The invention concerns a preparation comprising a plurality of Factor VII polypeptides or Factor VII-related polypeptides, wherein the polypeptides comprise asparagine-linked and/or serine-linked oligosaccharide chains, and wherein at least one oligosaccharide group is covalently attached to at least one polymeric group.

Factor VII is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein synthesized in the liver and secreted into the blood as a single chain glycoprotein with a molecular weight of approximately 50 kDa. The FVII zymogen is converted into an activated form (FVIIa) by proteolytic cleavage. FVIIa in complex with tissue factor (TF) is able to convert both Factor IX and Factor X into their activated forms, followed by reactions leading to rapid thrombin generation and fibrin formation.
The proteins involved in the clotting cascade, including, e.g., Factor VII, Factor VIII, Factor IX, Factor X, and Protein C, are proving to be useful therapeutic agents to treat a variety of pathological conditions. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for formulations comprising these proteins that are pharmaceutically acceptable and exhibit a uniform and predetermined clinical efficacy.
Because of the many disadvantages of using human plasma as a source of pharmaceutical products, it is preferred to produce these proteins in recombinant systems. The clotting proteins, however, are subject to a variety of co- and post-translational modifications, including, e.g., asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation; O-linked glycosylation; and γ-carboxylation of glu residues. These modifications may be qualitatively or quantitatively different when heterologous cells are used as hosts for large-scale production of the proteins. In particular, production in heterologous cells often results in a different array of glycoforms, which are identical polypeptides having different covalently linked oligosaccharide structures.
In different systems, variations in the oligosaccharide structure of therapeutic proteins have been linked to, inter alia, changes in immunogenicity and in vivo clearance.
Besides in vivo clearance also functional in vivo half-life is of importance to the period of time during which the compound is "therapeutically available" in the body.
The circulating half-life of rFVIIa is about 2.3 hours ("Summary Basis for Approval for NovoSeven©", FDA reference number 96-0597).
Commercial preparations of human recombinant FVIIa are sold as NovoSeven®. NovoSeven® is the only rFVIIa for effective and reliable treatment of bleeding episodes available on the market. Relatively high doses and frequent administration are necessary to reach and sustain the desired therapeutic or prophylactic effect. As a consequence adequate dose regulation is difficult to obtain and the need of frequent intravenous administrations imposes restrictions on the patient's way of living.
A molecule with a longer circulation half-life would decrease the number of necessary administrations. Given the association of current FVIIa product with frequent injections, there is a clear need for improved FVII molecules.
One way of improving the circulation is to ensure that the rate of clearance from the body is reduced. As said, variations in the oligosaccharide structure of therapeutic proteins have been linked to, inter alia, in vivo clearance. Furthermore, attachment of a chemical moiety to the polypeptide may confer reduced renal clearance to the polypeptide.
Inactive forms of FVII have been reported. The inactivated form is capable of competing with wild type FVII or FVIIa for binding to tissue factor and inhibiting clotting activity. The inactivated form of FVIIa is suggested to be used for treatment of patients being in hypercoagulable states, such as patients with sepsis, in risk of myocardial infarction or of thrombotic stroke.
WO 98/32466 suggests that FVII, among many other proteins, may be PEGylated but does not contain any further information in this respect.
WO 01/58935 claims conjugates of non-polypeptide moieties (e.g., PEG) with a polypeptide wherein the amino acid sequence differs from that of wild-type FVII in that at least one amino acid residue comprising an attachment group for a non-peptidic moiety has been introduced or removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,325 suggests that colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) could be attached to PEG by reacting PEG derivatives with oxidized CSF-1.
Thus, there is a need in the art for compositions and methods that provide clotting protein preparations, particularly preparations comprising improved recombinant human Factor VII, modified Factor VII, or Factor VII-related polypeptide.


Disclosed is an integrated document holder that includes an arrangement to accommodate clam stapler binding for important documents. Further, the integrated document holder includes holes punched at predefined locations to be utilized for cotton thread binding, if needed. The integrated document holder includes a pen holder integrated into the filing unit. The integrated document holder includes locking mechanisms that provide added support and security to the documents contained therein. The integrated document holder is biodegradable and recyclable.

Among the diverse kinds of office supplies accessible, document holders are broadly utilized for conveying various distinctive sorts of papers or reports. One exceptionally regular kind of file organizers are framed of a sheet of hardened material such as paper, card stock, plastic, or mix thereof. These file organizers generally collapsed down to form a front and back cover thereby forming an enclosure to hold and protect object such as papers being contained therein. An ordinary document holder incorporates mere front and back spreads with no extra structure, albeit oftentimes the sheet framing the document holder is designed to make pockets or fortifying edges or edges within surfaces of introduction page, the back cover, or both.
While ordinary organizers of this compose are splendidly satisfactory for carrying securely bound papers like scribbling pads and notepads however such organizers have limitations to hold and secure unbound papers of standard sizes. These prior art organizers are designed such that the unbound papers are secured along their focal overlap line by staples or optionally glued to frame. In the event that multipage delicate records, there are chances that such records may drop out of the document holder. Further, the prior art document holders fail to have proper filing systems that are capable of supporting various binding systems as well as maintaining a neat, clean appearance. Moreover, the existing document holders known in the art are either designed to have notches to facilitate staple binding or have punched holes to provide cotton thread binding however such document holders do not provide both accommodations together. In addition, the prior art document holders are non-bio degradable hence have limitations to stand as an eco-friendly product.
Also, the prior art document holders are not easy to customize and require substantial handling time and efforts to customize any particular file. Such customization is not only expensive but also subject to error.
Accordingly, there is a need for an integrated document holder that overcomes the problems faced with standard document holders thereby providing a neater, more efficient document holder having user-friendly customizable features.


A method and system for providing integrated financial services including brokerage services through an ATM network permits trading of securities, portfolio evaluation, security price evaluation, and brokerage account inquiries. The invention utilizes a familiar customer interface, a standard ATM or a customer activated terminal, to provide brokerage functions with a network conventionally used to perform traditional banking functions. The system and method according to the invention provides for trading of a wide variety of publicly traded security by linking the customer to a brokerage system. Provisions are further made for obtaining real time price quotations for up-to-the-minute portfolio evaluation and accurate buy and sell orders.

In the past, financial services have been made available in various ways depending on the type of service being offered. For a variety of reasons, the methods of providing brokerage services, such as the buying and selling of securities, and of providing traditional banking services, such as depositing and withdrawing funds, have been extremely divergent. For example, customers usually accessed banking services in the past through person to person service at branch locations. More recently, the trend is toward increased automation of customer banking transactions primarily through use of automatic teller machines (ATMs). On the other hand, many brokerage services are often initiated by direct customer-broker contact, for example, over the telephone or by facsimile. Once an order is received, the brokerage company performs the requested service, such as buying or selling a particular security at the appropriate exchange.
For many customers, dealing with a service provider in person can prove to be burdensome. For instance, in order to buy a particular security, the customer will generally verify the current selling price of a security to be purchased and then contact a broker to request that the purchase be made. One or both of these steps introduces a time lag which may result in the transaction failing to go through as intended by the customer.
Recent technological developments have somewhat improved brokerage services. In particular, improved communications methods have made it easier for a customer to contact a broker to place an orders or to obtain information. Other new methods have also made it easier for the broker to implement orders and to obtain up-to-date information regarding security prices. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,376,978, 4,597,046 and 4,774,663 describe a system for supervising a margin securities account wherein the system verifies various account activities, such as check cashing, and determines available credit so as to maintain free credit cash in one or more short term accounts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,044 describes an automated securities trading system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,922 describes a system for providing financial information such as market ticket, quotation and news information.
While providing many benefits, such prior art systems are generally limited to use by brokers or more sophisticated, affluent consumers who generate a fairly large volume of transactions. Moreover, while keeping track of certain other financial transactions for the purpose of preventing floats, these systems generally lack integration with non-brokerage financial transactions. In particular, most lack any means of providing the functions traditionally made available through a bank teller, such as depositing and receiving funds.
Some attempts have been made both to increase the availability of the financial services to a greater portion of the consumer market and to integrate various financial transactions. For example, the development of networks of automatic teller machines (ATMs) have greatly expanded the hours of operation during which banking services are available, while reducing operating costs. Generally, these machines have been used to reproduce the most common functions traditionally provided by a bank teller, such as receiving deposits, dispensing funds from a customers accounts, and responding to balance inquiries.
The assignee of the present invention has been an industry leader in developing improved techniques for delivery banking services. These techniques have particularly enhanced the customer's means of accessing various banking transactions. FIG. 1A illustrates some of the access points through which such services are made available to customers. These include an enhanced telephone 2, a personal computer 4, and a customer activated terminal (CAT) 6. As shown, the enhanced telephone 2 and the personal computer 4 provide access points to a proprietary service platform 8 known as home services delivery system (HSDS) 8. HSDS 8 interfaces with a front end system 10 referred to as a transaction processing system (TPS) which is described in more detail below. Other access points 12 may include telephone or personal contact with bank representatives who can access the system on behalf of the customer.
In general, the terminals illustrated in FIG. 1A provide uniformity with regard to the interface between the customer and the bank's system. For example, the terminology used and the sequences of the displays by which the customer exchanges information present a high degree of consistency. This promotes ease of use and encourages a customer's reliance on automated delivery systems to perform banking transactions, rather than less efficient person to person contact between a customer and a bank representative.
Personal computers such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1A are well known in the art and require no further description. Enhanced telephones have been developed by an affiliate of the assignee, and are described in several patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,991,199, 5,088,927, 5,195,130, and 5,321,840.
The CAT referred to in FIG. 1A is a particular type of ATM built for the assignee and its affiliates by Citicorp Transaction Technology Inc. Unlike many other ATMs which function primarily or solely as cash dispensing machines, CATs provide a wide range of banking functionality. These include "basic" services such as cash withdrawal, deposits and payments, transfer between accounts, balance inquiries, transaction histories, and purchases of travellers checks. As shown in FIG. 1B, a CAT 6 includes structures generally corresponding to those found in a conventional ATM to carry out these functions. Standard structures include a magnetic card reader 22 for reading information encoded on a customer's card, a depository 24 for accepting deposit and payment envelopes, and a cash dispensing mechanism 26. Internal components include a processor 30 and a communications device 32 for data communication with a host system 10.
The CAT 6 also utilizes more advanced structures in comparison to many conventional ATMs. For example, the primary customer interface is a dynamic touch screen 28 which utilizes color graphics. This interface is more versatile than many other ATMs in that it is readily reconfigurable so as to accommodate changing newly developed functionality. Moreover, it provides an interactive display in which buttons and keys are replaced with images of familiar three-dimensional objects.
It will be appreciated that the enhanced telephone 2 and the personal computer 4 shown in FIG. 1A differ dramatically from the CAT 6 in that the former include no means to perform mechanical functions through a fund depository or a dispensing mechanism. However, all the data terminals illustrated in FIG. 1A, including the CAT 6, the enhanced telephone 2 and the personal computer 4 provide a substantially uniform interface for performing many other financial transactions. These financial transactions include traditional banking functions, such as transferring funds between a checking account and a savings account. Additionally, several of the access points referred to in FIG. 1A can be used to perform "non-traditional" functions, such as bill payment, information retrieval, and access to customer accounts for mutual funds offered by the present assignee and/or its affiliates. In particular, data terminals such as the CAT 6, the enhanced telephone 2, and the personal computer 4, have been used by customers to transfer funds among money market accounts, checking accounts, and savings accounts. They have also been used to purchase, redeem and exchange shares of mutual funds offered by companies affiliated with the assignee of the present invention. Delayed price quotations through a vendor of such services have also been made available. Thus, these access points form a part of a increasingly integrated financial system.
While providing many benefits, the services available through the systems described in reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B were limited in several respects. Foremost, no provision was made to buy, sell, or receive price quotations for the vast array of securities publicly available through various exchanges and other financial institutions. Instead, only a limited number of funds were available through an affiliated company. Moreover, being limited primarily to money market accounts, a danger existed that a less-sophisticated customer would not adequately distinguish between a transfer of funds between a federally insured account, such as a standard checking account, and a non-insured account.

Method and system for providing integrated brokerage and other financial services through customer activated terminals


The present invention is directed toward a quick attach and detach mechanism for a tool attachment such as a router attachment for a router. The attachment system includes a mounting adapter which may be integrally formed with the router housing or attached to the router housing as a bolt-on plate. The system works by vertically installing the tool attachment with the mounting adapter and then twisting to secure the tool attachment to the mounting adapter. A rotational lock is provided to prevent the tool attachment from inadvertently backing off or coming loose. This lock can be manually actuated to allow for quick detachment when desired. The tool attachment system is shown in association with a router which has several disclosed benefits, however there may also be applications of the system in other types of tool attachments for which coverage is also sought.

A router is a well known rotary cutting tool for routing a workpiece. Typically a router has a rotating bit which extends through a router base. At times it is desired to utilize a tool attachment such as a guide bushing, having a cylindrical extension, spaced around the bit, to guide the router along a template wall. The diameter of the cylindrical extension determines the distance between the bit and the template wall, which determines the resultant pattern.
Typically a guide bushing is attached to a router base by first attaching an adapter plate to the router base, and then attaching the desired guide bushing to the adapter plate, typically by fastening the bushing to the adapter plate. However, because adapter plates for particular router models and manufacturers typically have their own unique bolt patterns, retailers must stock many models of adapter plates and guide bushings.
The present invention is directed toward improvements over the prior art, which are particularly applicable to routers, and that may also have application to other forms of tool attachments.

Tool attachment system and router attachment and method incorporating same


The programming method of the present invention minimizes program disturb by initially programming cells on the same word line with the logical state having the highest threshold voltage. The remaining cells on the word line are programmed to their respective logical states in order of decreasing threshold voltage levels.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems.
As the performance and complexity of electronic systems increase, the requirement for additional memory also increases. However, in order to continue to reduce the costs of a system, the parts count must be kept to a minimum. This can be accomplished by increasing the memory density of an integrated circuit.
One way to increase memory density is to use multi-level cell (MLC) non-volatile memory. This method stores two or more data bits in each memory cell. One problem with MLC is that subsequent programming of additional data can cause a program disturb condition that can program bits that are not desired to be programmed. This is caused by placing a large programming voltage on a word line that is shared by cells that have already been programmed.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a way to program MLC non-volatile memory cells while reducing program disturb.

Multiple level programming in a non-volatile memory device


Materials and methods for degrading a microcystin compound, and filtering microcystin from water, are described.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur in a variety of aquatic environments and are characterized as large aggregations of naturally-occurring photosynthetic bacteria that release neurotoxic and hepatotoxic compounds (cyanotoxins) into water bodies. Changes in climate and eutrophication have greatly increased both the incidence and toxicity of HABs over the past few decades, highlighting that human health risks will continue to increase in the future. Cyanobacteria, including Microcystis and Planktothrix, are well-documented to thrive in eutrophic bodies of waters and release various cyanotoxins, including the hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs). MCs are cyclic, seven amino acid-containing structures, with the generic structure cyclo(D)-Ala-X-(D)-erythro-β-methyl-iso-Asp-Y-ADDA-(D)-iso-Glu-N-methyldehydro-Ala; X and Y indicate the two variable L-amino acid positions in MCs, while ADDA is (all-S,all-E)-3-Amino-9-methoxy-2,6,8-trimethyl-10-phenyldeca-4,6-dienoic acid. Whereas over 100 MC variants have been documented to date, each with differing levels of toxicity, MC-LR is the most toxic, most common, and most closely linked to liver cancer and other diseases in both humans and animals. MC-LR exerts its harmful effects by binding to type 1 and 2A protein phosphatases (PP1 and PP2A, respectively) in the liver, resulting in excessive phosphorylation. Loss of these functions can result in death in mammals and liver cancer, hemorrhage, and hypovolemic shock in humans.
HABs have been documented in most parts of the world as highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), with notable bloom events in China, Australia, Spain, and Argentina. In the United States, HABs have been reported across the country, including large and/or persistent blooms in Florida, California, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas, Montana, and Texas. For decades, eutrophication of Lake Erie has resulted in large and toxic HABs that have negatively affected recreational activities, led to anoxic/hypoxic conditions that kill fish and other wildlife, and fouled drinking water. Indeed, during the summer of 2014, an especially large and toxic HAB in Lake Erie released high concentrations of MC-LR into the city of Toledo, Ohio's municipal water inlet, resulting in MC-LR levels in the finished drinking water exceeding the World Health Organization's guideline level for safe drinking water (1 μg/L; 1 part per billion [ppb]). As a result of MC-LR levels >2 ppb in finished drinking water, the city of Toledo issued a three-day "do not drink" advisory that negatively impacted more than 400,000 residents and hundreds of businesses. In June 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a 10-day drinking water health advisory guideline for microcystins, which outlined no more than 0.3 ppb/day for children <6 years old and no more than 1.6 ppb/day for school-aged children (>6 years old) through adults.
The ability of MC-LR to persist in bodies of water for an extended period is due to its stable cyclic structure. Previous studies have demonstrated that the half-life of MC-LR in natural water with direct sunlight is 90-120 days per meter water depth. MCs have demonstrated resistance to various physical and chemical processes including sunlight, extreme pH, and high temperatures. Due to the stability of MC-LR, municipal water treatment plants have had to implement a number of treatment options for removal, including ozonation, powdered activated carbon, sedimentation, sand filtration, and chemical coagulation to remove MC-LR from the finished product. Of these processes, chemical coagulation followed by flocculation removes only small amounts of cyanobacterial toxins. By comparison, methods such as chemical coagulation, powdered activated carbon, sand filtration, and sedimentation, particularly when used in combination, have proven to be relatively effective at MC-LR removal. However, MC-LR removal can be reduced by the presence of other naturally-occurring organic materials in the water. In addition, studies have shown that ozonation of MC-LR results in the production of formaldehydes, spent powdered activated carbon must be properly disposed of because of high concentrations of MC-LR according to the Ohio EPA, and all of these MC-LR removal processes have doubled or tripled water costs. Given these issues, there is a clear need in the art to develop safer, more efficient, and cost-effective methods to remove MC-LR from drinking water.

Methods for using bacteria that degrade microcystin and biofilters utilizing same


A stunt ramp for a wheeled toy vehicle to travel upon and provide from approximately 5 degrees to 180 degrees lift from the surface by the ramp structure. The ramp is made of two end pieces connected to each other by cross braces. The end pieces have grooves adapted to have a ramp sheet slid within the grooves. The end pieces are curved so that when the flexible ramp sheet is adjustably slid into the grooves the ramp sheet will curve as well.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy ramp for toy vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to a toy stunt ramp for wheeled toy vehicles to travel upon.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,685 B2 discloses a toy vehicle ramp. The ramp includes elastic bands 50 that stretch across the ramp's front surface and under the ramp sheet as shown in FIG. 3.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,789 discloses a ramp structure attached to a track.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,174 B1 discloses a bridge-like ramp structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,961 discloses a track for toy vehicles with jumping-off and jumping-on ramps.


A cover for a charge air cooler of a turbocharged engine. The cover body defines a cooling water plenum, which has an opening at a first side of the cover for attachment over a water outlet of the charge air cooler. A plurality of valve housings are formed integrally with the body of the cover at a second side of the cover opposite the cooling water plenum opening. Each valve housing has a peripheral wall that extends from the cover to define an inner chamber, which opens into an inner fluid passage formed in the cover.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to thermal engines, such as diesel engines. Particular embodiments relate to fluid heat exchange systems for turbocharged or supercharged diesel engines.
2. Discussion of Art
Diesel engines are used in various transportation applications, for example, in propulsion of marine vessels. Often, such engines use turbochargers or superchargers to scavenge exhaust gas pressure for pressurizing ("charging") intake air. Typically, engines that use chargers also include a charge air cooler for reducing the temperature of the pressurized air before it is introduced into the combustion cylinders. The charge air coolers typically house water coils; the high temperature charge air flows across fins mounted to those water coils, while the water through those coils flows to a fin-tube heat exchanger cooled by water. Additionally, diesel engines typically are cooled directly by water flowing through internal passages, and indirectly by lubricating oil that coats and flows between moving parts.
Commonly, each cooling system (charge air cooler, cooling water, and oil cooling) has its own set of piping and valves. Packaging all this piping into a smallest feasible volume produces a tangle of metal parts that presents challenges for assembly, inspection, and maintenance of key components such as thermostat valves, pumps, sensors etc.
For example, each cooling system comprises a thermostat mixing or diverging valve, which regulates temperature at the hot side of the coolant loop by adjusting the proportion of coolant that flows through or bypasses the cool side of the loop. Usually, the thermostat valves and other components are accessible for inspection or maintenance only by removing a substantial mass of piping.
An additional characteristic of the typical tangle of coolant and lubricant piping is that certain components or joints within this tangle are relatively flexible and, therefore, have relatively low natural frequencies which are less than engine running frequency, leading to resonance or excessive vibrations. Thus, at typical engine running speeds, excitation of a single component or joint can lead to adverse vibration of the entire piping system.

Integrated thermostatic valve and charge air cooler cover assembly


A liquid crystal display device has pixels, and each pixel has a lower substrate and an upper substrate with a liquid crystal material in between. The each pixel also has an electrode structure between the lower substrate and the upper substrate. The electrode structure has electrodes, and each electrode has a polygon-shaped electrode surface and a plurality of electrode edges. The electrodes are arranged such that if an electrode edge is facing an electrode edge of an adjacent electrode then the electrode edge and the electrode edge of the adjacent electrode define a distance which is substantially constant along the entire electrode edge.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to in-plane switching and fringe field switching liquid crystal display (IPS-LCD) devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,465 discloses an IPS-LCD device which has pixel electrodes and common electrodes which are formed in substantially zigzag patterns.
WO-A2-2006/118752 discloses an IPS-LCD device comprising chevron-shaped common electrodes and chevron-shaped pixel electrodes, which are arranged in an alternating manner to form a multi-domain liquid crystal distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,406 discloses an IPS-LCD device with a comb-shaped common electrode and a comb-shaped pixel electrode. The teeth of these electrodes, which can for instance be obtained by lengthwise linking of trapezoids or inverted trapezoids, thus create teeth provided with a saw-tooth structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,199,852 discloses a fringe field switching liquid crystal display (FFS-LCD). Comb-shaped common electrodes and pixel electrodes have symmetric teeth provided with trapezoid parts extending periodically from both sides of the teeth. The interdigitating teeth of the common electrode and the pixel electrode have their trapezoid parts shifted half a period with respect to one another.
Thus, many different shapes of electrodes have been tried in the past for improving the properties of these IPS-LCD devices.


A method for demodulating an ultra-wide band (UWB) signal includes detecting a detecting a data rate of the UWB signal, selecting one from plurality of clock signals in response to the detected data rate, decoding the UWB signal in accordance with the selected clock signal, and outputting transmission data determined by a fast clock. The plurality of clock signals includes at least one frequency different from other frequencies. A receiver for an UWB signal includes an OFDM demodulating unit demodulating the UWB signal into an OFDM symbol, and a bit-level processing unit demodulating the OFDM symbol into bit-level data. The bit-level processing unit receives a scaled clock signal having a frequency corresponding to one of a plurality of data rates of the UWB signal. The method and apparatus may reduce static power consumption and improve performance of the receiver.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a radio transmitter-receiver system, for example, to a method and apparatus for managing clock signals in an ultra-wide band (UWB) reception system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A UWB reception system is a type radio technology that enables data transmission in ultrahigh frequency with relatively low power. The UWM system may effectively utilize frequency resources by sharing frequency spectrums of traditional communication systems, thereby providing increased reliability. The characteristics of low power and increased reliability may make UWB technology ideal for radio frequency sensitive environments, such as, collision protecting equipment for flying objects, an altimeter measuring an altitude from the ground at an aviation facility and an airplane, and position chase, for example. Moreover, UWB technology is used in the field of medical science, for monitoring patients' conditions, and examining the physical condition of embryos, for example. Because a conventional UWB system generally uses an ultrahigh bandwidth, interference with radio frequencies used in a global positioning system (GPS) and mobile communication networks may cause problems. Therefore, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tightly controls the commercial utilization of UWB, but recently has allowed UWB technology to be commercial available under certain conditions.
The FCC defines the UWB system as a communication mode occupying a frequency bandwidth over 500 MHz or 20% of a center frequency. Presently, the FCC provides a limitation regarding transmission signal power to the frequency band of 3.1˜10.6 GHz for communication. Because a UWB signal operates in a wide frequency band, it may have a relatively small value of power spectral density in a frequency domain. Due to the low power spectral density, the UWM system under FCC regulation may have relatively minor interference problems with other communication signals. Previous conventional UWB technologies utilized short pulses within a broadband, but now Multi-Band Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) and direct sequence UWB (DS-UWB) modes may be considered ideal for the IEEE P802.15.3a UWB communication standard. The MB-OFDM mode may utilize Time-Frequency (TF) hopping patterns for offering a multiple Simultaneous Operating Piconet (multi-SOP) by satisfying the transmission signal power provision proposed by the FCC to minimize power consumption.
The conventional MB-OFDM mode differs from the traditional OFDM mode because the frequency in a MB-FDM mode may be modified every OFDM symbol in accordance with TF hopping pattern. The conventional MB-OFDM mode and the traditional OFDM mode are similar because the MB-OFDM or OFDM mode may operate to transmit data in parallel by sub-carriers. Therefore, the UWB system with the MB-OFDM mode may be sensitive to a sub-carrier offset similar to a single carrier transmission system. In other words, if there is a sub-carrier frequency offset between a transmitter and a receiver, it may degrade the orthogonality between sub-carrier waves, thereby inducing Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI).
Within the UWB radio communication system, the standardization of the IEEE P802.15.3a provision may be progressing towards ultrahigh-speed radio data transmission of 480 Mbps in a close distance of 3 meters.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional UWB receiver 100 operating in MB-OFDM mode. Referring to FIG. 1, the UWB receiver 100 may receive a signal r(t) through an antenna. An amplifier (LNA) 110 may amplify the received signal r(t). The amplified received signal may be divided into inphase I and quadrature Q components by using cosine and sine waves at the carrier frequency domain. The inphase I component may be converted into a digital signal through a low pass filter (LPF) 120, a voltage gain amplifier (VGA) 130, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 140. Similarly, the quadrature Q may be converted into a digital signal through a low pass filter (LPF) 121, a voltage gain amplifier (VGA) 131, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 141. The inphase I and quadrature Q components may be applied to a fast Fourier transformer (FFT) 150 and a frequency equalizer (FEQ) 160 to decode the digital signals in OFDM code or symbols. The FFT 150 and the FEQ 160 maybe operable in OFDM baseband. Furthermore, the frequency and time equalizer may be activated in the OFDM baseband block.
The OFDM coded symbol signal from the FFT 150 and FEQ 160 may be applied to a bit-level processing unit 170. After the OFDM coded symbol signal is processed, the output from the bit-level processing unit 170 may be a bit level data chain. Processing the OFDM coded signals in the bit-level processing unit 170 may include de-interleaving, de-puncturing, and Viterbi decoding operations. The UWB system may include a 6-OFDM mode, where processing the OFDM coded signals may be executed in the unit of 6 symbols (interleaving depth). After the OFDM coded signals are processed, the bit-level processing unit 170 generates an output data chain or Output Data.
FIG. 2 illustrates a frame structure of 6-OFDM data of a conventional UWB data packet. Referring to FIG. 2, the frame of a 6-OFDM data packet 200 may be divided into a header and a physical layer service data unit (PSDU) 250. The header may include general information for receiving the PSDU 250. The PSDU 250 may include information to be transmitted. The header may include a preamble 210, a start frame delimiter (SFD) 220, a frame length sign 230, and a surplus field 240. The preamble 210 may indicate the synchronization. The SFD 220 may indicate an end of the preamble 210. The frame length sign 230 may indicate a length of the PSDU 250. In a conventional 6-OFDM system, the header may include approximately 256 bytes and the PSDU 250 may include approximately 0 to 4095 bytes. In the 6-OFDM receiver, a demodulation method and a code rate may be modified in accordance with a transmission speed or data rate of the PSDU 250.
FIG. 3 illustrates parameters of a conventional receiver according to data rates of the PSDU. Referring to FIG. 3, when the data rate of the PSDU 250 is over 320 Mbps, the 6-OFDM system may utilize Dual-Carrier Modulation (DCM) as a modulation mode. When the data rate of the PSDU 250 is under 320 Mbps, the 6-OFDM system may utilize Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) as a modulation mode. By utilizing duel modulation modes, the 6-OFDM system may operate with frequency diversity in the environment of selective frequency fading.
Referring to FIG. 3, the 6-OFDM system may operate according to eight data rates or data transmission rate modes. Because the receiver must support all data process operations (e.g., de-interleaving, de-puncturing, Viterbi decoding), the receiver may operate at a relatively high rate of speed, regardless of the eight data transmission rate modes. Consequently, the receiver may require a high frequency clock for supporting such a high data transmission rate. For example, the frequency of a drive clock of the bit-level processing unit 170 may be fixed to a designed value regardless of a data transmission rate. The designated value may be supplied to permit the maximum data transmission speed. Therefore, all function blocks of the receiver may be driven by a clock frequency of 132 MHz to support the maximum data rate of 480 Mbps. Because the receiver may require a high clock frequency for supporting the fast data transmission rate, the receiver may dissipate a relatively high amount of power. The bit-level processing unit 170 subsequent to the OFDM demodulation stage may dissipate power around 40% of the whole power consumption in the receiver.
During an idle time of the bit level processing unit, static power consumption may remain due to leakage currents of clock paths. For example, in a relatively low data transmission rate of the PSDU, the bit-level processing unit 170 may conduct a faster operation relative to the other function blocks because the clock frequency is operating may be 132 MHz. Therefore, an idle time of operation may exist in the bit-level processing unit 170, whereby static power consumption may still remain. The static and dynamic power consumption may act as a large factor of power dissipation in the UWB system.

UWB receiver scaling clock frequency by data rate and data reception method thereof


There is disclosed a video projector provided with automatic focusing function. An image is generated on a liquid crystal light valve according to the video signal, and this image is projected through a projection lens system. The aberration between the focal plane of the projection lens system and the projection surface, such as a screen, is detected, and the focal plane is shifted according to thus detected aberration, in such a manner that the focal plane coincides with the projection surface or screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection television receiving apparatus, and more particularly such apparatus capable of generating an image corresponding to a video signal by means of a light modulator such as a liquid crystal light valve, and projecting the image into a projection plane such as a screen.
2. Related Background Art
Image projectors utilizing a liquid crystal light valve are already disclosed for example in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-13885, No. 62-125791 and No. 63-106785, but manual focusing of the image on the screen is required in these projectors because they lack the automatic focusing function which is already employed, for example, in the still cameras, video cameras, slide projectors or the like.
On the other hand, the present applicant already proposed, in the Japanese Patent Appln. Laid-Open No. 63-253342, a projector capable of measuring the distance between the projector itself and the screen by a range finding device utilizing infrared light or ultrasonic wave, identifying the image size on the screen from the result of distance measurement, and regulating the luminance of the projected image according to the image size. However this projector still requires manual focusing the image on the screen, since it lacks the automatic focusing function.
Recently there are commercialized projection television receiving apparatus utilizing portable projectors, but the user can enjoy a clear image only after exactly positioning the projector and the screen and focusing the image onto the screen.

Liquid crystal television projector with automatic focus


An analog input signal is dithered using a dithering sequence and then partially chopped using a chopping sequence. The dithered and partially chopped signal is then digitized by analog-to-digital converter (ADC) slices operating in alternating fashion, and the resulting digitized signals are adjusted according to the dithering sequence and the chopping sequence to compensate for gain and voltage offset errors of the ADC slices.

It is often practical to implement a high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC) by time interleaving multiple lower speed ADCs, called ADC slices. For example, FIG. 1 shows a high-speed ADC 100 implemented by multiple ADC slices #0 through #N-1. ADC slices #0 through #N-1 each operate at a slice sampling rate fslice, and they sample an analog input signal Ain in round robin fashion such that the aggregate of the sampling rates of the ADCs is equal to a desired higher overall sampling rate fADC. Lower rate digital outputs Douti of the ADC slices are processed by corresponding digital signal processors (DSPs) and then combined to reconstruct a desired higher rate digital output stream Dout.
Among the ADC slices, overall gain gi, overall offset oi, sampling timing instant, input sampling bandwidth, and various other transfer function related attributes may differ due to practical manufacturing tolerances, and these differences may limit the achievable performance of ADC 100. As an example, offset mismatches between ADC slices manifest as frequency domain spurs in the digital output of the interleaved ADC at multiples of the slice clock frequency independent of the applied input. Similarly gain mismatches between ADC slices causes the input signal to be modulated by different gains at each time step resulting in frequency domain spurs that look like images of the applied input signal.
Various researchers have studied the effect of these and other interleaving errors and have developed methods to address them. Many of these methods rely on assumptions about the characteristics or statistical properties of the input that may be specific to the overall system in which these ADCs are designed to operate. These assumptions, however, do not necessarily hold true in instrumentation applications where it is not possible for an instrument designer to impose such restrictions on the user. Moreover, calibration techniques used for ADCs targeted to be used in measuring instruments should be robust and cannot rely on the externally applied input signal. As an example, some inter-slice offset calibration algorithms converge incorrectly when the intentional input signal contains a time invariant component like a signal at 0 Hz or a signal that looks like a time invariant input to an ADC slice like a sinusoid at the slice clock rate or at multiples of the slice clock rate. In other words, sub-harmonics of the overall sampling rate alias to a signal at 0 Hz at the input to the ADC slice. Similarly, some inter-slice gain calibration algorithms converge incorrectly when there is no applied signal i.e. the ADC has an idle input.
An alternative calibration approach inserts a pseudo-random dither sequence D and performs a pseudo-random chopping operation in a signal path common to all ADC slices. The inserted dither is used to estimate and correct inter-slice gain errors, and the pseudo-random chopping operation is used to estimate and correct inter-slice offset errors. The estimation and correction is performed continuously, while the desired input samples are converted by the interleaved ADC, and is termed background calibration. The dither insertion and signal-path chopping operations allow the inter-slice gain and inter-slice offset calibrations to operate in a manner independent of the characteristics of the input signal.
In the above approach, semiconductor devices in the signal path heat in a manner that depends upon the signal through these devices. In circuits prior to the chopping operation, this phenomenon results in an error termed as a thermal tail and can be observed as a slow settling behavior in time-domain step response or a filtering effect at low frequencies, because the thermal time constants are much slower than electrical time constants. The thermal tail is a linear effect and can be appropriately characterized and specified. However for circuits after the chopping operation, this slow/low frequency tail gets modulated by the pseudo-random broadband chopping signal and results in a pseudo-randomly modulated thermal tail that spreads throughout the conversion bandwidth. This resembles a broadband noise and severely degrades the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the overall ADC.
In view of at least the above shortcomings of conventional approaches, there is a general need for new approaches for calibrating gain and voltage offsets in interleaved ADCs.

Calibration of inter-slice gain and offset errors in time-interleaved analog-to- digital converter


The multisensor system for the blind includes a cane, a boot, a headband, and a central control device. The cane, the boot, and the headband may each include one or more sensors to detect obstructions in the path of the user. Each sensor may be configured to detect obstructions at a level corresponding generally to an elevation at which it is carried on the user. Once an obstruction is detected, the sensors may transmit signals to the central control device. The central control device may process the signals and activate an appropriate auditory device to alert the user of the presence and/or distance of the obstruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for aiding the visually impaired, and particularly to a multisensor system for the blind.
2. Description of the Related Art
Visually impaired people typically employ accessories, such as canes, to detect nearby objects or hindrances. Generally, however, conventional canes fail to prepare the user for obstructions in the user's path that are further away than the length of the cane. As such, the user may not have sufficient time to determine an alternate path. Also, canes generally inform the user of obstructions disposed below waist-level, such as curbs, stones and objects that extend vertically from the ground. However, because canes have a distal end that travels at ground level, they cannot detect obstacles suspended above the ground, such as structural overhangs and low-hanging branches.
Thus, a multisensor system for the blind solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A vehicle driving assist system is provided that increases an actuation reaction force exerted by the accelerator pedal, when it is operated, as a risk potential with respect to a preceding obstacle increases. The system also lowers the driving force and increases the braking force exerted against the host vehicle as the risk potential increases. During braking/driving force control based on the risk potential, the system changes a braking/driving force control operating schedule in accordance with the driver's intentions with respect to accelerate or decelerate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle driving assist system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle driving assist system configured to assist a driver with respect to the operation of a host vehicle.
2. Background Information
Several conventional vehicle driving assist systems have been proposed for conveying information to a driver of a host vehicle about a preceding obstacle that is determined to be a potential risk to the host vehicle. One example of such a vehicle driving assist system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-286313. This conventional vehicle driving assist system uses a laser radar or other sensor to detect an obstacle in front of the host vehicle and executes braking control so as to decelerate the host vehicle when the chances of contact (potential risk) between the host vehicle and the preceding obstacle are high. With such a system, as the speed of the host vehicle becomes higher (faster), the deceleration rate will become the larger when the braking control is executed. Consequently, regardless of the vehicle speed, a degree of deceleration shock will be imparted to the driver.


A core forming method is provided for forming a core. The core forming method includes forming one or more mold parts of water-soluble polymer (WSP), each mold part including a bond area and a part forming area, moistening the bond areas, bonding the mold parts together with the bond areas moistened and the part forming areas aligned to form a cavity shaped as a negative of the core, injecting a slurry, which is non-reactive with the WSP, into the cavity and removing the WSP with water once the slurry is cured.

The present disclosure relates to the formation of complex articles by injection into a fugitive mold system including a water-soluble polymer (WSP). Of particular note is the formation of ceramic cores for investment casting by the use of this process.
Investment casting is commonly used in the aerospace and power industries to produce gas turbine components such as airfoils having complex outer surface shapes and internal cooling passage geometries. The production of a component using investment casting processes involves producing a ceramic casting vessel including an outer ceramic shell having an inside surface corresponding to the desired outer surface shape of the component, and one or more ceramic cores positioned within the outer ceramic shell corresponding to hollow interior passages to be formed within the component. Molten metal alloy is introduced into the ceramic casting vessel and is then allowed to cool and to solidify. The outer ceramic shell and ceramic core(s) are then removed by mechanical or chemical means to reveal the cast component having the desired external shape and hollow interior volume(s) in the shape of the ceramic core(s).
Such investment casting processes are useful for producing components having a limited number of interior passages of relatively simple shape, such as a turbine blade design which includes relatively straight radially extending cooling passages. However, much more complex three dimensional cooling schemes incorporating convoluted 3-D cooling passages will be needed in the near future for advanced gas turbine blades, and the production and use of ceramic cores reflecting such convoluted cooling passages will surpass existing investment casting process capabilities.
Accordingly, an improved method of casting components with interior passageways is needed.


A filling material for filling into articles of bedding and the like is presented and includes polyester fibres having an average dimension of 0.5 to 2.5 dtex and being coated with a slickener and crimped. The fibres have been cut to an average length of 4-15 mm and have subsequently been opened. In a method of forming a filling material a tow of slickened fibres of the above type is formed and crimped and is then cut to the above mentioned length. The cut fibres are then opened to form the filling material.

Fibre filling materials are used for filling into articles of bedding, such as pillows, sleeping bags and quilts, to provide a comfortable feeling and insulation.
EP 0 203 469 B1 describes one example of a fibre filling material in the form of refluffable fibre balls that are made from siliconized staple fibres that are entangled. The fibre balls according to that document are commercially available from ADVANSA Polyester GmbH, Hamm, Del. and sold under the trade marks Comforel® T-287, Comforel® supreme and others.
Although the fibre balls described in EP 0 203 469 B1 have excellent properties as a filling material providing an excellent bulkiness, i.e. ability to fill a large volume with a low mass of fibre balls, good softness, and good recovery from compression, it has, in some applications, a touch with a certain feeling of singular structures inside a pillow being filled with the fibre balls. Thus a pillow filled with the fibre balls may have a somewhat "grainy" feeling upon touch. This "grainy" feeling is negative to the soft touch feeling of the object, such as a pillow, into which the filling material is filled.
In applications where a "grainy" feeling is not desired it is often practice to fill the pillow with down or a combination of down and feathers. A filling material containing a combination of down and a substantial amount of feathers, such as 25-75% feathers, has a rather low ability to fill out a pillow, i.e. a poor bulkiness and thereby a "flat" feeling, and also provides an uncomfortable feeling since you can feel the hard central quill shafts of the large amount of feathers through the pillow fabric. A filling material containing mostly down, such as 90% down and only 10% feathers, is on the other hand very expensive and has a too quick recovery after compression. By this is meant that an object, such as a pillow, filled with such an exclusive down material will, after compression, very quickly return to its original size. Thus the pillow filled with mostly down might give a feeling with too quick recovery after compression. Such a "springy" feeling, which may also be felt in the Comforel® T-287 material, is negative to the feeling of conformability to the body by the filling material. By conformability is meant the pressure on a part of a body, such as a head, which is exerted by an object, such as a pillow. A good conformability, which is a desirable characteristic, means that a low pressure is exerted by the pillow on the head of a person lying on the pillow. It is difficult to obtain a combination of feathers and down that provides both a good bulkiness and a high conformability.


In conjunction with a pool cleaning apparatus having a flexible hose supported by floats, an apparatus for deploying the hose into the pool includes at least one tube through which the hose extends. A cylindrical water jet discharges into the tube toward the outer, pool end of the tube. The jet interact with the floats to drive the floats and the hose into the pool. A donut-like pressure chamber at the inner end of the tube has an annular vent to create the cylindrical water jet.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning a swimming pool and, more particularly, to an improved arrangement for deploying a pool cleaning device.
2. Description of Related Art
There are known in the prior art various devices for cleaning the water within a swimming pool. In addition to the stationary, plumbed water circulation system that a swimming pool requires, with its pump, filter, and heater, many pools also are equipped with a system for removing sunken objects from the floor of the pool. Such objects may include leaves and other tree debris, insects, garden detritus, and the like. Although the sunken objects may be removed manually using a vacuum mounted on a long pole, many pool owners employ an automated system for maintaining the pool in as clean a state as possible.
One pool cleaning device that is widely popular and successful comprises a sunken cleaning head secured at the distal end of a floating flexible hose assembly. The hose assembly supplies pool water under pressure to the cleaning head, and the head creates a Venturi action that attracts floating debris and enables their capture and removal by the cleaning head. The hose assembly is typically mounted on a take-up reel disposed adjacent to the perimeter of the pool, and the cleaning head is stored in a storage cavity or receptacle formed in the upper sidewall of the pool and adjacent to the take-up reel.
The hose assembly is typically comprised of a plurality of floats spaced apart along the flexible hose, as well as a plurality of swivel couplings spaced apart therealong to prevent twisting and knotting of the flexible hose. When the hose is deployed and the cleaning head is released into the pool water, the cleaning head is driven by jet action of the water passing therethrough to move forward in a random manner about the surface, thereby assuring that all areas of the pool floor will be cleaned. An exemplary method and apparatus are described in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/079,802, filed by the present inventor.
Although it would be ideal to be able to deploy the flexible hose and cleaning head automatically, there are physical factors that mitigate against merely paying out the hose from the take-up reel. The hose is typically too flexible to be pushed out of the storage receptacle into the pool, and the cleaning head cannot generate sufficient jet thrust to pull the hose out into the pool. As a result, it is necessary to manually set out the hose and cleaning head. The hose and head may be easily retracted by rotating the take-up reel and pulling the assembly into the reel, so that the cleaning cycle may be ended without manual intervention. However, automating the entire cleaning cycle, including initial deployment, is a feature that has eluded all efforts known in the prior art.


In a separator for separating a mixture of fluids of different densities into a high density fraction and a low density fraction, the mixture is introduced into a tank which is divided into a plurality of separation chambers and a collection chamber. As the mixture flows through the chambers it is separated into high and low density fractions with progressively more distinct differentials of density. The rate of fluid flow through the separator is controlled in part by the size of the separation chambers and by an automatic electro-mechanical control system. The control system includes several floats suspended within the fluids, wherein the level of at least one float is indicative of the level of high density fraction in the separator, and the level of at least one other float is indicative of the level of the low density fraction in the separator. The control system is responsive to the positions of the floats to control the fluid flow into the separator, and to control the discharge of high density fraction and low density fraction from the separator.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for continuously separating a mixture of fluids of different densities into a high density fraction and a low density fraction. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for ground water remediation, wherein the apparatus continuously separates gasoline, heating oil and other petroleum-based substances from ground water contaminated with such substances.
In recent years it has become painfully evident that a serious environmental threat is posed by ground water contaminated with petroleum products either draining through the soil from surface spills or leaking from underground storage tanks such as, for example, residential and commercial heating oil storage tanks and gasoline storage tanks installed at filling stations. Ground water contaminated from leaking gasoline storage tanks is a particularly acute problem since a large number of these tanks, which typically hold many tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline, were buried twenty or more years ago and have been leaking for substantial periods of time.
Where contaminated ground water is suspected, test wells are drilled to precisely determine the nature and extent of the contamination. Once this is accomplished, ground water is pumped from the wells to a device such as an air stripper or a carbon filter to remove the contamination. These devices are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be further described here except to say that such devices have not proven to be particularly effective at removing petroleum-based contaminants from ground water. Moreover, both types of equipment are easily clogged by such contaminants and quickly become packed with the sand, iron, manganese and other mineral particles often found suspended in ground water.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for separating a mixture of fluids of different density into a high density fraction and a low density fraction.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is particularly suitable for removing petroleum-based contaminants from ground water.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which operates continuously and automatically to remove petroleum-based contaminants from ground water without the need for frequent maintenance.

Apparatus for continuously separating a mixture of fluids having different densities


Situated on the upper end of a radially pivotable column (3) is a beam (11) arranged essentially at a right angle to it and pivotable approximately in the middle. Situated axially non-sliding on the front beam end (13) is a tool spindle (15) in a spindle head (14) connected to the beam (11) and drivable with a first driving means (17). Fixed to the lower end of the tool spindle (15) via an articulated head (20) is the upper machining disk (21). To bring the machining disk (21) to its working position the column (3), situated and guided in the column guiding housing (2), is designed to be liftable and lowerable via a lifting spindle (4) with a second driving means (6). A first adjusting means (29) connected on the rear beam end (28) serves to keep the beam (11) in an essentially horizontal position. A second adjusting justing means (30) also connected on the rear beam end (28) serves to control the working pressure of the machining disk (21). With the device according to the invention the suspension, the kind of bearing and drive of the machining disk (21) have been constructively resolved in a very simple way as a result of the omission of axial movability of the tool spindle (15). The working pressure of the machining disk (21) can be controlled extremely precisely. Lapping machines with this device are especially suitable for machining wafers, crystals and thin-walled ceramic tiles.

The present invention relates to a device on a double disk lapping machine to bring an upper machining disk into its working position.
Double disk lapping machines have been known for about 40 to 50 years. Pieces to be machined are pulled between the two machining disks by so-called sliding disks with the aid of an inner and outer annulus of vertical pins, and are machined. With double disk lapping machines it is possible to achieve very great parallelism of the machined surfaces of the workpieces. Through the appearance of new technologies, such as the production of silicon disks for integrated circuits, the production of crystals or of the finest ceramic tiles, greater and greater demands have been made of lapping machines. Particularly in the machining of extremely thin-walled materials greatest attention is to be paid to the control of the working pressure of the upper machining disk of double disk lapping machines. Today machines are required in which the upper machining disk is conveyed to the working position as quickly as possible or immediately before the machining disk comes into contact with the surface of the workpiece to be machined. The placing of the upper machining disk on the surface of the workpiece should be done as finely as possible, however, practically without pressure. During machining of the workpieces the working pressure is, depending upon type of utilization, to be continuously controlled according to certain guidelines and to be reduced again at the end of machining in order to lift the machining disk off of the workpiece and to pivot it to the side so that the lapping machine is emptied.
In the design types of double disk lapping machines known today, the upper machining disk in most cases is hung on a motor drivable and axially movable spindle. The spindle is connected to a radially pivotable column of the lapping machine via a bearing component. Via a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder drive, which connects to said axially movable spindle, the upper machining disk fixed on the lower end of the spindle can be conveyed to, placed upon, and pressed against the workpiece. The cylinder drive first has to compensate the weight of the up to several-thousand-Newton-heavy upper machining disk, bring the machining disk to the workpiece, place it on slowly as already described, and begin with the strain of reduction of weight compensation. On the one hand, since working pressures of some 10,000 Newton are required today, contact pressure conditions result which are hard to control if there is a changeover to an additional strain when removing the weight compensation of the upper machining disk through pressure reversal in the cylinder drive. On the other hand, in the modern-day machines the column tends to tilt with the radially designed upper machining disk as a result of the enormous working pressure. In both cases the precision of the work consequently suffers.
A further embodiment according to the German published application 35 20 713 A 1 tries to circumvent the difficulties mentioned in that the upper machining disk, situated on the lower end of a spindle with an axially movable bearing component, is hung on one end of a two-arm lever while the pneumatically operated adjusting devices are connected on the other end of the lever. This design is both mechanically and control technically extravagant.
It is the aim of the present invention to create a device on a double disk lapping machine in which said disadvantages of bringing the upper machining disk to, and pressing it against, the surface of the workpiece do not arise. In contrast to the known embodiments of double disk lapping machines, the machine equipped with the device according to the invention is of significantly simpler construction.
The invention fulfills this aim as a result of providing a column which is raisable and lowerable by means of a drivable lifting spindle. A mechanism for maintaining the beam in a substantially horizontal orientation is provided which acts to keep the beam horizontal when the column is lowered. A working pressure adjusting means is also provided between a holder arm, which is firmly connected to the column, and a rear beam end of the beam.


A two position stacking delivery tray is provided which is capable of stacking with itself, and also stacking with existing single position stacking delivery trays. A single uneven upstanding tongue is positioned along a top edge of each of a first side wall and a second side wall. The uneven upstanding tongue defines a first engagement with peaks and valleys. Tongue receivers are positioned in the bottom defining an uneven groove adapted to mate with a single upstanding tongue of an underlying tray having a single stacking product height position. The uneven groove defines a second engagement with peaks and valleys. The peaks and valleys of the first engagement and the second engagement are asymmetrically positioned, so as to provide two stacking product height positions by relative rotation of stacking trays by 180 degrees.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,740 (Bockenstette No. 1968); U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,815 (Rehig 1972) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,905 (Heroizer 1973) are examples of delivery trays that have a single stacking product height position and a nesting position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,817 (Sanders et al 1977); U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,326 (Stahl 1991); U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,966 (Stahl 1994); U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,259 (Stahl 2001) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,274 (Cheeseman 2002) are examples of delivery trays that have two stacking product height positions and a nesting position. Trays with two stacking product height positions are slowly replacing trays that have a single stacking product height position, as two stacking product height positions offer greater flexibility for production facilities. Trays with a single stacking product height position are not used with trays having two stacking product height positions, as the stacking engagements used on the trays are incompatible.


A secure fastener assembly is described. The secure fastener assembly includes a flanged nut and a sleeve. The flanged nut includes a body portion and a flange portion. The sleeve includes an upper opening and a lower opening joined by a wall. The wall includes a shoulder in an inner surface of the wall near the upper opening. The shoulder receives the flange portion. A ball valve using the securing fastener assembly is also described.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,690, invented by the present inventor, is hereby incorporated by reference. The '690 Patent describes a three piece, non-removable design for a nut and cap assembly that requires skill and practice for efficient installation. Further, the snap rings described in the '690 Patent are prone to bending upon installation, if the parts are not properly centered. Once the snap rings are bent, they cannot be used with the nut and cap. Stocking and supplying the assembly of the '690 Patent to consumers requires planning for the inevitable need for additional snap rings and the possibility of delaying customer orders until additional snap rings are made or received. Finally, the assembly of the '690 Patent is only removable by clamping down on the assembly with a vise or the like and deforming the assembly. After removal, the assemblies of the '690 cannot be used again.


An optical projector module to establish distance to target object in a field of view for three dimensional image acquisition purposes includes a printed circuit board, point light sources mounted on the printed circuit board to emit a plurality of light beams, a lens unit apart from the plurality of point light sources, and a distance adjusting unit connected to the lens unit. A memory storage device is also included. The lens unit comprises separated lenses, the adjusting unit can adjust distances between the lenses of the lens unit, and light beams with a number of light spot patterns can accordingly be projected. Previously-captured images in the memory storage device can be referred to in seeking target objects in the field of view and light beams in different spot-concentrations on or around the target object enable calculations for the capture of images in three dimensions of the target object.

Depth of a target object in a field of view can be obtained via an optical projector module. Such optical projector module can project a fixed number of light beams on a target object, but it is difficult to determine facial features of a human in the field of view.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Optical projector module, three-dimensional image sensing apparatus, and method of sensing


A system for providing a memory for storing electronic images with color mode marks and a control for providing images in optional color modes for producing a set of images with discrete elements of the set of images processed in a selected color mode independent of the color mode other elements. This is accomplished by identifying elements of the set of images with color code marks and responding to the color code marks to alter the operation of the machine dependent upon the identified color mode mark. The machine pitches are also changed to provide additional features such as simplex and duplex mode to selected images.

This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for scheduling the printing or reproduction of images and, more particularly, to the separate scheduling of the printing or reproduction of images in response to the identification of one of a plurality of color modes for each individual image.
If imaging machines are to become more versatile in completing complex jobs, the machine control must be able to adapt to a wide variety of requirements in an efficient manner. Modern business and document needs oftentimes dictate the need for multi color prints or images in a variety of colors, usually interspersed among other black and white documents. In addition, there is often the demand for selected images in a set to incorporate other features such as simplex or duplex mode. A suitable control must be able to accurately and efficiently schedule the machine for coordinating these various features in a complex set of images wherein many of the images require individually tailored features to provide an accurate completed set.
It is known in the prior art to be able to provide selected documents in a set of documents with different features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,234 discloses a user interface screen for programming different features for individual documents or groups of documents in a set of documents in a black and white reproduction machine.
However one difficulty with the prior art systems is the limitation to black and white reproductions or to only one highlight color and the inability to select discrete images, pages, or copy sheets in an image set to receive distinct color images. Another difficulty is to be able to provide other features such as discrete pages in the simplex or duplex mode in the image set. In particular, it is desirable to be able to print distinct images having two or more highlight colors as well as black and white in an image set, in addition to providing selected simplex or duplex modes.
It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a new and improved system for providing multiple colors to selected images of an image set. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of designating individual color images in an image set in either a simplex or duplex mode. Another object of the present invention is to be able to adjust machine timing or delay machine timing pitches in order to selectively apply different color modes to individual images in an image set. Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features characterizing the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

Scheduling color variations for discrete job elements


Disclosed is a novel use of an immunoglobulin Fc fragment, and more particularly, a pharmaceutical composition comprising an immunoglobulin Fc fragment as a carrier. The pharmaceutical composition comprising an immunoglobulin Fc fragment as a carrier remarkably extends the serum half-life of a drug while maintaining the in vivo activity of the drug at relatively high levels. Also, when the drug is a polypeptide drug, the pharmaceutical composition has less risk of inducing immune responses compared to a fusion protein of the immunoglobulin Fc fragment and a target protein, and is thus useful for developing long-acting formulations of various polypeptide drugs.

In the past, a large number of pharmacologists and chemists made efforts to chemically alter and/or modify the in vivo activity of naturally existing, physiologically active molecules. These efforts mainly focused on increasing or prolonging certain in vivo activity, reducing toxicity, eliminating or reducing side effects, or modifying specific physiological activities of the physiologically active substances. When a physiologically active substance is chemically modified, it loses some or most of its physiological activities in many cases. However, in some cases, the modification could result in an increase or change in physiological activity. In this regard, many studies have been focused on chemical modification capable of achieving desired physiological activity, and most of such studies have involved covalently bonding a physiologically active substance (drug) to a physiologically acceptable carrier.
For example, International Pat. Publication No. WO 01/93911 employs a polymer having a plurality of acid moieties as a drug carrier. International Pat. Publication No. WO 03/00778, discloses an anionic group-containing amphiphilic block copolymers that, when used as a drug carrier for a cationic drug, improve the stability of the drug. European Pat. No. 0 681 481 describes a method of improving the properties of basic drugs by using cyclodextrin and acids as carriers. On the other hand, hydrophobic drugs have low stability in vivo mainly due to their low aqueous solubility. To improve the low aqueous solubility of hydrophobic drugs, International Pat. Publication No. WO 04/064731 employs a lipid as a carrier. However, to date, there is no report for the use of an immunoglobulin Fc fragment as a drug carrier.
Typically, since polypeptides are relatively easily denatured due to their low stability, degraded by proteolytic enzymes in the blood and easily eliminated through the kidney or liver, protein medicaments, including polypeptides as pharmaceutically effective components, need to be frequently administered to patients to maintain desired blood level concentrations and titers. However, this frequent administration of protein medicaments, especially through injection causes pain for patients. To solve these problems, many efforts have been made to improve the serum stability of protein drugs and maintain the drugs in the blood at high levels for a prolonged period of time, and thus maximize the pharmaceutical efficacy of the drugs. Pharmaceutical compositions with sustained activity, therefore, need to increase the stability of protein drugs and maintain the titers at sufficiently high levels without causing immune responses in patients.
To stabilize proteins and prevent enzymatic degradation and clearance by the kidneys, a polymer having high solubility, such as polyethylene glycol (hereinafter, referred to simply as "PEG"), was conventionally used to chemically modify the surface of a protein drug. By binding to specific or various regions of a target protein, PEG stabilizes the protein and prevents hydrolysis, without causing serious side effects (Sada et al., J. Fermentation Bioengineering 71: 137-139, 1991). However, despite its capability to enhance protein stability, this PEG coupling has problems such as greatly reducing the number titers of physiologically "active" proteins. Further the yield decreases with the increasing molecular weight of PEG due to the reduced reactivity with the proteins.
Recently, polymer-protein drug conjugates have been suggested. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,846, a conjugate can be prepared by linking an identical protein drug to both ends of PEG to improve the activity of the protein drug. Also, as described in International Pat. Publication No. WO 92/16221, two different protein drugs can be linked to both ends of PEG to provide a conjugate having two different activities. The above methods, however, were not very successful in sustaining the activity of protein drugs.
On the other hand, Kinstler et al. reported that a fusion protein prepared by coupling granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) to human albumin showed improved stability (Kinstler et al., Pharmaceutical Research 12(12): 1883-1888, 1995). In this publication, however, since the modified drug, having a G-CSF-PEG-albumin structure, only showed an approximately four-fold increase in residence time in the body and a slight increase in serum half-life compared to the single administration of the native G-CSF, it has not been industrialized as an effective long-acting formulation for protein drugs.
An alternative method for improving the in vivo stability of physiologically active proteins is by linking a gene of physiologically active protein to a gene encoding a protein having high serum stability by genetic recombination technology and culturing the cells transfected with the recombinant gene to produce a fusion protein. For example, a fusion protein can be prepared by conjugating albumin, a protein known to be the most effective in enhancing protein stability, or its fragment to a physiologically active protein of interest by genetic recombination (International Pat. Publication Nos. WO 93/15199 and WO 93/15200, European Pat. Publication No. 413,622). A fusion protein of interferon-alpha and albumin, developed by the Human Genome Science Company and marketed under the trade name of 'Albuferon™', increased the half-life from 5 hours to 93 hours in monkeys, but it was known to be problematic because it decreased the in vivo activity to less than 5% of unmodified interferon-alpha (Osborn et al., J. Phar. Exp; Ther. 303(2): 540-548, 2002).
Recombinant DNA technologies were applied to fuse a protein drug to an immunoglobulin Fc fragment. For example, interferon (Korean Pat. Laid-open Publication No. 2003-9464), and interleukin-4 receptor, interleukin-7 receptor or erythropoietin (EPO) receptor (Korean Pat. Registration No. 249572) were previously expressed in mammals in a form fused to an immunoglobulin Fc fragment. International Pat. Publication No. WO 01/03737 describes a fusion protein comprising a cytokine or growth factor linked to an immunoglobulin Fc fragment through peptide linkage. In addition, U.S. Pat No. 5,116,964 discloses proteins fused to the amino- or carboxyl-terminal end of an immunoglobulin Fc fragment by genetic recombination. U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,053 discloses a fusion protein comprising IL-2 fused to an immunoglobulin Fc fragment through peptide linkage. Other examples of Fc fusion proteins prepared by genetic recombination include a fusion protein of interferon-beta or its derivative and an immunoglobulin Fc fragment (International Pat. Publication NO. WO 00/23472), and a fusion protein of IL-5 receptor and an immunoglobulin Fc fragment (U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,121), a fusion protein of interferon alpha and the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin G4 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,125); and a fusion protein of CD4 protein and the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin G2 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,313).
Techniques involving the modification of amino acid residues of an immunoglobulin Fc fragment are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,690 discloses a TNFR-IgG1 Fc fusion protein, which is prepared by genetic recombination using an IgG1 Fc fragment having amino acid alterations in the complement binding region or receptor binding region. Also, other methods of preparing a fusion protein using a modified immunoglobulin Fc fragment by genetic recombination are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,277,375, 6,410,008 and 6,444,792.
Such Fc fusion proteins produced by genetic recombination have the following disadvantages: protein fusion occurs only in a specific region of an immunoglobulin Fc fragment, which is at an amino- or carboxyl-terminal end; only homodimeric forms and not monomeric forms are produced; and a fusion could take place only between the glycosylated proteins or between the aglycosylated proteins, and it is impossible to make a fusion protein composed of a glycosylated protein and an aglycosylated protein. Further, a new amino acid sequence created by the fusion may trigger immune responses, and a linker region may become susceptible to proteolytic degradation.
To solve these problems, the inventors of the present application conducted a research, and came to a knowledge that, when a drug is administered in the form of being linked to an IgG Fc fragment, the drug has improved in vivo stability while exhibiting a minimal reduction in the in vivo activity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pharmaceutical composition comprising an immunoglobulin Fc region as a carrier


A magnetically detectable bobbin for a sewing machine. The apparatus includes a substantially non-metallic detectable bobbin core. The core includes a substantially non-metallic cylindrical body having a detectable dopant in the cylindrical body. In the preferred embodiment, the dopant is magnetite. The thread supply is wound about the bobbin core after a frictional outer surface is applied to the bobbin core to aid in windability of the thread supply.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pre-wound sewing machine bobbins and, more particularly, to a detectable bobbin and core for use in critical applications such as manufacturing air bags.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A lockstitch sewing machine requires the use of a bobbin to provide the underthread which interlaces with the top thread supplied by the sewing needle to produce a seam. Historically these bobbins have been wound at the sewing machine on metal shells initially supplied by the sewing machine manufacturer. These self-wound bobbins typically do not provide the highest productivity and quality demanded by the sewn products industry. Specifically, it takes more time to hand wind a bobbin than to use a pre-wound bobbin and a handwound bobbin usually only holds about 1/2 the amount of thread as a pre-wound bobbin due to better packing using automatic machinery.
These pre-wound bobbins are normally composed of an appropriate sewing thread wound on a plastic or paper cylindrical core with overall dimensions (i.e., thickness, inside diameter and outside diameter) required by a given sewing machine. Manufacturing of a pre-wound bobbin requires a sturdy core with a frictional surface that ensures correct and dependable windability. Pre-wound bobbins provide higher quality and productivity by virtue of greater thread capacity, uniform thread lengths and reproducible pull-off tension compared to self-wound bobbins.
In some applications (e.g., air bag manufacturing), there is a need to ensure that there are no extraneous materials inadvertently left inside the completed assembly. To ensure that an accidently misplaced bobbin or bobbin core is found and removed, there is a need for these items to be detectable by non-destructible means. Current versions of pre-wound bobbins and associated bobbin cores are unacceptable for these applications because they cannot be detected.
One unacceptable method for achieving this detection capability is to self-wind bobbins utilizing the original metal shell provided with the sewing machine. Although easily detected, these self-wound bobbins yield lower productivity and quality than required as discussed above. Additionally, there is a very high liability risk associated with a metal shell that is accidentally undetected. In the case of an air bag, the weight of the metal shell is sufficient to produce a very dangerous projectile with high kinetic energy under the rapid deployment of the air bag.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved bobbin for a sewing machine which may be easily detected if accidentally left in the sewn article, such as an air bag while, at the same time, can be easily pre-wound using automatic equipment.


According to one embodiment, a video signal processor has a moving block determining module, a vertical edge detector, a moving block number counter, a moving field determining module, a pulldown pattern detector, and a pulldown signal determining module. The moving block determining module divides each field configuring an input video signal into a plurality of blocks, and determines a motion of a block within the plurality of blocks, the block of which the motion is determined having a same spatial position within two fields adjacent to each other. The vertical edge detector detects a vertical edge within each of the plurality of blocks in the each field. The moving block number counter counts a number of moving blocks excluding a block having the vertical edge within a screen based on the detection result of the vertical edge detector and the determination result of the moving block determining module. The moving field determining module determines a motion between the each field based on the counting result of the moving block number counter. The pulldown pattern detector detects a 2:2 pulldown pattern based on the determination result of the moving field determining module. The pulldown signal determining module determines whether the input video signal is a 2:2 pulldown signal depending on the detection result of the pulldown pattern detector.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to a video signal processor detecting a pulldown signal of a movie or the like generated using a 2:2 pulldown, and a video signal processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an interlaced-to-progressive scanning converter generating an interpolation signal based on a detection result obtained by detecting an image movement in the video signal has been known for converting an interlaced scanning video signal into a progressive scanning video signal, in order to prevent an image quality deterioration in a moving image.
In the conventional interlaced-to-progressive scanning converter, it is concerned that an image quality of a moving image might be deteriorated during processing thereof. It has been known that the video signal of which frames or fields are generated in a constant pattern can be converted into a progressive scanning video signal without deteriorating the image quality. An interlaced scanning video signal generated using a 2:2 pulldown or 2:3 pulldown has a regularity such that two or three fields generated from a same frame are consecutive. Hence, if the pattern of the consecution is known, it is possible to use the sequential fields generated from the same frame for the conversion. Accordingly, the interlaced scanning signal can be converted into the progressive scanning signal by a field interpolation, regardless of whether the image being a still image or a moving image.
However, the conventional interlaced-to-progressive converter falsely determines an input video signal as a video signal using 2:2 pulldown (hereinafter, referred to as 2:2 pulldown signal) as in the following.
Suppose that a video contains an image having a steep (that is to say, a luminance difference being large) edge (an edge portion) along a horizontal direction of the image, and suppose that the image shifts to a vertical direction of the image at a constant speed (such image is called "an edge image moving at a constant speed" in the following). For example, such edge image moving at a constant speed corresponds to a rectangular image moving from down to up at a constant speed with even number pixels per field.
In such video signal, a difference between signal levels and the like of fields increases/decreases by every one field. Therefore, such video signal obtains the same pattern as that of the 2:2 pulldown signal when the difference is eliminated. Accordingly, when a video signal contains the edge image moving at a constant speed, such video signal is falsely determined as the 2:2 pulldown signal.
Conventionally, there has been known an interlaced-to-progressive scanning converter disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-297476, which avoids the aforementioned false determination.

Video signal processor and video signal processing method