Various embodiments of the invention enable low-power accurate measurement of complex impedance at a range of frequencies of interest to determine a frequency response of a test sample. The system requires only a few external precision components that are not integrated into a microprocessor, thereby, providing a low-cost alternative to existing designs. In certain embodiments, low-power operation is accomplished by utilizing a simplified digital signal processing scheme that requires only a small number of ADC samples. Measurement accuracy is achieved by a digital conversion to baseband that does not suffer from channel matching issues and by utilizing a single analog path.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of measuring network responses in the time-domain and, more particularly, to systems, devices, and methods of measuring complex impedance of test samples, including biomedical test samples.
B. Background of the Invention
A number of instruments in the biomedical and fitness area, such as blood glucose meters, respiration monitors, and galvanic skin response meters are designed to measure impedance or conductance of a biological sample in order to generate diagnostic and other useful information. By measuring the AC impedance of a person's skin, for example, a galvanic skin response can be obtained from which an estimate of a person's hydration level may be made.
More complicated devices that, for example, measure the impedance of a blood sample on a blood glucose measurement strip that contains chemicals require enhanced accuracy and perform relatively complicated AC impedance measurements from which diagnostic information may then be extracted. Some existing methods utilize an analog down-conversion process that necessitates a relatively high number of circuit components. However, this process is prone to channel mismatch and low accuracy caused by gain mismatch issues.
Other existing approaches apply Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) methods which utilize a rather power-hungry conversion process to feed large amounts of data samples through an analog-to-digital converter followed by a sophisticated post-processing algorithm. From the system response a transfer function is then calculated in order to extract magnitude and phase information from which then the complex impedance of a test sample is determined.
With the advent of portable electronics, however, the demand for lower power portable medical instrumentation with extended battery life is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, the high price of accuracy paid in the form of complicated circuitry that requires relatively high power and operates with inefficient algorithms is incompatible with the goal of modern portable and wearable instruments. What is needed are systems and methods to overcome the above-described limitations.

Systems and methods for low power time-domain measurement of complex impedance


In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that provide for creating and monitoring predefined mission routes along air rails and non-overlapping buffer zones surrounding unmanned vehicles during travel of the unmanned vehicles along the predefined mission routes. The buffer zone may be thought of as a projected movement variation area being associated by the system to the UAV and containing four dimensions, the three positional dimensions, X, Y, and Z, along with a temporal one, time. Generally, the buffer zone will change as ambient conditions, location, and orientation of an unmanned vehicle change during travel of the unmanned vehicle along its predefined mission route.

When designing systems for transporting products via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), it is conventional to determine a travel path for the UAVs based on the starting point (e.g., deployment station) and the end point (e.g., delivery destination). In view of the possibility that, in the not too distant future, hundreds, if not thousands of UAVs may be flying to their respective destinations in close proximity to each other over densely populated areas (e.g., a city), it will become very important to define the flight routes with an eye toward reducing the chances of collision between the UAV's in the event of unexpected flight route deviations (e.g., caused by UAV mechanical or electrical failure, inclement weather elements, communication/GPS failure, etc.) by one or more of the UAVs traveling in proximity to one another.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Systems and methods for generating and monitoring flight routes and buffer zones for unmanned aerial vehicles


Method and apparatus for treating obesity by use of transesophageal delivery of energy to interrupt the function of vagal nerves. The energy, which may be highly focused ultrasound energy or other types of energy is delivered through the wall of the esophagus by a device placed in the esophagus. The energy delivered is sufficient to ablate a vagal nerve on the outer wall of the esophagus.

Obesity has become an ever-increasing health problem. While such voluntary weight reduction programs as dieting and exercise have been helpful for some, many obese persons have required surgery to address their obesity problem. Two such surgical procedures are vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure. Both such procedures are now well known, but they are invasive in nature and involve reducing the size of the stomach. While these procedures have demonstrated a reasonable level of efficacy, there has remained a need for an obesity treatment that would not involve the patient trauma of invasive surgery and would yet be effective.

Methods and apparatus for treatment of obesity


An optical pickup device according to the present invention includes: a first light source that outputs a first laser beam; a second light source that outputs a second laser beam; and an optical system that irradiates an information medium with the first and second laser beams. The information medium includes: an information layer on which user data is written; and a recording layer on which visible information, which is directly visible to a user, is recorded. The optical pickup device is characterized by outputting the first laser beam in writing the user data on the information layer but outputting the second laser beam in recording the visible information on the recording layer.

The technique of writing digital data on optical disk media began to popularize when CD-Rs became popular. After that, DVD-Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD-RAMs and other optical disk media that have bigger storage capacities than CD-Rs have also become increasingly popular these days. A CD-R has a transparent substrate with a thickness of 1.2 mm and a storage layer supported on that transparent substrate. On the other hand, a DVD includes two transparent substrates with a thickness of 0.6 mm apiece and a storage layer sandwiched between those two transparent substrates. These storage layers store various types of digital data including image data, audio data, text data and programs and include either a dye or a phase change material.
As those various optical disk media have become increasingly popular, it has become more and more necessary to record index information or any other type of information, which allows the user to recognize the type of data stored on an optical disk medium easily, on the optical disk medium as visible information that is directly visible to him or her. To meet such a demand, printers for recording the visible information by printing letters or pictures on the label side of an optical disk medium are available. However, such a printer should be prepared separately from the optical disk drive, and therefore, would force the user to pay an extra cost. Also, generally speaking, a printer is put on sale as a peripheral device for a personal computer. That is why to print a label on a DVD on which some data has been written by a DVD recorder, a personal computer should be started and then the DVD should be put in place in the printer, thus causing the user extra time and trouble.
Patent Document No. 1 discloses an optical disk medium with a thermal layer for label printing and an optical disk drive for directly recording visible information on that thermal layer. The optical disk medium includes a protective substrate, a dye recording layer, a reflective layer, a protective layer, a thermal layer and a protective coating, which are stacked in this order. In recording visible information on the thermal layer using this optical disk drive, the optical disk medium is inserted into the optical disk drive such that the thermal layer faces an optical pickup device. Then, the optical disk drive irradiates the thermal layer with a laser beam, thereby recording visible information on the thermal layer. To determine whether the layer of the given optical disk medium that is facing the optical pickup device is the dye recording layer or the thermal layer, it may be determined whether or not ATIP (absolute time in pregroove) information is detected when the given optical disk medium is accessed. If NO ATIP information is detected, then it can be determined that the optical pickup device is now facing the thermal layer.                Patent Document No. 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-203348


In an omni-directional sound system such as a sound-light combination arrangement having at least one loudspeaker and optionally at least one light source, a bass loudspeaker arrangement includes a cylindrical casing having end walls at which are installed a bass loudspeaker and an insert casing respectively. The insert casing forms one or more bass reflection spaces within the casing. A sound deflection cone is arranged with its tip opposite the bass loudspeaker.

The combination of one or more loudspeakers or a loudspeaker box with one or more light sources is already Known (DE 32 16 190). In that assembly the loudspeakers are surrounded by the light sources which are in the form of incandescent lamps or fluorescent tubes while extending around the light sources is a light or lamp shield or shade. The sound pressure is very considerably directionally dependent, by virtue of the loudspeaker arrangement, in other words, it is not possible to produce an omni-directional sound image. This therefore does not involve an omni-directional sound system.
Large numbers of combinations of loudspeakers and light sources in various forms are also to be found in DE-U 76 00 002; 80 09 6821 82 29 621; 81 37 079, 81 37 276; and 85 25 736: DE-A 31 49 574, and 41 04 481: and EP-A 0 153 515. Those publications propose all possible arrangements, but not a single one involves an omni-directional sound system in which the sound can be irradiated uniformly in all directions in space.
Loudspeaker boxes using cones as reflection bodies are known per se, as can be seen from DE-U 85 29 497, EP-A 0 320 270 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,882. Such configurations however do not provide a light-sound combination arrangement.


A wheeled distance measuring device includes a wheel with a measuring unit connected to a side of the wheel and a pole unit is connected to the wheel, the pole unit includes a first section, a second section and a third section. The first section has two first holes and two second holes defined in two ends thereof. The first section is movably inserted into the second section which has two third holes and movably inserted into the third section which has two fourth holes. Two positioning units are respectively located between the first and second section, and between the second and third sections. The positioning units control the retractable movement of the sections so as to adjust the length of the pole unit. A handle is connected to the pole unit and controls the positioning units by an action rod.

A conventional distance measuring device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,036 to Hui Chen Wang who is the wife of applicant and includes a wheel rotatably connected to a pole and a measuring unit is connected to a side of the wheel. The wheel includes a radius and rolls against a surface and the number of revolutions of the wheel can be counted by a counter so as to have the distance that the wheel travels. A handle is connected to the other end of the pole and includes a brake key and an initialization key, two respective cables are connected to the brake key and the initialization key so as to brake the wheel and initialize the counter. The pole is composed of sections which are foldably connected to each other and a positioning unit is located in the sections so as to control the relative positions of the sections of the pole.
However, the pole can only be folded to be two parallel sections at the mediate portion of the pole so that the folded status of the device still occupies a lot of space. The foldable pole cannot meet different requirements for users of different heights.
The present invention intends to provide a wheel distance measuring device which includes a retractable pole which can be collapsed to a short section and the length of the pole can be adjusted for different users' needs.


In order to prevent an electrolyte membrane from being broken, and make an assembling steps of a cell easy, in a fuel cell provided with a membrane electrode complex in which catalyst layers are respectively arranged on both surfaces of a electrolyte membrane, first and second gas diffusion layers which are arranged on both surfaces of the electrode complex, separators for respectively supplying reaction gas to the first and second gas diffusion layers, and a gasket for sealing the reaction gas, the gasket is formed on a surface of the gas diffusion layer so as to oppose to the separator, at least the gasket forming portion of the gas diffusion layer has a lower void content than the portion in contact with the catalyst layer, and the gasket arranged in the first and second gas diffusion layers is integrally formed at least via a through hole passing through the first and second gas diffusion layers.

In conventional, as shown in FIG. 21, there has been known a fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane 51, catalyst electrodes 52 and 53, gas diffusion layers 54 and 55, separators 56 and 57 and gaskets 58 and 59 are assembled in an illustrated manner. In these constituting parts, the electrolyte membrane 51 constitutes a membrane electrode complex (also called as a reaction electrode portion or an MEA) together with the catalyst electrodes 52 and 53 arranged on both surfaces thereof, and the membrane electrode complex 60 constitutes a UEA 61 together with the gas diffusion layers 54 and 55 arranged on both surfaces thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 22, a gas communication groove 62 is provided in the separators 56 and 57 in a predetermined plan layout, and a spacer 63 is arranged in this portion in place of the gasket 58 or 59. With respect to the other portions, the gaskets 58 and 59 fixed to the separators 56 and 57 clamp the electrolyte membrane 51 between them so as to secure a sealing property.
However, in accordance with this prior art, since the gaskets 58 and 59 fixed to the separators 56 and 57 clamp the electrolyte membrane 51 between them, whereby the sealing property is secured as mentioned above, there is a disadvantage that the electrolyte membrane 51 tends to be broken near the gaskets 58 and 59. The electrolyte membrane 51 tends to be affected by dry and wet due to operation and stop of the cell, and there is a risk that the electrolyte membrane 51 is broken in a short time period due to a great stress caused by compression and expansion of the membrane. Further, in accordance with the prior art mentioned above, since the spacer 63 having a high rigidity must be independently arranged in the portion of the gas communication groove 62, an assembling step for the cell is complex, and thus a contact state with the electrolyte membrane 51 is different from the other portions, so that the structure is made such that the electrolyte membrane 51 tends to be broken.
Further, in accordance with the prior art mentioned above, since the constituting parts are sequentially assemble data time of assembling the cell, there is a disadvantage that the assembling step is complex in view of this point. That is, as described above, the fuel cell has the separator constituted by the carbon plate or the like, the membrane electrode complex for reacting the gas, the gas diffusion layer made of a carbon fiber or the like for promoting a gas diffusion, and the gasket made of a rubber elastic material or the like for sealing the gas and a refrigerant, as the main constituting parts, however, since these constituting parts have been conventionally assembled sequentially at a time of assembling the fuel cell, a lot of labor and time are required for this assembly. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been invented an integral product of the separator and the gasket in which the gasket is integrally formed directly on the carbon plate (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-133288), however, it is impossible to avoid the structure in which the spacer 63 having a high rigidity is independently arranged in the portion of the gas communication groove 62, so that the cell assembling step becomes complex, and it is hard to carry out an automation for the purpose of reducing the manufacturing cost, in a stacking step of alternately stacking the separator and the UEA.
The gas diffusion layer is made of a sintered body, a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric of a fiber-like material such as a carbon fiber, a metal fiber, an inorganic fiber or the like, and is a porous body having a continuous gas permeability since a gas permeability is required. Accordingly, a rigidity and a strength are lower than a dense structure body, the gas diffusion layer tends to be collapsed due to an excessive pressurization so as to be permanently deformed, and a handling property is not good in view of an assembling work. Accordingly, shapes of the gaskets are not uniformed due to a breakage, a collapse or a deformation of the gas diffusion layer caused by pressurizing for positioning or integrating at a time of forming the gasket or assembling with the membrane electrode complex, the separator or the like after forming the gasket, so that there is fear that a surface pressure required for sealing with respect to an opposing surface to the gasket is short or excessive. Further, since the gas diffusion layer has the porous structure, there is fear that a gas is leaked in a layer direction of the gas diffusion layer.
The present invention is made by taking the above matter into consideration, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell and a manufacturing method of the same which can effectively prevent an electrolyte membrane from being broken, can make an assembling step for the fuel cell easy, and can achieve an excellent sealing property.
In this case, the present invention can be also applied to a fuel cell which directly use a liquid fuel such as a methanol or the like (a direct methanol fuel cell), in addition to a fuel cell which uses a gas fuel such as a hydrogen or the like.

Fuel cell and method of manufacturing the fuel cell


A liquid characteristic analyzing apparatus may include a sensor part to bring a sensor surface into contact with the liquid and outputs an electrical signal; a transmission part to convert the electrical signal to an electromagnetic wave signal or a sound wave signal and wirelessly output the electromagnetic wave signal or the sound wave signal; a containing body that exposes the sensor surface, contains the sensor part and the transmission part, and prevents the liquid from intruding into the inside, the containing body arranged in the container and immersed in the liquid; and close contact structures to bring a passing portion for the electromagnetic wave signal or the sound wave signal into substantially close contact with an inner wall of the container. The close contact structures may include a first magnetic part that is provided in the containing body and a second magnetic part that is arranged outside the container.

Liquid characteristic analyzing apparatuses include various types, and one of them is a pH meter. A pH meter disclosed in, for example, Patent literature 1 is configured such that a columnar electrode attached with a sensor part is immersed in liquid to measure pH, and a pH meter main body that is connected to the electrode through a signal cable displays a result of the measurement.
In the case of using the pH meter to measure some liquid of which an amount is gradually increased by being added with another liquid, such as a buffer (buffer solution) in preparation, the electrode is adapted to gradually rise in level as a level of the liquid is raised. This is because a fore end part of the electrode is required to be immersed in the liquid in order to make the measurement, whereas a base end part of the electrode is required not to come into contact with the liquid in order to prevent the liquid from intruding.


A method of displaying a thumbnail image and an electronic device thereof are provided. The method of displaying the thumbnail image of the electronic device includes detecting meta data and object information for an image, determining an aspect ratio of the thumbnail image with respect to the image on the basis of the detected meta data and object information, and displaying the thumbnail image with respect to the image according to the determined aspect ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image display. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating a thumbnail image in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of a function of an electronic device in recent years, the electronic device can store a plurality of images and display the stored images according to a user control. More particularly, when an application for displaying the stored images is executed, the electronic device resizes or crops the images stored in the electronic device according to a size of a window provided by the application, and thereafter displays the resized or cropped images. In this case, the image which is resized or cropped according to the size of the window provided by the electronic device is called a thumbnail image. The thumbnail image can be provided in a different size according to the electronic device and the application.
As described above, since the conventional thumbnail image is provided in a different size according to the electronic device and the application, the electronic device can provide an image in which an area not desired by a user is cut off. For one example, in case of a person image, the electronic device can provide an image in which a face area is cut off according to an application for displaying the image. Additionally, in case of a scenery image, the electronic device can provide an image in which a desired scenery area is cut off according to the application for displaying the image. As used herein "scenery image" can be used to designate a landscape image and "person image" can be used to designate a "portrait image".
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of providing an image optimized for a user without an additional image editing process.

Method for generating thumbnail image and electronic device thereof


A perfusion catheter for use in open heart surgery having an inflatable cuff adjacent the distal end in communication with the lumen of the catheter to self-inflate when perfusion liquid is introduced into the lumen. A plug in the lumen within the cuff causes lumen flow to by-pass from the proximal end of the cuff to the distal end of the cuff through transverse parts in the lumen. A flow restriction at the distal end of the lumen causes pressure build-up to inflate the cuff. A pressure monitoring lumen splices to the catheter tube to parallel the tube down to the distal end where it is in communication with the end of the catheter and also with the distal end of the cuff to register cuff pressure. An introducer shaft is provided to be inserted into the lumen to abut the plug to stiffen the catheter, thus facilitating insertion, and a stiffener spine at the cuff area of the catheter also provides rigidity to compensate for the weakening of the lumen resulting from the transverse ports. A cross-port between the pressure monitoring lumen and the main lumen distally of the cuff will register lumen pressure if both the main lumen and the monitoring lumen become occluded at the distal end of the catheter.

In use of catheters for introduction into a body cavity, a process called catheterization, it is common in some instances to include on the catheter itself an inflatable balloon or "cuff" which is inflated after introduction of the catheter to prevent accidental retraction or rejection of the catheter. It is usual to inflate the cuff from an outside source of air as, for example, a bulb pump. Representative of the prior art in this field is a U.S. Pat. No. to Weikl et al, 4,573,966.
The present invention is directed to a self-inflating cuff which can be used when the catheter is utilized for perfusion of liquid into a body cavity. One known means of accomplishing this inflation is to provide the catheter with an inflatable cuff surrounding the outside of the catheter spaced from the distal end. Openings into the cuff from the catheter lumen are provided spaced axially of the lumen, and the sides of the distal end of the catheter are provided with a plurality of small openings for outflow of the perfusion liquid. The end of the lumen, in this known device, is closed off and the openings are designed such that the pressure in the lumen will exceed the pressure in the vessel and will, as a result, exert pressure on the interior of the cuff to cause inflation. Thus, pressure flow divides with a portion entering the cuff and a second larger portion exiting the catheter lumen. The fluid portion entering the cuff remains in the cuff as long as fluid is flowing through the lumen and therefore becomes stagnant. This is an undesirable condition particularly when blood or blood elements comprise part of the solution delivered through the catheter. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,045 (Jun. 04, 1991).
The cannulae may be placed in small friable vessels in the body. One known instance would be placement in the coronary sinus of the heart. Existing catheters monitor the pressure of the coronary sinus either at the end of the catheter or along the outside of the distal portion of the catheter. When the vessel size is close to the diameter of the catheter, the force of the pressure exiting the catheter through radially oriented holes can force the catheter against the wall of the vessel and thus cause the pressure monitoring port to become occluded. Similarly, a sharp turn in the vessel can cause the monitoring port at the tip or side to occlude. When the monitoring port is thus occluded, excessive pressure can be generated in the central lumen of the catheter and subsequently in the balloon, since flow through the cannulae is stopped or reduced. This excess pressure has been known to rupture the coronary sinus.
Similarly, catheters with multiple holes in the cuff area have a tendency to buckle in this area. A common means of preventing bucking in the catheter body is to include a reinforcing wire spring into the wall of the catheter. However, it is difficult to continue this spring into the cuff area since punching the holes will expose many sharp ends that could damage the cuff.
The present invention provides an improved self-inflating cuff which reduces stagnation of inflating media in the cuff. All of the fluid passing through the catheter exits the lumen at the cuff, passes through the chamber formed between the cuff and the outside of the catheter, and returns to the catheter lumen for subsequent delivery to the body cavity. A further object is to provide a reinforcement to prevent unintentional collapse of the catheter in the cuff area. Pressure monitoring is important in the use of a perfusion function and an object is also to allow monitoring of the cuff pressure and central lumen pressure as well as the approximation of vessel pressure depending upon the flow through the catheter.
Pressure that approximates the intra-vessel condition in normal operation will be sensed through the pressure lumen and its associated openings. However, should the lumen of the catheter become blocked simultaneously with the outlet of the pressure monitoring lumen, the opening between the pressure lumen and the catheter lumen will indicate undue pressure in the cuff which requires immediate attention of the monitoring personnel. Other objects include a lumen plug which serves the dual purpose of assisting in the introducing of the distal end of the catheter into a vessel, and diverting flow from the lumen through the balloon and subsequently into the distal portion of the lumen beyond the plug.
Other features of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims in which the invention is described together with details to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the invention, all in connection with the best mode presently contemplated for the invention.


A lamp socket set including on the top a lamp bulb socket and an engaging block on the bottom of the socket; the socket has therein two contacting pieces to connect respectively the periphery of a metallic contact annulus on the tailing end of and a central end tip of the lamp bulb, and two prongs on the contacting pieces; a receiving seat is provided on the bottom end of the socket and has a receiving space defined by its two sides with inside teeth, two recesses are provided on the top of the receiving space for receiving conductors; an engaging block conforming in shape with the receiving space is provided having external teeth corresponding in position to the inside teeth, and also is provided on its top surface opposing to the top of the receiving space with other recesses for press contacting the conductors; the engaging block is pressed vertically onto the receiving seat to render the prongs to extend through the conductors and can be removed horizontally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a lamp socket set in which the conductors can be press connected, and especially to the lamp socket set specifically suit a decorative lamp string, the lamp socket set is provided with contacting pieces with prongs which is coordinated with an engaging block, so that the contacting pieces can directly contact the conductors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional lamp socket is provided therein with an annular contact member for contacting the metallic end of a lamp bulb and another metalic contact for contacting the end tip of the lamp bulb to thereby form a complete loop for electric current, power is turned on to lighten the lamp bulb when the lamp bulb is turned in position.
Taking the decorative lamp string as an example, a plurality of separately arrayed lamp bulbs are provided on a couple of conductors, each bulb is turned on by connecting of a lamp socket with the conductors, the metallic annular contact member and the metallic contact are connected respectively with a corresponding conductor. Conventionally, these metallic contacts are directly connected with the conductors by assembling or welding, such connecting is troublesome and inconvenient, and mass production for such structure is time wasting and thus is uneconomic.

Lamp socket set with press connecting conductors


Esteramine compositions and their derivatives are disclosed. The esteramines comprise a reaction product of a metathesis-derived C10-C17 monounsaturated acid, octadecene-1,18-dioic acid, or their ester derivatives with a tertiary alkanolamine. Derivatives made by quaternizing, sulfonating, alkoxylating, sulfating, and/or sulfating the esteramines are also disclosed. In one aspect, the ester derivative of the C10-C17 monounsaturated acid or octadecene-1,18-dioic acid is a lower alkyl ester. In other aspects, the ester derivative is a modified triglyceride made by self-metathesis of a natural oil or an unsaturated triglyceride made by cross-metathesis of a natural oil with an olefin. The esteramines and derivatives are valuable for a wide variety of end uses, including cleaners, fabric treatment, hair conditioning, personal care (liquid cleansing products, conditioning bars, oral care products), antimicrobial compositions, agricultural uses, and oil field applications.

"Esteramines" are typically ester reaction products of fatty acids, fatty esters, or triglycerides and a tertiary alkanolamine (e.g., triethanolamine or N,N-dimethylethanolamine). While esteramines have value in and of themselves, they are more commonly quaternized to make "ester quats," cationic surfactants that have utility in a wide range of end-use applications, including fabric softening (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,670,677; 5,750,492; 6,004,913; 6,737,392; and U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2001/0036909), cosmetics (U.S. Pat. No. 6,914,146), hair conditioning (U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,059), detergent additives for fuel (U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,907), antimicrobial compositions (U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,330), agricultural dispersants (U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2010/0016163), and enhanced oil recovery (U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,056).
The fatty acids or esters used to make esteramines and their derivatives are usually made by hydrolysis or transesterification of triglycerides, which are typically animal or vegetable fats. Consequently, the fatty portion of the acid or ester will typically have 6-22 carbons with a mixture of saturated and internally unsaturated chains. Depending on source, the fatty acid or ester often has a preponderance of C16 to C22 component. For instance, methanolysis of soybean oil provides the saturated methyl esters of palmitic (C16) and stearic (C18) acids and the unsaturated methyl esters of oleic (C18 mono-unsaturated), linoleic (C18 di-unsaturated), and α-linolenic (C18 tri-unsaturated) acids. The unsaturation in these acids has either exclusively or predominantly cis-configuration.
Recent improvements in metathesis catalysts (see J. C. Mol, Green Chem. 4 (2002) 5) provide an opportunity to generate reduced chain length, monounsaturated feedstocks, which are valuable for making detergents and surfactants, from C16 to C22-rich natural oils such as soybean oil or palm oil. Soybean oil and palm oil can be more economical than, for example, coconut oil, which is a traditional starting material for making detergents. As Professor Mol explains, metathesis relies on conversion of olefins into new products by rupture and reformation of carbon-carbon double bonds mediated by transition metal carbene complexes. Self-metathesis of an unsaturated fatty ester can provide an equilibrium mixture of starting material, an internally unsaturated hydrocarbon, and an unsaturated diester. For instance, methyl oleate (methyl cis-9-octadecenoate) is partially converted to 9-octadecene and dimethyl 9-octadecene-1,18-dioate, with both products consisting predominantly of the trans-isomer. Metathesis effectively isomerizes the cis-double bond of methyl oleate to give an equilibrium mixture of cis- and trans-isomers in both the "unconverted" starting material and the metathesis products, with the trans-isomers predominating.
Cross-metathesis of unsaturated fatty esters with olefins generates new olefins and new unsaturated esters that can have reduced chain length and that may be difficult to make otherwise. For instance, cross-metathesis of methyl oleate and 3-hexene provides 3-dodecene and methyl 9-dodecenoate (see also U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,941). Terminal olefins are particularly desirable synthetic targets, and Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. recently described an improved way to prepare them by cross-metathesis of an internal olefin and an α-olefin in the presence of a ruthenium alkylidene catalyst (see U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2010/0145086). A variety of cross-metathesis reactions involving an α-olefin and an unsaturated fatty ester (as the internal olefin source) are described. Thus, for example, reaction of soybean oil with propylene followed by hydrolysis gives, among other things, 1-decene, 2-undecenes, 9-decenoic acid, and 9-undecenoic acid. Despite the availability (from cross-metathesis of natural oils and olefins) of unsaturated fatty esters having reduced chain length and/or predominantly trans-configuration of the unsaturation, esteramines and their derivatives made from these feedstocks appear to be unknown. Moreover, esteramines and their derivatives have not been made from the C18 unsaturated diesters that can be made readily by self-metathesis of a natural oil.
In sum, traditional sources of fatty acids and esters used for making esteramines and their derivatives generally have predominantly (or exclusively) cis-isomers and lack relatively short-chain (e.g., C10 or C12) unsaturated fatty portions. Metathesis chemistry provides an opportunity to generate precursors having shorter chains and mostly trans-isomers, which could impart improved performance when the precursors are converted to downstream compositions (e.g., in surfactants). New C18 difunctional esteramines and derivatives are also potentially available from natural oil self-metathesis or C10 unsaturated acid or ester self-metathesis. In addition to an expanded variety of precursors, the unsaturation present in the precursors allows for further functionalization, e.g., by sulfonation or sulfitation.

Esteramines and derivatives from natural oil metathesis


A system and method for transforming specialized data files of a first computer system into industry-standard byte-stream files usable for a second system or other systems. First and second programmatic interfaces of the first system can take the specialized format native data files and transform them into standard formatted byte-stream data files for placement in a storage media of a second computer system which can then be initiated to use a CD Writer package to cause the data files to burned on to a CD-ROM. This CD-ROM can then provide the byte-stream data file for use in many different types of platforms.

In the usage of modern computer systems and networks, the situation arises where systems having one proprietary protocol and data format are connected to systems having different data formats and protocols. Thus in order to provide for system integration in different networks, it is necessary that there be provided a system or method whereby the data formats of a first system can be transferred to and utilized by the network of a differently oriented system.
For example, the Unisys A Series computer systems involve a Central Processing Unit and memory together with storage such as disk storage which operates under the control of a Master Control Program. These A Series systems use a particular format for the data files compatible with the A Series software which can be placed on CD-ROMS. Thus, the CD-ROMs which contain this A Series software contain an image of a formatted tape which can be utilized only by the A Series systems.
However, when it is desirable to integrate a first system such as the A Series systems for operation with other platforms such as an NT system, then problems arise in that the second system such as the NT system, utilizes formats which are not compatible with the software formats of the A Series system, which is the first system.
Presently, the software for a first system, such as an A Series system, is utilized by providing methods to burn CD disks from a Library Maintenance formatted tape. This method has the limitation in that it limits the type of files that are burned into CD-ROMs to those of the native A Series files.
Now, in order to provide for system integration where an A Series system is to be coupled to a NT system, which overall system would be designated as a Unisys ClearPath system, the desirability here would be to make and use a single CD-ROM disk which would carry both the A series software and at the same time carry the NT software.
Thus in this regard, a method is needed to couple the A Series files with their native attributes and also arrange them in a format capable of being stored on a particular media such as a CD-ROM which will also hold the readable software for the NT system.
The A Series systems have files with specialized attributes which are designated for example, as FILEKIND, CREATIONDATE, and RELEASEID. These are defined in the Section denoted "Glossary Terms".
As a result, the Unisys A Series systems will provide a programmatic interface to its Master Control Program (MCP) which will provide a mechanism for "wrapping" and for "unwrapping" files.
Wrapping is a term which is used to define the process of packaging an A Series file, along with its Disk File Header information and a checksum (and optionally a digital signature), as a byte-stream data file, so that it can be transported across heterogeneous networks and non-A Series specific media, while still maintaining its native A Series attributes.
Unwrapping is a term used to define the process of taking a previously "wrapped file" and coupling it with the information from its original Disk File Header (DFH) in order to restore the original native A Series file, as it existed prior to being wrapped.
Thus, the problem of a software and file format which is oriented to one system can now be transformed in order to provide a format that is utilizable not just for a first system, but also for a first and second system, whereby the second system would not ordinarily be compatible with the first system.
The presently described system and method provides for taking a first program format such as used in Unisys A Series systems and developing a second generalized format for burning into a CD-ROM such that now this second program format is compatible for both NT and other systems in addition to A Series systems.

Method and system for wrapping single files for burning into compact disk


A communication apparatus includes a storage unit, an updating unit, a determination unit, and a deletion unit. The storage unit stores, in a storage, a first key used to decrypt or authenticate a packet to be communicated between the communication apparatus and a second communication apparatus. The updating unit updates the first key to a second key different from the first key when an expiration date of the first key has passed. The determination unit determines that a packet to be decrypted or authenticated using the second key has been received from the second communication apparatus. The deletion unit deletes the first key from the storage unit in response to the determination unit determining that the packet to be decrypted or authenticated using the second key has been received from the second communication apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that updates a key used to decrypt or authenticate a packet to be communicated between the communication apparatus and another communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the necessity of ensuring security in sending and receiving of data via a network has increased. A protocol for ensuring security of an Internet Protocol (IP) packet flowing on an IP network includes an IP Security Protocol (IPSec) (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-352500).
An encryption key and an authentication key used in the IPSec are managed as a Security Association (SA). A packet conforming to the IPSec is encrypted, decrypted, and authenticated using an encryption key and authentication key managed as the SA.
The SA is periodically updated from an old SA to a new SA at each software expiration date (update date). On the other hand, the old SA used before the updating is retained until an instruction to delete the SA is received from a communication partner or a hardware expiration date (deletion date) passes. The hardware expiration date is provided to reduce the possibility that the packet is unsuccessfully received even if a packet using the old SA is delivered late or it takes time for the communication partner to shift from the old SA to the new SA.
When the instruction to delete the SA from the communication partner disappears in the network, however, a communication apparatus cannot receive the deletion instruction so that the SA cannot be deleted until the hardware expiration date passes.
A user can set any value as the hardware expiration date. Thus, the old SA may remain in a memory without being deleted for a long time after being updated.
When the old SA remains in the memory for a long time without being deleted, a memory space is compressed. Further, a processing load when the SA is searched for increases.

Communication apparatus, method for controlling communication apparatus, and program


Data is distributed over a network using a first network protocol, for example, a non-reliable protocol. The non-reliable protocol (e.g., multicast) is used to distribute the data from a host system to multiple target systems with reduced overhead as compared to typical reliable protocols. Portions of the data that are not received by one or more of the target systems are requested and transmitted via a second network protocol (e.g., hypertext transport protocol, or HTTP). In one embodiment, the target systems maintain a checkpoint management service that determines the portions of data not received. In an alternative embodiment, target systems evaluate data received to determine whether a portion of the transmitted data was not received.

With the recent growth of the Internet and other networks, data transfer between computers has becoming increasingly useful for communications and other purposes. Different network protocols have been developed for data transfer in different network environments and for different purposes. In general, data can be transferred over a network using reliable or non-reliable protocols. Reliable protocols are typically used for point to point communications and non-reliable protocols are typically used for data transfer to multiple recipients.
Reliable protocols are those that guarantee delivery of data packets. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) along with Internet Protocol (IP), referred to a TCP/IP can be used to reliably transmit data. Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) can also be used with IP to provide reliable data communication. Other reliable protocols also exist.
Multicasting of network data provides a non-reliable, but widely distributed method for communicating network communication. However, when using multicasting to transmit data, delivery of all of the data is not guaranteed. Thus, multicasting is used where loss of some data is not critical, for example, audio and video streams. Broadcasting can also be used for non-reliable data transport.
While both reliable and non-reliable protocols can be used for appropriate communications, neither reliable nor non-reliable protocols provide efficient use of network bandwidth.


An electrical interconnect within a semiconductor device consists of a substrate with a plurality of active devices. A contact pad is formed on the substrate in electrical contact with the plurality of active devices. A passivation layer, first barrier layer, adhesion layer, and seed layer are formed over the substrate. An inner core pillar including a hollow interior is centered over and formed within a footprint of the contact pad. A second barrier layer and a wetting layer are formed over the single cylindrical inner core pillar and hollow interior. A spherical bump is formed around the second barrier layer, wetting layer, and single cylindrical inner core pillar. A footprint of the spherical bump encompasses the footprint of the contact pad. The spherical bump is electrically connected to the contact pad.

Semiconductor devices are found in many products used in modern society. Semiconductors find applications in consumer items such as entertainment, communications, networks, computers, and household items markets. In the industrial or commercial market, semiconductors are found in military, aviation, automotive, industrial controllers, and office equipment.
The manufacture of semiconductor devices involves formation of a wafer having a plurality of die. Each die contains hundreds or thousands of transistors and other active and passive devices performing a variety of electrical functions. For a given wafer, each die from the wafer typically performs the same electrical function. Front-end manufacturing generally refers to formation of the semiconductor devices on the wafer. The finished wafer has an active side containing the transistors and other active and passive components. Back-end manufacturing refers to cutting or singulating the finished wafer into the individual die and then packaging the die for structural support and/or environmental isolation.
One goal of semiconductor manufacturing is to produce a package suitable for faster, reliable, smaller, and higher-density integrated circuits (IC) at lower cost. Flip chip packages or wafer level packages (WLP) are ideally suited for ICs demanding high speed, high density, and greater pin counts. Flip chip style packaging involves mounting the active side of the die facedown toward a chip carrier substrate or printed circuit board (PCB). The electrical and mechanical interconnect between the active devices on the die and conduction tracks on the carrier substrate is achieved through a solder bump structure comprising a large number of conductive solder bumps or balls. The solder bumps are formed by a reflow process applied to contact pads disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The solder bumps are then soldered to the carrier substrate. The flip chip semiconductor package provides a short electrical conduction path from the active devices on the die to the carrier substrate in order to reduce signal propagation, lower capacitance, and achieve overall better circuit performance.
The reliability and integrity of the solder bump is important to testing, manufacturing yield, and longevity of the product while in service. Device reliability is a function of the interconnect material and structural integrity of each solder bump and its effectiveness as an electrical interconnect. Many prior art devices have attempted to modify the basic structure of the solder bump, including encapsulating a first bump within a second bump, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,765 and US patent application 20040266066. However, these prior art solder bump structures are known to exhibit weak solder joints, particularly with fine pitch applications. In addition, some prior art bump structures continue to have high joint resistance, which increases power consumption and heat dissipation.
A need exists for a solder bump structure with enhanced strength and reliability and lower joint resistance.

Solder bump with inner core pillar in semiconductor package


Embodiments perform an iterative process for enlarging a rectangle having a fixed aspect ratio within a convex polygon to find the largest rectangular area within the convex polygon. The iterative process includes detecting an intersection of one or more corners of the rectangle with the convex polygon and adjusting a position of the rectangle based on the quantity of intersecting corners. The iterative growth process continues until a maximum inscribed size of the rectangle has been determined. Some embodiments process images from bracketed photography and crop areas outside the determined maximum inscribed size when combining the images into a single image.

Existing systems are capable of combining several individual images taken in a burst into a single combined image. For example, the existing systems combine images of the same scene taken during high dynamic range, flash/no-flash, or other types of bracketed photography. Some of the existing systems register the individual images by translation and/or rotation in an attempt to compensate for global motion occurring during the image capture. The registered images are then overlaid or otherwise intersected to produce a combined image. The combined image produced by the existing systems, however, is often non-rectangular in shape. Converting the non-rectangular intersection of the images into a rectangular shape having the same aspect ratio as the individual input images is difficult with the existing systems.

Determining a maximum inscribed size of a rectangle


A plurality of bank identification number (BIN) ranges are characterized according to credit risk. A list of the plurality of bank identification number (BIN) ranges characterized by credit risk is made available to a transit-specific payment network interface processor, which is coupled to a plurality of memory-constrained fare gates of a transit authority. The list is configured to be distributed to the memory-constrained fare gates of the transit authority. Advantageously, the list based on BIN ranges takes up less memory than a list based on individual account numbers or the like and can be maintained in memory at the memory-constrained fare gates for rapid decisioning.

There is an interest in employing cash alternatives in a variety of environments. Such cash alternatives can include, for example, payment devices such as payment cards and the like. Indeed, devices, such as electronic devices, and particularly electronic payment devices (for example, so-called "smart cards") may be useful for a variety of payment and other applications.
Under some circumstances it is desirable that a merchant be able to accept cards and/or devices where the merchant is unable to secure an online authorization response. One non-limiting example of such circumstances is in the transit environment. For example, co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,936 of Fiebiger et al., entitled "Techniques for Authorization of Usage of a Payment Device," indicates that it may be desirable, in a transit environment, to provide a rapid decision regarding transit access, such as in a time averaging less than 200 milliseconds (ms). This requirement generally renders online authorization impracticable. Co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,486 of Smets et al., "Techniques for co-existence of multiple stored value applications on a single payment device managing a shared balance," notes that the 200 ms transaction time limit might be associated with a legacy public transport application while a new, more secure application might have a 500 ms limit. U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,584,936 and 7,657,486 are hereby both expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
Efforts have been made to address the fact that it is generally not possible to send an authorization request to the card issuer and receive a response within the 500 ms limit. For example, some techniques employ a so-called whitelist, wherein the bearer of a card or other device is permitted to access a transit system or other restricted area before an authorization request response is received from an issuer, if the corresponding primary account number (PAN) is present on the so-called whitelist. Co-assigned U.S. Patent Publication 2014/0279309 of Cowen et al., TRANSACTION-HISTORY DRIVEN COUNTERFEIT FRAUD RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, notes that some devices are capable of offline authentication to reduce risk, but provides, for example, techniques for constructing a so-called whitelist when devices not supporting such offline authentication are to be used in an environment wherein it would normally be expected that devices which do support offline authentication would be used. Presence on the whitelist is then used to infer authentication. U.S. Patent Publication 2014/0279309, and its corresponding issued patent U.S. Pat. No. 9,747,644, are both hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
A further trend in electronic payments is the use of so-called "smart" mobile phones or other devices in lieu of traditional payment cards. Such "smart" mobile phones or other devices may be equipped, for example, with electronic wallet software. Enhancement to security in such instances can be had using tokenization techniques such as the Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) available from Mastercard International Incorporated, Purchase, N.Y., USA. In the MDES service, the card's primary account number (PAN) is replaced with an alternate card number called a token. The tokenized card details are delivered to the mobile device through a process called digitization, and in usage, the mobile device is enabled for more secure payments.
The MDES service is a non-limiting example of tokenization. Reference is generally made to "EMV® Payment Tokenisation Specification Technical Framework," Version 1.0, March 2014, hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. One or more embodiments are applicable to tokenization in accordance with the aforementioned technical framework, and to other types of tokenization.
Heretofore, construction of so-called "whitelists" has been limited to PAN-centric approaches without tokenization.

Leveraging a network “positive card” list to inform risk management decisions


A device for stereo projection of pictures represented by a picture signal which alternates periodically between pictures intended for right eye and pictures intended for left eye. A page selector which is adapted to transmit picture signals for first and, thereupon, each odd number picture to one projector and second and, thereupon, each even number picture to another projector.

Our depth sight is connected with the fact that the right and left eyes see the surroundings from a different place and under a somewhat different angle. One eye sees a picture differing from the picture that the other eye sees, and the brain co-ordinates the two such that we experience three dimensions.
It is known to create pictures with a three-dimensional effect by letting each right and left eye see a picture of its own, e.g. two photos taken from two points spaced correspondingly to a normal mutual distance between the eyes of a human being. There exist special cameras for such purposes, so-called stereo cameras, having two objectives.
In recent years, techniques used in order to achieve three-dimensional effect in photos, developed to comprise pictures that can be transferred electronically, such as video and digitized images, and a technique has been developed that makes it possible to show both still pictures and moving pictures on screen.
To let a viewer experience three-dimensional effect, the picture photographed or made in some other way for the right eye must be shown for the right eye, and the picture photographed or made in some other way for the left eye, must be shown for the left eye. If both pictures are shown for both eyes, a blurred (unsharp) picture is experienced, and the three-dimensional effect fails.
In order to avoid the right eye seeing the picture belonging to left eye, and vice versa, the pictures may be viewed through an ocular for each eye, in a so-called stereoscope. This gives a good three-dimensional effect, but it is not very suited for pictures to be viewed by several persons simultaneously, e.g. in a cinema hall.
It is known to divide a right and left picture in narrow stripes which are assembled alternately to form one picture. When viewing the picture stripes through glass or plastic, where prisms are formed parallel to the pictures stripes, the result is that the right eye sees picture stripes belonging to right picture, and that the left eye sees picture stripes belonging to left picture.
Further, it is known to print two pictures, one for the right eye and one for the left eye in registry on paper. Such pictures are viewed through special spectacles separating the pictures from each other, so that the right eye sees one picture and the left eye sees the other picture.
In one type of spectacles, spectacle glasses having different color for each eye are used, such as a red and a bluish green. Each picture is prefiltered before printing. The right picture is printed in complementary color to the left picture and left spectacle glass, and vice versa. Then, each eye sees a different picture. The technique is also used when projecting two pictures in registry on a screen (canvas), and it is possible to show moving pictures, film and animations in this way.
The technique which also may be used for television, has several disadvantages. The filtration and the spectacle glasses influence the color balance, and an adequate separation of the pictures for right and left eye is not achieved. Each eye experiences a portion of the picture meant for the opposite eye and the picture is, thus, experienced as unsharp.
Another known way of separating pictures for the right and left eyes consists in that a picture for each eye is projected in registry on a screen by means of polarized light. The polarization for the one picture is at right angles to the polarization for the other, and the viewer uses spectacles having glasses each correspondingly being polarized for letting through light for one of the pictures only. By means of this, less color error is achieved than by using a color filter, and a better picture separation is obtained.
Upon transfer of electronic pictures, such as video pictures, it has been found to be difficult to synchronize two parallel picture signals in a flickerfree way. In connection with projecting video pictures or pictures from computers, it has proved advantageous to transfer picture for alternate right and left eye in a common channel in lieu of in two parallel channels. This means that every second picture transferred, belongs to right eye, while the rest belongs to left eye. The pictures are projected on a screen and are viewed through spectacles having glasses which can shut and open in step with an electric signal alternating synchronously with the pictures. Such spectacle glasses utilize liquid crystals. The left spectacle glass is shut while the right picture is projected, and the right spectacle glass is shut while the left picture is projected.
This known technique gives a good effect, but it has several disadvantages. The spectacles are expensive, and they have to be provided with an electric signal for synchronization with the stream of pictures, which can be difficult in a cinema hall. In practice, the technique is usable only for stationary plants. Also, great demands are made upon the projector which has to operate with double picture frequency. The high picture rate means that reasonable projectors in which the picture is formed by liquid crystals, can not be used.

Method and device for stereo projection of pictures


A novel microcapsule comprising a liquid core material which is substantially insoluble in water and enclosed within a solid permeable shell of a polymer resin containing disulfide linkages is disclosed. The process for producing such microcapsules is likewise disclosed.

This invention relates to microcapsules and to a process for their production. More particularly, this invention relates to encapsulated droplets of a liquid material which is substantially insoluble in water, wherein the encapsulating agent is a shell wall containing disulfide units, thereby forming an environmentally sensitive, variable release wall. Further, this invention relates to the processes for the production of such microcapsules and methods for their use.
The use of microcapsules for the slow or controlled release of liquid, solid and solids dissolved or suspended in solvent is well known in the chemical art, including the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical and agricultural industry. In agriculture, controlled-release techniques have improved the efficiency of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides and fertilizers. Non-agricultural uses have included encapsulated dyes, inks, pharmaceuticals, flavoring agents and fragrances.
The wall of the microcapsule are typically porous in nature, releasing the entrapped material to the surrounding medium at a slow or controlled rate by diffusion through the pores of the wall. In addition to providing controlled release, the walls also serve to facilitate the dispersion of water-immiscible liquids into water and water-containing media such as wet soil. Droplets encapsulated in this manner are particularly useful in agriculture, where water from irrigation, rain and water sprays is frequently present.
Various processes for microencapsulating material have been previously developed. These processes can be divided into three categories-physical methods, phase separation and interfacial reaction. In the physical methods category, microcapsule wall material and core particles are physically brought together and the wall material flows around the core particle to form the microcapsule. In the phase separation category, microcapsules are formed by emulsifying or dispersing the core material in an immiscible continuous phase in which the wall material is dissolved and caused to physically separate from the continuous phase, such as by coacervation, and deposit around the core particles. In the interfacial reaction category, microcapsules are formed by emulsifying or dispersing the core material in an immiscible continuous phase and then an interfacial polymerization reaction is caused to take place at the surface of the core particles.
The above processes vary in utility. Physical methods such as spray drying, spray chilling and humidized bed spray coating, have limited utility for the microencapsulation of products because of volatility losses and pollution control problems associated with evaporation of solvent or cooling, and because under most conditions not all of the product is encapsulated nor do all of the polymer particles contain product cores. Phase separation techniques suffer from process control and product loading limitations. It may be difficult to achieve reproducible phase separation conditions, and it is difficult to assure that the phase separated polymer will preferentially wet the core droplets.
Interfacial polymerization reaction methods have proven to be the most suitable processes for use in the agricultural industry for the microencapsulation of pesticides. There are various types of interfacial reaction techniques. In one type, the interfacial condensation polymerization microencapsulation process, two different monomers are brought together at the oil/water interface where they react by condensation to form the microcapsule wall.
In another type, the in situ interfacial condensation polymerization reaction, an organic phase which contains an oil core and one or more prepolymers is prepared. It is then dispersed into a continuous or aqueous phase solution comprising water and a surface-active agent. The organic phase is dispersed as discrete droplets throughout the aqueous phase by means of emulsification, with an interface between the discrete organic phase droplets and the surrounding continuous aqueous phase solution being formed. In situ self-condensation at the interface and curing of the polymers in the organic phase droplets is initiated by heating the emulsion to a temperature between about 20xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C. The heating occurs for a sufficient period of time to allow substantial completion of in situ condensation of the prepolymers to convert the organic droplets to capsules consisting of solid permeable polymer shells enclosing the organic core materials. Depending upon the type of prepolymer used, an acidifying agent may be required in order to maintain the pH of the emulsion at a range of about 0 to about 4 pH during condensation.
Two types of microcapsules prepared by in situ condensation are found in the art. One type, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,720, is a polyurea microcapsule which involves the use of at least one polyisocyanate such as polymethylene polyphenylisocyanate (PMPPI) and/or tolylene diisocyanate (TDI) as the prepolymer. In the creation of polyurea microcapsules, the wall-forming reaction is initiated by heating the emulsion to an elevated temperature at which point the isocyanate polymers are hydrolyzed at the interface to form amines, which in turn react with unhydrolyzed polymers to form the polyurea microcapsule wall.
Another type, exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,129, 5,160,529 and 5,332,584, incorporated herein by reference, is an aminoplast microcapsule wherein the wall-forming prepolymer is an etherified or alkylated amino formaldehyde (aminoplast) resin. The aminoplast microcapsule walls are formed by heating the emulsion while simultaneously adding to the emulsion an acidifying agent in order to maintain the emulsion pH at from about 0 to about 4 pH. The heating and lowering of the pH of the emulsion is maintained for a sufficient amount of time to allow in situ self-condensation and/or cross-linking of the amino resin thereby forming the aminoplast microcapsule wall.
Microcapsules produced by in situ condensation have the benefits of high pesticide loading and low manufacturing costs, as well as a very efficient membrane and no monomer residue remaining in the aqueous phase. Further, such microcapsules are capable of effecting a slow or controlled rate of release of the encapsulated material by its diffusion through the microcapsule shell to the surrounding medium.
These controlled release microcapsules provide longer term efficacy as the encapsulated material is released over a period of time and is available throughout the effective period. In the field of agriculture, this is particularly significant for pesticides or other ingredients which are degraded or decomposed over a relatively short period of time under certain environmental conditions. Use of microencapsulated compositions in these situations provides effective activity of the encapsulated ingredient over a longer period of time, typically several weeks, since it is released into the environment continuously in the amount needed rather than in one large initial dose. Controlled release microencapsulated pesticides are primarily used as preemergence pesticides wherein they are applied to the soil prior to the emergence of vegetation or appearance of insects. By such application, they are available over a period of time to kill or control newly emerged weed species or insects in their larval stages. Microencapsulated insecticides and fungicides can also be used for foliar application.
Microencapsulation of products such as pesticides provide the added benefit of increase in the safety of pesticide handling in that the polymer wall of the microcapsule minimizes the contact by the handler with the active pesticide. Still, there are instances where it is desirable to have the benefits of both the controlled gradual release and quick release of the encapsulated ingredient. Such an instance would be where the microcapsule is ingested by a harmful insect. In such a case, it would be desirable for the microcapsule wall to quickly break down, allowing a fast release of the pesticide into the insect gut. Further, in the instance where the microcapsule is ingested by a beneficial or non-harmful insect, it would be desirable that the microcapsule wall not break down, allowing the insect to survive.
It has been discovered that the wall of microcapsules formed by in situ condensation polymerization reaction similar to that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,129, 5,160,529 and 5,332,584 can be modified by the inclusion of disulfide links in the aminoplast wall, or by replacement of the amino resin with compounds capable of forming or having disulfide links. These links serve to enhance the properties of the microcapsule wall such that the material contained within are released either by gradual controlled release or fast triggered release depending upon the environment in which the microcapsule is found.
Those environments include, for agricultural applications, the terrain or vegetation where such microcapsules may be applied. In such an environment, the encapsulated material would be released gradually. The environment may also include the gut of an insect, wherein conditions therein would trigger or cause the disulfide links to cleave, thereby allowing a quick or fast release of the encapsulated material. Accordingly, the encapsulated material may be gradually released across the wall of the microcapsule in an environment that does not induce cleavage of the disulfide links, or the disulfide links may cleave due to conditions in the environment surrounding the microcapsule thereby quickly releasing the encapsulated material.
The process for preparing such microcapsules comprises:
(a) preparing an organic solution or oil phase comprising the material to be encapsulated and the wall-forming material, whereby the wall-forming material is dissolved in the organic phase and comprises one or more cross-linking agents, in which at least one of the cross-linking agents is a polythiol compound and, optionally, an alkylated amino-formaldehyde prepolymer;
(b) creating an emulsion of the organic solution in a continuous phase aqueous solution comprising water, a protective colloid and, optionally, a phase transfer catalyst and/or emulsifier, wherein, the emulsion comprises discrete droplets of the organic solution dispersed throughout the continuous phase aqueous solution, with an interface formed between the discrete droplets of organic solution and the aqueous solution; and
(c) causing in situ condensation and/or formation of disulfide linkages and curing of the wall-forming material in the organic solution of the discrete droplets at the interface with the aqueous solution by heating the emulsion and, optionally, simultaneously adding to the emulsion an acidifying agent whereby the pH of the emulsion is maintained between about 0 and about 4 for a sufficient period of time to allow substantial completion of wall formation, thereby converting the organic solution droplets to capsules consisting of solid permeable polymer shells enclosing the material.
Microcapsules formed by this process are capable of effecting a gradual controlled rate of release of the encapsulated material by diffusion through the shell to the surrounding medium. Further, microcapsules formed by this process are capable of effecting a fast rate of release of the encapsulated material by cleavage of the disulfide linkages in the presence of a surrounding medium which would promote such cleavage. The present invention resides in both the process described above and the microcapsules thus formed.
The release rate by Fickian diffusion of an active ingredient from a microcapsule may be defined by the equation:   release_rate  =                    (                  4                    π                                xe2x80x83                                          r            xe2x80x2                                          r            xe2x80x3                          )                          P                          (                                    c              xe2x80x2                        -                          c              xe2x80x3                                )                                    r        xe2x80x3            -              r        xe2x80x2
where (4xcfx80rxe2x80x2rxe2x80x3) is the surface area of the capsule, P is the permeability of the wall, rxe2x80x3xe2x88x92rxe2x80x2 is the wall thickness, and cxe2x80x2xe2x88x92cxe2x80x3 is the concentration difference across the wall. The permeability P is the product of the diffusion (D) and partition (K) coefficients of the active ingredient and is largely dependent upon the chemical nature of the wall materials.
Release rates can be appreciably varied by altering the chemical composition and thus the permeability of microcapsule walls. The introduction of disulfide links offers one such approach. Moreover, disulfide linkages are susceptible to cleavage by several agents thereby enabling the possibility of triggered fast release upon demand. Possible triggering agents include base and/or reductive systems.
One aspect of this invention describes microcapsule wall compositions containing disulfide units and providing a semi-permeable barrier. The walls may be made from materials where (1) all the wall forming materials contain sulfur atoms; or (2) some of the wall forming materials contain sulfur atoms and some do not.
Another aspect of this invention describes a process for the introduction of disulfide bonds into microcapsule walls from materials where the disulfide unit (1) is generated during wall formation; or (2) is already present in the starting materials. The first option is preferred when the materials for wall formation are readily available and do not require special preparation in a separate step.


A method in a communication system includes a first core network node (CN), a second CN, a base station apparatus serving a user equipment (UE), and a packet data network gateway (PGW) associated with the UE, the method being performed by the first CN. The method includes the first CN receiving a tunneling endpoint identifier (TEID) information element from a second CN, the TEID information element comprises a plurality of fields. The one of the plurality of fields includes a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).

A RAN can improve its management of radio resources by knowing services currently being used by wireless communication devices (referred to herein as "user equipment (UE)") that are served by the RAN. In 3GPP, such a function is called SIRIG (which stands for Service identification for improved radio utilization for GERAN), where the service identification is provided to the RAN (e.g., provided to a base station of the RAN or a radio network controlling in the RAN) by a core network node (CN) comprising a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a serving GPRS support node (SGSN).
While SIRIG is currently only defined for GERANs (GSM EDGE Radio Access Networks), SIRIG can be extended to other radio access technologies (RATs), e.g., universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), long term evolution (LTE), etc.

Method, apparatus, system, computer program and computer program products for providing a PLMN identifier to a node of a RAN


An adjustable hair trimmer blade set is provided, including a blade chassis, a blade platform linearly displaceable relative to the blade chassis, a stationary blade secured to the blade platform, and a moving blade constructed and arranged for slidable linear reciprocation relative to the stationary blade in a direction of cutting action. An offset rod has at least one offset cam lobe and is rotatably engaged in the chassis along an axis generally parallel to the direction of cutting action. A retaining spring has at least one loop engaged by the offset rod for holding the spring in operational relationship to the chassis.

The present invention relates generally to electric hair cutting devices, such as hair clippers and hair trimmers, and more specifically to blade sets for such devices. In particular, the present invention is related to blade sets designed for hair trimmers.
Conventional electric hair cutting devices include an electric motor having an output shaft with an offset cam engaging a blade set. The blade set includes a moving blade constructed and arranged to linearly reciprocate relative to a stationary blade. Both blades have complementary toothed edges, and the relative movement of the moving blade to the stationary blade creates a scissors-like cutting action. The blade set is usually removable from the device for cleaning, sharpening and other maintenance. A suitable example of conventional hair cutting device blade set design is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,966, which is incorporated by reference. Hair clippers are usually considered more powerful and used for relatively larger cutting jobs, such as providing a major portion of a haircut, while hair trimmers are used for more detailed operations, such as trimming beards, mustaches and the like. As such, trimmer blade sets are often smaller in all dimensions than clipper blade sets.
One problem faced by trimmer blade set designers is maintaining the alignment of the moving blade relative to the stationary blade during the entire reciprocal path of cutting operation. Any misalignment of the moving blade can cause poor cutting or nicking of the person receiving the trim.
Another problem faced by trimmer blade set designers is providing the ability to move the position of the points or ends of the cutting teeth on the moving blade back and forth relative to the complementary teeth of the stationary blade in a direction transverse to the direction of blade cutting action, for the purposes of obtaining a cut closer to or farther from, the skin as desired. This feature is common on clipper blade sets, but it has been difficult to achieve in the smaller confines of a trimmer blade set.
Thus, there is a need for an improved hair trimmer blade set that addresses the design issues identified above.

Hair trimmer blade set with adjustable blades


A hydraulic drive system for a construction machine comprising a hydraulic pump (1) of variable displacement type, a pump regulator (2) for controlling a delivery rate of the hydraulic pump, a plurality of hydraulic actuators (7) driven by a hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic pump, a plurality of directional control valves (4A-4D) for controlling respective flows of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic pump to the plural hydraulic actuators, a low-pressure circuit (22), a center bypass line (23) for connecting in series center bypasses of the plural directional control valves (4A-4D) to the low-pressure circuit (22), a plurality of bleeding-off restrictors (26) in the center bypass line and having their openings variable in accordance with respectively associated directional control valves, a fixed restrictor (5) disposed in the center bypass line for producing a control pressure (PZ), and a pressure sensor (8) for detecting the control pressure and outputting a corresponding electric signal (E). The hydraulic drive system further comprises a memory unit (9c) for storing a plurality of preset pump flow rate characteristics (40, 41, 42) that define relationships between a value of the electric signal (E) outputted from the pressure sensor (8) and a delivery rate (Q) of the hydraulic pump (1), a selector (12) for outputting a command signal (ES) to select one of the plural pump flow rate characteristics (40, 41, 42) preset in the memory unit, and an arithmetic unit (9b) for determining the delivery rate (Q) corresponding to the value of the electric signal (E) outputted from the pressure sensor means (8) based on the pump flow rate characteristic selected by the command signal (ES), and outputting a drive signal (ED) corresponding to the determined delivery rate. The pump regulator is driven with the drive signal.

A conventional hydraulic drive system for construction machines comprises, as disclosed in JP, A, 1-25921, a hydraulic pump of variable displacement type, a pump regulator for controlling a delivery rate of the hydraulic pump, a plurality of hydraulic actuators driven by a hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic pump, a plurality of directional control valves of center bypass type for controlling respective flows of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic pump to the plural hydraulic actuators, a center bypass line for connecting in series center bypasses of the plural directional control valves to a reservoir, a flow resistive element, e.g., a fixed restrictor, disposed in a downstream portion of the center bypass line for producing a control pressure, a pressure sensor for detecting the control pressure produced by the fixed restrictor and outputting a corresponding electric signal, and a function generator for storing preset one kind of pump flow rate characteristic that defines the relationship between a value of the electric signal outputted from the pressure sensor and a delivery rate of the hydraulic pump, determining the delivery rate corresponding to the value of the electric signal outputted from the pressure sensor based on the preset pump flow rate characteristic, and outputting, as a drive signal, a signal corresponding to the determined delivery rate. The pump regulator is driven with the drive signal.
In the above prior art, a variable restrictor for bleeding-off is disposed in the center bypass of each of the plural directional control valves. This variable restrictor is fully opened when the associated directional control valve is at its neutral position, and its opening is reduced as an input amount of the directional control valve increases. As a result, with the directional control valve being at its neutral position, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid passing through the center bypass is maximized and, therefore, the control pressure produced by the fixed restrictor is also maximized. Then, as the input amount of the directional control valve increases, the flow rate through the center bypass is reduced and so is the control pressure. The pump flow rate characteristic preset in the function generator is set such that the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump is increased with the control pressure becoming smaller. Accordingly, the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump is controlled to increase dependent upon the input amount of the directional control valve.
Meanwhile, there are various kinds of operations to be performed by construction machines such as hydraulic excavators, and the directional control valve requires control characteristics different from each other dependent upon the kinds of operations. For example, in the work such as craning which requires fine operation, a control characteristic superior in the metering property is needed. On the other hand, in the work such as digging which requires powerful operation, a control characteristic superior in rising of the metering property and capable of easily supplying the hydraulic fluid at a large rate is needed.
In the conventional hydraulic drive system as stated above, however, the control characteristic of the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump is uniquely determined dependent upon the setting in the function generator and, correspondingly, the control characteristic of the directional control valve is also uniquely determined. This has raised the problem that good operating efficiency cannot be ensured in other kinds of work than particular one.
More specifically, in the above-explained prior hydraulic drive system, the control characteristic of the directional control valve is determined dependent upon the setting of the function generator as follows. When one directional control valve is operated, for example, the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump is controlled dependent upon the setting of the function generator as mentioned above, and the hydraulic fluid is supplied to the directional control valve at the controlled flow rate. The directional control valve supplies the hydraulic fluid to the actuator therethrough at a flow rate resulted by subtracting, from the pump delivery rate, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid flowing out through the bleeding-off variable restrictor (i.e., the flow rate through the center bypass), dependent upon the opening area of the bleeding-off variable restrictor which is determined by the input amount (i.e., stroke) of the directional control valve at that time. In this case, because the control characteristic of the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump with respect to the valve stroke is fixed and the opening characteristic of the bleeding-off variable restrictor with respect to the valve stroke is also fixed, the control characteristic of the directional control valve, such as a metering characteristic, with respect to the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid supplied to the actuator becomes fixed.
Accordingly, when the pump flow rate characteristic preset in the function generator is set to give a control characteristic suitable for the work such as digging, for example, which requires powerful operation, it is difficult to perform fine operation in the work such as craning, for example, which requires fine operation. On the contrary, when the pump flow rate characteristic preset in the function generator is set to give a control characteristic suitable for the work such as craning, for example, which requires fine operation, the machine operates too slow to efficiently perform the work such as digging, for example, which requires powerful operation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a hydraulic drive system for construction machines in which the flow rate characteristic of a hydraulic pump can be changed to make the control characteristic of a directional control valve variable, thereby ensuring good operating efficiency for plural different kinds of work.

Hydraulic drive system for construction machine

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.


An apparatus and system that form a hexagonal exposed spot grid on a substrate. This is accomplished by using a patterning device that directs a patterned beam onto a microlens array, which forms Fourier transformed spots of the pattered beam at the substrate. Through at least one of (a) moving of the substrate that is patterned by the patterning device and/or changing a frequency of a beam of radiation or (b) through a hexagonal configuration of the patterning device and the microlens array, the spots from the microlens array form the hexagonal exposed spot grid on the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and a device manufacturing method.
2. Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate (e.g., a workpiece, an object, a display, etc.). The lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs), flat panel displays, and other devices involving fine structures. In a conventional lithographic apparatus, a patterning means, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, can be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC (or other device), and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g., comprising part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer or glass plate) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (e.g., resist). Instead of a mask, the patterning means can comprise an array of individually controllable elements that generate the circuit pattern. This is referred to as maskless lithography.
In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion in one go, and scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the beam in a given direction (the "scanning" direction), while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
Another way of imaging includes pixel grid imaging, in which a pattern is realized by successive exposure of spots.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that is used to improve maskless lithography techniques.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing hexagonal image grids


A liquid crystal display and a method of driving the same are disclosed. The liquid crystal display includes a data drive circuit that supplies a data voltage, whose a polarity is periodically inverted, to the data lines, a gate drive circuit, and a timing controller. The gate drive circuit sequentially supplies a first gate pulse synchronized with a first data voltage to gate lines, and sequentially supplies a second gate pulse synchronized with a second data voltage having a polarity opposite a polarity of the first data voltage, to the gate lines. The timing controller generates a pre-gate start pulse for controlling an output of the first gate pulse during a blank period, and then generates a real gate start pulse for controlling an output of the second gate pulse during an initial period of a frame period following the blank period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relate to a liquid crystal display and a method of driving the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Active matrix type liquid crystal displays display a moving picture using a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switching element. The active matrix type liquid crystal displays have been implemented in televisions as well as display devices in portable devices, such as office equipment and computers, because of the thin profile of the active matrix type liquid crystal displays. Accordingly, cathode ray tubes (CRT) are being rapidly replaced by the active matrix type liquid crystal displays.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display includes data lines and gate lines crossing each other, and liquid crystal cells arranged at each crossing of the data lines and the gate lines in a matrix format. A thin film transistor (TFT) is formed at each crossing of the data lines and the gate lines. As shown in FIG. 1, data driver integrated circuits (ICs) of a liquid crystal display supply a positive or negative data voltage to data lines during low logic periods of a source output enable signal (SOE). Gate driver ICs of the liquid crystal display sequentially supply gate pulses that are synchronized with the positive/negative data voltage to gate lines G1 to G3 during low logic periods of a gate output enable signal (GOE). Hence, a liquid crystal cell of 1 line charged to the data voltage is selected.
If a DC voltage is applied to a liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display for a long time, negative ions move in the same vector direction and positive ions move in a vector direction opposite the vector direction of the negative ions based upon a polarity of an electric field applied to liquid crystals. Hence, the ions in the liquid crystal layer are polarized. As time elapses, the accumulation amount of negative ions and the accumulation amount of positive ions increase. As a result, an alignment layer is degraded and alignment characteristics of the liquid crystal are also degraded. In other words, the application of the DC voltage to the liquid crystal layer for a long time causes stains on the display screen, and the size of the stains increases as time elapsed. To solve the stain problem, a liquid crystal material with a low dielectric constant has been developed, or a method for improving an alignment material or an alignment method has been attempted. However, it takes a long time and great expense to develop a material used in the method. Further, the use of the liquid crystal material with the low dielectric constant may reduce drive characteristics of the liquid crystal. According to the experimental findings, as the amount of impurities ionized inside the liquid crystal layer increases and an acceleration factor becomes large, an appearance time of the stains becomes more rapid. The acceleration factor may include a temperature, time, a DC drive of the liquid crystal, and the like. For example, when a period during which a DC voltage of the same polarity is applied to the liquid crystal layer becomes longer at a high temperature, the stains worsen and the appearance time of the stains becomes more rapid. Because the stains non-uniformly appear between display panels manufactured through the same manufacture line, the stain problem cannot be solved only by development of new material or an improvement of process.

Liquid crystal display and method of driving the same