The invention concerns a method (200) or (300) and system (100) for performing a trick mode on a video signal containing a plurality of progressively scanned original pictures. The method (200) includes the steps of: selectively repeating (214) at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal in response to a trick mode command; and the step of selectively inserting (216) at least one dummy bidirectional predictive picture in the trick mode video signal. In addition, the method (300) can include the step of monitoring (316) the trick mode video signal so that the dummy bidirectional predictive picture is selectively inserted when the bit rate exceeds a predetermined threshold. Certain pictures in the trick mode video signal can also be modified (220) (328) to reflect an intended display order.

1. Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate generally to video systems and more particularly to video systems that record or replay digitally encoded video sequences.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital television (DTV) and high-definition television (HDTV) are gaining popularity in today's consumer electronics marketplace. Many purchasers of these types of television products often buy digital video recorders or players, such as digital video disc (DVD) recorders or players, for purposes of viewing prerecorded programming or recording their favorite programs. Notably, the combination of a DTV (or an HDTV) and a digital video recorder or player can be an integral part of a home theater entertainment system.
A digital video recorder or player typically contains a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) decoder to decode the digitally encoded multimedia data that is stored on the discs that the recorder or player plays. If the digital video recorder or player is connected to a conventional (non-DTV or non-HDTV) television display device, the digitally encoded signal will be decoded by the digital video recorder or player's MPEG decoder before being displayed on the conventional television display. Significantly, however, many DTV's contain their own MPEG decoders, as the MPEG decoder in the majority of digital video recorders or players cannot handle the stringent requirements for decoding video signals for such televisions receivers As such, if a digital video recorder or player is connected to a DTV, the video signal read from the disc is remotely decoded by the DTV's decoder. This configuration can be referred to as a remote decoder arrangement.
There is, however, an important disadvantage to decoding digitally encoded signals with a remote DTV decoder. Namely, it is very difficult to perform trick modes in this type of arrangement. A trick mode can be any playback of a video or audio signal at any speed other than normal speed or in other than a forward direction. Oftentimes, a trick mode involves repeating a number of pictures in a video signal such as during a slow motion trick mode. However, since the bandwidth between the digital video recorder or player and the digital television display can be limited, repeating pictures in the signal being fed to the display may cause the signal to exceed the maximum bit rate limit of the transmission channel. The problem is even more acute if the pictures are intra (I) pictures or predictive (P) pictures, since these pictures are generally encoded with more bits. Thus, a need exists for a method and system for performing a trick mode in a remote decoder arrangement without exceeding a maximum bit rate limit and without increasing system costs or complexity.

Trick mode using dummy bidirectional predictive pictures


A method and associated detecting circuitss for detecting and correcting a connection polarity of a network transmission line include two network clients and a network transmission line. One network client utilizes a detecting circuit to count and compare the number of signal pulses at the receiving and transmitting ports to determine if the connection polarity is correct or inverted. The detecting circuit can switch the connection polarity if required to correct it.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and associated detecting circuits for detecting connection polarity of network transmission lines, and more particularly, to a method and associated detection circuits for detecting and correcting the connection polarity of network transmission lines by counting the number of signal pulses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a modern, information based society, computer networks allow people to exchange information. Hence, the manufacture and maintenance of these computer networks is an important issue.
Please refer to FIG. 1A. FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a connection between two network clients 12A and 12B via a network transmission line 14. The clients 12A and 12B can be a switch, a router, a terminal of a network system, or other types of network clients. The transmission media between these two clients can be an Ethernet, in which the network transmission line 14 is typical Ethernet transmission cable. The connection port of each client has two ports, a transmitting port and a receiving port, for exchanging information via the network transmission line 14. A transmitting port Tx0 and a receiving port Rx0 are provided in the client 12A, whereas a transmitting port Tx1 and a receiving port Rx1 are provided in the client 12B. Each port transmits or receives, for example, a differential signal by a pair of wires inside the network transmission line 14. Under a correct connection, the transmitting port Tx0 of the client 12A connects to the receiving port Rx1 of the client 12B and the receiving port Rx0 of the client 12A connects to the transmitting port Tx1 of the client 12B via the network transmission line 14, as shown in FIG. 1A, so as to provide a correct connection polarity. If the connection polarity is correct then the two clients 12A and 12B can communicate properly.
In practical situations, it happens that the connection polarity of the network transmission line 14 connected between the clients 12A and 12B is inverted. Please refer to FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the network system shown in FIG. 1A but with inverted connection polarity. That is, the transmitting port Tx1 of the client 12B connects to the transmitting port Tx0 of the client 12A instead of the receiving port Rx0. Similarly, the receiving port Rx1 of the client 12B does not correctly connect to the corresponding transmitting port Tx0 of the client 12A instead of the receiving port Rx0. Thus, the receiving ports Rx0 and Rx1 of the clients 12A and 12B will not receive any meaningful signals, since the network system malfunctions.

Method for detecting connection polarity of network transmission lines and associated detection circuit


A heat transfer type ink-jet print head and a method of fabricating the same. A method of fabricating an ink-jet print head includes sequentially laminating a heat generation layer and an electrode layer on a substrate, laminating a protective layer on the top surfaces of the electrode layer and the heat generation layer by sequentially laminating a first protective layer and a second protective layer on the top surfaces of the electrode layer and the heat generation layer, and laminating an ink chamber barrier and a nozzle plate on the top surface of the protective layer to form an ink chamber to prevent defects such as “pin-holes” from being generated during the formation of the first protective layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an ink-jet print head, and more particularly, to a thermal transfer type ink-jet print head having a protective layer to protect a heat generation layer, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an ink-jet print head may be classified into a piezoelectric type, which ejects ink using a piezoelectric member, and a heat transfer type, which ejects ink using bubbles generated when the ink is instantly heated by a heat generation member.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional heat transfer type ink-jet print head.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional ink-jet print head 100 includes substrate 110, an insulating layer 120, a heat generation layer 130, an electrode layer 140, a protective layer 150, a chamber layer 180, and a nozzle layer 190 having a nozzle 195. The heat generation layer 130 functions to instantly heat ink filled in an ink chamber 115, and the electrode layer 140 functions to apply electric power to the heat generation layer 130.
The protective layer 150 functions to protect the heat generation layer 130. The conventional protective layer 150 includes a first protective layer 160 and a second protective layer 170 sequentially laminated on top surfaces of the heat generation layer 130 and the electrode layer 140, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,389. The second protective layer 170 functions to prevent a failure of the heat generation layer 130, which is caused by a cavitation force generated when bubbles formed within the ink chamber 115 are contracted after the ink is ejected. In general, the second protective layer 170 is formed by depositing tantalum (Ta) or tantalum nitride (TaNx) on the top surface of the first protective layer 160.
In addition, the first protective layer 160 functions to electrically insulate the heat generation layer 130 and the electrode layer 140, and is formed by depositing silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx) on the top surfaces of the heat generation layer 130 and the electrode layer 140. Conventionally, the SiNx layer is deposited through a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, and the thickness of the single SiNx deposited is about 6,000 Å.
However, the conventional first protective layer 160 formed as described above has defects, such as fine holes usually called "pinholes," formed at the time of forming the protective layers. In particular, these pinholes are inevitably formed due to characteristics of the conventional process of forming such a protective layer and a material thereof. When the ink-jet print head 100 is operated for an extended period of time, the above-mentioned pinholes principally contribute to cause a failure of the first protective layer 160 due to the cavitation force. Such a failure of the first protective layer 160 is more frequently produced at an area C where the heat generation layer 130 and the electrode layer 140 are joined to one another forming a step being between them. For example, a portion including the pinholes has a poor mechanical rigidity, and may act as a point at which cracks occur when the cavitation force is exerted. As such, if the first protective layer 160 suffers a failure, the heat generation layer 130 may also suffer a failure by the cavitation force. In addition, the heat generation layer 130 may be electrically shorted with the second protective layer 170 or the ink may contact the heat generation layer 130 through a damaged part of the first protective layer 160. As a result, a duration and/or quality of the ink-jet print head will be deteriorated and defects (pinholes) in the first protective layer 160 are closely associated with the duration of the heat generation layer 130.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ink-jet printer head having laminated protective layer and method of fabricating the same


A composition for application to exterior surfaces, such as trees, so as to prevent animal damage to the exterior surface, has asphalt and denatonium benzoate mixed together. The denatonium benzoate is 1% to 50% by weight of the total composition. The asphalt is between 50% and 60% of the total composition. Naphtha and dimethyl ether are further components of the total composition. The composition is sprayable onto the exterior surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for repelling animals. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and compositions for deterring animals from damaging trees and other wooden exterior surfaces. Additionally, the present invention relates to mixtures of asphalt and denatonium benzoate.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Ranches, farms and estates often have a large number of trees locate throughout the estate. These trees can be very valuable items on the land. The trees provide shade, provide for water control and prevent erosion. In addition, these trees have extreme aesthetic value to the owner of the land. As such, it is very important to prevent damage to such trees by animals.
In other circumstances, wood is often used in the construction of fences, stalls, corrals and other structures to contain and house animals. These wooden structures are often treated with toxic wood-preserving chemicals. These toxic chemical preservatives can include, but are not limited to, creosote, pentachlorophenol, and arsenic salts, such as copper chromated arsenic. The chewing on and injection of both treated and untreated wood is known to cause several medical problems and even the death of these animals. In addition, the wood chewing can compromise the structural integrity and aesthetic appeal of the wooden structures.
There are prior art sprays that are used for the discouraging of animals from chewing on such trees and wood structures. A product, known as "BITREX"™, is a bittering agent that has been used, in the past, as a pet repellent. In certain circumstances, this bittering agent has been sprayed onto such wooden structures and on the trees. Unfortunately, when sprayed, this product does not remain on the wooden structures for a very long time. Rain and exposure to the outdoor elements, can cause a deterioration of the "BITREX"™ such that the bittering agent is no longer effective. "BITREX"™ is otherwise known as denatonium benzoate.
Since the trees and wooden structures are often distributed throughout the ranch, farm or estate, it is very difficult for the owner, or person responsible for the maintenance of such land, to continually spray this bittering agent onto the wooden structures. Often, fatal damage to the trees could occur before the owner of the land is aware that the bittering agent has degraded.
In other circumstance, treated polyurethanes are used so as to prevent damage to these wooden structures. These water-treated polyurethanes are often sprayed or painted onto the trees. Unfortunately, these urethanes can damage the tree and are often toxic to the health of the tree.
Typically, the animals that are on such ranches, farms and estates have very sensitive mouths and nasal membranes. Horses, in particular, have a habit of "cribbing", i.e. the chewing on wooden objects. Under certain circumstances, the horses will be injured by such chewing activities. In other circumstances, the "cribbing" activities can be rather addictive to the horse such that, under extreme circumstances, the horse prefers to chew on the wood than actually eat food. Horse are known to cause extreme damage to stalls, fences, gates and other wooden structures by this chewing activity. As such, it is very important to prevent the horses from these cribbing activities.
In the past, when bittering agents have been applied to the exterior surfaces, they quickly disperse into the environment and are ineffective. Since the spraying of these bittering agents leaves no visible evidence of application, horses and other animals will forget that they were ever repelled by the bittering agent. As such, although the bittering agent may have been effective for a short period of time, there will be no visible evidence to the animal that the bittering agent had ever been applied to the tree. As such, it is important to provide visible evidence to the animal of the prior existence of the bittering agent. Additionally, it is important to provide visible evidence wherein the land owner is able to determine which wooden structures have been properly treated.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to such composition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,643, issued on Jun. 21, 2005 to P. G. Landers, describes a method and composition for deterring animals from chewing on wood. The composition includes iophorone, organo-clay absorber, bisphenol-a-diglycidal ether polymer and a polyamide resin hardener. This composition also has glass flakes and mica therein as well as a microencapsulated acrylic resin-based sealant and a flocculated silica thickener.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,454 teaches an anti-chewing and anti-cribbing composition. The exterior surface includes a solvent, a carrier, a non volatile chemical and a pigment. The solvent is a combination of a higher aromatic solvent having a boiling point above 170° C. and crystals thereof combined with a carrier thereof. In particular, this composition is intended for use in association with the cribbing habits of horses.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,661,504 and 5,741,553 describe the use of denatonium for preventing pet damage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,553 describes the use of a bittering agent of denatonium benzoate (BITREX™). The bittering agent is about 0.03% by weight of the pet repellent. The carrier for this repellent includes tap water, filtered water, softened water and de-ionized water. This repellent is intended to prevent household pets from damaging furniture, rugs and upholstery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,504 issued on Apr. 28, 1987 to Hollander et al., describes the use of denatonium saccharide for the purpose of protecting the surface of an object against animal damage. Surface active agents and hydrocarbons can also be included in the mixture. The composition is intended to be added to paints, pastes, glues and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,535 issued on Apr. 4, 1989 to Baines et al., describes a composition for repelling deer. This composition is a synthetic blend of components that is obtained by a Soxhlet extraction of lion faeces.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a composition and method that serves to deter animals from damaging exterior surfaces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a composition and method that can be retained and be effective when deployed onto the exterior surfaces for a long period of time even through exposure to the exterior environments.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and composition for an animal repellent that will not wash off the exterior surface.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and composition for repelling animals that avoids damage to tree and the other exterior surfaces.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a method and composition which is easily and clearly visible.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and composition of an animal repellent which is nontoxic to the animal.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a composition and method which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Composition and method for deterring animals from damaging exterior surfaces


The present invention relates to a percussion hammer for enlarging drilled holes. The hammer comprises an external outer wear sleeve (5), an inner cylinder (7) mounted co-axially within the outer wear sleeve (5), a tubular torque shaft (3) disposed axially and centrally of the hammer assembly, and extending longitudinally through the assembly. The hammer further comprises a sliding piston (6) mounted for reciprocating movement within the inner cylinder (7) and outer wear sleeve (10) and about the tubular torque shaft (3) to strike a hammer bit (1) for reciprocal movement in a chuck (4) adjacent a forward end of the hammer assembly. The hammer bit (1) has a central bore (46) through which the torque shaft (3) extends, such that the torque shaft (3) protrudes forwardly of the hammer.

It is known to use directional drilling apparatus to form substantially horizontal drill holes in the ground for installing electrical or telephone cables, gas or water pipes, or the like. The directional drilling equipment usually comprises a percussion drill bit operable through a drill string and includes a steering device so that the drill bit can be steered in a desired substantially horizontal direction below and along the route of roads and streets, and under river beds, roads and the like. Such directional drilling apparatus is well known and is disclosed, for example, in WO 97/49889, U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,415, and US 2004/0188142A.
In a typical directional drilling system, a drill string incorporating a percussion hammer, to apply axial impact forces to the drill bit, is utilised to drill an initial pilot hole of a small diameter (for example 133 mm) than the diameter of the ultimate passage desired. The ultimate drill passage may have a diameter of anything from 200 mm to 760 mm depending upon the size of the cables, pipes or conduits to be inserted in the drilled passageway.
With the known horizontal drilling method, when the percussion drill bit and hammer breaks through the surface after having drilled the pilot hole, the percussion hammer system is removed and a reamer bit is fixed to the protruding drill rod. Using the drill string, the reamer bit is then pulled back against the face of the drilled pilot hole. By means of a rotary force only (i.e. without percussion) the hole is then reamed by the reamer bit to the required larger diameter. Because there are no percussion forces involved the penetration rate of the reamer is very slow, particularly in hard rock formations. Back-Reaming tools are disclosed, for example, in US 2002/0108785A,
Another known method of enlarging the pilot hole is to remove the drill string including the percussion drill hammer from the pilot hole and then using another hammer system with a larger bit to ream the hole to size. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,620 discloses a method of boring holes which includes forming an open-ended pilot bore by means of a first self-propelled displacement hammer of smaller diameter. Next a cable is introduced through the pilot bore and then the diameter of the pilot bore is increased to form the hole by means of a second displacement hammer of greater diameter. The second displacement hammer is guided through the pilot bore by pulling it with the cable, which for this purpose is attached to the leading end of the second hammer. The disadvantage of this system is that because the initial drill string has been removed there is a danger that the larger hammer system will deviate from the course of the pilot hole. For example, it may drift to one or other side of the axis of the pilot hole. Also there can be a risk of the pilot hole collapsing in broken conditions.
It is known to use similar methods to enlarge pilot holes drilled by raise boring apparatus in the drilling of vertical elevator shafts and the like. The pilot hole is drilled vertically downwards, and then using the pilot hole as a guide, a drill head is pulled upwardly to enlarge the hole. An example of such a drill head is disclosed in US 2004/0188142A. This drill head utilises at least two, and preferably three impact hammers.
EP 0 507 610 A (Rear) discloses an uphole hammer comprising a substantially tubular housing which is closed at one end and supports a substantially centrally located fluid supply tube at said one end. The fluid supply tube extends axially through the housing and is connected at its other end to drill a string, and receives fluid being directed to the hammer by the drill string. The housing supports a drill bit at its other end, which is slidably received about the fluid supply tube. A piston also is slidably supported about the fluid supply tube in the housing for reciprocation between the drill bit and the end of the housing. Fluid porting means is provided to alternately admit fluid to the spaces defined between each end of the piston and the respective ends of the housing to effect reciprocation of the piston between a first position at which it impacts on the drill bit and a second position at which it lies in the vicinity of the end of the housing.
The uphole hammer disclosed in EP 0 507 610 A suffers from a number of disadvantages. It discloses a centrally located fluid supply tube (13) which extends axially through the hammer housing (11). The tube serves to transmit torque and to regulate the piston cycle. Because of the complicated machined shapes of the tube and the provision of ports 30a and 30b cut through the wall of the tube, the structure of the tube is significantly weakened for the purpose of torque transmission. The clearance between the piston and the tubes must be sufficiently small to provide the sealing necessary to operate the piston cycle. The small clearance in conjunction with the torque transmission, and weakening of the wall structure, places excessive stress and bending on the tube. For example because of the presence of ports 30a and 30b, and the requirement for a tight running clearance with the piston, it is likely that the tube will distort under torque. Avoiding the clearance problem may necessitate that the clearance between the piston and the tube be increased, thus reducing efficiency.
Also, in EP 0 507 610 A, the drill bit (18) is retained in the drivel-sub bit support (17) by a bit retaining ring (19), which results in a relatively weak bit design. Furthermore, in EP 0 507 610 A, the back end of the hammer comprises an end plate (12) fixed to the tubular housing (11) by studs (15) and to one end of the fluid supply tube (13) by a second set of studs (16). There is a high risk that in operation the variation of the system would cause studs to loosen which would result in very serious damage to the hammer.

Percussion hammer for enlarging drilled holes


A displacement detection apparatus for a linear motion mechanism includes a nut member, a rod including elongate grooves elongating in an axial direction of the rod and a through hole, a permanent magnet disposed parallel to the rod, a magnet block made of synthetic resin and including a retaining portion holding the permanent magnet, a pair of leg portions extending from ends of the retaining portion that are spaced apart, and a nut made of metal insert-molded at an intermediate position between the pair of leg portions, and a displacement sensor disposed opposing to the permanent magnet. The pair of leg portions and the nut of the magnet block are disposed in the elongate groove of the rod and the magnet block is fixed to the rod by a bolt screwed to the nut, the bolt penetrating through the through hole extending through the rod.

A linear motion mechanism including a nut member and a rod that screws through the nut member and converting rotational movement of the nut member into linear movement is generally known. In addition, a displacement detection apparatus for detecting displacement of the rod in the axial direction of the rod is known. As an example, a known linear motion mechanism serving as a driving mechanism that drives a rod in a rear wheel steering apparatus composing a portion of a four wheel steering (4WS) system for a vehicle is disclosed in JP5098242B, hereinafter referred to as Reference 1. Various rear wheel steering apparatuses, each of which is composing a portion of a four wheel steering (4WS) system for a vehicle, are known. Fundamentally, each of such rear wheel steering apparatuses includes a rod that connects to rear wheels of a vehicle, a housing supporting the rod, the housing to be fixed to a chassis of a vehicle, and a motor housed in the housing, the motor for driving the rod to steer the rear wheels, as disclosed in Reference 1. A similar rear wheel steering apparatus disclosed in JP3601170B, hereinafter referred to as Reference 2, includes a rear wheel steering sensor, which corresponds to a displacement detection apparatus, for detecting displacement of a rack shaft so as to detect an absolute steering amount of rear wheels.
In Reference 2, the rear wheel steering sensor is described as including a hall IC. The rear wheel steering sensor outputs a signal indicating a steering position corresponding to moving amount of a permanent magnet attached to the rack shaft. The permanent magnet is illustrated in FIG. 2 in Reference 2, however, how the permanent magnet is attached relative to the rack shaft, which corresponds to the rod, is not described. Commonly, an adhesive is used as a bonding means. In addition, as a means for preventing the rack shaft, which corresponds to the rod, from rotating, a key groove is formed on the rod and a key is attached to the key groove, commonly. Normally, the key groove and the key are provided separately from the rear wheel steering sensor. Alternatively, the rod and the housing supporting the rod are provided with splines so as to prevent the rod from rotating and so as to allow movement in the axial direction only. In either case, the displacement detection apparatus is not related to the means for preventing the rod from rotating, and commonly they are separately designed.
In the rear wheel steering apparatus disclosed in Reference 1, the housing of a motor and the housing of a speed reducing mechanism are threadably mounted together and the housing of the speed reducing mechanism and a cover is fastened by a locknut. A displacement detection apparatus is additionally attached thereto. As a result, number of components increases, assembly becomes difficult and cost reduction becomes difficult. In Reference 2, the rear wheel steering sensor is integrated into a servo unit, however, the servo unit is a component separately provided from the housing. As a result, number of components increases and cost reduction becomes difficult.
A need thus exists for a displacement detection apparatus for a linear motion mechanism and rear wheel steering apparatus for a vehicle including the displacement detection apparatus for the linear motion mechanism, which are not susceptible to the drawbacks mentioned above.

Displacement detection apparatus for linear motion mechanism and rear wheel steering apparatus for vehicle including the same


The present disclosure provides a fluid pump having a pump motor, a pump drive shaft and a vane pump assembly. The pump assembly includes a pump housing having fluid inlet and outlet ports. The pump assembly also includes a distal bearing member having first and second sides and a second side, a plurality of inlet orifices, and a cavity formed in the second side. A first cam ring, having an elliptical interior opening, is disposed within the pump housing adjacent the distal bearing member. A rotor is disposed within the opening in the first cam ring. This rotor has first and second sides, a cavity in the first side, and a plurality of radial slots for sliding vanes. The vane pump assembly also includes a second cam ring, having an elliptical shape, disposed in the cavities formed in the distal bearing member second side and the rotor first side. In addition, the vane pump assembly includes a proximate bearing member disposed within the pump housing adjacent the first cam ring and having a plurality of outlet orifices.

Sliding vane pumps are known and are well suited to a variety of pumping applications due to their reliability and relatively few moving parts. However, the sliding vanes of such pumps are prone to sticking leading to decreased pump efficiency. This is particularly true at pump startup and when the internal components of the pump have been fouled by contaminants from the fluid being pumped. Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and reliable means to prevent and/or eliminate sticking or freezing of the vanes within a sliding vane pump.

Sliding vane pump with internal cam ring


A thin film transistor array panel according to the present invention includes a first wire, a second wire, and a pixel electrode. The first wire is formed on an insulating substrate and is used as a gate line or a storage capacitor electrode. The second wire overlaps the first wire via a gate insulating layer and is used as a storage capacitor conductor or a drain electrode. The pixel electrode is formed on a passivation layer covering the second wire and is connected to the second wire through a contact hole of a second insulating layer. In order to secure aperture ratio of the pixel and to block light leakage, distances between the boundaries of the contact hole at the place where alignment treatment or rubbing ends and the boundaries of the first wire or the second wire adjacent thereto and located outside the boundaries of the contact hole are designed to be wider than those between the boundaries of the contact hole at the other places and the boundaries of the first wire or the second wire.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel, and in particular, to a thin film transistor array panel used as a panel for a liquid crystal display.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A typical liquid crystal display ("LCD"), which is one of widely used flat panel displays, includes two panels having a plurality of electrodes generating electric field, a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, and two polarizers attached to outer surfaces of the panels for polarizing light The LCD applies voltages to the electrodes to reorient liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer, thereby adjusting the amount of light passing therethrough. The LCD uses one of the characteristics that voltage application varies orientations of the liquid crystal molecules, and the LCD employing transmittance or reflection of light requires an internal or external light source since the liquid crystal is not self-emissive.
A thin film transistor array ("TFT") panel for an LCD is used as a circuit board for driving pixels in an independent manner. The TFT array panel includes a scanning signal wire or a gate wire for transmitting scanning signals, an image signal wire or a data wire for transmitting image signals, a plurality of TFTs connected to the gate and the data wire, and a plurality of pixel electrodes connected to the wires through the TFTs for displaying images.
The pixel electrodes are designed to overlap the gate wire and the data wire for securing aperture ratio of the pixels, and a thick insulating layer having a low dielectric constant is provided between the pixel electrodes and the gate wire and the data wire in order to minimize parasitic capacitance generated therebetween.
However, there is a problem that undesired inversion of the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules occurs around contact holes of an insulating layer for connecting the pixel electrodes and the data wire, and this causes light leakage to show disclination, thereby degrading display quality. The reason is that the direction of the electric field generated by the pixel electrodes formed along slopes of the insulating layer is opposite the orientations of the liquid crystal molecules, and thus the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is broken. Although the light leakage is blocked by designing opaque films such as the gate wire and the data wire to be wide, this reduces the aperture ratio, particularly for a high-resolution LCD.


A catalyst usable in hydrotreatment processes: an alumina-based amorphous support, phosphorus, a C1-C4 dialkyl succinate, acetic acid and a hydro-dehydrogenizing function of at least one group VIII element and at least one group VIB element, preferably made up of cobalt and molybdenum, a catalyst whose Raman spectrum comprises the most intense bands characteristic of the Keggin heteropolyanions (974 and/or 990 cm−1), C1-C4 dialkyl succinate and acetic acid (896 cm−1). Preferably, the dialkyl succinate concerned is dimethyl succinate and its main band is at 853 cm−1.

Adding an organic compound to hydrotreatment catalysts in order to improve their activity is now well known to the person skilled in the art. Many patents protect the use of various ranges of organic compounds such as mono-, di- or polyalcohols, possibly etherized (WO96/41848, WO01/76741, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,012,340, 3,954,673, EP601722). Catalysts modified with C2-C14 monoesters are described in patent applications EP466568 and EP1046424, however these modifications do not always allow to sufficiently increase the performances of the catalyst in order to meet the specifications relative to the sulfur contents of fuels, which have become increasingly restricting for refiners.
In order to overcome this, patent WO2006/077326 filed by the TOTAL Company proposes using a catalyst comprising groups VIB and VIII metals, a refractory oxide as the support and an organic compound, comprising at least 2 carboxylic ester functions of formula R1-O—CO—R2-CO—O—R1 or R1-CO—O—R2-O—CO—R1 wherein each R1 independently represents a C1 to C18 alkyl group, a C2 to C18 alkenyl group, a C6 to C18 aryl group, a C3 to C8 cycloalkyl group, a C7 to C20 alkylaryl or arylalkyl group, or the 2 groups R1 jointly form a C2 to C18 divalent group, and R2 represents a C1 to C18 alkylene group, a C6 to C18 arylene group, a C3 to C7 cycloalkylene group, or a combination thereof, and the carbon chain of the hydrocarbon groups represented by R1 and R2 can contain or carry one or more heteroatoms selected from among N, S and O, and each group R1 and R2 can carry one or more substituents of formula
—C(═O)O—R1 or —O—C(═O)—R1, where R1 has the aforementioned meaning. A preferred mode uses C1-C4 dialkyl succinate, and in particular dimethyl succinate that is exemplified. These compounds can be introduced in the presence of a solvent (a considerable list of solvents is mentioned) or of a carboxylic acid. Among the about thirty acids notably mentioned, there is acetic acid, which is however not mentioned among the ten preferred acids. It can be noted already that citric acid is preferred.
The catalyst preparation method as described in patent WO2006/077326 comprises maturation and thermal treatment stages that can last up to several days, for example from 49 days to 115 days, which would greatly limit the production of these catalysts and would therefore require improvements.
Other patents of the prior art describe an activity gain linked with the combined use of an organic acid or an alcohol on a hydrotreatment catalyst. Thus, patent application No.JP1995-136523 filed by KK Japan Energy provides a solution consisting in:                preparing according to a first preferred mode of the invention a solution containing a catalyst support, one or more metals from group VI of the periodic table and from group VIII, an organic acid. According to a second preferred mode of the invention, this solution also comprises a phosphorus precursor,        carrying out a thermal treatment between 200° C. and 400° C.,        carrying out impregnation of the catalyst obtained above by an organic acid or an alcohol with a ratio of 0.1 to 2 per mole of metals.
One of the preferred modes of the invention then comprises drying at a temperature below 200° C., whereas a second preferred mode of the invention comprises a final thermal treatment at a temperature greater than or equal to 400° C.
It has been observed that these catalysts do not have a sufficient activity to meet the new environmental standards in the face of the increasingly hydrogen-poor feeds available to refiners.
Similarly, patent WO2005/035691 claims an activation method that schematically allows to decrease the proportion of crystallized phase of CoMoO4 type present on the regenerated catalysts comprising groups VIII and VIB metal oxides, a method comprising contacting the regenerated catalyst with an acid and an organic additive. Therefore, the citric acid (CA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) combination has been used on a regenerated catalyst in many examples.

Catalyst that can be used in hydrotreatment, comprising metals of groups VIII and VIB, and preparation with acetic acid and dialkyl succinate C1-C4


In a data processing system, an object is displayed on a display coupled to the data processing system. Also displayed, is a multiple-point cursor having at least first and second pointing spots. The multiple-point cursor is typically positioned by user manipulation of a pointing device, such as a mouse. In response to a user indication, such as a mouse click, a first operation is performed on the displayed object if the first pointing spot is positioned over the object during the mouse click. Similarly, a second operation is performed on the displayed object in response to a user indication while the second pointing spot of the multiple-point cursor is positioned over the object on the display. Such first and second operations may include a copy operation and a move operation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved data processing system having a display and a pointing device, such as a mouse or a track ball, and in particular to a data processing system in which a pointing device indicates an object displayed on a display and performs a predetermined operation on the object.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known data processing systems having a graphic user interface (GUI), it is common to perform a predetermined operation on an object displayed on a display, where such an object may include an icon, a graph, a window frame, or a character. Such predetermined operations may include an actuation of a program associated with an icon, an expansion of a window, or moving a window. These predetermined operations may be accomplished by positioning a mouse cursor and clicking or double clicking a mouse button, or clicking and dragging the displayed object.
Along with the complication of GUI application programs, operations that may be performed on an object on a display have become diversified. To cope with the diversification of such operations, attempts have been made in the prior art to improve the user interface, and to improve the efficiency of the various operations.
PUPA 59-163666 discloses a graphic generator using multiple cursors that forms a cursor area in an area surrounding part of a graphic pattern, moves in a voluntary direction a graphic surrounded by the cursor area, and further adds or contracts the graphic along with the movement of the graphic.
PUPA 62-11927 discloses a calculator using an icon for display and selection of functions, where the functions possessed by each icon, the icon's position on the screen, the icon's shape, and menu data displayed when the icon is displayed are stored and controlled to display the content of menu data when an icon for controlling the cursor display is selected.
PUPA 62-259129 discloses an indication means for indicating voluntary two pointing spots with a relative distance therebetween on a tablet, and cursor control means for moving a graphic cursor displayed on a display following the movement of the graphic cursor between the two pointing spots, as well as changing the size of the graphic cursor in response to pressing a predetermined button.
PUPA 2-166506 discloses an information input apparatus that displays a cursor on a display screen in response to the operation of a pointing device, the cursor serving as a shape for representing the function of an operation means.
PUPA 4-34663 discloses a function for representing the scope of an object to be selected with a cursor for selecting and editing an object on a display, as well as allowing variation of the shape and size of the cursor for representing the scope of an object to be selected.
While the prior art discloses changing the shape and size of a mouse cursor in accordance with a different operation, the cursor serves only to select one object. Consequently, when an attempt is made to perform one of a plurality of possible operations, for example, the following processing steps will be followed:
(a) A specific object is selected by positioning a mouse cursor on the specific object and clicking a mouse button. At this time, the specific object changes color, inverts its display, and becomes shaded to indicate that it has been selected. However, the operation that is to be performed has not yet been established, and therefore, the operation is not performed on the object at this stage. PA0 (b) Then the menu on the upper part of the window is clicked to display a pull-down menu. PA0 (c) A desired operation menu is clicked from among a plurality of operation menus displayed in the pull-down menu. As a consequence, the desired operation is performed on the selected object.
Such an operation, however, requires many operation steps using a mouse cursor. The operation is thus inefficient. There is also known a method of performing a specific operation with a combination of a control key and the right button of the mouse as a short cut key to cope with the above operation. Users are obliged to memorize a specific key stroke. Such a method is also lacking in flexibility in the user interface.

Method and system in a data processing system for processing data utilizing a cursor having multiple pointing spots

International Business Machines Corporation


A lithographic apparatus is disclosed. The lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system that provides a beam of radiation, and a support structure that supports a patterning structure. The patterning structure is configured to impart the beam of radiation with a pattern in its cross-section. The apparatus also includes a substrate support that supports a substrate, and a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate. The illumination system includes a radiation-production system that produces extreme ultra-violet radiation, and a radiation-collection system that collects extreme ultra-violet radiation. Particles that are produced as a by-product of extreme ultra-violet radiation production move substantially in a particle-movement direction. The radiation-collection system is arranged to collect extreme ultra-violet radiation which radiates in a collection-direction, which is substantially different from the particle-movement direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus, an illumination system, and a method for providing a projection beam of EUV radiation.
2. Description of Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning structure, such as a mask, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (comprising part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion in one go, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the projection beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
Lithographic apparatus include, for example, an illumination system for providing a projection beam of radiation. In an extreme ultra-violet (EUV) system, the illumination system typically includes a radiation-production system for producing extreme ultra-violet radiation (EUV), and a radiation-collection system for collection of the EUV produced by the radiation-production system.
Examples of radiation-production systems includes laser produced plasma sources and discharge plasma sources. A laser produced plasma source usually comprises an object, which may also be a gas, that is hit by a laser. This causes a secondary emission, e.g. EUV light, as well as the production of undesired particles, referred to as particles or debris particles.
During use of an illumination system, the particles that are produced as a by-product of the production of the EUV radiation typically enter the radiation-collection system, which causes pollution, or contamination. If the particles have a high velocity, the particles may cause damage to the radiation-collection system. It is possible that other parts of the illumination system that are "downstream," with respect to the radiation-collection system, may suffer from the presence and/or impact of these high velocity particles.

Lithographic apparatus, illumination system and method for providing a projection beam of EUV radiation


A method for manufacturing an ingot block in which an ingot of a silicon single crystal pulled up by a Czochralski process is cut and subjected to outer periphery grinding to manufacture an ingot block of the silicon single crystal, the method including: a step of measuring a radial center position of the ingot at one or more locations along a longitudinal direction of the ingot, a step of setting a reference position at which an offset amount of the measured radial center position of the ingot is equal to or less than a predetermined eccentricity amount, a step of cutting the ingot into the ingot blocks based on the set reference position, and a step of performing outer periphery grinding on each of the cut ingot blocks.

In the related art, an ingot of a silicon single crystal pulled up by the Czochralski process has been subjected to outer periphery grinding in a state of the ingot after being pulled up. After the outer periphery grinding, the ingot is cut into ingot blocks of a predetermined length, an azimuth reference position is determined for each ingot block by X-ray diffraction, and an orientation flat or a notch is formed according to the azimuth reference position (for example, see Patent Literature 1).
By the way, in a device process of a semiconductor wafer, a defect due to a slip dislocation generated in a high-temperature heat treatment process may cause a problem. The defect depends on the strength of the semiconductor wafer.
Generally, a region with a high oxygen concentration in the semiconductor wafer has high strength, and a region with a low oxygen concentration has low strength. Therefore, in a case where a low oxygen concentration region exists in the semiconductor wafer, the risk of occurrence of defects due to slip dislocation increases.
On the other hand, the low oxygen melt on the liquid level surface layer of the melt in a crucible in growing the silicon single crystal is likely to be taken into an outer periphery of the ingot of the silicon single crystal manufactured by the Czochralski process. Therefore, the interstitial oxygen concentration of the ingot of the silicon single crystal tends to decrease toward the outer periphery portion. Accordingly, how to remove and reduce the low oxygen concentration region in the outer periphery grinding step is a problem for reducing defects due to slip dislocation in the device process.

Method for manufacturing ingot block, method for manufacturing semiconductor wafer, and device for manufacturing ingot block


The present invention relates to a compound represented by formula (I), a salt thereof, an N-oxide thereof, a solvate thereof or a prodrug thereof, and medical use thereof (the symbols in the formula are as described in the specification).

Chemokine is known as a basic protein having endogenous leukocyte chemotactic and activating activities and strong heparin-binding abilities. At present, it is considered that chemokine is related to not only the control of infiltration of specific leukocyte at the time of inflammations and immune responses but also the development and homing of lymphocyte under physiological conditions and migration of hemocyte precursor cells and somatic cells.
Differentiation, proliferation and cell death of hemocytes are controlled by various types of cytokine. In the living body, inflammations are found locally and differentiation, maturation and the like of lymphocytes are carried out at certain specific sites. That is, various necessary cells migrate into certain specified sites and accumulate therein to cause a series of inflammations and immune responses. Accordingly, migration of cells is also an indispensable phenomenon to lead to the immune system in addition to differentiation, proliferation and death of cells.
Migration of hemocytes in the living body starts firstly in the development stage by the shift of hematopoiesis started in the AGM (Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros) region into permanent hematopoiesis in bone marrow via fetal liver. Furthermore, precursor cells of T cells and thymus dendritic cells migrate from the fetal liver into the bone marrow and then into the thymus gland and cytodifferentiate under thymus environment. The T cell which is subjected to clone selection migrates into secondary lymphoid tissues and takes part in an immune response in the periphery. The Langerhans's cell of the skin activated and differentiated by capturing an antigen migrates into the T cell region of a topical lymph node and activates naive T cell therein as a dendritic cell. The memory T cell demonstrates its homing ability again into the lymph node via lymphatic and blood vessels. Also, B cell, T cell in the intestinal epithelium, γδT cell, NKT cell and dendritic cell migrate from bone marrow without passing through the thymus gland and differentiate to take part in an immune response.
Chemokine is deeply related to the migration of these various cells. For example, CCR4 which is a receptor for MDC (Macrophage-derived chemokine) and TARC (Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine) is expressed in Th2 cell (see J. Immunol., 161, 5111 (1998)), and is known to play an important role in the migration of Th2 cell into topical sites where immune and inflammatory responses related to the Th2 cell is induced. In a mouse OVA-induced airway hypersensitivity model, an anti-MDC antibody suppressed the number of eosinophils accumulated in the lung interstitium, and suppressed airway hypersensitivity (see J. Immunol., 163, 403 (1999)). In a mouse OVA-induced airway hypersensitivity model, anti-TARC antibody suppressed infiltration of eosinophils and lymphocytes into the airway as well as airway hypersensitivity (see J. Immunol, 166, 2055 (2001)). In the investigation with Nc/Nga mouse, it was recognized that amounts of TARC and MDC have increased in the atopic dermatitis-like lesion site (see J. Clin. Invest., 104, 1097 (1999)). For CCR4 relation to human pathologic conditions, the number of CCR4 positive memory-T lymphocyte in peripheral blood increased depending on severity of dermatitis (see J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 107, 353 (2001)), and the amount of TARC in the serum was also correlated to the severity in the atopic dermatitis patients (see J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 107, 535 (2001)). The amount of TARC in the serum and the induced sputum also increased in the asthma patients (see Allergy, 57, 173 (2002)). MDC concentration in the blood was high in Th2 diseases such as atopic dermatitis and Sezary syndrome (see Eur. J. Immunol., 30, 201 (2000)).
There have been many reports suggesting correlation with other inflammatory diseases than allergic diseases, and CCR4 positive cell was accumulated selectively in the affected site of Lupus nephritis (see Arthritis Rheum., 46, 735 (2002)). Expression of TARC and MDC was high in the affected site of Crohn's disease (see Eur. Cytokine Netw., 12, 468 (2001)). CCR4 expression rose in the peripheral blood CD4 positive cells of systemic lupus erythematodes patients as compared with healthy persons (see J. Leuko., Biol., 70, 749 (2001)).
Furthermore, it has been known that chemokine play various roles in immune responses in addition to the migration of various cells. In the investigation with CCR4 deficient mouse, it was recognized that lethality by high dose LPS shock reduced as compared with wild type, and further, amounts of TNFα, IL-1β and MIP-1α also reduced in the blood after administration of LPS. Furthermore, in a rat fulminant hepatitis model (P.acnes+LPS), an anti-TARC antibody suppressed increase of the amount of ALT in the blood and increase of the expression amounts of TNFα and FasL in the liver and also improved lethality of the rats (see J. Clin. Invest., 102, 1933 (1998)). It was shown that CCR4 contributes to the binding of activated T cells and dendritic cells (see J. Immunol., 167, 4791 (2001)). Furthermore, TARC and MDC caused platelet aggregation mediated by CCR4 (see Thrombosis Research, 101, 279 (2001)), which is one of various physiological activities of chemokines and chemokine receptors.
Based on the above, chemokines and chemokine receptors are greatly related to the control of inflammation and/or immune responses through a mechanism in which they are expressed at certain specified periods in variously specific cells and its effector cells are accumulated in a region where chemokine is produced.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (called AIDS) which is induced by human immunodeficiency virus (hereinafter referred to as "HIV") is one of the diseases of which their therapeutic methods are most earnestly desired in recent years. Once infection with HIV is completed in a CD4-positive cell which is a principal target cell, HIV repeats its proliferation in the body of the patient and, sooner or later, completely destroys T cell which takes charge of the immunological function. During this process, the immunological function is gradually reduced to cause fever, diarrhea, lymph node enlargement and the like various immunodeficiency conditions which are apt to cause complications with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and the like various opportunistic infections. Such conditions are the onset of AIDS, and it is well known that they induce and worsen Kaposi sarcoma and the like malignant tumors.
As the recent preventive and therapeutic methods for AIDS, attempts have been made to, e.g., (1) inhibit growth of HIV by the administration of a reverse transcriptase inhibitor or a protease inhibitor and (2) prevent or alleviate opportunistic infections by the administration of a drug having immunopotentiation activity.
Helper T cells which take charge of the central of immune system are mainly infected with HIV. It is known since 1985 that HIV uses the membrane protein CD4 expressing on the membrane of T cells in the infection (Cell, 52, 631 (1985)). The CD4 molecule is composed of 433 amino acid residues, and its expression can be found in macrophages, some B cells, vascular endothelial cells, Langerhans' cells in skin tissues, dendritic cells in lymphoid tissues, glia cells of the central nervous system and the like, in addition to the mature helper T cells. However, since it has been revealed that the infection with HIV is not completed by the CD4 molecule alone, a possibility has been suggested on the presence of factors other than the CD4 molecule, which are related to the infection of cells with HIV.
In 1996, a cell membrane protein called Fusin was identified as a factor other than the CD4 molecule, which is related to the HIV infection (Science, 272, 872 (1996)). It was confirmed that this Fusin molecule is a receptor (namely, CXCR4) of stromal derived factor-1 (hereinafter referred to as "SDF-1"). In addition, it was confirmed also in vitro that the SDF-1 specifically inhibits infection of T cell tropic (X4) HIV (Nature, 382, 829 (1996), Nature, 382, 833 (1996)). That is, it is considered that the HIV infection was inhibited by the binding of SDF-1 to CXCR4 preceding HIV, thereby depriving HIV of a foothold for infecting cells.
Also at that time, it was discovered that another chemokine receptor CCR5, which is a receptor of RANTES, MIP-1α and MIP-1β, is also used at the time of the infection with a macrophage tropic (R5) HIV (Science, 272, 1955 (1996)).
Accordingly, substances which can compete with CXCR4 and CCR5 for HIV, or which can bind to HIV virus thus causing the virus unable to bind to CXCR4 and CCR5, could become HIV infection inhibitors. Also, there is a case in which a low molecular compound initially discovered as an HIV infection inhibitor was actually a CXCR4 antagonist (Nature Medicine, 4, 72 (1998)).
Therefore, it is considered to use chemokine receptor antagonist as a preventive and/or therapeutic agent for inflammatory and/or allergic disease [for example, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), anaphylaxis or anaphylactoid reaction, allergic vasculitis, transplant rejection reaction, hepatitis, nephritis, nephropathy, pancreatitis, rhinitis, arthritis, inflammatory ocular disease (e.g., conjunctivitis, etc.), inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, eosinophilic gastroenteropathy, etc.), disease in cerebro and/or circulatory system (e.g., arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, ischemic/reperfusion disorder, restenosis, infarction, etc.), respiratory disease (e.g., acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis, etc.), dermatosis (e.g., dermatitis such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, contact dermatitis, eczema, urticaria and pruritus, and the like), autoimmune disease (e.g., multiple sclerosis, chronic articular rheumatism, systemic lupus erythematodes, Type I diabetes mellitus, glomerular nephritis, Sjoegren's syndrome, etc.), and the like], metabolism and/or endocrine system disease (e.g., diabetes mellitus, etc.), cancer disease [for example, malignant neoplasm such as leukemia, cancer and cancer metastasis, etc.), and the like], infection [for example, viral disease (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, SARS, etc.), and the like], and the like.
Until now, some compounds were disclosed as low molecular weight compounds having chemokine receptor antagonistic activity (see the specification of WO02/030357, WO02/030358, WO02/094264, WO03/051870, WO03/059893 and WO03/099773).
Also, the following sulfonamide compounds are known.
For example, the compound represented by formula (Y):

is known to be useful as an antiulcer agent (WO99/050237).
Also, the compound represented by formula (W):

is known to be useful as an antagonist and/or an agonist of PGE2 (WO98/027053). In this specification, 4-({[3-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]-5-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-yl]oxy}methyl)benzoic acid is disclosed specifically (CAS No.: 209687-70-7).
Moreover, sulfonamide compounds of the following (1) to (17) are known:    (1) N-[3-(benzyloxy)pyridin-2-yl]-4-(trifluoromethoxy)benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 497060-26-1),    (2) N-[3-(benzyloxy)pyridin-2-yl]-4-fluorobenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 486441-58-1),    (3) N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-propylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-98-3),    (4) N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-95-0),    (5) 4-bromo-N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-94-9),    (6) 4-chloro-N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-93-8),    (7) N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-92-7),    (8) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-3,4-difluorobenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-33-6),    (9) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-2-(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-29-0),    (10) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-pentylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-21-2),    (11) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-20-1),    (12) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-isopropylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-11-0),    (13) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-propylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-10-9),    (14) 3-chloro-N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-08-5),    (15) N-{3-[(3,5-difluorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-07-4),    (16) N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}-4-isopropylbenzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307352-01-8), and    (17) N-{3-[(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)oxy]pyridin-2-yl}benzenesulfonamide (CAS No.: 307351-98-0).

Chemokine receptor antagonist and medical use thereof

Abstract: The compound represented by formula (I) has chemokine receptor (especially in CCR4 and/or CCR5) antagonistic activity. Therefore it is useful for prevention and/or treatment of a chemokine receptor-mediated disease such as inflammatory and/or allergic diseases [systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid reaction, allergic angiitis, transplant rejection reaction, hepatitis, nephritis, nephropathy, pancreatitis, rhinitis, arthritis, inflammatory ocular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, disease in cerebro and/or circulatory system, respiratory disease, dermatosis, autoimmune disease, and the like], infection [viral disease (human immunodeficiency virus infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, SARS, etc.), and the like], and the like.


An apparatus to assist the musical instruction of a student including one or more tone sources (e.g., flute, human voice, violin) playing monophonically as inputs, means to quantify aural parameters of pitch, amplitude, duration, and timbre of inputs, means to visually store and represent temporal history of said, means to store and playback audio signal of inputs, and means to arrive at and display musical related pitches. A waveform analyzer is used to control a tunable low-pass filter in the pitch tracker and preform spectral estimation of timbre. Pre-recorded music instruction and a karaoke player are used as examples of reference tone sources. Visual representation of aural parameters can provided as video output.

This invention generally relates to a teaching device to assist music students in recognizing and producing accurate pitch, timbre (tonal quality), and timing (meter) on their musical instrument and more particularly to an electronic apparatus to quantify and provide visual feedback of the musical performance of a student to that of a musical reference.
A student of music, for purposes of description, is anyone who is trying to play a musical instrument. The invention disclosed herewith discusses musical instruments that produce a tone of detectable pitch. This includes the human voice, violin, and flute and excludes most percussive instruments (e.g., snare drum and tambourine). A tone has aural parameters that include pitch, amplitude, duration, and timbre. When used in the context of `audible tone reference`, tone can include any combination of pitched and unpitched sound sources (e.g., a band with a percussion section).
A basic ability required of a student of music is to produce and sustain a musical tone of defined pitch and good timbre. This task is easy on an instrument like a piano which mechanically quantizes pitch and constrains timbre. Singers, however, must dynamically adjust their vocal muscles to control pitch and timbre based on their aural perceptions. Similarly, violinists must adjust their bowing and fingering based o their aural perceptions.
The importance of these aural perceptions is demonstrated in the difficulty deaf children have learning to speak. If the internal discernment of pitch and timbre is not developed in an individual, some external feedback is necessary. In their paper titled "Computer-Aided Speech Training for the Deaf" (Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders February 1976 Vol. 41, No. 1), R. S. Nickerson, D. N. Kalikow, and K. N. Steven report on a computer-based system that uses visual displays of speech parameters (e.g., pitch, amplitude, and spectrum) to aid speech training for the deaf.
In music instruction, a student's aural perceptions are typically developed through collaboration with a music teacher who points out, by verbal comment and audible example, the pitch, timbral, and timing errors of the student. Teaching musical skills are complicated by the fact that sound, unlike paintings, cannot directly be seen and only exist when played. Audio tape recorders allow students to review their performances, but do not provide any analysis.
A system of entertainment that offers learn-by-example instruction is the karaoke system popularized in Japan. A karaoke system (literally Japanese for "hollow orchestra") consists of a pre-recorded audio source, a microphone, audio mixer, amplifier, and speaker. The audio source material, typically a compact or laser disk (LaserKaraok.RTM. Pioneer LDCA, Inc., 2265 East 22th Street, Long Beach, Calif. 90810), is specially prepared with musical accompaniment on one channel and a solo vocal reference on the other. The musical accompaniment can be any musical instruments that provide tonal support for the singer. The accompaniment is usually a band or orchestra but could simply be a piano, other vocalists, or a guitar. The reference channel is typically the solo voice of a trained singer, or a solo instrument like a clarinet or monophonic synthesizer. The karaoke system allows the singer to independently adjust the volume of his voice, the accompaniment, and the reference solo voice. Typically students would practice singing with the reference solo voice and accompaniment. After they have learned the words and are comfortable singing the melody, they turn off the reference solo voice and sing, unassisted, with the accompaniment. More elaborate karaoke systems use a laser disk or CD&G compact disk (a format that encodes graphic images with audio) that display song lyrics on a video monitor which change color as each word is sung (analogous to "the bouncing ball" technique). Karaoke systems do not evaluate the singer's performance and hence students must rely on their own musical perceptions for guidance.
Electronic devices exist which visually indicate the instantaneous absolute pitch and error of a tone source (e.g., Sabine ST-1000 Chromatic Auto Tuner, Korg DT-2 Digital Tuner, Arion HU 8400 Chromatic Tuner). Mercer U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,023 discloses a device that displays the instantaneous absolute pitch of a musical instrument with an array of LEDs arranged on a musical staff but can only display the pitch of one tone source at a time. Tumblin U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,853 discloses a system that measures the instantaneous pitch of a musical instrument relative to an electronically generated reference tone and displays the difference (the pitch error) on a column of lights. Neither of these systems provide a time history of pitch nor do they provide any quantative indication of timbre or amplitude.
The system of Nickerson et al. displays a time history of pitch, duration, and timbre but is not well suited for musical instruction. The system uses a miniature accelerometer applied to the throat with adhesive tape to measure the pitch of the student's voice. Since the students are deaf, no consideration for aural reference is made. Data collected is presented in the context of speech, not music, and no provisions are made for pitch tracking musical instruments.
Producing an accurate static tone is a good start for a music student; however, music is the dynamic organization of sound over time. An accomplished musician needs additional skills to produce a sequence of tones (playing a melody), match a sequence of tones (playing a melody in key), produce a tone relative to a reference tone (playing an interval), produce a sequence of tones relative to a sequence of reference tones (playing in harmony), produce tones in a broad range of pitches (range), quickly varying the pitch and amplitude (vibrato and tremolo), produce tones at specific times and durations (playing in meter), and produce tones of good timbre (tone quality).
Neither Mercer or Tumblin have the display necessary to show a time history. Mercer has two pitch trackers but lacks any memory means to store the pitch data. Tumblin has music exercise data stored but only has one pitch tracker and does not store the pitch data. Tumblin uses music exercise data that must be specifically prepared for his invention. This requires the production, marketing, and distribution of music exercise data.
Pitch tracking is the dynamic determination of the fundamental frequency of an applied audio signal. Much work has been done developing the art of pitch tracking for speech recognition. Niedzwiecki and Mikiel (1976) (Hess, Wolfgang "Pitch Determination of Speech Signals" Volume 3 of Scringer Series in Information Sciences. Springer-Verlag, New York, page 175) report of a pitch tracker using a tunable low-pass filter whose cutoff is dynamically adjusted by the amplitude of the output signal. If a signal is present at the output, the cutoff frequency is lowered until the amplitude of the output goes down. Ideally the adaptive operation of this system would dynamically maintain the cutoff frequency of the filter slightly above the fundamental frequency of the applied audio signal. In addition to the reported problem of tracking performance being dependent on input signal level, it has been found through experiment that the output signal may produce noisy tracking results due to its small signal to noise ratio.
The systems of Mercer and Tumblin rely on pitch trackers that require one and only one peak per pitch cycle and an amplitude envelope that does not fluctuate rapidly. For example, when upper harmonics (overtones) of a resonant low-pitched male voice are reinforced as they fall within the frequency range of formants (the natural resonance frequencies of the vocal track), multiple peaks can occur.
A musically trained listener can detect pitch errors as small as 0.3%, a deviation of about one cycle per second for an A4 (440 Hz). The accuracy and stability of a pitch tracker is therefore very important in a music training system.
Timbre refers to the tonal quality of a musical instrument, the combinations of overtones that give each instrument its unique sound. The "nasal" quality of a voice and the "scratchy" sound of a violin are all references to timbre. Fourier analysis is one technique to quantify timbre by measuring the energy in the component frequencies of a sound source. The analysis, however, requires numerous computations and is time consuming. Nickerson et al. use a bank of 19 filters to determine spectral content of the deaf student's voice. An analog electronic implementation of such a filter bank would require many parts that occupy circuit board space, undesirable in a portable unit, and would have an impact on manufacturing time and cost. A digital implementation would require signal processing capabilities with associated speed requirements and cost. Both approaches produce an abundance of data that must be further processed in order to be interpreted. A preferred analysis technique would require few components, have a low cost, and produce results that are easy to interpret.
It is helpful for a student of music to see several notes in advance in order to plan playing technique necessary to shape musical phrases. None of the musical system mentioned display tones in advance of being heard.
Of the numerous musical instruments a student might want to learn, singing is often the most psychologically difficult for those adults who were told as children that they could not sing. These adults are often reluctant to attempt singing in front of others for fear of judgement. Singing is a skill, like reading, that needs to be developed by instruction and practice. Individual instruction is often necessary, for each student's errors and progress are unique. Typically vocal instruction requires finding a music teacher, arranging a visitation schedule, paying for the classes, and maintaining regular attendance. These factors can discourage potential music students from pursuing instruction. An ideal music instructor would be available anytime, anywhere, would have infinite patience, be consistently accurate, non-judgmental, could be shared among several people for no additional cost, provide instruction on any of a thousand popular songs, show exactly where a student's errors are, and comply with the interests and pace of each individual student.
It can be seen, therefore, that a need exists for a music training apparatus that can provide a student with an accurate temporal visual record of aural parameters of their musical performance and of a musical reference.


Disclosed herein is a method of purifying and doping a population of semiconductor nanocrystals. The method includes mixing the population of semiconductor nanocrystals having a first material system and a first ligand with a set of particles in the presence of a first solvent, the set of particles having a second material system which is different from the first material system and a second ligand which is different from the first ligand, to form a mixture. The method also includes facilitating a ligand exchange and an ionic exchange in the mixture, altering the first material system of the population of semiconductor nanocrystals to a third material system, different from the first material system and the second material system. The method includes sonicating the mixture and isolating the population of semiconductor nanocrystals having the third material system and the second ligand from the mixture.

Semiconductor materials have a broad range of applications including, but not limited to, transistors, diodes, sensors, solar cells, photovoltaic devices, and thermoelectric devices. Typically, these materials are synthesized utilizing epitaxial growth techniques. The resultant semiconductor materials are frequently used in such applications, forming the backbone of many modern electronic applications. These semiconductor materials are often processed. For instance, they may be shaped into a flat wafer. However, the processed material is typically rigid and fragile due to the crystal structure resulting from the epitaxial growth method.
Recent computation research focused on predicting the optimal material system for thermoelectric applications suggests that a material system that possesses a discrete density of electron states that are regularly spaced would be beneficial. However, creating these ideal nano-structures has presented numerous challenges; such as controlling stoichiometry, controlling particle sizes, and reduction of organic surface ligands. Also, previous attempts have struggled with creating a process that will result in a scalable method that can allow for control over the semiconductor particle on a larger scale than lab experiments.
Previous attempts have included creating Bi2S3 nanocrystals and performing a subsequent ionic exchange by mixing with excess Sb2Te3 to form BixSb(2-x)Te3 nanocrystals. This method has resulted in residual organic surface ligands as well as difficult to control reaction kinetics, times, and concentrations. Additionally, the inability to reduce contaminate levels has proved a problem.

Purification of nanocrystals for thermoelectric, solar, and electronic applications


A system determines patient's muscle strength of a lever arm comprising a leg, ankle, and foot. A value indicative of the strength is determined based on pressure values associated with the lever arm, as well as at least one weight based value. The values may be entered remotely or locally to a computer that outputs the value indicative of the strength.

Walking is generally a unique orchestration of three physical properties: force, resistance and balance. Sustained walking may require that these functions occur over and over in the course of a day. The leg, ankle and foot are generally the terminus of all forces generated in the act of walking. If the forces applied to the leg, ankle and foot become too great, injury occurs. Some of the techniques used by researchers, clinicians and/or surgeons for assessing muscle strength of the leg, ankle, and/or foot are discussed hereinbelow.
Some traditional techniques available to clinicians and surgeons (e.g., podiatrist and orthopedic surgeons) for assessing conditions and defining treatment plans for their patients do not take into account the mechanical interaction between the leg, ankle, and foot, which may increase the difficulty of diagnosing and/or treating patients. As an example, clinicians have traditionally approached the ankle as a simple hinge joint and have evaluated the ankle by measuring equinus. Typically, the methods used to measure equinus focus on the range of motion of the ankle as defined by the relationship between the long axis of the foot and the long axis of the leg. Equinus may be present if dorsiflexion (i.e., bending backward) of the foot at the ankle is limited to less than ten degrees when the subtalar joint is in the neutral position and the midtarsal joint is maximally pronated. But, some clinicians and researchers have found that measuring equinus can be subjective and difficult to duplicate based upon variations in training and testing techniques. For instance, the lack of uniformity may make it difficult to determine whether surgical lengthening of the Achilles Tendon is appropriate. Moreover, measuring equinus may measure the range of motion of the ankle, but it does not measure the mechanical function of the leg, ankle and foot.
As a result, to understand the physical properties of the forces that occur during the act of walking, the leg ankle and foot should be discussed as a lever arm as these physical properties are predominately controlled by a lever arm made up of the leg, ankle and foot. However, this lever arm carries sustained loads that have been typically difficult to quantify and illusive to researchers who employ direct physical measurements. Subsequently, when clinicians and surgeons try to assess the function of this lever arm, they may be unable to use a reliable measurement of its function, which may hinder diagnosis and/or treatment of patients. Numerous attempts have been made to assess the lever arm of the leg, ankle and foot in a research setting using direct measurements, but a method applicable in a clinical setting has generally not been established. Therefore, clinicians may be unable to quantitatively assess the mechanical function of this lever arm.
In particular, critical to a discussion of lever arms are the specific characteristics of the lever arm such as the length, the location, and the center of load. The ability to quantify these physical properties of the lever arm would enable a direct measurement of the lever arm. Numerous studies have been performed to define the specific lever arm characteristics of the ankle. One study noted that surgical placement of transducers would be required to monitor direct pressure. As such, although some direct measurement studies have been performed to define the specific lever arm characteristics of the ankle, the majority of these studies are hard to interpret and are generally difficult to duplicate in a clinical setting. Moreover, a study described measuring force delivered to bone joints and ligaments as direct and indirect. Thus, indirect models may be required to measure living structures.
Another conventional technique measures the force of one muscle against another muscle, referred to as muscle strength ratios, by measuring the relationship between two reciprocal muscles, an agonist and an antagonist. Muscle strength ratios have traditionally been measured using apposing muscle groups. As an example, muscle strength ratios are commonly used to measure the hamstrings and quadriceps and this measurement creates a ratio of the muscle function of the knee. The relationship between the two muscles is generally that of eccentric vs concentric muscle action. Muscle strength ratios may also be described by a number of different names including agonist/antagonist ratios, concentric/eccentric ratios, reciprocal contraction mode ratios and/or reciprocal muscle group ratios.
Muscle strength ratios may be measured using static or dynamic muscle testing. Static muscle testing, or isometric contraction of muscle may be created when muscle is contracted with no change in the muscle's length. Isometric dynamometry measures the maximal center of pressure (COP). Maximal isometric COP measurements (or isometric dynamometry) may be performed by a number of different commercially available products. However, generally, only a limited focus of data is measured by isometric dynamometry. As such, isometric dynamometry may simply give a snapshot of the function of a lever arm, recording the maximal force generated by the lever arm.
On the other hand, dynamic muscle testing, or isokinetic dynamometry, measures the moment (torque) of a lever arm as resistance is applied at a constant speed. Isokinetic dynamometry may measure peak torque, angle specific torque, work (work=torque·times·distance), power, the rate of torque production and torque acceleration energy. Peak torque, with a relationship to the angle of the joint, is a commonly used isokinetic measure. Isokinetic assessment typically requires expensive equipment that is not readily available to most clinicians. Moreover, although an isokinetic assessment may be a more comprehensive record of the entire range of motion of a lever arm, the validity, reproducibility and clinical significance of the measures are often times questionable due to lack of standardization. As such, isokinetic dynamometry is generally used for testing muscle strength ratios in the research community but not widely used by clinicians in a clinical practice.
Several researchers have also attempted to define the percentage of load delivery by individual muscle and tendon units of the lever arm. The general rule of thumb is that a muscle's potential for work is directly proportional to the cross section of the muscle. While the contribution of each muscle and tendon unit may be defined in a lab setting, clinical application of this testing has also generally been difficult to accomplish.
A need therefore exists for a muscle strength measurement of the lever arm that may be used in a clinical setting.


An illumination apparatus which applies light from light emitting members to a region to be illuminated. The apparatus includes an emitted light quantity control unit which controls emitted light quantities of the members, and a light transmissibility changing unit which controls transmissibility of each light path which transmits output light of the light emitting member to the region. The controls of the emitted light quantity control unit and the light transmissibility changing unit are performed in such a manner that an illuminative light quantity in the region during intermittent lighting of a predetermined number of light emitting members which are some of the light emitting members at a driving current value larger than a rated current in a predetermined period is larger than an illuminative light quantity in the region during constant lighting of the predetermined number of light emitting members at a rated driving current in the predetermined period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illumination apparatus which illuminates a portion to be illuminated with light from light emitting members such as a light-emitting diode (LED), and an image projection apparatus in which the illumination apparatus is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of a condenser illumination apparatus which illuminates a specified portion with high efficiency have heretofore been known such as a car headlight, stand illumination, spot light, flashlight, and illumination unit for a data projector. In this condenser illumination apparatus, light from a light emitting source closer to a point source is reflected by a reflection unit whose reflection shape is devised, directivity of a light flux of the reflected light is enhanced by an optical lens, and the reflected light is usually used to effectively perform condenser illumination.
In the same manner as in conventional illumination, even in these condenser illumination apparatus, there is much demand for obtaining a brighter illumination light without excessively enlarging a size of the apparatus. In order to obtain the brighter illumination light, the size of the condenser illumination apparatus tends to increase. Particularly to enlarge an applied power of the light emitting source, thereby to increase q quantity of output light, and additionally to enhance a condenser capability, the reflection unit or optical lens is applied which is relatively enlarged with respect to the light emitting source. Therefore, to obtain brightness with good condenser efficiency, the size of the illumination apparatus has to be necessarily enlarged with respect to the light emitting source. In other words, with a small-sized light emitting source which has a high output and which is close to the point source, it is also possible to miniaturize the whole illumination apparatus. From this demand, the miniaturization of the light emitting source of a conventional system has also been advanced, and particularly a small-sized light emitting source by a discharge type from which the high output is possible has been effective means at present. Additionally, even with the light emitting source of the small-sized discharge type, the driving by a high-voltage power source is required in which it is difficult to reduce a circuit scale. There are other many problems with respect to the miniaturization of the total illumination apparatus. It is said that the miniaturization has already substantially approached limitation.
On the other hand, LED is remarkably noted as a next-generation small-sized light emitting source nowadays. The LED has heretofore had advantages such as small size, high durability, and long life, but has been mainly used as indicator illumination for various instruments or a confirmation lamp of a control stage because of restrictions of emission efficiency and emission output. However, in recent years, the emission efficiency has been rapidly improved, and it is said to be a matter of time before the emission efficiency exceeds that of a high-pressure mercury lamp or fluorescent lamp of the discharge type assumed to have heretofore had highest efficiency. By appearance of the high-efficiency high-brightness LED, the high-output light emitting source by the LED has rapidly been brought into a practical use. In recent years, in addition to red and green, a blue LED has entered a practical-use stage, and this also accelerates the application of the light emitting source. In actual, a plurality of high-efficiency high-brightness LED are used to start the practical use in traffic lights, large-sized full-color displays for outdoors, various car lamps, and backlights of liquid crystal displays in the cellular phones, which has heretofore been impossible in brightness or efficiency.
It is thought that this high-efficiency high-brightness LED is also applied as a promising small-sized light emitting source of the illumination apparatus requiring a condensing property. The LED is originally superior to the other light emitting sources in life, durability, lighting-on speed, and simplicity of a lighting-on/driving circuit. Above all, the blue color is added, three primary colors are obtained as spontaneous-light emitting sources, and an application range of a full-color image display apparatus has therefore been enlarged. Typical examples of the illumination apparatus whose condensing property is demanded include a projector display apparatus (image projection apparatus) in which a display image is formed and projected from image data. The image projection apparatus has heretofore separated desired primary colors from a white-based light emitting source by color filters, and has subjected the image data corresponding to each color to spatial light modulation. When the light obtained by the spatial light modulation is spatially or temporally synthesized, color image display is possible. When the white-based light emitting source is used, only the desired color is separated and used. Therefore, the colors other than the separated color are uselessly discarded by the filter in many cases. In this respect, since the LED emits the light of the desired color itself, a necessary quantity of light can be emitted when necessary. As compared with the conventional white-based light emitting source, the light is not wasted, and the light of the light emitting source can be used with good efficiency.
This superior application condition of the LED has been noticed. For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-32278, U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,669B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,863, and the like disclose an example in which the LED is applied to the illumination apparatus for the image projection apparatus. The technique disclosed in these publications comprises: disposing a plurality of LEDs to secure a quantity of light; condensing some of fluxes from the individual light emitting sources by optical elements such as the optical lens; and controlling the fluxes so that an image display element as a modulation device to be irradiated is well defined at an allowed incidence angle. For the image display elements such as a liquid crystal device broadly used in general, since the allowed incidence angle is small, it is supposedly ideal to form the flux having higher parallelism and to irradiate the elements. This is a very important point in enhancing light use efficiency in the image display element.
Moreover, as the characteristic of the LED, it is generally known that heat is generated with the emission of the LED and that the emission output of the LED drops in inverse proportion to the increase of the generated heat. To solve the problem, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 6-13652, it is disclosed that the current is controlled in order to prevent the heat generation, and driving (pulse driving) is performed in order to obtain a non-emission time. Accordingly, the quantity of emitted light is maintained.

Illumination apparatus and image projection apparatus using the illumination apparatus


Systems, apparatus, and methods related to an automated footwear platform including motor control techniques. The motor control techniques can include operations such as operating a motor to produce different operating characteristics based on incoming battery voltage. More specifically, the control technique compares incoming battery voltage to a threshold voltage and selects from at least two target operating characteristics. If the voltage transgresses the threshold the motor is controlled to produce a first operating characteristic, and if the voltage does not transgress the threshold the motor is controlled to produce a second operating characteristic.

Devices for automatically tightening an article of footwear have been previously proposed. Liu, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,433, titled "Automatic tightening shoe", provides a first fastener mounted on a shoe's upper portion, and a second fastener connected to a closure member and capable of removable engagement with the first fastener to retain the closure member at a tightened state. Liu teaches a drive unit mounted in the heel portion of the sole. The drive unit includes a housing, a spool rotatably mounted in the housing, a pair of pull strings and a motor unit. Each string has a first end connected to the spool and a second end corresponding to a string hole in the second fastener. The motor unit is coupled to the spool. Liu teaches that the motor unit is operable to drive rotation of the spool in the housing to wind the pull strings on the spool for pulling the second fastener towards the first fastener. Liu also teaches a guide tube unit that the pull strings can extend through.
The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.

Motor control for automated footwear platform


A cabriolet includes a displaceable roof that can be secured in its closed position on a windscreen frame. To secure the roof, the cabriolet is equipped with at least two displaceable engagement bodies and at least one associated drive, which interacts with the engagement bodies to transmit the drive force via intermediary elements having a component that extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The drive includes a drive member, which is generally parallel to the transverse direction of the vehicle on the plane of the intermediary elements and which is used to displace a gear that controls the displacement of one or more intermediary elements by means of a coupling member that lies on the plane of the drive member.

A number of convertible vehicles are known in which the movable roof can be secured to the windshield frame of the vehicle in its closed position via two laterally outwardly disposed engagement bodies, for instance rotary latches, arresting hooks or the like.
Both engagement bodies are connected to a central manual or powered drive via force communicators, for instance chains or pull and/or push rods, extended substantially transversely to the vehicle and thus following the shape of the front end of the roof where it contacts the windshield frame.
EP 0 972 665 B1 shows a typical arrangement having a central drive with a vertical rotary axle that acts on a drive wheel rotatable around this axis, with two pull-push rods are connected to opposite sides of the drive wheel. The ends of the pull-push rods are cropped to enable a securing over dead center position and nevertheless to ensure that the push-pull rods of the two sides do not interfere with one another in this position when the roof is closed. When the drive wheel rotates, the cropped portions of the rods migrate far to the front or rear respectively resulting in large space requirements in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. There are additionally large space requirements in the vertical direction due to the drive arranged on the rotary axle.
Accordingly, it remains desirable to provide a closing mechanism that improves over conventional designs in terms of function and packaging size.