An apparatus and method are disclosed for continuous, on-line monitoring of extracorporeal blood in a blood path. A shell has a blood inlet port, a blood outlet port and two compartments: a blood compartment and a plasma compartment separated by a semi-permeable membrane that allows plasma to pass, but not red blood cells. Blood flows through the blood compartment and transmembrane pressure is applied between the blood and the plasma compartments causing the plasma inside the plasma compartment to be replaced by fresh plasma that is flowing through the blood compartment. Any color change of the plasma in the plasma compartment can be detected.

Handling of the blood outside the body, referred to as extracorporeal, is frequently used in medical procedures in treatments such as blood-oxygenation, plasmapheresis, leukopheresis, hemopheresis, extracorporeal chemotherapy, hyperthermia, hypothermia, bone marrow transfusions, blood transfusions processing by heart lung machines during surgery and dialysis for patients with kidney failure. In such procedures there is always a risk that homolysis, or the breaking of red blood cells, may occur.
As is known to those practicing the art, the breaking of blood cells is deleterious not only from the loss of the function of those cells, but also by the release into the blood plasma of hemoglobin which is toxic.
Heretofore, in hemodialysis, hemoperfusion, blood transfusion and other extracorporeal blood therapies, whether hemolysis occurred was determined by taking blood samples and subjecting them to analysis. This is typically done by taking the sample to a laboratory to separate red blood cells from plasma and looking for the artifacts of hemolysis, such as hemoglobin, in the plasma.
This approach is not usually satisfactory because of the damage that can be done to a patients blood while the test is being performed. It is also possible that hemolysis may occur to a significant degree between the time in which the tests are performed.
Currently there is no system available for on-line hemolysis detection. It is, therefore, impossible to have continuous, on-line detection of hemolysis in a red blood containing components such as packed blood cells, buffy coat or whole blood in a blood line. Hemolyzed blood is dangerous to the patient due not only loss of blood cells, but more importantly the toxic effects of free hemoglobin.
Detection of hemolysis in plasma is further complicated by the fact that the characteristics of plasma, in particular color, vary from individual to individual and varies for a single individual over time depending of such factors as diet, and other metabolic differences that manifest themselves in the blood.
While the prior art has concerned itself with methods and apparatus for separation of blood components, these have not been employed to detect hemolysis on a real-time, continuous basis.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,100 to Blatt et al. describes a method and apparatus for fractionating blood in order to separate the blood components that may be desirable in blood transfusions. Taught is the use of centrifugal separation techniques and the use of a filtration membrane such as anisotropic and depth filter membranes. This allows the plasma component of blood to be used in an emergency while the formed elements of the blood such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet are returned to the donor so that more frequent bleedings can be taken.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,182 to Popovich, et al. describes a method and apparatus for plasmapheresis. Again, the system described employs a membrane with the appropriate pore sized to fractionate blood into cellular and plasma components. This reference particularly points out that flow rates are important to attaining the desired result using the specified sheer stresses and pressures on the membrane ultra filter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,156 to Malchesky, et al. describes a continuous, on-line system and apparatus for removing macromolecules from a physiological fluid such as blood. Membranes are employed in a blood flow path to separate blood plasma, cellular components, and macromolecules that are associated with progress of a variety of diseases. Removal of these molecules inhibits the progress of certain diseases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,731 to Brown, et al. describes a method and apparatus for performing plasmaphereses while controlling the plasma collection rate through a plasmapheresis membrane filter. By regulating the pressure on the plasmapheresis membrane filter, the flow of plasma therebetween can be controlled.
The goal of these prior art patents is to separate as much plasma as possible from the blood for therapeutic or collection purposes. Therefore, these membranes plasmapheresis devices normally have a membrane surface area in the range of several thousand square centimeters in a plasma port in the plasma compartment through which the plasma can be collected for removal or further treatment before it is returned back to the patient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-line device that can continuously detect hemolysis that may be developing in a blood path. It is a further object that such device be capable of performing without attention or replacement.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device that does not require careful manual calibration, adjustment or interpretation to distinguish between variabilities in normal blood plasma among people or between an individual's blood at different times.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that is simple and sufficiently inexpensive that the portion of the device in contact with the patient's blood is disposable so that contamination between patients is eliminated.


A pneumatic assembly for a paintball gun preferably includes a bolt slidably arranged on a valve stem. The bolt is preferably moveable between an open and a closed position. The bolt preferably provides a firing mechanism for the paintball gun by permitting compressed gas from a compressed gas storage area to flow through the bolt to fire the paintball gun when the bolt is closed but preventing the transfer of compressed gas through the bolt when the bolt is open. An internal area of the valve stem can be arranged to communicate with the compressed gas storage area to increase the effective volume of the compressed gas storage area without increasing the size of the paintball gun. This can permit lower pressure operation of the paintball gun. A supply of compressed gas to the compressed gas storage area can be cut off during firing to improve gas efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pneumatic paintball guns ("markers") and their operating components. More particularly, this invention relates to pneumatic components used to load and fire paintball markers.
2. Related Art
In the sport of paintball, it is generally desirable to have a marker that is as small and light as possible. Smaller and lighter markers increase a players' mobility. Players benefit from increased mobility by being able to move more quickly from bunker to bunker, making it easier to avoid being hit. Further, in the sport of paintball, the marker is treated as an extension of the body such that a hit to the marker counts as a hit to the player. It is desirable, therefore, to have a paintball gun with as small a profile as possible while substantially maintaining or improving performance characteristics of the marker, such as firing rate, accuracy, and gas efficiency. The size of the paintball gun is generally related to the size and number of operating components that must be housed within the paintball gun body.


The present invention relates to photo-labile pro-fragrance conjugates comprising:                a) a photo-labile unit which upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation is capable of releasing a pro-fragrance unit; and        b) a pro-fragrance unit, which when so released is either                    i) a pro-fragrance compound capable of releasing a fragrance raw material; or            ii) a fragrance raw material.

Pro-fragrances and pro-accords have been used to enhance the delivery of fragrance raw materials and to sustain their duration. Typically pro-fragrances and pro-accords deliver alcohol, ketone, aldehyde, and ester fragrance raw materials via substrates which are hydrolyzed by one or more mechanisms, inter alia, the acidic pH of skin, nascent moisture.
Fragrances or odors not only provide a pleasant aesthetic benefit, but also serve as a signal. For example, foods, which have soured or are no longer edible, may develop smells, which are repulsive and send a signal that they are no longer palatable. Therefore, the delivery of an aroma sensory signal is also a benefit, which a pro-fragrance can provide.
However, pro-fragrances and pro-accords typically rely on the break down of a chemical species not based on accidental circumstance but on deliberate execution. There are currently no fragrance or odor releasing compounds which involve release of fragrances by way of a controlled chemical cascade initiated by exposure to electromagnetic radiation, inter alia, UV light. The present invention provides a means for delivering a fragrance or an accord wherein the delivery of said fragrance or said accord is instigated by exposure to light.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems for delivering fragrances to a situs, and to laundry detergent compositions, fine fragrances, personal care and hair care compositions comprising said systems.


Even when a user specifies a plurality of keywords as a search condition, it is possible to provide information of search objects that are commercially advantageous for the user. A search apparatus divides a plurality of keywords specified as a search condition into two child search conditions, each of which includes at least one keyword. The search apparatus searches for a search object that matches all the keywords specified as the search condition. The search apparatus searches for search objects that match all the keywords included in one of the child search conditions and search objects that match all the keywords included in the other of the child search conditions. The search apparatus extracts combinations of search objects having predetermined relationship to each other from among combinations of any one of search objects found by the one of the child search conditions and any one of search objects found by the other of the child search conditions. The search apparatus identifies a combination that is more commercially advantageous for the user than the search object found by the specified search condition from among the combinations. The search apparatus provides information of the identified combination.

Conventionally, search apparatus are known which perform a search based on a keyword specified by a user. Examples of objects to be searched for include a thing, an event, and information. Further, search apparatus are known which search for a tradable object such as an item for sale and a service. When a user specifies a plurality of keywords, a search apparatus generally searches for a search object that matches all the specified keywords. Then, the search apparatus provides information related to a found search object as a search result. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of performing search by using, as a conditional expression, a logical conjunction of a plurality of keywords extracted from a text input by a user.

Search apparatus, search method, search program, and recording medium


The present invention is directed toward a window or door insulation system including an attachable trim strip, and a securable transparent sheet, to create a removable and auxiliary insulation sheet. The trim strip includes a base attachable to a surface, a cover pivotably connected to the base, and an interior strip pivotably connected to the cover and base. The cover includes a first wall, an intermediate wall transitioning from the first wall, and a second wall transitioning from the intermediate wall. The first wall is pivotably connected to a first side of the base so that the cover is configured to be an open position or a closed position. A gap is defined between the second wall of the cover and the second side of the base when in the closed position. The interior strip is configured to keep the cover opened or closed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a window insulation system for use in connection with insulating and/or protecting various openings in buildings or vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to insulating windows of a building using a removable sheet via an attachable locking trim strip.
Description of the Prior Art
As wall insulating techniques and products have dramatically improved, windows have been the least efficient in a buildings overall thermal efficiency. A high-quality installation may minimize or reduce air leakage (draft) through a building envelope, decreasing infiltration and thus contributing to reduced heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. However, there still exists a dramatic thermal loss and draft through standard and existing windows. This loss in thermal efficiency contributes to increased home utility costs, reduced personal comfort, and increased home maintenance.
While prior art might fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the prior art do not describe a window insulation system that allows insulating and protecting various openings in buildings or vehicles.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved window insulation system that can be used for insulating and protecting various openings in buildings or vehicles by reducing the window's draft and creating an additional insulation zone adjacent the window. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the window insulation system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provide an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of insulating and protecting various openings in buildings or vehicles.


A medical dispenser having a container with internal slide channels and a cover with slotted structure for removably receiving indicia bearing cards and structure for providing detenting of such cover.

The present invention relates generally to dispensers and, more particularly, to medication and pharmaceutical containing dispensers having improved indicia carrying capabilities and sliding characteristics.
The prior art contains a wide variety of medical dispensers for tablets, pills and other pharmaceutical preparations. One common type of dispenser construction includes a tray having a generally rectangular configuration dimensioned for storing a plurality of tablets and/or other medical preparations, and a slidable cover cooperating with guideways formed by the tray. Exemplary of such known dispensers are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 828,151; 2,035,340; 2,101,687; 2,102,094; 2,378,003; and 2,777,576. Generally, slidable covers of this type have labels adhesively applied thereto which provide information regarding the contents of the tray and the patient to whom the contents are to be administered. None of the previously existing trays include means for allowing easy insertion, removal, and securement of indicia cards bearing the desired medical information. Moreover, known containers of this general type have laterally extending, shelf-type edges which cooperate with folded edges of the cover portion, allowing the cover to slide back and forth. In practice, however, the folded portions of the cover tends to distort over time thereby making it somewhat difficult to open or close the cover. In addition, such covers are susceptible to being inadvertently knocked off of the tray during handling.

Artromick International, Inc., 4800 Hilton Corp. Dr.


Disclosed in some examples are methods, systems, devices, and machine-readable mediums that provide an ability for an entity to independently commence, advance, and complete a resource allocation offer in a matter of minutes as opposed to weeks or months after an automated resource pre-committal process. The system, using and incorporating machine learning techniques and algorithms, may have several phases, including a setup phase, resource pre-committal phase, an import phase, a processing phase, a verification phase, a resource allocation offer phase, and a resource allocation phase in which the system allocates resources to a vendor.

The explosion of network-based computing brought about by the Internet has led to an increase in online services. As mobile internet-connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers have become more popular-, many people have turned to applications and websites accessed in the comfort of their own homes or business locations for fulfilling their needs rather than visiting a physical location of a service provider.

System for secure accelerated resource allocation


A mechanism for reducing a frequency transient appearing at the output of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) in a frequency synthesizer when a load is connected to the VCO. In accordance with the present invention, the magnitude and direction of (a) the frequency transient and (b) the frequency deviation of the VCO signal in response to a reference input voltage may be measured, and those measurements used to generate a frequency correction voltage which would cause the VCO signal to deviate in an equal amplitude but in an opposite direction to the frequency transient. The frequency correction voltage then can be applied to the VCO when it is connected to the load so as to substantially cancel the frequency transient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to frequency synthesizers used in mobile stations which operate (transmit and receive) on various radio frequency (RF) channels allocated to such systems. Each time a load is connected to a frequency synthesizer, there is an instantaneous change in its frequency due to the changing impedance of the load. The present invention aims to substantially reduce or eliminate such frequency changes.
2. Related Prior Art Systems
The prior art includes wireless communication systems such as cellular radio systems which have been operating in the United States since the early 1980s, and providing telephone service to an ever growing subscriber base, presently estimated at over 20 million subscribers. Cellular telephone service operates much like the fixed, wireline telephone service in homes and offices, except that radio frequencies rather than telephone wires are used to connect telephone calls to and from the mobile subscribers. Each mobile subscriber is assigned a private (10 digit) directory telephone number and is usually billed based on the amount of "airtime" he or she spends talking on the cellular telephone each month. Many of the service features available to landline telephone users (e.g., call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling, etc.) are also generally available to mobile subscribers.
In the United States, cellular operating licenses have been awarded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pursuant to a licensing scheme which divided the country into geographic service markets defined according to the 1980 Census. The major metropolitan markets are called metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) while the smaller rural markets are called rural statistical areas (RSAs). Only two cellular licenses are awarded for operating systems in each market. These two systems, which are commonly referred to as the "A-system" and the "B-system," respectively, are assigned different radio frequency (RF) bands (blocks) in the 800 MHz range. Mobile subscribers have the freedom to subscribe to service from either the A-system or the B-system operator (or both). The local system from which service is subscribed is called the "home" system. When travelling outside the home system, a mobile subscriber may be able to obtain service in a distant system if there is a "roaming" agreement between the operators of the home and "visited" systems.
The architecture for a typical cellular radio system is shown in FIG. 1. A geographical area (e.g., a metropolitan area) is divided into several smaller, contiguous radio coverage areas, called "cells," such as cells C1-C10. The cells C1-C10 are served by a corresponding group of fixed radio stations, called "base stations," B1-B10, each of which includes a plurality of RF channel units (transceivers) that operate on a subset of the RF channels assigned to the system, as well known in the art. For illustration purposes, the base stations B1-B10 are shown in FIG. 1 to be located at the center of the cells C1-C10, respectively, and are shown to be equipped with omni-directional antennas transmitting equally in all directions. However, the base stations B1-B10 may also be located near the periphery or otherwise away from the centers of the cells C1-C10, and may illuminate the cells C1-C10 with radio signals directionally (e.g., a base station may be equipped with three directional antennas each covering a 120 degrees sector).
The RF channels allocated to any given cell (or sector) may be reallocated to a distant cell in accordance with a frequency reuse plan as is well known in the art. In each cell (or sector), at least one RF channel is used to carry control or supervisory messages, and is called the "control" or "paging/access" channel. The other RF channels are used to carry voice conversations, and are called the "voice" or "speech" channels. The cellular telephone users (mobile subscribers) in the cells C1-C10 are provided with portable (hand-held), transportable (handcarried) or mobile (car-mounted) telephone units, collectively referred to as "mobile stations," such as mobile stations M1-M5, each of which communicates with a nearby base station. Each of the mobile stations M1-M5 includes a controller (microprocessor) and a transceiver, as well known in the art. The transceiver in each mobile station may tune to any of the RF channels specified in the system (whereas each of the transceivers in the base stations B1-B10 usually operates on only one of the different RF channels used in the corresponding cell).
With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the base stations B1-B10 are connected to and controlled by a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 20. The MTSO 20, in turn, is connected to a central office (not specifically shown in FIG. 1) in the landline (wireline) public switched telephone network (PSTN) 22, or to a similar facility such as an integrated system digital network (ISDN). The MTSO 20 switches calls between wireline and mobile subscribers, controls signalling to the mobile stations M1-M5, compiles billing statistics, stores subscriber service profiles, and provides for the operation, maintenance and testing of the system.
Access to the cellular system of FIG. 1 by any of the mobile stations M1-M5 is controlled on the basis of a mobile identification number (MIN) and an electronic serial number (ESN) which are stored in the mobile station. The MIN is a digital representation of the 10-digit directory telephone number assigned to each mobile subscriber by the home system operator. The electronic serial number (ESN) is assigned by the manufacturer and permanently stored in the mobile station. The MIN/ESN pair is sent from the mobile station when originating a call and its validity is checked by the MTSO 20. If the MIN/ESN pair is determined to be invalid (e.g., if the ESN has been blacklisted because the mobile station was reported to be stolen), the system may deny access to the mobile station.
When turned on (powered up), each of the mobile stations M1-M5 enters the idle state (standby mode) and tunes to and continuously monitors the strongest control channel (generally, the control channel of the cell in which the mobile station is located at that moment). When moving between cells while in the idle state, the mobile station will eventually "lose" radio connection on the control channel of the "old" cell and tune to the control channel of the "new" cell. The initial tuning to, and the change of, control channel are both accomplished automatically by scanning all the control channels in operation in the cellular system to find the "best" control channel (in the United States, there are 21 "dedicated" control channels in each cellular system which means that the mobile station has to scan a maximum number of 21 RF channels). When a control channel with good reception quality is found, the mobile station remains tuned to this channel until the quality deteriorates again. In this manner, the mobile station remains "in touch" with the system and may receive or initiate a telephone call through one of the base stations B1-B10 which is connected to the MTSO 20.
To detect incoming calls, the mobile station continuously monitors the current control channel to determine whether a page message addressed to it (i.e., containing its MIN) has been received. A page message will be sent to the mobile station, for example, when an ordinary (landline) subscriber calls the mobile subscriber. The call is directed from the PSTN 22 to the MTSO 20 where the dialed number is analyzed. If the dialed number is validated, the MTSO 20 requests some or all of the base stations B1-B10 to page the called mobile station throughout their corresponding cells C1-C10. Each of the base stations B1-B10 which receive the request from the MTSO 20 will then transmit over the control channel of the corresponding cell a page message containing the MIN of the called mobile station. Each of the idle mobile stations M1-M5 which is present in that cell will compare the MIN in the page message received over the control channel with the MIN stored in the mobile station. The called mobile station with the matching MIN will automatically transmit a page response over the control channel to the base station, which then forwards the page response to the MTSO 20. Upon receiving the page response, the MTSO 20 selects an available voice channel in the cell from which the page response was received (the MTSO 20 maintains an idle channel list for this purpose), and requests the base station in that cell to order the mobilnne station via the control channel to tune to the selected voice channel. A through-connection is established once the mobile station has tuned to the selected voice channel.
When, on the other hand, a mobile subscriber initiates a call (e.g., by dialing the telephone number of an ordinary subscriber and pressing the "send" button on the telephone handset in the mobile station), the dialed number and MIN/ESN pair for the mobile station are sent over the control channel to the base station and forwarded to the MTSO 20, which validates the mobile station, assigns a voice channel and establishes a through-connection for the conversation as described before. If the mobile station moves between cells while in the conversation state, the MTSO 20 will perform a "handoff" of the call from the old base station to the new base station. The MTSO 20 selects an available voice channel in the new cell and then orders the old base station to send to the mobile station on the current voice channel in the old cell a handoff message which informs the mobile station to tune to the selected voice channel in the new cell. The handoff message is sent in a "blank and burst" mode which causes a short but hardly noticeable break in the conversation. Upon receipt of the handoff message, the mobile station tunes to the new voice channel and a through-connection is established by the MTSO 20 via the new cell. The old voice channel in the old cell is marked idle in the MTSO 20 and may be used for another conversation. Furthermore, when travelling outside the system, the mobile station may be handed off to a cell in an adjacent system if there is a roamning agreement between the operators of the two systems.
The original cellular radio systems, as described generally above, used analog transmission methods, specifically frequency modulation (FM), and duplex (two-way) RF channels in accordance with the Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) standard. According to the AMPS standard, each control or voice channel between the base station and the mobile station uses a pair of separate frequencies consisting of a forward (downlink) frequency for transmission by the base station (reception by the mobile station) and a reverse (uplink) frequency for transmission by the mobile station (reception by the base station). The AMPS system, therefore, is a single-channel-per-carrier (SCPC) system allowing for only one voice circuit (telephone conversation) per RF channel. Different users are provided access to the same set of RF channels with each user being assigned a different RF channel (pair of frequencies) in a technique known as frequency division multiple access (FDM). This original AMPS (analog) a rchitecture forms the basis for an industry standard sponsored by the Electronics Industries Association (EIA) and the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA), and known as EIA/TIA-553.
In the late 1980s, however, the cellular industry in the United States began migrating from analog to digital technology, motivated in large part by the need to address th e steady growth in the subscriber population and the increasing demand on system capacity. It was recognized early on that the capacity improvements sought for the next generation cellular systems could be achieved by either "cell splitting" to provide more channels per subscribers in the specific areas where increased capacity is needed, or by the use of more advanced digital radio technology in those areas, or by a combination of both approaches. According to the first approach (cell splitting), by reducing the transmit power of the base station, the size of the corresponding cell (or cell radius) and, with it, the frequency reuse distance are reduced thereby resulting in more channels per geographic area (i.e., increased capacity). Additional benefits of a smaller cell include a longer "talk time" for the user since the mobile station will use substantially lower transmit power than in a larger cell and, consequently, its battery will not need to be recharged as often.
While cell splitting held the promise of improving both capacity and coverage for the growing mobile subscriber base, the actual capacity gains were limited by the use of the analog AMPS technology. It was commonly believed that the desired capacity gains, and indeed the effectiveness of the microcellular (cell splitting) concept in incre asing capacity, can be maxinized only by the use of digital technology. Thus, in an effort to go digital, the EIA/TIA developed a number of air interface standards which use digital voice encoding (analog-to-digital conversion and voice compression) and time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA) techniques to multiply the number of voice circuits (conversations) per RF channel (i.e., to increase capacity). These standards include IS-54 (TDMA) and IS-95 (CDMA), both of which are "dual mode" standards in that they support the use of the original AMPS analog voice and control channels in addition to digital speech channels defined within the existing AMPS framework (so as to ease the transition from analog to digital and to allow the continued use of existing analog mobile stations).
The dual-mode IS-54 standard, in particular, has become known as the digital AMPS (D-AMPS) standard. More recently, the EIA/TIA has developed a new specification for D-AMPS, which includes a digital control channel suitable for supporting public or private microcell operation, extended mobile station battery life, and enhanced end-user features. This new specification builds on the IS-54B standard (the current revision of IS-54), and it is known as IS-136. (All of the foregoing EIA/TIA standards are hereby incorporated herein by reference as may be necessary for a full understanding of these background developments. Copies of these standards may be obtained from the Electronics Industries Association, 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006).
According to IS-54B and as shown in FIG. 2, each RF channel is time division multiplexed (TDM) into a series of repeating time slots which are grouped into frames carrying from three to six digital speech channels (three to six telephone conversations) depending on the source rate of the speech coder used for each digital speech channel. Each frame on the RF channel comprises six equally sized time slots (1-6) and is 40 ms long (i.e, there are 25 frames per second). The speech coder for each digital traffic channel (DTCH) can operate at either full-rate or half-rate. A full-rate DTCH uses two equally spaced slots of the frame (i.e., slots 1 and 4, or slots 2 and 5, or slots 3 and 6) for transmission or reception (the transmit and receive frames are offset from each other so that the mobile station does not have to transmit and receive simultaneously and thus can avoid using a duplexer for separating the transmit and receive signals).
When operating at full-rate, the RF channel may be assigned to three users (A-C). Thus, for example, user A is assigned to slots 1 and 4, user B is assigned to slots 2 and 5, and user C is assigned to slots 3 and 6 of the frame as shown in FIG. 2. Each half-rate DTCH uses only one time slot of the frame. At half-rate, the RF channel may be assigned to six users (A-F) with each user being assigned to one of the six slots of the frame as also shown in FIG. 2. Thus, it can be seen that the DTCH as specified in the IS-54B standard allows for an increase in capacity of from three to six times that of the analog RF channel. At call set-up or handoff, a dual-mode mobile station will be assigned preferably to a digital traffic channel (DTCH) and, if none is available, it can be assigned to an analog voice channel (AVCH). An analog-only mobile station, however, can only be assigned to an AVCH.
The IS-136 standard specifies a digital control channel (DCCH) which is defined similarly to the digital traffic channel (DTCH) specified in IS-54B (i.e., on the same set of RF channels and with the same TDMA frame format and slot size). Referring back to FIG. 2, a half-rate DCCH would occupy one slot while a full-rate DCCH would occupy two slots out of the six slots in each 40 ms frame. The DCCH slots may then be mapped into different logical channels which are organized into a series of superframes. FIG. 3 shows the superframe structure of a full-rate DCCH according to IS-136 (in this example, the DCCH is defined over channel "A" in the TDMA frame). A superframe is defined in IS-136 as the collection of 32 consecutive time slots (640 ms) for a full-rate DCCH (16 slots for a half-rate DCCH).
The logical channels specified in IS-136 include a fast, an extended and a point-to-multipoint short message service broadcast control channels (F-BCCH, E-BCCH and S-BCCH, respectively) for carrying system-related information which is broadcast to all mobile stations, and a short message service, paging and access response channel (SPACH) for carrying information which is sent to specific mobile stations (e.g., paging or text messages). An idle mobile station operating on the DCCH of FIG. 3 need only be "awake" (monitoring) during only certain time slots (e.g., the F-BCCH or its assigned PCH slot) in each DCCH superframe and can enter "sleep mode" at all other times. While in sleep mode, the mobile station turns off most internal circuitry and saves battery power. Sleep mode operation reduces battery drain in the mobile station during idle mode and, therefore, increases both "standby time" and "talk time" for the user.
The AMPS and D-AMPS standards generally described above use a common frequency plan for communications between the mobile station and the base station. According to this plan, each RF channel consists of a transmit channel (mobile station to base station) in the 824-849 MHz range, and a corresponding receive channel (base station to mobile station) in the 869-894 MHz range, with the transmit and receive center frequencies for any RF channel being separated by 45 MHz and with the center frequencies of adjacent transmit or receive channels being separated 30 KHz. FIGS. 4-5 show the structure of a transceiver (transmitter-receiver) in conventional analog and digital mobile stations, respectively.
Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, an incoming (received) signal in the 869-894 MHz range is passed through a band pass filter (BPF) 30 which attenuates out-of-band signals and noise. The output of the BPF 30 then is mixed with the output of a main channel synthesizer (first local oscillator) 32 in a mixer 34 to produce a pair of sum and difference frequencies, as well known in the art. These signal products are passed through a BPF 36 which filters out the (higher) sum frequency leaving only the difference (lower) frequency. The effect of this first mixing and filtering stage is to downconvert the received signal into a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal, which is presented at the output of the BPF 36. This first IF signal is further downconverted into a second IF signal in a second mixing and filtering stage comprised of mixer 40 and a BPF 42. In the analog transceiver (FIG. 4), the first IF is mixed with a signal from a reference oscillator 26 whose frequency has been raised in a frequency multiplier (xM) 28. In the digital transceiver (FIG. 5), the first IF is mixed with the output of an auxiliary synthesizer (second local oscillator) 38. In either case, the output of the mixer 40 is filtered in the BPF 42 so as to select the lower frequency from the mixer 40 as the second IF signal which is provided for further IF processing (not shown).
As also shown in FIGS. 4-5, the main channel synthesizer 32 can be used in conjunction with a transmit offset synthesizer 44 to upconvert a baseband signal into a signal in the desired 824-849 MHz range. In the analog transceiver (FIG. 4), an analog (audio) baseband signal is input to, and modulates a carrier signal in, the transmit offset synthesizer 44. In the digital transceiver (FIG. 5), a digital baseband signal, which may be comprised of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components, is fed to an IQ modulator 46 which modulates the baseband signal onto a carrier signal provided by the transmit offset synthesizer 44. In either case, the output of the IQ modulator 46 is mixed in a mixer 48 with the output of the main channel synthesizer 32, and the output of the mixer 48 is passed through a BPF 50 so as to select the lower frequency from the mixer 48 for amplification in a power amplifier (not shown) and transmission through an antenna (also not shown).
The transceivers of FIG. 4-5 can be configured to receive or transmit in any desired RF channel in the 800 MHz range by appropriate selection or setting of the reference oscillator 26, the frequency multiplier 28, the main channel synthesizer 32, the auxiliary synthesizer 38, the transmit offset synthesizer 44, and/or the filters 30, 36, 42 and 50, as illustrated in the following examples. It will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the numerical frequency values given in the examples below are not necessarily exact to the Hz, but are close approximations which are used for illustration purposes.
In the analog transceiver (FIG. 4), the output of the reference oscillator 26 may be at 14.85 MHz, which may be tripled to 44.55 MHz in the frequency multiplier 28 (i.e., M=3), while the main channel synthesizer 32 can be set to operate at 914-939 MHz (depending on the particular RF channel). If the received signal is at 869 MHz, for example, the main channel synthesizer 32 can be set to 914 MHz. The mixer 34 will generate a sum frequency signal at 1783 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 45 MHz. The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 36 and the lower frequency at 45 MHz is mixed with the 44.55 MHz signal from the frequency multiplier 28. The mixer 40 will generate a sum frequency signal at 89.55 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 0.45 MHz (450 KHz). The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 42 and the lower frequency at 450 KHz is delivered for further IF processing.
Continuing with the foregoing example for the analog transceiver, in the transmit direction an audio signal at 300-3000 Hz is fed to the transmit offset synthesizer 44, which may be set to operate at 90 MHz. The modulated output of the transmit offset synthesizer 44 is mixed with the 914 MHz signal from the main channel synthesizer 32. The mixer 48 will generate a sum frequency signal at 1004 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 824 MHz. The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 50 leaving the desired transmit frequency at 824 MHz for delivery to the power amplifier and then to the antenna.
In the digital transceiver (FIG. 5), the main channel synthesizer 32 can be set to operate at 941-966 MHz (depending on the particular RF channel). If the received signal is at 869 MHz, for example, the main channel synthesizer 32 can be set to 941 MHz. The mixer 34 will generate a sum frequency signal at 1810 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 72 MHz. The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 36 and the lower frequency at 72 MHz is mixed with the output of the auxiliary synthesizer 38, whose frequency may be set to 71.4 MHz. The mixer 40 will generate a sum frequency signal at 143.4 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 0.6 MHz (600 KHz). The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 42 and the lower frequency at 600 KHz is delivered for further IF processing.
Continuing with the foregoing example for the digital transceiver, in the transmit direction the transmit offset synthesizer 44 may be set to operate at 117 MHz. This carrier frequency is modulated in the IQ modulator 46 and mixed with the 941 MHz signal from the main channel synthesizer 32. The mixer 48 will generate a sum frequency signal at 1058 MHz and a difference frequency signal at 824 MHz. The higher frequency is filtered out in the BPF 50 leaving the desired transmit frequency at 824 MHz for delivery to the power amplifier and then to the antenna.
In practice, the transmit offset synthesizer 44 (FIGS. 4-5) is switched on and off as needed. For example, in the analog transceiver (FIG. 4), the transmit offset synthesizer 44 will be switched off when the mobile station is in idle mode, receiving the ACCH but not transmitting, and will be switched on only when transmitting a message on the ACCH or when the mobile station is engaged in a call on the AVCH. In the digital transceiver (FIG. 5), the transmit offset synthesizer 44 will be switched off when the mobile station is in idle or sleep mode on the DCCH and will be switched on only when transmitting a message on the DCCH or speech on the DTCH. After the transmit offset synthesizer 44 is turned on and connected to a load, its output experiences an instantaneous frequency change which is sometimes referred to as a frequency "jump" or "kick" by those skilled in the art. This frequency jump is described more specifically below with reference to FIGS. 6-7.
Referring now to FIG. 6, as well known in the art, a frequency synthesizer, such as the transmit offset synthesizer 44 in FIG. 4, is comprised of a phase locked loop (PLL) including a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 60, a programmable frequency divider (divide-by-N operator) 62, a phase detector (comparator) 64, and a loop filter 66. The phase detector 64 derives a reference frequency signal from an available reference frequency generator such as the reference oscillator 26. As well known in the art, the VCO 60 can adjust its output frequency in proportion to the voltage applied at its input. The VCO 60 may be tuned to a desired frequency by selecting an appropriate value for the divide ratio "N" in the divider 62. The phase detector 64 compares the phase of the frequency divided VCO signal at the output of the frequency divider 62 to the phase of the reference signal from the reference oscillator 26, and generates an error voltage signal in proportion to the phase difference. This error voltage signal is smoothed in the loop filter 66 and input to the VCO 60 so as to fine tune the frequency of the VCO 60 until it matches the frequency of the reference signal when multiplied by N. In the case of the transmit offset synthesizer 44 of FIG. 4, an audio signal also is input to the VCO 60 using an adder 68. In this case, the loop filter 66 acts as a low pass filter for the error signal from the phase detector 64 and as a high pass filter for the audio feedback signal.
With continuing reference to FIG. 6, the output of the VCO 60 in, for example, the transmit offset synthesizer 44 of FIG. 4 is connected through a switch 70 to a load 72 comprising one or more switched stages in the transmit signal path, such as a variable gain or buffer amplifier and a power amplifier (not specifically shown). In practice, the transmit offset synthesizer 44 is usually turned on, the desired frequency (i.e., the "N" value) selected and the frequency of the output of the VCO 60 allowed to settle in response to the application of any error voltage. Thereafter, the switch 70 is closed and the stages in the load 72 successively powered up (e.g., by turning on the buffer amplifier followed by the power amplifier). However, because of changes in the impedance "Z" of the load 72 or the presence of a supply voltage transient, the output of the VCO 60 may take an instantaneous frequency step, which then must be "tracked out" by the feedback loop in the frequency synthesizer 44.
An example of the frequency behavior of the VCO 60 at power up of the transmitter is shown in FIG. 7. In this example, the desired frequency for the VCO 60 is 90 MHz as described in connection with FIG. 4. At t=0 (with the load 72 disconnected) the VCO 60 is turned on and its frequency eventually settles to 90 MHz at t=20 ms. At t=51 ms, the load 72 is switched in and powered up. The frequency of the VCO 60 immediately jumps from 90 MHz to 90.04 MHz, or a step of 40 KHz. The feedback loop then begins to correct for this transient and the frequency of the VCO 60 ultimately settles back to 90 MHz at t=68 ms.
The example in FIG. 7 highlights two significant deficiencies in the design of a conventional frequency synthesizer. First, it can be seen that the frequency jump caused by the turning on of the transmitter (load) 72 well exceeded the 30 KHz channel width specified for proper mobile station operation in AMPS and D-AMPS, for example. Hence, such a frequency jump can interfere with the operation of the base station and other mobile stations. Furthermore, if the mobile station is operating at a frequency which is close to the edge of the transmit band, such a frequency jump may result in the mobile station operating out of band. In some conventional designs, even higher frequency jumps on the order of several hundred KHz have been observed with even greater potential for causing interference and/or out-of-band operation. In addition, it will be noted that it took a relatively long time (17 ms) for the VCO 60 to settle back to its desired frequency after the onset of the frequency transient. This, in turn, causes a longer delay in establishing communications between the mobile station and the base station.
The prior art has attempted several techniques for minimizing the effects of the frequency transients illustrated in FIG. 7. One common approach has been to use several unswitched buffer stages (e.g., transistor amplifiers) to provide isolation between the VCO 60 and the load 72. While this approach is at least somewhat effective in reducing the frequency transient, it is not practical for use in mobile stations due to high parts count, current drain and cost.
Another approach, which is more practical for the mobile station environment, has been to control the turn-on time of the switched stages in the transmitter (load) 72 so that these stages turn on more slowly and the frequency transient can be effectively tracked out by the feedback loop. However, this other approach is difficult to reconcile with the requirements of industry standards such as IS-19B, which specifies that the transmitter turn-on (switching) time must be no more than 2 ms.
Yet another approach has been to increase the bandwidth of the loop filter 66 during the transmitter turn-on time. However, this third approach does not actually reduce or prevent the occurrence of the frequency step but only allows the synthesizer loop to more quickly track out the error and settle the VCO 60 at the desired frequency. Furthermore, this approach requires additional hardware and software and also introduces the possibility that an additional frequency transient will appear at the output of the VCO 60 when the loop filter 66 is returned to its original (narrower) bandwidth.
In light of the shortcomings of the prior art, there is a need for a frequency synthesizer which is able to minimize or eliminate frequency transients caused by transmitter turn-on through a more effective and lower cost and complexity circuit as compared with prior art circuits.

System and method for offsetting load switching transients in a frequency synthesizer


Methods, systems, and computer program products for programmatically determining whether components of a program are suitable for deployment in particular locations such as at the edge of a network. In preferred embodiments, program characteristics and operating environment characteristics, along with information about their interactions, are programmatically combined at deployment time to determine whether application components are edgeable. The disclosed approach enables people such as programmers (who are familiar with the program characteristics) and systems administrators (who are familiar with the operating environment characteristics) to each provide some control over the edgeability determination, along with other systems experts (who know how these features interact). Alternatively, this information or portions thereof may be supplied programmatically. Preferably, techniques of matrix algebra are used for the programmatic combination, yielding a value which is compared to a predetermined edgeability threshold to determine a particular component's edgeability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer networks, and deals more particularly with techniques for dynamically deploying application components to various sites within a network based upon characteristics of the components and of the operating environment into which they are to be potentially deployed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Whereas the early Internet served primarily as a distributed file system in which human users could request delivery of already-generated static documents, the trend in recent years has been to add more and more dynamic and personalized aspects into the content that is served to requesters. Typically, this dynamic and personalized content has been generated in the enterprise network. This approach, however, places a heavy demand on the enterprise computing resources. Several techniques have been developed for alleviating the processing burden on back-end servers, including caching of static content (and to a limited extent, caching of content after it has been dynamically generated); workload balancing; and content distribution.
Caching attempts to avoid repeated generation of content by storing content and serving it to subsequent requesters whenever possible. Serving cached content not only reduces the workload ante back-end computing resources, but it also improves response time to the user. Workload balancing improves the performance of a Web site by dynamically adjusting the amount of work sent to each server in a clustered group of servers. Content distribution attempts to pro-actively (statically) publish static content to various locations in the network, for example to cache servers in order to increase the likelihood that requests can be served from cache. Content Distribution Service Providers ("CDSPs") offer a valuable service by providing access to their broad network infrastructure for caching of static content in close proximity to the end user. This, in turn, enables enterprises to scale their operations in a cost-effective manner. Dynamic content distribution (i.e. dynamically moving generated content closer to users) would yield the same scalability benefits. For some applications (e.g. those which provide session management within their presentation logic, and which only access the back-end business logic in batch mode), it may be possible to (statically) deploy the presentation logic at the edge of the network. In these cases, the content distribution process will typically result in reduced response time as well.
Use of "edge servers" in a network configuration provides increased network efficiency and availability by caching static application components (such as images, forms, etc.) near the edge of the network, where they can be quickly returned to a requester (or quickly retrieved by presentation logic for use in assembling a response to be delivered to a requester). An edge server is a server which is physically located at or near the edge of a network. Edge servers may perform workload balancing, and are sometimes referred to as distributed web caches or surrogates (equivalently, "reverse proxies") or intermediaries (equivalently, "interception proxies" or "forward proxies"). The IBM WebSphere® Edge Server, for example, performs workload balancing and also functions as a reverse proxy and/or cache server. FIG. 1 provides a diagram of a representative server site 100 (i.e. a collection of server nodes that serve web content associated with a given fully-qualified domain name) within a network, which may (for purposes of example) serve content for a domain name such as "www.ibm.com". This example server site 100 comprises a cluster 150 of application servers 140 (such as IBM WebSphere application servers); several back-end enterprise data servers 160 (such as IBM OS/390® servers running the DB/2 and/or CICS® products from IBM); several Web servers 130 (such as Apache, Netscape, or Microsoft servers; note that the application server and Web server are often co-resident in a single hardware box); several firewalls 110; and several edge servers or surrogates/caches/load balancers 120. ("WebSphere", "OS/390", and "CICS" are registered trademarks of IBM.)
Offloading portions of applications to edge servers is desirable because it offers great potential for improving performance and scalability. The term "application component" or "component" is used hereinafter to refer to the portions of an application which may potentially be offloaded in this manner, and the offloading process is referred to as "edgifying" an application and/or its components. The decision as to whether a component can be offloaded is referred to hereinafter as the "edgeability" or "edgeable" determination.
Existing application offload techniques which are known to the present inventors for determining the edgeability of an application component use a two-stage approach. In the first stage, a programmer familiar with the application component describes that component using a single check-off approach that specifies whether the component is edgeable or non-edgeable. This description is then used by a deplayer, in the second stage, as input to the final deployment (i.e. edgeability) decision. The deplayer may either accept the programmer's edgeability input, or may override the programmer's input, depending (for example) on what the deployer knows about the configuration of the target operating environment. The components are then distributed accordingly.
This prior art approach suffers from several drawbacks. As one example, it does not allow for a good combination of the programmer's knowledge about the application components and the deployer's knowledge about the target operating environment. In addition, this prior art approach may in many cases require changes to the existing programming model for Web-based applications to achieve component distribution. As a result, a distributed application may deviate from commonly accepted programming models such as the "J2EE™" model. That is, an application may have to be rewritten to use special interfaces which are implemented one way for those application components which can be distributed, and a different way for those application components which cannot be distributed. This requires using a new programming library, and decisions about offloading components has to be made in a static, inflexible manner by the programmer as he or she chooses which interface to use. Furthermore, this prior art approach does not allow for the programmer to indicate how potential variations in the target operating environment might alter the input on edgeability, or to account for such changes, and it is not easily modifiable. ("J2EE" is an acronym for "Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition". "Java" and "J2EE" are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Accordingly, what is needed are techniques for edgifying applications which avoid the shortcomings of prior art techniques.

Distributed application deployment using program characteristics and environment characteristics

International Business Machines Corporation


Polyclonal antibody specific for a phosphorylated linker region in Smad2 and/or Smad3.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to antibodies specific for phosphorylation sites and methods of screening drugs using the same antibodies. In more particular, the invention relates to novel antibodies that specifically recognize the phosphorylation site in the linker regions of Smad2 and Smad3, which are signal transduction molecules of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family. Further, the invention relates to methods of screening drugs that inhibit the phosphorylation in the linker regions of Smad2 and Smad3.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The TGF-β superfamily includes TGF-β, BMP, etc. and forms a multi-functional protein family having various physiological activities and cell regulatory functions, such as cell differentiation, growth inhibition and tissue repair, in living organisms. TGF-β is a representative cytokine of the superfamily and known to stimulate or inhibit the transcription activity of a target gene group by its signal transduction cascade.
TGF-β is known to be produced in various tissues such as platelet and act on various cells. TGF-β suppresses the growth of epithelial cells, such as hepatocyte, while promoting the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in mesenchyme cells such as fibloblast to repair tissue.
Activated Smad directly binds to the promoter region of ECM proteins, such as type I collagen and plasminogen activator inhibitor type I (PAI-1), and forms complexes with other transcription factors such as AP-I and ATF-2 to activate their transcription.
TGF-β receptors come in two types depending on the molecular weight: type I and type II and these are expressed in almost all the cells. The receptors each have serine/threonine kinase regions in the cells.
TGF-β firstly binds to its type II receptor and then to its type I receptor to form a complex. During the complex formation, the type II receptor phosphorylates the type I receptor, and then the type I receptor activated by the phosphorylation phosphorylates signal transducers called Smads which lie downstream of the TGF-β signaling system. As a result, the signals are transduced into cells (Heldin et al., Nature 390: 465-471, 1997). Smads activated by the receptor are translocated into the nucleus and act as transcription factors of target genes.
Members of the Smad protein family were identified based on the homology with Mad (mothers against Dpp) obtained by screening of genes that modified the signals of Dpp (decapentaplegic), which was a BMP homologue of Drosophila. On the other hand, genes, sma-2, -3 and -4, were obtained, which showed the same phenotype as the abnormality of gene daf-4 of receptor DAF-4, a receptor of BMP-like factor of C.elegance. Since both Sma proteins encoded by these genes, and Mad transduce the signals of the TGF-β superfamily and have a high degree of amino acid homology to one another, they are called Smad. Generally, Smad proteins are composed of about 500 amino acid residues and eight subtypes, Smad1 to Smad8, have been identified.
Smad proteins are classified into 3 types depending on their structure and function: R-Smads (receptor-regulated Smads) that are activated by type I receptor and transduce signals specific for the TGF-β and BMP signaling system, respectively; Co-Smads (common-mediator Smads) that are commonly used in all the signaling system and form complexes with R-Smads; and I-Smads (inhibitory Smads) that act in an inhibitory manner on the R-Smads and Co-Smads. As R-Smads, Smads1 to 3, 5 and 8 are known, as Co-Smads, Smad 4, and as I-Smads, Smads 6 and 7 are known.
Generally, Smads have two domains called MH1 (Mad homology 1) domain in the N-terminal region and MH2 domain in the C-terminal region, which are highly conserved among the Smad family. The MH1 domain and the MH2 domain are linked together in the region called "linker region".
It is known that in the linker regions of Smad1, Smad2 and Smad3, Ser residues are phosphorylated by Erk (Kretzschmar et al., Nature 389: 618-622, 1997; Kretzschmar et al., Genes Dev. 13: 804-816, 1999). Likewise, Ser240 and Ser260 in the linker region of Smad2 are phosphorylated by CamKII just as is Ser110 at the MH1 domain.
At the C-terminus of R-Smads there is an amino acid sequence, Ser-Ser-X-Ser (SSXS motif), and the two Sers proximate to the C-terminus are phosphrylated by TGF-β type I receptor.
Smads play a role specific for the signaling of TGF-β family members, and Smad2 and Smad3 are specific for TGF-β signaling (Heldin et al. supra). Activated Smad2 and Smad3 interact with Smad 4, which is a Co-Smad, and are translocated into the nucleus to activate target genes. TGF-β signaling activates Smad2 and Smad3 while allowing TGF-β signaling to be balanced by Smad6 and Smad7 as I-Smads.

Antibodies specific for phosphorylation sites and screening methods using the same antibodies


Dibenzylidene xylonates are a new class of clarifiers for polyolefins. The invention includes polyolefin compositions having the new clarifiers therein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polyolefin compositions of improved clarity and, more particularly and in addition thereto, relates to a new class of additives which confer improved clarity to polyolefins.
2. Background of the Invention
For many applications, polymeric products have been fabricated into structural or block forms, such as fibers, which utilize properties based on their high molecular weights. In recent years, applications have been developed, such as plates, sheets, films and the like, in which clarity or transparency is a very desirable property. Clarity is also very important for certain plastic articles, such as syringes, made by injection molding.
In general, clarity is not an inherent property of polyolefin plastics, most of which are more or less opaque due principally to their partially amorphous nature. Most polyolefins do, however, have some crystallinity, and they are generally referred to as semicrystalline. High clarity is thought to be related crystal size. Large crystals reduce clarity, an effect generally thought to be due to diffraction and scattering of light, and most polyolefins of good clarity are predominantly microcrystalline.
Various additives for polyolefins, conventionally referred to as nucleators, which promote crystallization at many sites, have been disclosed. These additives are derivatives of sorbitol. U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,118 to Hamada et al. teaches improved clarity and resistance to mold shrinkage in polyolefins containing from about 0.1% to 0.7% of dibenzylidene sorbitol. This product has dominated the commercial clarifier market since its introduction. Other dibenzylidene sorbitol clarifying additives postulated to function by reducing crystal size are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,645 to Mahaffey and U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,952 to Uchiyama. In the former patent, the phenyl rings are substituted with at least one halogen atom, and may additionally have alkyl, hydroxy, methoxy, amino or nitro substituent groups. The dibenzylidene sorbitols of the latter patent have chloro, alkyl or alkoxy substituents in each of the phenyl rings. Dibenzylidene sorbitol clarifiers having fluorine and sulfur substituents are disclosed as having improved clarity in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,808,650 and 4,845,137 respectively.

Clarifiers for polyolefins and polyolefin compositions containing same


A device for brewing hot beverages comprises a lower container for receiving water, an upper container for receiving brewed beverage, and a piston-cylinder assembly into which coffee grounds, tea leaves, and herbs are placed. The grounds, etc. are compressed and subjected to high temperature water and steam, to extract essences and produce a beverage, such as espresso coffee. The piston has a decompression chamber at its upper end, formed between the piston top and a perforated diffuser plate. Pressurized hot water from the lower container flows through a nozzle in the piston top, into the decompression chamber, through the holes of the diffuser plate, and then into the grounds. The piston moves upwardly to compress the grounds against an upper perforated plate, first with rising force, and then with constant force. Since the total flow path cross sectional area of the holes in the diffuser plate is several times greater than the flow area of the piston top nozzle, the pressure in the decompression chamber is substantially lower than the pressure in the lower container. This enables a lowered velocity of water and steam which pass through the diffuser plate and into the grounds.

This invention has relation to the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,484, "Expresso Coffee Maker", which has commnon inventorship and ownership herewith. The patent describes a two-container coffee maker in which coffee grounds are placed within a subassembly called the coffee basket assembly. The coffee basket assembly comprises a hollow cylinder piece and a piston. During the brewing cycle, the steam generated in the lower container of the maker causes the piston to move upwardly, compressing the grounds between the piston and a perforated plate at the bottom of the upper container. Superheated water and steam from the lower heating container are forced through the coffee grounds. The patented coffee maker subjects the grounds to a unique combination of temperature and compression.
The coffee maker described in the patent is quite useful in extracting essences from the coffee grounds in a quick and efficient manner, producing espresso and other varieties of coffee beverage with outstanding flavor. While effective, the construction of the older invention involved certain high cost elements. For example, the piston top had a plurality of small diameter holes. The hole size and number were chosen to both provide the desired differential pressure across the piston--and resultant compression of the grounds--and to distribute the water and steam through the coffee grounds. Furthermore, continuing research has been conducted to otherwise improve the maker.


On-board non-uniformity correction calibration methods for a microbolometer focal plane array in a thermal camera are disclosed. The methods include performing first calculations in the processor unit of the thermal camera to generate and apply a set of coarse correction bias voltages to the detector elements. The method also includes performing calculations in the external computer based on image data collected by the thermal camera with the coarse correction bias voltages applied to the detector elements to generate a set of fine correction bias voltages. The method also includes downloading the fine correction bias voltages to the thermal camera and applying the fine correction voltages to the detector elements to establish a fine calibration of the microbolometer focal plane array.

A microbolometer is an elemental infrared detector that utilizes a material whose electrical resistance changes as a function of temperature. This characteristic is used to measure amounts of infrared radiation incident on the microbolometer. When used as an infrared detector, a microbolometer is generally thermally isolated from its supporting substrate or surroundings to allow the absorbed incident infrared radiation to generate a temperature change in the bolometer material, and be less affected by substrate temperature. Example microbolometers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,021,663; 5,286,976; 5,300,915; 5,420,419; 5,756,999; 5,811,808; and 6,023,061, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Microbolometer detector arrays are used to sense incident infrared radiation at a focal (or image) plane. Each microbolometer detector element in the array absorbs some of the infrared radiation resulting in a corresponding change in the pixel temperature, which results in a corresponding change in resistance. With each microbolometer detector element functioning as a pixel, a two-dimensional image or picture representation of the incident infrared radiation is generated by translating the changes in resistance of each microbolometer detector element into a time-multiplexed electrical signal that can be displayed on a monitor or stored in a computer.
The circuitry used to perform this translation can be called detector array interface circuitry (DAIC) and typically fabricated as an integrated circuit on a silicon substrate. The microbolometer can be fabricated on top of the DAIC. The combination of the DAIC and microbolometer array is commonly known as a microbolometer infrared Focal Plane Array (FPA), or simply MFPA for short. MFPAs can contain, for example, 640×480 microbolometer detector elements.
Certain types of thermal cameras employ MFPAs as the image sensor. However, the microbolometer detector elements of the MFPA will have non-uniform responses to uniform incident infrared radiation, even when the bolometers are manufactured as part of a MFPA. This is due to small variations in the detectors elements' electrical and thermal properties as a result of the manufacturing process. These non-uniformities in the microbolometer response characteristics must be corrected to produce an electrical signal with adequate signal-to-noise ratio for image processing and display as part of the thermal camera operation.
Methods for implementing a DAIC for microbolometer arrays have used an architecture wherein the resistance of each microbolometer is sensed by applying a uniform electric signal source (bias), e.g., voltage or current sources, and a resistive load to the microbolometer detector element. The current resulting from the applied voltage (bias) is integrated over time by an amplifier to produce an output voltage level proportional to the value of the integrated current. The output voltage is then multiplexed to the signal acquisition system.
Gain and offset corrections are applied to the output signal to correct for the non-uniformity. This process is commonly referred to as two-point correction. In this technique, two correction coefficients are applied to the sampled signal of each microbolometer detector element. The gain correction is implemented by multiplying the output voltage by a unique gain coefficient. Likewise, the offset correction is implemented by adding a unique offset coefficient to the output voltage.
Blind (reference) non-uniformity corrections (NUCs) are currently generated in an FPA calibration process by the following process: 1) start with default NUCs stored in the camera's memory, (e.g., flash memory); 2) iteratively capture an image; 3) upload the captured image to external computing resources, such as a personal computer for calculation; 4) generate a set of refined NUCs; 5) download the refined NUC data back into the thermal camera; and 6) write the corrections to flash memory in the thermal camera.
For a specific temperature point in the temperature range at which a MFPA is calibrated, the prior art method of capture/upload/calculation/download/flash-write may be performed up to eighty times. This approach requires considerable time and related expense. Almost half of that calibration time is spent on pixel characteristic/response data collection and processing. The other half is spent on environmental temperature chamber settling time necessary for each new temperature set-point. The calibration processing system typically comprise a communication link between the thermal camera and an external calibration computer running a specialized software suite, such as a LabView® application. This MFPA calibration process is a relatively long and tedious task, with the various steps consuming up to ten hours for a single MFPA over at temperature range from −20° C. to 52° C. in 4° C. increments.

On-board non-uniformity correction calibration methods for microbolometer focal plane arrays


In a machine translation environment, a context-specific domain directory must sometimes be selected to provide a proper translation in context. A database for trigger patterns associated with specific domains is prepared. When a resource is to be translated, appearances of the pattern within the resource are detected. If appearance frequency for at least one domain exceeds a threshold value, the appearance frequency for that domain is compared to the appearance frequency for other domains. If the appearance frequency for the one domain is found to be significantly higher, the dictionary for that domain is selected for the translation.

In order to obtain more appropriate translation results, a method presently available for machine translation uses multiple electronic dictionaries including domain dictionaries and a switching mechanism of the electronic dictionaries. Each of the dictionaries carry appropriate terms for use when processing documents written for specific domains.
For example, for the sentence, "People enjoy cherry blossoms this season (translation: Hitobito wa, kono kisetsu sakura wo tanoshimi-masu), "this season" should be translated as "kono kisetsu". On the other hand, in a sport related context, for the sentences, "He is a major leaguer. He hit fifty home runs this season (translation: Kare wa mejaa-liigaadesu. Kare wa kon shiizun 50 pon houmuran wo uchimashita)", "this season" should be translated as "kon shiizun". In this context, a dictionary for sports is used. In the dictionary, "kon shiizun" is registered as the translation of "this season". Thus, where a base dictionary is used in which general terms (those not related to technical domains) are registered in association with source words, the translation for "this season" is "kono kisetsu". Where a dictionary prepared for sports is used, the appropriate translation, "kon shuizun", is obtained. Therefore, it is apparent that if an appropriate electronic dictionary is not used, an appropriate translation may not be obtained. Thus, to achieve more accurate translations, multiple electronic dictionaries, including domain dictionaries, must be available and used as required.
A method for switching among multiple electronic dictionaries, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-110185, prepares trigger patterns (hereinafter referred to simply as patterns) that are used to determine context domains. When a trigger pattern appears, the context domain to which the pattern belongs determines which of multiple dictionaries should be used for the translation.
As an example, the phrase "major leaguer" can be a trigger pattern for sports. When the trigger pattern is encountered in the initial sentence "He is a major leaguer.", that pattern indicates the context is sport related. Priority is given to an available sports-based dictionary so that in the second sentence "this season" is translated appropriately as "kon shiizun".
However, a problem with this method is that a context-specific dictionary cannot be selected until a context-specific pattern is detected. A translation initiated with a base dictionary may be inappropriate for the actual context until a trigger pattern is encountered and a switch is made to a context-specific dictionary.
The recent increased availability of network use techniques, especially for the Internet, has made it easy for people to access network resources from which a broad spectrum of data may be retrieved. However, since network records can appear in various languages a user often finds difficulties in obtaining useable information from a network record written in an unfamiliar language. Therefore, it is desirable to improve machine translation of resources on networks.
A conventional method is available that provides for the switching of multiple electronic dictionaries for the machine translation of network resources. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) representing an address at which a resource is located on a TCP/IP network is registered as associated with a specific electronic dictionary that a user determines to be appropriate for the subject matter at the URL. Where a request for translation of the subject matter is made, the associated electronic dictionary is used. This method can cope with sentences in which trigger patterns have not yet appeared or for a case wherein a pattern does not appear at a predetermined interval.
However, since a user must manually register an association between a particular electronic dictionary and the URL, the above method requires a great deal of user effort. Further, if the subject matter of the registered URL changes, continued use of the initially-associated electronic dictionary may result on poor quality translations until an association between the URL and the appropriate electronic dictionary can be manually corrected.
It has been determined that resources available on a network can be sorted into the following four types:                (1) a "no domain type" having a topic not related to a specific domain and no patterns that matches patterns registered in a domain dictionary;        (2) a "multiplex domain type" having multiple topic coexisting on the same page;        (3) a "domain change type" having a topic which can change as the subject matter at the URL is updated; and        (4) a "specific domain type" having contents related to a topic specific to a particular domain. When a domain dictionary is applied for a "specific domain type" resource, an appropriate translation can be obtained. It should be noted that when a domain dictionary is applied for a resource other than a "specific domain type", inappropriate translation results will be obtained.

Method, system and program for associating a resource to be translated with a domain dictionary


Device for controlling spreading of liquid crystal including a stage, and variable temperature controlling means in the stage for controlling spreading of the liquid crystal, wherein the variable temperature controlling means is formed of a heating wire, and controls a temperature within a varied temperature of approximately 30°-120°, thereby reducing gaps of liquid crystal drops.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD), and more particularly, to a device for controlling spreading of liquid crystal, which can maximize spreading of the liquid crystal in dropping the liquid crystal, and a method for fabricating an LCD.
2. Background of the Related Art
Keeping pace with development of an information oriented society, demands on displays increase gradually in a variety of forms, and, recently to meet the demands, different flat display panels, such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Plasma Display Panel (PDP), Electro Luminescent Display (ELD), Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD), and the like, have been under development, and some of which are employed as displays in various apparatuses.
Of the different flat displays, the LCDs have been used most widely as mobile displays while the LCDs replaces the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) owing to features and advantages of excellent picture quality, light weight, thin size, and low power consumption. Besides the mobile type LCDs, such as notebook computer monitors, the LCDs are under development for televisions (TVs) for receiving and displaying broadcasting signals, and computer monitors.
The LCD is provided with two opposite substrates, and liquid crystal injected between the two opposite substrates for varying a phase with temperature or density.
The liquid crystal is a substance having intermediate properties of liquid and solid, with a liquidity of a liquid and a long range order property of a solid. That is, the liquid crystal is a substance of an intermediate state of crystalline solid and liquid before a crystalline solid is melted into liquid. Upon directing light, or applying electricity, or magnetic field to the liquid crystal, a birefringence peculiar to an optical anisotropic crystal is shown, and within a certain temperature range, properties both of the liquid and the crystalline solid are shown.
The foregoing LCD is fabricated by progressing an array process, a cell process, and a module process on a glass substrate.
In the array process, wiring patterns, or switching devices (in a case of an active matrix type), such as thin film transistors (TFT), are fabricated. In the cell process, orientation processing, spacer disposal, or liquid crystal injection into the opposite glass substrates and sealing, are made. In the module process, a driver integrated circuit (IC), and a back light are fitted.
A liquid crystal injection process in the cell process will be briefly explained.
At first, a large sized panel is provided, which is formed by bonding and setting a first substrate inclusive of a plurality of TFT unit substrate regions, and a second substrate inclusive of a plurality of color filter unit substrate regions, by means of sealant.
The TFT unit substrate regions are provided with a plurality of gatelines running in one direction at fixed intervals, a plurality of datalines running in one direction perpendicular to the gatelines at fixed intervals, and a plurality of thin film transistors and pixel electrodes formed at a matrix of pixel regions defined by the gatelines and the datalines, which are formed in array process, respectively.
The color filter unit substrate regions are provided with a black matrix layer for shielding light from parts excluding the pixel region, the color filter layer, the common electrode, and the like.
The large sized panel is cut into a plurality of LCD unit panels. Then, liquid crystal and the plurality of LCD unit panels are placed in a vacuum chamber, and an injection hole formed by sealant is dipped in the liquid crystal. Then, by restoring the vacuum chamber to atmospheric pressure, the liquid crystal is injected between the LCD unit panel. This liquid crystal injection method is referred to as a vacuum injection method, which will be explained in more detail.
Referring to FIG. 1, liquid crystal is filled into a container 30, and placed in a chamber 20. Then, a deaeration process is carried out, in which the chamber 20 is maintained at a vacuum to remove moisture from an inside of the liquid crystal, or attached to an inside wall chamber, and fine air bubbles in the liquid crystal.
Next, after the liquid crystal injection holes of the LCD unit panels 40 are dipped, or brought into contact with the liquid crystal, nitrogen gas N2 is introduced into the chamber 20 to boost a pressure of the chamber from a vacuum to atmospheric pressure. Then, the liquid crystal is injected into the LCD unit panels through the injection holes by a pressure difference between a pressure inside of the LCD unit panels 40 and a pressure in the chamber.
When the liquid crystal 25 is filled in the LCD unit panels 40 fully, the LCD unit panels 40 are cleaned after the injection holes are sealed.
The foregoing liquid crystal injection method has a poor productivity because of the long time period required for the liquid crystal injection caused by cutting into LCD unit panels, maintaining a space between the two substrate at a vacuum, dipping the LCD unit substrates into the liquid crystal, or bringing the LCD unit substrates into contact with the liquid crystal. Moreover, when a large sized LCD is fabricated, since liquid crystal may not be injected into the LCD unit panel perfectly, this causes a defective LCD.
Eventually, for coping with the foregoing problem, the following liquid crystal dropping method has been recently suggested. A method for fabricating an LCD having the liquid crystal dropping method applied thereto will be explained, with reference to FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2, orientation material is coated on a first substrate having TFT unit substrate regions, and a second substrate having color filter unit substrate regions. Then, an orientation process is conducted such that liquid crystal molecules have an orientation (1S), and the first, and the second substrates are cleaned (2S).
The cleaned second substrate is loaded on a seal dispenser, and sealant is coated to a periphery of each of the panel regions (3S). As the sealant, photo, or thermo setting resin is employed, and no liquid crystal injection hole is required.
On the other hand, the first substrate is loaded on a liquid crystal (LC) dispenser, and the liquid crystal is dropped on active array regions of respective panels (6S). In this instance, the cleaned first or second substrate may be loaded on a silver (Ag) dispenser, to form Ag dots on the common voltage supply line on the first substrate, or formation of the Ag dots may be omitted as in an In Plane Switching (IPS) mode.
The liquid crystal dropping method will be briefly explained.
Referring to FIG. 3, a first substrate 60 is loaded on a table 70 of a liquid crystal dispenser 50. There is a syringe 80 full of liquid crystal over the first substrate 60, for dropping liquid crystal thereon.
In general, the liquid crystal 65 is dropped in a form of a drop on the substrate 60. The substrate 60 moves at a fixed speed and direction, and the syringe 80 discharges the liquid crystal 65 matched thereto, thereby setting a liquid crystal dropping location.
Though not shown in the drawings, the syringe 80 has an external gas line connected thereto, for supplying nitrogen gas N2 from an external gas source, to apply a pressure to the liquid crystal, and drop the liquid crystal.
Next, referring to FIG. 2, the first and second substrates are loaded on a vacuum bonding chamber, and bonded such that the dropped liquid crystal is filled in the panel uniformly, and the sealant is set (7S), to complete fabrication of the large sized panel.
Then, an Scribe/Break (S/B) process (9S) is conducted, inclusive of a scribing process in which cutting lines are formed in a surface of glass by using a diamond pen, which has a hardness higher than glass, and a breaking process in which a force is applied to the glass, to break the glass, thereby cutting the large sized panel into of a plurality of LCD unit panels of unit cells.
Then, after subjecting surfaces of the LCD unit panel to grinding (10S), the LCD unit panels are subjected to Auto/Probe (A/P) inspection (11S), to finish a liquid crystal cell process.
In the A/P inspection, a device having a voltage terminal for applying a voltage is employed for examining electric defects of the LCD unit panel. That is, the voltage terminal is electrically connected to the gateline and dataline on the TFT substrate in the LCD unit panel, for examining cell gap defects or defective liquid crystal injection (imperfect injection, or leak) in the unit panel.
Though not shown in the drawing, upon finishing a liquid crystal cell fabrication process through the foregoing series of fabrication processes, a module fabrication process is performed, in which a driver IC, or back light is fitted.
However, the related art method for fabricating an LCD having the liquid crystal dropping method applied thereto has the following problems.
In the bonding process, the first and second substrates are aligned opposite to each other, and the environment is evacuated until the liquid crystal is spread on the surface of the substrate, and reaches to a section of the sealant in a periphery, thereby the two substrates are bonded.
In detail, referring to FIG. 4, liquid crystal is dropped on the first substrate 60 in forms of drops at fixed intervals. Distances between adjacent liquid crystal drops 65 have relations of d2=d4=d6=d8>d1=d3=d5=d7.
Next, referring to FIG. 5, the dropped liquid crystal 65 is spread slowly on the surface of the substrate in a circular form 65A during bonding the first and the second substrates together. Gaps 67, in which the liquid crystal is not yet filled, are formed before the liquid crystal is spread completely. Therefore, the environment is evacuated until the gaps 67 become adequately small, in the bonding of the first and second substrates.
However, it takes about 20 minutes until the gaps 67 become adequately small, enough to finish the liquid crystal spreading. There has been a hazard of peeling off of the sealant, and subsequent leakage of the liquid crystal, caused by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the substrates during such a waiting time period.
Though not shown, blots may occur at boundaries of the dropped liquid crystal, which deteriorates a picture quality.

Device for controlling spreading of liquid crystal and method for fabricating an LCD


A multilayer film article is disclosed. The film includes an infrared light reflecting multilayer film having alternating layers of a first polymer type and a second polymer type and an infrared light absorbing or reflecting layer adjacent the multilayer film. The film includes a multilayer stack composed of alternating optical layers of first and second diverse polymers A, B. The optical layers when counted from one end of a first effective optical packet form a plurality of unit cells each having six optical layers arranged in relative optical thicknesses in a first cyclic permutation of 7A1B1A7B1A1B. At normal incidence the first effective optical packet provides a reflection band at infrared wavelengths and substantially transmits light at visible wavelengths.

A conventional automotive safety glazing is formed from a laminate made of two rigid layers, typically glass, and an anti-lacerative mechanical energy absorbing interlayer of plasticized polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The glazing is prepared by placing the PVB layer between glass sheets, eliminating air from the engaging surfaces, and then subjecting the assembly to elevated temperature and pressure in an autoclave to fusion bond the PVB and glass into an optically clear structure. The glazing may then be used in the windows, including those in the front (windshield), the rear, and the side glass of a motor vehicle.
The laminate may also include at least one functional layer engineered to enhance the performance of the vehicle window. One important functional layer reduces entry of infrared radiation into the vehicle cabin. When used in a windshield, the composite laminate structure should transmit at least about 70% of the light in the wavelength region sensitive to the human eye, typically from about 400 to about 700 nanometers (nm), and reject solar radiation outside the visible portion of the spectrum. When used in other glazing structures, such as side or rear windows, there are typically no limits on the level of visible transmission.
The functional layer in the laminate may be a birefringent, non-metallic film made from alternating layers of dielectric materials, preferably polymers with differing indices of refraction. These birefringent films may be engineered to reflect or absorb a desired amount of light in a spectral region of interest (such as the infrared region) while transmitting sufficient visible light in the visible region of the spectrum to be substantially transparent.
The reflectance characteristics of the multilayer film are determined in part by the indices of refraction for the layered structure. In particular, reflectivity depends upon the relationship between the indices of refraction of each material in the x, y, and z directions (nx, ny, nz). The film is preferably constructed using at least one uniaxially birefringent material, in which two indices (typically along the x and y axes, or nx and ny) are approximately equal, and different from the third index (typically along the z axis, or nz). The x and y axes are defined as the in-plane axes, in that they lie in the plane within the multilayer film, and the respective indices nx and ny are referred to as the in-plane indices. If n1z is selected to match n2x=n2y=n2z and the multilayer film is biaxially oriented, there is no Brewster's angle for p-polarized light and each interface exhibits constant reflectivity for p-polarized light for all angles of incidence.
A second factor that influences the reflectance characteristics of the multilayer film is the thickness of the layers in the film stack. The individual layers are arranged in groups of two or more that repeat throughout the stack, referred to as optical repeat units or unit cells, each of which has a total optical thickness that is ½ of the wavelength of light to be reflected. All thicknesses discussed herein are measured after any orientation or other processing, unless otherwise noted. The term optical thickness refers to the physical thickness multiplied by the refractive index, which may be a function of polarization (for birefringent materials) and wavelength (for dispersive materials).
The infrared (IR) reflecting films described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,774 (Jonza et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,419 (Wheatley et al.) control the amount of solar energy that pass through them, preferably without significantly decreasing the intensity or changing the color of light sensed by the human eye at any angle. The materials in the layers, the thicknesses of the layers, and the indices of refraction of the layers are selected to reflect infrared radiation within the wavelength range of about 700 nm to about 2000 nm, while transmitting visible light. The film has an average reflectivity of at least 50% over a band at least 100 nm wide in the infrared region of the spectrum.
In one design, the IR reflecting film may include a multilayer stack of unit cells composed of alternating layers of first (A) and second (B) polymers, usually with similar optical thicknesses, referred to herein as an AB construction.
In an alternative design, the IR reflecting film described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,659 (Arends et al.) may also have multilayer stack of unit cells composed of alternating layers of first (A) and second (B) polymers. In this construction the unit cells have six layers with relative optical thicknesses of about .778A.111B.111A.778B.111A.111B. This construction, referred to herein as the 711 construction, suppresses unwanted second, third, and fourth order reflections in the visible wavelength region of between about 400 to about 700 nm, while reflecting light in the infrared wavelength region of between about 700 to about 2000 nm. Reflections higher than fourth order will generally be in the ultraviolet, not visible, region of the spectrum or will be of such a low intensity as to be unobjectionable.
Reference is also made to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/590,924 (Liu et al.), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,396, priority document to PCT Publication No. WO 01/96104, which discusses multilayer optical films useful in laminating to substrates having a compound curvature, such as motor vehicle windshields.
To reflect over a wide band, the unit cells in either of the film designs described above preferably have varying optical thicknesses, referred to herein as a layer thickness gradient, which are selected to achieve the desired bandwidth of reflection. The layer thickness gradient may vary widely depending on the intended application for the film. For example, the layer thickness gradient may be linear, in which the optical thickness of the unit cells (and each of their component layers) increases at a constant rate across the thickness of the film. In this construction, each unit cell is a certain amount thicker than the thickness of the previous unit cell in the multilayer stack. The layer thickness may decrease, then increase, then decrease again from one major surface of the film to the other, or may have an alternate layer thickness distribution designed to increase the sharpness of one or both bandedges, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,490 (Wheatley et al.).
The multilayer IR reflecting film designs described above have very high visible light transmission, and are useful as IR mirrors or IR polarizers in automotive glazing laminates. When used in a windshield laminate construction, these IR mirrors and polarizers have low reflection in the visible region (referred to as veiling glare in the automotive arts), which enhances performance. However, the IR mirrors and polarizers may also generate unwanted colors (iridescence) in certain laminate constructions, which may be unacceptable in demanding automotive and architectural applications.

Multilayer infrared reflecting film with high and smooth transmission in visible wavelength region and laminate articles made therefrom