A hierarchical security model for networked computer users is described. Files and resources are controlled or created by users within the network. Each user within the network has an account that is managed by a network administrator. The account specifies the user identifier and password. Users are grouped into organizations depending upon function or other organizational parameter. The groups within the network are organized hierarchically in terms of access and control privileges. Users within a higher level group may exercise access and control privileges over files or resources owned by users in a lower level group. The account for each user further specifies the group that the owner belongs to and an identifier for any higher level groups that have access privileges over the user's group. All users within a group inherit the rights and restrictions of the group.

The present invention relates generally to computer networks and enterprise organization, and more specifically, to a system for organizing users within an enterprise based on hierarchical relationships to control data integrity and access to shared network resources.
In most types of enterprises or organizations, the powers, privileges, and lines of communication of the members are dictated by their roles, functions, and seniority within 20 the organization. In complex organizations with several different member groups and hierarchical structures, grants of authority, communication among members and access to enterprise data and other resources must be carefully controlled in order to maintain security within the organization and the integrity of the shared resources.
Most modem enterprises and organizations use some sort of computer network to conduct their activity or business. Typically, each user or group of users will have access to a computer that is coupled to one or more other computers within the organization or outside resources used or served by the organization. Most computer operating systems allow users to be organized in some sort of grouping structure within the organization. However the hierarchical structures that can be defined are often very limited and typically do not allow for flexible and secure use of resources within the organization.
FIG. 1 illustrates the organization of computer users in a present known operating system that exemplifies a flat organizational structure in which a number of networked computer users 104 denoted U1, U2, to UN, are represented in terms of their logical relationships to one another. Each user typically operates a computer or workstation and has access and controls over certain resources, such as files and devices (printers, monitors, computer-controlled machines, data communication devices, and so on). The users are controlled or managed by an administrator or "root" user 102. The users 104 may be organized into groups, such as group 1 and group 2. Some users may belong to more than one group or to no group at all. The organization of users into groups allows the administrator to efficiently define restrictions or privileges of the users depending on group definitions.
For the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, access and communication among users is strictly limited by the one-dimensional hierarchy established by the system. Only the administrator 102 has full access to the resources owned or controlled by each user, and no one user has access to the resources or files of any other user. This structure limits the flow of data and access to resources due to the fact ownership of files and resources is strictly defined. The security system in such a network typically comprises defining a user identifier (user name or "userID") and password for each user. A group affiliation may also be specified. Such a system may provide limited security for files and resources controlled by a specific user, but it does not allow for efficient sharing of resources among other users without compromising the security of the data or resources.
What is needed therefore, is an organizational model for networked computer users that allows for multiple ownership of system files and resources while maintaining rigid security rules over the users. Such a model is especially useful in industries in which a common body of data is operated on by a number of different users, such as networked financial enterprises, and more specifically, the mortgage loan industry. This industry requires the interfacing of various different parties including borrowers, banks, brokers, and third party service providers. Throughout the loan submission and approval process, a core set of data, the borrower's loan application data, is examined and manipulated by various different people, with each one performing a different task. The advent of on-line services, and especially web-based systems, has led to the development of sophisticated programs, referred to as Loan Origination Software (LOS) systems, which are used by loan brokers to automate the loan application process and fulfillment process.
In a traditional loan application scenario, a borrower may use a loan broker to find a loan. The broker takes the application information from the borrower and compiles the customary loan application papers. The loan origination process typically involves many different processing steps that are very detailed and data-specific, including pre-qualifying the borrower, generating loan documents, finding a lender, originating the loan, generating disclosure documents and reports, processing the loan and tracking the loan application through the final stages of underwriting and fulfillment. Various different people within the loan brokerage can be involved in each loan application, such as the loan officer who finds the appropriate loan for the borrower, the loan processor who coordinates the construction and finalization of the loan documents, and the manager who oversees the brokerage business. These parties closely interact with each other over the course of a loan application process. Each party also interacts with various outside parties, such as banks, financial institutions, underwriters, government sponsored entities, and various third party service providers and settlement service vendors.
Although present LOS systems allow brokers to automate certain processes, such as producing and populating loan forms, and keeping track of an applicant's financial information, typical loan origination software systems do not provide a comprehensive interface and access to system resources among loan officers and the other parties involved in the loan origination process, such as the loan processor and brokerage manager. Entities within the mortgage loan industry may be organized in terms of headquarters, branch offices, and individual users like brokers, loan officers, and processors. An executive in a company may want to review and manage the overall operation and loan processing status from the corporate point of view. Likewise, a broker in a branch office may want to review and manage the operation and processing status for the branch. Each of these users needs access to files and data that are controlled by other members of the organization.
What is further needed, therefore, is an organizational model that implements a hierarchical security system that allows for multiple ownership and access to files in a loan origination software system.

Enterprise security management system using hierarchical organization and multiple ownership structure


Systems and methods for dewatering mine tailings. The systems and methods include distributing a slurry of high permeability material on a sloped surface to define a high permeability layer and subsequently distributing a slurry of low permeability mine tailings on the high permeability layer to define a low permeability layer that is vertically above and in contact with the high permeability layer. The sloped surface defines a non-zero surface grade, and natural slopes of both the slurry of high permeability material and the slurry of low permeability mine tailings are within a threshold grade difference of the surface grade. In some embodiments, the systems and methods may include augmenting the slurry of high permeability material and/or augmenting the slurry of low permeability mine tailings to adjust the natural slope thereof.

Mining operations, including mining operations that remove bitumen from oil sands, generate a waste stream that may be referred to generally as mine tailings. These mine tailings often may include a significant quantity of water and may be stored in a storage facility, or structure, such as an enclosure, or pond. Over time, particles within the stored mine tailings may settle, producing a relatively stable suspension of the particles in the water that may have a solids content of approximately 30 wt %. This suspension may be referred to herein as mature fine tailings (MFT) and has a very low shear strength. Thus, the MFT cannot be built upon and vegetation often may not grow thereon.
Because of the long dewatering time for the MFT and the high rate at which mine tailings may be generated, large volumes of mine tailings have been, and continue to be, generated in various parts of the world. Environmental concerns, space constraints, and/or government regulations may dictate that these mine tailings be processed to a more stable form, thereby permitting reclamation of the storage facility, revegetation of the mine tailings, and/or beneficial use of the storage facility. As an illustrative, non-exclusive example, Canadian Directive 74 requires that stored mine tailings be processed such that they have a shear strength of at least 5 kilopascals (kPa) within one year of storage and a shear strength of at least 10 kPa within 5 years of storage. Meeting this directive, for example, may require dewatering of the stored mine tailings at a rate that is significantly higher than the dewatering rates that are experienced when the mine tailings are simply placed in the storage facility and allowed to dewater naturally.
Several technologies have been developed that may increase the dewatering rate of the stored mine tailings; however, these technologies often are costly to implement, require large amounts of space, and/or are ineffective at reaching a target shear strength within a desired period of time, such as to keep up with the rate at which additional mine tailings are being generated. As an illustrative, non-exclusive example, mine tailings may be flocculated to increase a solids content thereof and then spread in very thin layers to permit additional dewatering. However, the allowable thickness of the layers, the large volumes of mine tailings that may be generated, and the time needed to dewater each layer dictate that these sloped beaches must cover very large areas, thereby creating additional space constraints and/or environmental impacts. Thus, there exists a need for improved systems and methods for dewatering mine tailings.


A liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided with a source of backlighting which augments reflected incident light to provide increased contrast. A liquid crystal cell which does not contain dye, but becomes clear when a field is applied, is sandwiched in back of a liquid crystal cell with a dye and electrically connected so that when the front liquid crystal cell is turned ON to make selected portions of it transparent, the back liquid crystal cell is OFF so that corresponding portions of it are highly reflecting. No voltage is allowed to be applied across nonselected portions of the front liquid crystal and a voltage is applied across corresponding nonselected portions of the back liquid crystal making the nonselected portions of the back liquid crystal clear, producing a display of high contrast. Sandwiched to the rear of the back liquid crystal cell is a clear plastic wedge which is edge lighted. The edge lighted wedge only appears bright in the areas where the voltage on the back liquid crystal cell is OFF or not applied thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to liquid crystal display panels and, more particularly, to backlighting of nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) liquid crystal display panels to improve contrast of the display which is particularly suited for automotive applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are commonly used for a variety of applications ranging from personal televisions and computer displays to automotive applications. One of the principal reasons for the popularity of LCDs is their small size and low power consumption. On the other hand, the contrast of the display is limited and the angle at which the display must be viewed is critical for many LCDs which is a hindrance especially for automotive applications. Many LCD panels are dependent on front lighting in order to achieve significant contrast between the portion of the display that is ON and the portion that is OFF. The LCD material provides about 70% transmission in the ON state and 30% transmission when in the OFF state. This ratio (about 2.3) is not adequate for most purposes. A way the contrast is made useful is to cause the light to travel twice through the LCD by illuminating it from the front and reflecting the light back through the LCD to be viewed from the front. In this way 0.7 squared, or 0.49, is obtained when the panel is ON and 0.3 squared, or 0.09, is obtained when OFF for a ratio of 5.4, which is adequate. If slightly lower ON transmission is satisfactory, the ratio can be increased markedly. Using a translucent reflector in back of the LCD makes it possible to back light the panel but does not give sufficient contrast since the light only travels once through the LCD. Thus, backlighting of these single panel displays has been unsatisfactory.
An approach used in the prior art to address the problem of contrast in liquid crystal displays under a variety of lighting conditions is to provide a dual panel display with two modes of operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,834 to Cascini discloses a contrast enhanced LCD comprising two substantially identical LCDs with a transflector disposed in between such that light entering from the viewing surface of the first LCD is attenuated twice by the dark areas of the first LCD, and light entering from the rear of the second LCD is also attenuated twice, once by the rear LCD and once more by the front LCD. An electroluminescent panel is used as a backlight source when the display is used in a transmissive mode under poor ambient light conditions.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,687 to Haim et al discloses a cascaded, dual cell transflective LCD which comprises a pair of LCDs spaced from one another and having a transreflective element therebetween. A backlight source is positioned behind the second LCD and energized when the cascaded dual LCD is operated in its transmissive mode. In its reflective mode, ambient light passes through the front LCD and is reflected by the transreflective element to pass through the LCD to the viewer. Thus, the degree of contrast ratio in the reflective mode is determined by the degree of light absorption as the light passes through the unenergized background portions of the LCD twice. In the transmissive mode, light from the backlight source passes through the two LCDs, thereby providing the same contrast ratio as in the reflective mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,560 to Wiley discloses a double layer LCD which comprises first and second LCDs spaced from one another and a transflector disposed therebetween. The two LCDs comprise a liquid crystal material containing a dye that conforms to the structure of the liquid crystal material and a containment medium for inducing distorted alignment of the liquid crystal material which, in response to such alignment, scatters and absorbs light. A backlight source is placed on the nonviewing side of the second LCD. The Wiley display also has two modes of operation. At night, the display acts as a totally transmissive display wherein the contrast and brightness of the display are determined by the product of the performance of the two LCDs. In bright sun, the backlight source is turned OFF and the contrast ratio and brightness of the display are products of the double pass of incident light through only the front LCD.

Backlighting of nematic curvilinear aligned phase liquid crystal display panels


A camera lens module according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to include an optical image stabilizing carrier for accommodating a lens barrel; an autofocus carrier for mounting the optical image stabilizing carrier; a rolling unit for supporting a plane motion orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical image stabilizing carrier with respect to the autofocus carrier; a base for accommodating the autofocus carrier which mounts the optical image stabilizing carrier to advance and retreat the autofocus carrier in an optical axis direction; an optical image stabilizer driving unit; and an autofocus driving unit.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera lens module mounted on a portable mobile device, and more specifically, to a camera lens module equipped with an optical image stabilizer and an autofocus.
Background of the Related Art
A portable terminal such as a latest smart phone (hereinafter, referred to as a 'mobile') becomes multi-convergence as music, movies, a TV receiver, games and the like, as well as a simple telephone function, are mounted along with advancement of its technology, and one of factors leading to development of the multi-convergence is a camera lens module.
The camera lens module mounted on the mobile is changed to a structure equipped with a variety of additional functions such as an autofocus (AF), an optical zoom and the like to catch up with recent changes focusing on high pixel and high functionality in response to user requirements. Particularly, attempts of implementing an optical image stabilizer in a mobile size are progressed from various aspects recently.
An optical image stabilizer technique is a technique of maintaining optimum resolution of a photographed image by automatically controlling the focus of a correcting lens configuring a camera module to move in a direction corresponding to a hand tremor. An optical image stabilizing actuator for adjusting the focus is mounted on the camera module applied to a mobile, a camcorder or the like to implement the optical image stabilizer technique.
An optical image stabilizing actuator of a Voice Coil Motor (VCM) type using the interaction between a magnetic field and an electric field is well known. The VCM type actuator generally includes a magnetic circuit configured of a coil and a magnetic material arranged to face each other and performs a correction corresponding to a tremor through plane movement of a mover having a lens installed therein with respect to a stator by using an electromagnetic force generated by the magnetic circuit.
Generally, a method of applying two pairs of magnetic circuits facing in two axis directions, i.e., four magnetic circuits in total, is employed so that the correction may be performed by moving the mover in the X and Y two axis directions. However, a size of the camera module generally increases and configuration of the device is complicated since a space is needed as much as to apply the four magnetic circuits, and thus it is difficult to achieve miniaturization of a product.
If the size or the number of parts of the mover is reduced for miniaturization of the module, there is a problem in that preciseness and promptness of the optical image stabilizer are lowered, and, particularly, since the mover is driven beyond a driving range in performing optical image stabilization by using a resultant force of orthogonal forces applied in the X and Y two axis directions or unnecessary rotation occurs when the mover is driven, accuracy of the correction is lowered.


A first network device nonce is computed. The first network device nonce is based on a first network device secret. A Change Token Table message (CTTM) is sent to a second network device. The CTTM comprises the first network device nonce. A Change Token Table Ack Message (CTTAM) with a second network device nonce is received from the second network device. A new token for a tokenization table is computed based on the first network device secret, the second network device nonce, a prime number, and a key derivation function. The new token for the tokenization table is also computed by the second network device based on a second network device secret, the first network device nonce, the prime number, and the key derivation function.

Today, when tokenization tables are created, the tokens in the tokenization table typically do not change. Even if the data pointed to by the token changes, the token itself that references the data typically remains the same. This can lead to security issues if any of the tokens in the tokenization table is compromised. Currently the only way to resolve this issue is to encrypt the whole tokenization table (including the data) and then send the whole tokenization table over the network. Anytime the actual data is sent across an unsecure network, there is more risk of the data being compromised.
In addition, because of the static nature of tokenization tables, if the size of the tokenization table changes, for example the size of the tokenization table needs to be increased, the whole tokenization table has to be exchanged instead of just the changes.


An engine exhaust system attachment is provided that includes a housing a fan, a filter, and a conduit. The housing is configured to enclose an exhaust turbine, an exhaust manifold, and at least a portion of an exhaust pipe. The exhaust turbine, the exhaust manifold, and the exhaust pipe are connected to receive exhaust gas from an engine and are mounted to an engine frame of a device. The fan is configured for mounting to the device to move air. The filter is configured for mounting to the fan to receive the moved air and to provide filtered air. The conduit is configured for connecting the filter to the housing to provide the filtered air to the housing.

A fire problem exists in gasoline- and diesel-powered equipment operated in environments in which volumes of organic dusts become aerosolized. The sources of the particles are typically plant residues and there particle sizes are small enough to be suspended in the air. The particles can be deposited and build up on surfaces on the equipment. The equipment is generally equipped with some form of screen to prevent larger airborne residue from reaching the radiator system on the equipment. Small aerosol particles are not, however, trapped by this screen, and it is not practical to filter this volume of air to remove the fine dust. Airborne dust passing through the screen and radiators is then blown by the radiator fan across the surface of the engine. Airborne dust can also enter the engine compartment when winds cause crop dusts from the separator discharge to surround the machine and the dust is entrained.
Engines in agricultural and off-road equipment utilize turbochargers to allow higher power and fueling rates in a compact engine. Trends towards higher specific power levels in engines means high levels of exhaust energy and high temperatures in the components of the exhaust system. Specifically, the exhaust manifold and exhaust turbine reach the highest sustained temperatures external to the engine. Organic dust in the air stream is drawn through the radiators or is entrained into this airstream from dust surrounding the machine and is blown across the exhaust system components including the exhaust manifold and the exhaust turbine. When the engine is heavily loaded and the dust particles are very dry, it is possible for dust deposits on hot surfaces to smolder and/or for some portion of the airborne dust particles passing close to the hottest components to reach auto ignition temperature. These burning particles can be aerosolized or, in the case of airborne particles, remain aerosolized. Subsequently, these particles may be deposited on equipment surfaces that are already coated with combustible residues. Burning particles or embers can then cause smoldering fires to start in a variety of locations on the equipment. When a smoldering residue fire reaches fuel, oil, or synthetic materials, it can spread catastrophically to consume the equipment.


Communicating by video is described. A video of a menu is streamed to a client device. A signal that identifies a selection from the menu is received. A first video associated with the selection is streamed to the client device. The first video is a member of video conversation that may include a number of videos. A second video is received from the client device. The second video is streamed by the client device as it is recorded by the client device. The second video is a response to the first video. The second video is associated with the video conversation.

Web sites that allow users to upload and view video content are growing in popularity. However, contemporary versions of those Web sites suffer from one or more shortcomings, in particular when it comes to streaming videos to and from mobile (e.g., wireless) devices that may have limited capabilities relative to platforms such as desktop and laptop computers. For instance, the process for uploading videos from a mobile device may be burdensome and may even require the use of a personal computer. Furthermore, contemporary Web sites offer only limited and relatively inflexible options for viewing videos. For instance, they provide all users with a common view of available videos regardless of which videos may actually be of interest to an individual user. Systems such as video mail—in which videos are e-mailed to one or more people—can be used to present different videos to different users, but the choice of who gets what belongs solely to the sender.
Accordingly, there is value to a method or system that can be used to share videos but that does not suffer from the shortcomings of conventional approaches. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention provide this and other advantages.

Communicating by video without replicating data

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present invention provides a therapeutic method for treating an inflammatory response caused by autoimmune stimulation, comprising the administration to a patient in need thereof of an antiinflammatory amount amount of an A2A adenosine receptor agonist. The autoimmune stimulation can be caused by arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis. Optionally, the method includes administration of a type IV PDE inhibitor.

The inflammatory response serves the purpose of eliminating harmful agents from the body. There is a wide range of pathogenic insults that can initiate an inflammatory response including infection, allergens, autoimmune stimuli, immune response to transplanted tissue, noxious chemicals, and toxins, ischemia/reperfusion, hypoxia, mechanical and thermal trauma. Inflammation normally is a very localized action which serves in expulsion, attenuation by dilution, and isolation of the damaging agent and injured tissue. The body's response becomes an agent of disease when it results in inappropriate injury to host tissues in the process of eliminating the targeted agent, or responding to a traumatic insult.
The release of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) by leukocytes is a means by which the immune system combats pathogenic invasions, including infections. TNFα stimulates the expression and activation of adherence factors on leukocytes and endothelial cells, primes neutrophils for an enhanced inflammatory response to secondary stimuli and enhances adherent neutrophil oxidative activity (H. S. Sharma et al., Med. of Inflamm., 6, 175 (1987)). In addition, macrophages/dendritic cells act as accessory cells processing antigen for presentation to lymphocytes. The lymphocytes, in turn, become stimulated to act as pro-inflammatory cytotoxic cells.
Generally, cytokines stimulate neutrophils to enhance oxidative (e.g., superoxide and secondary products) and non-oxidative (e.g., myeloperoxidase and other enzymes) inflammatory activity. Inappropriate and over-release of cytokines can produce counterproductive exaggerated pathogenic effects through the release of tissue-damaging oxidative and non-oxidative products (K. G. Tracey et al., J. Exp. Med., 167, 1211 (1988); and D. N. Männel et al., Rev. Infect. Dis., 9 (suppl. 5), S602-S606 (1987)). For example, TNFα can induce neutrophils to adhere to the blood vessel wall and then to migrate through the vessel to the site of injury and release their oxidative and non-oxidative inflammatory products.
Although monocytes collect slowly at inflammatory foci, given favorable conditions, the monocytes develop into long-term resident accessory cells and macrophages. Upon stimulation with an inflammation trigger, monocytes/macrophages also produce and secrete an array of cytokines (including TNFα), complement, lipids, reactive oxygen species, proteases and growth factors that remodel tissue and regulate surrounding tissue functions.
Human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and is a chronic disorder of unknown origin with variable courses of disease. The majority of patients with RA have a progressive course which leads to destruction of joint tissue, instability of joints, loss of function and mobility, and increased mortality.
The dysregulated immune response in RA is driven by type 1 helper T cell (Th1) cytokines, including interleukin-12 (IL-12), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and TNFα (See, M. Feldmann et al., Curr. Dir. Autoimmun., 3, 188-199 (2001); H. Schulze-Koops et al., Best. Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol., 15, 677-691 (2001); M. Feldmann et al., Rheumatology (Oxford), 38, 3-7 (1999); and Y. Morita et al., Arthritis Rheum., 41, 306-314 (1998)). Cytokines and chemokines in the synovial tissues trigger the adhesion, recruitment, and infiltration of inflammatory cells and the release of other inflammatory mediators and reactive oxygen species, leading to macroscopic tissue damage and the clinical symptoms of RA (Mechanisms and Models in Rheumatoid Arthritis. 1 ed. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press (1995)). Recent studies have shown that TNFα and IL-1β are major proinflammatory cytokines in this inflammatory disorder, and are currently targets for therapeutic intervention (M. Feldmann et al., Curr. Dir. Autoimmun., 3, 188-199 (2001); M. Feldmann et al., Transplant Proc., 2001; 33, 2085-2086 (2001); M. Feldmann, Nat. Rev. Immunol., 2, 364-371 (2002); and R. Maini et al., Lancet, 348, 824-825 (1996)).
Standard RA therapy includes the use of immunomodulators, biologic agents, and corticosteroids, all of which have limited efficacy and carry significant risk of toxicity. Methotrexate is the gold standard treatment for RA.
Steroids act through multiple pathways, and besides their immunosuppressive effect, have multiple side effects including osteoporosis, worsening diabetes, and adrenal suppression. Traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin and indomethacin non-selectively inhibit both COX-1 and -2. The more recently described COX-2 inhibitors (rofecoxib/Vioxx, Celecoxib/Celebrx and valdecoxib/Bextra) were developed to decrease gastric toxicity by avoiding COX-1 inhibition. These agent impart their anti-inflammatory effects through action on the COX-2 enzyme, and provide relief of pain and some mild anti-inflammatory effect, but do not stop progression of disease. The COX-2 inhibitors also avoid the platelet-inhibiting effect of traditional NSAIDS, which may play a role in the recent reports of increased cardiovascular risk with COX-2 inhibitors.
The latest strategies for the treatment of RA focus on specifically targeting the dysregulated cytokines. TNF inhibitors (Adalimumab, Etanercept, Infliximab) and the IL-1 receptor antagonist Anakinra block two of the prime mediators of inflammation, but predispose patients to bacterial and granulomatous infections. Even these sophisticated biological response modifiers have met with varying success, and often require multi-drug combination therapy to control disease. The current paradigm for RA management is to treat aggressively and early in the disease because joint swelling can rapidly proceed to erosion (bony destruction) and loss of cartilage and joint space (J. O'Dell, N. Engl. J. Med., 350, 2591-2602 (2004)). Once these bony changes occur they are essentially irreversible, and can be painful, debilitating, and may leave the patient with surgery (e.g., joint replacement) as the only option. Clearly there is a need for new therapies with improved safety as well as the identification of new targets for suppression of inflammation and immunosuppression that can be used in conjunction with other agents.
It is well known that adenosine and some analogs of adenosine that nonselectively activate adenosine receptor subtypes decrease neutrophil production of inflammatory oxidative products (B. N. Cronstein et al., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 451, 291 (1985); P. A. Roberts et al., Biochem. J., 227, 669 (1985); D. J. Schrier et al., J. Immunol., 137, 3284 (1986); B. N. Cronstein et al., Clinical Immunol. and Immunopath., 42, 76 (1987); M. A. Iannone et al., in Topics and Perspective in Adenosine Research, E. Gerlach et al., eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p. 286 (1987); S. T. McGarrity et al., J. Leukocyte Biol., 44, 411421 (1988); J. De La Harpe et al., J. Immunol., 143, 596 (1989); S. T. McGarrity et al., J. Immunol., 142, 1986 (1989); and C. P. Nielson et al., Br. J. Pharmacol., 97, 882 (1989)). For example, adenosine has been shown to inhibit superoxide release from neutrophils stimulated by chemoattractants such as the synthetic mimic of bacterial peptides, f-met-leu-phe (fMLP), and the complement component C5a (B. N. Cronstein et al., J. Immunol., 135, 1366 (1985)). Adenosine can decrease the greatly enhanced oxidative burst of PMN (neutrophil) first primed with TNF-α and then stimulated by a second stimulus such as f-met-leu-phe (G. W. Sullivan et al., Clin. Res., 41, 172A (1993)). Additionally, it has been reported that adenosine can decrease the rate of HIV replication in a T-cell line (S. Sipka et al., Acta. Biochim. Biopys. Hung., 23, 75 (1988)). However, there is no evidence that in vivo adenosine has anti-inflammatory activity (G. S. Firestein et al., Clin. Res., 41, 170A (1993); and B. N. Cronstein et al., Clin. Res., 41, 244A (1993)).
It has been suggested that there is more than one subtype of adenosine receptor on neutrophils that can have opposite effects on superoxide release (B. N. Cronstein et al., J. Clin. Invest. 85, 1150 (1990)). The existence of A2A receptor on neutrophils was originally demonstrated by Van Calker et al. (D. Van Calker et al., Eur. J. Pharmacology, 206, 285 (1991)).
There is one report of the combination of relatively nonspecific adenosine analogs, R-phenylisopropyladenosine (R-PIA) and 2-chloroadenosine (Cl-Ado) with a phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor resulting in a lowering of neutrophil oxidative activity (M. A. Iannone et al., Topics and Perspectives in Adenosine Research, E. Garlach et al., eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 286-298 (1987)). However, R-PIA and Cl-Ado analogs are actually more potent activators of A1 adenosine receptors than of A2A adenosine receptors and, thus, are likely to cause side effects due to activation of A1 receptors on cardiac muscle and other tissues causing effects such as "heart block."
There remains a need for compounds and methods for treating an inflammatory response caused by autoimmune stimulation, particularly caused by arthritis.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method to reduce an inflammatory response from arthritis

University of Virginia Patent Foundation


A new and distinct variety of Campsis plant, herein referred to by its cultivar name, ‘Mincamja3’, is provided. The new variety displays golden yellow colored flowers with red stripes inside. The foliage of the new variety is medium green colored. The vegetation is moderately vigorous and the growth habit is climbing.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Campsis plant botanically known as Campsis x tagliabuana and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Mincamja3'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in La Menitre, Maine et Loire, France during July 2005. The objective of the breeding program was the development of a series of Campsis cultivars with big flower size and yellow flowers.
The new Campsis cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female parent (i.e., seed parent) of the new cultivar is an unnamed breeder seedling, characterized by its large peach-reddish colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and a vigorous climbing growth habit. The male parent (i.e., pollen parent) of the new cultivar is 'Kudian' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,139) characterized by its orange-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately climbing habit. The parentage can be summarized as follows:unnamed breeder seedling x 'Kudian'
The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during October 2009 in a controlled environment in La Menitre, Maine et Loire, France.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by grafting since February 2010 in La Menitre, Maine et Loire, France has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A camera assembly for an interior of an automobile is disclosed. The camera assembly includes a lens, an image sensor, a printed circuit board, at least one illuminator, and a lens mount. The lens, image sensor and at least one illuminator are operatively connected to the printed circuit board. The lens mount includes at least one integrated heat sink configured to dissipate heat from the at least one illuminator.

Driver assistance systems incorporate visual, acoustic and/or sensor warnings for drivers to detect potential driving dangers and prevent accidents. Many of these systems are focused on potential dangers external to the vehicle. However, as there exist a number of potential distractions for a driver in a vehicle cabin (i.e., mobile phones, internal displays, etc.), occupant monitoring systems (e.g., driver monitoring systems) are being employed for inclusion in vehicles to capture driver behavior during driving events, especially during a driving event that results in an accident, as well as initiating warnings to drivers, if the driver is detected to be in a non-alert state.
In known systems, an occupant monitoring system includes a camera assembly with a field of view directed toward a cabin of the vehicle. However, interior cabin space is at a premium when packaging remote camera assemblies. In addition, illuminators (for example, those that emit light in the near infrared spectrum) are often needed to provide uniform lighting conditions for all environmental conditions (i.e., daylight, night). But because illuminators have additional requirements for power dissipation in a camera assembly, providing a compact camera assembly presents a challenge. What is needed is a compact design for a camera assembly that permits effective positioning in a vehicle cabin, but also allows for heat dissipation associated with the illuminators needed to capturing effective occupant images under a variety of conditions.


A continuous-flow steam generator includes a combustion chamber of rectangular cross-section and combustion-chamber walls each having essentially vertically disposed evaporator tubes through which a flow medium can flow from the bottom towards the top. The tubes are connected to one another in a gas-tight manner by tube webs. In order to equalize a differing supply of heat into the evaporator tubes, a heat-absorbing surface formed from an individual evaporator tube and from the tube web assigned to that tube is smaller in the case of evaporator tubes in a middle region of the combustion-chamber wall than at a corner of the combustion chamber.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a continuous-flow steam generator including a combustion chamber of rectangular cross-section with combustion-chamber walls each having essentially vertically disposed evaporator tubes which are connected to one another in a gas-tight manner by tube webs and through which a flow medium can flow from the bottom towards the top.
In contrast to a natural-circulation steam generator with only partial evaporation of the circulated water-water/steam-mixture, in a continuous-flow steam generator the heating of evaporator tubes forming the combustion-chamber walls leads to a complete evaporation of the flow medium in the evaporator tubes in one passage. Whereas, in a natural-circulation steam generator, the evaporator tubes are disposed basically vertically, the evaporator tubes of the continuous-flow or forced flow steam generator can be disposed both vertically and helical, and therefore at an inclination.
A continuous-flow steam generator having combustion-chamber walls which are constructed from vertically disposed evaporator tubes is more cost-effective to produce than a continuous-flow steam generator having helical tubing. Moreover, continuous-flow steam generators with vertical tubing have lower water-side/steam-side pressure losses than those with inclined evaporator tubes. However, the unavoidable differences in the supply of heat to the individual vertically disposed evaporator tubes can lead to temperature differences between adjacent evaporator tubes, particularly at the outlet of the evaporator.
Since the magnitude of the heat flow and therefore the introduction of heat into an individual evaporator tube depend on its position in the combustion-chamber wall, in the case of a combustion chamber having vertical tubing, an evaporator tube in a corner of the rectangular combustion chamber or combustion-chamber containment experiences a lower gas-side heat-flow density over its entire length than an evaporator tube in the middle of a combustion-chamber wall. The reason for that is that a flame body occurring within the combustion chamber during the combustion of a fossil fuel does not fill the en tire available space uniformly. Thus, there arises within the combustion chamber a temperature profile which is approximately bell-shaped both in the vertical and in the horizontal direction and which, starting from the middle region of the combustion chamber, decreases both upwards and downwards and towards the corners of the combustion chamber. That results in an increased supply of heat into the evaporator tubes in the middle of the combustion-chamber walls in comparison with the evaporator tubes in the region of the corners of the combustion chamber. That in turn hinders the water-side/steam-side cooling of the evaporator tubes in the middle region of the combustion-chamber walls. That can lead to inadmissibly high steam temperatures at the outlet of the evaporator tubes. Additionally, as a result of the high heat-flow density, the temperature of the tube webs in the middle of the combustion-chamber walls can assume inadmissibly high values.
Inadmissibly high temperature differences between adjacent tubes can be avoided in the vertical direction of the combustion chamber by a drastic reduction in the pressure loss attributable to friction. The reduction itself is achieved through the use of a corresponding lowering of the flow velocity or of the mass flow density in the evaporator tubes. For that purpose, however, it is necessary to use internally ribbed evaporator tubes, since they have particularly good properties of heat transmission even at low mass flow densities. Evaporator tubes of that type, with ribs forming multiple threads on their inside, and their use in steam generators are known, for example, from Published European Patent Application 0 503 116 A1.
In the case of tubing of the combustion-chamber walls of a continuous-flow steam generator with internally ribbed evaporator tubes, the axial flow has a swirl superposed on it which leads to a phase separation of the heat-absorbing medium with a water film on the inner wall of the tube. As a result, the very good heat transmission in boiling can be maintained almost up to the complete evaporation of the water. However, in the pressure range of between 200 bar and 221 bar, under strong heating, inadmissibly high wall temperatures cannot always be avoided through the use of a swirl flow alone. In the vicinity of the critical pressure of around approximately 210 bar, where there is still only a small density difference between a liquid-like and steam-like medium, the wetting of the inner wall or heating surface of the tube is substantially more difficult to guarantee than in a pressure range which is below 200 bar. That is because a steam film forming between the tube wall and the liquid phase of the heat-absorbing medium impedes the heat transmission (film boiling). In that range of steam-film formation, the temperature of the tube wall rises sharply. As is described in the paper entitled "Verdamferkonzepte fur Benson-Damferzeuger" [Evaporator Concepts for Benson Steam Generators] by J. Franke, W. Kohler and E. Wittchow, published in VGB Kraftwerkstechnik 73 (1993), No. 4, pages 352 to 360, above a pressure of around 210 bar even slight wall overheating is sufficient to pass from the boiling-state with a wetted heating surface to film boiling with a non-wetted heating surface. Additionally, in the pressure range mentioned, even when slight overheating occurs, steam bubbles can form in the overheated boundary layer, and they combine to form large bubbles and thus impede the heat transmission (homogeneous nucleation).
The result of the heat transmission mechanism described is that, in the tubes of continuous-flow steam generators which are operated at pressures of approximately 200 bar and above, the mass flow density, and therefore the pressure loss attributable to friction, must be selected to be higher than in continuous-flow steam generators, which are operated at pressures of below 200 bar. That does away with the advantage that, in the case of extra heating of individual tubes, their through-put also rises. However, since high steam pressures of more than 200 bar are required in order to achieve high thermal efficiencies and therefore low emissions of carbon dioxide, it is necessary, in that pressure range too, to ensure good heat transmission. Continuous-flow steam generators with combustion-chamber walls having vertical tubing are therefore conventionally operated with relatively high mass flow densities in the evaporator tubes, in order to always achieve a sufficiently high heat transmission from the evaporator tube wall to the flow medium or heat-absorbing medium, in the critical pressure range of approximately 200 bar to 221 bar. However, those measures take into account primarily the temperature trend in the vertical direction of the combustion chamber.
A compensation of the temperature trend in the horizontal direction, and therefore a good heating balance, is achieved in the case of the helical tubing of the combustion chamber (spiral winding), since each evaporator tube or parallel tube runs virtually through all of the heating zones of the combustion chamber. However, in comparison with vertical tubing, due to comparatively small inlet surfaces of the evaporator tubes and therefore a comparatively small total number of evaporator tubes, the spiral winding leads to higher velocities of the flow medium in the evaporator tubes. That leads, in turn, to a comparatively high water-side/steam-side pressure loss.


A side shield structure for a PMR write head is disclosed that narrows write width and minimizes adjacent track and far track erasure. The side shield structure on each side of the write pole has two sections. One section along the ABS and adjacent to the pole tip has a height (SSH1) defined by SSH1≦[(0.6×neck height)+0.08] microns. There is a non-magnetic gap layer between the first section and a second section that is formed adjacent to the flared sides of the main pole layer and serves to suction leakage flux from the flared portion and prevent unwanted flux from reaching the first side shield sections. A fabrication method is provided that includes electroplating the first side shield sections, depositing the non-magnetic gap layer, and then electroplating the second side shield sections. Subsequently, a main pole layer and a trailing shield are formed.

Perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) has been developed in part to achieve higher recording density than is realized with longitudinal magnetic recording (LMR) devices and is believed to be the successor of LMR for next generation magnetic data storage products and beyond. A single pole writer combined with a double layered recording media has the intrinsic advantage of delivering higher write field than LMR heads and enables a continuous increase in recording density required for advances in hard disk drive (HDD) technology. A conventional PMR write head as depicted in FIG. 1 typically has a main (write) pole 10 with a small surface area (pole tip) at an air bearing surface (ABS) 5 and a flux return pole (opposing pole) 8 which is magnetically coupled to the write pole through a trailing shield 7 and has a large surface area at the ABS. Magnetic flux in the write pole layer 10 is generated by coils 6 and passes through the pole tip into a magnetic recording media 4 and then back to the write head by entering the flux return pole 8. The write pole concentrates magnetic flux so that the magnetic field at the write pole tip at the ABS is high enough to switch magnetizations in the recording media 4.
To achieve high areal recording density with PMR technology, a key requirement for the PMR writer design is to provide large field magnitude and high field gradient in both down-track and cross-track directions. In practice, these two requirements are often traded off with each other to balance the overall performance. To improve the down-track field gradient, a trailing shield PMR writer design has been widely applied today. In FIG. 2, a view from the ABS plane is shown of a conventional trailing shield PMR writer in which a magnetic write shield 12 is placed above the top edge 10b of the write pole 10 by a certain distance d. The bottom or leading edge 10a of the write pole 10 is so designated because it is at the front of the write pole as it moves in the y or down-track direction. With this design, the down-track gradient is improved at the expense of reducing write field. In the cross-track or x direction, however, there is still a quite large detrimental fringe field (not shown) leading out from the write pole 10.
Referring to FIG. 3a, another prior art design is illustrated that was proposed by M. Mallary and described in "One Terabit per Square Inch Perpendicular Recording Conceptual Design", IEEE, Trans. Magn., Vol. 38, July, 2002. To further improve cross-track field gradient, a full side shield writer structure is used to limit the excessive fringe field onto the adjacent track. For example, the writer in FIG. 2 may be modified by adding one side shield 13 along one side of the write pole 10 and a second side shield 14 along the opposite side of the write pole. The side shields 13, 14 have a thickness t equal to the thickness of the write pole 10. Note that the side shields may have sloped sides that parallel the slope in the write pole sides and maintain a spacing or side gap s therebetween as viewed from the ABS. Depending on the size of side gap s, field magnitude could drop below the minimal performance requirement. FIG. 3b shows a down-track view of the PMR writer in FIG. 3a. The main pole layer 10 has a write pole 10p at the ABS 5-5, a main pole section 10m, and a flared section 10f that connects the write pole 10p and main pole section 10m.
Referring to FIG. 4, a finite element method (FEM) model shows a narrower head field width, sharper cross-track field gradient, and significantly smaller skirt field in the head profile 18 of a side shielded pole compared to the profile 17 of a trailing shielded pole. Based on this data, one can expect a very narrow track write width and much less adjacent track erasure in a side shielded head. However, most of the actual heads that feature side shields exhibit much poorer adjacent track erasure even though FEM models indicate less skirt in the head field profile. In addition, track erasure is not limited to adjacent tracks but can occur in tracks located several track widths away from the writing area. This phenomenon has been observed in many PMR writers with a side shielded configuration and appears to be a fatal flaw in a magnetic recording system.
Unfortunately, none of the prior art structures provide satisfactory control of field magnitude and field gradient in both the down-track and cross-track directions. Therefore, an improved write structure is necessary to achieve the high performance required for advanced devices with narrow track widths and high recording density. A routine search of the prior art revealed the following references. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,656,546 and 4,935,832 discuss side shields to control fringing flux.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,340 describes a side shield PMR write structure wherein the distance between the ABS of the main pole and the bottom layer of a double layer recording medium is not more than two times shorter than the write gap distance between the main pole and a side shield.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,995,950 discloses reducing the flux gathering capacity of shields by reducing shield height but there are no specifics as to the height of the shield.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0068678 shows side shields connected to a return pole piece on one side and to a trailing shield on an opposite side.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0082924 describes a wrap-around shield where the height of the shield at the main pole side is greater than the height of the shield at the return pole.
U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2006/0000794 and 2006/0044682 disclose a trailing shield gap thickness which is different than a side shield gap thickness.
In U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0141137, a trailing side shield has a thickness (Gd) equal to or less than the throat height near the main pole but Gd may be larger than the throat height in a portion of the shield that is a farther distance from the main pole to prevent the trailing shield from defoliating along the ABS.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0146929 describes a main pole with a first flare adjacent to an air bearing surface and a second flare adjacent to the first flare but a greater distance from the ABS. There is a non-magnetic film between the first flare and a first magnetic layer along the ABS. The first magnetic layer provides shielding to prevent flux leakage to adjacent tracks. However, controlling the first flare thickness and second flare thickness could be a manufacturing issue.

Perpendicular magnetic recording write head with a side shield


An instrument and method is provided that conveniently allows rapid amplification of nucleic acids. The instrument comprises in the following order at least one substantially flat temperature sensor element; a heat conducting substrate and a heater layer, whereby the heat conducting substrate comprises one or more channels permeable for fluid.

The invention is useful in the field of health care, where reliable analysis of samples for components contained therein is needed. Chemical reactions needing heating are well known, for example from molecular diagnostics, where nucleic acids are known to denature, i.e., to become single stranded from a hybrid of two strands, by applying heat above the melting temperature of the hybrid.
A method that uses reactions cycles including such denaturation step is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This technology has revolutionized the field of nucleic acid treatment, particularly the analysis of nucleic acids, by providing a tool to increase the amount of nucleic acids of a particular sequence from negligible to detectable amounts. PCR is described in EP 0 201 184 and EP 0 200 362.
An instrument for performing thermocycles in controlled manner on samples in tubes using heating and cooling an extended metal block is disclosed in EP 236069.
Heating of PCR mixtures is presently mainly done using Peltier elements with active heating and cooling. Those require complex electronics compared to systems with active heating and passive cooling.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,785 there is described a method for heating a micro-tube using either resistance heating or inductive heating.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,473 there is disclosed a microfabricated reaction chamber made from silicon. The device has inlet and outlet ports and can be used to conduct PCR reactions when inserted into an instrument. The system does, however, not allow sensitive and quick temperature control.
In WO 98/39487 there is described an apparatus for holding a device having a chamber, said apparatus comprising heating or cooling plates arranged on opposite side walls of a flat device in case the device is inserted into said apparatus.
The temperature changes provided by the prior art instruments were relatively slow. Thus, there was a need to provide faster temperature changes in fluids, particularly during amplification of nucleic acids.


Disclosed is a computer-implemented method of determining control data for increasing the braking force exerted by a braking mechanism of a mechatronic articulable arm on at least one or all joints connecting the arm elements of the mechatronic articulable arm to a level of braking force which is higher than the level required for locking the joint or joints, respectively. The control data is determined in dependence on both the relative position between the mechatronic articulable arm and an anatomical body part of patient, and a locking state of the mechatronic articulable arm.

In the state of the art, it is known to activate a braking mechanism of a mechatronic articulable arm usable for medical purposes for decreasing the movability of the joints connecting the arm elements in dependence on the distance between the mechatronic articulable arm (for example, its manipulator and/or an instrument attached to it) and a patient's body. Using a brake boosting mechanism for increasing the rigidity of the mechatronic articulable arm which is desired under specific circumstances however leads to a substantial increase in heat generated by the braking mechanism when the braking force to be exerted is boosted only in dependence on the aforementioned distance.
The present invention has the object of for example providing a method for enabling brake boost while maintaining energetic efficiency.
The present invention can be used for medical procedures e.g. in connection with a medical robotic system such as the CIRQ system, a product of Brainlab AG.
Aspects of the present invention, examples and exemplary steps and their embodiments are disclosed in the following. Different exemplary features of the invention can be combined in accordance with the invention wherever technically expedient and feasible.

Efficient brake boost for mechatronic articulable arm


A piezoelectric and/or electrostrictive film element including a ceramic substrate, and a piezoelectric or electrostrictive unit formed on the substrate and including a piezoelectric or electrostrictive layer between lower and upper electrodes. The substrate has a window closed by a diaphragm portion. The unit is disposed on the diaphragm portion such that at least one of the opposite ends of the unit is spaced apart from the edge of the window in a direction toward the center of the diaphragm portion. The end part of the diaphragm portion spaced apart from the edge of the window is upwardly convexed or downwardly concaved to provide a stress releasing section for effectively converting stresses generated in the piezoelectric or electrostrictive unit into displacement of the diaphragm portion. Also disclosed are methods for forming the stress releasing section by firing the unfired piezoelectric/electrostrictive layer formed on the diaphragm portion of the fired ceramic substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a uni-morph, bi-morph or other type of piezoelectric and/or electrostrictive film element which generates or detects displacement or force in the form of bending, deflection or flexure, and which can be used for actuators, filters, display devices, transformers, microphones, sounding bodies (such as loudspeakers), various resonators, oscillators, or vibrators, discriminators, gyros, sensors and other components and devices. The present invention is also concerned with a method for producing such piezoelectric or electrostrictive film elements. The term "element" used herein means an element which is capable of transducing or converting an electric energy into a mechanical energy, i.e., mechanical displacement, strain or vibrations, or converting a mechanical energy into an electric energy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years, in the fields of optics and precision positioning or machining operations, there has been an increasing demand for an element whose displacement is controlled for adjusting or controlling an optical path length or a position of a member or component of a device, on the order of fractions of a micron (.mu.m), and a detecting element adapted to detect infinitesimal displacement of a subject as an electric change. To meet the demand, there have been developed piezoelectric and/or electrostrictive film elements (hereinafter referred to as "P/E film elements") used for actuators or sensors, which elements comprise a piezoelectric material such as a ferroelectric material, and utilize the reverse or converse piezoelectric effect to produce a mechanical displacement upon application of an electric field to the piezoelectric material, or utilize the piezoelectric effect to produce an electric field upon application of a pressure or mechanical stress. Among these elements, a conventional uni-morph type P/E film element has been favorably used for a loudspeaker, for example.
There have been proposed ceramic P/E film elements used for various purposes, as disclosed in JP-A-3-128681 (i.e., in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/550,977, 07/860,128, 08/102,960, 08/384,469, 08/392,083 and 08/452,092) and in JP-A-5-49270 (i.e., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,455 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/013,046), which were filed by the assignee of the present invention. One example of the disclosed elements has a ceramic substrate which has at least one window, and is formed integrally with a thin diaphragm which closes the window or windows so as to provide at least one thin-walled diaphragm portion or vibratile portion. On an outer surface of each diaphragm portion of the ceramic substrate, there is formed a piezoelectric/electrostrictive unit (hereinafter referred to as "P/E unit") which is an integral laminar structure consisting of a lower electrode, a piezoelectric/electrostrictive layer (hereinafter referred to as "P/E layer") and an upper electrode. The P/E unit is formed by a suitable film-forming method or process on the corresponding diaphragm portion of the ceramic substrate. The thus formed P/E film element is relatively small-sized and inexpensive, and can be used as an electromechanical transducer having high reliability. Further, this element has a high operating response, and provides a relatively large amount of displacement by application of a low voltage, with a relatively large magnitude of force being generated. Thus, the above-described element is favorably used as a member for an actuator, filter, display device, sensor or other components or devices.
To produce the P/E film element as described above, the lower electrode, P/E layer and upper electrode of each P/E unit are laminated in this order on the diaphragm portion of the ceramic substrate by a suitable film-forming method, and is subjected to heat treatment (firing or sintering) as needed, so that the P/E unit is formed integrally on the diaphragm portion. A further study of the inventors of the present invention revealed that the piezoelectric/electrostrictive characteristics of the element are deteriorated due to the heat treatment (firing or sintering) effected during the formation of the P/E unit, more specifically, the P/E layer.
Described in detail, the P/E layer suffers from stresses due to firing shrinkage of the P/E layer or P/E unit which is in contact with the diaphragm portion of the ceramic substrate, during the heat treatment of the P/E layer. The stresses remain therein after the firing, and prevent the P/E film element from having a sufficiently dense sintered structure. In this case, the P/E film element can not exhibit desired or intended piezoelectric/electrostrictive characteristics. The residual stresses after the firing of the P/E layer undesirably deteriorate the piezoelectric/electrostrictive characteristics, in particular, reduces an amount of displacement of the diaphragm portion generated upon actuation of the P/E unit.
To produce an actuator for a display device, for example, a plurality of windows are formed in a suitable pattern through a ceramic substrate, and P/E units as described above are formed on respective thin-walled diaphragm portions that close the corresponding windows. In this case, the amounts of displacement of the diaphragm portions may be considerably reduced due to the stresses remaining in the P/E layer after the firing thereof, particularly when two or more adjacent P/E units are actuated at the same time, as compared with the displacement amount where a single P/E unit is actuated. That is, when the two adjacent P/E units are actuated simultaneously, for example, the displacement of the diaphragm portion which carries one of the two P/E units interferes with that of the diaphragm portion which carries the other P/E unit, resulting in reduction of the amounts of displacement of these diaphragm portions. The reduction in the amounts of displacement of the diaphragm portions is serious where the spacing between the adjacent P/E units is reduced to meet a recent demand for a larger number of the P/E units per unit area.

Piezoelectric/electrostrictive film element with a diaphram having at least one stress releasing end section


A masking apparatus includes a mask base body and a mask plate. The mask base body includes at least one spacer plate, and a cavity in which an electronic component can be housed. The mask plate is disposed on an upper surface and/or a lower surface of the mask base body. The mask plate includes a film-forming opening with a shape corresponding to the shape of an external structural body to be formed on an outer surface of the component. The mask plate thus allows a film-forming operation to be selectively performed on the outer surface of the component through the film-forming opening. The cavity includes, in an inner surface thereof, a film-forming groove communicating with the film-forming opening so that the external structural body can be formed at once on an upper surface and/or a lower surface of, and also on a peripheral surface of the component.

The present invention relates to a masking apparatus and a method of fabricating an electronic component, and particularly relates to a masking technique for forming an external structural body, such as a terminal electrode, on an outer peripheral surface of a chip-type electronic component.
Various electronic components are available today, such as: various discrete components including chip capacitors, chip inductors and chip resistors; and various electronic devices in each of which a plurality of active and/or passive elements are combined. Any of these electronic components needs terminal electrodes for establishing an electrical and mechanical connection with the outside so as to be mounted on a wiring board.
Such a terminal electrode can be formed by firstly forming a base electrode by a vapor deposition method such as sputtering, and by then plating a main conductor layer, which will serve as a main layer of the electrode, on the base electrode. For forming the base electrode, a masking apparatus is used in order to selectively form films on surfaces, on which electrodes are to be formed, of a component. This masking apparatus generally includes a mask base body and a mask plate. The mask base body holds individual chip-type electronic components obtained by dicing, while the mask plate includes a film-forming opening formed therein and corresponding to the shape of an electrode to be formed. A chip-type electronic component (hereinafter, sometimes referred to simply as a chip) is housed in a cavity of the mask base body in a state where a surface, to be processed, of the chip faces up. Then, the mask plate is placed on the top of the cavity (the mask base body), and a film-forming process is then carried out.
Not only a vapor deposition method, but also other film-forming methods, such as a paste printing method in which a conductive paste is applied, an ink jet method, and a transfer method, are widely used for forming such electrodes.
What is formed on an outer surface of a chip is not limited to the terminal electrode for external connection, and various film-shaped structures (external structural bodies) are also formed thereon. Such film-shaped structures include a connection pad used for mounting another element on the chip, wiring arranged on the outer surface of the chip. Moreover, the film-shaped structures to be formed thereon also include an insulating film that is selectively disposed for forming wiring on the outer surface of the conductive chip of a semiconductor or a metallic plate.
A masking apparatus is disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Application Publication No. Hei 4-13858.

Masking apparatus and method of fabricating electronic component


An encoder-type register for an automatic meter reader to be interfaced with a visual read-only register of the kind found in a water meter that measures water consumption. The water meter register has a rotatable sweep hand that carries a magnet and rotates around a register plate in relation to the speed and volume of water moving through the water meter. A plurality of (e.g., three) magnetic (e.g., Hall effect) sensors are fixedly positioned one-after-another in the path of the magnet carried by the rotating sweep hand. The magnetic sensors measure the magnetic field produced by the rotating magnet and generate corresponding output signals. A microprocessor receives the output signals generated by the magnetic sensors whenever the magnet rotates therepast. The microprocessor stores information concerning the number of rotations of the magnet carried by the sweep hand depending upon the direction in which the magnet is being rotated as an indication of water consumption. The microprocessor provides the stored information to a meter interface unit connected to a set of output terminals of the encoder register so that such information can be transmitted from the meter interface unit to a remote data collector over a wireless communication path.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an encoder-type register to be interfaced with a standard visual read-only register of the kind commonly found in a water meter that measures water consumption. By virtue of the encoder-type register of this invention, an indication of water consumption can be automatically recorded and transmitted to a remote data collector for processing (e.g., billing, analysis or record-keeping purposes).
2. Background Art
Residential and commercial structures which receive water from a utility or municipality usually have a water meter connected to the water line to monitor water consumption. Conventional water meters have a visual read-only register which includes a rotating sweep hand that moves in relation to the velocity and amount of water being consumed. A rotating mechanical wheel-type counter is incremented as the sweep hand rotates. The counter provides a numerical indication of water consumed by a user.
In this regard, it is necessary that the counter of the read-only register be read on a regular basis so that the water supplier can bill the user for its consumption. To accomplish the foregoing, a meter reader typically travels from one water meter to the next throughout the day to make a visual inspection of the associated counters and manually record the numerical values indicated thereby. The values collected by the meter reader are carried back to the water supplier for processing. However, such a technique of employing meter readers to personally visit and visually inspect the read-only register of every water meter along his route is time consuming, inefficient, relatively expensive, and may result in inaccurate readings being taken by a tired or inattentive workman.
Therefore, what is desirable is a means by which to automatically obtain an indication of the volume of water flowing through a water meter so that corresponding information can be collected and transmitted to the water supplier without the requirement that a water meter reader personally gain access to and visually inspect the water meters of users.

Encoder-type register for an automatic water meter reader


There is provided an operational amplifier which is operable as well when an operating voltage decreases without creating a range where a circuit would not operate or reducing circuit gain. High-pass filters 102-105 provide output signals therefrom to bias-set input nodes of differential amplifiers Gm1-Gm4 to a potential within a common-mode range in which the respective differential amplifiers Gm1-Gm4 are operable. In this manner, the respective differential amplifiers Gm1-Gm4 can be operated effectively regardless of the possible decrease in a supply voltage, enabling normal amplifying operation. In addition, reduction in gain due to the reduced operational voltage is avoided. Therefore, it is preferably applicable to the application where digital and analog circuits are loaded together on the same IC chip. When a high-pass filter is required at each input side of two- or more-stage differential amplifiers, a phase compensation method utilizing multiple paths is provided for a lower range of a phase margin created at the low frequency side, enabling normal amplitude operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operational amplifier, and in particular, to a chopper-stabilized operational amplifier in which input signal pairs are modulated by a first chopper to be amplified in a signal processing path configured by one or more differential amplifier stages, and the amplified modulated signals are demodulated by a second chopper for output.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an advantage in creating an analog circuit and a digital circuit on the same integrated circuit (IC) chip in terms of reduction in the cost of a system. However, implementing the digital and analog circuits together on the same IC chip adds the constraints imparted to the analog circuit design. One of such constraints is decrease in an operating voltage range resulting from supply voltage scaling. In other words, when supply voltage scaling is necessary to scale down the device size in digital circuits, an input voltage range of the analog circuit would be significantly limited without reducing a threshold voltage.
As one of the traditional techniques for solving this problem, the folded-cascode operational amplifiers have been widely known conventionally (e.g., see Non-Patent Document 1). This type of operational amplifier has a circuit configuration in which, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 7, a first differential pair including PMOS transistors M2a and M2b as input transistors whose sources are connected commonly to a high supply voltage VDD via a source and drain of a PMOS transistor M1, and a second differential pair including NMOS transistors M3a and M3b as input transistors whose sources are connected commonly to a low supply voltage VSS via a source and drain of an NMOS transistor M4 are used complementarily.
This conventional operational amplifier operates effectively under the condition that satisfies:VDD−VSS>|VT,m2|+Vov,m1+VT,m3+Vov,m4  (1)where, in Formula (1), VT,m2 denotes a threshold voltage of the PMOS transistors M2a and M2b, VT,m3 denotes a threshold voltage of the NMOS transistors M3a and M3b, Vov,m1 denotes a gate overdrive voltage of the PMOS transistor M1, and Vov,m4 denotes a gate overdrive voltage of the NMOS transistor M4.
Non-Patent Document 1: Ron Hogervorst, John P. Tero, Ruud G. H. Eschauzier, and Johan H. Huijsing, "A compact power-efficient 3 V CMOS rail-to-rail input/output operational amplifier for VLSI cell libraries", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 29, No. 12, pp. 1505-1513, December 1994.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A hearing aid (1) with an ear canal part prepared for being arranged in the ear canal. The ear canal part has a sound opening provided with a bushing (6) for receiving an ear wax guard. The bushing comprises an inner tubular part (11) for receiving the ear wax guard, where the inner tubular part is extending inward from the plane formed by the sound opening. The bushing further comprises an outer tubular part (10) extending inward from this plane. The outer tubular part and the inner tubular part are arranged such that a space is formed in between. This space is adapted for receiving a sound guide (5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hearing aids. The invention more particularly relates to a hearing aid comprising an ear canal part prepared for being arranged in the ear canal of a hearing aid user. The ear canal part has a sound opening which is provided with a bushing for receiving an ear wax guard.
A hearing aid usually has a sound opening or sound outlet in a part arranged in the ear canal of a person using the hearing aid. The sound outlet is an opening connected, e.g. with a sound guide, e.g. a short tubing, to a receiver also arranged in the ear canal part.
2. The Prior Art
The hearing aid may be of different types, where the completely-in-canal type and the in-the-ear type will always be provided with a receiver in the ear canal providing sound through a sound opening. In order to avoid ear wax from the human ear canal to enter through this sound opening, an ear wax guard is usually applied. Such an ear wax guard is known from EP-B1-1097606.
Ear wax guards are exchangeable and need to be replaced on a regular basis in order not to have the sound outlet blocked by ear wax. The time between changes of the ear wax guard varies between persons, because the amount of ear wax produced differs from person to person.
The ear wax guard is usually placed in a bushing into which it is fixed, e.g. by friction or by some clicking means. This means that some manipulation is necessary in order to remove a used ear wax guard and to insert a new one.
It has been found that this frequent manipulation results in that the bushing comes off the ear mold or hearing aid shell, or is loosened from it.

Hearing aid with a bushing for an ear wax guard


A squelch detector that differentially detects a presence of a communication signal on a communication channel. The squelch detector being coupled to outputs of a differential offset bias amplifier to receive differential offset biased signals and generate a differential direct current signal.

When communication components in systems and devices are not sending and/or receiving information, the unused circuits may be turned off to conserve power. In one technique, a squelch detector is utilized to monitor the power level of signals on the communication channel. When the power level of the communication signal drops below a given level, the squelch detector powers down the unused circuits.


A host computer generates a print job and transmits it to a printing apparatus. A media group definition defining one or a plurality of groups each combining a plurality of specified media with one or a plurality of feedable search media is added to each print job. The printing apparatus acquires the media group definition from the received print job, acquires, from the media group definition, feedable search media corresponding to the specified media for each page included in the print job, searches for a sheet feed stage storing any one of the feedable search media based on sheet feed stage information, feeds the print medium from the detected sheet feed stage, and prints the page on the print medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, an information processing apparatus, a method for controlling the printing apparatus, a method for controlling the information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known printing apparatus is capable of performing rasterization, storage, printing, and other processing in parallel based on jobs transmitted from a plurality of host computers via a network. Such printing apparatuses include small- to medium-sized office apparatuses which enable a plurality of users to enter each individual print job and acquire a print result.
In addition to the above-mentioned apparatuses, some comparatively large-sized apparatuses are operated by a dedicated operator. With such printing apparatuses, print jobs are entered from a plurality of host computers and an operator replaces print sheets and changes the order of print jobs to increase the printing efficiency. Printing apparatuses of this kind are referred to as print on demand (POD) apparatuses. Some of conventional printing apparatuses enable specifying of not only the paper size and sheet feed stage but also the type of print medium (hereinafter referred to simply as medium) when paper to be fed is indicated. A media type refers to a name assigned to a set of paper characteristics such as the surface property, grammage, shape, and color. Each apparatus has specific media types defined therefor. "THICK PAPER", "OHP SHEET", "RECYCLED PAPER", "COLORED PAPER", and "COATED PAPER" are exemplary media types. In addition to using media types specifically defined for an apparatus, a user may define specific media and media types and register them in the apparatus.
Some of conventional printing apparatuses are known to have functions of automatic sheet feed stage selection and automatic sheet feed stage changeover.
Automatic sheet feed stage selection refers to a function of automatically selecting, if none of sheet feed stages is specified when a print job is started, a sheet feed stage most suitable for a specified sheet size and media type.
Automatic sheet feed stage changeover refers to a function of automatically changing, if paper in the current sheet feed stage runs out or falls below a certain paper amount during execution of a print job and paper feeding, the current sheet feed stage to another sheet feed stage storing the paper of the same size to continue printing.
Generally, an office user rarely uses special paper and often enters a print job (as illustrated in FIG. 4B) to a printing apparatus without specifying the media type. If the media type is not specified, the printing apparatus performs an operation predetermined for each model, for example, it selects the media type from plain paper, thin paper, recycled paper, colored paper, and thick paper before printing.
With respect to office apparatuses, since basically a small number of media types is supported and special paper is rarely placed on a sheet feed stage, there have been few problems even without media specification. Further, when using an apparatus operating on special paper, a print job for which the user explicitly specifies plain paper (as illustrated in FIG. 4C) feeds only plain paper but does not feed other media types, and therefore there have been no problems.
In the POD environment, it is not rare that a user specifies special paper. Inmost cases, the user specifies the media type for each page, or the user specifies a sheet feed stage and an operator prepares paper for the sheet feed stage. In such an environment, the user uses a print job (as illustrated in FIG. 4D) specifying a different media type for each page.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-57944 discusses a technique for not feeding paper from an open sheet feed stage as a method for avoiding using undesired paper if none of sheet feed stages is specified. This technique enables performing both automatic sheet feed stage selection and automatic sheet feed stage changeover only in a desired range of sheet feed stages.
In recent years, with the increase in printer engine speed and controller processing speed, office apparatuses have become comparable to large-sized POD models in performance while maintaining their small sizes.
Since a POD apparatus is large-sized and requires a large installation area, a backup apparatus cannot be easily installed. In some cases, a high-speed office apparatus is installed as a backup apparatus although the operating speed and durability are not equal to those of a specialized apparatus.
Accordingly, an apparatus called LitePOD model that combines a high-speed printer engine and controller hardware for office use with increased operability for operator has been put on the market. If the function of a high-speed office apparatus can be combined with the function of a POD apparatus in one machine, manufacturing cost is reduced, enabling users to utilize the apparatus at low prices.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-256076 discusses a technique for an image forming apparatus which groups a plurality of paper feed trays and, when one paper feed tray becomes empty, switches to another paper feed tray of the same group. The technique excludes from a group a paper feed tray storing paper having different paper attribute and includes the paper feed tray in a group having the same paper attribute.
In recent years, from the viewpoint of recycling, it has become necessary in offices to use different paper for each purpose, for example, recycled paper for in-house documents and draft printing, and plain paper for documents for external use. However, if a user enters a print job with "NO MEDIA SPECIFICATION", in a case where both recycled paper and plain paper are usable, to an apparatus having a plurality of media types set therein, colored paper may be fed by the above-mentioned function of automatic sheet feed stage selection (problem a).
In an apparatus operated under the above-mentioned condition, if plain paper is explicitly specified in a print job, plain paper can be fed. However, when plain paper runs out, the function of automatic sheet feed stage changeover does not function and the apparatus stops (displaying a paper-out message) even if another sheet feed stage holds sufficient amount of recycled paper. This is because plain paper and recycled paper are recognized as different media types. In this case, the user needs to do some troublesome work, i.e., replace paper or forcibly change the target sheet feed stage (problem b).
The above-mentioned problems a and b can be avoided by using the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-57944, by closing only the sheet feed stage storing required paper and opening other sheet feed stages. However, in the case of an office apparatus used by many users, except for a POD apparatus operated by a dedicated operator, it is troublesome and impractical that a user operates sheet feed stages before entering a print job.
As described above, even if one paper feed tray becomes empty, printing can be performed by switching to another paper feed tray of the same group by using the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-256076. However, with the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-256076, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of paper feed trays storing paper having the same paper attribute. In an environment where many different types of paper need to be set in paper feed trays, this technique cannot be applied because a number of paper feed trays is insufficient.
In an environment where a dedicated POD apparatus (specialized apparatus) is installed, an operator may reassign a print job to a backup LitePOD apparatus because of a tight schedule of the specialized apparatus. If the reassigned job requires paper supported only by the specialized apparatus, for example, one-sided coated paper 1 is demanded, the LitePOD apparatus not supporting one-sided coated paper 1 will generate an error or feed default paper, for example, plain paper.
In some cases, a user does not inevitably need to use one-sided coated paper 1 in the print job but may accept the use of one-sided coated paper 2 supported by the LitePOD apparatus. Even in this case, however, there is a problem that the LitePOD apparatus generates an error or feeds unintended paper (plain paper) and performs printing (problem c). Thus, if the printing apparatus does not have paper of the same media type as the one specified in the print job, the conventional technique has been unable to flexibly address this problem.
As mentioned above, from the viewpoint of recycling, there has been a demand for flexibly changing paper on a job basis, for example, recycled paper for draft printing and plain paper (and one-sided coated paper 1 for some pages) for documents for external use. However, the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-256076 groups paper feed trays of a printing apparatus and therefore cannot flexibly change paper on a job basis (problem d).

Printing apparatus, information processing apparatus, method for controlling printing apparatus, method for controlling information processing apparatus, and storage medium


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for function testing of a base station system in a wireless communication system, wherein the base station system comprises at least two antennas and at least two transceivers, and said antennas are intended to cover a target area. Function testing of the parts in the base station is based on measurements of performance variations caused by for example bad contact in feeders, misdirected or malfunctioning antennas, malfunctioning feeders, wear and tear of transceivers, and/or corrosion in feeder connections etc. By alternating between TRXs in the base station system for carrying BCCH messages the performance of each TRX is measured at each time period and stored for further analysis. Thereby a decrease or a fault in the base station system is easily detected.

A typical wireless communication system comprises a plurality of nodes, each performing a specific task. Among other types of nodes in GSM system architecture. the system comprises at least one MSC (Mobile Switching Center) in communication with at least one HLR (Home Location Register), an OSS (Operation Support System) and a plurality of BSS (Base Stations Systems) serving as access points for MS (mobile stations). A BSS comprises a BSC (Base Station Controller) and one or more BTSs (Base Transceiver Stations). The BSC is responsible for the exchange of messages between a MSC (Mobile Switching Center) and a BTS. Traffic and signaling transferred between a MSC and a MS (Mobile Station) will usually pass transparently through a BSC. The BSC, which is a functional entity within GSM architecture, is responsible for RR (Radio Resource) allocation to a MS, frequency administration and handover between BTSs controlled by the BSC. Radio interfaces are terminated at a Base Transceiver Station. Each BTS may comprise: a number of TRXs (Transceivers), typically between 1 and 16; base band processing means; Combiners; radio equipment; and antennas. In GSM systems the BTS is also responsible for ciphering of an air interface.
The MSC is a switching entity of the wireless communications system that is responsible for establishing and controlling communications between subscribers. The HLR is a database found within wireless communication systems, which stores subscriber data relating to services and features in addition to location area based information. The OSS (Operations Support System) is a network management system supporting specific management functions, such as fault, performance, statistical analysis, security, configuration etc.
Unbalance between different parts of an antenna system will degrade cell performance. A cell may have BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) coverage but not TCH (traffic Channel) or SDCCH (Stand-alone dedicated channel) coverage which will result in TCH and/or SDCCH drops. A broadcast channel is a common channel transmitting to an entire cell area of a base transceiver station, in order to provide cell information for mobile stations located in the cell. In GSM, a broadcast channel includes a FCCH (frequency correction channel), a SCH (synchronization channel) and a BCCH (broadcast control channel). The BCCH channel contains specific parameters needed by a mobile in order that it can identify a network and gain access to it. Typical information included is a LAC (Location Area Code) and a RAC (Routing Area Code), a MNC (Mobile Network Code) and a BA (BCCH Allocation) list. The SDCCH channel is used in GSM systems to provide a reliable connection for signaling and SMS (Short Message Service) messages.
The unbalance mentioned above can be hard to locate as it can be due to wear and tear or malfunctions of any parts (TRX, feeders, antennas etc) within the base station system. A BCCH TRX (transceiver) is transmitting all the time, for example this will cause higher wear and tear on the BCCH TRX compared to other TRXs in a cell. Cellular operators are in need of a simple and fast implementation for regularly monitoring both state and performance of each antenna and BSS transceiver. Radio transmission faults regularly occur and in many cases poor speech quality, poor system access, and poor reliability are due to transceiver malfunctions, broken feeders, malfunctioning and/or wrongly directed antennas not covering a planned coverage areas etc.
The industry has provided various methods for monitoring the state of a BSS, particularly the state of BSS transceivers which are directly responsible for radio communication between a network and mobile subscribers. Periodic transmission of status information of transceivers sent from a BSS to a MSC is one of the most common methods. The MSC forwards the status information data to an Operation Support System (OSS) where it is stored in a database. Then, periodically, this data is manually checked and verified by network administrators. When an error or a problem is detected or suspected in a BSS, technicians are in most cases sent in order to fix the problem. In many cases, the technicians are working for another company and such a problem solving procedure might take a lot of valuable time. In some cases the technicians have performed a wrong installation of feeders or antennas and in some cases it is difficult to detect if the problem is arising from feeders, transceivers or antennas.

Method and apparatus for functional testing of a base station system