A bidirectional beam director includes a pair of optically coupled diffraction gratings, each being independently rotatable so that a laser beam passing through the pair of gratings can be steered by rotation of at least one of the gratings. The bidirectional beam can be coupled to many types of optical systems, including optical phased arrays, multi-beam laser transmitters and receivers, telescopes, and high energy laser beam control systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to laser beam control systems which include a bidirectional beam director to steer incoming and outgoing laser light in the desired direction.
2. Background
Many systems that use lasers to engage or image a remote target also require mechanisms for steering and directing the laser light over a wide operational field of view. In a typical such system, it is desirable to project a high power beam, typically 30-50 cm in diameter or more, over a wide field of view such as a 90-120 degree cone. Some systems may further require the ability to track the outgoing laser light using backscatter or laser light return from the transmitting medium or the target. Receiving the backscatter or laser light return in turn may require that the incoming laser light be steered onto detectors. This ability to precisely steer and point incoming or outgoing laser light is crucial to the operation of many laser weapons, laser illuminators, and laser imaging systems.
Currently many high energy laser (HEL) systems use turrets as beam directors. A turret is usually large, heavy and disruptive to the aerodynamic properties of the platform it is mounted on. Turrets typically require a volume approximately three times the beam diameter on each side. In addition, a turret is usually mounted exterior to the carrying platform (e.g., an aircraft), and, due to its wide volume of swing, it can substantially impair aerodynamic performance which effectively eliminates the option of supersonic HEL operation. One example is the Airborne Laser (ABL) laser turret mounted on the nose of a Boeing 747-400F aircraft. This turret is a large structure with a complex design. It measures 1.5 meters in diameter and weighs 12 to 15 thousand pounds.
Some HEL laser systems use a monolithic single source laser beam while others use a composite beam which is a combination of multiple beams. Using a composite beam offers some advantages: First, it may be advantageous (in terms of power, weight, size and/or cost) to create the laser power in multiple pathways. Second, it may be more practical to correct the phase and tilt of independent beams than correcting a single large beam with a deformable mirror, especially when laser power is projected through an aberrating medium. Third, when installing a high power laser system on an air vehicle, using multiple beams can allow for a conformal installation which does not disrupt the aerodynamic capabilities of the aircraft.
With multiple beams, the conventional beam steering approach is to create a beam director for each beam. Two examples can be given: The first example is the beam director using electrical switching of polarization combined with birefringent gratings, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,765,644 to Anderson et al. Current designs of this beam director have about 40 optical components dedicated to each of the beam director modules. Moreover, the components are high cost due to the requirement for excellent wavefront quality and high transmission. The second example is the beam pointing module disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,898,712 to Adams et al., which uses two rotatable Risley prisms. This Risley design includes inside out torque motors and a substantial number of precision components tightly packed together, leading to high cost per steering module.
In addition to high cost, using individual beam directors for each beam of an optical phased array or multi-beam laser system can create three performance problems. First, the mounts and mechanisms around each beam steering module are larger than the exit beam diameter resulting in substantial gaps between the beams. Gaps between the beams act like diffraction gratings and decrease the amount of power in the phased hit spot proportional to the area fill factor. Since the area fill factor of these two devices varies from 25-64% depending on design parameters, a substantial loss of laser capability can result.
The second problem is the slew induced phase ramp which occurs when engaging a rapidly moving vehicle. A Mach 1 target at 3 km range can be slewing across the field of view at 6 degrees per second. This angular slew rate changes the optical path to each of the fixed beam paths equal to the dot product of the vector rate times their vector separation. Thus for a 50 cm diameter laser array, one side will have its optical path to the target changing at 5 cm/sec relative to the other side. In an optical phased array transmitter, this slew in optical path length must be compensated with an opposite slew in the phase of individual beams in order to keep the beams correctly phased on the target. At 1.03 microns wavelength, 5 cm/sec corresponds to a phasing slew rate of 48,500 cycles per second—all of which must be applied to better than 0.1 waves accuracy at each instant across the full array. This poses a significant technical challenge.
The third problem occurs in a high energy laser system where the input beams are each typically diffracting out of a fiber input. Approximately the central 90% of the beam power is typically directed out each local beam director, and the remaining 10% tends to get caught inside the local beam director, causing heating and scatter which degrade operation.
These multi-beam laser system beam directing and steering challenges can be overcome by using a single bidirectional beam director for all beams.
A multi-beam laser beam control architecture that can be configured to use a single bidirectional beam director is disclosed in U.S. patent publication No. 2011-0176565, based on an application filed Jan. 18, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A multi-beam laser beam control and imaging architecture that can be configured to use a single bidirectional beam director is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/476,380, filed May 21, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Finally, a laser beam control system for a single monolithic laser beam that can be configured to use a bidirectional beam director is disclosed in U.S. patent publication No. 2011/0103410, based on an application filed Mar. 27, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In this particular case, a bidirectional beam director can be used to aim the outgoing laser beam at a distant target and at the same time aim the laser light return (caused by the outgoing beam or the target illuminator beam) towards the wavefront sensors of the beam control architecture.

Laser beam control system with bidirectional beam director


A structure and method of implementing a cache memory for a multi-processor system. The cache memory includes a main memory which is coupled to a main memory bus. A plurality of processors can also be coupled to the main memory bus. The main memory includes a plurality of RAM circuit module memory banks. The sense amplifiers of a predetermined number of banks are used as cache memory (i.e., sense amplifier cache lines). The number of banks used with sense amplifiers activated is substantially less than the total number of banks. The banks which are not used as cache memory are kept in a precharged state.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-processing system 100 which employs a shared memory architecture. System 100 includes processors 101a-101c, dedicated cache memories 102a-102c, dedicated cache controllers 103a-103c, memory bus 104, global main memory 105 and memory controller 106. Processors 101a-101c share main memory 105 through common parallel memory bus 104. Cache memories 102a-102c are typically constructed using relatively high speed SRAM arrays. Main memory 105 is typically constructed using relatively low speed and low cost DRAM arrays. Systems such as system 100 are described in the following references: (1) "Protocols Keep Data Consistent", John Gallant, EDN Mar. 14, 1991, pp.41-50 and (2) "High-Speed Memory Systems", A. V. Pohm and O. P. Agrawal, Reston Publishing, 1983, pp.79-83. Dedicated cache memories 102a-102c reduce the frequency with which each of processors 101a-101c access main memory 105. This reduces the amount of traffic on memory bus 104 and thereby enhances the performance of system 100. However, cache memories 102a-102c are relatively expensive. In system 100, an expensive cache memory must be added for each added processor. In addition, system 100 requires control logic to maintain the consistency of data in cache memories 102a-102c and main memory 105 (i.e., cache coherence). The problem of cache coherence is described in more detail in "Scalable Shared Memory Multiprocessors", M. Dubois and S. S. Thakkar, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992, pp.153-166. The control logic required to provide cache coherence increases the cost and decreases the performance of system 100.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another conventional multi-processor system 200 which includes a global main memory 204 which is divided into modules 206a-206c. Each of main memory modules 206a-206c is attached to a corresponding cache memory module 205a-205c, respectively. Each of cache memory modules 205a-205c is attached to a main memory bus 202. Processors 201a-201c are also attached to main bus 202. Processors 201a-201c share cache memory modules 205a-205c and main memory modules 206a-206c. System 200 is described in, "High-Speed Memory Systems", Pohm et al., pp.75-79.
In system 200, the number of cache and main memory modules can be different from the number of processors. Since both main memory modules 206s-206c and cache memory modules 205a-205c are global, system 200 is inherently coherent. However, the globalization of cache memory modules 205a-205c requires that the control logic for cache memory modules 205a-205c be common to all of processors 201a-201c. Consequently, in systems where the number of processors approximately equals to the number of cache entries in the cache module, cache thrashing can occur. Cache thrashing refers to the constant replacement of cache lines. Cache thrashing substantially degrades system performance.
To minimize the cost of SRAM cache memories, some prior art systems use additional prefetch buffers for instructions and data. These prefetch buffers increase the cache-hit rate without requiring large cache memories. Such prefetch buffers are described in PCT Patent Application PCT/US93/01814 (WO 93/18459), entitled "Prefetching Into a Cache to Minimize Main Memory Access Time and Cache Size in a Computer System" by Karnamadakala Krishnamohan et al. The prefetch buffers are used in a traditional separate cache memory configuration, and memory bandwidth is consumed by both the prefetch operations and the caching operations. A robust prefetch algorithm (with a consistently high probability of prefetching the correct information) and an adequate cache size and organization (to provide a high cache hit rate) is required to deliver any performance improvement over traditional caching schemes.
Other conventional systems use the sense-amplifiers of a DRAM array as a cache memory. (See, e.g., PCT Patent Publication PCT/US91/02590, by M. Farmwald et al.) Using the sense-amplifiers of a DRAM array as cache memory has the advantages of low cost and high transfer bandwidth between the main memory and the cache memory. The cache hit access time, equal to the time required to perform a CAS (column access) operation, is relatively short. However, the cache miss access time of such a system is substantially longer than the normal memory access time of the DRAM array (without using the sense amplifiers as a cache memory) This is because when the sense amplifiers are used as cache memory, the DRAM array is kept in the page mode (or activated mode) even when the DA array is not being accessed. A cache miss therefore requires that the DRAM array perform a precharge operation followed by RAS (row access) and CAS (column access) operations. The time required to perform the precharge operation (i.e., the precharge time) is approximately twice as long as the time required to perform the W operation. The total memory access time is equal to the sum of the precharge time, the RAS access time and the CAS access time of the DRAM array. In contrast, during normal operation of the DRAM array, the DRAM array is in precharged mode when it is not being accessed, and the memory access time in equal to the RAS access time plus the CAS access time of the DRAM array.
Mathematically, the average access time (Tav) in a simplified model of the sense amplifier cache system is the weighted average of cache-hit access time (Tcas) and the cache-miss access time (Tpre+Tras+Tcas). Thus, for cached accesses, EQU Tav-H*Tcas+(1-H)*(Tpre+Tras+Tcas) (1)
where Tav is the average access time of the DRAM array, H is the average cache hit rate (i.e., the probability of a cache hit), Tcas is the column access time from the sense amplifiers, Tpre is the precharge time of the sense amplifiers, and Tras is the time required to transfer data from a row of DRAM cells to the sense amplifiers.
For a DRAM array which does not use the sense amplifiers as a cache memory, EQU Tav=Tras+Tcas (2)
For most available DRAM, Tras-0.5 * Tpre. Consequently, the average cache hit rate (H) must be greater than 67 percent for the average access time of the cached system to be less than the average access time of the non-cached system. An even higher cache hit rate (H) is necessary to justify the complexity and cost introduced by the control logic required for the sense amplifier cache memory. Such a high average cache hit rate (H) is difficult to achieve and maintain in a multi-processor system due to frequent task switching. Such a high average cache hit rate is also difficult to achieve because the cache memory is inherently direct-mapped based on the direct coupling between the sense amplifiers and the memory cells of the DRAM array. For applications such as computer graphics, in which the amount of memory used is limited and there are several processors or processes, the cache hit rate can be quite low. In such applications, the short cache hit access time can be more than offset by the longer cache miss access time.
It is therefore desirable to have a cache memory for a multi-processor system which eliminates the dedicated cache memories of system 100, minimizes the cache thrashing problems of system 200, and minimizes the average memory access time.

Caching in a multi-processor computer system


A virtual golf simulation apparatus and method are provided. A sensing device senses hitting a ball by a user with a golf club and a ball trajectory is simulated in a virtual golf course according to sensing results, allowing the user to enjoy a virtual golf on a virtual golf course to provide the same sense of realism as when playing golf on a real golf course.

With recent increase in the popularity of golf, a so-called screen golf system has been introduced which allows users to practice golf and enjoy virtual golf games using a virtual golf simulation apparatus and the like. Basically, when a user hits a golf ball placed on a golf mat by swinging a golf club, the virtual golf simulation apparatus senses the golf ball through a sensing device to extract physical characteristics of the moving golf ball and implements an image simulating the trajectory of the ball in a virtual golf course using the extracted physical characteristics.
When the sensing device is capable of calculating only basic physical characteristics of the moving ball among various physical characteristics, it is possible to quickly perform sensing processes to allow a simulation image of the trajectory of the ball to be implemented almost at the same time as when the ball is struck. However, in this case, there is a problem in that simulation accuracy is reduced since the trajectory of the ball cannot be accurately calculated using the basic physical characteristics only.
On the other hand, when the sensing device is capable of calculating various physical characteristics of the moving ball, simulation accuracy is increased. However, in this case, the time required to perform sensing processes is increased such that a simulation image of the trajectory of the ball is implemented after the required time elapses after the user hits the ball. This significantly reduces the realism of virtual golf, thereby greatly reducing the user's interest in the virtual golf.

Virtual golf simulation apparatus and method


A semiconductor device and a method of making the same. The device includes a semiconductor substrate having a major surface, a backside and side surfaces extending between the major surface and the backside. The semiconductor device also includes at least one metal layer extending across the backside of the substrate. A peripheral part of the at least one metal layer located at the edge of the substrate between the backside and at least one of the side surfaces extends towards a plane containing the major surface. This can prevent burrs located at the peripheral part of the at least one metal layer interfering with the mounting of the backside of the substrate on the surface of a carrier.

The present specification relates to a semiconductor device and a method of making a semiconductor device.
During singulation of a semiconductor wafer, one or more ductile metal layers located in a stack on the backside of the wafer may produce burrs at the edges of each singulated die. These burrs can protrude downwards beneath the die, which can complicate the process of mounting the backside of the die on the surface of a carrier.
For instance, the burrs can prevent the backside mounting flush against the surface of the carrier, creating a void between the die and the surface of the carrier. Solder that may be used to mount the die on the carrier may also have an adverse chemical reactions with metal layers located inside the stack, that have been exposed at the sides of the stack during the singulation process.

Semiconductor device and method of making a semiconductor device


The various technologies presented herein relate to identifying manmade and/or natural features in a radar image. Two radar images (e.g., single polarization SAR images) can be captured for a common scene. The first image is captured at a first instance and the second image is captured at a second instance, whereby the duration between the captures are of sufficient time such that temporal decorrelation occurs for natural surfaces in the scene, and only manmade surfaces, e.g., a road, produce correlated pixels. A LCCD image comprising the correlated and decorrelated pixels can be generated from the two radar images. A median image can be generated from a plurality of radar images, whereby any features in the median image can be identified. A superpixel operation can be performed on the LCCD image and the median image, thereby enabling a feature(s) in the LCCD image to be classified.

Conventional techniques for terrain classification include the use of radar cross section (RCS) backscatter for single polarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR) or examining the scattering physics using multiple-polarization SAR. There are a number of issues to be addressed when solely relying on radar backscatter. For a single-polarization radar operating over a fixed range of frequencies, terrain backscatter is strongly dependent on not only the material itself, but also an antenna to terrain geometry during radar imaging. Furthermore, the moisture content of the material, such as soil, may change and, hence, impact the radio frequency (RF) reflectivity. The result is different types of terrain may exhibit similar radar backscatter, thus leading to detection and classification ambiguity. Another approach for performing terrain classification using SAR images requires multi-polarization SAR image systems, which are often unavailable.

Terrain detection and classification using single polarization SAR


A liquid crystal display which includes a liquid crystal panel which displays an image, a middle frame in which the liquid crystal panel is positioned, an upper container which is disposed above the middle frame and includes the liquid crystal panel therein along with the middle frame, a lower container which has a bottom surface and a plurality of sidewalls that surround the bottom surface, is disposed below the middle frame and is coupled to the upper container, and at least one connection element which is disposed between the upper container and one of the sidewalls of the lower container and connects the lower container and the upper container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display ("LCD") capable of sharing and the common use of LCD elements regardless of the size of containers for LCDs.
2. Description of the Related Art
LCDs are one of the most widely used flat panel displays ("FPDs"). A conventional LCD includes a liquid crystal panel assembly, which has two panels having a plurality of electrodes formed thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two panels, and adjusts the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer by applying voltages to the electrodes so that liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer can be rearranged.
A conventional LCD may also include a backlight assembly which provides light to a liquid crystal panel. A backlight assembly may be disposed at the rear of a liquid crystal panel and may be coupled to a container, thereby constituting an LCD along with the container.
The designs of LCDs are diverse, and containers for LCDs have come in various sizes, and the demand for the development of various shapes of liquid crystal panels and backlight assemblies has steadily grown. However, conventionally, LCDs including different sizes of containers are generally manufactured separately regardless of whether they include liquid crystal panels of the same size and, thus, the efficiency of manufacture of LCDs is decreased.

Liquid crystal display having separate connection element to couple upper and lower containers together


The present disclosure discloses an optical imaging lens assembly including, sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis, a first lens having positive refractive power with a convex object-side surface and a concave image-side surface; a second lens having negative refractive power with a concave image-side surface; a third lens having refractive power with a convex object-side surface and a concave image-side surface; a fourth lens having refractive power; a fifth lens having refractive power; a sixth lens having refractive power; a seventh lens having positive refractive power with a convex object-side surface; and an eighth lens having negative refractive power with a concave object-side surface and a concave image-side surface, wherein half of a diagonal length ImgH of an effective pixel area on an imaging plane of the optical imaging lens assembly satisfies: 5.80 mm<ImgH.

In recent years, with a rapid development of the portable electronic products, such as smart phones and tablet computers, people increasingly put forward a higher demand for the imaging lens assemblies mounted on portable electronic devices. On the one hand, people are continuously pursuing miniaturization and thinning of the portable electronic products. On the other hand, people require the imaging lens assemblies mounted on portable electronic devices to have a higher shooting clarity. This requires the optical imaging lens assembly, which is usable for the portable electronic products, to meet the requirements of miniaturization and high imaging quality. In addition, the traditional imaging lens assemblies with a small number of lenses are difficult to achieve large image plane characteristics, and cannot well meet the current people's requirements for daily shooting.

Optical imaging lens assembly including eight lenses of +-++--+- or +---+-+- refractive powers


Image resizing through resampling by poly-phase filtering with a phase generation from input parameters but with lower resolution of the phase for filter selection. Field and frame mode selection creates initial offsets for alignment. A phase accumulator generates sample addressing with its most significant bits, generates filter selection with its middle bits, and maintains its least significant bits for accuracy.

The invention relates to digital image processing, and more particularly to image resampling methods and circuitry.
Modern digital video systems typically require resolution conversion capability for applications such as displaying HDTV signals at standard TV resolution, zooming, decimating, and providing picture-in-picture display. Poly-phase filtering allows accurate constant resampling ratios and may use predefined state machines to control pixel input pipelining and filter coefficient addressing according to predefined phase sequences. However, such filters are not flexible enough because they require adaptation each time a new conversion ratio is needed by a new application. Also, new video environment applications require new process capabilities such as frame rate conversions and play speed control. Those applications involve spatial field or frame interpolation capabilities that are usually offered with only a fixed number of predefined ratios, and this hinders vertical filtering.
Adams et al, A Monolithic Asynchronous Sample-Rate Converter for Digital Audio, ISCAS '93, pp. 1963–1966 (1993), disclose an integrated circuit providing audio sampling rate conversion with feedback tracking of the timing of output sample requests. This also shows experimental results for an input sampling rate of 48 KHz converted to an output sampling rate of 44.1 KHz.


An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a body configured to house the electronic device and including a space for accommodating a battery on one surface of the body and a cover configured to cover at least the space and being detachably attached to the body. The cover includes a first sealing member located between the one surface of the body and an inner surface of the cover and formed to surround the space.

In recent years, various electronic devices are provided to users, and portable terminals, such as a mobile phone, an Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) audio layer 3 (MP3) player, a Portable Media Player (PMP), and an electronic book, by which a user can access various contents while carrying the electronic device are widely used. Various functions, such as an ability to shoot photos or record moving images, play music, videos, and multimedia, and execute game functions, as well as a wireless transmission/reception function, are being integrated into the portable terminals. A display unit is provided on a front surface of the portable terminal, such that the multiple functions can be used, and a recent portable terminal, such as a smart phone, is provided with a display unit through which an entire front surface of the terminal is sensitive to a touch.
The electronic device, such as a portable terminal, is provided with various cases, or protective covers, which may be generally referred to as a cover. For example, a battery cover for covering a battery may be provided on a rear surface of the electronic device. The battery cover may be variously classified according to a mounting location or a cover state of the electronic device. For example, the battery cover may include a form which can be provided only on a rear surface of the electronic device, in detail, a form in which a display is exposed and only a periphery of an external appearance of the electronic device or a rear case is covered such that the display unit is used, or a form in which the entire electronic device is covered through a flip type case and the display unit is covered such that the display unit is used.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Electronic device and protective cover therefor


In a signal processing system with an IC having an intrinsic signal provided at a pin of the IC, a first operational function (de-emphasis) for the signal is provided at the pin, and further along in the signal flow path, a second operational function (variable attenuation) for the signal is provided within the IC. An extrinsic signal is switchably coupled to the pin so that the second operational function can be used to operate on the extrinsic signal. The second signal is coupled to the pin at a low source impedance so that when the second signal is switched to be operational, the first operational function is defeated, and the first signal is severely attenuated. When the circuit is switched to not couple the second signal to the pin, the coupling path for the second signal and the low source impedance are both removed, thus restoring the first operational function and the first signal at the pin of the IC.

With much signal processing circuitry manufactured in integrated circuit form, it is desirable for the IC manufacturer to minimize the number of connections made to the integrated circuits. This is because connections to external circuits must be done through pins on the integrated circuit package, which are in part, a determinant of the size and cost of the integrated circuit.
In the instant case it is desirable in a low cost electronic device, e.g., a television receiver or radio receiver, to provide front panel audio/visual input jacks in a device having an internal volume control in an IC manufactured for processing an audio signal with no provision made for an external audio input. To incorporate such a desirable feature with such an IC would ordinarily require using a separate audio IC in order to provide a volume control for such an auxiliary audio signal. Such an approach would incur a considerable extra cost. Thus, to make maximum use of such an IC, it is desirable to combine or multiplex additional functions on or at a terminal/pin of an IC which had been previously dedicated by the IC manufacturer for other purposes. As used herein, the terms pin and terminal for an IC are synonymous.
The multiple use of an integrated circuit pin is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,474 of Best et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,870 of Steckler et al., of an antecessor of the assignee of the present patent application, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,769 of van Straaten. U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,442 of Paulos et al. shows a digital IC wherein connection of an external digital signal is made to an IC pin used for switching a digital de-emphasis circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,550 of Hafner shows using a single input terminal for two signals having differing voltage levels.

Dual use of an integrated circuit pin and the switching of signals at said pin


In printing using a plurality of chromatic color inks of different lightness interchangeable with one another in color reproduction, ink consumption is reduced while preserving the quality of the printed result. On the basis of first color data represented in terms of density of a first reference color, second color data represented in terms of density of a plurality of second reference colors is generated. The plurality of second reference colors are the ink colors. They include two same hue reference colors of different lightness interchangeable with one another when reproducing a certain color. The lookup table holds the first color data and the second color data associated with one another. For a set of densities of a plurality of second reference colors representing achromatic color of higher lightness than the reference lightness, density of the same hue reference color having lower lightness is 0. The reference lightness is lightness equal to or less than the minimum lightness which is the lightness of the color having the lowest lightness among the colors that can be reproduced on a printing medium using only ink of the darker color of the two same hue reference colors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to technology for printing with two kinds of chromatic color inks which are interchangeable with one another when reproducing some colors, and which differ in lightness.
2. Description of the Related Art
To date, in monotone printing to produce a printed result like a black and white photograph, printing has been carried out using chromatic color ink in addition to achromatic color ink. For example, high density cyan ink, low density cyan ink, high density magenta ink, low density magenta ink, and yellow ink are used in color printing, and when carrying out monotone printing, the low density cyan ink, the high density magenta ink, and the yellow ink are used in addition to achromatic color ink.
By means of recording high density cyan ink sparsely and recording low density cyan ink densely, it is possible to reproduce comparable cyan components with these cyan inks of different density. Also, by recording high density magenta ink sparsely and recording low density magenta ink densely it is possible to reproduce comparable magenta components with these magenta inks of different density. Accordingly, these two pairs of ink are interchangeable with one another when reproducing some colors.
In monotone printing using such chromatic color inks, by using the low density inks as the chromatic color inks, it is possible to reduce the appearance of graininess in printed images. However, due to the light color of the chromatic color inks, large amounts of chromatic color ink will be consumed when printing areas of dark gray. Where the high density inks are used as the chromatic color inks on the other hand, ink consumption can be reduced. However, printed images will tend to have visible graininess.
In conventional technologies, during printing with the use of two kinds of chromatic color inks interchangeable with one another when reproducing some colors but differing in lightness as described above, the issue of how to best use these inks in order to achieve a favorable balance between ink consumption and the quality of the printed result was not taken into consideration.
The present invention is directed to printing with the use of multiple types of chromatic color inks interchangeable with one another when reproducing some colors but differing in lightness, and has as an object to provide technology whereby ink consumption may be reduced, while preserving the quality of the printed result.
The present invention is related to Japanese patent application No. 2005-47547, filed Feb. 23, 2005; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Creation of lookup table for printing with contrasting density ink


An undercarriage for a hospital bed including at least three wheels (1) while at least two wheels (1) are equipped with a brake (2) with a common control (9) of all the brakes (2). The undercarriage further includes a bed movement sensor (31) that is connected to the central processor unit (32), which is interconnected with an actuating device (33) for control of all the brakes (2). The central processor unit (32) is further equipped with a block (35) for generation of a timeout between stopping of turning of the wheel (1) and automatic applying of the brakes (2).

Known undercarriages of hospital beds mostly have four or five wheels that can turn around their horizontal as well as vertical axis. The undercarriage has a control mechanism that comprises a common three-position control that can be controlled from several places, e.g. with a system of mechanically interconnected levers positioned at individual wheels.
In the central position of the levers of the three-position control all the wheels can freely turn around their horizontal as well as vertical axis. This position is referred to as "unbraked" in this application. The bed can be freely moved to all directions.
In the lower position of the levers of the three-position control turning of all the wheels both around the horizontal and around the vertical axis is blocked. This position is referred to as "braked" in this application. The movement of the bed is blocked.
Finally, in the upper position of the levers of the three-position control turning of one wheel around the vertical axis is locked in a pre-selected position, generally in the position that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed. The other wheels can freely turn both around their horizontal and around their vertical axis. The bed can be moved while the wheel locked in the position parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed facilitates keeping the straight movement direction for the personnel transporting patients along hospital corridors.
Known undercarriages of hospital beds with five wheels work in the same way while their fifth wheel is positioned under the centre of the bed and can be locked in a pre-selected position with the above mentioned three-position control, common for the control of the functions of all the wheels described above.
In the latest versions of undercarriages the control mechanism comprises a separate two-position control that controls brakes of all braked wheels and a separate control that controls locking of wheels the turning of which around the vertical axis can be locked in a pre-selected position.
A common disadvantage of all the known undercarriages for hospital beds is that if after stopping and putting the bed aside the staff member forgets to brake the undercarriage, the patient may get injured if he/she leans against the bed thinking that it is braked. In such a case the bed starts to move and the patient may fall, which may have severe consequences, especially in the case of older or disorientated patients.
So the aim of the invention is to design such an undercarriage for hospital beds that will exclude the above mentioned mistakes of the staff.


A stress plate for use with a threaded fastener for securing relatively soft insulation to a solid base, such as in a roofing environment, includes a generally planar main body with an underside, an aperture on the main body configured for receiving the fastener, and a sleeve circumscribing the aperture and depending from the underside a sufficient distance to receive the fastener and maintain the fastener perpendicular to the plate, especially when the plate is located intermediate the fastener ends. In the preferred embodiment, the fastener is threaded with a defined pitch of the thread, and the sleeve is dimensioned to span at least one pitch of the fastener.

In certain modern roofing installations of commercial and factory buildings having a flat roof design, a layer of insulation is placed on a generally corrugated steel roof deck, and is then covered with a single ply thermoplastic roofing membrane to protect against the elements. Conventional membranes are EPDM, PVC or equivalent materials. Conventional insulation of the type used for roof decks includes ISO, wood fiber board, or pearlite.
The assemblies typically used to secure the insulation generally include a washer-like stress plate made of either plastic or metal and which receives a screw-like fastener that is threaded into the roof deck, thereby clamping the insulation between the stress plate and the roof deck. Since the type of insulation commonly utilized is approximately up to six or even twelve inches thick, it is important to keep the fastener in perpendicular alignment when installing the plate so that the stress plate properly contacts and secures the insulation against blowing off from extreme cyclical loading. Adverse weather conditions such as hurricanes and other storms having high and gusting winds create the extreme high pressure dynamic loading, including uplift, of the sort which such roofing is designed to withstand. In practice, special tools may be used to install the washers and fasteners. An example of such a tool is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,568, and another such tool is sold by ITW Buildex, Itasca, Ill. under the trademark ACCUFAST.
In a typical installation, the stress plates and fasteners are delivered to the job site in separate packages. Next, the installer obtains a supply of plates and fasteners, and lays out the plates on the roof in a specific pattern required by the roofing approval or warranty. Upon completion of that step, the installer installs fasteners through the plates, into the insulation and/or membrane, and eventually into the solid roof base or substrate. In some applications, one type of plate and fastener is used to secure the insulation, and another type of plate and fastener is used to secure the membrane.
A disadvantage of this method of installation is that it requires the installer to spend a significant amount of time to perform the two major steps of separately handling the stress plates and the fasteners. Also, once installed, the alignment of the fasteners relative to the plates and the roof must be maintained under relatively exposed working conditions. Often it is difficult to prevent the fasteners from being threaded into the roof at an angle, which may decrease their ability to secure the roof when exposed to severe weather.
Another disadvantage of conventional stress plates and their associated fasteners relates to the anti-corrosive coating which covers typical fasteners. In some cases, the corresponding hole or aperture in the stress plate is dimensioned so that a tight fit is formed with the fastener. Thus, when the fastener is threaded into the hole, the sharp edges of the hole tend to scrape off or otherwise rupture the anti-corrosive coating. In time, upon exposure to the elements, the fastener corrodes more rapidly, and eventually fails, causing the roof to be more susceptible to severe weather damage.
Another disadvantage of conventional stress plates is that upon installation on a roof, when the roof system is subject to severe weather conditions, such as high winds, the roof insulation may billow or pull on the fastener assembly, creating a stress load. Such stress loading may also affect the plates securing the insulation. In extreme cases, the stress loading has been known to pull the plate over the head of the fastener. Naturally, this type of plate deformation is to be avoided, since it may ultimately lead to failure of the roofing system.


An electrode for transcutaneously delivering defibrillation pulses to a patient's heart. The electrode comprises an insulating substrate, a conducting plate which is positioned on the substrate and which has an electrical terminal for making a connection to an external source of electrical current, and a layer of electrolytic gel covering the entire top surface of the conducting plate. This gel contacts a patient's skin when the electrode is positioned on the skin to prevent the conducting plate from contacting the skin. The gel comprises a concentration of an electrolyte such that the combination series resistance of two of the electrodes, when measured with the electrodes configured in a series circuit with a 50 .OMEGA. resistance, and with the electrolytic gel layer of each electrode in contact with that of the other electrode, is greater than 1 .OMEGA. when a 200 Joule defibrillation pulse is discharged into the series circuit.

This invention relates to electrodes used in transcutaneous cardiac defibrillation and pacing procedures.
Transcutaneous cardiac defibrillation is an emergency procedure for treating ventricular fibrillation, a condition in which the electrical pulse generators in the cardiac muscle fibrillate asynchronously, causing chaotic muscle contraction. In the procedure, a high energy electrical pulse, called a defibrillation pulse, is transcutaneously delivered to a patient's fibrillating heart to resynchronize the heart's pulse generators. In transcutaneous cardiac pacing, pacing stimuli are transcutaneously delivered to a patient's heart to continuously pace the heart.
Defibrillation pulses and pacing stimuli are transcutaneously delivered from pulse generation equipment to a patient via a pair of electrodes applied to the patient's thorax in a suitable configuration. Typically, either of two types of electrodes is used; the first type comprises separate, dedicated defibrillation and pacing electrode pairs, while the second comprises a multifunction electrode pair which supports both defibrillation and pacing procedures.
The multifunction electrode typically consists of a flexible adhesive substrate, supporting a conducting plate, which is temporarily affixed to the patient's skin, and so does not require an operator to forcibly hold it in place on the skin. This electrode is designed to be used for one treatment session and then discarded.
It is desirable to provide a uniform contact surface between the multifunction electrode conducting plate and the patient's skin. To this end, a water-based electrolytic gel is typically provided on the electrode conducting surface. With the electrode in place on the patient's thorax, this gel soaks the skin, allowing the electrolytes in the gel to permeate the skin and thereby provide a good conducting path for the defibrillation and pacing stimuli. In addition, the gel wets hair on the patient's skin and provides a good conductive path around the hair and into the skin. The electrodes are typically gelled during the manufacturing process and require no further preparation before use.
Conventionally, the components of the aqueous electrolytic gel are chosen to achieve very low gel resistance, and thus very high gel conductivity, to minimize the pulse energy dissipated in the gel and thereby maximize the defibrillation pulse energy and pacing stimulus delivered to the patient. The electrical resistance of a patient's thorax is believed to range somewhere between 25 .OMEGA. and 100 .OMEGA., and is typically modelled as 50 .OMEGA.; the series resistance of the pair of multifunction electrodes, including electrode gel, is held below 1.0 .OMEGA..
In defibrillation procedures, typically more than one defibrillation pulse is required to successfully defibrillate a patient's heart. Being affixed to the patient's skin at the start of a defibrillation session, multifunction electrodes do not change position with each pulse application. It has been clinically observed that with repeated defibrillation pulse applications, some burning of a patient's skin may occur at the perimeter of the gel layer of each of the multifunction electrodes. This burning is characterized by erythema across a thin band at the gel perimeter location. It is believed that the location of the burn is determined by the spatial distribution of the defibrillation pulse current across the electrode and gel face; this current is highest at the perimeter of the gel, due to the abrupt boundary of the electric field at this perimeter. The electrode burn is exacerbated by repeated defibrillation pulses because the multifunction electrodes are maintained in a fixed position throughout a pulse series.
In conventional transcutaneous pacing procedures, the patient may experience a stinging of the skin in the area of the electrodes' positions. This stinging is believed to also be related to the high current level of delivered stimuli at the edge of the conducting plate and gel.

Combined defibrillation and pacing electrode


A vacuum bag molding apparatus for a mold having an inner molding surface and a peripheral edge with a vacuum pipe extending around the edge and connected by a series of vacuum ports to the inner molding surface inward of the edge, which includes a continuous channel member of metal or plastic and a spline member of metal or plastic which is receivable with a tight fit in the channel of the channel member to hold a flexible air-impervious sheet between the spline and the channel of the channel member to provide an air-tight vacuum bag which is evacuable through the vacuum ports of the mold to carry out a vacuum bag molding procedure. The sheet of flexible material, channel member, spline member and adhesive to secure the channel member to the edge of the mold may be supplied as a kit.

In fiber reinforced plastic products of many kinds, for example, airplane skin, automobile bodies, container walls, boat hulls, etc., it is frequently desired to hinge a first movable section to a second fixed section of the product. As one specific illustration, in an airplane wing the aileron is hinged to the main section of the wing. The common practice is to secure one or more preconstructed plastic or metal hinges to the adjoining edges of the two sections which are hinged. The two sections individually may be made as one part and then cut into the sections along the edge where the hinge is later secured. The hinge may be a continuous hinge or may be a series of individual hinges secured to the adjoining edges of the sections by fasteners such as rivets or adhesive, depending on the application and the mechanical specifications of the hinged joint.
Integral hinges are known, for example, molded polypropylene hinge structures have been molded as an integral member in the manufacture of an integral member in the manufacture of polypropylene sheet articles, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,437.
Molded fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) composites are typically made by applying layers of fibrous reinforcing material against the prepared surface of a mold and impregnating the layers of material with a selected liquid resin to form a laminate which after the resin hardens has the shape of the mold. It is advantageous for environmental and other reasons to use a bag molding procedure in which after the layers of resin impregnated fibrous material have been laid-up against the mold surface, a sheet of rubber or synthetic fabric is applied over the layers and sealed at its edges to the mold in such a way as to form an air-tight bag. Air and the gaseous products produced as the resin hardens are withdrawn from the bag which is caused to be pressed against the resin impregnated fibrous layers by atmospheric pressure while the resin hardens which compresses the laminate. The gaseous products may be passed through a filter to extract environmental harmful components before being discharged to the atmosphere, thereby protecting the environment.

Vacuum bag molding apparatus with channel and spline edge-seal


An electronic device and method are disclosed. The electronic device includes a housing, microphone, wireless communication circuit, processor, memory, and stylus pen. The processor is configured to implement the method, including: when the stylus pen is located in the elongated hole, operate both the at least one first microphone and the second microphone to detect sound, and when the stylus pen is not located in the elongated hole, operate only the first microphone to detect sound.

With the recent growth of mobile communication and hardware/software technologies, portable electronic devices (hereinafter referred to as "electronic devices") such as smart phones have evolved to incorporate diverse kinds of functions. The electronic device has the ability to collect sound data such as a user's voice through a microphone. In addition, the electronic device may include a plurality of microphones and operate a variety of call and/or audio solutions by processing sound data received from the plurality of microphones.
Meanwhile, the electronic device is capable of receiving a user input through a touch screen, and an additional input tool such as a stylus pen is provided for allowing a user to enter a more precise touch input (or hovering input). The stylus pen is often stowable when not in use, and may thus be inserted into and detached from the electronic device.
In order to improve audio performance associated with the microphone, the electronic device may be equipped with many microphones. However, a microphone mounted inside the housing of the electronic device requires a space open to the outside of the housing in order to allow collection of external sounds. Therefore, implementing an electronic device with multiple microphones may result in difficulties due to the limitations on available mounting space.

Electronic device including stylus pen and method for controlling microphone of the same


A holder for replaceable tools, including a body with an axial opening extending along an axis and for releasably receiving the tools and having two radial openings with balls therein extending into the axial opening. Two ramps are movable on the body and they engage the balls for forcing the balls onto the tool being held in the body and thereby radially and axially stabilize the tool in the body. Two separate springs engage the ramps for movement of the ramps separate from each other.

The prior art is already aware of tool holders, including adapters, which are arranged for radially stabilizing replaceable and rotatable tools. Further, there are holders which utilize two axially spaced apart and spring urged balls for the stabilizing effect. In those occurrences, the springs and other members urging the balls into holding positions are arranged to have the spaced apart balls or the like under the influence of the same urging such that the holding balls act only in unison and not independent of each other. Thereby, the holding effort on the tool is limited to that one holding action with both balls moving only in unison and not adapting to independent ball movement and holding of the tool, and thus the holding action is limited in its precision.
The present invention improves upon the prior art in that it is precise in holding the various tools which are inserted into the holder. Those tools themselves may be imprecise in their configuration and therefore difficult to hold in radial and axial, accuracy, and this invention avoids those problems. Both radial and axial play are avoided.
Further, this invention can be reduced to an actual construction which produces a precise, efficient, and relatively inexpensive construction. There is optimum precision in the holding feature to thereby avoid radial play or movement of the tool relative to the holder itself. In this construction, there is achieved two separate and independent radial holdings, and only one motion is required to release the two holdings. So it is possible that the holder of this invention has the exterior shaping of that of the prior art and it is also operated the same as that of the prior art, so no new and different familiarizing by the user is required.


The present invention relates to the use of at least one lactic acid bacterium, or a composition comprising thereof or conditioned thereby, for increasing or maintaining a Faecalibacterium prausnitzii population.

Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii) is the most abundant bacterium in the human intestine of healthy adults, representing more than 5% of the total bacterial population. Over the past years, an increasing number of studies have described the importance of this metabolically active commensal bacterium as a component of the healthy human microbiota. The major end products of glucose fermentation by F. prausnitzii strains are formate, small amounts of D-lactate and substantial quantities of butyrate. Indeed, F. prausnitzii is one of the most abundant butyrate-producing bacterium in the gastro-intestinal tract. Butyrate plays a major role in gut physiology and it has pleiotropic effects in intestinal cell life cycle. Changes in the abundance of F. prausnitzii have been linked to dysbiosis in several human disorders.
In this regard, International publication WO 2014/070014 reports that oral administration of riboflavin, i.e. vitamin B2, is capable of increasing the absolute and relative concentration of F. prausnitzii, as well as enhancing butyrate production, in human volunteers.
However, vitamin B2 is notably sensitive to light, heat and oxygen, which limits the food-production processes in which it can be used. In addition, not all food products can be supplemented by a vitamin.
Accordingly, there is still a need for alternatives to riboflavin for increasing or maintaining F. prausnitzii populations.

Compositions and methods for increasing or maintaining


The present invention relates to compounds of the formula

The present invention relates generally to the field of purinergic P2 receptors. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel purinergic P2X receptor compounds and production thereof. In further detail, the present invention relates to compounds, their intermediates, and enantiomers of both which have P2X receptor subtype 7 (P2X7) binding inhibition activity, and are useful for preventing and/or treating diseases associated with adenosine 5′-triphosphate or other natural or synthetic nucleotides.
P2 receptors have been generally categorized as either metabotropic nucleotide receptors or inotropic receptors for extracellular nucleotides. Metabotropic nucleotide receptors (usually designated P2Y or P2Yn, where "n" is a subscript integer indicating subtype) are believed to differ from inotropic receptors (usually designated P2X or P2Xn) in that they are based on a different fundamental means of transmembrane signal transduction: P2Y receptors operate through a G protein-coupled system, while P2X receptors are ligand-gated ion channels. The ligand for these P2X receptors is ATP, and/or other natural nucleotides, for example, ADP, UTP, UDP, and/or synthetic nucleotides, for example 2-methylthioATP.
A therapeutic role for P2 receptors has been suggested, for example, for cystic fibrosis (Boucher et al. (1995) in: Belardinelli et al. (eds) Adenosine and Adenine Nucleotides: From Molecular Biology to Integrative Physiology (Kluwer Acad., Norwell Mass.) pp 525–532), diabetes (Loubatieres-Mariani et al. (1995) in: Belardinelli et al. (eds), supra, pp 337–345), immune and inflammatory diseases (Di Virgilio et al. (1995) in: Belardinelli et al. (eds), supra, pp 329–335), cancer (Rapaport (1993) Drug Dev. Res. 28:428–431), constipation and diarrhea (Milner et al. (1994) in: Kamm et al. (eds.) Constipation and Related Disorders: Pathophysiology and Management in Adults and Children (Wrightson Biomedical, Bristol) pp 41–49), behavioral disorders such as epilepsy, depression and aging-associated degenerative diseases (Williams (1993) Drug. Dev. Res. 28:438–444), contraception and sterility (Foresta et al. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 257:19443–19447), and wound healing (Wang et al. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 166:251–258).
At least seven P2X receptors, and the cDNA sequences encoding them, have been identified to date. P2X1 cDNA was cloned from the smooth muscle of the rat vas deferens (Valera et al (1994) Nature 371:516–519) and P2X.2 cDNA was cloned from PC12 cells (Brake et al. (1994) Nature 371:519–523). Five other P2X receptors have been found in cDNA libraries by virtue of their sequence similarity to P2X1 and P2X2 (P2X3: Lewis et al. (1995) Nature 377:432–435, Chen et al. (1995) Nature 377:428–431; P2X4: Buell et al. (1996) EMBO J. 15:55–62, Seguela et al. (1996) J. Neurosci. 16:448–455, Bo et al. (1995) FEBS Lett. 375:129–133, Soto et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:3684–3688, Wang et al. (1996) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 220:196–202; P2X5: Collo et al. (1996) J. Neurosci. 16:2495–2507, Garcia-Guzman et al. (1996) FEBS Lett. 388:123–127; P2X6: Collo et al. (1996), supra, Soto et al. (1996) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 223:456–460; P2X7: Surprenant et al. (1996) Science 272:735–738). For a comparison of the amino acid sequences of rat P2X receptors see Buell et al. (1996) Eur. J. Neurosci. 8:2221–2228.
Native P2X receptors form rapidly activated, nonselective cationic channels that are activated by ATP. Rat P2X1 and rat P2X2 have equal permeability to Na+ and K+ but significantly less to Cs+. The channels formed by the P2X receptors generally have high Ca2+ permeability. The cloned rat P2X1, P2X2 and P2X4 receptors exhibit the same permeability for Ca2+ observed with native receptors. However, the mechanism by which P2X receptors form an ionic pore or bind ATP is not known.
A variety of tissues and cell types, including epithelial, immune, muscle and neuronal, express at least one form of P2X receptor. The widespread distribution of P2X4 receptors in the rat central nervous system suggests a role for P2X4-mediated events in the central nervous system. However, study of the role of individual P2X receptors is hampered by the lack of receptor subtype-specific agonists and antagonists. For example, one agonist useful for studying ATP-gated channels is α,β methylene ATP (meATP). However, the P2X receptors display differential sensitivity to the agonist with P2X, and P2X2 being meATP-sensitive and insensitive, respectively. Furthermore, binding of meATP to P2X receptors does not always result in channel opening. The predominant forms of P2X receptors in the rat brain, P2X4 and P2X6 receptors, cannot be blocked by suramin or PPADS. These two forms of the P2X receptor are also not activated by meATP and are, thus, intractable to study with currently available pharmacological tools.
The functional properties of the P2X1-6 receptors are fundamentally similar to those of the other two ionotropic receptors, the nicotinic and excitatory amino acid receptors, and are then relatively impermeable to cations that are more than about 200 D.
One of the most interesting members of the ionotropic P2X family is the P2X7 receptor. Di Virgilio, F., et. al. (1998) Cell Death and Differentiation 5:191; Di Virgilio, F., et. al. (1995) Immunology Today 16:524. The P2X7 ionic channel differs strikingly from these channels and it is formed by the aggregation of an unknown number of subunits each 595 aminoacids (AA) long (200 AA longer than the other six P2X receptor), and upon stimulation by high concentrations of extracellular ATP generates a nonselective membrane pore of variable size (3–5 nm) and permeable to hydrophilic molecules with molecular weight up to 900 Dalton. Suprenant, A., et. al. (1996) Science 272:735.
Selective activation of the P2X7 receptor in mycobacterial-infected cells may provide a new therapy for tuberculosis, as well as an effective anticancer agent for many tumors that are rich in P2X7 receptor. This receptor is mainly, if not exclusively, expressed by mononuclear phagocytes, where it mediates cytotoxic responses, cytokine release and cell fusion. Di Virgilio, F., et. al., (1998) Drug Dev. Res. 45:207; Falzoni, S., et. al. (1995) J. Clin. Invest. 95:1207. Activation of the P2X7 receptor in macrophages and microglial cells causes a large and rapid release of mature interleukin-1β in response to lipopolysaccaride (LPS) stimulation.
IL-1β is of prime importance in the induction of the immune responses, including facilitating response to antigens, synthesis of prostaglandins, proliferation of fibroblasts, blood neutrophils, and inducing the synthesis of other cytokines. Due to likely involvement in immunomodulation and in the inflammatory reaction, it would be of the most importance to develop selective P2X7 antagonists.
Human macrophages have proven very useful for the evaluation of P2X7 agonists and antagonists. Compound KN62 (1-N,0-(bis(1,5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl)-4-phenylpiperazine) is one of the most potent antagonists for the P2X7 receptor with complete inhibition at the concentration of 500 nM. Gargett, C. E. et. al. (1997) B. J. Pharmacol. 120:1483. KN62 is a specific cell-permeable inhibitor of the autophosphorylation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) and may be useful as a pharmacological tool for evaluating the role of CaMK II. Hidaka, H. et. al. (1992) Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., 32:377 (1992).
CaMK II is one of the important kinases whose response seems to be mediated by calmodulin, and that is proposed as a regulator for the synthesis and vescicular release of neurotransmitters. The same compound KN62 significantly inhibited both stimulated catecholamine release and secretory function via the direct blockade of activated Ca2+ influx. Maurer, J. A. et. al. (1996) J. Neurochem 66:105. KN62, at non-cytotoxic concentration (2 μM), enhanced etoposide (VP-16) cytotoxicity in Adriamycin-resistant cells (HL-60) and this is due to enhancement (from 2- to 4-fold) of VP-16 induced topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavable complex formation. Kawamura, K., et. al. (1996) Biochem Pharmacol. 12:1903. The DNA damage induced by VP-16 in the presence of KN62 resulted in the rapid introduction of apoptosis and depletion of cell in "S phase" of the cell cycle.
Thus, what is needed is specific agonists and antagonists for the P2X7 receptor subtype and, in particular, agents that will be effective in vivo, useful in the treatment of patients, as well as methods for identifying the P2X7 receptor-specific agonist and antagonist compounds.

Tyrosyl derivatives and their use as P2X7 receptor modulators

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are independently hydrogen, C1–C4 alkyl, C1–C4 substituted alkyl, C1–C4 alkoxy, C1–C4 substituted alkoxy, C1–C4 acyl, halogen, cyano, nitro, amino, alkylamino, or dialkylamino;        R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, and R8 are independently CH or nitrogen;        R9 is hydrogen or methyl;        R10 is C═O or (CH2)n;        where n is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4;        R11 and R12 are independently nitrogen or CH; X1 and X2 are independently hydrogen, deuterium, tritium or halogen; and X3 is N; and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts; compositions thereof. Methods of preparing the compounds are also described. The compounds are useful in the treatment of diseases in mammals that are mediated by the action of the P2X7 receptor.

King Pharmaceuticals Research & Development, Inc.


An electric component includes a substrate, a function element provided on the substrate, a first sealing body provided on the substrate to cover the function element at a certain distance, the first sealing body including multiple apertures communicating with an internal space formed between the first sealing body and the substrate, and a second sealing body provided on the first sealing body and configured to occlude the multiple apertures. Here, a boundary between the first sealing body and the substrate is curved in a direction to narrow the internal space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric component, or more specifically, to an electric component that includes a function element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices such as communication devices that utilize high-frequency bands including microwaves and millimeter waves have been used in a wide range of fields. Accordingly, electric components constituting those electronic devices have been actively manufactured. Such electric components include a micromachine switch to which a micromachine technique is applied, for example.
This electric component includes a mounting substrate, an insulating layer formed on a surface of the substrate, a signal line formed on the substrate with the insulating film interposed therebetween, a function element provided on the substrate so as to stride over the signal line, and a sealing structure formed on the substrate so as to cover the function element with a certain gap. The function element is a movable piece made of a material having a high spring characteristic such as TiN or Al, and is formed into a beam structure supported either on one end or on two ends. This function element functions as a variable electric capacitor or as a switch, which operates in response to a change in a separation distance (a gap) from the signal line.
The sealing structure is a structure configured to seal the function element inside a hollow so as to protect the function element while maintaining an operation thereof. In order to reduce manufacturing costs and to achieve downsizing, this sealing structure is formed as a thin film by a deposition method (a deposition process) (see JP-A No. 2005-207959, for example).
In this process for manufacturing the sealing structure as the thin film, a first sacrificial layer is formed on the substrate so as to form a function element on the substrate with a gap, and then the function element is formed on the first sacrificial layer. Subsequently, a second sacrificial layer is deposited on the first sacrificial layer with the function element interposed therebetween and a first sealing layer (which constitutes a part of the sealing structure) is formed on the second sacrificial layer. During or after this deposition process, multiple apertures are formed on the first sealing film so as to remove the first and second sacrificial layers. Subsequently, an etching material is introduced from the apertures to completely remove the first and second sacrificial layers. Lastly, a second sealing film (a part of the sealing structure) is formed on the first sealing film until the apertures are completely occluded. In this way, the sealing structure is formed of the first sealing film and the second sealing film.
In this manufacturing process, when the second sealing film is formed with the deposition method such as sputtering or vapor deposition, a film material (a sealing material) is deposited immediately below the aperture. For this reason, the aperture is designed to be located away from the function element so as not to deposit the film material on the function element. To obtain this structure, the sealing structure has to be formed more largely than the function element as a whole.
However, as the sealing structure is formed more largely as a whole, an internal space thereof also becomes wider. Accordingly, the volume of the sacrificial layers (the amount of the material for forming the sacrificial layers) is also increased. This requires a longer process time for removing the sacrificial layers and also increases manufacturing time of the electric component.
Moreover, when the area of the apertures is simply increased for reducing the process time for removing the sacrificial layers, process time for closing all the apertures becomes longer with the increase in the area of the apertures and the manufacturing time of the electric component therefore becomes longer.


A printer driver that permits a user to efficiently confirm the contents of a printing setup for a printer. For each of the printing setup entries, a printing setup comparison unit compares the initial printing setup contents with the current printing setup contents. When the printing setup comparison unit ascertains that a difference exists between the initial printing setup contents and the current printing setup contents, the printing setup comparison unit outputs, to a printing setup display unit, a differential printing setup that includes differential printing setup contents, which indicate the current printing setup contents for which the difference exists, and a differential printing setup entry, which is the printing setup entry that corresponds to the differential printing setup contents. The printing setup display unit displays the differential printing setup.

It has been the general rule that various operations to be performed by a computer, such as a personal computer, a workstation or a portable information terminal, are assigned for the computer in response to commands entered at a UI. The printing setup for a printer is also performed through the manipulation of a UI provided by a printer driver. In addition, since very many entries are required to prepare a printing setup for a printer, usually the layout of the UI provided by a printer driver is so designed that associated entries are arranged and displayed by using tabs, thereby facilitating the preparation of a desired setup.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a conventional printer driver.
In FIG. 4, a printer driver 100 includes printer printing setup display means 150.
The operation of the printer driver 100 will now be described while referring to FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example printing setup screen for a printer; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example setup screen when a paper tab is selected; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example setup screen when a setup tab is selected; and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example setup screen when a print quality tab is selected.
When a printing available environment is set for a computer and the printer driver 100 displays the printer printing setup, printing setup entries 111 and initial printing setup contents 112, which together constitute the initial printing setup 110 designated using the UI, are regarded as a current printing setup 120, and current printing setup contents 122 that correspond to the printing setup entries 111 assigned for each tab are displayed by printing setup display means 150. When a user employs the UI to change the printing setup contents, the current printing setup 120, which includes the current printing setup contents 122, is updated, and the current printing setup contents 122, which correspond to the printing setup entries 111 assigned for each tab, are displayed by the printing setup display means 150.
In FIG. 5, corresponding printing setup entries for the printer are arranged in a page setup tab 301, a paper tab 302, a setup tab 303 and a print quality tab 304. Arranged in the page setup tab 301 are functions, selected from among all the setup entries, that are frequently employed, such as a paper size 305, a printing direction 306, a color/gray scale 307 and the number of pages 308 for each sheet.
As is shown in FIG. 6, when the paper tab 302 is selected, the number of copies 405 to be printed, the printing 406, for which the printing unit is the number of copies, and reverse order printing 407 can be set.
As is shown in FIG. 7, when the setup tab 303 is selected, enlarged/reduced printing 505 and enlarged continuous (poster) printing 506 can be set.
As is shown in FIG. 8, when the print quality tab 304 is selected, a color/gray scale 605 and a print quality 606 can be set.
As is described above, a conventional printer driver must display the screens in FIGS. 5 to 8 so that a user can perform a desired printing setup for a printer.
However, when the user desires to confirm the contents of the printing setup, the conventional printer driver must also be permitted to display the screens in FIGS. 5 to 8. Thus, in order to confirm the number of copies that has been set, the user must select the paper tab 302 to display the paper setup screen (FIG. 6), and must then confirm the entry for the number of copies 405. To confirm the enlarged/reduced printing that has been set, the user must select the setup tab 303 to display the setup screen (FIG. 7), and must then confirm the entry for the enlarged/reduced printing 505. And finally, to confirm the print quality that has been set, the user must select the print quality tab 304, to display the print quality setup screen (FIG. 8), and must then confirm the entry for the print quality 606. For this confirmation process, the user must display each screen to confirm the printing setup entries for the printer, and this a very tedious and troublesome procedure.
In order to efficiently confirm the contents of a printing setup prepared for a printer, it has been requested that a printer driver compare the initial printing setup for a printer and a current printing setup, and that a differential printing setup be displayed for which the entries are the ones in the initial and the current printing setups that differ.


An improved circuit for sensing and programming fuses in integrated circuits. The circuit is broadly comprised of a fuse cell, a reference circuit, a sense amplifier and a level detector. In one embodiment of the present invention, a two-stage sensing scheme is implemented. The improved fuse sensing circuit uses current-mode sensing and implements an auto-read current reduction scheme. Using a level-detect circuit, the virtual ground is raised automatically if the high-voltage power supply exceeds core supply (Vdd) by a fixed dc voltage. This reduces effective sensing voltage and the read current and thus helps preserve unblown fuse integrity. In one embodiment of the invention, four modes of operation are implemented: “Normal Read,” “Unblown_Read,” “Blown_Read_1” and “Blown_Read_2.” The default read mode is the “normal read” while the “Unblown” and “Blown” read modes are for fuse calibration purposes. In the “Unblown_Read” read mode, the circuit is operable to compare the fuse resistance against a lower reference resistance, closer to an unblown fuse resistance value, in order to make the comparison more stringent. Similarly, the “Blown_Read_1” and “Blown_Read_2” modes allow a more stringent comparison for a blown fuse resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of integrated circuits and, more specifically, to an improved circuit for sensing and programming fuses in integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fusible links, sometimes referred to as programmable fuses or "efuses," have found widespread use in integrated circuits. For example, programmable fuses can be used to store calibration information, encryption keys, "die ID" information and information for the configuration of optional features in the integrated circuit.
Large arrays of programmable fuses can also be used to make special purpose processors. For example, EPROM blocks in processors can be used to make power versus performance trade-offs by programming a mode bit. Another use for programmable fuses is to improve the yield of integrated circuit manufacturing processes. Designers often rely on redundant circuit components that can be made operable to replace defective components in an integrated circuit. When a defective component is detected, it is replaced with a redundant component by programming efuses in a fuse array.
In the examples discussed above, the fuse array must be read both during a testing procedure and during normal system operation. During these procedures, it is important to restrict the read current through an unblown fuse element in order to preserve its integrity. Since the process of programming or "blowing" a fuse occurs at a much higher voltage than the normal operation voltage, the control circuitry needs to operate robustly over a large voltage range. Furthermore, to calibrate the quality of the blown or unblown fuse, different sensing modes are required, thereby necessitating a dynamic mode-based threshold for the sensing scheme. A conventional voltage sensing scheme generally is not satisfactory given the constraints described above.
To ensure the quality of blown/unblown fuses, the fuses need to be read out during the test procedure (at a higher supply voltage) so that they can be re-programmed if necessary. However, at a higher supply voltage, the current through an unblown fuse can be large enough to partially program the fuse and increase the fuse resistance. This can make the fuse "stubborn" and unprogrammable. Also, such an effect is cumulative, i.e., it would depend on the number of times the fuse is read-out before programming it.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved sensing circuit for use in conjunction with programmable fuses used in integrated circuits. Such an improved circuit is provided by the method and apparatus of the present invention, as described hereinbelow.

Fuse sensing scheme with auto current reduction


A hybrid voltage regulator includes a shunt circuit, a shunt feedback circuit, a pass circuit, and a bias controller. The bias controller is configured to control the pass circuit. The hybrid voltage regulator may also include a current source. This hybrid voltage regulator reduces current consumption at low load conditions (improving power efficiency and battery life, particularly for CMOS based regulators), and also provides wideband power supply rejection and fast transient response.

Regulated voltage (or regulated power) is essential for electronic circuitry. Related art provides two general approaches: a series voltage regulator, and a shunt voltage regulator. Each related art approach has advantages and disadvantages.
FIG. 1 illustrates a series voltage regulator 100 from related art. An unregulated voltage VDD is conditioned to a desired output voltage Vout by a series voltage regulator. The series voltage generator includes two major circuits: a pass circuit, and a pass feedback circuit. The pass feedback circuit attempts to maintain a constant desired output voltage Vout.
The pass circuit PC1 is configured to pass a pass current Ipass from VDD to output node Nout, wherein output node Nout has an output voltage of Vout. The pass feedback circuit PFC1 is configured to control the pass circuit as a function of Vout.
In one embodiment of a pass feedback circuit, Vout is reduced (or "voltage divided") by a series of resistors R1 and R2, and the resulting voltage Vdiv feeds into error amplifier AMP6. For example, if R1 and R2 are equal, then Vdiv is half of Vout. Error amplifier AMP6 compares Vdiv to a reference voltage Vref, and outputs a feedback voltage or error voltage V6.
Specifically, the error amplifier AMP6 outputs an error voltage V6 proportional to the "error" between Vdiv and the reference Vref. This error voltage V6 adjusts (if necessary) the output voltage Vout. In FIG. 1, an excessive Vout causes a positive error voltage V6 and decreases the pass current Ipass, in turn decreasing the output voltage.
Specifically, in FIG. 1 the error voltage V6 from the pass feedback circuit PFC1 is tied to the gate of a PMOS power transistor MP6 in the pass circuit. If Vdiv exceeds Vref, then the error is positive (Vout is too high), the error voltage V6 is positive, and the positive voltage Vamp linked to the gate of PMOS transistor MP6 tends to open the normally closed transistor, thus reducing the pass current flow Ipass and reducing Vout.
Power transistor MP6 is known as a "pass" transistor, because output voltage Vout is controlled (at least partially) by passing current through the pass transistor towards output node Nout. Current flow Ipass is known as a "pass" current.
If Vout is reduced substantially, either by feedback effects or by a large load current (not shown), then Vdiv is reduced, the difference between Vdiv and Vref is reduced, error voltage V6 is reduced, and the voltage at the gate of PMOS transistor MP6 is reduced, thus tending to close the normally closed transistor MP6, increasing the current flow Ipass through MP6, and increasing Vout.
In light load (or no load) conditions, Vout is relatively high, Vdiv is relatively high, V6 is relatively high, the voltage at the gate of PMOS transistor MP6 is increased, and the current Ipass through MP6 is relatively low. Thus, the related art series regulator is efficient under light load conditions.
Further, the series voltage regulator provides high PSR (Power Supply Rejection) and good load and line regulation. However, the series voltage regulator has some drawbacks: the PSR has a narrow band, and the transient response is slow in light load conditions.
Shunt voltage regulators are discussed below. Shunt voltage regulators avoid some of these drawbacks of series voltage regulators, but also have their own drawbacks.
FIG. 2 illustrates a modified series voltage regulator 200 from related art. FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, with the addition of an output capacitor Co to help damp out output voltage Vout fluctuations, and with unregulated voltage VDD serving as a power supply to AMP6. Alternatively, Vout may serve as a power supply to AMP6 (not shown).
FIG. 3 illustrates a shunt voltage regulator 300 from related art, comprising three major parts: a shunt circuit SC3, a shunt feedback circuit SFC3, and a constant current source Isource.
The shunt feedback circuit SFC3 is very similar to the above pass feedback circuit PFC1. The difference is that the error voltage V8 of error amplifier AMP8 is connected to a shunt circuit SC3 in shunt voltage regulator 300 (instead of to a pass circuit PC1 in the series voltage regulator 100).
Further, the shunt circuit SC3 works somewhat "backwards" from the pass circuit described above. In the shunt circuit SC3, a high error voltage V8 to transistor MN8 increases shunt current Ishunt, thus decreasing Vout. Also, shunt voltage regulator 300 requires the constant current source Isource in order to drive the voltage Vout.
Specifically, transistor MN8 in FIG. 3 is an NMOS transistor that is normally open (in contrast to the PMOS transistor in FIG. 1). Thus, in low load conditions Vout is initially relatively high, Vdiv is relatively high (greater than Vref), and a large error voltage V8 tends to close NMOS transistor MN8, allowing a large current (a shunt current Ishunt) to shunt through the transistor and towards ground, thus decreasing Vout.
Transistor MN8 is known as a "shunt" transistor, because output voltage Vout is controlled by shunting current through the shunt transistor away from node Nout and towards a ground.
Under high load conditions, Vout is initially relatively low, Vdiv is relatively low, V8 is relatively low, shunt transistor MN8 is relatively open (small shunt current Ishunt), and thus the output voltage Vout is driven higher due to Isource.
The shunt voltage regulator 300 gives relatively wideband power supply rejection (PSR), and relatively fast transient response. However, the shunt voltage regulator has a large current consumption at low loads because the current source Isource remains on at all times. At low load conditions, almost all of Isource is shunted as Ishunt through shunt transistor MN8.
FIG. 4 illustrates a shunt voltage regulator 400 with a capacitor Co from related art. FIG. 4 is very similar to FIG. 3, with the addition of an output capacitor Co to dampen fluctuations in Vout, and with Vout serving as a power supply to error amplifier AMP8. VDD may alternatively serve as a power supply to error amplifier AMP8 (not shown).
In FIG. 4, a small current I1 provides current to power error amplifier AMP8. Another small current I2 provides current for the voltage divider resistors R1 and R2 to generate Vdiv.
Other performance measures such as size and efficiency are also important in voltage regulators. The current source Isource may be created using various technologies including: bipolar transistors; zener diodes; and CMOS diodes. Of these options, only the CMOS diodes may be created with standard CMOS processes. However, these CMOS diodes must be sized for the maximum load current condition and operate under the maximum current condition at all load conditions (because these diodes form a constant current source). Also, the efficiency of a CMOS diode based constant current source is low, due to the almost 0.7V voltage drop across CMOS diodes. Further, the shunt transistor MN8 must be a very large size to shunt off virtually all of the current from the constant current source at the no load condition, because currents I2 (to resistor R1) and I1 (to the power supply input of error amplifier AMP8) are very small.
Compared to the series voltage regulator 100, the shunt voltage regulator 300 gives wideband power supply rejection (PSR) and fast transient response. However, the shunt regulator has high power consumption because the current source Isource is always on, and is shunted away through the shunt current Ishunt during periods of low load. This results in high power consumption during periods of low load.
Thus, there is a need for a hybrid voltage regulator that has the good qualities of the series regulator and of the shunt regulator, while avoiding the bad qualities of the series regulator and of the shunt regulator.

Hybrid regulator with composite feedback


In one aspect, the disclosure is related to a seal for a gear case. The seal may comprise a body, and at least one insert substantially enclosed within the body. The insert may include a first side, a second side opposite the first side, and a passage extending from the first side to the second side. A portion of the body may pass through the passage from the first side to the second side.

Locomotives traditionally include a traction motor that drives one or more wheel sets and propels the locomotive. The traction motor may receive power in the form of electricity from a generator powered by one or more main engines of the locomotive. The traction motor that drives the wheel sets may include a motor shaft connected to the wheel sets. The motor shaft may be connected to a pinion gear inside a two-piece matable gear case, and the main shaft may extend through an opening in a wall of the gear case. The pinion gear may drive a bull gear also contained within the gear case. The bull gear may be connected to a wheel shaft that may extend through an additional opening in the gear case wall. The gear case may be mounted to the motor via a flange, and the gear case may include seals located around the motor shaft and wheel shaft. The seals may be configured to substantially eliminate leakage of a lubricant through the openings in the walls of the gear case during use.
During operation, the locomotive may experience vibratory loading while traversing an uneven support surface. For example, in cold weather, the ground may freeze unevenly causing the tracks on which the locomotive rides to shift. Such shifting may cause non-uniform rotation of wheels and may cause components connected to the wheels to vibrate. For example, the wheels may transfer such vibration to the bull gear and pinion gear via the wheel shaft. The vibration may then pass from the gears, through the motor shaft, and into the traction motor. As the vibration causes the rigidly mounted components to move, distances between the rigidly mounted components may increase or decrease. In some embodiments, the seals located between the components may expand and contract. However, since such seals are typically made of a flexible material, the seals are usually not configured to limit the range of motion of such rigidly mounted components relative to each other. Instead, the relative movement between the various rigidly mounted components may cause tensile or compressive stresses to build over time, and eventually, such stresses may cause system failure.
One method of sealing a locomotive gear case is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,759 ("the '759 patent") to Renk. The '759 patent describes a lubricant-retaining device for use with a gear case having a pair of matable sections with a shaft-receiving opening therein. The lubricant-retaining device extends inwardly to the interior of the gear case to reduce lubricant flow through the opening.
While the system disclosed in the '759 patent may assist in retaining a lubricant within the gear case in some applications, the system is not designed to limit the freedom of motion of its components during vibratory loading. As a result, the components of the system may suffer premature failure due to stresses caused by vibration.
The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed at solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.


A turbine wheel of a turbocharger has a turbine blade. The turbine blade has a fin shape of which width in the rotation direction of the turbocharger is narrow, and is projected from the base portion of the turbine wheel. An inclined part of the turbine blade is inclined with respect to the rotation direction of the turbocharger. A coil is disposed so that the inclined part passes nearby as the turbine wheel rotates in a posture that an end in the center axis direction is directed toward the turbocharger. A detector detects a change in inductance, which occurs when the inclined part of the coil passes nearby.

A motion detecting apparatus having a coil for generating a magnetic field and a conductive part to be detected which is interlocked with an object to be detected is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2000-97958 and 2000-121655. In the motion detecting apparatus, a rotor as a part to be detected has a projection. When the projection passes near the coil, the inductance of the coil changes. By detecting the change in the inductance, motion of an object to be detected is detected.
In the motion detecting apparatus, when the width in the rotation direction of the projection is narrowed, the passage period in which the projection passes near the coil is shortened. Consequently, a change in an output signal caused by a change in the inductance of the coil and a change in an output signal caused by noise cannot be distinguished from each other, so that the motion of a rotor cannot be detected accurately.
Since the motion detecting apparatus uses a winding coil formed by winding a wire around a bobbin or the like, variation in the inductance of the coil becomes large due to uneven winding, and a problem occurs such that a detection error in the motion detecting apparatus increases.


Systems and methods for source address verification and/or retention for access devices.

The subject matter of this application relates to systems and methods that provide source address verification and/or retention for access devices.
What is colloquially referred to as the "Internet" is a large number of interconnected networks, each separately operated by a different Internet Service Provider (ISP). To enable the transfer of data among and within these different individual networks, each device connected to the larger Internet is given a unique IP address which identifies that connection's location. Thus, the purpose of the IP address is to identify the location in a network by which a device transmits data into the Internet and receives data from the Internet. Every ISP has a pool of IP addresses that they manage, and when a customer connects to their network with a modem, which is the connection point to the Internet from that customer, the modem is assigned an IP address.
A MAC (media access control) address, conversely, uniquely identifies a network device itself, regardless of the location or network to which it is connected. Thus, while IP addresses are assigned by ISPs and can be re-assigned as devices connect and disconnect, MAC addresses are tied to a physical network adapter and are assigned by manufacturers using a 12-bit hexadecimal identifier which provides over 281 trillion different combinations.
Since a MAC address uniquely identifies a network device, transfer of data to and from different devices connected through the Internet requires both the IP address (which identifies the network connection to the Internet) as well as the MAC address of the devices sending and receiving the data. For example, a home network may be connected to the Internet using an IP address assigned to a cable modem, but may also include several computers, printers, etc. that exchange data over the Internet. Thus, each MAC address of the individual devices in the network (including the modem) may all be associated with the IP address of the modem so that packets of data can be addressed to the destination device they are intended for.
Moreover, IP addresses are often assigned dynamically, meaning that when a device such as a cable modem or other gateway to a network connects to a network, it contacts a server, called a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which dynamically assigns an IP address to identify the connection of that device to the Internet. That address typically is assigned to the connected device until it disconnects; when it reconnects, it may be assigned a different IP address.
For each of these reasons, providers of network content not only need to discover and associate MAC addresses of various devices with the IP address ultimately used to connect those devices to the Internet, but also need to periodically update those associations since the IP addresses used to connect those devices to the Internet can change. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of IP addresses available.
What is desired, therefore, is a network system that reduces the number of IP addresses used.

Remote controller source address verification and retention for access devices