An antiglare inner mirror includes a housing which is supported by a stay and is capable of inclining by an inclining device. A mirror main body is mounted on a front opening portion of the housing. The mirror main body includes a front glass, a hologram element and a seal glass bonded integrally together. A reflecting film is formed on the rear surface of the seal glass. The hologram element consists of a reflecting type hologram element having a reflecting plane made of interference fringes which is arranged non-parallel to the front surface of the hologram element. Incident light from outside is reflected both by the reflecting film and by the interference fringes of the hologram element to form rays of light reflected in different directions.

This invention relates to an inner mirror for a vehicle having an antiglare function of a novel system.
An antiglare inner mirror is a mirror which is capable of changing the reflectance and capable of mitigating the glare of the headlight of a succeeding automobile by reducing the reflectance.
In the past, an inner mirror using a prism has generally been employed. In this prior art mirror, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a transparent glass substrate 10 is made of a prism glass having width changing in the vertical direction and a reflecting film 12 is formed on the rear surface thereof. The glass substrate 10 can be inclined by an inclining device. In the daytime, the glass substrate 10 is inclined downwardly as illustrated in FIG. 2A and incident light from the rear of the automobile (i.e., image from the rear) is reflected by the reflecting film 12 and then is led to the driver's visual point 14. In the night, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the glass substrate 10 is inclined upwardly and incident light from the rear of the automobile is reflected by a surface 10a of the glass substrate 10 and then is led to the driver's visual point 14. The reflectance by the reflecting film 12 is about 80% whereas the reflactance by the glass substrate surface 10a is only about 4% and, therefore, the glare of the incident headlight of a succeeding automobile in the night can be mitigated.
There has been another type of prior art antiglare inner mirror using a liquid crystal or an electrochromic element for continuously changing the reflectance. In this antiglare mirror, a liquid crystal or an electrochromic element is hermetically enclosed between a pair of glass plates and a reflecting film is formed on the rear glass plate. By controlling electric voltage applied to the liquid crystal or electrochromic element, optical transmittance thereof is controlled and the reflectance thereby is varied.
The prism type antiglare inner mirror illustrated in FIG. 2 is simple in construction and therefore is inexpensive but, since the glass substrate 10 is a prism changing in its width, it is difficult to manufacture this mirror in a case where it is formed in a curved surface for widening the visual field.
The antiglare mirror using a liquid crystal or an electrochromic element requires a drive circuit and a control circuit and, therefore, is rather expensive. Besides, since liquid is hermetically enclosed between the pair of glass plates, when a crack is caused in the glass plates due to an automobile crash, there is the danger that scattered glass injures the passenger.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above described problems of the prior art and provide an antiglare mirror of a novel system which is simple in construction and is easy to form it in a curved surface.


Signals are transmitted through a plurality of transmission channels, each including at least a pair of signal lines for transmitting an interface signal, between a transmitter and a receiver. A predetermined signal is modulated by a modulator with a high-frequency signal, and the modulated signal is provided to a signal line of one of the plurality of transmission channels. A demodulator receives the modulated signal transmitted via this signal line, and demodulates the modulated signal from the signal line based on the frequency of the high-frequency signal. According to the above-described configuration, an interface control method and apparatus which can newly exchange other data and control signals while conforming to existent interface specifications are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interface control method and apparatus for exchanging various kinds of signals between apparatuses or between units.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating standard interfaces in an ordinary computer, serving as an information processing apparatus. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 represents a PCI (peripheral component interconnect) bus, serving as an internal bus as well as a bus for external expansion. Reference numeral 202 represents a line for a network conforming to Ethernet interface specifications. An SCSI (small computer system interface) interface bus 203 is mainly used for transferring large-capacity data from a hard disk, a CD-ROM (compact disk-read-only memory) or the like. An ISA (industry standard architecture) bus 204 serves as a bus for external expansion. An interface bus 205 connects a graphic controller to a CRT (cathode-ray tube) or a flat-type display, such as an FLCD (ferroelectric liquid crystal display) or the like. Currently, analog interfaces are mainly used. However, digital interfaces using LVDS (low voltage differential signaling) or the like have alreadly been manufactured, and standardization for such digital interfaces will be realized in the near future.
The use of such standardized interfaces has the merit that different apparatuses can be connected and operated compatibly even if they are designed and manufactured by different manufacturers.
However, in order to obtain this benefit, an apparatus must be designed and manufactured so as to conform to the standardized use of interfaces. Accordingly, there is no possibility of adopting original specifications without sacrificing the benefit of stadardization. This results in restriction in the degree of freedom in design, and redards the development of new devices.
When constructing an interface conforming to respective interface specifications, and connecting an apparatus which uses a bus structure such that addresses, data, commands and the like are transmitted using individual signal lines, via the interface, it is usually necessary to connect all of the signal lines. For example, in an apparatus which uses buses having capacities of 26 bits for addresses, 16 bits for data, and a plurality of other control signal lines, such as a PC (personal computer) card, the number of signal lines necessary for the interface is 42 just for addresses and data, and is therefore very large. As the number of bits for addresses and data increases in accordance with an increase in the capacity of data stored in memory or the like, an increase in the number of signal lines requires an increase in the size of cables and connectors. This is a serious problem.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interface control method and apparatus which can newly exchange other data and control signals while conforming to existent interface specifications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an interface control method and apparatus which can exchange various kinds of signals by superposing a desired signal without influencing existent interface signals.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an interface control method and apparatus which can reduce the number of used signal lines without reducing the functions of interfaces.
According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an interface control apparatus comprising a plurality of transmission channels each including at least a pair of signal lines for transmitting an interface signal, transmission means for transmitting signals via the transmission channels, reception means for receiving the signals so transmitted, modulation means for modulating a desired signal with a high-frequency signal and providing the modulated signal to a signal line of one of the transmission channels, and demodulation means for extracting the modulated signal from that signal line and demodulating the extracted signal.
According to another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an interface control method comprising the steps of modulating a desired signal with a high-frequency signal, supplying the resulting modulated signal to a signal line of one of a plurality of transmission channels each of which includes at least a pair of signal lines for transmitting an interface signal, and extracting the modulated signal from that signal line and demodulating the extracted signal.
According to still another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an interface control apparatus for exchanging signals between a host apparatus and a peripheral apparatus via a plurality of signal lines. The host apparatus comprises address gate means for gating an address signal, and data gate means for controlling a direction of transmission and passage of a data signal whose bits are smaller in number than the bits of the address signal. The peripheral apparatus comprises gate means for inputting the address signal from the host apparatus via a transmission bus having a bus width corresponding to a bus width for the data signal, input gate means for inputting the data signal from the transmission bus, and output gate means for outputting the data signal to the transmission bus. The interface control apparatus comprises control means for outputting a gate control signal for each of the address gate means, the data gate means, the gate means, the input gate means and the output gate means based on a provided access command.
According to yet another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an interface control method for exchanging signals between a host apparatus and a peripheral apparatus via a plurality of signal lines. The method comprises the step of gating an address signal output from the host apparatus by a gate circuit, and inputting/outputting a data signal including bits whose number is smaller than a number of bits of the address signal through a data gate for controlling a direction of transmission and passage of the data gate. The peripheral apparatus inputs the address signal from the host apparatus via a transmission bus having a bus width corresponding to a bus width of the data signal to gate the input address signal and exchanges data with the transmission bus via an input/output gate, outputs a gate control signal for each of the gate circuit, the data gate, and the gate and the input/output gate of the peripheral apparatus based on a provided memory access command, and exchanges the data signal and the address signal via the transmission bus.
The high-frequency signal used for the mentioned modulation should be sufficiently high to avoid influencing nearby circuits, and preferably should be at least 50 to 100 times the frequency of the data signal.
The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Interface control system for exchanging signals by superposing signals to an existed signal line using low voltage differential signal


A circuit for controllably coupling an input to an output. The circuit includes: (1) a pass transistor having an emitter, a collector and a base, the emitter being coupled to the input, the collector being coupled to the output; (2) a second transistor coupled to the pass transistor, and biased to operate with a collector-to-base voltage approximately equal to zero; and (3) a control circuit coupled to the input, the output and the base of the pass transistor, the control circuit controllably turning the pass transistor on. When the pass transistor is turned on, the control circuit maintains in the pass transistor a collector current approximately equal to a predetermined scale factor times the collector current of the second transistor. The predetermined scale factor ensures that the pass transistor operates at the edge of a saturation region when the pass transistor is turned on.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of power supply circuits, DC-DC converters, low dropout regulators, synchronous rectifiers, line drivers, voltage regulators, pass elements and the like.
2. Background
A typical step-up DC-DC converter employing a flyback topology is shown in FIG. 1. In this circuit topology, an inductor L1 alternately stores and releases energy which is directed to the load in a controlled manner. During the charging cycle, the switch S1 is turned on. The voltage across inductor L1 induces a current which rises linearly until the voltage is removed by opening switch S1. When switch S1 is opened, the stored energy in inductor L1 attempts to maintain the current therethrough, causing the voltage across inductor L1 to change polarity. The voltage at the anode of a catch diode D1 (hereinafter referred to as the voltage at LX, or VLX) rises until diode D1 is forward biased, delivering power to the output. The open and closed positions of switch S1 are determined by a switch control circuit 12 which is designed to keep the output in regulation.
There are two main drawbacks with using a simple catch diode in battery powered systems.
First, because catch diode D1 presents a low impedance path to the output even when control circuit 12 holds the switch S1 off, a conventional DC-DC converter may drain the battery coupled to its input and consume power even during a shut-down mode. With the control circuit holding switch S1 off, the output voltage is at VIN-VF (VF=the forward-biased voltage drop of diode D1), and the output load, if not switched off, drains the battery. Typical solutions have been to either place a switch in series with the load or to have a power-down mode for the load.
Second, the battery voltage can vary over a wide range from a voltage level when the battery is fresh to another voltage level when the battery reaches its end-of-life or end-of-charge condition. Thus, it is possible for the output voltage to be within this range, making the design of the DC-DC converter difficult. For example, a four-cell (Alkaline) input to 5V output is a popular application. The operating input voltage can range from 6.2V when the battery is fresh to 3.6V at the end of the battery life.
In these applications, the use of a typical boost converter with a catch diode presents a problem since when an input voltage to the catch diode is greater than 5V+VF, the output voltage will be VIN-VF, and thus, the output voltage will be out of regulation. A paper titled "Get +5V/100 mA From Four Cells," Electronic Design, Jan. 9, 1992, p. 132 describes an approach to boost the input voltage to above the maximum expected input voltage and to use a linear regulator to regulate the voltage down to a desired voltage. Such a conventional approach is not only complicated but also low in efficiency.
The present invention includes a synchronous rectifier which overcomes these drawbacks of a catch diode, especially in battery powered systems.
The present invention provides a step-up and step-down DC-DC converter having an on-chip synchronous rectifier. This synchronous rectifier replaces the Schottky diode of a conventional step-up DC-DC converter, thus reducing the number of external components and providing a lower forward voltage drop across the synchronous rectifier than that across a Schottky diode. In the present invention, the on-chip synchronous rectifier appears as a high impedance element in series with an inductor and a load when the device is placed in a shut-down mode. This high impedance prevents the current drain associated with conventional step-up converters in the shut-down mode.
The step-up or step-down DC-DC converter of the present invention can maintain regulation of the output voltage even when the input voltage is significantly above or below the target output voltage. For example, the present invention can generate and regulate a 5V output from 4 Alkaline batteries when the input voltage to the DC-DC converter varies from 6.2V, or 1.55V/cell with fresh batteries, to 3.6V or 0.9V/cell at the end of the battery life.

Method and apparatus for enabling a step-up or step-down operation using a synchronous rectifier circuit


A floor mop having a stick 10, a mop head 11 including a mop fabric 12 and a lower handle 13 and an upper handle 19. The lower handle is axially and rotatably movable relative to the stick 10 and is attached to one end of the mop fabric 12 of the mop head. The other end of the mop fabric is non-rotatably attached to a lower end of the stick 10. The upper handle 19 is attached to the stick 10 or to an attachment member 16 that is mounted on the stick 10 to enable the rotation of the stick relative to the lower handle 13 to wring the mop fabric 12 of the mop head.

The present invention relates to an improved floor mop. The prior art mops include a stick; a mop head having mop fabric; and a lower handle. The lower handle is axially and rotatably movable relative to the stick and is attached to one end of the mop fabric of the mop head. The other end of the mop fabric is non-rotatably secured to a lower end of the stick. The mops further include an upper handle that is attached to the stick so that the upper handle is rotatable relative to the lower handle to wring the mop fabric of the mop head. This type of floor mop is commonly referred to as a twister mop and is sold in large quantities under the SMARTMOP and other trademarks and is very successful. When employing this mop during cleaning, the lower handle is lowered so that the mop fabric of the mop head has a rosette shaped appearance. When the mop head is later cleaned, the mop head is immersed into a liquid or into rinsing water. To wring the liquid out of the mop, the mop fabric of the mop head is stretched by moving the lower handle upwardly so that the mop fabric is substantially parallel to the stick. The lower handle is then rotated about the stick so that the lower handle and the upper handle are rotated in opposite directions. The result is that the mop fabric is pressed against the stick during rotation so that the mop fabric is tightly twisted and extends in a helical path about the stick. The rinsing and wringing procedure can then be repeated if it is necessary or desirable.
These prior art floor mops have the drawback of being difficult to wring, particularly for those who have weak hand strength. Additionally, the method of wringing the mop is cumbersome and time consuming and the procedure is divided into steps requiring changes of the grip requiring a high level of coordination. When the grip is shifted from one grip to another it is difficult to maintain the partial wringing of the mop that has already been accomplished.
Another problem of other prior art mops described in the patent literature is that the twisting of the mop fabric of the mops is often initiated before the strips are stretched which reduces the affect of the wringing operation.
One objective of the present invention is thus to improve the prior art floor mops described above and commonly referred to as twister mops.
The floor mop of the present invention includes a stick, a mop head of mop fabric and a lower and an upper handle. The lower handle is axially and rotatably movable relative to the stick and is attached to one end of the mop fabric of the mop head. The other end of the mop fabric is non-rotatably secured to the lower end of the stick. The upper handle is in operative engagement with at least one helical groove defined in the mop stick. This helical groove is either defined directly in the mop stick, or in an attachment member such as a sleeve or an extension that is attached to an upper portion of the stick. The helical groove defined in the mop stick or in the attachment thereto enables a rotation of the stick relative to the lower handle by longitudinally moving the upper handle in the helical grooves to wring the mop fabric of the mop head. In particular, the upper handle has a protrusion that is adapted to engage the helical groove to rotate the mop stick, by axially moving the handle away from the mop fabric which prior to the wringing has been pulled up around and is substantially parallel to the mop stick. In other words, the helical groove converts a translational movement of the upper handle along the stick to a rotational movement by the stick.
In a preferred embodiment of the floor mop of the present invention, an upward translational movement of the upper handle is used when the mop fabric is to be wrung. This novel method of upward movement of a shiftable handle has been shown to be far superior with regards to both easy handling and effective wringing compared to the prior art wringing methods.
The grooves of the present invention are not necessarily defined in the mop stick itself. This has many notable advantages. For example, an attachment member may be mounted to existing mops of the customary type available and is independent from the configuration of the mops with regard to the mop head and the attachment of the mop head to the rest of the mop as long as the basic principles of the function of the mop are according to the mops described above. A significant hygienic and functional advantage is the position of the wringing mechanism because the rinsing water never comes in contact with the mechanism.
In one embodiment of the floor mop of the present invention, the wringing mechanism includes an attachment member and a protrusion extending radially inwardly from the upper handle to operatively engage the helical groove of the attachment member so that the stick may be rotated by upwardly shifting the upper handle along the attachment member. If the present invention is provided as an wringing accessory to the earlier described prior art mop, this accessory includes the upper handle, an attachment member and the protrusion extending therefrom so that the protrusion is in operative engagement with the helical groove of the attachment member.
When it is desirable to wring the mop, the lower handle is moved upwardly so that the mop fabric of the mop head is stretched and aligned parallel to the stick. The upper handle is then shifted away from the lower handle so that the stick and the lower end of the mop fabric are rotated as the upper handle is moved upwardly in the helical groove. In this way, the stick is rotated relative to the mop fabric of the mop head that is attached to the lower handle. The result is an automatic wringing when both handles are moved away from one another. More water is wrung out of the mop fabric by continuing the pull on the upper handle when it stops in its uppermost position due to the restraint of the mop fabric. This continued pull results in the lower handle moving downward, so that the ends of the mop fabric are pressed together, providing a very effective final squeeze of the mop fabric.

Wringing method and wringing mechanism for floor mop


Compounds that bind the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor, methods of their synthesis, methods of their therapeutic and/or prophylactic use, and methods of their use in stabilizing GLP-1 receptor in vitro for crystallization of the GLP-1 receptor are provided. Certain compounds may have activity as modulators or potentiators with respect to glucagon receptor, GIP receptor, GLP-1 and GLP-2 receptors, and PTH receptor on their own or in the presence of receptor ligands such as GIP(1-42), PTH(1-34), Glucagon(1-29), GLP-2(1-33), GLP-1 (7-36), GLP-1 (9-36), oxyntomodulin and exendin variants.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) belongs to Family B1 of the seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors, and its natural agonist ligand is the peptide hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 is a peptide hormone arising by its alternative enzymatic cleavage from proglucagon, the prohormone precursor for GLP-1, which is highly expressed in enteroendocrine cells of the intestine, the alpha cells of the endocrine pancreas (islets of Langerhans), and the brain (Kieffer T. J. and Habener, J. F. Endocrin. Rev. 20:876-913 (1999); Drucker, D. J., Endocrinology 142:521-7 (2001); Holst, J. J., Diabetes Metab. Res. Rev. 18:430-41 (2002)). The initial actions of GLP-1 observed were on the insulin-producing cells of the islets, where it stimulates glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Subsequently, multiple additional antidiabetogenic actions of GLP-1 were discovered including the stimulation of the growth and inhibition of the apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells (Drucker, D. J., Endocrinology 144:5145-8 (2003); Holz, G. G. and Chepurny O. G., Curr. Med. Chem. 10:2471-83 (2003); List, J. F. and Habener, J. F., Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 286:E875-81 (2004)).
On activation, GLP-1 receptors couple to the α subunit of G protein, with subsequent activation of adenylate cyclase and increase of cAMP levels, thereby potentiating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Therefore, GLP-1 is an attractive therapeutic to lower blood glucose and preserve the β-cells of the pancreas of diabetic patients. Glucagon has been used for decades in medical practice within diabetes and several glucagon-like peptides are being developed for various therapeutic indications. GLP-1 analogs and derivatives are being developed for the treatment for patients suffering from diabetes.
As it has been well established in the field of protein crystallography that the monodispersity of protein samples is a major determinant of success in crystallization, development of compounds that are capable of maintaining the GLP-1 receptor in a monodisperse, functional state throughout purification, concentration and crystallization trials is a crucial preliminary step in the structural determination effort of the GLP-1 receptor. Disclosed herein are compounds that are capable of inducing such stabilizing effects on the GLP-1 receptor. The compounds of the disclosure are screened for their ability to support structural determination of the GLP-1 receptor to high resolution, thus allowing an additional dimension of diversity in crystallization. The compounds of the disclosure enable drug development through the structural solution of clinically relevant GPCR targets. Structural coordinates can be leveraged as a discovery platform for generating novel chemical leads through virtual ligand screening followed by in vitro screening and chemical optimization of hits for standard drug-like properties and efficacy. In addition, it is well known in the field of structural biology that the initial structural solution of a given target enables subsequent structures with less favorable ligands due to the growth in knowledge and restriction of crystallization space that must be screened.

GLP-1 receptor stabilizers and modulators


A schematic diagram generator processes a netlist to generate a schematic diagram based on a set of placement rules, corresponding to a separate characteristic pattern of interconnected devices and specifying a constraint on relative placement within the schematic diagram of symbols representing devices forming the pattern. The generator identifies each set of devices in the netlist that exhibits any rule's interconnection pattern as a separate “soft group”, places a constraint consistent with the rule on relative positioning within the schematic diagram of symbols representing the soft group, resolves any constraint conflicts in accordance with a constraint resolution scheme, and then places all device symbols in the schematic diagram in a manner consistent accordance with the constraints.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a system for processing a description of a circuit to produce a schematic diagram of the circuit wherein symbols are positioned to satisfy a set of rules specifying constraints on symbol placement.
2. Description of Related Art
A circuit designer typically generates a circuit design in the form of a netlist, a text file listing the circuit's input, output and internal signals (nets) and indicating how the nets are interrelated. The designer may initially generate a high-level netlist employing mathematical expressions to describe the relationships between signals carried on the nets, but as the circuit design progresses, the designer will produce a lower level netlist describing those relationships by describing various electronic circuit components to be included in the circuit and indicating which component terminals are connected to each net. For example, a netlist may reference a transistor or a resistor using a line of code indicating that it is an instance of a particular type of transistor and referencing the nets connected to each terminal.
A netlist is suitable for input to computer-aided design tools such as simulators, emulators and placement and routing tools, but designers often find schematic diagrams more helpful when trying to comprehend circuit designs. A schematic diagram is a graphical representation of a circuit using symbols and lines to represent circuit components and the nets that interconnect them. A designer can manually draw a schematic diagram based on a netlist, but would normally prefer to use a computer-aided schematic diagram generator that can automatically convert a netlist into a schematic diagram.
While an electronic circuit is an arrangement of low level devices such as transistors, resistors, capacitors and inductors interconnected by conductors, a circuit designer tends to view a circuit design as a set of subdesigns, wherein low level devices combine to form circuit modules having various higher level functions. For example in a digital circuit, transistors and other low level devices combine to form various logic gates and other digital devices. In an analog circuit, transistors and other devices combine to form various identifiable modules such a current mirrors, differential pairs and the like. A circuit designer will often organize a netlist description of a circuit to reflect the modularity of the design because by grouping the lines of code within the netlist describing the transistors or other device forming a particular module under a common heading, the designer can easily perceive that section of the netlist and forming a "subdesign" of the circuit design. Similarly, the circuit designer finds a transistor-level schematic diagram easiest to comprehend when it employs symbols arranged in well-known patterns to represent transistors and other devices such as capacitors and resistors forming known modules.
FIG. 1 depicts an example circuit diagram for a digital circuit 10 including a pair of inverter modules 11 and 12 and a set of NAND gate modules 13-16. When a schematic diagram generator processes a netlist to generate a schematic diagram, it could randomly place each transistor anywhere in the diagram, but that would make it very difficult for a designer to comprehend the diagram. The schematic diagram is more useful when the generator groups and orients the transistors in a way that the designer will be able to recognize them as forming particular kinds of circuit modules. For example, the arrangement of the two transistor symbols forming inverter gate 11 is well known, and an experienced designer would immediately recognize those two transistors as forming an inverter. However, if the transistor symbols were remote from one another in the schematic diagram, the designer would find it more difficult to identify them as an inverter. In addition to placing the two transistors forming inverter 11 near one another within the schematic diagram, the schematic diagram generator should also orient them in a way that the designer expects to see them. The orientation shown in FIG. 1 is the most common way to represent an inverter. FIG. 2 is another way to represent an inverter in a schematic diagram, but while a designer could deduce that FIG. 2 represents an inverter, he or she probably would not immediately recognize it as an inverter because the transistor symbols do not exhibit an expect arrangement pattern for an inverter. Thus, a typical schematic diagram generator will study a netlist to identify all recognizable module subdesigns and then generate a schematic diagram representing those subdesigns in some standard manner.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting the major processing steps carried out by a typical prior art schematic diagram generator when converting a transistor-level netlist into a schematic diagram. The generator first studies the netlist to identify each recognizable subdesign (step 17) using a database of standard subdesign patterns to help it identify subdesign patterns. It then generates a schematic diagram for each subdesign (step 18) using information from the pattern database to tell it how to arrange the schematic layout for each subdesign. It then generates the top-level schematic by establishing a position and orientation within the schematic for each subdesign layout and for each transistor or other device symbol not included in one of the subdesigns.
This approach can work well for generating schematic diagrams for digital circuits because a designer tends to think of a digital circuit as a network of interacting circuit modules such as logic gates and other devices, and best understands a schematic diagram organized along these lines. On the other hand, even though an analog circuit will include identifiable modules such as differential pairs, current mirrors, and the like, an analog circuit designer also tends to view an analog circuit in ways other than on a module-by-module basis. For example, an analog circuit designer is interested in determining how current flows though transistors and other devices connected in series between power and ground, and how data signals flow from transistor-to-transistor. Thus while organizing a schematic diagram for an analog circuit along modular lines, as an arrangement of subdesigns, can help a designer understand an analog circuit schematic diagram, a computer-aided schematic diagram generator should also take other considerations into account when generating a schematic diagram for an analog circuit.


This invention relates to high-speed radial tires, and more particularly to radial tires wherein the thickness ratio (Gc-Gs)/Gc, that is the ratio of the difference between the crown tread thickness Gc, which is a thickness of the tread on the equator of the tire, and the shoulder tread thickness Gs, which is a thickness of the tread of the ground contact surface at the outer edge in direction of the tire axis, to the crown tread thickness Gc is set to be 0 or more and 0.8 or less. By setting the ratio within a range of 0 to 0.8, the force Fs acting in the radial direction on the tread shoulder part, out of the total load acting to the tire, is decreased, thus, the deformation in the bead part is diminished and the permanence in the bead part can be improved. In a tire having the ratio of 0 to 0.8, by setting the angle of the belt cords to be 0 to 20 degrees, it can be used for aircraft and by setting the angle of the belt cords to be 20 to 40 degrees and the aspect ratio to be 60% or less, it can be used for high-speed passenger cars.

The present invention relates to a high-speed radial tire which can improve the permanence of the bead part of the tire and can be used for aircraft and high-speed passenger cars.
In high-speed radial tires such as those for aircraft and for high-speed passenger cars which can run at a high speed exceeding 300 km per hour, recently high-speed radial tires having a belt layer composed of highly elastic belt cords placed outside in the radial direction of carcass of a radial structure in which carcass cords are aligned in the radial direction of a tire have been used.
Since such a tire having a radial structure is constructed with a rigid belt layer, for example, the side-wall part and the bead part deform significantly. Especially due to the construction of a bead apex made of rubber which has a relatively large hardness and generates much heat due to deformation, the bead part develops a high temperature by the heat which is generated from repeated deformations caused by the rolling of the tire. Since it is thicker and since the winding-up portion of the carcass and reinforcement layers are concentrated there, an interlayer shearing strain is generated due to bending deformations, which leads to tire damage.
In the bead part, compression by bending and folding on the rim flange upon loading generates a large compression stress in carcass cords of the bead part, and by repetition of the compression stress, a breakage of the carcass cords and a concentration of stresses generated at the broken edges lower the strength of the carcass cords and the rubber itself, which leads to the damage of the bead part.
Therefore, in order to prevent damage of the bead part, it is preliminarily required to decrease the deformation of the bead.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, deformation of the bead part is generated by a bending moment M2 which is created by a radial force Fs, which acts on the shoulder part of the tread, acting on the bead part through a bending moment M1 created at the side-wall part of the tread.
Therefore, in order to diminish the bending moment M2 to consequently diminish the deformations of the bead part, it may be considered to increase the internal pressure of the tire, to decrease the rigidity of the side-wall part and to diminish the force Fs which acts on the shoulder part.
However, if the rigidity of the side-wall part is reduced to diminish the bending moment M2 acting on the bead part, the transversal rigidity and the strength of the tire tend to decrease consequently. If the internal pressure is increased, the performance of the tire decreases due to an increased bounce and the balance of the tire becomes worse, which leads rather to shortening of its life.
On the other hand, in a conventional tire, as shown in FIG. 10, the thickness of the shoulder part of the tread Gs has been set to be larger compared with the thickness of the tread part Gc on the equator of the tire CO. As a result, the bending rigidity at the shoulder part becomes larger, which increases, out of the total force F of the ground contact pressure distribution at the ground contact surface, the force Fs acting on the shoulder part relatively, the bending moment M1 and then the bending moment M2.
From this point of view, finding that, in order to decrease the force Fs acting on the shoulder part, by increasing the force Fc at the crown part, out of the load of tire F which is the total force at the ground contact surface, the force Fs at the shoulder part can be relatively decreased. The present inventors have developed this invention. Thus, it is a primary object of the present invention to present a novel high-speed radial tire which can decrease the force Fs acting on the shoulder part and diminish the deformations at the bead part, and hence improve the durability of the bead part.

High speed radial tire with durable bead part


A spray bottle having a pump, flexible tubing, a housing and a retainer for clamping the tubing to the housing. The pump pumps fluid to be sprayed from inside the spray bottle. The flexible tubing is attached to the pump, extends into the spray bottle, and communicates fluid from inside the spray bottle to the pump. The housing is attached to a distal end of the flexible tubing and includes a head, a weight and a nozzle. The head projects into an opening in the distal end of the tubing. The weight is secured in the housing. The nozzle extends from an end of the housing opposing the end of the housing attached to the head. An opening in the nozzle and an opening in the head are in flow communication. The retainer encircles a portion of a periphery of the tubing and clamps the tubing against the head.

1. Field of the Invention
Our invention is directed to spray bottles and similar containers from which fluids are drawn through a tube or the like and dispensed. More specifically, our invention is directed to an improved system for removing fluid from containers through flexible tubing. In the system, a weighted member is secured to the distal end of the flexible tubing such that the weighted member pulls the distal end of the tubing toward the lowest point of the container, even when the container is shifted, rotated, tilted, inverted, and the like. More specifically, our invention is directed to novel designs, of weighting systems and clamps for securing such weighting systems to the flexible tubing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional spray bottles include a container for holding a fluid, with a spraying mechanism secured to the opening of the container. The spraying mechanism is generally threadingly engaged with the opening of the container to prevent fluid, other than that being sprayed, from exiting the container. The spray is created when fluid from the bottle is forced through a spray nozzle on the spraying mechanism. The forced fluid is usually provided by a pump powered by a trigger controlled by a user's finger. The squeezing of the trigger causes the pump to draw fluid from the container through a tube extending down into the container. Such configurations are well known and an example of the same may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,342 (incorporated herein by reference).
Traditionally, the tube extending into the container is semi-rigid and extends to just above the bottom of the container so that an opening in the tube is suspended close to the bottom of the container. When the fluid level in the container diminishes, the container often must be held at a precise angle (or relative position in space) so that the opening in the end of the tube reaches the fluid. Once the fluid level drops even farther, a user may find that no positioning of the container will allow the opening of the tube to reach the remaining fluid.
To overcome these drawbacks, a flexible tube may be used in place of the semi-rigid tube. A flexible tube may be provided with a greater length so that the open end of the tube reaches into corners of the container, particularly when the container is tilted such that the remaining fluid pools in the corner. To aid the open end of the tube in reaching lower levels and corners of the container, a weight may be secured near the open end of the tube so that gravity pulls the weighted end of the tube through the fluid toward the lowest point in the container.
With this improved configuration, less of the fluid in the container is wasted. In addition, the spray bottle may be held at angles/positions (i.e., upside down, sideways, etc.) at which traditional spray bottles fail to work properly due to fluid pooling away from the open end of the semi-rigid tube.
Nevertheless, spray bottles utilizing flexible tubes also suffer from certain drawbacks. For instance, the fluids used in these containers are often cleaning solutions, which may have properties that cause the tubing to swell or become slippery. Those conditions may cause the weight to slip off the tubing, if those elements are not properly secured to each other. In addition, the weight may bang into the sides of the container causing unwanted noise and vibration. Also, if the size of both the weighting mechanism and the tube or the fluid intake nozzle secured thereto are not properly proportioned, the system will not achieve maximum efficiency for reaching small amounts of fluid pooling in the corners of containers.
Our invention overcomes these drawbacks by introducing novel weighting mechanisms and clamps for securing the flexible tubes to those weighting mechanisms.

Flexible supply tube with weighting mechanism for use in spray bottles


A lens system including a first substantially hemispherical lens, a second spherical lens and a third substantially hemispherical lens. The lenses are held together by a bonding material such as epoxy, which may also include a light absorbing dye. The invention also relates to a low-cost method of manufacturing the lens system out of glass, using low cost glass ball lenses to create the hemispherical lenses.

Integrated circuits including a semiconductor die, such as charge-coupled-devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, have commonly been used in photo-imaging applications. Such sensors typically contain thousands or millions of pixel cells in a pixel array on a single chip. Pixel cells convert light into an electrical signal that can then be stored and recalled by an electrical device such as, for example, a processor.
Semiconductor dies typically are packaged and inserted into imaging devices such as, for example, digital cameras. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional image sensor module 2, shown in an exploded perspective view. Module 2 includes a semiconductor die 4 disposed on a cushion 6 and having series of bump pad connectors 8 located adjacent the four edges of the top surface of the semiconductor die 4. Semiconductor die 4 includes a pixel array 5. Conductive film 10 connects flex tape 12 to die 4 and connectors 8. Flex tape 12 contains electrical traces that link to a connector 14, and has an opening 16 through which light travels to the pixel array. A stiffener 18 provides additional support to the module 2. An infrared (IR) filter 20 may be provided which is aligned in the optical path between the pixel array and a lens assembly 22 and is adhered onto the flex tape 12. The lens assembly 22 includes a housing 24 supporting a lens barrel 26 containing a lens system for focusing light onto the pixel array. The lens system is aligned within the lens barrel 26 and is secured at a focusing distance from the surface of the pixel array located on the semiconductor die 4 in order to provide a sharp image.
To increase the pixel response to illumination, an array of micro-lenses 32 may be placed above each photosensitive pixel cell 28 of pixel array 5, as shown in the imager 50 of FIGS. 2A and 2B. The micro-lenses 32 are used to focus electromagnetic radiation onto the photo-conversion device, e.g., a photodiode of the pixel cells 28. The centers of the micro-lenses 32 in the array may be aligned with the center of the corresponding pixels 28 or shifted from the center of the corresponding pixels 28 to shelter direct light on the photosensor and to accommodate for predominant incident light angle. This angle is usually characterized by the Chief Ray Angle (CRA) of an optical system and depends on the location of the pixel relative to the optical center of the module.
As semiconductor-based image sensors are being used in even smaller and/or mobile applications, such as digital cameras and cellular phones, the required sensor pixel size is reduced to sizes smaller than 3 μm. This size reduction puts tighter requirements on alignment accuracy and dimensional stability of the imaging lens within lens barrel 26. Typically, the focal plane of the lens should not shift more than ±10 μm from focus position. Plastic lenses and mounts, typically used in current lens assemblies, show a strong variation of indices of refraction and mechanical dimensions depending upon the temperature, therefore the desired small focus shift is difficult to maintain while using plastic lenses. Glass lenses provide a much higher level of stability, but the cost is also much higher. The high cost of known methods of producing glass lenses can be prohibitive for implementing glass lenses in mobile image sensors. Accordingly, it is desirable to find an alternative low-cost solution for manufacturing a stable glass imaging lens system.

Integrated lens system for image sensor and method for manufacturing the same


In a starter having a motor yoke, a housing and an end frame forming a cylindrical starter frame, a cylindrical thermal insulation cover is fitted around the starter frame through rubber-made elastic rings. The rings are tightly fitted in V-shaped grooves formed circumferentially on fitting faces, one being between the housing and the yoke and the other being between the yoke and the end frame. Each ring is pressed radially inward by a large diameter part of the thermal insulation cover to fill in the V-shaped groove and contact the fitting face. Further, in a motor for the starter, a resilient plate sheet is disposed between a commutator and a brush holder to return a brush passing therethrough to the original position when the brush tends to move during sliding contact with the commutator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starter having a thermal insulation cover for thermal insulation from an engine or an exhaust pipe.
2. Background of the Invention
It is a recent tendency to install more auxiliary equipment than before in the engine compartment of an automotive vehicle. A starter has to be mounted in the engine compartment more closely to an engine block or to an engine exhaust pipe. The starter is therefore subjected to heat radiation from the engine and the exhaust pipe. As a result, resin-made parts (e.g., molded cover of a magnet switch), rubber-made parts and the like used in the starter are very likely to be damaged due to thermal softening or thermal degradation.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 61101457 proposes to surround at least a part of the starter outer periphery with a thermal insulation cover. The thermal insulation cover is fixed to the starter with its engagement portions formed in a semicylindrical or hook shape by punching being engaged with a through bolt which tightly holds an end frame and a housing. The heat-shielding cover thus engaged with the through bolt via the engagement portions will possibly produce chattering or backlash noise sounds due to engine vibration and cause cracks in the thermal insulation cover due to the vibration.
Further, brushes movably held in respective brush holders collide with the brush holders during sliding contact with a commutator, particularly when the engine vibration is transmitted. This will cause local wear of the brushes at the colliding parts, cracks in the brushes and the like.


Hydraulic systems and methods comprising a source of hydraulic pressure; a hydraulic load; and an energy recovery circuit. The source of hydraulic pressure is fluidly connected to the hydraulic load through a first hydraulic channel with an orifice. The energy recovery circuit includes a recovery channel which is fluidly connected at its first end to the orifice on the side of it which is connected to the source of hydraulic pressure, and which is fluidly connected at its second end to a hydraulic motor.

For a class of machines, for example working machines, hydraulic drives traditionally offer many advantages. For example, forklifts and other lifting devices as well as caterpillars and cranes are often driven hydraulically. It is already well known to provide extra aggregates in hydraulic systems and circuits in order to recover hydraulic energy.
For example, in US 2019/0136874 A1, a system is described with a hydraulic circuit, for example used in a forklift truck. A first hydraulic pump/motor is configured to provide pressurized fluid in order to drive a hydraulic lift mechanism. Potential energy of the before-lifted load can be recovered when the load is lowered and stored either as electric energy or hydraulic energy. For this purpose, a pressure relief valve is provided which allows hydraulic fluid pressurized by the load to flow to an energy recovery circuit. The described system thereby allows remaining energy of the load to be recovered after the work is done.
One of the goals of the present disclosure is to allow hydraulic energy in a hydraulic circuit to be recovered at different stages of the hydraulic working process.
It is another goal of the present disclosure to allow energy to be recovered during the hydraulic drive or working process.
The presently proposed hydraulic system comprises a source of hydraulic pressure, a hydraulic load, and an energy recovery circuit, wherein the source of hydraulic pressure is fluidly connected to the hydraulic load through a first hydraulic channel including an orifice, wherein the energy recovery circuit includes a recovery channel which is fluidly connected at its first end to the orifice on the side of it which is connected to the source of hydraulic pressure, and which is fluidly connected at its second end to a hydraulic motor which is mechanically coupled to an electric generator, an energy storage system, potentially a battery, coupled to the electric generator, a controller which is configured to control a hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit based on the value of the hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load and/or a hydraulic pressure P10 at the hydraulic load or on a pressure drop across the orifice.
In ordinary use, the source of hydraulic pressure may drive the hydraulic load by delivery of high-pressurized hydraulic fluid through the first hydraulic channel. The source of hydraulic pressure therein may be a hydraulic pump or a hydraulic cylinder, any kind of hydraulic storage, or a source of hydraulic energy that itself may be configured to recover hydraulic energy from a braking process or from the process of lowering a load, for example in case of a fork lifter. The delivered hydraulic energy can be used to drive the hydraulic load. The hydraulic load may be a piston or a hydraulic motor, for example for lifting a weight or for performing any other kind of work that may be performed by hydraulic devices. It is a specific feature of the presently proposed hydraulic system that the first hydraulic channel which fluidly connects the source of hydraulic pressure with the hydraulic load includes an orifice. Within the scope of this document the term orifice is intended to refer to any kind of fluid connection that causes a pressure drop between the source of hydraulic pressure and the hydraulic load. Therefore, the orifice may but does not necessarily have to include a localized element in the form of a nozzle, a valve such as a throttle valve or similar element, but it may also be realized by a section of the first hydraulic channel with a limited cross section so that a pressure drop is generated when the hydraulic load is operated. More specifically, it may be provided that the pressure drop amounts to at least 1%, to at least 5% or to at least 10% of the pressure delivered by the source of hydraulic pressure.
The recovery channel which is fluidly connected at its first end to the orifice on the side of the orifice which is connected to the source of hydraulic pressure may lead pressurized hydraulic fluid from the source of hydraulic pressure to a hydraulic motor which is mechanically coupled to an electric generator. This way, excessive hydraulic energy that is generated or delivered by the source of hydraulic pressure and which is not needed to drive the hydraulic load can be recovered in the recovery circuit. The excessive energy therefore is used to drive a hydraulic motor which is coupled to the electric generator. The generator may transform the kinetic energy into electric energy which may then be stored in the energy storage system such as a battery.
Further, a controller is provided which is configured to prevent that too much energy is diverted from the source of hydraulic pressure to the recovery circuit and that too little of the hydraulic energy remains for driving the hydraulic load. For this purpose, the controller may be configured to control the resistance of the recovery circuit based either on the amount of hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load and/or based on the hydraulic pressure P10 which is provided at the hydraulic load, and/or based on a pressure drop between the two sides of the orifice.
The source of hydraulic pressure with its inherent hydraulic resistance, the hydraulic load, the orifice and the recovery circuit with its controllable hydraulic resistance form a hydraulic network. By controlling the hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit, it is possible to control the flow through the orifice and the pressure P10 provided at the hydraulic load as well as the pressure drop across the orifice. Therefore, introducing the hydraulic resistance of the orifice allows controlling the amount of energy that is diverted or led from the source of hydraulic pressure to the recovery circuit.
In an embodiment of the presently proposed hydraulic system, it may be provided that the controller is connected to one or more hydraulic sensors wherein at least a first hydraulic sensor is located in the first hydraulic channel between the orifice and the hydraulic load or at the hydraulic load. The first hydraulic sensor may include a pressure sensor and/or a flow sensor.
In case the first hydraulic sensor includes a pressure sensor, it may measure or determine the pressure value P10, and the controller may be configured to control the hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit such as to provide the minimum necessary pressure P10 required to drive the hydraulic load in an appropriate way.
If the first hydraulic sensor includes a flow sensor, the controller may use the measured value of the hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load in order to control the amount of energy which is diverted or led to the recovery circuit to provide the minimum necessary hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load which guarantees an appropriate function of the hydraulic load.
A further embodiment may provide that the controller is connected to a second hydraulic sensor wherein the second hydraulic sensor is located in the first hydraulic channel between the orifice and the source of hydraulic pressure, or at the source of hydraulic pressure, wherein the second hydraulic sensor may include a pressure sensor and may be configured to measure or determine the pressure value P11 and/or wherein the second hydraulic sensor may include a flow sensor.
By using the second hydraulic sensor, either the hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load through the orifice may be measured or the pressure at the hydraulic load may be calculated on the basis of the measured hydraulic pressure between the source of hydraulic energy and the orifice or, if both a first and second hydraulic sensor are provided on the two sides of the orifice, the pressure drop across the orifice may be measured and a controller may control the amount of hydraulic energy diverted or transferred to the recovery circuit based on the measured pressure drop across the orifice.
It may further be provided that the controller is connected to one or more hydraulic sensors through an electric or a hydraulic connection.
The controller may include an electric circuit comprising a processor, memory, and instructions to execute the functions described herein. The controller may be configured to receive signals from hydraulic sensors wherein the hydraulic sensors may be configured to measure hydraulic values such as a pressure or a fluid flow, and to convert these values into electric signals.
The output of the controller in this case may be an electric signal for electrically controlling an element of the hydraulic circuit, or for electrically controlling a generator or an electric converter.
Additionally or alternatively, the controller may work based on hydraulic sensors and/or actuators and may be at least partially realized in the form of a hydraulic control unit. In this case, the controller may be connected to hydraulic sensors by fluid channels and the signals may be transferred hydraulically driving pistons, valves or other hydraulic elements in the controller. The controller in this case may generate an output in the form of a hydraulic signal that may control a hydraulic device.
It may further be provided that the hydraulic motor is configured such that its hydraulic resistance is controlled by the controller. For example, the controller may be configured to control the hydraulic displacement of the hydraulic motor.
In this case, the controller may be configured to control a mechanical feature in the hydraulic motor such as a valve position or a position or angle of another mechanical element in the hydraulic motor, for example in order to change the hydraulic resistance of the hydraulic motor.
It may also be provided that the electric generator is configured such that its mechanical resistance is controlled by the controller.
For example, an excitation of a stator winding in the electric generator or an electric resistance in any electric conductor of the generator may be controlled by the controller. Thereby, on one hand, more or less electric energy may be derived from the source of hydraulic energy or the generator may work more or less efficiently and convert some share of the mechanical energy into thermal energy.
The hydraulic system is designed such that the hydraulic load receives the necessary minimum power which is required for the hydraulic load to function properly. If or when the source of hydraulic pressure provides more than said minimum power, any excess power may be diverted to and used by the recovery circuit. The fractions of the power provided by the source of hydraulic pressure that are or may be delivered to the hydraulic load and to the recovery circuit may be controlled by controlling the hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit. For example, by increasing the hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit, more hydraulic energy may be delivered from the source of hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic load. Similarly, by decreasing the hydraulic resistance of the energy recovery circuit, the amount of hydraulic energy delivered from the source of hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic load may be reduced.
In another implementation, it may also be provided that the controller may be configured to control an electrical converter which is electrically connected to the generator.
The controller may therein directly control the electrical converter by electric signals and thereby select the necessary or appropriate resistance of the hydraulic energy recovery circuit.
The controller may include an electrical circuit including a processor, memory, and instructions. The instructions may be executed to perform steps such as controlling the hydraulic resistance of the recovery circuit based on one or more of: the value of the hydraulic flow to the hydraulic load, the hydraulic pressure at the hydraulic load, and a pressure drop across the orifice. The controller may also comprise one or more pressure-controllable hydraulic valves.
The controller may, for example, be provided that one pressure controllable hydraulic valve is configured to fluidly connect and disconnect a first hydraulic steering chamber in a hydraulic cylinder with the recovery channel, wherein a second steering chamber of the hydraulic cylinder is continuously fluidly connected with the recovery channel and wherein the position of a steering element, in particular a steering piston in the hydraulic cylinder depends on a comparison of the pressure in the first and second steering chamber or on a pressure differential between the pressure in the first steering chamber and the pressure in the second steering chamber.
The controller in this embodiment may comprise a pressure-controllable hydraulic valve which may act on a hydraulic cylinder and steer an actuating piston in the hydraulic cylinder which may act on the hydraulic motor or an element of the hydraulic motor in order to change a hydraulic displacement and/or select a position of an element of the hydraulic motor and change or select the resistance of the motor. The input of the pressure controllable hydraulic valve may be provided by a pressure P10 at the hydraulic load which is or may be fluidly connected to an input channel of the pressure-controllable hydraulic valve and by a pressure at the source of hydraulic pressure which is or may also be fluidly connected to an input channel of the controllable hydraulic valve. The pressure controllable hydraulic valve may generate an output which depends on the difference between the pressure levels P11 and P10 at the load and at the source of hydraulic pressure and it may be a proportional valve.
Thereby, the pressure-controllable hydraulic valve may control the resistance of the recovery circuit based on the hydraulic pressure which is measured or determined at the hydraulic load or based on the pressure drop across the orifice.

Hydraulic system with an energy recovery circuit


This invention relates to processes and compositions for the immunotherapeutic treatment of cancer and non-malignant tumors. More particularly, this invention relates to processes and compositions for enhancing the body's immune response by increasing the cytotoxic activity of cells which mediate antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Cells which are characterized by increased cytotoxic activity, as a result of the process of this invention, are useful in methods and compositions for the treatment of various types of cancer and non-malignant tumors.

The transformation of normal cells within the body into cancerous and non-malignant neoplasms may be induced by viral infections, chemical carcinogens, radiation, physical agents or spontaneous tumorigenic growth. As a result of such transformation, normal cell surface antigen expression may be altered. New antigens--tumor specific antigens or antigens characteristic of premature cell types--or antigen expression pattern changes may be demonstrated on many tumor types. These antigenic changes are targets for the body's immune response.
In some instances, the extent or rate of cell transformation may exceed the capabilities of the body's immune response. Alternatively, the immune response may itself be ineffective or deficient. Supplemental methods have, therefore, been used in the treatment of transformed cells. These methods include non-surgical treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, and surgical treatments. Typically, these treatments are characterized by a range of undesirable side effects. Non-surgical treatments having immunosuppressant effects may increase the patient's susceptibility to secondary infections. Surgical treatments to excise transformed cells involve risks attendant with invasive procedures and may not effectively remove or eliminate the entire transformed cell population.
An alternative method of treatment for cancers and non-malignant tumors has involved the use of monoclonal antibodies to tumor specific antigens on the surface of transformed cells. The effectiveness of such treatments, typically involving murine monoclonal antibodies, is often limited by a variety of factors. For example, human patients treated with murine monoclonal antibodies may develop an anti-murine immunoglobulin response which severely reduces the effectiveness of further administration of murine monoclonal antibodies (G. E. Goodman et al., "Pilot Trial of Murine Monoclonal Antibodies In Patients With Advanced Melanoma", Journal Of Clinical Oncology, 3, pp. 340-51 (1985)). Other reported side effects of monoclonal antibody treatments include anaphylaxis, fever and chills.
Monoclonal antibodies are also ineffective in the treatment of those tumor specific surface antigens which modulate upon exposure to specific antibodies. Such antigens include, for example, the common acute lymphocytic leukemia antigen ("CALLA"), which appears on the surface of transformed cells of a majority of patients suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia (J. Ritz et al., "Serotherapy Of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia With Monoclonal Antibody", Blood, 58, pp. 141-52 (1981)). When the CALLA antigen on the surface of a tumor cell is exposed to its specific antibody, the antigen migrates and the cell may internalize the antigen and antibody, preventing recognition of the tumor cell as a target by immune response effector cells such as leukocytes, lymphocytes, macrophages, killer ("K") cells or natural killer ("NK") cells.
In view of the disadvantages of such supplemental treatments, various therapies have been directed to augmenting the body's natural immune response to transformed cells. It is known that in the presence of antibodies, certain effector cells, such as lymphoid cells having surface bound receptors for the Fc regions of antibodies, mediate an antibody dependent cellular cytoxicity ("ADCC") reaction against target cells. By means of ADCC, these effector cells exert cytolytic activity against such target cells.
Two types of ADCC reactions have been demonstrated in vitro. In classical ADCC reactions, effector cells attach to antibody-coated target cells and subsequently cause cytolysis of the target cells (A. H. Greenberg et al., "Characteristics Of The Effector Cells Mediating Cytotoxicity Against Antibody-Coated Target Cells. I., Immunology, 21, p. 719 (1975)). This attachment between effector and target cell results from the interaction of the Fc region of the antibody coating the target cell and the Fc receptor of the effector cell. One disadvantage of this type of ADCC reaction is that it may be hampered by circulating antigen-antibody complexes, often associated with various diseases, which compete with the target-cell bound antibody for the Fc receptors of the effector cells (I. C. M. MacLennan, "Competition For Receptors For Immunoglobulin On Cytotoxic Lymphocytes", Clin. Exp. Immunol., 10, p. 275 (1972)). Due to this drawback of classical ADCC, a second type of ADCC reaction--antibody-directed ADCC--has been proposed. In antibody-directed ADCC, the target-specific antibody is first attached to the effector cell and the resulting complex is then "directed", via the antibody, to its specific antigen on the target cell surface. Advantageously, antibody-directed ADCC may not be affected by the presence of antigen-antibody complexes circulating in the host system.
The interaction between antibodies and effector cells via Fc region/Fc receptor attachment is normally weak. And, in some instances, antibodies do not remain associated with effector cells for a period of time sufficient to permit lysis of target cells. In view of this potential problem, antibodies have been attached to the effector cells using pretreatment with polyethylene glycol and a mixture of phthalate oils (J. F. Jones and D. M. Segal, "Antibody-Dependent Cell Mediated Cytolysis (ADCC) With Antibody-Coated Effectors: New Methods For Enhancing Antibody Binding And Cytolysis", J. Immunol., 125, pp. 926-33 (1980)). The applicability of this method for in vivo treatments, however, may be diminished by the toxic effects that any polyethylene glycol and phthalate oil residues on the antibody-effector cell complex may have on the body.
Alternatively, a method has been proposed for enhancing antibody-directed ADCC by adjuvant chemotherapy with cytotoxic drugs (I. R. Mackay et al., "Effect On Natural Killer And Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Of Adjuvant Cytotoxic Chemotherapy Including Melphalan In Breast Cancer", Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 16, pp. 98-100 (1983)). Such a method, however, risks undesirable side effects resulting from the use of cytotoxic drugs.
Therefore, conventional means for treating cancer and non-malignant tumors by either supplementing or enhancing the body's immune response are characterized by various disadvantages. The need, thus, exists for an effective process and composition which avoid those disadvantages while providing effective treatment for cancers and non-malignant tumors.

Lymphokine activated effector cells for antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) treatment of cancer and other diseases


A method for applying a bond coat on a metal-based substrate is described. A slurry which contains braze material and a volatile component is deposited on the substrate. The slurry can also include bond coat material. Alternatively, the bond coat material can be applied afterward, in solid form or in the form of a second slurry. The slurry and bond coat are then dried and fused to the substrate. A repair technique using this slurry is also described, along with related compositions and articles.

The invention disclosed herein generally relates to bond coatings and thermal barrier coatings applied to metals. The metals are frequently portions of components used in turbine engines. The invention also relates to processes for depositing such coatings.
Components formed of specialty materials like superalloys are used in various industrial applications, under a diverse set of operating conditions. In many cases, the components are provided with coatings which impart several characteristics, such as corrosion resistance, heat resistance, oxidation resistance, and wear resistance. As an example, the various components of turbine engines, which typically can withstand in-service temperatures in the range of about 1100xc2x0 C.-1150xc2x0 C., are often coated with thermal barrier coatings (TBC""s), to effectively increase the temperature at which they can operate.
Most TBC""s are ceramic-based, e.g., based on a material like zirconia (zirconium oxide), which is usually chemically stabilized with another material such as yttria. For a jet engine, the coatings are applied to various superalloy surfaces, such as turbine blades and vanes, combustor liners, and combustor nozzles. Usually, the TBC ceramics are applied to an intervening bond coating (sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9cbond layerxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbond coatxe2x80x9d) which has been applied directly to the surface of the metal part. The bond coat is often critical for improving the adhesion between the metal substrate and the TBC.
The effectiveness of a TBC is often measured by the number of thermal cycles it can withstand before it delaminates from the substrate which it is protecting. In general, coating effectiveness decreases as the exposure temperature is increased. The failure of a TBC is often attributed to weaknesses or defects related in some way to the bond coating, e.g., the microstructure of the bond coating. TBC failure can also result from deficiencies at the bond coating-substrate interface or the bond coating-TBC interface.
The microstructure of the bond coating is often determined by its method of deposition. The deposition technique is in turn determined in part by the requirements for the overlying protective coating. For example, many TBC""s usually require a very rough bond coat surface (e.g., a root mean square roughness (Ra) value of greater than about 200 micro-inches), for effective adhesion to the substrate. An air plasma spray (APS) technique is often used to provide such a surface.
There continues to be a need in the art for bond coatings which provide very good adhesion between the substrate and a subsequently-applied TBC, e.g., bond coatings with a relatively rough surface. Furthermore, new processes for applying and curing such coatings in regions of a substrate which are somewhat inaccessible are also of great interest. (Conventional thermal spray equipment is sometimes too large and cumbersome for such regions). Moreover, the entire TBC systemxe2x80x94bond coating with the TBC itselfxe2x80x94should exhibit good integrity during exposure to high temperatures and frequent thermal cycles. Such a system should be effective in protecting components used in high performance applications, e.g., superalloy parts exposed to high temperatures and frequent thermal cycles.
One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for applying a bond coat on a metal-based substrate, comprising the following steps:
a) applying a slurry which comprises braze material to the substrate, wherein the slurry also contains a volatile component;
b) applying bond coat material to the substrate;
c) drying the slurry and bond coat material under conditions sufficient to remove at least a portion of the volatile component; and
d) fusing the braze material and bond coat material to the substrate.
The braze material is usually based on nickel, cobalt, or iron. The bond coat material is often an xe2x80x9cMCrAlXxe2x80x9d material or a metal carbide, as discussed below.
There are a variety of methods for applying the bond coat according to this invention. One method calls for combining the bond coat material and the braze material with a solvent and one or more additives, as described below. The combined slurry mixture can then be deposited on the substrate by various techniques, such as flow-coating, brushing, or spraying. As an alternative, the slurry applied in step (a) includes the braze material but not the bond coat material, and is substantially dried to form a green layer. An adhesive can be applied to the green layer, and the bond coat particles can then be applied to the adhesive, prior to the fusing step. As another alternative, two separate slurries can be employedxe2x80x94one containing the braze material, and the other containing the bond coat material. Each slurry can contain the additives described below. In this embodiment, the braze slurry is usually applied first, followed by the application of the bond coat slurry. The slurries can then be dried and fused to the substrate. An overcoat can optionally be applied over the bond coat. The overcoat is usually a conventional thermal barrier coating, e.g., one based on zirconium. Alternatively, the overcoat can be of another type, such as a metal carbide-based wear coating.
A method for replacing a bond coat applied over a metal-based substrate is also described below. The following steps are usually included in this method:
(i) removing the existing bond coat from a selected area on the substrate;
(ii) applying a slurry which comprises braze material to the selected area, wherein the slurry also contains a volatile component;
(iii) applying additional bond coat material to the selected area; and
(iv) fusing the braze material and bond coat material to the selected area.
This technique can be part of the overall process for repairing a worn or damaged TBC system.
Another embodiment of this invention is directed to a unique slurry composition, containing a braze material and a bond coat material, along with other conventional slurry ingredients, such as a solvent. As discussed elsewhere, the braze material is usually nickel, cobalt, iron, a precious metal, or some mixture containing one of those components. The bond coat material is usually of the MCrAlX-type (discussed below), or can be a metal carbide or other type of material. The slurry composition is very useful in the formation of a TBC system.
An article constitutes another embodiment of this invention. It comprises:
(a) a metal-based substrate, and
(b) a volatile-containing slurry on the substrate, comprising braze material and bond coat material (e.g. roughness-producing bond coat particles).
The substrate is often a superalloy, and the braze material and bond coat materials are as described below. When the volatile component in the slurry has been substantially removed, a green coating remains, which is fused to the substrate, e.g., by brazing. As fused, the braze material forms a continuous matrix phase in which the bond coat particles are embedded.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

Method for applying a high-temperature bond coat on a metal substrate, and related compositions and articles


A time-to-digital converter records the arrival times of successive signalsxe2x80x94which are separated from one another by more than one period of a reference clock signalxe2x80x94by recording the number of nodes disposed within a plurality of fine delay pathsxe2x80x94each coupled to a different one of a plurality of coarse delay stages in a first coarse delay pathxe2x80x94through which the signals propagate. The delay across each fine delay path is substantially the same as the delay across a coarse delay stage in the coarse delay path. A phase detector maintains the clock signal and its delayed replica in phase by adjusting the delay through each of the coarse delay stages in a second coarse delay path. The time delay between the clock signal and its delayed replica is equal to one period of the clock signal. A plurality of registers store the voltages of the nodes within each of the fine delay paths and supply the stored results to a plurality of priority encoders for encoding the time priority with which the signals arrive at the nodes. A delay encoder determines the extent of the propagation of the successive signals through the nodes to thereby generate time-stamps representative of the arrival times of the signals.

The present disclosure relates to measuring time in electronic circuitry, and, in particular, to measuring the arrival time of a signal with respect to a reference clock signal.
Time-to-Digital Converters (TDC) are used in many electronic circuits to measure the time at which a specific event occurs (e.g., the time at which a specific signal arrives). One known type of TDC measures signal arrival time by charging and discharging a capacitor at two different rates. When the signalxe2x80x94whose arrival time is to be measuredxe2x80x94arrives, a control switch closes thus coupling a current source to the capacitor which is thereby charged. After a predefined number of clock signal (xe2x80x9cclockxe2x80x9d) cycles, the control switch opens, forcing a second current source to discharge the charged capacitor. The arrival time of the signal is proportional to the ratio of the currents generated by the two current sources as well as by the frequency and the number of clock cycles between the closing and opening of the control switch. The higher the ratio of the two current sources, the greater is the accuracy with which the arrival time is measured.
Although known TDCs can accurately measure the arrival time of a signal, they are slow. Assume, for instance, that the first and second current sources (discussed above) respectively generate 10 ma and 1.6 xcexca of current, yielding a current ratio of 6000. Assume further that the frequency of the reference clock is 400 MHz (i.e., the period of the clock is 50 nsec) and that the control switch opens one full clock cycle after it closes. Using the above numbers, it takes 300 xcexcsec (6,000xc3x9750 nsec) for such a TDC to measure the arrival time of a signal. The e.g. 300 xcexcsec time interval required for such time measurements is prohibitively long thus making it impossible to measure the arrival time of two signals which are e.g. less than 300 xcexcsec apart.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a system and a method which can measure arrival times of successive signalsxe2x80x94separated from one another by more than one period of a reference clockxe2x80x94with a resolution finer than the period of the reference clock.
In accordance with this disclosure, a time-to-digital converter records the arrival times of successive signals which are separated from one another by more than one period of a reference clock signal. The time-to-digital converter includes among other components, a first coarse delay path which further includes N coarse delay circuits (alternatively referred to hereinbelow as coarse delay stages) connected in series; and N fine delay paths, each including (M-1) fine delay circuits (alternatively referred to as fine delay stages) connected in series to thereby provide M nodes.
The output signal of each of the N coarse delay stages in the first coarse delay path is applied to an input terminal of a different one of the fine delay paths.
The time-to-digital converter records the arrival times of successive signals with respect to a reference clock by counting the number of fine delay paths as well as the number of fine delay stages within each of the fine delay paths through which the signals propagate. The time delay across each of the N fine delay paths is equal to that across each of the coarse delay stages.
A different one of N M-bit registers is coupled to each of the M nodes of each of the fine delay paths. Each register bit stores either a 1 or a 0 depending on whether the signal to be measured propagates through the node to which the register bit is coupled.
The time-to-digital converter also includes N registered priority encoders, each coupled to a different one of the M-bit registers. Each registered priority encoder receives and performs a priority function on the M bits of the register to which it is coupled.
The time-to-digital converter also includes a coarse delay encoder coupled to each of the N registered priority encoders for determining the extent of the propagation of the signals in the coarse delay and the fine delay paths to thereby generate time stamps corresponding to the arrival times of the signals.
The arrival of the signalsxe2x80x94independent of their times of arrivalxe2x80x94are also recorded and transferred to a flag signal.
A second coarse delay path including N coarse delay stagesxe2x80x94which are also connected in seriesxe2x80x94receives the reference clock signal and generates a delayed replica of the clock signal. A phase detector maintains the clock signal and its delayed replica in phase by controlling the delay across each of the N coarse delay stages in the second coarse delay path. The clock signal leads its delayed replica by one full cycle of the clock signal.
The phase detector also maintains the delay across each of the coarse delay stages in the first and second coarse delay paths the same to thereby equalize the delay of a signal across the second coarse delay path to the period of the clock signal.
A different one of N fine delay buffers disposed between each of the N coarse delay stages in the first coarse delay path and the coarse delay stage""s associated fine delay path ensures that the delay of a signal across similarly positioned nodes of different fine delay paths is substantially the same. The delay across each fine delay path is substantially similar to the delay across a coarse delay stage.
The time-to-digital converter optionally includes 2N slave bias circuits, each receiving and supplying a signal to a different one of the coarse delay stages in each of the first and second coarse delay paths and to each of the N fine delay buffers.
In some embodiments, the time-to-digital converter operates differentially using differentially high and low signals in each of the first and second coarse delay paths, fine delay paths, the M-bit registers and the registered priority encoders.
In some embodiments of the time-to-digital converter, N is equal to 32, M is equal to 8, and signal arrival times are recorded with resolution of 5 psec using an 800 MHz clock.


A mercury-free arc tube for a discharge-lamp device having a sealed glass chamber with at least metallic halide for main light emission and rare gas. Both end openings of a glass tube are pinch-sealed and electrode bars are provided so as to oppose to each other. Each electrode bar has such a concentric stepped shape that a tip side region is thicker than a base side region, the volume V of an electrode embedded region is from 0.25 to 0.42 mm3 and the total volume of the electrode bar is from 0.4 to 0.6 mm3.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mercury free arc tube for a discharge-lamp device provided with a sealed glass chamber in which at least a metallic halide for main light emission is sealed as well as a rare gas by pinch-sealing both end openings of a glass tube and electrode bars are provided so as to oppose to each other. This invention particularly relates to a mercury free arc tube for a discharge-lamp device provided with electrode bars each having such a concentric stepped shape in which a cross sectional area of a tip side region projecting into the sealed glass chamber is larger than that of a base side region sealed on a pinch-sealed portion.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 9 illustrates a related art discharge lamp device. A front end of an arc tube 5 made of quartz glass is supported by a single lead support 2 which projects forward of an insulating base 1. A rear end of the arc tube 5 is supported by a concave portion 1a of the insulating base 1. An area adjacent to the rear end of the arc tube 5 is held by a metallic supporting member 4 secured to a front face of the insulating base 1. Lead wire 8 on the front end side led out from the arc tube 5 is fixed to the lead support 2 by welding. On the other hand, the lead wire 8 on the rear end side passes through a bottom wall 1b on which the concave portion 1a of the base 1 is formed and fixed to a terminal 3 formed on the bottom wall 1b by welding. Symbol G denotes a cylindrical glass globe for cutting off a component of ultraviolet rays, which have a wavelength that is harmful to the human body and which is emitted from the arc tube 5. The globe G is integral with the arc tube 5.
The arc tube 5 has a structure in which between a pair of front and rear pinch-sealed portions 5b, 5b, a sealed glass chamber 5a is formed in which electrode bars 6, 6 are opposite to each other and a light emitting material (halide of Na or Sc and Hg) is sealed with rare gas. Within each of the pinch-sealed portions 5b, a molybdenum foil 7 is deposited for connecting the electrode bars 6 projecting into the sealed glass chamber 5a and the lead wire 8 led out from the pinch-sealed portion 5b, thereby assuring hermeticity of the pinch-sealed portions 5b.
Specifically, the electrode bar 6 is preferably made of tungsten having excellent heat resistance and high endurance. However, tungsten has a linear expansion coefficient which is greatly different from that of the quartz glass constituting the arc tube and poor familiarity with the quartz glass, thus giving inferior hermeticity. In view of this, by connecting the molybdenum foil 7 having excellent expandability and flexibility and better familiarity with the quartz glass to the electrode bar 6 of tungsten and sealing the molybdenum foil 7 with the pinch-sealed portion 5b, the hermeticity of the pinch-sealed portion 5b is assured.
However, a large temperature difference in the pinch-sealed portion 5b occurs between "on" and "off" of the arc tube. Between the electrode bar and quartz glass which are largely different in their linear expansion coefficient, thermal stress is generated during the "on" state of the arc tube. Particularly, since the arc tube in recent years is designed so that it can be instantaneously turned on, the rate of temperature rise is large and so the thermal stress is abruptly generated. If this status is repeated by on/off of the arc tube, in the pinch-sealed portion (quartz glass layer) 5b which seals the electrode bar 6, cracks (hereinafter referred to as longitudinal cracks) extending radially from the electrode bar 6 are generated so that the sealed substance will leak. This leads to a problem of poor lighting or reduction of the life of the arc tube.
In order to cope with this problem, Japanese Patent Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2001-15067 has been proposed on the basis of the idea that the longitudinal crack is more difficult to be generated in the quartz glass layer of the pinch-sealed portion 5b in the case where residual compressive distortion remains over a predetermined region, because the thermal stress generated in the quartz glass layer of the pinch-sealed portion is dispersed with the rise of temperature due to lighting of the arc tube, thereby extending the life of the arc tube.
More specifically, JP-A-2001-15067, as seen from FIG. 10, proposes a structure in which on a face in intimate contact with the electrode bar 6 of the quartz glass layer of the pinch-sealed portion 5b, a residual compressive distortion layer 9 is formed over a predetermined wide range. Also, between the residual compressive distortion layer 9 and its encircling glass layer, a bead crack 9a is formed. Note that the bead crack 9a is a crack extending circumferentially and axially so as to surround the residual compressive distortion layer 9. In this structure, when the arc tube is turned on, the thermal stress generated in the interface between the electrode bar 6 and the quartz glass layer is absorbed and dispersed by the residual compressive distortion layer 9 and the bead crack 9a and conducted toward the quartz glass layer. Thus, the longitudinal crack leading to leakage of the sealed substance is not generated in the quartz glass layer of the pinch-sealed portion 5b.
Mercury (Hg) sealed in the sealed glass chamber 5a is a very useful substance to keep a predetermined tube voltage and to reduce the quantity of collisions of electrons with the electrode to thereby alleviate damage of the electrode. However, since Hg is harmful to the environment, in recent years, development of a "mercury-free arc tube" in which Hg is not contained has been advanced.
In the case of a "mercury-free" arc tube, the tube voltage is lowered so that the tube electric power necessary for discharging cannot be obtained. So, in order to increase the tube electric power, it is necessary to increase the current (tube current) to be supplied to the arc tube. The load of the electrode is correspondingly increased so that the electrode is injured (consumed or blacks). This leads to a problem of reduction in the light emission efficiency and extinction of arc. This problem can be solved by increasing the diameter of the electrode bar 6. However, the following situation may occur. Namely, if the electrode bar 6 is too thick, a difference in the quantity of heat-shrinkage between the electrode bar and the quartz glass layer becomes great, so that they will be separated from each other at the interface therebetween. As a result, a residual compressive distortion layer 9 and bead crack 9a around the electrode bar 6 in the quartz glass layer of the pinch-sealed portion 5b having an optimum size capable of absorbing/alleviating the thermal stress generated when the arc tube is turned on cannot be formed. Accordingly, by "on/off" of the arc tube, the longitudinal crack leading to leakage of the sealed substance will be generated in the pinch-sealed portion 5b.
Mercury-free arc tubes disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publications JP-A-2005-142072 and JP-A-2005-183164 provide a solution of the contradictory problem of injury of the electrode and generation of the longitudinal crack. In the JP-A-2005-142072 and JP-A-2005-183164, by adopting a stepped electrode bar in which, as shown in FIG. 11, the outer diameter of the tip side region 6a of the electrode bar projected into the sealed glass chamber is made larger than that of the base side region 6b of the electrode bar deposited on the pinch-sealed portion. That is, the outer diameter of the base side region 6b of the electrode bar deposited on the pinch-sealed portion is made smaller than that of the tip side region 6a of the electrode bar projected into the sealed glass chamber.
However, the following matter has been confirmed. In the mercury-free arc tube in which the pressure of rare gas within the sealed glass chamber is required high and the turn-on power is required high, particularly when the discharge lamp is actuated, an electric current and heat current, which flows from the electrode tip side region of the electrode bar having a larger diameter toward the electrode base side region having a smaller diameter deposited on the pinch-sealed portion, will be abruptly generated. So, the adoption of only the stepped electrode bar as in JP-A-2005-142072 and JP-A-2005-183164 is insufficient to surely suppress occurrence of flicker (flicker of arc) leading to the reduction of the life of the arc tube and the longitudinal crack or "foil float" in the pinch-sealed portion. Note that the foil float means a case where a gap is generated between the molybdenum foil and the glass layer.