft and flexible, maintain body temperature, and can be stretched to transparency. Furthermore, fine skin features such as hair and folds are easily introduced, making silicone the ideal material. The prosthetic anchorage can then be achieved through the use of adhesives.
Although these prostheses are the current gold standard in protecting sensitive skin against outside stimuli while mimicking the appearance of the healthy eye, they are immobile and at best create an appearance of facial paralysis. Facial paralysis and other forms of facial disfigurement attract attention and can lead to greater levels of anxiety, depression, maladaptive behavior, and reduced emotional well-being [1]. (Fu L, Bundy C, Sadiq S A. "Psychological distress in people with disfigurement from facial palsy," Eye (Lond). 2011; 25:1322-1326.) Orbital prosthesis that are static are not successful in fully overcoming the appearance of abnormality and reducing the associated psychological distress.
Although these types of orbital prosthesis appear lifelike, they do not have a blinking capability. Thus, individuals using the prosthesis can be perceived as abnormal as they are unable to blink with their orbital prosthesis. Because the orbital prosthesis does not blink, patients become prone to daily psychological trauma in addition to suffering from a loss of facial function. Thus, in order to improve a patient's quality of life, a prosthetic eye with a natural blink is needed to remove the perception of abnormality.
In addition, an orbital prosthesis with a blink tempo that can be controlled is needed to allow future synchronization with the contralateral eye. Further, the device should be easily integrated with current prosthesis designs during fabrication, should fit inside the orbital cavity, and should be non-invasive and safe for patient use. This will allow the patient to continue with their daily routine that they already follow with a standard prosthesis.
Finally, the improved device should be convenient for an ocularists to modify for different sized orbits so that the components in the device that depend on patient size can be fabricated and shaped to any given patient.

Blink actuation mechanism for a prosthetic eye


A synthesis reaction system is provided with: a reactor which synthesizes a hydrocarbon compound by a chemical reaction of a synthesis gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide as main components, and a slurry having solid catalyst particles suspended in liquid; a separator which separates the hydrocarbon compound from the slurry; and a filtering device which filters the hydrocarbon compound extracted from the separator to trap powdered catalyst particles.

As synthesis reaction systems which synthesize hydrocarbon compounds by a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction (hereinafter referred to as "FT synthesis reaction") by using a synthesis gas mainly composed of carbon monoxide (CO) gas and hydrogen gas (H2) as a raw material gas, for example, like the PATENT DOCUMENT 1, there is a bubble column type slurry bed FT reaction system which carries out the FT synthesis reaction by introducing the synthesis gas into a slurry in which solid catalyst particles are suspended in liquid hydrocarbons. Further, a hydrocarbon compound synthesized by the FT synthesis reaction is mainly utilized as a raw material for liquid fuel products such as naphtha (raw gasoline), kerosene, and gas oil.
Further, as this bubble column type slurry bed FT reaction system, for example, there is a so-called external circulation type FT reaction system including a reactor main body which accommodates a slurry, and a gas supply section which introduces synthesis gas into the bottom of the reactor main body, and an external circulation section which makes the slurry including a hydrocarbon compound synthesized within the reactor main body flow out of the reactor main body, and makes the slurry flow into the reactor main body again via a separator which separates the hydrocarbon compound from the slurry.
However, the particle diameter of the catalyst particles included in the slurry may become gradually small due to friction between catalyst particles, the friction with an inner wall of the reactor main body, or the like, and any thermal damage by the FT synthesis reaction, that is, the catalyst particles are powdered gradually. As such, since the powdered catalyst particles (hereinafter referred to as powdered particles) are apparently smaller than normal catalyst particles which are not powdered, the powdered particles may flow into next section (upgrading section) of producing liquid fuel products along with the hydrocarbon compound which are separated while not being trapped in the separator. When the powdered particles flow into the upgrading section of liquid fuel products, there is a probability that deterioration of a catalyst to be used in the step or deterioration of the liquid fuel products may be caused.
[PATENT DOCUMENT 1] Specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0014703

Synthesis reaction system for hydrocarbon compound, and method of removing powdered catalyst particles

JAPAN OIL, GAS AND METALS NATIONAL CORPORATION


An electrode driving apparatus includes first through third electrode patterns 21–23 arranged in a quadrilateral region 20, first through third wiring patterns 31–33, and first through third terminals 41–43. With the third wiring pattern 33 being defined as a boundary, the first terminal 41 is disposed on the side of the first wiring pattern 31, and the second terminal 42 is disposed on the side of the second wiring pattern 32. The third terminal 43 is disposed between the first terminal 41 and the second terminal 32.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrode driving apparatuses and electronic equipment.
2. Background Technology
In an active matrix type liquid crystal display apparatus, signal electrodes and scanning electrodes are formed in matrix on a first substrate, and opposing electrodes are formed on a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate. Also, wirings for supplying signals to the signal electrodes and the scanning electrodes are formed on the first substrate, and wirings for supplying signals to the opposing electrodes are also formed on the first substrate. In the past, there are occasions where the wirings cross one another, and in such a case, an appropriate measure such as the use of a multiple-layered substrate or the like is required. Such a problem occurs not only in the liquid crystal display apparatus, but also when multiple wires are routed.
The present invention is provided to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide electrode driving apparatuses and electronic equipment that are capable of disposing multiple wirings without crossing one another.

Electrode driving apparatus and electronic equipment